Like an Apostate, is Dark Matter leaving?

My use of such an onerous term as 'apostate' is without doubt only to make me giddy. Instances of apostasy are wonderful - applied enlightenment.

However, I mean not to assume any religious constant to this topic. I realize the irony there, deal with it.

Dark matter has for a long time been a stout entity on the physicists working plan of the Universe, but recently new observations have tested and appear to have questioned the entity or function of this matter. It was assumed that it was somehow the binding force, the "gravity" if you will, that held together the smallest and largest galaxy clusters. Questions are now being raised.

Science Daily has a short but coherent discussion on this, one which is basically leaving the question of "is dark matter real" alone until there is more information. However, when the 'more information' comes out I will not be surprised if Dark Matter takes a seat in the back and allows a more comprehensive understanding to ride shotgun; not that I assume dark matter to be false, but rather that I assume that it cannot be the sole entity of the answer. It may be a part, reliant on other parts. Lets let this one play out and sleep well knowing that we are not the astrophysicists dealing with this shatteringly important question (I don't believe I could sleep if I were..)

Bad Astronomy, of course, also has an excellent discussion. Would you ever expect Mr. BA not to make extremely complicated physics seem manageable?

I am sure CBC has it somewhere, but I get bogged down by all their new ads and ghastly web design that I wont look for it. They would only paraphrase the above sources, anyhow.

Clear skies...

PS - The Mars Hoax is back. Simple do a web search for it and you will come across myriad sources that explain the reality and the physics of its inability to be true. Bad Astronomy blog also has three posts about it - one from 2003, one from 2005, one from 2007...i can only guess that this one will not go away anytime soon.