Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this study:While scientists have a pretty good handle on how protons and neutrons form stable nuclei, there are exceptions to those well-established rules. Known as “Islands of Inversion,” these areas are regions where spherical shapes collapse and deformed objects reign, and typically, they’re found in neutron-rich isotopes. A new study found what it calls an “Isospin-Symmetric Island of Inversion” in a stable region on the proton-rich side of the atomic stability line, offering new understanding regarding how atoms form. But in a new international study, scientists discovered a remarkably proton-rich island of inversion (with symmetrical proton and neutron excitations) by examining two isotopes of molybdenum: Mo-84 (Z=N=42) and Mo-86 (Z=42, Z=44). The green areas represent other islands on inversion on the neutron-rich side of the stability line where as the purple ellipsoid represents the isospin-symetric island of inversion featured in this study.