Mouseover:The question relates to a short piece on why there is less lithium-7 (most common isotope) in the universe than predicted by theory (the std model - I’m assuming). The article says that a type of light particle, axions, could help explain this. They would have had a cooling effect on the light present during the nucleosynthesis phase of the big bang and this would have lowered the production of lithium by about the right amount.
They also say that this could help to explain dark matter. They tease you with this at the beginning of the article but never actually tell you what the relationship is. I’m assuming it has to do with the number of neutrino types that should exist if the axion theory is correct. While there seem to be 4 observed types (if you count ‘sterile’ neutrinos), the existence of axions would imply 7 types.
Here is the article if anyone would like to read it.
Props to SDMB: Since I discovered New Scientist (from reading recommendations here), I’ve been subscribing. I have to say it is quite good. It can be a bit overwhelming at times, but in a very good way. It has the clarity and consistency of Science News but can have the depth of something like Scientific American (which seems to be getting better under the new editor, but it’s a work in progress).