After several thousands of years of history, there still are no answers to these questions.  I doubt the Higgs Boson finally provide the answer.  My bets are not on the graviton, either.

After an almost pathological number of years of ontological concerns, I have drifted just in the last few years towards an atiyoga (aka dzogchen) perspective on these matters.  This was foreshadowded by even more years of near-social exile ... there are few easier ways to alienate oneself from friends and family than ending a discussion by saying that not everything has to have an answer.

Of course, this fits right into a philosophical system that has non-dualism as a major tenet: there is nothing to be observed, since there is not an observer.  For me, this was the next logical step that took place from believing that everything is merely a chemical reaction in my mind.  In atiyoga, it "said" that the ultimate is simply "naked awareness", " a state of pure and total presence", a unity of cognizance and emptiness.  So who is there to even ask questions about this stuff?  Nobody's home.

Entheogens have provided a major push for me in this direction (as have some way cool people from this website).  With all that assistance, my "meditation" practice has gotten way deeper, to the point where I can finally unplug my mind for big parts of the day - and night - with or without them.  I'm not saying entheogens are  an essential part of everyone's investigation into these kind of questions, but over history, for those who are interested, there is evidence that many psychonauts have at one time or another used them as an aid.