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How Data is Changing Science – Part 3: The Infrastructure Layer
In Part 1 of this series, we examined how science is beginning to change. Less fieldwork, fewer lab hours. More screens. More simulations. Instead of waiting for nature to do […]
Seen but not forgotten: How citizen science helps document biodiversity in remote Borneo villages
When I, Erik Meijaard, worked as a wildlife consultant for a timber concession in Borneo, I often chatted with the logging truck drivers—and quickly realized that some of them knew far more about local ...
Mayor Villalobos intensifies effort to confront ongoing issues in McAllen’s Entertainment District
McAllen’s Entertainment and Cultural Overlay District, commonly known as the 17th Street entertainment district, was created in 2005 to allow bars, clubs, and music venues to operate under special permits with added safety requirements.
'Out of network:' UNC Health-Cigna contract expires
UNC Health and Cigna have not reached an agreement as of Monday morning, leaving Cigna subscribers facing "out of network" costs for UNC providers and hospitals.
Funders "should mandate change in science publishing"
Paper argues that funders, governments and universities should intervene more forcefully to prevent "draining of research"
WHO issues global guideline on the use of GLP-1 medicines in treating obesity
To address the growing global health challenge of obesity, which affects more than 1 billion people, WHO has released its first guideline on the use of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies for treating obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease.
Science on Tap: The science behind food
Wisconsinites tend to take pride in being the dairy state, encouraging the love of everything from cheese curds to custard to cream puffs.But are you aware of how much research goes into perfecting the products?
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Jersey City’s mayoral runoff election
Voters in New Jersey’s second-largest city will get another chance to elect a new mayor Tuesday in a runoff election
ESA Steps Up Earth Monitoring, As NASA And NOAA Missions Face Uncertain Futures
Someone has to.
Funding agencies can end profit-first science publishing
Funding organizations can fix the science publishing system—which currently puts profit first and science second—according to research published on the arXiv preprint server.
Former USDA-ARS Lead Scientist and Researcher Brendan Niemira Takes Over as Chief Science and Technology Officer at IFT
Former USDA-ARS lead scientist and researcher Brendan Niemira takes over as the new Chief Science and Technology Officer at IFT.
AFTD Grantee Leads Basic Science Study Exploring Role of Protein in Tau-Based Disorders like CBD
A recent study examines chromogranin A in tau protein disorders, expanding our foundational knowledge of these forms of FTD.
Seattle’s younger college grads far more likely to have studied science
Among younger Seattle adults who earned a college degree, 64% majored in a science-related subject, a higher share than older generations, writes FYI Guy.
Higher health costs force financial trade-offs: Investors 'worry about all these moving pieces,' top advisor says
Rising health premiums and expenses on top of already higher costs for everyday items are forcing people to make trade-offs in their budgets.
Netflix Makes Screencasting From Phones To A Bigger Screen Almost Impossible
If you wanted to watch Netflix on a TV, you could always screencast a show or movie from your phone directly to a smart TV. That's no longer possible.
I'm 22 and worth $25 million. I don't regret sacrificing sleep, friendships, and college parties to get here.
Emil Barr says having an "extreme" work-life balance is a recipe for mediocrity. He spends as much time working as possible in the hope he'll be a billionaire by 30.
10 US cities where home values are actually increasing
Home prices may be falling in many cities, but some homeowners are still seeing their property values rise in these US cities.
Today's biggest science news: X-class solar flares | Chernobyl fungus | Modern humans interbred with 'hobbits'
Monday, Dec. 1, 2025: Your daily feed of the biggest discoveries and breakthroughs making headlines.
Ebola outbreak in Congo declared over by health officials
An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now over, Congolese health officials announced on Monday, after the country went 42 consecutive days without recording a new case.
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...
Shark scientists want their research to help save threatened species, but don’t know how. Our new paper can help.
Sharks are some of the most threatened animals on Earth, and accordingly many scientists who study sharks want their research to be useful for conservation. However, most scientific training does n…
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Tennessee's special congressional election
Less than a month after Democrats scored big victories in the Nov. 4 general election, voters in a heavily Republican Tennessee congressional district will fill a vacant seat Tuesday in the closely divided U.S. House
Understanding tea's health benefits and risks
The review confirms that tea, particularly green tea, plays a crucial role in preventing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), obesity, diabetes, and certain types of cancer.
Exploring Denmark’s Tardigrade Fauna through Citizen Science
In a groundbreaking study that intertwines the realms of citizen science and systematic biology, researchers have successfully unveiled an intricate tapestry of tardigrade fauna residing in Danish cryptogams. Tardigrades, or “water bears,” are microscopic, water-dwelling ani
UT Health San Antonio pilot study explores ear acupressure for chronic pain relief in dementia care - UT Health San Antonio
One-year initiative to recruit 30-40 participants, and caregivers Contact: Steven Lee, 210-450-3823, lees22@uthscsa.edu Content by Claire Kowalick SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 1, 2025 – A new clinical pilot study will investigate training caregivers on the practice of ear acupressure to help with pain for people with dementia. The study at UT Health San Antonio, the academic […]
World's first commercial space science satellite launched
The first private space science satellite set to study the effect of flares from stars has been launched into space and is now in orbit, the company behind it has said.
Four people shared their quitting stories. This is some of their best advice.
Are you fed up at work? Sick of it all? Ready to throw in the towel? You're likely not alone.
New Editorial Leadership for Twin Cities Business
MSP Communications announces appointment of Platt and Rybak to new roles.
Top 10 Healthcare Industry Predictions For 2026
Sachin Jain’s annual list of health industry predictions covering managed care, hospitals, pharma, digital health, and entrepreneurship.
As a PS5 Gamer, I’d Hate to Miss These PlayStation Cyber Monday Deals, and Time’s Almost Up
Here's what's up for grabs now that PlayStation's official Cyber Monday 2025 sale is now live across all major retailers. This could be your last chance to save on consoles, games, accessories, and more.
Indigenous knowledge and science join forces to save the choro mussel in Chile
Huellelhue means “place for swimming” in Mapudungun. It’s also the name of one of the rivers that flow through the Lafken Mapu Lahual Multiple-Use Conservation Area, established in 2005 in southern Chile’s Los Lagos region. The name of this area is more than just a grouping of words, says Eduardo Vargas, president of the Nirehue […]
Mapping the exposome: Science broadens focus to environmental disease triggers
After decades of intense focus on genetics, the biomedical research community is undergoing a major shift, focusing on a new framework called "exposomics."
Bar, commercial and industrial: See 21 latest business, apartment, land sales ($2K to $1.2M)
See a list of property sales in Onondaga County other than residential homes.
FEMA workers reinstated after suspension and investigation over letter criticizing Trump’s overhaul of agency
A group of FEMA workers has been reinstated after three months of forced leave and an investigation into alleged misconduct for signing an open letter to Congress that criticized the Trump administration’s overhaul of the disaster relief agency and warned it could put American lives in danger.
New Breakthrough to Strengthen Bone Could Reverse Osteoporosis
A potential treatment for millions.
Elon Musk Is Building Out His Next Company Town With Science Center, Gym
The billionaire has a construction boom planned for his rural Texas compound known as Snailbrook.
Ruby Is Not a Serious Programming Language
Ruby survives on affection, not utility. Let's move on.
New study finds cancer-linked compounds in common foods
Scientists have found that common foods can contain hidden contaminants formed during cooking or through environmental exposure. A new testing method called QuEChERS helps identify these chemicals more quickly and with greater ease. The research showed strong accuracy and high sensitivity across multiple food samples. This streamlined approach could improve food safety checks while reducing chemical waste.
NJDOH Observes National Influenza Vaccination Week, Reminds Residents to Stay Up to Date on Flu and COVID-19 Vaccines
NJDOH Observes National Influenza Vaccination Week, Reminds Residents to Stay Up to Date on Flu and COVID-19 Vaccines
Scientists just found a way to tell if quantum computers are wrong
Researchers unveiled a new technique that validates quantum computer results—especially those from GBS devices—in minutes instead of millennia. Their findings expose unexpected errors in a landmark experiment, offering a crucial step toward truly reliable quantum machines.
Future Focus: Vaccine Politics, EU Hiring, and Campbell’s Crisis
From vaccine polarization to EU hiring challenges and a Campbell PR crisis, here’s what business leaders need to know now.
The CNRS is breaking free from the Web of Science
From January 1st 2026, the CNRS will cut access to one of the largest commercial bibliometric databases, Clarivate Analytics'
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.
Misericordia University Business Students Visit Bloomberg Headquarters
Misericordia University business students recently visited Bloomberg headquarters for an immersive learning experience highlighting the company’s innovative financial technologies.
How To Tap Into The Hidden Histories Of Rocks | Science Friday
When we try to commune with nature, many of us turn toward the living: a walk in the woods among swaying trees, chirping birds, blooming flowers.But earth scientist Anjana Khatwa says...
A whole new Witcher trilogy of games released within six years of each other - is that even possible?
CD Projekt Red has reaffirmed plans to release an entire new trilogy of The Witcher games within six years.
A new laptop makes a great gift (even for yourself). Here are our 12 favorites, on sale now
I found multiple laptops at their lowest prices ever.
Rethinking statistical significance
From medicine to economics, significance testing misleads. Estimation offers a clearer way forward.
Opinion | Y’all Street might be better for American business than Wall Street
As Dallas gets a Nasdaq exchange, Texas looks more like America’s financial center.
Scientists Say: Van Allen belts
Astronomers have detected these radiation belts around Earth and beyond. Jupiter’s belt is thousands of times as intense as Earth’s.
McKnight foundation honors founding member of Oral Health Task Force
Paul Nelson has been awarded the 2025 Virginia McKnight Binger Heart of Community Honor for the Northeast Region. The award recognizes seven Minnesotans from across the state who demonstrate compassion and service in their communities. Each recipient receives $10,000 in recognition of their impact. The announcement was made on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, by the...
National Health Organizations: Flu Shots Critical for Individuals with Diabetes, Heart, and Lung Disease
During National Influenza Vaccination Week, experts encourage everyone age 6 months and older to get vaccinated to reduce risk of severe illness and hospitalization
Science at the statehouse: experts will embed at the legislature to help lawmakers craft informed policies
The new program mirrors efforts in other states to bring nonpartisan scientific input to lawmaking
2025’s Best Science Books For Kids
Kid lit experts weigh in on some of the year's best science titles. Plus, what to look for when choosing a book for the child in your life.
Missouri 39th state to legalize sports gambling
Missouri officially began taking legal sports bets, becoming the 39th state to offer regulated sports betting in some form and the 31st to take wagers via the internet and mobile apps.
Meet Marisa Sweeney, a Morris County Democrat who flipped a GOP Assembly seat
Assemblywoman-elect Marisa Sweeney said she'll prioritize protecting social safety nets and be 'heart-driven' in her governing.
SFA bag 'multi-million' Hampden naming rights deal with Barclays
The Scottish FA announce a "multi-million-pound, long-term partnership" for the naming rights of the national stadium.
How To Tap Into The Hidden Histories Of Rocks
Geologist Anjana Khatwa explains how embracing wonder and awe adds to our scientific understanding of the rocks that form our planet.
The best new science fiction books of December 2025
From a new collection of shorter fiction by Brandon Sanderson to Simon Stålenhag’s new work, via a Stranger Things novel, December’s new sci-fi features some compelling and intriguing offerings
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.
Column: L.A. exploded into a world art capital. I was lucky to be here to witness it
Los Angeles' ascension coincided with the 46-year career of art critic Christopher Knight. In his final column for The Times, he cites three important factors in that rise.
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.
UEFA held meetings with pro-Palestinian campaign over possible Israel suspension after ceasefire
UEFA has been under pressure to call a vote on Israel’s ongoing participation in European football.
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.
I never expected to sell pencils. The brand I've built has grown into a $1.7 million sustainability business.
Michael Stausholm turned a simple plantable pencil into SproutWorld, a global brand inspiring sustainability one small idea at a time.
Citizens reiterates Market Outperform rating on PENN Entertainment stock By Investing.com
Citizens reiterates Market Outperform rating on PENN Entertainment stock
Caesars Entertainment stock rating maintained at Market Outperform by Citizens By Investing.com
Caesars Entertainment stock rating maintained at Market Outperform by Citizens
Uniting Citizen Science for Leporidae Conservation in Mexico
In a ground-breaking study set to be published in December 2025, researchers led by Emili Ramírez-Bravo have embarked on a crucial exploration aimed at the conservation of three distinct Leporidae species in the central mountains of Mexico. This unprecedented investigation
Truro City: Dawn Sports and Entertainment buy stake in National League club
Truro City's owners sell an 8.33% stake in the National League club to US investor Dawn Sports and Entertainment LLC.
Nicola Pietrangeli: Italy's two-time French Open winner dies aged 92
Italian tennis great Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open champion, dies at the age of 92.
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
From heart health to dementia, vaccines are key to ageing well
Vaccines are key to closing the gap between healthier and longer lives, writes Katrina Bouzanis of the International Federation on Ageing (IFA)
Lee Health: Celebrating our first anniversary as private nonprofit
Starting at the end of 2023 and throughout 2024, Lee Health completed a thoughtful, multi-phase process to become a community-focused.
I left JPMorgan to work for MrBeast. I took a 50% pay cut and know it was the right decision for my career.
Bart Dziedzic left JPMorgan for MrBeast in 2024. He took a big pay cut but he now values experience and hands-on work over salary.
I struggled to find a job after working at Microsoft, Meta, and Apple — until I embraced AI and looked beyond Big Tech
Lee Givens, Jr. struggled to find a job after a career at Microsoft, Meta, and Apple. He decided to embrace AI and looked outside Big Tech.
10 key benefits of taking fiber-filled Metamucil (but not too much)
Here’s what Metamucil is, the benefits it provides and why moderation matters.
Business Not War: The Secret US-Russia Deal’s Global Impact
The recent WSJ article revealing the. outlines of a geo-strategic business partnership between US and Russia has caused a storm
The Game Awards' Geoff Keighley teases announcement by placing a whopping demon-covered statue in the desert
The Game Awards organiser Geoff Keighley has set social media tongues wagging with three words: regal.inspiring.thickness.
'Only woman in the room:' How Indy became top city in nation for women sports execs
Indy is among the top in the nation for having women in powerful sports jobs.
Column | As a doctor, here’s my simple, science-backed schedule for a healthier day
Routines are linked to better health outcomes. Consider this a template for creating your own.
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.
Smartphones at age 12 linked to worse health
Preteens who own smartphones are likelier to have depression, obesity and insufficient sleep than their peers.
Smartphones at age 12 linked to worse health
Preteens who own smartphones are likelier to have depression, obesity and insufficient sleep than their peers.
Medicaid Work Rules Exempt the ‘Medically Frail.’ Deciding Who Qualifies Is Tricky.
People on Medicaid deemed “medically frail” won’t need to meet new federal requirements that enrollees work 80 hours a month or perform another approved activity. But state officials are grappling with how to interpret who qualifies under the vague federal definition, which could affect millions.
Morning Sports: December 1, 2025
Sheridan Hawks Junior Hockey: The Sheridan Hawks Junior Hockey Team won both ends of their home and home series this past weekend vs. Gillette. Friday’s score on the road was 4-1 and Saturday’s score at home was 3-1. Sheridan will play another home and home series this weekend vs. Rapid City.
AC MILAN AND TECHNOGYM EXTEND THEIR COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE IN SPORT
AC Milan is pleased to announce the renewal of its collaboration with Technogym, the world leader in sport and wellness, which reconfirms its role as Official Training Equipment Supplier. This long-st...
Adamstown welcomes holiday season with Christmas tree lighting [photos]
Adamstown held its tree lighting Sunday night at the Adamstown Grove, 340 W. Main St. The event included a performance from musicians at Cocalico High School, as well as plenty
From momentum to endurance: Scaling structured literacy with implementation science
When it comes to structured literacy, implementation science is a roadmap for translating the science of reading into instructional routines.
Why singing is surprisingly good for your health
From boosting the brain to reducing pain, joining others in song can bring some wide-ranging benefits.
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.
Make-A-Wish New Jersey 'picks up where science and medicine leave off'
Make-A-Wish New Jersey grants wishes for the 700 children diagnosed with critical illnesses in the state each year.
Accenture dubs 800,000 staff ‘reinventors’ amid shift to AI
Consultancy’s move to embrace artificial intelligence follows Disney’s use of the term ‘imagineers’
Saint Francis (PA) faces Xavier on 5-game road slide
Saint Francis (PA) heads into a matchup against Xavier as losers of five road games in a row
Charleston Southern visits UT Martin after Blaine's 23-point game
Charleston Southern Buccaneers (5-4) at UT Martin Skyhawks (5-2) Martin, Tennessee; Tuesday, 12 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Charleston Southern faces UT Martin after Brycen Blaine scored 23 points in Charleston Southern's 74-62 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Skyhawks have gone 2-0 at home.
Yes, there are Apple Watches on sale for Cyber Monday — these are the best deals
Apple’s most durable, premium watch is rarely on sale, but you can get it for $200 off right now.
NC pitches $1 billion plan to overhaul rural health system
State’s proposal for federal funding would create regional hubs, bolster workforce and revive food-as-medicine programs.
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.
Kongsberg Discovery and MacArtney enhancing defense, energy, and ocean science underwater menu
Kongsberg Discovery has taken a step to combine its offering with MacArtney to create a new level of turnkey capability in underwater sensing.