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The problem with string theory, according to some physicists, is that it makes too many universes. It predicts not one but some 10500 versions of spacetime, each with their own laws of physics. But with so many universes on the table, how can the theory explain why ours has the features it does? Now some theorists suggest most—if not all—of those universes are actually forbidden, at least if we want them to have stable dark energy, the supposed force accelerating the expansion of the cosmos. To some, eliminating so many possible universes is not a drawback but a major step...

Ever since the late 1960s when Vera Rubin and Kent Ford discovered that galaxies don't behave the way they should, scientists have been looking for the mysterious substance behind that behavior. That theoretical stuff is called dark matter, and while it's invisible to telescopes, it has mass, which means it can show its might through the force of gravity. Of course, that's all theoretical. Some might even say it's a little too convenient, as if scientists just came up with a magical substance that makes the math work. What makes us so sure that dark matter is even a thing?...

"We Truly Don't Know What It Is" --Mystery Milky-Way Spectrum of Light Observed 'Not Produced By Any Known Emission' April 17, 2018   "We use special telescopes to catch X-ray light in the sky, and while looking at these X-rays, the telescopes noticed an unexpected feature and captured a spectrum of light, which is not produced by any known atomic emission," said University of Miami astrophysicist Nico Cappelluti. "This emission line is now called the 3.5 kiloelectron volt (keV). One interpretation of this emission line is that it's produced by the decay of dark matter." "This 3.5 keV emission line is...

China hopes to create a 'mini biosphere' on the dark side of the Moon, with flowers and silkworms sustaining each other as they grow on the lifeless lunar surface. The unprecedented plan to create life in outer space is the most intriguing part of China's lunar probe mission later this year, and could be a major boost for dreams that humans will one day live on the Moon.

The discovery of NGC 1052-DF2 has led scientists on the quest for more dark matter-deficient galaxies. What really makes up the rare and mysterious DF2 galaxy? Dark matter supposedly composes 27 percent of the cosmos, but the newly discovered DF2 galaxy, has none of it. New Galaxy In TownScientists researching ultra-diffuse galaxies have spotted a large, sparse galaxy in the northern constellation of Cetus. The mysterious galaxy is almost as big as the Milky Way but has only 1 percent of its stars. The galaxy is almost empty except for densely clustered stars moving very slow at an estimate of...

Idaho is moving forward with plans to establish the first International Dark Sky Reserve in the United States, a designation for a location so remote from light pollution that you can even see the "interstellar dust clouds" of the Milky Way in the night sky, The Associated Press reports. Proponents of the reserve plan to file an application this fall to designate 1,400 square miles of central Idaho as part of the dark sky territory. Locals, who would voluntarily take measures to reduce light pollution, are almost unanimously behind the decision in part because they enjoy the celestial splendor as...

No more tingles. Chris Matthews is clearly missing the tingle. There is no longer a thrill running up his leg. Like a jilted lover, he desperately desires to be wooed once more and, apparently, he was hoping that President Donald Trump would do that in his inaugural address. It seems Trump was too harsh and abrupt in his speechmaking. Tingles was left unsatisfied, and came away disappointed.

The media have been clucking their disapproval at the “darkness” of Donald Trump’s inaugural speech. “Uniquely dark vision of the U.S.,” read a New York Times headline on Saturday. The Washington Post reported that “Trump delivered a dark inaugural address” — adding, somewhat contradictorily — “in which he pledged fealty to all Americans.” A New York Times op-ed by a former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton decried Trump’s “dark, counterfactual picture of ‘American carnage’: an economy in decline, communities under siege by ‘the crime and the gangs and the drugs.’” A New York Times editorial, “President Trump’s Dystopian America,” scoffed...

Terry Moran of ABC News put on his crypto-fascist hat and declared President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech had “overtones” of the 1930s “anti-Semitic movement” because the President dared to put the words “America’ and “first” together. Moran began by conceding Trump’s message was “why he was sent here, by people who want to hear that message of America first.” “However, it carries with it overtones from the 1930s, when an anti-Semitic movement saying, ‘We don’t want to get involved in Europe’s war. It’s the Jews’ fault in Germany,’” he pontificated, before adding ominously, “Charles Lindbergh led them.” “It is a...

During MSNBC’s coverage of Friday’s Inauguration, anchor Rachel Maddow stated that President Trump’s Inaugural Address “was militant, and it was dark,” and “America First” “means a specific thing in this country,” the “infiltrated by Nazis” and “anti-Semitic” America First Committee, and “to re-purpose it now, not that far down the historical path, it’s hard.” Maddow said, “This was a workman-like speech. He — it was short and he went through it quickly, and it was militant, and it was dark, the crime, the gangs, the drugs, this American carnage, disrepair, decay. You can’t imagine the outgoing president giving a speech...

This could change everything. Back in 2011, three astronomers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery that the Universe wasn’t just expanding - it was expanding at an accelerating rate. The discovery led to the widespread acceptance of the idea that our Universe is dominated by a mysterious force called dark energy, and altered the standard model of cosmology forever. But now physicists say this discovery might have been false, and they have a much larger dataset to back them up. For a bit of background on the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, it was shared between...

The discovery of two massive holes punched through a stream of stars could help answer questions about the nature of dark matter, the mysterious substance holding galaxies together. Researchers have detected two massive holes which have been ‘punched’ through a stream of stars just outside the Milky Way, and found that they were likely caused by clumps of dark matter, the invisible substance which holds galaxies together and makes up a quarter of all matter and energy in the universe. The scientists, from the University of Cambridge, found the holes by studying the distribution of stars in the Milky Way....

Astronomers Discover New Galaxy That Is 99.99% Dark Matter ​Scientists hope this new galaxy could help uncover the truth about dark matter. NASA 149 A team of astronomers at the Keck Observatory in Maunakea, Hawaii, have discovered a massive galaxy made of 99.99 percent dark matter.The galaxy, called Dragonfly 44, is part of a collection of galaxies discovered a year ago by the same team. These galaxies are the same size and shape of regular galaxies, but contain far fewer stars. And now we know why: they're made almost entirely of dark matter. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Mysterious Origins...

Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent had to retire to his fainting couch after watching Donald Trump’s debut ad for the general election. “This morning, Trump released his first general election ad, an ugly and dishonest production which shows he isn’t changing a thing,” wrote Sargent. “In fact, the new ad is filled with precisely the same sort of dark, dystopian themes and content – and even some of the same sort of grainy, dark footage depicting illegal immigrants as invaders – that marked one of the first ads he ran during the GOP primaries.” “That,” Sargent declares, “says it...

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Wind gusts, heavy rain and lightning have forced people to evacuate the media tents outside of the Wells Fargo Center and take shelter less than an hour before the opening gavel on the final night of the Democratic National Convention. Officials say that the media tents in the vicinity of the Wells Fargo Center are not designed to fully protect people in the event of a direct lightening strike. They’re strongly recommending that people leave their tents due to lightening that becomes a concern when the strikes are within a six-mile radius of the DNC and evacuate...

Dozens of Bernie Sanders delegates walked out of their Democratic National Convention and many promised to leave the political party in protest. Vincent Venditti, a George delegate pledged to Sanders, said outside the Wells Fargo Center that he considers himself an independent effectively immediately. Vincent Venditti, a #Bernie delegate, walked out of the #DemConvention. He is leaving to protest. And he's now a IND pic.twitter.com/kjbgHBrB0f — Brian X. McCrone (@BrianXMcCrone) July 26, 2016 Their protest and subsequent exodus from the Democratic Party is in line with hundreds of protesters outside the security perimeter, who said Hillary Clinton's nomination as the...

<p>Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said she was saddened by chants at the Republican Convention calling for her incarceration for the use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.</p> <p>“It felt very sad,” Mrs. Clinton said an interview on CBS “60 Minutes.”</p>

The three networks on Thursday night immediately derided Donald Trump’s “dark speech” as one coming from a “vengeful” “demagogue.” On NBC, Tom Brokaw allowed that “some” will see Trump as on a “white horse who will lead them to some kind of sanctuary and then pull the drawbridge up.” But he sneered, “Others looking in are going to see someone they will only think as a demagogue of some kind.” Chuck Todd labeled, “I thought it was an extraordinarily dark speech.” Republican operative Nicolle Wallace lamented, “We are now represented as a party by a man who believes in protectionism,...

But while multiple countries have now suspended the bloc's beloved Schengen in an effort to "stop the madness," as it were, it's too late to stop the chaos. As we've documented extensively, Europe was remarkably resilient in the wake of the Paris attacks, but after New Year's Eve, when (rightly or wrongly) adult male Mid-East asylum seekers garnered a reputation for sexual assault, sentiment soured. Markedly. Since then, the entirety of the EU has been on high alert. Not for terrorists, but for sexual predators of "foreign origin." One particularly divisive issue is the extent to which officials have tended...