Search Results (74)

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has begun to revolutionize our view of the Cosmos. The discovery of Blue Monsters (i.e., ultra-compact yet very bright high-z galaxies) and the Little Red Dots (i.e., very compact dustless strong Balmer break cosmic dawn sources) pose significant challenges to pre-JWST era models of the assembly of first stars and galaxies. In addition, JWST data further strengthen the problem posed by the origin of the supermassive black holes that power the most distant quasars observed. Stars powered by Dark Matter annihilation (i.e., Dark Stars) can form out of primordial gas clouds during the cosmic dawn era and subsequently might grow via accretion and become supermassive. In this paper we argue that Supermassive Dark Stars (SMDSs) offer natural solutions to the three puzzles mentioned above. Full article

Abductive reasoning—the search for plausible explanations—has long been central to human inquiry, from forensics to medicine and scientific discovery. Yet formal approaches in AI have largely reduced abduction to eliminative search: hypotheses are treated as mutually exclusive, evaluated against consistency constraints or probability updates, and pruned until a single “best” explanation remains. This reductionist framing fails on two critical fronts. First, it overlooks how human reasoners naturally sustain multiple explanatory lines in suspension, navigate contradictions, and generate novel syntheses. Second, when applied to complex investigations in legal or scientific domains, it forces destructive competition between hypotheses that later prove compatible or even synergistic, as demonstrated by historical cases in physics, astronomy, and geology. This paper introduces quantum abduction, a non-classical paradigm that models hypotheses in superposition, allowing them to interfere constructively or destructively, and collapses only when coherence with evidence is reached. Grounded in quantum cognition and implemented with modern NLP embeddings and generative AI, the framework supports dynamic synthesis rather than premature elimination. For immediate decisions, it models expert cognitive processes; for extended investigations, it transforms competition into “co-opetition” where competing hypotheses strengthen each other. Case studies span historical mysteries (Ludwig II of Bavaria, the “Monster of Florence”), literary demonstrations (Murder on the Orient Express), medical diagnosis, and scientific theory change. Across these domains, quantum abduction proves more faithful to the constructive and multifaceted nature of human reasoning, while offering a pathway toward expressive and transparent AI reasoning systems. Full article

Recent scholarly work on the influence of the Book of Revelation on popular cinematic, literary, and visual apocalyptica has shown steady growth. These studies not only highlight the influence and the processes of de- and recontextualisation of Revelation and other apocalyptic texts, but also employ popular apocalyptica as dialogue partners in critical engagement with ancient writings. The aim of this article is to introduce another such dialogue partner in the form of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The discussion begins with a brief review of recent scholarship on the dialogical interaction between modern apocalyptica and Revelation. This is followed by a plot summary of the most recent Godzilla reboot films, with particular attention to the influence and echoes of Revelation. Finally, several reflections are offered on how Godzilla: King of the Monsters may function as a dialogue partner for reading Revelation. The central premise is that, as with other modern apocalyptica, there exists a two-way hermeneutical exchange between Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Revelation. Each provides alternative lenses through which to interpret and view the other, opening possibilities for renewed ethical engagement with these ‘texts’. Full article

Criminal laws and their deserts-based punishments, particularly in Anglo-American systems, remain grounded in folk psychology assumptions about free will, willpower, and agency. Yet advances in neuropsychiatry, neuromicrobiology, behavioral genetics, multi-omics, and exposome sciences, are revealing how here-and-now decisions are profoundly shaped by antecedent factors. This transdisciplinary evidence increasingly undermines the folk psychology model: some argue it leaves “not a single crack of daylight to shoehorn in free will”, while others suggest the evidence at least reveals far greater constraints on agency than currently acknowledged. Historically, courts and corrections have marginalized brain and behavior sciences, often invoking prescientific notions of monsters and wickedness to explain harmful behavior—encouraging anti-science sentiment and protecting normative assumptions. Earlier disciplinary silos, such as isolated neuroscience or single-gene claims, did little to challenge the system. But today’s integrated sciences—from microbiology and toxicology to nutrition and traumatology, powered by omics and machine learning—pose a threat to the folk psychology fulcrum. Resistance to change is well known in criminal justice, but the accelerating pace of biopsychosocial science makes it unlikely that traditional assumptions will endure. In response to modern science, emergent concepts of reform have been presented. Here, we review the public health quarantine model, an emergent concept that aligns criminal justice with public health principles. The model recognizes human behavior as emergent from complex biological, social, and environmental determinants. It turns away from retribution, while seeking accountability in a way that supports healing and prevention. Full article

Fascination with the unknown has always characterized humanity. This includes creation of mythical creatures that are believed to exist even though fully unproven. Fabricating monsters began to peak in early modern Europe. Sixteenth-century monsters were among the earliest documented, often with printed leaflets that displayed such creatures. This monster tradition began to flourish, both in scientific and popular form including human, animal and hybrid monsters. One of the most famous products of the time was the Monster of Ravenna, inspired by a malformed human birth in 1512, Italy. Due to a lack of understanding of teratology, animal and, indeed, even human birth defects were mischaracterized and used as tools to support the validity of monsters for political agendas. Animals have been an ongoing part of these and other mythical conceptualizations, sometimes of the divine, sometimes of the demonic. This article considers appearance of human- and animal-based fictional monsters in early modern Europe with some later repercussions. Full article

Introduction: Hip abductor strength is essential for pelvic stability, lower limb alignment, and injury prevention. Weaknesses of the gluteus medius and minimus contribute to various musculoskeletal conditions. Lateral band walks and monster walks are elastic resistance exercises commonly used to target the hip abductors and external rotators in functional, weight-bearing tasks. Therefore, the aim was to summarize the current evidence on the biomechanics, muscle activation, and clinical applications of lateral and monster band walks. Methods: This narrative review was conducted following the SANRA guideline. A comprehensive literature search was performed across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and SPORTDiscus up to April 2025. Studies on the biomechanics, electromyography, and clinical applications of lateral band walks and monster walks were included, alongside relevant evidence on hip abductor strengthening. Results: A total of 13 studies were included in the review, of which 4 specifically investigated lateral band walk and/or monster walk exercises. Lateral and monster walks elicit moderate to high activation of the gluteus medius and maximus, especially when performed with the band at the ankles or forefeet and in a semi-squat posture. This technique minimizes compensation from the tensor fasciae latae and promotes selective gluteal recruitment. Proper execution requires control of the trunk and pelvis, optimal squat depth, and consistent band tension. Anatomical factors (e.g., femoral torsion), sex differences, and postural variations may influence movement quality and necessitate tailored instruction. Full article

Sixteenth-century Spanish accounts of the invasions of the Americas claimed that Indigenous peoples found horseback riding so shocking that they mistook cavalry for centaurs. Drawing a one-to-one connection between sixteenth-century Mesoamericans and ancient Europeans, a nineteenth-century historian claimed that this must have happened in ancient Greece also, inspiring the centaur myth in the first place. A closer examination of Classical textual and archaeological sources and of the ethnohistory of the contact-era Americas shows this to be wishful thinking by Iberian writers desirous to believe that awestruck American societies saw them as gods or monsters. However, a closer examination of the centaur myth and the responses by contact-era American societies to horses reveals a more complicated reality behind a simple mythology of conquest. Full article

As cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated, existing log-based anomaly detection models face critical limitations in adaptability, semantic interpretation, and operational automation. Traditional approaches based on CNNs, RNNs, and LSTMs struggle with inconsistent log formats and often lack interpretability. To address these challenges, we propose LogRESP-Agent, a modular AI framework built around a reasoning-based agent for log-driven security prediction and response. The architecture integrates three core capabilities, including (1) LLM-based anomaly detection with semantic explanation, (2) contextual threat reasoning via Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and (3) recursive investigation capabilities enabled by a planning-capable LLM agent. This architecture supports automated, multi-step analysis over heterogeneous logs without reliance on fixed templates. Experimental results validate the effectiveness of our approach on both binary and multi-class classification tasks. On the Monster-THC dataset, LogRESP-Agent achieved 99.97% accuracy and 97.00% F1-score, while also attaining 99.54% accuracy and 99.47% F1-score in multi-class classification using the EVTX-ATTACK-SAMPLES dataset. These results confirm the agent’s ability to not only detect complex threats but also explain them in context, offering a scalable foundation for next-generation threat detection and response automation. Full article

Introduction: Nonbinary individuals who do not identify as exclusively male or female often face unique emotional challenges due to societal cisheteronormativity and limited recognition of their identities. While existing research has primarily focused on anxiety, depression, and pathways to parenthood among nonbinary people, little attention has been paid to their comprehensive emotional experiences as parents. This study aims to explore the emotional universe of two nonbinary parents from Spain and the United States. Design: Hermeneutic study. Materials and Methods: We implemented purposive sampling, conducted semi-structured virtual interviews, and followed Ricoeur’s theory of interpretation for data analysis. We used the Universe of Emotions affective taxonomy as a starting category in this analysis. Our sample consisted of a 32-year-old white Spanish nurse (she/they/them), assigned female at birth and parent of two one-year-old toddlers, and a 34-year-old white North American physiotherapist (he/they/them) assigned female at birth and parent of a ten-year-old child. Results: Through its four themes (A story of misunderstanding: “What are you, a combat helicopter?”; Clearly, you don’t fit, so…; But (a new) family is there; No monster here: I’m, at the core, a human being), this study reveals the complex emotional journey experienced by two nonbinary parents. Conclusions: Central to this journey are three key emotions: strangeness, belonging, and acceptance. The participants describe an initial stage marked by body and social dysphoria, confusion, and rejection, followed by a transformative process in which parenthood becomes a catalyst for emotional and identity integration. This transition—from alienation to connection—reflects a broader movement from dehumanization to humanization, where the experience of parenting fosters emotional resilience, social recognition, and a renewed sense of self. Implications for the profession and/or patient care: Analyzing their emotions (both negative and positive ones), we obtained robust insights into these parents’ personal and social contexts. Therefore, we can facilitate understanding of the emotional complexity of nonbinary parents by the trans and cisgender communities. Through this understanding, nurses and the organizations they work for can improve their competence in their holistic care. Acceptance from nonbinary parents’ social contexts, of which nursing is a part, is a critical factor in their health and emotional wellbeing. Full article

Good solutions for sustainable development promote social, ecological, and economic aspects in synergistic ways. Wind energy projects have a large potential to achieve this, if their locations are carefully selected. On the contrary, placing wind turbines inside forest areas with high biodiversity, cultural significance, and recreational use generates conflicts between different dimensions of sustainability, and between supporters and opponents of such projects. The resulting green-versus-green dilemma involves a conflict between idealism and pragmatism, as incorporated in literature by the personalities of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Sustainable solutions require both aspects as well as realism. Forest areas have crucial climate benefits ranging from the absorption of CO₂ and other emissions, providing shade and cooling during heatwaves to the storage of humidity and water. Climate change is not solely a problem of rising temperature. It also involves changes in humidity and precipitation, and the related problems of desertification and deforestation. Accordingly, a strategy of deforestation for hosting wind farms seems questionable. Instead, constructing wind turbines with energy storage capacities on deserted ground and using their economic and energetic gains for a subsequent afforestation of the surrounding land would achieve synergetic sustainability benefits for biodiversity, human wellbeing, and the climate. Full article

Partially nonlocal (PNL) variable-coefficient nonlinear Schrödinger equations (NLSEs) represent a significant area of study in mathematical physics and quantum mechanics, particularly in scenarios where potential and coefficients vary spatially or temporally. The (3+1)-dimensional partially nonlocal (PNL) coupled nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) model, enriched with different values of two transverse diffraction profiles and subjected to gain or loss phenomena, undergoes dimensional reduction to a (2+1)-dimensional counterpart model, facilitated by a conversion relation. This reduction unveils intriguing insights into the excited mechanisms underlying partially nonlocal waves, culminating in analytical solutions that describe high-dimensional extreme waves characterized by Hermite–Gaussian envelopes. This paper explores novel extreme wave solutions in (3+1)-dimensional PNL systems, employing Hirota’s bilinearization method to derive analytical solutions for ring-like bright–bright vector two-component one-soliton solutions. This study examines the dynamic evolution of these solutions under varying dispersion and nonlinearity conditions and investigates the impact of gain and loss on their behavior. Furthermore, the shape of the obtained solitons is determined by the parameters s and q, while the Hermite parameters p and n modulate the formation of additional layers along the z-axis, represented by $p+1$ and $n+1$, respectively. Our findings address existing gaps in understanding extreme waves in partially nonlocal media and offer insights into managing these phenomena in practical systems, such as optical fibers. The results contribute to the theoretical framework of high-dimensional wave phenomena and provide a foundation for future research in wave dynamics and energy management in complex media. Full article

This article offers a unique interdisciplinary theoretical examination of the stigmatisation of ‘drug addicts’ and its impacts on health and wellbeing. In the present conjuncture, drug addiction has become a metaphor for a ‘wasted’ life. The stigmatisation of addicts creates artificial monsters. They constitute matter out of place—addiction is dirt and the addict a form of symbolic pollution—as their excessive consumption means they are ostracised and branded as failures. Providing a tripartite framework—of failure, feast, and phoenix—this article will suggest that addiction occupies a contradictory social and conceptual space, at once cause, effect, and solution. It is in this context that the stigmatisation of addiction operates, despite the fact addicts constitute a consumer par excellence, solicited by the very system that seeks to punish, control, and cure them. Drawing on Girard’s generative scapegoat alongside the philosophical concept of the Muselmann, which parallels it, this paper will examine the hypocritical and contradictory portrayal, consumption and treatment of addiction; the social harm and stigmatisation arising from this portrayal; the systems of power and privilege that reproduce this; and how these systematically affect not only the health and wellbeing of addicts, but also their medical care and treatment. The health impacts arising from this framework will illustrate how scapegoating can lead to worsening mental and physical health, social isolation, and create barriers to treatment, which ultimately perpetuate the cycle of addiction that create public health challenges (e.g., drug-related deaths). The ensuing discussion will show how the addict is a symptom of capitalism and colonialism before it, sustaining it as well as serving as a convenient distraction from the systematic problems and illustrating the brutal realities of biopolitical power and its inherent contradictions. Only by understanding the broader socio-cultural and political implications of addiction within the context of late capitalism can we start to reduce stigma and scapegoating and focus on addiction as a medical issue rather than a moral and/or criminal one; a key to improving health outcomes. Full article

In this era with an increasing overabundance of information, the ability to distill relevant information, i.e., “information reduction”, is becoming more crucial to daily functioning. However, the fact that information reduction is most prominent in complex situations poses challenges for measuring and quantifying this ability. Existing assessments tend to suffer from either too little complexity, compromising ecological validity, or too much complexity, which makes distinguishing and measuring information-reduction behavior difficult. To address this gap in the literature, our study developed a novel assessment tool, the Little Monster Clinic (LMC), designed to capture the information-reduction process within complex problem-solving scenarios. Following the classic complex problem-solving (CPS) framework, LMC simulates real-world medical situations and provides a sufficiently complex task for assessing information-reduction ability. We recruited 303 students to validate our tool and identified six key indicators for information reduction, which demonstrated a high degree of internal consistency ($\alpha$ = 0.83). Structural validity from the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported a one-factor model of information reduction based on the extracted indicators (${\chi }_2$ = 14.872, $df$ = 5, ${\chi }_2$/$df$ = 2.774, CFI = 0.989, TLI = 0.967, RMSEA = 0.077, SRMR = 0.024). The significant correlation (r = 0.43, p < 0.01) between LMC and Genetics Lab demonstrated its criterion-related validity. Furthermore, exploratory analysis highlighted the importance of identifying key relevant information during the process of information reduction. These findings lend support to both the theoretical foundation and practical applications of information-reduction assessment. Full article

Gamma-Ray Bursts(GRBs) are the most violent and energetic astrophysical phenomena, which I dare call “the Energy Monsters of the Universe”. Indeed, they show an enormous emitted isotropic energy ranging from ∼3 × ${10}^{46}$ erg (GRB 170817A) to ∼${10}^{55}$ erg (GRB 221009A) and a duration ranging from ≈milliseconds to ∼${10}^4$ s. In this review—which I agreed to write as a scientist not directly involved in the field of GRBs—I will present the history of GRBs from the time of their discovery by chance until the new era whose beginning was marked by the detection of gravitational waves coming from the merger of two neutron stars. I will discuss the experimental results and their physical interpretation, which is still a source of heated debate within the scientific community. Due to the reasonable length of this review and especially given my limited knowledge, I do not claim to have exhausted the complicated topic of GRBs, but to have contributed in making this subject easy to read for non-experts, providing a critical contribution that is hopefully useful to the whole community. Full article

Can we think of the legendary Wandering Jew as a monster? The figure does not easily fit the common definition of a monster and yet, the Wandering Jew is extraordinary. In the medieval and early modern sources of the legend, the Wandering Jew, who once sinned against Christ and is therefore doomed to be an immortal eyewitness to the Passion, serves as a model for the faithful. In his 1796 gothic novel, The Monk, Matthew Lewis creates a new strand of the Wandering Jew tradition, a gothic Wandering Jew, a being transformed from wonder to horror through association with centuries of antisemitic accusations against Jews as agents of conspiracy, ritual murder, nefarious magic, and disease. This essay argues that a variation on the representation of the gothic Wandering Jew, which began with Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner, further adapts the legend to make the Wanderer not a sign of redemption, but the monstrous cause of catastrophe not only for himself, but for those he encounters. This article, the first scholarly examination of John Blackburn’s 1972 Wandering Jew novel, Devil Daddy, situates it within the strand of the legend that represents the Wandering Jew as a monstrous source of destruction. Blackburn’s novel, written during a time of global concern over the development of biological weapons of mass destruction, portrays the Wandering Jew’s curse as a source of manmade global environmental catastrophe. In this way, the sin of the monstrous Wandering Jew becomes one not against Christ, but against humankind. Even as Devil Daddy explicitly references the horrors of the Holocaust, this representation of a monstrous Wandering Jew haunts the text, undermining its sympathetic representation of Jewish suffering. Full article