‘Cold spot’ found in the cosmic
microwave background may
have been caused by our
universe colliding with another
HAVE
ASTRONOMERS
FOUND
THE FIRST
EVIDENCE
OF THE
MULTIVERSE?
COSMOLOGYSome theories suggest our
Universe is just one of many
- and new evidence could
lend weight to these ideas
HONEST JOHNS
It seems honesty really is the best policy.
A team at University College London has found
that, when we act in a truthful manner,
our brains find it more satisfying, because a region
called the striatum becomes highly activated.THE FOUL-MOUTHED
Swearing can help to increase our strength
and stamina. The effect is thought to be due
to the stimulating effect foul language has on
the sympathetic nervous system. @%#$!STRADIVARIUS
OWNERS
Thinking about dropping millions on
a Stradivarius violin? You might want to keep
your money in your pocket: a study at Pierre
and Marie Curie University, Paris, has found
modern listeners prefer the sound of new,
much cheaper violins.CHEESE LOVERS
Edam it! Eating cheese made from raw milk
could fuel the rise of superbugs. An antibiotic-
resistant gene found in bacteria from dairy
cows could cause difficult-to-treat infections
similar to MRSA in humans, researchers
at the University of Bern have found.BAD MONTH
GOOD MONTH
I
T’S a trippy thought: somewhere, in a parallel
universe, a version of you is the prime
minister. In another parallel universe you’re
a pop star, and, in another, you’re a Nobel
Prize-winning scientist. But that’s exactly what it
would mean if the multiverse theory were correct.
It’s an idea that has long fascinated authors
and film-makers. But, while it may seem to
be little more than a fanciful science fiction
trope to most, many prominent physicists take
the theory very seriously. Now, researchers
from Durham University may have found
evidence of the multiverse’s existence.
It all comes down the so-called ‘Cold Spot’
found in the cosmic microwave background
(CMB) – the traces of electromagnetic radiation
left over from the early stages of the Universe
following the Big Bang. The Cold Spot is the
largest known structure ever discovered, covering
an area billions of light years across. It is around
0.00015 degrees colder than the area that
surrounds it. There are other cold regions in
the Universe caused by random fluctuations
in the CMB but none as large as the Cold Spot- a fact that has puzzled cosmologists since
its discovery several years ago.