The collinear resonance ionisation spectroscopy (CRIS) apparatus at the ISOLDE facility. (Image: CERN) A new study at CERN’s ISOLDE facility has brought fresh insight into one of the most intriguing shapes in nuclear physics — the pear-shaped nucleus. The discovery, recently published in Science, sheds new light on how such asymmetric nuclei could help scientists probe the deepest symmetries of the universe. Most atomic nuclei are perfectly round or shaped like elongated rugb