Author of numerous bestselling books, Mark Alpert is a contributing editor at Scientific American. In the first half, he discussed ideas emerging beyond string theory and the frontiers of fundamental physics, including the latest concepts about mysterious dark energy and dark matter, which are thought to compose most of the universe. While scientists cannot directly observe these phenomena, dark matter seems to hold galaxies together, and dark energy appears to be accelerating the expansion of the universe, he explained. String theory, an attempt to develop a single set of equations that would explain both the very large objects of the universe and the movement of subatomic particles, has proved to be a disappointment and not yield any experimental evidence, he revealed.
What has recently excited Alpert about science and physics is a new focus on evidence gathering about the fundamental nature of the universe, particularly from astronomers. For instance, researchers at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona have equipped one of their telescopes with an ultra-sophisticated machine called the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), which uses thousands of tiny robotic devices to enable precise measurements of the distance and velocity of millions of galaxies. They learned from these studies that the universe's expansion is accelerating, but not as fast in the more recent epochs. This information may change the concept of dark energy, pointing toward the idea that it's something like a scalar field that can fluctuate over time, he marveled, and this could mean that the universe might expand or contract at different rates.
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Elson M. Haas, MD, is an integrative family medicine practitioner with more than 40 years of experience as a physician. In the latter half, he talked about how we can turn our health around by paying attention to what our body is telling us and detoxing from things like sugar, alcohol, caffeine, negative self-talk, and poor lifestyle choices. Through taking a few weeks off from a habit, we can embrace a new feeling by not being dependent on it, such as caffeine for energy, he noted. Haas is an advocate for moderate exercise, which can improve mental health by increasing the flow of endorphins. "I think people need a good balance of stretching...to get flexibility, weights for strength, and cardio for endurance," he said.
Another of his recommendations is to practice slow, deep breathing, which can be mentally calming and healing. He uses an individualized approach to supplementation with his clients, as each person has different needs, he explained. He also believes a meditative approach to one's life can have a healing effect. "You're not your thoughts. So the more you can sit back and watch them and let go...you're getting more peace in your body," he remarked. Starting on Saturday, April 27th, Dr. Haas will be conducting an online Whole Self Detox program, which addresses four different aspects-- physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual (he is offering $50 off, when you register put in Noory50 for the discount).