Dark matter is thought to make up around a quarter of the universe, but so far it has eluded detection by all scientific instruments. Scientists know it must exist because of the ways galaxies move and it also explains the large-scale structure of the modern universe. But no-one knows what dark matter actually is.
Scientists have been hunting for dark matter particles for decades, but have so far had no luck. At the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held recently in Denver, a new generation of researchers presented their latest tools, techniques and ideas to step up the search for this mysterious substance. Will they finally detect the undetectable?
Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Don Lincoln, senior scientist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Christopher Karwin, a fellow at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center; Josef Aschbacher, boss of the European Space Agency; Michael Murra of Columbia University; Jodi Cooley, executive director of SNOLAB; Deborah Pinna of University of Wisconsin and CERN.
Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+
If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Crimes seen: The ICC chases Israel and Hamas
Succession unplanned: Iran’s president killed
The Weekend Intelligence: Bombay, open city?
Swat off the press: Meta v Canada’s news ploy
Boiling over: an attempt on the Slovakian PM’s life
Expenses claims: Trump’s hush-money trial
Run part one: Why are Chinese people running to Japan?
The morale of the story: Ukraine’s front lines
Fear on draft: Ukraine’s fraught mobilisation
The Weekend Intelligence: Baseball at the border
The Intelligence: The next stage of the tech wars
The Intelligence: Singapore’s “4G” era
The Intelligence: Supercharging India’s economy
The Intelligence: Truce talk
The Intelligence: Mandela’s vision, tested
The Intelligence: Our meeting with Macron
The Intelligence: The kids are alright, turns out
Babbage: Teens and their screens
The Intelligence: Going back to raid school
The Intelligence: Dengue’s grip on Latin America
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Unhedged
FT News Briefing
The Fin
The World in Brief from The Economist
Behind the Money