Let me do one targeted search for CERN-related dark matter detector advancesHere is a concise overview of recent advances across the three areas you asked about.
Japanese researchers: using Earth as a giant dark matter detector
A collaborative team from Kyoto University, Hiroshima University, and Nihon University has proposed using the Earth itself as a giant detector for dark matter. The approach, published as a research news release on August 5, 2026, exploits the planet's immense volume to capture rare interactions from dark matter particles passing through the Earth
. Separately, a team led by Atsushi Nishizawa (Hiroshima University) proposed searching for axion dark matter by monitoring ultra-low-frequency terrestrial magnetic field fluctuations, treating the Earth's natural magnetic environment as the detection medium
. The third "Mineral Detection of Neutrinos and Dark Matter" (MDνDM'25) meeting was also held in Yokohama, Japan in May 2025, hosted by JAMSTEC, focused on using mineral deposits as natural, long-exposure particle detectors
.
Competing theories challenging dark matter's existence
Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) remains the leading alternative to dark matter, proposing that gravity behaves differently at low accelerations rather than invoking unseen particles
. However, recent evidence has significantly challenged MOND:
- A May 2026 study using Milky Way dynamics found that the data strongly favors dark matter over modified gravity models (MOND and STVG), breaking previous degeneracies between baryonic structure and gravitational laws .