Author: Daniele Sorini, Post Doctoral Research Associate in Cosmology, Durham University

Physicists have long grappled with the question of why the universe was able to support the evolution of intelligent life. The values of the many forces and particles, represented by some 30 so-called fundamental constants, all seem to line up perfectly to enable it. Take gravity. If it were much weaker, matter would struggle to clump together to form stars, planets and living beings. And if it were stronger, that would also create problems. Why are we so lucky? Research that I recently published with my colleagues John Peacock and Lucas Lombriser now suggests that our universe may not be…