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Denver Health says several people seriously injured in crash involving snow plow
Driver seriously injured after crashing into KCK business
One man was taken to the hospital after crashing into a Kansas City, Kansas, building Thursday morning.
Health Care Provider Consolidation
I. Issue Overview Ongoing consolidation among hospitals, physician practices, and other providers poses a serious challenge to the U.S. health care system—offering potential benefits to some but also with significant worrying impact on rising health care prices. Provider consolidation remains pronounced among both hospitals and physician practices. The share of hospitals operating independently declined from … Continued
Driver crashes into upholstery business in Kansas City, Kansas; one seriously hurt
A car crashed into Ramos Upholstery in Kansas City, Kansas, on Central Avenue and N Tremont Street in Strawberry Hill Thursday morning
Hill Country floods are worsening mental health issues in Kerr County, report finds
In Kerr County, the July 4 flood is expected to quadruple serious emotional disturbances in children and more than triple adult PTSD cases this year.
Doctors warn frostbite risk rising as dangerous cold grips the DC region
As extreme cold hits the D.C. area, experts explain how frostbite affects blood flow, early warning signs and what to do to prevent serious injury.
Teen Mental Health and School-Based Services in California
About 3 in 10 California teens report serious psychological distress, yet significant gaps exist between the need for mental health care and receipt of services. This report examines teen mental health and access to care across demographic groups and describes how state and district funding have expanded school-based solutions.
After D.C. clears homeless encampments, health workers warn of growing risks
While Trump administration officials say that sweeps of homeless encampments make public spaces safer, health workers say they are disrupting care for people with serious medical needs and increasing the risk of illness and death.
‘Out of Bounds: The Sports Betting Boom’ Review: Gambling on Every Game
A documentary on Vice highlights the serious risks and potential for scandal that have come with the rise of the sports-wagering industry.
China's Thermal Battery Breakthrough Might Change Everything
Thermal batteries have major advantages in terms of durability, but they also have a serious shortcoming. Fortunately, this breakthrough might offer a solution.
The Alcohol Alternative Industry Is Exploding. But Are These Products Really Safer? Experts Weigh in
From CBD to kratom to nootropics, the active ingredients at the center of this growing industry may lead to serious health consequences.
Business jet with 8 on board crashes at Maine airport
The Federal Aviation Administration says seven people were killed and a crew member survived with serious injuries when a private business jet crashed in a snowstorm at Maine's Bangor International Airport.
'The Moment' Doesn’t Take Charli XCX Too Seriously, & Neither Should We
Charli XCX's 'The Moment' premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. We talked to the cast about how real Charli XCX is being in the mockumentary, and give our thoughts on the film.
How the ‘confident authority’ of Google AI Overviews is putting public health at risk
Experts say tool can give ‘completely wrong’ medical advice which could put users at risk of serious harm
Briar Blush reveals shocking 'Drag Race' collapse led to post-show hospitalization
'RuPaul's Drag Race' eliminated queen Briar Blush tells EW her shocking collapse on the show led to a serious diagnosis and hospital stay after filming: 'Started feeling kind of grim.'
VDH: Winter Storm is a weather event, but also a serious health event
While the time to prepare for the winter storm is behind us, the State Health Commissioner says there are a few things you can do right now.
China Announces Probe Into Vice Military Chair Zhang Youxia
China opened a probe into Zhang Youxia, a Politburo member and vice chairman of the Communist Party’s Central Military Commission over suspected “serious discipline and law violations,” Xinhua News Agency reported.
Surrender as a service: Microsoft unlocks BitLocker for feds
: If you're serious about encryption, keep control of your encryption keys
Scientists discover concerning substances making way into food chain: 'Serious health risks'
"Disproportionately high exposure."
This Mom Quit Corporate and Started an ‘Accidental’ 8-Figure Business Above Her Garage — Here’s Her Underrated Secret for Explosive Success
Stacey Fraser saw serious white space in the childrenswear market.
The U.S. Has Pulled Out of the WHO. Here’s What That Means for Public Health
As the U.S.’s withdrawal from the WHO becomes official, the consequences for the world’s health could be serious.
Alarm as US mulls prioritising citizens in research funding
A senior White House official said the Trump administration is considering ways to prioritise research funding to American citizens, triggering alarm in the research community that the country could destroy its century-long status as a magnet for overseas talent.Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), said last week that it is “important for us to continue to emphasise the use of federal R&D dollars towards American scientists and technologists that are staffed by Americans in their labs.” Asked about support for Chinese students during a Congressional hearing, Kratsios went on to say that in future funding announcements, the OSTP would “emphasise” that “we're funding American students.”The precise meaning of his impromptu comments, and what they could mean in policy terms, isn’t yet clear. The OSTP did not respond to multiple requests for clarification from Science|Business.But given that US science and technology has relied on overseas talent for the past century, Kratsios’s words have alarmed former US science officials.Immigrants have made up around 30-40% of US Nobel Prize winners since the 1940s, for example. Except for some sensitive projects, countries typically grant research funding on a nationality-blind basis, lest they deter foreign scientists from immigrating. “If director Kratsios’s statements are taken literally and become official policy of the White House, [research-intensive] universities will likely have to close labs if not entire research divisions,” said David Biggs, a former science and technology official in the US State Department. In their most extreme interpretation, Kratsios’s comments would imply that foreign scientists established in the US would see access to funding curtailed. This would “result in many world-leading professors who work in the United States in fields that this administration considers a priority (like fusion energy, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing) leaving the country,” said Cole Donovan, a former US science diplomat, and now associate director at the Federation of American Scientists.CripplingHowever, given the context of the conversation, Kratsios may have been referring more narrowly to funding for doctoral or postdoctoral students. At the hearing, he said he wanted to see labs staffed by US citizens. But even this would have devastating consequences for the US science system, say former officials, because the country is so dependent on early-career foreign researchers. Recent statistics show that nearly half of those in the US with a PhD in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) are considered short-term visitors, or non-residents in the official terminology. If this included residents who are not yet citizens, the proportion would likely be even higher. “Foreign PhD students are really a significant and core part of the university STEM workforce, and postdocs is similarly large,” said Donovan. Preventing US-based academics from hiring them from overseas would be a serious blow, he said. “If it's the case that this administration intends to limit funding to labs staffed only with US citizens, the effect will be to cripple the American scientific enterprise,” said Chris Marcum, a former OSTP official. “To think that these researchers can simply be replaced is a pipe dream. The labs will close,” said Marcum. Go elsewhereAround half of US-trained postdocs are foreign-born, said Biggs. “If these top international students cannot get funding to do their research, or even if they hear that funding for foreign students has been greatly restricted and will be super competitive, they will no longer choose to study in the US and will go elsewhere.” It’s unclear for now if Kratsios’s comments will translate into a real policy shift. But they could add to turmoil in the US science system since Donald Trump took over as president one year ago. Related articlesNIH turmoil risks reciprocal EU-US access to health research fundingUS set to close office responsible for global science and technology dealsTrump halts new NIH grants to international health-research partnersSince then, nearly 8,000 grants at the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation have been frozen or terminated, Naturereports. Courts have overturned most of these cancellations, but the disruption caused remains significant. Both those agencies have also dished out around a quarter fewer grants this year than normal, the journal reported. International student enrolment is also down by 17%. The Trump administration also proposes to cut research budgets by around a third, although Congress may mollify the cuts.
Alarm over US plan to prioritise citizens in research funding
The US’s leading science official has said the country will focus its research spending on scientists with US citizenship, triggering alarm that the country could destroy its century-long status as a magnet for overseas talent.Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), said last week that it is “important for us to continue to emphasise the use of federal R&D dollars towards American scientists and technologists that are staffed by Americans in their labs.” Asked about support for Chinese students during a Congressional hearing, Kratsios went on to say that in future funding announcements, the OSTP would “emphasise” that “we're funding American students.”Kratsios’s precise meaning, and what it could mean in policy terms, isn’t yet clear. The OSTP did not respond to multiple requests for clarification from Science|Business.But given that US science and technology has relied on overseas talent for the past century, Kratsios’s words have stunned former US science officials.Immigrants have made up around 30-40% of US Nobel Prize winners since the 1940s, for example. Except for some sensitive projects, countries typically grant research funding on a nationality-blind basis, lest they deter foreign scientists from immigrating. “If director Kratsios’s statements are taken literally and become official policy of the White House, [research-intensive] universities will likely have to close labs if not entire research divisions,” said David Biggs, a former science and technology official in the US State Department. In their most extreme interpretation, Kratsios’s comments would imply that foreign scientists established in the US would see access to funding curtailed. This would “result in many world-leading professors who work in the United States in fields that this administration considers a priority (like fusion energy, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing) leaving the country,” said Cole Donovan, a former US science diplomat, and now associate director at the Federation of American Scientists.CripplingHowever, given the context of the conversation, Kratsios may have been referring more narrowly to funding for doctoral or postdoctoral students. At the hearing, he said he wanted to see labs staffed by US citizens. But even this would have devastating consequences for the US science system, say former officials, because the country is so dependent on early-career foreign researchers. Recent statistics show that nearly half of those in the US with a PhD in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) are considered short-term visitors, or non-residents in the official terminology. If this included residents who are not yet citizens, the proportion would likely be even higher. “Foreign PhD students are really a significant and core part of the university STEM workforce, and postdocs is similarly large,” said Donovan. Preventing US-based academics from hiring them from overseas would be a serious blow, he said. “If it's the case that this administration intends to limit funding to labs staffed only with US citizens, the effect will be to cripple the American scientific enterprise,” said Chris Marcum, a former OSTP official. “To think that these researchers can simply be replaced is a pipe dream. The labs will close,” said Marcum. Go elsewhereAround half of US-trained postdocs are foreign-born, said Biggs. “If these top international students cannot get funding to do their research, or even if they hear that funding for foreign students has been greatly restricted and will be super competitive, they will no longer choose to study in the US and will go elsewhere.” It’s unclear for now if Kratsios’s comments will translate into a real policy shift. But they could add to turmoil in the US science system since Donald Trump took over as president one year ago. Since then, nearly 8,000 grants at the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation have been frozen or terminated, Naturereports. Courts have overturned most of these cancellations, but the disruption caused remains significant. Both those agencies have also dished out around a quarter fewer grants this year than normal, the journal reported. International student enrolment is also down by 17%. The Trump administration also proposes to cut research budgets by around a third, although Congress may mollify the cuts.
Chipotle is getting more serious about politics, forming a new PAC
Ahead of the midterms, Chipotle has filed to form a political action committee, in a departure from its prior "Government Affairs Engagement Policy."
Serving Veterans with severe mental health challenges
Veterans with serious mental health challenges can achieve their wellness goals
Super Bowl champ reveals scary health battle that left in coma for 5 days
Former New York Giants star pass rusher Osi Umenyiora revealed a serious health battle that left him in a coma for five days on a recent podcast.
Rep. Moulton on Trump’s push for Greenland: ‘We actually have to take this completely absurd threat seriously’
What is metabolic health and why does it matter?
The world is confronting not only an obesity epidemic but a broader metabolic health crisis, silently putting millions of normal-weight individuals at serious risk.
The Scary Health Risk That Can Sneak Up on GLP-1 Users
Next gen weight-loss medications are powerful — but eating too little can put some patients at serious nutritional risk.
Dangerous bacterial outbreak in Bay Area city sparks health alert
"People may delay seeking medical care because it doesn't feel serious at first."
Sony, Anker, and other headphones have a serious Google Fast Pair security vulnerability
It’s a good time to make sure your wireless headphones are updated.
GM recalls more than 80K Chevy vehicles over serious pedestrian safety risk
Over 80,000 Chevrolet Equinox EV vehicles from model years 2025-2026 are being recalled due to defective pedestrian alert sound systems that may not meet federal safety requirements.
2026 Entertainment & Outdoors Internship
Get Paid to Explore & Influence Door County. Seriously. The Peninsula Pulse is hiring a Summer Arts & Entertainment Intern to help tell the stories of Door County, one of […]
Analysis: Is Trump serious about Greenland? Gaming it out
President Donald Trump seems to be running out of ways to assure everyone that he’s dead-serious about taking over Greenland.
The School Science Fair Was Never This Serious
Dodgeball and bad lunches are one thing, but this science fair story went way beyond trifold boards and poster glue.
Chelsea Handler calls out Timothée Chalamet's controversial 'Marty Supreme' press run: 'Leo wouldn't say that'
Chelsea Handler shared her two cents on Timothée Chalamet's controversial press run for his award-winning film, suggesting the actor is taking his promotion 'too seriously.'
Jurgen Klopp to Real Madrid: Former Liverpool manager a candidate for head coach role at LaLiga club
Jurgen Klopp is currently the head of global soccer for Red Bull, but Sky Germany understands the former Liverpool boss would give a move to Real Madrid serious consideration; Xabi Alonso left his position as head coach at Real on Monday with Alvaro Arbeloa his replacement
Thune warns DOJ's probe of Fed Chair Powell 'better be real' and 'serious' amid political backlash
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged that planned blocks against future Federal Reserve nominees would cause issues and remained adamant that the central bank stay independent.
This protein-packed snack is popular, but it comes with serious health risks
Ingesting ultra-processed foods has been associated with over 30 health conditions. Too much red meat is associated with adverse health outcomes, too.
Union calls for fish farm health and safety review
It comes after figures show there have been 139 serious accidents in the past five years.
Recall of cheese products upgraded to highest danger level over Listeria-causing bacteria: FDA
The FDA announced that a recall of cheese products has been upgraded to the most serious risk category after testing positive for Listeria monocytogenes.
First Ever Medical Evacuation Of The ISS, "Diet Stacking" Could Be Seriously Bad For Your Health, And Much More This Week
All the biggest science news stories of the week.
Texas A&M student alleges mold exposure in dorm caused health crisis
A Texas A&M student says mold in her dorm left her seriously ill weeks into the semester. Her lawsuit was later dismissed by a judge.
The Weight-Loss Drug Revolution—From Shots to Pills and the Science behind It All
Behind the hype of GLP-1 medications lies complex science, serious side effects and a pharmaceutical arms race.
People in Brazil are living past 110 and scientists want to know why
Scientists are uncovering why Brazil may be one of the most important yet underused resources for studying extreme longevity. Its highly diverse population harbors millions of genetic variants missing from standard datasets, including rare changes linked to immune strength and cellular maintenance. Brazilian supercentenarians often remain mentally sharp, survive serious infections, and come from families where multiple members live past 100. Together, they reveal aging not as inevitable decline, but as a form of biological resilience.
Household burning of plastic waste in developing world is hidden health threat, study shows
The practice is ‘much more widespread’ than previously realised, researchers say, with serious environmental impact
Deco: No serious knee injury for Barca keeper Ter Stegen
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen has no serious knee injury, the club's sporting director Deco has said after medical examinations. German international Ter Stegen left the Barca camp at the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia to have the knee examined back in Spain.
Trump suddenly sounds a lot like a progressive Democrat when it comes to business
President Donald Trump made two extraordinarily unusual policy statements in rapid succession Wednesday that sent stocks sinking and raised serious questions about the limits of presidential power in a free-market economy.
Study Raises Serious Questions About The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Calories count too.
IPOs: Serious Business With Some Showbiz
Many stock exchanges pull out the showbiz stops to attract IPOs to their venues, employing lasers, gongs, dancers, confetti and more. It's a good time, but it’s also serious business, as exchanges compete for a dwindling number of listings in recent years. Bloomberg Television Anchor Tom Mackenzie takes a look at some of the entertaining ways initial public offerings are celebrated. (Source: Bloomberg)
Letters to the Editor: Trump’s politics of unpredictability will have serious consequences
'We enter a period where intimidation replaces leadership, and spectacle substitutes foresight,' write an L.A. Times reader.
Audeze Reveals Its New Maxwell 2 Gaming Headset For PCs And Consoles
Audeze Maxwell 2 is a major upgrade over the Maxwell gaming headset which garnered serious praise from gamers. Maxwell 2 has been re-engineered for better audio fidelity
Local health officials identify first pediatric flu death in Ohio
"This is a sad and serious event that breaks our hearts.”
Local health officials warn of fast-spreading flu variant this season
Experts say symptoms may start mild but can still lead to serious illness
California needs these mental health law changes after Reiner murders
OPINION: As someone with family who have navigated California’s system of care for serious mental illness, there is so much more that can be done to prevent tragic stories like the Reiners’.
Parents who delay baby's first vaccines also likely to skip measles shots
Ahead of possible changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, a new report highlights growing confusion over the best time to protect infants from serious infectious diseases.
Victor Wembanyama's MRI, which revealed no serious …
Victor Wembanyama's MRI, which revealed no serious …
Rare late-game stumble motivates Knicks against Hawks
The New York Knicks spent much of December offering evidence they are serious contenders to win their first NBA title in more than 50 years.
Top 10 people in science for 2025, according to Nature
From a CRISPR baby to a young AI disruptor, 2025 has seen some serious leaps in science and technology. It's also seen some people stand up to the growing pressures facing the science community. Now, the world's leading science journal, Nature, has named 10 prominent figures behind the year's standout moments, which stretch from the darkness of the deep sea to the far corners of the universe.
Mamdani Takes Health Fund Audit 'Seriously' as Insolvency Reverberates
The audit from Comptroller Brad Lander, concluding the joint union-City Hall insurance fund owes billions of dollars to the city, is applauded by fiscal watchdogs and advocates who have long decried deals they say ripped off retirees and taxpayers.
Outback Steakhouse sued after man suffers 'serious bodily injury' from toilet shattering under him
A Florida man sued Outback Steakhouse after a handicapped toilet seat allegedly shattered and collapsed while he was on it, causing severe bodily injury.
5 celebrities who went public with alarming health diagnoses in 2025
Celebrity health battles dominated 2025 as stars faced serious diagnoses, from brain aneurysms to cancer. Kim Kardashian, Dave Coulier and others shared struggles.
Our top picks of 3D scanners and 3D printers all have discounts in the 2025 holiday sales
Professional-grade scanning and printing technology just got seriously affordable in these end of year deals.
Made for More Health: Knowing when it's more than a cold
In this Made for More Health segment, Dr. Diaz Martinez explains how to recognize when a simple cold may signal something more serious.
Popular painkiller offers little relief, raises serious health risks, study finds
A widely prescribed opioid painkiller showed limited effectiveness and increased risk of negative effects in a new analysis published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine.
This popular painkiller may do more harm than good
Tramadol, a popular opioid often seen as a “safer” painkiller, may not live up to its reputation. A large analysis of clinical trials found that while it does reduce chronic pain, the relief is modest—so small that many patients likely wouldn’t notice much real-world benefit. At the same time, tramadol was linked to a significantly higher risk of serious side effects, especially heart-related problems like chest pain and heart failure, along with common issues such as nausea, dizziness, and sleepiness.
Safety panel says NASA should have taken Starliner incident more seriously
This particular anomaly deserves to be right up front and center for quite some time."
How systemic failures turn state mental hospitals into prisons
The share of people with severe mental illness in state psychiatric hospitals accused of serious crimes has risen steeply. The shift has all but halted the possibility of care before a catastrophic crisis.
Weird and wonderful science: How elephant poop leads to guitars and 12 other unusual UCLA research findings from 2025
Check out 13 of the year's most unusual discoveries, which prove groundbreaking science doesn’t always look serious at first glance.
Insmed Provides Clinical and Business Update
Insmed Incorporated (Nasdaq:INSM), a people-first global biopharmaceutical company striving to deliver first- and best-in-class therapies to transform the lives of patients facing serious diseases, announced today that the Phase 2b BiRCh study of brensocatib in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) did not meet its primary or secondary efficacy endpoints in either the 10 mg or 40 mg treatment arms. Brensocatib was well tolerated, with no new safety signals identified
Ohio head coach Brian Smith fired for cause after administrative review revealed 'serious professional misconduct'
Brian Smith was placed on indefinite leave from Ohio on Dec. 1.
Widespread diaper need poses serious health threats to families
Researchers found that 41 percent of babies screened in urban health centers lack consistent access to the diapers they need.
Obamacare expiration will have ‘death spiral’ effect on US healthcare
End of subsidies after failed legislation will have serious and damaging impact on entire sector, policy experts say
Mental Health Matters, People with Mental Illness Matter Too
Personal Perspective: Amid the mental health positive catchphrases, deep-rooted prejudice still exists toward people living with serious mental health conditions.
Samsung Is in Talks With AMD to Supply 2nm Chips, Potentially for EPYC Venice CPUs, as the Foundry Emerges as a Serious TSMC Challenger
Samsung is now in talks with AMD to supply its SF2 (2nm) process for next-gen CPUs, as the Korean giant aims for a massive foundry comeback.
2025 Was The Year True Crime Entertainment Went Too Far
Netflix's 2025 true crime documentary The Perfect Neighbor raises serious ethical questions and concerns when it comes to true crime media in general.
As Netflix and Paramount circle Warner Bros. Discovery, Hollywood unions voice alarm
Several Hollywood unions, including the Writers Guild of America and Teamsters, have expressed serious concerns over a potential sale of Warner Bros. Discovery or its assets to Netflix or Paramount.
Sherrone Moore’s firing and its shocking aftermath raises tough questions about the culture of Michigan’s athletic department
A series of scandals over the last several years begs a simple, yet critical question: Is what happened with Sherrone Moore a serious, but isolated, incident or a symbol of a broader, cultural problem within the walls of Michigan athletics?
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is fundraising off of charges she stole $5M from FEMA
Democratic lawmaker fundraises off indictment, claiming political retaliation amid serious federal charges.
BMW crashes into Santa Monica business, leaving driver seriously injured
A vehicle crashed into a building in Santa Monica late Thursday night, causing significant damage to the structure and sending the driver to the hospital.
FDA intends to put its most serious warning on Covid vaccines, sources say
The US Food and Drug Administration intends to put a “black box” warning on Covid-19 vaccines, according to two people familiar with the agency’s plans.
Business owners fear wall could collapse, crush homeless encampment east of L.A.
Business owners in El Sereno, a neighborhood east of downtown Los Angeles, are raising concerns about a cement block wall along an alley, saying it could collapse and cause serious injuries or deat…
Blame Republicans for our health insurance mess
Conservatives haven’t taken health policy seriously for decades.
Scientists Thought Parkinson’s Was in Our Genes. It Might Be in the Water
New ideas about chronic illness could revolutionize treatment, if we take the research seriously.
Anthony Edwards is the star of a new series streaming on Amazon
The show was released on Tuesday, and it features Edwards in a serious battle against a table tennis superstar.
Exxon CFO Kathy Mikells to Retire Feb. 1 Due to Health Condition
Kathy Mikells, the first outsider to join Exxon Mobil Corp.’s inner circle of top executives, will retire next year as she battles a serious but non-life threatening health condition.
The Best Way to View Trump’s Alarming New National Security Strategy
It’s an unserious document—but it can tell us a few things about how Trump sees the world.
'Spurs were at it'
As I walked the High Road from Seven Sisters station to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, I passed more than one group of Spurs fans anticipating a goalless draw against Brentford. In fact, one cluster of supporters (including a chap wearing a creatively named "Van de Ben" shirt) were seriously debating whether they would take such a scoreline before a ball was kicked. Spurs were at it.
Winter Meetings will show if Twins are serious about competing
Minnesota must choose a real direction and stop drifting through another season.
Apple’s chip chief might be the next exec to leave
Apple’s chip chief, Johny Srouji is “seriously considering” leaving for another company in the near future.
Report: Johny Srouji contemplating leaving Apple, considering career elsewhere
According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple’s hardware technologies SVP Johny Srouji is ‘seriously’ considering leaving the company. He’s...
Science journal retracts study on safety of Monsanto’s Roundup: ‘serious ethical concerns’
Paper published in 2000 found glyphosate was not harmful, while internal emails later revealed company’s influence
Atropos Health Expands Oncology Precision Medicine Capabilities with Publication of New AI Algorithms for Rare Disease and Integration of ASCO Guidelines
PALO ALTO, Calif., December 05, 2025--Atropos Health, a pioneer in translating real-world clinical data into personalized real-world evidence (RWE) and insights, today announced the publication of additional AI tools for patient monitoring for existing paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH)—a rare, serious blood disorder. The progression monitoring tools are in addition to the previously-published algorithm to improve earlier diagnosis that was announced prior.
No. 1 Nail Health Red Flag Never to Ignore, According to a Dermatologist
In TODAY.com's Expert Tip of the Day, a dermatologist shares an often overlooked nail symptom that can be a sign of a serious underlying issue.
'I just gambled our entire savings away': Young adults in Mass. are hooked on online sports betting
Addiction specialists, treatment programs and 12-step recovery groups tell WBUR they’re seeing a rise in young adults — ranging from their late 20s to early 30s — seeking help for serious gambling problems tied to sports betting apps.
Business etiquette is in serious need of improvement
Young workers more accustomed to online interactions are getting primers on face-to-face interactions.
Lammy to address ‘court emergency’ but expected to safeguard jury system
Justice secretary appears to have pulled back from plans to scrap juries for all but the most serious cases
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.