The LHC is the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, producing beams seven times more energetic than any previous machine.

Controversy has dogged the lead-up to September 10, with some claiming that carrying out such an experiment could lead to a black hole being created here on earth.

As this is such a complex area, Computerworld will stop here and point to a few websites about the CERN project:

The press centre

Physicsworld

The Register

For a virtual tour of CERN, go here

And for a rap version of what is happening at CERN, go here

Update: Well, the CERN Large Hadron Collider has been activated, and the earth hasn't begun to be sucked into a black hole yet. But according to some, that was a real possiblity; the panic extended to death threats being levelled against scientists working on the project.

A few days before the go-live on September 10, CERN issued a press release saying there was no reason to worry. For further updates on the project, there are numerous sources on the net; CERN's website is a good place to start.

New species are always interesting. They've found a new micro snake in Barbados and possibly the world's ugliest dolphin off Western Australia.

Houseproud bees have stymied the fight agains the varroa mite. But Hortresearch scientists have an answer.

Rumours of life on Mars lack subtlety. apparently.

Booming Jellyfish populations could be a sign of coastal decline.

While the concept of taking a trip back to the early seventies is pure science fiction, the idea of life on the red planet is getting closer to reality, according to NASA. That doesn't mean Martians are about to be discovered, though: NASA is talking here about humans colonising the planet. The notion of finding indigenous life on the freezing, thin-atmosphered fourth stop from the sun is still in the realm of sci-fi.

The moon isn't waterless, either.

Neanderthals may have been quite chatty.

One of the biggest arguments against evolution continues to fall apart: how the eye evolves.

A third of coral species are in danger.

And, speaking of genomes, this article about how ours change during our lifetimes reminded me of a podcast I listened to recently.

The BBC's In Our Time show recently did a segment of the Soviet science charlatan Trofim Lysenko, who led the country down a weird path that denied emerging genetic science and Darwinian evolution. He basically argued that plants could inherited from their environments and therefore could be, in a manner, trained to grow in difficult conditions - that their capabilities are not determined by their DNA. What's interesting about this podcast is that it, in part, argues that he was not totally wrong.

More recent research has shown that the environment can affect your genome and that these effects can be passed on through generations. So, Lysenko was only 99% wrong.

In other news:

The centre for adventure is in your brain

Sit near the front of the plane

Now there's a hormone for it:
Shyness is nice, and
Shyness can stop you
From doing all the things in life
You'd like to
- The Smiths

First up, Salon draws a vital distinction between a giant squid and a collosal squid. Then there was the famous calamari tasting (that's a Stuff link so it will probably break in about five minutes).

but my favourite squid story, and intro, wasn't from NZ at all, but from those competitive Canadians trying to cash in on our fame.

Nightmarish packs of rapacious giant devil squid are hunting off the B.C. coast -- and as their numbers increase, scientists are worrying about an attack on fish stocks.

Humboldt squid, called diablos rojos or red devils in Mexico, have been known to attack scuba divers, and were once a rarity in B.C. waters. But a changing ocean environment has brought them northward, and they may now be permanently establishing themselves off the B.C. coast.

Meanwhile, proving that science reporting is full of traps for the unwary or credulous, the "Pixie dust" story is debunked. Who carried it? The Times, The UK Telegraph, Australian ABC, BBC, News.com.au and, more fogiveably, The Sun - among others.

In other news:
Secrets of the Platypus revealed

New ideas in mortuary science

And our own PGG Wrightson is growing burpless gas - presumably it's fartless too, they're just too polite to say.

Mars is even weirder than we thought, with scientists suggesting climate has changed on the planet in relatively recent times.

The US military plans to grow spare body parts, while alligators could be our friends, as 'gator blood has antibiotic properties. That just goes to reinfoce this argument for protecting biodiversity.

So losing pollinators is bad news on several fronts:

Wild bee decline 'catastrophic'

UK butterflies need good summer

Whatever your view of the bloody spectacle, the fact that it is even taking place this year is interesting in one incidental way - thick ice has caused it to get off to a slow start.

That’s a change from last year, when the annual cull was affected by a lack of ice.

As the link to National Geographic above says, the absence of ice a year ago was ascribed by some to man-made global warming. The fact the ice had been thin for most of this decade bolstered that view.
What to make of the situation this year? It doesn’t mean global warming isn’t happening, but the return of the ice in the waters off Canada’s eastern coast is an interesting phenomenon.

There's a pH shift going on in our oceans due to rising levels of atmospheric CO2. New data suggests the rate of glacier shrinkage appears to be increasing quickly. The sun's radiation may play only a minor, and decreasing, role in climate change. And, last in our global warming special, Rocky Mountain flowers are having trouble reproducing.

Okay, on to news reptilian:

Turtles are younger than you think

Alligators have clever lungs

First the Hobbits were a news species of human, then they weren't and now they aren't again. Latest theory: iodine deficiency. It looks as if new, uncontaminated, samples will be needed and DNA tests to sort it out.

We heard recenrtly that short women often live longer, and so do some Ashkenazi Jews, prompting a bit of intense gene research.

Finally, we could have a home away from home.

That wouldn't have helped the Neanderthals if they had Mad Cows' disease due to cannibalism. Elsewhere, we may now know why there is a flu season and why flu viruses appear to like the cold.

And, scientists may be closer to understanding the origins of life, thanks to amino acids found in meteors.

that'll do for now, i have to get on with my incredibly fulfilling social life.

It was about the emergence of the idea of continental plates and continental drift. One of the panelists mentioned the South Island plates. She said tension on these plates is now so great, the odds of a sudden movement are higher for, say, tomorrow than they are for the day after.

The plates under NZ are interesting as they swap roles from the North to the South Island. In the north, the Pacific plate is moving under the Australian plate while in the south it's the other way around. Twisted.

In Our Time offers an eclectic mix of science and culture, with each episode homing in on a single subject.

From "Plate Tectonics" and "The Multiverse" to "King Lear" and "Greek and Roman Love Poetry", the topics get outlined, analysed and pulled apart in about 40 minutes.

I'll post some other worthy science podcasts soon.

Every few weeks it seems there is a new study either clearing mobile phones of health effects or proving that such effects may exist.

Here's the latest, showing changes in proteins in exposed cells. They can also reduce your sleep, according to this study. And here's one that says heavy phone users are at risk - and their sperm is too.

Meanwhile, scientists in Japan say there is no increased risk of brain cancer from mobile phones. And the BBC has apologised for a programme suggesting wi-fi posed a risk to children.

I'm pretty sure mobile phones are not a new tobacco, but I'm glad I'm not a heavy user. Hands-free sets seem like a good idea. Here's some other advice, when the signal is weak your phone works harder and emits more radiation. It also does this when connecting. So keep the phone away from you when calling and keep your calls short.

In other news:

We have a back-up supply of seeds.

Solar cells aren't dirty.

We have bio-fuel lift-off.

And self-healing rubber.

And, 30,000 down, 1.8 million species to go.

So, after much pondering, we decided that seeing as we cover the ”technology„ part of ”science and technology„, why not dip our toes into the ”science„ part as well.

The name Half-life is a doffing of our collective caps to New Zealand’s most famous scientific export, Ernest Rutherford. In his spare time between splitting the atom and transmuting elements, Rutherford discovered the half life of radioactive material.

So here we are. This blog is also another kind of first for Computerworld - it’s the first time we’ve had comments on the website. So get into it. But be warned - in a very old media way, they will be moderated!

So let’s kick this off with some quick links:

The end of the world is nigh, just 7.6 billion years away

A computer from 65BC

Hubble gets a boost from a nearby galaxy to discover the farthest ones yet seen

And yes, oh yes, oh yes, proof of the G-spot!

Trust the Italians to find it.