Is this the first glimpse of dark matter? Data point excites physicists An experiment spots an energy flash similar to that of the long-sought weakly interacting massive particle, or WIMP. By Davide Castelvecchi

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01985-9?utm_source=Live+Audience&utm_campaign=9803e5de03-nature-briefing-daily-20260902&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-33f35e09ea-50432164 A single data point from a dark-matter detector in the United States could be the first discovery of the elusive particle we call dark matter. The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota contains 10 tonnes of liquid xenon. It seeks evidence of a candidate particle called a WIMP (weakly interacting massive particle) by looking for flashes created when such a particle collides with the nucleus of just one xenon atom. If the finding can be backed up with more data, it could mean that the material that seems to make up most of the mass of the Universe has finally been discovered.