Atomic cores (6)
I believe the answer is:
nuclei
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">atomic cores</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this before)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for nuclei that I've seen before include "Cores of atoms" , "Atom cores" , "Atomic cores" , "Central parts of atoms" , "Central pieces" .)