“I know there are other bishops who felt the Archbishop of Canterbury should resign because I spoke to them in the days before,” [Bishop Helen-Ann] Hartley, 51, says. “So when I made the initial call, I fully expected one or two colleagues to come out and say, ‘we agree with the Bishop of Newcastle’. When, instead, there was this wall of silence, I was pretty exposed and did feel frozen out.

“I had a few private contacts, ‘hope you’re OK’, ‘just let me know if you want a cup of tea’, ‘thoughts and prayers’ but I really wanted colleagues — some colleagues at least — to speak out publicly to support my interventions.”

Confident, engaging and thoughtful, with a ready smile, Hartley confesses to feeling “a degree of vulnerability” after recent events. So much so that, in London this week to attend the House of Lords, she has been avoiding the Bishops’ robing room.

“I don’t feel able to go into the Bishops’ robing room at the moment on my own. You might say that’s an overreaction but I don’t feel confident enough to go into that room with colleagues present. So I’ve asked for my robes to be moved. And I’m really sad that’s the case but I have to look after myself in this too. I hope it’s temporary.”

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“The next archbishop has to … deal with the systemic issues of dysfunction both in the institution & its central capacity, but also in the House of Bishops in terms of cultures around power, privilege & entitlement that persist”https://t.co/9KKWui8SAe

— HouseofSurvivors (@HseofSurvivors) December 13, 2024

Noting that recent advances in artificial intelligence and the existence of large-scale experimental data about human biology have reached a critical mass, a team of researchers from Stanford University, Genentech, and the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative says that science has an “unprecedented opportunity” to use artificial intelligence (AI) to create the world’s first virtual human cell. Such a cell would be able to represent and simulate the precise behavior of human biomolecules, cells, and, eventually, tissues and organs. 

“Modeling human cells can be considered the holy grail of biology,” said Emma Lundberg, associate professor of bioengineering and of pathology in the schools of Engineering and Medicine at Stanford and a senior author of a new article in the journal Cell proposing a concerted, global effort to create the world’s first AI virtual cell. “AI offers the ability to learn directly from data and to move beyond assumptions and hunches to discover the emergent properties of complex biological systems.” 

Lundberg’s fellow senior authors include two Stanford colleagues, Stephen Quake, a professor of bioengineering and head of science at the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, and Jure Leskovec, a professor of computer science in the School of Engineering, as well as Theofanis Karaletsos, head of artificial intelligence for science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Aviv Regev executive vice president of research at Genentech.

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Towards the #AI virtual cell, which would represent one the most extraordinary achievements in life sciencehttps://t.co/f4sLd0SBeB @CellCellPress @StephenQuake @czi @cziscience @_bunnech pic.twitter.com/xi5YNYyaQ7

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) December 12, 2024

God wants us to understand the depth and breadth of our transgressions against him and come face to face with the utter lostness of our plight. He wants us to own our sad and sorry situation, understanding that our sin offends him and that his wrath is upon us. That without Jesus we are held captive by the Enemy. 

I know what it’s like to be held captive by a sad and sorry situation. Decades ago, when a reckless dive left me paralyzed at the age of 17, my world went dark. My despair seemed like a bottomless pit. I was lost to life as I once knew it—riding horses, playing sports, and hiking through the beauty of God’s creation. But now? I felt enslaved by a life sentence of quadriplegia.   

Lying in the rehabilitation hospital after my injury, I wanted to end my life. Unable to do even that, I determined to end my life spiritually. I told my mother to shut the door and close the drapes. I wanted to shut out the light—shut out the whole world. I was lost. 

Only when we appreciate the fact that we are lost can we fully celebrate being found. Perhaps that’s why James says, “Grieve, mourn, and wail” over your sin and God “will lift you up” (4:9,10). 

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Advent calls us out of our despair, writes Joni Eareckson Tada.

Sitting in the dark helps us truly appreciate the light.https://t.co/sZstQnGIQ9

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) December 12, 2024

A single cell.

A global business worth billions.

A trade that can bring rewards—or human costs that cannot be measured.

The human egg is a precious resource, exchanged in markets open, gray or black. To tell its story, we follow a teenage girl in India, lured into selling her eggs; a model in Argentina whose genetic makeup is prized; a mother in Greece, told by police that her eggs were stolen; and two “egg girls” from Taiwan who have put themselves at risk to earn money in the US.

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Women around the world are increasingly part of a very human global supply chain.

In @BW investigation, we learned how they’re paid—and sometimes exploited—in the multibillion-dollar fertility industry. I made this key takeaways free to read:https://t.co/ax7Nco65xc

— Marika Katanuma (@marikakatanuma) December 13, 2024

Loving God, who for the salvation of all didst give Jesus Christ as light to a world in darkness: Illumine us, with thy daughter Lucy, with the light of Christ, that by the merits of his passion we may be led to eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

'Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's,
Lucy's, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks.'

Today is St Lucy's Day, which was once the date of the winter solstice – the saint of light in the darkest days of winter. This luminous medieval St Lucy is from Minster Lovell. pic.twitter.com/WxLDeJaxAC

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) December 13, 2024

O Heavenly Father, whose most dearly beloved Son has come once to save the world, and will come again to judge the world: Help us, we pray thee, to watch like servants who wait for the coming of their lord.  May we abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost; and, having this hope, may we purify ourselves by thy grace, even as Christ is pure.  Grant this, O Father, for his sake and for the glory of thy holy name.

☀️🍀Guten Morgen am Freitag, den 13. ☀️🍀
Es soll ein Glückstag für euch alle sein! pic.twitter.com/oDR8qpVyKV

— Brigitta Neurauter (@BrigittaNeurau2) December 13, 2024

‘But I trust in thee, O Lord,
I say, “Thou art my God.”
My times are in thy hand’

–Psalm 31:14-15a

Het zonnetje lijkt opnieuw achter de wolken te blijven. Fijne vrijdag🙂 #natuur #landschap #herfst #Wijkbijduurstede #Nederrijn #zonsopkomst #mooieluchten pic.twitter.com/DOajYlLL8s

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) December 13, 2024