'God Particle' closer to being located, scientists say

European scientists announced a major breakthrough on Tuesday (Dec. 13) as they closed in on the area where the hypothetical "God Particle" was created. These findings may help to determine more about the origin of the universe.

Using the Large Hadron Collider, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (a.k.a. CERN) have been creating conditions similar to the Big Bang, which they estimate occurred nearly 14 billion years ago. This has allowed them to focus on the particle known as Higgs boson, which essentially explains why bodies have mass.

"These are intriguing hints but please be cautious - we have not found it or excluded it yet," says Rolf-Dieter Heuer, director-general of CERN.

The scientific community is excited about the news because finding the Higgs boson could lead to uncovering new physics including dark matter.