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Cern, the European particle physics laboratory, will lose its place as a front-runner in fundamental particle research because some member states refuse to increase their contributions, laboratory staff have warned.

On the same day that Cern celebrated the achievements of LEP, its flagship particle accelerator, a pessimistic message about the future of the organisation was voiced by the staff association of Cern.

Citing repeated budget cuts and a forecast 1,000 job losses over the next ten years, it called on member states to follow the United States and Japan and "double their public expenditure on fundamental research".