Zeptoverse signals detected as Gershon says UK involvement is at risk
British scientists at CERN detect signals from nature’s smallest explored scale, but UKRI withdraws its share of planned £150m upgrade funding
Scientists have detected signals from the smallest scale of nature ever explored, a realm 100 billion times smaller than an atom that some physicists have nicknamed the zeptoverse, in research that could aid the hunt for dark matter. The discovery, made by scientists based in Cambridge using CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), came as Prof Tim Gershon said the UK’s full involvement in the research would be in doubt because of the cuts, after UKRI withdrew its share of funding for a planned detector upgrade.