Studying the cosmos presents a lot of limitations to the scientific community including the sheer distance between celestial bodies and the problem of having manned explorations to far off places.

However, a team from Lancaster University led by Richard Haley and Prof George Pickett may be able to solve this puzzle as they've "re-created" the universe inside a regular test tube. The following are the general condition of said test tube:

• The test tube has been cooled to a fraction of a degree above absolute zero, which is just over 273 degrees below the freezing point of water.
• Inside the tube, an isotope of helium called helium three forms a "superfluid", an ordered liquid where all the atoms are in the same state according to quantum theory.
• Atoms in the liquid are similar those seen in the cosmos.

The internal structure of the superfluid mirrors very closely the structure of space-time itself, the "background" of the universe in which we live. Consequently, the superfluid can be used to simulate particle and cosmic phenomena: black holes, cosmic strings, and the Big Bang for instance.

This is great for testing theories, since the equations describing helium-3 are well-established enough to say that it is the most complex system for which we already have the "Theory of Everything."