It’s certainly Large!

CERN’s Large Hadron Collidor – pictured here – will begin in May to smash protons together in an effort to find out what gives matter its mass.

The leading theory explaining the origin of mass revolves around a mechanism whereby the presence of virtual particles called Higgs bosons generate a field through which matter moves, acquiring mass as a kind of ‘drag’.

The aim of the LHC is to reveal direct evidence of the Higgs bosons, thereby improving our understanding of the mechanism of mass creation.

And they need an apparatus the size of a large building to do it!

Your inner fish

Next time you’re annoyed by hiccuping, blame your ancient brain stem and amphibious ancestors.

In his new book, Your Inner Fish, the head of Chicago University’s Anatomy Dept Neil Shubin contends that hiccups are caused by impulses sent from your brain stem to a partially ‘remembered’ gill structure.

This evolutionary throw-back is just one of many that Shubin uses to highlight the random outcomes of evolution and counter the assertions of intelligent design proponents. No intelligence in its right mind would lay claim for responsibility for the oddities illuminated in books like this!