In the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the scientific evidence in favour of vaccination is overwhelming. With this in mind, there are many people who see universal vaccination as the only way to bring the pandemic to an end, often invoking the mantra of “follow the science.” As a slogan it would seem to have Read more
Scientists spent years looking for the ‘God Spot’ in the brain before concluding it didn’t exist. Early candidates like the temporal or parietal lobes never panned out. And differences in how researchers define spirituality has also complicated things, because different areas of the brain light up when we use moral reasoning vs when we experience Read more
In the Carafa Chapel in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome, there is a statue of the revered Catholic figure St Thomas Aquinas with the Latin inscription, Sapientiam sapientum perdam. The inscription translates as “I shall destroy the wisdom of the wise”. Who were the wise? The wise were scientists and philosophers Read more
The Society of Catholic Scientists (SCS) will hold its 2021 conference in Washington D.C. on the subject of non-human intelligence. The conference titled “Extraterrestrials, AI, and Minds Beyond the Human” will take place at the Hilton Hotel from June 4-6. The event will also be live-streamed. Conference discussions will provide scientific and theological insights on Read more
Legalising cannabis has the potential to counter systemic racism, see more treatment services and lift poor communities that have become embroiled in the black market, the chief science adviser to the Prime Minister says. But Dr Juliet Gerrard says whether that would come to pass if the country voted to legalise recreational cannabis is unknown. Read more
It’s not uncommon for science and religion to be framed as two opposing forces. The Catholic church has famously struggled to accommodate scientific research in its past, but recently there has been evidence of a healthier relationship developing. In many ways, Pope Francis has embraced science as a way of learning about the world. Notably, Read more
Massey University’s Pūhoro science, technology, engineering and maths academy a help young Māori minds session for more than 150 teenagers at IPU New Zealand Tertiary Institute (IPU) last Friday. Students from Hato Pāora College took part in a programme. The photograph above shows Hato Pāora College students trying to build a hydraulic arm powered by Read more
It is time for New Zealand to restart the debate on genetic engineering says the Prime Minister’s former science adviser Sir Peter Gluckman. But the Government says there are no plans to change New Zealand’s cautious approach to genetic engineering, and any changes are many years away. Continue reading
Maria Gaetana Agnesi was an 18th-century mathematician who became the first woman to write a major calculus textbook. In 1739, she told her father she wanted to become a nun. He balked, but agreed to let her spend more time studying mathematics and theology. Agnesi never entered a convent, but she also never married or Read more
There is no more sacred place in Christianity than the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. And now you can visit it — virtually, anyway — in the nation’s capital at the interactive “Tomb of Christ” exhibit of the National Geographic Museum that unifies cutting-edge science and technology with faith. The science has been Read more