While studying embryos in vitro can have many ethical and technical complications, there is a model that serves as an excellent substitute. Two-dimensional “gastruloids” are made from colonies of human pluripotent stem cells that can replicate the third week of gestation in which the three germ layers of the body are established. In APL Bioengineering, researchers discuss a sorting system comprised of a microscope, a camera, a sorting stage, and devices for collecting and releasing the microrafts that the gastruloids are grown on. The system is controlled by custom software that automates the process.

Researchers have experimentally observed the enhancement of neutron-rich particle emission from out-of-fission-plane in Fermi energy heavy ion collisions, suggesting a new probe for nuclear equation of state. The fast-rotating reaction system provides a beneficial environment to study the mechanisms of isospin migration and fission dynamics.