Supersymmetry theory at risk as LHC fails to detect predicted superparticles

Nature : The latest results from the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland are casting doubt on the theory of supersymmetry (SUSY), which was developed to help resolve problems with the standard model of particle physics, writes Geoff Brumfiel for Nature. Colliders have failed to turn up direct evidence of the superparticles predicted by the theory, such as supersymmetrical quarks or the Higgs boson. Theorists can still make SUSY work, but only by assuming very specific masses for the superparticles—the kind of fine-tuning exercise that the theory was invented to avoid. If SUSY is not discovered, theoretical physicists will have to go back to the drawing board and find an alternative way to solve the problems with the standard model.