Author Archives: Danzig

New gene therapies may soon treat dozens of rare diseases, but million-dollar price tags will put them out of reach for many – The Conversation US

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Zolgensma which treats spinal muscular atrophy, a rare genetic disease that damages nerve cells, leading to muscle decay is currently the most expensive drug in the world. A one-time treatment of the life-saving drug for a young child costs US$2.1 million.

While Zolgensmas exorbitant price is an outlier today, by the end of the decade therell be dozens of cell and gene therapies, costing hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for a single dose. The Food and Drug Administration predicts that by 2025 it will be approving 10 to 20 cell and gene therapies every year.

Im a biotechnology and policy expert focused on improving access to cell and gene therapies. While these forthcoming treatments have the potential to save many lives and ease much suffering, health care systems around the world arent equipped to handle them. Creative new payment systems will be necessary to ensure everyone has equal access to these therapies.

Currently, only 5% of the roughly 7,000 rare diseases have an FDA-approved drug, leaving thousands of conditions without a cure.

But over the past few years, genetic engineering technology has made impressive strides toward the ultimate goal of curing disease by changing a cells genetic instructions.

The resulting gene therapies will be able to treat many diseases at the DNA level in a single dose.

Thousands of diseases are the result of DNA errors, which prevent cells from functioning normally. By directly correcting disease-causing mutations or altering a cells DNA to give the cell new tools to fight disease, gene therapy offers a powerful new approach to medicine.

There are 1,745 gene therapies in development around the world. A large fraction of this research focuses on rare genetic diseases, which affect 400 million people worldwide.

We may soon see cures for rare diseases like sickle cell disease, muscular dystrophy and progeria, a rare and progressive genetic disorder that causes children to age rapidly.

Further into the future, gene therapies may help treat more common conditions, like heart disease and chronic pain.

The problem is these therapies will carry enormous price tags.

Gene therapies are the result of years of research and development totaling hundreds of millions to billions of dollars. Sophisticated manufacturing facilities, highly trained personnel and complex biological materials set gene therapies apart from other drugs.

Pharmaceutical companies say recouping costs, especially for drugs with small numbers of potential patients, means higher prices.

The toll of high prices on health care systems will not be trivial. Consider a gene therapy cure for sickle cell disease, which is expected to be available in the next few years. The estimated price of this treatment is $1.85 million per patient. As a result, economists predict that it could cost a single state Medicare program almost $30 million per year, even assuming only 7% of the eligible population received the treatment.

And thats just one drug. Introducing dozens of similar therapies into the market would strain health care systems and create difficult financial decisions for private insurers.

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One solution for improving patient access to gene therapies would be to simply demand drugmakers charge less money, a tactic recently taken in Germany.

But this comes with a lot of challenges and may mean that companies simply refuse to offer the treatment in certain places.

I think a more balanced and sustainable approach is two-fold. In the short term, itll be important to develop new payment methods that entice insurance companies to cover high-cost therapies and distribute risks across patients, insurance companies and drugmakers. In the long run, improved gene therapy technology will inevitably help lower costs.

For innovative payment models, one tested approach is tying coverage to patient health outcomes. Since these therapies are still experimental and relatively new, there isnt much data to help insurers make the risky decision of whether to cover them. If an insurance company is paying $1 million for a therapy, it had better work.

In outcomes-based models, insurers will either pay for some of the therapy upfront and the rest only if the patient improves, or cover the entire cost upfront and receive a reimbursement if the patient doesnt get better. These models help insurers share financial risk with the drug developers.

Another model is known as the Netflix model and would act as a subscription-based service. Under this model, a state Medicaid program would pay a pharmaceutical company a flat fee for access to unlimited treatments. This would allow a state to provide the treatment to residents who qualify, helping governments balance their budget books while giving drugmakers money upfront.

This model has worked well for improving access to hepatitis C drugs in Louisiana.

On the cost front, the key to improving access will be investing in new technologies that simplify medical procedures. For example, the costly sickle cell gene therapies currently in clinical trials require a series of expensive steps, including a stem cell transplant.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institute of Health and Novartis are partnering to develop an alternative approach that would involve a simple injection of gene therapy molecules. The goal of their collaboration is to help bring an affordable sickle cell treatment to patients in Africa and other low-resource settings.

Improving access to gene therapies requires collaboration and compromise across governments, nonprofits, pharmaceutical companies and insurers. Taking proactive steps now to develop innovative payment models and invest in new technologies will help ensure that health care systems are ready to deliver on the promise of gene therapies.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided funding for The Conversation US and provides funding for The Conversation internationally.

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New gene therapies may soon treat dozens of rare diseases, but million-dollar price tags will put them out of reach for many - The Conversation US

Intense exercise could trigger ALS in those with genetic risk – Livescience.com

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Exercise may trigger the onset of the deadly nerve disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a new study finds.

The research showed that people who exercised vigorously, and who also carried genes tied to ALS, developed the disease at younger ages than those who were sedentary. The findings suggest that exercise could exacerbate a genetic predisposition to the devastating disease.

"We are used to thinking of exercise being good. In this unusual case, intense exercise is bad for you," said study co-author Michael Snyder, chair of the Department of Genetics at Stanford University.

ALS is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease that results from the death of motor neurons, or nerve cells. No one knows exactly why this happens. It is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease after the legendary baseball player who was diagnosed on his 36th birthday, after setting the record for playing the most consecutive professional baseball games. (Famous physicist Stephen Hawking was struck by the disease in his early 20s.)

Related: How did Stephen Hawking live so long with ALS?

The role of exercise in the development of ALS was controversial. The disease affects anaerobic fast-twitch muscle fibers, but systematic reviews of past research failed to show a connection between exercise and ALS. Because the disease typically presents later in life, it is often referred to as a "two-hit" disease, meaning that a person may have the genes for the disease (the first hit), but a second switch must be flipped for that person to get sick. The new study suggests that for ALS, frequent and prolonged exercise may be a "second hit" that turns such genes on or off, thereby leading to neuronal death.

For the new study, researchers relied on data from the U.K. Biobank, a biomedical database containing in-depth genetic and health information for half a million people. The researchers first identified individuals who exercised at least two to three days per week. They then used a statistical technique to analyze the relationship between exercise and ALS and found that the risk of ALS was directly proportional to the dose of frequent strenuous, and likely anaerobic, exercise.

In the second part of their study, the researchers asked 36 healthy people to do aerobic exercise, then drew blood to see how that exercise changed the expression of genes known to be associated with ALS, including the most common ALS risk gene: C9orf72. This gene codes for a protein of the same name, which is found in brain cells and other nerve cells, including those that direct movement, according to MedlinePlus, a service of the National Library of Medicine. A mutation in the gene for this protein is found in up to 40% of people with familial ALS, according to the ALS association.

Exercise reduced the expression of C9orf72, which mirrors the decreased expression found in ALS patients with a mutation in this gene.

Overall, of 43 known ALS-related genes, 52% were turned on or off following acute exercise. In the final part of the study, the researchers compared exercise history in ALS patients with a C9orf72 mutation to both ALS patients without a C9orf72 mutation and people without ALS. In ALS patients with the C9orf72 mutation, the more people exercised, the younger they tended to be at diagnosis. For those without the mutation, exercise showed a trend towards increasing likelihood of developing ALS, but that result was not statistically significant..

While strenuous exercise increased the risk of ALS, being sedentary did not decrease the risk of developing ALS, nor did having more body fat.

Snyder was surprised by the results. "I find this whole thing quite remarkable," Snyder told Live Science, "that exercise exacerbates a genetic condition for a disease."

For study co-author Johnathan Cooper-Knock, a researcher and lecturer on genetic neuromuscular diseases at the University of Sheffield in the U.K., the most surprising aspect was the significant number of known ALS risk genes that were affected by acute exercise. "This suggests that exercise could play a role in all forms of ALS, including ALS that we may have previously supposed was purely genetic," he told Live Science.

In Cooper-Knock's view, his research group has likely ended the controversy of exercises role in ALS and showed that physical exercise is a risk factor for the disease. "Our hope is that the community will build on this and take it to the next step, which is to quantify the risk of exercise-induced ALS for individuals based on their personal genetics and environment," he said.

He hopes this will lead to potential prevention measures or at least appropriate counseling. "This will allow us to identify at-risk individuals and offer individualized counseling to allow them to make informed decisions regarding their exercise habits," Cooper-Knock said.

At the moment, the researchers are not recommending that any ALS patient or family members, including individuals with C9orf72 mutations, change their exercise habits. More work needs to be done in a larger cohort, because the way the gene is expressed could vary a lot, the researchers said.

They are, however, advocating for genetic screening of ALS patients to deepen understanding of the roles genetics and environment play in the disease.

As to whether Lou Gehrig's iron streak may have led to his development of ALS, Snyder commented, "It seems very likely."

The findings were published May 26 in the journal The Lancet.

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Intense exercise could trigger ALS in those with genetic risk - Livescience.com

Opinion: Gene editing can be leveraged for the greater good with appropriate regulations – Varsity

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With CRISPR gene editing technology continuing to evolve, many ethical arguments have arisen about its use in humans due to its potential for serious misuse. However, some have argued that it is also unethical not to harness the power of this technology given the enormous potential benefit it poses to humankind. Considering the range of applications of CRISPR and the ease with which it can be applied, it is critical for us to put appropriate regulatory processes and policies in place to mitigate the associated risks.

CRISPR/Cas9 or, as its commonly known, CRISPR is a gene editing technology developed in 2011 that allows researchers to edit plant, animal, and human genes with ease and efficiency. Research leveraging CRISPR has led to new, important findings, such as potential new ways of treating diseases like Alzheimers one of many discoveries made by the research group led by Gerold Schmitt-Ulms, a professor at U of Ts Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology and a researcher at the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Using CRISPR as a tool to understand and treat diseases

Schmitt-Ulms research group is using CRISPR to generate cell models in order to better understand the pathology of phenomena like Alzheimers disease. In an email to The Varsity, Schmitt-Ulms wrote that his group used CRISPR to introduce mutations into human cells that are known to cause inherited versions of the neurodegenerative diseases [they] study.

Studies in cell and animal models represent critical steps toward gaining the insights necessary to transform these tools into medicines, he added.

The hope among many researchers is that CRISPR could lead to large-scale applications for human health, agriculture, and the conservation of endangered species. Given its ability to easily edit any gene, CRISPR could be used to treat things such as HIV, hemophilia, cancer, cystic fibrosis, and infertility, just to name a few. It could even allow humans to receive organs from other species in life-saving organ transplants.

CRISPR has been described as having the potential to revolutionize disease treatment. In addition to treating diseases in humans, it has the potential to eradicate diseases such as malaria by the genetic modification of the species that are carriers of these diseases. It could also be used to protect endangered species or to fortify crops to improve their nutritional content. However, there are concerns that widespread use of the technology could lead to unpredictable consequences, including the creation of designer babies and irreversible disruption to ecosystems.

Ethical concerns of using the technology

One controversial application of CRISPR is its use in human embryos. Presently, if someone edits the human genome in any way that can be inherited, even in a lab setting, its punishable by up to 10 years in prison in Canada one of the most restrictive gene editing laws in the world. The law does not prevent gene editing on all human cells, but only on so-called germ line cells such as embryonic cells that could be passed on through reproduction. Some researchers have been calling for the Canadian government to modify this law to allow research on human reproduction and embryo development with more ease and efficiency.

While Schmitt-Ulms agrees that CRISPR has made it easier to study just about any disease, he emphasized that we are not ready to bring the technology to humans just yet. The main hurdle to human applications are the challenges associated with delivering this technology safely and ethically, he wrote.

Many of the ethical concerns surrounding the use of germ line cells for research have existed before CRISPR, since they are primarily related to controversy regarding the status of a human embryo. Another unknown factor is whether modifications made to germ lines will persist in future generations, which raises major ethical concerns. Even though we are not at the point where CRISPR can be applied to humans, technological advancements like this can evolve quickly gene editing is already part of our society.

The combination of in vitro sterilization and selection of embryos can already today prevent a subset of severe genetic diseases, including inherited forms of prion diseases that my group studies, Schmitt-Ulms wrote.

Humans have been dramatically altering the genetic realities on this planet ever since they started selecting species for farming, and gene-modified foods were introduced decades ago.

However, due to the scale and speed at which gene editing can be done using CRISPR, he recognizes that unethical applications of the technology [pose] indeed considerable risks.

For example, there could be unintended effects of gene editing in humans because scientists dont yet know the function of every gene in the human genome. Additionally, there are concerns surrounding the development of designer babies with specific physical or psychological features or qualities which could drastically exacerbate societal inequities. Even more insidiously, gene editing could be used for eugenics, which involves encouraging gene selection for certain superior traits in human populations.

Another potential concern is the unpredictable consequences on ecosystems and the environment that could arise from using CRISPR to modify other species and crops. The application of CRISPR for crop modification could be extremely useful for addressing famine in certain countries, but if measures arent taken to ensure equitable access, it could similarly exacerbate inequities around the globe.

CRISPR needs responsible regulation

In some communities, researchers are already conducting gene editing experiments on species that are carriers of diseases transmissible to humans. They are mitigating the risks associated with this type of research by developing safety features to control or reverse genetic modifications among a species in case unintended consequences arise.

The ways CRISPR could be misused and abused are serious and need to be addressed. However, the enormous potential benefits of this technology cannot be ignored. As CRISPR continues to evolve, governmental policies will also have to evolve, and governments should consider the social, environmental, and health risks associated with each application of the technology.

As with any risk management, the strictness of regulations need to scale with the risk an activity poses. Not all CRISPR applications are equally dangerous, Schmitt-Ulms emphasized.

There is also a risk associated with failing to leverage this technology in the future for example, there are a lot of diseases that could be treated with the help of CRISPR.

Researchers are continuing to study and improve CRISPR at a fast pace with the hope of eventually bringing its advancements to humans. Schmitt-Ulms advocates for devoting additional time and resources to developing regulatory frameworks for the safe use of this technology. Many researchers have expressed support for the establishment of an international organization that would provide guidance about the ethical use of gene editing.

As with any new technology, a risk-benefit analysis needs to be done for each new potential use of CRISPR. We as a society need to decide what we are and are not willing to accept.

As Schmitt-Ulms pointed out, humanity has developed powerful technologies that can be directed toward nefarious purposes before. These types of scientific advances need to be paralleled by broad public debate on the safe and ethical use of novel technologies.

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Opinion: Gene editing can be leveraged for the greater good with appropriate regulations - Varsity

UT Southwestern selected top health care employer in Texas by Forbes – UT Southwestern

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UTSouthwestern is committed to offering opportunity as well as innovative support that allows employees across our enterprise to perform at their best and grow their careers. Photo taken pre-pandemic

DALLAS Sept. 3, 2021 UTSouthwestern Medical Center was recognized as the top health care employer in Texas, one of the top 10 employers across all industries in the state, and among the nations Best-in-State employers nationally by Forbes/Statista.

Recommendations from employees as well as indirect recommendations from other workers within the same industries are considered along with survey results that consider work conditions, salary, potential for growth, and diversity among selection factors. The Best-In-State Employers 2021 is created through a survey of 80,000 U.S. employees across 25 industry sectors that take into account employment opportunities at the local and national level. This is the second year UTSouthwestern has been recognized.

UTSouthwesterns William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital is nationally ranked among the top 25 hospitals in eight specialties by U.S. News & World Report and ranked the No. 1 Best Hospital in the Dallas-Fort Worth/North Texas region. The region is the fourth-largest metro area in the U.S. behind New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, the most populous metro area in both Texas and the Southern United States, and the 10th-largest in the Americas.

Technical skills training to adapt and master new software and technologies are part of employment opportunities at UTSouthwestern. Photo taken pre-pandemic

Earlier this year, UTSouthwestern placed among the top 40 institutions Forbes honored asBest Employers for Women 2021 and was ranked No. 3 in the nation onForbes list of Americas Best Employers For New Graduates, placing it in the top 1 percent and highest among academic medical centers. UTSouthwestern.

Other recent workplace honors for UTSouthwestern include:

Career Opportunities

Search for UTSW jobs here.

Among its employment highlights, UTSouthwestern has established online and in-person training and mentoring programs for future management and leadership roles. Photo taken pre-pandemic

UTSouthwestern is committed to offering opportunity as well as innovative support that allows employees across our enterprise to perform at their best and grow their careers. Among its employment highlights, UTSouthwestern has established online and in-person training and mentoring programs for future management and leadership roles; technical skills training to adapt and master new software and technologies; and resources for employee wellness, managing stress and finances, and sharing common interests.

UTSouthwestern partners with diverse professional organizations within the community, including the National Association of Black Accountants, National Black MBA Association Inc., National Society of Hispanic MBAs, and the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA), to assure that members are aware of the numerous employment opportunities that exist here. Career development is supported by initiatives such as the Presidents Council on Diversity and Inclusion, Business Resource Groups, the Women in Science and Medicine Advisory Committee; the Committee on the Advancement of Women; the Office of Faculty Diversity and Development; and the Office of Womens Careers.

Resources for employee wellness, managing stress and finances, and sharing common interests are among wellness offerings for UTSouthwestern. Photo taken pre-pandemic

UTSouthwestern is committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal opportunity to all members of the University community. In accordance with federal and state law, the University prohibits unlawful discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of: race; color; religion; national origin; sex, including sexual harassment; age; disability; genetic information; citizenship status; and protected veteran status.

About UTSouthwestern Medical Center

UTSouthwestern, one of the nations premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institutions faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 25 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 16 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 13 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,800 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UTSouthwestern physicians provide care in about 80 specialties to more than 117,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 3 million outpatient visits a year.

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UT Southwestern selected top health care employer in Texas by Forbes - UT Southwestern

Beefing up livestock disaster assistance | Farm & Ranch | willistonherald.com – Williston Daily Herald

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OPINION: The new free speech bullies – The Richmond Observer

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As an academic dean of library services for the past 40 years, I think I have a good eye for what constitutes censorship. Cancel culture, a new term for an old and deadly form of silencing your enemies has recently shown its ugly face and has unmistakably assumed the role of free speech bullies. Not since the McCarthy Era have we seen such proscription of speech, and it appears to be unrelenting. The eagerness with which these new speech bullies seek to prohibit ideas is now ubiquitous, and the desire to cancel scores of individuals from Washington State to, well, the heart of the reddest of Red States, Rock Hill, South Carolina, where I live, is raging.

Cancel culture isnt just tendentious; its also malicious. Dr. Seusss books now struggle to remain in the reading canon for children. Dozens of our great writers, including Twain, Shakespeare, Carlyle, and medieval culture and literature, have been canceled. More authors are on the cancel culture chopping block. I find this form of censorship appalling. We all should.

Sadly, this isnt just a group of louche-minded malcontents, either. With no fanfare, Amazon has decided to withdraw from selling any books it deems hate speech, the first such book being one that dares to question sex reassignment among minors. Cancel culture is so widespread it has its talons even in Congress.

What disturbs most, however, is these new free speech bullies are everywhere. Sure, you might expect to see them and their work in places like Los Angeles, California, Portland, Oregon, or Antifa strongholds like Seattle, Washington. But in the heart of conservative politics in South Carolina?

Sadly, yes. Forty-five days from my retirement, I became a victim of cancel culture for a two-part article I wrote for a professional library magazine in March 2020. My crimes were threefold: daring to call our then plague the Wuhan Virus, a phrase nearly every media in the country had used or was still using; repeating an Obama Administration wordplay (the Kung-Flu), and pointing out East-West culture differences. The second part never saw the light of day.

A maelstrom of maledictions followed, first from the magazine I had written for, for the last 15 years (ironically called Against the Grain). Not only had the magazine given me my own column, but it had in this instance showcased part one on its front cover as one to read. After less than a dozen vocal subscribers complained it to be racist, the magazine unilaterally pulled the piece and apologized for its appearance. It didnt end there. The American Library Association and the Asian Pacific Library Association also chimed in. Blood was in the water, and they wanted their part of the prized flesh.

Next, my university employer of 21 years piled on. My articles were censored from our faculty digital archive, and I was paraded before my peers as racist and xenophobic in an email from my provost. She later recommended reading materials for my reeducation. All this took place at Winthrop University, a state institution of about 5,500 students in the Palmetto State, a state that elected Republicans in every contested seat in the 2020 elections.

Cancel culture usually ends badly for the victim, including loss of reputation, standing, even employment. While I have lost some reputation in my professional circles, my story ended well. I was able, thanks to some prominent friends (among them my congressman and state senator), my cancel culture moment ended with a written apology from the provost for her overreach sent campus-wide, another apology from the Interim president, and reinstatement of my articles to our digital commons.

At the very least, the First Amendment allows ideas to fight it out in the marketplace of ideas. Some ideas will appeal, others will not, but none are to be silenced from the get-go by someone who deems them unworthy by his or her private definition of the term. The First Amendment isnt a weapon, or it isnt supposed to be, especially by an institution of higher learning.

If all of this sounds hyperbolic to you, overblown in a kind of hysterical way, just remember how these things work. If cancel culture can erase my right to free speech in one of the countrys reddest states, it can also come for yours. If men and women of good spirit do nothing, you can count on cancel culture coming for your free speech as well.

I hope for all our sakes; we survive this onslaught.

Mark Y. Herring is professor emeritus, dean of library services from Winthrop University. Herring spent 42 years as dean or director in academic libraries in Tennessee, Oklahoma and South Carolina. He was most recently appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster to the South Carolina State Library Board. He resides with his wife, Carol, in Rock Hill. Republished from the Carolina Journal.

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OPINION: The new free speech bullies - The Richmond Observer

Are Censures of Politicians a Form of Free Speech or a Threat to It? – The New York Times

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Judge Davis acknowledged that the board had also imposed some punishments more concrete than a reprimand, like making Mr. Wilson ineligible for reimbursement for college-related travel. Those additional penalties, the judge wrote, did not violate his First Amendment rights.

Mr. Wilsons lawyers told the justices that the power to censure must have limits. Elected bodies can censure their members for what they say during the lawmaking process, they wrote, and for conduct that is not protected by the First Amendment. But outside the official realm, they wrote, the First Amendment forbids a government bodys official punishment of a speaker for merely expressing disagreement with a political majority.

Those may appear to be fine distinctions. Mr. Wilsons brief in the case, Houston Community College System v. Wilson, No. 20-804, gave examples to illustrate how they would work outside the legislative process.

A censure would be permissible for illegal marijuana use, for example, but not for statements supporting the legalization of marijuana use, the brief said. Likewise, a censure would be permissible for slander, but not for statements that merely criticize.

The full Fifth Circuit deadlocked on whether to rehear the case, by an 8-to-8 vote. Dissenting from the decision to deny further review, Judge Edith H. Jones said the panels First Amendment analysis was backward. The boards censure was itself speech worthy of protection, she wrote, particularly in a polarized era.

Given the increasing discord in society and governmental bodies, the attempts of each side in these disputes to get a leg up on the other, and the ready availability of weapons of mass communication with which each side can tar the other, the panels decision is the harbinger of future lawsuits, Judge Jones wrote. It weaponizes any gadfly in a legislative body.

Political infighting of this sort, she wrote, should not be dignified with a false veneer of constitutional protection and has no place in the federal courts.

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Are Censures of Politicians a Form of Free Speech or a Threat to It? - The New York Times

Joe Biden Has Officially Ended a 20-Year War – Free Speech TV

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The longest war in United States history has finally ended after nearly twenty years. The Associated Press has reported that the final US troops have left Afghanistan and now President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have reiterated this. Much of the coverage has been negative in the past few weeks given the Talibans speedy takeover and the attack outside the Kabul airport on Thursday that took upwards of 200 lives. However, exiting Afghanistan was something that had to be done and Joe Biden followed through on what George Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump were unable to. The alternative was remaining in the country for five, ten, twenty or even a hundred years as some have suggested and that just wasnt going to be a tenable solution. Biden is set to address the nation today and he will mention there will be continued efforts to get American citizens and Afghan allies out of the country if they want to leave. In the short term, many will see the tumultuous exit of US personnel as a failure, but zooming out, history is likely to view Bidens decision kindly.

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Joe Biden Has Officially Ended a 20-Year War - Free Speech TV

War-Thirsty Media Demanding Another War – Free Speech TV

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The United States has officially ended the longest war in its history with the final troops clearing out of Afghanistan. President Biden addressed the nation to explain his decision to end the war and posed the following question to his critics: to those asking for a third decade of war in Afghanistan, I ask, What is the vital national interest? Even though polling data has shown for a long time that its time for America to get out of the Middle East, members of the media havent seemed so pleased with Bidens decision. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a press conference yesterday and one reporter asked her, does the president envision any situation in which he might deploy a large amount of US troops abroad under his presidency? The fact that the default solution to conflict for this reporter is extensive military presence goes to show there needs to be a paradigm shift when it comes to US foreign policy. Another reporter told Psaki that Biden seemed angry in his speech to the American public, asking whos he mad at? This pushback from the media was predictable, as conflicts tend to drive ratings. Now, were witnessing the media try to get the last play it can out of the twenty-year war in Afghanistan before having to move on to the next topic.

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The David Pakman Show is a news and political talk program, known for its controversial interviews with political and religious extremists, liberal and conservative politicians, and other guests.

Missed an episode? Check out David Pakman on our Youtube Channel anytime or visit the show page for the latest clips.

#FreeSpeechTV is one of the last standing national, independent news networks committed to advancing progressive social change.

#FSTV is available on Dish, DirectTV, AppleTV, Roku, Sling and online at freespeech.org

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War-Thirsty Media Demanding Another War - Free Speech TV

New Texas Abortion Law Likely to Unleash a Torrent of Lawsuits Against Online Education, Advocacy and Other Speech – EFF

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In addition to the drastic restrictions it places on a womans reproductive and medical care rights, the new Texas abortion law, SB8, will have devastating effects on online speech.

The law creates a cadre of bounty hunters who can use the courts to punish and silence anyone whose online advocacy, education, and other speech about abortion draws their ire. It will undoubtedly lead to a torrent of private lawsuits against online speakers who publish information about abortion rights and access in Texas, with little regard for the merits of those lawsuits or the First Amendment protections accorded to the speech. Individuals and organizations providing basic educational resources, sharing information, identifying locations of clinics, arranging rides and escorts, fundraising to support reproductive rights, or simply encouraging women to consider all their optionsnow have to consider the risk that they might be sued for merely speaking. The result will be a chilling effect on speech and a litigation cudgel that will be used to silence those who seek to give women truthful information about their reproductive options.

We will quickly see the emergence of anti-choice trolls: lawyers and plaintiffs dedicated to using the courts to extort money from a wide variety of speakers supporting reproductive rights.

SB8, also known as the Texas Heartbeat Act, encourages private persons to file lawsuits against anyone who knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion. It doesnt matter whether that person knew or should have known that the abortion would be performed or induced in violation of the law, that is, the laws new and broadly expansive definition of illegal abortion. And you can be liable even if you simply intend to help, regardless, apparently, of whether an illegal abortion actually resulted from your assistance.

And although you may defend a lawsuit if you believed the doctor performing the abortion complied with the law, it is really hard to do so. You must prove that you conducted a reasonable investigation, and as a result reasonably believed that the doctor was following the law. Thats a lot to do before you simply post something to the internet, and of course you will probably have to hire a lawyer to help you do it.

SB8 is a bounty law: it doesnt just allow these lawsuits, it provides a significant financial incentive to file them. It guarantees that a person who files and wins such a lawsuit will receive at least $10,000 for each abortion that the speech aided or abetted, plus their costs and attorneys fees. At the same time, SB8 may often shield these bounty hunters from having to pay the defendants legal costs should they lose. This removes a key financial disincentive they might have had against bringing meritless lawsuits.

Moreover, lawsuits may be filed up to six years after the purported aiding and abetting occurred. And the law allows for retroactive liability: you can be liable even if your aiding and abetting conduct was legal when you did it, if a later court decision changes the rules. Together this creates a ticking time bomb for anyone who dares to say anything that educates the public about, or even discusses, abortion online.

Given this legal structure, and the laws vast application, there is no doubt that we will quickly see the emergence of anti-choice trolls: lawyers and plaintiffs dedicated to using the courts to extort money from a wide variety of speakers supporting reproductive rights.

And unfortunately, its not clear when speech encouraging someone to or instructing them how to commit a crime rises to the level of aiding and abetting unprotected by the First Amendment. Under the leading case on the issue, it is a fact-intensive analysis, which means that defending the case on First amendment grounds may be arduous and expensive.

The result of all of this is the classic chilling effect: many would-be speakers will choose not to speak at all for fear of having to defend even the meritless lawsuits that SB8 encourages. And many speakers will choose to take down their speech if merely threatened with a lawsuit, rather than risk the laws penalties if they lose or take on the burdens of a fact-intensive case even if they were likely to win it.

The law does include an empty clause providing that it may not be construed to impose liability on any speech or conduct protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, as made applicable to the states through the United States Supreme Courts interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. While that sounds nice, it offers no real protectionyou can already raise the First Amendment in any case, and you dont need the Texas legislature to give you permission. Rather, that clause is included to try to insulate the law from a facial First Amendment challengea challenge to the mere existence of the law rather than its use against a specific person. In other words, the drafters are hoping to ensure that, even if the law is unconstitutionalwhich it iseach individual plaintiff will have to raise the First Amendment issues on their own, and bear the exorbitant costsboth financial and otherwiseof having to defend the lawsuit in the first place.

One existing free speech bulwark47 U.S.C. 230 (Section 230)will provide some protection here, at least for the online intermediaries upon which many speakers depend. Section 230 immunizes online intermediaries from state law liability arising from the speech of their users, so it provides a way for online platforms and other services to get early dismissals of lawsuits against them based on their hosting of user speech. So although a user will still have to fully defend a lawsuit arising, for example, from posting clinic hours online, the platform they used to share that information will not. That is important, because without that protection, many platforms would preemptively take down abortion-related speech for fear of having to defend these lawsuits themselves. As a result, even a strong-willed abortion advocate willing to risk the burdens of litigation in order to defend their right to speak will find their speech limited if weak-kneed platforms refuse to publish it. This is exactly the way Section 230 is designed to work: to reduce the likelihood that platforms will censor in order to protect themselves from legal liability, and to enable speakers to make their own decisions about what to say and what risks to bear with their speech.

But a powerful and dangerous chilling effect remains for users. Texass anti-abortion law is an attack on many fundamental rights, including the First Amendment rights to advocate for abortion rights, to provide basic educational information, and to counsel those considering reproductive decisions. We will keep a close eye on the lawsuits the law spurs and the chilling effects that accompany them. If you experience such censorship, please contact info@eff.org.

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New Texas Abortion Law Likely to Unleash a Torrent of Lawsuits Against Online Education, Advocacy and Other Speech - EFF

Stopping online hate speech is hard. New research teaches machines to find white nationalist content – The Star Online

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Mitigating the impact of online extremism has proven a complicated task for companies that want to protect free expression.

Social media companies have struggled to moderate hate speech and adapt to changes in how white supremacists spread their views on digital platforms. Libby Hemphill, an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, believes machine learning technology might provide an answer.

We know that white supremacists and other types of extremists use social media to talk to each other, to recruit, to try to get their message to go mainstream, Hemphill said. The challenge has been that the platforms havent really stepped up to fight hate on their platforms.

Through a partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, Hemphill set out to teach algorithms to distinguish white supremacist and extremist speech from the typical conversations people are having on social media. Turns out, extremist groups are pretty good at hiding in plain sight but algorithms can become even better at finding them.

We cant do content moderation without some machine assistance, Hemphill said. Theres just too much content.

Hemphill started by collecting a sample of 275,000 blog posts from Stormfront, a white nationalist website. The data was fed to algorithms used to study the sentence structure of posts, detect specific phrases and flag recurring topics.

The goal was to train a machine to identify toxic language using the Stormfront conversations as a model. Algorithms compared the Stormfront data to 755,000 Twitter posts from users affiliated with the alt-right movement and another set of 510,000 Reddit posts collected from general users.

The results are still being compiled. Hemphill is hoping to unveil a public tool later this fall.

Big tech companies like Facebook and Twitter have been accused of stifling free speech by removing users who violate community guidelines prohibiting hate speech. Offending posts are identified by algorithms trained to detect hate speech and through reports from users.

However, advocacy organisations arent satisfied with enforcement standards.

The Center to Counter Digital Hate found the top five social media companies took no action on 84% of anti-semitic posts reported to them. CCDH, a non-profit group in the United States and the United Kingdom, flagged 714 posts through the platforms user reporting tools. The anti-semitic posts were viewed up to seven million times.

Platforms must aggressively remedy their moderation systems which have been proven to be insufficient, CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed wrote in a study announcing the groups findings.

Steps to ban white nationalist content also inspired the rise of new platforms with more relaxed content standards. Gab, MeWe and Parler purport to champion free speech but have been criticised as havens for extremists.

Gab CEO Andrew Torba promotes his website as the only place you can criticise groups like the American Jewish Congress and the ADL in emails to Gabs user base.

Hemphill said theres significant conflict revolving around what constitutes hate speech and what social platforms should do about it. She also acknowledged concerns that machines can make mistakes and unfairly punish users.

The challenge is that we as a community dont share a set of values, Hemphill said. We disagree about what is hateful and what ought to be permissible. One of the things that I would like to see come out of work like this is more explicit discussions about what our values are and what is okay with us and what isnt. Then we can worry about what we ought to teach machines.

Finding the line can be tricky. Accurately identifying nuanced racial stereotypes and microaggressions is harder than finding slurs, Hemphill said. Theres also a large number of posts containing meme images and videos that are harder to accurately catalogue.

Stormfront was used as a baseline in Hemphills research because the group openly identifies as a forum for white nationalists. Alt-right Twitter users were selected from a study commissioned by the Centre for American Progress.

Beyond the use of racial slurs and other kinds of toxic language, Hemphill said subtle differences were found between white nationalists and the average internet user. For example, white nationalists swear less often, possibly a tactic to appear more palatable to mainstream audiences.

They are sort of politely hateful, Hemphill said. If youve spent any time on the Internet at all, you know that its a pretty profane place, but white supremacists are not profane. They are marked by what they dont do as well.

Hate speech makes up a relatively small amount of content on the Internet, Hemphill said, though it makes a large impact on whoever sees it. She plans to collect more data from smaller websites like Gab, 4chan and Parler to continue teaching algorithms to identify hate speech.

Ultimately, the goal is to encourage social media companies to create inclusive spaces for discussion.

Its OK to be freaked out about big tech, and its OK to be freaked out about academic researchers and what we may be doing, Hemphill said. I think the more this conversation happens in the open and the more data is shared among folks who are trying to understand how these decisions get made, the better, more just decisions about what is permissible will come from that openness. mlive.com/Tribune News Service

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[COMMENTARY] Twitter Is Not a Town Square; We Should Stop Treating It Like One – HillReporter.com

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Twitter recently came under severe pressure for allowing the Taliban to keep their account on its platform. By way of contrast, the company decided to suspend Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene for repeatedly tweeting that COVID vaccines are ineffective. In the eyes of many Americans, Twitter should have done the exact opposite. For my part, I cannot help but think that Twitter is within its right to behave as it did.

Since 2019, I have been teaching social media ethics to the aspiring computer scientists of Silicon Valley. When my students ask me about the extent of their right to free speech on social media, my answer is quite radical: they do not have a right to freedom of expression on such platforms. This is because Twitter is not a town square, and we should stop treating it like one.

Traditionally, the language of free speech is used to protect citizens from censorship when government actors abuse their power and stifle dissent. In recent years, however, social media critics have increasingly used this language to describe a very different relationship: that which exists between powerful private actors and users who generate content on their platforms.

From a legal point of view, the distinction between public and private matters. Citizens right to free speech in public spaces does not immediately translate into a right to say what they please in privately-owned spaces. By way of example, members of the public do not have a right to publish what they want in the newspaper of their choice. That the Wall Street Journal will not publish my left-wing op-eds might irk me, but this does not give me a right to demand it does so. If we conceive of social media platforms as publishers, they, therefore, have a right to control what content circulates on their platform. Indeed, the comparison between publishers and social media platforms is not far-fetched: just like editors of newspapers decide what goes on the front page, Twitters algorithms determine what users see first in their feed when they log into their account.

Of course, we might reject the publisher analogy and envision social media platforms as virtual spaces which are part of the new online public sphere. This does not make them town squares, neither literally nor metaphorically. Again, such spaces are privately owned, which means that they are more akin to public accommodations, that is, private facilities which are used by the public at large such as restaurants and clubs.

Public accommodations are subject to anti-discrimination law. For instance, a restaurant owner cannot refuse service to customers on the grounds that they are differently-abled or practice a particular religion. Yet, anti-discrimination legislation targeted at public accommodations does not extend to viewpoint discrimination. For instance, it would be quite strange for a white supremacist to argue that she is the victim of discrimination because her universitys Anti-Racist League denies her membership on the grounds of her political views. If Twitter is a public accommodation, then it might similarly have a right to exclude viewpoints that run contrary to its executives values.

In my view, abusing the language of free speech prevents us from having a fruitful democratic debate on the right to exclude viewpoints from private spaces. Accepting to engage in such debate does not mean that we have to grant tech companies unlimited powers. If we the people dislike the fact that social media platforms currently regulate content as they please, we can change anti-discrimination law and collectively decide which perspectives they should be obligated to include. From a philosophical point of view, however, shouting free speech on a crowded social media platform does not accomplish anything; it simply blurs the lines between the public and the private.

Rejecting the town square model of Twitter is not merely a matter of philosophical clarity, but also of democratic power. In fact, my suggestion is to conceive of social media firms as private spaces that can be regulated by the government. Yet, people who shout free speech are under the mistaken impression that Twitter is the government. This comes at a great cost. If Twitter is our tyrant, then the best we can do is beg it to behave differently.

Twitter is no tyrant, and we are not supplicants. We do have elected representatives whose responsibility it is to protect citizens fundamental rights as opposed to the interest of shareholders. In the end, the power to regulate big tech belongs to the democratically accountable, not to big tech itself. If they are to succeed, our grievances should be directed at them.

About the author

tienne Brown is an assistant professor of philosophy at San Jos State University, holds a Ph.D. from the Sorbonne, and is a Public Voices Fellow at TheOp-Ed Project. He teaches the philosophy of law and the ethics of technology to the aspiring computer scientists of Silicon Valley.

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Newhouse Professor Wins Facebook Reality Labs Research Grant to Study Impacts of Augmented and Virtual Reality – Syracuse University News

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Makana Chock

Makana Chock, David J. Levidow Professor of Communications in the Newhouse School, has been awarded a $75,000 research grant from Facebook Reality Labs to explore the impacts of augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) on bystander privacy.

Chock will work withSe Jung Kim, a doctoral student in Newhousesmass communicationsprogram. They will focus on two countries with disparate cultural normsthe U.S. and South Koreato examine the impact of cultural differences on privacy concerns and ultimately inform the design of AR/VR technology.

This is another example of how many of the leading communications companies in the world are turning to the Newhouse School to better understand some of the challenges we are facing as a society, says Newhouse Dean Mark J. Lodato.

Chock developed her proposal, AR/VR recording: Cultural differences in perceptions of bystander privacy, in response to Facebooks request for proposals on responsible innovation in AR/VR: Consider Everyone.

Chock says the ubiquitous and covert nature of AR/VR recording poses the threat of serious privacy violations as bystanders are captured without permission. At the same time, different societies often have different concepts of bystander privacy, and those differences are reflected in the way image recording is regulated.

In the individualist culture of the U.S., recording bystanders in a public space is largely accepted and often protected under the First Amendment. In the collectivist culture of South Korea, where a higher premium is placed on privacy, express permission is required to record individuals. Yet even there, younger adults regularly post images and recordings on social media that may contain bystanders.

Additionally, Chock says bystander privacy issues are especially important when it comes to vulnerable populations like immigrants.

Over the last few years, immigrants in both the U.S. and South Korea have faced restrictions and increased scrutiny from the government agencies, as well as discrimination and bullying from some members of their communities, she says. These factors may heighten concerns about privacy and the potential misuse of immigrants personal information or images. It is therefore important to increase awareness among AR/VR users of bystanders concerns and the potential for inadvertent harm.

The three-part study will begin with an online survey conducted in both countries to assess potential differences in bystanders privacy perceptions and concerns and identify additional concerns of targeted immigrant groups. The team will then conduct a series of in-depth interviews with a subset of survey participants to provide additional qualitative data about cultural differences in bystander privacy concerns. Finally, they will facilitate a series of focus groups comprised of U.S. and South Korean users in a multi-user social VR environment in order to determine if the cultural differences seen in real world public spaces also apply in social VR spaces.

Chock is set to be the founding research director of the Newhouse Schools new XR lab and is co-leader of the Virtual and Immersive Interactionsresearch clusterat Syracuse University.

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Facebook Workrooms: the worst of in-person office life, now in VR – Quartz

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At this point in the pandemic, I would happily sit through a meeting that could have been an email if it meant being in the same room with a bunch of work friends. So when Facebook releasedHorizon Workrooms, an app that allows people to gather in a virtual-reality office, I was prepared to keep an open mind about its potential.

After all, humanity seems destined to one day leap into the metaverse, the internetwe will not just use but inhabit, so why not check out a vision of what that might look like according to a powerful company that hopes to help shape it, for better or worse.

Only two other people at my office own, or will admit to owning, an Oculus Quest 2 headset, the $300 headset required to experience Workrooms in VR. Together we created a tiny focus group: This would be the first time wed try to connect with others avatars in a virtual workspace.

Fortunately for Facebook, peoples lasting impressions of experiences are heavily influenced by how they end and not how they begin. Unfortunately for us, our onboarding process was bumpy.

As the only Gen-Xer in the group, I worried I might live up to stereotypes about older employees being stumped by new technology, so I was mortified when I could not find my way into the first meeting room I was invited to join. Instead, I landed on the virtual screen that acts as a portal for non-virtual guests to attend any gathering, as if on a regular video call.

Looking through my headset, I could see my cartoon avatar waiting to be teleported. On my laptop screen, the avatar for Quartzs CEO, a willing participant in our little experiment, sat alone. When I created a meeting room and invited him, we found ourselves in the same predicament, but with our roles reversed. (For the record, its surreal and somewhat embarrassing to be a dorky avatar staring up at the image of a real person on a video call-in screen. I understand why this feature has to exist when headsets are not yet in everyones tech arsenal, but I doubt that avatar-video hybrid meetings will be a hit.)

By our second attempt, I figured out what had gone wrong: Although it would seem intuitive to use your company email account to sign up for a workplace product, you actually need to log in with the same address you use for Facebook. This had not been obvious to me, nor to a third member of our group who also first appeared on the video screen in her headset. The takeaway: If youre going to try Workrooms, be prepared to share your ancient hotmail address, or maybe a nickname that hasnt been a part of your life since college, with your present-day peers and manager.

Eventually, all three of us came together in the apps conference room, where we initially spent some time checking out our digital bodies. The Oculus had warned us that legs may not be possible in every app, so it wasnt exactly surprising to find our bodies disappeared into floating blue office chairs at about hip level, but it was distracting.

It turns out that this isnt merely a result of Facebook rushing out a product a bit early, in VR, replicating legs that can walk or run is complicated, so they are absent in other VR meeting apps, too, including within the more graphically rich Spatial app, and in MeetinVR.

You might imagine then that ones virtual arms would compensate for the missing bottom limbs, but in Workrooms, they were instead unwieldy at times, often busy with their own projects underneath our virtual conference room table, or hanging in mid-air.

The app insists that users turn on hand tracking so your plastic controllers can be used as whiteboard pens, but the hand and finger functions seem glitchy and frustrating. To pick something up or select from menu items, youre supposed to make a pinching motion with your real fingers, which takes practice. At times we appeared to lose our CEOs attention as his avatar stared at his hands grabbing the air, seemingly catching flies Karate Kid-style.

Next, we checked out all the things our avatars could do in the programs bright, extremely generic conference room. Considering the resources Facebook would have at its disposal, we found the list of impressive in-app features surprisingly short. Heres what we liked:

By adding the remote desktop, a person could, in theory, spend their entire day working inside this other reality, popping in and out of virtual meetings. However, its unlikely that anyone would actually want to do that. After about 20 minutes, the Oculus 2 headset becomes hot and heavy on a persons face. Long meetings would also mean charging the hardware periodically because Workrooms seems to tax the battery.

But beyond the physical limitations, theres a bigger problem: The virtual rooms are so dull that a person would quickly run out of reasons to stay there.

Yes, you can switch up the seating arrangement so that youre facing your peers or taking in a presentation, and you can jump into a new seat in a blink just to view the room from different angles, but thats really all there is. You cannot huddle around a coffee bar for an informal chat, bond over foosball, or lounge in a Moon Pod.

Workrooms, in other words, only recreates the things we dont miss about office meetings, like the opportunity to watch someone give a PowerPoint presentation. Somehow, the worlds biggest social media site forgot to make its latest product social. And without unstructured time in the company of others in VR or elsewhere, its hard to imagine having the kinds of conversations that lead to creative breakthroughs and keep people motivated, or get people interested in the metaverse.

While it may be unfair to mock the details that will surely be refined as the software moves out of betafor example, how are the perpetually pleasant half-smiles on the avatars faces going to land during serious discussions?the apps dry focus on a corporate ritual is a let-down. We definitely expected to find more than an unremarkable conference room in the first virtual space Facebook has debuted since Zuckerbergs ode to the metaverse on an earnings call.

Still, I had to admit when I peeled off my headset that it felt like I actually had been somewhere else, with other people, for a change.

The virtual trip was not as energizing as the real visit to the office I made before the delta variant began surging, and I think we will need more private spaces if were actually going to socialize in a virtual office. But I do understand the optimistic forecasts that say the enterprise VR market will expand, possibly reaching $4 billion by 2023. (A few big firms, including PwC, have already begun experimenting with VR meetings.)

Its not a bad bet given the future that awaits us. One day, VR goggles might be lighter and the graphics less clumsy than they are today, but office closures during grim public health crises or devastating climate events may be just as common.

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Facebook Workrooms: the worst of in-person office life, now in VR - Quartz

TikTok owner ByteDance buys a top virtual reality hardware startup – TechCrunch

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TikTok parent company ByteDance seems to be looking to one-up Facebook anywhere it can. After taking over the mantle of most-downloaded social media app in the world with TikTok, ByteDance is coming for Facebooks moonshot, buying up its own virtual reality headset maker called Pico.

The deal first reported on by Bloomberg last week was confirmed by the company on Monday, though ByteDance didnt disclose a price tag for the deal. Pico had raised some $62 million in venture funding from Chinese firms, including a $37 million Series B in March. Like Oculus, they create both hardware and software for their VR devices. Unlike Oculus, they have a substantial presence in China. Pico may not hold the same name recognition as Oculus or HTC, but the company is a top VR hardware maker, selling to consumer audiences in China and enterprise customers in the Western world.

With Pico finding its home now at ByteDance, two of the worlds largest virtual reality brands now reside inside social media companies. Ironically, many of the companys North American customers Ive chatted with over the years seem to have at least partially opted for Pico headsets over Oculus hardware due to general weariness of Facebooks data and ads-dependent business models, which they fear Oculus will eventually become a larger part of.

Its no secret that the virtual reality market has been slow out of the gate, but Facebook has blazed the trail for the technology, dumping billions of dollars into an ecosystem that traditional investors have largely seemed uninterested in, in recent years.

Without knowing broad terms of the deal (Im asking around), its hard to determine whether this is a moment of resurgence for VR or another sign of a contracting market. What seems most likely to me is that ByteDance is indeed interested in building out a consumer VR brand and is aiming to follow in Facebooks footsteps closely while learning from their missteps and capitalizing on their contributions to the ecosystem. Whether the company solely focuses on the consumer markets in China or loosely pursues enterprise clients stateside as well is a big question ByteDance will have to address.

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3 Virtual and Augmented Reality Stocks to Buy Right Now – The Motley Fool

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Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) devices are still relatively niche types of consumer products, considering their hefty price tags and limited uses. But many tech companies are making big bets on the VR/AR market blowing up in the coming years.

If bullish predictions about the VR/AR market are correct, three companies in particular stand to benefit thanks to their firm holds on their respective niches in the space: Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Sony (NYSE:SONY), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). By investing in VR/AR stocks with a diversified range of focuses (social networking and social gaming for Facebook, narrative-driven gaming for Sony, and enterprise uses for Microsoft), investors can benefit from the rapid adoption across different industries.

Using AR headsets to view a digital image of a jet engine. Image Source: Microsoft.

Facebook's strategy for domination in VR started early with laying a solid foundation of technology and developer talent, mostly through acquiring existing VR hardware and software companies. Since its acquisition of Oculus VR in 2014,Facebook has acquired several other small yet high-performing studios likeBigBox and Unit 2. This talent lineup, combined with the company's early-mover status, put Facebook ahead of the competition in VR gaming.

The company's long-term vision for VR is much more grandiose than just gaming, though. Mark Zuckerberg has big plans for a Facebook-powered metaverse (essentially, a VR-powered social network or "digital world"), and the company stands light-years ahead of potential competitors in this sector thanks to its sheer user count and unmatched network effects. While Facebook still has some work to do in gaining public trust, it is one of the best bets on the future of VR and AR.

Sony's VR ambitions are focused more acutely on gaming -- especially on immersing players in the company's famous storyline-driven game franchises, as opposed to a social-driven game platform or metaverse. This focus is well suited for Sony's strong lineup of exclusive, narrative-based game franchises like God of War, The Last of Us, and most of the Uncharted titles.

Whether you're a gamer or not, the numbers don't lie: Sony's PS VR is the best-selling headset on the market today. This market leadership, combined with a forthcoming new PS VR built for the PlayStation 5, mean investors shouldn't overlook Sony as a leading stock in VR gaming.

While Microsoft has no public plans to develop VR or AR capabilities in its Xbox gaming division, the company's $22 billion contract to build AR headsets for the U.S. Army implies it will focus instead on VR/AR use in the government and enterprise sectors. Microsoft's enterprise "mixed reality" headset, the HoloLens 2, is used to train and guide employees through difficult tasks. For example, Lockheed Martin uses the HoloLens 2 to build spacecraft with efficient precision.

Microsoft is a great growth stock to own for multiple reasons, including its powerful cloud and Xbox's promising future in cloud gaming. The strong leadership position of the HoloLens 2 in enterprise and government solutions is yet another convincing reason to own the stock for the long haul.

Overall, expectations for high growth in the VR/AR space are not unwarranted. Fortune Business Insights forecasts that the global market for VR gaming will reach $45.2 billion by 2027 (from $5.1 billion in 2019).

This translates to a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.8%, compared to a CAGR of only 5.3% for the overall gaming console market over the same forecast period. After this market hits the ground running, investors will be glad to own the three VR/AR stocks discussed above.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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Report: Virtual Reality Still No Closer To Allowing Users To Make Out With Abraham Lincoln – The Onion

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CAMBRIDGE, MAAccording to a new report issued Monday by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, years of advances in virtual reality have brought users no closer to being able to make out with a digital interface resembling Abraham Lincoln. While technology can now provide us with convincing interactive experiences in a variety of artificial environments, we are still unable to simulate convincing, steamy tongue kisses with President Lincoln, said MIT professor Spencer Roberts, explaining that VR had repeatedly failed to recreate the sensations of loosening the 16th U.S. presidents black bow tie, caressing his chest, feeling his taut, well-muscled shoulders, and wrapping ones legs around his powerful 6-foot-4-inch frame. Weve spent close to $65 million on this problem, and while we have succeeded in providing users with a recreation of what his stiff beard might have felt like against their cheek, we have yet to construct a workable replication of this rail-splitting frontiersmans lean and lanky flesh, which they could then explore with their lips. Its unfortunate, because this technology showed so much promise back in 1990, when we first built a computer that could run a 16-bit animated graphic of Lincoln doing a striptease that concluded with him wearing nothing but his stovepipe hat. Roberts went on to contrast the failure with VRs runaway success in building a simulation of what it would feel like to get drilled from behind by Lyndon B. Johnson.

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Report: Virtual Reality Still No Closer To Allowing Users To Make Out With Abraham Lincoln - The Onion

Burning Man Is Completely in Virtual Reality This Year – Futurism

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It's free to attend, but donations are welcome.Virtual Burning Man

The iconic desert festival Burning Man has moved entirely online for 2021 over COVID concerns, allowing attendees to roam the art-laden landscapes from the comfort of their own home and inside virtual reality, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Its not the first time the festivalhas moved online. Last year, a VR experience had to be put together in record time as the pandemic was only getting started. An estimated half a million people attended the virtual event at the time, according to the WSJ, over five times the amount that attended the in-person Burning Man back in 2019.

Attending this years event is also free, though donations are accepted. You can check out an overview of the virtual space for yourself here, straight from your browser.

Its a major shift for the many Burners who are usually willing to travel long distances to attend the event, normally held in the Nevada desert. This time, all they will have to do is strap on a VR headset to get their Burning Man freak on.

The event, called Virtual Burnthis year, is themed around decommodification, free expression, and self-reliance.

The events theme is The Great Unknown perhaps a nod to our uncertain future in the midst of a global pandemic and will include the traditional burning of a giant wooden effigy, the eponymous Burning Man. A real effigy will actually be lit in the desert, but the lighting will be livestreamed over VR as well, the WSJ reports.

COVID isnt keeping all physical Burners away. An unofficial event called Renegade Burn being held in the Nevada desert is expecting some 10,000 people gathering at the site, according to Billboard.

Similarly, last year saw a large group of people attend a Not-Burning Man for their own unofficial event.

But at least organizers are trying their best to make virtual Burners feel like theyre attending the real thing this year. They programmed in a rainstorm in the desert, causing hours of virtualized delays just like it did in real life back in 2013.

READ MORE: How Could Burning Man Get Weirder? When Its in Your Living Room. [The Wall Street Journal]

More on Burning Man: Neuralink Co-Founder Has an Idea for a New Religion

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Burning Man Is Completely in Virtual Reality This Year - Futurism

Freedom of expression issues clouding virtual reality world, according to Venice VR Expanded heads – Screen International

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Venice VR Expanded co-creators Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac have warned of freedom of expression issues threatening to stop daring and ground-breaking VR work being seen widely.

The Venice organisers need to work with the leading VR platforms, who are generally strong supporters of artists in the fast growing VR field, in order to distribute virtual-reality projects online. The hitch comes with what these platforms are allowing to be seen.

They have a very strict moral code with very strictly defined family moral values, Reilhac said.

Any piece that does not comply with the platforms criteria is rejected, he explained. Nudity and sex are completely impossible to show on any of the platforms which really contradicts the notion that VR is a new art form and that therefore new artists want to use the medium to express freely their story worlds, Reilhac added.

This means, for example, that some works chosen for the Venice programme cant be shown through the platforms. Taiwanese director Tung-yen Chous sexually explicit In The Mist, dealing with a gay experience in a male sauna, is one example of a project affected.

We had to pull it out of competition because it cannot be seen on the platforms but weve kept it as a special event, Reilhac noted.

In The Mist can only be seen in Venice itself or in one of the satellite cities but cannot be experienced online.

Highly politicised projects are also being affected.

A panel is being held in Venice on September 8 as part of the VR Expanded progamme to explore the options available to artists whose work does not fit within the family values boundaries set by some of the VR platforms.

After a fully virtual edition last year, the Venice VR Expanded programme has returned to the Lido as a physical event, albeit on a smaller scale than in previous years.Based in rooms in the Venice Casino, the VR programme has had to vacate (for now) its old home on Lazzaretto Vecchio, an island 50 yards off the Lido. This means it lacks the space and facilities to host or present installations.

However, the online presence continues to grow while satellite cites including Beijing, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Moscow, Portland and Barcelona are also producing their own local events at which the Venice VR selections are being showcased.

A new VRChat metaverse world gallery has also been established. There are 24 projects in Competition; 11 projects in the Best Of section; one project in the Biennale College Cinema VR section and one special event, out of competition.

Competition projects include Barry Gene Murphy and May Abdallas Goliath, a story of a man with schizophrenia who finds connection with the world by playing video games. It is narrated by Tilda Swinton.

Another high-profile title in competition is Glimpse, directed by the Irish filmmaking duo Benjamin Cleary and VR creator Michael OConnor, and which stars Taron Egerton and Lucy Boynton. The anthropomorphic tale details the break-up of a relationship between a panda and a deer.

Another competition title highlighted by the organisers is Taiwanese director Hsin-chien Huangs Samsara, a dystopian project set in a near future in which the environment has been completely destroyed by the human race. Humans have to flee to find a new home in space. They re-engineer their DNA and evolve into a new form and then search for a new planet on which to live.

All the competition works are world premieres.

Venice remains the only major festival which includes VR as an integral part of its main programme. The other festivals that have a significant VR section, they all have it on the side. Its not part of the official selection, says Reilhac. I guess it is because they dont believe yet it (VR) is an art form. We are very, very thankful to the Biennale and to Alberto Barbera, the artistic director, to trust us and give us the time over the years to really show that this is an art form.

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Freedom of expression issues clouding virtual reality world, according to Venice VR Expanded heads - Screen International

Playing a virtual reality game during medical procedures can reduce pain and anxiety in children | Keck School of Medicine of USC – USC News

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A study done by Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the Keck School of Medicine of USC shows that engaging in virtual reality may also reduce the need for anesthetics.

Anyone who has watched a child face a doctor with a needle knows how stressful those moments can be for all involved. For children with serious medical conditions undergoing frequent procedures like blood draws and catheter placements, the ongoing anxiety and fear can take a toll. Now, a study published in JAMA Network Open shows that virtual reality can decrease pain and anxiety in children undergoing intravenous (IV) catheter placement.

Jeffrey Gold, PhD, a professor of clinical anesthesiology, pediatrics, psychiatry & behavioral sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and an investigator at The Saban Research Institute of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, has been investigating the use of virtual reality (VR) for nearly two decades as a technique to help children undergoing painful medical procedures. His research shows that the technology can make a big difference in a patients experience. In fact, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles now routinely offers VR for blood draws.

Some patients dont even realize that their blood is being drawn, says Dr. Gold. Compare that to a child who is panicking and screaming, and its a no-brainer. We want kids to feel safe.

Turning pain and fear into childs play

This new study examines whether engaging in a VR game can prevent pain and ease stress for patients undergoing a peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) placement. The game is simple but requires focus and participation. Patients in one group played the VR game throughout the procedure, while those in another group received standard of care the use of a local anesthetic cream coupled with distraction techniques. The patients who used VR reported significantly lower levels of pain and anxiety.

We can actually reduce pain without the use of a medication, says Dr. Gold. The mind is incredibly powerful at shifting focus and actually preventing pain from being registered. If we can tap into that, we can make the experience much better for our kids.

Children arent the only ones who benefit

This is one of the first studies to analyze the effects of VR not only from the patient perspective, but also from that of the clinician and the patients family or caregivers. All three of these groups reported a more positive experience with the use of VR.

We started this as a way to mitigate pain and overall distress in children. But caregivers and healthcare providers are also reporting improved outcomes, adds Dr. Gold. Effectively treating the patient clearly has a ripple effect.

Consider a typical scenario in which a child has a chronic illness and must routinely receive PIVC placement. A patient experiencing anxiety about her procedure may tense up, making it more difficult for the clinician to find a vein and insert the catheter. If multiple attempts are necessary, a childs fear may amplify, causing a snowball effect, which in turn may impact medical adherence and ultimately long-term health outcomes.

If, on the other hand, the patient plays a virtual game while undergoing the procedure, she may relax and experience less pain, improving the overall experience for the child, the family, and the healthcare provider.

Stress actually causes veins to constrict, says Dr. Gold, but you dont need to know the physiology to know that its better to have a relaxed kid.

The ripple effect goes further. A childs experience during a visit sets the tone for future visits. If the experience feels traumatic, the child and family may be less likely to adhere with scheduled visits or may feel more stressed coming back to the hospital. We dont want a childs healthcare experience to be another adverse childhood experience, says Gold. Adverse childhood experiences, also called ACEs, can lead to poor health outcomes.

We care about the healthcare experience that children have, says Dr. Gold. By reducing fear associated with routine procedures, we prepare the child to begin treatment with a more positive outlook, and this can affect their health for a lifetime.

About the study

The studys co-authors include Michelle SooHoo, PhD, Andrea M. Laikin, PhD, Arianna S. Lane, BA, and Margaret J. Klein, MS, of The Saban Research Institute of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

This research is funded by Beatrice and Paul Bennett, the Tower Cancer Foundation, the Cancer Free Generation, and hardware and software donations from AppliedVR. Dr Gold reports providing consultation to AppliedVR and receiving equity in the form of stock options outside the submitted work.

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Playing a virtual reality game during medical procedures can reduce pain and anxiety in children | Keck School of Medicine of USC - USC News