Author: Denyse O’Leary

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Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
August 25, 2026

Categories
Biology
Life Sciences
Neuroscience & Mind
Tagged
, animals, Annaka Harris, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, biochemists, caterpillar, cats, cells, cocooning, cognition, Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind, consciousness, Dogs, dying, environments, Epoch Times, evolution, glutamate, hierarchy, horses, human nervous system, iai.tv, James Shapiro, leaves, Makai Elías Calles, mating, natural selection, neurons, neurotransmitters, octopus, plant consciousness, plants, self-awareness, stripping fruit trees, Thomas Nagel, University of Chicago}

Evolutionary Lens Deterred Scientists from Considering Plant Cognition

_{Denyse O’Leary
August 25, 2026

Biology, Life Sciences, Neuroscience & Mind

6}

It’s a familiar concept: the long, slow march from mud to mind meant that only toward the upper tier would we find such developments as cognition. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
August 17, 2026

Categories
Life Sciences
Neuroscience & Mind
Tagged
, __trending, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Behind and Beyond the Brain Symposium, brains, Christof Koch, Closer to Truth, cognition, David Chalmers, emotions, filter model, hard problem of consciousness, Human Immortality (book), Integrated information theory, J. L. Saver, J. Rabin, materialism, mental awareness, mind, near-death experiences, neuroscience, neuroscientists, paradoxical lucidity, Peter Kreeft, reality, receptors, reducing valve, Robert Lawrence Kuhn, Science Daily, sensations, senses, terminal lucidity, thoughts, universe, William James}

What if the Brain Is a Filter?

_{Denyse O’Leary
August 17, 2026

Life Sciences, Neuroscience & Mind

5}

The idea would provides insight into one of the most significant characteristics of near-death experiences, the extraordinary lucidity that experiencers report. Read More ›

Neanderthal armed with lance, their part in Homo Sapiens Anthropology and Darwinian Theory.

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post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
August 15, 2026

Categories
Cultural Anthropology
Evolutionary Psychology
Human Origins and Anthropology
Tagged
, Amazon, archeology, Ascent of Man, astrobiology, China, Darwinian evolution, Eurasia, evolutionary psychology, forebears, genomes, glaciers, Greece, Jonathan Cheng, Matthew Phelan, Neanderthals, rainforest, Ross Andersen, Sanxingdui, Stone Age, subhumans, The Atlantic, UC Berkeley, Wall Street Journal}

Human Evolution Needs Subhumans, and Needs Them Badly

_{Denyse O’Leary
August 15, 2026

Cultural Anthropology, Evolutionary Psychology, Human Origins and Anthropology

6}

Excavation of Neanderthal and other sites is leveling even further the fabled Ascent of Man. Read More ›

Close-up shot of microscope with metal lens.

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post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
August 6, 2026

Categories
Bioethics
Medicine
Tagged
, Anthony Fauci, astrophysicists, Big Think, challenges, commoners, coronavirus, COVID-19, diary, Ethan Siegel, Great Barrington Declaration, lab origin, mRNA shots, myths, pandemic, public opinion, Scott Gottlieb, trust, Twitter, Wall Street Journal, White House, Wuhan}

Want the Public to Trust Science Again? In Four Lessons, Here’s How NOT to Do It

_{Denyse O’Leary
August 6, 2026

Bioethics, Medicine

5}

Ethan Siegel’s approach to public discussion of science is common enough: the exalted scientist reaches down to the ignorant masses. Read More ›

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post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
July 28, 2026

Categories
Cosmology
Faith & Science
Scientific Reasoning
Tagged
, Bheki Mahlobo, California, Carlo Rovelli, Catholics, Chapman University, Christianity, Elon Musk, engineers, Evangelicals, faith, Great Britain, hard problem of consciousness, Hong Kong, India, Joel Kotkin, mathematicians, mind, molecular biology, near-death experiences, New Atheists, new synergy, opossum, Piers Morgan, scientists, Society of Catholic Scientists, squid, Stephen Meyer, stereotypes, Taiwan, thanatosis, The Telegraph, universe}

Mind Behind the Universe? A Stereotype About Scientists May Be Crumbling

_{Denyse O’Leary
July 28, 2026

Cosmology, Faith & Science, Scientific Reasoning

6}

Joel Kotkin points to a recent conference that brought together top engineers, mathematicians, and scientists to discuss the “new synergy.” Read More ›

Glowing brain on computer motherboard with a central microchip, symbolizing artificial intelligence and advanced computing capabilities. AI technology

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
July 27, 2026

Categories
Computational Sciences
Medicine
Neuroscience & Mind
Tagged
, behaviorism, binary logic, body chemistry, brainstem, cerebral cortex, computation, computers, consciousness, Dogs, Dorothea Olkowski, emotion, frogs, hemorrhage, human consciousness, hydrancephaly, hydrocephalus, Jaak Panksepp, language, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Mark Solms:, Michael Egnor, mistakes, near-death experiences, neocortex, neuromodulators, philosophers, reasoning, University of Colorado}

Could This Be One of Science’s Biggest Mistakes?

_{Denyse O’Leary
July 27, 2026

Computational Sciences, Medicine, Neuroscience & Mind

6}

Actually, computers aren’t even the sort of thing for which consciousness is relevant. Dogs are, and maybe frogs, but not computers. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
July 24, 2026

Categories
Neuroscience & Mind
Scientific Reasoning
Tagged
, brain, Bruce Greyson, cardiac arrest, Charlotte Martial, coma, dying brain, emergency room, evidence, evolution, evolutionary psychology, explainaway, Galileo Galilei, geocentric cosmology, Kristin French, Marieta Pehlivanova, Mark Johnson, Messiah University, Michael Egnor, Michael Zignarelli, Nautilus, near-death experiences, Netherlands, neuroscience, opossum, optical illusions, possum, Real Clear Science, stereotypical behavior, thanatosis, Venus, Washington Post}

What’s an Explainaway? Here Is an Example from the Debate on Near-Death Experiences

_{Denyse O’Leary
July 24, 2026

Neuroscience & Mind, Scientific Reasoning

5}

Explainaways, whether possum tales or optical illusions, exist to protect a system from unwanted evidence by ignoring or dismissing it. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
July 23, 2026

Categories
Genetics
Human Origins and Anthropology
Paleontology
Tagged
, archeology, brain development, burial sites, cave walls, childhood development, cognitive functioning, culture, DNA, evolution, fossils, Friedrich Alexander University, genes, genetics, genome, human mind, human origins, Indiana University Bloomington, intelligence, Kyoto University, language, modern humans, Neanderthals, Nurnberg, researchers, Scientific American, Tom Schoenemann}

Get Smart: Neanderthals Progress from Brute to Beaut

_{Denyse O’Leary
July 23, 2026

Genetics, Human Origins and Anthropology, Paleontology

2}

We must be ready to ask some questions about many of the evolution stories we have taken for granted. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
July 16, 2026

Categories
Computational Sciences
Scientific Freedom
Tagged
, censorship, encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, Google, Harvard University, hoax, information, Jimmy Wales, Jordan Boyd, large language models, Larry Sanger, misinformation, Research, search engines, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia}

Sanger Banned by Wikipedia: Diagnosing a Disease

_{Denyse O’Leary
July 16, 2026

Computational Sciences, Scientific Freedom

3}

Sanger became a Christian, which probably got him crossed off a lot of people’s Santa list. But how did he get banned? Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
July 12, 2026

Categories
Faith & Science
Technology
Tagged
, air conditioning, Associated Press, atonement, carbon emissions, China, Christianity, deaths, Europe, extreme heat, forgiveness, global warning, guilt, heat wave, love, monkeys, monotheism, pagan religions, punishment, red warnings, religion, Sarah Salviander, secular religion, self-preservation, supernatural, The Story of Everything}

Sweeping Europe, a Pagan Religion Has Daggers Out for This Technology

_{Denyse O’Leary
July 12, 2026

Faith & Science, Technology

2}

A religion that sees humans as merely “an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet” would consider these unnecessary deaths hardly worth noticing. Read More ›