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3:24am

Wed July 4, 2012
Science

Video: 'We've got the Higgs,' UW and CERN scientist declares

In this video, shot just after results of the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research or CERN were announced, University of Washington physics scientist Gordon Watts declares – "We've got the Higgs."

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12:01am

Wed July 4, 2012
Search for the God Particle

CERN finds Higgs-like (God) particle; UW scientists, up late, celebrate discovery

A University of Washington physics professor with connection to the experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider said a Higgs-like particle has been discovered.

"We have discovered something ... and quite frankly I can't see how it can be anything other than the Higgs but  we need scientific proof to close that door," said Gordon Watts, a physics professor at UW, at a tavern-based seminar tonight in lower Queen Anne with nearly 150 colleagues and science aficionados. "We just do not have the data yet to determine what the flavor of Higgs it is that we see.

"I am positive. My gut tells me that is what this is."

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1:04pm

Tue July 3, 2012
NPR diversions

Sure it's sunny there, but great white sharks seen off Atlantic, Pacific beaches

Credit The Associated Press

Maybe you're planning your summer vacation and want something totally impractical to worry about (just to keep your mind off of real problems ... like money, say). And, we've still got more than a month to go to Discovery Channel's 'Shark Week', but ...

Great white sharks have been seen off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass; and on e off the coast near San Diego.

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8:03am

Tue July 3, 2012
Diversions

Bald Eagle: A mighty symbol, but its cry? Not so much

Originally published on Tue July 3, 2012 7:11 am

Few sounds symbolize American patriotism like the piercing shrill of a bald eagle. But just like George Washington and his cherry tree, that majestic call … is a myth. The screech associated with the bald eagle, in fact, belongs to a different bird.

Bird expert Connie Stanger blames Hollywood. You know the scene:

Stanger describes it: “You’ve got John Wayne riding through the sunset and you hear the jingle of spurs and often that piercing, loud cry.”

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10:52pm

Mon July 2, 2012
Science press release

'Strong indication of Higgs (God) particle' found, scientists report

(Press release from Fermilab)

After more than 10 years of gathering and analyzing data produced by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Tevatron collider, scientists from the CDF and DZero collaborations have found their strongest indication to date for the long-sought Higgs particle. Squeezing the last bit of information out of 500 trillion collisions produced by the Tevatron for each experiment since March 2001, the final analysis of the data does not settle the question of whether the Higgs particle exists, but gets closer to an answer.

The Tevatron scientists unveiled their latest results on July 2, two days before the highly anticipated announcement of the latest Higgs-search results from the Large Hadron Collider in Europe.

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5:54am

Mon July 2, 2012
NPR Science

Is the hunt for the 'God Particle' finally over?

Originally published on Mon July 2, 2012 6:17 am

Credit CERN

Before we get to the fireworks on the Fourth of July, we might see some pyrotechnics from a giant physics experiment near Geneva, Switzerland.

Scientists there are planning to gather that morning to hear the latest about the decades-long search for a subatomic particle that could help explain why objects in our universe actually weigh anything.

The buzz is that they're closing in on the elusive Higgs particle. That would be a major milestone in the quest to understand the most basic nature of the universe.

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4:30am

Fri June 29, 2012
Science

Seattle's space shuttle trainer getting new parts this weekend

Credit Photo by MilborneOne / Wikimedia Commons

NASA is making a special delivery to Seattle this weekend. If you go to the Museum of Flight on Saturday morning, you’ll see one of the world’s biggest cargo planes land in the parking lot. It’s carrying the cockpit and crew cabin of a full-sized space shuttle trainer.

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7:14pm

Thu June 28, 2012
Reacting to supreme court

Hospitals, other providers welcome ruling, look forward to more paying customers

Health-care providers in Washington are in the midst of changes that will speed up now that the federal health law has been sustained. The ruling was welcome news to hospitals, doctors and many others in the medical field.

They're especially glad nearly everyone will have health insurance. That’s been one of the big challenges in the current health system. People get sick and go to the hospital, even if they can’t afford it.

By 2014, when subsidies for insurance kick-in, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler predicts about 80% of the uninsured will get coverage.  

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7:01am

Sat June 23, 2012
NPR tech news

'Baby' robot learns language like the real thing

Originally published on Sat June 23, 2012 10:51 am

Credit Tom Bullock / NPR

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