WASHINGTON, July 4, 2008 (AFP) - Einstein's theory of general relativity holds up, according to astrophysicists who tested it against a unique cosmological configuration of two pulsars orbiting each other.

Pulsars are small and extremely dense stellar objects left behind after massive stars explode.

GENEVA, May 27, 2008 (AFP) - European particle physics laboratory CERN is set to launch its gigantic experiment which hopes to throw light on the origins of the universe within a month, the laboratory's head said Tuesday.

PARIS, May 7, 2008 (AFP) - An orbital X-ray telescope has found a chunk of matter in the universe whose existence had long been theorised but evidence for which had been lacking, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Wednesday.

The discovery made by ESA's XMM-Newton telescope is part of so-called baryonic matter, which comprises less than five percent of the cosmos.

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2008 (AFP) - US physicist John Wheeler, one of Albert Einstein's last collaborators who helped build the atomic bomb and gave black holes their name, died at the weekend, his family said. He was 96.

GENEVA, April 7, 2008 (AFP) - British scientist Peter Higgs, whose work is the cornerstone of modern physics, said Monday he is putting champagne on ice in the hope a new experiment confirms his theories on how the universe works.

GENEVA, April 6, 2008 (AFP) - More than 60,000 people this weekend visited the immense cathedral of cables and steel at CERN, Europe's atom-smashing laboratory that could soon unleash some secrets of the universe.

GENEVA, March 24, 2008 (AFP) - Following is a mission profile of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's biggest atom-smasher, which is nearing completing at the CERN particle physics lab in Geneva:

GENEVA, March 24, 2008 (AFP) - The world's biggest atom-smasher, now close to completion at the CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) laboratory near Geneva, is a study in big numbers:

GENEVA, March 24, 2008 (AFP) - Mighty things are going on at CERN, Europe's atom-smashing laboratory.

Below ground, in a vast circular tunnel below the French-Swiss border near Geneva, the final pieces of a gigantic machine are being set in place for an extraordinary investigation into the infinitely small.

TOKYO, March 21, 2008 (AFP) - In an unprecedented experiment, a Japanese astronaut has thrown a boomerang in space and confirmed it flies back much like on Earth.

Astronaut Takao Doi 'threw a boomerang and saw it come back' during his free time on March 18 at the International Space Station, a spokeswoman at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said on Friday.