Author Archives: Danzig

Albert Pujols becomes the 4th player in MLB history to hit 700 career home runs – kuna noticias y kuna radio

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By Jacob Lev, CNN

With back-to-back home runs Friday, St. Louis Cardinals Albert Pujols became the fourth player in Major League Baseball history to hit 700 career home runs.

After hitting his 699th career homer in the 3rd inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pujols hit a three-run blast in his next at-bat in the 4th inning to achieve baseball immortality.

Dodger Stadium erupted in cheers as Pujols rounded the bases, and his Cardinals teammates came to greet him outside the dugout as he crossed home plate. Pujols saluted the crowd and Dodgers players showed their respect to the 42-year-old legend.

Pujols joins Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron as the only players to hit 700 home runs or more in their careers.

Pujols is also the second player in MLB history to join the 3,000-hit and 700-home run club, along with Aaron.

Earlier this month, Pujols passed Alex Rodriguez for fourth on the all-time home runs list, hitting his 697th home run.

The-CNN-Wire & 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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Albert Pujols becomes the 4th player in MLB history to hit 700 career home runs - kuna noticias y kuna radio

Citizens of the Cosmos – Announcements – E-Flux

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Curated byDaniel Muzyczuk.

What if Katarzyna KobrosHanging Constructionshad come from investigating zero gravity and life beyond our planet? She was probably exposed to Cosmist ideas, which were discussed in artistic circles in Revolution-era Moscow. And what if Wadysaw Strzemiskis interest in inaugurating a museum was also partly inspired by the writings of Nikolai Fedorov, who compared the world after the conquest of death and resurrection for all to a museum, a space where time is suspended? These speculations connect an intellectual movement that originated in Russia in the mid-nineteenth century with the origins of the Muzeum Sztuki.

Cosmism assumes that resurrection is possible through technology. This thought experiment led to a vision of radically transformed culture and living conditions. Nikolai Fedorovs doctrine had consequences in such remote fields as the Soviet space program, new poetry, Constructivism, museology, and even blood transfusion research.

The Muzeum Sztuki, a museum of the avant-garde, is holding an exhibition that introduces this multiplicity of ideas and the aesthetics of Cosmism. It isorganizedaround research by Anton Vidokle (born 1965), an artist and publisher who has spent nearly a decade exploring and working withthe philosophy of Cosmism in order to imagine a future devoid of death, war, decay, and the exploitation of nature. The exhibition features a series of his films, shot in Japan, Ukraine, Italy, Russia, andKazakhstan, which stage some key notions of this intellectual and artistic tradition.

The show also includes works from the Muzeum Sztukis collection as the holdings of a speculative Cosmist International. This exhibition seeks to show that the Cosmism movement has not been limited to Russia, by emphasizing the work of Ukrainian artists who have explored the field. Fedir Tetyanych was a performer, designer, painter, and poet who was deeply moved by the notion of the biosphere. He developed the doctrine of Frypulia, based on notions of eternity, infinity, and boundlessness. The show also includes the paintings of Veronika Hapchenko, a visionary painter from Krakow who illustrates various aspects of the writings of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.

Room 1Fedir Tetyanych: From Cossacks to BiotechnospheresFedir Tetyanych (19422007) was a total artist whose work was based on a complex philosophy. He grew up in the village of Kniazhychi near Kyiv, and from there he drew his ideas. He mixed Ukrainian folklore, folk traditions, national images, and legends. He also identified himself with the Cossacka hero who personifies individual freedom. These influences were blended with his fascination for modernism, Cosmism, and science fiction, from the material aspects of his work to the ideological principles of their creation. He sourced his material from trash and added soil to his paint. This led him to invent a gesture whereby he attached the whole world to his canvas.

He called his system, Frypulia, which he also used at times as his nickname. It was a code by which humanity, radiating in either a radio wave or in a beam of light and carrying all information about itself, could be reproduced again at any point in space. As such, Frypulia evoked both eternal life and infinity.

The objects in this room are divided into three groups. One contains a large canvas depicting an immortal in an infinite universe and works on paper connecting these visions of the future with Ukrainian history (for example, a Cossack mace forming a biotechnosphere). The second is a group of works on paper from the Biotechnospheres: Cities of the Future series. The works focus on one of the artists main preoccupations: a unit for human habitation and movement. The third group is also connected to the biotechnosphere. The works on paper were used to coat one of the models for the vehicle in 1984. They imitate parts of the design.

Room 2From Zero Gravity to ImmortalityThe science fiction novel Beyond the Planet Earth, written in 1920, compared anti-gravity to swimming in the water: the travelers will dangle, so to speak, in their atmosphere: they will neither fall, nor need the floor for support. They will be like fish in the water, only they will experience no major obstacle in their motion, none of the resistance of the water. Hanging Composition 1 (192021) by Katarzyna Kobro is a work that connects Suprematism with space exploration.

The object is placed alongside an excerpt from an excerpt from Kuba Mikurdas essay film Solaris Mon Amour. This is a radical reimagining of this science-fiction classic - one made solely on the basis of found footage. This is another connection between Polish culture and Cosmism. The novel by Stanisaw Lem depicts an ocean planet capable of bringing back guests, of resurrecting dead people who were loved by the visitors from Earth. It alludes to the trauma of World War Two by showing a place where redemption and eternal life are possible.

Room 3Anton Vidokle, Citizens of the Cosmos, 2019, 30:19 minutesCitizens of the Cosmos is a film by Anton Vidokle based on the Biocosmist manifesto, written by Alexander Svyatogor in 1922. Shot on location in Tokyo and Kyiv with a group of amateur actors, volunteers, and extras, the film presents an imaginary community voicing the historical desires of Cosmismimmortality, resurrection of the dead, and interplanetarismall in the context of everyday life in contemporary Japan. Using urban shrines, cemeteries, a crematorium (actually located in Kyiv), tatami rooms, a bamboo forest, an industrial gas plant, and city streets as an open-air stage, the film gradually narrates the Biocosmist manifesto while presenting a sequence of dream-like tableaux, featuring rejuvenation through blood transfusion, funerary processions and demonstrations, a Danse Macabre, the cremation bone picking ceremony (), attempts to communicate with the dead using stethoscopes, and a theremin orchestra recital, among other scenes. Set to an original score composed by Alva Noto, Citizens of the Cosmos is an experiment in defamiliarisation: a speculative test of the universality implicit in Cosmisms premise.

Room 4The Central RoomThis room is organized around the timeline of Cosmism, organizing our knowledge about this obscure yet very influential ideology. It connects all the aspects of the exhibition that might initially seem distant from one another. The collection of the speculative Cosmist International offers an iconographic constellation that grounds the movements objectives in universal representations of death, rebirth, and space exploration. The room is completed by three paintings by Veronika Hapchenko (born 1995), a Krakow-based painter whose work is informed by the writings of the Cosmists. She uses an airbrush technique to make the visions of the future and space appear vague. The two larger paintings reference visions of the cosmos from the writings of Tsiolkovsky. The smaller work in the middle, influenced by George Gurdjieff, is here a portrait of the resurrected, infinite human beinga gnostic Anthrpos.

Room 5Anton Vidokle, Autotrofia, 2020, 31:37 minutesShot in the village of Oliveto Lucano in the south of Italy, this film both documents an ancient pagan fertility ritual still practiced in this region and tells a fictional story based on writings of the painter Vassily Chekrygin and the scientist Vladimir Vernadsky. The scripted content of the film explores the ecological dimension of Cosmism: a desire to transform and evolve so that humans would not need to kill and consume any other livingorganism to produce the energy they need to live, and instead learn from plants how to generate nutrition directly from the sun. This idea, first developed at the turn of the twentieth century, isjuxtaposed with an older, pagan celebration of King Oak and King Holly: a harvest festival in which two trees representing summer and winter are joined into one supernaturally tall tree, completing and uniting the seasonal cycle created by the orbit of our planetaround the Sun. Autotrofia wascommissioned by Fondazione Matera-Basilicata as a collaboration with the village community. The entire village participated in making the film, some helping with production and others acting in roles. Shot in Italian, the script was translated by Franco (Bifo) Berardi. The music for the film was composed by Alva Noto (Carsten Nicolai).

Room 6Anton Vidokle, Immortality for All: A Film Trilogy on Russian Cosmism, 201417, 96 minutesThe philosophy known as Cosmism has now largely been forgotten. Its utopian tenetscombining Western Enlightenment with Eastern philosophy, Russian Orthodox traditions with Marxisminspired many key Soviet thinkers, until they fell victim to Stalinist repression. In this three-part film project, artist Anton Vidokle probes Cosmisms influence on the twentieth century and suggests its relevance to the present day. In Part One he returns to the foundations of Cosmist thought (This Is Cosmos, 2014). Part Two explores the links between cosmology and politics (The Communist Revolution Was Caused By The Sun, 2015), while Part Three restages the museum as a site of resurrection, a central Cosmist idea (Immortality and Resurrection for All!, 2017).

Combining essay, documentary, and performance, Vidokle quotes from the writings of Cosmism founder Nikolai Fedorov and other philosophers and poets. His wandering camera searches for traces of Cosmist influence in the remains of Soviet-era art, architecture, and engineering, moving from the steppes of Kazakhstan to the museums of Moscow. The music by John Cale and liane Radigue accompanies these haunting images, conjuring up the yearning for connectedness, social equality, material transformation, and immortality at the heart of Cosmist thought.

Individual SynopsesThis is Cosmos, 2014, 28:10 minutesShot in Siberia and Kazakhstan, as well as the Moscow and Archangelsk regions, the first film in the trilogy on Russian Cosmism comprises a collage of ideas from the movements diverse protagonists, including founding philosopher Nikolai Fedorov. Fedorov, among others, believed that death was a mistakea flaw in the overall design of the human, because the energy of cosmos is indestructible, because true religion is a cult of ancestors, because true social equality is immortality for all. For the Cosmists, the definition of the cosmos was not limited to outer space: rather, they set out to create a cosmos, or harmonious and eternal life, on Earth. The ultimate goal, as illuminated in the short film, was to construct a new reality, free of hunger, disease, violence, death, need, inequalitylike communism.

The Communist Revolution Was Caused by the Sun, 2015, 33:36 minutesThe second part of the trilogy looks at the poetic dimension of the solar cosmology of Soviet biophysicist Alexander Chizhevsky. Shot in Kazakhstan, where Chizhevsky was imprisoned and later exiled, the film introduces us to Chizhevskys research into the impact of solar emissions on human sociology, psychology, politics, and economics through wars, revolutions, epidemics, and other upheavals. The film aligns the lives of post-Soviet rural folk and the futurological projects of Cosmism to emphasize that the goal of the early Soviet breakthroughs aiming at the conquest of outer space was less technical acceleration than the common cause of humankind in their struggle against the limitations of earthly life.

Immortality and Resurrection for All!, 2017, 34:17 minutesThe trilogys last part is a meditation on the museum as the site of resurrectiona central idea for many Cosmist thinkers, scientists, and avant-garde artists. Filmed at the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow Zoological Museum, the Lenin Library, and the Museum of Revolution, the film looks at museological and archival techniques of collection, restoration, and conservation as a means of the material restoration of life, following an essay penned by Nikolai Fedorov on this subject in the 1880s. The film follows a cast of present-day followers of Fedorov, several actors, artists, and a Pharaoh Hound, who playfully enact the resurrection of a mummy, and perform close examinations of Malevichs Black Square, Rodchenkos spatial constructions, taxidermized animals, artifacts of the October Revolution, skeletons, and mannequins in scenes resembling tableau vivants, in order to create a contemporary visualization of the poetry implicit in Fedorovs writings.

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Citizens of the Cosmos - Announcements - E-Flux

Devs behind Control, Sea of Thieves and more share their own unfinished game builds to put the GTA 6 leak in perspective – Gamesradar

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Update: Game developers across the industry continue to share footage and screenshots from their own early, in-progress builds and projects to show how normal the leaked GTA 6 footage really is and to shut down a hilariously wrong and now heavily-memed remark about graphics coming first in development.

Jeph Prez of Sea of Thieves developer Rare shared a video from a November 2014 build to highlight the "agile, iterative testing" that the game was seeing at the time. It's a blocky pastiche of the polished pirate adventure we know today, and this was after the build was upgraded from the "pill pirate" character models emblematic of the Unity engine's default assets.

EA community manager Kevin Johnson also shared (opens in new tab) Prez's clip with his own sentiments. "I wish the industry would be more proud to show that side of [development]," he said, calling the wave of build showcases one of the few good things to come "from the recent topic of leak culture and how destructive it is."

Sam Barlow, the lead on the newly released Immortality, chimed in with his own before-and-after, showing how the game looked for its first two years while the team at Half Mermaid "were focused on getting the AI shipped and combat gameplay balanced." (Check out our Immortality review to find out how this trippy, beautiful story comes together). This is one of the starkest examples yet, and it hammers home just how secondary graphics can be. It also sums up one of the key arguments behind this conversation: you can't, or at least shouldn't, spend time polishing a game that isn't built and balanced yet.

Breakout indie darling Cult of the Lamb got in on the conversation too, with developer Massive Monsters posting some familiar-looking but rough versions of the game.

Likewise, Brace Yourself Games, perhaps best known for Crypt of the Necrodancer and Zelda crossover Cadence of Hyrule, shared the amusing placeholders once used in Rift of the Necrodancer's yoga minigame.

Bungie senior game designer Josh Kulinski (opens in new tab) even dug up an old personal project to demonstrate that "games look really rough for a long time before they start looking great." Meanwhile, Knockout City developer Velan Studios shared a draft of one of the game's multiplayer maps, proudly reveling in all its untextured glory.

Animator Robert Morrison from Studio Bend also shared a clip of an untextured sequence from 2018's God of War, which still looks impressively fluid for how blobby everything is.

Similarly, co-game director Kurt Margenau of Naughty Dog reposted a blockmesh version of Uncharted 4's iconic street chase sequence, offering a helpful side-by-side look at how projects evolve graphically throughout development.

Solo Japanese developer Nama Takahashi also pounced on the trend to share a stark before-and-after of ElecHead, an electrified puzzle game previously announced at a May Nintendo Indie World showcase.

Original story follows

A Control developer has shared in-progress footage from the beginning of the game's development.

In response to a Twitter debate over the past weekend which, if we're being completely honest, is too silly to waste words on here, Control developer Paul Ehreth took to Twitter to show off what an actual game looks like early on. In the tweet below, we can see very early in-progress footage of protagonist Jessie Fayden running about, taking cover, and returning fire at enemy troops.

The footage also shows Jessie picking up objects from the surrounding environment, a staple of Control's action-packed combat, before hurling them at the enemy troops. As Ehreth rightly points out, this is the same game that would be go on to win numerous awards for excellence in graphics, not to mention overall Game of the Year awards from outlets and pundits.

Avoiding the Twitter debacle which brought this tweet about, we can instead pivot to the recent GTA 6 leaks. After over 90 videos of in-progress footage of Rockstar's sequel leaked online, some social media users were left somewhat surprised at the rough, in-progress state of the game as it continues through development.

Ehreth's tweet is aimed at educating social media users, showing them that yes, a stellar big-budget game really does look rough in the early goings of the overall development cycle. In fact, it's not just Ehreth that's published early footage with the aim of educating users - Naughty Dog director Kurt Margenau has always drawn attention to some very early in-progress footage of Uncharted 4, seen below.

As for the GTA 6 leaks however, Rockstar confirmed their legitimacy shortly after the leak took place over the past weekend. The developer wrote that it was "extremely disappointed," in the leaked footage, but elsewhere around the industry, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Last of Us devs have come together to voice support for Rockstar developers who have had their work leaked online.

Here's why you should ignore the GTA 6, because the final reveal from Rockstar will be worth the lengthy wait.

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Devs behind Control, Sea of Thieves and more share their own unfinished game builds to put the GTA 6 leak in perspective - Gamesradar

The Makropulos Affair review fast-flowing and flamboyant – The Guardian

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Only someone whos lived for centuries could possibly know how to find long-hidden evidence to help settle a protracted legal dispute over an inheritance. In Janeks penultimate opera, the singer Emilia Marty has lived for 337 years, originally named Elina Makropulos and assuming different identities over the many decades, though using the same initials. But tied up in her interest in the case of Gregor v Prus is Martys desperate quest to find again the secret formula for the elixir that granted her immortality. As the young daughter of Hieronymus Makropulos physician to the Holy Roman Emperoror Rudolf II who ordered Makropulos to find a means of extending his life Elina was the hapless guinea pig.

Placing it in the 1920s when the opera was written, and befitting a story whose heroine aspires to being the greatest operatic performer ever, Olivia Fuchs new production for Welsh National Opera has a suitably overblown and flamboyant air. Its also all of a piece with the often tumultuous feel and fast-flowing current of Janeks music, thrillingly delivered here by the orchestra of WNO under its music director, Tom Hanus. Co-editor of the new edition of the score being used, Hanus affinity with Janek was always evident, ravishing details emerging.

In Nicola Turners design, the settings of the three acts the solicitors office, backstage at the theatre where Marty has just sung, her hotel bedroom brought a degree of clarity to the complex narrative, sung in Czech. Ironically, what didnt work was when, between the first two acts and covering the set-change, Mark Le Brocq as himself and as Vitek the clerk addressed the audience in English explaining who was who. It was just naff.

As diva roles go Elisabeth Sderstrm sang in the 1978 WNO production this one demands a commanding presence and soprano ngeles Blancas Guln was certainly that. Amply embracing the vocal challenge, she brought an almost brute physicality to the encounters with the various men whose passions are aroused the young Janek is driven to suicide and her native Spanish flair coloured Martys reunion with her former lover, Baron Hauk (Alan Oke). In the uniformly strong cast, Nicky Spence and David Stout were excellent as the litigants Albert Gregor and Baron Prus.

The essential deeply philosophical question of whether immortality might actually be desirable is core to the closing scene when Martys hitherto cold demeanour begins to thaw, the ageing process now accelerating. In her final exhortation to those around her to celebrate their one existence, Janeks life-affirming purpose is manifest, the music glowing. Significantly, Kristina (Harriet Eyley), the young singer to whom she offers the ancient parchment detailing the elixir, sets it on fire. It is the cue for Marty to finally expire.

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The Makropulos Affair review fast-flowing and flamboyant - The Guardian

Will Emperor Palpatine Appear in ‘Andor?’ – We Got This Covered

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Image: Lucasfilm

The next entry into the Star Wars galaxy is here with Andor, with the series boasting an impressive cast with many known characters set to return.

The setting of Andor, between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, opens up the Disney Plus original to featuring crucial characters from the original trilogy, but none more important than the cackling madman himself in Emperor Palpatine. As one of the most frequently recurring characters, his appearance would undoubtedly cause quite the stir within the show.

Andor will heavily involve the political climate of the galaxy during the reign of the Galactic Empire, with several of the pre-release stills and trailers promising a look at the Empires senate. This inclusion has many believing, due to Palpatine being the head of the senate, he would surely appear in the series.

Palpatine spent most of his time after Order 66 and re-establishing the Empire to try and find a way to immortality. This eventually led him to discovering and working on cloning, with secrets of the dark side aiding him in his quest. This period saw him clone himself several times, with younger versions kicking around his family home we can only assume.

Palpatines palace was also located on Coruscant near the Senate Building, with him turning the Jedi Temple into a vast, opulent monument to his ego and power. His leisure time seems to have been spent avoiding assassination attempts, which feels like something easily connected into the plot of Andor.

As of this point in time, it is not confirmed Palpatine will appear, but he did make a brief appearance in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

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Will Emperor Palpatine Appear in 'Andor?' - We Got This Covered

Roman Reigns Returns to SmackDown and Finally Gives Sami Zayn His Own Perfect Bloodline Shirt – ComicBook.com

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Roman Reigns made his grand return to SmackDown during tonight's episode, and after having the crowd acknowledge him it was time to get down to business. With the full Bloodline in tow (including Solo Sikoa and Sami Zayn), Paul Heyman got on the microphone and insulted the Salt Lake City, Utah crowd, and then addressed Reigns' win at Clash at the Castle and Drew McIntyre's loss. Then things would take a turn where it looked as if Zayn's time in the Bloodline was at an end, but instead Reigns revealed a new Honorary Uce shirt and the crowd lost their minds.

Heyman kept the big talk coming and said this was all Roman's home turf and even alluded to Karrion Kross taking him down next. Heyman then addressed the newest Bloodline member Solo Sikoa, saying that it was unfortunately not his or Roman's idea (and hinted that it wasn't Sami's idea either), but said the idea for Solo came from the elders of the Samoan Dynasty.

Heyman said Solo was sent because Brock Lesnar took out the wise man and The Usos had enough on their plate, and someone needed to step in and help stop the attacks on Roman's Title reign. Heyman called Solo the enforcer for Roman's reign on the Island of Relevancy and added that now Jimmy and Jey can focus on their pursuit of immortality.

Jimmy then got on the microphone and said that after tonight's match against the Brawling Brutes you will once again hear "And Still", and then Jey weighed in on it and delivered the "We The Ones" but was cut off by Reigns, who put his hand out for the microphone.

Roman then asked for Solo and said "the Elders may have sent you, but you answer to me now. Acknowledge me." Sikoa then said "I acknowledge you my Tribal Chief", and Reigns was all smiles and hugged Sikoa.

That's when the music started and they went to exit, but Zayn asked for the music to be cut and apologized that he had something to say. Zayn said, "I know I'm not technically blood, but the way you guys have taken me in as a family of late, I wanted to show my gratitude, and I wanted to also publicly acknowledge the Tribal Chief."

Reigns looked amused and surprised but smiled as he had the microphone in his hand. Then chants of Sami broke out and he was still amused, and he said "I like you Sami, "but what are you talking for right now? Why are you saying anything right now? I get it, I've been seeing what's happening here, but why do you have our shirt on? What's going on here man? Why do you have our shirt on? Why are you tagging along, what do you want? I'll tell you what I want. I want you to take that shirt off."

Jey was yelling at Sami to take it off, and Zayn looked surprised, saying he didn't know if he was kidding and offered to explain what happened with Logan Paul. Roman then said, "I'm not going to tell you again, take our shirt off, now!"

Roman then said Jey and Jey ripped off the shirt and Roman said he didn't want to see him in that shirt ever again. Then he said, "you're never going to wear that again because I got you a new one." That's when he revealed a new Honorary Uce shirt just for Zayn, and Zayn couldn't believe it. He put it on and Reigns and the rest of the Bloodline were beaming, all aside from Jey, who was not happy in the least.

Now Zayn is an official part of the Bloodline and an Honorary Uce, and this will probably be one of WWE's best-selling shirts.

What did you think of the segment? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!

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Roman Reigns Returns to SmackDown and Finally Gives Sami Zayn His Own Perfect Bloodline Shirt - ComicBook.com

PhD Program | Bioengineering

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PhD Program in Bioengineering

Study for the PhD in Bioengineering combines rigorous coursework with novel research mentored by Stanford faculty, enabling students to develop as independent intellectual leaders working at the interfaces between biology, medicine, engineering, and the physical sciences. Our mission is to train students at the intersection of biomedicine and engineering in both academia and the burgeoning biomedical and biotechnology industries. Applicants should have a commitment to learning and a passion for research.

On average, the program is completed in five to six years, depending on the students research and progress.First-year students have the opportunity to rotate in three different labs before selecting their dissertation advisor (PI). Many students choose to join labs in the Bioengineering department, but we also have several students who join labs within the Schools of Engineering, Medicine, and Humanities & Sciences.

The Bioengineering Department also believes that teaching is an important part of graduate-level education in Bioengineering. Consequently, serving as a teaching assistant for two courses is a requirement for the PhD in Bioengineering. Current BioE and Stanford graduate students can learn more about our TAopportunitiesvia our BioE intranet.

Along the way to the PhD degree, students have clear anddefined milestones that help guide them to the successful completion of their dissertation andoral defense. More information regarding our PhD degree requirements and milestones can be found in the Stanford Bulletin.

BioE PhD students come from a wide variety of personal, educational, and professional backgrounds. We welcome applicants with undergraduate degrees in diverse STEM disciplines including Bioengineering, Biophysics, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biochemistry, Physics, and Chemistry. There are no specific course requirements for applicants, but a competitive candidate will have strong quantitative training in mathematics and the physical sciences, along with a background in biology acquired through coursework or prior research. All admitted graduate students should be prepared to take the core coursesin the first year.

We welcome students entering directly from undergraduate programs, as well as applicants with MS degrees and/or substantial work experience in areas ranging from biotechnology to robotics. Our admissions committee will look for evidence that an applicant has demonstrated qualities of successful PhD students such as creativity, self-initiative, dedication, and perseverance. We also aim to admit bioengineering students who can thrive at Stanford because their specific interests and aspirations are well-matched with the research of our faculty and the educational environment of our department

The Bioengineering community is home to over 165 PhD students who come from a variety of diverse backgrounds and experiences. Below is a snapshot of our BioE PhD cohort that started in Fall 2020.

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PhD Program | Bioengineering

Meet the bioengineering graduate now working as a tech consultant – SiliconRepublic.com

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Deloittes Ornaith OReilly shares her experience of the companys graduate programme, including the importance of a buddy and a coach.

Ornaith OReilly is a recent bioengineering graduate who now works as an analyst in the robotics and intelligent automation department of Deloitte.

While she wasnt completely sure what she wanted to do when she came out of college, she was keen to gain exposure to different technologies.

Talking to graduates from Deloitte and other companies ultimately helped me to decide on the role. The emphasis that Deloitte puts on training and development appealed to me as someone coming from a bioengineering background, who expected a steep learning curve starting out, she told SiliconRepublic.com.

Coming from a healthcare background, Ive always wanted to work in an industry that is having a positive impact on the world. Since joining Deloitte, Ive had the opportunity to work on projects with a strong social impact, she said.

From working on public health projects to more recently joining a team contributing to Irelands response to the invasion of Ukraine, I feel a great sense of fulfilment in my work.

While shes still making up her mind about the type of job she wants to do for the rest of her life, she said Deloitte has plenty of avenues to explore. Luckily, I can say that Ive spent my first year on the graduate programme in an environment where Im constantly learning and growing.

Your opinion is valued no matter what level you are ORNAITH OREILLY

I currently work across two projects which gives me a lot of variety in my day.

Firstly, I work as a solution developer on an internal project using robotic process automation software a low-code software package to build, deploy and manage software robots that simulate human actions. Typically, I spend half my day working behind the scenes building and managing automation solutions.

Secondly, I work with a public client in a project management role. This is very client-facing and allows me to build my communication skills. A typical day could include creating and delivering presentations to senior team members or clients and reporting project progress and issues to stakeholders.

While the two projects appear very different, I really like the variety they give me and how they allow me to grow both technical and soft skills.

Absolutely. I work with senior members of staff across different departments in Deloitte and very senior clients daily (almost hourly). There really is a flat structure in the firm, where your opinion is valued no matter what level you are.

In the last year, my responsibilities have increased hugely. From taking initiative in client meetings to having more ownership over project deliverables, I feel constantly challenged. While this can sometimes feel daunting, there is so much support available at Deloitte that Ive never felt overwhelmed.

Since (almost) day one Ive worked on client projects, so in lots of ways I feel like I was thrown into working life! Im a strong believer in immersion being the best way to learn and this has certainly been the case at Deloitte.

However, the graduate programme comes with support at all levels. Firstly, I was assigned a buddy someone junior in the company to help me settle in.

Secondly, I was assigned a coach someone senior in the company, outside of my immediate team, to help guide me in my career at Deloitte. Combining this with the formal training I have received since joining Deloitte, I think that the graduate programme is setting me up for professional success.

Id recommend the graduate programme at Deloitte to anyone. Coming from an engineering background, I was initially hesitant that I would feel out of depth in a consulting role or that I wouldnt find a role that suited me.

After joining the graduate programme, the variety of backgrounds were clear from history to medical degrees, our graduate intake was definitely interesting! Which made sense to me as soon as I started and saw that no two roles in Deloitte are the same.

This is great for somebody like me who still isnt sure what they want to do. Thankfully, Deloitte are keen to let you explore and upskill according to your interests.

In terms of social life, coming out of lockdown and starting in Deloittes graduate programme was a complete shock to the system. From karaoke to escape rooms and many Thursday night outs, Ive definitely made friends for life.

I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to meet so many lovely people and for all the memories weve made over the last year.

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Meet the bioengineering graduate now working as a tech consultant - SiliconRepublic.com

NC Farm School: Is it for You? – The Robesonian

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Have you ever considered starting your own agricultural business? Do you have land and want to finally do something with it to start making money? Do you need a well-thought-out business plan to help you make that dream a reality?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center, has something for you called NC Farm School (NCFS).

Agricultural business is a complex industry requiring many skills in order to become successful. According to learn.org, As farmers learn to compete and remain viable in a global marketplace, they draw upon business principles and a complex network of agriculture and business professionals. This includes taking advantage of new advances in farming, such as bioengineering, mechanization, and new breeding practices, deciding how to sell crops, whether locally or on a commodities exchange, and managing and insuring land in the most profitable manner.

N.C. Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center, is pleased to offer a structured training opportunity to help individuals create a road map for success for new and beginning farmers by delivering an introductory-level program that will provide basic business principles used in any agricultural enterprise, whether it be crops, livestock, or some other specialty.

Extension will be working with a larger cluster of southeastern counties to offer an NC Farm School program beginning in February and ending in May of 2023. Classroom sessions will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Feb. 6, Feb. 20, March 6, March 20, April 3, April 17, May 1, and May 15 at Cooperative Extension, Bladen County Center, 450 Smith Circle, Elizabethtown, NC 28337.

Snacks, drinks, course material, and online resources will be provided.

Four field days will be offered on March 15, April 12, May 10, and May 31, which will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Field day attendance is not required as a part of the graduation requirement, but attendance will be in person only.

Registration is now live for both in-person and online (virtual) opportunities. The cost is $399 per person or $599 per pair.

Our program is subsidized thanks to sponsors and state funding made available to help start and support farms in NC.

Students who apply must declare their method of attendance as a part of their application. We encourage in-person attendance to get the most from NCFS, but we respect preferences and schedule requirements for all students. Applications are reviewed and accepted monthly from September-January or until all program spots are full. The maximum class size is 30 participants to ensure we have the capacity to serve each student well. We expect students to attend 6 of the 8 sessions and complete a minimum business plan required to receive a graduation certificate.

We will use internet technology and we have a student-based website as well as an online/interactive business planning tool. This program also includes an on-farm consultation visit of each participants farm with NCFS staff to help make your dreams become a reality. More information about this exciting opportunity can be found at https://ncfarmschool.ces.ncsu.edu/2023-nc-farm-school/.

Mac Malloy is the County Extension director and Field Crop agent with North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center. Contact him calling 910-671-3276, by email at [emailprotected], or by visiting the Robeson County Center website at http://robeson.ces.ncsu.edu/.

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NC Farm School: Is it for You? - The Robesonian

SPECIAL REPORT: Bioengineered food labeling: ‘They kind of shot in the middle and missed every constituency’ – FoodNavigator-USA.com

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The NationalBioengineeredFood Disclosure Standard(NBFDS) which narrowlydefines bioengineered foods as those that contain detectable genetic material that has been modified through certain lab techniques and cannot be created through conventional breeding or found in nature kind of shot in the middle and missed every constituency,"observes Nate Ensrud, VP, US technical services, certification, and food safety solutionsatFoodChain ID, which helps firms to comply with the standard.

For some stakeholders in the natural foods industry, he says,it missed the mark,both in scope (the definition fails to capture thousands of products that have been produced with genetic engineering) and application (many objected to bioengineered vs GMO as the chosen terminology and the option to use digital disclosures on food labels).

For other stakeholders who believeslapping a blanket statement about bioengineering (which has thousands of different applications) on a jar of pasta sauce is about as useful as saying 'science was used to make this product," the NBFDS in its current form is just acostlybureaucratic headachewithout any obvious consumer benefit.

A major sticking point is the definitionof bioengineered, which excludes meat and dairy from animals fed GM feed, incidental additives, and highly refined oils and sweeteners made from GM crops such as soybean oil and high fructose corn syrup if they contain no detectable modified DNA.

Gene-edited foods, in turn, occupy something of a grey area. They may not contain detectable genetic material that has been modified through traditional rDNA techniques, but how easy is it for a third party to determine if gene-edited material meets the definition ofcannot be created through conventional breeding or found in nature?

Back in the day, says Ensrud, We were mostly talking about a series of crops that very obviously had genes inserted to express different traits.

"But since then, theres been a substantial proliferation of gene-edited products, products made using synthetic biology and so on, and while the [alternative meat, egg, and dairy]movement used to be pretty aligned, this is not the case anymore [as anyone following the social media debate about whether 'biotech' companies should be allowed to exhibit at Natural Products Expo West can see].

For example, under the NBFDS, firms deployingsynthetic biologyto re-tool the DNA of microbes to produce everything from flavors, sweeteners, and colors to animal-free collagen, egg, or dairy proteins are not required to label their ingredients as 'bioengineered' if there is no detectable level of the genetically modified host micro-organism in the final product.

This means that milk, ice cream, or cream cheese containing Perfect Days animal-free whey protein, which is expressed by a genetically engineered strain of fungi in a fermentation tank; or beverages containing Cargills EverSweet Reb M sweetener, made by GM bakers yeast, will not trigger a bioengineered label, if no GM material is detectable in the final ingredient.

However, burgers containing Motif FoodWorks 'meaty' animal-free heme protein myoglobin which is also made in a fermentation tank using a pichia pastoris yeast strain probably will trigger a bioengineered disclosure under the NBFDS, as trace amounts of the host microbe may be in the final product, says the company.

But even for exactly the same ingredient - myoglobin - no two companies producing this via fermentation are necessarily subject to the same labeling requirements when it comes to bioengineered food, saysBelgian startup Paleo, which has engineered a strain of pichia pastoristo express myoglobin in an extra-cellular fashion (it's secreted outside the cell).

This means its easier to separate myoglobin from the yeast cells during downstream processing and purification, such that Paleo'smyoglobin would not trigger bioengineered labeling in the US and would not be subject to EU GMO regulations, argues co-founder Hermes Sanctorum.

"Weve tested our heme proteins through PCR and there is no recombinant DNA whatsoever in our products.

The difficulty for companies trying to navigate this minefield is that the NBFDS doesn't really talk much about microbes"or much less explain how you label them with the exception of something like certain probiotics where genetically engineered bacteria might be the end product itself [rather than a production platform for something else], notes Ensrud.

To further complicate matters, he says:Then theres a really vague section of the of NBFDS that says if a company has actual knowledge its using something bioengineered, even if a food is not on the BE list, it is supposed to make a disclosure, which feels like a throwaway line, but how do you determine that?

He adds:We don't know a lot about how this will be enforced because the USDA has been clear that they're not going to be proactively enforcing this, but will be reliant on complaints. And so far, we havent seen very many well-structured complaints that can help us say, these are the areas that companies are going to challenge, and I don't know that it's going to be one of the first areas people think about because microbes are not included in the list of bioengineered foods.

(FoodNavigator-USA has asked USDA how manywritten complaints have been filed with the AMS Administrator alleging violations of the NBFDS and will update this article when we hear back.)

The detectability factor makes practical sense, argue many stakeholders: if there's noGMOactually in the food, why should you have to label it?

But for organizations such as the Non-GMO Project that take issue withgenetic engineering in the food supply chain per se, whether there's actually any 'modified genetic material' left in soybean oil or a natural flavor is hardly the point, notes Ensrud.

Their goal is to establish a GMO-free supply chain, and so the gap between their definition of what should be labeled GMO and the NBFDS is an ocean wide.

Having said that, the Non-GMO Project has arguably gained traction as a result of all this confusion, given that foods without bioengineered labels are not necessarily Non-GMO given the narrow scope of the federal law, prompting shoppers that care about avoiding genetic engineering to seek outthe butterfly logo while shopping if they want to be sure.

So what about disclosure options, which like everything else in theNBFDS, have generated a lot of controversy? The standardpermits multiple options:

Aspects of the digital disclosure options have just been successfully challenged in a lawsuitbrought by the Center for Food Safety and others, with a court sending USDA back to the drawing board to make revisions consistent with Congressional requirements around consumer access.

So what does this mean for companies currently using the QR code or text message option? According to Ensrud, We did see some companies choose to use the QR code, but not a large majority by any means. The ones that were choosing QR codes told us they liked the flexibility, as perhaps they were still trying to remove some bioengineered foods from their supply chain and would move from having to disclose to not having to disclose, which would require a change in labels, which can be costly and laborious.

The opposite is also possible. If a company has to make an emergency shift from a non-GMO source to a GMO source for an ingredient [not that unusual given current supply chain volatility], it would likely change the labeling requirements. For companies that have less settled supply chains, this change in requirements could make things more difficult.

Sam Jockel, a senior associate at law firm Alston & Bird, noted that There is still an opportunity for either USDA or the plaintiffs in this case to appeal theruling, which I am watching for.

According to George Kimbrell, legal director at the Center for Food Safety, which filed the lawsuit challenging many aspects of the NBFDS, The Court did not set a deadline, but under law agencies cannot unduly delay such action and must complete it in a reasonable time.

Should the order ultimately stand, said Jockel,it appears that USDA would have discretion in terms of timing as the court did not set any deadlines for USDA to conduct its post-remand proceedings.

For those who think this means that the QR code will go away, added Jockel, The statute passed by Congress requires an electronic/digital link disclosure as one of the options along with the text and symbol, so the QR code option is not going away.

The Consumer Brands Association said it is still reviewing the court order, but added:"We plan to stay engaged during the forthcoming rulemaking and legal process, especially considering the potential impact on the companies using QR codes or texts. Consumer Brands will also continue supporting the valuable role digital disclosures play in boosting consumer transparency through programs like SmartLabel.

Jockel also noted that the scope of the products that require mandatory disclosure is actually subject to change.

Companies will want to watch for any updates to thelist of BE Foodsas AMS is required to review and consider updates on an annual basis. As the judges order put it in reference to the agencys regular updates to the List of BE Foods, AMS did not ignore the likelihood of progress. As evidence of that, the agency is currently proposing to expand the list to include insect-resistant sugarcane.

Greg Jaffe, biotechnology project director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), told us that an informal surveyconducted in his local Giant grocery store earlier in the year found that almost no companies use the symbol on the package with most seeming to opt for the bioengineered food or contains a bioengineered food ingredient option, although several brands had adopted QR codes.

My informal survey also found many foods disclose even though they probably only have highly refined ingredients, so companies are clearly erring on the side of giving more information to the consumer than might be required.

So has the law helped consumers make informed choices? Or are blanket references to bioengineered foods just wallpaper to busy shoppers?

I think that the law has provided consumers who want to know this information, more information than they would receive without the law, said Jaffe, who described it as a step in the right direction in terms of transparency, in part because companies were not providing this information voluntarily anywhere for the consumer who wanted it.

He added:I dont think many consumers look for this information or make purchasing choices based on it. With that said, for many consumers, knowing that there is transparency and information is available is important (i.e. knowing that information that some people might want is not hidden or inaccessible).

Asked about the growing number of ingredients produced by genetically engineered microbes, he said:Many ingredients made with engineered organisms also will not require disclosure, but I think it is important that those companies are transparent and provide information to consumers about the origin of the ingredients in their products, whether or not it has to be disclosed as bioengineered.

Being transparent with consumers will build trust, educate consumers about the use of biotechnology in foods, and allow for consumer choice.

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SPECIAL REPORT: Bioengineered food labeling: 'They kind of shot in the middle and missed every constituency' - FoodNavigator-USA.com

RIT program to help underrepresented prospective faculty kick-start career searches returns in-person | RIT – Rochester Institute of Technology

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African American, Latino/a American, and Native American scholars and artists from across the U.S. are coming to Rochester Institute of Technology this week to learn how to successfully navigate their career search process while getting a behind-the-scenes glimpse into life as an RIT faculty member. RITs Future Faculty Career Exploration Program (FFCEP) will welcome its 19th cohort from Sept. 21 to 24, inviting 14 scholars from universities varying from Stanford University to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

The program focuses on recruiting prospective candidates nearing the completion of the highest academic degree in their field, as well as junior faculty and those on post-doctoral assignments. Participants get an opportunity to engage with RITs diverse administration, faculty, and students while on campus. The program offers additional opportunities to enhance interview skills, practice job-talk presentations, and explore the research, teaching, and service expectations of RIT faculty members.

To date, the program has welcomed nearly 400 participants since its inception in 2003, and RIT has hired dozens of program participants to faculty positions. Most recently, Dennis Delgado joined RIT as a visiting lecturer in the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences after participating in the virtual FFCEP event last year.

This program represents a longstanding commitment to inclusive excellence here at RIT that is dedicated to recruiting the best talent in America, said Donathan Brown, assistant provost and assistant vice president for faculty diversity and recruitment. These scholars were chosen through an exhaustive and rigorous nationwide search and represent the best minds in higher education, as represented by their research, art, expertise, and skillsets. We look forward to learning about their work and career aspirations.

Each participant will present their research to the campus and all interested RIT community members are invited to attend. The schedule is posted to the Office of Faculty Diversity and Recruitment website.

This years participants include:

To learn more about FFCEP, go to the Office of Faculty Diversity and Recruitment website.

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RIT program to help underrepresented prospective faculty kick-start career searches returns in-person | RIT - Rochester Institute of Technology

The Office of the Vice President for Research announces inaugural Ovation Award winners – UNM Newsroom

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Eight Lobo researchers from disciplines spanning across The University of New Mexico have been selected as recipients of the inaugural OVPR Ovation Award for Research and Scholarship.

The new Ovation awards recognize full-time faculty for recent cutting-edge research accomplishments that address local or global challenges, while elevating the Universitys reputation on a national and international stage.

Our faculty are continuously working to find solutions to some of the greatest challenges we face as New Mexicans, often without much fanfare, said Ellen Fisher, UNM vice president for research. The Ovation Awards really highlight the diversity of the Universitys research, scholarship, and creativity that strengthens our commitment to improving the lives of New Mexicans and others who live beyond our state.

2022 Ovation Award for Research and Scholarship recipients:

Professor Subhankar Banerjee | ArtAssistant Professor Diana Dragomir | Physics & AstronomyProfessor Heather Edgar | AnthropologyAssociate Professor Tiffany Florvil | HistoryProfessor Marjori Krebs | Elementary EducationAssociate Professor Christina Salas | Chemical and Biological EngineeringProfessor Irene Salinas | BiologyProfessor Richard White | Music

Each researcher will receive $1,000 distributed into their research account. Recipients will also be honored during Research & Discovery Week, Nov.5-11.

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The Office of the Vice President for Research announces inaugural Ovation Award winners - UNM Newsroom

A scientist uses radar technology to map the insides of ice sheets – Stanford University

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To better understand the inner workings of glacier which are often many kilometers in depth researchers are using ice-penetrating radar, which sends radio waves through the ice, to create maps of what it looks like inside.

In this episode of Stanford Engineerings The Future of Everything, Stanford radio glaciologist Dustin (Dusty) Schroeder explains how this technique works and how the data it generates can help us understand the implications of climate change here on Earth. Together with host, bioengineer Russ Altman, Schroeder also discusses how he and his team are using this technology to investigate the habitability of moons and planets in our solar system and whether there might be life already there.

Listen and subscribe here

Related:Dustin Schroeder, associate professor of electrical engineering and of geophysics.

Related:Russ Altman, the Kenneth Fong Professor of Bioengineering, of genetics, of medicine (general medical discipline), of biomedical data science and, by courtesy, of computer science.

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A scientist uses radar technology to map the insides of ice sheets - Stanford University

Vir Biotechnology Announces First Patient Dosed in the Phase 2 SOLSTICE Trial Evaluating VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis…

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Impacting more than 12 million people globally, HDV is the most aggressive form of viral hepatitis

Novel combination strategy designed toreduce HDV viremia and block viral entry

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIR) today announced that the first patient has been dosed in the Phase 2 SOLSTICE clinical trial evaluating VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 as monotherapy and in combination for the treatment of people living with chronic hepatitis D virus (HDV), which occurs as a simultaneous co-infection or super-infection alongside hepatitis B virus (HBV). HDV infection, the most aggressive form of viral hepatitis, increases the risk of poor outcomes, including liver cancer and death, compared with HBV alone.

VIR-2218 is an investigational small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) that diminishes the level of all HBV proteins in vitro, including hepatitis B surface antigen, a protein necessary to create infectious HDV virions. VIR-3434 is an investigational hepatitis B surface antigen targeting monoclonal antibody designed to remove both HBV and HDV virions from the blood and block the entry of these viruses into liver cells. VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 are currently being evaluated for the treatment of HBV in the Phase 2 MARCH (Monoclonal Antibody siRNA Combination against Hepatitis B) trial. Previously reported results from Part A of the MARCH trial demonstrated that the combination of VIR-3434 and VIR-2218 resulted in an approximate 3 log decline in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).

Globally, more than 12 million people are living with HDV, and with no approved therapies available in the United States, there is an urgent need for the development of novel treatment strategies that will improve outcomes for patients, said Carey Hwang, M.D., Ph.D., Virs senior vice president, clinical research, head of chronic infection. Recent research suggests that reducing HDV viremia, by preventing virion formation as well as facilitating virion removal, in conjunction with blocking HDV virion entry into liver cells could be effective in suppressing chronic HDV infection. The initiation of SOLSTICE, our first clinical trial in HDV, is an important milestone as we advance our broad therapeutic portfolio for viral hepatitis, which also includes the pursuit of a functional cure for chronic HBV infection.

Design of the Phase 2 SOLSTICE TrialThe multi-center, open-label Phase 2 SOLSTICE trial is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 in adult patients (age 18 to 69) with chronic HDV infection receiving nucleot(s)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitor therapy. Depending on the cohort, trial participants will receive multiple doses of VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 as either monotherapy or in combination administered via subcutaneous injection for up to 88 weeks. The primary endpoints of the trial are the proportion of study participants achieving either a 2log10 decrease in HDV RNA compared to baseline, or HDV RNA less than the limit of quantification and normalization of alanine transaminase (ALT) at Week 24, as well as the proportion of participants with treatment-emergent adverse events and serious adverse events. Vir expects initial data from the SOLSTICE trial in 2023.

About Chronic Hepatitis DChronic hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection occurs as a simultaneous co-infection or super-infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV). An estimated 12 million patients globally are infected with HDV, representing approximately 5% of those infected with HBV. HDV-HBV co-infection is considered the most severe form of chronic viral hepatitis due to more rapid progression toward hepatocellular carcinoma and liver-related death.

About Chronic Hepatitis BChronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains an urgent global public health challenge associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Approximately 300 million people around the world are living with HBV and approximately 900,000 of them die from associated complications each year. These patients are significantly underserved by existing therapies with low functional cure rates, lifelong daily therapy and poor tolerability. Vir is working to achieve a functional cure for the millions of people with HBV around the world through its broad and differentiated portfolio.

About VIR-2218VIR-2218 is an investigational subcutaneously administered HBV-targeting siRNA that has the potential to stimulate an effective immune response and have direct antiviral activity against HBV and HDV. It is the first siRNA in the clinic to include Enhanced Stabilization Chemistry Plus (ESC+) technology to enhance stability and minimize off-target activity, which potentially can result in an increased therapeutic index. VIR-2218 is the first asset in the Companys collaboration with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to enter clinical trials.

About VIR-3434VIR-3434 is an investigational subcutaneously administered antibody designed to block entry of HBV and HDV viruses into hepatocytes and to reduce the level of virions and subviral particles in the blood. VIR-3434, which incorporates Xencors Xtend and other Fc technologies, has been engineered to potentially function as a T cell vaccine against HBV and HDV in infected patients, as well as to have an extended half-life.

About Vir BiotechnologyVir Biotechnologyis a commercial-stage immunology company focused on combining immunologic insights with cutting-edge technologies to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. Vir has assembled four technology platforms that are designed to stimulate and enhance the immune system by exploiting critical observations of natural immune processes. Its current development pipeline consists of product candidates targeting COVID-19, hepatitis B and hepatitis D viruses, influenza A and human immunodeficiency virus. Vir routinely posts information that may be important to investors on its website.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as may, will, plan, potential, aim, expect, anticipate, promising and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions, or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Virs expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the ability of VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 in combination to treat chronic HDV and HBV infection; the potential benefits of VIR-2218 and VIR-3434; Virs plans and expectations for its HDV and HBV portfolios; the initial results of the MARCH trial; the timing for and design of the Phase 2 SOLSTICE trial; the treatment of HDV and HBV; and risks and uncertainties associated with drug development and commercialization. Many factors may cause differences between current expectations and actual results, including risks that Vir may not fully enroll the Phase 2 SOLSTICE trial or it will take longer than expected; unexpected safety or efficacy data or results observed during the Phase 2 SOLSTICE trial or in data readouts; the occurrence of adverse safety events; risks of unexpected costs, delays or other unexpected hurdles; difficulties in collaborating with other companies; challenges in accessing manufacturing capacity; successful development and/or commercialization of alternative product candidates by Virs competitors; changes in expected or existing competition; delays in or disruptions to Virs business or clinical trials due to the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical changes or other external factors; and unexpected litigation or other disputes. Drug development and commercialization involve a high degree of risk, and only a small number of research and development programs result in commercialization of a product. Results in early-stage clinical trials may not be indicative of full results or results from later stage or larger scale clinical trials and do not ensure regulatory approval. You should not place undue reliance on these statements, or the scientific data presented. Other factors that may cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements in this press release are discussed in Virs filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the section titled Risk Factors contained therein. Except as required by law, Vir assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in expectations, even as new information becomes available.

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Vir Biotechnology Announces First Patient Dosed in the Phase 2 SOLSTICE Trial Evaluating VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis...

Puma Biotechnology Announces Exclusive License Agreement with Takeda for the Development and Commercialization of Alisertib, an Investigational Aurora…

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LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBYI), a biopharmaceutical company, today announced an agreement with Takeda to license the worldwide research and development and commercial rights to alisertib, a selective, small-molecule, orally administered inhibitor of aurora kinase A. Alisertib is an adenosine triphosphatecompetitive and reversible inhibitor of aurora kinase A and results in disruption of mitosis leading to apoptosis of rapidly proliferating tumor cells that are dependent on aurora kinase A. Alisertib has been tested in clinical trials in patients with metastatic cancers including breast cancer, small cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer, ovarian cancer, peripheral T cell lymphoma and acute myeloid leukemia.

Under the terms of the agreement, Puma will assume sole responsibility for the global development and commercialization of alisertib. Takeda will receive an upfront license fee of $7 million and is eligible to receive potential future milestone payments of up to $287.3 million upon Pumas achievement of certain regulatory and commercial milestones over the course of the agreement, as well as tiered royalty payments for any net sales of alisertib.

Puma initially intends to focus the development of alisertib on the treatment of patients with metastatic estrogen receptor-positive (ER-positive) HER2-negative breast cancer, triple-negative breast cancer and small cell lung cancer. In ER-positive HER2-negative breast cancer, alisertib has previously been tested in a Phase II clinical trial as a single agent (Lancet Oncology 2015), in a Phase II randomized clinical trial as a single agent compared to a combination with fulvestrant (SABCS 2020) and in a Phase II randomized clinical trial in combination with paclitaxel compared to paclitaxel monotherapy (JAMA Network Open 2021). In triple-negative breast cancer, alisertib has previously been tested in a Phase II clinical trial as a single agent (Lancet Oncology 2015) and in a randomized clinical trial in combination with paclitaxel compared to paclitaxel monotherapy (JAMA Network Open 2021). Alisertib has demonstrated meaningful clinical activity in these populations and most notably in ER-positive breast cancer patients who have been previously treated with a CDK4/6 inhibitor (JAMA Network Open 2021). Alisertib has also been previously tested in small cell lung cancer in a Phase II clinical trial as a single agent (Lancet Oncology 2015) and in a Phase II randomized clinical trial in combination with paclitaxel compared to paclitaxel monotherapy (Journal of Thoracic Oncology 2020).

There continues to be a need for new drugs for the treatment of metastatic ER- positive, HER2-negative breast cancer and triple negative breast cancer, said Joyce A. OShaughnessy, M.D., the Celebrating Women Chair in Breast Cancer Research at Baylor University Medical Center, Texas Oncology, and Chair of Breast Cancer Research for the US Oncology Network in Dallas, Texas. The results from the clinical trials of alisertib in these two indications are encouraging and suggest that the drug may be able to provide a clinical benefit to these patient populations, and, due to its novel mechanism, alisertib may be able to provide a benefit in patients who have developed resistance to other treatments modalities, said Dr. OShaughnessy.

Treatment options for patients with small cell lung cancer that has progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy are limited, and there is an urgent need for new drugs to treat this patient population, said Taofeek K. Owonikoko, MD, PhD, Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology and Associate Director for Translational Research and Co-Leader of the Cancer Therapeutics Program at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. The results from the clinical trials of alisertib in small cell lung cancer suggest that the drug may represent a potentially promising treatment option for these patients and more specifically for patients with molecularly defined tumors that are likely to respond to an aurora kinase A inhibitor such as alisertib, said Dr. Owonikoko.

Alan H. Auerbach, Chief Executive Officer, President and Founder of Puma stated, We are pleased to be able to complete this licensing agreement with Takeda for alisertib. To date, alisertib has demonstrated strong evidence of antitumor activity, both as a single agent and in combination with other anticancer drugs, in patients with metastatic ER-positive and triple negative breast cancer, as well as in small cell lung cancer. We look forward to the continued development of alisertib.

Puma will host a conference call today at 2:00 p.m. PDT/5:00 p.m. EDT to discuss the alisertib licensing agreement. The call may be accessed by dialing (877) 709-8150 (domestic) or (201) 689-8354 (international). Please dial in at least 10 minutes in advance and inform the operator that you would like to join the Puma Biotechnology Conference Call. A live webcast of the conference call and presentation slides may be accessed on the Investors section of the Puma Biotechnology website at https://www.pumabiotechnology.com. A replay of the call will be available shortly after completion of the call and will be archived on Pumas website for 90 days.

About Puma Biotechnology

Puma Biotechnology, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company with a focus on the development and commercialization of innovative products to enhance cancer care. Puma in-licenses the global development and commercialization rights to PB272 (neratinib, oral), PB272 (neratinib, intravenous) and PB357. Neratinib, oral was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2017 for the extended adjuvant treatment of adult patients with early stage HER2-overexpressed/amplified breast cancer, following adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy, and is marketed in the United States as NERLYNX (neratinib) tablets. In February 2020, NERLYNX was also approved by the FDA in combination with capecitabine for the treatment of adult patients with advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who have received two or more prior anti-HER2-based regimens in the metastatic setting. NERLYNX was granted marketing authorization by the European Commission in 2018 for the extended adjuvant treatment of adult patients with early stage hormone receptor-positive HER2-overexpressed/amplified breast cancer and who are less than one year from completion of prior adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy. NERLYNX is a registered trademark of Puma Biotechnology, Inc.

Further information about Puma Biotechnology may be found at https://www.pumabiotechnology.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the development and commercialization of alisertib. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause Pumas actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results and expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and actual outcomes and results could differ materially from these statements due to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to, the risk factors disclosed in the periodic and current reports filed by Puma with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including Pumas Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and subsequent reports. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Puma assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

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Puma Biotechnology Announces Exclusive License Agreement with Takeda for the Development and Commercialization of Alisertib, an Investigational Aurora...

Biotechnology investing for the social good making money and a difference – Stockhead

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There are many foundations and charities which aim to tackle health conditions through funding medical research to develop better treatment options, improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

People often bequest money in their will to these organisations, donate after a loved one has been struck down by a particular illness or at funerals ask for donations to a an organisation in lieu of traditional flowers.

And while these organisations do great work, what about considering investing directly in medical companies for the greater good? Biotechnology investing is one sector which stands out for not only potential to deliver quality returns but also contribute positively to society.

Australias biotech representative body AusBiotech CEO Lorraine Chiroiu told Stockhead many of us unfortunately have a personal connection to catastrophic disease and, motivated by our experiences, are seeking avenues to put our philanthropic and investment dollars where we can make a meaningful and sustainable difference.

AusBiotech is receiving increasing enquiries from people who want to gift, bequeath or invest in a way that gives the best chance of new medical treatments and cures making their way to people experiencing disease, she said.

For example, we recently received a call from a father whose only son had passed away from cancer. Nobly, he wanted to make a purposeful investment into a company working to provide treatment for the disease that took his son in the hope that other families wouldnt have to go through the same suffering as his family.

Indeed many biotech companies have been founded by grieving family or friends that are passionate about finding a cure for a disease that took their loved one too soon.

Chiroiu said biotechnology companies are the vehicles that move medical research along the translation and commercialisation pathway to patients.

Companies operating in the life science and medtech sectors are in a unique position where business foundations are often influenced by a strong value-driven purpose one that offers positive social impact as the company develops life-saving and life-enhancing technologies.

Focusing clearly on patient impact, social good is codified into biotech companies DNA and are a great avenue for ethical investors to consider diversifying their portfolio.

She said we are living in an age of profound acceleration in medicinal discoveries and healthcare options, as well as a time that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought biotechnology especially in the form of vaccines into sharp focus.

As we emerge from the pandemic, the chronic health challenges and increasing burdens of disease associated with ageing populations around the world has many of us wondering how we can help move medical research from the bench to the bedside the answer is via business, she said

Australias biotech industry is on a strong growth trajectory, through substantially increasing numbers of organisations. Figures released by AusBiotech show the sector has grown 43% since 2019 and 60% since 2017.

Amid a thriving and expanding biotech industry in Australia, feeding the need for commercialisation, clinical development and growth is key and the diversity of investment sources remains a pressing issue, Chiroiu said.

Capital is the lifeblood of these companies and in response to this increasing need, AusBiotech has bolstered its investment program with a goal that Australian and overseas investors increasingly see Australian life sciences research and small-to-medium enterprises as viable and attractive investment options.

Global X head of investment strategy Blair Hannon told Stockhead biotechnology investing is well positioned to tick the boxes of environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations of both institutional and retail investors.

For environmentally minded investors, the biotech industry has a low carbon footprint as most work is research-driven and not energy-intensive and as such, adding biotech exposure can help lower the average carbon footprint of a portfolio, Hannon said.

The biotech industry is highly regulated as measured by the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index and is free of any violators of the UN Global Compact (UNGC), which is a widely-followed benchmark of corporate good behaviour.

Hannon said alongside many other sectors, biotechs are striving towards ESG targets. Whilst a diversified biotech ETF such as its S&P Biotech ETF (ASX:CURE) is not explicitly tracking an ESG framework, Hannon noted many biotech companies within the fund focus on social good as their technology aims to aid people from all walks of life with disease treatments or even eradication.

Prescient Therapeutics (ASX:PTX)CEO and managing director Steven Yatomi-Clarke told Stockhead bringing life-changing therapies to patients is an incredibly challenging undertaking that requires resources and resilience.

PTX is at the forefront of game-changing personalised cancer treatments with a strong pipeline of promising therapies. The company has a growing list of collaborations with leading cancer organisations globally including Peter McCallum Cancer Centre, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Yale, Oxford and UPenn.

Companies brave enough to take on this challenge call on investors to fund the research and development at least, until they become profitable, he said.

But at Prescient, when we accept a dollar from an investor, we are focussed on growing that into more than one dollar.

He said in the last two years, Prescient has spent around $8m of shareholder funds, but through consistent delivery of milestones and progress, the company has translated this $8m into over $100m of shareholder value.

So shareholders have enjoyed a handsome financial return, but additionally, they can be satisfied in knowing that their investment has resulted in incredibly exciting progress to create therapies that we believe are going to change lives.

AusBiotech is aiming to educate potential investors in life sciences companies about the unique ecosystem, through in-person events such as its AusBioInvest 2022 in Perth in October as well as plain English resources including The Guide to Life Sciences Investing,

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Prescient Therapeutics is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.

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Q32 Bio, a Clinical Stage Biotechnology Company Focused on Therapeutics that Restore Immune Homeostasis, Announces CEO Transition – PR Newswire

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--Jodie Morrison appointed as Board Member and Acting CEO--

WALTHAM,Mass., Sept. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Q32 Bio, a clinical stage biotechnology company developing biologic therapeutics to restore immune homeostasis, today announced the appointment of Jodie Morrison as Board Member and Acting Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Michael Broxson.

"Jodie has a deep background in executive, operational and development leadership, having successfully guided the growth of emerging biopharmaceutical companies across multiple therapeutic areas. As Q32 Bio transitions to later stage clinical trials, we welcome Jodie to the team and look forward to benefitting from her extensive leadership experience as she oversees the Company's progress across our pipeline," said Mark Iwicki, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Q32 Bio. "We also express our appreciation to Mike for his contributions to the Company."

"Q32 Bio is advancing an innovative clinical pipeline and research platform with the potential to transform the treatment options for patients with autoimmune diseases and has made important progress in the past several years," said Ms. Morrison. "I am pleased to lead the Company as it advances its pipeline into the later stages of clinical development, and I look forward to working with our outstanding and dedicated team to bring important new medicines to patients."

During his tenure as CEO, Mr. Broxson helped Q32 Bio progress from an early-stage clinical company to one with a robust pipeline and two rapidly progressing clinical programs. Q32's most advanced program is ADX-914, a fully human anti-IL-7R antibody being developed for the treatment of multiple autoimmune diseases that was recently partnered with Horizon Therapeutics. In addition, the Company is advancing ADX-097, its wholly owned tissue targeted protein therapeutic for the treatment of complement disorders, through a first-in-human, Phase 1 clinical study that is currently ongoing.

Ms. Morrison is a Venture Partner at Atlas Venture and was previously CEO of Cadent Therapeutics until its sale to Novartis in 2020. Previous roles include serving as interim CEO at Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (at the time of the merger with Akebia), acting Chief Operating Officer at Syntimmune (acquired by Alexion), and President and CEO of Tokai Pharmaceuticals, where she oversaw the company's successful initial public offering. Prior to being appointed President and Chief Executive Officer at Tokai Pharmaceuticals, Ms. Morrison held other senior positions with the company, including Chief Operating Officer, Head of Clinical Affairs and Program Operations, and Vice President of Clinical Affairs and Program Operations. Prior, Ms. Morrison held roles in clinical operations and medical affairs at Dyax Corporation, Curis, Inc., and Diacrin, Inc. Ms. Morrison received a B.A. in neuroscience from Mount Holyoke College, her clinical research certification from Boston University School of Medicine, and her business training through the Greater Boston Executive Program at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She currently sits as Chair of the Board of Directors for Ribon Therapeutics, Inc., as a member of the Board of Directors at Rectify Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Aileron Therapeutics, Inc.and has been recognized for her leadership skills by the Boston Business Journal's "Power 50" and "Women to Watch" awards, and WEST's "Making a Difference" award.

About Q32 Bio

Q32 Bio is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing biologic therapeutics targeting powerful regulators of the innate and adaptive immune systems to re-balance immunity in severe autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Q32 Bio's lead programs, focused on the IL-7 / TSLP receptor pathways and complement system, address immune dysregulation to help patients take back control of their lives.

The company's most advanced program, ADX-914, is a fully human anti-IL-7R antibody that re-regulates adaptive immune function and is being developed in collaboration with Horizon Therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including Phase 2 trials in both atopic dermatitis and an undisclosed indication. The IL-7 and TSLP pathways have been genetically and biologically implicated in driving several T cell-mediated pathological processes in numerous autoimmune diseases.

Q32 Bio's lead program for innate immunity, ADX-097, is based on a novel platform enabling tissue-targeted regulation of the complement system without long-term systemic blockade a key differentiator versus current complement therapeutics. Q32 Bio is currently conducting a first-in-human, Phase 1, ascending dose (SAD/MAD) clinical study of ADX-097 for the treatment of complement disorders. For more information, please visitwww.Q32bio.com.

Q32 Bio Contacts:

Investors: Brendan BurnsMedia: Sarah SuttonArgot Partners212.600.1902[emailprotected]

SOURCE Q32 Bio

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Q32 Bio, a Clinical Stage Biotechnology Company Focused on Therapeutics that Restore Immune Homeostasis, Announces CEO Transition - PR Newswire

Viewpoint: Mandatory labeling of crop biotechnology-derived foods is a failed regulatory policy. Here’s why – Genetic Literacy Project

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Proponents of mandatory labeling of foods containing or derived from genetically modified (GM) crops have long claimed that their primary objective is to facilitate informed consumer choice. Based on a review of more than 20 years of evidence in countries or regions where GM labeling has been implemented, that policy has failed. It has resulted in increased food industry costs across the supply chain, higher prices and reduced choice for consumers. In contrast, in places where labeling is voluntary, consumers and taxpayers have had more food choices with lower costs.Labels based on product versus process

In the United States (US) and many other countries, pre-dating the introduction of GM foods in the 1990s, the underlying rationale for mandatory food labeling has been to protect consumers: to help them stay healthy (e.g., by providing nutritional information); to keep them safe and aware of the presence of possible ingredients that might cause harmful reactions; and to help prevent fraud. Consequently, labeling regulations have focused on the final product and its contents, not on how it was produced or processed.

In cases in which the focus was on how the product was produced, process or production-related issues, labels were voluntary in nature. Producers have long labeled a product according to a particular production feature or practice to appeal to a particular segment of consumers that value a specific attribute. For example, labels reflecting religious-based dietary laws, like Kosher or Halal restrictions have been in use for decades.

The organic industry has long relied on this voluntary labeling system, as have proponents of products promoted as, for example, free-range eggs or chickens.

Foods with GM content or origin have been regulated differently, subject to mandatory labeling in many countries based on the premise of protecting consumers because of the contents of the final product.

In the European Union (EU), the current mandatory GM content and origin labeling requirements were introduced more than 20 years ago and specifically focused on foods containing or derived from GM crops. At that time, the rationale given, as the then EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner David Byrne stated, so people can make a full and informed choice1.

In contrast, when the US GM crop technology approval system was set up in the late 1980s the relevant regulatory authority, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that mandatory labeling of GM foods was not necessary because GM foods present no unique or higher risks than foods derived from conventionally bred crops. In other words, the FDAs approach to GM labeling stayed consistent with the long-standing principle that required mandatory labeling of foods only if a warning was necessary to protect consumers; it also embodied the global standard then in place to require mandatory labeling based on the product, rather than the process.

However, in 2016, in response to criticism from groups opposed to crop biotechnology, the US amended its stance, by introducing national, mandatory GM food (referred to as bio-engineered foods) labeling requirements that took effect at the beginning of 2022.

The rationale cited for this recent change of stance according to the US Department of Agriculture, was to increase transparency.and ensure clear information for consumers about the ingredients in their food 2, even though the new requirement undermined both the logic and consistency of long- standing consumer protection focused on a product-based food labeling system.

Not only is mandatory GM food labeling inconsistent with the long-standing consumer protection principles of food labeling, it has failed to meet the stated, primary objective of the legislation in both the EU and the US: to facilitate more informed consumer choice. In addition, there have been negative consequences: higher costs of supply and hence higher prices for consumers than would otherwise have occurred if no labeling requirement existed. These can be attributed to the ways in which the supply chain has responded to the regulatory labeling requirements. The outcomes in both the EU and the US have been similar but arose from two different market perspectives:

Labeling requirements going back more than 20 years were introduced from a baseline in which almost all food products did not contain or were not derived from GM crops. The food industry started from a position of GM avoidance (to avoid even trace amounts of GMOs) in the belief that most European consumers would wish to avoid GM ingredients and GM derived foods altogether.As a result, very few foods with GM content or origin were marketed in the EU. And there was next to no positive labeling for GM content in foods. The result was a sizable jump in costs to accommodate the significant expenses entailed in instituting a GMO avoidance policies and practices such as the inherent higher cost of production of non-GM crops relative to GM crops, re-formulation of products, change of ingredients and segregation of different raw materials through the supply chain 3, 4,5,6 hidden in the higher price of products that used only non-GM ingredients. EU consumers were (and remain) largely unaware that cheaper (and equally safe) alternatives could be made available if the supply chain chose to use them.

It is important to note that consumer research and monitoring of buying behavior on this topic consistently show that the vast majority of consumers have been, and are, largely indifferent to whether the ingredients in the foods they eat, contain or are derived from GMOs7,8. In the UK, where the Food Standards Agency conducted research into consumer attitudes towards a range of food-related issues, concern about GMOs has been consistently low, at 5-7 per cent (unprompted) over the past 10 years7. Therefore, the costs of GM avoidance have been, and today remain imposed, on this, large majority segment of consumers even though, if given the active choice in retail outlets to choose between GMO derived products and those without GMOs, would likely choose the less expensive GMO product.

The original legislative rationale for facilitating consumer choice has never materialized as the favored and executed outcome across the EU food supply chain to the legislation has been to provide only non-GM derived products. The primary beneficiaries of this policy have been the small segment of consumers who actively wish to avoid foods with GMO derived ingredients, companies in in the production base and supply chain of these products, and businesses involved in certification, testing and traceability.

Labeling requirements are much more recent than in the EU. They were proposed in several US states but only passed by voter referendum in Vermont, which briefly had its own mandatory labeling requirement in 2016. This requirement was effectively nullified by a federal labeling law designed to preempt a potential jumble of competing state laws, which could have crippled the food industry supply chain. It was passed in July 2016 (little more than one month after the Vermont law became applicable) and implemented at the beginning of 2022.

The debate over whether to impose mandatory GMO labeling requirements in the US started from a completely different baseline than in the EU. GMO derived food ingredient use has been commonplace in the US since GM crops were first widely grown in the country in the mid-1990s. There was little public concern or even debate. As a result, when faced with mandatory GMO labeling requirements, most companies in the US food product supply chain decided to include no label or in some cases to label engineered products with a positive GMO presence label.

As in the EU, most US consumers have been and remain largely indifferent as to whether the ingredients in the foods they eat contain or are derived from transgenic GMOs or gene edited crops.But the economic consequences of mandatory versus voluntary labeling is huge. The small minority of consumers who wish to avoid GMO ingredients were already being served by the market before legislation was enacted through voluntary labeled products11. To serve these customers, food companies adopted GM ingredient avoidance policies, developed and marketed their products as non-GMO, often embracing the nationwide non-GM (private label) voluntary initiatives.

This voluntary approach made economic sense to products and consumers alike by keeping costs associated with labeling extremely low. I contrast, in cases in which labeling is mandatory, all additional costs with meeting this requirement (e.g., tracking, tracing and changing labels) add to production costs9,10 which in the long run are passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices.

In sum, the minority pro-labeling and anti-GMO segment of consumers in the US did not need any legislation to help them avoid GM derived foods as the market delivered for them. They have evidently been prepared to pay price premiums given the expanding nature of the voluntary non-GM label initiatives. The non-GM food supply chain incurred the higher costs of GM avoidance but passed these onto consumers of these products.

The mandatory labeling rationale of facilitating better consumer choice has not materialized because most companies in the US food supply chain have decided to label most of their products as containing GMOs. In that way, they did not have to pass along to consumers in the form of higher prices the additional costs of complying with the legislation. Again, the majority consumer segment that did not actively seek the new labeling choice/information has largely borne the additional costs although the costs are largely hidden and consumer buying behavior has not altered11. In addition, the taxpayer has incurred a cost associated with compliance monitoring and testing.

The US food market had been adequately delivering consumer choice before the introduction of the federal mandatory labelling legislation via the active marketing of non-GM products to the segment that wants to buy such products.All the legislation has done is impose compliance costs on the rest of the food supply chain, consumers of those products and the taxpayer.

While the EU and US outcomes are broadly the same, the EUs outcome has been more costly because the higher cost GMO (ingredient) avoidance policy has been effectively imposed on all consumers. Also, those who wish to avoid GMO ingredients have obtained a free ride off the larger sector of consumers who would not otherwise actively seek such foods. In the US, the higher costs imposed on the majority of consumers who do not actively seek out non GMO ingredients, relate only to the compliance costs of labeling legislation.

Who are labelings winners and losers? To the majority of consumers, labeling GM ingredients has been a non issue for which many are incurring additional costs. The primary beneficiaries are the minority of consumers who wish to avoid products derived from GM technology as well as businesses in the production and supply chain for non-GM products who benefit from the price premiums and ancillary services like GM trace testing.

In addition, the mandatory labeling requirement for GM-derived products is inconsistent. A consistent labeling system would require reversion to a product, not process-based approach (as was applied by the US FDA until the beginning of this year) or the introduction of a comprehensive mandatory labeling requirement for all products derived from other plant breeding methods such as radiation or chemical-induced mutagenesis, or cytoplasmic male sterility, or embryo rescue that have been widely used for many years to improve crop varieties used in all forms of agriculture (including organic).

On consistency grounds a case could be made to extend compulsory labeling to broader production-related issues like with/without fertilizer, with/without irrigation, with/without fossil-fuels, etc.? The list of differentiated production methods to label on consistency grounds is long.

However, this analysis is not a call to extend mandatory production process-based labeling requirements to other types/features of production method. It is, however, a plea to policymakers to take note of the evidence if they are considering extending mandatory labeling requirements to foods and food ingredients derived from next-generation plant breeding methods including gene editing.

The evidence is clear: compulsory GM product labeling is a case of inconsistent and poor regulation leading to a poor outcome. Voluntary labeling initiatives are better able to deliver more informed consumer choice at a lower net cost to society. Policymakers around the world should not repeat these mistakes when considering the issue of labeling for gene-edited foods.

Graham Brookes is an agricultural economist with PG Economics, UK. He has more than 35 years experience of analyzing the impact of technology use and policy change in agriculture and has authored many papers in peer reviewed journals on the impact of regulation, policy change and GM crop technology. http://www.pgeconomics.co.uk

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Viewpoint: Mandatory labeling of crop biotechnology-derived foods is a failed regulatory policy. Here's why - Genetic Literacy Project

19 million to investigate bold ideas in bioscience research – EurekAlert

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Five world-class teams are set to receive a total of over 19 million from the UK's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to support adventurous research aimed at tackling significant fundamental questions in bioscience.

Each of these teams - involving 39 investigators from 16 research organisations - will look to advance the frontiers of bioscience knowledge by exploring bold and exciting questions at the forefront of contemporary bioscience.

By pursuing world-class ideas and multidisciplinary research, these projects will convene the people, places, and transformative technologies necessary to tackle complex biological problems from a multitude of perspectives.

The funding through BBSRCs strategic Longer and Larger (sLoLa) grants programme aims to catalyse ground-breaking collaborations that advance our understanding of fundamental rules of life, with potentially far reaching implications for agriculture, health, biotechnology, and the green economy.

The five projects aim to:

Professor Melanie Welham, Executive Chair of BBSRC, said: Long-term support for discovery science is key to delivering the fundamental breakthroughs that keep the UK at the leading edge of bioscience research.

These five very different projects will each pursue adventurous avenues of investigation at the frontiers of biology by convening the multidisciplinary teams of people, skills and national facilities over the longer timeframes necessary to realise transformational change.

The projects have huge potential to make underpinning discoveries in the life sciences, which could produce future advances to address global challenges from tackling plastic pollution to treating cancer and discoveries with commercialisation potential for biopharma, biotechnology and other industries.

The projects

Specialised ribosomes

Led by Dr Julie Aspden, University of Leeds

Ribosomes are machines within cells that read the instructions from genes and use those instructions to construct proteins. The pivotal role of ribosomes in translating our genetic instructions means that a better understanding of how ribosomes function could be important to understand many diseases, including cancers.

Recently, it has been shown that ribosomes, once considered to be identical and inflexible decoding machines that translate RNA into proteins, can in fact be structurally and functionally specialised.

This specialisation promotes the selective translation of RNAs. In other words, ribosome specialisation can regulate the expression of genes at the level of translation.

However, there are only a handful of examples of ribosome specialisation known to science. This means we lack an in-depth understanding of how widespread this mode of gene regulation is, how it functions mechanistically, and what kind of ribosome code might exist.

Using a synthesis of evolutionary, functional genomic, and biophysical approaches, this project aims to tackle these big questions in four different groups of organisms (fungi, insects, plants and humans).

The team will use machine learning approaches to integrate data generated by a series of cutting-edge technologies in four major eukaryotic models (fungi, insects, plants and humans):

This will allow them to decipher the ribosome code, which has the potential to re-write our understanding of the fundamental principles of translation regulation.

Cracking the ribosome code could provide insight into how translation goes wrong in ribosomopathies and certain cancers. It could also reveal promising new avenues for manipulating the proteome, thus expanding the toolkit for future engineering biology approaches.

This project is a collaboration between eight investigators based at:

Enzymatic photocatalysis

Led by Professor Nigel Scrutton, The University of Manchester

Enzymes are proteins which catalyse biochemical reactions in all living organisms.

Most of the enzymes found in nature are heat-activated. However, there exists a few rare examples of natural light-activated enzymes or photocatalysts which use a photo-sensitive cofactor called flavin.

As their name suggests, heat-activated enzymes require heat to function. They also work with highly specific and often expensive coenzymes and catalyse reaction types limited to those found in the living cell.

In contrast, photocatalysts require light to function and have fewer chemical restraints. This enables photocatalysts to catalyse reactions that are unavailable to heat-activated enzymes, harnessing a process known as photo-biocatalysis.

There is a pressing need to better understand how photo-biocatalysis works. This would not only provide insight into how biology works with light but could also facilitate the exploitation of this process in industrial biocatalysis.

Combining state-of-the-art biophysical, computational and protein engineering methodologies, this project will apply a cyclical design-build-evaluate-learn approach to discovering the generalisable principles of photo-biocatalysis.

The team will use cutting-edge biophysical techniques to study photocatalyst functionality:

This will allow them to simultaneously contribute new fundamental knowledge on the function of existing photo-enzymes whilst illuminating a path towards the engineering of entirely new-to-nature flavin-containing photocatalysts.

In the longer-term, these engineered photocatalysts could be used to synthesise novel products that heat-activated enzymes are unable to synthesise, such as fuels and other high-value chemicals.

This project is a collaboration between six investigators based at:

Multi-layered bacterial genome defences

Led by Professor Edze Westra, University of Exeter

Bacteria are able to protect themselves from infection by viruses and other mobile genetic elements (MGEs) using highly sophisticated genome defence systems.

Aside from protecting bacterial populations against infection, these systems also influence the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which relies on the transfer of mobile antibiotic resistance genes between bacteria.

In addition to the CRISPR-Cas system, which has already been co-opted by scientists to revolutionise the field of DNA editing, new bacterial defence systems continue to be discovered.

In nature, these systems do not work in isolation. However, very little is known about how they integrate and what the consequences of this integration are on bacteria-MGE interactions.

This project aims to develop a broader understanding of multi-layered bacterial genome defence systems, at scales ranging from molecules to populations.

The team will use bioinformatic, biophysical and molecular biology approaches to understand how the interactions between genome defence systems protect bacteria against infection.

They will then combine experimental evolution and mathematical modelling to determine how multi-layered defence systems shape bacterial genome and MGE evolution.

Knowledge generated through this project has the potential to uncover how combinations of natural genome defence systems could be exploited in the fight against AMR. In addition, these combinations could be further refined in the laboratory to produce a new generation of genome editing tools for a wide range of engineering biology applications.

This project is a collaboration between 12 investigators based at:

Novel plastizymes

Led by Professor Florian Hollfelder, University of Cambridge

The number of new and untested proteins available in metagenomic databases is in the billions and is currently doubling each year.

This represents a treasure trove for the discovery of novel enzymes with exciting properties. However, there is a need for better tools to be able to effectively mine these databases and find enzymes of interest.

One group of enzymes which are drawing attention are plastic-degrading enzymes or plastizymes.

Plastizymes could be used to remove the pollution caused by plastic products. This pollution is a fundamental environmental challenge, an enormous waste of resources, and has the potential to become a major world health issue through the ingestion of micro-plastics.

However, there are currently very few known natural plastizymes and these are relatively inefficient and do not degrade all types of plastic pollutants.

This project aims to address these limitations by employing a combination of computational and protein engineering approaches to discovering new plastizymes and improving their catalytic ability.

The team will employ a number of cutting-edge technologies:

This will allow them to simultaneously derive generic pipelines for the discovery and directed evolution of novel enzymes, whilst exploiting these pipelines to produce improved plastizymes.

Longer-term, these novel plastizymes could contribute towards the UKs net-zero ambition by increasing our capacity to recycle plastic waste.

This project is a collaboration between four investigators based at:

Understanding an ancient universal membrane effector

Led by Professor Gavin Thomas, University of York

Cell membranes are generally impermeable to most chemicals, which enables proteins within the membrane to establish chemical gradients between the inside and the outside of cells.

These gradients are used as the driving forces behind some of lifes most essential chemical reactions, including photosynthesis, respiration, and active transport. Therefore, it is vital that any damage to the membrane is rapidly repaired to ensure the continuation of these crucial processes.

In recent studies, a protein belonging to the IM30 protein family has been shown to repair membrane damage in a number of bacterial pathogens and bacteria used in biotechnology to produce toxin chemicals. Interestingly, IM30 proteins are present in a range of diverse bacteria and even in bacterially-derived chloroplasts, demonstrating their ancientness and suggesting that they provided an ancestral mechanism of membrane repair.

However, while some information is known about their structure and localisation in cells, the mechanisms by which they work are still a mystery.

This project aims to functionally characterise the IM30 system in a number of clinically and industrially-relevant microbes, using bioinformatics, microbial genetics, and advanced biophysical approaches.

The team will optimise new transformative technologies to accurately measure membrane potential in live microbial cells:

These will be used to help determine how IM30 proteins protect against membrane damage in evolutionarily-divergent organisms. This will uncover new fundamental knowledge about an early step in the evolution of robust cellular life.

Mechanistic understanding of this cellular process could also reveal new pathways to target in the fight against anti-microbial resistance (AMR), since some bacteria use IM30 proteins to resist membrane-targeting antibiotics.

This project is a collaboration between nine investigators based at:

About sLoLa funding

Advancing our understanding of the rules of life is a key part of BBSRCs Delivery Plan.

The large-scale support offered through the sLoLa awards scheme enables world-class teams to pursue innovative avenues of multidisciplinary investigation over the longer timeframes necessary to realise transformational change.

By encouraging researchers to pursue bold and creative questions, BBSRC aims to catalyse exciting fundamental bioscience discoveries that may have far reaching implications for agriculture, health, biotechnology, and the green economy.

This is the fourth round of sLoLa funding since the scheme relaunched in 2018 and brings its total investment to 64 million. BBSRC plans to invest up to a further 16 million in a fifth round which is ongoing.

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19 million to investigate bold ideas in bioscience research - EurekAlert

We might not know the future… but we can spot its longevity trends – Longevity.Technology

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Yesterday, we brought you the first installment in our longevitys burning questions series, in which we ask some of the longevity heavyweights and pioneers speaking at the upcoming Longevity Investors Conference their views on some of the significant issues in the antiaging field.

Longevity.Technology: Longevity is on its way to becoming the most significant investment opportunity available; the Longevity Investors Conference targets the global investor community and brings a whole range of institutional investors together with top class and longevity-experienced speakers. Later this month they will together explore relevant insights into the field, expert education and investment opportunities, as well as enjoying excellent networking possibilities in the scenic and exclusive town of Gstaad.

Longevity.Technology readers can get their exclusive invitation to the leading investors-only longevity conferenceHERE.

Previously, we found out the LIC communitys views on the areas of the field of longevity that hold potential for the biggest improvement. Today, explore a couple of topics, the first being what our hivemind considers to be the current biggest trend in longevity and whats set to explode?

One of the foremost thinkers in the field, Dr Barzilai is the Director of The Institute of Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

He told us that the biggest improvement is in the investment in gerotherapeutic biotech, which is estimated to be $40 billion by some.

It is the major driver in the field, Barzilai told us. It drew some billionaires to invest in moon shot projects, it will help raise money to complete the TAME trial that may cause a regulatory tsunami, and it also harbors some of the more unique biology targeting aging that we are discovering through the drug development rather than the scientificpapers.

Dr Brenner is the developer of the intellectual property behind ChromaDexs Tru Niagen. He told us that the biggest trend in longevity is to use biomarkers, such as GrimAge, toscore interventions.

As no one has shown that lowering a GrimAge score correlates with better functional outcomes, I am unconvinced of the utility of these biomarkers, he says. I like to stay away from things that explode and that is why I am alive and well and doing research.

Internet entrepreneur Michael Greve became a longevity trailblazer when he created the Forever Healthy Foundation.

He told us that: No one knows the future, but we invest in never-done-before approaches,that, if working, have a tremendous potential to be a desirable treatment for everyone over the age of 40.

As Director of the Centre for Healthy Longevity at the National University of Singapore, Dr Brian Kennedy is committed to translating research discoveries into new ways of delaying, detecting, preventing and treating human aging and associated age-related diseases.

In research, the big thing is now rejuvenation-based strategies, which arevery promising but still in the research stage, he told us.

I would also not discount gene therapy approaches in the medium term. This technology has been slowly evolving and is now being used to treat diseases, he said, adding that ultimately, targeting aging genetically may be an excellent strategy to extend healthspan and lifespan.

Dr Fortney is CEO of BioAge, a biotech on a mission to develop a pipeline of therapeutic assets that increase healthspan and lifespan.

Dr Fortney told us that cellular reprogramming has received a lot of attention lately, on multiple levels, including advances in academic research, the entry of multiple companies into the field, and the sheer size of investment by some big players.

Although the ideas are quite new and applications are likely to be far in the future, the promise of reprogramming for reversing age-related decline is enormous, she said, adding that although this area isnt currently a major focus for BioAge, they wish their colleagues in the cellular reprogramming field the best of luck as they start down the path toward developing therapeutics that can extend healthy lifespan.

As for whats set to explode what Im most excited about is the speed of clinical translation and the growing number of aging drugs that are entering clinical trials today, both at BioAge and at other companies in the longevity space, she said. Once we get the first few successful trials, well see an explosion of interest in an already rapidly growing sector.

Co-Founder of SENS Research Foundation, Dr de Grey has just announced his new research foundation.

When it comes to what constitutes a big trend, says de Grey, the answer differs greatly depending on ones perspective.

From the point of view of the Longevity Investors Conference delegates, I think the biggest trend is diversity and synergy, de Grey explains. Damage repair is inherently adivide-and-conquer strategy, in which big results will only be seen when multiple therapiesare given to the same people at the same time.

Dr de Grey believes that the smart money needs to go to those who are creating the framework for that the venture funds and holding companies whose portfolios have the potential to deliver truly transformational combination therapies.

As for whats set to explode, well, let me be a bit radical here and highlight cryonics, says de Grey.

Cryonics has had an even harder time than damage repair in being understood asa valid and promising medical research area, but we now have a very rapid growth in new players in that space, including providers like Tomorrow Biostasis and research outfits likeLorentz Bio, led by highly credentialed people in terms of both biomedical and commercialexpertise.

De Grey feels that the further we progress in developing rejuvenation biotech that really works, the more the world will want to take that bridge to the future.

A former ER doctor, Dr Killen is an antiaging and regenerative medicine physician who specialises in aesthetics and sexual medicine. She told us that as a stem cell physician, she can see great potential in regenerative therapies.

In the coming years, well see more and more allogeneic (the donor and patient are not thesame) stem cell therapies become available and well see products that are engineered tosolve specific problems, she told us. My hope is that these off the shelf cellular products will be widely available at a reasonable price so we can start to see the democratization of regenerative medicine.

Dr Martin Borch Jensen is the CSO of Gordian Biotechnology and the force behind the the successful Impetus Grants.

He told us that the biggest current trend has to be partial reprogramming, with Altos, Retro, NewLimit and other companies focusing on this approach to reversing cellular age.

Lets see how hard that turns out to be! he says.

I think something that will increasingly impact the aging field is high-throughput functionalgenomics coupled with active learning computational analysis Borch Jensen continued.

For example, running a pooled CRISPR screen to knock out genes in a population of cells, isolating cells that fail to turn senescent in response to normal stimuli, then sequencing the gRNAs to identify the target genes and repeating the screen with combinations of these targets. This approach is enabling work in cancer and other fields, and (with the right readouts) will do the same in aging.

Our second burning question concerned our panels longevity journey; we wanted to know what was the inspiration for their longevity point and has the journey been as expected?

Amy B Killen

Dr Killen was an emergency physician for ten years before becoming interested inlongevity medicine.

Ultimately, I was inspired by my patients, she told us, explaining that she saw the effects of aging and age-related diseases every day in the emergency department.

I saw the effects of lack of education and poor lifestyle choices, combined with limited access to resources and support from the medical establishment, she says, adding that she ultimately left the emergency department to make herself healthier and in doing so, discovered an entire field of study that is primed to restore vitality in all of us.

It took a little time for me to think of aging as a disease, but once I wrapped my head around it, I couldnt think of it in any other way!

Kristen Fortney

If we could cure all cancers, we would add just a few years to average lifespan, says Fortney, adding that the same goes for all cardiovascular disease, and the many other illnesses that become exponentially more common as we get older.

But if we could slow aging in humans to the same extent that weve already done over and over again in mice, we could extend longevity by decades, and most of those years would be healthy, she says. Likewise, from the many humans who already live past 100 in good health, we know there must be mechanisms that allow human bodies to enjoy dramatically longer lives.

This idea was one of the major inspirations for Fortney to found BioAge, a journey which, she says, has been exciting, to say the least!

Im constantly impressed by the rapid rate of scientific and now clinical progress in the aging field, Fortney adds, explaining that as more and more companies and scientific organisations join the fight and more resources enter the field, she sees that continuing into the future.

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We might not know the future... but we can spot its longevity trends - Longevity.Technology