Image of the Week: Has the Elusive Higgs Boson been Found?

Unless you were hiding under a rock this week, you likely heard the buzz about the Higgs boson (or perhaps more accurately the "Higgs-like particle"). The sub-atomic particle, proposed in 1964 by Peter Higgs and other theorists, has eluded scientist for decades. But on Wednesday July 4th, scientists announced that they had amassed enough evidence to officially describe a new sub-atomic particle--one with characteristics closely matched to the long-sought-after Higgs boson.

Image © 2012 CERN

For two years, physicists working at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, Switzerland have been smashing protons together at high speeds and observing the crash sites with sensitive detectors. They were looking for signs that the collisions had (at least occasionally) emitted a Higgs boson, which according to its theoretical properties would immediately decay into other particles. Our image of the week is a computer rendering of one of the experimental collisions. The yellow dotted lines and green towers radiating out from the crash show characteristics matching what scientists would expect to observe as a Higgs boson decayed into a pair of photons.

By examining the subatomic shrapnel from trillions of collisions, the scientists were able to conclude that they had indeed shaken loose this new Higgs-like particle.  This is big news because the Higgs boson is the last piece "missing" (undetected by science) from the "Standard Model" of particle physics that describes the structure of matter and our universe.

While the researchers are cautious about saying that the particle they have observed is definitely the Higgs boson, they are certain that it's a huge discovery for physics. And the possibility that it's a different, as-yet-unpredicted particle is equally as exciting. To gain a clearer picture of the discovery, the research teams will gather as much data as possible before the LHC shuts down for a two-year period of maintenance and upgrades.


Bonus footage! We selected an image of the week, but we couldn't resist sharing this video as well. NOVA produced it last year when scientists were still searching for evidence of the Higgs boson. It's a little dated in that respect, but it gives a nice, quick explanation of the Higgs boson and an interview with Peter Higgs.

Watch The Higgs Particle Matters on PBS. See more from NOVA.

Dig Deeper
Learn more about the LCH, the massive (27-kilometer-long) particle accelerator, where scientists labored to find evidence of the Higgs boson

Read the Science News story "Higgs Found" by Alexandra Witze

Blossom Bats and Woolly Rats and Frogs That Inflate Their Nose -- Oh My!

Let's face it -- in this day and age it can be pretty hard to be surprised. Decades of video games and thriller books and movies have left us a little desensitized. We're pretty sure we've seen it all. That's why it's especially refreshing when new discoveries are verified that rival some of the best fiction out there.

In Indonesia, scientists have identified a hot spot for biodiversity. Originally discovered in 2008, the incredible variety of species in this area have been independently verified. Included in the mix are a bat that feeds only on the nectar of rain forest flowers, a giant woolly rat, the world's smallest wallaby, and a frog that calls to mates by inflating its nose, rather than its throat.

According to Conservation International (as reported by CNN), the 300,000 square hectares of pristine rain forest are "a profound species generator" and a "critical carbon-sink for the planet." (Indonesia was also recently in the news for being the home of a new species of Monitor Lizard, discovered outside of a small village in the Philippines.)

These new discoveries serve as a great reminder that there is still so much to learn about this planet and the species that live on it. With a little luck, this surge of discovery in Indonesia will help to protect some of the more delicate ecosystems for posterity. It might even help us learn a little more about ourselves!

Have you been talking about biodiversity and unique species in your classrooms? Tell us about it!

New Species Found in Phillipines

In the last century, advancements in technology and science have allowed for a thorough exploration of our planet and the rapid sharing of information. So, it is a peculiar condition of our modern times that many young people feel that there is nothing left to discover -- everything has already been done and found (especially the big stuff). But as those who work in the various scientific disciplines know, there is always something new to uncover. You just have to look in the right place!

In the latest volume of Biology Letters, scientists working in the Philippines discuss their discovery of a new species of monitor lizard (genus Varanus). The giant, golden-spotted lizard, a relative of the Komodo dragon, is approximate 6 1/2 feet long, lives in the northern forests of the Sierra Madre mountains in Luzon, and feeds solely on fruits and snails. Apparently, the scientists learned about the species for the first time in 2004, when they spotted local tribesmen carrying one of the dead creatures.

As the article notes, the researchers used "data from morphology and mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences, [to] demonstrate the taxonomic distinctiveness" of the species. This information provided insight into the biogeographical history of the organism; a phylogenetic analysis shows that, though the lizard differs in "characteristics of scalation, colour pattern, body size, anatomy of the reproductive organs and genetic divergence," it is still closely related to lizards on other, nearby islands.

The discovery is noteworthy for many reasons, but particularly because the organism in question is so large. Finding new species of large vertebrates is not nearly as common as finding new types of frogs, insects, or small fishes. Even more, this discovery comes about on an island under significant threat from development and deforestation. Rafe Brown, a member of the team that discovered the monitor lizard, said in a statement to the Associated Press, that they "hope that by focusing on protection of this new monitor, conservation biologists and policy makers can work together to protect the remaining highly imperiled forests of northern Luzon."

Images copyright of Associate Press and Google.com