A study has claimed that the universe will start shrinking in just seven billion years, a scenario sometimes referred to as the ‘Big Crunch’. There is growing evidence to support the theory of evolving dark energy, which could prompt a new model of the universe. The ‘death date’ of the universe, or the time when this shrinking will start, has also been predicted. Some scientists claim that the end of the universe could come sooner than expected, due to ‘unusual energy patterns’ found in historic experiments.