How can a scientific theory be changed?
If new evidence or observations falsify a scientific theory, the theory must be changed to adapt to the new data or discarded altogether. The discoverer of the falsification usually publishes his or her results in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, through which the information is presented to the scientific community. Theories are not “official,” but they instead rely on consensus and an understanding of the evidence involved and the scientific method. Usually, however, since a hypothesis must be tested rigorously in order to be accepted as theory, the existing theory needs only to be modified or expanded, and not discarded entirely.
