article_snippet: And one outcome of the research is that dark matter might not actually be composed of particles, as previously thought.
article_snippet: Researchers in Switzerland and the UK the UK mapped dark matter in clusters (shown in blue), and discovered that dark matter might be 'weirder than we thought'.
article_snippet: Surprisingly, the research discovered that dark matter
article_snippet: Called 'dark matter', this substance appears to make up at least 80 per cent of the matter in the known universe.
article_snippet: More importantly, the study challenges the view that dark matter consists of proton-like particles - or perhaps any particles whatsoever.
article_snippet: The implications for dark matter are that it rules out some models of particle dark matter, for example it challenges the idea that dark matter is made of an equivalent 'dark proton' that is exchanging 'dark photons’,’ said Dr Harvey.
article_snippet: To say we can conclude that dark matter is not a particle is too far, but we are challenging many models of dark matter, and a particle remains to be seen whether dark matter is a particle as many lines of research are yet to prove this.
article_snippet: One theory is that perhaps the theory of gravity, first proposed by Einstein, is wrong - and dark matter doesn’t actually exist at all.
article_snippet: All of our evidence for dark matter so far comes from its supposed gravitational effect on galaxies - but if our models of gravity are wrong, then this could be false evidence.
article_snippet: Alternatively, dark matter could be some kind of fluid, rather than a particle with a property in space,’ Dr Massey said.
article_snippet: Another theory is that dark matter is made out of ‘glue balls’, which are a conglomeration of smaller particles
article_snippet: But the fascinating conclusion was that dark matter does not interact with itself - or, perhaps, even other matter - in ways we would think.
article_snippet: added that it was ‘embarrassing’ that our knew so little about dark matter, despite seeming to be a ‘parallel universe’ that was far more important than our own.
article_snippet: And from their study, the researchers conclude that dark matter is even ‘weirder than we first thought.
article_snippet: The fascinating conclusion was that dark matter does not interact with itself - or, perhaps, even other matter - in ways our would think possible.
article_snippet: Although its accounts for 90 per cent of all matter in the universe and more than a quarter of its energy, scientists still know very little about dark matter.
article_snippet: One major idea among astronomers is that dark matter consists of a new subatomic particle that we haven't discovered yet.
article_snippet: More exotic theories want dark matter to be a quantum defect from the birth of the universe, extra-dimensional mass, or even a modified form of gravity.
article_snippet: What we do know is that dark matter interacts with cosmic structures through gravity, shaping and molding cosmic structures.
highlights_snippet: Researchers in Switzerland and the UK mapped dark matter in clusters .
  
highlights_snippet: Researchers in Switzerland and the UK discovered that dark matter 'particles' pass through Researchers in Switzerland and the UK .
  
highlights_snippet: This suggests dark matter may not actually be composed of particles .
  
highlights_snippet: 'We are challenging many models of dark matter,' lead author Dr Harvey told MailOnline .