Monthly Archives: August 2017

Gene therapy via skin could treat diseases such as obesity – UChicago News

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A University of Chicago-based research team has overcome challenges that have limited gene therapy and demonstrated how their novel approach with skin transplantation could enable a wide range of gene-based therapies to treat many human diseases.

In a study inthe journal Cell Stem Cell, the researchers provide proof-of-concept. They describe gene-therapy administered through skin transplants to treat two related and extremely common human ailments: Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

We resolved some technical hurdles and designed a mouse-to-mouse skin transplantation model in animals with intact immune systems, said study author Xiaoyang Wu, assistant professor in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research at the University of Chicago. We think this platform has the potential to lead to safe and durable gene therapy in mice and, we hope, in humans, using selected and modified cells from skin.

Beginning in the 1970s, physicians learned how to harvest skin stem cells from a patient with extensive burn wounds, grow them in the laboratory, then apply the lab-grown tissue to close and protect a patients wounds. This approach is now standard. However, the application of skin transplants is better developed in humans than in mice.

The mouse system is less mature, Wu said. It took us a few years to optimize our 3-D skin organoid culture system.

This study is the first to show that an engineered skin graft can survive long term in wild-type mice with intact immune systems. We have a better than 80 percent success rate with skin transplantation, Wu said. This is exciting for us.

The researchers focused on diabetes because it is a common non-skin disease that can be treated by the strategic delivery of specific proteins.

They inserted the gene for glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1), a hormone that stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin. This extra insulin removes excessive glucose from the bloodstream, preventing the complications of diabetes. GLP1 can also delay gastric emptying and reduce appetite.

Using CRISPR, a tool for precise genetic engineering, they modified the GLP1 gene. They inserted one mutation, designed to extend the hormones half-life in the blood stream, and fused the modified gene to an antibody fragment so that it would circulate in the blood stream longer. They also attached an inducible promoter, which enabled them to turn on the gene to make more GLP1, as needed, by exposing it to the antibiotic doxycycline. Then they inserted the gene into skin cells and grew those cells in culture.

When these cultured cells were exposed to an air/liquid interface in the laboratory, they stratified, generating what the authors referred to as a multi-layered, skin-like organoid. Next, they grafted this lab-grown gene-altered skin onto mice with intact immune systems. There was no significant rejection of the transplanted skin grafts.

When the mice ate food containing minute amounts of doxycycline, they released dose-dependent levels of GLP1 into the blood. This promptly increased blood-insulin levels and reduced blood-glucose levels.

When the researchers fed normal or gene-altered mice a high-fat diet, both groups rapidly gained weight. They became obese. When normal and gene-altered mice got the high-fat diet along with varying levels of doxycycline, to induce GLP1 release, the normal mice grew fat and mice expressing GLP1 showed less weight gain.

Expression of GLP1 also lowered glucose levels and reduced insulin resistance.

Together, our data strongly suggest that cutaneous gene therapy with inducible expression of GLP1 can be used for the treatment and prevention of diet-induced obesity and pathologies, the authors wrote.

When they transplanted gene-altered human cells to mice with a limited immune system, they saw the same effect. These results, the authors wrote, suggest that cutaneous gene therapy for GLP1 secretion could be practical and clinically relevant.

This approach, combining precise genome editing in vitro with effective application of engineered cells in vivo, could provide significant benefits for the treatment of many human diseases, the authors note.

We think this can provide a long-term safe option for the treatment of many diseases, Wu said. It could be used to deliver therapeutic proteins, replacing missing proteins for people with a genetic defect, such as hemophilia. Or it could function as a metabolic sink, removing various toxins.

Skin progenitor cells have several unique advantages that are a perfect fit for gene therapy. Human skin is the largest and most accessible organ in the body. It is easy to monitor. Transplanted skin can be quickly removed if necessary. Skins cells rapidly proliferate in culture and can be easily transplanted. The procedure is safe, minimally invasive and inexpensive.

There is also a need. More than 100 million U.S. adults have either diabetes (30.3 million) or prediabetes (84.1 million), according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than two out of three adults are overweight. More than one out of three are considered obese.

Additional authors of the study were Japing Yue, Queen Gou, and Cynthia Li from the University of Chicago and Barton Wicksteed from the University of Illinois at Chicago. The National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society and the V Foundation funded the study.

Article originally appeared on Science Life.

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Gene therapy via skin could treat diseases such as obesity - UChicago News

Bluebird Bio sees Europe as first market for its gene therapies – FierceBiotech

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Bluebird Bio plans to bring its gene therapies to market in Europe before the U.S., thanks to a favorable regulatory pathway.

Bluebird's head of Europe, Andrew Obenshain, told the Daily Telegraph that the company is already in negotiations with the EMA and the U.K.'s Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on possible regulatory filings.

The EMA's adaptive pathways processwhich allows new therapies to be approved in stages based on stepwise collection of datais a key part of that decision, as is the fact that the agency "works very closely with companies coming forward with new methodologies," said Morgan. And with Brexit looming, it makes sense to discuss these plans with the MHRA separately.

Two years ago, Bluebirdwhich targets severe genetic diseases and cancerwas hit hard when the NorthStar trial of lead therapy LentiGlobin failed to hit the mark in sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, mainly because of variable patient responses to the treatment.

In a recent SEC filing, the company said that combined data from Northstar and other trials, including a follow-up Northstar-2 study, "could support the filing of a marketing authorization application in the EU" for transfusion-dependent thalassemiaprovided they all meet the primary objective of freeing patients from the need for regular blood transfusions.

So far, no approved gene therapies have been in the U.S., while Europe has seen two approvals, namely for UniGene's Glybera (alipogene tiparvovec) for lipoprotein lipase deficiency and GlaxoSmithKline's Strimvelis for the ultrarare "bubble boy syndrome," or ADA-SCID.

Even getting approval is no guarantee of success, however. Glybera was taken off the market in April due to a lack of demand for the 1 million (around $1.2 million)-per-year therapy, with only one patient receiving it commercially since its launch in 2012.

GSK, meanwhile, has priced Strimvelis at a lower rate (around $650,000 a year) to try to encourage takeup, but hasn't given any updates and said last week it may put its rare disease unit up for sale. Rare disease head Carlo Russo moved to Italian biotech Genenta in January.

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Bluebird Bio sees Europe as first market for its gene therapies - FierceBiotech

Pioneering gene therapy restores vision to people with rare retinal blindness – Genetic Literacy Project

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Three years ago, at a fundraiser near Philadelphia for theCuring Retinal Blindness Foundation, I stood, dumbstruck, as young teen Christian Guardino took the stage and belted outDont Stop Believing. Christian had recently undergone gene therapy that was already beginning to illuminate his darkening world but most in the crowd didnt know that.

Next to me was Dr. Jean Bennett, the physician-scientist who pioneered the gene therapy for what was then called Leber congenital amaurosis type 2. She asked me not to tell anyone about Christians treatment.

The world heard Christian last month when he performed in June on forAmericans Got Talent, singing the Jackson 5s Whos Lovin You.Fox Newsmentioned his blindness in what is perhaps the greatest oversimplification of a biotechnology of all time:When Christian Guardino was young, he learned that he would lose his sight. Fortunately, thanks to some gene therapy, he later regained the gift of sight. In the interim, he turned to music and stuck with it.

A Long Time Coming

Christian didnt just order up gene therapy like a side of fries.

The first clinical trial of gene therapy for a single-gene disease in the U.S. was in 1990. The publication of the phase 3 clinical trial data for the gene therapy for RPE65-mediated inherited retinal dystrophy, the disease that Christian has, bestows the name Luxturna, and FDA acceptance ofSpark TherapeuticsBiologics License Application (BLA) with priority review. These are giant steps forward in achieving the companys mission statement to challenge the inevitability of genetic disease.

Corey Haas owes his vision to the gene therapy he received at age 8.

Corey Haas owes his vision to the gene therapy he received at age 8. He is 14 in the accompanying photo, and will turn 17 in September.

The decade-long story of the clinical trial for the inherited blindness frames my history of gene therapy, published in 2012.The Forever Fix: Gene Therapy and the Boy Who Saved It(St. Martins Press, 2012) follows Corey Haas, the same age as Christian, who had his first eye treated in 2008 and sees so well that he goes fishing and turkey hunting. Without gene therapy, his world would be dark. Since the book came out Ive followed families whose children are having gene therapy for a variety of conditions right here atDNA Science.

The phase 3 findings for the blindness, published inThe Lancet, evaluate 21 patients in the treatment group and 10 others randomized to the control group who continued to have their vision evaluated the same way that the treated patients did (because sham surgery isnt ethical). A year later, all of the controls had the procedure too. And all have done great as have others in the earlier clinical trials.

The crux of the research, and part of what took so long, was the invention of a mobility course to evaluate a persons ability to navigate obstacles on a winding pathway under low light conditions. A test of real life, its a crucial complement to standard assessments of visual field, visual acuity, and imaging the layers of the retina.

Ill never forget watching Corey at his two-year check-up at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) tackle the mobility course after just one eye had been treated. Covering that eye, the boy wobbled and careened, Dr. Jean offering her hand when he teetered too far of course. Yet covering his still-blind eye, he zipped through the maze.

Q&A withDr. Katherine High

The media largely ignored the blindness gene therapy news last week, perhaps because a few days earlier came news of an FDA advisory committees thumbs up for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technology to treat a form of leukemia. Two genetics news stories in one week? Nah.

I was frustrated. CAR, although widely described asgene therapybecause it sticks DNA into viruses, isnt really. Instead, it creates a double-whammy drone-like not-seen-in-nature immune response; it doesnt bolster a deficient enzyme. And a cancer is not at all like a single-gene disease.

So I believe that Luxturna to treatRPE65blindness will still be the first actual gene therapy approval.Katherine High, MD, president, chief scientific officer and a founder ofSpark Therapeutics, agrees. I spoke with her earlier this week about the recent progress. An excellent interview about her background ishere.

Ricki Lewis:How will patients be selected to receive Luxturna? Is newborn screening plausible?

Katherine High:Its for symptoms of vision loss in people with two autosomal recessive mutations in the geneRPE65. Initial licensing will be for children 3 years of age through adults. All of our work was done in children aged 3 or older, because treating younger children would require innovations in surgical technique.

RL:Can you describe the protocol?

KH:The first eye is done and within 6 to 18 days, the second eye is done. So it takes about 2 weeks. The protocol provides a chance to make sure the first eye is healing and that the person has the opportunity to get the patch off.

RL:What will Luxturna cost? Will savings on no-longer-needed treatments and aids be considered?

KH:Cost is under discussion. Part of the organization that Spark is building is to make sure that anybody who is a candidate for the therapy will have access to it. Were talking to key stakeholders the patient community, payers, health care providers, and policy makers. Its different in Europe, where all social services and educational services and so forth required for people with impaired vision comes out of the same pot, whereas in the US those kinds of services are separate from the payers. So cost, and cost savings, will involve a more complicated algorithm.

RL:Spark is also developing gene therapy forhemophilia B, with interim findings recently presented at the International Society for Thrombosis and Hemostasis meeting in Berlin. Youve been working on that condition a long time! Update?

KH: Its hard to imagine what its like to take clotting factor once or twice a week for your whole life and then not to have to. Individuals with hemophilia are always planning around when they last had an infusion of factor IX. Do the infusion, the level of clotting factor peaks, and then it slowly comes down until the next infusion. As its coming down, the patient is at risk for bleeds. So people always have to think about it.Id like to go to the gym, and the last infusion was 40 hours ago. Can I? I want to take the kids down to the park. When was my last infusion?

RL:Another hemophilia B clinical trial uses the oldest form of genome editing,zinc finger nucleases. Are the two approaches in competition? (Gene therapy adds a gene; gene editing can swap a functioning gene for a mutant one.)

KH:They both could work. Clinical experience with gene editing is much earlier and it can take time in clinical development to uncover challenges and work through them. With these complex biologics, only a certain amount can be learned from the animal models. Then in clinical investigation you have to look at results and understand what they mean and possibly modify a protocol or institute a course correction. That was true for monoclonal antibodies, for bone marrow transplants, and for straight gene therapy. Will gene editing have a shorter path? Perhaps.

RL:Where will gene therapy be in five years?

KH:Clinical development timelines will become shorter. We started the clinical work for voretigene (aka Luxturna) in 2007, but I began working on it, with Jean Bennett and Al Maguire, in 2005. We initiated the trial in 2007. We paused along the way to discuss with regulators the best way to proceed. We had to do a natural history study, for example, and we had to evaluate the mobility test. We had to build the infrastructure for studying this ultrarare form of inherited retinal dystrophy.

We will continue to see proof-of-concept of gene therapy demonstrated in different target tissues. Were seeing promising results in gene delivery to the liver and the central nervous system. I hope we will see continued accumulation of successful clinical results in a range of target tissues and continued progress in bringing gene therapy products to licensing. One of the challenges in my career has been interesting physicians in learning more about gene therapy. When gene therapy products are licensed, there will be increased interest in the medical community, and that will help to expand opportunities.

RL:Your attempt to catalyze interest in gene transfer goes back pretty far, as does gene therapy itself. And of course the field had to overcome the setbacks of the turn of the century Jesse Gelsingers death and the boys who developed leukemia.

KH:Back in the 1990s when I worked with a gene therapy company in northern California, I kept telling them they should work on this gene,RPE65. They declined because of the small patient population, and I said its a great proof-of-concept idea and its probably going to work. (Its a straightforward enzyme replacement via genetic instructions to an accessible tissue.)

After the high profile adverse events and everyone pulling out of gene therapy, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia gave us the resources to set up vector production in-house. Dr. Steven Altschuler, then CHOP CEO and now chairman of the board at Spark, said well help, but you cant just commit the resources all to hemophilia. You have to work on a genetic disease that affects children. I said I know exactly what Im going to do, and I went and talked to Jean Bennett.

CHOP gave us the luxury of working without worrying how big the market was. I will always be grateful to Dr. Altschuler for having had the courage to make that decision when things didnt look very good for gene therapy. The other important decision he made was to spin out Spark. We were discussing many possibilities, including partnering with biotech or pharma, but most of them knew very little about gene therapy. And I was concerned about what would happen to the program for gene therapy for this ultrarare disease if put in the hands of a big company and they have a bad year.

(Spark Therapeutics formed in March 2013, the month my book came out in paperback.)

RL:So when will ophthalmologists be able to save young people like Corey Haas and Christian Guardino from living in darkness?

KH:FDA has accepted the Biologics License Application for priority review. That means that they have 6 months to decide. So there will be much back and forth with requests for additional information, and then typically for a novel therapy like this they would arrange an advisory committee meeting.

RL:So 2018 will likely be the year for Luxturna to challenge the inevitability of this one genetic disease. Its a giant first step to achieving Sparks vision:A world where no life is limited by genetic disease.

A version of this article was originally published on the PLOSwebsite as Luxturna: A Giant Step Forward For Blindness Gene Therapy A Conversation with Dr. Kathy High and has been republished here with permission.

Ricki Lewis has a PhD in genetics and is a genetics counselor, science writer and author of Human Genetics: The Basics. Follow her at her website or Twitter @rickilewis.

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Pioneering gene therapy restores vision to people with rare retinal blindness - Genetic Literacy Project

Israel and Kazakhstan’s futurist vision for Eurasia – The Jerusalem Post mobile website

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Israel and its Eastern Mediterranean neighbors find themselves in a new geopolitical reality as the Atlantic Order ceases to be the predominant framework in which the regions relations are conducted.

With the weakening bloc led by the United States and its European allies ceding ground in the region to an emerging Eurasian order led by China and Russia, Eastern Mediterranean nations could benefit from examining how Kazakhstan attempts to constructively influence the developing economic and strategic contours of the new Eurasia.

Spanning the western border of China and the eastern borders of European Russia and the Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan like the Eastern Mediterranean forms a vital geo-economic link between Europe and Asia.

However, in contrast to the Eastern Mediterranean nations, a central feature of Kazakhstans foreign policy is the consistent promotion of a futurist vision for Eurasia based on consensus-building, multi-lateral cooperation and sustainable development. To this end, Kazakhstan has hosted four major international events in 2017 The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, Expo 2017, the Astana Economic Forum and the Eurasian Media Forum.

This author participated as a delegate to the 14th Eurasian Media Forum in late June and witnessed the impressive array of high government officials and leading figures from the fields of business, hi-tech and media that were gathered to examine the challenges for Eurasia and the opportunities for creating a more prosperous, stable and sustainable future.

Reflective of the strong Kazakh-Israeli relationship, the agenda of the Eurasian Media Forum treated Israel as an important Eurasian actor whose voice should be heard.

The forum was initiated by Dr. Dariga Nazarbayeva, a political scientist and the daughter of Kazakhstans President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who himself is the architect of Kazakhstans multi-vectored foreign policy a careful three-way balancing among Russia, China, and the Western powers, mainly the European Union and the United States that has contributed to maintaining a certain great-power equilibrium in Central Asia and helped foster Kazakhstans economic rise to the ranks of an upper middle income nation.

Held in the Kazakhstani capital Astana with more than 600 delegates participating from over 60 nations, the Eurasian Media Forum brought together persons from varying ethnic, religious and political perspectives, modeling a process for civil and rational dialogue among actors with conflicting interests.

Conducted in the style of the Davos World Economic Forum, the opening plenary session addressed the macro political trends affecting the future of the Eurasian landmass.

The composition of the panel itself was indicative of the importance which Kazakhstan places on Israels role in Eurasia. Sharing the panel with former Turkish president Abdullah Gul, Jose Manuel Barroso, the previous president of the EUs governing body, the European Commission and former US ambassador to the UN Governor Bill Richardson was Gilead Sher, chief of staff and policy coordinator for the government of prime minister Ehud Barak, known for his role as a senior peace negotiator, including during the Taba talks.

The panels major theme, as framed by Turkeys former president, was the dangers posed by various forms of populism and the need for governments as well as multi-lateral organizations to be more responsive to the needs and concerns of local populations.

Shers contribution highlighted the need to better understand the growing disruptive role of non-state actors and was well received.

The panel at the forum that focused specifically on the Syrian crisis, while including an Iranian speaker did not include an Israeli speaker. However, through his participation as a delegate, Sher put forward an Israeli position on the crisis. When one of the participating delegates responded to Shers comments on Israels provision of humanitarian aid in Syria by attempting to impugn Israels role with a disingenuous narrative, one of the panels speakers, investigative journalist Shahida Tulaganova, effectively countered the delegates propagandistic grandstanding, which itself was something out of character for the forum.

Known for her eyewitness documenting of the Syrian civil war in the recent award-winning film Cries from Syria, Tulaganova provided her own personal testimony about Israels constructive humanitarian role. The panels ability to stay on track with a rigorous debate was reflective of the conference organizers overall effort to promote balanced dialogue.

Beyond the factor of geopolitics, the forum considered the future of Eurasia from a variety of analytical vantage points including: the sustainability of the Asian Economic Miracle and the prospect of greater commercial integration between Europe and Asia; how green energy may be effectively harnessed for sustainable economic development; the impact of emerging trends in digital technology on international commerce, intellectual property, global media and the security of the international financial system.

Just as Israels exhibition at Expo 2017, held concurrently in Astana, proved to be one of the most well received exhibitions, Israel was regarded in the panels and the delegate discussions as a leading-edge innovator, contributing solutions in several of these fields.

The importance for Israel of developing a robust Eurasian policy perspective cannot be overemphasized.

Already the EUs trade with Asia has surpassed the volume of trade conducted between EU and North America. Chinas Belt and Road Initiative from Beijings ownership and operation of the EUs fastest growing port in Piraeus, Greece to its construction of Egypts new capital is serving to integrate the Eastern Mediterranean region into an economically rational Eurasian order. Similarly, through its new military and energy partnerships, Russia has re-emerged as a major actor in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East.

To this end, Kazakhstan can serve both as an exemplar and partner. Astana is one of Beijings key partners in developing road and high-speed rail routes to create overland commercial connectivity with Europe (the belt in the Belt and Road Initiative). Likewise, the former Soviet republic maintains a strong relationship with Moscow. Nonetheless, Kazakhstan has successfully rebalanced Westwards, offsetting the threat of Russian hard power and of Chinese soft power by deepening its security cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and economic cooperation with the EU. In 2017, Kazakhstan became one the 10 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Israel was one of the first nations to recognize Kazakhstans independence in 1991. On the occasion of the countrys 25th anniversary as an independent state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first acting Israeli prime minister to visit Kazakhstan. Netanyahus visit reflected the importance of the bilateral relations that have developed between the two nations. However, there is much more work to be done. As Israels ambassador to Kazakhstan, Michael Brodsky, has pointed out there is great potential for Israel and Kazakhstan to expand their cooperation in the fields of agriculture, healthcare, telecommunications, security and renewable energy to reach a level of strategic partnership.

Israel needs to craft a strategic vision for securing its place in the emerging Eurasian order. With a population of only 18 million, Kazakhstan has managed to use its strategic assets to become an active player in setting the agenda along with the major powers.

As was abundantly clear from Kazakhstans 14th Eurasian Media Forum, Israels has an important place in Kazakhstans futurist vision of Eurasia. Israel should engage Kazakhstans vision as well as learn lessons from that vision as Israel starts to develop its own discourse on Eurasia.

The author is a fellow in the Middle East and Asia Units at the Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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Israel and Kazakhstan's futurist vision for Eurasia - The Jerusalem Post mobile website

Food is memory in ‘The Food Show,’ so the Neos should let us share – Chicago Tribune

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At one point in "The Food Show," the new and original production by the Neo-Futurists about the complexity of your average urban progressive's relationship with what they put in their mouths, the charming actor-writer Oliver Camacho cooks up a very nice piece of salmon, replete with a light and tasty pan sauce. Mmm.

Alas, the only person who got to taste Camacho's creation was the handsome and genial fellow in the audience selected by Camacho during his reminiscences and fantasies about cooking and dating. The lucky guy got the whole steak to take back to his seat. What, they don't have plastic forks at the Neo-Futurists?

Actually, the lack of any bite-size morsels for the punters in the seats is a serious critique of "The Food Show," a show with a great title and idea that implies rather more than it delivers, at this juncture. What the show needs is a way to take the personal experiences of the likable performers who, in the great Neo-Futurist tradition, are writing, performing and occasionally singing about themselves and help audience members add their own recollections and perceptions. Surely, igniting our communal sense of taste memory would help with that. You know, just a fork's worth? I mean, these guys already go to the trouble of asking if we have any dietary restrictions at the top of the show.

To its great credit, "The Food Show" is not interested in the culture of celebrity chefs or farmers markets or the hottest eatery or whatever, but the place that eating holds in our memory, especially its ability to calm our fears or remind us whence we came. Created by Dan Kerr-Hobert and Caitlin Stainken, it's an often poignant show about lunchboxes and pasta with cheese, about ethical arguments over meat and picky eaters and scary worries about kids' allergies. Smart performer-writers like Tif Harrison, Kyra Sims and Bilal Dardai, typically wry and wise here, remind us just how much food impacts our lives, both the comforts and the conflicts therein. They cook as home cooks and they talk as though they are in their own kitchens. There's comfort food for thought for sure. It's like the flip side of the Food Channel.

But the show is episodic each segment is built around one performer and one dish. That's a cool idea, too, in principle, but the overall arc needs far more attention if there's to be some actual dramatic tension. Unlike the Neo-Futurists regular and intimate Andersonville home, the space used for "The Food Show" is a huge, raw space in Avondale that comes with all kinds of unexplored possibilities for movement and staging and shared space.

There really is no reason to pen the audience in uncomfortable bleachers, too far away from the flames and the cheese and all the raw and cooked feelings.

Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.

cjones5@chicagotribune.com

Review: The Food Show (2.5 stars)

When: Through Sept. 2

Where: Next door to Metropolitan Brewing, 3031 N. Rockwell Ave.

Running time: 80 minutes

Tickets: $10-$25 at 773-275-5255 or neofuturists.org

RELATED: 'Cascabel' by Rick Bayless and Lookingglass Theatre Co. in 2014

Lighter moments are the hardest in devastating 'Lela & Co.'

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Food is memory in 'The Food Show,' so the Neos should let us share - Chicago Tribune

Israel: Plans to shut down Al Jazeera an attack on media freedom – Amnesty International

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In response to the announcement by Israels communications minister, Ayoub Kara, that the Israeli government has decided to close Al Jazeera s office in Jerusalem and take the channel off air, Amnesty Internationals Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director, Magdalena Mughrabi said:

This is a brazen attack on media freedom in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The move sends a chilling message that the Israeli authorities will not tolerate critical coverage.

By acting to suppress Al Jazeera the Israeli government joins a host of other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, which have demanded the channels closure in the wake of the dispute between Gulf countries and Qatar.

All journalists should be free to carry out their work without facing harassment or intimidation. Instead of initiating a repressive clampdown on freedom of expression the Israeli authorities must halt any attempt to silence critical media.

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Israel: Plans to shut down Al Jazeera an attack on media freedom - Amnesty International

Freedom Reigns Festival set for Sept. 2-11 in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties – Charleston Post Courier

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The inaugural Lowcountry Freedom Reigns Festival is coming to the tri-county area early next month with a series of patriotic events.

The nonpartisan festival is a multi-day, multi-location event focused on celebrating freedom. From Sept. 2-11, residents and visitors can participate in symposiums, family days and concerts. Events will happen across Berkeley, Dorchester and Charleston counties.

"Whether it's freedom of thought, freedom of press, freedom of speech or freedom of every day life in America, the Lowcountry Freedom Reigns organization wants tri-county residents to have an opportunity to unite and celebrate our diversities and freedoms as Americans," according to a release from the orginazers.

Family-day events with a variety of activities for all ages, including concerts, will run from6 a.m.-9 p.m. Following is the schedule:

Sept. 2: Marion Square in Charleston.

Sept. 2: Azalea Park in Summerville.

Sept. 9: Smythe Park on Daniel Island.

Sept. 10: Riverfront Park in North Charleston.

The festival will conclude on Sept. 11 with the annual 9/11 Silent Walk across the Ravenel Bridge.

Proceeds will benefit tri-county area child abuse prevention charities and the memorial park for the nine firemen who died in the Sofa Super Store fire.

Tickets will be available soon. More festival details and a calendar of events can be found at freedomreignsfestival.org.

A joint press conference will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Charleston County building on Bridge View Drive in North Charleston to announce the events.

Reach Cleve O'Quinn at 843-937-5566. Follow him on Twitter @CleveOQuinn.

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Freedom Reigns Festival set for Sept. 2-11 in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties - Charleston Post Courier

Flipkart teases The Big Freedom Sale with discounts on mobiles, TVs and more – TechRadar

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Flipkart has freshly announced its upcoming The Big Freedom Sale just as Amazon announced its Great Indian Sale. Given that the two retailers are fighting for the top spot in the country, their sales are usually held at the same time. Flipkart will host its sale between the 9th and 11th of August.

As expected, there are multiple discounts and promotions on offer. Xiaomis Redmi Note 4 is being highlighted by the retailer, which will be available at a discounted price during all three days of the sale. We expect attractive offers on other smartphones as well. The retailer will offer additional discounts and cashback for customers of HDFC Credit Cards.

Customers will find amazing discounts on TVs, laptops, cameras, and other accessories during the course of the three-day sale. The company has already revealed some smartphones that will be available during the sale. Among flagships, the Google Pixel XL will be available for just Rs 48,999, down from Rs 67,000.

Flipkart will also offer discounts on the Moto M as well as the Moto G5 Plus, which will cost Rs 12,999 and Rs 14,999 respectively. The Lenovo K5 Note and the K6 can be grabbed for just Rs 9,999 and Rs 8,999.

Similarly, there are a handful of discounts on TVs from Sony, Vu, Onida, and Micromax. The retailer is also offering discounts on the Lenovo Yoga 3 Android tablet, Intel Core i3 laptops, the Canon 1300D DSLR camera and Skullcandy headphones.

Amazon is hosting its Great Indian Sale between 9th and the 12th of August, lasting a day more than Flipkarts sale. Its clear that the competition between the two retailers is going to be very stiff during the course of the sale. It seems like Amazon already has the upper hand, though.

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Flipkart teases The Big Freedom Sale with discounts on mobiles, TVs and more - TechRadar

California Sterilized More People Than Any US State But Has Yet to Compensate Victims – Governing

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Last month, headlines about a judge in Tennessee who offers criminals reduced sentences if they agree to be get vasectomies or take long-term birth controlshocked the nation. The scrutiny didn't elicit any remorse from the judge, who argues sterilization can combat the rise of drug-addicted newborns. But it did cause the health department to effectively end the program.

The news was a flashback to America's long history of forced eugenic sterilizations.

In the 20th century, state governments deemed 60,000 Americans -- mostlyprisoners, the mentally ill and poor people -- unfit to reproduce and forced them to undergo mandatory sterilization. Almost half of the controversial medical procedures occurred in just three states: California, North Carolina and Virginia.

North Carolina and Virginia have since passed laws to compensate the surviving victims of their eugenics programs, but the same can't be said of California, which forcibly or coercively sterilized more people than any other U.S. state. From the time the states eugenics law was passed in 1909 to the day it was repealed 70 years later, California sterilized about 20,000 people.

In 2003, former California Gov. Gray Davis issued a formal apology to victims of forced sterilization, saying"it was a sad and regrettable chapter ... one that must never be repeated." Yet a decade later, theCenter for Investigative Reportingrevealed that California had been sterilizing prisoners without proper consent as recently as 2010 -- some of whom claimed to be coerced into it by prison staffers.

One lawmaker in the state wants to finally make amends.

Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia plans to introduce a reparationsbill in 2018 that would likely provide victims with somewhere between $20,000 and $25,000, comparable to what North Carolina and Virginia respectively offered. The reparations, however, would not be extended to the women who were sterilized in state prisons as a punitive measure.

Garcia (one of only 10 Latina members of the California Assembly) felt drawn to the issue immediately, especially when she learned that Latina women made up a disproportionate number of the victims, suffering this fate at 2.65 times the rate of other women. To her surprise, one of the institutions that performed these surgeries was located in Norwalk, a city in her district.

I wanted to show my neighbors that this happened in our own backyard, says Garcia. This isnt far-fetched or far away.

If the bill is passed quickly, as many as 600 victims of the sterilization program could still be living, according to Alexandra Minna Stern, a historian and researcher at the University of Michigan who has written extensively about the states history of sterilization. (Stern is working with Garcia and others to draft the legislation.)

But victims could be difficult to find.

Most of them are likely approaching their late 80s, and since Davis apology in 2003, only one victim --a man living out of his car -- has ever come forward. For that reason, Stern says, a successful bill in California must allocate resources to locating living victims.

Stern has been pressing for reparations from the state since 2007, when she stumbled upon sterilization recommendation forms for nearly 20,000 patients tucked away in a filing cabinet in the state's mental health department. All of the patients listed were sterilized in California state hospitals from 1919 to 1952, some as young as 7 years old. The records provided proof.

So what's taken California -- arguably the most progressive state in the nation -- so long to right its historical wrongs?

One reason could be the seeming absence of any victims in California willing or able to come forward. In North Carolina and Virginia, Stern says dozens of victims began drumming up media attention, creating political pressure for a bill.

Whats more, most of Californias sterilizations happened earlier in the century, dropping off significantly in the 1950s. In North Carolina, sterilizations actually increased during this period, which means the number of living victims in that state is rather large.

Garcia, for her part, speculates that it has to do with political representation.

I think it partly has to do with the demographics of our legislature. This is an issue that has affected women and women of color, she says. We legislate from experience. So when we dont have diversity in the legislature, theres a real limitation in what were legislating on.

Stern says she's happy Garcia and other legislators are finally working on this bill, and she believes the money can make a great deal of difference for victims, many of whom are likely living in poverty.

But the bill won't help all sterilization victims.

What were talking about [with this bill] is officially recorded sterilization, people that are on a list and all their names can be found, says Stern. But what that means is that people who cant check all those boxes might not qualify for compensation. What about people who might have been sterilized at the same clinic by the same doctor, but it wasnt ordered by the sterilization board?

This has already proven to be a problem in North Carolina, where many victims don't qualifyforreparations because they were sterilized by the order of local judges who didn't receive approval from the State Eugenics Board.

Garcia is aware of the bill's shortcomings. But to her, some progress is better than none.

This [bill] definitely doesnt get justice for everyone out there, says Garcia. Its about elevating the discussion and then eventually building on it.

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California Sterilized More People Than Any US State But Has Yet to Compensate Victims - Governing

Cris Cyborg: Who’s next for the new UFC women’s featherweight champion? – RealSport101

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The Brazilian recently won the UFC Featherweight title against Tonya Evinger at UFC 214 in Anaheim, California. It's time to analyse Cyborg's potential challengers.

MMA fans worldwide rejoiced earlier this year when we learned that Cristiane Cyborg Justino, the former Invicta FC and Strikeforce womens featherweight champion, would be competing in her first opportunity for a UFC title. Her entry to the UFC was long-awaited by many, and her devastating finish of Leslie Smith at UFC 198 emphatically declared her arrival. However, a suspension from USADA halted her progress after yet another dominant victory, this time againstLina Lansberg. Luckily for the fans (but not for the rest of the womens featherweight division), Cris was granted a retroactive Therapeutic Use Exemption, clearing the path for her to face the inaugural womens featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie in the summer of 2017.

The de Randamie vs Cyborg fight collapsed controversially, as the Dutch championrefused to face Cyborg, and was later stripped of her championship. The outlook for the featherweight division was bleak. The UFC was not committing to the weight class, and the lack of contenders meant that Cris Cyborg was struggling to find an opponent. That was before current Invicta FC champion Megan Anderson stepped up to the plate and called out the Brazilian MMA legend; a move that created a huge buzz in the combat sports community. The UFC signed the Australian, who holds a record of 8-2, and the fight was scheduled for UFC 214 on July 29th.

Again, Cyborg was left without a dance partner as Anderson pulled out of the fightdue to personal issues. Despite this, Cris was still to fight at UFC 214. Tonya Evinger, the Invicta FC bantamweight champion, took the fight on a months notice and earned herself the respect of fans worldwide. However, her debut in the UFC was not to be a joyful occasion. Despite her incredible toughness and resilience, Evinger was defeated by Cyborg in the third round. The Brazilians performance once again proved why she is arguably the greatest female fighter of all time. Her dominance over a game challenger showed exactly why the UFC chose to open a featherweight division in the first place, but it also left us with one big question; whos next?

The current roster at 145 pounds is hardly packed with talent. There is a very limited number of contenders in the division, but this does not mean that there are no intriguing matchups for the new champion. Although there are plenty of women who would love the opportunity to face the Brazilian star, three women come to mind when choosing the new opponent of Cris Cyborg.

The first of these is Holly Holm, the former UFC bantamweight champion, who competed in the first ever title fight in the womens featherweight division in her promotions history. The Jackson Wink fighter lost said title fight in extremely controversial circumstances; many felt she deserved the decision win, and she was subject to multiple illegal strikes after the bell at the hands of Germaine de Randamie. The 16-time boxing world champion bounced back from the loss with a devastating knockout victory over Bethe Correia, solidifying her place amongst the elite in womens MMA. The matchup with Cyborg is fascinating to me; Holms counter-striking and tremendous strength is the perfect formula to beat the seemingly unstoppable Brazilian. Her striking prowess is unquestionable, and her grappling skills have improved massively. She is no stranger to the 145-pound weight class and could become a mainstay in the division in the future. This fight would bring the most attention to the womens featherweight division, and that is why it will undoubtedly happen down the line.

Holly Holm isnt the only option, however. Megan Anderson was brought into the UFC for the sole purpose of bolstering the division, and her inheritance of Cyborgs Invicta championship provides us with somewhat of a backstory. The Australian is no stranger to finishes herself; of her eight victories in mixed martial arts, four have come via knockout, and two of her wins are by submission. She stands six feet tall, and her physicality is a huge problem to anyone she faces. In my opinion, Anderson should be the first woman to challenge Cyborg for her newly-earned title. This is a fight that the fans clearly want, and the UFC is also enthusiastic about the potential matchup.

Last but not least, Cat Zingano is certainly a relevant name in this division. Zingano has repeatedly called out Cris Cyborg and seems more than willing to step up a weight division to test herself. Despite being a former flyweight, the former title challenger has proved her fantastic athleticism and strength on multiple occasions. She holds a knockout victory over current bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, and the woman she took the title from, Miesha Tate. The Californian grappling skill is some of the very best in womens MMA today. Her Muay Thai is excellent, and her mentality is bulletproof. Although Zingano is likely not the next in line for a featherweight title shot, a fight between her and Cris Cyborg is one that I would love to see soon.

There are plenty of women willing to step into the octagon with Cyborg. The new champion is already clamouring for a spot on the UFC 219 card in December, and I for one cannot wait to find out who her next opponent will be.

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Cris Cyborg: Who's next for the new UFC women's featherweight champion? - RealSport101

Hong Kong cleans up greasy beaches after palm oil spill – Phys.Org

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August 7, 2017 by Elaine Yu Hong Kong comprises more than 200 islands with glittering bays, but there are increasing concerns about pollution and rubbish blighting its shores

A clean-up operation was under way in Hong Kong Monday after a massive palm oil spillage from a ship collision in mainland Chinese waters clogged some of its most popular beaches.

The coast was coated with rancid-smelling sticky white clumps of the oil as it washed in Sunday, with 11 beaches still closed to swimmers Monday at the height of a summer heatwave.

There are still lumps of the solidified oil on the beaches and the sea water in some areas is greasy.

Hong Kong comprises more than 200 islands with glittering bays, but there are increasing concerns about pollution and rubbish blighting its shores.

On Pui O beach, on the island of Lantau, cleaners raked through the famous black sand, retrieving lumps of palm oil mixed with other trash, from plastic water bottles to children's toys.

Although there is still a red flag up and the beach is officially closed, some people ventured into the water.

One 61-year-old surfer, who gave his name as Simon and is a regular at the beach, said there was still oil in the sea.

"It got under my feet and on my board. It's all slippery," he told AFP.

"Yesterday there was big chunks along the beach and in the water."

He added that there was often rubbish on the beach, often left by visitors.

"I live here now, I have to put up with it. I don't like it," said Simon, an airport worker originally from Hawaii.

Beach announcements told determined swimmers at the closed beaches to get out of the water Monday.

But Agnes Mercado, 49, a regular at secluded South Bay on Hong Kong Island, was determined to take her morning dip, although she said she would not submerge her upper body.

"Of course I'm worried about it, but it's even worse than this on some days," she said of the pollution.

Environmental impact

The four government departments involved with the oil spill have now recovered more than 50 tonnes of palm stearinsolid palm oilfrom beaches and surrounding waters, according to a statement issued late Monday.

While the agriculture, fisheries and conservation department said no fish farmers have been affected by the spill so far, it said it was monitoring the impact on fisheries and marine ecology.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said beach workers were using absorbent strips to prevent the spread of the oil, which it described as "harmless to the human body".

But environmentalists still fear the potential impact and say the government has not done enough to contain the spillage.

"Whilst we may not see birds covered in black oil, palm oil is hazardous to wildlife in that it attracts bacteria," said Gary Stokes of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Stokes added that the oil will dissolve and break down, which could also remove oxygen from the water and kill marine life.

The leakage was caused by a collision between two vessels near the Pearl River estuary in southern China on Thursday, the marine department confirmed.

It said it had sent nine vessels to clean up the palm oil lumps in waters off southwestern and southern Hong Kong.

Authorities in neighbouring Guangdong province must give notification of oil spills, the department said.

When asked why Hong Kong authorities had not been told of the spill until Saturday, the department said it was "because those substances may flow into Hong Kong waters after two days".

Swathes of rubbish frequently clog the coastline with authorities and environmentalists pointing the finger at southern mainland China as the source.

However, campaigners also say Hong Kong itself has a terrible track record on dumping of wastethe city's landfills are groaning at capacity and there is no widespread recycling culture.

Explore further: Hong Kong takes aim at China for trash on beaches

2017 AFP

Hong Kong's leader blamed a huge rise in rubbish blighting the city's beaches on refuse washed ashore from the mainland, and pledged talks with Chinese authorities to stem the tide.

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A 4-mile stretch of beach in south Los Angeles County was closed Thursday after tar balls washed ashorethe latest Southern California coastline to shut down due to oily goo, authorities said.

A 7-mile stretch of Southern California coastline that was closed to swimmers and surfers after globs of oily goo washed ashore could reopen Friday after a two-day cleanup effort.

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A summer 'vortex' of cold air over the Karakoram mountain range is causing the glaciers in the region to grow in spite of global warming, scientists have shown.

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Hong Kong cleans up greasy beaches after palm oil spill - Phys.Org

‘Sea Sick’ Investigates the Right to be Represented On the Beach – Link TV

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This article was produced in partnership with UCLA's Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies (LENS), an incubator for new research and collaboration on storytelling, communications, and media in the service of environmental conservation and equity.

Representation, noun: 1) the action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so represented; 2) the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way.

...people want to see people like themselves in public places in order to feel welcome there. You might say they want to feel represented.

Representation is a powerful concept in politics and art. Though it operates in different ways, representation does similar work in both, publicly making a presence known, visible, heard. In this way, the art of representation may at times be as important and powerful as the politics. Often, they go hand in hand, though they speak in very different registers.

Ive been thinking about the meaning of representation while staring out at the ocean, as blank a canvas as nature presents anywhere for us to impose meaning upon. Its early in the morning. The sun is about to rise. The beach is empty. Soon, the people will begin to trickle in and the drama of representation will begin.

Who and what will be represented here today? That, as we all know, depends on where youre standing.

Installation view of Depart Foundations Sea Sick in Paradise | Jeff McLane, Courtesy of Depart Foundation.

Ive often said in the past, including here on KCET, that people want to see people like themselves in public places in order to feel welcome there. You might say they want to feel represented. I still believe this is true, and a variety of solid research, good history, and strong voices supports this claim, which underwrites important efforts to make parks, museums, libraries, and other public institutions accessible to all, including our public beaches and coastline in California.

But a year spent looking out at the sea, conducting research on the coast, and collaborating on an art exhibition on surfing have led me to revise my thinking about representation. Two data points from surveys conducted over the past year stand out. The first was when 94 percent of Californians told a survey conducted by a colleague that all Californians are welcome at the beach. The second came when we asked visitors at 11 beaches in Southern California to rank the importance of different attributes of beaches and seeing people like themselves at the beach came in dead last.

Now, you may say that the first belief is wishful thinking, and the second may reveal that people dont want to disclose their cliquishness to strangers. And I would agree, to some degree. But the overwhelming response to both questions demands to be represented. It echoes anecdotal evidence that I heard while interviewing people on the beach who told us that they come to see the world all the different people at the beach, as well as my own delight in seeing the great diversity of Californians and visitors from around the world on the coast in the northern and southern reaches of the state.

Installation view of Depart Foundations Sea Sick in Paradise | Jeff McLane, Courtesy of Depart Foundation.

Some people go as far as to say that the beach is one of our greatest small-d democratic spaces, and I tend to agree. We romanticize that, to be sure, especially when we assume that taking off most of our clothes somehow makes us more equal. But it is true, I think, that we meet on somewhat more egalitarian terms when we are stripped of many signifiers of class, wealth, and power. Not all, of course.

For as we all know from our own visits to the coast, beaches look very different when we see who is represented there, as the results from our beach surveys confirm. Dockweiler, my favorite, under the flight path of planes taking off from LAX, does not represent itself in the same way as Doheney in Orange County. The two graphs below represent beachgoers at 11 Southern California beaches based on our random sample. The beaches are arranged on the graph from north to south, just as they would be on a map, starting in Ventura, moving south through Port Hueneme in Oxnard, to Zuma in Malibu, through Santa Monica and Los Angeles, to Orange County.

As with the U.S. Census, survey respondents could check more than one box for their ethnic identity or none if they preferred, so the totals in the first graph do not add up to 100 percent.

This next graph shows the household income of visitors at the same set of beaches.

This next graph shows the household income of visitors at the same set of beaches.

It turns out that beachgoers at Santa Monica Beach represent the demographics of California fairly closely, while also drawing visitors from other states and countries. So it makes a good comparison. A little farther south, Dockweiler State Beach attracts more Latinos, African Americans, and families with lower household incomes than Santa Monica Beach, while much farther south, Doheney State Beach in Dana Point in Orange County attracts more white visitors from families with higher household incomes. These patterns are likely the result of a complex combination of factors, including self-sorting, or people choosing beaches where they feel comfortable; availability of amenities, such as the fire rings at Dockweiler; historical patterns of visitation and discrimination; and the proximity of different communities to each of the beaches.

Two pieces of art in Sea Sick in Paradise, the exhibit we collaborated on with the Depart Foundation in Malibu this summer, represent these differencesin different ways.

Jeff Hos mural Black and White, created for the exhibit, explicitly represents the localism, which everyone knows sometimes turns aggressive, even violent, in the lineup at surf breaks. Ho is a legendary surfboard shaper and skateboarder, godfather of Dogtown and the Z-boys of Venice.

But what work is this piece doing on a gallery wall? Representing, to be sure. In a straightforward way? That seems unlikely. Ironically? Critically? Historically? As a piece of art, on a white gallery wall, the representation may be open to other interpretations than it would be as a warning on a seawall. It provokes thought and reflection about access and who gets to represent themselves on the coast.

Installation view of Depart Foundations Sea Sick in Paradise | Jeff McLane, Courtesy of Depart Foundation.

Cristine Blancos painting Sharks, on the other hand, represents a different assertion: that she and her friends belong on the coast and in the lineup in the break visible offshore, just as the artists work with the organization Brown Girl Surf asserts as well.

Sharks May 2017 | Cristine Blanco

As Brown Girl Surfs co-founder and executive director, Mira Manickam-Shirley, once told me, the organization, which brings girls and women of color to the coast to experience surfing for the first time, helps them see that the ocean is not someone elses place. Its theirs. And they have a way to access it, to see themselves reflected there, and enjoy it.

Art, even representational art like Blancos, is rarely simply literal. It represents in more different ways to different audiences than any interpretation I might impose on it from my own point of view, even knowing that the car is modeled on her dads car, because she told me so in a public conversation we had about access and diversity and representation on the coast. So there is a personal history being reclaimed here by the sea, too.

Installation view of Depart Foundations Sea Sick in Paradise | Jeff McLane, Courtesy of Depart Foundation.

I learned from these conversations and this art that representations of our diversity are not always already present in public spaces, but they can be created, whether by Jeff Ho and the Z-boys or by Cristine Blanco and Brown Girl Surf. Sometimes that might entail defending turf, and other times it necessitates crashing the lineup, asserting your own right to be represented.

So Ive had to modify my view that people want to see people like themselves in public places in order to feel welcome there. The view from the coast has convinced me that people also have to believe in their own right to represent themselves in public and find ways to represent themselves in public places in order to become part of the public represented there. And this is where art meets politics. I know, this is an old story, and a particularly American story, but it is still being made anew every day on the coast of California.

Top Image:Installation view of Depart Foundations Sea Sick in Paradise | Jeff McLane, Courtesy of Depart Foundation

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'Sea Sick' Investigates the Right to be Represented On the Beach - Link TV

Sea Isle clarifies foxes, not coyotes, spotted on beaches – Press of Atlantic City

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Animals spotted on the city''s beaches have been positively identified as foxes, not coyotes, city officials said Monday.

Previously reports said coyotes were seen between 39th and 49th streets.

Coyotes are not native to South Jersey, but have a growing population in western Atlantic County. Foxes are a part of the local eco-system and are native to New Jersey's barrier islands, officials said in a press release from the city.

According to a press release, animal control believe the foxes spotted on Sea Isle's beaches and dunes are a mother and pup. Animal control also believes the animals may also have mange, a skin disease caused by mites . Traps have been set to capture the mother and pup to bring them to an animal rehabilitation center for treatment.

The city reminded the public not to interact with the animals, including not feeding the foxes, staying off the dunes and avoiding the traps.

Any local sightings of foxes can be reported to Sea Isle City Police Departments Dispatch Office at (609) 263-4311.

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Sea Isle clarifies foxes, not coyotes, spotted on beaches - Press of Atlantic City

10 Secluded Shores to Explore Instead of Hanging Out at a Crowded Beach – Verily

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10 Secluded Shores to Explore Instead of Hanging Out at a Crowded Beach
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Summer's end is near, and many of us are trying to squeeze every last minute out of sunny days before school or a busy work season kicks back in. But if you're worn out from crowded beaches and listening to other people's music, why not skip the beach ...

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10 Secluded Shores to Explore Instead of Hanging Out at a Crowded Beach - Verily

Astronomers just mapped the inside of a supernova – Astronomy Magazine

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A supernova is the largest explosion you might ever see if you ever get to see it! Its the death of a star, and stars go out with a bang. Theyre still mostly a mystery to science. Its possible to understand the basic processes behind them, but predicting them accurately or getting a solid understanding of the chemistry has proven difficult.

Weve taken the first steps toward that goal though. Thanks to improvements in technology, computer models have been able to replicate what exactly happened in SN 1987A: a supernova that occurred 30 years ago. The hope is that by better understanding supernovae, we can learn about the creation of the stars and planets that fill the universe and, therefore, the development of life.

What is a Supernova? If you are lucky enough to see a supernova, it probably occurred in a different galaxy. The Milky Way has plenty, but theyre much harder to see here thanks to the dust, gas, and other astronomical objects blocking our view. Theyre still the brightest, most exhilarating explosions that occur in our galaxy. A single supernova can appear brighter than the galaxy it resides in for a period of time, making it the brightest object in the sky. After the initial explosion, the remnant that you can see is the explosion of debris from the star. There are two ways for a star to reach this point, but both occur at the end of its lifetime.

The Death of Stars Although here on Earth we live in a single-star system, binary star systems are common. (With another 70 times its mass, Jupiter could have been the second star in our system. Instead, it became a planet.) In a binary star system, one star often reaches the end of its life first. Instead of exploding, smaller stars like our Sun will puff up into red giants and then shed their outer layers. Eventually, the core shrinks back down and condenses into a white dwarf. Even smaller stars skip the red giant phase and burn directly down to white dwarfs.

A white dwarf has a significant gravitational pull. As its companion goes through its own red giant phase, some of the material it sheds can be pulled onto the white dwarf. As more mass gets sucked onto the white dwarf, its equilibrium gets thrown off, and it will eventually explode, creating a supernova. This is only one of two ways that supernovae form, at least that we are aware of.

For the largest stars, there is no red giant or white dwarf stage. Instead, the stars simply burn through all of their available hydrogen and are no longer able to use fusion to remain stable. This causes the inner core to collapse, and the still active matter on the outer shell of the star falls into the center, then rebounds in a supernova.

Either way, a supernova spells death for a star.

Mapping Death While we think we have a good understanding of how supernovae form, we dont have a good grasp of what happens inside them. This is mainly due to the fact that weve never been able to observe one from the inside, or even up close which is good; you do not want to be inside one because youd be dead. What we do know is that the largest explosions in the known universe put physics in some weird predicaments. They pop out new elements that make up everything else, including you and me. When you hear someone say that youre made of star stuff, they arent making that up. The deaths of stars have given us every naturally occurring element in creation. So its understandable that astronomers want to find out what happens.

How were scientists able to map this supernova, exactly?

Astronomers have continued to observe the changes in a supernova observed in 1987, called SN 1987A, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. SN 1987A is an optimal candidate to study since its not yet strongly affected by its surroundings.

Recently, a team from the University of Virginia used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to study the supernova. ALMA is an array of radio telescopes designed to work together as an interferometer to process information. Astronomers chose ALMA because of its ability to see in submillimeter wavelengths. However, ALMA is susceptible to radio frequency interference. It is imperative that scientists block out all background interference since radio frequency devices are particularly susceptible to a wider variety of noise that can skew data. If its electronics werent protected, signals could cross and prevent discoveries. The array depends on all 66 antennas and accompanying electronics synchronizing down to a millionth of a millionth of a second. No pressure!

Because the telescopes work together at short submillimeter wavelengths, they are able to create the highest-resolution images. The inner core of SN 1987A previously eluded astronomers because gas and dust blocked out other methods of observation. ALMAs ability to see these fine details helped astronomers finally see past the obstructions. Then, they created 3-D maps of the elements and molecules found within the collapsed supernova with the data collected. In the last 30 years, SN 1987A had time to cool down and start forming new molecules. Now we have the first results of what kinds of elements form as the result of one of these explosions.

So, what did astronomers find?

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Astronomers just mapped the inside of a supernova - Astronomy Magazine

Fake eclipse glasses ‘flooding’ market, astronomy group says – Palm Beach Post (blog)

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People nationwide are rushing to buy eclipse glasses with just two weeks left before the historic Aug. 21 event.

But buyer beware.

The American Astronomical Society is warning on its website that the market is being flooded with counterfeit eclipse glasses.

The AAS previously advised people to look for evidence that the glasses comply with international safety standards for filters of direct viewing of the sun by ensuring the following was printed on the glasses: ISO 12312-2.

Related: Best places to watch the Great American eclipse.

But now the marketplace is being flooded bycounterfeit eclipse glassesthat are labeled as if theyre ISO-compliant when in fact they are not, AAS said.Even more unfortunately, unscrupulous vendors can grab the ISO logo off the internet and put it on their products and packaging even if their eclipse glasses or viewers havent been properly tested.

The American Astronomical Society says it is no longer enough to check for ISO certification on eclipse glasses. Make sure they come from a reputable vendor also.

You cannot watch the eclipse the first in 99 years to cross the entire U.S. without special glasses or you can do irreversible damage to your eyes, including going blind. Although the sun is no brighter during an eclipse than on a regular day, it is more comfortable to look at, meaning you can stare at it longer and damage your eyes.

Related: Your eyes will fry under normal sunglasses during eclipse.

Regular sun glasses are not enough to keep out the harmful rays of the sun.

What you absolutely shouldnotdo is search for eclipse glasses on the internet and buy whatever pops up in the ads or search results, AAS said.

AAS is now suggesting people ensure their glasses are ISO certified and come from reputable vendors that it has verified and listed on its website.

The manufacturers listed are ones the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force has had previous experience with as well as companies whose products have been certified safe by authorities we recognize and whose certification we have confirmed to be genuine.

NASA also recommends the glasses not be used if they are older than three years or are scratched.

The problem with fakes is that you cant know if theyre letting unsafe levels of solar ultraviolet and/or infrared radiation into your eyes, said Richard Tresch Fienberg, a press officer with AAS. Youd never know until its too late, because our retinas dont have pain receptors.

I bought several pairs of glasses from different vendors on Amazon before checking the approved list. I didnt realize one set was not on the list. The companys Amazon site is no longer working and neither is its Facebook page. The brand is Cosmos Eclipse Glasses by POGO Industrial CO. Im trying to reach the company.

Fienberg said he has not heard of the brand.

I bought some counterfeits in a New Hampshire country store yesterday, Fienberg said this morning. Theyre printed almost the same as real ones from American Paper Optics, but there are numerous telltale signs that theyre fake.

American Paper Optics glasses have rectangular lenses with metal on one side.

You cannot check yourself to see if your eclipse glasses are safe. But there are signs they are NOT safe.

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Fake eclipse glasses 'flooding' market, astronomy group says - Palm Beach Post (blog)

Horseshoe galaxies and hand grenades – SYFY WIRE (blog)

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Recently, I wrote about a collaboration between amateur and professional astronomers: Its purpose is to use the expertise many amateur astronomers have in image processing to create better and more dynamic images of planets to support planetary science and spacecraft.

The results were spectacular. But they were using a 1-meter telescope; small by pro standards these days, but still pretty big, and located on a distant mountaintop, as well. What happens when you try something like this with a sub-1-meter scope?

Well, let me introduce you to the work of Rolf Wahl Olsen, a Dane who now lives in New Zealand. Armed with a 32-centimeter telescope he built himself, he takes images that are of superior quality. But hes not content to just take pretty pictures: He goes after unusual objects, ones that are very difficult to capture, and, to be honest, ones I wouldve thought would be well beyond the capability of small telescopes. But, again and again, Rolf flips my expectations around.

His latest work is crushing my brain. Using his home-built scope, he managed to get an image of a galaxy billions of light years away. And not just any galaxy, but the Horseshoe Galaxy: one of the finest examples of gravitational lensing found, and one so small and faint and bizarre it was only discovered in 2007!

Thisll take a moment to explain

The wide-angle image is lovely, with red and blue stars dazzling. You can also see quite a few fuzzy, distant background galaxies, huge cities of stars like our Milky Way but reduced by distance to faint smears.

But if you look carefully, you can see one (outlined) thats different than the rest. Even zoomed in (upper right) the Horseshoe Galaxy at first doesnt look like much; just a red star-like object with a faint, discolored halo around it. An image taken by Hubble (bottom right) shows it more clearly, though its still odd-looking, like a blue galaxy smeared around a red one.

Because thats exactly what it is. Or really, what it looks like. What you are seeing here is an amazing collision of geometry, relativity, gravity, and luck.

Ive had many occasions lately to write about gravitational lensing. This is when the light traveling through space from a distant background source is bent by the gravity of some other object. Einstein, himself, came up with the idea that what we perceive as gravity is really a warping of space. Its similar to the effect of putting something heavy like a bowling ball on a mattress. The mattress bends, and if you roll a marble past it, the path of the marble will curve.

It light passes a massive object like a galaxy, the path it takes will bend. Anything that bends light is called a lens, so we call this a gravitational lens, and they can cause all kinds of weird effects, including magnifying the brightness of the object as well as distorting its shape. It depends on the mass of the lensing object, how its distributed, and the precise alignment of the background source, the lens, and the observer (us).

If the Earth, the lensing object, and the more distant source are in a perfect line, the lensed source will appear like a circle, a ring, around the lensing object. Thats because light initially sent out by the background galaxy in a direction not exactly toward us can get bent enough to head straight at us. So, light sent slightly to the left, or right, or above, or below (in terms of what you see in a photo, I mean) by the galaxy will all get bent toward us, and what you wind up seeing is a ring. In fact, we call them Einstein Rings.

Thats what youre seeing with the Horseshoe galaxy! Now, get this: The blue galaxy, itself, is a staggering 11 billion light years away, more than three-quarters of the way to the edge of the observable Universe! That means were seeing it as it was 11 billion years ago, when it was young. At that time, it was actively making stars, so it appears quite blue due to the massive, hot, and very luminous blue stars that were being born.

The light from that galaxy traveled a long way to get here. But, on the way to us, it got distorted: A very massive galaxy, called LRG 3-757, was in the way. This is a massive galaxy, perhaps ten times as massive as our own Milky Way, about 4.7 billion light years away (so, less than half the distance to the Horseshoe) and possesses a strong gravitational field. It bent the light from the more distant galaxy, and we see that as a nearly complete circle of blue light around the red galaxy. It goes about 300 around, making it one of the more complete Einstein Rings ever found.

Mind you, the Horseshoe galaxy is probably a lovely spiral galaxy, but we see it as a circle due to this distortion. It was discovered in a survey by astronomers looking for gravitational lenses, and follow-up observations determined its nature. These are important objects, because they can tell us a lot about the mass and distribution of matter in the lensing galaxy, which would otherwise be very difficult to determine.

And thats why its staggering that Rolf was able to detect it! These galaxies are tremendously far away, very faint, and so close together that being able to separate them is a feat unto itself. Of course, the Hubble image is clearer and brighter, but it has a lot of advantages: it uses a mirror over seven times wider than Rolfs scope, and its up in space above our soupy atmosphere.

But the fact that Rolf could capture this at all is remarkable! He took a total of 9.5 hours of exposures to create it (the Hubble image is about three hours total). The camera he used, the QSI 683wsg, costs about $4000, and is very high quality. Im not sure how much the Wide Field Camera 3 on Hubble cost, but the Hubble camera I worked on, called STIS, was around $100 million. So, that also may give Hubble something of an unfair advantage.

Still, they compare pretty well, I think, given the different circumstances. Close enough, at least. And you know what they say about Horseshoe galaxies and hand grenades.

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Horseshoe galaxies and hand grenades - SYFY WIRE (blog)

Scientists probe the conditions of stellar interiors to measure nuclear reactions – Phys.Org

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August 7, 2017 For the first time, scientists have conducted thermonuclear measurements of nuclear reaction cross-sections under extreme conditions like those of stellar interiors. Credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Most of the nuclear reactions that drive the nucleosynthesis of the elements in our universe occur in very extreme stellar plasma conditions. This intense environment found in the deep interiors of stars has made it nearly impossible for scientists to perform nuclear measurements in these conditions - until now.

In a unique cross-disciplinary collaboration between the fields of plasma physics, nuclear astrophysics and laser fusion, a team of researchers including scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Ohio University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), describe experiments performed in conditions like those of stellar interiors. The team's findings were published today by Nature Physics.

The experiments are the first thermonuclear measurements of nuclear reaction cross-sections - a quantity that describes the probability that reactants will undergo a fusion reaction - in high-energy-density plasma conditions that are equivalent to the burning cores of giant stars, i.e. 10-40 times more massive than the sun. These extreme plasma conditions boast hydrogen-isotope densities compressed by a factor of a thousand to near that of solid lead and temperatures heated to ~50 million Kelvin. These also are the conditions in stars that lead to supernovae, the most massive explosions in the universe.

"Ordinarily, these kinds of nuclear astrophysics experiments are performed on accelerator experiments in the laboratory, which become particularly challenging at the low energies often relevant for nucleosynthesis," said LLNL physicist Dan Casey, the lead author on the paper. "As the reaction cross-sections fall rapidly with decreasing reactant energy, bound electron screening corrections become significant, and terrestrial and cosmic background sources become a major experimental challenge."

The work was conducted at LLNL's National Ignition Facility (NIF), the only experimental tool in the world capable of creating temperatures and pressures like those found in the cores of stars and giant planets. Using the indirect drive approach, NIF was used to drive a gas-filled capsule implosion, heating capsules to extraordinary temperatures and compressing them to high densities where fusion reactions can occur.

"One of the most important findings is that we reproduced prior measurements made on accelerators in radically different conditions," Casey said. "This really establishes a new tool in the nuclear astrophysics field for studying various processes and reactions that may be difficult to access any other way."

"Perhaps most importantly, this work lays groundwork for potential experimental tests of phenomena that can only be found in the extreme plasma conditions of stellar interiors. One example is of plasma electron screening, a process that is important in nucleosynthesis but has not been observed experimentally," Casey added.

Now that the team has established a technique to perform these measurements, related teams like that led by Maria Gatu Johnson at MIT are looking to explore other nuclear reactions and ways to attempt to measure the impact of plasma electrons on the nuclear reactions.

Explore further: How heavier elements are formed in star interiors

More information: D. T. Casey et al. Thermonuclear reactions probed at stellar-core conditions with laser-based inertial-confinement fusion, Nature Physics (2017). DOI: 10.1038/nphys4220

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Scientists probe the conditions of stellar interiors to measure nuclear reactions - Phys.Org

Researchers unveil most accurate map of the invisible universe – The Ohio State University News (press release)

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Map of dark matter made from gravitational lensing measurements of 26 million galaxies in the Dark Energy Survey. The map covers about 1/30th of the entire sky and spans several billion light years in extent. Red regions have more dark matter than average, blue regions less dark matter. Image credit: Chihway Chang of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago, and the DES collaboration.

COLUMBUS, OhioExactly 100 years after Einstein confronted the idea of an expanding universe in his general theory of relativity, researchers from The Ohio State University and their colleagues from theDark Energy Survey(DES) collaboration have reached a new milestone mapping the growth of the universe from its infancy to present day.

The new results released last Thursday confirm the surprisingly simple but puzzling theory that the present universe is comprised of only 4% ordinary matter, 26% mysterious dark matter, and the remaining 70% in the form of mysterious dark energy, which causes the accelerating expansion of the universe.

The findings are based on data collected during the DES first year, which covers over 1300 square degrees of the sky or about the area of 6,000 full moons. DES uses the Dark Energy Camera mounted on the Blanco 4m telescope at theCerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory high in the Chilean Andes.

We had to construct the most powerful instrument of its kind. It is sensitive enough to collect light from galaxies 8 billion light years away, saidKlaus Honscheid, professor ofphysics and leader of the Ohio State DES group. Key components of the 570 mega-pixel camerawere built at Ohio State.

Paradoxically, it is easier to measure the structure of the universe in the distant past than it is to measure it today. In the first 400,000 years following the Big Bang, the universe was filled with a glowing gas, the light from which survives to this day. Thiscosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation gives us a snapshot of the universe at that very early time. Since then, the gravity of dark matter has pulled mass together and made the universe clumpier over time. But dark energy has been fighting back, pushing matter apart. Using the CMB as a start, cosmologists can calculate precisely how this battle plays out over 14 billion years.

With the new results, we are able for the first time to see the current structure of the universe with a similar level of clarity as we can see its infancy. Dark energy is needed to explain how the infant Universe evolved to what we observe now. said Niall MacCrann, postdoctoral fellow at Ohio StatesCenter for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics (CCAPP) and major contributor to the analysis.

DES scientists used two methods to measure dark matter. First, they created maps of galaxy positions as tracers, and second, they precisely measured the shapes of 26 million galaxies to directly map the patterns of dark matter over billions of light years, using a technique called gravitational lensing. Ashley Ross of CCAPP and leader of the DES large scale structure working group said: For the first time we were able to perform these studies with data from the same experiment allowing us to obtain the most accurate results to date.

To make these ultra-precise measurements, the DES team developed new ways to detect the tiny lensing distortions of galaxy images, an effect not even visible to the eye, enabling revolutionary advances in understanding these cosmic signals. In the process, they created the largest guide to spotting dark matter in the cosmos ever drawn (see image). The new dark matter map is ten times the size of the one DES released in 2015 and will eventually be three times larger than it is now.

A large scientific team achieved these results working in seven countries across three continents. Successful collaboration at this scale represents many years of deep commitment, collective vision and sustained effort, said Ami Choi, CCAPP postdoctoral fellow who worked on the galaxy shape measurements.

Michael Troxel, CCAPP postdoctoral fellow and leader of the weak gravitational lensing analysis added: These results are based on unprecedented statistical power and detailed understanding of the telescope and potential biases in the analysis. Crucially, we performed a 'blind' analysis, in which we finalized all aspects of the analysis before we knew the results, thereby avoiding confirmation biases.

The DES measurements of the present universe agree with the results obtained by the Planck satellite that studied the cosmic microwave background radiation from a time when the universe was just 400,000 years old.The moment we realized that our measurement matched the Planck result within 7% was thrilling for the entire collaboration, said Honscheid, and this is just the beginning for DES with more data already observed. With one more observing season to go we expect to ultimately use five times more data to learn more about the enigmatic dark sector of the Universe.

The new results from the Dark Energy Survey will be presented by Kavli fellow Elisabeth Krause at the TeV Particle Astrophysics Conference in Columbus, Ohio, on Aug. 9, and by CCAPPs Troxel at the International Symposium on Lepton Photon Interactions at High Energies in Guanzhou, China, on Aug. 10.

The publications can be accessed on the Dark Energy Survey website.

Ohio State University is an institutional member of the Dark Energy Survey collaboration. Funding for this research coms in part from the Ohio States Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics. The Ohio Supercomputer Center provided a portion of the computing power for this project.

The Ohio State DES team includes Honscheid; Paul Martini and David Weinberg, both professors of astronomy; Choi, Ross, MacCrann and Troxel, all postdoctoral fellows at CCAPP; and doctoral students Su-Jeong Lee and Hui Kong.

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Researchers unveil most accurate map of the invisible universe - The Ohio State University News (press release)

UKZN lecturer probes cosmic past – Independent Online

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Dr Cynthia Chiang has been addicted to tinkering and exploring for as long as she can remember.

And, said the physicist and cosmologist now based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, she felt fortunate to have found a career that allowed her to continue doing those things every day.

Chiang is a senior lecturer at the universitys Astrophysics and Cosmology Research Unit (ACRU) where she focuses on, among other areas, observational cosmology and using precision measurements to constrain the history, evolution, and structure of the universe.

She and astrophysics PhD students, Liju Philip, Ridhima Nunhokee and Heiko Heilgendorff recently returned from a research trip to Marion Island, located in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean in South Africa, where they conducted work on the Probing Radio Intensity at high-Z from Marion (PRIZM) telescope.

PRIZM is a low-frequency radio telescope which collects information about the universe during the cosmic dawn, which is the period a few hundred million years after the big bang when the first stars in the universe formed.

The light from these first stars is too dim for optical telescopes to see, therefore they have never been measured directly.

The project was designed to make this measurement and data received from this telescope could help in determining when the first stars and galaxies formed.

Chiang specialises in instrumentation and data analysis for a variety of cosmic microwave background experiments.

In 2014, she spent two months in the Antarctic where she participated in Spider, a project studying the earliest moments of the universes creation.

The university said in a press release at the time that six telescopes were launched into the stratosphere with a giant helium-filled balloon, which swelled to roughly the size of Durbans Kings Park stadium at its 35km cruising altitude.

From this lofty height, it observed the faint leftover heat from the Big Bang. This afterglow, known as the cosmic microwave background, contains valuable clues that will help unravel the mysteries of our universes explosive beginnings.

Chiang told The Mercury this week: I consider myself to be a physicist and cosmologist rather than an astronomer, strictly speaking. Isidor Isaac Rabi is quoted as saying: I think physicists are the Peter Pans of the human race. They never grow up and they keep their curiosity.

For me, wanting to learn about the natural world has always been in my blood.

Chiang was born and raised in Illinois in the USA, and did her undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).

(The institution) has a strong engineering department, and I feel very lucky that I had a chance to see so many people building amazing machines. Seeing that kind of inspiring hands-on work really cemented my career direction in instrumentation development.

But, it wasnt until graduate school that she turned specifically to astrophysics.

I attended the California Institute of Technology for my PhD, and it was by pure chance that a classmate suggested that I check out the astro guy and his labs in the basement.

That astro guy, she said, was Andrew Lange, who ultimately became her PhD advisor.

I will never forget stepping foot into the observational cosmology labs for the first time. The instrumentation was incredible, and it was the kind of work I had always wanted. I was instantly hooked, and there was no turning back.

Chiang credits her parents for much of her success.

I come from an academic family: my mother is an astronomer, and my father is a physicist. My mother can solve anything and has the sharpest wit of anyone I know, and my father is MacGyver and can build anything from nothing.

Chiang said that, while she had never been the target of any kind of overt sexism, she was aware that other women were often at the receiving end of such attacks.

One of my students once asked me if anyone had ever said to me that I cant study mathematics or physics because Im female. She had apparently received this comment more than once in the past. I was absolutely livid to hear this. I tend to be outspoken, so I told her that the next time this happens, she should respond by saying: Just because you think mathematics or physics is hard doesnt mean that everyone else does too.

What is her advice for aspirant cosmologists and physicists?

My advice is gender-neutral: always try to run with the best, play to your strengths, be assertive in finding new opportunities to learn, and keep your curiosity alive.

The Mercury

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UKZN lecturer probes cosmic past - Independent Online