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The real wacky racers: Students enter road race with hydrogen-powered 'eco car' made of plywood and cardboard

In any normal race, the car would be disqualified instantly - not only is it made of cardboard and plywood, it's also powered by explosive hydrogen.

But the Shell Eco-Marathon is a hotbed for wacky vehicles - and the plywood car, designed by students at Aston University in Birmingham, is a hot contender. It drew up on the starting grid alongside other eco-friendly vehicles in Kuala Lumpur today.

'The car we are building will be entered into the 'urban concept' category and will be powered by a Nexa Ballard Hydrogen Fuel Cell,' says the team of students behind the vehicle. 

'As it's an eco-marathon, we are trying to be as sustainable as possible in the entire design of the car- making the chassis out of cardboard and plywood and using bio-resin infused fibres for body panels.'

The car was built by a team of undergraduate Engineering and Design students in Birmingham, UK.

It has already won a design award in a competition against 200 design teams from 24 different universities.

Their innovative car, which runs on hydrogen, has a body made from cardboard sandwiched between plywood certified by the British Forestry Commission.

Its tyre covers are made from bio-resin, infused with hessian fibres, with the whole structure collapsible for easy delivery.

Professor Higgs wipes a tear from his eye as fellow scientists find his 'God particle' on 'momentous day for science' - 40 years after he predicted its existence

The search for the 'God particle' is over.

Almost half a century after the existence of the Higgs boson – the particle that holds the universe together and gives it substance – was predicted, jubilant scientists announced that they appear to have found it.

Rolf Heuer, director-general of Cern, the home of the Large Hadron Collider, told a packed auditorium: 'As a layman, I would say we have it.'

He predicted the discovery will shed light on other mysteries of the universe and added: 'We have reached a milestone in our understanding of nature.'

Others compared the significance of the sighting to the first moon landing and to Christopher Columbus discovering America.

Newcastle-born Professor Peter Higgs, who dreamed up the concept of the particle that now bears his name while walking in the Scottish Highlands in 1964, was present at the announcement and wiped a tear from his eye.

He said: 'I never expected this to happen in my lifetime and shall be asking my family to put some champagne in the fridge.'

Stephen Hawking, who had bet $100 (£64) that the Higgs boson would never be found, said: 'This is an important result and should earn Peter Higgs the Nobel prize.'

David Cameron offered his congratulations and said he hoped the breakthrough would inspire a generation of researchers to keep Britain at the forefront of scientific discoveries.

The Higgs boson's role is to give the particles that make up atoms their mass. Without this mass, they would zip around the cosmos, unable to bind together to form the atoms that make stars and planets – and people.

Despite its fabled properties, the particle has eluded previous searches and not all scientists believed in its existence.

Be security conscious, govs tell corps members

CORPS members have been urged to be security conscious throughout their service year.

The 2012 Batch ‘B’ corps members were sworn in across the country on Wednesday with assurances of security by governors.

The take-off of the new service year had been enmeshed in controversies with hundreds of corps members from the South protesting against their deployment in crisis-prone states in the North, but the cancellation of such postings by the Federal Government and security guarantees saved the situation.

Although they were assured of their protection at the swearing-in of the corps members, Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and his Ekiti counterpart, Kayode Fayemi, advised them to always be on the alert.

Amaechi said, “I implore you to be responsible and disciplined citizens of this great country. You must shun cultism, religious intolerance, political violence and any form of anti-social behaviour.

“Above all, I advise you to be security conscious at all times while the state government plays her own part in ensuring your security.”

Fayemi challenged the corps members to assist the government in tackling the security challenges threatening to disintegrate the country.

The governor, who was represented by the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin, said at the Orientation Camp that corps members should dedicate themselves to service.

He said, “You all are aware of the security challenge which is gradually turning our nation into a terrorist nation before the international communities. I charge you to see yourself as an instrument to check this menace.

“Be security conscious at all times. Report any strange movement or package to the law enforcement agents. Security should be our collective responsibility. As you play your part, government too will not leave any stone unturned in ensuring adequate provision for security of lives and property of all citizenry.”

On his part, Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime called for adequate security for corps members in the country.

He appealed to the corps members to strive towards achieving the NYSC objective of national integration despite the security challenges currently facing the country.

Abia State Governor Theodore Orji promised to provide additional facilities at the NYSC permanent orientation camp at Ummunna in Bende Local Government Area of the state.

Orji commended the aurhorities of the scheme for “repacking the scheme toward meeting the current needs of the nation,” especially in entrepreneurial development and new posting policy.

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola said the scheme created in 1973 remained a tool for national unity despite current challenges being faced by the corps.

Aregbesola stated this in an address entitled, ‘Stay on, get on’, which he delivered during the inauguration of NYSC Batch B 2012 members, at NYSC orientation camp, Ede, on Wednesday.