Corralling the Mass Maker: Hunting ground shifts for elusive particle

It was the year 2000, and scientists at a European particle collider observed possible traces of the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson-the presumed origin of mass itself and the most-wanted quarry in high-energy physics today. Despite a feverish search for confirming evidence, they came up empty-handed (SN: 12/9/00, p.