SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " CON " 104,266 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Warriors icon Steph Curry reveals heartfelt advice for young Sharks superstar Macklin Celebrini
Warriors icon Steph Curry revealed his heartfelt advice for young Sharks superstar Macklin Celebrini on NBC Sports Bay Area's "Dub Talk."
Plain English BEST OF: How to Be Happy and the Science of Cognitive Time Travel
Throughout December and January, we’re going to be re-airing some of our favorite episodes of the past year and beyond. This list includes interviews that really stuck with me and some others that you guys had tons of feedback and thoughts on … including this one!
Susquehanna launches exercise science degree program
Susquehanna University will offer an exercise science degree program beginning in fall 2026.
Who was the best girls athlete on the Northshore for the week of Nov. 23-29? Vote now!
Vote for who you think was the best girls athlete on the Northshore last week.
Strong Flare Erupts From Sun
The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 9:49 p.m. ET on Nov. 30, 2025. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured
Best performances from 49ers' convincing road win vs. Browns
The 49ers stayed hot, winning their third straight. A look at San Francisco's best performers in its win at the Cleveland Browns.
GUEST COLUMN: What Washington’s elections say about Oregon politics
Elections in various states in November drew national attention and pundits read them closely for longer-term implications, but not in Oregon, where voters who received ballots (this writer did not) had little more than local ballot issues and other mostly low-key contests.
I upgraded to United's Premium Plus on a long flight. Most perks were useless to me, but I'd happily do it again.
Upgrading to Premium Plus, United's version of premium economy, was worth it for our long international flight, even though most perks were useless.
Wright State’s Raj Soin College of Business ranked among the best for entrepreneurs by Princeton Review
Wright State’s Raj Soin College of Business is the only university in Ohio named to the Princeton Review’s Top 50 Graduate Schools for Entrepreneurship Studies for 2026. Continue reading →
In rare move, Gov. Jeff Landry intervenes in House GOP leadership race. Here's why.
Governors have often picked speakers of the House and presidents of the Senate, but weighing in on the Republican Caucus leadership is unusual.
Trump commutes sentence of private equity CEO convicted of fraud
President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of David Gentile, a private equity executive who was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison for a fraud scheme, according to a White House official.
Buddy Dyer says Bale Dalton is the best Democrat to take on Cory Mills
'I’m honored to support him, and I encourage others who want a steady, principled voice in Congress to join me.'
Product sold at Walmart recalled due to risk of explosion
Walmart recalls 201,000 'Ozark Trail' camping stoves after explosions caused burns to users. Stop using immediately and return to store for full refund.
Ratio Beerworks earns RiNo Art District’s Creative Business Award
Ratio Beerworks has received the RiNo Art District’s inaugural Creative Business Award, a new honor recognizing Denver’s creative economy.
Lane Kiffin LSU contract: Detailing the $91 million package
Thanks to the LSU deal, Lane Kiffin joins Ryan Day and Kirby Smart as college football's highest paid
Jean-Philippe Mateta's contract talks with Crystal Palace stall
Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta's long-term future is uncertain as talks stall over a new contract.
'Do it right:' Trump posts cryptic message after ballroom setbacks
President Donald Trump and his chosen architect have clashed over the enormous construction project at The White House.
Legacy Entertainment launches “The Safari Park Company”
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Legacy Entertainment, a globally renowned entertainment design and production studio, has announced the launch of a new dedicated division – the company’s seventh — The Sa…
Netanyahu's unusual pardon request sets up political test
Benjamin Netanyahu's request for a pardon to "promote reconciliation" in Israel has sparked huge debate, as the prime minister's long-running corruption trial continues to divide Israeli society.
From Chiefs to Cardinals: Missouri’s Sports Betting Market Expected to Soar
Today (Monday) marks a big change for Missouri sports fans—sports betting is officially live. As operators go online, the big question is what bettors need to know about gambling responsibly. Christopher Boan, an analyst at BetMissouri.com, told Missourinet that the main thing to remember is to stick with a name you know. “Obviously the nine […]
Netflix kills Google Cast support on 'most TVs,' still charges more for Chromecasts
In a wild turn of events, Netflix has killed support for Google Cast on the vast majority of products. Through...
Jan Eberth named head of the Department of Population Health Sciences
Eberth comes to the university from Drexel University in Philadelphia, where she spent the past three years as professor and chair of health management and policy. Prior to that, her education and career were divided between Texas and her native South Carolina.
Indiana lawmakers convene with redistricting top of mind
Republicans who control the House chamber have said there's no doubt that redistricting will pass that chamber. But the fate of any proposal to emerge remains uncertain in the Senate.
$3.5 Million Mindpath Health Data Breach Settlement Gets First Nod
A California Superior Court judge has given preliminary approval to a settlement to resolve litigation against Community Psychiatry Management, LLC, Mindpath Health has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit stemming from a 2022 breach of its Microsoft Office email environment that exposed the protected health information of almost 194,000 individuals.
Josiah Siska Inks With Walk Off Entertainment
Josiah Siska has signed a management deal with Walk Off Entertainment. Hailing from Georgia [...]
How upcoming business leaders are using AI to prep for high-stakes deal negotiations—and everyday interactions
Students at American University’s Kogod School of Business are learning how to use AI to sharpen the way they negotiate everything from job offers to high-stakes mergers.
USA's Worst-Case Group: 'No' to Norway but Alexi Lalas, Landon Donovan Want Ghana
U.S. Soccer legends Alexi Lalas, Stu Holden, Landon Donovan and Cobi Jones name the teams they want to avoid at the 2026 World Cup draw.
Chronology: How We Got Here and What’s Happening Now with McAllen’s Entertainment District
McAllen’s Entertainment and Cultural Overlay District (ECOD) in the downtown/17th Street area was formally created by Ordinance 2005-95, adopted on November 14, 2005.
Top 25 And 1:
Catch your breath if you can because Tuesday's schedule is loaded with great games including UConn vs. Kansas
CFP Traffic Report: Examining the paths for remaining Power Four contenders
How are the remaining College Football Playoff contenders from the Power Four navigating the traffic?
Monday Morning Politics; NJ's Congressional Race & Jersey City Mayoral Election; Holiday Travel, Then and Now; HIV Prevention Drugs | The Brian Lehrer Show
Monday Morning Politics; New Jersey's Congressional Race & Jersey City Mayoral Election; Holiday Travel, Then and Now; HIV Prevention Drugs
How Data is Changing Science – Part 3: The Infrastructure Layer
In Part 1 of this series, we examined how science is beginning to change. Less fieldwork, fewer lab hours. More screens. More simulations. Instead of waiting for nature to do […]
Six Bruins Earn All-District Recognition from College Sports Communicators
Student-Athletes showing continuing with the great production off the field as well.
Seen but not forgotten: How citizen science helps document biodiversity in remote Borneo villages
When I, Erik Meijaard, worked as a wildlife consultant for a timber concession in Borneo, I often chatted with the logging truck drivers—and quickly realized that some of them knew far more about local ...
Mayor Villalobos intensifies effort to confront ongoing issues in McAllen’s Entertainment District
McAllen’s Entertainment and Cultural Overlay District, commonly known as the 17th Street entertainment district, was created in 2005 to allow bars, clubs, and music venues to operate under special permits with added safety requirements.
Trump says he "wouldn't have wanted" a reported second strike on alleged drug boat
Netflix kills casting from phones, ChatGPT turns 3 years old
Netflix has removed the ability to cast shows and movies from phones to TVs, unless subscribers are using older casting devices
Trump Gutted AIDS Health Care at the Worst Possible Time
By the first World AIDS Day of his second term, Trump gutted LGBTQ+ employment globally and put humanity at greater risk of AIDS.
‘Today’: Reba McEntire Corrects Savannah Guthrie Over Rex Linn Relationship Status
McEntire and Linn announced their engagement at the 2025 Emmys in September.
'Out of network:' UNC Health-Cigna contract expires
UNC Health and Cigna have not reached an agreement as of Monday morning, leaving Cigna subscribers facing "out of network" costs for UNC providers and hospitals.
Former Trump personal lawyer Alina Habba is unlawfully serving at the US attorney for New Jersey, appeals court says
A federal appeals court on Monday found Alina Habba, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, is serving unlawfully as US attorney for New Jersey, dealing a legal blow to the Trump administration that could have far-reaching consequences on other appointments across the country.
Funders "should mandate change in science publishing"
Paper argues that funders, governments and universities should intervene more forcefully to prevent "draining of research"
Science on Tap: The science behind food
Wisconsinites tend to take pride in being the dairy state, encouraging the love of everything from cheese curds to custard to cream puffs.But are you aware of how much research goes into perfecting the products?
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Jersey City’s mayoral runoff election
Voters in New Jersey’s second-largest city will get another chance to elect a new mayor Tuesday in a runoff election
Rodney Harrison’s 'Sunday Night Football' freeze-up sparks concern...
NBC Sports analyst Rodney Harrison raised eyebrows when he appeared to lose his train of thought in the pregame show ahead of the "Sunday Night Football" clash between the Broncos and the Commanders.
World Health Organization recommends GLP-1s for obesity. There's a catch.
The WHO issued guideline on the use of GLP-1 therapies for obesity, conditionally recommending them as part of long-term treatment.
Funding agencies can end profit-first science publishing
Funding organizations can fix the science publishing system—which currently puts profit first and science second—according to research published on the arXiv preprint server.
The Post’s college football rankings, Heisman watch following Week...
The Post's Zach Braziller ranks the top teams heading into the conference championship games.
Accenture and OpenAI are teaming up as AI upends the consulting industry
Accenture said in September that it has been "exiting" staff it cannot reskill for an AI-driven corporate future.
Newport business works to reduce Oregon’s fish waste
The Newport restaurant has become a local staple known for serving locally-caught seafood to tourists visiting Oregon’s Central Coast.
AFTD Grantee Leads Basic Science Study Exploring Role of Protein in Tau-Based Disorders like CBD
A recent study examines chromogranin A in tau protein disorders, expanding our foundational knowledge of these forms of FTD.
‘Love Island’ & ‘The Traitors’ Star Ekin-Su Culculoglu Signs With WME & Atlas
Ekin-Su Culculoglu has signed with WME & Atlas, she has appeared on 'Love Island' and 'The Traitors'.
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.
CA migrant workers delay medical care during Trump’s immigration crackdown
Fewer immigrant farmworkers in California are showing up at pop-up medical clinics since Trump’s immigration crackdown.
All of the best Apple Cyber Monday deals 9to5Mac
Here is your collection of the best and most notable Apple Cyber Monday deals. Alongside a host of ongoing deals,...
The Voice of Alabama Politics examines Jones bid, power rates, PBS, libraries
Bill Britt, Susan Britt and Josh Moon analyze Alabama’s governor race, energy policy, public media and library censorship debates.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is $50 off at Walmart during Cyber Monday
An unexpected hardware discount.
The New Art of the Peace Deal
The Trump administration’s business-first approach is rewriting the rules of peacemaking, for better or for worse.
Airbus stock drops as much 10% as it confirms a 'quality issue' in the best-selling A320's supply chain
Airbus shares fell as much as 10% after it emerged there was an issue with some A320s' fuselage panels that could delay deliveries to airlines.
Giants vs. Patriots: 'MNF' preview, prediction, what to watch for in...
An inside look at Monday's Giants-Patriots NFL Week 13 matchup in Foxborough.
Behind the holiday lights, small businesses hustle to be at Snowport
Vendors can pay over $27,000 in rent for their Snowport booth.
Ebola outbreak in Congo declared over by health officials
An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now over, Congolese health officials announced on Monday, after the country went 42 consecutive days without recording a new case.
Arts & Entertainment fall 2025 semester in review
Students surprise film professor with trip to Criterion Closet At the end of last semester, film students at Grand Valley State University thanked their professor with a trip to the Criterion Closet. Students surprised Associate Professor Joel Potrykus with a trip to the Closet, located in New York. The Criterion Closet is a physical collection of films, contained...
Estes Park Health is now part of UCHealth
Estes Park Health's new name is UCHealth Estes Valley Medical Center (EVMC), reflecting the care it provides throughout the valley. Its staff is now employed by UCHealth.
State Variations in the Role of the Reproductive Health Safety Net for Contraceptive Care Among Medicaid Enrollees
This KFF analysis uses 2023 T-MSIS Research Identifiable Files to look at where reproductive-age female Medicaid enrollees received their last contraceptive visit by state. Overall, more than four in 10 (43%) female Medicaid enrollees received their last contraceptive visit of 2023 at a safety net provider, which includes Planned Parenthood clinics, community health centers, state and local health departments, and Indian health services, but there is wide variation by state.
Shark scientists want their research to help save threatened species, but don’t know how. Our new paper can help.
Sharks are some of the most threatened animals on Earth, and accordingly many scientists who study sharks want their research to be useful for conservation. However, most scientific training does n…
How incoming federal loan caps could impact med students
And other health news from Morning Rounds
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Tennessee's special congressional election
Less than a month after Democrats scored big victories in the Nov. 4 general election, voters in a heavily Republican Tennessee congressional district will fill a vacant seat Tuesday in the closely divided U.S. House
Understanding tea's health benefits and risks
The review confirms that tea, particularly green tea, plays a crucial role in preventing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), obesity, diabetes, and certain types of cancer.
Exploring Denmark’s Tardigrade Fauna through Citizen Science
In a groundbreaking study that intertwines the realms of citizen science and systematic biology, researchers have successfully unveiled an intricate tapestry of tardigrade fauna residing in Danish cryptogams. Tardigrades, or “water bears,” are microscopic, water-dwelling ani
UT Health San Antonio pilot study explores ear acupressure for chronic pain relief in dementia care - UT Health San Antonio
One-year initiative to recruit 30-40 participants, and caregivers Contact: Steven Lee, 210-450-3823, lees22@uthscsa.edu Content by Claire Kowalick SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 1, 2025 – A new clinical pilot study will investigate training caregivers on the practice of ear acupressure to help with pain for people with dementia. The study at UT Health San Antonio, the academic […]
Netflix Kills Casting From Its Mobile App to Most Modern TVs
Netflix has quietly removed the ability to cast content from its mobile apps to most modern TVs and streaming devices, including newer Chromecast models and the Google TV Streamer.
The 50 Best Undergraduate Business School Professors Of 2025
We reviewed more than 1,200 nominations from students, colleagues & B-school deans to select 50 business professors with outstanding impact.
The 50 Best Undergraduate Business School Professors Of 2025
We reviewed more than 1,200 nominations from students, colleagues & B-school deans to select 50 business professors with outstanding impact.
New Editorial Leadership for Twin Cities Business
MSP Communications announces appointment of Platt and Rybak to new roles.
WRDW TV and Peachtree Sports Network to Broadcast 10 Augusta Basketball Games
Augusta, Ga. - Augusta University basketball will once again be air on the Peachtree Sports Network. A total of 10 games, including four doubleheaders will be on WRDW-TV's affiliate for the second straight year.
'Wonderful and kind' TV star stopped by multiple businesses in Peoria
The well-known actor was in town for the 2025 Illinois Comic Con and patronized local businesses.
As a PS5 Gamer, I’d Hate to Miss These PlayStation Cyber Monday Deals, and Time’s Almost Up
Here's what's up for grabs now that PlayStation's official Cyber Monday 2025 sale is now live across all major retailers. This could be your last chance to save on consoles, games, accessories, and more.
Indigenous knowledge and science join forces to save the choro mussel in Chile
Huellelhue means “place for swimming” in Mapudungun. It’s also the name of one of the rivers that flow through the Lafken Mapu Lahual Multiple-Use Conservation Area, established in 2005 in southern Chile’s Los Lagos region. The name of this area is more than just a grouping of words, says Eduardo Vargas, president of the Nirehue […]
FEMA workers reinstated after suspension and investigation over letter criticizing Trump’s overhaul of agency
A group of FEMA workers has been reinstated after three months of forced leave and an investigation into alleged misconduct for signing an open letter to Congress that criticized the Trump administration’s overhaul of the disaster relief agency and warned it could put American lives in danger.
Elon Musk Is Building Out His Next Company Town With Science Center, Gym
The billionaire has a construction boom planned for his rural Texas compound known as Snailbrook.
After 40 years of adventure games, Ron Gilbert pivots to outrunning Death
Interview: Storied designer talks lost RPG, a 3D Monkey Island, “Eat the Rich” philosophy.
What to expect from AMD, NVIDIA and Intel at CES 2026
CES 2026: What we know and what we expect CES 2026 runs from January 6 to 9 in Las Vegas and is once again the main global show for consumer tech hardware, unlike developer or pro-focused events such as COMPUTEX, GTC, GDC, or Hot Chips, which often center on infrastructure, servers, and roadmaps rather than […]
New study finds cancer-linked compounds in common foods
Scientists have found that common foods can contain hidden contaminants formed during cooking or through environmental exposure. A new testing method called QuEChERS helps identify these chemicals more quickly and with greater ease. The research showed strong accuracy and high sensitivity across multiple food samples. This streamlined approach could improve food safety checks while reducing chemical waste.
Clinical Research Unit moves environmental health research forward
New medical director Lawrence Kirschner highlights the CRU’s role as a hub for translational studies connecting environmental exposures, genetics, and human health.
Biology bird cam delivers entertainment, learning opportunities
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Department of Biology built a tool with the potential to captivate audiences and support valuable hands-on learning opportunities for students.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is another mighty brawler from Dotemu
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is the latest beat 'em up from Tribute Games and Dotemu, and it packs a punch thanks to a superpowered tag system.
Future Focus: Vaccine Politics, EU Hiring, and Campbell’s Crisis
From vaccine polarization to EU hiring challenges and a Campbell PR crisis, here’s what business leaders need to know now.
Science 37 Honored for Site Innovation in the 2025 Clinical Trials Arena Excellence Awards
Science 37 is the Winner of Research and Development Award in the Site Innovation category in the 2025 Clinical Trials Arena Excellence Awards
Science must move from materialism to mystery
Theoretical physicist and neuroscientist Àlex Gómez-Marín argues that modern science has become trapped in a framework that mistakes matter for the whole of reality. In this wide-ranging interview, Gómez-Marín challenges the foundations of materialism, defends the scientific study of near-death experiences, and calls for a new type of science grounded in mystery and a renewed sense of the sacred. He suggests that abandoning materialism could open the door to a deeper understanding of consciousness, death, and the purpose of human existence. Simon Custer: You are both a theoretical physicist and a neuroscientist, and you have also been fiercely critical of materialist theories of mind and consciousness. What do you think the ultimate nature of reality is?Àlex Gómez-Marín: I don't know what the ultimate nature of reality is, but what I try to first assess is whether the stories that they [mainstream science] have told us about it are right, or maybe whether there are other alternatives. That's why I've been a fierce critic of materialism. As a scientist, I realized that they had sold us this idea that to be a good scientist you also had to subscribe to many other -isms, like materialism, reductionism, and even secularism. And so first I think one needs to unmount these -isms, and then, as is happening today in consciousness studies, we have a huge landscape where there isn't only one game in town, the idea that matter is the only thing that really exists. But because we are studying the hard problem of consciousness, it may be the case that other views of reality, like idealism, or even dualism, or other theories like dual aspect monism... these are philosophical ideas that now, I think, have room in science to be taken seriously. How does something like materialism relate to dualism or idealism? What is materialism in the first place?Well, materialism is the philosophical position that matter is the only really ‘real’ thing in the universe. And I think that worked kind of well because science started 400 years ago and Galileo made that split, I call it the foundational wound. It was a great business move.He said, let's start doing science on that portion of reality that lends itself more easily to mathematization and measurement. So, for some reason, the solidity of this table or the movement of planets lend themselves very well to this foundational idea of science. But as time went on, 400 years later, we realized that we had forgotten the other side, which is what really matters.What really matters is pain, is love, is feelings, sensation, consciousness, which is very hard to define, but very intimate. We all know what it is. It's that thing that disappears when we go into deep sleep and comes back in the morning. SUGGESTED VIEWING On the edges of knowledge With Michael Shermer, Rupert Sheldrake, Güneş Taylor It's what it is like to be, as Nagel said. It's the feeling of being alive. So, materialism is good to study certain things, but then when it ossifies into this ideology and then is dressed like science, now it's preventing us from understanding these key questions that are really that everybody wants to know.Why are we here? Why do we feel reality? Where do we go when we die? And so we need other ways. We need pluralism. I'm only asking for having more options on the table and taking them seriously. Why does materialism fail to explain consciousness? For example, if you were to lobotomize me, I would not be a functional human being. What do you say to someone who might think that materialism adequately explains the mind?Well, here we could speak about different things. We could talk about physics or about neuroscience. I happen to have training with both.For instance, for neuroscientists, 99% of them, I'm not included in that portion, believe that the brain can only be a productive organ. It's an organ that somehow, somewhere, consciousness emerges. It's like a lamp. And then something happens, magic happens, and then consciousness emerges.That's the position you need to be if you're a materialist because if the only really ‘real’ thing is matter, then you need to say, just give us some more time and money and we'll figure out how mind emerges or is produced from matter. There are many philosophically sophisticated ways of criticizing this.Now there's another option, which is the brain as a permissive organ. This was said by William James more than 100 years ago.Now then the brain wouldn't be like this machine, like for instance, a heat engine whose smoke is consciousness, which is what we would have in the first big model, the productive model. But in the permissive model, the brain would be a kind of a filter. And so the brain would still have a very important role in consciousness, but it wouldn't be a productive role.It would be permissive, much like a filter or much like a prism which would receive light. And - I'm speaking metaphorically - it would receive the light of the mind and then it could reflect it and refract it.Now, with these two big options on the table, I think we can make progress into what I call the edges of consciousness, which are all these experiences, weird experiences that many people have, but we don't talk about enough, like near-death experiences, precognitive dreams, synchronicities. These experiences are very important for humans and they have a place in the permissive hypothesis and they are literally impossible in the productive hypothesis. So that's yet one more reason to explore alternatives to materialism. There may be anecdotal evidence for near-death experiences, but is there robust evidence that would be accepted by the majority of scientists who subscribe to the scientific method?Sure. And the plural of anecdotes, someone said, is data.And there's a lot of data. Actually, this year is the 50th anniversary, half a century, since Dr. Raymond Moody realized that we have two ears and one mouth and started listening to what his patients had to say about their experiences while they were clinically dead.The heart had stopped, breathing had stopped in these patients. These patients would come back and tell him these amazing stories that some people may say are hallucinations, but for the patients were hyper-real, like seeing light at the end of the tunnels, seeing deceased family members waiting for them, feeling bliss.___I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain.___And so he and others started taking them seriously and writing their accounts down. And then you can do a science based on that material of experience that people have. Now, on the more objective side, more recently people have started to measure what's going on in the brain when people are clinically dead and brought back. This has opened a proper field of study, which is near-death studies.Evidence is a difficult word, because sometimes people think that when you say evidence, this is just the final proof. Evidence is like in a jury. You bring testimony, you bring pieces of data that point in one direction or another.I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain. When brains are broken or shut off, there can still be mind going on. And that's revolutionary.That would entail that when we die, it's not game over, which, by the way, is the thesis of materialism. If consciousness survives, materialism dies. It's game over for materialism if something of us continues after we die. Do you think that there is mental continuity after death?Well, I think so, and I believe so, and I could also say I may have experienced it myself, because four years ago I had a near-death experience. I was in the hospital, I lost a lot of blood, and I saw those beings at the end of the tunnel, three beings, and there was yellow light. I was in a well, I was looking upwards, and I hadn't read about NDEs by then, but when I came back from this experience, I decided I would try to integrate this also in my professional life. Not just my personal life, of course, but my professional life as a physicist and as a neuroscientist. So I may have had the experience of glimpses of what an afterlife would be, and I'm not ashamed to say it in this way, and then one can do science of it, and then one can do philosophy of it.One can think about what -isms we were discussing, what views on reality would allow those experiences to be really ‘real,’ as opposed to, well, poor guy, the brain was kind of broken, it must have been a hallucination. Do you have a view about whether individuality or “the ego” persists after death, or whether we sort of merge into some sort of cosmic consciousness instead?I don't know, but my view would be along those lines you're suggesting. I think we could speak about a kind of universal mind, and then the problem is not how we emerge from matter, but how we fragment from a more holistic consciousness into these individual eddies and then when we die, this kind of dissipates.But I'm not sure. For instance, idealism would promote that view, but then what would survive of us after these eddies just vanish and become again the big Consciousness, I'm not sure what that would be. I don't know for sure, but I would tell you I believe something of us survives.And there are other lines of research, not just near-death experience, that can address this really hard question of survival. For instance, there are children who remember previous lives. This was studied by Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia for more than 50 years.___Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.___It's amazing research. He went all over the world, especially in the East, and collected all these case studies, all these stories. In plural, these were data of kids, very young age, who would describe up to 40 items that then he could go and verify.There was no internet. There was really no way the kid could know. Why would the kid say that when I was living in this other body and I was a woman and that's how my house would look like or that's how I would die, right? Again, there is evidence, not proof, but there's evidence not only that something weird and interesting is happening as we cross the threshold, but also when we come back to this life.Scientists should not be afraid of studying this, but they are because there's stigma. There's usually stigma upon the enigma, and this is so unfortunate. And one of the reasons is because of the ideology of materialism, because those things cannot be possible. What is wrong with the politics of science such that they have generated this stigma?So many things. Science is a human activity to begin with.So it falls prey to all our passions and ego and greed. That's one thing. Science is a job for the good and for the bad.You need to get a salary. You need to get grants. Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.And then, we didn't have time to unpack this, but science for many years become entangled, as I was suggesting before, to other -isms, materialism, secularism. So anything that smells like the afterlife, people may think has to do with God, and then they freak out.Anything that suggests that there's something about the mind that may not need a physical material substrate to exist, it smells like non-materialism. So, all these -isms are ideologically blocking that kind of research, and then there are all these sociopolitical constraints as to what should be studied and what shouldn't be studied.I call it the backstage of science. Sometimes we scientists or science communicators seem to speak as if the data is the only thing that matters. We say, well, data and theory.But then there's a third leg of this stool, which is all the politics that goes behind the scenes. And we often don't speak about this, and it's quite vicious and petty, and it's very real. Why is materialism so attractive to most scientists?Well, an easy answer is because we've grown up with it.It's what the educational system promotes, and that's what you hear when you go to university. So it's like growing in a culture. It feels like the air in which you breathe.So it's very hard to begin with to detect, well, maybe there's another alternative. Maybe there are other ways of doing science, other environments in which one could do science. That's one reason.And other reasons maybe are more profound, and I'm not qualified to explain them, but I could say, looking at this 400-year history of science, since it started around 1623 with Galileo's book The Assayer, that science went and coupled with all what's going on in the West.And so the fall of religion, you could say, and science presented us this new alternative that then could be coupled very well with other -isms, and this idea of growth, and then science losing its good twin brother, which was philosophy. There's a whole natural history of science starting as philosophy, kind of emancipating or breaking out from philosophy, and then marrying technology, and then marrying other social systems.From that point of view, materialism is a very convenient idea to propose. There were attempts, like the German idealists tried to do a more romantic science. But no, the idea prevailed, like Francis Bacon said: You should pursue nature through all her corners, he said, and make her spill her secrets.Our attitude towards nature in the science that dominates is very much reflecting how we treat nature in our society, in our culture, like a resource to extract secrets by force and then dominate it. How is materialism related to the notions of growth and progress? What's wrong with having a productive citizenry?This is another very interesting and very difficult question to answer.But there's this recent book coming out by Paul Kingsnorth. In it, he explains this idea of the machine and this idea of progress. And this, again, this conflation of more is better, of we need to go forward always, and convincing us that the way to do that is to continually extract more from nature. But because we don't have the religious context anymore, because God is dead, then what do we have? We have what we can do as humans with our own gadgets.It's kind of the story of the Promethean fire. We will just build anything to make ourselves God.A good example today is transhumanism. Transhumanism is this pseudo-religion dressed in technoscientific language whose goal is very religious. They promise immortality, they promise redemption, they promise transformation of the entire natural world, but it's done by human means through technology. Are you suggesting that we can't have ethics without religion?Well, we should have ethics with or without religion. That's another pruning that has happened in science. We say, forget about aesthetics, although some physicists still think that beautiful means probably true, and forget about politics. We pretend there's no backstage of science, and even let's forget about ethics.___Science needs to be in the service of mankind.___Scientists, when they become more like engineers, they're just thinking how to make things work so that they can go to the moon, go to Mars, make machines that think, but they don't think whether that's a good idea.And also consider metaphysics. Many scientists for a long time pretended, and maybe that comes from the stream of positivisms, that really one doesn't need metaphysics at all, except that materialism is always the metaphysics running the system.You see, it's not just ethics. It's the pruning of all of these, you could say, five main legs of philosophy that just makes a kind of unconscious science, a science that doesn't really know what it's doing. It's doing it very well locally, but it just doesn't know what it's doing globally. Do you think science has to have an ultimate vision and purpose behind it for it to be effective or for it to be meaningful and transformative?Yes, a way I would say that is that science needs to be in the service of mankind. And it hasn't been that. And we can see it through, you know, when we discovered the secrets of the atom, and all of a sudden, the Manhattan Project, and then we create nuclear weapons.And now we're trying to crack how machines may think, and now we're creating this mess, right? So science needs to be in service of mankind, not in service of a few ideas that maybe want to make more money or just dominate upon nature. What about planes, trains, automobiles, and modern medicine? Hasn't science served mankind by helping us develop those technologies?Yes and no. I see where you're going, and it's fair.I came here by plane, and it's a blessing. When I almost died, the surgeons did their job, and they saved my life. But these two forced choices between Luddites and Silicon Valley types, I think, of course, it's a false dichotomy.Progress, in a way, it's good, but we often don't speak about the dark side of the moon. We say the great things that progress has brought, and we don't speak about the disasters, the side effects that it has come with, and the same when we promise new technologies. We tend to think that any technology is great, that email is going to save us so much time because we don't need to write letters and send them anymore.Is that true? I spend so many hours a week writing emails. Let's just say there are great things about it and bad things about it. People like Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, for example, argue that we've made moral progress over time because of the Enlightenment. Do you think that's totally wrong-headed?I think he's emphasizing a side of the moon, and he does that very well, and you can find tons of plots where there's a slope going up and say it's great. But I think he should also tell the not-so-friendly story.But if your ideology is just to resist and continue to explain that the Enlightenment is the best thing ever and reason is the best thing ever… this feels to me like you're worshipping these abstractions.I'm very critical of it and also of these, again, science communicators and scientists that say, Oh, science says, in the name of science, experts say. It's like, come on, let's be careful because we can shoot ourselves in the foot by putting forth to the people an image of science that we know is not really true. Recently there's been a resurgence of spirituality and of people who say that they're spiritual but not religious, especially in the United States. If materialism is going away, what is going to fill that gap? Are we going to return to traditional religion? Do you see that being connected with the rise of the political right?I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know what's going to happen. But, yeah, we could say we're in this post-materialist age and even post-secular age. One cannot come back to the past, but maybe just to contact with the roots is a good idea.What do I mean by that? I think we need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method. We need to do so in a culture where we realize humans cannot thrive in a vacuum where there's this idea that the sacred has to be removed.Now, how do we do that without bringing in back all the vices of religion? I don't know. I'm from a Catholic country.Here we are in England, so there are differences and interreligious dialogue has always been a challenge. But I think maybe a way of putting it is: after all these conflicts and branchings I was quickly alluding to, science from philosophy and then also from religion, now there's a time of reconciliation perhaps and maybe debates in the proper sense, like exchange of ideas in service of learning and getting into something higher than both poles. We need science to talk to religious people and it's interesting when people say they're spiritual and not religious.I think this is just a way of saying, no, I don't want to go back, I want to go forward. But at the end of the day, religions have offered us practices and grounding that we now desperately need. Everybody can and should just meditate or pray or do whatever they want, but we're in a crisis and it's time for reconciliation. What do you say to critics that say you are merely projecting our need for meaning onto a fundamentally indifferent universe?Yeah, I know that the typical science communicator says something like this. But we're not projecting. Human beings feed on meaning.It's the other way around. If you're a materialist, because the only thing that there is is matter, all that comes next, free will, consciousness, meaning, this is a kind of illusion that we need to explain.They're just craving for meaning, but there isn't really for them. I would also like to remind my materialist friends that for decades, if not centuries, they've said in the name of science, we know that this and this and this doesn't really exist. I think now they sense they're forced to say, well, actually, we don't know. We've been saying, for instance, that there's nothing after you die, and now probably they need to admit that they don't know the answer.___We need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method.___So it's a moment to open up possibilities and also to gently but fiercely critique these claims that I think harm society. If you say in the name of science, get on with it, when your father dies, you'll never see him again. Well, what the F do you know about it? You haven't studied the literature, you haven't had any of those experiences, and basically what you're doing is you're just doing marketing on ideology. This needs to stop. Do you think that it's scarier for some people to entertain the thought that there might be life after death, compared to a materialist worldview where you just die, given that there might be consequences for unsavory behaviour?Well, death and dying is scary. It's maybe the ultimate ending. It's a limit on life, and when we're in this conquest mode, we don't like limits.And it also has, there's a shockwave backwards, so I think if you change your notion of what death is or may be, you live differently. It also has consequences, as you're saying, for the future because this is not our only goal here and we come back in whatever form. And again, different religions would say different things. I the East, they are more happy with the idea of reincarnation, and here in the West, there are other preferences. But in any case, it changes how we live, and that's really what matters.It's not about just projecting or imagining what we'll be after, but how we live now and also how we treat those who are dying. So it goes from the individual to the families, to the hospitals.Now in the near-death research I do, this has ramifications at all these levels, all the way to society.But our society is thanatophobic. It has a phobia of death. We don't want to hear about death, and this is another thing we need to put on the table and be willing to talk about it. Do you think that we might get closer to answering ultimate questions like why is there anything at all if we jettison materialism?That’s an excellent question, Simon. Two things: we should stop treating reality, I believe, as a great sudoku, as an enigma, as something that with intelligence, money, and time that we will crack and instead treat reality more like a mystery. And what you do for in front of a mystery is not to be the clever guy in a class and say “I’ll solve you” but more like “I will bow and you will transform me.”I know this sounds a bit like a scientist speaking like a mystic. But I think this reorientation is needed. In the end, we won’t crack the big questions, but they will transform us. If we free ourselves from this prison of materialism, the way we will explore these questions will be freer, more creative, and in service of mankind. Do you think exploring mystery is the reason why we are here?I think we are here because, and this pseudo-theological argument I’m making off the cuff, But the One, the Absolute, if there is such a thing, had everything except limitation. We are that absolute experiencing that contingency. It’s like an act of divine proprioception. It’s a wonderful adventure, it’s just incredible to be alive. Perhaps we have forgotten why we are here and the whole point is to experience the flesh.Let me end by saying this. I criticize materialism harshly. I bang on this dead horse, because I think it’s dead. But matter is a great mystery. So maybe my invitation is as follows: hey materialist friends, come here, let’s work on materialism 2.0! Consciousness is a mystery, but matter is also a mystery. The fact that we can have an intersubjective experience consensus, the fact that we can apply mathematics, that we can measure things... the physical world we take for granted, but it is a great mystery too.Maybe that’s related to your last question: why are we here? Why did spirit decide to incarnate? Being in the flesh may be a great thing if spirit decided to do so.Àlex Gómez-Marín, thank you very much.My pleasure.
Powering Brazil's Transition to Zero-Emission Trucking: Improving Air Quality, Public Health and the Economy with Coordinated Efforts
The electrification of Brazil’s heavy-duty trucking sector represents a critical opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, improve air quality, and enhance public health. While Brazil’s long-standing reliance on biofuels has leveraged domestic resources and infrastructure, this strategy is best viewed as a transitional measure that may not fully meet the country’s long-term climate and economic objectives.
Sports betting to impact Missouri — and its neighbors
Missourians no longer have to travel out of state to bet on sports. How will that impact Missouri and its neighbors?
Here's how to create a stronger mental health care system
The difference now, versus 30 years ago, is that we know what works — we know the solutions.
Sports betting goes live in Missouri, as sports celebrities and promotions abound
Launch-day promotions and celebrity bets are right around the corner for Missouri sports betting, which began Monday at the stroke of midnight. For those inclined to bet on sports, the earliest days after a state launch can be the only time they actually have a statistical edge on the house if they take advantage of […]
Protecting Growth: A Beginner’s Guide To Small Business Insurance In Huntsville
As Huntsville’s small-business ecosystem accelerates, insurance is becoming a strategic necessity rather than an afterthought. From new retailers opening
Water quality rule finalized as Republicans, business groups complain about process
A new rule published over Republican objections is meant to protect the health of Wisconsin's highest quality water bodies.
Rethinking statistical significance
From medicine to economics, significance testing misleads. Estimation offers a clearer way forward.
Scientists Say: Van Allen belts
Astronomers have detected these radiation belts around Earth and beyond. Jupiter’s belt is thousands of times as intense as Earth’s.
Need help with your business? Easton begins offering free consulting through Lehigh U.
Easton's new partnership with the Lehigh University Small Business Development Center provides free confidential business consulting.
McKnight foundation honors founding member of Oral Health Task Force
Paul Nelson has been awarded the 2025 Virginia McKnight Binger Heart of Community Honor for the Northeast Region. The award recognizes seven Minnesotans from across the state who demonstrate compassion and service in their communities. Each recipient receives $10,000 in recognition of their impact. The announcement was made on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, by the...