How to trace the history of the Universe?

Two possible paths: to probe matter smallest possible scales, allowing to see aspects of the Universe as it was shortly after the Big Bang; or watch the light as it has been issued far in the past, observing the objects on the border areas accessible to our observation.
The commissioning of the LHC, the largest particle accelerator, will perhaps solve some of the challenges and apparent contradictions raised by these two approaches. The intense intellectual ferment that accompanies this research presages a scientific revolution of great magnitude.