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Photo: "Butterfly in Lozère, France" by Guilhem Duvot
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Science

The Breath of Form: Life Imagery in Zsolt József Simon’s Ceramics

Crystals, traditionally seen as symbols of rigidity and brittleness, are now revealing a remarkable hidden characteristic: the ability to heal themselves. Leading this breakthrough is Dr. Panče Naumov and his research team at New York University and New York University Abu Dhabi. Since the mid-2010s, they have been transforming the field of materials science by uncovering and explaining the self-repairing behavior of molecular crystals. Their work offers profound insights into the internal dynamics of solid materials and paves the way for a new generation of durable, sustainable, and adaptable technologies. This groundbreaking research was featured in a detailed article published in Nature Reviews Chemistry on April 14, 2025, marking a major advance in the study of responsive materials.

A Conceptual Leap: Crystals as Soft Matter

The renewed interest in self-healing molecular crystals, which began to gain momentum around 2016, was driven by a pivotal shift in thinking. ″Around 2015, we realized that organic crystals could be classified as soft materials, similar to plastics and rubber, but with the added feature of structural order, which makes them quite unique,″…

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The image depicts a glowing blue hexagonal crystal structure with one side perfectly intact and the other side fracturing yet seemingly self-healing. This visualization represents Dr. Panče Naumov and his NYU Abu Dhabi research team's groundbreaking discovery of self-healing crystals—challenging traditional views of crystals as merely rigid and brittle materials. Small light particles emanate from the healing zones, illustrating this remarkable scientific breakthrough.
The image depicts a glowing blue hexagonal crystal structure with one side perfectly intact and the other side fracturing yet seemingly self-healing. This visualization represents Dr. Panče Naumov and his NYU Abu Dhabi research team's groundbreaking discovery of self-healing crystals—challenging traditional views of crystals as merely rigid and brittle materials. Small light particles emanate from the healing zones, illustrating this remarkable scientific breakthrough. Image created by www.ournarratives.net

Ceramics

The Breath of Form: Life Imagery in Zsolt József Simon’s Ceramics

Hungarian artist Zsolt József Simon creates ceramic sculptures that capture living motion within static form. His works are not merely motionless objects but″border beings″ caught in transformation, inviting viewers to connect their still present with dynamic origins. Simon achieves remarkable technical mastery through impossibly thin yet structurally sound ceramic walls, balancing geometric precision with organic forms that evoke flowers, sea creatures, and geological formations.

The sculptures exist at the intersection of resemblance and abstraction, recalling structures from plant and animal kingdoms while evoking microscopic diatoms. A compelling tension characterizes his pieces: dense, ornate exteriors resembling protective nests transition into softly receding interiors filled with mysterious darkness. Simon employs an ″imaginary axis″ concept to harmonize opposing forces: inward liquid flow against outward radiant sharpness, while…

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Sleeping Beauty Series, 2023, 37x31x28 cm, unglazed, porcelain, fired at 1280°C by Zsolt József Simon, Ceramicist, Hungary
Sleeping Beauty Series, 2023, 37x31x28 cm, unglazed, porcelain, fired at 1280°C, Image credit: Szilvia Simon-Nagy

Science

Life Signals? JWST Discovers Key Biosignatures in the Atmosphere of a Distant Planet

A flicker of light through a spectrograph may have brought us closer to answering one of humanity′s biggest questions: are we alone? A study published on April 17, 2025, in The Astrophysical Journal Letters reveals groundbreaking mid-infrared observations of the exoplanet K2-18 b, hinting at molecules linked to life on Earth. Led by Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan from the University of Cambridge, these findings mark a pivotal moment in the search for extraterrestrial life.

A Grain of Sand That Could Change Everything

The planet K2-18 b orbits a red dwarf star approximately 124 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo. With a mass roughly 8.6 times that of Earth and a radius 2.6 times larger, it occupies the intriguing boundary between super-Earths and mini-Neptunes. Previous observations with JWST′s near-infrared instruments had already detected carbon-bearing molecules like methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) in its atmosphere, establishing it as a promising candidate for what scientists call a ″hycean world″—a planet with a habitable ocean-covered surface beneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.

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Groundbreaking celestial discovery: JWST observations reveal potential biosignatures in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b, located within its star's habitable zone. Cambridge University researchers led by Dr. Madhusudhan have identified chemical signatures consistent with dimethyl sulfide and/or dimethyl disulfide—compounds strongly associated with biological processes on Earth. While scientists maintain scientific caution about these findings, they represent the most compelling evidence yet of possible extraterrestrial life markers.
Breakthrough beyond our solar system: JWST detects dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide in K2 18b's atmosphere, compounds typically linked to biological processes on Earth. This cautiously interpreted data provides our strongest potential biosignature evidence yet, especially significant as the planet orbits within its star's habitable zone. Image adjusted to square format for website display. Image credit: A. Smith, N. Madhusudhan (University of Cambridge)

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