Neutrino stories move faster than the speed of science

Journalists reporting that neutrinos can travel faster than the speed of light have jumped the gun and done a disservice to scienceA little before six last night, Reuters tweeted a report stating that Italian scientists had detected tiny particles called 'neutrinos' moving faster than the speed of light (paper). If true, they have witnessed a phenomenon that, according to established theory, should be impossible. If. Within hours of Reuters' tweet, a chorus of physicists had expressed their reservations, culminating this morning in Professor Jim Al-Khalili bravely threatening to eat his boxer shorts live on television if the findings are correct. Science; red in tooth, claw and underpants.More, er, detailed critiques have come from Czech physicist Luboš Motl, particle physicist Ben Still, and Phil "Bad Astronomer" Plait, with New Scientist publishing a suitably sceptical article this morning. Twitter's reaction was, inevitably, a humorous hashtag, #mundaneneutrinoexplanations: @alinasnd: Neutrinos going...

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