Update: in an email to the blog Resonances, Nature's senior physical science editor Leslie Sage has squashed the rumours that a paper is about to appear in the journal

Valerie Jamieson, physics features editor

The physics blogs are abuzz with rumours that a particle of dark matter has finally been found.

If it is true, it is huge news. Dark matter is thought to make up 90 per cent of the universe's mass and what evidence there is for it remains highly controversial. That's why any news of a sighting is seized upon.
Rumours that first dark matter particle found - Short Sharp Science - New Scientist