We are made of chemical elements. Therefore, one of the fundamental questions, “Where do we come from?”, leads to another: “How were the elements formed?” This question is related to the Higgs boson, an important particle in understanding the origins of matter that remained elusive until its discovery was announced on July 4, 2012. In this module, we will explore recent research findings on these topics.

In this module, we will learn about dark matter and anti-matter -- some of the more mysterious sides of the Universe. We know dark matter played an important role in the formation of stars and galaxies, but much of properties are still unknown to us. In another strange mystery, we will see how the beginning of the universe started with equal amounts of matter and anti-matter, yet somehow only matter (which we are composed of!) survived.

At the very beginning, the Universe exponentially expanded during a period known as the cosmic inflation. Recent studies suggested that the Universe has entered into another stage of expansion, considered to be caused by 'mysterious' dark energy. In this module, we will learn about inflation, dark energy, and the possible fates of our Universe.