"Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data also shows evidence of possible cosmological-scale polarisation, and was fitted to quadrupole alignment.

"Since the spin patterns of a galaxy as visible from Earth is also an indication of the actual spin direction of the galaxy, the large-scale patterns in the distribution of the spin directions can be an indication of a rotating Universe.".

There are only two directions these galaxies can spin - clockwise and counterclockwise.

If the Universe is isotropic, or uniform in all directions, as described by the cosmological principle, there should be a pretty even 50-50 distribution of clockwise and counterclockwise galaxies throughout.

The quadrupole found in the cosmic microwave background - the faint radiation left over from the Big Bang that suffuses the Universe - has been referred to as an "anomaly", a "problem" and the "Axis of Evil".

However, the spin of galaxies is pretty easy to measure, so Shamir's research suggests that the cosmic microwave background quadrupole anomaly might be an even thornier problem than cosmologists thought.