New Scientist: A puzzling asymmetry in the cosmic microwave background (CMB)—thermal radiation left over from the Big Bang—was discovered by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe and confirmed by the Planck satellite: Temperature fluctuations in one half of the sky differ in amplitude from those in the other half. To explain how such an asymmetry can occur without violating the homogeneity of the universe, Andrew Liddle of the University of Edinburgh in the UK and colleagues have woven together two earlier theories. They propose that our universe started as a relatively small bubble in a greater multiverse and that when the Big Bang occurred, small variations in the consistency of matter were carried along as if on an ocean wave. Whether or not there is anything beyond our own bubble of a universe has yet to be proved, however.
The finding that the Saturnian moon may host layers of icy slush instead of a global ocean could change how planetary scientists think about other icy moons as well.
Modeling the shapes of tree branches, neurons, and blood vessels is a thorny problem, but researchers have just discovered that much of the math has already been done.
January 29, 2026 12:52 PM
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