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Special education needs embedded mental health support
As schools struggle to manage emotional and behavioral challenges, a mental health crisis among children in special education grows.
The brain’s 5 eras, the vaccine that protects against dementia, altruistic ants
Science editor Ian Sample sits down with co-host Madeleine Finlay and science correspondent Hannah Devlin to hear about three eye-catching stories from the week
Full-length Replay: Northwestern at Wisconsin
The Badgers and Wildcats, both 5-2, kick off their Big Ten schedules by meeting in Madison, Wisc.
Beloved Southern restaurant chain closes all locations after 88 years
It's the latest American mom-and-pop restaurant chain to cave under the pressure of rising food costs and cost-cutting diners.
Former Towne West Square mall lands first major tenant as business park transformation advances
The business park is an "intriguing project" that will help revitalize the area, said Nathan VanderGriend, CEO of PROtect, which has 22 locations with more than 750 employees in the
Japan's Takaichi is winning fans not with politics but with her style and 'work, work, work' mantra
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has won the catchphrase of the year for her pledge to “work, work, work, work and work” for the country.
Japan's Takaichi is winning fans not with politics but with her style and 'work, work, work' mantra
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has won the catchphrase of the year for her pledge to “work, work, work, work and work” for the country.
Japan’s Takaichi is winning fans not with politics but with her style and ‘work, work, work’ mantra
TOKYO (AP) — The pledge by Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to “work, work, work, work and work” for her country has been named the catchphrase of the year. The ultraconservative Takaich…
Zeroday Brewing Co. to shut down flagship Taproom, adding to business closures in Harrisburg
Zeroday Brewing Co. plans to shutter its flagship taproom and restaurant, dealing another blow to Harrisburg’s once-vibrant dining and nightlife scene. On Wednesday evening, co-founder Theo Armstrong said that he and his partners made “the difficult decision” to close the location at 925 N. 3rd St. The last day will be Sunday, Dec. 28. “Closing […]
Year in Search MENA 2025: AI, education & sports
With the year drawing to an end, we explore the moments, people, and trends that sparked curiosity across the Middle East and North Africa. The year 2025 was defined by …
Arkansas parents voice concerns over voucher changes affecting homeschool sports funding
Educators and parents are reacting to proposed changes to Arkansas' school voucher program, known as the Educational Freedom Accounts, as lawmakers look to fine
Admins and defenders gird themselves against maximum-severity server vulnerability
Open source React executes malicious code with malformed HTML—no authentication needed.
Samsung Might Finally Fix One Of The Most Annoying Notification Issues On Galaxy Phones
Ads are among the most annoying notifications we receive from our smartphone apps, and Samsung is finally doing something to curb them.
Student groups, political leaders divided over Northwestern's federal funding deal with Trump admin.
Advocates for Jewish students at Northwestern University say the agreement with the Trump administration is the first step in ensuring safety on campus, but some key political leaders say the university is bending to the will of the president.
How to watch 2025 NCAA men's water polo championship on ESPNU
No. 2 UCLA looks to win back-to-back NCAA men's water polo titles. Here's how to catch the championship game on ESPNU.
Jeffrey Epstein's estate fights to shield over 250 emails with top Goldman Sachs lawyer
A new court filing indicates Kathryn Ruemmler, now the top Goldman Sachs lawyer, communicated with Jeffrey Epstein about sex assault lawsuits.
Committee finalizes 2026-30 classification and district adjustments
One of the two 6A-5A hybrid leagues was left on the cutting room floor.
Critical RSC Bugs in React and Next.js Allow Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution
Critical RSC flaws in React and Next.js enable unauthenticated remote code execution; users should update to patched versions now.
Whoopi Goldberg collapses on “The View” table in our honor: 'This is for “Entertainment Weekly”'
Goldberg dedicated the latest in her long line of collapses to EW.
Prime Video introduces a dedicated news destination for customers
Customers can now conveniently access local, national, and world news from major networks directly from the Prime Video homepage.
UMW Announces Master of Science in Nursing Degree Program
The University of Mary Washington will add a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree, with enrollment beginning in 2026-27. The new program gained approval from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) at its October 2025 meeting and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) in November. It […]
New low-cost iPhone 17 model now rumored to get two design changes
Rumors about Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17e keep coming, with the latest indicating the low-cost model will pack not one, but two design changes.
Amy Schumer dropped 50 pounds to battle disease that 'can kill you' if untreated
Comedian Amy Schumer opens up about her health journey, Cushing syndrome recovery, and using Mounjaro medication after losing 50 pounds for her wellbeing.
The Live Nation litigation minefield: lessons from a legal crossroads for the live entertainment industry and beyond
Attorneys at Michelman Robinson examine the recent convergence of private and government antitrust litigation against Live Nation and the potential implications for the live entertainment industry.
School Specialty's New Edition of Its Phenomena-Based Science Curriculum--FOSS Pathways™--Wins Parent and Teacher Choice Award
School Specialty, a leading provider of supplies, furniture and curriculum for the education marketplace, today announced that its newly released FOSS Pathways™ Edition for PreK–5 has been named a Parent and Teacher Choice Award winner. The new edition of the highly-respected Full Option Science System™ (FOSS®) curriculum, developed at the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley, introduces a next-generation, phenomena-based, hands-on science program designed to meet rigorou
The "all politics" healthcare project in Hoover that's rewriting state regulations
The man who wrote Alabama's certificate of need regulations is concerned that decisions made over a Hoover project could place the regs in jeopardy.
Flu shot protects against new variant, Michigan health officials warn
Michigan's chief medical executive says the vaccine 'reduces severe complications' of the flu, including hospitalization.
Over 400 students and educators attend high school sports media conference at Ouachita
The Ouachita Sports Digital Network at Ouachita Baptist University welcomed over 400 high school students and teachers to campus on Nov. 12 for its fourth annual OSDN High School Sports Media Conference.
The N2 Company Earns Inc.'s Best in Business Distinction for Social Good
The N2 Company is proud to announce its inclusion on the Inc. Best in Business list in the Best Social Good category. Inc.'s annual Best in Business Awards recognized only 32 companies for Social Good — companies that go beyond financial success to make a meaningful difference through their products, initiatives, and impact-driven leadership.
South Korean president mulls apology to North
Lee Jae Myung says he felt he should apologise over drone flights allegedly ordered as a provocation by his predecessor.
Students Advocate For More Science Funding
A national student-led effort shows how early-career researchers are engaging Congress on federal science funding amid continued uncertainty over FY 2026 appropriations.
Health Care Advocates Testify on Lowering Costs
The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee hears testimony from health care advocates on solutions to lower costs for Americans.
Analysis: Kalani Sitake’s decision to stay at BYU another indication that the school is all-in on achieving sports success
Ten-year Cougars coach ended three days of heavy speculation that he would leave for Penn State by signing another contract extension in Provo
World Health Organization issues guidelines for GLP-1 weight loss medication use
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discusses the World Health Organization announcing its first guidelines on weight loss drugs, his book ‘The Miracles Among Us’ and its Fox Nation special on ‘America’s Newsroom.’
Where Science Meets Storytelling: Twelve Years of the Science Blogs Web Archive
More than a decade after its launch, the Science Blogs Web Archive continues to grow and evolve. In this interview, Jennifer “JJ” Harbster reflects on building and maintaining the collection, while intern Yahir Brito brings a fresh perspective on updating and expanding it. Together, they share a few of their favorite blogs and discuss why it is important to preserve these unique examples of scientific communication.
Microrobots in food science and technology
Nature Food - Microrobotics is an emerging innovation with promising applications in food safety, quality control and processing. This Review highlights recent advances in microrobotic design,...
First day of sports betting projects future success in Missouri, analyst says
A geolocation service registered 2.6 million uses of betting platforms in the first 24 hours of legal sports wagering in the state.
RFP Electronic Health Records System
The Sonoma County Department of Health Services (Department) is pleased to invite you to respond to a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Electronic Health Records System. The Department is seeking a vendor that has experience providing comprehensive EHR systems in a California County Department or Division of Public Health Services. The system should be a single, comprehensive solution to address public health and medication and case management workflows and documentation. Proposals must be received no later than 2:00 P.M. on January 13, 2026.
Oregon’s governor unveils a ‘roadmap’ to business prosperity. Here’s what’s at stake
The blueprint comes as Oregon faces sluggish population growth, high housing costs and other faltering economic indicators.
Lowell High School wins its first teacher of the year award
Tara Goodhue, head of the science department at Lowell high school, will proceed to the national competition for top educator.
Politician Ayachi Hammami latest arrest in Tunisia opposition crackdown
Tunisia opposition says charges are fabricated, as police enforce a five-year prison sentence.
Emerson Takes Over the Museum of Science, Questioning What it Means to ‘Be Human’
Emerson Day featured presentations, exhibits, screenings, and interactive experiences that bridge art, science, and communication.
Is postmodernism wrecking science? In a provocative book, scientists weigh the evidence
War on Science takes aim at science’s global culture wars. Edited by controversial physicist Lawrence Krauss, it argues evidence-based science is under threat.
Android 16 updates include AI-powered notification summaries and built-in parental controls
The new features will initially roll out on eligible pixel devices.
Android 16 adds AI notification summaries, new customization options, and more
The rollout of the new Android 16 features, which are first coming to Pixel devices, marks a new chapter in how Android updates work, as the company is shifting from a single yearly update to more frequent releases.
Epic Games Store decides "at the last minute" not to distribute Horses
Epic Games Store is the latest online storefront to withdraw support for the provocative indie game, Horses.
Helio Highlight: Comets, the Sun, and You
This article shows educators how comets help us learn about the Sun and Space Weather. Connected to educational resources that help K-12+ teachers explain solar wind and space science concepts in simple, engaging ways for students.
AMPS Achieves HITRUST e1 Certification, Solidifying Commitment to Data Security in Healthcare
PHOENIX, Dec. 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AMPS, a healthcare technology solutions company serving self-insured employer groups, payors, healthcare brokers and consultants, and third-party administrators, announced today that its enterprise systems have earned HITRUST e1 Assessment Certification for cybersecurity and information protection. The HITRUST e1 Certification demonstrates that AMPS has met requirements defined by leading cybersecurity and regulatory frameworks, confirming that foundati
How America’s Biggest Retailers Are Rethinking Their Businesses And Their Stores
America’s biggest department stores are changing, and changing fast. In the past quarter, for instance, Target has piloted a new store model in Chicago, where it’s begun segmenting some stores into more backroom operations and fulfillment for online orders, while high-foot traffic locations will prioritize in-person shopper engagement and on-shelf inventory availability. The company plans […]
Avahi Named to Inc.’s 2025 Best in Business List in Best AI Implementation
The annual list recognizes industry-leading companies for exceptional achievement and impactSan Francisco, CA, Dec. 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avahi is proud to announce its inclusion on the Inc. Best in Business list in the Best AI Implementation category. Inc.’s annual Best in Business Awards celebrate companies that have made a profound and lasting impact on their industries. Jack Singh, CEO of Avahi This recognition reinforces Avahi’s commitment to accelerating digital transformation by de
“Stranger Things” series finale runtime confirmed, sets over 500 locations for theatrical release
The series capper will be released in theaters as "Stranger Things: The Finale," running just over two hours. Here's how to find a cinema near you.
Letters to the Editor: Politics, policy and law are the very things that make up the world we live in
'Wake up, buddy — politics, policy and law will determine the world you and your family will live in, a world that is heading for catastrophe under the current lawless regime,' writes an L.A. Times reader.
Vaulted Deep Named "Best in Business" By Inc. Magazine for Scaling Critical Waste Infrastructure while Delivering Carbon Removal
Vaulted Deep has been named to Inc.'s 2025 Best in Business list for scaling the first commercial infrastructure for simultaneously managing organic waste while delivering permanent carbon removal. The recognition in the Best Startups category follows a year of growth across Vaulted's operations, infrastructure, and commercial traction. In 2025, Vaulted expanded its operating capacity, delivered more than 23,000 tonnes of verified CO₂ removal, and secured long-term agreements with Microsoft and
BI readers told us their grocery bills keep going up. That's bad news for more rate cuts.
Business Insider surveyed readers about how prices have changed. Their answers could mean the next interest-rate cut catches a snag.
Replay Sports Cards Awards First-Ever Franchise to Business Partners Josh Stigdon and Jason Buckel
Replay Sports Cards ("Replay") – America's first national franchise dedicated exclusively to the hobby – has signed its first-ever franchise agreement with business partners Josh Stigdon and Jason Buckel, marking a pivotal moment in the company's growth and franchise expansion. The duo will open a new Replay shop in Seymour, Indiana, bringing the brand's modern, community-first take on the local card shop to collectors and families in the region.
Resultant Named to Inc. Magazine's 2025 Best in Business List for Social Good
INDIANAPOLIS, December 02, 2025--Resultant has been named to Inc. Magazine's 2025 Best in Business list in the "Social Good" category.
Limiting Professional Education Loans Is an Attack on Women, Science, and Healthcare
Why is the Trump administration redefining "professional" degrees, and whom will this affect?
SharkNinja Named to Inc.’s 2025 Best in Business List for Innovation and Marketing
NEEDHAM, Mass., December 02, 2025--SharkNinja, Inc. (NYSE: SN), a global product design and technology company, announced today its inclusion on the Inc. Best in Business list in the Innovation and Marketing categories. Inc.’s annual Best in Business Awards celebrate the exceptional achievements and contributions of companies that have made a profound impact on their industries.
Send us your nominations for the 2025 Sloopys, our annual Ohio politics awards: Capitol Letter
Submit your nominations in 28 categories – some nice, some naughty – through Monday, Dec. 8.
Logitech Named to Inc. Best in Business 2025 List
Logitech Sight's Smart Switching feature, powered by RightSight 2, recognized in Best AI Implementation Category for enhancing hybrid meeting equity Intelligent multicamera framing listed in Best AI Implementation category Honored for AI tech that fixes poor hybrid meeting experiences Company selected based on ingenuity, industry impact, superior execution Today, Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) was named to Inc. Best in Business 2025 list. The annual awards celebrate the exceptional achievements and contributions of companies that have made a profound impact in their industries. Based on the AI-powered Smart Switching feature of Logitech Sight tabletop conference camera, the company has been recognized in the Best AI Implementation category. The AI-powered Smart Switching feature of Logitech Sight automatically selects the best angle between multiple cameras. The experience to the remote viewer is like that of a TV production. Logitech developed Smart Switching in response to a
D-Wave Announces Formation of U.S. Government Business Unit
PALO ALTO, Calif., December 02, 2025--D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) ("D-Wave" or the "Company"), a leader in quantum computing systems, software, and services and the world’s first commercial supplier of quantum computers, announced today that it has formed a new business unit dedicated to driving the adoption of its quantum computing products and services with the U.S. government. Led by seasoned government and public sector business executive Jack Sears Jr., the newly formed unit will suppo
INSEAD Holds Top Spot In Financial Times European Business School Ranking
A look at how European business schools fare across Full-Time MBA, Executive MBA, MiM, and Executive Education measures
Have Politics Hijacked Education Policy? (Opinion)
School boards should be held more accountable to student learning, says this scholar.
Feds promised "radical transparency" but are withholding rural health fund applications
Feds Promised ‘Radical Transparency’ but Are Withholding Rural Health Fund Applications
Proposals from states that have shared their applications to a new $50 billion rural health program include using drones to deliver medication, installing refrigerators to expand access to healthy produce, and bringing telehealth to libraries, day cares, and senior centers.
Supreme Court to review New Jersey’s subpoena of faith-based pregnancy centers
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday about a subpoena served on a faith-based nonprofit in New Jersey that runs “crisis pregnancy centers,” an appeal that has put both civil rights advocates and some of the nation’s best-known conservative groups on the same side.
Trump’s health comes under spotlight, as president hails ‘eternity’ of three years left
Trump is finding himself increasingly judged by the same scrutiny of ageism that proved catastrophic for Biden
Ex-Army JAG: Hegseth shifting blame is indication ‘something’s gone terribly wrong’
Full-length Replay: Big East Men's: Temple at Villanova
The Owls (4-3) battle the Wildcats (5-1) in a Big 5 Classic game from Philadelphia.
Steam Machine is a Dream Come True But There's Already a Massive Problem
Steam Machine sounds like a great option for those who want to get into PC gaming, but there seems to be a catch
Here's a list of the 15 must-see high school basketball games of the season
The list starts with a Catholic League showdown Friday
Samsung Debuts Its First Trifold Months Ahead of Folding iPhone
Samsung Electronics Co. unveiled its first so-called trifold smartphone, flaunting its engineering prowess in foldable devices even as the broader category has yet to catch on with mainstream consumers.
McKinney food truck business suffers setback after break-in
McKinney-based King Kups lost $3K–$4K in equipment after a Thanksgiving weekend trailer break-in, canceling two catering events.
Mapping DC health inequities: a scoping review comparing scientific and medical humanities approaches
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - Mapping DC health inequities: a scoping review comparing scientific and medical humanities approaches
Grady Health System opens Decatur outpatient center
Grady Health System is opening its Flat Shoals Parkway Outpatient Health Center this week.
Small Business Saturday rescheduled after snow disrupts shopping event
MADISON, Wis. -- Small Business Saturday faced significant disruption due to snow, but local businesses and advocates remain optimistic about a rescheduled event planned for this upcoming weekend.
Scathing ‘jobs for mates’ review finds appointments to government boards routinely abused
A report by Lynelle Briggs says placements ‘look like nepotism’ and are undermining confidence in government
K&W Cafeterias close all locations after 88 years in business
K&W Cafeterias, a beloved Southern restaurant for 88 years, has closed all its locations.
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 […]
Five reasons your business needs to invest in executive education
Ready to unlock potential at every turn? Explore five reasons your business needs to invest in Executive Education at Marquette University.
SSW Launches New Certificate to Address Children’s Mental Health Crisis
The School of Social Work aims to better prepare future social workers to meet the complex mental health needs of children and youth while strengthening the ...
GUEST COLUMN: What Washington’s elections say about Oregon politics
Elections in various states in November drew national attention and pundits read them closely for longer-term implications, but not in Oregon, where voters who received ballots (this writer did not) had little more than local ballot issues and other mostly low-key contests.
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…
‘The tools to imagine solutions’: Science educator inspires Pakistani children
Science Fuse, a social enterprise, primarily teaches children in impoverished areas, including the Machar Colony slum area in Karachi.
Jan Eberth named head of the Department of Population Health Sciences
Eberth comes to the university from Drexel University in Philadelphia, where she spent the past three years as professor and chair of health management and policy. Prior to that, her education and career were divided between Texas and her native South Carolina.
Top 25 And 1:
Catch your breath if you can because Tuesday's schedule is loaded with great games including UConn vs. Kansas
Six Bruins Earn All-District Recognition from College Sports Communicators
Student-Athletes showing continuing with the great production off the field as well.
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.
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.
Arts & Entertainment fall 2025 semester in review
Students surprise film professor with trip to Criterion Closet At the end of last semester, film students at Grand Valley State University thanked their professor with a trip to the Criterion Closet. Students surprised Associate Professor Joel Potrykus with a trip to the Closet, located in New York. The Criterion Closet is a physical collection of films, contained...
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
New Editorial Leadership for Twin Cities Business
MSP Communications announces appointment of Platt and Rybak to new roles.
Science 37 Honored for Site Innovation in the 2025 Clinical Trials Arena Excellence Awards
Science 37 is the Winner of Research and Development Award in the Site Innovation category in the 2025 Clinical Trials Arena Excellence Awards
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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