Daily briefing: New evidence of the mysterious ‘glueballs’
Nature, Published online: 13 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02558-6 Physicists have found evidence of a particle made entirely of force-carrying gluons. Plus, what changes to US vaccine recommendations mean for children and the ways food scientists are improving chocolate.
A team of physicists claims to have discovered compelling evidence of a mysterious "glueball" particle, composed primarily of force-carrying gluons. The particle in question, known as X(2370), is proposed to be largely made up of these glueballs – clusters of gluons that bind quarks together to form protons and neutrons and hold them within an atom's nucleus.
While there is no definitive proof that X(2370) is made of glueballs, the findings are deemed "quite persuasive" by particle physicist Bruce Yabsley. The research was presented at the International Conference on High Energy Physics in Natal, Brazil.
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