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Higher fee for nonresidents among national park changes in 2026
Among the biggest changes is a new fee structure with a surcharge for nonresidents of the U.S. visiting America’s most frequented national parks.
Corsair cancels users $3499 PC order, then rises the price by $800
Corsair cancels user’s PC order, then relists it $800 higher A Reddit user claims Corsair canceled his order for a VENGEANCE a5100 without providing a
Trump says he takes higher daily dose of aspirin than doctors recommend
In an interview about his health, the US president says: "I don't want thick blood pouring through my heart".
Video Health costs to skyrocket for millions losing ACA subsidies
ABC News’ Trevor Ault spoke with KFF vice president Cynthia Cox about the higher costs 20+ million Americans will face starting today with the expiration of ACA subsidies.
Higher health insurance premiums leave 1M Georgians with hard choices
“My rate went up 620%, more than seven times what I paid in 2025.”
"Superstitious" Trump says higher aspirin dosage behind hand bruises
He's defied doctors' calls to lower the dosage because he wants "nice, thin blood pouring through my heart," Trump told the WSJ.
US health insurance costs to rise by 114% for millions as subsidies expire
More than 20 million people in the United States will face sharply higher health insurance costs as of January 1 after enhanced tax credits that helped enrollees in the Affordable Care Act afford coverage…
Trump tells WSJ he takes a higher daily dose of aspirin than his doctors advise in lengthy interview on his health
President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Thursday that he takes a higher dose of aspirin than his doctors have recommended, blaming that for the visible hand bruises that have generated renewed questions about his health.
Trump tells WSJ he takes a higher daily dose of aspirin than his doctors advise in lengthy interview on his health
President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Thursday that he takes a higher dose of aspirin than his doctors have recommended, blaming that for the visible hand bruises that have generated renewed questions about his health.
AI Demand Is Pushing GPU Prices Higher With Direct Impact On Nvidia (NVDA) Stock
Nvidia Corporation ($NVDA) is facing a rare issue in its gaming business, but it starts far outside the gaming world. Specifically, rising demand for AI data center...
Cattle futures end final session of year higher ahead of direct business
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live and feeder cattle closed higher ahead of the start of widespread direct cash business. February live was up $1.12 at $231.60 and April was $1.22 higher at $232.20. January feeders were $.70 higher at $350.25 and March was up $.75 at $345.32. Direct cattle markets were quiet. Asking prices were $232 […]
Florida Blue and Cigna disputes with South Florida hospitals push patients out of network, paying higher costs
Showdowns in Broward and Palm Beach counties between hospitals and insurers like Florida Blue and Cigna over contracts are pushing patients out of network and disrupting care as the new year arrive…
IRS hands workers bigger tax break for business expenses in 2026
Gig workers get a tax break with higher mileage rates for 2026. The IRS increased business driving deductions to 72.5 cents per mile from last year.
Some states move to pick up the tab as Obamacare subsidies lapse
States are scrambling to limit health insurance premium hikes as Obamacare subsidies are about to expire, with millions facing higher health care costs.
Scientists replayed evolution and found a surprise
Environmental change doesn’t affect evolution in a single, predictable way. In large-scale computer simulations, scientists discovered that some fluctuating conditions help populations evolve higher fitness, while others slow or even derail progress. Two populations facing different kinds of change can end up on completely different evolutionary paths. The findings challenge the idea that one population’s response can represent a whole species.
Research expenditures ranking underscores ASU’s dramatic growth in high-impact science
Arizona State University has surpassed $1 billion in annual research funding for the first time, placing the university among the top 4% of research institutions nationwide, according to the latest National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development, or HERD, survey.The milestone is a testament to ASU’s success at transforming research dollars into tangible benefits for people — from improved health care to safer communities to more powerful computer chips and more.
Entertainment and Media Layoffs Up 18% With Over 17,000 Jobs Slashed in 2025
A wave of consolidation, AI-driven change and cost-cutting pushed entertainment and media layoffs sharply higher in 2025
Microsoft’s business is on fire. So how can its stock break from its curse?
The OpenAI and Nvidia narratives need to come back into fashion in order for Microsoft shares to move meaningfully higher.
KTR2 Could Shake Up the $100 to $200 Handheld Market
KTR2 enters the hot $100–$200 bracket with aggressive pricing and higher-end materials. Can KT Pocket carve out space against Retroid, MANGMI, and AYANEO?
Buffalo Bills vs. Philadelphia Eagles game chat
Buffalo can solidify its playoff position while keeping hopes of higher seeding alive with a win over Philadelphia today
New Jersey's business outlook for 2026: What you need to know
With rising unemployment and higher energy costs, Garden State businesses are expressing concern about what the new year has in store for them.
Sleep Apnea Risk Tied to 40% Higher Odds of Poor Mental Health
Obstructive sleep apnea significantly worsens mental health in older adults, increasing risks of depression and psychological distress over time.
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.
Healey explores options to cover residents losing health insurance
With insurance premiums set to spike, thousands are dropping coverage or hunting for higher priced plans on the Massachusetts Health Connector
ACA Subsidy Expiration Leaves Millions Facing Higher Health Insurance Costs
Obamacare sign-ups are steady, but warning signs emerge
While sign-ups are above 2024, some states are concerned about higher terminations, fewer new enrollees and more consumer calls for help. If Congress fails again to extend enhanced subsidies in January, they say enrollment could drop.
City believes more expensive, restrictive parking rules will help businesses, not hurt them
Mayor Justin Bibb believes higher rates and enforcement into nights and weekends will make downtown parking easier to find and help businesses.
The disunity of science is a feature, not a bug
Mathematical models wield miraculous power, but mistaking them for reality has trapped science in a destructive quest for a “Theory of Everything.” Physicist and philosopher Ragner Fjelland argues that this leads to bloated, Frankenstein theories kept alive by clumsy, ad-hoc amendments, which reduce rather than boost science’s power. Fjelland calls for a radical shift in our attitude: we must reorientate towards creating entirely new theories, celebrating rather than lamenting disunity and diversity in science. Science, from the scientific revolution in the seventeenth century to the present day, has more or less developed in a “reductionist” way. The fundamental assumption is that all sciences may be ordered in a hierarchy that can be represented as an upside-down pyramid. At the top we find the human sciences, and at the bottom physics. Strong (or “ontological”) reductionism maintains that all theories at one level can be completely reduced to the lower level, all the way down to theories of atoms and elementary particles, or whatever is “at the bottom.” In the end, all diversity in the world can be unified in one fundamental theory. Hence it is called a final theory, or a Theory of Everything.One of the central figures in developing the idea of a Theory of Everything is the Dutch theoretical physicist Gerard 't Hooft, who received a Nobel Prize in physics in 1999 for his work. He emphasizes the non-empirical status of the theory:There exists no closely resembling alternative theory. This means that any slight change brought about in the rules would make the theory unlikely or inelegant. The theory will be a "package deal": take it, or leave it. This should hold both for the local laws and for the boundary conditions.This endeavor is not new. On the contrary, it goes all the way back to the birth of Western philosophy 2,500 years ago. The Babylonians made regular astronomical observations during a period of 600 years, from 747 BCE until 150 ACE. They developed mathematical techniques to predict astronomical phenomena, but they made no attempts at explaining them. However, the Greeks developed models, both material and theoretical, to explain the observed phenomena.The best example is Plato’s late dialogue Timaeus. Here he introduces a divine craftsman, the Demiurge, who has constructed the universe according to an original plan. Plato seems to have thought that the original plan is what is actually real, while the material world is merely an imperfect realization of it. He therefore does not, in the Timaeus, reconstruct the material universe, but the original plan, which can then be used to explain the material universe.Plato’s aim in producing a theoretical model is to reconstruct the original plan. That is what he carries out in Timaeus—and some modern physicists have embarked on the same project. For example, Einstein’s basic attitude is reflected in the title of Abraham Pais’ biography: “Subtle is the Lord...,” echoing Einstein’s comment, “Subtle is the Lord, but malicious He is not.” In an interview Einstein compared our situation to a child who enters a huge library. The child knows that someone has written the books, but he does not know the languages in which they are written. He suspects that there is a mysterious order, but he does not know what it is.___“We have all been working in what Husserl called the Galilean style; that is, we have all been making abstract mathematical models of the universe to which at least the physicists give a higher degree of reality than they accord the ordinary world of sensation.”Steven Weinberg, Nobel Prize in Physics (1979)___This Platonist view is contrary to a widespread impression of science, symbolized by the picture of the “father” of modern science, Galileo Galilei, with his telescope. According to this impression, Galileo liberated himself from the dominating metaphysics of his day—basically Aristotelian philosophy—and constructed a telescope that he directed towards the sky, showing that Jupiter has four moons. He also performed experiments with bronze balls rolling down inclined planes and found the law of freely falling bodies.However, in other cases Galileo emphasized the unreliability of our senses. It is easy to see why. He defended Copernicus’ heliocentric hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, we are not at rest at the center of the universe, but moving at a tremendous speed through space. Why don’t we observe this motion? Galileo praises Copernicus because “with reason as his guide he resolutely continued to affirm what sensible experience seemed to contradict.” In other places he directly refers to Plato. SUGGESTED VIEWING The quest for a final theory With Michio Kaku Galileo’s Platonism goes back to his early writings. In The Assayer, published as early as 1623, Galileo compared the universe to a grand book that is written in the language of mathematics, and “its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometric figures without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it.” Therefore, things that cannot be described by mathematics—for example, colors, smells and odors—are not real. They are merely subjective.This division into subjective and objective, advocated by Galileo and his younger contemporary René Descartes, is normally associated with a mechanistic world view, which is regarded as the opposite of Platonism. When we reduce something to, for example, molecules and atoms, we move “downwards.” In contrast, the Platonist moves “upwards,” to abstract entities. However, it only shows that when we address fundamental questions, we should be careful in applying everyday spatial metaphors like “up” and “down.”___Nature is complex, and we cannot in general construct mathematical models that adequately describe the world.___The endeavor of finding a Theory of Everything has been heavily criticized. In 2006, the theoretical physicist Lee Smolin published “The Crisis in Fundamental Physics.” He argued that one of the most fundamental principles of science is that we should only regard theories as scientific if we have the possibility to show that they are false by experiments. Although he did not refer to Karl Popper, other critics have referred to Popper and argued that a theory is not scientific if it cannot be falsified (see for example Ellis & Silk 2014).These were not the first physicists to be anti-reductionists. In 1972, the journal Science published an article by the physicist Philip Anderson with the title “More Is Different.” This is the kind of article a scientist would normally write only after he has won a Nobel Prize. However, Anderson won the Nobel Prize for physics five years later, in 1977. The article is amazing, not primarily because it argues in favor of anti-reductionism in general, but because it argues for anti-reductionism within physics itself. Anderson’s conclusion was:At each stage entirely new laws, concepts, and generalizations are necessary, requiring inspiration and creativity to just as great a degree as in the previous one. Psychology is not applied biology, nor is biology applied chemistry.We may say that Plato started the “unity of science movement,” based on Euclidean geometry as the model of all knowledge. A distinguishing mark of geometry is that all possible constructions can be reduced to a few fundamental principles. We have to acknowledge that this approach has limitations. In general, we can easily model technological systems. In addition, we may construct simplified and idealized models that capture important aspects of systems, from various perspectives and for various purposes. But nature is complex, and we cannot in general construct mathematical models that adequately describe the world. In a complex system, each level has its distinct, emergent, properties that are characteristic of this level. Therefore, a complex system should be investigated at different levels and from different perspectives. Instead of exclusively pursuing a scientific ideal based on the unity of science, we should acknowledge the diversity—or even the disunity—of science.
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, partners with global digital skills platform Simplilearn to launch five AI-focused professional programmes for business leaders
Simplilearn, which has more than eight million learners in 150+ countries, has agreed a strategic partnership with Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, to deliver five cutting-edge programmes to professionals worldwide. Focused on AI-driven business and technology education, the programmes bring together the academic excellence of Oxford Saïd, as part of the world's #1-ranked university (Times Higher Education World University Rankings), with Simplilearn's international platform.
Ministers defend ‘most ambitious animal welfare strategy in generation’ before publication
Conservatives claim government’s plan for higher welfare standards for farmed animals could undermine British agriculture
He Started a Business Legally. Now Trump's Mass Deportations Threaten Him and Other Immigrant Entrepreneurs.
Immigrants start businesses at a higher rate than native-born Americans, benefitting not only themselves but also their American workers and customers.
As insurers retreat from Obamacare, a working family is caught in the squeeze
With covid-era subsidies set to end, insurers that offer Obamacare have retreated from some regions, leaving consumers with higher prices and few options.
Activist Ananym Capital urges LKQ to sell its European auto parts business
Divesting its European business means LKQ will be able to focus all its attention on its higher margin North American operations.
Confidence is soaring in Broncos Country
We survey Denver Broncos fans each week and confidence in this team has never been higher this season!
Ancient oceans were ruled by super predators unlike anything today
Long before whales and sharks, enormous marine reptiles dominated the oceans with unmatched power. Scientists have reconstructed a 130-million-year-old marine ecosystem from Colombia and found predators operating at a food-chain level higher than any seen today. The ancient seas were bursting with life, from giant reptiles to rich invertebrate communities. This extreme complexity reveals how intense competition helped drive the evolution of modern marine ecosystems.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 tipped to upgrade two cameras next year
Galaxy Z Fold 8 is rumored to get major camera upgrades next year, including higher-resolution telephoto and ultrawide shooters.
10 Ohio colleges and universities were not in alignment with the science of reading, audit shows
Ten Ohio colleges and universities’s educator training programs were found to not be in alignment with teaching the science of reading, according to an audit from the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
WATCH: Doctor-lawmaker blames Obamacare for driving health costs higher
House Republicans unveil healthcare bill promising to cut premiums by 11-12% through association health plans and transparency measures for all Americans, among other initiatives.
Apple Has Reportedly Kicked Off iMac OLED Development With a Screen Size Of 24 Inches, Will Tout Higher Brightness Levels But Resolution Said To Remain Unchanged
A new report states that Apple has commenced the development of the iMac OLED, but it will take years before a revamped product has launched
Video Health insurance premiums are set to skyrocket
Millions of Americans are set to face higher health care costs at the end of the year, and it appears that Congress will recess for the Holidays without a fix.
K-Shaped US Economy Leaves Small Businesses Playing Catch-Up
Bankruptcies and loan delinquencies among small businesses are heading higher, and layoffs are mounting.
Fifteen Ohio higher ed institutions must align literacy programs with Science of Reading, or else
Two years after Ohio committed to teaching the Science of Reading, Gov. Mike DeWine is now warning colleges and universities to get with the program.
Funding College Sports With Private Equity Is Way Better Than Hitting Students With Higher Fees
Plus: Fix the NBA Cup by blowing it up, World Cup ticket prices or lotteries, and more.
Governor DeWine Announces Science of Reading Audit Results for Ohio Colleges and Universities
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine joined Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) Chancellor Mike Duffey today to announce the results of a recent audit into educator preparation programs (EPPs) at colleges and universities across the state.
The oil business is hurting but still in love with Trump
Industry leaders are enjoying the president's push to cut regulations even as they wish for higher prices.
Global Business Activity Growth Slows as Tariffs Bite
Business activity in the U.S., Europe and parts of Asia continued to grow as 2025 draws to a close, but at a slower pace as higher barriers to trade and uncertainty about relations between major powers took their toll.
Cox and former Govs. Herbert, Leavitt speak on need for a 'higher standard' in politics
Gov. Spencer Cox spoke alongside former Utah Govs. Gary Herbert and Mike Leavitt about the need to move away from divisive politics on Monday.
Will Congressional Inaction Force Farmers to Choose Between Health Insurance and Their Farm Budget?
Farmers likely need to prepare for substantially higher premiums and healthcare costs for 2026, unless Congress acts now to address the problem.
Americans face higher health care costs as Congress stalls on ACA subsidies
The deadline to enroll in Affordable Care Act plans for coverage starting Jan. 1 is Dec. 15, as key subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress intervenes
Americans face higher health care costs as Congress stalls on ACA subsidies
The deadline to enroll in Affordable Care Act plans for coverage starting Jan. 1 is Dec. 15, as key subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress intervenes
Oklahoma doctor explains health risks of processed meats
Health experts warn processed meats like bacon and hot dogs are linked to higher risks of cancer, heart disease, stroke and obesity, while unprocessed meats are healthier choices.
Higher utilization hammers Highmark Health's Q3 results
The post-pandemic spike in the use of health care services was supposed to be a blip. Patients were rescheduling medical procedures they’d put off...
Looking at the Narrative for Golden Entertainment After Go Private Deal and Activist Pressure
Golden Entertainment's stock narrative has shifted as the market recalibrates around a go private deal that effectively anchors fair value at about $30.50 per share. While the fair value estimate and revenue growth outlook remain steady, the slightly higher discount rate signals a modestly increased required return that aligns with the deal driven risk profile. Investors can track these evolving assumptions and stay updated on the changing story behind the stock. Stay updated as the Fair...
Two-thirds of Americans say government should ensure health care for all: poll
The poll comes as more than 22 million Americans brace for significantly higher health care costs next year.
Two-thirds of Americans say government should ensure health care for all: poll
The poll comes as more than 22 million Americans brace for significantly higher health care costs next year.
Tanning bed users are at higher risk of skin cancer, especially in unusual places
Indoor tanning is trending among Gen Z. A new study finds tanning bed users not only have a much higher risk of melanoma, they also have DNA damage linked to cancer across nearly their entire skin.
Science & Medicine: A breakthrough for glioblastoma patients that may lengthen lives
A new technique for delivering radiation to glioblastoma brain tumors may allow doctors to use much higher doses while preserving healthy brain tissue. UT Health San Antonio's Andrew Brenner, MD, PhD, says this may give patients more time.
Netflix Is Reinventing Its Business Again. Could the Stock Be Heading Higher?
The streaming wars have escalated as tensions rise in the industry.
Higher cost, worse coverage: Affordable Care Act enrollees say expiring subsidies will hit them hard
Costs are poised to jump.
Higher cost, worse coverage: Affordable Care Act enrollees say expiring subsidies will hit them hard
Americans are feeling the strain already with less than three weeks to go until the expiration of COVID-era tax credits that have helped many people pay for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
UNC Health, Cigna agree to new contract, restoring coverage for 65,000 patients
The two parties’ previous contract expired on Nov. 30, leaving Cigna members with higher costs when treated by UNC Health providers.
Total asset finance new business in October 2025 rises by 7%: FLA
Over the first ten months of 2025, total new asset finance business was 2% higher than in the same period in 2024.
Science Shouldn’t Rely on Corporate Software (opinion)
We need to treat the software undergirding scientific research as a public good—and make investments accordingly.
How prioritizing wellbeing can boost retention, innovation, and your business's bottom line
Workplace wellbeing, energy, and belonging drive retention, innovation, and higher profits, as revealed by Indeed's employee happiness survey.
Nothing Phone (4a) allegedly adds new color and a big price hike, leaker claims
According to a leaker, Nothing Phone (4a) will launch with a new color variant, but also a much higher price point.
It’s not just Americans who are feeling US tariffs. Five charts show their global impact
There are signs steeper US tariffs, introduced by US President Donald Trump, are feeding through to higher prices for Americans. But they are also inflicting pain beyond US borders. We look at examples from around the world.
How New Growth Drivers Are Shaping What Analysts Think Gives BrightSpring Health Services The Edge
BrightSpring Health Services latest update nudges its fair value estimate slightly higher to about $40.54 per share, underpinned by steady revenue growth expectations of roughly 12.49% and a largely unchanged discount rate near 6.96%. The modest bump reflects growing conviction in the companys ability to win additional limited distribution drug contracts and unlock further upside from generic conversions and Provider Services opportunities. Read on to see what is driving this evolving...
Despite US tariff hikes, global trade remains surprisingly strong
Global trade is proving far more resilient than many economists expected in the face of escalating U.S. tariffs, The Wall Street Journal writes. Despite forecasts of a decline earlier this year, the U.N. now projects global trade in goods and services will reach $35 trillion in 2025—a 7% jump driven by both higher prices and […]
At the first stop on his affordability tour, Trump mocks affordability
What was supposed to be a speaking tour to connect with Americans struggling with higher prices and stagnant wages was instead a greatest hits campaign speech.
AI doctors will be good at science but bad at business, and big talk with little action means even higher drugs prices: 10 healthcare predictions for 2026 from top investors
We hope 2026 is calmer after tariffs, public health chaos, and the cancellation of billions of research funding and health coverage support for millions.
WGU Workforce Decoded Report Reveals Employers Rewriting Hiring Playbooks as Business Needs Shift
Survey of 3,000+ U.S. employers underscores opportunity to reimagine higher education to better support career development WGU Workforce Decoded Report Reveals Employers Rewriting Hiring Playbooks as Business Needs Shift Survey of 3,000+ U.S. employers underscores opportunity to reimagine higher education to better support career development SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WGU today released its inaugural Workforce Decoded Report, which reveals employers’ perspectives on workfo
450,000 New Yorkers will lose health insurance plan | 7 On Your Side Investigates
New York already has some of the highest health care premiums in the country and they could soon be getting even higher.
GOP officials in swing districts brace for fallout if health care subsidies end
House Republicans in battleground districts hope to contain the political fallout as thousands could face higher bills for health insurance coverage.
Swing district Republicans brace for political fallout if health care subsidies expire
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Republicans in key battleground U.S. House districts are working to contain the political fallout that may come when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health…
Swing district Republicans brace for political fallout if health care subsidies expire
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act.
Swing district Republicans brace for political fallout if health care subsidies expire
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act.
GSPM director to confront enrollment challenges in shifting political, higher education landscape
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a former member of Congress and university official, said she is aiming modernize the school and increase enrollment amid declines and heightened political polarization.
Want to stay healthy after 40? Doctors say men should consider 14 medical tests
Men face higher chronic disease rates after 40. Learn which medical tests doctors say are vital for preventing heart attacks, strokes, and cancer.
Business Schools Changed Higher Ed Once. They’re Needed Again
B-schools once reshaped higher education through globalization & accreditation. Their next task is bigger: proving the real-world impact.
MGM Resorts (MGM): Reassessing Valuation After Technical Breakout and Improving Global Entertainment Outlook
MGM Resorts International (MGM) just caught investors attention, jumping about 14% on the XETRA exchange as traders reacted to a clean technical breakout and improving sentiment around global entertainment demand. See our latest analysis for MGM Resorts International. Zooming out, that breakout sits on top of a steady grind higher, with a roughly 10% 1 month share price return and a modestly positive year to date move. However, the 1 year total shareholder return is still slightly negative,...
B.3 Living With a Star Science Clarification Regarding Interagency Awards
B.3 Living With a Star Science (LWS) emphasizes the science necessary to understand those aspects of the coupled Sun-Earth system that affect life and
UMW Announces Master of Science in Nursing Degree Program
The University of Mary Washington will add a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree, with enrollment beginning in 2026-27. The new program gained approval from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) at its October 2025 meeting and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) in November. It […]
Thames Water profits surge on higher bills; Prada buys Versace for $1.4bn
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
San Francisco to sue makers of ultra-processed foods over health impacts
As energy plan nears completion, New York lags on climate goals
New York’s progress on its higher level emissions benchmarks has deteriorated even from the release of the draft plan in July.
As energy plan nears completion, New York lags on climate goals
New York’s progress on its higher level emissions benchmarks has deteriorated even from the release of the draft plan in July.
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.
Science must move from materialism to mystery
Theoretical physicist and neuroscientist Àlex Gómez-Marín argues that modern science has become trapped in a framework that mistakes matter for the whole of reality. In this wide-ranging interview, Gómez-Marín challenges the foundations of materialism, defends the scientific study of near-death experiences, and calls for a new type of science grounded in mystery and a renewed sense of the sacred. He suggests that abandoning materialism could open the door to a deeper understanding of consciousness, death, and the purpose of human existence. Simon Custer: You are both a theoretical physicist and a neuroscientist, and you have also been fiercely critical of materialist theories of mind and consciousness. What do you think the ultimate nature of reality is?Àlex Gómez-Marín: I don't know what the ultimate nature of reality is, but what I try to first assess is whether the stories that they [mainstream science] have told us about it are right, or maybe whether there are other alternatives. That's why I've been a fierce critic of materialism. As a scientist, I realized that they had sold us this idea that to be a good scientist you also had to subscribe to many other -isms, like materialism, reductionism, and even secularism. And so first I think one needs to unmount these -isms, and then, as is happening today in consciousness studies, we have a huge landscape where there isn't only one game in town, the idea that matter is the only thing that really exists. But because we are studying the hard problem of consciousness, it may be the case that other views of reality, like idealism, or even dualism, or other theories like dual aspect monism... these are philosophical ideas that now, I think, have room in science to be taken seriously. How does something like materialism relate to dualism or idealism? What is materialism in the first place?Well, materialism is the philosophical position that matter is the only really ‘real’ thing in the universe. And I think that worked kind of well because science started 400 years ago and Galileo made that split, I call it the foundational wound. It was a great business move.He said, let's start doing science on that portion of reality that lends itself more easily to mathematization and measurement. So, for some reason, the solidity of this table or the movement of planets lend themselves very well to this foundational idea of science. But as time went on, 400 years later, we realized that we had forgotten the other side, which is what really matters.What really matters is pain, is love, is feelings, sensation, consciousness, which is very hard to define, but very intimate. We all know what it is. It's that thing that disappears when we go into deep sleep and comes back in the morning. SUGGESTED VIEWING On the edges of knowledge With Michael Shermer, Rupert Sheldrake, Güneş Taylor It's what it is like to be, as Nagel said. It's the feeling of being alive. So, materialism is good to study certain things, but then when it ossifies into this ideology and then is dressed like science, now it's preventing us from understanding these key questions that are really that everybody wants to know.Why are we here? Why do we feel reality? Where do we go when we die? And so we need other ways. We need pluralism. I'm only asking for having more options on the table and taking them seriously. Why does materialism fail to explain consciousness? For example, if you were to lobotomize me, I would not be a functional human being. What do you say to someone who might think that materialism adequately explains the mind?Well, here we could speak about different things. We could talk about physics or about neuroscience. I happen to have training with both.For instance, for neuroscientists, 99% of them, I'm not included in that portion, believe that the brain can only be a productive organ. It's an organ that somehow, somewhere, consciousness emerges. It's like a lamp. And then something happens, magic happens, and then consciousness emerges.That's the position you need to be if you're a materialist because if the only really ‘real’ thing is matter, then you need to say, just give us some more time and money and we'll figure out how mind emerges or is produced from matter. There are many philosophically sophisticated ways of criticizing this.Now there's another option, which is the brain as a permissive organ. This was said by William James more than 100 years ago.Now then the brain wouldn't be like this machine, like for instance, a heat engine whose smoke is consciousness, which is what we would have in the first big model, the productive model. But in the permissive model, the brain would be a kind of a filter. And so the brain would still have a very important role in consciousness, but it wouldn't be a productive role.It would be permissive, much like a filter or much like a prism which would receive light. And - I'm speaking metaphorically - it would receive the light of the mind and then it could reflect it and refract it.Now, with these two big options on the table, I think we can make progress into what I call the edges of consciousness, which are all these experiences, weird experiences that many people have, but we don't talk about enough, like near-death experiences, precognitive dreams, synchronicities. These experiences are very important for humans and they have a place in the permissive hypothesis and they are literally impossible in the productive hypothesis. So that's yet one more reason to explore alternatives to materialism. There may be anecdotal evidence for near-death experiences, but is there robust evidence that would be accepted by the majority of scientists who subscribe to the scientific method?Sure. And the plural of anecdotes, someone said, is data.And there's a lot of data. Actually, this year is the 50th anniversary, half a century, since Dr. Raymond Moody realized that we have two ears and one mouth and started listening to what his patients had to say about their experiences while they were clinically dead.The heart had stopped, breathing had stopped in these patients. These patients would come back and tell him these amazing stories that some people may say are hallucinations, but for the patients were hyper-real, like seeing light at the end of the tunnels, seeing deceased family members waiting for them, feeling bliss.___I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain.___And so he and others started taking them seriously and writing their accounts down. And then you can do a science based on that material of experience that people have. Now, on the more objective side, more recently people have started to measure what's going on in the brain when people are clinically dead and brought back. This has opened a proper field of study, which is near-death studies.Evidence is a difficult word, because sometimes people think that when you say evidence, this is just the final proof. Evidence is like in a jury. You bring testimony, you bring pieces of data that point in one direction or another.I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain. When brains are broken or shut off, there can still be mind going on. And that's revolutionary.That would entail that when we die, it's not game over, which, by the way, is the thesis of materialism. If consciousness survives, materialism dies. It's game over for materialism if something of us continues after we die. Do you think that there is mental continuity after death?Well, I think so, and I believe so, and I could also say I may have experienced it myself, because four years ago I had a near-death experience. I was in the hospital, I lost a lot of blood, and I saw those beings at the end of the tunnel, three beings, and there was yellow light. I was in a well, I was looking upwards, and I hadn't read about NDEs by then, but when I came back from this experience, I decided I would try to integrate this also in my professional life. Not just my personal life, of course, but my professional life as a physicist and as a neuroscientist. So I may have had the experience of glimpses of what an afterlife would be, and I'm not ashamed to say it in this way, and then one can do science of it, and then one can do philosophy of it.One can think about what -isms we were discussing, what views on reality would allow those experiences to be really ‘real,’ as opposed to, well, poor guy, the brain was kind of broken, it must have been a hallucination. Do you have a view about whether individuality or “the ego” persists after death, or whether we sort of merge into some sort of cosmic consciousness instead?I don't know, but my view would be along those lines you're suggesting. I think we could speak about a kind of universal mind, and then the problem is not how we emerge from matter, but how we fragment from a more holistic consciousness into these individual eddies and then when we die, this kind of dissipates.But I'm not sure. For instance, idealism would promote that view, but then what would survive of us after these eddies just vanish and become again the big Consciousness, I'm not sure what that would be. I don't know for sure, but I would tell you I believe something of us survives.And there are other lines of research, not just near-death experience, that can address this really hard question of survival. For instance, there are children who remember previous lives. This was studied by Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia for more than 50 years.___Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.___It's amazing research. He went all over the world, especially in the East, and collected all these case studies, all these stories. In plural, these were data of kids, very young age, who would describe up to 40 items that then he could go and verify.There was no internet. There was really no way the kid could know. Why would the kid say that when I was living in this other body and I was a woman and that's how my house would look like or that's how I would die, right? Again, there is evidence, not proof, but there's evidence not only that something weird and interesting is happening as we cross the threshold, but also when we come back to this life.Scientists should not be afraid of studying this, but they are because there's stigma. There's usually stigma upon the enigma, and this is so unfortunate. And one of the reasons is because of the ideology of materialism, because those things cannot be possible. What is wrong with the politics of science such that they have generated this stigma?So many things. Science is a human activity to begin with.So it falls prey to all our passions and ego and greed. That's one thing. Science is a job for the good and for the bad.You need to get a salary. You need to get grants. Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.And then, we didn't have time to unpack this, but science for many years become entangled, as I was suggesting before, to other -isms, materialism, secularism. So anything that smells like the afterlife, people may think has to do with God, and then they freak out.Anything that suggests that there's something about the mind that may not need a physical material substrate to exist, it smells like non-materialism. So, all these -isms are ideologically blocking that kind of research, and then there are all these sociopolitical constraints as to what should be studied and what shouldn't be studied.I call it the backstage of science. Sometimes we scientists or science communicators seem to speak as if the data is the only thing that matters. We say, well, data and theory.But then there's a third leg of this stool, which is all the politics that goes behind the scenes. And we often don't speak about this, and it's quite vicious and petty, and it's very real. Why is materialism so attractive to most scientists?Well, an easy answer is because we've grown up with it.It's what the educational system promotes, and that's what you hear when you go to university. So it's like growing in a culture. It feels like the air in which you breathe.So it's very hard to begin with to detect, well, maybe there's another alternative. Maybe there are other ways of doing science, other environments in which one could do science. That's one reason.And other reasons maybe are more profound, and I'm not qualified to explain them, but I could say, looking at this 400-year history of science, since it started around 1623 with Galileo's book The Assayer, that science went and coupled with all what's going on in the West.And so the fall of religion, you could say, and science presented us this new alternative that then could be coupled very well with other -isms, and this idea of growth, and then science losing its good twin brother, which was philosophy. There's a whole natural history of science starting as philosophy, kind of emancipating or breaking out from philosophy, and then marrying technology, and then marrying other social systems.From that point of view, materialism is a very convenient idea to propose. There were attempts, like the German idealists tried to do a more romantic science. But no, the idea prevailed, like Francis Bacon said: You should pursue nature through all her corners, he said, and make her spill her secrets.Our attitude towards nature in the science that dominates is very much reflecting how we treat nature in our society, in our culture, like a resource to extract secrets by force and then dominate it. How is materialism related to the notions of growth and progress? What's wrong with having a productive citizenry?This is another very interesting and very difficult question to answer.But there's this recent book coming out by Paul Kingsnorth. In it, he explains this idea of the machine and this idea of progress. And this, again, this conflation of more is better, of we need to go forward always, and convincing us that the way to do that is to continually extract more from nature. But because we don't have the religious context anymore, because God is dead, then what do we have? We have what we can do as humans with our own gadgets.It's kind of the story of the Promethean fire. We will just build anything to make ourselves God.A good example today is transhumanism. Transhumanism is this pseudo-religion dressed in technoscientific language whose goal is very religious. They promise immortality, they promise redemption, they promise transformation of the entire natural world, but it's done by human means through technology. Are you suggesting that we can't have ethics without religion?Well, we should have ethics with or without religion. That's another pruning that has happened in science. We say, forget about aesthetics, although some physicists still think that beautiful means probably true, and forget about politics. We pretend there's no backstage of science, and even let's forget about ethics.___Science needs to be in the service of mankind.___Scientists, when they become more like engineers, they're just thinking how to make things work so that they can go to the moon, go to Mars, make machines that think, but they don't think whether that's a good idea.And also consider metaphysics. Many scientists for a long time pretended, and maybe that comes from the stream of positivisms, that really one doesn't need metaphysics at all, except that materialism is always the metaphysics running the system.You see, it's not just ethics. It's the pruning of all of these, you could say, five main legs of philosophy that just makes a kind of unconscious science, a science that doesn't really know what it's doing. It's doing it very well locally, but it just doesn't know what it's doing globally. Do you think science has to have an ultimate vision and purpose behind it for it to be effective or for it to be meaningful and transformative?Yes, a way I would say that is that science needs to be in the service of mankind. And it hasn't been that. And we can see it through, you know, when we discovered the secrets of the atom, and all of a sudden, the Manhattan Project, and then we create nuclear weapons.And now we're trying to crack how machines may think, and now we're creating this mess, right? So science needs to be in service of mankind, not in service of a few ideas that maybe want to make more money or just dominate upon nature. What about planes, trains, automobiles, and modern medicine? Hasn't science served mankind by helping us develop those technologies?Yes and no. I see where you're going, and it's fair.I came here by plane, and it's a blessing. When I almost died, the surgeons did their job, and they saved my life. But these two forced choices between Luddites and Silicon Valley types, I think, of course, it's a false dichotomy.Progress, in a way, it's good, but we often don't speak about the dark side of the moon. We say the great things that progress has brought, and we don't speak about the disasters, the side effects that it has come with, and the same when we promise new technologies. We tend to think that any technology is great, that email is going to save us so much time because we don't need to write letters and send them anymore.Is that true? I spend so many hours a week writing emails. Let's just say there are great things about it and bad things about it. People like Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, for example, argue that we've made moral progress over time because of the Enlightenment. Do you think that's totally wrong-headed?I think he's emphasizing a side of the moon, and he does that very well, and you can find tons of plots where there's a slope going up and say it's great. But I think he should also tell the not-so-friendly story.But if your ideology is just to resist and continue to explain that the Enlightenment is the best thing ever and reason is the best thing ever… this feels to me like you're worshipping these abstractions.I'm very critical of it and also of these, again, science communicators and scientists that say, Oh, science says, in the name of science, experts say. It's like, come on, let's be careful because we can shoot ourselves in the foot by putting forth to the people an image of science that we know is not really true. Recently there's been a resurgence of spirituality and of people who say that they're spiritual but not religious, especially in the United States. If materialism is going away, what is going to fill that gap? Are we going to return to traditional religion? Do you see that being connected with the rise of the political right?I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know what's going to happen. But, yeah, we could say we're in this post-materialist age and even post-secular age. One cannot come back to the past, but maybe just to contact with the roots is a good idea.What do I mean by that? I think we need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method. We need to do so in a culture where we realize humans cannot thrive in a vacuum where there's this idea that the sacred has to be removed.Now, how do we do that without bringing in back all the vices of religion? I don't know. I'm from a Catholic country.Here we are in England, so there are differences and interreligious dialogue has always been a challenge. But I think maybe a way of putting it is: after all these conflicts and branchings I was quickly alluding to, science from philosophy and then also from religion, now there's a time of reconciliation perhaps and maybe debates in the proper sense, like exchange of ideas in service of learning and getting into something higher than both poles. We need science to talk to religious people and it's interesting when people say they're spiritual and not religious.I think this is just a way of saying, no, I don't want to go back, I want to go forward. But at the end of the day, religions have offered us practices and grounding that we now desperately need. Everybody can and should just meditate or pray or do whatever they want, but we're in a crisis and it's time for reconciliation. What do you say to critics that say you are merely projecting our need for meaning onto a fundamentally indifferent universe?Yeah, I know that the typical science communicator says something like this. But we're not projecting. Human beings feed on meaning.It's the other way around. If you're a materialist, because the only thing that there is is matter, all that comes next, free will, consciousness, meaning, this is a kind of illusion that we need to explain.They're just craving for meaning, but there isn't really for them. I would also like to remind my materialist friends that for decades, if not centuries, they've said in the name of science, we know that this and this and this doesn't really exist. I think now they sense they're forced to say, well, actually, we don't know. We've been saying, for instance, that there's nothing after you die, and now probably they need to admit that they don't know the answer.___We need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method.___So it's a moment to open up possibilities and also to gently but fiercely critique these claims that I think harm society. If you say in the name of science, get on with it, when your father dies, you'll never see him again. Well, what the F do you know about it? You haven't studied the literature, you haven't had any of those experiences, and basically what you're doing is you're just doing marketing on ideology. This needs to stop. Do you think that it's scarier for some people to entertain the thought that there might be life after death, compared to a materialist worldview where you just die, given that there might be consequences for unsavory behaviour?Well, death and dying is scary. It's maybe the ultimate ending. It's a limit on life, and when we're in this conquest mode, we don't like limits.And it also has, there's a shockwave backwards, so I think if you change your notion of what death is or may be, you live differently. It also has consequences, as you're saying, for the future because this is not our only goal here and we come back in whatever form. And again, different religions would say different things. I the East, they are more happy with the idea of reincarnation, and here in the West, there are other preferences. But in any case, it changes how we live, and that's really what matters.It's not about just projecting or imagining what we'll be after, but how we live now and also how we treat those who are dying. So it goes from the individual to the families, to the hospitals.Now in the near-death research I do, this has ramifications at all these levels, all the way to society.But our society is thanatophobic. It has a phobia of death. We don't want to hear about death, and this is another thing we need to put on the table and be willing to talk about it. Do you think that we might get closer to answering ultimate questions like why is there anything at all if we jettison materialism?That’s an excellent question, Simon. Two things: we should stop treating reality, I believe, as a great sudoku, as an enigma, as something that with intelligence, money, and time that we will crack and instead treat reality more like a mystery. And what you do for in front of a mystery is not to be the clever guy in a class and say “I’ll solve you” but more like “I will bow and you will transform me.”I know this sounds a bit like a scientist speaking like a mystic. But I think this reorientation is needed. In the end, we won’t crack the big questions, but they will transform us. If we free ourselves from this prison of materialism, the way we will explore these questions will be freer, more creative, and in service of mankind. Do you think exploring mystery is the reason why we are here?I think we are here because, and this pseudo-theological argument I’m making off the cuff, But the One, the Absolute, if there is such a thing, had everything except limitation. We are that absolute experiencing that contingency. It’s like an act of divine proprioception. It’s a wonderful adventure, it’s just incredible to be alive. Perhaps we have forgotten why we are here and the whole point is to experience the flesh.Let me end by saying this. I criticize materialism harshly. I bang on this dead horse, because I think it’s dead. But matter is a great mystery. So maybe my invitation is as follows: hey materialist friends, come here, let’s work on materialism 2.0! Consciousness is a mystery, but matter is also a mystery. The fact that we can have an intersubjective experience consensus, the fact that we can apply mathematics, that we can measure things... the physical world we take for granted, but it is a great mystery too.Maybe that’s related to your last question: why are we here? Why did spirit decide to incarnate? Being in the flesh may be a great thing if spirit decided to do so.Àlex Gómez-Marín, thank you very much.My pleasure.
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A medical doctor and professor at the University of Split Medical School in Croatia, Marušić champions close connections between “town and gown” to encourage citizen involvement in research, raise public health awareness and ignite young people’s interest in science. “Responsible research and innovation cannot be done in an ivory tower, answering only the questions that are relevant for scientists,” explains Marušić, who chairs the Department of Research in Biomedicine and Health and leads the Centre for Evidence-based Medicine. “The role of the university is to be a medium for transferring new discoveries in science to society, but also to listen to society about what is important and what is needed.”Three cities united by scienceMarušić’s efforts stand to gain traction through Science Comes to Town (SCTT), a new European project to highlight science’s role in society and strengthen cross-border collaboration in research, innovation and sustainability. With funding from the European Commission, three cities—Split, Brest (in France) and Kiel (in Germany)—plan more than 1,000 public events, workshops and competitions for citizens of all ages, researchers, businesses and policymakers. The year-long project kicks off in Spilt on 20 January with a conference involving partner institutions, community representatives and European policymakers. The three cities may be geographically far apart, but they share much in common. All are located on coasts and are home to top regional research institutions that are part of SCTT. Among the project's partners, the University of Western Brittany in Brest, Kiel University and the University of Split belong to the SEA-EU university alliance, uniting nine European coastal academic institutions to advance research, student exchanges and sustainable development. “These universities have a very strong connection between gown and town,” explains Marušić, who is one of Split’s SCTT ambassadors. “It's very important that these universities are there for the community so that we can learn from each other and grow together.”Tackling Europe’s STEM shortagesSCTT will also reinforce efforts to address Europe’s widening gap in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Studies show that nearly eight out of ten small- and medium-sized businesses cannot find enough workers with the skills required in advanced computing and artificial intelligence (AI)—hindering initiatives to boost European innovation and competitiveness. In healthcare, the European Commission has estimated a shortfall in medical professionals of 1.2 million, due to fewer young people joining the field and an ageing population that needs more care.Strengthening knowledge and dialogue can also help build trust between scientists and the public at time when disruptive technologies are reshaping research and clinical practice, but are also sparking questions about ethics and accuracy. With experience in the classroom and in clinical epidemiology—a discipline involving monitoring and controlling public health problems—Marušić sees the potential risks of over-reliance on AI and chatbot answers for both research and learning. “AI is a very good tool, but one has to be very critical about it,” she adds. “Delegating brain activities will definitely diminish your neural capacities because you are not developing the circuitry that is important for higher-level cognitive engagement.” She stresses the importance of critical thinking and encourages students to use AI as a researcher’s tool to reinforce rather than supplant human discretion and brainpower.The power of outreachSplit’s experience in bringing scientists and the public together has provided a platform for discussing research ethics and explaining science in simple terms. Local efforts to expand health literacy and awareness have helped reduce cardiovascular disease among women, according to Marušić’s research. The city’s university also hosts events to introduce schoolchildren to science, using hands-on experiments to spark curiosity.Marušić’s own love of science began with an interest in studying molecular biology. “But my parents told me, why don't you study medicine?” she recalls. “I said, OK, why not? And that was the best decision that I made.” Marušić is not a practicing physician, but teaches anatomy and public health. She also co-edits ST-OPEN, an overlay university journal that works on capacity building for research publishing among students and their supervisors. Balancing teaching, research and editorial work, she is a strong advocate for medical studies, urging high school students to consider medicine “because later on it gives you a really wide perspective about human life and about society” as well as many career opportunities.As SCTT prepares to bring science into daily life in 2026, Marušić hopes that it will build permanent bridges between scientists and citizens across Europe. “We can be a showcase for making collaboration with the community stronger to share knowledge, attract young talent and integrate critical and scientific thinking into everyday life,” she explains, adding that "collaborating with businesses to improve cities and communities is also an important aspect of this project."Science|Business, which connects policymakers, academics and industry through its news reporting, analysis and events, is an SCTT partner.
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