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Clockwork Revolution: Burlesque, Bullets, and Butterfly Effects
On behalf of the team at inXile entertainment, I’m thrilled to share more of Clockwork Revolution — our time-bending first-person action RPG set in the steampunk city of Avalon, with a cast of unforgettable characters, and a world that reacts deeply to every choice you make. We’re hard at work on the game and can’t wait for you to play it next year.
University of Southern Miss to add new science research facility
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WXXV)- The University of Southern Mississippi plans to add a new state of the art science research facility on the Hattiesburg campus. The Mississippi legislature appropriated $30 million to help make this transformative project possible. This investment will support research and discovery across the biological, biomedical, and environmental sciences while strengthening the university’s position as one of the...
Anger as Beddington incinerator stokes health fears
The Environment Agency has permitted for an extra 10% of waste to be burned at the Beddington incinerator.
WHO urges targeted action to strengthen emergency workforce capacities for shared health risks across the Asia-Pacific region
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 11 June 2026 – At a time when the world is more interconnected than ever, the World Health Organization (WHO) is disseminating a comprehensive regional analysis of shared health risks across Asia and the Pacific, urging Member States to invest in enhancing workforce capacities regionwide to mitigate these risks and ensure health systems are better prepared to anticipate, tackle and withstand a range of crises and shocks. Over 100 delegates from 49 countries and areas in the Asia-Pacific region reviewed results from the regional risk analysis during the WHO-led Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework (APSHAF) Stakeholders Meeting in Malaysia. Synthesizing insights from 21 strategic risk assessments and more than 800 multisectoral experts, the regional analysis highlighted an urgent imperative: countries must proactively invest in emergency workforce preparedness to navigate a landscape where climate hazards, disease outbreaks and geophysical events increasingly overlap. These complex converging crises create devastating, compounding impacts on health systems and communities - reiterating the need for investing in a fit-for-purpose regional health workforce and multisectoral action. Key findings: an evolving risk landscape More than half of the participating countries ranked flooding, cyclones, dengue and pandemic-potential respiratory pathogens as being of high or very high risk, while antimicrobial resistance, landslides and gastroenteritis remain widespread concerns as well. “Given that 51% - over half - of these assessed hazards are deeply interconnected, isolated health interventions are no longer sufficient,” said Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific. “Extreme weather events like cyclones and floods directly trigger subsequent disease outbreaks, while environmental degradation - driven by sea-level rise, coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion - fuels health risks across the Pacific. Mitigating these cascading risks requires unified, cross-sectoral action linking environmental, agricultural and public health policies to build true regional resilience.” Priority recommendations for action To address critical vulnerabilities, WHO calls on Member States in the Asia-Pacific region to urgently prioritize the following strategic actions: Bridge workforce capacity gaps. Embed and standardize emergency preparedness within academia to promote regional workforce interoperability. Foster multisectoral coordination. Address ad-hoc taskforce responses and fragmented surge support through formalized contingency plans and standard operating procedures that are frequently updated and tested. Secure sustainable financing for emergencies. Overcome systemic barriers to access dedicated funding for both immediate anticipatory actions and long-term emergency preparedness initiatives. Enable emergency-ready primary health care. Embed emergency management into public health workforce readiness planning. Ensure that emergency planning is inclusive. Establish clear pathways for inclusive emergency planning that actively involves communities most at risk and other vulnerable groups. Optimize communication. Update risk communication and community engagement strategies, aligning them with seasonal risk calendars. Elevating workforce readiness to meet regional health risks While the gaps identified are significant, the Asia-Pacific region possesses solid foundational pillars, including dedicated clinicians, laboratory staff, rapid response teams, emergency medical teams and extensive community networks. However, to adequately address the compounding nature of modern crises, the various components of the emergency workforce must collaborate cohesively. True resilience depends entirely on transforming this currently fragmented workforce into a highly trained, interconnected and rapidly deployable asset. To achieve this, WHO is actively advancing regional workforce capacities through the Global Health Emergency Corps initiative. This initiative - supported by the Gates Foundation and Institute of Philanthropy - seeks to build a seamless network of emergency workforce across borders and sectors, ensuring that when a crisis strikes, a standardized, well-coordinated and trained workforce is immediately ready to respond. “Scaling up emergency workforce readiness is no longer optional,” said Dr Gina Samaan, Regional Emergency Director for WHO in the Western Pacific. “It is the definitive factor that will determine how effectively the Asia-Pacific region safeguards health and protects lives in an increasingly unpredictable future.” For more information, or to arrange media interviews, contact: Ara Johannes, WHO Western Pacific Health Emergencies Division: johannesa@who.int WHO Western Pacific Communications: wprocom@who.int
Kansas City Chiefs: ESPN Expert Drops Major Patrick Mahomes Prediction
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are once again entering a season with championship expectations, but one prediction has elevated the conversation surrounding the star quarterback even further. An NFL analyst recently projected that Mahomes will capture the third Most Valuable Player award of his career during the 2026 season, a forecast that underscores […] The post Kansas City Chiefs: ESPN Expert Drops Major Patrick Mahomes Prediction appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.
AJ Patton
Scope of work: A.J. Patton founded 548 Capital and 548 Development to help transform communities and their impact on the planet, developing solutions for the housing, environmental and economic issues facing inner cities. In 2022, he combined the firms into 548 Enterprise.Biggest professional win: 548 Capital rehabilitated a once-decrepit 79th Street building into a sustainable project with 28 affordable units, each with energy-efficient lighting, high-performance windows and state-of-the art HVAC systems, and it will soon include solar photovoltaic rooftop panels.Other contributions: Patton, a member of Crain's 40 Under 40 Class of 2022, is a member of the American Council on Renewable Energy’s Accelerate program, the Chicago Business Leadership Council banking and finance co-chair and a member of the World Leaders Forum board.Crain's 40 Under 40 Class of 2022
Breaking News: NFL Franchise To Move To New State (Report)
The NFL has learned that one of their historic franchises will officially have a new home. The bombshell news surfaced on Friday morning and has gone viral throughout the league. The NFL has not seen a team move locations since 2020 (the Raiders to Las Vegas) and 2016 (the Rams to Los Angeles). Now, there […] The post Breaking News: NFL Franchise To Move To New State (Report) appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.
San Bernardino County restaurants shut down by health inspectors, May 28-June 4
Three facilities were ordered to close.
How a Citizen Science Organization Aims to Preserve the Places It Brings Tourists to Study
The actual eco-friendliness of ecotourism varies considerably. One research station in the Peruvian Amazon is out to prove it can bring visitors to the area without disrupting the environment.
Japan change World Cup training sites in Mexico over conditions
Japan's World Cup squad had to twice change their training pitches in Mexico because of the poor condition of the fields, Japanese media said, in a turbulent start to preparations."We came to this conclusion (to change practice venues) because we searched for a better environment," he said, according to Japanese media.
Building a One Health workforce to protect people from zoonotic disease and foodborne illness
From zoonotic pathogens that move between animals, humans and their shared environment to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), driven by antimicrobial use across sectors, to chemical contaminants, food safety is at the centre of the One Health approach. On World Food Safety Day, we highlight those using the approach to address risks to human, animal and environmental health. WHO, together with partners, is committed to strengthening the One Health workforce, including professions such as veterinarians, epidemiologists and food safety officers. However, the approach is only as strong as the systems behind it and the people who implement it – across sectors, services and borders.
High Growth Tech Stocks In Asia Featuring Damai Entertainment Holdings And 2 Others
In recent weeks, Asian markets have been navigating a complex landscape influenced by global geopolitical developments and economic indicators. As investor sentiment remains buoyant with optimism surrounding AI and technology advancements, this article explores high-growth tech stocks in Asia, featuring companies like Damai Entertainment Holdings that are poised to capitalize on these trends. A good stock in this environment is one that demonstrates resilience through innovation and has the...
Jacksonville Jaguars: Sign Experienced Corner with 31 Regular-Season Starts
The Jacksonville Jaguars still needed to address their cornerback depth this offseason after losing Greg Newsome II to the New York Giants and failing to select one in the 2026 NFL Draft. Travis Hunter is recovering from a season-ending LCL tear and has been limited to individual drills off to the side during OTAs but […] The post Jacksonville Jaguars: Sign Experienced Corner with 31 Regular-Season Starts appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.
Rutgers Researchers Expand Global Climate and Forest Science Collaboration in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula
When people think of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, images of turquoise waters, white-sand beaches, pristine jungles and ancient Mayan cities often come to mind. Yet beyond these iconic landscapes lies a region where tropical forests, agricultural lands and local communities are navigating the complex realities of environmental change. A Rutgers-led international research collaboration is helping to […]
James Beard-nominated chef leaves Seattle for Bainbridge Island, citing poor business environment
A James Beard-award-nominated chef, Brendan McGill, has closed his final two Seattle restaurants and is leaving the city over a poor business environment.
Where science meets fashion: Raha Saremi turns agricultural waste into biomaterials
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”” el_id=”text-container first-paragraph” el_class=”text-container first-paragraph”] When cracking a pecan, most people throw away the shell. Raha Saremi wants you to wear it. How? As a material scientist in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Saremi witnessed firsthand the sheer volume of agricultural byproducts going to waste across Georgia’s farming communities and natural environment. … Continue reading “Where science meets fashion: Raha Saremi turns agricultural waste into biomaterials”
Jackson vows regulation of data centers in Maine
In addition to requiring AI companies to pay their “fair share,” Jackson proposes safeguards to ensure AI doesn’t replace Maine workers, environmental oversight and transparency when AI is used by state government.
How Rachel Carson's Silent Spring changed the world in 1962
Rachel Carson’s look at the dire effects of industrial and agricultural pollution birthed the modern environmental movement when it was first published – and remains as crucial a read today, finds Rowan Hooper
The Politics Of Protecting The Florida Reef
This endangered marine environment built around the Florida Tract Reef continues to suffer amid partisan gridlock and differing views on the best way to protect it.
Countries unite at WHA79 to advance refugee and migrant health through stronger national systems
At a high-level event held on the margins of the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly (WHA79), countries and partners reaffirmed the urgent need to strengthen refugee and migrant health through inclusive national health systems and shared practical experiences for turning global commitments into action.
Scientists discover a quantum effect that could eliminate batteries
Researchers have discovered how microscopic imperfections and atomic vibrations can be used to control a powerful quantum effect in an advanced material. The effect can turn alternating electrical signals from the environment directly into the kind of current electronic devices need, without traditional components. As temperature changes, the signal can even flip direction, giving scientists a new way to tune device performance.
Check out the Rome YMCA's new Functional Fitness Room
The Rome Family YMCA recently unveiled a newly renovated and stocked Functional Fitness Room, transforming a sparsely used teen space into a "modern, high performance training environment," according to YMCA officials.
REV launches new communications platform for businesses
REV Fiber for Business has launched a cloud-based communications platform designed to help employees collaborate and stay connected with customers through a single mobile and desktop application. “As workplace communication needs evolve from traditional offices to hybrid and remote environments, our business customers need platforms that remove friction,” Tressy Leindecker, REV’s executive vice president of […]
EPA's Science Independence Under Congressional Fire
Congress scrutinizes Trump administration's dismantling of EPA's independent science office. Hear testimony Thursday on federal environmental research impact.
How good can they be? Projecting the best- and worst-case outcomes for rookie QBs in 2026
From Fernando Mendoza's uphill climb to Drew Allar's ideal situation, the environment around each rookie QB may matter as much as the talent itself
US Ignite Launches SURGE, a National Science Foundation-Supported Initiative to Empower Regional Innovation Coalitions Nationwide
“SURGE provides regional coalitions with structure, guidance, and connections in a peer learning environment. This new program is meant for both existing regional coalitions and leaders who are building new cross-sector partnerships.” -L.Arias, US Ignite Supporting U.S. Regional Growth & Entrepreneurship (SURGE) Convert regional momentum into results! WASHINGTON, June 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- US Ignite officially launched the Supporting U.S. Regional Growth & Entrepreneurship (SURGE) Program
There’s Indeed a Science to Airline Cockpit Diplomacy
Maintaining civility is critical in a dynamic safety environment like an airline cockpit.
From spider silk to science: a new way to access hidden fungal diversity
A new study from Thailand demonstrates that the debris-heavy webs of orb-weaving spiders can serve as natural, non-destructive tools for collecting and culturing viable environmental fungi. Through the isolation of living organisms, this innovative approach has already uncovered potentially new, undocumented fungal diversity within tropical rice fields.
The cult of objectivity has broken consciousness science
With 22 competing theories and no consensus in sight, the science of consciousness is lost. In this exclusive IAI interview, Berkeley psychedelics researcher and bestselling author of a new book on consciousness Michael Pollan insists that even though consciousness lies beyond traditional forms of scientific investigation, we should resist becoming dualists who see it as something radically different from ordinary stuff in the world. Instead, he makes the case for reimagining science itself: it must stop reaching for objective descriptions of physical reality, and instead embrace subjectivity as the indispensable core of all inquiry. Alasdair Craig: How did your experiences with psychedelics get you interested in consciousness?Michael Pollan: One of the things that happens on psychedelics is that they foreground consciousness. What formerly seemed perfectly transparent and ever present—and yet, non-existent, as water is to fish—suddenly you see it. The metaphor I use in the book is that psychedelics sponge the windscreen. Suddenly you realize: wow, there’s a windscreen, there is this phenomenon that’s mediating my relationship to reality. This is not an unusual realization on psychedelics. I think a lot of people are called to think about consciousness after psychedelic experiences. So that was the proximate inspiration for A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness (2026).And then there was a more specific way in which psychedelics influence the book. That was a particular experience I had on psilocybin. I had the sensation that the plants in my garden were conscious and returning my gaze, with their own point of view and agency, and I got curious as to how to evaluate an insight like that. I mean, what’s the truth quotient of insights you have on psychedelics? And I was reading William James—who, of course, wrote beautifully about mystical experience—and he said, we can’t judge the metaphysics here, but we should pay attention to two criteria: (1) How useful is it to think this is true? He was a pragmatist, of course. And (2) can we subject it to other ways of knowing to validate it? Because maybe we should treat these insights as hypotheses. And that’s kind of how I approach psychedelics, as a great generator of hypotheses, but they need to be tested against other ways of knowing. And so that led me down this long path exploring the science of plant intelligence and plant sentience.AC: I love your phrase, “smudging the windowpane of conscious experience.” So do you now start to think, actually, even when I’m not on psychedelics, I’m just seeing a screen all the time, which is not reality, but rather is my conscious experience, behind which reality is hidden?MP: Well, you know, not when I’m brushing my teeth and making breakfast! But yes, in meditation, certainly. I mean, one of the things you realize is that my experience happens to be this way now, but it could be another way. And many things can affect it. My morning coffee changes the screen in various ways, sharpens certain things.___The only tool we have to understand consciousness is consciousness.___There’s this wonderful metaphor in Aldous Huxley’s book, The Doors of Perception, where he thinks we channel consciousness, and that what the brain does is edit it, and there’s a reducing valve. And psychedelics open the reducing valve wider. I don’t know that I’m ready to buy into the idea that consciousness exists outside brains, but I do love that metaphor because there are times when you are more conscious than others. I know I’ve switched from window pane to valve, but you know, a camera aperture can open wider or narrower. And I do have a sense of that. I have a sense of when I’m being less conscious, and when I’m being more conscious, by which I mean, you know, more present, taking in more sensory information. So when you start thinking about consciousness as a matter of degree, that changes things also.I think when we scroll on social media, obviously, we’re conscious. But minimally so, because we don’t have to generate our own thoughts. We’re basically taking these little hits from other people and thinking their thoughts.The process of writing this book made me kind of relativize everyday consciousness as just one type, which is exactly what William James said. Normal consciousness is one type, separated by the flimsiest of screens from the other types.AC: If we stick with the metaphor of the smudge on the window that you get when you take psychedelics, it seems like we’re saying that consciousness has become like an object that you’re looking at, right? You’re looking at the smudge and that just is consciousness. But sometimes we’ll talk about consciousness as a state that you’re in, rather than an object you can perceive. You’re either conscious or you’re not conscious. So it’s difficult to really know what sort of thing we’re talking about when we talk about consciousness, right?MP: Yeah. When you say that consciousness is an object, what’s the subject? Consciousness also? The only tool we have to understand consciousness is consciousness. So we’re in a closed loop and when we get a perspective on consciousness, we’re not achieving any distance from it. That’s one of the problems with studying consciousness. Science is predicated on an objective, God’s eye view of things, and you never get that. There’s no such thing. SUGGESTED VIEWING The brain filters consciousness With Àlex Gómez-Marín But, yeah, there is this sense, I think, that consciousness is something you can approach. Certainly, when you’re writing and trying to recreate a conscious experience, it’s a fiction, but you’re standing back from it, and looking at it. But there’s no real subject-object distinction.AC: That’s so interesting, because when philosophers start talking about consciousness, they often talk about what they call “qualia”, which is their word for the felt experience of, say, the color red. And I think that way of speaking often makes us think of the qualia as an object, which you can see out there: the redness of red. But, as you say, we also want to collapse the subject-object distinction when we talk about consciousness. So there’s something strange going on here…MP: Oh, yeah, there are many strange things going on! *AC: Let’s talk about the varieties of consciousness. Apart from perceptions, there are, pains, emotions, thoughts, and so on. What is it that holds all this diversity together so that they all count as instances of consciousness? What is it that they all have in common?MP: Yeah, that’s a really good question. I mean, there is sensory information, right? Which we perceive coming from the world outside ourselves. And then there’s internal information, which is what’s called interoception. And this is very important too. This is where feelings come from—what are sometimes called homeostatic feelings—that are intended to get the brain to keep us in these narrow ranges of temperature and glucose and so on. That’s a very important part of consciousness. And according to some researchers, who I think are probably right, this is where consciousness begins, with these very primal feelings, like hunger and thirst and warmth and itch, and things like that. And then there’s this third thing, which is our thinking about thinking.And what holds all this together is, I think, the sense of self. Consciousness generates a self: it is probably an organizing principle. All this stuff is happening to the self. It’s a construct, I think, but it is very useful. It can connect all these different streams of consciousness to a single being or a place, metaphorically speaking.* AC: The first half of your book is about the science of consciousness. Is consciousness just another thing, like black holes or the origin of life, which we don’t yet understand, but which we should have every hope that science will one day get to the bottom of, or is there something special about consciousness that makes this unlikely?MP: It depends how you define science. As we define science now, it’s going be very difficult. Science since Galileo has had a set of rules or assumptions, which is that the proper remit of science is to deal with the objective, quantifiable, third-person world. And the physical sciences have done amazing work under that set of limitations. Galileo—for tactical reasons, not for philosophical reasons—said science should not deal with the soul, which at the time was what consciousness was considered to be. So what is subjective, what is qualitative, what is first person, we’re going to leave to the church, he said. And this was a good agreement, and it probably kept many scientists from getting burned at the stake. But it leaves science in an awkward spot, now that it wants to venture into that territory of qualities, of first-person experience. And I don’t think it has the proper tools. I think it will have to add to its toolkit in some way, and find a way to bring in phenomenology, or lived experience and introspection, which science is usually dismissive of.The challenge—we alluded to it earlier—is that the only tool you have to study consciousness with is consciousness. And what I mean by that is, the whole scientific enterprise is a manifestation of consciousness. As much as scientists like to flatter themselves with this idea that they attain a godlike perspective on what they study, when it comes to consciousness, there’s no such thing. And it’s fine for all the things you can step outside of and study from that perspective. But two areas it won’t work are consciousness and cosmology.___It could be that we live in this anomaly of not believing nature is conscious. And maybe psychedelics are teaching us something we’ve forgotten.___With cosmology, too, you have to study the universe from inside the universe. It’s not that cosmologists haven’t made progress. We know a lot about the age of the universe and expansion and things like that. But we can’t penetrate what happened before the Big Bang. We just don’t have the tools because we can’t stand outside.The fact that there are 22 full-scale theories of consciousness tells you all you need to know: we’re kind of lost. And I was surprised to find that we are more lost than I thought we were when I started this. I thought that there’d be leading theories, or that we had experiments that we could conduct that would nail some of this down. And the fact is, we don’t.So, I don’t know if science can solve it. But, of course, we can change the rules of science. A really influential book for me was a book called The Blind Spot, by two physicists, Marcello Gleiser and Adam Frank, and a philosopher, Evan Thompson. It’s a reminder that science is a social practice. It’s organized in a certain way and it can be organized in a different way. But it has this huge blind spot at the center of it, which is its failure to recognize that it is a form of consciousness itself, and it doesn’t have a good way of taking account of lived experience.AC: On the one hand, I think you want to resist traditional dualism, which would say that consciousness is something magical, something supernatural, right? But on the other hand, you’re accepting that there is this division in reality between the stuff that you can investigate objectively and measure, and so on—the stuff that science has been good at finding out about—and consciousness, which, for some reason, you can’t objectively measure. Some would take this to suggest that the dualism is actually right. Is there a way of reconciling these two strands of your thinking?MP: To call it magical is full of value judgement. I mean, you could just say immaterial. The interesting thing is, I think, that intuitively we’re all dualists. And I don’t know whether that’s because we’re children of Descartes and other cultures are less dualist than we are. Or it may be because that’s how consciousness feels. It feels different than the body. It feels separate from the body. But I don’t think we should trust that intuition.AC: So let’s think about ways that science might be changed to get at consciousness. I suppose the starting point would be the way that you begin the second half of your book. You have this nice line from William James, where he says, “We now begin our study of the mind from within.” Could you give us some sense of the ways of studying the mind from within? What does this involve?MP: I don’t know what that science looks like. But one of the points I’m making is that it depends on the humanities. I found that I learned as much, if not more, about consciousness, from reading novels and poetry. There is a sense of the fullness and complexity of consciousness that you don’t get in any scientific account. I interviewed this stream-of-consciousness writer and I approached her as an expert on consciousness, and she is. So I think that dialogue is really important.I’m reading Ben Lerner’s new novel, Transcription. Just read the first page of this novel: it’s a man falling asleep on a train, going to conduct an interview, and there is the experience of being in the train, facing backwards, there’s the view outside, but there’s a reflection of himself through which he’s seeing outside. There’s the memory of dropping his kids off at school. All this is going on in one moment of consciousness. Scientists aren’t going anywhere near that. But I think it’s useful for them to think about. That’s where we’re trying to go: like, how does such a layered experience happen? You know, it also makes you wonder, could a computer ever do this? And it gives you some doubt.*AC: Before we get to computers, perhaps we could talk briefly about plants. How did you come to feel that they are sentient?MP: Well, it was a psychedelic experience, and it’s not unusual on psychedelics. In fact, there’ve been studies about how people become animists during psychedelic experience. Their belief in animism arises after a single psychedelic experience.You know, most scientists would say this is all a myth. But we have only 400 years of the age of enlightenment and science. Before that, we were animists, and if you go around the world, most indigenous cultures are still animists, and children are animists, by and large, until they go to school. So it could be that we live in this anomaly of not believing nature is conscious. And maybe psychedelics are teaching us something we’ve forgotten.As I said, I wanted to test this idea, and see whether there was conventional scientific evidence for it. And there’s fascinating work going on in a field that calls itself—in a rather cheeky way—plant neurobiology. These are people who fully realize there are no neurons in plants, but they’re trolling conventional botanists! And they’re doing experiments that are demonstrating that plants can learn and remember, which is kind of amazing: how do you store a memory without neurons? They’re finding plants that can solve problems, that can hear and see. In fact, they have 20 senses to our five or six. For example, a bean plant looking for something to twine, and given a pole within eight inches or so of it, knows where that pole is and will aim its spiraling reach at that pole. What is that about? Is it bouncing signals off of it?One of the spookiest things is the fact that the same anesthetics that put us out put plants out. You might think that plants are already out, but they’re not. They’re just slow. If you take a plant with a fast behavior, like a Venus flytrap, and give it an anesthetic, it will stop reacting. So you have to ask yourself, what is lost when the plant is anaesthetized? Some state of alertness, of awareness, of its environment, of reactivity. I’m not prepared to call that consciousness, but maybe it’s sentience—which is a simpler form of consciousness, and involves the ability to sense what’s going on in your environment and assess what’s good and bad for you and act appropriately. That may be a universal quality of life.AC: Let’s turn from plants to AI. You point out that LLMs are trained on the internet rather than direct interactions with reality. You put this really nicely when you say the internet is not the world so much as a shadow cast by the world. So LLMs are living in this kind of shadow world, or in Plato’s cave, as you put it. What’s the significance of this for AI consciousness and moral consideration? And, to recall the beginning of our conversation, if we’re stuck behind a veil or screen of consciousness, are we also stuck in a kind of shadow world?MP: I don’t think they’re the same shadow worlds because our world includes nature and other people. And even if it’s mediated in some ways... There is a reality out there, and we are in relation to it, through consciousness. There’s friction with it. What’s missing from the LLMs is that friction with the real world. There’s more to the world than human representation, which is what they’re dealing with. And that means that so far, AI is a cultural technology for combining thoughts we’ve already had. SUGGESTED VIEWING Cracking the code for thought With Roger Penrose, Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski, Max Tegmark, Güneş Taylor Genuine creativity is more than collage. A lot of what AI does now is tantamount to collage, putting this with that and you know, that’s part of art, certainly. But there are also genuinely new ideas that come into the world that don’t come in through manipulating the representations we already have. So it remains to be seen whether AIs can be truly creative in that more radical sense.But my arguments against AI becoming conscious have to do with the fact that the idea of AI consciousness is based on this faulty metaphor that the brain is a computer. There are dimensions in which the brain is like a computer—it certainly does its share of computation. But computers have this sharp distinction between hardware and software, and brains don’t. In a brain, hardware and software are identical. Every memory is a physical change to the brain. Brains are not interchangeable in the way computers are. So this idea that you could take the consciousness out and somehow run it on another substrate, a silicon substrate, seems foolhardy.Anyway, it’s a more extended argument, and I may be wrong. And when we move to computers that aren’t based on silicon—neuromorphic computers and things like that—all bets may be off.AC: Regarding your point about LLMs being stuck in the world of our representations—the internet or whatever—and not being able to interact with reality, are these representations, the world of the internet, themselves part of reality? We’ve created the internet, but it’s still a real thing that exists. And so while the LLMs may be trapped within that part of reality, they’re nevertheless within reality and interacting with it and so on. So it’s not obvious that there’s a barrier there to them becoming conscious and being creative.MP: Yeah, I mean, if our consciousness is built out of human culture, which is what we’re talking about with all those representations. But I tend to think consciousness comes a bit more out of nature and friction with the natural world, but...AC: So there’s a fundamental divide between the natural world and human artefacts?MP: And we lose track of that, and especially people in this computer world. You know, the people who are creating these AI systems, my guess is they’ve been into video games since the age of three, and they didn’t go outside a lot. And their own contact with nature is somewhat limited. I could be wrong, it’d be a very interesting thing to ask, all the wizards of AI, whether they like to go fishing and hiking and do things like that. Or were they on computers from a very early age? I interviewed Blake Lemoine, the Google engineer who came to believe that LaMDA, the Google LLM out at the time, was conscious and deserved personhood. It was very clear that he didn’t see a distinction between this bubble in which he lived and the real world. And I think we’ve all been distanced from the natural world, and this is taking us even further away. But it’s still there, you know, and we still have bodies, and we’re still mortal, and we don’t live in a simulation.AC: I think that’s a great place to finish. Michael Pollan, thank you very much!
Health groups lobby against chemical law changes
Public health and environmental advocates are pressing lawmakers this week to oppose industry-backed changes to the Toxic Substances Control Act.
Red States’ Sound Science Laws Echo Trump Regulatory Overhaul
Republican-led states are following President Donald Trump’s lead and making it harder for their agencies to exceed federal environmental standards.
Why Trump’s payout fund was too much for Republicans
Of all the president’s moves, the fund is the first to prompt real GOP resistance, signaling a sharply shifting political environment.
RRH marks one year of free genetic screening program that identifies health risks
13WHAM ABC Rochester provides local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, health reports, notices of events and items of interest in the community, local sports and entertainment programming for Rochester and nearby towns and communities including Greece, Victor, Pittsford, Penfield, Henrietta, Webster, Irondequoit, Fairport, Chili, Gates, Rush, Wheatland, Canandaigua, Farmington, Spencerport and Hilton.
Could environmental changes affect hantavirus risk? Duke researchers think so
As officials monitor a rare hantavirus outbreak, Duke researchers are examining how environmental changes may influence where disease-carrying rodents thrive. The findings suggest more diverse landscapes could help reduce disease risk.
Reimagining the SEBS Campus as a Health and Wellness Arboretum
What if a walk across campus could be as restorative as it is educational? That question is inspiring a new vision for the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), where faculty, students, and campus leaders are exploring how the grounds of the George H. Cook Campus might evolve into a Health and Wellness […]
Westinghouse Appoints Johan Lundberg to Lead Global Quality, Environment, Health & Safety
Westinghouse Electric Company announced the appointment of Johan Lundberg as Executive Vice President of its Global Quality, Environment, Health & Safety function, effective August 3.
Businesses are turning into a private club: beaches, restaurants, gyms
In an age of heightened loneliness and uncertainty, private clubs are selling camaraderie and controlled environments — if you can afford it.
UC researcher secures $3.3M grant to study microplastics’ impact on heart
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences awarded a $3.3M grant to University of Cincinnati researcher Hong‑Sheng Wang, PhD, to study how microplastics and nanoplastics affect cardiovascular health.
Why the Arctic’s rivers are rusting
Scientists have identified the two biggest reasons that once-pristine rivers across the Arctic are growing cloudy with toxic orange iron particles that smother insects and suffocate fish.
Veolia Completes Clean Earth Deal, Doubling Its U.S. Hazardous Waste Business and Expanding Its Growth Platform
BOSTON, June 01, 2026--Veolia, a leader in environmental services, has completed the financial close of its acquisition of Clean Earth, a hazardous waste management firm operating in a sector that has become increasingly critical for industrial competitiveness, public health and environmental security in the United States and worldwide.
Northwestern Researchers Pitch Ideas with Environmental and Health Impact
At an event led by Professor Jennifer Dunn, interdisciplinary teams competed for $200,000 in seed funding, and a group headed by Professor Giorgia Chinazzo will receive $71,000.
Scientists discover inherited traits that break Mendel’s Laws of genetics
A major mouse study found that some inherited traits are passed down through epigenetic changes that break the classic rules of genetics. Researchers discovered hundreds of cases where these chemical DNA marks behaved unexpectedly, including some that seemed to emerge out of nowhere. They also identified the first known naturally occurring paramutation in a mammal, hinting that environmental influences may play a larger role in inheritance than scientists realized.
Launch of new WHO Heat–Health Action Plans Guidance
On 11 June 2026, WHO/Europe will launch the new WHO Heat–Health Action Plans Guidance, an international point of reference for systematic, evidence-based health action in preparation for and response to extreme heat. The launch of the new Guidance will take place in Berlin, at a joint hybrid press conference hosted by the Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, together with the WHO Regional Director for Europe, the Senator for Science, Health and Care of the State of Berlin, and a senior representative from the European Commission Directorate-General for Climate Action.
Report: 1 in 10 Wisconsinites skipped needed health care due to cost
The report, which is conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services every five years, looks at how factors like income, housing and the environment affect health outcomes in the state.
Science Group And 2 Other Undiscovered Gems in the United Kingdom
As the United Kingdom's FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices face headwinds from weak global cues and faltering trade data from China, investors are increasingly seeking opportunities in less prominent areas of the market. In this environment, discovering small-cap stocks with strong fundamentals and potential for growth can be a rewarding strategy, as these companies often operate under the radar yet possess unique attributes that may offer resilience amid broader market challenges.
Virtual farms created from real-world tomato farm images
The virtual environment (left) is created using real-world tomato farm images (right) manually obtained from camera data collected by agricultural robots.
The right seafood choices can help diets meet health and climate goals
Fish can support healthy and sustainable diets, especially when it replaces red and processed meat rather than adding to overall animal-food intake. However, its environmental value depends on species, production system, supply chain, local dietary patterns, and the scale of greenhouse gas reductions required.
Right-Wing Firebrand Surges Into Colombia Runoff, Shaking Political Establishment
Abelardo de la Espriella, a rich lawyer who promises an iron-fisted crackdown on drug thugs, finishes ahead of ruling movement’s leftist hopeful.
‘Molecular movie’ technology reveals a better way to thwart environmental pollutant
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The latest production from the “molecular movie” imaging technology developed at Oregon State University is a new, inexpensive way of dealing with a common environmental pollutant. Based on short-pulse lasers, the imaging technology allows chemical and biological actions to be measured as they are occurring, one high-speed frame at a time. The measurements occur on the level of the femtosecond – one-millionth of one-billionth of a second. A femtosecond is to a second roughly as a second is to 32 million years.
'Unfinished business': Ron DeSantis in no rush to endorse successor or to declare post-gubernatorial plans
'I've got a lot of irons in the fire.'
'Unfinished business': Ron DeSantis in no rush to endorse successor or to declare post-gubernatorial plans
'I've got a lot of irons in the fire.'
New solar desalination breakthrough makes fresh water without toxic brine
Scientists have developed a solar desalination system that turns seawater into drinking water without creating environmentally damaging brine. Special laser-textured metal panels use sunlight to evaporate water while automatically moving salt deposits away from the working surface, preventing clogging. The process was successfully tested with water from three oceans and can recover nearly all salts as solids. Those leftover materials could even become a source of valuable lithium for batteries.
AI, Power & Politics: The Debates Shaping the Sector in 2026
Leaders from GreenScale, NTT, Iron Mountain & Jabil gathered at Data Centre LIVE in May to debate the sector's hottest talking points, from energy to water
Scientists Intrigued by Chunk of Flesh That Refuses to Die After Several Years
An amputated sea cucumber tissue survived for years in a natural environment, leading researchers to declare it immortal.
UM Health-Sparrow to outsource environmental, food services
University of Michigan Health-Sparrow has announced plans to outsource its environmental and food and nutrition services at its Lansing hospital.
The World Around Us Shapes The Health Within Us
For many years, we have treated human health and environmental health as separate conversations. My own life has taught me otherwise.
Two NASA Scientists Receive USGS, NASA 2025 William T. Pecora Award
Award: The William T. Pecora Award recognizes outstanding scientific contributions toward a better understanding of Earth through satellite or aerial remote
Northwestern researchers pitch ideas with environmental and health impact
Interdisciplinary teams compete for $200,000 in seed funding
Town of Jay and Au Sable River Valley Business Association open visitor center
A new visitor and business information center aims to draw visitors to the Au Sable Forks region of the Adirondacks.
Birds navigate using ‘gut feeling’, scientists find
The liver’s iron-rich immune cells act as an internal compass that helps pigeons detect Earth’s magnetic field
Homing pigeons may use a surprising navigation mechanism
How animals navigate by Earth's magnetic field is hotly debated. New research in pigeons points to iron-laden liver immune cells as the compass.
Michigan Launches New Online Form to Improve Reporting, Tracking of Harmful Algal Blooms
From the Michigan Department of Health and Human ServicesLANSING, Michigan – As summer approaches, the Michigan Departments of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), Health and Human Servi
Cyber and Economic Uncertainty Top Concerns as Business Leaders Brace for a More Complex Risk Environment
Business leaders at midsize and large U.S. companies rank cybersecurity and economic pressures as their foremost concerns heading into 2026, according to The Hartford's annual Risk Monitor.
Inside the fight against ‘zombie deer disease,’ scientists confront changing politics
Many states, including Louisiana, have adopted policies aimed at stopping healthy deer from coming into contact with infected deer and environments. But those efforts could soon be dialed back at the will of state legislators, worrying scientists who study the disease and its expansion.
ExxonMobil shareholders approve moving company’s legal home from New Jersey to Texas
ExxonMobil’s board of directors said the legal and regulatory environment in Texas is more business friendly.
Headwinds are putting New Hampshire’s health, environment, and economy even more at risk
New Hampshire faces growing environmental and public health headwinds that threaten natural resources.
Escaping the Heat? The Politics and Problems of Orbital Data Centers
What happens when digital systems outgrow the Earth that sustains them? Computing has always consumed energy and water, but the growing ambitions of the AI industry are pushing demand to an unprecedented scale. As pressures mount, data centers in orbit around the Earth have been pitched as a solution. But space is no escape, and what is framed as a technical fix risks entrenching digital dependence in an increasingly militarized, fragile, and crisis-prone environment. Orbital data centers simply relocate critical infrastructure into an already contested domain where the boundaries between civilian and military systems blur, satellites become strategic targets, and systemic disruption becomes a tool of coercion.
A Grip on Sports: One nice thing about the Pac-12's rebuild? The conference now has some schedule certainty long before the first kickoff
A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s sort of ironic. We are passing along a lot of reading material for you this morning. On football. Baseball. TV schedules. But we had to pass on reading much due to a doctor’s appointment. Our yearly eye exam. Guess it isn’t sort of ironic. It’s full on.
5 Questions with Sean Debley, Technical Services Manager, Environmental Health Division
1. As Ventura County heads into summer, what should residents know about ocean water quality and how it’s monitored by the County? As temperatures begin to rise heading into summer, […]
Scientists forecast milder Chesapeake Bay dead zone in 2026
Scientists at William & Mary's Batten School & VIMS, FlowWest and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science recently announced that the Chesapeake Bay's annual "dead zone" is expected ...
Brain health is shaped by the interaction of lifestyle, environment and social conditions
Why do some people remain mentally sharp into old age, while others experience cognitive impairments earlier in life? Two recent studies involving Forschungszentrum Jülich provide new answers to this ...
Schaeffler and Spire Global Partner to Build European Space Business
The partnership will develop space hardware subsystems, satellite platforms, and advanced radio frequency and environmental sensing capabilities.
UTC graduate student recognized for her research in geospatial data science
Research allows students to gain hands-on experience in their field by developing knowledge and skills as they pursue their degrees. For University of Tennessee at Chattanooga graduate research assistant Mimi White, research has helped her discover a new passion and deepen her understanding of the field as she pursues her Master of Science in Environmental Science.
What’s special about the Red Sox anymore? (*Besides Fenway Park)
I’ll give the Red Sox this: they can successfully sabotage everything else six ways to seven, but Fenway Park is beautiful until the end. Among MLB stadiums, it’s exactly as spiritually lovely as Wrigley Field, and if there’s anything at which these two environs have been the best to ever do it, it’s lulling the […]
Barcelona, the oil business, and sportswashing allegations in the Amazon
Indigenous communities accuse a partner of Barcelona's Foundation of environmental damage that threatens their traditional way of life
Humanity has already exceeded Earth’s limits, study warns
Humanity may already be living far beyond what Earth can sustainably support, according to a sweeping new study analyzing more than 200 years of population and environmental data. Researchers found that while population growth once fueled innovation and expansion, the trend shifted decades ago as the planet’s resources became increasingly strained.
Scientists say guava juice could make iron supplements work better
Researchers found that drinking guava juice may significantly improve anemia by helping the body absorb iron more efficiently. In a review of 17 studies, women and teenage girls who consumed guava juice — especially with iron supplements — experienced noticeable increases in hemoglobin levels. Since guava contains far more vitamin C than oranges, scientists believe it could become a simple, affordable nutrition tool in regions where anemia is widespread.
Five Iron Golf: Opens indoor golf, entertainment hub in Dubai’s Business Bay
The 6,500-square-foot venue features Trackman simulators, multisport gaming, and a full-service bar in the heart of Dubai’s premier business district
Five Iron Golf: Opens indoor golf, entertainment hub in Dubai’s Business Bay
The 6,500-square-foot venue features Trackman simulators, multisport gaming, and a full-service bar in the heart of Dubai’s premier business district
Graduate Exhibition Showcases Intersection of Health, Technology, Art, Design
From digital data and technology to the environment, healthcare and the body, graduate students from across the College of Letters and Science at University of California, Davis, are pushing boundaries with their experimental research and creative expression. The results, varied in medium and discipline, will be on display at the Arts & Humanities 2026 Graduate Exhibition.
ETSU launches new disaster sciences graduate degree
ETSU’s new graduate degree prepares students for careers in environmental health, disaster resilience and public health.
Visiting students explore sustainability through physics REU program
Students visiting Penn State for its Physics Research Experiences for Undergraduates program not only conduct hands-on research, but also explore the environmental, social and global impacts of that research. The program, hosted by the Department of Physics in the Eberly College of Science and the Center for Nanoscale Science, supports students from across the country who may not otherwise have access to research opportunities.
EPA Extends TSCA Health and Safety Reporting Rule Deadline to 2027
What: On May 22, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended the Toxic Substances Control Act’s (TSCA) Health and Safety Data Reporting rule deadline to May 21, 2027.Why: The Health and Safety Data Reporting rule was finalized in la
President Trump Abandoned Environmental Justice Communities. Scientists Can Fill the Void.
Scientists have a duty to support communities with their unique set of tools and expertise.
Is it getting windier in Kentucky?
Is it getting windier? Long-time listener Barry Zalph thinks it is, at least in Louisville. And he’s not the only one. Redditors and local reporters have noticed a recent uptick in the region’s windstorms, too. But does that point to any larger trends in windiness? And if so, what could be causing it? We talked to meteorologist and extreme weather specialist Scott Gunter to find out. Plus, we dig into whether Tornado Alley is shifting into Kentucky as the climate warms. This episode is part of Nature Quest, our monthly listener-driven segment about climate and the environment. Have a question for us? Send a voice memo to shortwave@npr.org with your name, location and what you’re noticing in the environment around you… it could be our next Nature Quest!Interested in more weather and wind science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
25 Sports Monday- Normal Community preps for 4A state tourney
The Ironmen finished 3rd in state in 2025.
The World Health Assembly adopts updated Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (2026–2036)
Geneva, 23 May 2026 – Member States at the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly (WHA79) adopted the updated Global action plan on antimicrobial resistance (GAP-AMR) 2026–2036, marking a major milestone in the global response to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and delivering on a key commitment contained in the 2024 United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on AMR. The updated plan was developed through a consultative process led by the Quadripartite organizations – FAO, UNEP, WHO and WOAH – with extensive engagement of Member States and stakeholders across sectors. AMR remains one of the most significant global health and development challenges, affecting humans, animals, plants, food systems and the environment. The updated GAP-AMR provides a comprehensive One Health framework to guide coordinated global, regional and national action over the next decade. It builds on the foundation established by the original GAP-AMR adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2015 while reflecting evolving evidence, lessons learned, and the commitments made at the 2024 UN High-Level Meeting on AMR. During the Assembly, Member States expressed broad support for the updated plan and its strengthened multisectoral and One Health approach. Delegates highlighted the importance of prevention-first interventions, including infection prevention and control, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), vaccination, biosecurity, and environmental measures. They also highlighted the need for responsible, equitable and sustainable use of antimicrobials, strengthened surveillance, innovation, and sustainable agrifood systems. The updated GAP-AMR is intended to serve as the global framework for coordinated action against AMR through 2036. It aims to accelerate global progress towards the commitments and targets agreed by Member States and support countries in developing, implementing and financing ambitious multisectoral national action plans. The plan also reinforces the importance of accountability, monitoring and reporting, sustainable financing, and international cooperation to address AMR through a One Health approach. The adoption of the updated GAP-AMR reflects renewed global commitment to preserving the effectiveness of antimicrobials and safeguarding advances in human, animal and plant health, food security, economic development and environmental sustainability. As implementation begins, continued collaboration among governments, international organizations, civil society, academia and the private sector will be critical to translating commitments into measurable impact. The Quadripartite organizations will continue supporting Member States and partners in operationalizing the updated GAP-AMR and advancing coordinated One Health action against AMR at country, regional and global levels.
7 Things in Your Home You Should Be Swapping Out Regularly To Protect Your Health
There's more to staying healthy than just exercising and eating right. Sometimes protecting your health also means keeping your environment safe.
Budget conference: Lawmakers strike a deal on state parks, environmental projects and kill Ocklawaha River project
A budget deal was reached on how much to fund state parks.
Great Lakes Maritime Initiative aims to strengthen shipbuilding, jobs and the environment
University of Michigan launches Great Lakes Maritime Initiative to boost shipbuilding, innovation and workforce development across the region.
Henrico Small Business Spotlight: Wild Harmony Landscapes
Andy Wessel is in the business of changing minds. With Wild Harmony Landscapes as his vessel, he is hoping to bridge the gap between landscaping and environmental responsibility. Wessel was landscaping on and off for decades before starting his own company. But working for traditional landscaping businesses was what finally
Rafe Pomerance, the Paul Revere of Climate Change, Dies at 79
An environmental lobbyist and activist, he was a pivotal figure in drawing public attention and political support to the existential issue.
California Air Resources Board tries to balance gas prices, climate goals with upcoming vote
The California Air Resources Board is set to vote on updates to a key clean air program known as "cap and invest" as the state tries to balance its environmental goals and affordability.
NH's Business:
Fred Kocher sits down with Ted Diers with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services to talk about monitoring drought conditions across the state.
New box jellyfish name warns of ‘death from behind’
'Chironex blakangmati' lives in the ocean waters near Singapore.
Linux Mint Making Improvements To Its File Manager, Theme & Dialogs
The Linux Mint project today published their May 2026 status report to outline recent work done to this Ubuntu/Debian-based Linux platform and much of their focus in recent weeks on enhancements to their Cinnamon desktop environment.
A de-extinction company has hatched live chicks from an artificial eggshell
A biotech company that aims to resurrect lost creatures says it has hatched live chicks in an artificial environment
Redwood City's Marine Science Institute gets fourth director
Lisa Biasillo is the new executive director at the helm of Redwood City’s Marine Science Institute, an environmental and experiential nonprofit educating the Peninsula’s children and families.
Students combine art and environmental science
Students at JW Ray Learning Center are digging into environmental science through art. NBC 5’s Wayne Carter is in the classroom to share what the students are learning.
Students combine art and science to spark conversation on environment
A Dallas ISD is using art to teach students about science, the environment and history.