Hot on the trails of the mysterious monopole - physics-math - 04 September 2009 - New Scientist

Hot on the trails of the mysterious monopole: "Spin ice is a kind of crystalline material with essentially the same atomic arrangements as water ice. Last year, researchers demonstrated that certain states of spin ice would create monopoles that rove about the crystal. The monopoles would be seen as disturbances moving through the spins of atoms within the crystal.  Now two separate groups claim to have seen just that."