Direct detection of Dark Matter: Present and Future

​Over the last decade a tremendous progress has been achieved in the field of direct detection of dark matter. Many experiments, using various technologies, improved their sensitivity by several orders of magnitude. All the searches so far ended with null results. In this talk I will present the current status of the XENON collaboration and review some aspects of statistical inference in dark matter searches. Then, I will present a novel technique of light dark matter detection using crystal coloration. This approach may enable us to overcome a main shortcoming in current experiments, and to explore an uncharted region of the parameter space.