Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has Successful First Test

The 4.1 billion dollar LHC completed it’s first tests yesterday of sending a proton clockwise and a second test of sending a proton counter-clockwise.  The LHC’s energy level is 7 TeV (Trillion electron volts) and will allow unlocking secrets to particles not seen before.

 “[once] switched on, it is theorized that the collider will produce the elusive "Higgs boson" particle — often dubbed the God Particle — the detection of which might possibly help explain how other fundamental particles gain mass and fill in some of the gaps in the "Standard Model" theory. Other theoretical particles that have been predicted might be created include "strangelets", miniatureblack holes [MBH], magnetic monopoles, etc. “

Brightest Gamma Ray Burst Seen with Naked Eye

A narrow jet GRB was seen on March 19th that was bright enough to be seen without additional optics.  The event is thought to occur once a decade.  Read more here: http://www.physorg.com/news140268133.html

Want to Avoid Heart Disease? Brush your Teeth

For some strange reason, the thought occurred to me that brushing your teeth might actually help your heart.  Perhaps it’s because plaque is both the build-up in blood cells as well as on your teeth.  Well, now two scientific studies have linked bad teeth care and a higher risk of heart disease.  I recommend getting a tongue scraper as well, they really work.   http://www.physorg.com/news140292034.html

Did Corporate Lawyers stop Mythbusters from Investigating Security Vulnerabilities of RFID?

Sounds plausible to me ..  Adam Savage was a speaker at “the Last Hope” conference put together by 2600 magazine, a  run-in with Mastercard, Visa, etc during research for a segment for RFID security. 

Read more here:  http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10030509-52.html

Hubble Gets One Last Retrofit

I thought the Hubble was to be replaced with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST); however, it turns out they have one last upgrade in store for the 18 year old telescope.  Take a moment and check out the photos and the text for each and I bet you too will be amazed.  The JWST primary mirror is nearly three times the size of Hubble.  It also won’t need to compensate for the design flaw that crippled the Hubble back in 1990.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/preparing_to_rescue_hubble.html