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Sold Michigan companies reshape state's corporate landscape
In recent decades, merger and acquisition activity has sent long-standing Michigan businesses' leadership out-of-state and even the country.
New astronaut exhibit set to launch at Orlando Science Center
The exhibit, “Mission: Astronaut,” will feature hands-on challenges and six immersive zones, with each activity connecting to core STEM principles.
In Good Health: What We Know About ADHD : 1A
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, affects tens of millions of people in the U.S.About one in nine children and one in 16 adults have ADHD. That’s according to an analysis from the nonprofit Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or CHADD.As researchers learn more about the brain and its complexities, they’re also gaining new insights into what the condition looks like across different ages, genders, and races.In recent years, more adults — especially women — are being diagnosed than ever before. In this installment of our series “In Good Health,” we focus on ADHD – from symptoms, to diagnoses, to treatments.Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
Donald Trump doesn't acknowledge Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
President Donald Trump has not recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2026 through official statements, proclamation or activity.
A “dormant” brain protein turns out to be a powerful switch
Scientists at Johns Hopkins have uncovered a surprising new way to influence brain activity by targeting a long-mysterious class of proteins linked to anxiety, schizophrenia, and movement disorders. Once thought to be mostly inactive, these proteins—called GluDs—turn out to play an active role in how brain cells communicate and form connections.
A health-care destination
There has been plenty of activity on the Crystal Bridges campus in Bentonville with the expansion of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, along with the opening last year of buildings housing the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine and Heartland Whole Health Institute. Two miles east of downtown Bentonville, there's a separate 100-acre campus that might prove just as exciting.
Health needs, insurance woes compound fears for Minnesota families amid ICE operations
Health care providers say the Twin Cities immigration enforcement surge is leading people to cancel doctor’s appointments and delay treatments even if they’re U.S. citizens or have other legal status in the country. Fears of losing health insurance are also mounting.
Number of Businesses in New York City Plunged Last Spring, Report Says
Roughly 8,400 businesses closed in the second quarter of 2025, according to the most recent city data, creating the largest net decline in business activity since before the pandemic.
Video: This Might Be the Best Sport for a Longer Life
Research consistently shows that physical activity is linked to healthy aging. But do some sports confer more longevity benefits than others? Simar Bajaj, a reporting fellow for Well, explains.
Sports for People and Planet
The $2.3 trillion global sports economy is experiencing robust growth, with annual revenues projected to reach $8.8 trillion by 2050. However, factors such as rising levels of physical inactivity and escalating environmental challenges could erode up to $1.6 trillion in annual revenue by mid-century. The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Oliver Wyman, has developed this insight report to highlight the urgent social and economic imperative for coordinated public–private action to secure the sector’s long-term resilience, presenting transformative, multistakeholder pathways and innovative case studies.This approach ensures that the future of sport remains competitive and inspiring, while also being sustainable and inclusive for people and the planet alike.
This 1 Free Activity Boosts Health More Than a Workout, Therapist Says
In TODAY.com's Expert Tip of the Day, a therapist reveals an important healthy habit that too many of us overlook.
Scientists found the brain rhythm that makes your body feel like yours
A new study reveals that alpha brain waves help the brain decide what belongs to your body. Faster rhythms allow the brain to match sight and touch more precisely, strengthening the feeling that a body part is truly yours. Slower rhythms blur that timing, making it harder to separate self from surroundings. The findings could improve prosthetic design and immersive virtual experiences.
Fargo businesses post warnings as ICE activity reported in region
With Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity reported across the region, including in Detroit Lakes, some Fargo businesses and community members are responding by posting warnings on social media and seeking information about their rights.
Judge rejects fired Rockstar staff's request for interim relief
The employment tribunal found it unlikely that workers were primarily fired for their union activity
Bay State business outlook remains gloomy entering new year
Mass. companies cite escalating costs as their top concern, overshadowing otherwise resilient economic activity.
A hidden brain signal may reveal Alzheimer’s long before diagnosis
Researchers have discovered a brain activity pattern that can predict which people with mild cognitive impairment are likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Using a noninvasive brain scanning technique and a custom analysis tool, they detected subtle changes in electrical signals tied to memory processing years before diagnosis. The findings point to a new way of spotting Alzheimer’s early—by listening directly to how neurons behave.
UK says NATO talks on deterring Russia in the Arctic 'business as usual'
Britain said on Sunday discussions with other NATO members on deterring Russian activity in the Arctic were "business as usual", after media reports the UK was in talks with its European allies about deploying a military force to Greenland.
How Seaport’s Upgrade Amid Mixed Fundamentals At Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) Has Changed Its Investment Story
In recent days, Sphere Entertainment received an upgrade from Seaport Global from Neutral to Buy, following a series of earlier positive analyst views tied to venue performance, sponsorship activity, and attendance trends. At the same time, Sphere’s fundamentals remain mixed, with weak long-term sales growth and constrained free cash flow raising questions about how effectively it can reinvest behind its high-profile partnerships and expanding venue platform. We’ll now explore how Seaport...
Scientists find exercise rivals therapy for depression
A large review of studies suggests that exercise can ease depression about as effectively as psychological therapy. Compared with antidepressants, exercise showed similar benefits, though the evidence was less certain. Researchers found that light to moderate activity over multiple sessions worked best, with few side effects. While it’s not a cure-all, exercise may be a powerful and accessible tool for many people.
Just 10 minutes of exercise can trigger powerful anti-cancer effects
A brief, intense workout may do more than boost fitness—it could help fight cancer. Researchers found that just 10 minutes of hard exercise releases molecules into the bloodstream that switch on DNA repair and shut down cancer growth signals. When these molecules were applied to bowel cancer cells, hundreds of cancer-related genes changed activity. The discovery helps explain how exercise lowers cancer risk and hints at future therapies inspired by movement.
Ohio health department reports high and increasing rate of flu activity
Louisiana child dies from flu, state reports
Louisiana health officials have confirmed one pediatric flu death this season as influenza activity remains very high.
WATCH LIVE: Ohio health officials hold news conference as flu cases rise
The CDC says seasonal flu activity is elevated and continues to increase across the U.S.
Spotify now lets you share what you're streaming in real time with friends
You can tap a friend’s listening activity to play the track, save it, open the menu, or react with an emoji.
Spotify is finally bringing your friends’ Listening Activity to mobile
Spotify is adding Listening Activity and Request to Jam to its mobile app.
Introducing Listening Activity and Request to Jam in Messages on Spotify
We know people use Spotify not just to listen, but to share the songs, podcasts, and audiobooks they love with their friends and family. When we launched Messages last year, we gave users a place to do that right in the app. Since then, almost 40 million users have sent nearly 340 million messages, showing...
Doctors’ visits for flu-like illness at highest rate on record since 1997
Activity during the current flu season is growing to severe levels, with the percentage of doctors’ visits for flu-like illnesses reaching the highest level on record, according to the most r…
Flu reaches highest levels in 25 years, likely to get worse, health officials say
Flu activity in the United States has reached the highest levels seen in 25 years, and health officials say the severe flu season is likely to get worse.
Flu reaches highest levels in 25 years, likely to get worse, health officials say
Flu activity in the United States has reached the highest levels in 25 years.
Aqara's New Home Sensor is Blind but Brilliant: Here's How It Watches You
This all-purpose presence sensor is a master at monitoring indoor activity and linking it to smart home features you already use.
South Africa business activity contracts in December at fastest pace in 11 months, PMI shows
South Africa's business activity contracted sharply in December, marking the weakest performance since last January as demand waned and firms reduced purchases and inventories, an S&P Global survey showed on Tuesday.
Vote for the Greater Cincinnati high school athlete of the week Jan. 5
Enquirer readers can now vote for this week's Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine Athlete of the Week for activity through Jan. 4, 2026.
Samsung says Galaxy wearables could soon help detect early signs of dementia
Samsung says Galaxy wearables could soon help detect early signs of dementia by tracking changes in speech, movement, and daily activity.
China's services growth hits 6-month low in December, shows private PMI
China's services activity expanded at its slowest pace in six months in December, as growth in new business softened and foreign demand declined, a private-sector survey showed on Monday.
Washington's tribes boost state economic activity
The scope of Washington's tribal economies is expanding its reach — and the tribes' reasoning is that's to the aid of all.
AI may not need massive training data after all
New research shows that AI doesn’t need endless training data to start acting more like a human brain. When researchers redesigned AI systems to better resemble biological brains, some models produced brain-like activity without any training at all. This challenges today’s data-hungry approach to AI development. The work suggests smarter design could dramatically speed up learning while slashing costs and energy use.
3 Young Adults Share Their Journeys With Cardiovascular Disease
Young adults may face higher risks of cardiovascular disease due to factors like obesity or inactivity. Here, three younger individuals share their journeys with cardiovascular disease and the steps they take to stay heart healthy.
Trump’s legal authority in Venezuela, explained
On November 2, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that land strikes in Venezuela would require the approval of Congress. She said that if Trump “were to authorize some activity on land, then it’s war, then (we’d need) Congress.”
A weak body clock may be an early warning for dementia
Your daily rhythm may matter more for brain health than previously thought. Older adults with weaker, more disrupted activity patterns were far more likely to develop dementia than those with steady routines. A later daily energy peak was also linked to higher risk. The study points to the body clock as a possible early warning sign for cognitive decline.
The hidden timing system that shapes how you think
The brain constantly blends split-second reactions with slower, more thoughtful processing, and new research shows how it pulls this off. Scientists discovered that brain regions operate on different internal clocks and rely on white matter connections to share information across these timescales. The way this timing is organized affects how efficiently the brain switches between activity patterns tied to behavior. Differences in this system may help explain why people vary in cognitive ability.
Health departments report high flu activity in the DMV
Across the DMV, more people are going to the hospital each week with flu-like symptoms, and doctors say it’s hitting the most vulnerable hardest. Health departments are working hard to slow the spread of the flu. “We’re seeing flu-related emergency department visits really tripling over the last couple of weeks,” said Dr. David Rose of the Alexandria Health Department. There’s…
Small Business Administration bans thousands of Minnesota borrowers over suspected pandemic-era fraud
The agency’s leader said a review over the past week flagged $400 million in loans to Minnesotans with “suspected fraudulent activity.”
Duolingo Used iPhone's Dynamic Island to Display Ads, Violating Apple Design Guidelines
Language learning app Duolingo has apparently been using the iPhone's Live Activity feature to display ads on the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island, which violates Apple's design guidelines. According to multiple reports on Reddit, the Duolingo app has been displaying an ad for a "Super offer," which is Duolingo's paid subscription option. Apple's guidelines for Live Activity state that the feature cannot be used to display ads or promotions.
Small Business Administration suspends loans to thousands of Minnesota borrowers
On Thursday, the agency suspended loans for 6,900 Minnesota borrowers amid "suspected fraudulent activity."
Draft guidelines aim to streamline complex rebuilding in Lahaina’s business district
The draft guidelines are the latest effort by the county to move forward with rebuilding in the town’s business district, which overlaps a sensitive historic area that has seen little activity since the August 2023 wildfires.
The Business Strategies That Make Walmart A Ghoul And Costco A Mensch
Superficially, Walmart Inc. and Costco Wholesale are very similar. Both are large, international, for-profit corporations whose primary activity centers around selling discounted goods to the public from enormous ”big box” stores that resemble...
Apple Announces New Fitness+ Workout Programs, Strava Challenge, and More
Apple today announced a number of updates to Apple Fitness+ and activity with the Apple Watch. The key announcements include: New Year limited-edition award: Users can win the award by closing all three Activity Rings for seven days in a row in January. "Quit Quitting" Strava challenge: Available in Strava throughout January, users who log 12 workouts anytime in the month will win an Apple Watch badge in the app.
US Small Business Administration suspends 6,900 MN borrowers for suspected fraud
The U.S. Small Business Administration is suspending 6,900 Minnesota borrowers for suspected fraud activity.
A "herculean" genetic study just found a new way to treat ADHD
Attention depends on the brain’s ability to filter out distractions, but new research suggests this works best when background brain activity is quieter. Scientists found that lowering certain versions of the Homer1 gene improved focus in mice by calming neural noise. The effect was strongest during a critical developmental window. This approach could inspire new treatments for ADHD that work by reducing mental clutter instead of increasing stimulation.
Medical expert suggests 'dual-pronged approach' to improve public health
Board-certified M.D. Dr. Houman Hemmati discusses new SNAP restrictions on junk food and the rise in flu activity across the U.S. on 'Fox News Live.'
Did an exploding comet wipe out the mammoths?
Scientists are uncovering new clues that a cosmic explosion may have rocked Earth at the end of the last ice age. At major Clovis-era sites, researchers found shocked quartz—evidence of intense heat and pressure consistent with a comet airburst rather than volcanism or human activity. The event could have sparked massive fires, blocked sunlight, and triggered a rapid return to ice-age conditions. These harsh changes may explain the sudden loss of megafauna and the disappearance of the Clovis culture.
Myth busted: Your body isn’t canceling out your workout
Being active boosts your daily calorie burn more than previously thought. Researchers found that increased physical activity raises total energy use without triggering the body to conserve energy elsewhere. Basic functions keep running at full speed, even as movement increases. The result: exercise truly adds to your energy output rather than being metabolically “offset.”
Holiday business solid despite fewer visitors
The scourge of low snowfall affecting the Ketchum area and ski towns across the West has so far dampened but not doused holiday tourism activity, according to a mixture of
Flu activity rising in New Hampshire, health officials say
As flu cases skyrocket across the country, New Hampshire health officials say cases are also rapidly rising in the Granite State.
Chinese state hackers use rootkit to hide ToneShell malware activity
A new sample of the ToneShell backdoor, typically seen in Chinese cyberespionage campaigns, has been delivered through a kernel-mode loader in attacks against government organizations.
Mini brains reveal clear brain signals of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Tiny lab-grown brains are offering an unprecedented look at how schizophrenia and bipolar disorder disrupt neural activity. Researchers found distinct electrical firing patterns that could identify these conditions with high accuracy. The discovery opens the door to more precise diagnoses and personalized drug testing. Instead of guessing medications, doctors may one day see what works before treating the patient.
Bad flu season getting worse; skyrocketing cases set state record
The flu season is hitting in full force, especially in New York, Colorado and Louisiana, where flu-like activity is very high, according to the CDC.
Health alert: Influenza activity trending up across Kansas, U.S.
Kansas is reflecting national trends of respiratory virus cases on the rise.
Science history: Marie Curie discovers a strange radioactive substance that would eventually kill her
Scientists in Paris discovered two new substances with incredible radioactivity. It earned them the Nobel Prize in Physics but would ultimately kill one of them.
Immigrant business owners ask for community support amid ICE activity
Columbus immigrant business owners say ICE fear is driving customers away
Immigrant-owned businesses in Columbus say fear tied to ICE activity has slashed foot traffic, leaving owners struggling to keep their doors open.
CDT Environmental Technology Reports 2025 Unaudited Interim Financial Results and Provides Business Updates
Revenue of $7.3 million and loss per share of $0.11 impacted by reduced project activity due to a slowdown in the PRC economySHENZHEN, China, Dec. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CDT Environmental Technology Investment Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: CDTG) (“CDT”, the “Company”, or “we”), a leading provider of waste treatment systems and services throughout China, today reports its unaudited interim financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2025, and provides updates on key business development
Brand Innovators Outlook 2026: Entertainment
The entertainment industry faces a year of change and adjustment in 2026. New technologies and merger activity will keep movies, TV and live events in play. With the limitations of the COVID pandemic firmly in the rear-view mirror, the sector anticipates consumers will indulge in movies and live events, and brands will find new ways […]
Nine mental-health tips for a happier 2026
Regardless of any resolutions you may have for 2026, one thing is for sure: Everyone wants to have a happy new year.While losing weight or saving money may be great goals, the most straightforward path to happiness is caring for your mental and emotional health. A robust body of research shows that simple cognitive and behavioral strategies can reliably boost happiness and reduce stress – and they’re generally free and accessible to all.These strategies don’t have to be super time-consuming, but they do require intention: They only work if you do them.Here, psychologist Valentina Ogaryan, PhD, clinical director of the Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology, shares her top tips for cultivating more calm, centeredness and happiness in the new year (or anytime):Make time for playPlay isn’t just for kids, and it’s far from frivolous. The National Institute for Play says engaging in silliness, fun and just-for-pleasure activities reduces stress and increases optimism and resilience. A recent review also found that play improves mental health.“Adults can benefit from play as much as children,” Dr. Ogaryan says, “not just as a reward, but something that helps regulate.”So go ahead and dance with your dog, build something with Legos, tell a joke, sing karaoke or do anything else that feels like fun. Don’t worry about being productive, just enjoy yourself. And, if you can, opt for more analog play, Dr. Ogaryan suggests, as a respite from our ever-more-digital world. Move your bodyWhether you dance, ski, do yoga, play pickleball, ride a bike, roller-skate, hike or lift weights, physical movement benefits overall happiness and well-being. A 2018 review study of more than 1.2 million adults in the U.S. found that doing any kind of exercise was “significantly and meaningfully associated” with better self-reported mental health.The sweet spot was 45 minutes of movement three to five times a week, but even short bursts of physical activity can boost brain health, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.“Movement helps support mood and regulate the nervous system,” Dr. Ogaryan says.Plus: exercise can improve sleep quality, and sleep is essential for mental health.Prioritize sleep“Sleep plays a major role in managing stress,” Dr. Ogaryan says. Research shows that lack of sufficient sleep increases the risk of various diseases, including depression.While stress can interfere with sleep, practicing good sleep hygiene can make logging ZZ’s easier. That means maintaining a consistent bedtime; keeping the bedroom cool, dark and quiet; and avoiding social media, news and stimulating shows before bed.Consume lessWe live in a consumer culture, inundated by endless streams of content and advertising everywhere we go, which makes it easy to get overstimulated.“Something really helpful for stress reduction is to simply consume less,” Dr. Ogaryan says – less news, less social media, less information, less noise, less screen time. “It’s about reducing the input,” she says.Consider setting a maximum number of news articles per day, for example, or a time limit on scrolling. Maybe even go device free for an afternoon or a whole day.Practice present-moment awarenessWith so much coming at us all the time, focusing on the here and now can make life feel more manageable, Dr. Ogaryan says: “When everything feels super overwhelming, when everything feels larger than life, let’s make our world a little bit smaller for that moment in time.”She suggests taking things one day, or even one hour, at a time. Ask yourself: What’s my next right action? Release the need to know how everything turns out and liberate yourself from having to handle everything right now. Let the future take care of itself and just focus on the current moment. Then the next one. Have a daily anchorFrom work to the daily commute to family and life responsibilities, our days can feel jam-packed. Dr. Ogaryan recommends creating a centering daily anchor that can fit into even the busiest day.Maybe it’s a 10-minute walk during your lunch break or mindfully enjoying your coffee in the morning. Let your anchor adapt to your needs each day, she says, but be intentional about using that time to ground yourself and calm your nervous system. You might even say to yourself, “I choose this walk to help me become centered,” or “My day already feels stressful, so I’m going to take the next 10 minutes to enjoy this cup of coffee, feel the warm mug in my hand and just be present.” Having an anchor won’t erase the busy-ness from your day, but it will allow you to approach it more calmly.Be kind to yourselfMost of us have a harsh inner critic in our heads who works overtime. But that critical voice only increases our stress, triggering the same fight-or-flight response as caustic words from another person.To feel happier, we need to replace that inner critic with a kinder, more compassionate voice, Dr. Ogaryan says. Studies show that self-compassion is a source of eudaimonic happiness – the kind of happiness associated with purpose and meaning in life.While our knee-jerk reaction may be to self-criticize – “How could you let it get to this point? You didn’t manage your time well and now the project is going to be late. You’re so inept.” – we fare better mentally by treating ourselves with kindness, like we would a friend. That might sound like, “You’ve got a lot on your plate, but you are capable and you’ll get it done. I believe in you.”We may think that speaking kindly to ourselves means letting ourselves off the hook, so we end up becoming lazy do-nothings. But research shows the opposite: People who are self-compassionate are more likely to try harder in the face of failure and ultimately reach their goals.You can thank your inner critic for its good intentions, but resolve to talk to yourself in a kind, compassionate voice.Connect with othersHumans are social animals built for connection. Stress can be isolating and cause us to withdraw, but connecting with others is a salve for the psyche, Dr. Ogaryan says.“We know that not all relationships are always easy, but if we can think about intentional, nourishing connection – even in really small doses – it could really help center us,” she says.Take a moment to laugh with your colleagues, hug your pet, have a conversation with a friend or smile at the barista making your coffee. A study found that even tiny interactions with casual acquaintances and strangers decreases loneliness and improves happiness and well-being.Seek supportIf you try these practices and happiness remains elusive, or if you can’t access the wherewithal to follow these tips, seek support from your physician or a therapist. Mental health conditions are among the most common health issues in the U.S. and around the world – more prevalent than diabetes or heart disease. One in five people in the U.S. experiences a mental illness each year, with depression and anxiety the most common, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.“We can all think about these tips,” Dr. Ogaryan says. “But it’s important to recognize if you’ve done everything you can and you’re still really struggling, it’s really important to seek help.”
MIT scientists strip cancer of its sugar shield
Scientists at MIT and Stanford have unveiled a promising new way to help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells more effectively. Their strategy targets a hidden “off switch” that tumors use to stay invisible to immune defenses—special sugar molecules on the cancer cell surface that suppress immune activity. Early tests show it can supercharge immune responses and outperform current antibody therapies.
Why one long walk may be better than many short ones
How you walk may matter just as much as how much you walk. A large UK study tracking more than 33,000 low-activity adults found that people who grouped their daily steps into longer, uninterrupted walks had dramatically lower risks of early death and heart disease than those who moved in short, scattered bursts.
This cancer-fighting molecule took 50 years to build
MIT scientists have achieved the first-ever lab synthesis of verticillin A, a complex fungal compound discovered in 1970. Its delicate structure stalled chemists for decades, despite differing from related molecules by only two atoms. With the synthesis finally complete, researchers created new variants that showed strong activity against a rare pediatric brain cancer. The breakthrough could unlock an entire class of previously unreachable cancer-fighting molecules.
This Tool Can Tell You If Your Home Network Has Been Compromised
If you think your router is being used to conduct malicious activity, try using IP Check, which alerts you if your IP address has been observed scanning the internet as part of a botnet or residential proxy network.
Glowing neurons let scientists watch the brain work in real time
A new bioluminescent tool allows neurons to glow on their own, letting scientists track brain activity without harmful lasers or fading signals. The advance makes it possible to watch individual brain cells fire for hours, offering a clearer, deeper look at how the brain works.
Capital Region commercial developers eye 2026 as momentum returns
The local commercial real estate market has picked up and is expected to strengthen in 2026 as interest rates fall, insurance costs ease and construction prices stabilize, according to Capital Region experts. Charlie Colvin of Momentum Commercial Real Estate says activity has noticeably increased, with many deals moving toward completion before year’s end. “We’re starting […]
Fort Belvoir Nationally Recognized for Excellence in Youth Sports
Exercise and physical activity play key roles in quality of life, health and mental fitness, according to the World Health Organization, and Fort Belvoir Families have been reaping the benefits of an innovative Fort Belvoir program that has recently been awarded by the National Alliance of Youth Sports (NAYS).
US Business Activity Growth Slows While Price Pressures Mount
US business activity expanded in December at the slowest pace in six months, while a measure of input prices jumped to a more than three-year high.
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.
German Business Activity Misses Forecasts on Industry Weakness
German private-sector activity grew at a weaker pace than anticipated in December as manufacturing unexpectedly recorded its worst performance in 10 months.
News | Retail leasing surges in San Jose as lifestyle and entertainment concepts drive demand
The first three quarters of 2025 had the strongest activity in years
What Is Renal Denervation?
Renal denervation uses targeted energy to reduce kidney nerve activity, helping lower blood pressure.
Sports generate up to $280 million in local economic activity for Colorado Springs, study finds
The inaugural Pikes Peak Sports Economy Report was released this month.
Turkey’s Largest City Is Threatened by a Lurking Earthquake
Escalating activity along a fault line in the Sea of Marmara is moving closer to Istanbul, seismologists warn.
Arrowhead Stadium emerges as sports betting hotspot in Missouri launch weekend
Arrowhead Stadium saw a surge in live betting activity during Missouri’s first weekend of legal sports wagering
Older adults are slowly abandoning this hobby — but the health payoff is huge
What’s largely considered a solitary activity can improve communication skills and strengthen empathy and compassion, say experts in mental health and geriatric care.
The short bursts of activity that could help you live longer
From running up stairs, to rigorous gardening: these everyday activities could boost your health and help you live longer.
Discord launches ‘Checkpoint 2025’: A full-year recap feature for users; here’s how to see your Discord wrapped
Discord Checkpoint 2025: Discord has released its first yearly activity summary, Discord Checkpoint 2025. Users can now see their message counts, voice channel hours, top emojis, most active servers, and frequent DM friends. Exclusive avatar decorations are also available. The feature is rolling out gradually and requires the latest app version.
CT small business owners turn to TikTok
At CBIA event, business owners joined local and state officials to talk about how TikTok is transforming business activity.
California scientists discover 'pulse' in Earth's glaciers
Ice masses are alive with activity, images reveal.
Massive volcanic eruptions may have actually caused the Black Death | BBC Science Focus Magazine
New research suggests that a combination of volcanic activity, cold summers and famine brought the deadly plague to Europe.
Global Fishing Watch and Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory launch Deep-Sea Mining Watch
The new global transparency tool will empower governments, researchers and civil society to monitor vessels involved in deep-sea mineral explorationWashington, D.C., United States, Dec. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Fishing Watch, an international nonprofit organization advancing ocean governance through transparency of human activity at sea, and the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory, at the University of California, Santa Barbara, have unveiled an upgraded open-access portal designed to br
2,500-Year-Old Chronicle Is Oldest Known Record Of A Total Solar Eclipse And Reveals Some Surprises
Because this record survived, we know more about ancient Chinese history, the rotation of the Earth, and past solar activity than we would otherwise.
French Business Activity Rises for First Time in Over a Year
France’s private sector grew for the first time in more than a year thanks to strength in the services industry, defying an initial assessment that it stagnated.
Egypt Business Gauge Hits Five-Year High After Pound Strengthens
A key gauge of business activity in Egypt expanded for the first time since February, as greater demand and a stronger local currency helped boost the import-reliant economy.
States Step Up to Regulate Digital Asset ‘Business Activity’ Within Their Borders
As Congress and federal financial regulators work to expand the legal playing field for crypto trading and transactions, states are stepping in regulate
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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