[TheWasteLand]

he theory that the recycled universe was based on, called loop quantum cosmology (LQC), had managed to illuminate the very birth of the universe

I wonder if this is related to Loop Quantum Gravity, a non-string based approach to quantum gravity?...Well, I looked it up, and yes it is.

[TheWasteLand]

LQC is in fact the first tangible application of another theory called loop quantum gravity, which cunningly combines Einstein's theory of gravity with quantum mechanics.

D'oh! That's what I get for commenting before reading the article.