SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " could " 11,185 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Contest Casts UMW Business Students as ‘Reel’-World Problem-Solvers
Five teams laid out plans to save a cinema giant, but only one could claim top billing. University of Mary Washington seniors Karla Bonilla Lizama and Evelyn Centellas won the Fall 2025 College of Business Case Competition – titled “Reel Choices: The Crossroads of a Movie Studio’s Destiny” – for their ideas, presentation and polish. […]
The surprising reason you should never skip your morning orange juice
Orange juice every day could help your cholesterol.
Giannis Antetokounmpo mock trades: What potential offers from Knicks, Lakers, Warriors could look like
What could an eventual Giannis Antetokounmpo trade look like? Let's assess the landscape
Cervical cancer screening is about to change as cases rise among young women. Here's what you should know.
New screening guidelines include self-collected tests that could make it easier and more accessible to prevent the main cause of cervical cancer.
Dog Parents, Rejoice: Science Says Your Pup Might Actually Help Your Teen’s Well-Being (Including Their Gut)
Like most parents of teens, you’re probably constantly trying to decode what actually supports your kids’ emotional well-being. Some days it feels like a moving target: school pressure, friendship drama, big emotions, changing hormones—it’s a lot. But one constant in your house could be… your dog. Your family pup can somehow manage to crack open …
David Cone could be an ESPN casualty with new MLB broadcasting...
The new ESPN baseball broadcast schedule may cost the company its top analyst in David Cone.
Live updates: CDC vaccine advisors meeting to discuss childhood vaccine schedule
Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are meeting today, and they could vote on possible changes to the childhood vaccination schedule. Follow here for live updates from the meeting.
Samsung could finally upgrade its rugged smartwatch with Galaxy Watch Ultra 2
A new leak suggests the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is in development for a 2026 release alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 8 lineup.
Collapse of key Atlantic current could bring extreme drought to Europe for hundreds of years, study finds
Scientists modeled Europe's future if a key Atlantic current were to collapse and found that the continent faces a much drier future.
'Nine points from top but a million miles away'
Ross: If we have stooped so low that we need a dodgy last minute penalty to beat a team like Dundee United then the squad have a problem that can't be fixed with the current players. If Jack Butland and Nico Raskin weren't there this year, we could've been relegated by now. Also, James Tavernier had a poor day, we should maybe consider a long term replacement for him in January.
Merz in Danger With Business Warning Germany Is in ‘Free Fall’
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s unwieldy ruling alliance with the Social Democrats is facing an existential crisis of its own making that could trigger its demise after only seven months in office.
Why science says smelling your own farts could be good for you
Certain amounts of hydrogen sulfide can help protect aging brains from Alzheimer’s disease, according to a 2021 study
Watchdog sounds the alarm that PJM's approval of data centers could leave other customers in the dark
The nation's largest grid operator is risking choosing between data centers or keeping lights on for other customers, says a complaint filed to FERC.
Giant rotating string of 14 galaxies is 'probably the largest spinning object' in the known universe
A giant rotating filament of the cosmic web may be the largest spinning structure ever seen, and could help reveal how galaxies form.
TriHealth and UnitedHealthcare negotiations could disrupt health insurance
Thousands of people in Cincinnati face potential disruptions in their health insurance or may need to switch providers due to ongoing negotiations between TriHealth and UnitedHealthcare, with critical procedures and birthing plans hanging in the balance.
MrBeast is planning to launch a phone service called 'Beast Mobile'
Your phone plan could soon be tied to MrBeast, as the YouTuber has plans to launch a wireless service called Beast Mobile.
Scientists reveal the one practice that could prevent dementia as you age
New research reveals that social isolation increases dementia risk by 47% in older adults. The study shows that a lack of social contact is a major neurological threat.
Black women federal unemployment surges. Could the change be long term?
With the Trump administration's cuts to diversity programs and the federal workforce, it may be even more difficult for Black women to recover when economic conditions improve.
Business concerns stall plan to let Chicagoans flag crosswalk, bus and bike lane parking scofflaws
Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) agreed to put a hold on his proposed citizen reporting ordinance in hopes of striking a compromise that could appease the Illinois Retail Merchants Association and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.
Watchdog finds Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing of sensitive war plans on Signal, sources say
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information, which could have endangered American troops and mission objectives, when he used Signal in March of this year to share highly-sensitive attack plans targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to four sources familiar with the contents of a classified Inspector General report that was sent to Congress Tuesday night.
Why science says smelling your own farts could be good for you
Certain amounts of hydrogen sulfide can help protect aging brains from Alzheimer’s disease, according to a 2021 study
San Francisco’s mayor faces test over his key allies: Business execs
Moderate Mayor Daniel Lurie has leaned on personal ties to business execs to revamp the city, but they could be facing a backlash.
NFL Playoff Projection: Not a classic Ravens-Steelers game, but it could determine a playoff spot
The "all politics" healthcare project in Hoover that's rewriting state regulations
The man who wrote Alabama's certificate of need regulations is concerned that decisions made over a Hoover project could place the regs in jeopardy.
Democrats Just Lost an Election by 9 Points. Why Are They Celebrating?
It's a loss that suggests much bigger wins could be ahead.
Companies cut 32,000 jobs in November, ADP says
Economists had been expecting to see jobs added, not lost. The latest data signals a labor market that could be on unsteady ground.
WDF World Darts Championship: Belgian double delights Lakeside
François Schweyen entered the arena to produce a match that could be bottled and sold as pure adrenaline. ...
A man called in a bomb threat to New Orleans airport after he couldn't pay for parking, an affidavit says
An affidavit says a 35-year-old Louisiana native is accused of making the threat in early November, telling a phone operator: "We have the bomb."
AMA is Investing in Physician Leaders to Improve Community Health
How would you use $50,000 to help patients in your community? The AMA’s Community Health Impact Lab Micro Grants Program is awarding $50,000 each to 20 physicians with big ideas on how to improve the health of their communities – and you could be one of them. The AMA is providing $1 million in grant funding to support physician-led projects focused on improving community health, with selected projects receiving $50,000. AMA's Community Health Impact Lab is looking to support innovative,...
I quit Apple 20 years into my career and became homeless. Hitting bottom led me to heal and find a new path.
An Apple engineer quit her job and couldn't get hired after several months, becoming homeless. She shares how school helped her start over and heal.
Missouri State football bowl game predictions, where Bears could land
With the bowl games announced on Sunday, here are the potential landing spots for Missouri State football, according to national media.
Health insurance costs could spike, as bipartisan ACA deal looks less likely
With a ticking clock and no clear bipartisan path forward, extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies is becoming more challenging.
Doctors warn delaying hepatitis B shot for newborns could revive a deadly threat
As RFK Jr.'s new vaccine panel ponders changing the hepatitis B vaccination schedule, some doctors recall past patients, including children, who died painful deaths before there was a vaccine.
Sen. Andy Kim: NJ's 'broken politics' on display in Trenton
Kim joins a bruising debate over legislation that could weaken the state comptroller’s office
Trump says Americans may soon pay ‘no income tax’ as White House explores alternative revenue streams
President Trump proposes eliminating income tax entirely, suggesting tariff revenue could replace traditional taxation in ambitious economic overhaul plan.
Early Earth’s sky may have created the first ingredients for life
Researchers recreated conditions from billions of years ago and found that Earth’s young atmosphere could make key molecules linked to life. These sulfur-rich compounds, including certain amino acids, may have formed naturally in the sky. The results suggest early Earth wasn’t starting from zero but may have already been stocked with essential ingredients.
Cal targeting Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi as next coach
Dan Lanning could see both of his coordinators leave Oregon after the College Football Playoff
Will Trump Break the Health-care Deadlock or Make It Worse?
Obamacare subsidies expire this month and there’s a shutdown deadline in January. If Trump can’t make a deal, things could get bleak.
AquaBloom Bets on Growth in China Sports Investment
The global boom in sports deals could be coming to China
Omarion Hampton injury: Chargers RB likely to return against Eagles
The Chargers could get a boost to their run game against the Eagles with the latest on Omarion Hampton
Android 16’s latest update ushers in a more frequent release schedule
Switching up the release schedule could bring new features to third-party Android phones much faster.
UCF Researcher Creates Novel Sensors for Smartphone-Based Health Monitoring
Professor Debashis Chanda’s low-cost, smartphone-based biosensor could bring rapid, reliable disease detection to areas with limited access to traditional diagnostics.
A dementia vaccine could be real, and some of us have taken it without knowing | BBC Science Focus Magazine
Getting vaccinated against shingles could protect you from getting dementia, or slow the progression of the disease, says a new study.
BI readers told us their grocery bills keep going up. That's bad news for more rate cuts.
Business Insider surveyed readers about how prices have changed. Their answers could mean the next interest-rate cut catches a snag.
E-Sports Week in Review
On November 17, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate played SUNY Polytechnic Institute in the first round of playoffs. In just two games, Heath LaPointe took 13 stocks but Albion could not come away with the victory as they lost 0-2.
How Long Poop Stays in Your Body Could Impact Your Health, Study Finds
It makes a difference.
How Long Poop Stays in Your Body Could Impact Your Health, Study Finds
It makes a difference.
Is AI making us stupid?
Artificial intelligence can execute tasks in seconds that once took humans hours, if not days to complete. While this may be great for productivity, some researchers are concerned that our increasing use of AI could be impacting our ability to tackle difficult problems and think critically. To find out where the science stands, and how worried we should be about the potential of AI to change how we think, Ian Sample hears from Madeleine Finlay and Sam Gilbert, professor of neuroscience at University College London
Costco files federal lawsuit challenging Trump's emergency tariff orders on imported goods
Major retailer Costco challenges Trump tariff legality in federal court. Company faces critical December deadline that could lock in payments forever.
This organization is trying to use AI to reshape American politics
Using artificial intelligence to identify congressional districts where independent candidates could win, an organization called the Independent Center is aiming to disrupt the two-party system.
Justice Department could present a new indictment against James Comey to a grand jury this week
No matter what, prosecutors will likely present new indictments against the former FBI director and New York Attorney General Letitia James to grand juries in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Does Recent Business Model Shift Make DocuSign a Better Value for Investors in 2025?
Curious if DocuSign is trading at a bargain or if recent changes have made it less appealing? Let’s break down what has been happening and what it could mean for anyone eyeing the stock. DocuSign’s stock has experienced some volatility recently, climbing 5.2% in the last week, but still down 23.2% year-to-date and 13.6% over the past 12 months. Analyst discussion has focused on DocuSign’s evolving business model and strategic partnerships, both of which have been making headlines and...
South Shore Health resolves contract dispute that could have affected 2,000 patients
Patients had faced losing access to their doctors starting in January.
These One UI 8.5 Features Could Be Exclusive to the Galaxy S26 Series
We’ve managed to get access to several One UI 8.5 features that may be exclusive to the Galaxy S26 series. So, let's get started.
Mikel Merino - could he be Arsenal's number nine?
Arsenal's draw with Chelsea was not their best performance of the season but the sight of Mikel Merino wheeling away after scoring an important goal has become a familiar welcome sight for the Gunners.
Genesis Mission: why Trump’s plan to put AIs in charge of science could backfire
AI enthusiasts are right that projects like AlphaFold are a huge leap forward, but the philosophy of science shows why excluding humans undermines it.
Hearing in case that could rewrite the rules of religion in politics
A Texas hearing saw pushback to the federal government's recent reversal of a decades-long precedent that banned churches from endorsing politicians.
Former Trump personal lawyer Alina Habba is unlawfully serving at the US attorney for New Jersey, appeals court says
A federal appeals court on Monday found Alina Habba, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, is serving unlawfully as US attorney for New Jersey, dealing a legal blow to the Trump administration that could have far-reaching consequences on other appointments across the country.
Netflix Makes Screencasting From Phones To A Bigger Screen Almost Impossible
If you wanted to watch Netflix on a TV, you could always screencast a show or movie from your phone directly to a smart TV. That's no longer possible.
Airbus stock drops as much 10% as it confirms a 'quality issue' in the best-selling A320's supply chain
Airbus shares fell as much as 10% after it emerged there was an issue with some A320s' fuselage panels that could delay deliveries to airlines.
How incoming federal loan caps could impact med students
And other health news from Morning Rounds
As a PS5 Gamer, I’d Hate to Miss These PlayStation Cyber Monday Deals, and Time’s Almost Up
Here's what's up for grabs now that PlayStation's official Cyber Monday 2025 sale is now live across all major retailers. This could be your last chance to save on consoles, games, accessories, and more.
FEMA workers reinstated after suspension and investigation over letter criticizing Trump’s overhaul of agency
A group of FEMA workers has been reinstated after three months of forced leave and an investigation into alleged misconduct for signing an open letter to Congress that criticized the Trump administration’s overhaul of the disaster relief agency and warned it could put American lives in danger.
New Breakthrough to Strengthen Bone Could Reverse Osteoporosis
A potential treatment for millions.
New study finds cancer-linked compounds in common foods
Scientists have found that common foods can contain hidden contaminants formed during cooking or through environmental exposure. A new testing method called QuEChERS helps identify these chemicals more quickly and with greater ease. The research showed strong accuracy and high sensitivity across multiple food samples. This streamlined approach could improve food safety checks while reducing chemical waste.
Science must move from materialism to mystery
Theoretical physicist and neuroscientist Àlex Gómez-Marín argues that modern science has become trapped in a framework that mistakes matter for the whole of reality. In this wide-ranging interview, Gómez-Marín challenges the foundations of materialism, defends the scientific study of near-death experiences, and calls for a new type of science grounded in mystery and a renewed sense of the sacred. He suggests that abandoning materialism could open the door to a deeper understanding of consciousness, death, and the purpose of human existence. Simon Custer: You are both a theoretical physicist and a neuroscientist, and you have also been fiercely critical of materialist theories of mind and consciousness. What do you think the ultimate nature of reality is?Àlex Gómez-Marín: I don't know what the ultimate nature of reality is, but what I try to first assess is whether the stories that they [mainstream science] have told us about it are right, or maybe whether there are other alternatives. That's why I've been a fierce critic of materialism. As a scientist, I realized that they had sold us this idea that to be a good scientist you also had to subscribe to many other -isms, like materialism, reductionism, and even secularism. And so first I think one needs to unmount these -isms, and then, as is happening today in consciousness studies, we have a huge landscape where there isn't only one game in town, the idea that matter is the only thing that really exists. But because we are studying the hard problem of consciousness, it may be the case that other views of reality, like idealism, or even dualism, or other theories like dual aspect monism... these are philosophical ideas that now, I think, have room in science to be taken seriously. How does something like materialism relate to dualism or idealism? What is materialism in the first place?Well, materialism is the philosophical position that matter is the only really ‘real’ thing in the universe. And I think that worked kind of well because science started 400 years ago and Galileo made that split, I call it the foundational wound. It was a great business move.He said, let's start doing science on that portion of reality that lends itself more easily to mathematization and measurement. So, for some reason, the solidity of this table or the movement of planets lend themselves very well to this foundational idea of science. But as time went on, 400 years later, we realized that we had forgotten the other side, which is what really matters.What really matters is pain, is love, is feelings, sensation, consciousness, which is very hard to define, but very intimate. We all know what it is. It's that thing that disappears when we go into deep sleep and comes back in the morning. SUGGESTED VIEWING On the edges of knowledge With Michael Shermer, Rupert Sheldrake, Güneş Taylor It's what it is like to be, as Nagel said. It's the feeling of being alive. So, materialism is good to study certain things, but then when it ossifies into this ideology and then is dressed like science, now it's preventing us from understanding these key questions that are really that everybody wants to know.Why are we here? Why do we feel reality? Where do we go when we die? And so we need other ways. We need pluralism. I'm only asking for having more options on the table and taking them seriously. Why does materialism fail to explain consciousness? For example, if you were to lobotomize me, I would not be a functional human being. What do you say to someone who might think that materialism adequately explains the mind?Well, here we could speak about different things. We could talk about physics or about neuroscience. I happen to have training with both.For instance, for neuroscientists, 99% of them, I'm not included in that portion, believe that the brain can only be a productive organ. It's an organ that somehow, somewhere, consciousness emerges. It's like a lamp. And then something happens, magic happens, and then consciousness emerges.That's the position you need to be if you're a materialist because if the only really ‘real’ thing is matter, then you need to say, just give us some more time and money and we'll figure out how mind emerges or is produced from matter. There are many philosophically sophisticated ways of criticizing this.Now there's another option, which is the brain as a permissive organ. This was said by William James more than 100 years ago.Now then the brain wouldn't be like this machine, like for instance, a heat engine whose smoke is consciousness, which is what we would have in the first big model, the productive model. But in the permissive model, the brain would be a kind of a filter. And so the brain would still have a very important role in consciousness, but it wouldn't be a productive role.It would be permissive, much like a filter or much like a prism which would receive light. And - I'm speaking metaphorically - it would receive the light of the mind and then it could reflect it and refract it.Now, with these two big options on the table, I think we can make progress into what I call the edges of consciousness, which are all these experiences, weird experiences that many people have, but we don't talk about enough, like near-death experiences, precognitive dreams, synchronicities. These experiences are very important for humans and they have a place in the permissive hypothesis and they are literally impossible in the productive hypothesis. So that's yet one more reason to explore alternatives to materialism. There may be anecdotal evidence for near-death experiences, but is there robust evidence that would be accepted by the majority of scientists who subscribe to the scientific method?Sure. And the plural of anecdotes, someone said, is data.And there's a lot of data. Actually, this year is the 50th anniversary, half a century, since Dr. Raymond Moody realized that we have two ears and one mouth and started listening to what his patients had to say about their experiences while they were clinically dead.The heart had stopped, breathing had stopped in these patients. These patients would come back and tell him these amazing stories that some people may say are hallucinations, but for the patients were hyper-real, like seeing light at the end of the tunnels, seeing deceased family members waiting for them, feeling bliss.___I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain.___And so he and others started taking them seriously and writing their accounts down. And then you can do a science based on that material of experience that people have. Now, on the more objective side, more recently people have started to measure what's going on in the brain when people are clinically dead and brought back. This has opened a proper field of study, which is near-death studies.Evidence is a difficult word, because sometimes people think that when you say evidence, this is just the final proof. Evidence is like in a jury. You bring testimony, you bring pieces of data that point in one direction or another.I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain. When brains are broken or shut off, there can still be mind going on. And that's revolutionary.That would entail that when we die, it's not game over, which, by the way, is the thesis of materialism. If consciousness survives, materialism dies. It's game over for materialism if something of us continues after we die. Do you think that there is mental continuity after death?Well, I think so, and I believe so, and I could also say I may have experienced it myself, because four years ago I had a near-death experience. I was in the hospital, I lost a lot of blood, and I saw those beings at the end of the tunnel, three beings, and there was yellow light. I was in a well, I was looking upwards, and I hadn't read about NDEs by then, but when I came back from this experience, I decided I would try to integrate this also in my professional life. Not just my personal life, of course, but my professional life as a physicist and as a neuroscientist. So I may have had the experience of glimpses of what an afterlife would be, and I'm not ashamed to say it in this way, and then one can do science of it, and then one can do philosophy of it.One can think about what -isms we were discussing, what views on reality would allow those experiences to be really ‘real,’ as opposed to, well, poor guy, the brain was kind of broken, it must have been a hallucination. Do you have a view about whether individuality or “the ego” persists after death, or whether we sort of merge into some sort of cosmic consciousness instead?I don't know, but my view would be along those lines you're suggesting. I think we could speak about a kind of universal mind, and then the problem is not how we emerge from matter, but how we fragment from a more holistic consciousness into these individual eddies and then when we die, this kind of dissipates.But I'm not sure. For instance, idealism would promote that view, but then what would survive of us after these eddies just vanish and become again the big Consciousness, I'm not sure what that would be. I don't know for sure, but I would tell you I believe something of us survives.And there are other lines of research, not just near-death experience, that can address this really hard question of survival. For instance, there are children who remember previous lives. This was studied by Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia for more than 50 years.___Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.___It's amazing research. He went all over the world, especially in the East, and collected all these case studies, all these stories. In plural, these were data of kids, very young age, who would describe up to 40 items that then he could go and verify.There was no internet. There was really no way the kid could know. Why would the kid say that when I was living in this other body and I was a woman and that's how my house would look like or that's how I would die, right? Again, there is evidence, not proof, but there's evidence not only that something weird and interesting is happening as we cross the threshold, but also when we come back to this life.Scientists should not be afraid of studying this, but they are because there's stigma. There's usually stigma upon the enigma, and this is so unfortunate. And one of the reasons is because of the ideology of materialism, because those things cannot be possible. What is wrong with the politics of science such that they have generated this stigma?So many things. Science is a human activity to begin with.So it falls prey to all our passions and ego and greed. That's one thing. Science is a job for the good and for the bad.You need to get a salary. You need to get grants. Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.And then, we didn't have time to unpack this, but science for many years become entangled, as I was suggesting before, to other -isms, materialism, secularism. So anything that smells like the afterlife, people may think has to do with God, and then they freak out.Anything that suggests that there's something about the mind that may not need a physical material substrate to exist, it smells like non-materialism. So, all these -isms are ideologically blocking that kind of research, and then there are all these sociopolitical constraints as to what should be studied and what shouldn't be studied.I call it the backstage of science. Sometimes we scientists or science communicators seem to speak as if the data is the only thing that matters. We say, well, data and theory.But then there's a third leg of this stool, which is all the politics that goes behind the scenes. And we often don't speak about this, and it's quite vicious and petty, and it's very real. Why is materialism so attractive to most scientists?Well, an easy answer is because we've grown up with it.It's what the educational system promotes, and that's what you hear when you go to university. So it's like growing in a culture. It feels like the air in which you breathe.So it's very hard to begin with to detect, well, maybe there's another alternative. Maybe there are other ways of doing science, other environments in which one could do science. That's one reason.And other reasons maybe are more profound, and I'm not qualified to explain them, but I could say, looking at this 400-year history of science, since it started around 1623 with Galileo's book The Assayer, that science went and coupled with all what's going on in the West.And so the fall of religion, you could say, and science presented us this new alternative that then could be coupled very well with other -isms, and this idea of growth, and then science losing its good twin brother, which was philosophy. There's a whole natural history of science starting as philosophy, kind of emancipating or breaking out from philosophy, and then marrying technology, and then marrying other social systems.From that point of view, materialism is a very convenient idea to propose. There were attempts, like the German idealists tried to do a more romantic science. But no, the idea prevailed, like Francis Bacon said: You should pursue nature through all her corners, he said, and make her spill her secrets.Our attitude towards nature in the science that dominates is very much reflecting how we treat nature in our society, in our culture, like a resource to extract secrets by force and then dominate it. How is materialism related to the notions of growth and progress? What's wrong with having a productive citizenry?This is another very interesting and very difficult question to answer.But there's this recent book coming out by Paul Kingsnorth. In it, he explains this idea of the machine and this idea of progress. And this, again, this conflation of more is better, of we need to go forward always, and convincing us that the way to do that is to continually extract more from nature. But because we don't have the religious context anymore, because God is dead, then what do we have? We have what we can do as humans with our own gadgets.It's kind of the story of the Promethean fire. We will just build anything to make ourselves God.A good example today is transhumanism. Transhumanism is this pseudo-religion dressed in technoscientific language whose goal is very religious. They promise immortality, they promise redemption, they promise transformation of the entire natural world, but it's done by human means through technology. Are you suggesting that we can't have ethics without religion?Well, we should have ethics with or without religion. That's another pruning that has happened in science. We say, forget about aesthetics, although some physicists still think that beautiful means probably true, and forget about politics. We pretend there's no backstage of science, and even let's forget about ethics.___Science needs to be in the service of mankind.___Scientists, when they become more like engineers, they're just thinking how to make things work so that they can go to the moon, go to Mars, make machines that think, but they don't think whether that's a good idea.And also consider metaphysics. Many scientists for a long time pretended, and maybe that comes from the stream of positivisms, that really one doesn't need metaphysics at all, except that materialism is always the metaphysics running the system.You see, it's not just ethics. It's the pruning of all of these, you could say, five main legs of philosophy that just makes a kind of unconscious science, a science that doesn't really know what it's doing. It's doing it very well locally, but it just doesn't know what it's doing globally. Do you think science has to have an ultimate vision and purpose behind it for it to be effective or for it to be meaningful and transformative?Yes, a way I would say that is that science needs to be in the service of mankind. And it hasn't been that. And we can see it through, you know, when we discovered the secrets of the atom, and all of a sudden, the Manhattan Project, and then we create nuclear weapons.And now we're trying to crack how machines may think, and now we're creating this mess, right? So science needs to be in service of mankind, not in service of a few ideas that maybe want to make more money or just dominate upon nature. What about planes, trains, automobiles, and modern medicine? Hasn't science served mankind by helping us develop those technologies?Yes and no. I see where you're going, and it's fair.I came here by plane, and it's a blessing. When I almost died, the surgeons did their job, and they saved my life. But these two forced choices between Luddites and Silicon Valley types, I think, of course, it's a false dichotomy.Progress, in a way, it's good, but we often don't speak about the dark side of the moon. We say the great things that progress has brought, and we don't speak about the disasters, the side effects that it has come with, and the same when we promise new technologies. We tend to think that any technology is great, that email is going to save us so much time because we don't need to write letters and send them anymore.Is that true? I spend so many hours a week writing emails. Let's just say there are great things about it and bad things about it. People like Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, for example, argue that we've made moral progress over time because of the Enlightenment. Do you think that's totally wrong-headed?I think he's emphasizing a side of the moon, and he does that very well, and you can find tons of plots where there's a slope going up and say it's great. But I think he should also tell the not-so-friendly story.But if your ideology is just to resist and continue to explain that the Enlightenment is the best thing ever and reason is the best thing ever… this feels to me like you're worshipping these abstractions.I'm very critical of it and also of these, again, science communicators and scientists that say, Oh, science says, in the name of science, experts say. It's like, come on, let's be careful because we can shoot ourselves in the foot by putting forth to the people an image of science that we know is not really true. Recently there's been a resurgence of spirituality and of people who say that they're spiritual but not religious, especially in the United States. If materialism is going away, what is going to fill that gap? Are we going to return to traditional religion? Do you see that being connected with the rise of the political right?I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know what's going to happen. But, yeah, we could say we're in this post-materialist age and even post-secular age. One cannot come back to the past, but maybe just to contact with the roots is a good idea.What do I mean by that? I think we need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method. We need to do so in a culture where we realize humans cannot thrive in a vacuum where there's this idea that the sacred has to be removed.Now, how do we do that without bringing in back all the vices of religion? I don't know. I'm from a Catholic country.Here we are in England, so there are differences and interreligious dialogue has always been a challenge. But I think maybe a way of putting it is: after all these conflicts and branchings I was quickly alluding to, science from philosophy and then also from religion, now there's a time of reconciliation perhaps and maybe debates in the proper sense, like exchange of ideas in service of learning and getting into something higher than both poles. We need science to talk to religious people and it's interesting when people say they're spiritual and not religious.I think this is just a way of saying, no, I don't want to go back, I want to go forward. But at the end of the day, religions have offered us practices and grounding that we now desperately need. Everybody can and should just meditate or pray or do whatever they want, but we're in a crisis and it's time for reconciliation. What do you say to critics that say you are merely projecting our need for meaning onto a fundamentally indifferent universe?Yeah, I know that the typical science communicator says something like this. But we're not projecting. Human beings feed on meaning.It's the other way around. If you're a materialist, because the only thing that there is is matter, all that comes next, free will, consciousness, meaning, this is a kind of illusion that we need to explain.They're just craving for meaning, but there isn't really for them. I would also like to remind my materialist friends that for decades, if not centuries, they've said in the name of science, we know that this and this and this doesn't really exist. I think now they sense they're forced to say, well, actually, we don't know. We've been saying, for instance, that there's nothing after you die, and now probably they need to admit that they don't know the answer.___We need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method.___So it's a moment to open up possibilities and also to gently but fiercely critique these claims that I think harm society. If you say in the name of science, get on with it, when your father dies, you'll never see him again. Well, what the F do you know about it? You haven't studied the literature, you haven't had any of those experiences, and basically what you're doing is you're just doing marketing on ideology. This needs to stop. Do you think that it's scarier for some people to entertain the thought that there might be life after death, compared to a materialist worldview where you just die, given that there might be consequences for unsavory behaviour?Well, death and dying is scary. It's maybe the ultimate ending. It's a limit on life, and when we're in this conquest mode, we don't like limits.And it also has, there's a shockwave backwards, so I think if you change your notion of what death is or may be, you live differently. It also has consequences, as you're saying, for the future because this is not our only goal here and we come back in whatever form. And again, different religions would say different things. I the East, they are more happy with the idea of reincarnation, and here in the West, there are other preferences. But in any case, it changes how we live, and that's really what matters.It's not about just projecting or imagining what we'll be after, but how we live now and also how we treat those who are dying. So it goes from the individual to the families, to the hospitals.Now in the near-death research I do, this has ramifications at all these levels, all the way to society.But our society is thanatophobic. It has a phobia of death. We don't want to hear about death, and this is another thing we need to put on the table and be willing to talk about it. Do you think that we might get closer to answering ultimate questions like why is there anything at all if we jettison materialism?That’s an excellent question, Simon. Two things: we should stop treating reality, I believe, as a great sudoku, as an enigma, as something that with intelligence, money, and time that we will crack and instead treat reality more like a mystery. And what you do for in front of a mystery is not to be the clever guy in a class and say “I’ll solve you” but more like “I will bow and you will transform me.”I know this sounds a bit like a scientist speaking like a mystic. But I think this reorientation is needed. In the end, we won’t crack the big questions, but they will transform us. If we free ourselves from this prison of materialism, the way we will explore these questions will be freer, more creative, and in service of mankind. Do you think exploring mystery is the reason why we are here?I think we are here because, and this pseudo-theological argument I’m making off the cuff, But the One, the Absolute, if there is such a thing, had everything except limitation. We are that absolute experiencing that contingency. It’s like an act of divine proprioception. It’s a wonderful adventure, it’s just incredible to be alive. Perhaps we have forgotten why we are here and the whole point is to experience the flesh.Let me end by saying this. I criticize materialism harshly. I bang on this dead horse, because I think it’s dead. But matter is a great mystery. So maybe my invitation is as follows: hey materialist friends, come here, let’s work on materialism 2.0! Consciousness is a mystery, but matter is also a mystery. The fact that we can have an intersubjective experience consensus, the fact that we can apply mathematics, that we can measure things... the physical world we take for granted, but it is a great mystery too.Maybe that’s related to your last question: why are we here? Why did spirit decide to incarnate? Being in the flesh may be a great thing if spirit decided to do so.Àlex Gómez-Marín, thank you very much.My pleasure.
Medicaid Work Rules Exempt the ‘Medically Frail.’ Deciding Who Qualifies Is Tricky.
People on Medicaid deemed “medically frail” won’t need to meet new federal requirements that enrollees work 80 hours a month or perform another approved activity. But state officials are grappling with how to interpret who qualifies under the vague federal definition, which could affect millions.
Luigi Mangione set to return to court for pretrial hearing in killing of health care CEO
The 27-year-old accused killer’s lawyers have asked the court to allow him to remain unshackled during the hearing, which could last at least a week.
An independent effort says AI is the secret to topple two-party power in Congress
Using artificial intelligence to identify Congressional districts where independent candidates could win, an organization called the Independent Center is aiming to disrupt the two-party system.
Internet service providers warn of mass disconnections in Supreme Court battle with record labels
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday in a major copyright dispute that internet service providers warn could force millions of Americans offline and turn companies that provide connectivity into “internet police.”
Crystal Palace 1-2 Man Utd
We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Crystal Palace and Manchester United. Here are some of your comments: Palace fans Theo: We've not got the squad depth to cope with Europe and the Premier League. You could see the defenders were tired and losing concentration, and so it's no surprise both goals we conceded came in the second half.
3 Decisions That Will Define Politics This Week
Three major political decisions that could affect the markets are in focus this week. One is domestic; the other two are geopolitical. At home, investors are awaiting news of President Donald Trump’s choice for the next chair of the Federal Reserve. He has declined to give credence to a report by B
How the cuts have shaken HIV/Aids care to its core and will mean millions more infections ahead
Reports highlight devastating impact of slashed funding, especially in parts of Africa, that could lead to 3.3m new HIV infections by 2030
M5 iPad Pro leak hints at big new feature coming to next-gen Apple Studio Display in 2026
The M5 iPad Pro, launched in October this year, hints at a big update for Apple’s next-generation Studio Display. The monitor, expected to be launched in 2026, could finally come with a 120Hz display.
Smartphones could be putting your kids at risk
A new study on smartphone use and its effect on adolescents’ health may be one more reason parents should hold off on getting their kids the devices.
Smartphones could be putting your kids at risk
A new study on smartphone use and its effect on adolescents’ health may be one more reason parents should hold off on getting their kids the devices.
Ryman Healthcare (NZSE:RYM) Could Be Struggling To Allocate Capital
When researching a stock for investment, what can tell us that the company is in decline? Businesses in decline often...
Music City Miracle: A look at an unusually contentious election in the Volunteer State
Tennessee special election results could test Trump's strength ahead of 2026 midterms as Democrat Aftyn Behn challenges Republican Matt Van Epps.
Former Steeler blasts team on social media after blowout loss
Former Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex couldn't hold back his criticisms of the team after their blowout loss to the Bills.
Satellites spot rapid “Doomsday Glacier” collapse
Two decades of satellite and GPS data show the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf slowly losing its grip on a crucial stabilizing point as fractures multiply and ice speeds up. Scientists warn this pattern could spread to other vulnerable Antarctic shelves.
M5 iPad Pro Could Hint at New Studio Display Feature
The updated specs of the M5 iPad Pro may point toward a major new feature for Apple's next-generation Studio Display expected in early 2026. Apple's latest iPad Pro debuted last month and contains one display-related change that stands out. it can now drive external monitors at up to 120Hz with Adaptive Sync.
Antarctica's Southern Ocean might be gearing up for a thermal 'burp' that could last a century
When humans manage to cut enough emissions and eventually reduce global temperatures, new research shows the Southern Ocean could kick warming back into gear.
Science & Medicine: The Center for Brain Health could revolutionize how we think about dementia
A newly constructed center for studying and treating diseases of the brain will open in San Antonio at the end of the year. The Center for Brain Health could revolutionize how we understand disorders like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and ALS.