Author Archives: Danzig

Bill Gates Called Most US Coronavirus Tests “Garbage”

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Bill Gates says that the long wait times for coronavirus test results render the whole thing useless. Or, in his words, the tests are

Wealthy philanthropist and public health advocate Bill Gates, who’s been critical of the U.S. coronavirus response since the beginning, shared some new thoughts about the diagnostic testing situation in the country.

Specifically, he says it’s utter trash.

“The majority of all U.S. tests are completely garbage, wasted,” Gates told Wired in a lengthy interview today.

His frustration wasn’t necessarily about the quality of the tests or the accuracy of the results they provide, though that’s been called into question in the past, but rather how long it takes to get results in the first place.

The current delays for test results, Gates says, essentially render them useless. Positive or negative, many in the U.S. are going weeks before they hear back about their nasal swabs. That’s a dangerously long time for people to continue going about their lives if they’re unsure whether or not they might spread COVID-19.

Gates called the delays “stupidity” in the Wired interview.

To fix the bottleneck, Gates suggests that the testing companies’ reimbursement should be tied to how long it takes to send back results. With that extra incentive, Gates thinks that results will come back way sooner.

“You have to have the reimbursement system pay a little bit extra for 24 hours, pay the normal fee for 48 hours, and pay nothing [if it isn’t done by then]. And they will fix it overnight,” Gates told Wired.

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Machine Detects COVID-19 in 90 Minutes

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A small UK-based DNA-testing company called DnaNudge has come up with a toaster-sized machine that can detect COVID-19 in just 90 minutes.

A small UK-based DNA testing company called DnaNudge has come up with a toaster-sized machine that can detect COVID-19 in just 90 minutes, Bloomberg reports, no lab analysis needed.

The UK’s National Health Service has already ordered 5,000 of the machines, as well as cartridges to start testing coronavirus patients, as part of a $211 million contract.

The machine was originally designed to help people tailor their diet based on their heredity, according to Bloomberg. But founder Christofer Toumazou, a professor at Imperial College London, made a U-turn in light of the growing pandemic.

“My dream has been to bring testing like this to the consumer,” Toumazou told Bloomberg. “A test that can demystify and simplify that quickly — rather than leaving people in doubt — is going to be very useful.”

All the machine needs is a nose swab or some saliva to detect traces of the coronavirus. It can even detect other diseases such as the flu and a common virus infection called Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). It will also notify the user if a proper sample has been taken or if a test needs to be retaken.

Bloomberg didn’t address the accuracy of the machine, which DnaNudge says could prove helpful in triaging potential COVID patients.

“If you have someone coming in and you’re not sure if they have COVID, you can make a decision about where they should go,” Graham Cooke, a professor of infectious diseases at Imperial College London, told Bloomberg. “You don’t want to put the wrong person in the wrong place.”

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Astronomers May Have Found a Star That’s Just 33 Years Old

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A team of astronomers have found new evidence suggesting there's a neutron star lurking in the center of the supernova 1987A that's only 33 years old.

A team of astronomers have observed what they believe to be a neutron star being born following a supernova first detected in 1987, in a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way 170,000 light-years from Earth, dubbed SN 1987A.

Until now, astronomers weren’t sure if the neutron star survived the powerful event and didn’t just collapse in on itself to form a black hole — but a new paper published last week in The Astrophysical Journal suggests that it may have survived after all.

That means the neutron star would be a millennial, no older than 33.

If confirmed, it would be the youngest neutron star known to mankind, as Astronomy reports. To date, the youngest supernova remnant is the 330 years old Cassiopeia A, about 11,000 light-years away from Earth inside the Milky Way.

Analyzing high-resolution imagery from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, a team of astronomers was able to get a closer look at what was left behind following SN 1987A.

They found a hot “blob” inside the core of the supernova, likely a gas cloud shrouding the neutron star. The star itself would be far too small to be detected directly, as it’s extremely small and dense — the mass of 1.4 times the Sun inside a sphere that’s only 15 miles across.

“We were very surprised to see this warm blob made by a thick cloud of dust in the supernova remnant,” Mikako Matsuura from Cardiff University who made the discovery with ALMA, said in a statement.

The discovery by the ALMA team supports the new theoretical study published last week.

“There has to be something in the cloud that has heated up the dust and which makes it shine. That’s why we suggested that there is a neutron star hiding inside the dust cloud,” Matsuura added.

“In spite of the supreme complexity of a supernova explosion and the extreme conditions reigning in the interior of a neutron star, the detection of a warm blob of dust is a confirmation of several predictions,” lead author Dany Page, astrophysicist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, explained in the statement.

According to computer models, the neutron star would have been sent screaming through space at hundreds of kilometers per second. The location where the ALMA team found it is exactly where it would be today, according to the models.

The theoretical star was also found to be extremely bright, in large part thanks to its hypothesized temperature of around five million degrees Celsius.

It will take time until the existence of the star can be confirmed. The dust and gas around the supernova need to subside further for astronomers to say with any certainty that the extremely young star really exists.

READ MORE: Hot ‘blob’ points to a neutron star lurking in Supernova 1987A [Astronomy]

More on neutron stars: Astronomers Watch Neutron Star “Charge Up” Before Huge X-Ray Blast

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Your Bones Are Made Out of Exploded Stars, Scientists Say

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A team of astronomers discovered a new type of supernova, a

According to new research, half the calcium in our universe came from “calcium-rich supernova.” That means the stuff our teeth and bones is made from is, essentially, the remains of dead stars that blew up a long, long time ago.

“These events are so few in number that we have never known what produced calcium-rich supernova,” said Wynn Jacobson-Galan, Northwestern graduate student and lead author of the new study published in The Astrophysical Journal this week, in a statement.

“By observing what this star did in its final month before it reached its critical, tumultuous end, we peered into a place previously unexplored, opening new avenues of study within transient science,” Jacobson-Galan added.

An extremely bright event some 55 million light years from Earth grabbed the attention of the international astronomy community in April 2019. “Every single country with a prominent telescope turned to look at this object,” Jacobson-Galan recalled.

Astronomers were so quick that many observed the supernova just ten hours after the explosion. “The explosion is trying to cool down,” Raffaella Margutti from Northwestern University and a senior author of the study, explained in the statement. “It wants to give away its energy, and calcium emission is an efficient way to do that.”

As it turns out the explosion spewed out an immense amount of calcium. “It wasn’t just calcium rich,” Margutti said. “It was the richest of the rich.”

They caught the event just in time to conclude that it was the most calcium to have ever been observed to be emitted from just a single event.

“The luminosity tells us how much material the star shed and how close that material was to the star,” Jacobson-Galan explained. “In this case, the star lost a very small amount of material right before it exploded. That material was still nearby.”

READ MORE: Exploding stars created the calcium in our bones and teeth, study says [CNN]

More on supernovae: This Star Appears to Have Survived a Supernova

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Air Force One’s Successor Could Go 5x the Speed of Sound

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The aerospace startup Hermeus won a contract to build a hypersonic version of Air Force One capable of reaching speeds up to Mach 5.

Nyoom!

A coming iteration of Air Force One, the high tech plane reserved for shuttling the President of the United States around the world, may be able to reach nauseatingly-fast speeds up to Mach 5.

The U.S. Air Force just awarded a contract to the aerospace startup Hermeus, Business Insider reports, which calls for the first hypersonic version of Air Force One. The company already has a prototype engine built and tested, and now it’s just a matter of building the rest of the plane.

Drawing Owls

Hermeus has been working on its hypersonic engine for over a year and completed tests in March, Business Insider reports. But now that it has this Air Force contract, it will need to make sure that its Mach 5 plane also meets certain rigorous standards.

Hermeus thinks it can all be done with existing technology.

“We want to do engineering, not science,” COO Skyler Shuford told Ars Technica last year.

Distant Vision

For better or worse, Hermeus’ hypersonic Air Force One is at least ten years down the road, Business Insider reports. Boeing is already set to deliver the next Air Force One in 2021, and Hermeus’ model would serve as that plane’s eventual replacement.

That means that unless American democracy utterly collapses, we’ll never get to see what Mach 5 would do to President Trump’s notoriously unusual hairstyle.

READ MORE: An aerospace startup just won a contract to develop an Air Force One jet that can travel at Mach 5. Here’s an early look at the engine that could rocket from New York to Paris in 90 minutes. [Business Insider]

More on Hermeus: Blazing Supersonic Plane Could Zoom From NY to Paris in 90 Min

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New NASA Animation Shows Mars’ Creepy Greenish “Nightglow”

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A new NASA simulation shows the ghostly ultraviolet flashes of Mars's

A new NASA simulation shows the ghostly ultraviolet flashes of Mars’ “nightglow” — greenish hues in the Martian night sky.

The stunning video comes courtesy of the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph on board NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) spacecraft, which launched back in 2013.

The observations were detailed in a new paper appearing the journal Space Physics this week.

To the MAVEN  team’s surprise, they found that the Martian atmosphere pulsed exactly three times every night, but only during spring and fall on the Red Planet. The new analysis also showed unexpected waves and spirals over the planet’s poles during winter.

We’ve known about Mars’ “nightglow” phenomenon for a number of years now. Scientists have observed faint glows, likely the result of nitric oxide emissions.

Here’s how it works. On the day side of Mars, UV light from the Sun breaks down carbon dioxide and nitrogen molecules.

The resulting particles are then circulated by high-altitude winds from the day side to the night side, where they fall to lower altitudes. CO2 and nitrogen particles then recombine, creating energy, which is then released in the form of UV light.

“The ultraviolet glow comes mostly from an altitude of about 70 kilometers (approximately 40 miles), with the brightest spot about a thousand kilometers (approximately 600 miles) across, and is as bright in the ultraviolet as Earth’s northern lights,” Zac Milby, student researcher at the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and co-author of the new study, said in a NASA statement.

“Unfortunately, the composition of Mars’ atmosphere means that these bright spots emit no light at visible wavelengths that would allow them to be seen by future Mars astronauts,” he added.

The team is hoping to examine the phenomenon from an entirely new perspective next by looking at just above the edge of the planet, where they’re hoping to get a more detailed look at vertical wind patterns and seasonal changes.

READ MORE: The eerie green ‘nightglow’ of Mars pulses in ultraviolet light in new NASA views [Space.com]

More on Mars: This Video of Mars’ Leaking Atmosphere Could Make Elon Musk Cry

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Zapping the Brain Improved Language Learning Abilities by 13%

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Researchers showed that electrical stimulation through simple ear pieces improved adult participants' abilities to recognize foreign language tones.

In a new study published in the journal Science of Learning, researchers showed that small amounts of electrical stimulation through specially designed ear pieces improved the adult participants’ abilities to recognize foreign language tones — an effect that lasted after the stimulation was halted.

“Humans are excellent perceptual learners,” the paper’s introduction reads. “Yet, a notable and well-documented exception is the acquisition of non-native speech categories in adulthood.”

By stimulating the vagus nerve using the ear pieces, the group was better able to better identify and distinguish between four different Mandarin tones, as Inverse reports.

That’s impressive, because differentiating between those four common tones is extremely hard for native English speakers who are not used to tonal languages.

Overall, they saw an improvement of 13 percent in distinguishing an easier-to-tell-apart pair of Mandarin tones when compared to those who didn’t receive brain stimulation — although the effect was almost imperceptible more difficult tones.

“Showing that non-invasive peripheral nerve stimulation can make language learning easier potentially opens the door to improving cognitive performance across a wide range of domains,” Fernando Llanos, a postdoc researcher at the University of Pittsburg’s Sound Brain Lab and lead author on the study, said in a statement.

The same effect could be generalized to learning sound patterns of other languages according to the researchers.

“In general, people tend to get discouraged by how hard language learning can be, but if you could give someone 13 percent to 15 percent better results after their first session, maybe they’d be more likely to want to continue,” said Matthew Leonard, an assistant professor of neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco and co-author of the study.

The researchers are now investigating if extending the learning sessions with stimulation could enhance the effect for the more-difficult-to-distinguish tones.

Similar brain stimulation of the same area, the vagus nerve, has been used to treat epilepsy in the past and is now the subject of other studies investigating whether it could help treat depression or even inflammatory diseases.

However, these treatments tend to be far more invasive when compared to the non-invasive ear pieces used during this particular study.

“We’re showing robust learning effects in a completely non-invasive and safe way, which potentially makes the technology scalable to a broader array of consumer and medical applications, such as rehabilitation after stroke,” senior author Bharath Chandrasekaran, professor and vice chair of research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said in the statement.

READ MORE: Scientists Discover Brain Hack That Improves Language Abilities By 13 Percent [Inverse]

More on brain stimulation: Elon Musk: Neuralink Will Do Human Brain Implant in “Less Than a Year”

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NASA Says It Will Stop Using Racist Names for Space Objects

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NASA is finally taking stock and getting rid of the various racist nicknames the space agency has granted objects in space over the years.

Taking Stock

NASA has an unfortunate history of granting insensitive and bigoted nicknames to stars, galaxies, and other stuff in space.

Because of that, the space agency announced on Wednesday that it’s taking stock of all the various nicknames it’s assigned and eliminating any that don’t pass muster. In those instances, NASA says that going forward it will only use the official, acronym- and numeral-heavy names instead.

Clean Slate

According to NASA’s announcement, it’s already made some progress. Racist nicknames like the “Eskimo Nebula” and the “Siamese Twin Galaxy” are out the window, and the space agency is still looking for other insensitive and harmful terms.

“Our goal is that all names are aligned with our values of diversity and inclusion, and we’ll proactively work with the scientific community to help ensure that,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in the announcement. “Science is for everyone, and every facet of our work needs to reflect that value.”

Spotty Past

This isn’t the first time NASA had to reckon with its nomenclature. Last year, the space agency had to rename the asteroid Arrokoth because its former name, Ultimate Thule, has a strong association to Nazism.

“These nicknames and terms may have historical or culture connotations that are objectionable or unwelcoming, and NASA is strongly committed to addressing them,” Stephen T. Shih, Associate Administrator for Diversity and Equal Opportunity at NASA Headquarters, said in the new announcement. “Science depends on diverse contributions, and benefits everyone, so this means we must make it inclusive.”

READ MORE: NASA to Reexamine Nicknames for Cosmic Objects [NASA]

More on NASA: NASA Reverses Course After Giving Asteroid Nazi Name

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Exclusive Teen Titans Go! To Camp: Review and Interview with Sholly Fisch – GeekDad

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GeekDad was lucky enough to get an advance look at DCs new all-ages graphic novel Teen Titans Go! To Camp. Writer Sholly Fisch was kind enough to answer a few questions about the first long-form TTG graphic novel, and DC provided an exclusive excerpt from the book. Read on for our interview and review, with the pages from the graphic novel along the way!

GeekDad QuestionsAnswers from Sholly Fisch

1. This comic certainly captured the chaotic feel of summer camp well, with an Apokaliptan twist. Did you go to camp as a kid, and what are the memories that stick out from there?

With an Apokaliptan twist? You mean your summer camp didnt have volcanic fire pits and savage parademons? Weird

I did indeed go to camp for a bunch of years as a kid, although it was day camp, rather than sleepaway. That gave me lots of experiences to draw from while writing the graphic novel, and it was a lot of fun figuring out how to twist those experiences in bizarre ways to fit the dark, demonic setting of Apokolips. I mean, I probably did have a food fight or two in camp, but our food never fought back.

Most of my favorite camp memories are the usual, like swimming and arts and crafts. Since this is a graphic novel about super heroes going to camp, though, Ill mention that my most heroic camp moment was probably knocking down a bully in the swimming pool. He was older and bigger than me, so in retrospect, it probably wasnt the smartest thing Ive ever done. But I didnt get beaten up for it not because he admired my bravery, but because I had terrible sunburn on my shoulders. The second he jumped back up and grabbed my shoulder, I wailed loudly in pain, and he panicked for fear of getting in trouble. Who says sunburn is bad for you?

2. One of the biggest highlights of Teen Titans GO! to Camp was the parade of unique cutaway gags and letters to home by a diverse team of artists. How was the process of picking so many collaborators in addition to main artist Marcelo DiChiara?

Id love to take credit for the astonishing range of guest artists on the letters from camp, but that idea really came from Editor Supreme Kristy Quinn. Kristy did all the hard work, and I just got to be pleasantly surprised by the mix of artists, which ran the gamut from old friends to artists from regular DC Universe series, and even one of the artists from Sandman: The Dreaming! (I wont spoil which artists they are, because the surprises are half the fun.) Quite a departure from what you might expect in Teen Titans Go!

But I dont want to overlook the amazing artwork that Marcelo and colorist Franco Riesco created for the main part of the graphic novel either. Over the past few years, Marcelo, Franco, and I have done a bunch of stories together for the regular Teen Titans Go! comic book, and theyre always great at capturing the series manic fun not to mention slipping in lots of little Easter Eggs that not even I was expecting. For the graphic novel, though, they really went way above and beyond, with tons of stunning spreads and visual effects that I just had to keep showing to my family as the pages appeared in my e-mail.

Its pretty nice having so many talented people make me look so good.

3. This was a very Robin-focused story as he had to overcome his desire to be the best at everything. Will he be the lead in the upcoming second OGN, Roll With It as well, or is someone else taking the lead for that story?

Well, Im not writing Roll With It, but the word I hear from behind the scenes is that Robin starts out running the Titans favorite role-playing game but only until the others get tired of his shenanigans and replace him. Of course, their new Basement Boss might not be the wisest choice in the world

4. What were your favorite episodes of the original Teen Titans cartoon and Teen Titans Go that influenced this story? And were there any other DC books that influenced your portrayal of a rather chaotic (and more kid-friendly than usual, natch) Apokalips?

Naturally, anytime you write anything set in Apokolips, your biggest influence is bound to be Jack Kirbys original stories that introduced the characters and their world. As I was plotting out the graphic novel, I went back and re-read the old Kirby comics for inspiration (and because it was a good excuse to re-read my collection of Kirby comics). Apart from obvious villains like Granny Goodness or Mantis, thats where I found more obscure characters like Devilance the Pursuer. Actually, I think we gave Devilance more space than hes had since 1972. I also really enjoyed the recent Mr. Miracle series, which inspired the recurring Darkseid is jokes. You know, people in Apokolips really do need to finish that sentence someday

Since Ive written lots of Teen Titans Go! comics (and an episode of the TV show), I already had a good handle on the Titans themselves. But most Teen Titans Go! stories are pretty short ten pages in the comics or eleven minutes on TV. So the real challenge here was to figure out how to make a full-length, 128-page graphic novel work equally well, with a story that would be substantial enough to be satisfying but still feel like an episode of Teen Titans Go! To help figure out how to do it, I re-watched the feature film Teen Titans Go! to the Movies, paying attention to how they tackled similar kinds of challenges of balancing plot, subplots, character arcs, and gags. We did it differently than they did, but it was very helpful to be able to dig into the movies structure as an example.

5. Cyborgs obsession with musical numbers was probably my favorite running gag here. Tell us, from behind the scenes what are Vic Stones favorite movie and Broadway musicals?

The musical numbers were a big favorite for me, too not to mention my youngest daughter, whos obsessed with Broadway musicals.

Cyborgs favorite movie and Broadway musicals? Well, lets see

Certainly not Singin In the Rain. Too much rust.

On the other hand, he loves The Wizard of Oz. He identifies with the Tin Man.

And, of course, Hamilton, given Cyborgs lifelong dream of becoming an 18th-Century politician. Besides, who doesnt love Hamilton?

And now, the review.

Ray: Ill be honest Im not a Teen Titans Go fan. I could never quite get into its unique brand of super-random comedy told in short bursts, and the characters are too far from their comic book versions for me to connect with them. I also freely admit Im out on a limb with this, and the show is wildly popular, to the point where it basically takes over Cartoon Network at points. There have been many comic book spinoffs, but this is the first long-form graphic novel based on the property, and I was intrigued for one reason Sholly Fisch, master of DC all-ages books and the man who wrote every issue of Scooby Doo Team-Up, was writing it. So did Teen Titans Go! To Camp make me a TTG fan?

Yes and no. I doubt Ill be doing any binging of the cartoon any time soon, but this graphic novel is a clever and funny expansion on the property thats taken to the next level by an all-star team of artists, led by frequent Fisch collaborator Marcelo DiChiara, who perfectly captures the manic energy of the main characters. The story centers around another summer as the Titans prepare to head off to summer camp one year after Robins disastrous attempt to one-up Speedy at Smores led to them apparently being banished from the Justice Leagues summer camp. So theyve picked another one on Apokalips. Pitting the TTG characters against the full forces of Darkseids army as part of a summer camp comedy seems absurd, but thats what this series does.

This is very much a Robin story, and if youre not familiar with the characterization of him in TTG, it can be a bit disorienting. A brash egomaniac who is constantly trying to prove himself the best hero, hes obsessed with Speedy and his rivalry leads him to do reckless things in pursuit of glory or Starfire. The other Titans are mostly supporting characters, although Beast Boy gets in some great visual gags. Raven and Starfire are mostly there to provide a contrast to the chaotic boys, but its Cyborg who gets the books best running gag thanks to his obsession with musicals. Poor guy really wants to go to band camp.

The main story is a lot of fun, paired with great easter eggs, but Sholly Fisch pulls an amazing hat trick with the great little stories-within-the-story he scatters through the book. Told in the form of letters from each of the campers not just the core five, but the Titans East campers and a few villains he shows us the story through different eyes and matches each segment with a different artist that perfectly suits the character. Francos surprise segment at the end was my favorite, but in terms of art alone, it was a pleasure to see Jamal Igles work on a DC book again.

Overall, Teen Titans Go! To Camp is going to be an acquired taste, because its definitely very much in the cartoons bizarre style of humor. But Fisch and his team of talented artists have much more room to play than the animators do in each segment, and have taken these oddball takes on DCs top teen heroes and given them a chaotic and hilarious story that fits them perfectly. It should be a must-buy for any parent with a TTG-loving kid.

And read below for a Q&A with author Sholly Fisch!

To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.

GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.

Liked it? Take a second to support the GeekFamily Network on Patreon!

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Check Out These Cool Shots Of A Disassembled F-117 Nighthawk Arriving At Hill Aerospace Museum – The Aviationist

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Two images of the F-117 being delivered to the Hill Aerospace Museum on Aug. 5, 2020. (All images: Hill Aerospace Museum).

As often reported here at The Aviationist, some F-117 Nighthawk stealth jets out of Tonopah Test Range continue to zip through the Nevada despite being officially retired in 2008. Some stories even claim the aircraft was actually re-introduced to combat in Syria and Iraq in 2017, although these claims have never been substantiated; however, the most recent sightings suggest that the aircraft continue to fly operational sorties, most probably playing the aggressor role for both training and testing duties.

Whatever, some F-117s have indeed been retired once for all. We spotted an F-117 fuselage being transported on a truck trailer on November 14, 2017. Last year, on Aug. 16, 2019 aviation expert and photographer Chris McGreevy spotted another fuselage being hauled by a truck along Columbia Way (Ave. M) near the joint military/civilian use Palmdale Regional Airport outside Palmdale, California. While we dont know where the first F-117 ended, we know that the second one was delivered to the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California where it is currently on display.

A third F-117 is being prepared for public display: the Nighthawk that was delivered to the Hill Aerospace Museum, at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, on Aug. 5, 2020.

The official FB account of the museum shared the news that the aircraft had just arrived from Tonopah where the airframe was demilitarized. The Hill Aerospace Museum shared also some really interesting shots of their new F-117 that you can find in this post.

As the other F-117, the Nighthawk was hauled on a flatbed truck without its wings and vertical stabilizers and other parts that will be attached by the Hill Aerospace Museum. The aircraft, whose original coating has been removed as it may still pose a security as well as a health risk, will also get its iconic overall black paint job so that it can be put on display in the Lindquist Stewart Gallery next week.

Noteworthy, the other F-117, the one at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California, had been prepared for display by Lockheed Martin as part of Operation Nighthawk Landing that saw the aircraft (#803/82-0803) being reconfigured and painted at Skunk Works in Palmdale, California.

H/T Al Clark for the heads-up!

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Check Out These Cool Shots Of A Disassembled F-117 Nighthawk Arriving At Hill Aerospace Museum - The Aviationist

UK gene therapy pioneer tilts at $125m NASDAQ IPO – Business Weekly

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Freeline Therapeutics in Stevenage, which is developing gene therapies for rare diseases, is bidding to raise $125 million through an IPO on the US technology market NASDAQ.

The company plans to offer 7.4 million American Depositary Shares at $16-$18 apiece.

Even hitting halfway up the range Freeline could clinch a market value of around $574m.The company's lead candidate, FLT180a, is an investigational gene therapy medicinal product candidate for the treatment of haemophilia B and is currently in a Phase 1/2 trial.

Freeline closed a $120 million extended Series C financing in June 2020.The companys stated aim is to transform the lives of patients suffering from inherited systemic debilitating diseases. Data gleaned from trials involving the first cohort of 10 patients was promising, the company says.

CEO Theresa Heggie said: The feedback builds on previously reported data which suggest that FLT180a has the potential, using relatively low doses, to create durable FIX activity levels in the normal range in patients with severe Haemophilia B and provide a functional cure.

Freeline is headquartered at Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst and has operations in Germany and the US. It has plans to grow rapidly across all territories.

Targeting the liver with its novel gene therapy platform enables Freeline to treat a wide range of chronic diseases. Its proprietary split packaging technology and high performing capsid allows the company to target monogenic diseases and, in the future, potentially treat complex disease areas not currently targeted by gene therapy.

Heggie said: We plan to commercialise our next-generation AAV gene therapy platform for haemophilia B while we continue to deploy the capsid and manufacturing platform across our pipeline of novel indications.

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Of mice and memories: Gene therapy study returns function in Alzheimer’s mice – ABC News

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Norman Swan: Alzheimer's disease is the commonest form of dementia, and the results of billions of dollars of research investment have been bitterly disappointing in terms of finding an effective treatment. However, experiments on mice by a group from the Dementia Research Centre at Macquarie University have come up with some promising findings. Professor Lars Ittner is the director of the centre. Welcome to the Health Report Lars.

Lars Ittner: Hello, how are you?

Norman Swan: Now, essentially you are targeting an enzyme which protects nerve cells in the brain from the toxic effects of amyloid beta and that's one of the two main substances which accumulate in Alzheimer's disease. What did you actually do in this study?

Lars Ittner: So in this we found prior to this study that this enzyme activity that protects the brain from Alzheimer's disease is actually lost in Alzheimer's disease. And we devised a gene therapy to replace the enzyme activity and bring the enzyme back into the brain cells.

Norman Swan: And these are mice which replicate Alzheimer's disease in some shape or form.

Lars Ittner: Yes, they are, so we genetically engineered them to develop Alzheimer's disease.

Norman Swan: And they were showing signs of memory and thinking problems?

Lars Ittner: Yes, so their ability to form memory and then store the memory over longer terms is compromised.

Norman Swan: And this was the gene for this enzyme?

Lars Ittner: So we brought backit's called the P38 gamma gene, which we brought back into the brains of these mice and that restored their ability to form memory.

Norman Swan: So you actually got healing?

Lars Ittner: So we were quite surprised because when you set out with these type of studies you expect at most that you stop the progression. But yes, we got far more than we set out for.

Norman Swan: People have tried gene therapy before from Parkinson's disease and other things, and it's quite hard to get the gene therapy into the brain. And of course Alzheimer's disease is quite widespread as opposed to Parkinson's disease. How do you get the gene therapy in reliably?

Lars Ittner: So from the early days of gene therapy done in Parkinson's disease, the vehicles that are used to bring the genes into organisms or in the brain in particular have improved, so these days we use modified viruses that we take advantage of their ability to infect brain cells, and they then deliver the genes for us.

Norman Swan: In the right place. Were there any side effects?

Lars Ittner: So we did toxicity studies as part of our study, and then you use incredibly high amounts of the virus, and we did not see long-term side-effects.

Norman Swan: How do you getthere's something called the bloodbrain barrier, the brain is a protected organ and it's quite hard for things to get into the brain because of this barrier, how did you get beyond that with these gene therapies?

Lars Ittner: So with the mice we can take advantage of a modified virus which has been selected to actually passage this naturally, but in humans you would do a single injection, it's like a lumbar puncture, it's at the base of your neck, and it's directly into the liquid around the brain, so you basically mechanically bypass the bloodbrain barrier.

Norman Swan: There have been very disappointing results. I mean, what happens in mice particularly in Alzheimer's disease does not necessarily happen in humans, and there's not a single amyloid beta therapy that has had much effect on the brains of the people with Alzheimer's disease. Why do you think this one might work in humans when others haven't?

Lars Ittner: So the problem with the amyloid beta is that it is now understood that this is a disease inducing pathology but is not required for the progression of the disease, and we are targeting here actually the tau protein specifically which is

Norman Swan: It's the other thing that

Lars Ittner: Exactly, and that is responsible for the progression of the disease, so it's actually moving away from the amyloid beta as a drug target which has failed in the past.

Norman Swan: Now, with COVID-19 around we are getting used to the language of clinical trials and accelerating trials. When are you ready to go to phase 1 which would be a safety trial in humans?

Lars Ittner: So preclinical experiments have actually been completed for this particular study, and the next step are in fact phase 1 clinical trials, and we are currently working with Macquarie University and their commercialisation arm to find the right partner to move forward into clinical trials.

Norman Swan: Fascinating. Well, we'll follow that up when you do. Thanks for joining us.

Lars Ittner: It was my pleasure.

Norman Swan: Professor Lars Ittner is director of the Dementia Research Centre at Macquarie University.

You've been listening to the Health Report, I'm Norman Swan, and I'd really enjoy your company next week.

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Of mice and memories: Gene therapy study returns function in Alzheimer's mice - ABC News

The Maine Idea: If Lives Matter, Then Names Matter, Too – Press Herald

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In what seems like an instant, Black Lives has become the central issue of our time.

Consider: On May 25, George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis. On June 1, demonstrators were cleared from Lafayette Square ahead of Donald Trumps photo-op in front of St. Johns Church, prompting nationwide protests. And on June 10, the statue of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, was toppled from its base in Richmond, Va.

The following day, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a remarkable statement. He apologized for his role in Trumps Lafayette Square visit, and also supported removing the names of Confederate generals from military bases.

Milley called the Civil War an act of treason, and said soldiers of color 43% of todays military must wonder about training on bases named for men who fought for an institution of slavery that may have enslaved one of their ancestors.

Most of Richmonds Confederate monuments have now been removed, in response to the same question: Although it was the Confederate capital, why 155 years after the end of the rebellion are its symbols those of a cause that, as Gen. Ulysses S. Grant wrote, was one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse.

Not until a century after this lost cause was invented were the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 enacted, putting an end to legalized segregation. But equality of the mind broad acceptance that all citizens should have equal authority and autonomy has seemed as distant as ever, and even receding.

Now, amid a pandemic thats upended societies worldwide in a manner not seen since the Great Depression, we may have reached a point of clarity, where the founding vision of true equality is no longer a mirage.

Young people are leading the way. They are more tolerant, more accepting, and less offended by distinctions of race or gender than any previous generation.

Theres no reason to expect Confederates ever to be put back on their perches, or to be displayed except in museums, where they belong: We shouldnt seek to destroy the past, but learn from it.

Yet the liberation of rethinking often extends well beyond the original object. One thats now roiling institutions across the country has come to Maine which has no Confederate statutes, though before statehood it did have slaves.

The problem is eugenics, the early 20th century movement that advocated selective breeding to, in essence, create better human beings. At the time, it didnt seem remarkable to many people.

Humans have been breeding plants, horses, dogs, and cats for centuries, without many qualms. And anyone who believes that humans do not self select when choosing partners hasnt been consuming romance novels or royal family sitcoms, let alone historical tomes.

Eugenics has, of course, a dark underside. Although advocates were among leading progressives of their day British socialists and American urban reformers the movement became identified with notorious anti-immigrant legislation passed by Congress in the 1920s. It seemed to target the disabled and poor, and its nadir was undoubtedly the Supreme Court decision from Oliver Wendell Holmes counted among our greatest judges in which he pronounced, upholding forced sterilization, that three generations of imbeciles are enough.

The eugenics movement was destroyed by Adolf Hitler, whose ravings about a master race led to World War II as surely as the slave power produced the American Civil War. Yet blaming eugenics for Hitler makes as much sense as blaming Richard Wagners operas; well never listen to Wagner the same way, but no one is currently banning his music.

Eugenicists are being banned. The name of Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, is being removed from its Manhattan Health Center.

And last week, the Jackson Laboratory said it was deleting the name of its founder, C.C. Little, from its Bar Harbor conference room, saying eugenics cast a long shadow over his achievements.

Little earlier president of the University of Maine might have appreciated the irony. Jacksons considerable success as Maines leading high-tech employer stems from Littles insights into selective breeding of mice, still at the core of its world-class research capabilities.

Without Margaret Sanger, there would have been no Planned Parenthood. Without C.C. Little, there might not have been a Jackson Lab. Should we remove their names from the institutions they founded?

Historical questions are often vexed. In this case, though, we might venture a distinction.

The Confederacys legacy is, or should be, its absolute rejection. The Sanger and Little legacies are a little more complicated.

Douglas Rooks, a Maine editor, reporter, opinion writer and author for 35 years, has published books about George Mitchell, and the Maine Democratic Party. He welcomes comment at [emailprotected]

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Buy American? Trump makes over $1 million from store that sells products with foreign, unknown origins – CNBC

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President Donald Trump has made close to $1.5 million in income over the past three years from an online retail store that is owned by the company he founded, according to financial disclosure records reviewed by CNBC.

While dozens of the Trump-branded products sold by the store are listed as having been made in the United States, a sizable chunk are made in foreign countries or are from an unknown origin which would appear to run contrary to the president's "Buy American" agenda.

As of Friday, there are currently over 100 products under the "Made in America" collection on the online Trump Store, where they are marked as either "Made in America" or "Made in the USA," according to a CNBC review. Yet, at least another 180 items that CNBC reviewed are labeled as having been made in Scotland, France or Italy, are labeled as "Decorated in the USA" or have no country of origin listed at all.

That means a little more than a third of the items in the online Trump Store are described as officially made in the United States. There is also an in-person Trump Store located in New York's Trump Tower.

The Trump Organization online subsidiary is titled on the disclosure reports as T Retail LLC. USA Today first spotted the discrepancy and noted that the president made more than $107,000offthat businesswhen itlaunched in 2017.

Trump's latest disclosure report shows that he took in just over $930,000 from the online retail business last year. Reports say that the president's latest financial disclosure shows he made at least$440 million overall in 2019.

Trump has come under scrutiny for his company's business dealings since he became president. More than $17 million in payments have been made to use Trump properties for campaign events by his own reelection team, the Republican National Committee and other GOP-led groups.

The president still owns the Trump Organization, but it is currently being run by the president's older sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization did not respond to repeated requests for comment, including detailed questions on where the Trump Store's products were made. Representatives for the White House also did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Ethics experts say that while it's not illegal for the president to be making money from this piece of the company he still owns, it certainly is not on par with how past presidents behaved.

"The president profiting personally off of the sale of merchandise bearing his name may not violate the law, but it does defy the norms of behavior we'd expect from our country's most prominent public servant," Brendan Fischer, a director at ethics watchdog group the Campaign Legal Center, said in an email.

Fischer also noted that while the Trump Organization has sold name-branded items in the past, the fact that the company launched this online store the year he became president suggests the business could be profiting off of his presidency.

"It does seem like yet another example of Trump blurring the lines between public service and his personal financial interest, andof Trump successfully profiting off of the presidency," he said. "The Trump Organization may have been selling Trump-branded merchandise before Trump became president, but it only set up this online retail store after Trump took office, and after the name 'Trump' became synonymous with the prestige of the White House."

The president has repeatedly pushed an "America First" and "Buy American" agenda.

Trump recently signed an executive order that called on the U.S. governmentto develop a list of essential medicines and buy them as well as medical supplies from U.S. companies instead of from foreign countries suchas China.

In 2017, Trump signed an executive order that would crack down on the awarding of visas to foreign workersas part his of "Buy American, Hire American" initiative.

Last year, Trump signed another executive order to extend his "Buy American, Hire American" policy initiatives. At the time, White House advisor Peter Navarro said it was meant to "extend the coverage for 'Buy American,' not just to things like iron and steel and aluminum, but also to cement and other manufactured products."

This type of agenda has also turned into a political wedge issue between Trump and his opponent, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

The former vice president released his own "Buy American" proposal, which calls for a $400 billion, four-year increase in government purchasing of U.S.-based goods and services plus $300 billion in new research and development in U.S. technology concerns.

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Buy American? Trump makes over $1 million from store that sells products with foreign, unknown origins - CNBC

The Simpsons and Spinal Tap Star Harry Shearer Brings You Donald Trump As You’ve Never Seen Him Before – WFMZ Allentown

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LOS ANGELES, Aug. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --A new video depicting Donald Trump performing a song in praise of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is today revealed as being the work of The Simpsons and Spinal Tap star Harry Shearer. Son in Law, which premiered on YouTube, is the first track to be released in a cycle of satirical songs inspired by the last four years of US politics and in particular the often mercurial behaviour of the current occupant of The White House. A new song will be released each week throughout the summer and autumn.

The "Son In Law" video uses groundbreaking motion-capture animation to portray the US President lionizing his senior advisor and husband of his daughter Ivanka. At one point it shows the spookily real Trump with his hand casually hovering over the nuclear button on his desk in The Oval Office, whilst extolling the virtues of his daughter's curves.

Harry Shearer says, "You can't fire family, but you can sing about them."

Watch "Son In Law": https://youtu.be/ZtptN8bfl3M

COVID-180, out today, is the second song in the series and hasShearer as the Leader of The Free World as he dances to his own tune in a dizzying reality-distanced spin away from the virus that has swept the world.

Written by Shearer, the old-style New Orleans R&B song has The Simpsons star on vocals in an eerily accurate impersonation of the President of The United States. He is joined by a band of top New Orleans musicians who include David Torkanowsky of The Astral Project and Stanton Moore Trio on piano and organ, The Metres star George Porter, Jr. on bass, Raymond Weber of Dumpstaphunk on drums, leading saxophonist Brad Walker, Scott Frock of Delfeayo Marsalis' Uptown Jazz Orchestra, on trumpet, and one of New Orleans' top trombonists Jon Ramm. The track is mixed by long-time Harry Shearer musical collaborator C J Vanston at The Treehouse North Hollywood and produced by David Torkanowsky. It was recorded in New Orleans and Los Angeles.

Harry Shearer has vocally portrayed every US president of his lifetime. Donald Trump is the third he has portrayed physically, having previously played Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan on screen.

The video was conceived and produced by Harry Shearer with Matt Hermans of The Electric Lens Company in Sydney,Australia. The On Set Producer was Harry's long-time collaborator, cinematographer Matthew Mindlin.

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Green Growth Has Made Dominica The Fastest Growing Economy In The Caribbean – Forbes

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Dominicas commitment to climate resilience through renewable energy, organic agriculture, ecotourism, sustainable infrastructure and a culture of eco-consciousness has provided a strong strategic and ideological underpinning for the Nature Isles social and economic development.

In March, during the pinnacle of the tourist high season, COVID-19 forced the Eastern Caribbean island into lockdown and while only 18 people have been infected to date, all of who recovered, the tourism sector was forced to pick up the pieces.

Luckily, Dominicans know a thing or two about resilience.

No stranger to navigating crisis or to the devastating impacts of climate change, after being mercilessly decimated by Hurricane Maria in 2017, Dominica rebounded within two years, becoming the fastest growing economy in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations (2020).

Dominicas rapid growth is a testament to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrits vision of becoming an example to the world, an example of how an entire nation rebounds from disaster and how an entire nation can be climate resilient for the future.

Determined to become "the world's first climate-resilient nation," governments priorities during the pandemic have been to safeguard its people while making plans to reboot the eco-tourism sector and develop climate resilient homes and infrastructure to support environmentally responsible growth, much of which is being funded by one of the most prestigious Citizenship By Investment (CBI) Programmes in the world.

Dominicas Citizenship By Investment Programme is the backbone of its green growth strategy. The CBIs Economic Diversification Fund is fuelling development projects such as hurricane-proof public housing and a geothermal plant that promises to provide clean energy to 23,000 homes. Would-be citizens also have the opportunity to support the development of the ecotourism sector by investing in select properties, such as The Residences at Secret Bay, a limited luxury collection of fully appointed, sustainable residences.

Dominicas tourism product is a natural fit to the vision of its leadership. Famed for its biodiversity, the second largest boiling lake on earth, active volcanoes, black sand beaches, heavily protected rainforests and the Eastern Caribbeans first UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Morne Trois Pitons National Park, the Nature Isle is a haven for eco-enthusiasts and environmentally conscious travellers.

Emerald Pool Waterfall, Morne Trois Pitons National Park (UNESCO World Heritage List, 1997), ... [+] Dominica. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Last year, The Financial Times fDi Intelligence service FDI Strategy Ranking selected Dominica as one of the top 20 tourism destinations of the future, placing the island in two awards categories: 'Ecotourism' and 'Health and Wellness Tourism.'

And in July, as many regional hotels began to reopen their doors amid uncertain circumstances, Dominicas Secret Bay Hotel was named the No. 1 Resort Hotel in the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas in Travel + Leisure Worlds Best Awards. This is a success that proprietor, Gregor Nassief credits to the Green Globe Certified hotels unwavering commitment to responsible luxury and sustainability.

Basking in the light of well-deserved global recognition, Dominicas government has been making plans to open borders to all travellers on August 7th. Strict protocols have been enforced around entry, hygiene and social distancing and the tourism sector has been briefed on safety standards and operational best practices. Properties such as Secret Bay have been waiting for months to open their doors to visitors.

As an all-villa resort, Secret Bay was designed around social distancing before it was a buzzword, muses Nassief of the propertys freestanding cliff top accommodations, spread across acres of rainforest at a density of structures to land of less than 10 per cent.

In time for reopening, Secret Bay is launching a StayWell Program that supports holistic health and wellness, safety and responsible luxury. In addition to surpassing all of the sanitising and disinfecting protocols, Secret Bay is introducing immune-boosting remedies like morning wellness "shots" consisting of turmeric, ginger, moringa, kale, cucumber, wild honey, beetroot, local oranges and pineapples, and a superfood turndown.

Overhead view of Secret Bay Hotel

Secret Bay has also launched a backyard garden program, inspired by the Ministry of Agricultures backyard garden initiative that was introduced as a way for families to sustainably support themselves during COVID-19. Each villa has its own garden where guests can forage for provisions like assorted herbs, Asian leafy greens, chives/spring onions, lettuce and tomatoes.

In November 2019, at a pre-independence speech, Prime Minister Skerrit reminded Dominicans of how far they had come.

We are back. Our country is on the cusp of a very exciting and dynamic period, he declared.

In Dominica we have much for which to be thankful and to give praise. First and foremost, we are no longer the Cinderella sibling of the Caribbean family; were up there with the brightest and the best.

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Green Growth Has Made Dominica The Fastest Growing Economy In The Caribbean - Forbes

Davy Jones: A love letter to Pirates of the Caribbeans Kraken-summoner – Polygon

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With the Pirates of the Caribbean movies more accessible than ever, and a summer season void of blockbusters, this month were diving deep into Disneys swashbuckling series. Grab your cutlass and hoist the colors: here be Polygons take on all things PotC.

When I was but a wee 13-going-on-14-year-old, my biggest crush was Davy Jones. Not the nautical superstition, but the tentacle-faced captain of the Flying Dutchman played by Bill Nighy (with the aid of a lot of CGI work) in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. From the moment I saw his piercing blue eyes in the first trailer for Dead Mans Chest and heard his nasally Scottish accent, I had found the pirate for me.

As related in my conversation with my Polygon peers about our respective opinions about the most smoochable Pirates characters, my obsession with Jones in itself the subject of a chicken-or-egg debate over whether or not my Nighy crush came first or if Jones was the reason for it grew to such a fever pitch that my friends birthday gift to me was a poster of pictures of Bill Nighy and a Davy Jones head-topped pen. (At my obsessions peak, I forced all my friends to watch The Girl in the Caf at a sleepover, which they resigned themselves to.)

But why was a man with an octopus for a face so appealing? The reasons, as it happens, are many. Here is my Davy Jones manifesto, courtesy of my 13-year-old self:

1. Hes an emo rocker. For the same reasons I love bands like Panic! At the Disco, Fall Out Boy, and Jimmy Eat World, I love Davy Jones. The fact that he plays an instrument the organ, no less is already a huge plus, but hes also using music as a way of expressing all of his heartbreak and angst. His songs are just a big riff on the tune played by the matching pair of lockets he shares with his lost love, which is, if you ask me, very romantic! He also isnt afraid to play loudly enough for all of his crew members to hear it. Theres no shame in being emotionally vulnerable!

2. Hes funny. Despite being possibly the most feared pirate out there, hes not afraid to crack a few jokes every now and then. Granted, theyre at the expense of others (see: when he tells Will to feel free to go ashore whenever they make port which is only once every 10 years. Its funnier if you dont care about Will too much, i.e. if youre me and only have eyes for sweet Davy).

3. Hes hot. To be clear, I am into marine life, but not in a romantic way. I have no real desire to kiss an octopus. But Davy Jones has undeniable presence the way he stomps into any given scene is enough to send chills down anyones spine. He knows the value of a dramatic entrance! He also carries that nose for the dramatic (unfortunately no literal nose) into all of his interactions, occasionally adding extra syllables to words just for the sake of flourish. It all adds up to making that tentacle-y visage more appealing. He has a normal human mouth, at least, its just that his whole face is a little moist. And his eyes! My God. Theyre CGI, which is the only way to account for their superhuman ability to stare straight into the human soul. But if the fact that hes all octopus-y is an insurmountable dealbreaker, we do handily get a brief look at his human face, which is perfectly normal and extremely handsome.

4. Hes not really evil. Hes bitter, sure, but the whole reason he ends up pursuing Jack and company to begin with is because Jack breaks the terms of their agreement that Davy would bring the Black Pearl back in exchange for Jack serving 100 years on the Dutchman. This all could have been prevented if Jack Sparrow wasnt selfish! And his becoming a pawn of the East India Trading Company isnt his fault, either, as hes basically helping them under pain of death. They even force him to kill the Kraken, which is particularly cruel.

5. He has an awesome pet. So he only has it for one movie, but the Kraken rules, and even has its own theme music. Im sure its nice under some circumstances. Let me go on a ride on the Kraken.

6. A new relationship would be good for him. The fact that hes been hung up on Calypso for such a long time is romantic, especially since theyre both heartbroken over each other and it isnt just one-way pining, but the sheer amount of angst hes carrying around is exactly why he looks so much like an aquarium display. The state of the Dutchmans captain directly affects the state of the ship and the crew (hence the ship losing its barnacles once Will takes over) and, frankly, a makeover would be good for everyone. I know that the whole reason he became cursed to begin with was because he betrayed his main squeeze, but the third movie sees them coming to terms with and moving on from what happened (yes, here, moving on means Davy Jones dies), so you already know that hes capable of growth.

Though I dont think about Davy Jones as much, now, hes still always in my heart, and Im still as ready to go to bat for him as I was in 2006. Hes a perfect pirate, and I will always love him.

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Intentional Communities Touchstone Mental Health

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Serina was abused as she put it in all shapes and forms growing up. She married twice, both times to abusive men who were alcoholics. She spent the first 43 years of her life believing abuse and dysfunction were normal. After a short stay in jail because of something her husband had gotten involved in, she struggled with homelessness for years and was deeply depressed and suicidal. Thankfully, a referral to Touchstone gave Serina the opportunity to learn a different way to live.

Through work in the community group, she learned to trust others, make friends and even enjoy life. She works on problem-solving, compromise and being part of a community. She also has fun cooking, laughing and sharing with others in the group, people who also have a mental illness and know how strong she is. The Touchstone staff are there for her and she knows she can call them for help.

Intentional Communities is a unique program made up of peer-guided and managed communities of individuals who come together as a supportive group. Touchstone staff work as advocates with clients to help them with housing, independent living skills, personal health goals and finding resources based on what they need for mental health stability.

Intentional Communities serves adults 18 years or older with a serious mental illness who have been referred by a mental health provider.

Learn more about how to make a referral for Intentional Communities.

To learn more about our Intentional Communities program contact us at housingservices@touchstonemh.org or (612) 843-3340.

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Hakhel Wins Prestigious Jerusalem Unity Prize | Teaneck …

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Hakhel, the Jewish Intentional Communities Incubator, was awarded the Jerusalem Unity Prize today in the international category. Hakhel, a project of Hazon, the Jewish Lab for Sustainability, received the prize for its relentless work to cultivate emerging Jewish communities all over the world and forge the connection between them and the State of Israel. The prize will be awarded in a special ceremony at Israeli President Reuven Rivlin's residence on June 2. Rivlin is well known for his long-standing efforts to bring the different "tribes" of Israeli society together, as well as world Jewry.

"We are so thrilled to have won this award. The role of Hakhel as an incubator to intentional communities is strategic in advancing Jewish engagement and Jewish peoplehood. The work of Hakhel's advisors is key to building sustainable communities," said Tenafly native and Hakhel advisor Michal Guttman. "Furthermore, Hakhel presents multiple opportunities to share, connect, and become inspired by other communities in the Hakhel network. For me, Hakhel represents a creative, open-minded, dynamic, relevant, and significant response to the field of Jewish engagement."

"This year, we chose the winners in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, during which we felt the need to care for each other more, and make sure we all get through this time safely. Stemming from these sentiments, we selected this year's winners which inspire us all with their daily work for the unity of our people, in Israel and around the world," said Knesset Member Nir Barkat, the former mayor of Jerusalem and co-founder of the Jerusalem Unity Prize.

Founded in 2014, Hakhel, which operates in partnership with Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, is the first and largest global incubator for Jewish intentional communities, comprising over 130 communities in 30 different countries. Its mission is to spark and support new expressions of Jewish life around the world by nurturing the growth of intentional communities with the help of advisors, seed funding and network building.

The Jerusalem Unity Prize is given to individuals, organizations, and initiatives in Israel and throughout the Jewish world whose actions are instrumental in advancing mutual respect for others amongst the Jewish people, during crises and in daily life. The ceremony this year will not open to the public, but it will be broadcast online.

A special public committee selected the winners of the 2020 award. The committee included former Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, chairman of the award committee, Isaac "Bougie" Herzog, Natan Sharansky, Kobi Oz, Brig. Gen. (res.) Amal Assad, Noam Lautman, Rabbi Shai Piron, Israel Goldshmid, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, David Menachem, Karin Mayer Rubinstein, Shlomi Yehiav, and the Yifrach, Shaar, and Fraenkel families. The prize was created to memorialize Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Fraenkel who were murdered by Palestinian terrorists in 2014.

Hakhel will dedicate a substantial part of its monetary prize to conduct a global campaign to honor and support communities that fought on the social frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic and are now figuring out how to prepare for the aftermath of the crisis.

Hakhel General Director Aharon Ariel Lavi stated, "We are deeply honored to receive the Jerusalem Unity Award. Fostering Jewish connections among Jews around the world and Israel is a cornerstone of Hakhel's work, as shown by our more than 130 intentional communities worldwide. We look forward to continuing to spark and support new expressions of Jewish life around the world in the years to come."

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Eye of the Temple Reminds You How Amazing Room-Scale VR Is, Demo Available Now – UploadVR

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It sometimes feels like weve forgotten something about the magic of room-scale VR. The need to traverse bigger worlds has given way to the fine, if unconvincing means of smooth movement, but theres real power in putting your own two feet in front of you.

Eye Of The Temple doesnt forget that. In fact, it embraces it with open arms.

This long-in-development PC VR title from Danish solo developer Rune Skovbo Johansen finally has a free demo to try. And, in a strange way, its Indiana Jones antics are both a nostalgic trip back to the early days of PC VR and a potent reminder of the physicality that can really root you in the experience. Check out some of our demo gameplay below.

First things first: you need at least a 2mx2m meter space to play Eye Of The Temple. Even then, a little extra wouldnt hurt to give you peace of mind when stepping across chasms. Inevitably, this will place a strict limitation on the number of people that can actually play the game, but the trade-off is necessary. You sheepishly side-step between moving platforms, flaming torch in one hand, whip in the other. Across the campaign, youll need to negotiate various obstacles as you progress through each environment, with evolving challenges and ideas (hopefully) keeping things fresh.

Its an idea weve seen elsewhere, like in the excellent Tower series, but four years of development has left Eye Of The Temple polished and tactile. Some platforms, for example, are actually rolling blocks that youll need to walk backwards on to avoid falling off. Its a brilliantly clever idea to keep you moving, making great use of the space around you.

I havent played the whole demo but even from about 30 minutes of playtime I was introduced to a steady flow of new ideas, like stone pillars obstructing moving platforms that Id need to dodge. Theres also some light combat with the whip, which is a tough thing to master. I suppose with some authenticity in mind, it never quite does what you want it to do, though I spent longer that Id like to admit trying to get it to wrap around levers.

At times I inevitably found myself getting tangled in wires and, naturally, longing for the freedom of Oculus Quest. Unofficial streaming from Virtual Desktop is obviously one way to go, if you can, but Im holding out hope for a native port too. Johansen says he will investigate a port after full release, but doesnt have any concrete plans at this time.

A throwback to those more limited days of VR accessibility, then, but in all the right ways. Eye Of The Temple can be dizzying and unnerving, but if youve got the space you should absolutely check the demo out. You can head over to Eye Of The Temples official Discord to request access to the demo via Steam.

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