Decades after it was first theorized, scientists have proven the existence of the Higgs boson, or “God Particle” that is responsible for creating mass. The achievement confirms the standard model of physics and can potentially lead to explanations as to how mass in the Universe came to be.

The discovery was made by experiments running through the giant Large Hadron Collider at the Swiss research facility. Two teams had independently observed a particle consistent with the Higgs, which has until now been theoretical.

The Higgs boson was predicted by Edinburgh-based particle physicist Peter Higgs in the mid-1960s. Higgs was in the audience at this morning's press conference.