Higgs boson announcement: Vern scientists discover subatomic particle

Scientists gather for a major announcement in Cern, home of the Large Hadron Collider

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/video/2012/jul/03/what-is-a-higgs-boson-video

What happens inside the Large Hadron Collider. Scientists at Cern, near Geneva, have this morning announced the likely discovery of the Higgs boson particle. Photograph: Cern

7.17am: Good morning all.

Two teams of physicists at the Cern laboratory near Geneva are preparing today to announce their latest efforts to discover the Higgs boson.
Participants take a rest early before the opening of the seminar. Photograph: Denis Balibouse/AFP/Getty Images The elusive "God particle" has become the most sought-after particle in modern science. Its discovery would be proof of an invisible energy field that fills the vacuum of space, and excitement in the scientific community is at fever pitch.
Peter Higgs, the Edinburgh University physicist who proposed the idea of the particle in 1964, is flying in to Geneva, as are two other men who published similar theories at around the same time: François Englert, professor emeritus at the Free University of Brussels (ULB) in Belgium, and Tom Kibble, professor emeritus at Imperial College London.
There have been rumours, speculation, and, last night, even an apparent leak from the laboratory when a video announcing the discovery of a new particle was accidentally posted on its website.
The Guardian's Ian Sample has flown to Geneva and I'll be live-blogging this potentially historic morning on this page.

7.38am: Now, two video links for your viewing pleasure.

This one is to Cern's own live stream from where the scientific session is due to start at 9am local time (8am British time) - and subsequent press conference - will be held.
And here is a video from the Guardian's own resident boffin, science correspondent Ian Sample. Heroically, he attempts to explain the Higgs boson by means of a tray from our canteen and some coloured ping pong balls.
British physicist Peter Higgs (right) arrives at the seminar. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

7.52am: Clapping for Peter Higgs, who has just arrived in the auditorium. Now, the anticipation mounts.

8.02am: And we're off. First up is Joe Incandela, the leader of the team using the CMS detector to search for new particles. He'll be followed by Fabiola Gianotti from the other team using the Atlas detector.

He says the results are "very strong, very solid".