"'God's influencer' Carlo Acutis was canonized on 7 September by Pope Leo XIV. Acutis was known for his use of digital media to promote Catholic devotion. The work of a devoted teenage tech-wizard is just one way that new technologies are finding their way into religious practice: Jesus chatbots are growing in popularity and have even been used to offer spiritual guidance within churches."
"At a meeting this week in the United Kingdom, scientists are deliberating whether to restrict research that could eventually enable 'mirror life' - synthetic cells built from molecules that are mirror images of those found in the natural world. "Pretty much everybody agrees" that mirror-image cells would be "a bad thing", says synthetic biologist John Glass. Such a cell might proliferate uncontrollably in the body or spread unchecked through the environment, because the body's enzymes and immune system might not as readily recognize right-handed amino acids or left-handed DNA."
Physicists have created a form of matter once thought physically impossible, using engineered materials such as liquid crystals composed of bar-shaped molecules. Religious practice is increasingly incorporating technology: digital media, Jesus chatbots offering spiritual guidance, and robotic arms performing Hindu aarti, with some worshippers ambivalent about technological simulacrums in sacred spaces. Scientists in the United Kingdom are debating whether to restrict research on 'mirror life'—synthetic cells made from mirror-image molecules—because such cells might evade immune recognition and proliferate uncontrollably. Researchers also note mirror molecules could have therapeutic value, and voices differ on where to draw research limits.
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