CERN

CERN’s new chief on the gamble that could fix our picture of reality

When Mark Thomson was 13, he read a book about the European Organization for Nuclear Research, better known as CERN, a particle physics lab whose remit was to interrogate the fabric of reality. The book left him both fascinated by how the universe worked and frustrated by its lack of detail. More than 40 years later, Thomson is CERN’s director general, taking charge just as it shuts down the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) for upgrades and decides where to place its next multibillion-pound bet.

Castor: CERN Advanced STORage Manager

The CERN Advanced STORage manager (CASTOR) is a hierarchical storage (i.e. has disk and tape) management system which was developed at CERN for archiving physics data (with very large data volumes, see the plot on the right). Files can be stored, listed, retrieved and remotely accessed using CASTOR command-line tools or user applications that were developed using the CASTOR API. CASTOR provides a set of access protocols such as XROOT (the main and recommended protocol) and GridFTP.

Development and integration of the NA64-DTC automation controller for the CERN "DESY Table'' motorized platform

arXiv:2606.02148v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We report on the development, construction, and integration of a remote automation controller \texttt{NA64-DTC} for the so-called ``DESY Table'' motorised platform widely used at CERN East-Area and North-Area experimental installations. The device is based on an ESP32-C3 System-on-Module that interfaces with the table manual control panel via a signal duplication connector.

Rechalking beloved Cerne Giant is a sticky process – and climate crisis is making it worse

Volunteers are undertaking the difficult task of rechalking the Cerne Giant in Dorset to maintain its visibility across the countryside. However, the process is becoming more challenging due to the climate crisis, which is making the giant appear duller and potentially more fragile. Consequently, the traditional methods of restoration have needed to be adapted.

UK re-chalks Dorset's famed and feisty Cerne Abbas Giant

Britain's National Trust is working on replacing the chalk outline of the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset. The Saxon-era carving depicts a club-wielding man "still standing tall," as the charity puts it.

Rechalking beloved Cerne Giant is a sticky process – and climate crisis is making it worse

Ben Jennings on the Cerne Giant – cartoon

British naked chalk giant gets spruced up

British naked chalk giant gets spruced up Andrew Zinin Lead Editor Getting hot and sweaty in a British heat wave, volunteers from home and abroad have been hard at work all week to restore a historic naked chalk giant dubbed "Rude Man" on a hillside in southwest England. The 180-foot (55-meter) Cerne Abbas Giant, carved into the side of a chalk hill in Dorset, is restored around every decade to prevent it from fading into the grassy landscape. "Typically, we carry out this work every 10...

Archi: Agentic Operations at the CMS Experiment

arXiv:2606.04755v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: We present Archi, an open-source, end-to-end framework for scientific collaborations that combines the systematic ingestion and organization of heterogeneous data sources with the deployment of configurable, private, and extensible agents that retrieve and reason over them. An instance of Archi has been deployed for the Computing Operations team of the CMS experiment at CERN's LHC since February 2026 as a support agent for technical...

UK: Cerner Abbas’ iconic chalk giant gets first major makeover

UK conservation teams are restoring the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset, one of the country's most recognisable historic landmarks, using 17 tonnes of wet chalk to renew the figure's fading outline.