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May 29th is Peter Higgs birthday. Higgs is a British physicist who proposed a particle that was responsible for the origin of mass called the Higgs boson. This particle is a centerpiece of the modern Standard Model of elementary particles, but has yet to be detected. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN may produce the energy levels necessary for its creation and prove or disprove the current Standard Model. Happy Birthday Dr. Higgs! Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.

You may remember back when the Tylenol recall was first getting underway, McNeil/Johnson & Johnson assured consumers the tribromoanisole contamination merely produced a musty odor and some nausea. They were understating the side effects of the contamination, as many of you know from firsthand experience, plus there were other quality concerns besides that single contaminant. Now the FDA is looking into 775 serious side effects, including 7 deaths since May 1, reported from exposure to the contaminated drugs. McNeil maintains that its latest recall of children's drugs was precautionary and not "undertaken on the basis of adverse medical events". The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is undertaking hearings to examine the recall. In the meantime, how many of you continue to use Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, or any of the other drugs produced by McNeil/Johnson & Johnson? If you haven't checked to see whether the product you are using has been recall...

Have you tried fizzy ice cream? It has the flavor and bubbles of an ice cream float without the soda. It's an extremely easy recipe to try. It doesn't even require a freezer; you just need dry ice. I've had a recipe for vanilla dry ice ice cream up for a while, but here's a chocolate recipe, along with a few tips and tricks I learned making the ice cream: Carbonated Ice Cream Ingredients 2 cups heavy cream 2 cups half and half 1 cup chocolate syrup 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/8 teaspoon salt dry ice Make Dry Ice Ice Cream You'll get a better texture for your ice cream if you crush your dry ice. The easiest way to do this is to put the dry ice into a paper bag and smash it with a mallet or walk on the bag. The ice crushes easily so you don't have to get medieval on it. In a very large bowl, mix all of the ingredients except for the dry ice. Stir in the dry ice a little at a time. "A little at a time" is the key poin...

One of the best parts of summer, in my opinion, is barbeque. See that marshmallow? It's perfect. Brown all the way around, gooey all the way to the center. You know it will melt in your mouth. I didn't take the photo. That's because my marshmallows inevitably burst into flame and end as cinders with cold, white centers. I imagine either type of toasted marshmallow contributes to your cancer risk. So does anything charred, like seared steak or hamburgers from the grill or even burnt toast The carcinogen (cancer-causing agent) is mainly benzo[a]pyrene (structure is shown), though other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are present and can cause cancer, too. PAHs are in smoke from incomplete combustion, so if you can taste smoke on your food, expect it contains those chemicals. Most of the PAHs are associated with smoke or char, so you can scrape them off of your food and reduce your risk from them (though that kind of defeats the point ...

Can you guess what this is? I'll give you a hint: The photo was taken at Brookhaven National Lab and it involves gold ions. The image was produced by the Solenoidal Tracker (STAR) Time Projection Chamber, a large, 3-D digital camera at Brookhaven's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Brookhaven National Lab

Fireworks are a bit like food. They are made according to recipes. Sometimes spectacular results can be achieved from a simple recipe, using only a few basic ingredients. Just like sometimes you want to pop a frozen dinner in the microwave (or buy fireworks from a store), sometimes you want to make dinner (or make your own pyrotechnics). If you're feeling creative, try making your own sparkler. Who knows, you may discover a hidden passion for pyrotechnics Sparklers are a handheld 'fireworks' that don't explode (pyrotechnic devices). They are easy to make, plus you can use your knowledge of chemistry to make colored fire. Difficulty: Average Time Required: minutes to make, several hours drying time Here's How: Mix the dry ingredients with enough dextrin solution to make a moist slurry. Include the strontium nitrate if you want a red sparkler or the barium nitrate if you want a green sparkler. Dip the wires or sticks in the sparkler mixture. Be sure to...