In this episode, developmental biologist Michael Levin and cognitive scientist Anna Ciaunica examine how cellular intelligence challenges our traditional understanding of consciousness. They explore how memory, embodiment, and our interactions with others fundamentally shape the self.
A huge thank you to Dina Rudick, a four-time Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker / journalist, who expertly aided this production at the last minute. You can find more about her work at https://www.anthemmultimedia.com. Definitely check out her films.
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Abstract: Emergence can (potentially) integrate across otherwise dual metaphysics of basic substances or atoms on one hand and higher ‘level’ phenomena, including mental phenomena, on the other. But there are strong arguments against the possibility of emergence, such as from Jaegwon Kim. I will argue that such arguments against emergence assume a metaphysics of ‘atoms’ (particles); that that metaphysics is false; that an alternative is a metaphysics of process; and that process metaphysics makes the possibility of emergence coherent and ubiquitous.
Anthropic Co-Founder Chris Olah warned that artificial intelligence could displace human labor “at very large scale” as he addressed the Vatican during the presentation of Pope Leo’s first encyclical on AI. The Anthropic co-founder urged stronger oversight from governments, religious leaders, and civil society, while raising concerns about AI’s growing power, global inequality, and mysterious internal behaviors observed in advanced systems.
Anthropic Co-Founder Warns AI Could Replace Human Jobs “At Very Large Scale” Chris Olah Sounds Alarm Over AI Risks During Major Vatican Address. “AI Could Displace Human Labour” — Anthropic Founder Issues Stark Warning.
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Live from Vatican City: Pope Leo participates in the presentation of his first major encyclical focused on the rise of artificial intelligence, marking a rare break from papal tradition. Real-time coverage of this significant Vatican event with DRM News.
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The provided text outlines Joscha Bach theories regarding the nature of synthetic consciousness and the limitations of modern science. Bach posits that human experience is not a direct interaction with reality, but rather a simulated world model constructed by the brain internal software. He defines intelligence as the capacity to build these models in novel environments, suggesting that current artificial intelligence remains incomplete because it lacks genuine self-understanding. Furthermore, he challenges the narrow focus of contemporary academia and traditional neuroscience, arguing that minds are complex information-processing systems that cannot be explained by neural connections alone. Ultimately, these sources present a computational framework for understanding the self as a functional narrative rather than a mystical or purely physical entity.
Forgiving someone might not erase painful memories, but it can subtly update them, making past hurts feel less upsetting. It’s less “forgive and forget,” and more “forgive and update.”
Psychologists have long known that forgiveness is crucial for healing rifts and keeping social bonds strong. Folk wisdom even advises us to “forgive and forget” after a wrong, implying that saying you forgive someone should make the bad memory vanish.
But forgiving doesn’t actually make you forget, notes Duke neuroscientist Felipe de Brigard: “When you forgive someone for a wrongdoing, you don’t forget the event. But once you forgive, the memory doesn’t hurt as much.” Indeed, past studies hinted that forgiving someone can blunt the memory of their misdeed. What hasn’t been clear is how that happens in the brain. Is the memory simply erased, or does it get rewritten?
Researchers modeled the specific dosage of trauma to highlight an escalating relationship between the sheer volume of trauma and later health vulnerabilities. Small amounts of childhood adversity corresponded to relatively modest increases in health risks. However, once a person’s trauma score passed four distinct adverse experiences, the upward trajectory of their health risk accelerated rapidly.
The researchers also investigated the stepping stones connecting early trauma to later disease onset. Using a statistical technique called mediation analysis, they looked for intermediate health issues that acted as bridges over the span of a lifetime. They found that developing either a single physical illness or isolated depression in early adulthood often served as an indirect pathway to combined disease in older age.
For individuals with the highest amounts of early trauma, early-onset depression played a particularly strong bridging role. An initial diagnosis of depression frequently paved the way for additional physical conditions as time went on. These findings align with biological theories suggesting that severe childhood stress permanently disrupts the body’s immune regulation and stress hormone pathways.
New research reveals that physical changes in the brain during adolescence, such as the expansion of the hippocampus, are closely linked to whether a child’s ADHD symptoms will fade away, persist, or worsen over time.
During wakefulness, neuromodulators operate largely independently to support behavior and cognition. By contrast, sleep reorganizes their activity into a coordinated brain rhythm. During sleep, the major neuromodulators—norepinephrine, acetylcholine, serotonin, and dopamine—exhibit synchronized fluctuations with a periodicity of ~50 seconds. These oscillations appear as recurrent bursts of fast (10 to 30 hertz) electroencephalography activity and are phase-coupled to cerebrospinal fluid flow. Neuromodulators are vasoactive agents and drive slow vasomotion, which provide the mechanical force that supports glymphatic clearance of metabolic waste. Disruption of neuromodulator signaling, as seen in psychiatric disorders, cardiovascular disease, aging, or with commonly prescribed drugs, impairs clearance of neurotoxic proteins, including amyloid-β and tau.
