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Microsoft has finally confirmed that Windows 8 will be available to the general public by late October, which is likely when some nice new?tablets will arrive, too.
The timeframe was revealed by?Microsoft's Tami Reller?during the company's?Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto, Canada on Monday.?(In case you're wondering, the late October release date means that manufacturers will have their hands on Windows 8 at the beginning of August, so that they can get their products ready to go.)
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBCUniversal.)
The release date potentially lends some credence to a prior report ??by Bloomberg's Jun Yang and Ian King ??claiming that?Samsung is planning to release a Windows RT tablet in October.
This sounds about right. RT, the tablet-friendly version of Windows 8,?ought to hit shelves around the same time as the full-fledged version, because Microsoft promised to time the release of its own RT tablet, the Surface, with the Windows 8 launch, too.
Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.
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All the pieces are fitting into place as the Drumheller Dragons fill the role of assistant coach and assistant manager.
?
The team announced the hiring of Kurt Walsten on Wednesday, June 26. He will be filling these roles for the 2012-2013 season.
?After interviewing several candidates I felt that Kurt and I have quite similar philosophies when it comes to the game on and off the ice,? said head coach Brian Curran. ?I also felt that one of his biggest concerns was the development of players both on the ice and off. He is very easy to talk to and I believe the players will enjoy working with Kurt.? He brings a wealth of experience and wherever he goes teams have improved.?
Walsten brings a great deal of experience and has many contacts throughout the game of hockey at the college and professional level.
?I have worked for several teams and when I saw the opportunity to work along side Brian I felt it was a very positive direction,? said Walsten. ?I would also like to help build the strong tradition that has been in Drumheller for many years and be part of building our team to an elite program in the AJHL, and finally to become part of a great community.?
One of the things I love more than anything about where Roker Report has grown to is who we've managed to speak to. Be it former players about their time at the club, the various local and national journalists we've spoken to regularly, or those with a different twist such as kit manufacturers and the likes.
Today we're delighted to bring you part one of an EXCLUSIVE interview we did with some folks heavily involved in Sunderland's new sponsorship deal. William Pollen is a Director of Invest In Africa, and George Cazenove is the Director of Communications at Tullow Oil, who are a founding partner of Invest In Africa.
The pair were very kind to speak to us, and we asked them numerous questions about the deal with Sunderland, what Tullow Oil's involvement with Invest In Africa is, and much more.
Today we start with how the deal came about for the club, try to uncover a few more details about it, and explore the relationship between Sunderland, Invest In Africa and Tullow Oil...
First of all I want to start with Invest In Africa and find out a bit more really. When were you guys founded, what's the goal, what's the mission statement really?
William Pollen (WP): The overview is very simple to be honest, it's what's on our homepage (click here), it's about challenging perceptions of doing business in Africa and to try to present Africa as a brand that is seen as doable from a business perspective, in much the same way Europe is perceived as brand that must be doable - you assume the business procedures and infrastructure is there in Europe. We need to build the same brand around Africa because at the moment it's very much a confused and outdated image.
People associate it with war, famine, poverty, corruption and whatever it might be - they associate it with aid, and we need to shift away from those things because while they do exist, it's in small pockets. There are also huge areas of opportunity and growth, so it's about trying to change people's mindsets and change their misconceptions that Africa is stuck in this 'Band Aid' image of famine and poverty, but actually Africa should be associated with an opportunity for growth in much the way anywhere else should.
The idea of Invest In Africa is to do that by bringing together leading investors, and when I say investors I mean like Tullow's and other leading firms that we're speaking with. I don't mean investors in the capital sense, not all private equity and fund managers etc, leading names, and to use their experience and use their network, use their knowledge of doing business on the continent to help others who may have been on the fence about investing in Africa, who may have dipped their toe in investing in Africa, but not really understood how to do things, and to help them wherever they do put new business, to do it as much as possible with local partners, presenting a genuine transfer of knowledge and skills to local businesses. So it's not just about bringing partners into Africa to take the value, it's about building genuine partnerships for the long-term, which is something that's very much at the heart of Tullow's business, and very much at the heart of Invest In Africa.
George Cazenove (GC): I think I'd just add one point to that William, which is to say and make absolutely clear, I've been quoted in the press as 'this is not a charity and this is a business initiative that will be not for profit, but it is not a charity'. We believe at Tullow that an improved business climate and investment climate will help our business as well.
We feel passionately about Africa as a continent, we feel it's a fantastic place to do business, and we want other people to do business for us, so there's an altruistic side to what we're doing, but we also think an improved business climate will help Tullow's business.
A lot of people have seen the logo and assumed charity, but it's quite clearly not, it's very much an investment opportunity...
WP: Yes, you see money raised will all be reinvested into the events and activities we'll be carrying out to promote Africa as a business continent, and one of those activities is the sponsorship of Sunderland, others will be conferences and forums. The website will become a one-stop-shop for investors on inspiring them to do business in Africa and simplifying Africa as a business destination, so any money raised will go directly back to the events and activities, We're not for profit - we don't have shareholders etc.
About the deal with Sunderland, and obviously we've never had this level of international sponsorship before, it's always been local companies such as Vaux, Tombola, Reg Vardy in the main. The first time we do branch out, we do so into Africa, so we'd like to find out a bit more about how the deal came about - who approached who etc...
WP: A little bit of both, and George can step in at times here I'm sure, but there was what you would call a 'soft launch' in January. So in January Invest In Africa was announced as a concept really, as an idea - and to it there was Sunderland as a partner with this idea. The actual sponsorship wasn't announced until last Monday, but in January in Ghana they announced they were looking to work together on this.
GC: I think to add to that one, Aidan Heavey, is an Irishman who started Tullow 26-years ago and the first project was in Africa and the idea of investment in Africa has been something that he has been thinking about all his business life, and it's something he feels very passionately about, and he's been quoted many times in the press as saying that investment is the future of Africa.
I think that he has been thinking for some time about the best way to promote the concept of investing in Africa for some time, and Sunderland with their own work with the Foundation of Light, he saw a natural partnership. Not least because he sees that the sponsorship of Sunderland as an advertising banner that the world can see. With the viewing figures for the Premier League being massive worldwide, and people seeing Sunderland and seeing the games wherever they are will see that branding 'Invest In Africa' and it's hard to think of a more visible way of promoting a brand, and that really is where the idea came from.
It also dovetails neatly with Sunderland's own ambitions around the Foundation Of Light, but you'd need to talk to the club about their own motivations for wanting to be part of Invest In Africa.
The Chairman, Ellis Short, gave his first press interview the other day, and on there he said something that was important was the sharing of contacts that could come from the deal. Sunderland and Tullow Oil are currently on the list, but can we expect to see more soon, and are they of a major level like ourselves and Tullow Oil?
WP: The sort of people we're speaking to as potential partners are key that they're household names - iconic and successful businesses - in Africa and around the world. So, yes they will be big corporates, and there will be an opportunity for Sunderland to speak to them at whatever level is right for each one. For some, and I'll be completely honest, football won't be right for them and for others it will be absolutely right, and there will be separate opportunities for the commercial team at Sunderland to pursue those - it may be that they just want a little bit of hospitality, it may be that they want to do something with Sunderland in their local market, but yes, others will be involved.
Ellis talking about the future and opening doors to corporates is absolutely right, it's not something that will happen tomorrow, but Invest In Africa is an umbrella brand, and platform under which Tullow sits, but there will be others and as those others come on board, Sunderland will be in a good position as a partner from day one, so it will be a long-term opportunity for them.
It's been described as one of the "biggest" deals in Sunderland's history and it will last a "minimum of two years". I was wondering f you could provide any more detail given the way it's been phrased in the press...
WP: We're obviously not in a position to disclose the exact details but both parties are very happy with the deal that's been agreed, and it is for a minimum of two years, but I can't go into any more detail without infringing on other people's rights, and get in trouble with lawyers etc.
In terms of the length of time, you're absolutely right it is for a minimum of two years. The size of the deal, there's been all sorts of strange figures bandied around and I wouldn't read anything into those other than that both sides are happy with the deal we've reached.
It's definitely a case that Invest In Africa is completely separate from Tullow Oil, I know you said you're sharing an office at the moment though...
WP: It is yes, we're going through the process now of having the articles associated incorporated, so it will exist separately as it's own legal entity, limited by guarantee.
GC: I think the important thing to say here is that it's very clear Tullow is funding it, and Tullow is the founding partner and assisting Will in promoting it and looking for new partners.
We are absolutely critical in the funding and the idea itself and every aspect of Invest In Africa so far, but the clear intention from Tullow is - that won't last, and as more partners come on board they will have an equitable share in Invest In Africa, and Tullow will always have the benefit of being the founding partner, but if we say in the future there are six partners, then the brand will be owned and it will be a sixth each. Tullow will be an equal partner with the other partners that come on board.
There have been some suggestions in the press that this is simply a front for Tullow Oil to do some charitable giving, or for Tullow to look good, well there is an element of wanting to get credit for promoting investment in Africa, but the idea it's a front for us is absurd. Yes, we're out there promoting it for a start ourselves, which shows it's not a front, but secondly, we've been very clear that anyone who comes on board will get an equal slice of Invest In Africa as it moves forward.
In all kindness to Will, the sooner he moves out of our offices and is seen as a distinct and separate entity from Tullow the better it will be for Invest In Africa. At the moment he gets all his funding from us, he gets all his resourcing from us, but it is our sincere hope that that will change very soon, because the sooner he moves away it will show we've got partners and we're moving the whole thing forward.
There was a lot of speculation that Invest In Africa was just a front for Tullow, but I think you've explained there that it's just the fact Tullow were there first...
GC: There was one article in The Independent where there's a quote from me that makes it very clear that it's not a front. We've come across some of the cynicism of some of the press this week and we've pushed back pretty hard, and you'd think if it was a front for Tullow we'd be a bit more subtle about it than getting our Chief Executive to write a column about it in The Times.
There is no question at the moment that it is a Tullow inspired outfit and we are wholly associated with it, but I think over time that will change, and I hope it will change.
Join us tomorrow when we'll have more as we talk more with George Cazenove about some of the criticisms leveled at Tullow Oil recently by some quarters, and give him the chance to explain a few things about the way Tullow do business themselves in Africa.
Fertility preservation with cryopreservation of ovarian tissue: from experimental to mainstreamPublic release date: 4-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Christine Bauquis christine@eshre.eu 32-499-258-046 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Italy's first successful case shows that time in freeze-storage is no barrier to success
Istanbul, 4 July 2012: Although the first successful preservation of fertility from the freezing, thawing and grafting of ovarian tissue was reported eight years ago,(1) the technique has remained experimental and confined to a few specialist centres. Now, with the announcement of a first pregnancy (and subsequent live birth) in Italy following the transplantation of ovarian tissue, there are indications that fertility preservation is moving into the mainstream of reproductive medicine and into a greater number of centres.(2)
"Fertility preservation is now a key component of the management of young cancer patients," said Dr Gianluca Gennarelli from Clinica Universitaria Sant'Anna in Turin, presenting details of the Italian pregnancy at the annual meeting of ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology). "Though still a challenging procedure, the cryopreservation of ovarian cortex should still be offered to young women and girls ahead of potentially gonadotoxic cancer treatments with a high risk of ovarian failure," he said.
The Italian case described by Dr Gennarelli was remarkable not just because it is Italy's first successful pregnancy and delivery, but also because - with a gap of seven years - it represents one of the longest time intervals yet between the date of tissue freezing and the date of successful transplantation.(3) "It demonstrates that pregnancy can be obtained by this technique even after several years of cryostorage," said Dr Gennarelli.
The case involved a 21-year-old patient scheduled for high dose chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. Just before treatment, in July 2003, she was referred for fertility preservation, with ovarian cortical tissue collected by laparoscopy. Bilateral biopsies of ovarian cortex were sampled (ie, from both ovaries), frozen by slow freezing and stored in liquid nitrogen. As feared, chemotherapy was followed by ovarian failure.
In March 2010, following the patient's request and investigation for fertility restoration, 32 cortical tissue fragments were thawed and sutured to prepared sites. Two months after the tissue grafting, some ovarian function returned and spontaneous follicular development was observed. Over the following months spontaneous menstrual cycles were repeatedly evident and ovulation was confirmed in at least six cycles. In July 2011, 15 months after the ovarian tissue transplantation, the patient became spontaneously pregnant, and a healthy baby was delivered in March 2012.
The birth is believed to be the 22nd in the world from this technique, and a new indication that the restoration of fertility by this technique is feasible, rapidly evolving and worthwhile for a growing number of patients. Given the increase in cancer survival, and the likelihood that many successfully treated young women and girls will live to enjoy their "reproductive" years, interest in the technique - from both patients and doctors - is sure to grow, said Dr Gennarelli.
The cryopreservation of ovarian tissue is not the only technique suitable for young women, and there is also growing interest in oocyte cryopreservation (especially with developments in vitrification). However, both embryo and oocyte storage require a cycle of ovarian stimulation and collection, which may not be suitable for women with hormone-dependent cancers or for those who need immediate cancer treatment. The storage of ovarian tissue - which may be performed at short notice - overcomes both those problems.
Nevertheless, Dr Gennarelli conceded that the number of successful cases of fertility restoration is not great, especially in relation to the number of tissue samples now in storage. A further poster presented at this congress - from some of the leading groups in the field - reported that most patients having autologous transplantation of ovarian tissue did so with the intention of having a child, but the recovery of hormonal function was also very important to them. Most transplanted women did recover their ovarian function.(4)
"We and other groups now believe that ovarian tissue freezing for fertility preservation should not be considered experimental but be recognised as a routine clinical practice to be offered in appropriate cases," said Dr Gennarelli. "Age, for example, is one important consideration."
On the question of time between tissue biopsy, freezing and transplantation, Dr Gennarelli said: "We are not aware, so far, of any time limit for cryopreserved ovarian tissue. The recent report by the group of Jacques Donnez further prolongs that time interval even further."
Despite the wider application of ovarian tissue storage for fertility preservation, the relatively small number of babies born suggests that far fewer women after their cancer treatment are taking up their options for pregnancy. "The reasons are probably many," said Dr Gennarelli, "but the simplest might be that not so many patients have reached the age or the decision to conceive. Nevertheless, the babies born worldwide so far indicate that we're moving in the right direction."
###
Notes
1. Donnez J, Dolmans MM, Demylle D, et al. Livebirth after orthotopic transplantation of cryopreserved ovarian tissue. Lancet 2004; 364: 1405-1410
2. Future fertility is of increasing importance to cancer patients. One study of more than 600 women with breast cancer indicated that 73% of them expressed some concern about the possibility of becoming infertile after treatment. As a result of earlier detection, advanced treatments and better survival rates in female cancers, interest in fertility preservation techniques is growing. The main techniques for women are embryo and oocyte cryopreservation (which each require ovarian stimulation and egg collection), ovarian suppression (with drugs) during chemo- and radiotherapy, and ovarian tissue cryopreservation. Many research questions remain, but all techniques require the collaborating involvement of specialists in cancer and reproductive medicine.
3. Until very recently, this live birth in Turin was believed to represent the longest time interval between tissue freezing and transplantation for pregnancy. However, an online report on 14 June from the Belgian group of Jacques Donnez describes a gap of ten years between freezing and pregnancy (Donnez J, Jadoule P, Pirard C, et al. Live birth after transplantation of frozen-thawed ovarian tissue after bilateral oophorectomy for benign disease. Fertil Steril 2012; doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2012.05.017).
4. Sanchez-Serrano1 M, Dolmans MM, Greve T, Pellicer A, Donnez J. Yding Andersen C. Ovarian function after ovarian tissue autotransplantation; global results in Belgium, Denmark and Spain. Poster 348, ESHRE annual meeting 2012.
Presented as a poster (P-346)
First pregnancy in Italy after autologous orthotopic ovarian tissue grafting
Note: When obtaining outside comment, journalists are requested to ensure that their contacts are aware of the embargo on this release.
The 28th Annual Meeting of ESHRE, the world's largest event in reproductive science and medicine, is taking place in Istanbul from 1-4 July 2012
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Fertility preservation with cryopreservation of ovarian tissue: from experimental to mainstreamPublic release date: 4-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Christine Bauquis christine@eshre.eu 32-499-258-046 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Italy's first successful case shows that time in freeze-storage is no barrier to success
Istanbul, 4 July 2012: Although the first successful preservation of fertility from the freezing, thawing and grafting of ovarian tissue was reported eight years ago,(1) the technique has remained experimental and confined to a few specialist centres. Now, with the announcement of a first pregnancy (and subsequent live birth) in Italy following the transplantation of ovarian tissue, there are indications that fertility preservation is moving into the mainstream of reproductive medicine and into a greater number of centres.(2)
"Fertility preservation is now a key component of the management of young cancer patients," said Dr Gianluca Gennarelli from Clinica Universitaria Sant'Anna in Turin, presenting details of the Italian pregnancy at the annual meeting of ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology). "Though still a challenging procedure, the cryopreservation of ovarian cortex should still be offered to young women and girls ahead of potentially gonadotoxic cancer treatments with a high risk of ovarian failure," he said.
The Italian case described by Dr Gennarelli was remarkable not just because it is Italy's first successful pregnancy and delivery, but also because - with a gap of seven years - it represents one of the longest time intervals yet between the date of tissue freezing and the date of successful transplantation.(3) "It demonstrates that pregnancy can be obtained by this technique even after several years of cryostorage," said Dr Gennarelli.
The case involved a 21-year-old patient scheduled for high dose chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. Just before treatment, in July 2003, she was referred for fertility preservation, with ovarian cortical tissue collected by laparoscopy. Bilateral biopsies of ovarian cortex were sampled (ie, from both ovaries), frozen by slow freezing and stored in liquid nitrogen. As feared, chemotherapy was followed by ovarian failure.
In March 2010, following the patient's request and investigation for fertility restoration, 32 cortical tissue fragments were thawed and sutured to prepared sites. Two months after the tissue grafting, some ovarian function returned and spontaneous follicular development was observed. Over the following months spontaneous menstrual cycles were repeatedly evident and ovulation was confirmed in at least six cycles. In July 2011, 15 months after the ovarian tissue transplantation, the patient became spontaneously pregnant, and a healthy baby was delivered in March 2012.
The birth is believed to be the 22nd in the world from this technique, and a new indication that the restoration of fertility by this technique is feasible, rapidly evolving and worthwhile for a growing number of patients. Given the increase in cancer survival, and the likelihood that many successfully treated young women and girls will live to enjoy their "reproductive" years, interest in the technique - from both patients and doctors - is sure to grow, said Dr Gennarelli.
The cryopreservation of ovarian tissue is not the only technique suitable for young women, and there is also growing interest in oocyte cryopreservation (especially with developments in vitrification). However, both embryo and oocyte storage require a cycle of ovarian stimulation and collection, which may not be suitable for women with hormone-dependent cancers or for those who need immediate cancer treatment. The storage of ovarian tissue - which may be performed at short notice - overcomes both those problems.
Nevertheless, Dr Gennarelli conceded that the number of successful cases of fertility restoration is not great, especially in relation to the number of tissue samples now in storage. A further poster presented at this congress - from some of the leading groups in the field - reported that most patients having autologous transplantation of ovarian tissue did so with the intention of having a child, but the recovery of hormonal function was also very important to them. Most transplanted women did recover their ovarian function.(4)
"We and other groups now believe that ovarian tissue freezing for fertility preservation should not be considered experimental but be recognised as a routine clinical practice to be offered in appropriate cases," said Dr Gennarelli. "Age, for example, is one important consideration."
On the question of time between tissue biopsy, freezing and transplantation, Dr Gennarelli said: "We are not aware, so far, of any time limit for cryopreserved ovarian tissue. The recent report by the group of Jacques Donnez further prolongs that time interval even further."
Despite the wider application of ovarian tissue storage for fertility preservation, the relatively small number of babies born suggests that far fewer women after their cancer treatment are taking up their options for pregnancy. "The reasons are probably many," said Dr Gennarelli, "but the simplest might be that not so many patients have reached the age or the decision to conceive. Nevertheless, the babies born worldwide so far indicate that we're moving in the right direction."
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Notes
1. Donnez J, Dolmans MM, Demylle D, et al. Livebirth after orthotopic transplantation of cryopreserved ovarian tissue. Lancet 2004; 364: 1405-1410
2. Future fertility is of increasing importance to cancer patients. One study of more than 600 women with breast cancer indicated that 73% of them expressed some concern about the possibility of becoming infertile after treatment. As a result of earlier detection, advanced treatments and better survival rates in female cancers, interest in fertility preservation techniques is growing. The main techniques for women are embryo and oocyte cryopreservation (which each require ovarian stimulation and egg collection), ovarian suppression (with drugs) during chemo- and radiotherapy, and ovarian tissue cryopreservation. Many research questions remain, but all techniques require the collaborating involvement of specialists in cancer and reproductive medicine.
3. Until very recently, this live birth in Turin was believed to represent the longest time interval between tissue freezing and transplantation for pregnancy. However, an online report on 14 June from the Belgian group of Jacques Donnez describes a gap of ten years between freezing and pregnancy (Donnez J, Jadoule P, Pirard C, et al. Live birth after transplantation of frozen-thawed ovarian tissue after bilateral oophorectomy for benign disease. Fertil Steril 2012; doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2012.05.017).
4. Sanchez-Serrano1 M, Dolmans MM, Greve T, Pellicer A, Donnez J. Yding Andersen C. Ovarian function after ovarian tissue autotransplantation; global results in Belgium, Denmark and Spain. Poster 348, ESHRE annual meeting 2012.
Presented as a poster (P-346)
First pregnancy in Italy after autologous orthotopic ovarian tissue grafting
Note: When obtaining outside comment, journalists are requested to ensure that their contacts are aware of the embargo on this release.
The 28th Annual Meeting of ESHRE, the world's largest event in reproductive science and medicine, is taking place in Istanbul from 1-4 July 2012
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FILE - In this May 20, 2011 file photo, a physicist explains the ATLAS experiment on a board at the European Center for Nuclear Research, CERN, outside Geneva, Switzerland. The illustration shows how the long-presumed Higgs boson particle is thought to look like. Scientists at CERN plan to make an announcement on Wednesday, July 4, 2012 about their hunt for the elusive sub-atomic particle. Physicists have said previously they are increasingly confident that they are closing in on it based on hints at its existence hidden away in reams of data. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)
FILE - In this May 20, 2011 file photo, a physicist explains the ATLAS experiment on a board at the European Center for Nuclear Research, CERN, outside Geneva, Switzerland. The illustration shows how the long-presumed Higgs boson particle is thought to look like. Scientists at CERN plan to make an announcement on Wednesday, July 4, 2012 about their hunt for the elusive sub-atomic particle. Physicists have said previously they are increasingly confident that they are closing in on it based on hints at its existence hidden away in reams of data. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)
FILE - In this May 20, 2011 file photo, a wall painting by artist Josef Kristofoletti is seen at the Atlas experiment site at the European Center for Nuclear Research, CERN, outside Geneva, Switzerland. The painting shows how a Higgs boson may look. On Wednesday, July 4, 2012, CERN plans to announce the status of their long-running hunt for the elusive subatomic particle, whose existence has only been presumed until now. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
GENEVA (AP) ? Physicists say they have all but proven that the "God particle" exists. They have a footprint and a shadow, and the only thing left is to see for themselves the elusive subatomic particle believed to give all matter in the universe size and shape.
Scientists at the world's biggest atom smasher plan to announce Wednesday that they have nearly confirmed the primary plank of a theory that could restructure the understanding of why matter has mass, which combines with gravity to give an object weight.
The idea is much like gravity and Isaac Newton's discovery: It was there all the time before Newton explained it. But now scientists know what it is and can put that knowledge to further use.
The focus of the excitement is the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle long sought by physicists.
Researchers at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, say that they have compiled vast amounts of data that show the footprint and shadow of the particle, even though it has never actually been glimpsed.
But two independent teams of physicists are cautious after decades of work and billions of dollars spent. They don't plan to use the word "discovery." They say they will come as close as possible to a "eureka" announcement without overstating their findings.
"I agree that any reasonable outside observer would say, 'It looks like a discovery,'" said British theoretical physicist John Ellis, a professor at King's College London who has worked at CERN since the 1970s. "We've discovered something which is consistent with being a Higgs."
CERN's atom smasher, the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider on the Swiss-French border, has been creating high-energy collisions of protons to investigate dark matter, antimatter and the creation of the universe, which many theorize occurred in a massive explosion known as the Big Bang.
The phrase "God particle," coined by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon Lederman, is used by laymen, not physicists, more as an explanation for how the subatomic universe works than how it all started.
Rob Roser, who leads the search for the Higgs boson at the Fermilab in Chicago, said: "Particle physicists have a very high standard for what it takes to be a discovery," and he thinks it is a hair's breadth away. Roser compared the results that scientists will announce Wednesday to finding the fossilized imprint of a dinosaur: "You see the footprints and the shadow of the object, but you don't actually see it."
Fermilab, whose competing atom smasher reported its final results Monday after shutting down last year, said its data doesn't settle the question of the Higgs boson, but it came tantalizingly close.
"It's a real cliffhanger," said Gregorio Bernardi, a physicist at the University of Paris who helped lead one of the main experiments at Fermilab. He cited "strong indications of the production and decay of Higgs bosons" in some of their observations.
Fermilab theorist Joseph Lykken said the Higgs boson "gets at the center, for some physicists, of why the universe is here in the first place."
Though an impenetrable concept to many, the Higgs boson has until now been just that ? a concept intended to explain a riddle: How were subatomic particles, such as electrons, protons and neutrons, themselves formed? What gives them their mass?
The answer came in a theory first proposed by Scottish physicist Peter Higgs and others in the 1960s. It envisioned an energy field where particles interact with a key particle, the Higgs boson.
The idea is that other particles attract Higgs bosons and the more they attract, the bigger their mass will be. Some liken the effect to a ubiquitous Higgs snowfield that affects other particles traveling through it depending on whether they are wearing, metaphorically speaking, skis, snowshoes or just shoes.
Officially, CERN is presenting its evidence this week at a physics conference in Australia but plans to accompany the announcement with meetings in Geneva. The two teams, known as ATLAS and CMS, then plan to publicly unveil more data on the Higgs boson at physics meetings in October and December. Each of the teams involves thousands of people working independently to ensure accuracy.
The scientific threshold for discovery is high. Scientists have to show with complex formulas that there's a less than 1 in 1.7 million chance that the findings are a statistical fluke. With two independent experiments showing that there's less than 1 in 16,000 chance of being wrong, it's a matter of how their work is put together.
Scientists with access to the new CERN data say it shows with a high degree of certainty that the Higgs boson may already have been glimpsed, and that by unofficially combining the separate results from ATLAS and CMS it can be argued that a discovery is near. Ellis says at least one physicist-blogger has done just that in a credible way.
CERN spokesman James Gillies said Monday that he would be "very cautious" about unofficial combinations of ATLAS and CMS data.
"Combining the data from two experiments is a complex task, which is why it takes time, and why no combination will be presented on Wednesday." he said.
But if the calculations are indeed correct, said John Guinon, a longtime physics professor at the University of California at Davis and author of the book "The Higgs Hunter's Guide," then it is fair to say that "in some sense we have reached the mountaintop."
Sean M. Carroll, a California Institute of Technology physicist flying to Geneva for Wednesday's announcement, said that if both ATLAS and CMS have independently reached these high thresholds on the Higgs boson, then "only the most curmudgeonly will not believe that they have found it."
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Public release date: 4-Jul-2012
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