Huge excitement in the physics community

Fermi lab, the only US atom smasher

A potential discovery has physicists watching Fermi lab closely. At the only US atom smasher, evidence may have surfaced for a new force of nature -- something utterly unknown to science. From an article on physorg.com:

"There could be some new force beyond the force that we know," said Giovanni Punzi, a physicist with the international research team that is analyzing the data from the US Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

"If it is confirmed, it could point to a whole new world of interactions," he told AFP.

New discoveries, new science, new breakthroughs -- the kind of thing that can change the course of civilization. But there's a fly in the works:

The US machine began its work in the mid 1980s, and is scheduled for shutdown later this year when its funding runs dry.

That's right. Congress refused to allocate $100-million to keep Fermi lab going. Note that this amount of money is one-third of what it costs to run the war in Afghanistan for one day. 

Cutting-edge science is being conducted at Fermi lab. And Congress just shut it down. (Hat tip to Steven D at Booman Tribune.)