Higgs gets mass
The search for the Higgs boson got a boost last week. The D0 and CDF experiments at Fermilab鈥檚 Tevatron collider in Batavia, Illinois, published three papers in Physical Review Letters showing that the 鈥淕od particle鈥� must have a mass between 115 and 150 gigaelectronvolts.
Space panorama
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The International Space Station has had a 鈥減enthouse鈥� upgrade. Last week, shuttle astronauts added a new module called Tranquility and a swanky observation dome called Cupola. The dome has seven windows and gives astronauts a panoramic view of Earth and space.
Phantom menace
The US Missile Defense Agency has finally shot down a moving missile with an airborne laser, but military experts say the system 鈥� once known as 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� 鈥� is not good enough for combat. That鈥檚 because the system only works if it gets within a few hundred kilometres of a missile less than 2 minutes after launch.
King Tut鈥檚 mummy
The most comprehensive analysis yet of DNA from the remains of Tutankhamen and 10 of his close relatives has established that two previously unnamed mummies are indeed his mother and father, and two fetuses his daughters. The analyses suggest that Tutankhamen probably died aged 19 from a leg fracture followed by a malaria infection (Journal of the American Medical Association, vol 303, p 638).
Prostate cancer zap
Men with incurable prostate cancer have responded well to a drug called abiraterone, which shrank or stabilised tumours for an average of six months in the 47 subjects. The best existing treatment extends life by only two or three months. Five of the 47 are still taking the drug three years on and a much larger trial is now planned.