CERN confirms faster-than-light neutrino results were erroneous

Cosmic order restored as results caused by fault measurement equipment

Cosmic order has been restored after European physics agency CERN confirmed that shock results seen last year that seemed to show neutrino particles travelling faster than the speed of light were in fact erroneous.

The results caused shockwaves in the physics world when they were first unveiled, although even then many were dubious the results were accurate and CERN promised to carry out more tests.

The first of these that took place in March began to cast doubt on the initial findings, with the neutrinos failing to replicate their incredible speed. A second round of tests recently carried out confirmed the revised measurements.

"Although this result isn't as exciting as some would have liked it is what we all expected deep down," said CERN research director Sergio Bertolucci as he unveiled the new findings at a conference in Kyoto, Japan.

"The story captured the public imagination, and has given people the opportunity to see the scientific method in action - an unexpected result was put up for scrutiny, thoroughly investigated and resolved in part thanks to collaboration between normally competing experiments."

He also confirmed that a faulty fibre connector was the cause of the shock measurements.

Staff at CERN are currently busy searching for the Higgs Boson, the so-called God's particle, which could prove a huge leap forward in our understanding of the universe and its creation.