Final answer:
When scientists encounter evidence that contradicts current theories, they must either revise the theories or develop new ones. This can result in minor adjustments or significant paradigm shifts as seen with quantum mechanics or genetics. Science thus remains a robust, self-correcting mechanism for understanding the natural world.
Step-by-step explanation:
Science is a continually evolving discipline that thrives on refinement and occasionally requires significant changes to its core theories. When scientists encounter new data that contradicts existing theories, it leads to a process of investigation and assessment. New data might result in the rejection, revision, or development of new theories if they repeatedly disprove or fail to explain certain phenomena or experimental outcomes. Theories must generate testable and falsifiable hypotheses, and when they no longer align with observed evidence, they are subject to change. Planetary formation models provide an example of this, where new discoveries of planetary systems unlike our own prompted revisiting and adjusting the standard models.
When conflicting evidence arises, scientists may engage in a cycle of hypothesis reformulation, experimentation, and debate until a consensus is achieved. In some instances, this can lead to a paradigm shift, a term coined by Thomas Kuhn, signaling a radical overhaul of foundational scientific ideas. Examples of paradigm shifts include the advancement from the indivisible atom concept to the understanding of subatomic particles, or the revisions to Mendel's laws of inheritance with the modern understanding of genetics. However, such shifts happen incrementally as scientists build on existing knowledge.
The scientific method is designed to accommodate new information, maintaining science as a self-correcting pathway to understanding the natural world. Scientists prioritize hypotheses based on their ability to explain data succinctly, predictively, and coherently. It is an ongoing, dynamic conversation between theory and data.