The government of South Africa has announced the passing of Senamile Masango, the country’s first black female nuclear scientist. The 37 year old, who many South Africans thought of as the “queen of science,” died on February 9 from undisclosed causes. Deputy President Paul Mashatile described Masango as “a beacon of hope for many young people, especially women.”

Today’s atomic clocks are exceptional timepieces that won’t lose or gain a second in 30 billion years. But if you’re looking for even more precision, you’ll be glad to learn that physicists at CERN’s ISOLDE nuclear physics facility have observed the decay of thorium-229 nuclei trapped in a crystalline structure and confirmed the potential for a nuclear clock. CERN announced the news on May 24.