We know from cosmological and astrophysical observations that more than 80% of the matter density in the Universe is non-luminous, or dark. This non-baryonic dark matter could be composed of neutral, heavy particles, which were non-relativistic, or cold, when they decoupled from ordinary matter. I will review the direct detection methods of these hypothetical particles via their interactions with nuclei in ultra-low background, deep underground experiments. The emphasis is on most recent results and on the status of near future projects.
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