Universe will die "much sooner than expected," new research says

The universe is poised to die much faster than previously thought, according to new research by Dutch scientists.

But there's no great need to panic. We still have 10 to the power of 78 years before it happens — that's a one with 78 zeroes.

However, that is a major revision from the previous estimate of 10 to the power of 1,100 years, notes the research paper from Radboud University, published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.