Bread Crumbs Shuts Down Large Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a gigantic particle accelerator used to study the building blocks of everything and revolutionize our understanding of the universe.

But it will take just a little longer for the LHC to work its magic.

A crusty chunk of bread “paralysed a high voltage installation that should have been powering the cooling unit.” The bread was found on an electrical connection inside 1 of 8 above-ground buildings at the site. The mystery is how the bread got there in the first place as the cryogenic facility is under heavy guard and designed to super-chill the LHC to temperatures approaching absolute zero.

“Nobody knows,” a spokewoman states.

Politics and Manhood

A study, based on saliva samples taken during Election Night 2008, reveals that testosterone levels of male John McCain supporters dropped dramatically. Male supporters of President Obama’s candidacy had no corresponding boost in testosterone levels, and women’s hormone levels remained steady. Surveys also revealed that McCain supporters felt submissive, controlled, and unhappy. The findings prove that politics can affect males in the same way that physical contests do.

Bombing the Moon ... for Science

Scientists crashed a booster rocket and its mother craft near the moon's south pole to discover what lies beneath. Results were inconclusive, but enough data was gathered to tell if the crater contains frozen water.

Results will be published soon.

Breakthrough in Human's Evolutionary History

Science has published a 17-year study of the oldest known skeleton of a putative human ancestor, widening the evolutionary gap between humans and chimps.

40+ researchers from 11 countries studied Ardipithecus ramidus, and discovered it had a brain and body like a chimpanzee, had hands much more like a human than a chimp or ape, and walked upright. The find is incredible as scientists had anticipated the ancestors of humans to be an intermediary between a chimp (man's closest genetic cousin) and man. This means that as of now, science believes man and chimps common ancestor was neither human, nor chimpanzee, but a distinct, separate species from which apes, chimps, and humans evolved.

Here's NBC Nightly News video.

Studying Nature to Improve Anti-Virus Software

Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a much more aggressive form of anti-virus software which mimic's ants!

The new software, unlike traditional software, traverses computer networks looking for threats. When detected, an army of ants swarm the threat and draw human's attention. The concept, called “swarm intelligence,” will transform cyber security because it adapts readily to changing threats, just like ants do.

“Our idea is to deploy 3,000 different types of digital ants, each looking for evidence of a threat ... As they move about the network, they leave digital trails modeled after the scent trails ants in nature use to guide other ants. Each time a digital ant identifies some evidence, it is programmed to leave behind a stronger scent. Stronger scent trails attract more ants, producing the swarm that marks a potential computer infection.”

Not All Bad

A comet hitting Earth does more than bring death and destruction - at least that is what researchers at the SETI Institute are trying to prove. Comets could promote certain necessary chemical steps for the origin of life - particularly how comet collisions might have influenced biology's molecular chirality (handed-ness).

Most amino acids, the building blocks of life, exist in 'left-handed' and 'right-handed' forms. Life makes and uses only 'left-handed' amino acids. Comets could have not only helped form, but also bring a massive supply of amino acids to earth to begin the process of life. Comets also carry water with them.

Don't Spare the Rod, Ruin the Child

Research at the University of New Hampshire involving hundreds of American children suggests that spanking is inversely related IQ scores - i.e. the more a child was spanked the lower their IQ. Results held even after "accounting for parental education, income, cognitive stimulation by parents and other factors that could affect children's mental abilities."

Researchers noted the experience is traumatic, can adversely affect the brain and cause children to have more stressful responses in difficult situations - meaning their cognitive abilities are inhibited.

Amino Acid Essential for Life found in Comet

NASA scientists believe they have discovered glycine, which organisms use to make proteins, in a comet.

The discovery, the first of its kind, supports the notion that life's building blocks came from, and are prevalent, in space. More important, it helps further the argument that extraterrestrial life is a reality.

Eco-friendly ... sort of

Coral reefs have been damaged or are disappearing at an alarming rate - some estimates say as less than 30% of the world's coral is healthy.

To help, the 523 ft. USNS Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg, used during the Cold War, will be sunk off the coast of southern Florida to provide a platform for the development of coral. Coral is vital to the maintenance of a vibrant and diverse marine ecosystem. The warship's development of coral will also help shift tourists who dive from areas where the coral population is much more fragile.