In wrangling dark matter, some scientists find inspiration in the Torah, Krishna and Christ

When an invisible entity making up 85% of the universe's mass stumps the greatest scientific minds of our time, awe is an understandable response.

Physicists call it “ dark matter, ” a substance they describe as the cosmic glue, the scaffolding, a web that uses gravity to corral, shape and hold together stars, planets and galaxies. Yet nobody knows exactly what it is.

Dark matter's existence is only inferred from its gravitational effects on visible matter. Together with dark energy — a mysterious force causing the universe to expand at an accelerated rate — they are the biggest scientific mysteries of our time.

So it’s no surprise that dark matter and dark energy, which may hold answers to the origins and fate of the universe, have sparked profound religious and philosophical conversations — inspirational to some scientists, cringeworthy to others.

The worlds of science and faith are not as separate as they might seem. Many scientists have expressed how studying the majesty of the cosmos can be complementary rather than conflicting with their faith or spiritual practice.

Vera Rubin, an astronomer whose observations of galaxy rotation curves in the 1970s provided the first robust evidence for dark matter's existence, embraced her Jewish faith as a guide to understanding her role in the universe.

When Chanda Prescod-Weinstein met Rubin as a doctoral student in 2009, the renowned astrophysicist posed an unexpected question: “So how do you think we solve the dark matter problem?”

Prescod-Weinstein, who is an agnostic-atheist and Jewish, cites Rubin’s gracious query as a factor in deciding to study a theoretical particle called the axion, which could potentially solve the dark matter problem. Prescod-Weinstein says she draws on Reconstructionist Jewish teaching and the Torah for scientific inspiration.

“The stories in the Torah are about people who lived in a very intimate relationship with the land and with the night sky, and with a sense of all of that as a part of creation and the creation story,” she said.

It was an obsession with dark matter and dark energy that got Brittany Kamai into astrophysics. She is only the second Native Hawaiian to earn a doctorate in the field. After spending years developing the Fermilab Holometer, an instrument designed to understand what space and time are made of, Kamai returned to her spiritual roots in Hawaii as an apprentice navigator and crew member of a voyaging canoe.

Kamai trains in celestial navigation, using the stars, winds and waves to traverse the ocean without modern instruments. She wonders if the missing link in these mysteries might lie in spirituality — a quality she says many scientists dismiss.

In canoeing, Kamai says she is learning the importance of being “spiritually tuned,” seeking clues her ancestors may have left behind. She wonders if being in the deep ocean could crack the mystery of dark energy.

“When you boil down physics, it’s all a bunch of waves — particles, sound waves,” she said. “Why wouldn’t we need to be in the deepest part of our ocean to have the deepest connection to the entire universe?"

Doug Watson was beset by doubt as a postdoctoral fellow researching dark matter. When he felt burned out, his wife introduced him to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON, widely known as the Hare Krishna movement, a branch of Hinduism that glorifies Lord Krishna as the Supreme Being. Watson, who used to be nonreligious, said he embraced a religious tradition that encouraged doubt, curiosity and scientific inquiry.

He studied holy texts like the Srimad Bhagavatam, which describes a scene when Krishna’s transcendental gaze animates the universe. This, to Watson, seems “eerily similar” to the observer effect in quantum mechanics — the phenomenon where the act of measuring or observing a quantum system, such as a proton or electron, changes its state.

Watson has used these stories as inspiration to overcome barriers that prompted his burnout.

“I definitely don’t think drawing direct lines between religious texts and scientific facts is the right approach,” he said. “Rather, I see how these stories could inform and inspire new ways of thinking about the origins of the universe.”

Some scientists, such as astrobiologist Adam Frank, warn that seeking sacredness in topics like dark matter might end in disappointment because science constantly evolves.

“You don’t want to base your faith or spirituality on a graph in a scientific paper that goes up or down,” he said.

For Frank, a Zen Buddhist, the true link between science and spiritual endeavor is the awe they instill.

“Whether it’s the poetry of your scripture that you love or the beauty of the equations you are deriving, they’re both calls toward that feeling,” he said.

For the faithful, acceptance that there is nothing transcendent about this world is simply impossible, said Caner Dagli, an Islamic scholar and religious studies professor at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts.

"Transhumanists and other philosophers might think that if we just had enough computing power, we might be able to get the equations to really understand the universe completely,” he said. “But that’s off the table for Muslims because we believe God intervenes in history, he answers prayer.”

Chris Impey, professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona, has often visited India to teach Tibetan monks and nuns at the Dalai Lama's invitation. Being awed by a mystifying universe feels like a spiritual experience, he says.

Impey, an agnostic, has found many aspects of Buddhism compatible with modern cosmology.

“They can accommodate in their tradition an ancient universe, billions of years old,” he said. “They can accommodate many worlds, life in other worlds, life more advanced than us.”

Adam Hincks, a Jesuit priest who teaches at the University of Toronto and serves as an adjunct scholar at the Vatican Observatory, believes that for some, contemplating dark matter and dark energy could elevate their minds to God.

“There are also other things in the universe that for some, would be a similar conduit, such as a beautiful waterfall,” he said. “As the creator, God is present in all of creation, and contemplating creation is a portal to contemplating the divine.”

Australian astrophysicist Ken Freeman is considered a “dark matter pioneer” primarily for his landmark 1970 research that provided some of the first modern evidence of invisible mass in spiral galaxies. Freeman is Christian; like many scientists before him, he wonders about the role of intuition in scientific discovery.

“You wake up in the middle of the night with a thought and you have no idea where that came from,” he said. “People of faith might look at it as the action of the Holy Spirit.”

Was his urge to study dark matter the Holy Spirit's work?

“I would not paint it that way, but it’s a nagging possibility,” he said.

Jennifer Wiseman, a Christian astrophysicist, draws on her faith for wisdom as she investigates the big, enigmatic questions of the universe and ponders using scientific progress to serve humanity.

“Studying the deep universe may make us feel insignificant,” Wiseman said. “But it also gives us a sense of unity that we’re all on the same planet. ... The hope is we get a sense of joy, humility and love from these contemplations.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

FILE - This image provided by NASA shows two massive galaxy clusters captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory in Jan. 20, 2025, with areas of possible dark matter indicated in blue. (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, CXC; Science: James Jee (Yonsei University, UC Davis), Sangjun Cha (Yonsei University), Kyle Finner (Caltech/IPAC) via AP, File)

FILE - This photo provided by NASA shows the Atlantic Ocean as astronaut Leroy Gordon Cooper orbits the earth in spaceship Faith 7 on May 16, 1963. (AP Photo/NASA, File)

FILE - A lunar eclipse in the night sky behind a statue of the Buddha in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011. (AP Photo/ Eranga Jayawardena, File)

(AP Illustration / Peter Hamlin)

OBBUERGEN, Switzerland (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance and senior Iranian officials arrived in Switzerland on Sunday to formally launch negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program, build out the fragile interim deal to end the war in Iran and keep the Strait of Hormuz open.

The framework was signed last week, and now top American and Iranian negotiators are in a 60-day sprint to reach an agreement on the technical details that hold massive implications for the world economy and global security.

Yet only days after signing the agreement, it is being stress-tested after fighting escalated in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah — and by the subsequent announcement by Iran’s military that it had again closed the vital waterway that transits one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas. A renewed ceasefire in Lebanon, brokered on Saturday, appeared to be holding up.

Vance first sat down for talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, who has served as a key intermediary between Washington and Tehran throughout the conflict.

“What’s up, man! Good to see you,” Vance said as he warmly greeted Munir, who serves as Pakistan's army chief.

Sharif met separately with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who is leading Tehran's delegation, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Mediators from Qatar were also on hand at the mountainside resort near Lake Lucerne.

Rafael Grossi, chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, met with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis on the sidelines of the gathering. The agency had monitored the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated between the U.S. and Iran under the Democratic Obama administration. Trump, a Republican, withdrew the U.S. from the agreement in 2018.

Iran’s main focus during the negotiations will be the ongoing war between Israel and Lebanon, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Iran’s state news agency.

Iran is insisting that the deal’s implementation start with the part of the deal that calls for a cessation of all wars, including between Israel and Hezbollah. Baghaei said the U.S. “has been unable or unwilling” to hold Israel to the ceasefire.

Iranian officials were to hold their own meetings with Pakistani and Qatari mediators before a planned four-way meeting that would include the U.S. negotiating team.

Iran is cautiously approaching the negotiations given its previous experience with the U.S. negotiations on the nuclear issue, which twice in the past year have been interrupted by massive strikes against the country. “The implementation of any document is more important than its signing,” Baghaei said Sunday.

But Iran’s president added that Iran will maintain its right to a nuclear program.

“What is certain is that we will never back down from the right to enrich uranium, and the other side is also forced to accept it,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday, according to Iran’s state media.

Vance had originally been slated to be on the ground at the Bürgenstock resort near Lucerne on Friday, but his departure from the United States was delayed after fighting escalated in Lebanon and Iranian officials canceled plans to attend the talks.

U.S. Central Command disputed Iran’s claim that it had once again shuttered the strait and said U.S. forces continued to monitor the situation to ensure traffic continues to flow through the waterway. Vance has said that millions of barrels of oil have moved through the strait in recent days.

Vance departed the U.S. just after Iranian state TV said Iran’s negotiators had arrived in Switzerland.

The vice president was joined by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, for Sunday's talks. Witkoff and Kushner were on the ground in Switzerland ahead of Vance to begin sifting through the technical details of the nuclear talks.

Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, arrived at Emmen Air Base outside Lucerne just before 6 a.m. local time, according to his office.

While Vance said he planned to be in Switzerland for just “a day or two,” leaving much of the detailed negotiations to be spearheaded by Witkoff and Kushner, his role in the talks has heightened scrutiny of the vice president at a time when he’s actively considering a 2028 presidential campaign.

Trump and Vance have come under searing criticism from parts of their own party for the deal, with Republican hard-liners unfavorably likening it to a nuclear agreement signed by the Obama administration that Trump and the GOP have insisted did nothing to actually terminate Iran’s nuclear program.

The agreement signed by Trump and Iranian President Pezeshkian immediately allows Tehran to sell its oil freely and paves the way for Iran to tap into billions of dollars in assets that are currently frozen. It also calls for Iran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, believed to be buried under nuclear sites that were targeted in U.S. strikes last summer.

The agreement says commercial vessels can pass through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days without a charge, but does not preclude future fees imposed by Iran. Trump made his own threat on Saturday to levy U.S. tolls on the strait if there is no deal with Iran in 60 days, insisting in a social media post that the money would be for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.”

The Trump administration has been working to reassure global markets that the Iran war has been merely a blip on oil prices, as Americans have complained the conflict resulted in hiking gasoline prices ahead of peak summer travel months. After the White House announced the deal a week ago, oil futures dropped almost 8% — and markets are expected to closely track the progress of talks when they open for trading on Sunday evening.

Further complicating matters, neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the deal between the U.S. and Iran, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep his forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon.

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the initial days after the agreement between the U.S. and Iran killed 47 people in Lebanon, as well as four Israeli soldiers.

Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

A sign for the Lake Lucerne Summit at the Bürgenstock during a meeting between U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, in Obbuergen, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Vice President JD Vance waits to meet with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, left, reacts next to U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff, second right, and Jared Kushner, right, while waiting to meet with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, left, reacts next to U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff, second right, and Jared Kushner, right, while waiting to meet with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, and Switzerland's Foreign Minister Federal councillor Ignazio Cassis, right, shake hands at bilateral discussions at the Buergenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone via AP)

A Swiss Army Helicopter flies around the Buergenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone Pool via AP)

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, right, meets with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

A convoy with U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool Photo via AP)

A convoy with U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool Photo via AP)

A convoy with U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool Photo via AP)

A convoy with U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool Photo via AP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, center, arrives at the Buergenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, early Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool via AP)

Air Force Two, with Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance on board, departs Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, June 20, 2026, en route to Switzerland. (Elizabeth Frantz/Pool Photo via AP)

Vice President JD Vance speaks to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, June 20, 2026, en route to Switzerland. (Elizabeth Frantz/Pool Photo via AP)