  It has recently been shown that f(R) theories formulated in the Palatini
variational formalism are able to avoid the big bang singularity yielding
instead a bouncing solution. The mechanism responsible for this behavior is
similar to that observed in the effective dynamics of loop quantum cosmology
and an f(R) theory exactly reproducing that dynamics has been found. I will
show here that considering more general actions, with quadratic contributions
of the Ricci tensor, results in a much richer phenomenology that yields
bouncing solutions even in anisotropic (Bianchi I) scenarios. Some implications
of these results are discussed.
