We investigate the question whether small quantum-gravitational effects can
be observed in the anisotropy spectrum of the cosmic microwave background
radiation. An observation of such an effect is needed in order to discriminate
between different approaches to quantum gravity. Using canonical quantum
gravity with the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, we find a suppression of power at
large scales. Current observations only lead to an upper bound on the energy
scale of inflation, but the framework is general enough to study other
situations in which such effects might indeed be seen.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, essay awarded first prize in the Gravity Research
Foundation essay competition 201
