Abstract
Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are some of the most energetic explosions in the Universe since the Big Bang, producing in several seconds up to 10^{52} erg in gamma ray emission. Some GRBs are associated with supernova explosions, but the inner engine powering the GRBs is still unknown. The observed photons are produced in an ultrarelativstic jet far away from the enigmatic inner engine. I will discuss how our understanding of strange quark matter can help explain GRBs. We have proposed a new multistage model in which accretion onto a quark star launches an ultrarelativistic jet that give rise to the GRB. If the quark star accretes enough matter in this process, it can collapse to a black hole. This will change the accretion rate dramatically, launching another ultrarelativistic jet, and we suggest that interactions between the two jets can explain new features recently observed in GRBs. If the quark star survives the accretion process and is rapidly rotating, extracting the spin energy can power a secondary outflow that can explain other new features recently observed in the X-ray afterglow.