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COVID-19 Fibroblast Based Cell Therapy Candidate Shown to Reduce Lung Scarring in Aggressive Animal Model – PRNewswire

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

HOUSTON, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --FibroGenesis announced today new data supporting use of its PneumoBlast product in the battle against COVID-19.Using the widely accepted bleomycin model of lung scarring (fibrosis), Company scientists have demonstrated the administration and use of PneumoBlast induced a 51% reduction of lung fibrosis,which was statistically significant (p < .005). Importantly, when PneumoBlast was compared head to head with bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) for COVID-19, PneumoBlast was 221% more effective. In producing the potent anti-inflammatory protein interleukin 1 receptor antagonist, which is believed to be the mechanism of scar tissue prevention by BMSC therapies currently in development, PneumoBlast was 192% more effective than BMSCs which was again, statistically significant(p < .005).

During an interview with Healthline.com, Dr. Lori Shah, transplant pulmonologist at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, stated "Holes in the lungs likely refers to an entity that has been dubbed 'post-COVID fibrosis,' otherwise known as post-ARDS [acute respiratory distress syndrome] fibrosis, which is irreversible and can result in severe functional limitations from patients, such as cough, shortness of breath, and need for oxygen." It has been reported that pulmonary fibrosis due to COVID-19 is occurring in increasing numbers of patients in their 20s and 30s.

"COVID-19 represents a new clinical entity which not only causes death through lung inflammation, but in some patients causes permanent lung injury through stimulation of scarring," said Tom Ichim, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of FibroGenesis. "The prospects that our cell therapy approach not only possesses therapeutic effects on animal models of the acute stage of COVID-19, but also benefits the long-term pathology, has our research team extremely excited."

"As the scientific and medical community is discovering more about the biological and medical consequences of the COVID-19 infection, FibroGenesis is eager to contribute to the therapeutic cure options currently being created to fight this global war against an invisible enemy," commented Pete O'Heeron, President/CEO of FibroGenesis. "While we are excited about potential vaccines in the pipeline, the fact remains that there are 3.8 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and we do not know what the long-term outcomes for these patients will be. To our knowledge, we are the only cell therapy company which is creating a therapy to resolve the initial pathology of infection and also proactively tackling its long-term consequences."

About FibroGenesis

Based in Houston, Texas, FibroGenesis, is a regenerative medicine company developing an innovative solution for chronic disease treatment using human dermal fibroblasts. Currently, FibroGenesis holds 235+ U.S. and international issued patents/patents pending across a variety of clinical pathways, including Disc Degeneration, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Cancer, Diabetes, Liver Failure, Colitis and Heart Failure. Funded entirely by angel investors, FibroGenesis represents the next generation of medical advancement in cell therapy.

Visit http://www.Fibro-Genesis.com.

SOURCE FibroGenesis

http://www.Fibro-Genesis.com

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COVID-19 Fibroblast Based Cell Therapy Candidate Shown to Reduce Lung Scarring in Aggressive Animal Model - PRNewswire

Cell Therapy Market Analysis Of Global Trends, Demand And Competition 2020-2028 – Owned

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

Trusted Business Insights answers what are the scenarios for growth and recovery and whether there will be any lasting structural impact from the unfolding crisis for the Cell Therapy market.

Trusted Business Insights presents an updated and Latest Study on Cell Therapy Market 2019-2026. The report contains market predictions related to market size, revenue, production, CAGR, Consumption, gross margin, price, and other substantial factors. While emphasizing the key driving and restraining forces for this market, the report also offers a complete study of the future trends and developments of the market.The report further elaborates on the micro and macroeconomic aspects including the socio-political landscape that is anticipated to shape the demand of the Cell Therapy market during the forecast period (2019-2029).It also examines the role of the leading market players involved in the industry including their corporate overview, financial summary, and SWOT analysis.

Get Sample Copy of this Report @ Cell Therapy Market Size, Share, Market Research and Industry Forecast Report, 2020-2027 (Includes Business Impact of COVID-19)

Industry Insights, Market Size, CAGR, High-Level Analysis: Cell Therapy Market

The global cell therapy market size was valued at USD 5.8 billion in 2019 and is projected to witness a CAGR of 5.4% during the forecast period. The development of precision medicine and advancements in Advanced Therapies Medicinal Products (ATMPS) in context to their efficiency and manufacturing are expected to be the major drivers for the market. In addition, automation in adult stem cell and cord blood processing and storage are the key technological advancements that have supported the growth of the market for cell therapy.The investment in technological advancements for decentralizing manufacturing of this therapy is anticipated to significantly benefit the market. Miltenyi Biotec is one of the companies that has contributed to the decentralization in manufacturing through its CliniMACS Prodigy device. The device is an all-in-one automated manufacturing system that exhibits the capability of manufacturing various cell types.

An increase in financing and investments in the space to support the launch of new companies is expected to boost the organic revenue growth in the market for cell therapy. For instance, in July 2019, Bayer invested USD 215 million for the launch of Century Therapeutics, a U.S.-based biotechnology startup that aimed at developing therapies for solid tumors and blood cancer. Funding was further increased to USD 250 billion by a USD 35 million contribution from Versant Ventures and Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics.The biomanufacturing companies are working in collaboration with customers and other stakeholders to enhance the clinical development and commercial manufacturing of these therapies. Biomanufacturers and OEMs such as GE healthcare are providing end-to-end flexible technology solutions to accelerate the rapid launch of therapies in the market for cell therapy.The expanding stem cells arena has also triggered the entry of new players in the market for cell therapy. Celularity, Century Therapeutics, Rubius Therapeutics, ViaCyte, Fate Therapeutics, ReNeuron, Magenta Therapeutics, Frequency Therapeutics, Promethera Biosciences, and Cellular Dynamics are some startups that have begun their business in this arena lately.Use-type InsightsThe clinical-use segment is expected to grow lucratively during the forecast period owing to the expanding pipeline for therapies. The number of cancer cellular therapies in the pipeline rose from 753 in 2018 to 1,011 in 2019, as per Cancer Research Institute (CRI). The major application of stem cell treatment is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for the treatment of the immune system and blood disorders for cancer patients.In Europe, blood stem cells are used for the treatment of more than 26,000 patients each year. These factors have driven the revenue for malignancies and autoimmune disorders segment. Currently, most of the stem cells used are derived from bone marrow, blood, and umbilical cord resulting in the larger revenue share in this segment.On the other hand, cell lines, such as Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) and human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESC) are recognized to possess high growth potential. As a result, a several research entities and companies are making significant investments in R&D pertaining to iPSC- and hESC-derived products.TherapyType Insights of Cell Therapy Market

An inclination of physicians towards therapeutic use of autologous and allogeneic cord blood coupled with rising awareness about the use of cord cells and tissues across various therapeutic areas is driving revenue generation. Currently, the allogeneic therapies segment accounted for the largest share in 2019 in the cell therapy market. The presence of a substantial number of approved products for clinical use has led to the large revenue share of this segment.

Furthermore, the practice of autologous tissue transplantation is restricted by the limited availability of healthy tissue in the patient. Moreover, this type of tissue transplantation is not recommended for young patients wherein tissues are in the growth and development phase. Allogeneic tissue transplantation has effectively addressed the above-mentioned challenges associated with the use of autologous transplantation.However, autologous therapies are growing at the fastest growth rate owing to various advantages over allogeneic therapies, which are expected to boost adoption in this segment. Various advantages include easy availability, no need for HLA-matched donor identification, lower risk of life-threatening complications, a rare occurrence of graft failure, and low mortality rate.

Regional Insights of Cell Therapy Market

The presence of leading universities such as the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, and Yale Stem Cell Center that support research activities in U.S. is one of the key factor driving the market for cell therapy in North America. Moreover, strong regulatory and financing support from the federal bodies for expansion of this arena in U.S. as well as Canada is driving the market.In Asia Pacific, the market is anticipated to emerge as a lucrative source of revenue owing to the availability of therapies at lower prices coupled with growing awareness among the healthcare entities and patients pertaining the potential of these therapies in chronic disease management. Japan is leading the Asian market for cell therapy, which can be attributed to its fast growth as a hub for research on regenerative medicine.Moreover, the Japan government has recognized regenerative medicine and cell therapy as a key contributor to the countrys economic growth. This has positively influenced the attention of global players towards the Asian market, thereby driving marketing operations in the region.

Market Share Insights of Cell Therapy Market

Some key companies operating in this market for cell therapy are Fibrocell Science, Inc.; JCR Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.; Kolon TissueGene, Inc.; PHARMICELL Co., Ltd.; Osiris Therapeutics, Inc.; MEDIPOST; Cells for Cells; NuVasive, Inc.; Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc.; Vericel Corporation; and ANTEROGEN.CO.,LTD. These companies are collaborating with the blood centers and plasma collection centers in order to obtain cells for use in therapeutics development.Several companies have marked their presence in the market by acquiring small and emerging therapy developers. For instance, in August 2019, Bayer acquired BlueRock Therapeutics to establish its position in the market for cell therapy. BlueRock Therapeutics is a U.S. company that relies on a proprietary induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) platform for cell therapy development.Several companies are making an entry in the space through the Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) business model. For example, in April 2019, Hitachi Chemical Co. Ltd. acquired apceth Biopharma GmbH to expand its global footprint in the CDMO market for cell and gene therapy manufacturing.

Segmentations, Sub Segmentations, CAGR, & High-Level Analysis overview of Cell Therapy Market Research ReportThis report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2019 to 2030. For the purpose of this study, this market research report has segmented the global cell therapy market on the basis of use-type, therapy-type, and region:

Use-Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2019 2030)

Clinical-use

By Therapeutic Area

Malignancies

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Autoimmune Disorders

Dermatology

Others

By Cell Type

Stem Cell Therapies

BM, Blood, & Umbilical Cord-derived Stem Cells

Adipose derived cells

Others

Non-stem Cell Therapies

Research-use

Therapy Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2019 2030)

Allogeneic Therapies

Autologous Therapies

Quick Read Table of Contents of this Report @ Cell Therapy Market Size, Share, Market Research and Industry Forecast Report, 2020-2027 (Includes Business Impact of COVID-19)

Trusted Business InsightsShelly ArnoldMedia & Marketing ExecutiveEmail Me For Any ClarificationsConnect on LinkedInClick to follow Trusted Business Insights LinkedIn for Market Data and Updates.US: +1 646 568 9797UK: +44 330 808 0580

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Cell Therapy Market Analysis Of Global Trends, Demand And Competition 2020-2028 - Owned

Two Immunotherapies Converted Into Single Therapy for Certain Blood Cancers – Technology Networks

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

Some of the most promising advances in cancer treatment have centered on immunotherapies that rev up a patients immune system to attack cancer. But immunotherapies dont work in all patients, and researchers have been searching for ways to increase their effectiveness.

Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have combined two immunotherapy strategies into a single therapy and found, in studies in human cells and in mice, that the two together are more effective than either alone in treating certain blood cancers, such as leukemia. Evidence also suggests that the new approach could be safer than one of the most recent cellular immunotherapies to be approved by the FDA, called CAR-T cell therapy, in which the immune systems T cells are engineered to target tumor cells. Cell-based immunotherapies are most commonly used against blood cancers but can be harnessed against some solid tumors as well, such as prostate and lung tumors and melanoma.

The study appears online in the journal Blood.

In the new research, the scientists have harnessed the technology used to engineer CAR-T cells and, instead of modifying specialized immune cells called T cells, they have used similar technology to alter different immune cells called natural killer (NK) cells. The resulting immunotherapy combines the benefits of both strategies and may reduce the side effects that are sometimes seen in CAR-T cell therapy. In some patients, for example, CAR-T cell therapy causes a cytokine storm, a life-threatening overreaction of the immune system.

Immunotherapies show great promise for cancer therapy, but we need to make them more effective and more safe for more patients, said co-senior authorTodd A. Fehniger, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine. This combined approach builds on the treatment strategy that we developed for leukemia patients using natural killer cells. We can supercharge natural killer cells to enhance their ability to attack cancer cells. And at the same time, we can use the genetic engineering approaches of CAR cell therapy to direct the natural killer cells to a tumor target that would normally be overlooked by NK cells. It fundamentally changes the types of cancer that NK cells could be used to treat, both additional blood cancers and potentially solid tumors as well.

In past work, Fehniger and his colleagues showed that they could collect a patients own NK cells, expose the cells to a specific recipe of chemical signals that prime the cells to attack tumors, and then return the primed cells to patients for therapy. This chemical exposure is a sort of basic training for the cells, according to the investigators, preparing the NK cells to fight the cancer. When the cells are then returned to the body, they remember their training, so to speak, and are more effective at targeting the tumor cells. Because their training has given the NK cells a memory of what to do when they encounter tumor cells, the researchers dubbed them memory-like NK cells.

In small clinical trials conducted atSiteman Cancer Centerat Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, such cells were effective in putting some patients with leukemia into a lasting remission, but they didnt work for everyone. Some tumor cells still evaded the memory-like NK cells, despite the cells basic training. To help the cells find the tumor cells, so their basic training can kick in and kill the correct target, the researchers modified the memory-like NK cells with the same CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) molecule that is typically used to target T cells to tumor cells. The CAR molecule is flexible and can be modified to direct the cells to different tumor types, depending on the proteins on the surfaces of the cancer cells.

The resulting hybrid cells were more effective in treating mice with leukemia than memory-like NK cells alone, leading to longer survival for mice treated with CAR memory-like NK cells. The researchers also found the therapy to be effective despite the fact that the mice were given relatively low doses of the cells.

One aspect of this study I find most exciting is how nicely these hybrid NK cells expand in the mice to respond to their tumors, said co-senior authorMelissa Berrien-Elliott, PhD, an instructor in medicine. We can provide a tiny dose and see an incredible amount of tumor control. To me, this highlights the potency of these cells, as well as their potential to expand once in the body, which is critical for translating these findings to the clinic.

Fehniger also pointed out that an advantage of NK cells in general and for biological reasons that the scientists are still working to understand NK cells dont trigger a dangerous immune response or the long-term side effects that T-cell therapy can cause in attacking the patients healthy tissues, a condition called graft-versus-host disease.

In all of the clinical trials exploring any type of NK cells, we dont see the troublesome side effects of cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity that we see with CAR-T cells that can profoundly affect patients, Fehniger said. These side effects can be life-threatening and require intensive care. Were still working to understand how NK cells are different. But if you can get the benefits of CAR-T cells with few if any of the side effects, thats a reasonable line of research to pursue. Another benefit of this safer therapy is the potential to give these cells to patients at an earlier stage in their disease, rather than using them as a last resort.

Other groups have developed CAR-NK cells, but a major difference is that other groups NK cells came from donated cord blood or induced stem cells, rather than adult donors or the patients themselves.

The other groups have artificially differentiated stem cells into something that resembles an NK cell, Fehniger said. With that strategy, theres no guarantee that those cells will have all the properties of typical mature NK cells. In contrast, were starting with adult NK cells, so were more confident that they will have all the inherent properties and behavior of adult NK cells, which we have already shown to be effective in certain types of cancer patients, especially those with leukemia. Inducing memory properties adds to their persistence and effectiveness against many cancer types.

Over the next several years, we would like to be able to scale up this process to produce enough cells for a first-in-human clinical trial, and investigate their effectiveness in different types of human blood cancers, he said.

Reference: Gang, et al. (2020). CAR-modified memory-like NK cells exhibit potent responses to NK-resistant lymphomas. Blood. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2020006619

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

Two Immunotherapies Converted Into Single Therapy for Certain Blood Cancers - Technology Networks

Researchers ID new target in drive to improve immunotherapy for cancer – UCLA Newsroom

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

FINDINGS

Researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and UCLA School of Dentistryhave identified a potential new combination therapy to treat advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, the most common type of head and neck cancer.

A study in mice found that using an anti-PD1 immunotherapy drug in combination with PTC209, an inhibitor that targets the protein BMI1, successfully stopped the growth and spread of the cancer, prevented reoccurrences and eliminated cancer stem cells. This is the first preclinical study to provide evidence that targeting BMI1 proteins enhances immunotherapy and eliminates cancer stem cells by activating antitumor immunity.

BACKGROUND

Immunotherapies using PD1 blockade have transformed the way people with difficult cancers are treated. Currently, PD1 blockade combined with chemotherapy is approved for recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer, giving people whose disease would have otherwise been seen as a death sentence another option. However, response rates are not very high and response duration is relatively short, indicating that this type of cancer might be resistant to PD1 blockade.

To help overcome immunotherapy resistance, UCLA researchers have been studying the role of cancer stem cells and the protein BMI1. Growing evidence suggests cancer stem cells might be responsible for such resistance, as well as for relapse or reoccurrence, and BMI1, which functions in several cancers, including head and neck, has been found to control cancer stem cells self-renewal. Targeting cancer stem cells may be critical for improving the efficacy of immunotherapy and preventing tumor relapse.

METHOD

The team used a mouse model of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma that fully mimicked human cancer development and metastasis, allowing them to perform lineage tracing of BMI1-positive cancer stem cells in an undisturbed tumor immune microenvironment. They then tested whether BMI1 cancer stem cells could be eradicated by PD1 blockadebased combination therapy using both pharmacological and genetic inhibition of BMI1. They found that inhibiting BMI1 not only helped eliminate the BMI1 cancer stem cells but also enhanced PD1 blockade by activating tumor cellintrinsic immunity, which inhibited metastatic tumor growth and prevented tumor relapse.

IMPACT

Many people with advanced head and neck cancers who are treated with PD1 blockade and chemotherapy eventually see their cancer return and become resistant to the therapy. This preclinical study provides an important foundation for developing a new PD1 blockadebased combination therapy with BMI1 inhibitors that have the potential to help overcome resistance to the immunotherapy.

AUTHORS

The senior author is Dr. Cun-Yu Wang, professor and chair of oral biology at the UCLA School of Dentistry and a member of the UCLAs Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Samueli School of Engineering and Broad Stem Cell Research Center. The lead author is Lingfei Jia, an assistant project scientist in oral biology at the School of Dentistry and Jonsson Cancer Center. Wuchang Zhang, an assistant project scientist in oral biology, is also an author.

JOURNAL

The study ispublished onlinein the journal Cell Stem Cell.

FUNDING

The work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health.

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Researchers ID new target in drive to improve immunotherapy for cancer - UCLA Newsroom

Treatment of COVID-19 Pneumonia: the Case for Placenta-derived Cell Therapy – DocWire News

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

This article was originally published here

Stem Cell Rev Rep. 2020 Jul 21. doi: 10.1007/s12015-020-10004-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Nearly 500000 fatalities due to COVID-19 have been reported globally and the death toll is still rising. Most deaths are due to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), as a result of an excessive immune response and a cytokine storm elicited by severe SARS-CoV-2 lung infection, rather than by a direct cytopathic effect of the virus. In the most severe forms of the disease therapies should aim primarily at dampening the uncontrolled inflammatory/immune response responsible for most fatalities. Pharmacological agents antiviral and anti-inflammatory molecules have not been able so far to achieve compelling results for the control of severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Cells derived from the placenta and/or fetal membranes, in particular amniotic epithelial cells (AEC) and decidual stromal cells (DSC), have established, well-characterized, potent anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory properties that make them attractive candidates for a cell-based therapy of COVID19 pneumonia. Placenta-derived cells are easy to procure from a perennial source and pose minimal ethical issues for their utilization. In view of the existing clinical evidence for the innocuousness and efficiency of systemic administration of DSCs or AECs in similar conditions, we advocate for the initiation of clinical trials using this strategy in the treatment of severe COVID-19 disease.

PMID:32696426 | DOI:10.1007/s12015-020-10004-x

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Treatment of COVID-19 Pneumonia: the Case for Placenta-derived Cell Therapy - DocWire News

Trending News on Targeted Oncology, Week of July 24, 2020 – Targeted Oncology

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

In oncology news this week, the FDA accepted a supplemental New Drug Application for selinexor(Xpovio) as treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who had received at least 1 prior line of therapy. Meanwhile, theFDA granted clearance for the cancer drug abivertinib to be investigated in a phase 2 study as treatment of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

This week Targeted Oncology hosted a tweet chat with Alexander N. Shoushtari, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, to discussion the case of a 52-year-old woman withBRAF-mutant metastatic melanoma. Following the tweet chat, Shoushtari continued the discussion in an interview.

Sorafenib Maintenance May Prevent Recurrence After Transplant in FLT3-ITD+ AML

The risk of relapse or death was reduced by 61% with the use of sorafenib maintenance therapy compared with placebo following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients withFLT3-ITDpositive acute myeloid leukemia, according to the results of the phase 2 SORMAIN trial.

Ruxolitinib Reduces Spleen Size in Patients With Myelofibrosis and Low-Platelet Counts

Ruxolitinib, the JAK1/2 inhibitor, induced significant spleen responses in patients with myelofibrosis, both with general disease and in patients with low platelet counts, according to results from the phase 3b JUMP study.

Pivotal Phase 3 Trial Initiated to Study Promising Cabozantinib/Atezolizumab Combo in Advanced RCC

A pivotal phase 3 trial has been initiated to explore the combination of cabozantinib and atezolizumab for the treatment of patients with inoperable, locally advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma who progressed during or after treatment with an immune checkpoint inhibitor immediately following initial therapy.

CLR 131 Induces Encouraging Responses in Relapsed/Refractory LPL and WM

CLR 131 induced an objective response rate of 100% as treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma and Waldenstrms macroglobulinemia in the ongoing phase 2 CLOVER-1 study.

Avelumab Plus TG4001 Shows Promising Efficacy in HPV16-Positive Metastatic Cancers

Avelumab in combination with a novel HPV16-targeted vaccine, demonstrated clinical activity as treatment of patients with HPV16-positive recurrent and/or metastatic malignancies, a phase 1b/2 clinical trial showed.

A 79-Year-Old Man With Relapsed Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Jeff Sharman, MD, reviews a case of a 79-year-old man with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia in this episode of Targeted Oncology Case Based Peer Perspectives series.

Analyzing the Importance of Biomarker Testing and MSI Status in mCRC

Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD, discusses the significance of conducting biomarker testing in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer in accordance with the results of the phase 2 CheckMate 142 trial.

Limited Toxicity Seen With Leronlimab in Mild to Moderate COVID-19

Treatment with leronlimab in patients with mild to moderate symptoms of respiratory illness from COVID-19 caused fewer serious adverse events when compared with placebo, according to safety results from a phase 2 clinical trial.

Study Shows Disparities, Effects of Treatment for Patients With Cancer and COVID-19

Data from a treatment utilization study revealed racial disparities in treatments for COVID-19 as well as the effects and clinical outcomes of treatments such as remdesivir and dexamethasone in patients with cancer who were diagnosed with COVID-19.

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The global cell expansion market size is estimated to be USD 14.9 billion in 2020 and projected to reach USD 30.1 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 15.1%…

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

NEW YORK, July 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05773305/?utm_source=PRN

The global cell expansion market size is estimated to be USD 14.9 billion in 2020 and projected to reach USD 30.1 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 15.1%. Growth in this market is largely driven by the increasing incidence of chronic diseases, government investments for cell-based research, growing focus on personalized medicine, increasing focus on R&D for cell-based therapies, and increasing GMP certifications for cell therapy production facilities. On the other hand, ethical concerns regarding research in cell biology are expected to limit market growth to a certain extent in the coming years.

By instruments type, the cell expansion supporting equipment accounted for the fasted growing product segment of the cell expansion marketThe instruments segment includes cell expansion supporting equipment, bioreactors, and automated cell expansion systems.The cell expansion supporting equipment market includes flow cytometers, cell counters and hemocytometers, centrifuges, and other supporting equipment.

They are used in cell culture processes for isolating, culturing, scaling-up, and extracting biological products. These instruments are essential in laboratories and institutes for conducting research and analyzing the cell structure and function for cell therapy research. By cell type, the human cells segment accounted for the largest share of the cell expansion market

Based on cell type, the cell expansion market is segmented into human cells and animal cells.The human cells segment includes stem cells and differentiated cells.

The stem cells segment is further classified into adult stem cells, ESCs, and iPSCs. The human cells segment accounted for the larger share of the cell expansion market majorly due to the increasing investments by public and private organizations for research on human cells, growing application areas of human stem cells, and the growing incidence of diseases such as cancer.

Asia Pacific: The fastest-growing region in the cell expansion market.The Asia Pacific market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, mainly due to the increasing focus of players on emerging Asian markets, increasing incidence of chronic and infectious diseases, rising geriatric population, and government initiatives for infrastructural improvements of healthcare facilities are driving the growth of the cell expansion market in this region.

North America: the largest share of the cell expansion marketNorth America accounted for the largest share of the cell expansion market. The large share of this segment can primarily be attributed to the rising incidence of cancer, increasing government funding, rising research activates on stem cell therapies, growing awareness regarding advanced treatment methods, growing geriatric population, and the strong presence of industry players in the region.

Breakdown of primariesThe study contains insights from various industry experts, ranging from component suppliers to Tier 1 companies and OEMs. The break-up of the primaries is as follows: By Company Type Tier 1- 70%, Tier 2- 20% and Tier 3 - 10% By Designation C level Executives- 30%, Directors- 20%, Others - 50% By Region North America - 35%, Europe - 24%, APAC 25%, RoW- 16%

The cell expansion market is dominated by a few globally established players such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (US), Danaher (US), Becton, Dickinson and Company (US), Lonza (Switzerland), Corning, Inc. (US), Merck KGaA (Germany), Sartorius Stedim Biotech (France), Getinge AB (Sweden) Terumo Corporation (Japan), Miltenyi Biotec (Germany), PromoCell GmbH (Germany), Takara Bio Inc. (Japan), Solida Biotech GmBH (Germany), HiMedia Laboratories (India), Getinge AB, REPROCELL Inc. (Japan), Kohjin-Bio (Japan), Pierre Gurin (France), Cellexus Ltd.(UK), Eppendorf AG (Germany), CellGenix GmbH (Germany), iXCells Biotechnologies (US), Neuromics (US), Celltainer Biotech B.V. (Netherlands), and G&G Technologies (US).

Research Coverage:The report segments the cell expansion market based on region (Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and RoW), product (consumables and instruments), cell type (human cells and animal cells), application (regenerative medicine and stem cell research, cancer and cell-based research and other applications), and end user (research institutes, biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies, cell banks, and other end users).The report also provides a comprehensive review of market drivers, restraints, and opportunities in the cell expansion market.

Key Benefits of Buying the Report:The report will help the leaders/new entrants in this market with information on the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall market and the sub-segments.This report will help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain more insights to better position their businesses and plan suitable go-to-market strategies.

The report also helps stakeholders understand the pulse of the cell expansion market and provides them information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities.

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The global cell expansion market size is estimated to be USD 14.9 billion in 2020 and projected to reach USD 30.1 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 15.1%...

Teslas Next Gigafactory Will Be in Texas – Car and Driver

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

During its second-quarter 2020 earnings call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that Texas will be the location of the company's next Gigafactory. Musk called the location "GigaTexas" and described the plan for it as an ecological paradise with biking and walking trails.

Construction of the factory already started over the past weekend, according to Musk. The location will be where Tesla will build Model 3 and Model Y vehicles bound for the East Coast. The 2000-acre facility will also be home of the Tesla Semi and the upcoming Cybertruck.

For the Fremont, California, factory, that location will continue to build Model S and Model X for worldwide distribution and will likely be the facility that builds the upcoming Tesla Roadster. It'll also be the home of Model 3 and Y vehicles bound for the West Coast.

Musk said that the location near Austin on the Colorado river would be an ecological paradise with walking and biking paths. The location will also be open to the public. During the call Musk said, "Ive never been more optimistic or excited about the future of Tesla."

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Teslas Next Gigafactory Will Be in Texas - Car and Driver

Tesla at $300 billion is much smaller company than Apple, Amazon were at that stage, Morgan Stanley says – MarketWatch

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

Tesla Inc. TSLA, -6.34% is attracting "greater levels of enthusiasm" from investors thanks to its "demonstrated and perceived" technological dominance, analyst Adam Jonas at Morgan Stanley said in a note Tuesday. Jonas compared Tesla at $300 billion valuation, a milestone reached last week, with Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.24% at $300 billion, which the Cupertino, Calif., company crossed in early 2011, and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +0.74% at $300 billion, reached in late 2015. Tesla is a "significantly smaller company" than either companies were at the time, and Tesla's market-cap milestone reflects a "significant valuation premium" compared to when Apple and Amazon reached the same market value, he said. Tesla's revenue is less than half Apple's at the time of the $300 billion milestone, and 70% less than Amazon's at Amazon's market value milestone, Jonas said. Some S&P 500 index's SPX, -0.61% market ratios are higher today, which explains some of the valuation premium for Tesla, he said. Tesla is scheduled to report second-quarter results on Wednesday after the bell, with Wall Street consensus calling for a loss. Some investors, however, remain hopeful the Silicon Valley car maker will surprise markets with a GAAP profit and be on its way to eventually join the S&P 500 index.

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Tesla at $300 billion is much smaller company than Apple, Amazon were at that stage, Morgan Stanley says - MarketWatch

Global Location-based Virtual Reality Market 2020 to Witness Huge Growth by 2020 | Top Key Players; Oculus VR, HTC Vive Tech, Survios, EXIT Realty,…

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

The report on the Global Location-based Virtual Reality Market features detailed insights and deep research. The report introduces the important factors which driving the growth of the global Location-based Virtual Reality market, untapped opportunities for the manufacturers, current trends, and developments shaping the global Location-based Virtual Reality market and other factors across various key segments.

In addition, report highlights the market drivers, future opportunities and restraints which impacting the growth of the global Location-based Virtual Reality market. Along with these, report also provides the changing trends which are directly and indirectly influence the market are also analyzed and incorporated in the report to gives the detailed information related to the market which resulting for better decision making.

The study encompasses profiles of major companies operating in the Location-based Virtual Reality Market. Key players profiled in the report includes:Oculus VRHTC Vive TechSurviosEXIT RealtyVOIDSpaceVRZero Latency PTYHologateTyffon

Available Sample Report in PDF Version along with Graphs and Figures@ https://www.innovateinsights.com/report/global-location-based-virtual-reality-market-2020-industry/261865/#requestsample

By the product type, the market is primarily split into: HardwareSoftware

By the end-users/application, this report covers the following segments:VR ArcadesVR Theme ParksVR Cinemas

Market, By regions: North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico) Europe (U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Central & Eastern Europe, CIS) Asia Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, India, Rest of Asia Pacific) Latin America (Brazil, Rest of L.A.) Middle East and Africa (Turkey, GCC, Rest of Middle East)

The Location-based Virtual Reality market report provides the section which highlights country-wise demand for the Location-based Virtual Reality and provides a market outlook. The report also analyses the new technological developments as well as offerings for niche applications in the global Location-based Virtual Reality market. In last section of the report, a competitive landscape has been included to provide audiences with a dashboard view.

In addition, report explores the detailed market share analysis of the Location-based Virtual Reality market by considering the key manufacturers. Detailed profiling of the manufacturers is also included along with their business and growth strategies, key offerings and recent developments in the global Location-based Virtual Reality market.

Do You Have Any Query or Specific Requirement? Ask to Our Industry Expert@ https://www.innovateinsights.com/report/global-location-based-virtual-reality-market-2020-industry/261865/#buyinginquiry

Global Location-based Virtual Reality Market Report: Research Methodology

Market analysis is obtained through in-depth secondary research which is validated and verified by primary interviews. Every primary research is analyzed and average market volume is deduced and reconfirmed prior to incorporating in the report. The price of Location-based Virtual Reality is calculated across all the assessed regions and weighted average price is also considered. The market value of the global Location-based Virtual Reality market is thus calculated from the data deduced from the average selling price and market volume.

For future market growth, forecast of the global Location-based Virtual Reality market, offers the various macroeconomic factors and changing trends have been observed, based on which the future of the market is predicted. Other important factors covered by report includes the size of the current market, inputs from the supply side and the demand side and other dynamics shaping the scenario of the market. Report forecasts are offered in terms of CAGR, while other important criteria such as year-on-year growth and absolute dollar opportunity have also been incorporated giving clear insights and future opportunities.

Impact of Covid-19 in Location-based Virtual Reality Market

The utility-owned segment is mainly being driven by increasing financial incentives and regulatory supports from the governments globally. The current utility-owned Location-based Virtual Reality are affected primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the projects in China, the US, Germany, and South Korea are delayed, and the companies are facing short-term operational issues due to supply chain constraints and lack of site access due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Asia-Pacific is anticipated to get highly affected by the spread of the COVID-19 due to the effect of the pandemic in China, Japan, and India. China is the epic center of this lethal disease. China is a major country in terms of the chemical industry.

Access Full Report, here: https://www.innovateinsights.com/report/global-location-based-virtual-reality-market-2020-industry/261865/

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Global Location-based Virtual Reality Market 2020 to Witness Huge Growth by 2020 | Top Key Players; Oculus VR, HTC Vive Tech, Survios, EXIT Realty,...

‘It’s the wave of the future’: More home showings go virtual – danvillesanramon.com

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

As COVID-19 continues to impact every aspect of life, Tri-Valley real estate professionals have had to change how they show homes.

Technology now allows potential buyers to see homes and agents to market their listings without anyone ever having to enter the seller's home.

"Once real estate and real estate photographers were deemed essential business, we have offered professional photography, aerial drone and 3D WalkThrough Tours, and we have seen a dramatic increase in the use of 3D and video for agents to offer virtual open houses," said Tim Denbo, president/CEO of Virtual Tour Cafe based in Pleasanton.

Virtual showings are nothing new to the real estate world, but due to COVID-19, more Realtors and brokers are adopting it.

"While virtual tours have been used to help market listings for the past 20-plus years, the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shelter-in-place around the country has given new rise to the use of virtual tours and other virtual marketing tools," Denbo said. "As a national do-it-yourself subscription service, we immediately saw an increase in inquiries from associations, brokers and agents using our online services around the country."

Locally, the Tri-Valley has seen a significant increase in virtual tours versus the traditional in-person tours.

"Real estate is 90% online these days and just a small percentage are seeing homes in-person now," said Susan Schall, a Pleasanton real estate agent. "We are going pending on homes after as little as one to five showings in many cases, versus having many through open houses."

According to Tina Hand, 2020 president of Bay East Association of Realtors, roughly 85% to 90% showings have become hybrid virtual showings, in which homeowners first spot a home through a virtual showing, make an appointment and physically visit a home. However, to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, the home is sanitized before and after interested buyers visit.

"It's the wave of the future," Hand said. "I see a hybrid where you'll have the virtual tours and then the buyers will actually go into the properties, walk the grounds and walk the house."

Virtual staging involves technology to place virtual furniture in a room for potential buyers as opposed to a blank space.

"Another related service to virtual tours to help real estate agents market their properties is virtual staging," Denbo added. "We have seen a dramatic increase in virtual staging as well."

Realtors in the Tri-Valley agree.

"We have been using virtual showing techniques in real estate for 15-plus years," said Steve Mohseni, another Pleasanton real estate agent. "However, innovation has been at work recently to enhance these methods by necessity, and I am sure virtual reality and augmented reality solutions are going to be an integral part of real estate marketing in the future."

Agents foresee sellers pushing for more virtual tour technology to slow the spread of any illness, COVID-19 related or not.

"What will further drive the virtual tour technology are the sellers who may not want to allow a public open house with 50 groups walking through their homes in one day and leaving their germs behind," Mohseni added. "Any prospective buyer will have to screen homes virtually first and only selected people will get to view the properties in-person."

Mohseni predicts that the public will become more health conscious after COVID-19. As a result, the further use of virtual showings will increase and virtual tour technology could advance, possibly retiring physical-only showings -- meaning the future of real estate might become a virtual hybrid.

"I see the hybrid model as a great tool for the agents because it does benefit our sellers so well and give maximum exposure to the property," Hand added. "I believe, so I'm thankful (for technology), especially in this day and age. Who knows what's coming down the road?"

However, Denbo thinks there likely won't be a future with no physical home showings, believing that it's human nature for buyers to want to visit their prospective new house in-person.

"I think the trend is more toward virtual, even though you'll never stop having open houses," he said. "But people will always want to visit the home."

If anything is for certain, the future of real estate will be using more virtual tours, even post COVID-19, according to Hand. The traditional open houses, where homes open up for viewers and agents to see freely, will not be coming back right away -- or potentially at all.

Buyers and sellers are adapting to new ways to see homes too. In recent months the local market has seen an increase in inventory and homes sold with multiple offers.

"We have all learned new ways to do things, and real estate is no different," Denbo said. "Real estate agents, homeowners and buyers are learning that they can meet with their agent over a Zoom call and buyers can preview homes online using virtual tours, video and virtual reality to save time and be more efficient. I think things have changed for a long time, if not forever."

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'It's the wave of the future': More home showings go virtual - danvillesanramon.com

An epic year of misbehaviour, hedonism and havoc behind the scenes of ‘Ryan’s Daughter’ – Independent.ie

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

It is one of the greats paradoxes of remote landscapes that they can imbue a sense of confinement. Ask any of the crew of Ryan's Daughter, the hulking production that embedded itself in the Dingle Peninsula fora year in the late 1960s, and they'd probably agree.

avid Lean's romantic epic was the original Waterworld, a film so swollen, expensive and problematic that the scars of its burden would always show through over its sprawling three hours-plus running time. A flawed Oscar-winning classic or a swollen mess, depending on your viewpoint, by the time Ryan's Daughter was released in 1970, the production had run 135 days over schedule and gone $3.5m over-budget.

This added expense that accounted for a quarter of the final $13m cost was down to paying cast members overtime. In those 12 months when Kerry became a movie set, there was an ever-present factor that put paid to any notions of a streamlined shooting schedule - the Atlantic weather. The concept of a call sheet, an agenda drafted before filming setting out a timetable for scenes, locations and cast, was impossible as the Atlantic threw five seasons a day at the filmmakers.

Add to this the demanding attitude of Lean and the result was countless days of inertia. Throw in the then-47 pubs of Dingle and customary showbiz attitudes of the era and Ryan's Daughter became a sodden knees-up where resentments festered among the under-stimulated Hollywood egos trapped there.

A gift from the non-fiction gods, then, for Paul Rowan, the award-winning sports writer who first heard about the film from his parents during one of countless childhood holidays in the area. This expertly-researched romp is the result of 15 years of interviews with those on set or looking on at the time, and arrives right on cue for the film's 50th anniversary this year.

Reading though the book, you wonder might the filming of Ryan's Daughter make a better story than the actual movie itself. Between its end-of-the-world location, the injection of cash and glitz into the frugal rural community, and the clashing colour schemes of preening film stars and reserved locals, it has the hallmarks of some brand of hair-raising Ealing comedy.

With a catalogue that included The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957),Lawrence of Arabia(1962),and Doctor Zhivago(1965), Lean was the golden goose of a financially unsound Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. When he and scriptwriting foil Robert Bolt had set out to retell Flaubert's Madame Bovary against the backdrop of post-Rising Ireland, he had carte blanche. The studio needed this to bail them out of the red.

Lean, meanwhile, waschasinghis biggest hit to date and pushed the throttle too far. He insisted on shooting in 70mm, which, while giving the film a majestic sweep, requires bigger technical specs. This gets interesting when trying to shoot a currach scene in the wind-lashed surf. If the Kerry light and weather was misbehaving - which was all it did - he would cut and postpone filming. Self-important cast members waited in bars for calls that never came, sozzled and embittered about Lean's unyielding, joyless style of helmsmanship.

Robert Mitchum, as the cuckolded schoolmaster Charles, was at the peak of his devil-may-care years, and decided that he wasn't going to play ball with Lean. Relations got so sour between the two prize bulls that they couldn't stand to be in the same room as one another.

Mitchum didn't lose sleep over it. HeturnedMilltown House, the hotel he rented in its entirety, into a notorious party den where booze and broads were flown in and a marijuana greenhouse was cultivated around the back. When Mitchum's long-suffering wife Dorothy paid a visit, apause button was pressed.

In the title role of the sexually unfulfilled Rosy was Bolt's wife, Sarah Miles. She admitted to an affair with Mitchum occurringin the aftermath of the production, but other sources here are not so sure. Lean quickly took a disliking to the brattish ingenue, but far more problematic was a rift that emerged between her and Christopher Jones, who would play her love interest, Major Doryan.

Jones, a Tennessee pretty-boy who sleep-walked into movies, infuriated Lean with the woodenness of his acting. Sohopeless was he at accents that a voiceover had to be recorded in post-production using anotheractor.

When the time came to film what would become one of the most scandalous cinemasex scenes of that era, Jones' refusal to co-operate with Lean and Miles heldup production for days. To make him more malleable, Mitchum and Miles spiked his breakfast with a sedative.

Despite the hell-raising and juicy gossip, Rowanreminds us that this was ultimately an unhappy film, one that ruined marriages, shortened lifespans, and sent careers into decline. Ryan's Daughter met a critical mauling on its release, anddespite a decent box officeand two Oscar gongs (for supporting actor John Mills and cinematographer Freddie Young), the film has not aged well.

But as a tale from a bygone era when filmmakers couldn't just "CGI-in" the world at will, Rowan's book is a lively and perceptiveaddition to Irish cinema literature.

He achieves a real intimacy as he charts Kerry's ownFitzcarraldo, an endurance test of a production wherethe best screen performance was given by the one element that caused the most grief- the location itself.

Sunday Indo Living

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An epic year of misbehaviour, hedonism and havoc behind the scenes of 'Ryan's Daughter' - Independent.ie

Tough-on-crime anti-drug moralizing does a disservice to Canadians – The Globe and Mail

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

William J. Schultz is a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and Vanier Canada doctoral scholar at the University of Alberta, as well as a former correctional officer. Dr. Sandra M. Bucerius is the director of the Centre for Criminological Research and an associate professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Alberta as well as the director of the University of Alberta Prison Project. Dr. Kevin D. Haggerty is Canada Research Chair and professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Alberta.

If the idea of decriminalizing possession of small amounts of illicit drugs once sounded radical, the coalition of people who now espouse the idea would certainly seem to be strange bedfellows.

On July 9, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police called on the federal government to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illicit drugs; B.C. Premier John Horgan asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to do the same in a Jul. 20 letter. Benjamin Perrin, the top criminal justice adviser in Stephen Harpers tough-on-crime administration, recently wrote a book in support of decriminalization, and major publications, including The Globe and Mail, have published editorials urging the same.

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Despite this, there is still political hesitation on this issue, because decriminalizing even small quantities of hard drugs runs counter to decades of misinformation and partisan posturing.

However, there is one group we never hear from in this discussion: imprisoned drug users. So over the past four years, we spent extensive time working in and around prisons as researchers, asking questions and hearing stories about drug use. To date, our research team has interviewed more than 800 incarcerated men and women and more than 170 correctional officers as part of the University of Alberta Prison Project. Our participants work or are housed in sentenced and remand facilities in six federal and provincial prisons across Western Canada. Although they are a complex group for many reasons, prisoners perspectives on drug use provide important insights into wider discussion about decriminalizing hard drugs.

To start, we must recognize that Canadian prisons are full of men and women who are incarcerated because they use drugs. In interviews, our prisoner participants estimate that between 85 and 90 per cent of the people on their prison units have substance-abuse issues that directly contributed to their incarceration. The continued criminalization of drugs ensures that an unending stream of men and women are incarcerated for drug possession and drug sales, and also influences a much wider group of prisoners who commit crimes to pay for their drugs or use violence as part of the illicit drug market.

While officials have long sought to keep illicit drugs out of prison, they remain prevalent. In prison, drug sales are lucrative and provide the financial life-blood of prison gangs. When drugs are circulating in a unit, they contribute to volatility, violence and the exploitation of vulnerable inmates. This in-prison drug situation has become much more disturbing in recent years with the emergence of stronger and more lethal street drugs like fentanyl. As such opioids are illegal, prisoners who use them do so in a clandestine fashion, something that increases the risks of infection, disease, and inadvertent overdoses. We have interviewed prisoners who have overdosed multiple times in a single week while incarcerated, and in some institutions, correctional officers describe being overwhelmed by constant emergency calls, where they work to resuscitate overdosing prisoners on the edge of death.

Tough-on-crime political rhetoric portrays hard drug use as a form of moral decay, associated with a lack of self-control. The prison situation we describe above is a direct result of this outlook, as such policies promote harsh prison sentences which are assumed wrongly to scare people away from drug use. However, our participants add a unique and crucial insight to the conversation. The great majority of our participants describe experiencing acute and/or recurrent trauma throughout their lives. 95 per cent of all the men we interviewed in federal prisons and 97 per cent of all the women have been sexually or physically victimized before ever being charged with a crime. A disproportionate number have backgrounds defined by a string of traumatic events, such as suicides, lethal overdoses, or the murder of a parent, child, partner or friend, or a major assault that leaves them with life-long PTSD. For a disproportionate number of prisoners, using hard drugs is not a sign of rampant hedonism; it is a means to deal with the physical, emotional, and psychological legacies of abuse, victimization, and trauma.

These conversations shed new light on the benefits of drug decriminalization. Decriminalization would allow police to concentrate on more serious issues, by reallocating resources away from the Sisyphean task of preventing drug use. It would also halt the revolving door of incarcerated drug users and allow for greater investment in services designed to assist people who want to address their substance use. Most crucially, it would allow us to reframe Canadas drug problem, and understand it as a public health and public education problem, rather than a moral failing. Decades of experience have demonstrated that the criminal justice system cannot solve public health issues, and prisons are probably the worst imaginable option for addressing the social challenges posed by substance misuse.

The time is right to decriminalize the possession of personal amounts of drugs. Our research leads us to believe that such a change would result in a more logical and fair approach to substance use and, best yet, provide the prospect of improving the lives of thousands of Canadians.

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Tough-on-crime anti-drug moralizing does a disservice to Canadians - The Globe and Mail

Turning 40 Gives the Gift of Perspective – PsychCentral.com

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

Forty is a magical age. Dr. Spock doesnt list any milestones for this age but I can tell you its surprisingly enjoyable and free-ing to crest that hill and begin your leisurely roll down the other side. By far the best part of turning forty, is the perspective it gives you. But you cant rush it! Youve got to wait for it. You have to live all forty years before perspective is in your purview.

What do I mean by perspective? Well, maybe patterns is a better word. It takes the blessing of living and observing for forty years to recognize the patterns in the world, in people, in our spouses and in ourselves. Recognizing these patterns makes living much calmer.

When one is young, each new pattern may feel traumatic. Like it will last forever. The political party you dont support wins an election and it feels like theyll be in power for-frickin-ever. Your child enters a new, annoying phase of growing up and it feels like their snarky Whatevs phase will last forever. You get in a mood and it feels like itll last forever.

Turning forty helps you realize that life is cyclical and nothing lasts forever.

Around 250 BC, King Solomon penned these words in Ecclesiastes 1: 9 (KJV):

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be;and that which is done is that which shall be done:and there is no new thing under the sun.

In the laste 1950s Pete Seeger made the concept more approachable when he penned the song Turn! Turn! Turn! made famous by the Byrds.

A time to be born, a time to dieA time to plant, a time to reapA time to kill, a time to healA time to laugh, a time to weep

It took turning forty to make me realize just how true this was, is and ever will be. Every season of darkness is pushed out by enlightenment. The Roman hedonism and debauchery was eventually replaced by Puritanism. What was seen as shocking in the 1960s is seen as quaint, almost prudish, sixty years later. Democrat follows Republican follows Democrat. Sworn enemies become allies. Enrons come and go. Nothing ever stays the same.

Life is like the weather. Here in Minnesota we say that if you dont like the weather, just wait five minutes. Itll change. Life is like that. Theres no reason to take each new fad or season or politician all that seriously. Just wait five minutes. Itll change.

One of the most interesting things about turning forty, is being able to recognize patterns in people, including yourself. Instead of being reactive and a slave to those patterns, one can say with a chuckle, Youre doing it again. Im doing it again. Calm the heck down!

My pattern, or rather weakness, is freaking out about things. When trauma is your normal and youve sloshed through life in a sea of cortisol and PTSD, freaking out comes naturally. I have a quarter century of practice at quietly freaking out. Im an expert!

Almost a decade of attacks and threats from family members, Michaels medical emergencies, unforeseen medical bills and domestic disasters have only heightened my trauma response. Even trivial things going wrong makes me feel like my world is crumbling round my ears. I overreact. I go into hyper-defense mode. I hit that problem head on like an M1A1 tank. Thats my pattern. I dont like it but identifying it was half the battle in fixing it.

Fixing it usually means holding very still and waiting for the storm to blow over. It always does.

Michael has his own pattern. In his world, the unthinkable always happens. Everyone hes ever loved has died or been snatched from his arms. The worst things that can happen in life have happened to him and thus he feels the worst things are not only possible, but probable.

He expects the worst to protect himself from ever being blindsided again. He might be admitted to hospital for something trivial, but hell loudly say he expects to be split from stem-to-stern for exploratory surgery. Thats silly, of course, but expecting the worst makes every other treatment easy for him to bear. Thats his pattern.

His pattern used to freak me out, but once I identified it, and stopped taking it so damn seriously, I could stay calm about it.

Being held against my will for so long, to me life became a Destination. I was in a holding pattern, hoping that Someday life would start for me. Life was a Goal much desired, never granted.

Then one day, all my dreams came true. But no one told my brain. I was stuck in Destination-Someday-Goal mode.

Turning forty is helping me to realize that Life is not a Destination. You never arrive. You are never done. It is a Journey. Being focused exclusively on a Destination robs you of the joy and pleasure of the Journey. And, spoiler alert, our final destination is Death. So youd better enjoy the journey, Honey Child! Dont save up all your living for Heaven. I know the world is a dangerous place but dare to do your living here too!

Everything you do today will have to be redone tomorrow, next week or next year. When you vacuum the carpet for the 1,497,268th time, that begins to sink in. Everything you wash today, will have to be washed again (including yourself!). The paperwork you fill out and file today will probably have to be done again. The house repairs you complete today are already under assault by the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, not to mention Murphys Law!

Actually, thats a gift. In Season 2 of Torchwood, Dr. Owen Harper dies and is brought back to life by the Resurrection Gauntlet. He can move and talk but technically hes still dead. No breath, no pulse, no blood, no eating, no drinking, no healing. Hes shown sadly throwing out all his toiletries, putting the contents of his refrigerator in the trash and bemoaning not being able to shag anymore.

That puts the monotony of re-doing everything weve already done into perspective. The need to re-do everything over and over means were alive and life is the greatest gift of all. Even the most boring, sedate life is full of small pleasures that, if you take the time to notice and savor them, are quite hedonistic! As Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, The world is so full of a number of things, Im sure we should all be as happy as kings.

If you or someone you love is dreading the Big Four-Oh, take heart! Life is actually better on the other side. Its calmer. You can wink at the ridiculousness of it all once you have the perspective of being forty and identifying all those cyclical (I was going to say silly) patterns.

Rebel with a Cause: The Saint and the values that inspire Drew Pavlou – The Catholic Weekly

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

Reading Time: 12 minutesDrew Pavlou outside the Supreme Court of Queensland after contesting his expulsion by the University of Queensland PHOTO: AAP IMAGE DAN PELED

University of Queensland student activist and media sensation Drew Pavlou, who has been suspended by his institution until next year for what he claims to be retaliatory action against protesting against Chinese Communist Party who UQ are accused of having strong business ties and their violations of human rights.Drew opens up to The Catholic Weeklys David Ryan in an exclusive interview about what inspires his passion for human rights advocacy inspirations which find their origins in Catholic social teaching.

You were schooled at Villanova College, an Augustinian Catholic Boys College in Brisbane. Did that experience influence you in any meaningful way?

My Catholic schooling at Villanova focused heavily on human rights issues. Villanova has a really strong social justice tradition we were always encouraged to raise funds for Caritas and school expeditions to the Philippines to aid communities there. This strong social justice tradition influenced me greatly. I think throughout my life its not something I have been able to talk to the media much about because obviously in Australia there is an overwhelming emphasis on secular issues but I truly think my policies have been influenced by the Christian worldview. I was raised in the Orthodox Christian Tradition baptised Greek Orthodox and attended Catholic Schools all my life.

The Catholic focus on social justice has always been there. Studying religion in senior year, we focused on theology in Latin America, especially with regard to Oscar Romero.Honestly, I see Oscar Romero as a great political hero of mine. He was a warrior for justice and I do look to his example and others in the Church. Catholic Social teaching has influenced my politics. Certainly, there are issues where I diverge from the Church but I think the fundamental emphasis on human dignity thats something thats always stayed with me and shaped my entire political outlook.

2 So the Christian tradition is central to the notion of human dignity and social justice in modern society. Can you explain this in more detail?

I think one thing people really miss especially militant secular-atheists, often on the left is how much great social justice work there is in the Church and that the message of Christianity is to focus on the fragile and vulnerable. These are great progressive goals and its definitely influenced my social justice principles. Humanism comes from Christianity. Thats what many on the left forget: our humanist values derive from the Christian tradition. There have been times I have lapsed into agnosticism but in the last couple of months I have been getting much more in touch with my Orthodox Christian background. Ive sort-of been outside Christianity for a while, but I definitely feel thats changed in recent months.

For me the way it came is the notion of universal human rights which I believe in strongly. The question is how do you justify that belief? and I think you cannot just justify that belief from a piece of paper but rather what confers the notion of the dignity of the human person. I was reflecting on this in a philosophical sense and my Catholic friends would say Where do human rights come from if not from God? and I thought to myself We come to human rights through a rational position. But they would respond along the lines of So why cant we also come to a rational position on the social Darwinist Nietzschean notion that the strong dominate the weak?

our humanist values derive from the Christian tradition

At the time, I didnt have a response. But if we discard the Christian tradition then what stops us from becoming a society where the strong dominate the weak? Thats my great fear. And this is partly what we have at the moment. As we lose Christian traditions as a society we have moved towards a neoliberal dog-eat dog hyper-materialism.The strong dominate the weak and the weak suffer what a nightmare. If you lose the Christian humanist tradition whats to stop us from going down that path?

I think, honestly, if God took on human form and he died for the afflicted of the world thats the beautiful idea of Christianity. There is no more humane religion than the notion that someone as almighty as an Eternal God would die on the Cross for the beggars and sinners. Christianity is a religion that teaches us to show concern at a very fundamental level for the vulnerable because Christ died for the vulnerable. Thats what made me recover an understanding of Christianity. So I do understand the traditionalist Christian position because I, too, am opposed to the excess hedonism that comes with modern consumerism. I truly believe we find ourselves through family, community and social life.Our fundamental concern should be the social nature of life which is best seen through family and community.

3 For many student activists, Christianity is often associated with negative connotations (The Handmaids Tale, for example). How do you explain this and reconcile that view with your position as a student activist?

There is always this caricature. But a Christian society doesnt have to be a Handmaids Tale situation so often caricatured. I honestly think the sort of fear you could have a Christian Handmaids Tale dystopia in the West comes from Christianity especially in America and in a lot of places being already distorted to serve a dominant neo-liberal order, the Prosperity Gospel and things of that nature. In places like Latin America, where, there are often dictatorial regimes using Christianity to oppress. A regime like Pinochets in Chile comes to mind as an example: how could Pinochet be Christian when he was murdering unionists, leftists and ordinary civilians?

Thats why people often have the really fearful and hostile idea that a Christian society would be a nightmarish handmaidens tale, but I dont think thats [justified]. I genuinely believe its a distortion of Christianity. God took on human form and died like a beggar in the life of Christ. So I try to say this to other people often on the left who make the accusation that a Christian society means a Handmaids Tale.

No. I want a Christian society in the sense of a society where the poor, fragile and vulnerable are at the forefront of our concerns at all times. The idea that a Christian society lends itself to a totalitarian dystopia comes from distorted versions of Christianity. These so called Christian movements are often there to just serve the interests of the powerful, which is not at all what Christ had in mind. Christ turning out the money lenders in the temple that was the revolutionary nature of Christ. He wasnt in league with the powerful and their interests. No he put the human first and thats what Christian tradition is for me.

4 You advocate for a movement called Radical Democracy. It seems to advocate for small-scale subsidiarity and local representation. Whats it all about?

I guess the idea of radical democracy is that you are invested in the extension of democratic freedoms in all domains. Cornel West is a guy who is a great thinker of radical democracy and an inspiration of mine. One thing a lot of radical democrats like Cornel West say is that, yeah weve got democracy in government and politics but we dont often have democracy in the economic realm. Many people unfortunately go to work where bosses act as dictators. Work is for shareholders and workers suffer in unfair working environments. This affects families and children. So we still dont really have economic democracy and thats where leftist democratic economics come into play. You want to expand democracy so the workers have democratic control of their workplaces and their own economic activities.

5 Are you aware of the Churchs principles of economic justice such as the ideas expressed in the papal encyclical Rerum Novarum which talks about subsidiarity and workers representation?

Im very sympathetic to the distributionist economic model. Yes, I will say I am of the left, but I really reject popular Marxist strands of leftism because they often lend themselves to authoritarianism and materialism. So I end up at a sort-of distributionist perspective.I genuinely think that possibly may be the best way. The Marxist strands on the left are often hyper-materialist and so in that way also lend to human alienation. Sure, capitalist materialism lends itself to human alienation as is evident, but the materialism in the Marxist-Leninist system in China at the moment or under the old Soviet Union- fall into an authoritarian leftist model that also leads to human alienation.This is why I am a leftist critic of the Chinese Communist Party.

6 Your advocacy highlighting human rights abuses (of the Uyghurs, those occurring in Tibet and Hong Kong) perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party touches on larger geopolitical tensions. Some of this has fuelled anti-Chinese sentiment at home. Is this fair for Chinese people? Is there a distinction between the CCP and the Chinese people?

I always try and emphasise in my activism that I am opposed to the CCP and not the Chinese people. I have a great respect for the Chinese people. They are my brothers and sisters. I come to my activism from the Christian belief that all human beings are equal in dignity and have the same value and worth. So I really empathise with those Chinese students caught in that difficult position, because unfortunately it can often veer into anti-Chinese racism in popular sentiment. I really deplore anti-Chinese racism.Yes, its a problem in Australia and we have to combat it. So I feel for those Chinese students who are the victims of that. Its horrible. We are fighting for their human dignity. They are our allies and should not be alienated. We dont want them to be targeted in ways like that, be it from the CCP or Australian xenophobes at home.

7 Do you hold other governments here and abroad to a similar standard of scrutiny of human rights records?

Of course. Thats one thing I really want to emphasise. Yes I am a critic of the CCP but that does not mean I am just a China-basher. I am also opposed to the Australian Governments human rights abuses. I am on the record opposing the Australian Governments terrible treatment towards refugees. So I am fundamentally opposed to all human rights abuses wherever they occur. If the Australian Government is perpetrating terrible human rights abuses especially toward refugees then I will be in the fight against that as well. But when the CCP says If youre opposed to China youre pro-America thats not at all true for me. I will be critical of the American Government and the atrocious way African Americans are treated in that country. For me, its fundamentally about fighting for human rights wherever they are violated. Its not about bashing China for the sake of China. Its about fighting for human dignity be it in Western countries, China or the developing world. Human dignity is at the centre of society. Pope Francis through his humanism teaches a very strong concern for human dignity and the environment which we must leave to future generations which I admire greatly,

8 You have received multiple and explicit death and other malicious threats from pro CCP activists. Does the life of people like Oscar Romero give you sustenance through such harrowing experiences?

Yes, I look to people like Oscar Romero and those who fought against very powerful forces. Romero died fighting for the poor and vulnerable so that is something that I try and remember when the going gets tough.

The Christian tradition teaches that we find God through loving one another

I know Im fighting for justice and theres strength in that, so Im willing to bear personal sacrifices. The Christian tradition teaches that we find God through loving one another. Theres basically no higher calling than loving your neighbour and loving other people so I think theres no higher calling for me than trying to fight for other people. Thats why Id be willing to face risk to myself because I truly believe there is a higher purpose.

9 What advice would you offer the young?

Please always put the vulnerable, the voiceless, the poor and the fragile, at the foremost in your concerns. Thats what I would really encourage people to do. Do everything you can to try your very best to speak out in their favour and demonstrate love and compassion.I implore people to recognise that and lend their voice to just causes for the voiceless who cannot do so. We want a world where human life is treated with dignity.

We want a world where human life is treated with dignity

Unfortunately we are losing the ability to debate things in society with things like cancel culture. You know, if someone takes the Catholic Churchs position on certain social issues they can be really ostracised. Sure, while I personally disagree with some of the Churchs positions I understand that its a matter of faith for those who do and thats an important thing we need to recognise and uphold.

Drew Pavlou hopes to enter federal politics in the future, with an emphasis on human rights.

In the Talmud, God admits Hes wrong. Theres a lesson there about free speech. – Forward

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

This article is part of a new series called On Persuasion. We asked thought leaders to consider what persuasion means to them. What works in terms of persuading people? Is it moot in 2020? What is the Jewish value of persuasion? Should we be opening our minds to other points of view, or closing them to dangerous ideas? Read all the pieces here.

Theres a famous story in the Talmud that I think about sometimes when people are discussing free speech, open debate, and who deserves to be considered an authority on a particular topic. As the story goes, the rabbis are debating a very technical and specialized question about whether or not a particular oven is susceptible to ritual impurity under the laws of kashrut. The majority of the rabbis conclude that the oven is impure, but Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus insists that it is pure, and he refuses to bend on the matter.

Joel Swanson | Artist: Noah Lubin

Insisting God agrees with him on this point of Jewish dietary law, Rabbi Eliezer says, If the halakhah [Jewish law] is in accordance with my opinion, this carob tree will prove it. The tree then rises into the air and flies away.

But the other rabbis insist that Jewish law is not determined based on carob trees, so Rabbi Eliezer reaches for another divine sign, and causes a stream of water to flow backwards. When that fails to convince, he makes the walls of the study hall tremble and fall down, and finally calls forth a voice from heaven itself, which asks the other rabbis, Why are you differing with Rabbi Eliezer, as the halakhah is in accordance with his opinion in every place that he expresses an opinion?

You would think that, in matters of Jewish law, this would be the ultimate trump card. After all, Rabbi Eliezer has the voice of heaven on his side, defending his interpretation of kosher laws. But the story does not end there.

Instead, the other rabbis cite Deuteronomy 30:12, which states that the Torah is not in heaven. Because the Torah is not in heaven, heavenly voices have no special authority to interpret it. As Rabbi Yirmiyah reminds Rabbi Eliezer, Since the Torah has already been given from Mount Sinai, we do not pay attention to heavenly voices.

Rabbi Eliezer may have heaven on his side, but it does not matter. The majority rabbinic ruling stands.

This is a pretty radical story from Jewish tradition. As scholar David Stern argues, it represents nothing less than effectively invoking Scripture against God.

Even more radical is Gods response: Far from being angry or upset that the rabbis have usurped heavenly authority over the Torah, God is amused. The story concludes by telling us that God listens to this rabbinic debate in heaven while smiling and laughing. My children have triumphed over Me; My children have triumphed over Me, God says.

I think of this Talmudic tale regularly when I think about free speech and persuasion as Jewish values. The story has been taken as the ultimate argument for pluralist debate in Jewish tradition, for establishing a culture of dialogue in which dissenters rights are treated respectfully, and an ideal deliberative culture is modeled.

The rabbis are so committed to the ideal of open debate, deliberation, and discussion that they hold this ideal to be more important even than listening to the voice of heaven. And the God of the Talmud cares so much about open debate that He approves of His people challenging His opinion, in His own voice.

As numerous scholars have pointed out, theres a lesson here about certitude and doubt. If even God is willing to be wrong, to be bested by rabbinic interpreters, then who are we to think that we possess the whole truth, and to be unwilling to listen to those who disagree with us?

The Talmud asks us to accept imperfection and uncertainty and to see the process of debating laws and texts as more important than the finished result. As Rabbi Maurice Harris points out, its an imperfect religion, this rabbinic Judaism that God endorses, and the rabbis central self-descriptive sacred text, the Talmud, tells us so.

Learn a bisel Yiddish with Rukhl Schaechters Word of the Day video series on YouTube.

As the Talmud recognizes, there are limits to our knowledge, and there can be something beautiful to accepting those limits and seeing them as opportunities to learn from debating with others and listening to other points of view.

Even God listens to the point of view of rabbis who disagree. Its in our imperfections that debates begin.

This is why it is so important that the Talmudic text, despite ultimately siding with the majority of the rabbis who rule the oven to be impure, nonetheless preserves the minority opinion of Rabbi Eliezer. Readers of the Talmud often point to the seemingly odd fact that this text records minority rabbinic opinions about Jewish law that have been overruled by the majority.

If the purpose of the text is to issue authoritative rulings about Jewish law, why include these rejected opinions at all? But as the British scholar Hyam Maccoby points out, the reason given by the Mishnah for this preservation is that one day these minority opinions may become the basis for a revision of the law.

We should always listen to minority opinions because sometimes they contain wisdom that the majority has overlooked. The debate is an unending process that is never complete. In a very real sense, the process itself is more important than the result.

This brings us to one final paradox in the famous story of Rabbi Eliezer summoning heaven to testify to his opinion. As Talmud scholar Daniel Boyarin notes, the rabbis claim the right to overrule heaven based on the principle in Deuteronomy that the Torah is not in heaven. But in order to argue that the Torah is on earth and not in heaven, they have to appeal to the heavenly authority of this verse from Deuteronomy itself.

In other words, to claim the right from God to interpret the text on earth, they cite a verse that only gets its authority from the fact that the rabbis believe it comes from God. They rely on the very authority that they also disavow.

I think that offers one final lesson for us today in our modern context. The rabbis value free debate and deliberation, and they listen to one another and remain open to being challenged. They talk back even to God. But ultimately, they all rely on one standard text, as the basis for their debates.

They can disagree strongly because they all read the same Torah.

At a time when our objective sources of facts in the news media are increasingly under attack as fake news, this is an important reminder: We need to share some sources in common before we can even begin to argue. If we cant agree on which sources are reliable, well never get anywhere.

But within that basic framework, argue away. The Talmud tells us that even God has limits to His (or Her) knowledge of the text. God wants us to talk back and to challenge.

And if God can be wrong, who are we to think we know everything?

Joel Swanson is a contributing columnist for the Forward and a Ph.D. student at the University of Chicago, studying modern Jewish intellectual history and the philosophy of religions. Find him on Twitter @jh_swanson.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward.

In the Talmud, God admits Hes wrong. Theres a lesson there about free speech.

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In the Talmud, God admits Hes wrong. Theres a lesson there about free speech. - Forward

The Pope who Printed the Talmud – Aish

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

Pope Leo X allowed a remarkable group of men to produce the first printed set of Talmud.

A volume of the Talmud dedicated to the Pope? It seems unlikely but the very first printed edition of the Talmud was in fact dedicated to Pope Leo X, who reigned as pope from 1513 until his death in 1521.

For millennia, copies of the Talmud had been painstakingly written by hand. It could take many years to complete a set of all 63 masechtot, or tractates, of the Talmud.

In 1450, a German bookmaker named Johannes Gutenberg invented the very first printing press. He used it to print pamphlets and calendars, and several copies of the Bible. The Gutenberg Bible is considered the very first printed book ever produced in Europe. In the ensuing years, other printers copied Gutenbergs invention and began printing books. Several Jewish books were printed using the new mechanical invention but nobody ever attempted to print an entire copy of the Talmud. For years, sets of the Talmud continued to be written laboriously by hand.

That changed in 1519, after years of bitter debates, when the very first complete edition of the Talmud was produced using the new invention the mechanical printing press.

One of the very first printers to produce Hebrew books in Europe was Daniel Bomberg, a Christian printer who moved from his native Antwerp to Venice in 1515 and opened a printing press business there. Venice at the time was home to a vibrant Jewish community, and Bomberg realized that he could prosper by catering to this under-served market.

Printing Jewish books wasnt so easy. His initial requests for a license were repeatedly turned down by Church and city officials. Bomberg started offering local officials ever larger bribes to allow him to print Jewish books. After paying 500 ducats an enormous sum he was granted a ten-year license to print Hebrew books.

Bomberg got to work immediately, hiring learned Jews to help him. He petitioned Venices officials for permission to hire four well-instructed Jewish men. Jews living in Venice at the time could only live in the Ghetto and were forced to wear distinctive yellow caps whenever they left the Ghettos gates. Bombergs assistants were granted permission to wear black caps like other non-Jewish workers.

Together, they started printing copies of the Chumash, the Five Books of Moses, and other Jewish books. Bomberg and his Jewish assistants decided to include the text of Targum Onkelos, the translation of the Hebrew text written by the celebrated First Century Jewish scholar Onkelos, a popular custom still in practice today.

Bombergs pro-Jewish business activities were made somewhat easier by the climate in Europe overall, which was becoming more tolerant of Jews, thanks in part to an Austrian Jewish physician named Jacob Ben Jehiel (also known as Jacob Lender).

Very little is known about Jacob Ben Jehiels personal life. Whats clear is that he was a learned Jew, fluent in Hebrew, who worked as a doctor. He died in about 1505 in Linz, Austria. Unusual for a Jew, he rose to become one of the most influential men in the Holy Roman Empire, working as the personal assistant of Emperor Frederick III, who ruled from 1452-1493. It was noted that the two men were fast friends, and Jacob Ben Jehiels friendship influenced Frederick III to be sympathetic to his Jewish subjects. At the time the emperors enemies complained he was more a Jew than a Holy Roman Emperor. Jacob was so beloved by the Emperor that Frederick III knighted him, raising him from a lowly Jewish outcast to the ranks of the nobility.

One day, a young German nobleman named Johann von Reuchlin contacted Jacob, asking for his help in learning Hebrew. Hed studied with a Jew named Kalman in Paris, von Reuchln explained, and had learned the Hebrew alphabet. Now he wanted to learn more. Jacob Ben Jehiel agreed to tutor the Christian nobleman and taught him to read and write Hebrew. They struck up a friendship that would lead to von Reuchlin defending Jewish scholarship across Europe and to the first printing of the Talmud.

Now fluent in Hebrew, Reuchlin championed Jewish books, defending Jewish scholarship from Catholic zealots who wanted to ban Jewish literature and burn Jewish books. He had many Jewish friends and was remarkably tolerant of Jewish viewpoints and scholarship. When Catholic officials demanded that he and other scholars condemn the Talmud, von Reuchlin replied contemptuously that one not condemn what one had not personally read and understood. The Talmud was not composed for every blackguard to trample with unwashed feet and then to say that he knew all of it.

Johann von Reuchlin

In the early 1500s, von Reuchlin engaged in what was known as the Battle of the Books, arguing that Jewish scholarship had merit and that Hebrew books ought not to be banned.

Reuchlins main adversary in the Battle of the Books was Johannes Pfefferkorn, a Jew who converted to Christianity. He turned on his fellow Jews and caused years of pain and misery for Jewish communities across Germany.

Pfefferkorn was a butcher by trade but he was also in trouble with the law. He was arrested for burglary in his 30s, spent time in prison, and subsequently found himself unemployable. In order to reverse his ill fortune, he volunteered to convert to Christianity and to have his wife and children convert as well. Pfefferkorn embraced Catholicism under the protection of the Dominicans, the strict Catholic order that administered the feared Inquisition. The Dominicans wasted no time in using Pfefferkorn to help bolster their attempts to persecute Jews and to ban Jewish books.

In the years between 1507 and 1509, Pfefferkorn wrote a series of booklets claiming to illuminate the secret world of Jewish thought. Although Pfefferkorn's writings show that he had a very poor grasp of Jewish scholarship, that didnt deter him as he churned out booklet after booklet excoriating Jews and the Jewish faith. His pamphlets were written in Latin and aimed at Catholic scholars and priests. They had names such as Judenbeichte (Jewish Confession) and Judenfeind (Enemy of the Jews), and Pfefferkorn falsely claimed that Jews were devious and blasphemous and that their literature ought to be banned. Though he wasnt educated enough to study it himself, Pfefferkorn demanded that the Talmud be banned in Europe.

Using Pfefferkorns booklets as proof, Dominical authorities demanded that Jews be expelled from towns which had large Jewish communities, including Regensburg, Worms and Frankfurt. Their campaign succeeded in Regensburg and the citys Jews were expelled in 1519.

Pfefferkorn and his supporters managed to convince Emperor Maximilian I to briefly ban the Talmud and other Jewish books in cities across Germany and to destroy any and all Jewish books that could be found. This alarmed more liberal Catholics, including Johann Reuchlin, whod spent so long learning Hebrew and studying Jewish holy books with Jacob Ben Jehiel. Reuchlin objected and wrote passionate defenses of the Talmud and other Jewish books. Eventually, Maximilian I reversed his decree.

The Battle of the Books raged across German cities and was debated among the educated class: should the Jewish Talmud and other holy books be banned, or were they worthy of preservation and study? Historian Solomon Grayzel notes that There was not a liberal Christian in Europe, nor a single critic of the forces of bigotry within the Church, who failed to range himself on the side of Reuchlin in defense of the Jewish books Everyone who was not a peasant in Europe was thus ranged on one or the other side in the controversy. The only people who were forced to stand aside and not participate were the ones most directly concerned the Jews. (From A History of the Jews by Solomon Grayzel. Plume: 1968)

Reuchlin eventually gained a powerful ally: Pope Leo X. A cultured, educated man, Leo X came from the fabulously wealthy Medici family. He was disposed to be tolerant towards Jews so much so that at one point the Jews of Rome wondered if his benevolence towards them was a sign that the Messiah was on his way: community elders even wrote to Jewish leaders in the Land of Israel asking if they, too, had seen signs of the Messiah coming.

Pope Leo X

In 1518, Leo X took a public stand in the Battle of the Books: not only should the Talmud not be banned and burned, he stated, but he gave a Papal Decree allowing it to be printed using the new mechanical printing presses that were all the rage in Europe. Some individual volumes of the Talmud had already been printed; now, the Pope was allowing a complete set of all 63 volumes of the Talmud (called Shas in Hebrew) to be produced. Joannes Bomberg, whod already built up a Jewish business at his printing press in Venice, was given the commission to print this first complete set of Shas on his printing presses. It was an unprecedented show of support for Jews in Europe.

But Pope Leo X imposed one crucial condition: Daniel Bomberg could print the Talmud only if he included anti-Jewish polemics in the books. Realizing that this would alienate potential readers, Bomberg successfully lobbied against including anti-Jewish screeds in his Jewish books. He did, however, make one concession to the Popes generosity: the first four volumes of the set of Talmud he was printing were dedicated to Pope Leo X.

Bomberg Babylonian Talmud, Venice Pesachim

Local Jews were reluctant to buy expensive new volumes of the Talmud dedicated to a Catholic leader whose Church regularly persecuted Jews and Jewish communities across Europe, even if Pope Leo X himself was sympathetic towards Jews. Sales were sluggish and Bomberg realized he had to make some changes, including dropping the dedication to the Pope. He also turned to Jacob ben Chaim ibn Adonijah, a Jewish proofreader from Tunisia, for help. (There is some evidence that ibn Adonijah might have converted to Christianity, like some other printers who specialized in Hebrew books in Venice at the time.)

Bromberg and ibn Adonijah devised a layout of their printed editions of the Talmud that is still in use today. They placed the Talmud text in the middle of the page, and included key commentaries on the Talmud around the central text. The commentary by Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki (known as Rashi), a Medieval French scholar was printed on one side of the page. Commentaries by a group of other Medieval Jewish sages known as the Tosefotists are found on the opposite side of the page.

This layout made it easy to read and study, and proved an immediate hit with customers. Though their title pages no longer carried a printed dedication to Pope Leo X, these beautiful books continued to be printed with his permission, enabling even more Jewish communities to study and learn from complete sets of the printed Talmud.

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The Pope who Printed the Talmud - Aish

Hope is a power you don’t have to relinquish – St. Louis Jewish Light

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

The last book of the Torah is a multilayered narrative opening with an experienced Moses reminding a new generation of Israelites about the challenges their parents faced as they left a narrow place of ancient Egyptian servitude. The Book of Deuteronomy is calledDevarimin Hebrew.

Devarimcan be interpreted as both words or things. The book can be described as a 37-day speech given by Moses as the Israelites camped at the shores of an uncrossed river propelling them into an uncertain future. This year, the story of those unsettled people resonates with where we all are: unsettled, crossing into uncharted territory, held captive in the face of serious communal, national and global challenges.

Moses begins witheileh hadevarim, these are the things concerning the Wilderness, concerning the Flat Land, opposite the Sea of Reeds, between Paran and Tophel, and Lavan and Hazeroth, and Di-Zahav.

The Sages, noting unique characteristics of the book, refer toDevarimasMishnah Torah, the repetition of Torah. Rather than downloading the messages from the Divine Server and transmitting them verbatim as in earlier books, Moses is now theshaliach,the messenger who conveys the Divine sentiment in his own words.Ever seeking new meaning, the rabbis ask: Whats with the geography lesson? Why did Moses take it upon himself to expound this Torah with these words?

Some commentators call his address a form of rebuke or admonishment for previous events occurring in stops along the way. Moses begins by reminding the Israelites about their extended journey through the wilderness. He reminds them that lifes burdens are, at times, a direct result of their beliefs and values.

Other voices thought Moses was worried that his own death would create more uncertainty and wanted to explicate the laws he had received and transmitted. He offers what the rabbis frame as a constructive critique of how they got to the edge of a new life in a new land. He reminds them about their arguing and bickering, their ethical and moral failures. Moses highlights where they came from and what the future might hold.

Other voices sayDevarimis not a book of rebuke nor a book that introduces new legal doctrine. It is an exercise in clarification as Moses shares his unique perspective distilled from a lifetime of experience, suffering, success and failures.This portion is always read just prior to the observance of Tisha BAv, the Jewish memorial to historic, devastating loss and destruction. The portionDevarimis read onShabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision.

Twice Moses admonishes the Israelites to turn themselves around. Rebbe Nachman of Bratzlov taught that memory was given to us to remember the future where we are going and who we are becoming. Experience can cloud or expand ones vision. Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses our teacher, is offering his timeless vision to us. Vision about what is possible and an equally compelling vision of what is probable if we continue to travel along the same path, suffering the same pitfalls, enduring the same diet of despair.

There is a Yiddish saying: If you dont know where you are going, any road will do. The Talmud section onBrachot(Blessings) tells us to never leave a person without words of promise, words of hope.

Like the Israelites who wandered aimlessly for a significant period of time, we, too, seem to be struggling with what we can reasonably hope for when life seems so tragically unpredictable. We have crossed the threshold of the familiar and have been living on a diet of fear, isolation, plague reports, unmet essential needs, acts of violence, and discouraging economic, social and political projections.

Hope is a continuum.

Hope is not the belief that everything was, is or will be fine,author Rebecca Solnit writes. For her, hope is an embrace of the unknown, a gift you dont have to surrender, and a power you dont have to relinquish.

My hope is that as we find our way through this new reality, we are able to choose a path fulfilling the promise and blessing of a good life with more heart, understanding, restraint, courage and care.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Dale Schreiber is a chaplain providing Jewish care coordination for Pathways Hospice and Palliative Care, and has a private practice, Renewal-in-Action, specializing in resiliency, spiritual development and compassion fatigue recovery. He is a member of the St. Louis Rabbinical and Cantorial Association, which coordinates the weekly dvar Torah for theJewish Light.

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Hope is a power you don't have to relinquish - St. Louis Jewish Light

Digital Archive Takes Talmudic Approach to Americas Founding Texts – Jewish Week

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

Could democracy take a page from the Talmud? The creators of Sefaria think so.

Since 2012 the website has offered free access to classic Jewish texts and linked commentary, establishing itself as an invaluable resource for millions of teachers, students and scholars.

Now its applying the same approach to foundational texts of American democracy. It launched the project, fittingly, on July 4 with a small library of texts including the U.S. Constitution, the Federalist Papers and a selection of presidential addresses all connected by hyperlinks to other texts and with the ability to read them side by side. The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, for example, includes links to related content in case law, presidential addresses and state constitutions.

Sefaria is hoping to replicate what is now a protoype to other bodies of knowledge beyond the Jewish canon.

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Brett Lockspeiser, Sefarias chief technology officer and a co-founder, said, The real magic of Sefaria and this is the real magic of the Torah tradition, its not something we invented is in the interconnections. Just putting texts on websites is not particularly novel and not particularly interesting in itself. It gets exciting when you click on a line of text and then a sidebar opens and you get this whole array of voices that are talking to that point and you open things up side by side.

The approach, Lockspeiser said is a lot about the tension that happens between multiple voices. Thats a principle of the democratic process, of democratic society, is wanting to be able to respect different voices playing a role. The text can serve as a model of what we want our society to look like.

JTA

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Digital Archive Takes Talmudic Approach to Americas Founding Texts - Jewish Week

This Week with Yannick on WRTI 90.1: Episode 3, Music that Celebrates Spirituality – WRTI

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Danzig

Join us on Sunday, July 26th at 12 PM on WRTI 90.1 to hear Episode 3 of This Week with Yannick, an eight-week radio series, hosted and curated by Yannick Nzet-Sguin.

The series offers listeners an intimate radio experience through music and storytelling. Each episode centers around a singular theme, from love and friendship to spirituality and hope, and explores the myriad ways that the deepest connections in our lives can be expressed through music. More about the series.

Episode 3:

Through the ages, music has been associated with faith, with liturgy, and with ceremonies of various religions. Many timeless pieces have been inspired and written for religious purposes and spaces. But for Yannick, the spirituality inherent in this music goes beyond religion and acts as a bridge, bringing all of humanity together regardless of belief or affiliation.

This week, Yannick explores music that celebrates spirituality and its power to nourish and connect. Featuring composers ranging from Poulenc to Verdi to Bach, we learn how this music reflects the depth of the biggest questions we face, and how it enriches us as we seek the answers.

Program:

Poulenc: Stabat mater, I. Stabat mater dolorosa, Yannick Nzet-Sguin and London Philharmonic OrchestraBruckner: Symphony No. 8, II. Scherzo, Yannick Nzet-Sguin and Rotterdam Philharmonic OrchestraVerdi: Otello, Ave Maria, Leontyne Price, from her album Verdi HeroinesBach: Mass in B minor, Crucifixus-Et Resurrexit, Jonathan Cohen and ArcangeloMahler: Symphony No. 3, Finale, Yannick Nzet-Sguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra (excerpt)

You can hear the show for up to two weeks after the initial broadcast on WRTI's Two-Week Music Archive. Just click here!

"This Week with Yannick" airs Sundays from 12 noon to 1 PM, July 12th to August 30th on WRTI 90.1, and is presented by WQXR, New York City's classical music station and WRTI. The series is produced by Merrin Lazyan, producer of the critically acclaimed podcast Aria Code.

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This Week with Yannick on WRTI 90.1: Episode 3, Music that Celebrates Spirituality - WRTI

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