Has the 'God Particle' been Found?

God particle is 'found': Scientists at Cern expected to announce on Wednesday Higgs boson particle has been discovered

• Scientists 'will say they are 99.99% certain' the particle has been found

• Leading physicists have been invited to event - sparking speculation that Higgs Boson particle has been found

• 'God Particle' gives particles that make up atoms their mass

Scientists at Cern will announce that the elusive Higgs boson 'God Particle' has been found at a press conference next week, it is believed.

Five leading theoretical physicists have been invited to the event on Wednesday - sparking speculation that the particle has been discovered.

Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider are expected to say they are 99.99 per cent certain it has been found - which is known as 'four sigma' level.

The particle accelerator: It is within these tubes that physicists are hunting for the 'God' particle

Physicists first predicted that the Higgs Boson subatomic particle exists 48 years ago.

Peter Higgs, the Edinburgh University emeritus professor of physics that the particle is named after, is among those who have been called to the press conference in Switzerland.

Invite: Peter Higgs, the professor the particle is named after, has been asked to attend the press conference at Cern

The management at Cern want the two teams of scientists to reach the 'five sigma' level of certainty with their results - so they are 99.99995 per cent sure - such is the significance of the results.

Tom Kibble, 79, the emeritus professor of physics at Imperial College London, has also been invited but is unable to attend.

He told the Sunday Times: 'My guess is that is must be a pretty positive result for them to be asking us out there.'

The Higgs boson is regarded as the key to understanding the universe. Physicists say its job is to give the particles that make up atoms their mass.

Without this mass, these particles would zip though the cosmos at the speed of light, unable to bind together to form the atoms that make up everything in the universe, from planets to people.

The collider, housed in an 18-mile tunnel buried deep underground near the French-Swiss border, smashes beams of protons – sub-atomic particles – together at close to the speed of light, recreating the conditions that existed a fraction of a second after the Big Bang.

If the physicists’ theory is correct, a few Higgs bosons should be created in every trillion collisions, before rapidly decaying.

An aerial view of the Swiss-French border, indicating the route of the Large Hadron Collider

This decay would leave behind a ‘footprint’ that would show up as a bump in their graphs.

However, despite 1,600 trillion collisions being created in the tunnel - there have been fewer than 300 potential Higgs particles.

Now it is thought that two separate teams of scientists, who run independent experiments in secret from each other, have both uncovered evidence of the particle.

However, the two groups, CMS and ATLAS, are expected to stop short of confirming its existence.

Inside: The giant project is the most enormous piece of scientific apparatus ever constructed, and is buried 100m beneath the ground

By ROB COOPER

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2167188/God-particle-Scientists-Cern-expected-announce-Higgs-boson-particle-discovered-Wednesday.html#ixzz1zVROwzw9

Transhumanism Accelerates..... First successful implant of 'Bionic' eye Microchips

'I've dreamed in colour for the first time in 20 years': Blind British man can see again after first successful implant of 'bionic' eye microchips

• Microchips restore sight to people suffering retinitis pigmentosa - an incurable condition that leads to blindness
• Condition affects one in every 3,000-4,000 people
• Clinical trial with two sufferers 'exceeds expectations
• Sufferers able to detect outlines of objects 'within days'
• Vision expected to improve further as 3mm chip 'beds in'

Surgeons in Oxford, led by Professor Robert MacLaren, fitted the chip at the back of Chris' eye in a complex eight-hour operation last month. Chris, from Wiltshire, said: 'I've always had that thought that one day I would be able to see again.'

Two blind men can see again for the first time in more than two decades after an implant of a 3mm 'bionic eye' microchip.

Doctors believe in time Chris James will be able to recognise faces, once his brain learns to see again. 

Chris, from Wiltshire, said: 'I've always had that thought that one day I would be able to see again.'

Surgeons in Oxford, led by Professor Robert MacLaren, fitted the chip at the back of Chris' eye in a complex eight-hour operation last month. 

Chris was one of two British patients to receive the electronic microchips - and both were regaining ‘useful vision’ just weeks after undergoing surgery.

Robin Millar, 60, from London, is one of the patients who has been fitted with the chip along with 1,500 electrodes, which are implanted below the retina.

The music producer said: ‘Since switching on the device I am able to detect light and distinguish the outlines of certain objects which is an encouraging sign.

‘I have even dreamt in very vivid colour for the first time in 25 years so a part of my brain which had gone to sleep has woken up!

‘I feel this is incredibly promising for future research and I'm happy to be contributing to this legacy.’

Eye experts developing the pioneering new technology said the first group of British patients to receive the electronic microchips were regaining 'useful vision' just weeks after undergoing surgery.

The news will offer fresh hope for people suffering from retinitis pigmentosa (RP) - a genetic eye condition that leads to incurable blindness.

Retina Implant AG, a leading developer of subretinal implants, fitted two RP sufferers with the wireless device in mid-April as part of its UK trial.

The patients were able to detect light immediately after the microchip was activated, while further testing revealed there were also able to locate white objects on a dark background, Retina Implant said.

The chip is 3mm by 3mm, and is implanted into the eyeball of sufferers

The Six Million Dollar Man: A similar 'bionic' technology was used to restore sight to the blind, and the first group of British patients to receive the electronic microchips were regaining 'useful vision' just weeks after undergoing surgery

The Wiltshire man can now recognise shapes after becoming the first British patient to be fitted with the digital chip

Robin Millar from London, one of two men to undergo cutting edge bionic eye treatment

The first group of British patients to receive the electronic microchips were regaining ¿useful vision¿ just weeks after undergoing surgery

The company hopes for a further trial with ten new patients later this year

Retina Implant AG, a leading developer of subretinal implants, fitted two RP sufferers with the wireless device in mid-April as part of its UK trial.

The patients were able to detect light immediately after the microchip was activated, while further testing revealed there were also able to locate white objects on a dark background, Retina Implant said.

Ten more British sufferers will be fitted with the devices as part of the British trial, which is being led by Tim Jackson, a consultant retinal surgeon at King’s College Hospital and Robert MacLaren, a professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford and a consultant retinal surgeon at the Oxford Eye Hospital.

They said: ‘We are excited to be involved in this pioneering subretinal implant technology and to announce the first patients implanted in the UK were successful.

‘The visual results of these patients exceeded our expectations. This technology represents a genuinely exciting development and is an import step forward in our attempts to offer people with RP a better quality of life.’

The patients were able to detect light immediately after the microchip was activated, while further testing revealed there were also able to locate white objects on a dark background, Retina Implant said

The chip pairs with an external device to process images

Chris James from Wiltshire, said: 'I've always had that thought that one day I would be able to see again.'

The patients will undergo further testing as they adjust to the 3mm by 3mm device in the coming months.

The subretinal implant technology has been in clinical trials for more than six years with testing also taking place in Germany. Developers are planning to seek commercial approval following the latest phase of testing.

David Head, head of charity RP Fighting Blindness, said: ‘The completion of the first two implants in the UK is very significant and brings hope to people who have lost their sight as a result of RP.’

RP is an inherited condition which gets worse over time and affects one in every 3,000-4,000 people in Europe.

By ROB WAUGH

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2138775/The-eye-borg-First-successful-implant-bionic-eye-restore-sight-blind.html#ixzz1tqASlXsB

First Dogs..... 'Microchip for every new pup'..... It is coming

Microchip for every new pup: Millions face £35 bill as ministers unveil hi-tech scheme to tackle the scourge of dangerous dogs

A vet reads a microchip implanted into a dog, at a PDSA clinic

Millions of dog owners will have to pay for their pets to be fitted with a microchip as part of a controversial crackdown on the menace of dangerous animals.

Ministers are due to announce on Monday that every newborn puppy should be microchipped in an operation costing around £35.

The chip will contain details of the dog’s owner and address, which will be stored on a central database to which the police and the RSPCA will have access.

The Government insists the plan will make it easier for the police to trace the owners of violent dogs and ensure they can be prosecuted for not keeping them under control.

But there are concerns that the scheme will only hit responsible dog owners, because many breeders of vicious dogs will not obey the law.

So while owners of gentle breeds such as poodles and golden retrievers are likely to dutifully pay up to have the chips installed under the skin, rogue breeders, who tend to produce rottweilers and pitbull terriers, could continue to evade the law.

Critics say the proposal will also be a bureaucratic nightmare, because of the need to maintain a huge database to store the information on the chips.

Under the plans, to be unveiled by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, only newborn puppies will have to be microchipped. 

Some animal welfare groups want to see this gradually extended to cover all of Britain’s eight million dogs.

The Kennel Club and the Dogs’ Trust are among campaigners welcoming the changes, because they say it will help to  return lost dogs to their homes. 

Trevor Cooper, a solicitor from www.doglaw.co.uk, said: ‘This is fantastic on welfare grounds. 

It will make it much easier to trace the person responsible for a dog, but on the question of whether it will prevent attacks in the first place, this is not a magic wand. 

‘A chip will not make a dog less vicious. 

‘This is not a solution to the dangerous dog problem. 

But hopefully chipping will make the dog owner more responsible.

‘Those who comply most readily with the law are those who will see the benefit of it. But sadly there will always be some people who do not comply with the law.’

Neil Parish MP, with pet labrador Wilberforce, warned new microchipping plans could make life difficult for legitimate dog owners

Neil Parish MP, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Animal Welfare, welcomed the proposals but did have a warning.

‘If we’re not careful we’re going to make things more difficult for legitimate dog owners, and not solve the real problem of dangerous dogs,’ he said. 

‘We have got to find the dogs who are being bred illegally by people who mix breeds to create potentially vicious dogs. 

'It’s not so much the dogs that should be targeted, but the owners who train them to be vicious that must be targeted.’ 

He said council officers, environmental health staff and police should have extra powers to search for dogs and ensure potentially dangerous animals are microchipped.Victoria Brown, public affairs manager at the Kennel Club, said councils were spending £57million a year on finding homes for lost dogs because there is no way to return them to their owners.

Although she welcomed the plans, she had some concerns.

‘We are worried that this is being sold by ministers as an issue around dangerous dogs,’ she said. 

‘If ministers say these chips will allow us to contact you if your dog does something wrong, then people will be frightened to comply. 

‘It should instead be presented as a way to enable people to find their much-loved pet again if they go missing.’ 

The microchipping plan follows a major increase in the number of dangerous dogs seized, and a rise in attacks on children.

In London alone, police seized 1,512 dogs last year  –  up from just 27 five years earlier.

In February, peers were told that there were more than seven attacks on guide dogs by other dogs every month.

Lord Taylor, an environment minister, said: ‘We are close to finalising a package of measures to tackle irresponsible dog owners. 

‘We see microchipping as part of the measures we can do to address an increasing problem.’ 

A tiny identity tag microchip for a dog; millions face footing a £35 bill

But Lord Renton of Mount Henry, a former Tory minister, urged the Government to think carefully before insisting on compulsory microchipping because many dogs ‘took badly’ to having a chip inserted.

‘Surely anyone who cannot control their dog should not have one,’ he said. 

And Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley, said: ‘My instinct is that it is likely to end up penalising responsible dog owners. 

The danger is that you introduce a new tax, and all the bureaucracy that goes with it, on law-abiding dog owners while making no impression on the irresponsible ones.’ 

Around 58 per cent of owners have already had their dogs microchipped. 

The procedure is usually carried out by a vet and involves a chip around the size of a rice grain being implanted under the skin of the dog, between the shoulder blades, using a needle and syringe.

Once in place, it can be read using a hand-held device and updated when the dog is sold or the owner moves home.

By DANIEL MARTIN, WHITEHALL CORRESPONDENT

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2132978/Microchip-new-pup-Millions-face-35-ministers-unveil-hi-tech-scheme-tackle-scourge-dangerous-dogs.html#ixzz1sg78UshP

Transhumanism Continued.... Most Convincing 'Robot' Ever

The goal is to 'create' a robot that can fool people into believing it's a 'Human Being'...


 

KATE SPRINGER

A photogenic Geminoid F poses for pictures in Hong Kong's Cityplaza mall

Imagine a world where robots conduct traffic, work in factories, make sushi and vacuum office floors. It may not be far away. In Japan, robots are already common fixtures, and the latest prototypes come ever closer to the line separating man from machine. This week, during her first visit to Hong Kong, female android Geminoid F chatted, sang and smiled while an awestruck crowd snapped photos. Her creator, Japanese robotics guru Hiroshi Ishiguro, programmed her built-in computer with 65 behaviors, making her one of the world’s most intelligent robots.

Ishiguro last made international headlines in 2006 when he made an android replica of himself, the Geminoid HI-1. For his pioneering work, CNN named him one of eight “geniuses who will change your life,” and the BBC chronicled his story in the 2008 documentary Man-Machine. Ishiguro says his new robot F, as he’s named her, is more elegant and approachable than his past creations.

The biggest difference between Ishiguro’s copy of himself and F are the number of actuators, or motor-like mechanisms, that control behaviors. Geminoid HI-1 boasts about 50, while F has only 12. This has dropped the cost from more than $1 million to $110,000, which Ishiguro hopes will help popularize the product. Scientists were able to simulate human-like behaviors using electronic signals in the robot’s built-in computer. The robotic twin can smile, frown and furrow her eyebrows, but most of the time the silicone-skinned clone just looks a little dazed.

F is already hard at work. She had a brief acting stint last year when she performed onstage at the Tokyo Art Festival, and she recently modeled clothes as part of a Tokyo department-store window display. Of course, it’s impossible to predict how people will use robots as they become more mainstream, but Ishiguro says the practical applications of F are endless. She could be used as a mannequin, a substitute teacher or a hostess. “We can’t predict all of the ways people will use the robots,” Ishiguro says. “We give the technology, but we don’t control the application.”

Will robots ultimately become our friends — or even intimate companions?  Ishiguro is betting on it. He says that with the right technology, he can build androids that think, act and react like people. “What is a human?” he asks. “Please define, and we will make a copy.

By KATE SPRINGER

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/30/watch-woman-or-machine-sophisticated-japanese-she-bot-blurs-the-line/#ixzz1rrwOt1PK