Since the 1930s scientists have been searching for particles that are simultaneously matter and antimatter. Now physicists have found strong evidence for one such entity inside a superconducting material. The discovery could represent the first so-called "Majorana particle," and may help researchers encode information for quantum computers.

As opposed to particles found in a vacuum, unattached to other matter, these Majoranas are what's called "emergent particles." They emerge from the collective properties of the surrounding matter and could not exist outside the superconductor. The discovery could have implications for searches for free Majorana particles outside of superconducting materials. Many physicists suspect neutrinos-very lightweight particles with the strange ability to alter their identities, or flavors-are Majorana particles, and experiments are ongoing to investigate whether this is the case. Now that we know Majorana particles can exist inside superconductors, it might not be surprising to find them in nature.

ICANN made its decision last week on a number of high-profile top-level domain names. And of 17 names, only 4 were attributed to a community-run group who will oversee them.

o pass the test, each dot-word applicant had to prove they represented a specific community related to the word. If successful, they would be given priority over anyone else that had applied for the same top-level domain name.

Considering the commercial possibilities of domains ending with "music", "tennis", "art" and others - with recent auctions for gTLDs reaching into the millions of dollars - the stakes are high. And with a high bar of 14 out of 16 points required to pass the test, most failed.

The dot-words that did not pass the community test will move forward to an auction some time next year, and those with the deepest pockets will be able to snap them up.

Two interesting conclusions: of those names rejected, the field is now open for them to be managed by commercial, not community interests. And secondly, the playing field is now open for just about any domain name on earth. Let the dollars flow, eh gentlemen?