Benjamin Lewin was the founding editor of Cell, the world's leading journal in biology. In the first half, he discussed the state of science, and such topics as the humane genome, gene editing, and AI. He believes AI has great potential as it can analyze large amounts of data beyond human abilities. However, with science, there's a basic principle that you need to understand what has been done in research and reproduce it. With an AI program, "which is, in a sense, writing itself, modifying itself, and you don't really understand how it works, how are you going to verify the results? ...My concern about using AI in science and using it in medicine is that if you haven't got some independent means of verification, how can you be sure it's right?" he cautioned.
The revolution in the science of biology started with the discovery of DNA and genetic material. "And it went on with a whole series of discoveries about how genes work, how they are expressed, culminating in the sequencing of the human genome in the last 20 years," he remarked. Lewin said he finds the controversial field of epigenetics fascinating-- how the environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work. The CRISPR gene editing technique could be dangerous if it's used to alter heredity as that is unethical, but it could be quite beneficial if applied to curing disease, he continued. One of the most significant remaining challenges is to understand consciousness-- what makes us conscious and how we know who we are, he added. Lewin also commented on scientific papers, genetically modified foods, cloning, and bringing back extinct animals.
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Often referred to as the "Psychic Professor," Paul Selig experienced an awakening in 1987 that left him clairvoyant and able to channel guides from a higher level of consciousness. In the latter half, he shared the latest insights from his spirit guides. He compared his channeling process to being a radio, with the guides being a particular station he tunes into. His guides speak of the "Upper Room," a higher level of consciousness that is part of us and "has never been tainted by fear and doesn't know itself in the kind of separation that we've really been indoctrinated in." His latest book, channeled by the guides, addresses the concept of "reclaiming memory" and understanding that our memories are distorted by the idea that we are separate from source.
The sense of separation and fear-based consciousness limits who we can be and creates a kind of false ceiling that we continue to bump up against, Selig explained. "The guides are, I believe, taking us beyond that, to what exists beyond that, which is our true nature," he shared. The idea of manifestation is overused a bit in spiritual culture, he commented, and rather than going after material possessions, he views manifestation as aligning with everything that exists in a higher way. Selig, who characterized himself as a "medium for the living" (he doesn't communicate with the departed), gave readings for callers in the last hour, combining his psychic sense with perspectives from his guides.
News segment guests: John Truman Wolfe, Kevin Randle