Friday, 31 Dec 1993 Washington, DC

1. WOULD YOU BE SHOCKED TO LEARN THAT THE LHC COST HAS ESCALATED?
The goals of high-energy physics in the U.S. have not changed in spite of a congressional decision to terminate the SSC. Near the top of the list is exploration of electroweak symmetry breaking at energies and luminosities that are not now available anywhere in the world. That also happens to be a goal of European high-energy physicists; last week, plans for the Large Hadron Collider were presented to CERN's governing council by Carlo Rubbia, the outgoing director-general of CERN, and Llewellyn Smith, who is taking over. The $1.7B price tag may seem modest by comparison with the SSC, but it's 20% higher than earlier estimates. Does this begin to sound familiar? The increase worried delegates from the 19 member countries, and Smith was told to see if there are any non-member countries--like maybe the U.S. or Japan--that could help with the cost in exchange for significant involvement. That would make it a genuinely international project. The price would presumably be about $300M, which is only 3% as much as the SSC was expected to cost. Many of those in Congress who voted against the SSC would welcome an opportunity to prove they aren't anti-science, but it's too late to get it in the FY 1995 budget.

2. "SMART WATER" FLUNKS IF IT'S EXPOSED TO 50 Hz MAGNETIC FIELDS!
The world was literally amazed in 1988 when Jacques Benveniste reported in Nature that an antibody solution continued to evoke biological response--even after it was so diluted that no antibody molecules remained. The water, Benveniste explained, somehow remembered! Now J.C. Foreman et al. report in Nature (9 Dec 93) that they have precisely repeated the experiments, and "no aspect of the data is consistent" with Benveniste's results. Why was Foreman's water dumber than Benveniste's? Maybe it was the power lines. In the fall issue of Frontier Perspectives, published by the Center for Frontier Science at Temple University, Benveniste reported the astonishing observation that the water's memory is totally erased by exposure to 50 Hz magnetic fields. Exposure to scotch and water has been found to produce a similar effect.

3. APS/AIP 1994-95 CONGRESSIONAL SCIENCE FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS
must be complete by 15 Jan 94. Fellows serve for one year on the staff of a member of Congress, or on a Congressional Committee, contributing their perspective as scientists to issues of public policy. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and have a PhD in physics or a closely related field. For more information write to opa@aps.org or phone (301) 209-3094.

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Bob Park can be reached via email at whatsnew@bobpark.org
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Opinions are the author's and are not necessarily shared by the University, but they should be.