765 research outputs found
Tip induced unconventional superconductivity on Weyl semimetal TaAs
Weyl fermion is a massless Dirac fermion with definite chirality, which has
been long pursued since 1929. Though it has not been observed as a fundamental
particle in nature, Weyl fermion can be realized as low-energy excitation
around Weyl point in Weyl semimetal, which possesses Weyl fermion cones in the
bulk and nontrivial Fermi arc states on the surface. As a firstly discovered
Weyl semimetal, TaAs crystal possesses 12 pairs of Weyl points in the momentum
space, which are topologically protected against small perturbations. Here, we
report for the first time the tip induced superconductivity on TaAs crystal by
point contact spectroscopy. A conductance plateau and sharp double dips are
observed in the point contact spectra, indicating p-wave like unconventional
superconductivity. Furthermore, the zero bias conductance peak in low
temperature regime is detected, suggesting potentially the existence of
Majorana zero modes. The experimentally observed tunneling spectra can be
interpreted with a novel mirror-symmetry protected topological superconductor
induced in TaAs, which can exhibit zero bias and double finite bias peaks, and
double conductance dips in the measurements. Our work can open a broad avenue
in search for new topological superconducting phases from topological Weyl
materials and trigger intensive investigations for pursuing Majorana fermions
Gut-immunity-joint axis: a new therapeutic target for gouty arthritis
Gouty arthritis (GA) is an inflammatory disease characterized by pain. The primary goal of current treatment strategies during GA flares remains the reduction of inflammation and pain. Research suggests that the gut microbiota and microbial metabolites contribute to the modulation of the inflammatory mechanism associated with GA, particularly through their effect on macrophage polarization. The increasing understanding of the gut-joint axis emphasizes the importance of this interaction. The primary objective of this review is to summarize existing research on the gut-immune-joint axis in GA, aiming to enhance understanding of the intricate processes and pathogenic pathways associated with pain and inflammation in GA, as documented in the published literature. The refined comprehension of the gut-joint axis may potentially contribute to the future development of analgesic drugs targeting gut microbes for GA
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