The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) said it had unleashed the unprecedented bursts of energy on the third attempt, as beams of protons thrust around the 27-kilometre (16.8-mile) accelerator collided at close to the speed of light. “This is physics in the making, the beginning of a new era, we have collisions at 7 TeV (teralectronvolts),” said Paola Catapano, a CERN scientist and spokeswoman, referring to the record energy levels achieved. CERN Director General Rolf Heuer could barely contain his excitement by video conference from Japan: “It is a fantastic moment for science.”Within an hour, physicists from dozens of countries around the world were marvelling at their initial observations, rendered graphically as colourful bursts of energy. Read more on physorg.com
It’s beginning to sound a little too familiar. A fourth woman has come forth claiming she too had an affair with Sandra Bullock’s husband Jesse James. And this woman has guns blazing – lawyering up with scorned woman specialist Gloria Allred. “She is in the process of trying to decide if she will come forward. She has proof of their relationship including hundreds of texts, e-mails and photos. The relationship just ended recently after the scandal broke,” read Allred’s statement released by Entertainment Tonight. Read more on miamiherald.com
Results released by Iraq’s election commission show a secular challenger has beaten the country’s prime minister in parliamentary elections, positioning him to be the first to try to form a government.
The full election results show former prime minister Ayad Allawi winning 91 seats, edging out Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as results were released Friday for Iraq’s 325-seat parliament.The results mark a serious setback for al-Maliki but do not necessarily guarantee Allawi the prime minister’s post, only the right to try to form a coalition government. Read more on news.yahoo.com
Since the discovery of planets outside our solar system in the 1990s, astronomers have tallied more than 400 extrasolar worlds, many unlike anything known before. Two recent studies show that the formation of planets may leave detectable chemical signatures in their host stars, a finding that could help scientists zero in on planetary systems even more quickly and speed the search for worlds similar to Earth. Read more on discovermagazine.com
Toyota is telling dealers it will provide replacement accelerator pedals to owners who are dissatisfied with their repairs under the massive recall. The Japanese automaker says in a memo obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press that if a customer is unhappy with the feel of the accelerator after it’s fixed, dealers can provide a replacement pedal at no charge. Read more on foxnews.com
Castle TV Show is an American comedy-drama television series, broadcast on ABC and produced by ABC Studios. Castle premiered in 2009 and is currently in its second season. Castle follows Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle, a famous mystery novelist who is initially called in to help the NYPD solve a copy-cat murder based on his novels. Stana Katic stars opposite as the young detective Kate Beckett. Following his encounter with Beckett, Castle decides to use her as the model for the main character of his next book series. He uses his contacts and receives permission to accompany Beckett while investigating cases. While technically a drama series, Castle also features comedy and romantic tension. Read more on Wikipedia
A suborbital spaceship owned by aspiring space tourism operator Virgin Galactic was airlifted into the skies over California’s Mojave Desert on Monday for its debut test flight. The sleek, six-passenger ship, called VSS Enterprise, remained attached to its carrier aircraft throughout the two-hour, 54-minute flight. Read more
About 23 percent of the universe is made up of mysterious ‘dark matter’ — invisible material only detected through its gravitational influence on its surroundings. Now two astronomers based at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) have found a hint of the way it behaves near black holes. Read more
The fantasy took $34.5m (£23m) in its third weekend on release, swelling its overall US takings to $265.8m (£179m). Its nearest rival was family film Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which opened in second place with a $21.8m (£14.5m) tally.That put it ahead of comedy The Bounty Hunter, whose $21m (£14m) takings won it third spot in this week’s chart. Distributor Sony said it was happy with the performance of the film, which stars former Friends actress Jennifer Aniston and Scottish actor Gerard Butler. Rival studio Universal, however, is likely to be disappointed by the fourth place opening of its futuristic action thriller Repo Men. Read more
A volcano erupted in the south of Iceland overnight, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate the area and diverting flights after authorities declared a local state of emergency, officials said on Sunday. Shortly before midnight, the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, the island’s fifth largest, started to spew smoke and lava from several craters along a rift which is popular with hikers. Police declared a state of emergency and sent rescue teams to evacuate about 500 people living in the thinly populated area near the site. No injuries or damage to property were reported. Three Red Cross care centers were opened in nearby villages to assist the evacuated population.
source: washingtonpost.com
