But after decades of work and billions of dollars spent, researchers at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, aren't quite ready to say they've "discovered" the particle.
Instead, experts familiar with the research at CERN's vast complex on the Swiss-French border say that the massive data they have obtained will essentially show the footprint of the key particle known as the Higgs boson - all but proving it exists - but doesn't allow them to say it has actually been glimpsed.
It appears to be a fine distinction.
Senior CERN scientists say the two independent teams of physicists who plan to present their work at CERN's vast complex on the Swiss-French border on July 4 are about as close as you can get to a discovery without actually calling it one.
"I agree that any reasonable outside observer would say, 'It looks like a discovery,'" British theoretical physicist John Ellis, a professor at King's College London who has worked at CERN since the 1970s, told The Associated Press. "We've discovered something which is consistent with being a Higgs."
CERN's atom smasher, the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider, has been creating high-energy collisions of protons to help them understand suspected phenomena such as dark matter, antimatter and ultimately the creation of the universe billions of years ago, which many theorize occurred as a massive explosion known as the Big Bang.
The discovery of the Higgs boson won't change people's lives, but will help explain the underpinnings of the universe. It would confirm the standard model of physics that explains why fundamental particles have mass. Those particles are the building blocks of the universe. Mass is a trait that combines with gravity to give an object weight.
The phrase "God particle," coined by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon Lederman, is used by laymen, not physicists, more as an explanation for how the wonders of the subatomic universe work than how it all started.
Rob Roser, who leads the search for the Higgs boson at the Fermilab in Chicago, said: "Particle physicists have a very high standard for what it takes to be a discovery," and he thinks it is a hair's breadth away.
Rosen compared the results that scientists are preparing to announce Wednesday to finding the fossilized imprint of a dinosaur: "You see the footprints and the shadow of the object, but you don't actually see it."
Though an impenetrable concept to many, the Higgs boson has until now been just that - a concept intended to explain a riddle: How were the subatomic particles, such as electrons, protons and neutrons, themselves formed? What gives them their mass?
The answer came in a theory first proposed by physicist Peter Higgs and others in the 1960s. It envisioned an energy field where particles interact with a key particle, the Higgs boson.
The idea is that other particles attract Higgs bosons and the more they attract, the bigger their mass will be. Some liken the effect to a ubiquitous Higgs snowfield that affects other particles traveling through it depending on whether they are wearing, metaphorically speaking, skis, snowshoes or just shoes.
Officially, CERN is presenting its evidence at a physics conference in Australia this week, but plans to accompany the announcement with meetings in Geneva. The two teams, ATLAS and CMS, then plan to publicly unveil more data on the Higgs boson at physics meetings in October and December. Each of the teams involves thousands of people working independently from one another, to ensure accuracy.
Scientists with access to the new CERN data say it shows with a high degree of certainty that the Higgs boson may already have been glimpsed, and that by unofficially combining the separate results from ATLAS and CMS it can be argued that a discovery is near at hand. Ellis says at least one physicist-blogger has done just that in a credible way.
CERN spokesman James Gillies said Monday, however, that he would be "very cautious" about unofficial combinations of ATLAS and CMS data. "Combining the data from two experiments is a complex task, which is why it takes time, and why no combination will be presented on Wednesday," he told AP.
But if the calculations are indeed correct, said John Guinon, a longtime physics professor at the University of California at Davis and author of the book "The Higgs Hunter's Guide," then it is fair to say that "in some sense we have reached the mountaintop."
Sean M. Carroll, a California Institute of Technology physicist flying to Geneva for the July 4th announcement, said that if both ATLAS and CMS have independently reached these high thresholds on the Higgs boson, then "only the most curmudgeonly will not believe that they have found it."
( Associated Press )
Pink Visual spokesman Quentin Boyer told PCmag.com that the style of porn known as "point of view" has been a popular type of content for quite a while now.
"Obviously, a device that allows you to shoot high quality video in a truly hands-free fashion will make shooting POV porn that much easier."
But quite what Google will think of the idea is another matter: indeed in their official unveiling Wednesday, the search giant said the product would initially be offered for business, industrial and medical use, Daily Mail reported Friday.
Perhaps the studio, Pink Visual, falls under that first category.
The glasses are designed to let users capture video with a built-in camera as well as use apps, the internet, and social networking sites on the move.
"To really know their full potential, we'll need to get a pair to play around with, but we're already dreaming up ways to use the glasses to get shots (sex-related and otherwise) that just aren't feasible using a traditional camera setup," the Mail quoted Boyer as saying.
Google points out that this is experimental technology, and a first generation device.
Google offered the first shot at the the device, known as Project Glass, to people attending a three-day conference for computer programmers this week in San Fancisco.
This week at a technology show in New York City, Perpetua was showing a new way of powering gadgets, Fox News reported on Saturday.
It's not, strictly speaking, a new way. The technology is based on a principle discovered nearly 200 years ago by physicist Thomas Johann Seebeck. Seebeck found that a combination of materials, when warmer on one side and colder on another, produces electricity.
Current heat wave notwithstanding, the human body's temperature of around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit is usually hotter than the air around it.
So Perpetua has developed an armband, soon to become a wristband, that produces enough power for small electronics - not smartphones, but items such as Bluetooth devices.
Headsets using a technology called Bluetooth Low Energy need only about 2 volts, said Jerry Wiant, vice president of marketing at Perpetua.
What else uses that level of power? A traditional watch does, he said, as do medical and fitness devices such as heart monitors.
Perpetua's first products are for the US government. The Department of Homeland Security's Science & Technology division, for example, is funding a power-conducting jacket to monitor the health and safety of first responders - with sensors for heart rate, breathing rate and levels of pollutants such as carbon monoxide.
But Perpetua is also aiming for consumer products - for example, a watch with a wrist strap that also doubles as a wirelss power source, the broadcaster said.
A R Rahman is set to team up with Hollywood director Danny Boyle again - this time to compose a song for the London Olympics' opening ceremony. The music maestro reveals it will be a Punjabi song celebrating Indian influence in Britain.
"Clarifying the report on the Olympics track I am composing... It's a track in Punjabi celebrating the Indian influence in the UK," Rahman, who worked with Boyle in Oscar-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire' and '127 Hours', posted on his Facebook page.
"It's a part of a medley in the Olympics opening ceremony, according to Danny Boyle's creative wishes!" he added.
AR Rahman revealed that it will be a Punjabi song celebrating Indian influence in Britain.
It has also been reported that music composer Ilayaraja's composition "Naanthaan ungappanda", from Kamal Hassan's 1980 film "Ram Lakshman" will be a part of the opening ceremony too.
The 2012 London Olympics will be held July 27 to Aug 12.
Bioplastics ( A growing industry ) Plastics made out of plants (e.g. Sugarcane, Corn ) or plastics that biodegrade. As a recent example Consumers protested on Facebook pages like " I hate the noise the Sun Chips bags make", Frito-Lay came up with a quieter bio plastic bags that easily biodegrade. It is not that Sun Chips customers want a quiet bag but they didn't want the bag made out of plastic.
Research conducted by a group in Bioplastic Industry suggest that consumers are willing to pay higher premium for Biodegradable material or Bioplastics.
Companies are focusing their product design to be in Bioplastics form and to have eco friendliness. Procter & Gamble uses sugarcane-based high density polyethylene, HDPE made by Braskem in some of its Pantene,Covergirl and MaxFactor brands. Papermate has a line of pens made up of Bioplastic Mirel, that is made by Metabolix. Also, Plant plastics used in Autos and coffee cup liners.
Dorel Industries ( Canadian baby furniture maker) developed a line blended with Cereplast's bio-resins.
Bioplastic Industry has grown annually 35 % since 2008 and it will reach $ 5 billion in 2018 according to a report from a Research Firm which will be 0.1% fraction of a total plastic demand globally.
Also fueling demand is a rapidly growing segment of the bioplastics industry that creates non-biodegradable plastics and bioplastics that can be blended with fossil-fuel-based resins, allowing them to be processed as if they were regular plastics.
Cereplast, based in El Segundo, California, makes two forms of bioplastic resins, one that can be used in products that are composted, and one that can be blended with traditional plastics. NatureWorks, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cargill, makes Ingeo, a bioplastic resin that can be used in both biodegradable and non-biodegradable end products.
The cost of bioplastics
Bioplastics generally are more expensive to produce than traditional plastics, but also, the cost of source materials like fossil fuel vs. plants, the cost of new material in same facility and amount of resins required to make a final products are considered.
As we see oil prices above $110 a barrel, the cost of plant based resins is comparable with petroleum resins,which may be helpful for the Bioplastics Industry growth. Type of bioplastics is also important factor to compare price factor. For example Mirel a bioplastic developed by Metabolix and Acher Daniels Midland is bio-based and biodegradable and its cost is around$2.25 to$2.75 a pound compare with $0.50 to$1 a pound from an petroleum based resin. While Ingeo Bioplastic ( Developed by NatureWorks) made up of polylactic acid or PLA has a price same as other plastics-polyethylene terephthalate and polystyrene.Groupe Danon's Stonyfield Yogurt unit found NatureWorks’ Ingeo to be a cost-effective choice for its multipack yogurt cups in part because the packaging didn’t break open as much during shipping.
Land for plastics
Another cost factor for bioplastics is land to grow corn and sugarcane, currently the main raw materials for bioplastics. Research is going on to use non-edible plants and parts such as switchgrass or corn husks and may be algae.
Another hurdle is processing.Non-biodegradable plastics are likely to take off more quickly than the biodegradable type is that processors and compounders that convert the resins into plastics can more easily deal with non-biodegradable bioplastics.
Chemically, Braskem’s bio-based polyethylene, made out of ethanol derived from sugarcane, is the same as polyethylene made from petroleum, so there’s no learning curve as far as processing it, compounding it.
NatureWorks, which only makes bio-based, biodegradable resins, says its strategy has always been to create a product that could be dropped into traditional processing. While that’s not possible yet, some of NatureWorks’ processors are beginning to sell enough PLA to reach the economies of scale necessary to make Ingeo more cost competitive.
End of life
One of the biggest issues in the bioplastics industry is what happens to the products after they’re not needed. Biodegradable plastics can, of course, biodegrade, but usually only if composted properly. And as of right now, the U.S. doesn’t have an infrastructure to handle widespread municipal-level composting.
Another solution is to recycle the materials. Products made of Ingeo, for instance, can be returned to lactic acid, the ingredient created when plant sugars are fermented, and then made into a virgin polymer again. Currently, NatureWorks does this with waste at its plant.Another solution is one both Coca-Cola and Pepsi are after: Creating a 100-percent, bio-based PET plastic bottle that can be recycled along with anything else made of plastic PET (the No. 1 plastic for those who recycle.)
Coke has already created Plant Bottle, 30 percent of which is made from plants, and now has the technology to get the bottle to 100 percent — as does Pepsi — but the process of bringing the bottle to market remains complex.
“Innovation isn’t worth much until you can commercialize it and make it available to consumers,”
That, however hasn't deterred it from grabbing a viable slot in the store, as CNET now reports that Google Chrome is already the No.1 free app in the iOS store, in both iPhone as well as the iPad categories. A dedicated version has been made available for the iPhone and the iPad, allowing an iPad user to view the browser as well. CNET's Lance Whitney writes, "Chrome now joins Opera, Dolphin, and other browsers as yet another alternative to mobile Safari for iOS users. The Chrome app has also made its splash in the Android world, officially out of beta mode and available through Google Play."
The app offers Mobile Chrome features that include an integrated address and search box, tabbed browsing, as well as the ability to switch the position of tabs. The Incognito feature thats present too lets you browse securely without having your history tracked.
If you're browsing a website on your Android phone using Chrome and then switch to the iPad, you’ll be able to pick up where you left off through Chrome as it will automatically sync all your opened tabs and bookmarks, provided you have signed in of course. It's also easier to launch ‘Incognito Mode’ right from the menu in the browser rather than having to go to Settings, which is the case in Safari. Chrome also offers to save your passwords.
One thing that iOS users will probably never get is the ability to set another browser as the default. This mean's while you can launch and use Chrome on iOS, clicking a link in an e-mail will always open Safari and nothing else. This is something I’m sure iOS users have gotten used to by now.
This version of Chrome for iOS, however, is not the same as the one for the desktop and Android as it still uses Safari's browser engine as the backend. Google had to make this compromise since it’s the only way they could port the browser to iOS since Apple does not allow any browser in the app store if they don't use their engine. You can think of Chrome on iOS as a new skin for Safari along with the features that come with Chrome of course. The trade-off here is performance as it’s a lot slower compared to its Android counterpart as it has to use WebKit.
According to this report, "The new app has been garnering rave reviews from the iOS crowd. A peek at the 3,574 ratings tallied so far reveals a full 2,855 users rewarding Chrome with a 5-star thumbs up."
Playboy magazine named Bechard Miss November in 2010, and she also started an online photo-sharing craze called "Frisky Friday." Neither seems quite on the level of an "internationally recognized award, such as a Nobel Prize," which the government cites as a possible qualification.
But Los Angeles immigration lawyer Chris Wright argued that Bechard's accomplishments earned her a slot. The government ultimately agreed.
That kind of success has put Wright on the map as the go-to visa fixer for both Hollywood and Silicon Valley. It also highlights the use of so-called genius visas known as O-1s and EB-1s, which have largely escaped political controversy and are now the immigration solution of choice for many entrepreneurs.
As many immigration lawyers see it, the paucity of immigration options for the most entrepreneurial foreigners mean they must use any avenue they can. This approach, along with seeming flexibility in Washington on what constitutes "extraordinary ability," means the O-1 is gaining traction in technology circles. Wider use could ultimately land it in political trouble.
For example, the H-1B visa, which allows employers to hire foreigners temporarily in certain specialized fields like technology, has drawn accusations from union groups and others that companies use it to bring in lower-skilled labor.
The O-1 visa allows individuals of "extraordinary ability" to come to the United States for up to three years, and can be extended. British journalist Piers Morgan used one when he replaced Larry King on his late-night TV show, Wright said.
The EB-1 is similar, but leads to a green card and permanent residency rather than a temporary stay, with "extraordinary ability" being one of the ways to qualify - along with being an outstanding professor or researcher, or a multinational executive.
Foreign entrepreneurs have another option - the Immigrant Investor Program, or EB-5 visa - but it requires a capital investment of at least $500,000 and the creation of at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers.
By contrast, no proof of personal wealth or investment in the United States is required for the O-1 or the EB-1.
There is also no cap on the number of O-1s that the government can award each year; about 12,280 were approved in 2011, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said, up from 9,478 in 2006. It issued about 25,000 EB-1s last year, below their cap of 40,000.
The H-1B is much more popular. Applications hit their annual cap of 85,000 earlier this month.
FALLBACK POSITION
While high-profile artists and entertainers have long used the O-1s, they are now becoming a fallback for businessmen and technologists who cannot get H1-Bs.
Josh Buckley, a 20-year-old British-born entrepreneur and a client of Wright's, is among the new crop of Internet entrepreneurs to win an O-1 visa. He applied after starting a few small companies, including one he sold at age 15 for a sum reaching the low six figures, he says.
He got his O-1 last year after lining up letters of recommendation from luminaries including Netscape co-founder and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and Apple Inc co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Buckley, whose MinoMonsters gaming company is backed by Andreessen, saw little choice other than the O-1. The H-1B was off limits because it usually does not go to people who work for themselves. The O-1, unlike most H-1Bs, also does not require a college education--a key feature for the ever-younger entrepreneurs flocking to Silicon Valley.
Except when it comes to the O-1, visa officials "just don't understand the concept of someone being skilled without 12 years of experience or a bachelor's degree," says John Collison, a 22-year-old Irishman. He dropped out of Harvard University to work on Stripe, the payments company he co-founded with his brother, Patrick.
Like Buckley, he met Wright through the prestigious Silicon Valley start-up incubator known as Y Combinator. He won his O-1 in December 2010 and now has permanent residency status-- as does Buckley.
Wright, himself a South African immigrant, dismisses the notion that some of his clients might not rise to the level of "extraordinary ability."
"There's nothing in those regulations that requires you to be a genius," he says. "It's quite condescending to say, ‘Oh, the idiot Playboy Playmates, they don't qualify.'"
At the end of 2010, Bechard posted the first "Frisky Friday" photo on the Twitter microblogging service. Now young women all over the world tweet scantily-clad pictures of themselves on Fridays, with Playboy selecting a weekly winner.
Immigration officials "want to give (a visa) to someone who shows business skills," Bechard says. She also threw in such qualifications as her role as a mute Russian in a 2009 movie, "Sweet Karma," which won her a best actress award at the cult Fantastic Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
QUALIFICATION QUESTION
Many of Wright's young technology clients have had limited time to show they have "risen to the very top of the field of endeavor," as O-1 regulations state.
But quality rather than longevity is the key, Wright says. USCIS rules require extraordinary ability — demonstrated by "sustained national or international acclaim" -- that he says his clients can prove with awards and testaments from leading players in their field.
The visas are "a lot of work," he said. "You can't just crank them out at high volume."
Asked about how it decides to grant O-1s, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service spokeswoman said: "USCIS decides each benefit request on a case-by-case basis relying on the law and evidence provided for that case. There are a variety of factors that influence the number of visa applications received and approved from year to year."
Wright says he hopes that one day, immigration reform will make it easier for talented immigrants, especially entrepreneurs, to come to this country. That is a widespread goal in Silicon Valley, where immigrant entrepreneurs have helped start many leading companies. Google Inc co-founder Sergey Brin, for example, came to the United States from the Soviet Union when he was a child.
The immigrant entrepreneurs say that far from taking away jobs, they are creating them by founding companies that may go on to employ hundreds or even thousands of people.
They have managed to find allies even among the harshest critics of H-1Bs.
"The O-1 is one of the few visas we support," said Kim Berry, a spokesman for the Programmers Guild, which favors the suspension of the H-1B program. "When they need to bring in the best and the brightest and the entrepreneurs, that's the only visa that helps America."
Indeed, efforts to make it easier for educated and enterprising foreigners to stay in the United States generally enjoy bi-partisan support in Washington. The complicated status of the immigration issue as a whole, though, has blocked any changes.
"The issue is pretty well understood," said Steve Case, the founder of AOL and now head of the venture capital firm Revolution LLC. "But there is this skepticism around the politics of immigration."
Thus the O-1 will probably remain a key channel for many immigrant entrepreneurs - and it does carry some additional side benefits.
British-born Scott Allison, co-founder of a software company called Teamly, was returning to the United States earlier this month and enjoyed a rare welcome from customs officials after they caught a glimpse of his new O-1 visa.
"'Wow, you must be really awesome,'" he recalls one commenting before waving him through. "I'm like, 'Gee, thanks.'"
( Reuters)
Bristol-Myers said late on Friday it had also reached a follow-on deal with UK-based AstraZeneca Plc to collaborate on developing Amylin's products once the buyout is completed, expanding upon an existing partnership between the two pharmaceutical makers in diabetes treatments. AstraZeneca will pay $3.4 billion in cash for these rights.
Bristol-Myers and AstraZeneca already collaborate on several diabetes treatments including Onglyza, and aim to strengthen their position in a growing, multibillion-dollar market. More than 360 million people worldwide have diabetes, with the overwhelming majority suffering from type 2 diabetes, a condition partly attributable to the rise in obesity in many countries.
In a statement, Bristol-Myers Chief Executive Lamberto Andreotti described the deals as a unique way to build on its relationship with AstraZeneca, which "demonstrates Bristol-Myers Squibb's innovative and targeted approach to partnerships and business development."
The boards of directors at Amylin, Bristol and AstraZeneca have approved the two transactions, the companies said.
Amylin began approaching potential buyers in April after rejecting a previous $3.5 billion takeover bid from Bristol-Myers, and facing pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn.
In all, five pharmaceutical giants including AstraZeneca, Novartis AG and Sanofi SA were in the running for Amylin, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this week.
Bristol-Myers will pay $31 per share for Amylin, a premium of 10 percent to the company's closing price on Friday. Amylin's shares had already tripled in value from a low of nearly $8 last October.
Amylin and Eli Lilly Co introduced Byetta for type 2 diabetes in 2005, and the longer-acting version Bydureon, which can be taken once a week, was approved by U.S. regulators earlier this year. Both contain the active ingredient exenatide.
Amylin scrapped its partnership with Lilly in November last year after the two became embroiled in a legal dispute. Bristol-Myers has agreed to pay an additional $1.7 billion to cover Amylin's debt and its obligations to Lilly from ending their collaboration.
Bristol-Myers will finance the purchase from its existing cash resources and credit facilities. Amylin has agreed not to solicit competing offers. The transactions are expected to be dilutive to Bristol-Myers' adjusted earnings in 2012 and 2013 by about 3 cents per share, and become slightly accretive in 2014.
Citi and Evercore are serving as financial advisers to Bristol-Myers and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is its legal adviser. AstraZeneca's financial adviser on the deal is Bank of America Merrill Lynch, while Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Covington & Burling LLP are its legal advisers.
Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs & Co. are acting as financial advisers to Amylin. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is its legal adviser.
( Reuters )
Tata Docomo is the unified telecom brand of Tata Teleservices.
Under the new tariff plan, postpaid customers can choose from unlimited 6GB usage for only Rs 950 rental or unlimited 11 GB for only Rs 1,200. These two unlimited plans also offer cash back of Rs 100 per month for 12 months from date of purchase, the company said in a statement here.
Entry-level packs now cost Rs 250 that offers 1GB of data download compared to Rs 650 earlier. Likewise, Rs 450 pack which earlier cost 750 will offer 2GB now.
For the first time, the company also introduced reload packs for postpaid customers with 1GB data download at Rs 200 and 2GB at Rs 350.
Prepaid customers can now get unlimited 2GB usage on recharge of Rs 700.
Based on the original storyline, Gameloft has worked hard with both Marvel to develop an immersive game play experience that stays true to the story line of the action film.
Amazing Spider-Man is a 3D action game that incorporating similar characters and environments as in the movie The Amazing Spider Man.
It provides gamers plenty of missions, rich game play experience and comprehensive battle with the villains. During the course of the game players will get to explore the city, protect the citizens, develop their skills and discover amazing powers just the way the character does in the movie.
Amazing Spider-Man game is a paid game and can be downloaded from Google Play store as well as itunes. For Android devices one has to shell out around Rs 399 and for iOS based devices one has to pay around Rs 394 for downloading the game.
