Large Hadron Collider back online and searching for dark matter after two-year upgrade

The Large Hadron Collider
(Image credit: PIERRE ALBOUY / Reuters / Corbis)

After a two-year shutdown to make improvements and upgrades, the Large Hadron Collider is back online as scientists embark on a new mission to unlock elemental mysteries of the universe. For the first time since 2013, scientists from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) this weekend shot particle beams through the enormous machine's 16.8-mile tunnel.

"It's fantastic to see it going so well after two years and such a major overhaul," Rolf Heuer, CERN's director general, said.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.