could CERN really end all life as we know it?

I read this article awhile back.

What does CERN mean for the future of the universe?

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, also known as CERN, is the world's largest particle physics laboratory. That means CERN studies the tiniest particles in the universe. CERN uses some of the world's most advanced equipment to do this, including the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). By studying the fundamental forms of energy and matter, CERN hopes to learn more abo­ut how the universe works.

While CERN is mainly concerned with the fundamental particles of the universe and the laws of nature, it has also spawned other notable advances in science. For example, in 1989, a scientist named Tim Berners-Lee proposed the creation of a distributed information system. That system evolved into what we call the World Wide Web. In fact, the world's first Web page was for CERN [source: CERN].

Still, most of the work done at CERN is meant to do one thing: increase human knowledge of the universe. Many scientists conduct experiments simply to learn more about how the laws of nature work with no thought to applicability. Scientists sometimes call this pure research. That's because the scientists have no motive beyond increasing knowledge itself.

Today, 20 European member states run CERN. These countries share the responsibility of funding CERN as well as the privilege of guiding activities at CERN facilities. Other countries also partner with CERN, using the laboratories for experiments and research.

Many scientists are excited over the prospect of CERN's research, particularly as the Large Hadron Collider prepares to come online. The LHC might shed light on some mysteries that have puzzled physicists going all the way back to Einstein and beyond. But according to some people, it might also bring about the end of the Earth.

How can one organization using a machine like the Large Hadron Collider solve universal mysteries, and could CERN really end all life as we know it?

Anythoughts?

Sort of but no.

Colliders are simply a tool for scientific advancement, no different than other machines designed to test fundamentals of the universe. Will the knowledge gained from the colliders one day benefit people greatly? The answer, probably, but the theoretical physics from the process will still need to be translated into mathematics, applicable physics, and most importantly chemistry.

Colliders are built up to be huge complex devices which will transform the human understanding because people need justification as to why we're spending billions on machines who's primary output is knowledge.

If you are interested in scientific change happening now, you should look into antimicrobial polymers and Nanotechnology.

Antimicrobial polymers offer drug treatment with significantly lower risk of bacteria becoming resident to them but the field is laded with all sorts of issues.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicrobial_polymers

This is a link to a Nova series coming out this January. I was given an opportunity to watch a few episodes of the show before there release date but the subject of the episodes (a condensed version if you will) are available at the link below.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3209/03-canc-nf.html

Im confused...why are people saying that it would stop existence?

quote:

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The experiments at the Large Hadron Collider sparked fears among the public that the particle collisions might produce doomsday phenomena, involving the production of stable microscopic black holes or the creation of hypothetical particles called strangelets.

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wikipedia