31.01.2011: Last chance to register for Swiss FameLab semi-finals at CERN

Are you 18 to 35 years old and studying or working in science in Switzerland? Are you passionate about your job and keen on exciting public imagination with a vision of 21st-century science? Then this competition is for you!

FameLab is an international science communication competition for young researchers. It aims to find the new voices of science and engineering across the world.

The regional semi-finals for Switzerland will take place this Saturday 4 February at CERN. To compete, all you have to do is prepare a 3-minute talk that is both engaging and scientifically accurate and aimed at a non-scientific audience. So far, 23 researchers have signed up to present topics ranging from neurobiology to the speed of light.

Registration closes today so be quick! Impress your jury and your audience this Saturday at the Globe of Science and Innovation for your chance to win.

For more information:

16.01.2012: LHC physics – More than just the Higgs search

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Events containing a muon pair and a photon detected by the ATLAS calorimeter. The three peaks are events consistent with different quarkonium decay states. The scale on the horizontal axis is mass. (Credit: ATLAS)

The LHC has been in the limelight recently with the first tantalizing hints concerning the Higgs boson. But there's more to physics at the LHC. Two of the LHC experiments have recently made discoveries in other areas of particle physics.

In November the LHCb experiment reported a new effect in the decays of particles containing a charm quark (or antiquark). The result could be the first evidence for CP violation  - a tiny difference in the behaviour of matter and antimatter - in charmed particles. The effect is very small, but more data should reveal whether it points to physics beyond the Standard Model.

In December the ATLAS experiment announced the discovery of a new "quarkonium state", containing a beauty quark bound with its antiquark. Predicted by theory, it is known as the χb(3P). The new state will help in understanding the force that binds quarks (and antiquarks) together.

Watch out for more discoveries in 2012!

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12.01.2012: Google launches 2012 science fair

 

In partnership with CERN, the Google science fair 2012 launches today. Now in its second year, the fair is the world's largest global online science competition for young scientists.

Young people in three age categories (13-14, 15-16, and 17-18) are encouraged to post science projects online for the chance to present them before a panel of acclaimed scientists at Google headquarters, and to win prizes including generous scholarships.

Last year's winning projects included investigations into drug-resistance in cancer cells, carcinogenic compounds in grilled chicken, and effects of environmental pollution on asthma.

For more information about this year's fair, take a look at the video above or check out www.google.com/sciencefair.

Everyone has a question. What's yours?

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