Infants born without a cerebral cortex demonstrate that they still have a variety of conscious experiences.

Physics is incomplete fat every scale of reality. This is true from the quantum scale, to the scale of life and mind, to cosmological scales.

Reprint of Cellular Mind chapter 5 which makes the case that the electromagnetic force combines and powers increasingly complex forms of matter and mind.

A Tufts University experiment on worms directly challenges modern evolution theory.

Two thought experiments involving mind as a fundamental property of matter or as a quantum field resolve the combination problem.

The true scope of the hard problem is not recognized by the scientific and philosophical communities.

Alternative splicing of messenger RNA has been shown to be critical for the development of the human brain. The ability to make many new and complex proteins allowed the development of the enormous molecular complexity in different neurons and in different regions. For some reason, in evolution humans developed the ability to use alternative splicing much more than other species. This ability is most prominent in the brain. This post updates the most recent understanding of h

It is only recently that scientists have been able to observe tiny viruses and their behavior. Bacteria are a thousand times larger than viruses, and our human cells are a thousand times larger than bacteria. We still don’t know what viruses are and how they can have such a complex lifestyle while consisting of just a piece of RNA or DNA and a handful of proteins. With everyone focused on SARS-CoV-2 virus, it is important to realize that much is being learned about how viruse

With each mental event, dramatic structural changes occur inside large numbers of neurons, outside of neurons in the extracellular space, at the synapses between neurons and in glial brain cells. Remarkably, these molecular changes occur instantaneously all over the brain in specific circuits using many different mechanisms (some have been described in previous posts). For each different momentary event, the same neuron can be used in completely different circuits. Signals in

Some think viruses are not alive. It is, therefore, very surprising that they can evade elaborate cellular mechanisms used to find and destroy them. Search and destroy mechanisms of the cell and counter attacks from viruses are very complex. Cells use many sensors to find DNA and RNA that is not where it is supposed to be. When found, other mechanisms are triggered to get rid of it. Major cellular tools are pattern recognition receptors with enormous numbers of variations all

A thought ……. Suddenly, new synapses Learning a fact ……. Suddenly, a new brain cell in the hippocampus…. … Axons are built, axons are pruned. How does the brain know how to do this? How does neuroplasticity work? Learning stimulates new brain cells. Mental events instantly affect changes in dendrites and synapses. The brain noticeably changes shape with attention, meditation, exercise, diet, and habits of life.The active brain does much more. It changes its function when it

The four recently hatched iguanas formed a group and a leader emerged. When walking in single file the leader looks back to check if everyone is there and okay. Now, after several months, they are going to leave the nesting island and swim back to their homeland. The leader swims out first. When all of the others didn’t follow he circles back checking and waiting for those who are anxious about swimming. Finally, when everyone is able to go, they swim on as a group. Reptiles