when people say 'matter can be neither created nor destroyed, energy can only be transferred" are they aware that this is a general rule of thumb, and it doesnt apply to everything in the universe, and especially to the conditions that would exist before a universe? anti matter if it collides with normal matter destroys the matter completely- same is true of dark matter: vacuum fluctuation is known in the world of particle physics, and is detected with instruments (particles can appear and disappear without cause).......just to name a few examples. surely these people know when such scientists as steven hawkins calculated the 'theory of everything' that he was fully aware of these most basic laws, and realized they were rules of thumb that didnt apply to every situation within the universe, or in the absence of a universe.
eddie - the big bang theory isnt about an explosion, and its cause is likely to be unstable gravity
dogstar - considering all matter + all energy = 0, we should expect no change on that level i assume, i had heard from my chemistry teacher that anti -matter colliding with normal matter destroys the matter, not converts it.