  We present a gauge-invariant treatment of singularity resolution using loop
quantum gravity techniques with respect to local SU(2) transformations. Our
analysis reveals many novel features of quantum geometry which were till now
hidden in models based on non-gauge-invariant discretizations. Quantum
geometric effects resolve the big bang singularity replacing it with a
non-singular bounce when spacetime curvature reaches Planckian value. The
bounce is found to be generically asymmetric in the sense that pre-bounce and
post-bounce branches are not mirrored to each other and effective constants,
such as Newton's constant, are rescaled across the bounce. Furthermore, in the
vicinity of the bounce, minimally coupled matter behaves as non-minimally
coupled. These ramifications of quantum geometry open a rich avenue for
potential phenomenological signatures.
