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University of Colorado Boulder scientists have discovered that proteins left by COVID-19 can significantly lower cortisol levels in the brain, leading to heightened immune responses to new stressors.

This research, focusing on the neurological symptoms of Long COVID, utilized rats to demonstrate how SARS-CoV-2 antigens persist in the body and alter brain function. This persistent effect could explain the severe and varied symptoms of Long COVID, suggesting potential directions for further research and symptom management strategies.

Understanding covid-19’s long-term impact on the brain.

Researchers using China’s FAST telescope have uncovered six distant galaxies rich in hydrogen and star-forming potential, significantly advancing our understanding of the early universe.

Dr. Hongwei Xi from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) and his team have discovered the characteristics of six newly identified high-redshift galaxies. This discovery was made using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) located in Guizhou Province, China. Their findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

These remarkable galaxies, whose radio wave emissions have taken almost the age of the solar system to reach us, contain amounts of atomic hydrogen gas that are more than that of the tens of thousands of galaxies previously surveyed in the local universe using other radio telescopes.

Researchers discovered a significant anomalous Hall effect in the magnetic material SrCo6O11 at temperatures above its magnetic transition, where it exhibits a phenomenon known as the “Spin-Fluctuating Devil’s Staircase.” This observation could revolutionize the design of materials for magneto-thermoelectric conversion, impacting the development of new thermoelectric materials.

Here’s a bit of background: When an electric current flows through a metal sample in a magnetic field, it experiences the Lorentz force. This force generates a voltage perpendicular to the magnetic field and current—a phenomenon referred to as the Hall effect.

In magnetic metals, a similar phenomenon—known as the anomalous Hall effect—may occur independently of an external magnetic field, particularly in ferromagnetic materials wherein electron spins are aligned. Generally, this alignment—and thus the anomalous Hall effect—only manifests below a certain temperature, known as the magnetic transition temperature.

Scientists sifting through six billion particle smashups detect roughly 16 “antihyperhydrogen-4” particles, the heaviest antimatter nucleus discovered to date.

A groundbreaking discovery of the heaviest antimatter nucleus yet has been made at the RHIC, involving an antiproton, two antineutrons, and an antihyperon. This research aids in understanding why matter dominates the universe and confirms the fundamental properties of antimatter, suggesting no significant differences in particle decay rates compared to matter.

Discovery of a new antimatter nucleus.

The distribution of outermost shell electrons, known as valence electrons, of organic molecules was experimentally observed for the first time by a team led by Nagoya University in Japan. As the interactions between atoms are governed by the valence electrons, their findings shine light on the fundamental nature of chemical bonds, with implications for pharmacy and chemical engineering. The results were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.