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You’ve probably heard of theHiggs boson. This elusive particle was predicted to exist long ago and helped explain why the universe works the way it does, but it took decades for us to detect. Well, there’s another elusive particle that has also been predicted by quantum physics, and it’s been missing for an even longer time. In fact, we still haven’t spotted one, and not through lack of trying. It’s called the magnetic monopole, and it has a few unique properties that make it rather special....

Curious Kidsis a series byThe Conversationthat gives children the chance to have their questions about the world answered by experts. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it tocuriouskids@theconversation.comand make sure you include the asker’s first name, age and town or city. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we’ll do our very best. Why can’t we put a space station on the Moon?...

So, Charlie Sheen may not have had a great past few years, but he’s having a great week on Twitter, soaring past the million follower mark in just over 24 hours. Naturally,SimplyMeasured, our friends who love everything about measuring social media usedExport.lyto analyze his first 500K followers. Their take-away? Twitter Inc. loves celebs. Twitter employees were amid his early followers, then a broad, inactive audience followed, and finally the celebrity community jumped on board to jumpstart Sheen to Twitter WINNING status....

We constantly hear aboutFacebook wanting to enter China, but how about the possibility of Chinese social networks opening up to the rest of the world? Just to make things clear, Chinese social networks are NOT blocked, banned or censored outside of the country. They are simply not available in English, which is an obstacle that hinders non-Chinese speaking users from registering and using the service, and in this case even Google Translate might not be able to help....

Why cities must narrow car lanes to make room for pedestrians The Third Lane and increased mobility For one, the Third Lane represents the freedom of physical mobility. We’ve long known that bikes and scooters—vehicles built to human scale—travelfaster through cities than cars and motorcycles. They’re lighter, nimbler and more streamlined, making them significantly less susceptible to the traffic congestion that’s become so prevalent on city streets. They’re also much easier to park....