of revealing much about supersymmetry or the other underlying physics. There are a large number of degeneracies which can lead to a given value of the WIMP-nucleon cross section. Only by combining this information with collider and/or indirect detection data can one hope to infer the nature of the dark matter particle.

Currently, the strongest limits on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section come from the XENON [@xenon] and CDMS [@cdmssi] experiments, which have obtained an upper bound on the cross section of a $\sim$100 GeV WIMP at the $\sim$$10^{-7}$ pb level. These constraints, along with those of other experiments, are shown in Fig. \[directcurrent\].

There is currently a great deal of progress being made in the experimental field of direct detection. Within the next several months (early 2008), the CDMS collaboration is expected to release a new limit which will likely be the most stringent (assuming no detection is made). In the meantime, the XENON collaboration is preparing for a run with a larger detector, with results expected within a year or so of this time. Beyond the next year or two, it is difficult to foresee which experiment(s) will be leading this search. It is still not clear whether 