Mutant strains of a common human flu virus have been found in dogs for the first time, prompting concerns that such viruses could start to spread easily among pets—and potentially evolve into dangerous new strains that jump back to humans. Nanjing Agricultural University virologist Shuo Su and his colleagues identified two dogs in southern China… Continue reading Dogs Can Carry Mutant Flu Strains
What if it’s Wonderful? Preparing our Hearts for Pentecost
If there’s one virtue I struggle with, it would be hope. In part because of my melancholic nature, my inner pendulum swings more toward pessimism. I see the difficulties before they arise, sigh with the weight of anticipated woes, expect disappointment around every corner, and wait for the other shoe to drop. At times, it… Continue reading What if it’s Wonderful? Preparing our Hearts for Pentecost
Memories Help Brains Recognize New Events Worth Remembering
Memories are shadows of the past but also flashlights for the future. Our recollections guide us through the world, tune our attention and shape what we learn later in life. Human and animal studies have shown that memories can alter our perceptions of future events and the attention we give them. “We know that past… Continue reading Memories Help Brains Recognize New Events Worth Remembering
Are There Reasons to Believe in a Multiverse?
By definition, the universe seems like it should be the totality of everything that exists. Yet a variety of arguments emerging from cosmology, particle physics and quantum mechanics hint that there could also be unobservable universes beyond our own that follow different laws of nature. While the existence of a multiverse is speculative, for many… Continue reading Are There Reasons to Believe in a Multiverse?
The Bread of Life and the Need of the Human Heart
Anthony Lilles Anthony Lilles, a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, completed his graduate and post-graduate studies in Rome at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas. He and his lovely wife, Agnes, are blessed with three children and live in California, where he is the Academic Dean, and Associate Professor of Theology, St. John’s Seminary,… Continue reading The Bread of Life and the Need of the Human Heart
Secret Messages Can Hide in AI-Generated Media
The result comes from the world of information theory, which provides a mathematical framework for understanding communication of all sorts. It’s an abstract and tidy field, in contrast to the complicated messiness of practical steganography. The worlds don’t often overlap, said Jessica Fridrich, a researcher at Binghamton University who studies ways to hide (and detect)… Continue reading Secret Messages Can Hide in AI-Generated Media
A Little Spiritual Guidance for Moms: Let Yourself Be Mothered
The other day, I took a walk with a friend. I don’t get together with Dee as much as I did when we were in the thick of raising children, so we chatted happily, catching up on family news. Back at her house, I sat at her kitchen table, and we continued our conversation. I… Continue reading A Little Spiritual Guidance for Moms: Let Yourself Be Mothered
Weighing the Soul? (Scientific evidence for the human soul? Spirit? Life after death?)
Podcast: Download MYS259: Could the human soul ever be scientifically detected? Could it even be weighed? Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli discuss a series of experiments that claimed to detect the departure of the soul at death, whether that’s possible, and what other researchers have found. Get all new episodes automatically and for free: Follow… Continue reading Weighing the Soul? (Scientific evidence for the human soul? Spirit? Life after death?)
After Nearly a Century, a New Limit for Patterns in Graphs
“I was floored,” said Yuval Wigderson, a mathematician at Tel Aviv University, on hearing about the new result. “I was literally shaking for half an hour to an hour.” The Party Lines Ramsey theory most commonly asks questions either about the integers or about graphs. A graph, in this context, refers to collections of points called… Continue reading After Nearly a Century, a New Limit for Patterns in Graphs
In the New Scientific Age, the Non-Sciences Are More Important Than Ever
Over the past 40 years, Western education has emphasized math, engineering, and invention, while neglecting the disciplines that allow us to cope with their creations. We are more equipped than ever to disrupt entire economies and ways of life with technology and less equipped than ever to deal with the consequences. If we want to retain a life worth… Continue reading In the New Scientific Age, the Non-Sciences Are More Important Than Ever