A Review of Collider: The Search for the World’s Smallest Particles, by Paul Halpern
288 pages
Wiley, 2010

If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past two years, then you’ve probably heard of the Higgs boson. Physicist Peter Higgs predicted the particle’s existence in the 1960s, and in 2012 scientists finally found it with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. The discovery made headlines around the world, and public interest in particle physics skyrocketed virtually overnight. But unlike the field’s newfound popularity, the Higgs boson and the incredible machine that found it didn’t come out of nowhere. The road to this moment in particle physics has been a long one, and in Collider: The Search for the World’s Smallest Particles, physicist Paul Halpern gives a quick and dirty rundown of how we got here. Full Review »

As promised, my guide took me straight to the tomb of Rosie and the Jolly Green Giant. Bundled up against winter’s relentless bite, we wound our way through a wide-open cavern spotted with the deserted artifacts of previous occupants.  Following a maze of makeshift partitions, we eventually came to what I believed to be a back entrance, although I was so turned around that I couldn’t be sure. Stepping out into the refreshingly crisp air for just a few steps, we crossed a patch of treacherous ice and entered the tomb. Full Article »

When we wash our drugs and cosmetic products down the drain, they don’t always go very far.

In an analysis of groundwater from 20 drinking water wells on Cape Cod, researchers found trace amounts of 18 household chemicals, including prescription drugs, flame retardants and non-stick and stain-resistant compounds. At least one of these chemicals showed up in 15 of the wells. Most of the water tested came from septic systems, which treat about 85 percent of groundwater on Cape Cod and about 20 percent of groundwater nationwide. Full Article »

From the same lab that brought us Foldit, the online protein folding game that allowed non-scientists to figure out the structure of an AIDS-causing virus, we now have a brand new protein that binds to a potentially toxic molecule.

Scientists used a cutting edge computer algorithm to design a protein that binds to digoxigenin, a common component of a heart disease medication used to treat congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation and abnormal heart rhythms. Dignoxigenin becomes toxic if left in the body after treatment. Full Article »

A new non-toxic material that turns wasted heat into electricity may be a positive step in an emerging field of power generation.

All metals can generate power from heat using what scientists call the thermoelectric effect. The few metals that do it efficiently have been used to power electronics on spacecraft and to cool down car seats, but scientists hope that expanding the range of metals that can perform well, lowering costs and making further improvements to their efficiencies could make them useful in many more applications like generating electricity from the tail pipes of cars or the smoke stacks of power plants.

Tin telluride was written off in the past for its low efficiency, but researchers at the University of Houston, MIT and Boston College recently announced in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that adding a touch of indium to the material brought its efficiency, known as its ZT value, from about 0.7 to 1.1. Experts say any efficiency greater than one is noteworthy.

The way thermoelectrics work is simple. When they get hot on one side and cold on the other, the hotter and more energetic electrons rush onto the cold side, creating a buildup of charge that can power an electric current.

Scientists hoping to make these materials efficient enough for power generation want to increase their electrical conductivities to make the electrons move faster while making the flow of heat as slow as possible. Full Article »