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Model to study extreme heat, related health effects advanced by NIEHS
Division of Translational Toxicology scientists develop valuable resources to understand temperature exposures and guide public health.
Business Buzz: Small businesses continue to drive Colorado’s economy despite headwinds
Woman shot multiple times at Athens business, 74-year-old arrested
Athens-Clarke County police are investigating a shooting that injured a woman inside a business early Monday.
Commentary: What WA’s elections say about Oregon politics
Oregon political observers hoping to extract lessons of some kind from the votes of Nov. 4 aren’t completely out of luck thanks to their neighbor on the north side of the Columbia River Elections in various states this month drew national attention and pundits read them closely for longer-term implications, but not in Oregon, where […]
Congress begins final session of 2025 with healthcare (and a dash of AI policy) on the docket
At the top of lawmakers' economic agenda is a promised vote on healthcare left over from the 43-day shutdown fight. Also being debated are two limited AI measures that have a last chance for action in 2025.
Oleksandr Usyk expresses desire to fight Deontay Wilder who would be open to world title clash in 2026
Oleksandr Usyk wants to defend his world heavyweight titles against Deontay Wilder, who has welcomed a fight against the unified world champion.
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.
This Unbeatable LG OLED Deal Takes the Cyber Monday Crown
Nab this stunning LG OLED C5 smart TV at a deep discount at Amazon and Best Buy.
Apple’s smallest iPad just got its biggest price cut for Cyber Monday
Small tablet, smaller price.
AI becomes a political wedge issue, creating odd bedfellows across parties
MAGA media personality Steve Bannon described the fight on the right as one between populists and "broligarchs" in the tech industry.
UNC Health, Cigna insurance miss deadline over new contract
Cigna patients will now be considered out-of-network if they get care from UNC Health.
College basketball rankings see Michigan soar in USA TODAY Sports coaches poll
A dominant performance in Las Vegas during the week of Thanksgiving has Michigan rising in the USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll.
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.
Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert cancels 2D pixel art Zelda-like RPG after struggling to secure funding
Ron Gilbert has called time on his previously teased but largely under the radar RPG.
UNC-Cigna health deal at a standstill
UNC Health and Cigna have not reached an agreement as of Monday morning, leaving Cigna subscribers facing "out of network" costs for UNC providers and hospitals.
MKBHD’s ‘Panels’ wallpaper app is shutting down at the end of the year
High-quality wallpapers sourced from MKBHD were, for a time, available through a proprietary app called “Panels.” The Panels app is...
Forsberg: Jordan Walsh emerging as the 'violent defender' C's were promised
After Jordan Walsh's career night, Chris Forsberg breaks down how the young Celtics wing has become a legitimate difference-maker on defense.
WHO issues guidance on GLP-1 drugs for obesity, calls them a "scientific breakthrough" and "new chapter"
XOXO Entertainment Signs Blackstreet For Management
The Grammy-winning R&B group Blackstreet has signed with XOXO Entertainment Corp for management representation. The group, best known for their hit "No
André Carson drawn out of Indy House district in proposed redistricting map
Carson's home near downtown Indianapolis, currently in the 7th District, which he's held since 2008, would now be in the ninth congressional district.
Science Power-up: Where Biomanufacturing Can Take Us This Century
Explore how fundamental science is shaping the future of everyday items we all rely on, from food to plastics – and how artificial intelligence and data will power the technologies of tomorrow in biomanufacturing.
Netflix’s #1 Movie Right Now Is a Holiday Crime Flick Packed with More Twists Than a Box of Candy Canes
Netflix’s newest holiday hit mixes romance, humor, and an unexpected heist, complete with charming leads and a plot twist viewers can’t stop talking about. Get all the details here.
Plain English BEST OF: How to Be Happy and the Science of Cognitive Time Travel
Throughout December and January, we’re going to be re-airing some of our favorite episodes of the past year and beyond. This list includes interviews that really stuck with me and some others that you guys had tons of feedback and thoughts on … including this one!
Best performances from 49ers' convincing road win vs. Browns
The 49ers stayed hot, winning their third straight. A look at San Francisco's best performers in its win at the Cleveland Browns.
Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo granted leave of absence after talks with club
The 26-year-old was not part of the Barca matchday squad for Saturday's 3-1 league home win over Alaves on Saturday.
Thinking Of Starting A Business In 2026? Focus On These 4 High-Impact Areas.
Discover the four high-impact areas where entrepreneurs can build meaningful, future-proof businesses in 2026—from workforce reskilling to human-AI collaboration.
I upgraded to United's Premium Plus on a long flight. Most perks were useless to me, but I'd happily do it again.
Upgrading to Premium Plus, United's version of premium economy, was worth it for our long international flight, even though most perks were useless.
Wright State’s Raj Soin College of Business ranked among the best for entrepreneurs by Princeton Review
Wright State’s Raj Soin College of Business is the only university in Ohio named to the Princeton Review’s Top 50 Graduate Schools for Entrepreneurship Studies for 2026. Continue reading →
In rare move, Gov. Jeff Landry intervenes in House GOP leadership race. Here's why.
Governors have often picked speakers of the House and presidents of the Senate, but weighing in on the Republican Caucus leadership is unusual.
iOS 26.2 Release Date: What To Expect And When From The Next Critical iPhone Update
Apple’s next iPhone update is full of new features, large and small. Here’s why it’s important and when it’s coming.
Allen County Coroner identifies victim of deadly Piere’s Entertainment Center stabbing
The Allen County Coroner’s Office has identified the victim of a fatal stabbing at Piere’s Entertainment Center.
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.
Why I recommend the iPad Mini over pricier models - especially at $150 off now
There are so many iPad models out there, but the Mini reigns supreme in terms of portability, particularly when on sale for Cyber Monday.
Lane Kiffin LSU contract: Detailing the $91 million package
Thanks to the LSU deal, Lane Kiffin joins Ryan Day and Kirby Smart as college football's highest paid
HGTV's Hilary Farr Sets the Record Straight on Viral Rumors About Her Health
Hilary Farr shared an update on her well-being after alleged AI-generated posts claimed that the Love It or List It star's health was on the decline.
'Do it right:' Trump posts cryptic message after ballroom setbacks
President Donald Trump and his chosen architect have clashed over the enormous construction project at The White House.
Staff Spotlight: Adan Delval, College of Arts and Sciences
Adan Delval is the program manager with the Department of Computer Science where he oversees two National Science Foundation grants: the S-STEM Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to...
Legacy Entertainment launches “The Safari Park Company”
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Legacy Entertainment, a globally renowned entertainment design and production studio, has announced the launch of a new dedicated division – the company’s seventh — The Sa…
iPad Mini Drops to New All-Time Low Price of $349 for Cyber Monday
Amazon and Best Buy have introduced new low prices on the iPad mini 7 for Cyber Monday, starting at $349.00 for the 128GB Wi-Fi tablet, down from $499.00. You'll also find a few deals on cellular models during this sale. Note. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame Elects Little Rock Volleyball Coach Van Compton
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – One of the most decorated coaches in Little Rock Athletics history is adding another major honor to her résumé. The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame announced Sunday that Trojan head volleyball coach Van Compton has been elected for induction into the 2026 Class. Compton will be formally inducted on April 10, at Oaklawn in Hot Springs.
From Chiefs to Cardinals: Missouri’s Sports Betting Market Expected to Soar
Today (Monday) marks a big change for Missouri sports fans—sports betting is officially live. As operators go online, the big question is what bettors need to know about gambling responsibly. Christopher Boan, an analyst at BetMissouri.com, told Missourinet that the main thing to remember is to stick with a name you know. “Obviously the nine […]
$3.5 Million Mindpath Health Data Breach Settlement Gets First Nod
A California Superior Court judge has given preliminary approval to a settlement to resolve litigation against Community Psychiatry Management, LLC, Mindpath Health has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit stemming from a 2022 breach of its Microsoft Office email environment that exposed the protected health information of almost 194,000 individuals.
Josiah Siska Inks With Walk Off Entertainment
Josiah Siska has signed a management deal with Walk Off Entertainment. Hailing from Georgia [...]
Olympic sports weekend recap: Mikaela Shiffrin as peerless as ever in slalom, makes 4th Olympics
Mikaela Shiffrin extended a slalom win streak but still has work to do in another event.
How upcoming business leaders are using AI to prep for high-stakes deal negotiations—and everyday interactions
Students at American University’s Kogod School of Business are learning how to use AI to sharpen the way they negotiate everything from job offers to high-stakes mergers.
Early Fantasy baseball 2026 breakouts
Top 2026 fantasy breakout picks and key early players to target for big upside.
DOGE is done. What did the agency accomplish?
As DOGE dissolves, questions remain about how close the agency came to fulfilling President Donald Trump's mandate.
CFP Traffic Report: Examining the paths for remaining Power Four contenders
How are the remaining College Football Playoff contenders from the Power Four navigating the traffic?
How Data is Changing Science – Part 3: The Infrastructure Layer
In Part 1 of this series, we examined how science is beginning to change. Less fieldwork, fewer lab hours. More screens. More simulations. Instead of waiting for nature to do […]
Six Bruins Earn All-District Recognition from College Sports Communicators
Student-Athletes showing continuing with the great production off the field as well.
Trump says he "wouldn't have wanted" a reported second strike on alleged drug boat
Netflix kills casting from phones, ChatGPT turns 3 years old
Netflix has removed the ability to cast shows and movies from phones to TVs, unless subscribers are using older casting devices
'Out of network:' UNC Health-Cigna contract expires
UNC Health and Cigna have not reached an agreement as of Monday morning, leaving Cigna subscribers facing "out of network" costs for UNC providers and hospitals.
Science on Tap: The science behind food
Wisconsinites tend to take pride in being the dairy state, encouraging the love of everything from cheese curds to custard to cream puffs.But are you aware of how much research goes into perfecting the products?
Lane Kiffin's disastrous exit from Ole Miss spells a much deeper problem in college football
Rodney Harrison’s 'Sunday Night Football' freeze-up sparks concern...
NBC Sports analyst Rodney Harrison raised eyebrows when he appeared to lose his train of thought in the pregame show ahead of the "Sunday Night Football" clash between the Broncos and the Commanders.
I tried the biggest burgers at 5 fast-food chains and ranked them from worst to best
The biggest burgers from McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, In-N-Out, and Shake Shack were all different in flavor profiles and price points.
World Health Organization recommends GLP-1s for obesity. There's a catch.
The WHO issued guideline on the use of GLP-1 therapies for obesity, conditionally recommending them as part of long-term treatment.
Super Bowl 2026: Pregame performers include Charlie Puth, Brandi Carlile
Charlie Puth will sing the national anthem, Brandi Carlile will perform “America the Beautiful,” and Coco Jones will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
5 takeaways from Broncos' 27-26 overtime win vs. Commanders
Here are five quick takeaways from the Broncos' wild win on 'Sunday Night Football.'
NFL news, injury updates: Justin Herbert to have surgery on hand, Sauce Gardner suffers possible calf strain
‘Love Island’ & ‘The Traitors’ Star Ekin-Su Culculoglu Signs With WME & Atlas
Ekin-Su Culculoglu has signed with WME & Atlas, she has appeared on 'Love Island' and 'The Traitors'.
Seattle’s younger college grads far more likely to have studied science
Among younger Seattle adults who earned a college degree, 64% majored in a science-related subject, a higher share than older generations, writes FYI Guy.
CA migrant workers delay medical care during Trump’s immigration crackdown
Fewer immigrant farmworkers in California are showing up at pop-up medical clinics since Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Living near marijuana shops may increase chance of health issues, study finds
A recent study from the Washington State Institute for Public Policy found that people across the state who lived near licensed marijuana stores were more likely to be diagnosed with cannabis use disorder.
Lane Kiffin picks LSU to highlight college football coaching carousel chaos
It was a crazy weekend in sports from Lane Kiffin taking the LSU job to all of the NFL upsets
Higher health costs force financial trade-offs: Investors 'worry about all these moving pieces,' top advisor says
Rising health premiums and expenses on top of already higher costs for everyday items are forcing people to make trade-offs in their budgets.
WHO recommends GLP-1 drugs for obesity
The weight loss medications can be part of a long-term treatment strategy for adults, according to new World Health Organization guidelines.
Charlie Puth gets Super Bowl National Anthem gig
The 2026 Super Bowl entertainment lineup will include heavy hitters from the pop and R&B genres, including Charlie Puth and Coco Jones.
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.
Trump to hold Venezuela Oval Office meeting, sources say
President Donald Trump will hold a meeting at the White House on Monday evening about next steps on Venezuela, sources familiar with the matter told CNN, as the administration intensifies its pressure campaign on the country.
Behind the holiday lights, small businesses hustle to be at Snowport
Vendors can pay over $27,000 in rent for their Snowport booth.
Why Your Company Needs a Chief Data, Analytics, and AI Officer
Who should be in charge of data, analytics, and AI? While there are many possible divisions of responsibility and reporting structures, a combined role—the CDAIO (Chief Data, Analytics, and AI Officer)—will best prepare organizations as they plan for AI going forward. To succeed, this role needs a clear mandate that includes owning AI strategy, preparing for a new class of risks, developing the AI tech stack, ensuring the company’s data is ready for AI, creating an AI ready culture, developing talent and partnerships, and generating significant ROI on AI investments. Given the emphasis on business value creation, in most cases CDAIOs should be positioned closer to business functions than to technology operations.
Best Missouri betting apps: Top MO sportsbook apps to use right now
Missouri betting apps are now accepting real-money bets, and this page will guide you through the best sports betting apps currently available in Missouri.
Today's biggest science news: X-class solar flares | Chernobyl fungus | Modern humans interbred with 'hobbits'
Monday, Dec. 1, 2025: Your daily feed of the biggest discoveries and breakthroughs making headlines.
Ebola outbreak in Congo declared over by health officials
An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now over, Congolese health officials announced on Monday, after the country went 42 consecutive days without recording a new case.
Capitol agenda: Health deal hinges on Trump
Capitol Hill factions are trying to figure out what the president wants and how to entice him to their side.
Sports Daily: Chiefs aim to stay in playoff hunt in upcoming game against Houston
The busy holiday week is behind us. We have Chiefs, college football, college hoops and more to talk about. Paul Mills and Joshua Brisco join the show.
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Tennessee's special congressional election
Less than a month after Democrats scored big victories in the Nov. 4 general election, voters in a heavily Republican Tennessee congressional district will fill a vacant seat Tuesday in the closely divided U.S. House
Exploring Denmark’s Tardigrade Fauna through Citizen Science
In a groundbreaking study that intertwines the realms of citizen science and systematic biology, researchers have successfully unveiled an intricate tapestry of tardigrade fauna residing in Danish cryptogams. Tardigrades, or “water bears,” are microscopic, water-dwelling ani
UT Health San Antonio pilot study explores ear acupressure for chronic pain relief in dementia care - UT Health San Antonio
One-year initiative to recruit 30-40 participants, and caregivers Contact: Steven Lee, 210-450-3823, lees22@uthscsa.edu Content by Claire Kowalick SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 1, 2025 – A new clinical pilot study will investigate training caregivers on the practice of ear acupressure to help with pain for people with dementia. The study at UT Health San Antonio, the academic […]
Trying to cast Netflix from your phone? You might have an issue.
If you've got an older Chromecast, you might be in luck. Otherwise...
WRDW TV and Peachtree Sports Network to Broadcast 10 Augusta Basketball Games
Augusta, Ga. - Augusta University basketball will once again be air on the Peachtree Sports Network. A total of 10 games, including four doubleheaders will be on WRDW-TV's affiliate for the second straight year.
Top 10 Healthcare Industry Predictions For 2026
Sachin Jain’s annual list of health industry predictions covering managed care, hospitals, pharma, digital health, and entrepreneurship.
Rams upset by Panthers; Chargers win, but Justin Herbert is injured
The Rams are no longer the top seed in the NFC after losing, while the Chargers win, but Justin Herbert breaks his left hand.
'Wonderful and kind' TV star stopped by multiple businesses in Peoria
The well-known actor was in town for the 2025 Illinois Comic Con and patronized local businesses.
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.
Indigenous knowledge and science join forces to save the choro mussel in Chile
Huellelhue means “place for swimming” in Mapudungun. It’s also the name of one of the rivers that flow through the Lafken Mapu Lahual Multiple-Use Conservation Area, established in 2005 in southern Chile’s Los Lagos region. The name of this area is more than just a grouping of words, says Eduardo Vargas, president of the Nirehue […]
Goodman: Lane Kiffin is the biggest villain in SEC sports history
Tommy Tuberville famously lied about leaving Ole Miss before going to Auburn. What Kiffin has done is so much worse.
Mapping the exposome: Science broadens focus to environmental disease triggers
After decades of intense focus on genetics, the biomedical research community is undergoing a major shift, focusing on a new framework called "exposomics."
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.
After 40 years of adventure games, Ron Gilbert pivots to outrunning Death
Interview: Storied designer talks lost RPG, a 3D Monkey Island, “Eat the Rich” philosophy.
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.
Clinical Research Unit moves environmental health research forward
New medical director Lawrence Kirschner highlights the CRU’s role as a hub for translational studies connecting environmental exposures, genetics, and human health.
CNN Academy Brings Real-Time Sports Newsroom Simulation to Georgia Tech
ATLANTA—CNN and the Georgia Institute of Technology today announced the launch of the CNN Academy Sports Journalism Bootcamp and Simulation, a two-week immersive program designed to prepare the next generation of storytellers for the fast-paced world of sports media.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is another mighty brawler from Dotemu
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is the latest beat 'em up from Tribute Games and Dotemu, and it packs a punch thanks to a superpowered tag system.
Lesley Netter-Snowden named executive vice president and chief business officer
Kennesaw State University President Kathy S. Schwaig has appointed Lesley Netter-Snowden as executive vice president and chief business officer (EVP/CBO) effective immediately, following a national search.
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.
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