Study claims to provide first direct evidence of dark matter

Prof Totani says gamma rays emanating from the centre of the Milky Way appear to bear the signature of dark matter. Photograph: NASA, Caltech, Susan Stolovy (SSC, Caltech)

Nearly a century ago, scientists proposed that a mysterious invisible substance they named dark matter clumped around galaxies and formed a cosmic web across the universe.

What dark matter is made from, and whether it is even real, are still open questions, but according to a study, the first direct evidence of the substance may finally have been glimpsed.