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Top headlines
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Have you ever had a spiritual awakening or a near-death experience? Or maybe just a moment of real awe in nature? Life can feel immediately different after experiencing what psychologists call a pivotal mental state. But what’s going on in your brain to allow a positive moment to leave such a lasting impression?
Neuroscientists are starting to figure out how psychedelic substances – like psilocybin or ayahuasca – produce their effects, which some people also find transformative. They’re connecting the dots between particular receptors in the human brain and these kinds of rapid changes. Psychiatry professor Edmund S. Higgins describes research underway to understand more about how psychedelics in combination with psychotherapy might help people achieve positive breakthroughs.
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Maggie Villiger
Senior Science + Technology Editor
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New research hints at how psychedelics can trigger rapid, lasting change.
wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus
Edmund S. Higgins, Medical University of South Carolina
Change in the brain usually comes with plenty of effort over time. Neuroscientists are working to understand how psychedelic drugs provide a shortcut that seems to rely on existing brain systems.
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Politics + Society
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John A. Tures, LaGrange College
The ‘most divided’ Supreme Court ever may have been in 1941, when seven of the nine justices were New Deal supporters appointed by the same president, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
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Gibbs Knotts, College of Charleston
One US senator has died, another is facing criminal charges and one more is dealing with health problems. Who replaces a senator who is no longer in the seat?
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Ethics + Religion
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Spencer M. Ross, UMass Lowell
If you’ve decided to look for coffee that’s better for the earth or the people making it, you might need some help translating all the industry lingo.
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Joanne M. Pierce, College of the Holy Cross
The College of Cardinals is an important part of the church’s governance structure. Its members elect the next pope and help develop future policies for the church.
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Science + Technology
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Bruce Schneier, Harvard Kennedy School
ChatGPT and its ilk give propagandists and intelligence agents a powerful new tool for interfering in politics. The clock is ticking on learning to spot this disinformation before the 2024 election.
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Adam Burgasser, University of California, San Diego
Measuring the ages of planets and stars is tricky. An observational astrophysicist describes the subtle clues that provide good estimates for how old different space objects are.
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Environment + Energy
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Jennifer Sevin, University of Richmond
More than half of the world’s turtle species are endangered or threatened, and overhunting of wild species is a major cause.
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Mohammed Ombadi, University of Michigan
There’s a rule of thumb that rainfall intensity increases by about 7% per degree Celsius as temperatures rise. But the increase is much higher in the mountains, scientists found.
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Health + Medicine
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Oluwafemi Atanda Adeagbo, University of Iowa; Engelbert Bain Luchuo, University of Johannesburg; Oluwaseun Abdulganiyu Badru, University of Iowa
Many people at heightened risk for HIV have never been tested. Those who have self-tested for HIV often don’t go on to receive care or change their sexual behavior.
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International
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Erin K Hogan, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Maria Garcia-Puente, California State University, San Bernardino
The jokes, memes and skits came thick and fast – but behind the humor were serious points.
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Reader Comments 💬 |
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“Two percent (2%!) is a tiny amount requested by SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America, given average yearly profits made by the studios. (They claim reinvestment in artistic work – only after execs have taken their payouts. Another smoke screen used to further exploit labor).
Accountants in Hollywood concentrate, as always, on profit maximization – it is a cruel system, with a few “stars” misleading the public about the true nature of creative work in the industry.”
– Reader Marcus Breen on the story The fight for 2% − how residuals became a sticking point for striking actors
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