Watch out, Avengers: This asteroid has a more violent track record than Thanos – SYFY WIRE

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When you hear the word asteroid, you probably think of something hurtling towardEarth at unfathomable speeds, ready to take us out like Thanos snapping his fingers but the asteroid Pallas has experienced violence in a whole other way.

Pallas is namedafter Pallas Athena. She was the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, but what you might not know is that Athena was also a martial deity who was often portrayed with a helmet, shield, and spear. Pallas the asteroid looks like its been through endless cosmic battles, and all the impact craters punched into it say its really taken a beating. A strange orbit that takes it crashing through the asteroid belt is to blame. Now a research team led by Pierre Vernazza of the Laboratoire d'Astrophyisque de Marseille in France has been able to observe the asteroid like never before to reveal its violent history.

Just to give you an idea of what kind of chaos Pallas has been through, Vernazza and his team found 36 craters that exceeded 18 miles in diameter. Thats just a fifth of the diameter of the fateful Chicxulub asteroid that trashed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Pallas is the largest main-belt object not yet visited by a spacecraft, making its surface geology largely unknown and limiting our understanding of its origin and collisional evolution, Vernazza and colleagues said in a study recently published in Nature Astronomy, explaining why they needed some help from computers here on Earth to start understanding it.

Pallas has a weirdly tilted orbit that has long been suspected, but finally studied using images of its pockmarked face from the Very Large Telescopes SPHERE instrument an array of four telescopessituated with 8-meter-wide mirrors that the team reserved for two years to see if they could catch Pallas orbiting as close to Earth as possible.

Vernazza and the other astronomers used the 11 images they were able to grab to generate a 3D reconstruction of what the asteroid should look like up close meaning its shape, its poles, and all its craters. The level of violence it had been through was gauged by its reputation for butting heads with everything else floating around in the asteroid belt over the past 4 billion years. Asteroids Ceres and Vesta were used as comparisons in simulations that showed every collision.

Pallas was found to have been bombarded with crashes that left behind craters on at least 10 percent of its surface, which the team said was suggestive of a violent collisional history. Something odd the team found about Pallas when compared to Ceres and Vesta was that it didnt take as much force to put a dent in Pallas. The same size of crater on either of the other two asteroids, about 25 miles in diameter, could be made by a much smaller object hitting Pallas at a high velocity. If you think about how many smaller objects are zooming through the asteroid belt compared to larger ones, you can probably imagine what Pallas goes through.

As if all that weren't enough, Pallas was also discovered to have a monster crater thought to be caused by its chemical composition, and a mysterious bright spot in its southern hemisphere whose origin remains unknown.

The Avengers dont have to put themselves at risk again to find out more but NASAmight send out satellites in the future.

(via Phys.org/Nature Astronomy)

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Watch out, Avengers: This asteroid has a more violent track record than Thanos - SYFY WIRE

Building a ‘doomsday vault’ to save the kangaroo and koala from extinction – CNET

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The road into Batlow is littered with the dead.

In the smoky, gray haze of the morning, it's hard to make out exactly what Matt Roberts' camera is capturing. Roberts, a photojournalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, keeps his lens focused on the road as he rolls into the fire-ravaged town 55 miles west of Canberra, Australia's capital. At the asphalt's edge, blackened livestock carcasses lie motionless.

The grim scene, widely shared on social media, is emblematic of the impact the 2019-20 bushfire season has had on Australia's animal life. Some estimates suggest "many, many billions" of animals have been killed, populations of endemic insects could be crippled and, as ash washes into riverways, marine life will be severely impacted. The scale of the bushfires is so massive, scientists are unlikely to know the impact on wildlife for many years.

But even before bushfires roared across the country, Australia's unique native animals were in a dire fight for survival. Habitat destruction, invasive species, hunting and climate change have conspired against them. Populations of native fauna are plummeting or disappearing altogether, leaving Australia with an unenviable record: It has the highest rate of mammal extinctions in the world.

A large share of Australia's extinctions have involved marsupials -- the class of mammals that includes the nation's iconic kangaroos, wallabies, koalas and wombats. A century ago, the Tasmanian tiger still padded quietly through Australia's forests. The desert rat-kangaroo hopped across the clay pans of the outback, sheltering from the sun in dug-out nests.

Now they're gone.

Australia's 2019-20 bushfire season has been devastating for wildlife.

In a search for answers to the extinction crisis, researchers are turning to one lesser-known species, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand: the fat-tailed dunnart. The carnivorous mouse-like marsupial, no bigger than a golf ball and about as heavy as a toothbrush, has a tiny snout, dark, bulbous eyes and, unsurprisingly, a fat tail. It's Baby Yoda levels of adorable -- and it may be just as influential.

Mapping the dunnart's genome could help this little animal become the marsupial equivalent of the lab mouse -- a model organism scientists use to better understand biological processes, manipulate genes and test new approaches to treating disease. The ambitious project, driven by marsupial geneticist Andrew Pask and his team at the University of Melbourne over the last two years, will see scientists take advantage of incredible feats of genetic engineering, reprogramming cells at will.

It could even aid the creation of a frozen Noah's Ark of samples: a doomsday vault of marsupial cells, suspended in time, to preserve genetic diversity and help prevent further decline, bringing species back from the brink of extinction.

If that sounds far-fetched, it isn't. In fact, it's already happening.

Creating a reliable marsupial model organism is a long-held dream for Australian geneticists, stretching back to research pioneered by famed statistician Ronald Fisher in the mid-20th century. To understand why the model is so important, we need to look at the lab mouse, a staple of science laboratories for centuries.

"A lot of what we know about how genes work, and how genes work with each other, comes from the mouse," says Jenny Graves, a geneticist at La Trobe University in Victoria, Australia, who has worked with marsupials for five decades.

The mouse is an indispensable model organism that shares many genetic similarities with humans. It has been key in understanding basic human biology, testing new medicines and unraveling the mysteries of how our brains work. Mice form such a critical part of the scientific endeavor because they breed quickly, have large litters, and are cheap to house, feed and maintain.

The lab mouse has been indispensable in understanding physiology, biology and genetics.

In the 1970s, scientists developed a method to insert new genes into mice. After a decade of refinement, these genetically modified mice (known as "transgenic mice") provided novel ways to study how genes function. You could add a gene, turning its expression up to 11, or delete a gene entirely, shutting it off. Scientists had a powerful tool to discover which genes performed the critical work in reproduction, development and maturation.

The same capability does not exist for marsupials. "At the moment, we don't have any way of manipulating genes in a devil or a kangaroo or a possum," says Graves. Without this capability, it's difficult to answer more pointed questions about marsupial genes and how they compare with mammal genes, like those of mice and humans.

So far, two marsupial species -- the Tammar wallaby and the American opossum -- have been front and center of research efforts to create a reliable model organism, but they both pose problems. The wallaby breeds slowly, with only one baby every 18 months, and it requires vast swaths of land to maintain.

The short-tailed opossum might prove an even more complicated case. Pask, the marsupial geneticist, says the small South American marsupial is prone to eating its young, and breeding requires researchers to sift through hours of video footage, looking for who impregnated whom. Pask also makes a patriotic jab ("they're American so we don't like them") and says their differences from Australian marsupials make them less useful for the problems Australian species face.

But the dunnart boasts all the features that make the mouse such an attractive organism for study: It is small and easy to house, breeds well in captivity and has large litters.

"Our little guys are just like having a mouse basically, except they have a pouch," Pask says.

Pask (front) and Frankenberg inspect some of their dunnarts at the University of Melbourne.

A stern warning precedes my first meeting with Pask's colony of fat-tailed dunnarts.

"It smells like shit," he says. "They shit everywhere."

I quickly discover he's right. Upon entering the colony's dwellings on the third floor of the University of Melbourne's utilitarian BioSciences building, you're punched in the face by a musty, fecal smell.

Pask, a laid-back researcher whose face is almost permanently fixed with a smile, and one of his colleagues, researcher Stephen Frankenberg, appear unfazed by the odor. They've adapted to it. Inside the small room that houses the colony, storage-box-cages are stacked three shelves high. They're filled with upturned egg cartons and empty buckets, which work as makeshift nests for the critters to hide in.

Andrew Pask

Frankenberg reaches in without hesitation and plucks one from a cage -- nameless but numbered "29" -- and it hides in his enclosed fist before peeking out of the gap between his thumb and forefinger, snout pulsing. As I watch Frankenberg cradle it, the dunnart seems curious, and Pask warns me it's more than agile enough to manufacture a great escape.

In the wild, fat-tailed dunnarts are just as inquisitive and fleet-footed. Their range extends across most of southern and central Australia, and the most recent assessment of their population numbers shows they aren't suffering population declines in the same way many of Australia's bigger marsupial species are.

Move over, Baby Yoda.

As I watch 29 scamper up Frankenberg's arm, the physical similarities between it and a mouse are obvious. Pask explains that the dunnart's DNA is much more closely related to the Tasmanian devil, an endangered cat-sized carnivore native to Australia, than the mouse. But from a research perspective, Pask notes the similarities between mouse and dunnart run deep -- and that's why it's such an important critter.

"The dunnart is going to be our marsupial workhorse like the mouse is for placental mammals," Pask says.

For that to happen, Pask's team has to perfect an incredible feat of genetic engineering: They have to learn how to reprogram its cells.

To do so, they collect skin cells from the dunnart's ear or footpad and drop them in a flask where scientists can introduce new genes into the skin cell. The introduced genes are able to trick the adult cell, convincing it to become a "younger," specialized cell with almost unlimited potential.

The reprogrammed cells are known as "induced pluripotent stem cells," or iPS cells, and since Japanese scientists unraveled how to perform this incredible feat in 2006, they have proven to be indispensable for researchers because they can become any cell in the body.

"You can grow them in culture and put different sorts of differentiation factors on them and see if they can turn into nerve cells, muscle cells, brain cells, blood vessels," Pask explains. That means these special cells could even be programmed to become a sperm or an egg, in turn allowing embryos to be made.

Implanting the embryo in a surrogate mother could create a whole animal.

It took about 15 minutes to get this dunnart to sit still.

Although such a technological leap has been made in mice, it's still a long way from fruition for marsupials. At present, only the Tasmanian devil has had iPS cells created from skin, and no sperm or egg cells were produced.

Pask's team has been able to dupe the dunnart's cells into reverting to stem cells -- and they've even made some slight genetic tweaks in the lab. But that's just the first step.

He believes there are likely to be small differences between species, but if the methodology remains consistent and reproducible in other marsupials, scientists could begin to create iPS cells from Australia's array of unique fauna. They could even sample skin cells from wild marsupials and reprogram those.

Doing so would be indispensable in the creation of a biobank, where the cells would be frozen down to -196 degrees Celsius (-273F) and stored until they're needed. It would act as a safeguard -- a backup copy of genetic material that could, in some distant future, be used to bring species back from the edge of oblivion, helping repopulate them and restoring their genetic diversity.

Underneath San Diego Zoo's Beckman Center for Conservation Research lies the Frozen Zoo, a repository of test tubes containing the genetic material of over 10,000 species. Stacked in towers and chilled inside giant metal vats, the tubes contain the DNA of threatened species from around the world, suspended in time.

It's the largest wildlife biobank in the world.

"Our goal is to opportunistically collect cells ... on multiple individuals of as many species as we can, to provide a vast genetic resource for research and conservation efforts," explains Marlys Houck, curator at the Frozen Zoo.

The Zoo's efforts to save the northern white rhino from extinction have been well publicized. Other research groups have been able to create a northern white rhino embryo in the lab, combining eggs of the last two remaining females with frozen sperm from departed males. Scientists propose implanting those embryos in a surrogate mother of a closely related species, the southern white rhino, to help drag the species back from the edge of oblivion.

For the better part of a decade, conservationists have been focused on this goal, and now their work is paying off: In the "coming months," the lab-created northern white rhino embryo will be implanted in a surrogate.

Sudan, the last male northern white rhinoceros, was euthanized in 2018.

Marisa Korody, a conservation geneticist at the Frozen Zoo, stresses that this type of intervention was really the last hope for the rhino, a species whose population had already diminished to just eight individuals a decade ago.

"We only turn to these methods when more traditional conservation methods have failed," she says.

In Australia, researchers are telling whoever will listen that traditional conservation methods are failing.

"We've been saying for decades and decades, many of our species are on a slippery slope," says John Rodger, a marsupial conservationist at the University of Newcastle, Australia, and CEO of the Fauna Research Alliance, which has long advocated for the banking of genetic material of species in Australia and New Zealand.

In October, 240 of Australia's top scientists delivered a letter to the government detailing the country's woeful record on protecting species, citing the 1,800 plants and animals in danger of extinction, and the "weak" environmental laws which have been ineffective at keeping Australian fauna alive.

Institutions around Australia, such as Taronga Zoo and Monash University, have been biobanking samples since the '90s, reliant on philanthropic donations to stay online, but researchers say this is not enough. For at least a decade, they've been calling for the establishment of a national biobank to support Australia's threatened species.

John Rodger

"Our real problem in Australia ... is underinvestment," Rodger says. "You've got to accept this is not a short-term investment."

The current government installed a threatened-species commissioner in 2017 and committed $255 million ($171 million in US dollars) in funding to improve the prospects of 20 mammal species by 2020. In the most recent progress report, released in 2019, only eight of those 20 were identified as having an "improved trajectory," meaning populations were either increasing faster or declining slower compared to 2015.

A spokesperson for the commissioner outlined the $50 million investment to support immediate work to protect wildlife following the bushfires, speaking to monitoring programs, establishment of "insurance populations" and feral cat traps. No future strategies regarding biobanking were referenced.

Researchers believe we need to act now to preserve iconic Australian species like the koala.

In the wake of the catastrophic bushfire season and the challenges posed by climate change, Australia's extinction crisis is again in the spotlight. Koalas are plastered over social media with charred noses and bandaged skin. On the front page of newspapers, kangaroos bound in front of towering walls of flame.

Houck notes that San Diego's Frozen Zoo currently stores cell lines "from nearly 30 marsupial species, including koala, Tasmanian devil and kangaroo," but that's only one-tenth of the known marsupial species living in Australia today.

"Nobody in the world is seriously working on marsupials but us," Rodger says. "We've got a huge interest in maintaining these guys for tourism, national icons... you name it."

There's a creeping sense of dread in the researchers I talk to that perhaps we've passed a tipping point, not just in Australia, but across the world. "We are losing species at an alarming rate," says Korody from the Frozen Zoo. "Some species are going extinct before we even know they are there."

With such high stakes, Pask and his dunnarts are in a race against time. Perfecting the techniques to genetically engineer the tiny marsupial's cells will help enable the preservation of all marsupial species for generations to come, future-proofing them against natural disasters, disease, land-clearing and threats we may not even be able to predict right now.

Pask reasons "we owe it" to marsupials to develop these tools and, at the very least, biobank their cells if we can't prevent extinction. "We really should be investing in this stuff now," he says. He's optimistic.

In some distant future, years from now, a bundle of frozen stem cells might just bring the koala or the kangaroo back from the brink of extinction.

And for that, we'll have the dunnart to thank.

Originally published Feb. 18, 5 a.m. PT.

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Building a 'doomsday vault' to save the kangaroo and koala from extinction - CNET

Genetic engineering company says they have created a coronavirus vaccine – 9News.com KUSA

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HOUSTON A Houston-based genetic engineering company said it has a vaccine aimed at the deadly coronavirus outbreak, according to a report by the Houston Business Journal.

The genetic engineering firm, Greffex Inc. has one of its laboratories based in Aurora, Colorado.

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John Price, president and CEO of Greffex Inc., told KHOU, our sister station in Houston, that Greffex's scientists completed the coronavirus vaccine this week.

The trick in making a vaccine is can you scale the vaccine that youve made to be able to make a certain number of doses, can you test the vaccine quickly and efficiently and then can you get it into patients and thats where we have an edge as well on the other companies that are out there," said Price. "And that has to do with speed and essential uniformity of how we make vaccines, so that drops the cost down.

Price said the vaccine will now move into a testing phase with the Food and Drug Administration.

The Houston Business Journal reported, in September 2019 Greffex received an $18.9 million contract from the National Institute of Health's National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop new treatments for infectious threats.

If the vaccine gets government approval, Price said his company plans to give it away for free to nations hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.

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Genetic engineering company says they have created a coronavirus vaccine - 9News.com KUSA

Coronavirus (COVID-19) update: Busting the myth by looking at the facts – The European Sting

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A digital illustration of the coronavirus shows the crown-like appearance of the virus. (UN News)

Finally, some good news about the new coronavirus pneumonia outbreak (COVID-19). According to Reuters, Chinas National Health Commission reported a substantial drop of 77% in new coronavirus cases last week, as the number of new cases in China dropped last Wednesday to 394 from 1,749 on the previous day. According to CNNs most recent report, indeed the coronavirus situation is currently stabilising in China.

In addition, researchers from the University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia have announced their major breakthrough in developing the first coronavirus vaccine. More good news comes from Texas, US, whereby an American genetic engineering company reports it has completed the development of a coronavirus vaccine. Other multinational drug companies like Sanofi and Janssen are entering the race of developing the vaccine. Moreover, Chinas Vice Science and Technology Minister Xu Nanping stated that China is starting trials on its coronavirus vaccine in a months time from now.

Is the coronavirus more deadly than Ebola, SARS, MERS? On the contrary, COVID-19 has the lowest fatality rate compared to other deadly viruses. According to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, while the new coronavirus pneumonia has a case fatality rate (CFR) of 2.65%, Ebola has a CFR as high as 50%, MERS has a CFR of 34.4% and SARS has a CFR of 14-15%. Hence, coronavirus shouldnt be compared even to the rest as the fatality rate is much lower. Unfortunately, the latter isnt stressed in the news headlines whatsoever, simply because fearmongering and sensationalism is something that other media do for a living. Also, factual data like the low fatality rate of COVID-19 would stop the panic and result in a more realistic approach to the coronavirus outbreak, which could lead pop media to lose pop readership.

Besides, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the official EU Agency, which provides daily updates on the coronavirus, clearly stipulates about today that the risk associated with COVID-19 infection for people from the EU/EEA and UK is currently considered to be low to moderate.

What is the real reason behind this overly exaggeration of the press about COVID-19?

Since the outbreak of coronavirus in December 2019 in Chinas Hubei province, the world has been witnessing an increase in coronavirus cases with approximately 80,000 people being infected around the world. Chinas government has already taken emergency measures to contain the expansion of the disease like controlling the movement of people in the Hubei province or building a new large hospital to treat the coronavirus cases in a matter of days.

Nevertheless, during the first two months of 2020 the world has been taking some exaggerated measures against China like cancelling/blocking flights to/from China which refer to both transfers of people and goods. And all that despite the fact that the World Health Organization has been adamant that such measures are not recommended.

In addition, the worlds press has been extremely critical over the strict isolation measures taken by China to confine the outbreak. They also blamed China for violating human rights. At the same time in Italy these days entire villages and towns in the northern part of the country are completely quarantined by the Italian government. Consequently, the latter shows that what China does for the Hubei province is nothing more than standard emergency prevention measure to be taken by a country.

Moreover, as a result of fearmongering by the media through the omission of facts like for example the low fatality rate of the coronavirus, people tend to have a racist approach against Chinese citizens who are living or traveling outside China. Isnt it utterly unfair though and absolutely wrong to assimilate the few dozens of thousands of coronavirus cases with the 1.4 billion population of a country?

As regards the coronavirus impact on the second biggest economy of the world, besides the opportunistic approach by many markets to capitalise on this emergency with hostility, it seems that the economy is not dearly affected as gamblers would hope. In particular, the Ambassador of China to the EU has been recently reassuring on the matter: With business activities deferred and demand for services reduced, there is some impact on the Chinese economy. Yet the impact is limited, short-term and manageable. The epidemic will not change the positive prospects of the Chinese economy in the long term, the huge market demand offered by the 1.4 billion Chinese people, nor Chinas commitment to reform and opening-up. There is no need for global investors to worry too much.

All in all, while the coronavirus is surely a new challenge for the world in 2020, it is much needed that the worlds media maintain a balanced approach, discussing the coronavirus outbreak objectively without tactically losing interest from positive evolutions and news like the vaccination development achievements, the low fatality rate of the disease or the drop in the cases in China or effective responses. The latter is necessary to avoid that people panic. Besides, WHO has established a specific website to inform people and media about the coronavirus, which is based on facts, a sine qua non for journalism as it should be.

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) update: Busting the myth by looking at the facts - The European Sting

Is the vaccine to thwart the new coronavirus stored in a Houston freezer? – Houston Chronicle

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Scientists around the world are scrambling to develop a vaccine to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, but the best candidate might be an experimental one stored in a Houston freezer.

The vaccine, developed by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers, effectively protected mice against SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, the pneumonia-causing virus from the same family that spread in the early 2000s. The vaccine never progressed to human testing because manufacturing of it wasnt completed until 2016, long after SARS had burned out.

It generated zero interest from pharmaceutical companies, said Peter Hotez, a Baylor vaccine researcher and infectious disease specialist. Because the virus was no longer circulating, their response was essentially, thanks, but no thanks.

Hotez thinks the vaccine-in-storage can provide cross-protection against the new coronavirus, now officially named COVID-19, whose spread through China and, increasingly, to other countries has the world on edge. The virus, first detected in Wuhan, China, has now infected more than 75,000 people and killed more than 2,200, more than the 774 deaths from SARS. Although the bulk of the cases and deaths have occurred in China, COVID-19 now has been confirmed in 28 countries, the U.S. among them.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Coronavirus fears weigh on Houston economy as oil prices fall, businesses lose customers

The 34 cases in the United States 21 repatriated individuals and 13 travelers who fell ill after returning include three in Texas, an American citizen who was part of a group evacuated from China on a State Department-chartered flight, and two citizens on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. All three were taken to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.

The Baylor-UTMB vaccine looks promising for COVID-19 because the virus so resembles SARS Hotez calls it SARS-2 which circulated between November 2002 and July 2003, mostly in mainland China and Hong Kong but also in Toronto, whose economy was so badly wrought by the outbreak that it needed a boost from a benefit concert featuring the Rolling Stones, Justin Timberlake and others to help shake the effects.

COVID-19 shares 82 percent of its genes with SARS and infects people through the same cell receptor, one of the spike-like proteins that stud the surface of coronaviruses and gives the family their name. The viruses originally jump from animals to people.

###

The two coronaviruses, which have mostly resulted in deaths in the elderly and people with serious underlying conditions, both can cause a severe form of pneumonia characterized by fever, cough and breathing difficulties. The early thinking is that COVID-19 is less lethal than SARS but more contagious.

There is no licensed treatment or vaccine for either, just supportive care focused on the symptoms.

The hope that the Baylor-UTMB vaccine should provide at least some, if not full, protection has had Hotez working the telephone the last few weeks, pleading with pharmaceutical companies and federal scientific agencies to pony up the funding needed to move the vaccine into clinical testing. The vaccine is still a candidate for such testing because the team has tested its continuing usefulness every six months, when it removes a sample from the freezer.

It may require some tweaking, but its stable, said Dr. James LeDuc, director of the Galveston National Laboratory on the UTMB Galveston campus. Every virus is different, features some adaptations.

The laboratory, a high-security biocontainment facility for the study of exotic disease, recently received the live COVID-19, which it will use to test the vaccine in mice, to see whether the SARS vaccine protects against it. The labs researchers created mice engineered to replicate the human disease.

###

Funding for clinical trials remains the big hurdle. Even with the new coronavirus circulating, Hotez has found few nibbles from pharmaceutical companies beyond the request to keep them informed and the suggestion their interest would pick up if the new coronavirus becomes a seasonal infection, like the flu.

Instead, Hotez is pinning his hopes for clinical trial funding on two grant proposals one to the British government; and another to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, an Oslo-based coalition of charities (the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a sponsor) and governments that aims to derail epidemics by speeding up the development of vaccines.

The Baylor-UTMB venture is just one of the many ongoing efforts to halt the coronavirus epidemic. About 300 scientists dialed in remotely to a World Health Organization meeting last week to fast-track tests, drugs and vaccines to help slow the outbreak. UT-Austin scientists published a paper in Science on their creation of the first 3D atomic-scale map of the spike protein the part of the virus that attaches to and infects human cells that should provide a road map for better vaccine development.

At least eight initiatives to develop new vaccines have been announced, most of which use new technology, such as a type sometimes called genetic immunization, that is considered highly promising but has not yet led to licensure. One Houston firm, Greffex, said it has used genetic engineering to create a COVID-19 vaccine it will now take to animal testing.

Hotez said he thinks the Baylor-UTMB vaccine has an advantage because its already been successfully tested in animals and because its based on classic vaccine technology, the same technology used, for instance, in approved vaccines for Hepatitis B and the human papillomavirus. He said the less-than-perfect match should provide protection in the same way flu vaccines provide protection even though theyre typically from 100 percent matches.

###

In addition to repurposing the SARS vaccine, the Baylor-UTMB team is working to develop its own new vaccine targeting COVID-19. But Hotez acknowledged that work will take longer than the SARS vaccine. He said hes surprised Chinese officials havent reached out to him about testing the vaccine in China.

Baylors work is conducted through its Texas Childrens Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, whose mission involves fighting public health threats that affect people who live in poverty such as neglected tropical diseases and coronaviruses. It has made vaccines for neglected tropical diseases Chagas disease, schistosomiasis and hookworm, and the coronavirus MERS, or Middle East respiratory syndrome, the camel flu that originated in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and later was confirmed in South Korea. Unlike SARS, MERS does not resemble COVID-19.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Why Houston is uniquely situated to be better prepared for the coronavirus threat

But the question is, can any vaccine make it through clinical testing in time to make a difference in the fight against an emerging epidemic or pandemic?

LeDuc noted that there are no shortcuts to the testing required to prove vaccines are safe and effective in people, a process he acknowledges could take a year, during which time the disease may burn out.

Hotez said the only thing that might expedite testing is if the spread of the disease becomes dire, a sobering thought that some public health officials think is looking more and more likely as COVID-19 is diagnosed in more countries.

It is why Hotez laments the missed opportunities to develop and stockpile vaccines for SARS, MERS and even Zika, the mosquito-borne infection that emerged in 2014-2017 but then burned out.

Its like little kids soccer games where everyone just follows the ball, said Hotez. They all run to the ball when its one spot, then to the next spot where it goes and then the one after that. No one stays at the goal to play defense.

todd.ackerman@chron.com

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Is the vaccine to thwart the new coronavirus stored in a Houston freezer? - Houston Chronicle

$19.8B Synthetic Biology Market by Tools, Technology, Application and Region – Forecast to 2025 – Yahoo Finance

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Dublin, Feb. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Synthetic Biology Market by Tools (Oligonucleotides, Enzymes, Synthetic Cells), by Technology (Gene Synthesis, Bioinformatics), by Application (Tissue Regeneration, Biofuel, Renewable Energy, Food & Agriculture, Bioremediation) - Global Forecast to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global synthetic biology market is projected to reach USD 19.8 billion by 2025 from USD 6.8 billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 23.9%.

This report analyzes the market for various synthetic biology market and their adoption patterns. It aims at estimating the market size and future growth potential of the synthetic biology market and its subsegments. The report also includes an in-depth competitive analysis of the key players in this market, along with their company profiles, product offerings, and recent developments.

Factors such as the increasing demand for synthetic genes and synthetic cells, wide range of applications of synthetic biology, declining cost of DNA sequencing and synthesizing, increasing R&D funding and initiatives in synthetic biology, and increasing investments in the market are propelling the growth of this market. However, rising biosafety, biosecurity, and ethical concerns related to synthetic biology are likely to hamper the growth of this market.

The oligonucleotides and synthetic DNA segment is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period

Based on tools, the market has been segmented into oligonucleotides and synthetic DNA, enzymes, cloning technology kits, chassis organisms, xeno-nucleic acids, and synthetic cells. In 2019, the oligonucleotides and synthetic DNA segment is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

This can be attributed to factors such as the rising demand for synthetic DNA, synthetic RNA, and synthetic genes, which are used in a wide range of applications, such as pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, personal care, flavors and fragrances, probiotics, green chemicals, and industrial enzymes.

The genome engineering segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period

On the basis of technology, the market is segmented into gene synthesis, genome engineering, cloning, sequencing, site-directed mutagenesis, measurement and modeling, microfluidics, nanotechnology, bioinformatics technologies.

The genome engineering segment is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period due to factors such as the increasing use of engineering technologies for manipulating complex genomes, growing therapeutics development for cancer and other diseases, and the increasing technological advances in CRISPR-toolbox and DNA synthesis technologies.

The industrial applications segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period

Based on application, the synthetic biology market is segmented into medical, industrial, food & agricultural, and environmental applications. The industrial applications segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR owing to the rising applications of synthetic biology in producing renewable energy, biomaterials & green chemicals, and enzymes.

The Asia Pacific is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period

The synthetic biology market is divided into North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. In 2019, North America accounted for the largest share of the synthetic biology market.

However, the APAC region is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period owing to the growth in the number of pharmaceutical & biopharmaceutical companies, the increasing number of healthcare & life science facilities, and increasing requirements for regulatory compliance in pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, growing number of international alliances, heavy funding for synthetic biology research, and strong government support.

Furthermore, the increasing focus on the Asia Pacific markets due to their low-cost manufacturing advantage also provides growth opportunities for manufacturers.

Key Topics Covered

1 Introduction

2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary

4 Premium Insights 4.1 Market Overview4.2 Asia Pacific: Market, By Application4.3 Market: Geographic Growth Opportunities4.4 Market, By Region (2018-2025)4.5 Market: Developed vs. Developing Markets

5 Market Overview 5.1 Introduction5.2 Market Dynamics5.2.1 Drivers5.2.1.1 Wide Range of Applications of Synthetic Biology5.2.1.2 Rising R&D Funding and Growing Initiatives in Synthetic Biology5.2.1.3 Declining Cost of DNA Sequencing and Synthesizing5.2.1.4 Increasing Investments in the Market5.2.2 Restraints5.2.2.1 Biosafety, Biosecurity, and Ethical Concerns5.2.3 Opportunities5.2.3.1 Rising Need for Fuel Alternatives5.2.3.2 Increasing Demand for Protein Therapeutics and Personalized Medicine5.2.3.3 Increasing Research in Synthetic Drugs and Vaccines5.2.4 Challenges5.2.4.1 Standardization of Biological Parts

6 Synthetic Biology Market, By Tool 6.1 Introduction6.2 Oligonucleotides & Synthetic DNA6.2.1 Oligonucleotides and Synthetic Dna to Dominate the Market During the Forecast Period6.3 Enzymes6.3.1 Development of Enzymes has Helped in Evolving New Therapies for A Range of Diseases6.4 Cloning Technology Kits6.4.1 Need for the Creation of Artificial Dna Along With Their Assembly is Driving the Growth of the Segment6.5 Synthetic Cells6.5.1 Synthetic Cells Will Allow Tailoring Biologics and Its Adoption is Expected to Grow in the Coming Years6.6 Chassis Organisms6.6.1 Increasing Demand for Fossil Fuels is Likely to Propel the Demand for Chassis Organisms6.7 Xeno-Nucleic Acids6.7.1 Xnas are Increasingly Researched With the Growing Demand for Breakthrough Medicine

7 Synthetic Biology Market, By Technology 7.1 Introduction7.2 Gene Synthesis7.2.1 Gene Synthesis to Dominate the Market During the Forecast Period7.3 Genome Engineering7.3.1 Increasing Demand for Synthetic Dna and Genes is Expected to Drive Market Growth7.4 Sequencing7.4.1 Ngs Technology is Rapidly Becoming an Indispensable and Universal Tool for Biological Research7.5 Bioinformatics7.5.1 Use of Bioinformatics Technologies is Increasing With the Rising Need for Data Management and Curation7.6 Cloning7.6.1 Cloning Aids in Building New Genetic Modules/Pathways, Enabling Rapid Advances in Research Across Various Industries7.7 Site-Directed Mutagenesis7.7.1 Wide Applications in Genetic Engineering, Dna Assembly, and Cloning Technologies is Driving This Segment7.8 Measurement & Modeling7.8.1 Computational Modeling is Aiding the Growth of the Segment During the Forecast Period7.9 Microfluidics7.9.1 Droplet Microfluidics is Gaining Wide Recognition in the Field of Synthetic Biology7.1 Nanotechnology7.10.1 Convergence Between Synthetic Biology and Nanotechnologies Aid in Building Complex Bodies

8 Synthetic Biology Market, By Application 8.1 Introduction8.2 Medical Applications8.2.1 Pharmaceuticals8.2.1.1 In 2019, the Pharmaceuticals Segment Accounted for the Largest Share of the Medical Applications Market8.2.2 Drug Discovery and Therapeutics8.2.2.1 Cancer Detection & Diagnostics8.2.2.1.1 With Rising Investments for Cancer Research, the Market for Synthetic Biology is Expected to Grow for This Segment8.2.2.2 Other Drug Discovery and Therapeutic Applications8.2.3 Artificial Tissue & Tissue Regeneration8.2.3.1 Bio-Synthesis8.2.3.1.1 Bio-Synthesis is Dominating the Market With Its Increasing Adoption in Creating Artificial Genomes8.2.3.2 Stem Cell Regulation8.2.3.2.1 Use of Synthetic Biology in Stem Cell Regeneration and Reprogramming Somatic Cells is Expected to Drive Market Growth8.2.3.3 Other Artificial Tissue and Tissue Regeneration Applications8.3 Industrial Applications8.3.1 Biofuel and Renewable Energy8.3.1.1 Advantages of Using Genetically Engineered Organisms for the Synthetic Production of Biofuels is Driving Market Growth8.3.2 Industrial Enzymes8.3.2.1 Textile Industry8.3.2.1.1 Synthetic Biology is Being Applied in the Textile Industry to Replace Traditional Raw Materials8.3.2.2 Paper Industry8.3.2.2.1 Enzymes are Being Increasingly Used in the Pulp and Paper Industry8.3.2.3 Other Industries8.3.3 Biomaterials & Green Chemicals8.3.3.1 Silk-Based Proteins are A Type of Biomaterial Prepared Through Synthetic Biology8.4 Food & Agriculture8.4.1 Synthetic Biology Techniques are Applied in the Food and Agriculture Industry to Produce Metabolites, Health Products, and Processing Aids8.5 Environmental Applications8.5.1 Bioremediation8.5.1.1 Owing to the Growing Severity of Environmental Problems, It has Become Necessary to Develop Cost-Effective, On-Site Methods for Environmental Monitoring and Bioremediation8.5.2 Biosensing8.5.2.1 Biosensor Applications Commonly Make Use of Microalgae Owing to Their High Reproductive Rates and Ease of Culturing Due to Their Microscopic Size

9 Synthetic Biology Market, By Region 9.1 Introduction9.2 North America9.2.1 US9.2.1.1 The US Dominates the North American Market9.2.2 Canada9.2.2.1 Strong Research Infrastructure and Availability of Funding Will Support Market Growth9.3 Europe9.3.1 UK9.3.1.1 The UK Holds the Largest Share of the European Market9.3.2 Germany9.3.2.1 The Rapidly Growing Pharmaceutical Market is Expected to Drive Market Growth9.3.3 France9.3.3.1 Research Across All Industries is Strongly Supported By the Government9.3.4 Denmark9.3.4.1 Denmark has the Third-Largest Commercial Drug-Development Pipeline in Europe9.3.5 Switzerland9.3.5.1 Market Growth is Primarily Driven By the Well-Established Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Industry in the Country9.3.6 Spain9.3.6.1 Spain has A Well-Established Network of Research Centers, Universities, and Hospitals, Which Form an Ideal Environment for Research9.3.7 Italy9.3.7.1 Growth in This Market is Mainly Driven By Increasing Life Science R&D in the Country, Funded By Both Public and Private Organizations9.3.8 Rest of Europe9.4 Asia Pacific9.4.1 Japan9.4.1.1 Large Number of Research Initiatives Towards the Development of Precision Medicine Supporting Market Growth9.4.2 China9.4.2.1 Growth in R&D to Enhance the Technological Capabilities in the Country, Thereby Driving the Demand for High-Quality Research Tools9.4.3 Australia9.4.3.1 Increasing Focus of the Healthcare System on Precision Medicine to Offer Significant Growth Opportunities9.4.4 India9.4.4.1 Increasing Pharma R&D and Government Funding in the Biotechnology Industry are the Major Factors Driving Market Growth9.4.5 Rest of Asia Pacific9.5 Latin America9.5.1 Strong Pharmaceutical Industry in the Region to Provide Significant Growth Opportunities9.6 Middle East and Africa9.6.1 Increasing Partnerships Among Global Players With Government Organizations in the Region to Support Growth

10 Competitive Landscape 10.1 Overview10.2 Market Share Analysis10.2.1 Synthetic Biology Market, By Key Players, 201810.3 Competitive Leadership Mapping10.3.1 Visionary Leaders10.3.2 Innovators10.3.3 Dynamic Differentiators10.3.4 Emerging Companies10.4 Competitive Situation and Trends10.4.1 Product Launches10.4.2 Expansions10.4.3 Acquisitions10.4.4 Other Strategies

11 Company Profiles 11.1 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.11.1.1 Business Overview11.1.2 Products Offered11.1.3 Recent Developments11.2 Merck KGaA11.3 Agilent Technologies Inc.11.4 Novozymes A/S11.5 Ginkgo Bioworks11.6 Amyris Inc.11.7 Intrexon Corporation11.8 Genscript Biotech Corporation11.9 Twist Bioscience11.10 Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI)11.11 Codexis Inc.11.12 Synthego Corporation11.13 Creative Enzymes11.14 Eurofins Scientific11.15 Cyrus Biotechnology Inc.11.16 Other Major Companies11.16.1 Atum11.16.2 Teselagen11.16.3 Arzeda11.16.4 Integrated DNA Technologies Inc.11.16.5 New England Biolabs

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$19.8B Synthetic Biology Market by Tools, Technology, Application and Region - Forecast to 2025 - Yahoo Finance

Potential CAR T-cell Therapy Targeting ROR1 Seen to Clear Cancer… – Immuno-Oncology News

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A potential newCAR T-cell therapy by Oncternal Therapeutics showed strong activity against leukemia in mice, completely eliminating cancer cells from major tissue reservoirs in four weeks and extending survival by at least two months, according to preclinical data.

The CAR T-cells also remained highly active after being injected into the animals, and could be detected in the blood at least three months later without showing signs of exhaustion.

These findings were recently presented in a poster, Preclinical evaluation of anti-ROR1 CAR T cells employing a ROR1 binding SCFV derived from the clinical stage mab cirmtuzumab, at the ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium in Orlando, Florida.

CAR T-cell therapyis a type ofimmunotherapyin which researchers collect a patientsT-cells immune cells with anti-cancer activity and engineer them to recognize and eliminate cancer cells. This is done by introducing a gene in the cells genome that codes for a man-made receptor called a chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR which recognizes and targets a specific cancer molecule.

Upon finishing the genetic engineering step, the CAR T-cells are expanded in the lab and then injected into the patients blood. Typically, only one injection is needed, as the CAR T-cells are intended to be a long-lived treatment. By deriving the CAR T-cells from the patient, chances are also less likely of an immune system reaction to the re-introduced cells.

Oncternals CAR T-cell product is designed to target the ROR1 protein, which is produced during development but not usually found in adult tissues, except in some blood cancers a characteristic that makes it an attractive therapy target.

The therapeutic potential of the ROR1 protein was identified by researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, who also developed a monoclonal antibody, called cirmtuzumab, targeting this protein.

Cirmtuzumab has been deemed safe in blood cancer trials, leading researchers at UCSC with support from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to develop a CAR T-cell product that targeted ROR1 in the exact same location.

At the ASCO-SITC presentation, the researchers shared preclinical data demonstrating the effectiveness of the anti-ROR1 CAR T-cells. In the lab, they found the engineered cells were able to specifically locate and attack cells that expressed ROR1.

This led them to test these CAR T-cells in a mouse model of leukemia. Mice given the treatment survived for over 90 days, compared to an average of 21 days in a control group of mice given non-engineered T-cells from the same donor. Another control animal group received no therapy.

In the treated mice, leukemia cells were seen to clear from the bone marrow, kidney, and spleen four weeks after treatment administration. These CAR T-cells also remained with no signs of exhaustionin treated mice 90 or more days later.

We are encouraged by the preclinical results of this ROR1 CAR-T program and look forward to advancing it to clinical testing, initially for treating patients with hematological cancers, potentially in the fourth quarter of this year, James Breitmeyer, MD, PhD, the president and CEO of Oncternal, said in a press release.

It is exciting to see the potent preclinical activity of the ROR1 CAR-T cell therapy and its selectivity in targeting tumors, added Thomas Kipps, PhD, the lead researcher into ROR1 treatments at UCSD. Harnessing cirmtuzumabs specificity for ROR1 expressed on cancer cells has the potential to improve CAR-T efficacy and safety, and address the high unmet medical need for treating patients with aggressive cancers.

Cirmtuzumab is now being tested in clinical trials in people with advanced breast cancer and those with B-cell lymphoid cancers.

David earned a PhD in Biological Sciences from Columbia University in New York, NY, where he studied how Drosophila ovarian adult stem cells respond to cell signaling pathway manipulations. This work helped to redefine the organizational principles underlying adult stem cell growth models. He is currently a Science Writer, as part of the BioNews Services writing team.

Total Posts: 392

Ins holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Lisbon, Portugal, where she specialized in blood vessel biology, blood stem cells, and cancer. Before that, she studied Cell and Molecular Biology at Universidade Nova de Lisboa and worked as a research fellow at Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologias and Instituto Gulbenkian de Cincia.Ins currently works as a Managing Science Editor, striving to deliver the latest scientific advances to patient communities in a clear and accurate manner.

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Potential CAR T-cell Therapy Targeting ROR1 Seen to Clear Cancer... - Immuno-Oncology News

WHO: Therapeutic trial results against Covid-19 expected in three weeks – The Star Online

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GENEVA/BEIJING (Xinhua): The World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday (Feb 20) that preliminary results from clinical trials of therapeutics against the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) are expected in three weeks.

"We're also looking forward to results from two clinical trials of therapeutics prioritised by the WHO R&D Blueprint," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a daily briefing.

In Beijing, a senior National Health Commission official said Friday that Chinese scientists are racing to develop vaccines by adopting five technological approaches.

The approaches include inactivated vaccines, genetic engineering subunit vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines, nucleic acid vaccines, and vaccines using attenuated influenza virus as vectors.

Of the two WHO trials, one is the combination of two drugs for HIV, lopinavir and ritonavir, the other is testing an antiviral called remdesivir

"We expect preliminary results in three weeks," the WHO chief said.

Remdesivir is a drug developed by US pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences. It has shown good antiviral activity against SARS and MERS coronavirus in previous cell and animal experiments.

It has also shown fairly good antiviral activity against the Covid-19 at the cellular level.

A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of remdesivir started on Feb 6 in several hospitals in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, and the trial will last until the end of April.

A study published in 2004 showed the anti-HIV drug combination of Lopinavir and Ritonavir has "substantial clinical benefit" when given to patients who had SARS.

The Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, where the first 41 known patients were treated, has already launched a randomised, controlled trial of the anti-HIV drug combination, according to a report by Chinese researchers in the Lancet medical journal late last month.

The third version of Covid-19 treatment guidelines published by China's National Health Commission suggested that taking two Lopinavir/Ritonavir pills and inhaling a dose of nebulised alpha-interferon twice a day could benefit patients.

"Some projects have entered the stage of animal testing," Zeng Yixin, deputy director of National Health Commission, told a press conference on China's fight against the novel coronavirus outbreak.

"Under the premise of ensuring safety, effectiveness and accessibility (of vaccines), (we) foresee that as soon as from April to May this year some vaccines could enter clinical trials, or under specific conditions, could be applied for emergency use," Zeng said.

"Our goal is that if required by the outbreak situation, the emergency use of vaccines, as well as the emergency review and approval process, can be activated in accordance with laws," the official said. - Xinhua

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WHO: Therapeutic trial results against Covid-19 expected in three weeks - The Star Online

A Word That Everybody Hates | Bert Bigelow – Patheos

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Google eugenics and you will find yourself buried under a mountain of different definitions. Some are fairly objective, but the vast majority disparage, even demonize, the idea. A few examples:

The study of how to arrange reproduction within a human population to increase the occurrence of heritable characteristics regarded as desirable. Developed largely by Sir Francis Galton as a method of improving the human race, eugenics was increasingly discredited as unscientific and racially biased during the 20th century, especially after the adoption of its doctrines by the Nazis in order to justify their treatment of Jews, disabled people, and other minority groups.

The study of or belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population, especially by such means as discouraging reproduction by persons having genetic defects or presumed to have inheritable undesirable traits (negative eugenics) or encouraging reproduction by persons presumed to have inheritable desirable traits (positive eugenics).

A pseudoscience with the stated aim of improving the genetic constitution of the human species by selective breeding.

A writer of a recent article on another blog attacks Richard Dawkins for some statements he made about eugenics. Here is what Dawkins said:

Its one thing to deplore eugenics on ideological, political, moral grounds. Its quite another to conclude that it wouldnt work in practice. Of course it would. It works for cows, horses, pigs, dogs & roses. Why on earth wouldnt it work for humans? Facts ignore ideology.

For those determined to miss the point, I deplore the idea of a eugenic policy. I simply said deploring it doesnt mean it wouldnt work. Just as we breed cows to yield more milk, we could breed humans to run faster or jump higher. But heaven forbid that we should do it.

A eugenic policy would be bad. Im combating the illogical step from X would be bad to So X is impossible. It would work in the same sense as it works for cows. Lets fight it on moral grounds. Deny obvious scientific facts & we lose or at best derail the argument.

Even with his outspoken opposition to eugenics, he was excoriated, not only by the writer of the piece, but also by commenters. The final paragraph pretty much says it all:

Sorry, Dawkins, but whether eugenics worksand what it would even mean for it to workis actually an open question. Youre the one being unscientific, not your critics. Also, to say, in sum, Im not pro-eugenics, but it would work and anyone who says otherwise is an idiot, when in fact the jury is very much out on whether eugenics would workor even what that meansis weird.

A commentor says:

I think that any attempt to improve the human genome is very dangerous and perhaps existential in nature.

What if a couple, both blonde and blue-eyed, decide that they want a dark-haired, dark-eyed daughter? So, they have the genome in their fetus modified to make that happen. How is that an existential danger?

I acknowledge that I have moved the goalposts. The definitions I quoted above were based on earlier science, when genetic engineering was not possible. Now it is, although it is in an early stage of development, and many of the criticisms about unanticipated negative side-effects are valid. But Dawkins point was that science continues to advance, and saying that it will NEVER be possible is wrong.

Another commenter says:

The moral arguments against eugenics are profound.

How so? A religious believer might think that the design of a human being is the provenance of God, and usurping His authority is blasphemy, or even heresy. I dont share their beliefs, and see nothing fundamentally immoral about modifying a human genome. I recognize the dangers, and would not approve of it until there is reasonable assurance that no harm would result. But there is never a certainty of that, just as there is no certainty that if you get on an airplane, you will arrive at your destination safely. Life is full of risks.

The criticism of Dawkins for his comments is, in my opinion, unwarranted. He is a technologist. He understands the dangers and even said that he opposes eugenics. But that isnt enough to satisfy the defenders of Gods primacy in creating us according to His design. Or those who say that we will never be able to do it without risk. That is probably true, but who should decide what the risk vs. benefit ratio should be?

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A Word That Everybody Hates | Bert Bigelow - Patheos

Meet Emily Beecham: the actress set to dominate 2020 – harpersbazaar.com

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Emily Beecham is in a very philosophical mood. Running a hand through her russet locks, she gazes contemplatively out of the window onto the bustling London streets below. Who knows whats going to happen in the future? she says. Humans might need to adapt to be able to absorb carbon dioxide like plants. That could be useful, with the oxygen becoming scarce... but lets not think about that!

It is her new film, the neon-bathed, anxiety-spiking thriller Little Joe, that has prompted this existential malaise. In the movie, Beecham plays Alice, a renegade botanist who forgoes the necessary safety checks to genetically engineer the worlds first mood-boosting antidepressant plant, a sample of which she smuggles home to her teenage son Joe. Starting out as a wholly commendable scientific breakthrough, the flower gradually appears to turn against its creator, confining those who inhale its head-spinning pollen to a deadened state of seeming happiness. There is a gnawing question at the centre of Little Joe: are these characters genuinely euphoric or just emotional suppressed? To its credit, the film eludes the Manichaeism of conventional storytelling and allows viewers to draw their own conclusions on the matter.

Courtesy of Festival de Cannes

It really makes you think for yourself, Beecham agrees. We had some very unexpected questions when we first screened it. Theres a scientific explanation, a psychological explanation and then theres also the idea that its all a load of nonsense and absolutely nothing is going on at all. My character is down this rabbit hole of not knowing what she believes. The movie premiered in competition at last years Cannes Film Festival, where its slippery grasp of medical ethics divided critical opinion; the actress, for her part, enjoyed her time on the Croisette. Id never been to Cannes before. It was very opulent, very glamorous and really fun.

She had already returned to the UK when she was summoned back to France to stand in contention for the festivals Best Actress prize (resulting in a rip-roaring journey that involved her zooming across the Cte dAzur by motorbike just in time for the ceremony). Beecham, visibly stunned, went on to clinch the trophy for her subtle work, a deliberately contrived, quasi-mechanical performance that soon descends into fully fledged paranoia her red-rimmed eyes darting about suspiciously over her surgical mask. Leaving with the award was a shock to say the least, she admits now. I just really wasnt expecting that. We celebrated with lots of food and drink, and a little dance. It was amazing, obviously, but completely overwhelming.

Toni Anne Barson

Equally overwhelming, I imagine, is answering big-picture questions on her puzzlingly unclassifiable film. Heres another one for her: how much freedom should scientists have when it comes to modifying living organisms? She exhales deeply, staring into the middle distance to really ponder before answering. I know there are strict regulations placed on it now after the French microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier who was an inspiration for my character in the film actually invented a revolutionary gene-editing tool that enables you to quickly genetically engineer something, she explains. Since then, and quite understandably, rules have been tight so that it doesnt get into the wrong hands. Genetic engineering is amazing for medicine, I hear, with its ability to help scientists try to cure diseases.

I pivot to another cornerstone of Little Joe: the open-ended, endlessly interpretable topic that is the meaning of happiness. Happiness is subjective, Beecham says firmly. Some people think material wealth or career success or relationships equal happiness. The Buddhists ideal is just to be. On a personal level, I feel happy if Im working with people who inspire me. I also like listening to music, seeing a friend, reading a book, watching a film... nothing that unusual really. I do love finding weird little treasures in vintage stores. She pauses, bright-eyed before adding: As long as I dont become a hoarder!

The superficially cheerful laboratory over which Alice presides in Little Joe unsurprisingly skews male, with Ben Whishaw featuring as a lower-ranking plant breeder. Meanwhile, the movies crew, led by the visionary director Jessica Hausner, was much more gender-balanced. Jessica is a really good leader who always follows her vision, says Beecham. There was a lot of respect and focus on set. She knew when to say, No, that isn't the film I want to make, this is the film I want to make. Everything was very choreographed: the timings, the camera movements, picking up props... She persists until we get the right take, which I really admire because that can be difficult.

Although mostly emanating authority, Beechams character, by contrast, is subject to micro-aggressions at the office, with men around her condescendingly remarking This has all been a bit much for you when she highlights her plants potential danger. Alice is very senior in her workplace in a very male-dominated environment, says Beecham. She is the boss and she has the most successful plant so she calls all the shots. There is subtle begrudgement about that and a bit of power play between her and Chris [Whishaw]. Perhaps women have to work harder to gain that dominance or respect.

Beecham is set to wade even further into the depths of scientific ethics with her upcoming Netflix project Outside the Wire, which explores the use of artificial intelligence in warfare (Its just a coincidence really!), but perhaps her most anticipated new film is Cruella. Due in cinemas next year, this is the live-action prequel to Disneys classic 101 Dalmatians in which Emma Stone plays the puppy-snatching, sartorially spotted villain. Fascinatingly, Craig Gillespie has been brought on to direct something of a left-field choice given that the film-maker is best known for zany indies in which Margot Robbie kneecaps a skating rival (I, Tonya) and Ryan Gosling falls in love with a sex doll (Lars and the Real Girl).

Its an edgy Disney story, Beecham reveals. Cruella is an anarchic girl with a rebellious streak, so Craig brought out that menacing fun, coupled with a certain vivacity and a real London feel. There was a naturalness to the shoot. It was this massive production and he would have us improvising lines, writing new scripts it was very fresh and authentic. Its going to be a really fun and interesting film. The movies costumes are fantastical, Vivienne Westwood-inspired creations whose outlandishness did prove challenging for the actress co-star. Emma [Stone]s costume was very elaborate. She was slightly paralysed in it because she couldnt really move her head, Beecham says, laughing. She had to lie down an awful lot between takes because she literally couldnt move. Until we see Cruellas origin story, prepare to be moved by Beechams faultlessly modulated turn in Little Joe, a masterclass of quietly unravelling containment.

Little Joe is released in cinemas on Friday.

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Meet Emily Beecham: the actress set to dominate 2020 - harpersbazaar.com

Connecting the Coronavirus to Agriculture – CounterPunch

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A coronavirus.

A new deadlycoronavirus2019-nCoV, related toSARSandMERSand apparently originating in live animal markets in Wuhan, China, is starting to spread worldwide.

Chinese authorities havereported5974 cases nationwide, 1000 of them severe. With infections in nearly every province, authoritieswarned2019-nCoV appears to be spreading fast out of its epicenter.

The characterization appears supported byinitial modeling.

The virussbasic reproduction number, a measure of the number of new cases per infection given no cap on available susceptibles, is clocking in at a healthy 3.11. That means in the face of such momentum, a control campaign must stop up to 75% of new infections to reverse the outbreak. The modeling team estimates there are presently over 21,000 cases, reported or not, in Wuhan alone.

Full-genome sequences of the virus meanwhileshowfew differences between the samples isolated across China. Slower spread for such a fast-evolvingRNA viruswould be marked by mutations accumulating place-to-place.

The coronavirus is starting to open up theaters overseas. Travelers with 2019-nCoV havebeen treatedin Australia, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Vietnam, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States. Local outbreaks are nowstarting upwithin sink countries.

As the infection is characterized by human-to-human transmission and an apparent two-week incubation period before the sickness hits, the infection will likely continue to spread across the globe. Whether itll be Wuhan everywhere remains an open question.

The viruss finalpenetranceworldwide will depend on the difference between the rate of infection and the rate of removing infections by recovery or death. If the infection rate far exceeds removal, then the total population infected may approach the whole of humanity. That outcome, however, would likely be marked by large geographic variation brought about by a combination of dead chance and the differences in how countries responded to their outbreak.

Pandemic skeptics arent so sure of such a scenario.Far fewerpatients have been infected and killed by 2019-nCoV than even the typical seasonal influenza. But the mistake here is in confusing a moment early in an outbreak for a viruss essentialist nature.

Outbreaks are dynamic. Yes, some burn out, including, maybe, 2019-nCoV. It takes the right evolutionary draw and a little luck to beat out chance extirpation. Sometimes enough hosts dont line up to keep transmission going. Other outbreaks explode. Those that make it on the world stage can be game changers, even if they eventually die out. They upend the everyday routines of even a world already intumultor atwar.

The deadliness of any potential pandemic strain is the meat of the matter, of course.

Should the virus prove less infectious or deadly than initially thought, civilization goes on, however many people are killed. The H1N1 (2009) influenza outbreak that worried so many a decade-plus ago proved less virulent than it first seemed. But even that strain penetrated the global population, and quietly killed patients, at magnitudes far beyond these first follow-up dismissals. H1N1 (2009)killedas many as 579,000 people its first year, producing complications in fifteen times more cases than initially projected from lab tests alone.

The danger here is found in humanitysunprecedented connectivity. H1N1 (2009) crossed the Pacific Ocean in nine days, superseding predictions by the most sophisticated models of the global travel network by months. Airline data show atenfoldincrease in travel in China just since the SARS epidemic.

Under such widespread percolation, low mortality for a large number of infections can still cause a large number of deaths. If four billion people are infected at a mortality rate of only 2%, a death rate less than half that of the 1918 influenza pandemic, eighty million people are killed. And unlike for seasonal influenza, we have neitherherd immunity, nor a vaccine to slow it down. Even speeded-up development will at best takethree monthsto produce a vaccine for 2019-nCoV, assuming it even works. Scientists successfully produced a vaccine for the H5N2 avian influenza onlyafterthe U.S. outbreak ended.

A critical epidemiological parameter will be the relationship between infectivity and when those infected express symptoms. SARS and MERSprovedinfectious only upon symptoms. If this bears out for 2019-nCoV, we may be in relatively good shape, all things considered. Even without a vaccine or tailored antivirals, we can immediately quarantine the suddenly sick, breaking chains of transmission with nineteenth-century public health.

Sunday, however, Chinas health minister Ma Xiaoweistunnedthe world announcing that 2019-nCoV had expressed infectivitybeforesymptoms. Its such a turnabout that infuriated U.S. epidemiologists are demanding access to the data showing the new infectivity. The shock implies researchers stateside expect the virus couldnt possibly be able to evolve outside what they appear to imagine as some public health archetype. If the new infection life history holds true, health authorities arent going to be able to use symptoms to identify newly active cases.

These unknownsthe exact source, infectivity, penetrance, and possible treatmentstogether explain why epidemiologists and public health officials are worried about 2019-nCoV. Unlike the seasonal influenzas cited by pandemic skeptics, the uncertainty rattles practitioners.

It is the nature of the job, to worry, yes. Worry is built into the very probabilities and systemic errors embodied more broadly in the trade. The damage in failing to prepare for an outbreak that proves deadlyfar exceedsthat from the embarrassment of preparing for an outbreak that fails to live up to the hype. But in an era celebrating austerity, few jurisdictions wish to pay for a disaster that is no guarantee, whatever the collateral benefits of precaution or, on the other end of outcomes, the devastating losses associated with a bad gamble.

The choice how to respond is often entirely out of epidemiologist hands anyway. The national authorities who will make these decisions juggle multiple and often contrary agendas. Stopping even a deadly outbreak isnt always treated as the most important objective.

While authorities stumble about figuring out what to do, the scale of impact can suddenlyengagein escape velocity. As 2019-nCoV itself demonstrated moving from a single food market to the world stage in a month, the numbers can ramp up so far and fast that an epidemiologists best effort, theirraison dtre, is dealt a lethal blow by facts on the ground.

My own visceral reactions this disease round have skipped across worry, disappointment, and impatience.

Im an evolutionary biologist and public health phylogeographer who has worked on various aspects of these new pandemics for twenty-five years, much of my adult life. As Ivewrittenelsewhere, with the help of many others, I have tried parlaying a growing understanding of these pathogens, from thegenetic sequencesof my initial studies up through economic geographies of land use, the political economy of global agriculture, and the epistemology of science.

Clarity can sour a soul. As my social media chimed with queries about 2019-nCoV, my immediate response bordered on pique and exhaustion. What, pray, do you wish me to say? What do you want me to do about this?

In dispensing advice personal and professional to legitimately worried friends and colleagues, I made some wrong calls. To one farmer friends query about traveling abroad, I advised a surgeons mask, washing hands before all meals, and stop fucking livestock, bro. Darkly ribald humor gets me through stress, but his earnest reply, Stop fucking livestock? showed I had missed my mark. Not a good look on my part at all. I apologized. He laughed about it later.

Its an occupational hazard. There is the danger of an existential dread that arises from the political inertia epidemiologists must square off with in preparing the world for a nigh-on irresistible pandemic their constituencies pretend is no bother until its too late.

If 2019-nCoV is indeed the Big Bug, and it is not clear yet if thats the case, there is almost nothing to be done at this point. All we can do is batten down the public health hatches and hope the virus kills only a small part of the worlds population instead of 90%.

Clearly humanity shouldntstartreacting to a pandemic when its already underway. Its a total dereliction of any notion of forward-thinking theory or practice. And leaders and their learned supporters worldwide identify themselves asPrometheans!

As Iwroteseven years ago:

I expect it will be a long time before I address an outbreak of human influenza again other than in passing. While an understandable visceral reaction, getting worried at this point in the process is a bit bass-ackwards. The bug, whatever its point of origin, has long left the barn, quite literally.

This century weve already trainspotted novel strains of African swine fever,Campylobacter,Cryptosporidium,Cyclospora, Ebola, E. coli O157:H7, foot-and-mouth disease, hepatitis E,Listeria, Nipah virus, Q fever,Salmonella,Vibrio,Yersinia, Zika, and a variety of novel inuenza A variants, including H1N1 (2009), H1N2v, H3N2v, H5N1, H5N2, H5Nx, H6N1, H7N1, H7N3, H7N7,H7N9, and H9N2.

And near-nothingrealwas done about any of them. Authorities spent a sigh of relief upon eachs reversal and immediately took the next roll of the epidemiological dice, risking snake eyes of maximum virulence and transmissibility.

That approach suffers more than a failure of foresight or nerve. However necessary, emergency interventions cleaning up each of these messes can make mattersworse.

You see, sources of intervention compete. And, as my colleagues and I argue, emergency criteria are deployed as impositions inGramscian hegemonyto keep us from talking about structural interventions around power and production. Because, dont you know, were warned,ITSANEMERGENCYRIGHTNOW!

Atop this game of keep away, the failure to address structural problems can render these very emergency interventions ineffectual. TheAllee thresholdthat prophylaxes and quarantine aim to push pathogen populations belowso that infections may burn out on their own unable to find new susceptiblesissetby structural causes.

As our teamwroteabout the Ebola outbreak in West Africa:

Commoditizing the forest may have lowered the regions ecosystemic threshold to such a point that no emergency intervention can drive the Ebola outbreak low enough to burn out. Novel spillovers suddenly express larger forces of infection. On the other end of the epicurve, a mature outbreak continues to circulate, with the potential to intermittently rebound.

In short, neoliberalisms structural shifts are no mere background on which the emergency of Ebola takes place. The shiftsarethe emergency as much as the virus itself Deforestation and intensive agriculture may strip out traditional agroforestrys stochastic friction, which typically keeps the virus from lining up enough transmission.

Despite now with both an effectivevaccineandantivirals, Ebola is presently undergoing its longest recorded outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. What got lost along the way? Where is our biomedical God now? Blaming the Congolese to cover up this failure is an exercise incolonial displacement, washing imperialisms hands of decades of structural adjustment and regime change in the global Norths favor.

Saying theres nothing we can do isnt quite right either, however, even as the complaint about reacting only upon a new diseases attack still stands.

Within any one locale, thereisa left program for an outbreak, including organizing neighborhood brigades in mutual aid, demanding any vaccine and antivirals developed be made available at no cost to everyone here and abroad, pirating antivirals and medical supplies, and securing unemployment and healthcare coverage as the economy tanks during the outbreak.

But that way of thinking and organizing, an integral part of thelefts legacy, appears to have left the building for more performative (and discursive) configurations online.

The reactionary bent to disease control left and right has since pivoted me to assisting efforts at anti-capitalist agricultures and conservation. Lets stop the outbreaks we cant handle from emerging in the first place. At this point in my career, with the structural pacing the emergencies, I generally write about infectious diseases in only tangential terms.

Structural causes of disease are themselves a source of debate. For one, questions remain as to 2019-nCoVs origins.

Muchinitial attentionhas been placed on a particular exotic food market in Wuhan, with an orientalist preoccupation with strange and unsavory diets, representing both the end of biodiversity the West itself is destroying and a revolting source of dangerous disease:

The typical market in China has fruits and vegetables, butchered beef, pork and lamb, whole plucked chickens with heads and beaks attached and live crabs and fish, spewing water out of churning tanks. Some sell more unusual fare, including live snakes, turtles and cicadas, guinea pigs, bamboo rats, badgers, hedgehogs, otters, palm civets, even wolf cubs.

Said snakes are brandished as both signifier and signified, aliteral sourceof 2019-nCoV that also harkens to a paradise lost and original sin from a serpents maw.

There is epidemiological evidence in the hypothesiss favor. Thirty-three of 585 samples at the Wuhan market werefoundpositive for 2019-nCoV, with 31 at the west end of the market where wildlife trading was concentrated.

On the other hand, only 41% of these positive samples werefoundin market streets where the wildlife were housed. A quarter of the original infecteesnever visitedthe Wuhan market or appeared directly exposed. The earliest case wasidentifiedbefore the market was hit. Other infected marketers trafficked in hog alone, a livestock species that expresses a common vulnerable molecular receptor, leading one team tohypothesizehog as the putative source for the new coronavirus.

AtopAfrican swine fever, which has killed as many ashalfof Chinas hog this past year, the latter possibility would represent quite the clusterfuck. Such disease convergences are not unheard of, even folding into an intimatereciprocal activation, wherein proteins of each pathogen catalyze each other, facilitating new clinical courses and transmission dynamics for both diseases.

At the same time, Western Sinophobiadoesnt absolveChinese public health. Certainly the anger and disappointment the Chinese public hasdirected atlocal and federal authorities for their slow reaction to 2019-nCoV cant be spun as weaponized xenophobia. And in our wise efforts to keep our foot out of that trap, we may also be missing a critical agroecological symmetry.

Setting aside the culture war,wet marketsandexotic foodarestaples in China, as is now industrial production, juxtaposed alongside each othersince economic liberalizationpost-Mao. Indeed, the two food modes may be integrated by way of land use.

Expanding industrial productionmay push increasingly capitalized wild foodsdeeperinto the last of the primary landscape,dredging outa wider variety of potentially protopandemic pathogens. Peri-urban loops of growing extent and population density mayincreasethe interface (and spillover) between wild nonhuman populations and newly urbanized rurality.

Worldwide, even the wildest subsistence species are being roped into ag value chains: among themostriches,porcupine,crocodiles,fruit bats, and thepalm civet, whose partially digested berries now supply the worlds most expensive coffee bean. Some wild species are making it onto forks before they are even scientifically identified, including one new short-nosed dogfishfoundin a Taiwanese market.

All are increasingly treated as food commodities. As nature is stripped place-by-place, species-by-species, whats left overbecomesthat much more valuable.

Weberian anthropologist Lyle Fearnleypointed outthat farmers in China repeatedly manipulate the distinction between wildness and domesticity as an economic signifier, producing new meanings and values attached to their animals, including in response to the very epidemiological alerts issued around their trade. A Marxist mightpush backthat these signifiers emerge out of a context that extends well beyond smallholder control and out onto global circuits of capital.

So while the distinction between factory farms and wet markets isnt unimportant, we may miss their similarities (and dialectical relationships).

The distinctions bleed together by a number of other mechanisms. Many a smallholder worldwide, including inChina, is in actuality acontractor, growing out day-old poultry, for instance, for industrial processing. So on a contractors smallholding along the forest edge, a food animal may catch a pathogen before being shipped back to a processing plant on the outer ring of a major city.

Spreading factory farms meanwhile may force increasingly corporatized wild foods companies to trawl deeper into the forest, increasing the likelihood of picking up a new pathogen, while reducing the kind of environmental complexity with which the forest disrupts transmission chains.

Capital weaponizes the resulting disease investigations.Blaming smallholdersis now a standard agribusiness crisis management practice, but clearly diseases are a matter ofsystemsof productionover time and space and mode, notjustspecific actors between whom we can juggle blame.

As a class, the coronaviruses appear to straddle these distinctions. While SARS and 2019-nCoV appeared to have emerged out of wet marketspossible pigs asideMERS, the other deadly coronavirus, emerged straight out of anindustrializing camel sectorin the Middle East. Its a path to virulence largely left out of broader scientific discussion about these viruses.

It should change how we think about them. I would recommend we err on the side of viewingdisease causalityand intervention beyond the biomedical or even ecohealth object and out into the field of ecosocial relationships.

Other ethoses see a different way out. Some researchersrecommendwe genetically engineer poultry and livestock to be resistant to these diseases. They leave out whether that would still allow these strains to circulate among what would now be asymptomatic food animals before spilling over into decidedly unengineered humans.

Again turning back the clock, a source of my pique, nine years ago Iwroteabout what efforts at genetically engineering out pathogens miss as matters of first principle:

Beyond the issue of the affordability of the new frankenchicken, especially for the poorest countries, influenzas success arises in part from its capacity to outwit and outlast such silver bullets. Hypotheses tied to a lucrative model of biology are routinely mistaken for expectations about material reality, expectations are mistaken for projections, and projections for predictions.

One source of vexation is the dimensionality of the problem. There is even among mainstream scholars a dawning realization influenza is more than mere virion or infection; that it respects little of disciplinary boundaries (and business plans) in both their form and content. Pathogens regularly use processes accumulating at one level of biocultural organization to solve problems they face at other levels, including the molecular.Agribusiness ever turns us toward a techno-utopian future to keep us in a past bounded by capitalist relations. We are spun round and round the very commodity tracks selecting for new diseases in the first place.

The secret thrill (and open terror) epidemiologists feel in an outbreak is nothing more than defeat disguised as heroism.

Almost the entirety of the profession is presently organized around post-hoc duties, much like a stable boy with a shovel following behind the elephants at a circus. Under the neoliberal program, epidemiologists and public health units are funded toclean upthe systems mess, while rationalizing even the worst practices that lead to many a deadly pandemics emergence.

In acommentaryon the new coronavirus, one Simon Reid, a professor of communicable disease control at the University of Queensland, instantiates the resulting incoherence.

Reid pings from topic to topic, failing to weave a whole out of his technicist observations. Such folly isnt necessarily a matter of incompetence or malicious intent upon Reids part. It is more a matter of the contradictory obligations of the neoliberal university.

U.S. leftists recently joined swords over the existence of theprofessional-managerial class.Jacobinsocial democratsrailat the capitalist PMC they angle to join in a Sanders administration, while tankies claim managers are proletarian too. Ill sidestep the metaphysical debatehow many PMC can dance on an epipen?only to observe that whether the PMCtheoreticallyexists in epidemiology, Ivemetits members in the flesh. They live!

Reid and other institutional epidemiologists are on the hook for cleaning up diseases of neoliberal originsyes, including out of Chinawhile meting out comforting platitudes that the system that pays them works. Its a double bind many practitioners choose to live with, nay, prosper from, even should the resulting epidemiologies threaten millions.

Reid here kinda gets the food system and conservation parts of the explanation for 2019-nCoV (and many of its celebrity forerunners out of the series of epidemiological reality shows run this century so far). But in introducing this protopandemic, he propositions, to paraphrase, that This utter horror has a saving gracehooray! And it is that China has been a source of repeated outbreaks, but it, and a WHO nowowned byphilanthrocapitalism, conducts exemplary biocontrol.

We can reject Sinophobia, offer material support, and still well remember Chinacovered upthe SARS outbreak in 2003. Beijing suppressed media and public health reports, allowing that coronavirus to splatter across its own country. Medical authorities one province over from an outbreak didnt know what their patients were suddenly showing up with at the ER. SARS eventually spread across multiple countries as far as Canada and was barely driven to extirpation.

The new century has meanwhile been marked by Chinas failure or refusal to unpack its near-perfect storm of rice, duck, and industrial poultry and hog production driving multiple novel strains of influenza. It is treated as a price for prosperity.

This is no Chinese exceptionalism, however. The U.S. and Europe have served as ground zeros for new influenzas as well, recentlyH5N2andH5Nx, and their multinationals and neocolonial proxies drove the emergence ofEbolain West Africa andZikain Brazil. U.S. public health officials covered for agribusiness during theH1N1 (2009) andH5N2outbreaks.

Perhaps then we should refrain from choosing between one of two cycles of capital accumulation: the end of the American cycle or the start of the Chinese one (or, as Reid appears to do, both). At the risk of accusations ofthird campism, choosing neither is another option.

If we must partake in the Great Game, lets choose an ecosocialism that mends themetabolic riftbetween ecology and economy, and between the urban and the rural and wilderness, keeping the worst of these pathogens from emerging in the first place. Lets choose international solidarity with everyday people the world over.

Lets realize a creaturely communism far from the Soviet model. Lets braid together a new world-system, indigenous liberation, farmer autonomy, strategic rewilding, and place-specific agroecologies that, redefining biosecurity, reintroduce immune firebreaks of widely diverse varieties in livestock, poultry, and crops.

Letsreintroducenatural selection as an ecosystem service and let our livestock and crops reproduce on-site, whereby they can pass along their outbreak-tested immunogenetics to the next generation.

Consider the options otherwise.

Maybe Ive been unfair to the Reids of the world, who as a matter of professional obligation must believe their own contradictions. But, as five hundred years of war and pestilence demonstrate, the sources of capital that many epidemiologists now serve are more than willing to scale mountains made of body bags.

Rob Wallace is the author ofBig Farms Make Big Flu.

A version of this article originally appeared on Monthly Review.

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Connecting the Coronavirus to Agriculture - CounterPunch

Progress | Semantic UI

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An indicating progress bar visually indicates the current level of progress of a task

A progress element can contain a bar visually indicating progress

A progress bar can contain a text value indicating current progress

A progress element can contain a label

A progress bar can show activity

A progress bar can show a success state

Everything worked, your file is all ready.

A progress bar can show a warning state

Your file didn't meet the minimum resolution requirements.

A progress bar can show an error state

A progress bar can be disabled

A progress bar can have its colors inverted

A progress bar can show progress of an element

A progress bar can vary in size

Some small sizes may not be able to fit an inlined label

Can have different colors:

These colors can also be inverted for improved contrast on dark backgrounds

A progress bar can be initialized with metadata

$('#example1').progress();

A progress bar can be initialized with a Javascript settings object

$('#example2').progress({ percent: 22 });

A progress bar can keep track of the current value as a ratio of a total value. This is useful for tracking the progress of a series of events with a known quantity, for example "uploading 1 of 20" photos.

Each call to increment will increase the value by 1, or the value specified as the second parameter

$('#example3') .progress('increment') ;

$('#example3') .progress({ total: 3 }) ;

A progress bar can keep track of the current value as a ratio of a total value. This is useful for tracking the progress of a series of events with a known quantity, for example "uploading 1 of 20" photos.

Each call to increment will increase the value by 1, or the value specified as the second parameter

In addition you can pass in templates text for each state available to your progress bar which will automatically be updated when your progress bar reaches that state

$('#example4') .progress('increment') ;

You can pass in templates text for each state available to your progress bar which will automatically be updated when your progress bar reaches that state

You can use label setting to change progress bar labels between two preset messages. In addition you can customize the messages themselves by specifying the templated text in text. Templated strings will replace three values on render

$('#example5') .progress('increment') ;

$('#example5') .progress({ text: { active : 'Adding {value} of {total} photos', success : '{total} Photos Uploaded!' } }) ;

You can also adjust text labels to help strings appear translated

$('#example6') .progress('increment') ;

$('#example6') .progress({ label: 'ratio', text: { ratio: '{value} de {total}' } }) ;

All the following behaviors can be called using the syntax:

$('.your.element') .progress('behavior name', argumentOne, argumentTwo) ;

Progress bar will automatically poll for the last progress value after completing an animation, so that animation easing continues to work smoothly, even if update events occur much more frequently than UI updates.

Waiting for you to press button

$('.rapid.example .ui.button') .on('click', function() { var $progress = $('.rapid.example .ui.progress'), $button = $(this), updateEvent ; // restart to zero clearInterval(window.fakeProgress) $progress.progress('reset'); // updates every 10ms until complete window.fakeProgress = setInterval(function() { $progress.progress('increment'); $button.text( $progress.progress('get value') ); // stop incrementing when complete if($progress.progress('is complete')) { clearInterval(window.fakeProgress) } }, 10); }) ; $('.rapid.example .ui.progress') .progress({ duration : 200, total : 200, text : { active: '{value} of {total} done' } }) ;

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Progress | Semantic UI

Even in losses, Pitt showing signs of progress – TribLIVE

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Give Pitt this much credit as it sinks toward the bottom of the ACC standings:

The Panthers do the tough stuff as well as any team in the conference.

Yes, Pitt has lost seven of nine and no longer is a middle-of-the-pack ACC team, but in the areas of defense, offensive rebounding and forcing turnovers, few teams in the conference are better.

Pitt ranks fourth in the ACC in average points allowed (64.4), and only two conference teams hit the offensive glass as successfully as Pitt (333 offensive rebounds).

Victories and defeats are based on shooting and scoring, however, and that has been a problem. Pitt is 13th in average points (65.5) and 14th in shooting percentage (40.6).

Still, there are reasons to carry hope into the last three games of the regular season.

Lets look at three of them:

1. Pitt is pesky on defense

A good example of that was a steal by Xavier Johnson late in Saturdays 59-56 loss to Virginia.

Seconds after he scored to cut the Virginia lead to four, Johnson rushed Virginia guard Kihei Clark from behind it looked like Clark never saw him made the steal off a dribble, scored on a layup and was fouled.

Those were Pitts last points of the game. Johnson missed the free throw, and Pitt squandered subsequent chances to win or force overtime.

But the Panthers didnt roll over after trailing by 14 with 6 minutes, 24 seconds left.

The last four minutes, they made some plays, Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. They attacked.

The steal by Johnson was Virginias 16th turnover of the game, which shouldnt be a surprise to anyone watching Pitt this season. Pitt opponents commit an average of 15.4 (14.4 in ACC games). Pitt leads the conference in turnover margin (plus-3.6) and is second in turnovers forced (431).

We were the aggressor, Johnson said. Were a good defensive team. Thats where we excel.

That is small progress because it occurred in another defeat, but it is an indicator coach Jeff Capel hasnt lost his team.

2. Can Pitt beat Syracuse?

Pitt has lost six in a row to the Orange, who visit Petersen Events Center on Wednesday in the final home game of the season. That includes three last season by margins of 11, nine and 14 points and this seasons 69-61 defeat at the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse (15-12, 8-8) is 2-5 since the most recent meeting, and Pitt scored 40 points in the second half of that game. The Panthers have done that only five times in 34 halves against ACC teams. Pitt shot 53.6% after halftime. Justin Champagnie and Terrell Brown combined to hit 10 of 12 shots.

Capel found a way to solve the Syracuse 2-3 zone. If he wins the battle of wits with Jim Boeheim, Pitt has a good chance for victory.

3. What about the postseason?

With three games remaining in the regular season, Pitt has fallen to a tie for 12th in the 15-team ACC, ahead of only Wake Forest and last-place North Carolina.

That would mean opening the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C., at noon March 10 against the 13th seed, perhaps one of the 10/11-loss teams (Boston College, Miami or Virginia Tech).

The Syracuse game is important for the Panthers (15-13, 6-11), not only for ACC seeding, but to give them a shot at 17 victories entering the tournament and 19 to present to the NIT committee.

Is that looking too far ahead? Capel would offer a definitive, Yes!

Pitt probably needs to win four more games to even be considered an NIT bubble team. That wont be easy.

How bad does that Nicholls State loss look now?

Get the latest news about Pitt basketball and all things Panthers athletics.

Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry by email at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

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Concord man arrested after homeowners report burglary in progress – The Union Leader

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DUNBARTON A Concord man was arrested on burglary and other charges after being found inside a house by the homeowners, who called police and kept him there, police said.

Kerry Whittier was charged with burglary, criminal trespassing, possession of a controlled/narcotic drug and default or breach of bail conditions after his arrest Friday night, police said in a release.

Police responded to a home on Gile Hill Road around 9:50 p.m. Friday after the homeowners called to report a burglary in progress, saying an unknown individual had pulled a vehicle inside the garage to avoid detection and was still there, according to the release. The homeowners were able to prevent the man from leaving until police arrived, the release said.

Whittier, who police said was in possession of methamphetamine at the time of his arrest, was taking to the Merrimack County House of Corrections and held on preventative detention pending his arraignment scheduled for Monday in Merrimack County Superior Court, according to the release.

At the time of his arrest, Whittier was out on bail for three separate criminal trespassing offenses and one default or breach of bail conditions offense in another jurisdiction, police said.

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One year after abuse summit, church reviews progress, additional needs – Crux: Covering all things Catholic

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ROME Since Pope Francis convened a historic summit at the Vatican one year ago to address clergy sex abuse and accountability, much has been done, but advocates say more is needed.

Dozens of experts, abuse survivors and their advocates came to Rome the same week as the summits anniversary to emphatically reiterate the need to never let ignorance, complacency or denial ever take hold again and to make the church safe for everyone.

The advocacy groups held media events and worked on talking to as many Vatican officials and religious leaders as possible to highlight still unaddressed concerns such as abuse by women religious, transparency in past and current Vatican investigations of known abusers and the likelihood of ever seeing zero tolerance for known predators.

However, significant measures have been rolled out piecemeal over the year. Here is a rundown of the most major changes:

Pope Francis approved a sweeping new law and set of safeguarding guidelines for Vatican City State and the Roman Curia in March, just a month after the Feb. 21-24 Vatican summit.

The new law On the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons, beefed up existing criminal laws for Vatican City State and mandates quick reporting of suspected or known abuse to the Vatican tribunal. It covers all forms of physical and emotional abuse not just sexual violence through coercion as well as serious forms of mistreatment, neglect, abandonment and exploitation against minors, who are below the age of 18, and vulnerable adults. Any Vatican employee around the world can be tried by the Vatican court for violations.

This new law on child protection was meant to better comply with the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocol, since legal amendments made in 2013 brought Vatican law into detailed compliance with several international treaties the Vatican had signed over the past decades.

While Vatican City State is a tiny country with few residents, the move was also meant to be a role model for the rest of the church and those places or institutions still lacking concrete, clear guidelines and procedures.

In May, Pope Francis issued Vos estis lux mundi (You are the light of the world) for the universal church.

The papal mandate revised and clarified norms and procedures for holding bishops and religious superiors accountable in protecting minors as well as in protecting members of religious orders and seminarians from abuse. It requires all priests and religious to report suspected abuse or cover-ups and encourages any layperson to report through a now-mandated reporting system or office that must be set up in each diocese by June of this year.

It insists leaders will be held accountable not only with suspected cases of committing abuse themselves, but also accusations of interfering with, covering up or failing to address abuse accusations of which they were aware.

No matter what local or national cultures or laws say, for the universal church, the document defined a minor as anyone under the age of 18 and included those who can be defined a vulnerable person and what is considered to be child pornography. It also established that bishops and religious superiors are accountable not just for protecting minors but also for protecting seminarians, novices and members of religious orders from violence and sexual abuse stemming from an abuse of power.

The document was a follow-up to Pope Francis 2016 document, As a Loving Mother, and together, the two documents are meant to correct what had been a lack of or unclear procedures for investigating the way a bishop, and now religious superiors, comply with already established norms against abuse and clearly expressing the consequences of noncompliance or cover-ups.

The latest, most recent change was in December, when Pope Francis waived the obligation of secrecy for those who report having been sexually abused by a priest and for those who testify in a church trial or process having to do with clerical sexual abuse.

Abuse survivors had long called for lifting the obligation, saying it had been abused or used in ways to cover up misconduct and crimes.

Now, not only are victims and witnesses free to discuss their case, the amended law specifies that the still-in-effect obligation of Vatican officials to maintain confidentiality shall not prevent complying with civil laws, including mandatory reporting and following legal court orders.

The same day he released the instruction in December, the pope issued a number of amendments to Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela (Safeguarding the Sanctity of the Sacraments) from 2001.

Pope Francis changed the age defining a child from 14 to under 18 regarding what qualifies as child pornography, and the procedural norms for how the tribunal of the doctrinal congregation is to be composed and conducted was spelled out.

He removed the requirement that the legal representative of the accused be a priest, allowing the role of advocate or procurator to be any qualified member of the faithful who has a doctorate in canon law and is approved by the presiding judge.

The pope has other big decisions and changes still coming, Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, told Vatican News Feb. 20.

This journey is not over. Soon there will be other steps, seen and prepared over this year, he said.

The step-by-step process, he said, is meant to help the church develop a culture of attention and prevention that never ends.

Crux is dedicated to smart, wired and independent reporting on the Vatican and worldwide Catholic Church. That kind of reporting doesnt come cheap, and we need your support. You can help Crux by giving a small amount monthly, or with a onetime gift. Please remember, Crux is a for-profit organization, so contributions are not tax-deductible.

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Roethlisberger says hes making progress, will be cleared in three months – NBCSports.com

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Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is throwing footballs again after elbow surgery, and he says his doctor believes hes on pace to be cleared to full activities before training camp.

Roethlisberger told Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his medical report was positive.

It was a good report. I got to bypass the tennis ball throwing for a month and go right to the football. Still going to be about 2.5-3 months until I get total clearance from doc but we are doing good, Roethlisberger said. It felt amazing to throw. It was hard to hold the smile in. Two more throwing sessions while Im out here in California and then headed back to the Burgh.

Last year Roethlisberger played in just two games before being shut down for the season. The Steelers nearly made the playoffs anyway, and this year they have to feel good about their chances of getting back into contention with Roethlisberger back in the starting lineup.

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Roethlisberger says hes making progress, will be cleared in three months - NBCSports.com

Progress: United Regional earning ‘As’ in number of areas – Times Record News

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Phyllis Cowling, CEO of United Regional Published 7:00 a.m. CT Feb. 23, 2020

United Regional Health Care System finished the renovation of the emergency room in January 2017.(Photo: Richard Carter)

United Regional continued advancing our passion of providing excellence in health care for the communities we serve in 2019.

Over the last year, we transitioned to a new electronic health record, received national honors for our commitment to patient safety, expanded services and space at the Barnett Road Medical Building, and partnered with the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank and Midwestern State University to improve access to quality health care now and in the future.

2019 System Recognitions:

United Regional received re-certification as a Primary Stroke Center and again earned advanced certification in Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement by the Joint Commission.

We also earned an A in both the Spring and Fall Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade making this our eighth A rating in a row, a sequence which began in the Spring of 2016. This designation recognizes efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States. More than 2,600 hospitals were graded; only 33% of those earned an A.

United Regional was once again verified as a Level II Trauma Center by the Verification Review Committee, demonstrating we not only have the hospital resources necessary for trauma care, but also the entire spectrum of care to address the needs of all injured patients from the pre-hospital phase through rehabilitation.

And, United Regional was surprised and honored to be named the 2019 Member of the Year by the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce & Industry. We are obviously passionate about providing excellence in health care for the communities we serve, and this award recognized the role we play as an overall community leader.

New Physicians to United Regional Physician Group:

In 2019, we welcomed four new physicians to United Regional Physician Group: Dr. Kevin Bedford, OB/GYN; Dr. Michael Henderson, Family Medicine; Dr. Rabia Khan, Neurology; and Dr. Paul Morrison, Urology. With the addition of Dr. Khan, United Regional Physician Group now offers advanced diagnostic testing and treatment for a wide range of neurological symptoms and conditions.

United Regional also helped to recruit the following physicians to our community: Dr. Tilahun Belay, Internal Medicine; Bukola Esho, Internal Medicine; Dr. Robert Funk, Neurosurgery; Dr. Bhavika Gandhi, Internal Medicine; Dr. Kyle Howard, Pediatrics; Dr. Valmy Ngomba, Internal Medicine; Dr. Hollie Rose, OB/GYN; Dr. Derick Sager, Anesthesiology; Dr. Adam Schwalm, Pediatrics; Dr. Bryan Stroud, Hospitalist; and Dr. Dawncheerie Walker, Family Medicine.

Services:

On April 6, United Regional transitioned to a new electronic health record, Epic an integrated technology system that is helping transform health care, and health, for our patients and our community. A key benefit of Epic is that it improves patient safety with the most up-to-date and accurate health information in one system. This results in better continuity of care, both within and outside the walls of United Regional.

In an effort to improve community health, United Regional proudly partnered with the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank to implement a Mobile Food Pantry. Many people who face food insecurity are elderly, disabled, facing health issues and/or have small children. The Mobile Food Pantry enables a team to reach these especially vulnerable populations by bringing the pantry to them. With staff from both the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank and United Regional, food is being distributed six times per month to locations on Eastside and City View, along with healthy eating education, disease specific education, and blood pressure/blood sugar screenings. We believe this approach will help provide better nutrition and preventive care, along with management of chronic diseases, for high-risk populations in our community.

United Regional is also honored to have partnered with Midwestern State University with a 10-year corporate sponsorship agreement for the United Regional Interprofessional Education Suite in MSUs new health sciences building, Centennial Hall, which opened for the Fall 2019 semester. The long-standing partnership between United Regional and MSU Texas brings about exceptional educational and training opportunities for the universitys students and faculty, as well as United Regional employees.

On November 1, United Regional opened the Medication Management Clinic, a new model of care that adds a pharmacist to an outpatients care team to help manage medications. The services of the Medication Management Clinic are currently provided exclusively for URPG Rheumatology patients, who often have high-cost, incredibly-complex medication regimens. It provides the opportunity for a dedicated, one-on-one discussion between the patient and pharmacist to thoroughly discuss medications.

Location:

The newest expansion of the Barnett Road Medical Building opened on September 23. The expanded area adds 38,000 square feet to the existing building and is the new home for United Regional Physician Group Family Medicine providers. This latest development reflects the progress made over the years, and our commitment to continuously advancing the health care in our community.

As we reflect, 2019 proved to be another successful year and United Regional continues providing excellence in health care for the communities we serve.

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Progress: United Regional earning 'As' in number of areas - Times Record News

Fayetteville Mayor Ed Johnson touts ‘a year of great progress’ – The Citizen.com

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Mayor Ed Johnson at the Feb. 20 meeting of the Fayetteville City Council gave the 2020 State of the City address. Johnson during the annual address reviewed the numerous accomplishments that occurred in 2019, and looked ahead to 2020, where the evolution of Fayetteville as a destination continues to unfold.

Good evening, citizens of Fayetteville, Georgia.

It is indeed an honor and a privilege to give this, my fourth State of the City address as mayor of our wonderful city.

On behalf of the City Council and our great city staff, it is a great honor to report that the state of Fayetteville is excellent.

Before giving you a perspective of this past years accomplishments and a look ahead on what we hope to accomplish in 2020, I want to thank former council members Harlan Shirley and Kathaleen Brewer for their outstanding contribution to our citys leadership team for the past four years. We value your contributions to this citys growth and progress.

I would also like to welcome new council members Joe Clark and Darryl Langford with their positive energy and support of the strategic plan that was developed with citizen input a few years ago.

They have both shown a commitment to a cohesive and cooperative working relationship with the city staff and current council members, which I believe is a great foundation for getting this accomplished for the citizens of Fayetteville.

Again, let me reiterate that the state of our great city is excellent.

This is based upon the many projects that are currently under development, especially our new City Hall and City Center Park complex that we feel will engender even greater pride for our staff and citizens to have a facility that they can be very proud of, and that we feel will be a destination place for many activities for all Fayetteville citizens.

In January of 2019, community engagement was the unofficial theme as we began the New Year.

The city conducted and wrapped up both its National Citizen Survey and Master Path Plan projects, which were based on input from hundreds of Fayetteville residents.

These documents continue to inform our city staff and your city leaders about what you, the citizen, thought were priorities as we seek to move the city forward in a more positive direction.

Our Technology and Communications departments launched Facebook LIVE streaming of all Fayetteville City Council meetings to ensure citizens had access to meetings and events that seek to keep you informed.

The city enhanced its communications/marketing approach with the monthly news magazine being launched both as an in-print and online publication with another opportunity to inform citizens of what was happening in our city.

We have completed more than five miles of city roadway repaving projects, which is being funded primarily by state grants and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) dollars that you approved in 2016, which has allowed us to get many needed projects accomplished or initiated.

We intend to continue resurfacing city streets based upon prioritization and available funding. Remember, SPLOST funding helps us meet the need to keep our streets in good condition.

The City Council approved the Downtown Entertainment District for Main Street Fayetteville, which we hope will further influence many family and fun activities to make our downtown a destination place.

We introduced our first-ever Friday Night LIVE event and partnered with the Fayetteville First United Methodist Church to host another well-attended Easterpalooza festival.

During the Christmas holiday season, we held the Annual Main Street Christmas Parade and Fayettevilles annual Christmas on Main Street event. This years event was the citys largest parade, and what was one of the most festive tree lighting ceremonies in the history of the event.

The Ridge Nature Area, that is managed by Southern Conservation Trust completed and officially opened the parks public restroom facility and inaugurated the annual Run the Ridge 5K, making the Ridge Nature Trail a viable outside venue for outdoor enthusiasts.

The Lane Brown Gazebo, located on the downtown square across from the Historic Courthouse, was completely re-built making it more accessible and usable for citizen activities.

We continue having Main Streets Taste of Fayette, and our amphitheaters Summer Concert series along with many other activities, to develop our downtown as a place for synergy, fun and community enjoyment.

There was a groundbreaking on the Whitewater Creek Water Pollution Control Plant that will allow a more effective and efficient water management and treatment which will improve the infrastructure for many years.

The City Council approved the much-anticipated Master Path Plan that outlines future sidewalk and multi-use path connectivity possibilities throughout Fayetteville.

Again, in October of 2019, we celebrated the groundbreaking of the new Fayetteville City Hall and City Center Park to be built on 10 acres of land along West Stonewall Avenue in the downtown district.

I am proud to report that our fiscal management and stewardship of tax payers funds and revenue is excellent.

The City of Fayettevilles Finance Department earned its 23rd consecutive CAFR award this past year. This is indicative of a city that has sound fiscal management practices and detail accounting. The city formed its own Public Facilities Authority and based upon our credit rating of AA+, the city is now able to fund many of the planned projects.

Yes, in 2019 the council voted to retain the millage rate at 5.4 mills, which technically was a tax increase over 2018, but it was necessary to maintain our rainy-day fund which allows for funding of unexpected contingencies.

We have made every effort to be fiscally conservative while taking advantage of a strong national economy to build and improve our citys infrastructure and customer services.

As you can see, the City of Fayetteville enjoyed a year of great progress in 2019, celebrating several milestones along the way.

Now, your city leaders are focusing on and preparing for what will become a very active and productive 2020 and early 2021.

Two of the most significant milestones we anticipate in 2020 will be the completion of the Whitewater Creek Water Pollution Control Plant Upgrade in August and the new City Hall and City Center Park in the Summer of 2021.

As part of the new City Hall and City Center Park project, which is located in downtown Fayetteville along West Stonewall Avenue, the city is also looking forward to repurposing the old Fayette County High School gymnasium and the old bus barn that are located on the eastern edge of the property.

We believe that through public-private partnerships, we will develop the park spaces and the venues that will be a pleasant place for families and citizens to come and enjoy themselves. We invite you to go to the Citys website and see the plans for what we believe will be great amenities.

Fayetteville is growing at a steady pace, but this council and staff are being intentional and attentive to ensuring that our growth is effectively managed.

The mixed-use development on the west side of the city currently known as Pinewood Forest continues to grow and develop into a vibrant community for all citizens, and we believe it will complement the forward progress and renovation of downtown Fayetteville and the surrounding communities.

We have worked diligently and with great cooperation from Walton Communities and Meridian on the Square apartment developers to ensure we create high-quality apartments with a mix of retail uses in the downtown area to ensure the viability of existing businesses, while at the same time enhancing the vibrancy of our downtown.

We are working, without wavering, to ensure developers who want to operate and build in Fayetteville will meet the highest quality standards that cater to a variety of housing options for our residents.

We are working synergistically with our other stakeholders to include the Fayette County Board of Education, Fayette Piedmont Hospital, the Fayette County Development Authority and the Fayette Chamber of Commerce to address and hopefully satisfy the need for skilled labor and quality housing for young professionals that will enhance the citys future.

Were excited about 2020 and 2021, but let there be no doubt that this City Council and staff will continue to make public safety our number one priority.

We have hired and continue to seek high quality and community-oriented personnel for our Police Department and our Fire Department.

All statistics and available data reflect that Fayetteville is among the top safest cities in the nation.

We are not immune from the rampant and insidious crime that is occurring in our nation, but our Public Safety Departments are being proactive and vigilant so as to minimize the impact of crime and other unfortunate incidents such as fire and traffic accidents.

We have continued to attract committed and dedicated personnel in both departments such that we are fully staffed and seeking to hire and equip more highly competent personnel with competitive salary levels.

We are authentically seeking to create a culture and climate of visionary leadership and highly dedicated staff.

We will continue to cultivate a climate and culture for professional staffing in all city departments, utilizing technology and best business practices to ensure high-quality customer service.

We are working diligently to ensure balanced and responsible growth to provide a high quality of life for all Fayetteville citizens.

We seek to develop and establish effective public policies and strategies that will keep Fayetteville on a positive growth trajectory.

We will work with the Georgia Department of Transportation, and Fayette County to address the concern of increased traffic and develop alternative transportation methodologies and traffic management techniques that will minimize transportation problems.

We are developing a Highway 85 retail corridor study and a plan to investigate opportunities to redevelop and revitalize older shopping plazas and address the growing concerns about the future of the Fayetteville Pavilion.

Your City Council is unified in our desire to be forward-thinking and progressive-minded as we work with our exceptional city staff to make Fayetteville a great place to live, work and play.

We invite and encourage citizens to stay informed and be involved as we seek to make Fayetteville a City you can be proud to call home.

As always, it is the City Council and the city staffs desire for God to bless Fayetteville and may God bless America.

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Fayetteville Mayor Ed Johnson touts 'a year of great progress' - The Citizen.com

Coach K on the Progress of Matthew Hurt and Vernon Carey Jr. – Sports Illustrated

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Vernon Carey Jr. got to show the progress that hes made in the rematch with Virginia Tech. In the first game, in December, Carey was limited to 15 minutes as Duke went to a small lineup to match up with the Hokies, who were double and triple teaming Carey with smaller defenders.

In the second game, Carey played 23 minutes and scored 16 points with nine rebounds.

He never played at the post before coming here, and so early on he wasnt double-teamed, the first few games, and he put up good numbers, coach Mike Krzyzewski said. So he was learning to play the post and then he was learning to play the post against one guy, and now people are double and triple teaming him, and that was difficult. Theres some changes in your offense but the main thing is hes developed poise, and hes worked real hard, and Nate (James)s worked really hard with him, so he continues to develop. What we tried to do tonight is not feed him from the wing all the time because when they do that, then they can baseline double and come from on top, but if you can feed him from on top, then its not the same double and hes got a little bit more room, so that was our goal tonight.

Matthew Hurt also showed progress. The freshman had just eight points and no rebounds in the first game. On Saturday, he scored 16 with 10 boards.

Matthew played great, Krzyzewski said. Really the defense he and Wendell (Moore) had on (Landers) Nolleyhe only had three points. Hes an outstanding player. Usually he takes advantage of the matchup at the four. Wendells not a four, hes an athlete, and Matt is more of a four, but he played like an athlete tonight. He moved his feet well, and that was one of the keys to the game. He really pursued the ball well in rebounding. He was going after it with two hands. That was one of his better games. Hes practiced that way, and hopefully, we can keep moving.

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Coach K on the Progress of Matthew Hurt and Vernon Carey Jr. - Sports Illustrated

Fixing the tunnels: Progress report on DEP’s Catskill Aqueduct – Hudson Valley One

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When asked about this states greatest treasures, the late U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan would invariably start extolling the one-of-a-kind virtues and wonderment of the New York City water system, and in particular the long underground aqueduct that drew needed H2O from the Catskills for delivery via urban taps.

Up here where that waters been drawn from for over a century now, as well as in those areas under which the tunnel aqueducts that carry it to our south run, talk has long had a edgier element to it as folks decry the loss of old communities flooded for the citys massive reservoir system, or the fetid water thats bubbled up from leaks in the citys treasured water transporting system.

This month, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection gave an update on its multi-year, multi-billion dollar project to clean, upgrade and rehabilitate the Catskill Aqueduct, after shutting down the structure that delivers 40 percent of the Citys water for 10 weeks starting last November. During that time, the City DEP announced in a recent press release, upwards of 200 workers were deployed at more than a dozen locations in Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties to clean the inside of its older aqueduct, repairing cracks and other defects, and replacing valves that are connected to the 92-mile long aqueduct.

The work was long awaited for manyand a first act of a much longer production yet to unfold as New York City grapples with decades of aging infrastructure over the coming years.

In southwestern Ulster County, many are wondering whether it will all be too little too late. Thats where one of the two major leaks that the citys been monitoring since the 1970s, in Wawarsing, was long releasing millions of gallons of water per day, creating wet basements, contaminated drinking wells (and the need for a slew of state- and federal-funded municipal water systems), along with a recent property buy-back program. For over a decade, angry residents petitioned their local officials, and met regularly with New York City representatives, to plead their cases, speaking of health issues and lost investments.

The recent emptying of the aqueduct, and multi-decade project to repair its entire length after years of charting its leaks with the aid of robot submarines, will eventually include the completion of a 2.5-mile Rondout-West Branch Bypass Tunnel dug beneath the Hudson and begun in November of 2013.

All is in preparation for an even larger undertaking: the eight to nine month long emptying of the Delaware Aqueduct and rerouting of its waters via another new tunnel under the Hudson as the source of those longstanding Wawarsing leaks get fixed.

This complex project to rehabilitate the Catskill Aqueduct has required more coordination and flexible planning than perhaps any in the history of our water supply, noted DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza in the recent press announcement. I want to thank the laborers who worked around the clock for 10 consecutive weeks, the communities north of the city who prepared and activated their backup water supplies while the aqueduct was out of service, and our DEP engineers and planners who coordinated activities during the shutdown. While we are pleased with the significant progress that was made this year, much work remains to complete the project and ensure this critical aqueduct can serve New Yorkers for generations to come.

1.3 billion gallons a day

Sapienza pointed out how the currently in-progress rehabilitation project focuses on the 74 northernmost miles of the aqueduct, from Ashokan to Kensico Reservoir on the east side of the Hudson. To safely perform the work, DEP must periodically shut down the Catskill Aqueduct for weeks at a time. The first shutdown, which occurred in the fall and winter of 2018-2019, allowed experts to inspect the inside of the aqueduct, test methods for cleaning its concrete lining, and repair a few areas where leaks were known to exist.

Among recent accomplishments during the recent water shutdown:

The cleaning, from inside, of a total 32.5 miles, or 171,500 linear feetfrom a facility near the Wallkill River in Ulster County to the Croton Reservoir in Westchester County, from which workers removed a harmless, organic film by using stiff scrapers similar to squeegees. DEP estimates it will regain roughly 40 million gallons of transmission capacity in the Catskill Aqueduct by cleaning its concrete lining. A total of 800 tons of organic film was removed during the latest shutdown.

A total of 14,036 linear feet of holes were drilled into the aqueduct to seal leaks by injecting them with a special grout to fill the cracks.

Workers also removed and replaced the first two of 35 century-old valves located at chambers that allow the aqueduct to drain into local bodies of water. The remaining valves will be removed and replaced in future shutdowns.

All of this, mind you, is basically just prep work in anticipation for that major shutdown of the Delaware Aqueduct in 2022, the 85-mile-long tunnel thats the longest in the world, beginning at the Rondout Reservoir in Ulster County and conveying about half of New York Citys drinking water every day. Thats where the projects other bypass comes in from Newburgh to Wappingers and started last summer along with the shutdown to last between five and eight months. The leaking section of the existing aqueduct near Newburgh will be plugged and taken out of service forever.

The entire system started getting built in a burst of energy between 1907 and 1915, with Catskills water first reaching New York City in 1917. Much, at first, was created using a cut and cover method that involved excavating a trench and building the aqueduct at the surface. The Delaware Aqueduct was blasted into beingbetween 1939 and 1945, and now carries approximately 1.3billion U.S. gallons per day.

Talk about a means of drawing two views of the New York City water supply system a little closer together.

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Fixing the tunnels: Progress report on DEP's Catskill Aqueduct - Hudson Valley One