SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " imi " 7,470 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Advancing the America First Global Health Strategy Through Landmark Bilateral Agreements on Global Health Cooperation - United States Department of State
In September, I outlined the Trump Administration’s America First Global Health Strategy, which aims to strengthen U.S. leadership and excellence in global health while eliminating dependency, ideology, inefficiency, and waste from our foreign assistance architecture. Today, I welcomed Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi to Washington to sign the first […]
EBay's New Sports Card Price Guide Could Change The Game for Collectors
EBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) is rolling out a comprehensive pricing tool designed to revolutionize how trading card collectors navigate the marketplace. New Pricing Tool Targets Trading Card Collectors The online marketplace giant is introducing a price guide for trading cards that draws on actual marketplace data from completed and paid transactions, collectible news site CLLCT reported last week. The feature offers "a clearer view of everything from rarity to real market value," eBay Vice President
CofC Launches Fitness, Community Health Testing Program
The College of Charleston's new Fitness and Community Health Testing program will assess fitness outcomes for those seeking to optimize their health.
New Sci-Fi Samurai Game Looks Like Ghost Of Yotei In Space
SOL Shogunate is aiming for the moon--literally--with its sci-fi samurai action.
Small Business Saturday Redo
Small, locally owned shops can be found throughout the Kenosha Area. Some have been here for generations, while new ones continue to open. Since Mother Nature snowed all over our special day (on November 29) to support small businesses, let's try again! See the Facebook link of what businesses to visit in person on Saturday, December 6 during normal business hours for great deals and more!
Former Russian chief commander gave 'entire Russian intelligence community' a failing grade for Ukraine attack
Col. Gen. Vladimir Chirkin said Moscow's leadership was "unprepared" and misled into thinking 70% of Ukrainians supported Russia.
Incredible close-up of spider silk wins science photo prize
Duelling prairie chickens, a snake-mimicking moth and a once-a-year sunrise at the South Pole feature in the best images from the Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition 2025
Hawaii sues TikTok parent company ByteDance, claims app harms children
Hawaii sues ByteDance, claiming TikTok was designed to be dangerously addictive for young users through manipulative features.
City Council members flex political muscle in dispute over Chicago budget, corporate head tax
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's budget may be in trouble as more than half of Chicago City Council is now supporting an alternative plan that eliminates the controversial head tax the mayor adamantly supports.
Diablo 4 Season 11 arrives just hours after The Game Awards, fueling speculation among fans that Blizzard timed the launch as a deliberate strategy. But why?
Season 11 of Diablo 4 arrives in the shadow of The Game Awards, and fans are debating whether Blizzard’s timing was a coincidence or a calculated move to maximize attention.
LiaFi Introduces TOR Score Dashboard for Small Business Cash Flow Management
ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky., December 03, 2025--LiaFi, a Fintech platform built for small businesses, today announced enhancements to its TOR Score dashboard, a proprietary cash flow variability metric designed to give sole proprietors and small business owners clarity on their financial health. The TOR Score, short for Track, Optimize, Refine, translates complex transaction data into a single score that reveals cash flow stability, identifies surplus opportunities, and flags potential risk periods. With
Trump pollster’s health care advice for Republicans: pivot to drug prices
Tony Fabrizio did not recommend an extension of Obamacare subsidies, as he previously counseled.
Quin Hillyer: Louisiana should think twice before cutting from Safe Havens for mental health
The St. Tammany Parish Council seems poised to eliminate funding for its Safe Haven mental health campus. That would be a major mistake, this columnist argues, adding that the underfunding of mental health care is a statewide problem.
Is a blue wave headed for Trump, GOP? Tennessee sends 'warning signs'
Democratic party leaders are sounding increasingly optimistic about 2026, while Republicans are the ones expressing concerns of a midterm wipeout.
Trump pardons Democrat Henry Cuellar claiming Biden political attack
Trump claims Biden admin targeted Cuellar for his criticism of US border policy in latest pardon.
Hopes fade in Congress for a health care deal before premiums are expected to soar
Congress has less than a month before health insurance premiums are set to spike for millions of Americans, but hopes of a deal to mitigate the rising costs have made little progress. NBC News' Sahil Kapur reports on the pessimism on Capitol Hill over a deal being reached.
"Joke's on you," says No Man's Sky lead as rival survival game confirms it's replacing an eerily familiar cosmetic
Once Human has been accused of imitating and adapting a No Man's Sky teleporter to create a decorative item included in its loot crates.
Republicans ask the Supreme Court to gut one of the last limits on money in politics
The Court already killed most US campaign finance law. NRSC v. FEC is likely to give big donors even more influence.
How George Soros changed criminal justice in America
The liberal funder has spent tens of millions of dollars swinging dozens of district attorney races, drawing a backlash from the right.
NFL: How failed drugs test saved Denver Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton from cancer
Alex Singleton feared his NFL career was 'done' following a cancer diagnosis, but having played 23 days after surgery, the Denver Broncos linebacker is aiming for Super Bowl glory.
Kim Jong Un's Su-25 fighters have a new weapon, and it looks a lot like a Western cruise missile with a 300-mile range
Pyongyang paraded a new air-launched weapon that shares visual features similar to the Taurus, a cruise missile used by Seoul with a 300-mile range.
Trump says Americans may soon pay ‘no income tax’ as White House explores alternative revenue streams
President Trump proposes eliminating income tax entirely, suggesting tariff revenue could replace traditional taxation in ambitious economic overhaul plan.
Why green chemistry makes science safer for everyone
Considering risks to both those inside the lab and people in the community can help minimize hazards—and make chemistry more sustainable
South Minneapolis business owners cautiously optimistic about new E-line
Metro Transit’s new bus Rapid Transit route is scheduled to debut this weekend, but construction has caused some tough times for businesses in south Minneapolis.
UCF Researcher Creates Novel Sensors for Smartphone-Based Health Monitoring
Professor Debashis Chanda’s low-cost, smartphone-based biosensor could bring rapid, reliable disease detection to areas with limited access to traditional diagnostics.
Mistral closes in on Big AI rivals with new open-weight frontier and small models
Mistral unveils its Mistral 3 lineup, including a frontier model and efficient small models designed for offline, customizable enterprise use—aiming to prove small, fine-tuned AI can beat closed-source giants.
“It kind of feels like we’ve opened Pandora’s box”: Jenna Ortega spoke about AI in the entertainment industry
"It's unacceptable, and many famous people are being victimized."
Alexis Ohanian Is Bullish on Women’s Sports
In March 2019, in response to the news that players from the U.S. women’s national soccer team had filed a gender-discrimination against their employer, the U.S. Soccer Federation, over pay inequality, Alexis Ohanian fired off a series of tweets. Ohanian, an investor and entrepreneur who co-founded Reddit and, since 2017, has been married to Serena…
Newsom Shares Mock Medical Report After Trump's MRI Results
The fictional medical letter penned by “Dr. Dolittle" imitated some of the statements put forward by Trump’s physician.
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?
Your iPhone Already Has iPhone Fold Software, but Apple Won’t Let You Use It
Recent exploits show iPadOS windows running on an iPhone, hinting at the future of Apple hardware and software alike—while also possibly revealing its incoming foldable phone experience.
GOP pessimism grows over any deal to extend expiring health care subsidies
Senate Republicans don’t see a bipartisan deal to extend enhanced health insurance premium subsidies coming together before the Christmas deadline, given the complexity of the issue and a growing f…
Corporations to claim $16B from retroactive GOP tax break, federal report says
The Republican tax law's bonus depreciation provision is expected to cost $362.7 billion over the next ten years, with corporations claiming $16 billion in new tax breaks this year.
Pete Carroll searches for answers as Raiders' dismal season continues
Pete Carroll remains optimistic about the Raiders' chances despite their 2-10 record
Cubs' Marquee Sports Network eliminates GM position among cuts
The network significantly reduced its digital-content team, including cutting director of content Tony Andracki and reporter Andy Martinez.
This organization is trying to use AI to reshape American politics
Using artificial intelligence to identify congressional districts where independent candidates could win, an organization called the Independent Center is aiming to disrupt the two-party system.
Congress set to vote on college sports bill that limits NIL, transfers
The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote Monday, Dec. 1 on the SCORE Act to give the NCAA more authority to set rules on NIL and transfers.
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.
DualSense Wireless Controller – Genshin Impact Limited Edition announced
Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced the DualSense Wireless Controller – Genshin Impact Limited Edition. It will launch on January 21, 2026 for $84.99 / €84.99 / £74.99 / ¥12,480 in s…
Netflix Won't Let You Cast Shows From Your Phone to Your TV Anymore
The streaming giant quietly removed the feature that lets you control content on your TV screen using a mobile device. The company says the feature was not widely used.
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.
$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.
Alina Habba, Trump's former lawyer, disqualified as New Jersey prosecutor
The ruling from a panel of judges from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes amid the push by President Donald Trump's Republican administration to keep Habba as the acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, a powerful post charged with enforcing federal criminal and civil law.
Go (North) West, College Basketball
Lamenting the death of the truly-enjoyable MTE. I hadn’t planned on much basketball coverage here for a couple reasons: for one, the internet is a dying place, and, for two, that’s exacerbating the steady death of Off Tackle Empire dot blogspot dot biz. BUT! Looking over the (limited) options for basketball on this last snowy […]
Ruby Is Not a Serious Programming Language
Ruby survives on affection, not utility. Let's move on.
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.
Who the Hell Is Actually Using Facebook Dating?
With 21 million users, Facebook Dating is a secret hit, including among Gen Zers who use it for clout and content as much as for finding love.
How the Sports Stadium Went Luxe
Is the race to create ever more lavish spectator offerings in America’s largest venues changing the fan experience?
When Participating in Politics Puts Your Life at Risk
During the Trump era, political violence has become an increasingly urgent problem. Elected officials from both parties are struggling to respond.
World's largest HR group asked judge to exclude evidence of its HR expertise in discrimination case
The Society for Human Resource Management tried to exclude evidence that it is a leader in HR.
Apple Reportedly to Launch New Studio Display in 2026 with A19 Pro and Mini LED Upgrades - VOCO News | Global Chinese Instant News Network
Apple's Studio Display is rumored to receive a major upgrade in 2026, with the A19 Pro chip and Mini LED panel being the biggest highlights. The new generation display is expected to significantly improve Apple's long-standing limitations with high refresh rate external displays.
My 5-year-old started his Christmas wish list in October. Here's how I'm keeping my holiday buying under control.
I'm exercising veto power and setting limits for my kids' Christmas gifts to help stay on budget this year
The forgotten court case that let billionaires spend big on elections
While Citizens United became shorthand for unlimited political spending, SpeechNow never even made it to the Supreme Court but made super PACs a reality.
An independent effort says AI is the secret to topple two-party power in Congress
Using artificial intelligence to identify Congressional districts where independent candidates could win, an organization called the Independent Center is aiming to disrupt the two-party system.
The 145 Very Best Cyber Monday Deals on Gear We Loved Testing
We've searched far and wide for the absolute best Cyber Monday deals on gear we've tested ourselves.
These Are The Best TV Deals This Cyber Monday
Here are the best deals on screens from Hisense, TCL, Samsung, Sony, and more this shopping holiday.
Tsodilo Resources Continues Its Collaboration with Botswana International University of Science and Technology
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 1, 2025) - Tsodilo Resources Limited (TSXV: TSD) (OTCQB: TSDRF) (FSE: TZO) ("Tsodilo" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its wholly owned Xaudum Iron Project (XIF) and announce that the Company is continuing its research collaboration with the Department of Chemical, Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST).The BIUST Pig Iron Production ProjectIn 2024, Dr....
NFL playoff picture: Bears jump to No. 1 in the NFC, 4 teams including Raiders eliminated from contention
NFL DFS picks, Broncos vs. Commanders: Daily Fantasy lineups for 'Sunday Night Football'
Daily Fantasy multimillionaire Mike McClure reveals his NFL DFS picks for Broncos vs. Commanders on 'Sunday Night Football'
Tsodilo Resources Continues Its Collaboration with Botswana International University of Science and Technology
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 1, 2025) - Tsodilo Resources Limited (TSXV: TSD) (OTCQB: TSDRF) (FSE: TZO) ("Tsodilo" or the...
Cities put science in the spotlight
When three European cities launch an initiative next year to boost scientific excellence and collaboration, much of the action is likely to take place in public spaces rather than in the laboratory.That is welcome news for Ana Marušić. A medical doctor and professor at the University of Split Medical School in Croatia, Marušić champions close connections between “town and gown” to encourage citizen involvement in research, raise public health awareness and ignite young people’s interest in science. “Responsible research and innovation cannot be done in an ivory tower, answering only the questions that are relevant for scientists,” explains Marušić, who chairs the Department of Research in Biomedicine and Health and leads the Centre for Evidence-based Medicine. “The role of the university is to be a medium for transferring new discoveries in science to society, but also to listen to society about what is important and what is needed.”Three cities united by scienceMarušić’s efforts stand to gain traction through Science Comes to Town (SCTT), a new European project to highlight science’s role in society and strengthen cross-border collaboration in research, innovation and sustainability. With funding from the European Commission, three cities—Split, Brest (in France) and Kiel (in Germany)—plan more than 1,000 public events, workshops and competitions for citizens of all ages, researchers, businesses and policymakers. The year-long project kicks off in Spilt on 20 January with a conference involving partner institutions, community representatives and European policymakers. The three cities may be geographically far apart, but they share much in common. All are located on coasts and are home to top regional research institutions that are part of SCTT. Among the project's partners, the University of Western Brittany in Brest, Kiel University and the University of Split belong to the SEA-EU university alliance, uniting nine European coastal academic institutions to advance research, student exchanges and sustainable development. “These universities have a very strong connection between gown and town,” explains Marušić, who is one of Split’s SCTT ambassadors. “It's very important that these universities are there for the community so that we can learn from each other and grow together.”Tackling Europe’s STEM shortagesSCTT will also reinforce efforts to address Europe’s widening gap in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Studies show that nearly eight out of ten small- and medium-sized businesses cannot find enough workers with the skills required in advanced computing and artificial intelligence (AI)—hindering initiatives to boost European innovation and competitiveness. In healthcare, the European Commission has estimated a shortfall in medical professionals of 1.2 million, due to fewer young people joining the field and an ageing population that needs more care.Strengthening knowledge and dialogue can also help build trust between scientists and the public at time when disruptive technologies are reshaping research and clinical practice, but are also sparking questions about ethics and accuracy. With experience in the classroom and in clinical epidemiology—a discipline involving monitoring and controlling public health problems—Marušić sees the potential risks of over-reliance on AI and chatbot answers for both research and learning. “AI is a very good tool, but one has to be very critical about it,” she adds. “Delegating brain activities will definitely diminish your neural capacities because you are not developing the circuitry that is important for higher-level cognitive engagement.” She stresses the importance of critical thinking and encourages students to use AI as a researcher’s tool to reinforce rather than supplant human discretion and brainpower.The power of outreachSplit’s experience in bringing scientists and the public together has provided a platform for discussing research ethics and explaining science in simple terms. Local efforts to expand health literacy and awareness have helped reduce cardiovascular disease among women, according to Marušić’s research. The city’s university also hosts events to introduce schoolchildren to science, using hands-on experiments to spark curiosity.Marušić’s own love of science began with an interest in studying molecular biology. “But my parents told me, why don't you study medicine?” she recalls. “I said, OK, why not? And that was the best decision that I made.” Marušić is not a practicing physician, but teaches anatomy and public health. She also co-edits ST-OPEN, an overlay university journal that works on capacity building for research publishing among students and their supervisors. Balancing teaching, research and editorial work, she is a strong advocate for medical studies, urging high school students to consider medicine “because later on it gives you a really wide perspective about human life and about society” as well as many career opportunities.As SCTT prepares to bring science into daily life in 2026, Marušić hopes that it will build permanent bridges between scientists and citizens across Europe. “We can be a showcase for making collaboration with the community stronger to share knowledge, attract young talent and integrate critical and scientific thinking into everyday life,” she explains, adding that "collaborating with businesses to improve cities and communities is also an important aspect of this project."Science|Business, which connects policymakers, academics and industry through its news reporting, analysis and events, is an SCTT partner.
Who is National Guard shooting suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal?
The Afghan man who allegedly shot two National Guard members in Washington, DC, last week went from being a US partner in Afghanistan to spending the last few years in Washington state with his family, where, according to reports and sources who spoke to CNN, he had a hard time assimilating and dealt with lingering PTSD.
Here's What You Need to Know About the Nintendo Switch 2 Cyber Monday Deals
While the Switch 2 itself isn't on sale, you can still find good prices on bundles and accessories.
Rep. Kiley 'cautiously optimistic' health care deal gets done by year's end
Time is running out for lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to figure out how to tame skyrocketing healthcare costs for millions of Americans in the new year.
Rep. Kiley 'cautiously optimistic' health care deal gets done by year's end
Time is running out for lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to figure out how to tame skyrocketing healthcare costs for millions of Americans in the new year.
These Are The Best TV Deals This Black Friday Weekend
Here are the best deals on screens from Hisense, TCL, Samsung, Sony, and more this shopping holiday.
Cyber Monday TV deals on 75-inches and bigger — these larger sizes are affordable for a limited time
Turn your living room into a theater with up to nearly $1,300 off these dazzling displays.
Politics chat: Trump moves on Venezuela, Afghans in the U.S.; Obamacare deadline approaches
President Trump says he's closing Venezuela's airspace and further limiting immigration to the U.S. Lawmakers are facing a deadline over extending the subsidies for Obamacare.
ACA subsidies will be extended by 1–2 yrs: Healthcare strategist
Mizuho Americas healthcare equity strategist, Jared Holz, joins Market Catalysts host Julie Hyman to discuss the future of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies and why he believes they're not likely to be eliminated anytime soon. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Catalysts.