Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer aboard ISS reveals tantalizing hints of dark matter

first!

Two good quotes from the article:

Because it detects particles as opposed to light, the way a telescope would, AMS may also be able to see other cosmic phenomena a telescope cannot.

The data released this week need more study, but at first glance, CERN says, what they have seen so far looks "tantalizingly consistent with dark matter particles."

If that's the case, the AMS may have begun to remove humanity's greatest blindfold.

and

Physicists believe that mental exercise in blindness reflects the reality of our universe, only about 4% of which manifests as the kind of matter and energy we can perceive.

More than 70% consists of so-called dark energy, physicists say, and more than 20% is dark matter, neither of which humans can directly detect so far.

But scientists feel certain it must exist, partly because of the gravity it exerts on the visible universe.

This week, CERN scientists published an analysis of data from the AMS, which detects subatomic particles constantly bombarding Earth. They include exceedingly rare antimatter particles that can result from the breakdown of dark matter.

I don't follow this field closely, but understand the whole dark matter conjecture remains subject to intense speculation, and though the idea of dark matter helps explain some otherwise confusing phenomena, it's not impossible that research of this type will debunk the hypothesis and a new theory will take form.

Interesting times - if "genius" politicians see fit to continue funding science of this sort. It has no immediate economic, military, or commercial effect, which means it scientists must constantly struggle to defend continued research in these fields.

This not only discusses it, but has a link to the actual Phys Rev Letters paper. Jester (the blogger) thinks it may be a more mundane explanation than dark matter, but still an interesting one.

http://resonaances.blogspot.com/2014/09/dark-matter-or-pulsars-ams-hints-its.html