The Digital Press

Adam Riess, Nobel laureate and key figure in discovering the universe’s accelerating expansion, now questions the standard cosmological model he helped establish. New data suggest dark energy’s strength may be changing, potentially overturning long-held views on the universe’s fate.

Why it matters: If dark energy weakens over time, the universe’s ultimate destiny and expansion theories could be fundamentally wrong.

The big picture: Riess’s precise measurements expose a growing tension in cosmology, challenging the 20th-century standard model of the universe.

The stakes: Revising cosmology could rewrite textbooks and reshape our understanding of cosmic evolution, dark energy, and the universe’s end.

Commenters say: Readers highlight excitement over possible scientific revolution but caution that Nobel status doesn’t guarantee infallibility; some note sociological dynamics in the field.