Physicists from the University of Zurich have discovered a previously unknown particle composed of three quarks in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator. A new baryon could thus be detected for the first time at the LHC. The baryon known as Xi_b^* confirms fundamental assumptions of physics regarding the binding of quarks.

In particle physics, the baryon family refers to particles that are made up of three quarks. Quarks form a group of six particles that differ in their masses and charges. The two lightest quarks, the so-called “up” and “down” quarks, form the two atomic components, protons and neutrons. All baryons that are composed of the three lightest quarks (“up,” “down” and “strange” quarks) are known. Only very few baryons with heavy quarks have been observed to date. They can only be generated artificially in particle accelerators as they are heavy and very unstable.

In the course of proton collisions in the LHC at CERN, physicists Claude Amsler, Vincenzo Chiochia and Ernest Aguiló from the University of Zurich’s Physics Institute managed to detect a baryon with one light and two heavy quarks. The particle Xi_b^* comprises one “up,” one “strange” and one “bottom” quark (usb), is electrically neutral and has a spin of 3/2 (1.5). Its mass is comparable to that of a lithium atom. The new discovery means that two of the three baryons predicted in the usb composition by theory have now been observed.

CONTINUED at Science Daily.

An amazing purple crab is one of four new species of the creature that have been discovered on the Philippine island of Palawan.

They are all variants of the colourful Insulamon freshwater crab and are unique to the island.

However, various mining projects pose a huge threat to them.

Around 50 per cent of the species living on Palawan are defined as endemic, which means they are exclusively native to the island.

‘In the Aqua Palawana research programme I am head of, we have been investigating the biodiversity of Palawan’s inland waters for over 10 years’, says Dr Hendrik Freitag from the Senckenberg Natural History Collections in Dresden.

‘This also included taking a closer look at the Insulamon crabs and we discovered four new species in the process.’

The reddish violet species of the Insulamon crab genus are the only varieties that are endemic to only one or a few islands.

The sea means these creatures are unable to spread elsewhere, as they depend on freshwater at all stages of their development.

Having been completely separated from their relatives, they have developed their own separate species and genera over tens of thousands of years.

‘We have proved that the only previously known type of Insulamon is restricted to the Calamian group of islands to the north of Palawan. The four newly discovered species live exclusively on the actual island of Palawan and make it a unique habitat’, says Freitag.

But this unique biodiversity is under threat. Several mining projects are to be conducted despite massive protests by people from all walks of life and against the resistance of indigenous peoples, according to a statement from Senckenberg.

Freitag adds: ‘The smaller the remaining natural habitat the greater is the risk to endemic fauna and flora. Even minor environmental changes can lead to extinctions.

‘It is all the more important to do research in this region and show that the biodiversity of these islands is unique and worth protecting. That’s why our next step is to investigate Palawan’s species-rich freshwater prawns’.

The study was recently published in the scientific journal Raffles Bulletin of Zoology.

Source: The Daily Mail.

Congresswoman and Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz continues to publicly maintain her support for the controversial construction of a new immigration jail in her South Florida district, even as her liberal colleagues claim that such facilities contribute to family break-ups and the mistreatment of suspected illegal aliens.

Citizen groups have collected more than 11,000 signatures, but claim she has refused to meet with them.

In 2011, Wasserman Schultz and Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson signed a letter in support of the construction of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Southwest Ranches, a swanky town 20 miles west of Ft. Lauderdale. Since then, assorted liberal groups have opposed the project along with a similar facility in Crete, Ill., a working class town 30 miles south of Chicago.

While the two parallel projects provide identical reasons for liberals to object, activists in the two communities have different political realities to contend with. In Illinois, Democratic Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr. and Luis Gutierrez lead a coalition of groups in opposition to the ICE facility. Florida, however, is a different story.

CONTINUED at The Daily Caller.

My Two Cents: She’s like a plastic sex doll with just as much talent and brains. Good for her for adding a few extra seconds to her fifteen minutes. I ain’t gonna lie though, I’d hit it fore sure. End Two Cents.

Inflatable doll look-alike and former reality star Heidi Montag somehow weaseled her way back into the news with the release of a new album, “Dreams Come True.”

Looking as desperate as ever on the cover, “Dreams Come True” is Montag’s sophomore effort and a follow-up to 2010′s “Superficial,” which sold fewer than 1,000 copies in the first week.

The EP contains just four songs, all of which have been released before.

In much the same way as her body is surgically enhanced, “Your Love Found Me,” “Party Is Wherever I Am,” “No More” and “Overdosin” are all computer enhanced and autotuned versions of Montag’s voice. It has been so heavily altered that it is barely recognizable as a human voice — just as Montag’s 10 plastic surgeries left her barely recognizable as a human.

The good news for Montag: “Dreams Come True” currently has a three and a half star rating on iTunes out of 51 user reviews, so we know that 51 people have either purchased or at least listened to Montag’s album since it was released on April 11.

Source: The Daily Caller.

Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey plans to announce as early as Wednesday afternoon that she is charging neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, according to a law enforcement official close to the investigation.

It was not immediately clear what charge Zimmerman will face.

Martin, 17 and unarmed, was shot and killed Feb. 26 by Zimmerman, who said he was acting in self-defense. Police in Sanford, Fla., where the shooting took place, did not charge Zimmerman, citing the state’s “stand your ground” law.

Corey told reporters Tuesday night that she would hold a news conference about the case within 72 hours. A news release from her office said the event will be held in Sanford or Jacksonville, Fla.

Benjamin Crump, who is representing the Martin family, said this week that Corey’s office had asked where Trayvon’s parents would be each day this week. They arrived Wednesday in Washington for a civil rights conference organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton, where they spoke to reporters.

Sabryna Fulton and Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s parents, said they would not comment on the charges because they had not been personally notified. They scheduled a press conference for 5 :15 p.m.

Earlier reports that Zimmerman’s lawyers said they did not know where he was did not bother Trayvon’s parents, they said.

“We do have faith in the justice system. When it is time to arrest him, they will find him,” Fulton said.

The announcement of a charge against Zimmerman would come a day after Zimmerman’s attorneys withdrew from the case, citing their inability to contact Zimmerman.

Lawyers Craig Sonner and Hal Uhrig on Tuesday expressed concern about Zimmerman’s emotional and physical well-being, saying he has taken actions without consulting them. They also said they do not know where Zimmerman is.

“You can stop looking in Florida,” Uhrig told reporters. “Look much further away than that.”

Corey said Monday that she would not bring the case before a grand jury, which was expected to convene this week. She said her decision to forgo the grand jury should not be viewed as an indication of whether charges will be filed.

Corey has indicated in recent weeks that she might not need a grand jury to bring charges against Zimmerman.

The lawyers said they stand by their assertions that Zimmerman acted in self-defense when he killed the 17-year-old, who was unarmed, but they acknowledged that they formed their impressions without meeting Zimmerman.

Source: The Washington Post.

Florida State Attorney Angela Corey decided Monday to not use a Grand Jury in the Trayvon Martin shooting death.

The grand jury was expected to release their report on Tuesday as to whether Zimmerman should be charged in the Feb. 26th shooting. The case is now in the hands of special prosecutor Angela Corey.

Ms. Corey said from the beginning that she may not need a grand jury.

According tot he state attorney’s office, the decision “should not be considered a factor in the final determination of the case.”

CONTINUED at CBS Miami.

People who are convinced that George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin for no good reason frequentlysay it’s absurd to suggest that an unarmed 17-year-old could have posed a deadly threat to a 28-year-old man who outweighed him by 100 pounds. According to astory in Monday’s New York Times, however, Zimmerman is only 20 pounds heavier than Martin, who was four inches taller.

The revised numbers by no means show that Zimmerman, a Sanford, Florida, neighborhood watch volunteer, is telling the truth when he says he shot Martin in self-defense on the night of February 26. But given that such basic facts are still a matter of dispute, we should be especially cautious about rushing to judgment on bigger questions like these:

Who started the fight?

It seems clear that Martin would still be alive if Zimmerman had not taken it upon himself to follow a teenager he deemed “real suspicious” in light of recent burglaries attributed to young black men. But Zimmerman claims he was heading back to his SUV when Martin approached him and, after a brief exchange, punched him in the face hard enough to knock him down. Although Martin was understandably nervous (and possibly angry) about being followed, that by itself would not justify the assault Zimmerman describes. But if Zimmerman did more than tail Martin—if he shoved him or displayed his gun, say—he might qualify as the initial aggressor.

Did Zimmerman shoot Martin “in cold blood”?

CONTINUED at Reason. Written by Jacob Sullum.

Enhanced video of George Zimmerman being led into a Florida police station appears to show possible injuries to the back of his head, lending credence to his claim he was in a struggle with Trayvon Martin when he shot the teen.

ABC News initially released video of Zimmerman that did not clearly show marks on his scalp, but had the video enhanced digitally and released a new clip on Monday. That clip appears to show a gash. Zimmerman’s father claims his son was being beaten by the 17-year-old teen when he shot Martin in self-defense. Martin’s supporters say Zimmerman shot the unarmed teen on Feb. 26 after racially profiling him and stalking the youth through his neighborhood.

CONTINUED at Fox News. Video at link.