A Japanese team of scientists from the High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation in Tsukuba, have found a sub-atomic particle that does not fit in with present energy and matter theories. The find has been confirmed by US scientists from Illinois.

Named X(3872), the particle can only be seen for approximately one billionth of a trillionth of a second. It then decays into longer-lived particles scientists are more familiar with. The world's physics community is very interested in X(3872).

X(3872) can't be sorted easily into any known particle scheme. Theoretical physicists may have to re-define the "colour" force, also called the "strong" force. Alternatively they could make X(3872) the first example of a new type of meson.

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