It Pays To Break Artificial Intelligence Out Of The Lab, Study Confirms – Forbes

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Yes, artificial intelligence (AI) is proving itself to be a worthwhile tool in the business arena at least in focused, preliminary projects. Intelligent chatbots are a classic example. Now its a question of how quickly it can be expanded to deliver on a wider basis across the business to automate decisions around inventory or investments, for example.

Theres progress on this front, as shown in McKinseys latest survey of 2,360 executives, which shows a nearly 25 percent year-over-year increase in the use of AI in various business processes and there has been a sizable jump in companies spreading AI across multiple processes.

A majority of executives in companies that have adopted AI report that it has increased revenues in areas where it is used, and 44 percent say it has reduced costs, the surveys authors, Arif Cam, Michael Chui, and Bryce Hall, all with McKinsey, state.

The results also show that a small share of companies the authors call them AI high performers are attaining outsize business results from AI. Close to two in three companies, 63 percent, report revenue increases from AI adoption in the business units. Respondents from high performers are nearly three times likelier than their lagging counterparts to report revenue gains of more than 10 percent, the survey shows.

The leading AI use cases include marketing and sales, product and service development, and supply-chain management. In marketing and sales, respondents most often report revenue increases from AI use in pricing, prediction of likelihood to buy, and customer-service analytics, the surveys authors report. In product and service development, revenue-producing use cases include the creation of new AI-based products and new AI-based enhancements. And in supply-chain management, respondents often cite sales and demand forecasting and spend analytics as use cases that generate revenue.

What are these high performers doing differently? Strategy is a key area. For example, 72 percent of respondents from AI high performers say their companies AI strategy aligns with their corporate strategy, compared with 29 percent of respondents from other companies. Similarly, 65 percent from the high performers report having a clear data strategy that supports and enables AI, compared with 20 percent from other companies. Also, the application of standardized tools to be used across the enterprise is more likely to be seen at high performers.

Adoption of Strategic AI Approaches:

Retraining workers is also a key differentiator, the survey shows. One-third of high performers, 33%, indicate the majority of their workforce has received AI-related training over the past year, compared to five percent of lagging organizations. Over the next three years, 42% of high performers intend to extend such training to most of their workers, versus only 17% of their lagging counterparts.

For AI to take hold, the McKinsey authors urge ramping up workforce retraining. Even the AI high performers have work to do in several key areas, the surveys authors point out. Only 36 percent of respondents from these companies say their frontline employees use AI insights in real time for daily decision making. A minority, 42 percent, report they systematically track a comprehensive set of well-defined key performance indicators for AI. Likewise, only 35 percent of respondents from AI high performers report having an active continuous learning program on AI for employees.

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It Pays To Break Artificial Intelligence Out Of The Lab, Study Confirms - Forbes

Dyno Therapeutics Announces Research Published in Science Enabling Artificial Intelligence Approach to Create New AAV Capsids for Gene Therapies -…

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dyno Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering use of artificial intelligence in gene therapy, today announced a publication in the journal Science that demonstrates the power of a comprehensive machine-guided approach to engineer improved capsids for gene therapy delivery. The research was conducted by Dyno co-founders Eric D. Kelsic, Ph.D. and Sam Sinai, Ph.D., together with colleague Pierce Ogden, Ph.D., at Harvards Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the Harvard Medical School laboratory of George M. Church, Ph.D., a Dyno scientific co-founder. The publication, entitled Comprehensive AAV capsid fitness landscape reveals a viral gene and enables machine-guided design, is available here.1

AAV capsids are presently the most commonly used vector for gene therapy because of their established ability to deliver genetic material to patient organs with a proven safety profile. However, there are only a few naturally occurring AAV capsids, and they are deficient in essential properties for optimal gene therapy, such as targeted delivery, evasion of the immune system, higher levels of viral production, and greater transduction efficiency. Starting at Harvard in 2015, the authors set out to overcome the limitations of current capsids by developing new machine-guided technologies to rapidly and systematically engineer a suite of new, improved capsids for widespread therapeutic use.

In the research published in Science, the authors demonstrate the advance of their unique machine-guided approach to AAV engineering. Previous approaches have been limited by the difficulty of altering a complex capsid protein without breaking its function and by the general lack of knowledge regarding how AAV capsids interact with the body. Historically, rather than addressing this challenge directly, the most popular approaches to capsid engineering have taken a roundabout solution: generating libraries of new capsids by making random changes to the protein. However, since most random changes to the capsid actually result in decreased function, such random libraries contain few viable capsids, much less improved ones. Recognizing the limitation of conventionally generated capsid libraries, the authors implemented a machine-guided approach that gathered a vast amount of data using new high-throughput measurement technologies to teach them how to build better libraries and, ultimately, lead to synthetic capsids with optimized delivery properties.

Focusing on the AAV2 capsid, the authors generated a complete landscape of all single codon substitutions, insertions and deletions, then measured the functional properties important for in vivo delivery. They then used a machine-guided approach, leveraging these data to efficiently generate diverse libraries of AAV capsids with multiple changes that targeted the mouse liver and that outperformed AAVs generated by conventional random mutagenesis approaches. In the process, the authors systematic efforts unexpectedly revealed the existence of a previously-unrecognized protein encoded within the sequence of all the most popular AAV capsids, which they termed membrane-associated accessory protein (MAAP). The authors believe that the protein plays a role in the natural life cycle of AAV.

This is just the beginning of machine-guided engineering of AAV capsids to transform gene therapy, underscores co-author Sam Sinai, Ph.D., Lead Machine Learning Scientist and co-founder of Dyno Therapeutics. The success of the simple linear models used in this study has led us to pursue more data and higher capacity machine learning models, where the potential for improvement in capsid designs feels boundless.

The results in the Science publication demonstrate, for the first time, the power of linking a comprehensive set of advanced techniques large scale DNA synthesis, pooled in vitro and in vivo screens, next-generation sequencing readouts, and iterative machine-guided capsid design to generate optimized synthetic AAV capsids, explains co-first and co-corresponding author Eric D. Kelsic, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Dyno Therapeutics. At Dyno, our team is committed to advancing these technologies to identify capsids that meet the urgent needs of patients who can benefit from gene therapies.

About Dyno TherapeuticsDyno Therapeutics is a pioneer in applying artificial intelligence to gene therapy. The companys powerful and proprietary genetic engineering platform is designed to rapidly and systematically develop improved AAV capsids that redefine the gene therapy landscape. Dyno was founded by experienced biotech entrepreneurs and leading scientists in the fields of synthetic biology, gene therapy, and machine learning. The company is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For additional information, please visit the company website at http://www.dynotx.com

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Dyno Therapeutics Announces Research Published in Science Enabling Artificial Intelligence Approach to Create New AAV Capsids for Gene Therapies -...

Artificial Intelligence, climate change and the U.S military – The Red (Team) Analysis Society

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AI, AI Everywhere

The Artificial Intelligence field (AI) is creating a continuity that encompasses climate change science and the preparedness of the U.S. military to climate risks. This continuity appears through the central role of AI in two apparently disconnected foresight civilian and military uses.

Climate Central published in Nature a new assessment of the effects of climate change estimates. It establishes that 300 million people will be threatened by the sea-level rise and coastal flooding by 2050. In 2100, the land where 200 million people live today could be submersed daily (Climate Central, Report: Flooded Future: Global vulnerability to sea level rise worse than previously understood, October 29, 2019). This estimate is a tripling from precedent assessments. It is the result of the use of AI to correct series of datasets.

AI predicts sea-level rise and coastal flooding will threaten 300 million people by 2050.

Previously we thought 80 million people would be at risk by 2100.

During the same period, the Centre for Climate and Security published an article about a recent publication by the U.S. Army War College. The document, Implications of Climate change for the U.S Army, however, cannot be found anymore on the publications page of the U.S. Army War College. A rapid internet search allows us to find the report cited in a few articles and posted in a pdf version on internet journals, such asViceandPopular Mechanics. Yet, it cannot be found on official Department of Defense websites.

Nonetheless, this document establishes that adapting to the violent ecological, military, political, economic and social consequences of climate change is a dire and imperative necessity for the Army and for the entire U.S. military. Some parts of this report are centred on the use of artificial intelligence for force enhancement and energy use. It also calls for the modernization of training through a better and systematic use of virtual training and simulation.

In other words, artificial intelligence is creating a cognitive bridge between climate science and the U.S. military. It also creates new adaptation possibilities to the short and long term consequences of climate change.

In this article, we are going to study the strategic consequences of this scientific and military uses of AI in the climate change field. We are also going to see how the introduction of AI in both climate change and military affairs defines the emergence of a new political and planetary era.

Between now and 2100, a total of 360 (310-420)million people living on coastlines will be put at risk by flooding induced byclimate change driven sea-level rise (ClimateCentral, ibid). Compared with the currentglobal population of 7,5 billion people, it means that one person in 22 isgoing to be put at risk by this planetary trend with, at least, an annualflood, while the rise of the ocean could reach almost two metres. Those resultsare in sharp contrast with a former assessment establishing that 80 millionpeople would be at risk at the end of the century.

Now, the lowest and most densely populated coastlines, as in Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Thailand, the Netherlands, and Louisiana, among others, 237 to 300 million people will be threatened by annual flooding in 2050. Those humongous numbers are the result of a new calculation. This new approach rests upon the cleaning by an AI-neural network system of the dataset previously used by scientists (Climate Central report in Nature, Scott A. Kulp and Benjamin H. Strauss, New elevation data triple estimates of global vulnerability to sea-level rise and coastal flooding, 29 October 2019).

This dataset is a compilation of the NASA and other satellite and air based lidar observations (Kulp and Strauss, ibid). The AI system corrected different results. For example, it corrected the way some space or air sensors could confuse coast altitude with city skylines altitudes. Those errors were inducing that those higher elevations were safer. So, this new neural network digital elevation model generates new results. It also generates an interactive visualization that alerts about the shape of things soon to come.

Thisstudy also establishes that, very likely, the amplitude of the sea-level risewill overwhelm the ability and resources of countries and cities to buildcoastal flood defences, as levees and seawalls. It clearly appears thatdeveloping countries as well as old industrialized countries are at risks, fromthe Vietnam to the Florida coasts.

However, the authors of the study are keen to precise that their study does not factor in several variables. Among them are the future coastal population densities, the geomorphological consequences of wetland submersion and accelerated ground erosion. The authors also precise that they have not yet integrated the socioeconomic consequences of this climate-ocean trend. Neither have they developed scenarios about the mass migrations, social unrests and conflicts that this AI-based research implies.

In a previous article, we saw how the U.S. Army research branch makes use of climate change research in order to define and propose a massive military adaptation effort (Jean-Michel Valantin, The U.S Army versus a Warming Planet, The Red (Team) Analysis Society, November 12, 2019).

In thisreport, the authors promote the use of artificial intelligence in order todevelop smart electrical and distributed grid, because The automated,A.I.-enhanced force of the Armys future is one that runs on electricity, notJP-8 (fuel). More efficient or resilient production of electricity throughmicro-nuclear power generation or improved solar arrays can fundamentally alterthe mobility and the logistical challenges of a mechanized force (p.22).

So, this recommendations aim at developing the robustness and resiliency of the U.S. Army operations in an energy constrained and climate sensitive near-future. This development will depend upon the interactions between AI and robotization. That is to say the military integration of actuators (Hlne Lavoix, Sensor and Actuator for AI: Inserting Artificial Intelligence in Reality, The Red (Team) Analysis Society, 14 January 2019). Those are the AI extension into physical reality. So, in military terms, AI will support and optimize the deployment of mechanical ground forces on theatres of operations (Hlne Lavoix, Sensor and actuator (4): Artificial Intelligence, the Long March towards Advanced Robots and Geopolitics, The Red (Team) Analysis Society, May 13, 2019).

In order to better prepare military actors to these new realities, the report also advocates for a massive use of virtual reality. Indeed, training through virtual reality simulations could help to better prepare officers and actors (Hlne Lavoix, How to Win a War with Artificial intelligence and Few Casualties, The Red (Team) Analysis Society, May 27, 2019). As it happens, they will have to handle future semi-automatized military capabilities in a world brutalized by climate change. AI would also support the responses of the U.S. military against foreign anddomestic massive cyber attacks. And it would drive the development of the U.S. military in the current technological race.

It is difficult not to think that, in the parts about the use of artificial intelligence, the authors are not alluding to the current massive militarization of AI by the Chinese military, both in training and at the operational and decision-making levels (Jean-Michel Valantin, Militarizing Artificial Intelligence China (1) and (2),The Red Team Analysis Society, April 23, 2018).

It must be kept in mind that these recommendations are part of a U.S. Army advocacy for climate change adaptation. What motivates these military recommendations is the rapid multiplication of multidimensional risks (Jean-Michel Valantin, The Midwest, the Trade war and the Swine Flu pandemic: the Agricultural and Food Super Storm is Here, The Red (Team) Analysis, June 3, 2019), as those the Climate Central report defines about sea-level rise.

As wecan see, AI becomes a central feature of the new reality landscape. As such, itbecomes a climate science tool as well as a military tool for transformationand adaptation to our warming and riskier planet.

In other terms, AI is entering the fray of the hyper siege, i.e. the cascade of consequences that are interlocking social, infrastructural, biologic vulnerabilities with climate driven events. Those cascades are becoming an entity that is besieging contemporary societies (Jean-Michel Valantin, Hyper siege: Climate Change and U.S National Security,The Red (Team) Analysis Society, March 17, 2014 and The U.S Navy vs Climate and ocean change,The Red (Team) Analysis, June 11, 2018, and David Wallace-Wells, The Unhinabitable Earth, Life After Warming, 2019).

So, AI power unveils itself (Hlne Lavoix, When Artificial Intelligence will Power Geopolitics-Presenting AI, The Red (Team) Analysis Society, November 27, 2017), through scientific research and military preparedness, as a tool and a possible ally in the face of the rapidly coming perfect climate and social super storm.

In this ecological and strategic context, AI power becomes an artificial continuum, both technological and cognitive. It actuates itself through climate research and military adaptation to the very climate change that it helps foresee. This creates an unexpected alliance between AI power, climate science and military foresight and warning. This new AI power will be useful for adapting to the planetary crisis and its cascade of hyper violent consequences (Jean-Michel Valantin, The Planetary Crisis Rules, part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, The Red (Team) Analysis Society).

Instrategic terms, the convergence of AI power and the will and capabilities toadapt to the Long emergency is going to define who will be the winners andlosers of the planetary crisis.

And therace is already on.

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Artificial Intelligence, climate change and the U.S military - The Red (Team) Analysis Society

The Best Artificial Intelligence Stocks of 2019 — and The Top AI Stock for 2020 – The Motley Fool

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Artificial intelligence (AI) -- the capability of a machine to mimic human thinking and behavior -- is one of the biggest growth trends today.Spending on AI systems will increase by more than two and a half times between 2019 and 2023, from $37.5 billion to $97.9 billion, for a compound annual growth rate of 28.4%,according to estimates by research firm IDC. Other sources are projecting even more torrid growth rates.

There are two broad ways you can get exposure to the AI space:

With this background in mind, let's look at which AI stocks are performing the best so far this year (through Nov. 25) and which one is my choice for best AI stock for 2020.

Image source: Getty Images.

The following chart isn't meant to be all-inclusive, as that would be impossible, and the chart has limits on the number of metrics. Notable among the companies missing areAdvanced Micro Devices and Intel. They were left out largely because NVIDIA is currently the leader in supplying AI chips. While there are things to like about shares of both of these companies, NVIDIA stock is the better play on AI, in my view.

Data by YCharts.

Graphics processing unit (GPU) specialist NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), e-commerce and cloud computing service titanAmazon, computer software and cloud computer service giant Microsoft, Google parent and cloud computing service provider Alphabet, old technology guard and multifaceted AI player IBM, and Micron Technology, which makes computer memory chips and related storage products, would best be put in the first category above. They produce and sell AI-related products and/or services. They're all also probably using AI internally, with Amazon and Alphabet being notably heavy users of the tech to improve their products.

iPhone makerApple (NASDAQ:AAPL), social media leader Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), video-streaming king Netflix, and Stitch Fix, an online personal styling service provider, would best be categorized in the second group since they're either primarily or solely using AI to improve their products and services.

Now let's look at some basic stats for the three best performers of this group.

Company

Market Cap

P/E(Forward)

Wall Street's 5-Year Estimated Average Annual EPS Growth

5-Year Stock Return

Apple

NVIDIA

Facebook

S&P 500

--

--

Data sources: YCharts (returns) and Yahoo! Finance (all else). P/E = price-to-earnings ratio. EPS = earnings per share. Data as of Nov. 25, 2019.

On a valuation basis alone, Facebook stock looks the most compelling when we take earnings growth estimates into account. Then would come Apple and then NVIDIA. However, there are other factors to consider, with the biggie being that projected earnings growth is just that, projected.

There's a good argument to be made that NVIDIA has a great shot at exceeding analysts' earnings estimates. Why? Because it has a fantastic record of doing so, and all one needs to do is listen to enough quarterly earnings calls with Wall Street analysts to realize why this is so: A fair number of them don't seem to have a strong grasp of the company's operations and products. (I'm not knocking, as most analysts don't have technical backgrounds, and they cover a lot of companies.)

Facebook stock probably has the potential to continue to be a long-term winner. But it's relatively high regulatory risk profile makes it not a good fit for all investors. Moreover, it will likely have to keep spending a ton of money to help prevent "bad actors" from using its site for various nefarious purposes. Indeed, this is one of the major internal functions for which the company is using AI. It also uses the tech to recognize and tag uploaded images, among other things.

Apple uses AI internally in various ways, with the most consumer-facing one being powering its voice assistant Siri. It's the best of these three stocks for more conservative investors, as it has a great long-term track record and pays a modest dividend.NVIDIA, however, is probably the better choice for growth-oriented investors who are comfortable with a moderate risk level.

Image source: Getty Images.

NVIDIA is the leading supplier of graphics cards for computing gaming, with AMD a relatively distant second. In the last several years, it's transformed itself into a major AI player, or more specifically, a force to be reckoned with in the fast-growing deep-learning category of AI. Its GPUs are the gold standard for AI training in data centers, and it's now making inroads into AI inferencing. (Inferencing involves a machine or device applying what it's learned in its training to new data. It can be done in data centers or "at the edge" -- meaning at the location of the machine or device that's collecting the data.)

NVIDIA is in the relatively early stages of profiting from many gigantic growth trends, including AI, esports, driverless vehicles, virtual reality (VR), smart cities, drones, and more. (There is some overlap in these categories, as AI is involved to some degree in most of NVIDIA's products.) There are no pure plays on AI, to my knowledge, but NVIDIA would probably come the closest.

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The Best Artificial Intelligence Stocks of 2019 -- and The Top AI Stock for 2020 - The Motley Fool

Verata Health Named Leading Innovative Artificial Intelligence Company by the American Hospital Association – PR Web

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This recognition from AHA is another step in our mission to improve patient care while saving time and money for health care providers. - Verata CEO Dr. Jeremy Friese

CHICAGO (PRWEB) December 03, 2019

Verata Health, the AI-powered platform developed to automate and streamline prior authorization for health care procedures, tests, and drugs, was selected by the American Hospital Association (AHA) as one of the most innovative artificial intelligence companies of 2019. Verata will be recognized for its innovation in health care AI at the AHA Executive Forum December 3rd in Chicago.

Errors in prior authorizations account for nearly a third of all provider write offs and contribute to surprise medical bills received by patients. Verata uses artificial intelligence to automate both simple and clinically complex prior authorizationsa process by insurance companies to screen and approve procedures, tests (including imaging), and drugs before they can be delivered to a patient. Verata automatically identifies when clinical criteria are met, reducing the burden to doctors and hospital staff, preventing errors that lead to expensive write-offs, and helping patients get faster care.

Veratas ultimate goal is removing obstacles patients face in order to get the care they need and deserve, said Verata CEO Dr. Jeremy Friese. The financial benefit to providers is a bonus. Its a win-win.

The AHA is a national organization that represents and advocates for hospitals and health systems, their surrounding communities and the patients they serve. This years executive forum, Medicine + Machines, will focus on how AI is driving positive patient experiences and outcomes and transforming current processes within health care organizations.

The event on December 3rd will kick off with a breakfast presentation, featuring Dr. Friese and Veratas Chief Medical Officer, Dr. YiDing Yu. Panelists will discuss how AI and automation are being used in hospital systems across the country, including for prior authorizations, to improve patient care.

Im pleased Verata is proving to make a difference in patients lives, and excited to continue spreading awareness of our platform, said Friese. This recognition from AHA is another step in our mission to improve patient care while saving time and money for health care providers.

About Verata Health

Verata Health is a Minnesota-based, physician-led company changing the way medical practices, hospitals, and payers tackle the challenges of prior authorization. By leveraging powerful artificial intelligence, Verata Health automates both simple and complex prior authorizations, delivering immediate financial value and helping patients get the care they deserve. For more information please visit http://www.veratahealth.com.

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Verata Health Named Leading Innovative Artificial Intelligence Company by the American Hospital Association - PR Web

Biopic on Reality Winner, Who Leaked NSA Report on Russias Election Interference, in the Works – TheWrap

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A biopic is in the works on the life of Reality Winner, a former American intelligence contractor who was arrested for leaking a classified report about Russias interference in the 2016 election and charged with the first criminal leak case in President Donald Trumps administration.

The project, titled Winner, was announced on Tuesday by producers Big Beach, the production team behind The Farewell and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Susanna Fogel, the co-writer of Booksmart and director of The Spy Who Dumped Me, is set to direct from a script by Kerry Howley. Howley is the author of an article in New York Magazine from 2017 called Who is Reality Winner? that also serves as the basis of the screenplay.

Reality Leigh Winner was a 25-year-old federal contractor employed at the NSA in Georgia who in May 2017, was arrested and accused by the Justice Department of sending a classified report to the news site The Intercept. The report described two cyberattacks by Russias military intelligence unit that showed Russias interference in the 2016 election. According to the Justice Department via the New York Times, Winner was arrested hours before the story in The Intercept detailing the hacking published and that she confessed to printing out the document and mailing it to the news outlet. Winner was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for violating the Espionage Act, which was the longest sentence ever imposed in federal court.

As described in Howleys story, however, Winner made for an unusual ideological combatant and leaker. Winner had an active social media presence and didnt fit the profile of someone like Edward Snowden.

Also Read: 'Morning Joe': GOP Support of Ukraine Conspiracy Theory Is Like 'Living in an Alternate Universe'

Dani Melia and Peter Saraf of Big Beach are producing alongside Amanda Phillips, who brought the project to them.

We are honored to be bringing Reality Winners story to screen from a beautiful screenplay by Kerry Howley. We have been longtime fans of Susanna Fogel and can think of no one better to capture this complex character through an empathetic and human lens. This is an urgent story that far too few Americans are aware of, and we have assembled the perfect creative team to tell it, Melia said.

Reality Winner is a mouthpiece for a generation of young people who are struggling to square their personal ethics with the crumbling ethics of our countrys institutions, which we want to be proud of and have allegiance to. Kerrys incredible script lays the groundwork for us to approach her timely story with humor and emotion, rather than preaching or partisanship. And as a longtime obsessive fan of Big Beachs films, Im beyond honored to partner with them, Fogel said.

Its a privilege to work with this dream team to tell the important story of the fascinating, brave and hilarious Reality Winner, producer Phillips said in a statement.

Fogel is represented by UTA and Lighthouse Management & Media. Howley is represented by CAA and Anonymous Content.

There's just over a year to go until the 2020 presidential election, but the competition to potentially replace Donald Trump in the White House is already stiff.

There's a lot to keep track of, but we're here to help. Here's TheWrap's list of everyone who is running for president so far and who has dropped out.

Joe Biden Democratic Party

Entered Race: April 25, 2019

The former Obama VP was a late entry to the race, formally declaring his run for the presidency on April 25. But he's long been a presumed frontrunner, leading many early polls. This is his third presidential run, and for months he's been telling anyone who'll listen that he'd be the most qualified candidate for the job. He's also already been under scrutiny over criticism about his behavior with women, prompting him to post a video promising he'd be "more mindful and respectful" of a woman's "personal space."

Biden has also been prone to embarrassing slips of the tongue, among them placing the assassinations of RFK and MLK in "the late '70s," mistaking his campaign's text number for a website, waxing nostalgic about his friendships with Senate segregationists, and saying "poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids."

Elizabeth Warren Democratic Party

Entered Race: Feb. 9, 2019

The Massachusetts Senator formally announced her candidacy on Feb. 9 at a rally in her home state, and shortly after followed up with a tweet that read: "I believe in an America of opportunity. My daddy ended up as a janitor, but his little girl got the chance to be a public school teacher, a college professor, a United States Senator and a candidate for President of the United States. #Warren2020."

Bernie Sanders Democratic Party

Entered Race: Feb. 19, 2019

Bernie Sanders, the runner-up in the 2016 contest for the Democratic nomination, has recorded a campaign video in which he says he is running for president in 2020, according to a report in Politico.

Pete Buttigieg Democratic Party

Entered Race: April 14, 2019

The 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana would becomethe first openly gay presidential nominee from a major political party. Buttigieg's platform includes a plan to further empower Black America and economic reform.

Julin Castro Democratic Party

Entered Race: Jan. 12, 2019

The former mayor of San Antonio -- and former Obama cabinet member -- supports immigration reform and eliminating lead poisoning.

Tulsi Gabbard Democratic Party

Entered Race: Jan. 11, 2019

Gabbard, a U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district, endorsed Bernie Sanders in 2016, but in 2020 she's all-in on herself. Gabbard is running on immigration and criminal justice reform.

Cory Booker Democratic Party

Entered Race: Feb. 1, 2019

The New Jersey senator and former mayor of Newark formally tossed his name into the presidential hat on Feb. 1, the first day of Black History Month. Booker plans to end mass incarceration if he were to be elected president.

Marianne Williamson Democratic Party

Entered Race: Jan. 28, 2019

The "Healing the Soul of America" author and founder of Project Angel Food announced her candidacy during a political rally at the Saban Theater in Los Angeles on Jan. 28. If elected president, Williamson would be in favor of reparations and "economic justice for women and children."

Andrew Yang Democratic Party

Entered Race: Nov. 6, 2017

The entrepreneur and son of immigrant parents from Taiwan became a contender a year ago, tellingThe New York Timesthat he will advocate for a universal basic income.

John Delaney Democratic Party

Entered Race: July 28, 2017

TheU.S. Representative for Maryland's 6th district declaredback in July 2017. He says he'll "end reckless trade wars and expand trade," "create a universal health care system" and "launch a national AI strategy."

Amy Klobuchar Democratic Party

Entered Race: Feb. 10, 2019

The Minnesota Democrat, first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, announced her bid on Feb. 10, 2019, saying that she wanted to work for "everyone who wanted their work recognized." Klobuchar's key issues she wants to tackle if elected president include revising voting rights protections and prioritizing cybersecurity.

Michael Bennet Democratic Party

Entered Race: May 2, 2019

The Colorado senator has been a vocal supporter on advancing the field of artificial intelligence and expanding the Child Tax Credit. He didn't qualify for the fourth Democratic debate but he's vowed to keep running.

Wayne Messam Democratic Candidate

Entered Race: March 28, 2019

The mayor of Miramar, Florida, a city near Miami, is a first-generation American who has called for end the filibuster and erasing student debt. He only raised $5 -- five -- during the quarter that ended Sep. 30, but he's still in the race.

Tom Steyer Democratic Party

Entered Race: July 9, 2019

The billionaire and climate change activist entered the race in July, saying in a video "if you think that there's something absolutely critical, try as hard as you can and let the chips fall where they may. And that's exactly what I'm doing. My name's Tom Steyer, and I'm running for president."

Joe Sestak Democratic Party

Entered Race: June 23, 2019

The former Pennsylvania Congressman has a plan for America that includes investing in American manufacturing and strengthening antitrust laws.

Deval Patrick - Democratic Party

Entered Race: Nov. 14, 2019

The former governor of Massachusetts acknowledged the challenge of jumping into the Democratic primary so late in the game. But in his announcement he took a veiled swipe at other candidates, saying the party was torn between "nostalgia" and "our big idea or no way.

Michael Bloomberg - Democratic Party

Entered Race: Nov. 24, 2019

The former mayor of New York is the second billionaire to enter the crowded Democratic field with just one year until the election. Bloomberg plans to fund his own campaign and is reportedly spending $30 million in TV ads to launch his campaign.

Bill Weld Republican Party

Entered Race: April 15, 2019

Weld is a former Governor of Massachusetts who has been on the record about his displeasure of Trump, specifically Trump's desire to be more of a "king than a president."

Joe Walsh Republican Party

Entered Race: Aug. 25, 2019

The former congressman from Illinois turned conservative talk show host announced in August 2019 that he would enter the GOP primaries to challenge President Trump. "I'm running because he's unfit; somebody needs to step up and there needs to be an alternative. The country is sick of this guy's tantrum -- he's a child," he told ABC News.

Seth Moulton Democratic Party

Entered Race: April 22, 2019

Dropped Out: August 23, 2019

The Massachusetts congressman and Iraq War veteran ended his campaign for president in a speech to the DNC in San Fransisco. I think its evident that this is now a three-way race between Biden, Warren and Sanders, and really its a debate about how far left the party should go, Mr. Moulton told the New York Times.

Eric Swalwell

Entered Race: April 8, 2019 Dropped Out: July 8, 2019

The California congressman wrote in a statement on his campaign's website about his decision to bow out of the 2020 presidential race, "Ill never forget the people I met and lessons I learned while travelling [sic] around our great nation especially in the communities most affected by gun violence."

John Hickenlooper

Entered Race: March 4, 2019 Dropped Out: Aug. 15, 2019

The former Colorado governor supported stricter gun control laws and free trade.

Jay Inslee Democratic Party

Entered Race: March 1, 2019 Dropped Out: Aug. 21, 2019

The Governor of Washington ran on a platform focused on climate change, proposing a "100% Clean Energy for America Plan" that would see emissions drop to zero by 2035.

He announced he was dropping out of the race during an appearance on "The Rachel Maddow Show."

"It's become clear that I'm not going to be carrying the ball," Inslee told Maddow. "I'm not going to be the President, I'm withdrawing tonight from the race."

Inslee added that he's optimistic that climate change will be a major part of the Democratic party's priorities.

Kirsten Gillibrand - Democratic Party

Entered Race: Jan. 15, 2019

Dropped Out: Aug. 28, 2019

The senator from New York announced her bid Tuesday, Jan. 15 on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert." Gillibrand, whose campaign slogan is "Brave Wins," supported paid family leave and protecting women's rights.

On August 28, 2019, she announced her withdrawal. "To our supporters: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Now, let's go beat Donald Trump and win back the Senate," she tweeted.

Howard Schultz Independent

Dropped Out: Sept. 6, 2019

In January the former Starbucks CEO expressed initial interest in running. In August, Schultz reportedly suspended his campaigning until after Labor Day, citing medical issues. In September, Schultz cited those issues and more in a letter on his website as reasons he had to take himself out of the running.

"My belief in the need to reform our two-party system has not wavered, but I have concluded that an independent campaign for the White House is not how I can best serve our country at this time," he wrote.

Schultz is a co-founder of the venture capital firm Maveron, which is an investor in TheWrap.

Bill De Blasio Democratic Party

Entered Race: May 16, 2019

Dropped Out: Sept. 20, 2019

The New York City mayor was looking for more taxes for the wealthy and regulating "gig jobs" under his proposed Universal Labor Standards.

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Biopic on Reality Winner, Who Leaked NSA Report on Russias Election Interference, in the Works - TheWrap

Posted in NSA

Honor s President Zhao Ming: NSA-Only 5G Phones Will Be Obsolete by Next Year – Gizchina.com

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Honor s President Zhao Ming: NSA-Only 5G Phones Will Be Obsolete by Next Year

On November 26th, Honor s first 5G mobile phones the Honor V30 and V3 Pro were officially launched. Both devices are equipped with a Huawei Kirin 990 series chip and they both support 5G dual-mode NSA / SA cellular networks. As you may already know, not all phones with 5G connectivity support NSA and SA modes, as a matter of fact many 5G devices on the market only support NSA.

Honors 5G phones arrive pretty late to the party though, as most competitors have had 5G options out for various months now. So why did Honor wait so long to launch their first 5G phones? To answer these questions from users and the media, Honors Honorary President Zhao Ming did an interview in which he explained the reasons behind this choice.

Zhao Ming said that Most products currently on the market are transitional and temporary. So, we decided to wait and use the best 5G chip on the market on our Honor V30 series. The Huawei Kirin 990 5G is indeed the best 5G SoC according to the China Mobile Partner Conference; which is where it won the award.

He then added that There is a deeper problem behind NSA-only 5G mobile phones currently sold throughout the country and put in the hands of a large number of consumers. By 2020, there will be a large number of SA networks getting deployed around the country. All these mobile phones will not work properly and theyll suffer no coverage areas. Im still on a 4G phone myself, but how do you explain to consumers its too early for 5G? If we made 5G NSA-only devices earlier on, wed given our consumers a very bad product.

Heres the obvious hint at other brands such as Xiaomi, Samsung and others that have been selling 5G phones which arent dual-mode.

What do you guys think? Did Honor do well by delaying its 5G phone release? Let us know down below!

Via

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Honor s President Zhao Ming: NSA-Only 5G Phones Will Be Obsolete by Next Year - Gizchina.com

Posted in NSA

TM aims to be the first 5G standalone network in Malaysia – Malay Mail

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KThe Telekom Malaysia logo is seen on the TM Tower in Bangsar November 22, 2018. Picture by Mukhriz HazimUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 According to a source to the matter, Telekom Malaysia will begin a live 5G transmission in Langkawi on the 5th December 2019. This is expected to be the first deployment of 5G Standalone (SA) network in the country. It is said that TM is planning to use C-Band (3.5GHz) for the SA network.

According to TM, SA is the future of 5G network deployment and this will be crucial to fast track 5G implementation in the country. The demonstration in Langkawi will allow TM to test new 5G features and to assess the best way to deploy nationwide 5G infrastructure. In addition, TM is also testing the implementation of a converged 5G core which allows co-existence of both Non-Stand Alone (NSA) and Stand Alone (SA) network on a single platform.

On top of that, TM also intends to test and demonstrate Dynamic Spectrum Sharing which allows the same spectrum to be utilised for different mobile technology simultaneously through multiple bands of spectrum. With 5G being a new technology, TM aspires to deliver an efficient and cost-effective 5G infrastructure through the access regulations implemented by the MCMC. The upcoming network will leverage on TMs extensive fibre networks including submarine cables, telecommunication towers, and Cloud computing.

TM also wants to minimise duplication of 5G networks to reduce cost and this will translate to savings and lower prices to consumers. According to TM, they are open to working together with other operators during the 5G demo projects.

The rollout in Langkawi is among the 5G demo projects that are currently being deployed nationwide. Apart from Langkawi, TM has also started its 5G demonstration in Subang Jaya to test out its 5G connected smart traffic light, smart safety, smart security and smart parking system in partnership with Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya.

5G NSA vs SA

In case you didnt know, most early 5G deployments worldwide are based on a Non-Stand Alone (NSA) architecture. NSA uses existing 4G networks as an anchor which allow faster 5G rollout but it doesnt offer the full potential of 5G. Meanwhile, a Stand Alone (SA) 5G network will utilise a 5G core without LTE and it can support a wider range of 5G use cases and offer ultra-low latency.

In terms of smartphones, existing Qualcomm-powered 5G smartphones can only support 5G NSA. The only key smartphone maker to support 5G in both SA and NSA mode is Huawei and Honor with its existing Balong 5000 modem and Kirin 990 5G SoC. Xiaomi will soon introduce its first dual-mode 5G smartphone on the Redmi K30 that will utilise MediaTeks new Dimensity 1000 SoC. Oppo also plans to introduce its dual-mode 5G smartphone later this month and it is likely to utilise Qualcomms new X55 5G modem. SoyaCincau

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TM aims to be the first 5G standalone network in Malaysia - Malay Mail

Posted in NSA

The "Right to be Forgotten" doubles back and shoots the shark – Reason

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This Week in the Great Decoupling: The Commerce Department has rolled out proposed telecom and supply chain security rules that are aimed at but never once mention China. Acually, what the Department rolled out was more a sketch of its preliminary thinking about proposed rules. Brian Egan and I tackle the substance and history of the proposal and conclude that policymakers are still fighting each other about the meaning of a policy they've already announced.

And to show that decoupling can go both ways, a US-based chip-tech group is moving to Switzerland to reassure its Chinese participants. Nick Weaver and I conclude that there's a little less here than Reuters seems to think.

Mark MacCarthy tells us that reports of UChicago weather turning sunny and warm for hipster antitrust are probably overdone. Even so, Silicon Valley should be at least a little nervous that Chicago School enforcers are taking a hard look at personal data and free services as sources of anti-competitive conduct.

Mark highlights my favorite story of the week, in which the Right to be Forgotten discredits itself in, where else, Germany. Turns out that you can kill two people and wound a third on a yacht in the Atlantic, get convicted, serve 20 years, and then demand that everybody just forget it happened. The doctrine hasn't just jumped the shark. It's doubled back and put a couple of bullets in the poor shark for good measure.

Nick explains why NSA is so worried about TLS inspection. And delivers a rant on the bad cybersecurity software that makes NSA's worries so plausible.

It's been a bad week for TikTok, which was caught blocking an American Muslim teen who posted about Uighurs in China and offered an explanation that was believable only because US social media companies have offered explanations for their content moderation that were even less credible. I suggest that all the criticism will just lead to social media dreaming up more and sneakier ways to downgrade disfavored content without getting caught. Brian tells us how the flap might affect TikTok's pending CFIUS negotiation.

Nick ladles out abuse for the bozo who thought it was a good idea to offer Kim Jong Un's cyber bank robbers advice on using cryptocurrency to avoid sanctions. Brian points out that the prosecution will have to tiptoe past the First Amendment.

Senate Democrats have introduced the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act, an online privacy bill with an unfortunate acronym (think fossilized dinosaur poop). Mark and I conclude that the bill is a sign that Washington isn't going to do privacy before 2021.

Who can resist GPS crop circle spoofing by sand pirates? Not Nick. Or me. Arrrr.

I update our story on DHS's CISA, which has now issued in draft its binding operational directive on vulnerability disclosure policies for federal agencies. It's taking comments on GitHub; Nick approves.

And in quick hits: The death of the Hippie Internet, part 734: Apple changes its map to show Crimea as Russian, but only for Russians. And part 735: Facebook accepts "fake news" correction notice from the Singapore government. Our own Paul Rosenzweig will be an expert witness in the government's prosecution of the Vault 7 leaker;. And Apple's bad IT cost it $467,000 for sanctions violations; I ask whether we should be blaming Scooby-Doo for the error.

Join Steptoe for a complimentary webinar on Tuesday, December 10. We'll be talking about the impacts on retailers of the newly implemented California Consumer Privacy Act and the EU's General Data Protection Regulation. This is a fast-moving area of the law; we can keep you up to date. You can find out more and registerhere.

Download the 290th Episode (mp3).

You can subscribe to The Cyberlaw Podcast using iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Pocket Casts, or our RSS feed!

As always, The Cyberlaw Podcast is open to feedback. Be sure to engage with @stewartbaker on Twitter. Send your questions, comments, and suggestions for topics or interviewees to CyberlawPodcast@steptoe.com. Remember: If your suggested guest appears on the show, we will send you a highly coveted Cyberlaw Podcast mug!

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the speakers' families, friends, former friends, clients, or institutions. Or spouses. I've been instructed to specifically mention spouses.

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The "Right to be Forgotten" doubles back and shoots the shark - Reason

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Lincoln Chafee is coming back to Iowa, with yet another party affiliation – The Gazette

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The most interesting candidate from the 2016 presidential race has a new political home, and hes making plans to visit Iowa next year in what appears to be another shot at the White House.

Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafees campaign last cycle was widely mocked by political elites. He appeared in just one Democratic presidential debate, where his most memorable TV moment was telling the CNN moderator that he was being being a little rough in criticizing Chafees vote in the U.S. Senate to repeal banking regulations.

Chafee dropped out of the race fewer than two weeks after the debate. Now hes back in politics, under a new political banner.

Chafee changed his official residence to Wyoming this year, and took the opportunity to update his party registration after being a Republican, and independent and a Democrat at various times in his political career. Chafee said the Libertarian Partys values aligned most closely with his own.

Anti-war, anti-deficit, in favor of the 4th Amendment and gay rights, anti-capital punishment. Thats me, Chafee told me in a recent phone interview.

Chafee is scheduled to attend the Libertarian Party of Iowas state convention next February, alongside at least three declared Libertarian presidential candidates. For now, Chafee says hes only getting involved and meeting new people, but he has made zero effort to refute media speculation that hes planning another bid for the presidency, this time as part of a third party.

The two leading leftist candidates for president Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have both faced questions about their loyalty to the Democratic Party. Warren was a Republican until the 1990s, while Sanders has identified as and run for office as an independent for most of his life. Another Democratic candidate, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, has been accused by party elites of being a Republican plant.

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On the Republican side, President Donald Trump has previously been registered as a Democrat and an independent, while donating to candidates from both major parties. One of his challengers for the 2020 GOP nomination, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, was a Libertarian Party candidate for vice president last cycle.

Trump challenger is part of great American party-switching tradition

But nobody running for president has as peculiar a political history as Chafee, who has run for state or national office as a Republican, a Democrat and an independent.

Chafee was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1999 as a Republican after the seat was left vacant by his own fathers death. He won reelection as a Republican the next year, served one full term, and was defeated in 2006 by a Democratic challenger.

After leaving the Senate, Chafee registered as an independent and endorsed his former Senate colleague Barack Obama for president in 2008.

In 2010, Chafee was elected governor of Rhode Island as an independent, with a narrow plurality over the Republican and Democratic candidates, making him the countrys only no-party governor at the time.

As governor, Chafee switched again to be a Democrat, in part because there was no national political support for independent governors. However, he was seen as a vulnerable incumbent and ultimately decided not to seek reelection.

Chafee is quick to point out that his registration has varied, but his position on important issues has stayed the same: I have not waffled or changed.

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To the extent Chafee is discussed in national politics at all these days, he is defined by his quirks the poor debate performance, the unauthorized Lincoln Chafees Dank Meme Stash page on Facebook, or his weirdly intense dedication to transitioning the United States to the metric system, to name a few.

Its an unfortunate and unfair characterization for a political figure who is saying something different from anyone else on the national stage. His prosperity through peace platform from 2016 emphasized a realistic foreign policy, not so hellbent on policing the world and raising tension with foes.

Chafee hopes polarizing and unpopular candidates nominated by the major parties in 2020 will propel a third-party candidate to greater success.

This 2020 has potential to be very, very unique depending on who the Democrats nominate. Certainly, President Trump has his base core, but with the daily chaos I think the potential is going to there for something to be very different, he said.

Comments: (319) 339-3156; adam.sullivan@thegazette.com

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Lincoln Chafee is coming back to Iowa, with yet another party affiliation - The Gazette

As Texas elections get tighter, more third-party candidates are making inroads – Houston Chronicle

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Surrounded by fellow Libertarians during a 2018 election night watch party at a rented Airbnb in Fort Worth, Eric Espinoza, who was running for state Rep. Jonathan Sticklands seat, saw a Facebook message notification pop up on his phone.

Its people like you who are preventing other candidates from winning, he recalls the message saying, though he doesnt recall which candidate the sender supported.

I was like, Hey, guys, look I think I finally made an impact, Espinoza remembers saying, as he passed his phone around to others in the crowded living room.

That to me was like, OK, cool, I was able to affect something so much that somebody who knows nothing about me, and nothing about why I ran, blames me for somebody losing when its not the votes. Its not that I took votes from them; its that people didnt want to vote for that person, and they had a better option.

Republicans and Democrats alike will blame third-party candidates for siphoning votes from traditionally two-way races. Espinoza not only took votes that might have gone to Stickland, a Republican, but he had more votes than Sticklands margin of victory. Stickland beat his Democratic challenger by fewer than 1,500 votes, and Espinoza, in third place, had racked up more than 1,600.

Its still rare for third-party candidates to capture enough votes to potentially sway an outcome in the past three general elections, there have been just six such instances, according to a Hearst Newspapers analysis. But the number is growing, in a sign of tightening Texas elections.

Tight races getting tighter

As races in Texas become tighter, more third-party candidates are having an impact on elections. Over the past three general elections, there were six races in which a third-party candidate won more of the vote than the margin of victory.

Year

Race

Highest-Scoring Third-Party Candidate

Party

Third-Party Candidate's Percentage of the Vote

Margin of Victory

2014

U. S. Representative District 23 (Democrat Incumbent Democrat Pete P. Gallego and Republican Will Hurd)

Ruben Corvalan

Libertarian

2.54%

2.10%

2016

U. S. Representative District 23 (Republican Incumbent Will Hurd and Democrat Pete P. Gallego)

Ruben S. Corvalan

Libertarian

4.74%

1.33%

2016

Member, State Board of Education, District 5 (Republican Ken Mercer and

Democrat Rebecca Bell-Metereau)

Ricardo Perkins

Libertarian

4.72%

3.94%

2018

State Representative District 132 (Republican Mike Schofield and Democrat Gina Calanni)

Daniel Arevalo

Libertarian

1.66%

0.17%

2018

Member, State Board of Education, District 12 (Republican Pam Little and Democrat Suzanne Smith)

Rachel Wester

Libertarian

2.66%

1.52%

2018

State Representative District 92 (Republican Incumbent Jonathan Stickland and Democrat Steve Riddell)

Eric P. Espinoza

Libertarian

2.75%

2.39%

In 2014, one third-party candidate had the potential to affect a races outcome. In 2016, there were two such races. And in 2018, there were three. (None won an election.)

Two of the six races were Republican U.S. Rep. Will Hurds victories in Congressional District 23 in 2014 and 2016. Two were State Board of Education races.

Only one of those third-party efforts could be considered an outright spoil, when Libertarian Daniel Arevalo got 1,106 votes in a Texas House race in 2018 that saw Democrat Gina Calanni beat Republican incumbent Mike Schofield by just 113 votes.

In all six races, the margin of victory was low, most at about 2 percent or less, and the third-party candidates were Libertarian.

A year after some of the most competitive state-level races in decades, Texas Republicans moved to make it easier for third-party candidates to receive and maintain a spot on the ballot. In doing so, they returned ballot access to the Green Party after it lost it following the 2016 election.

Maybe Republicans are just kind of viewing this as, either you could call it an insurance policy or maybe its a way to subject the Democrats to things theyve been subjected to on the part of the Libertarians, said Phil Paolino, an associate professor of political science at the University of North Texas who has studied the effect of third parties on presidential races.

As elections get tighter, Paolino said, you might see a few more races where third-party candidates are able to cover the margins whether itll have the effect of altering the results is a big question.

During a more competitive election, with the stakes higher, some voters may be less likely to vote for third-party candidates and risk a major partys chances, Paolino said. In the six recent cases where third-party candidates drew more votes than the margin of victory, its impossible to know the outcome if they hadnt run whether their supporters would have voted for a Democrat, Republican or skipped going to the ballot box at all, he said.

For subscribers: Texas Green Party has qualified for 2020 ballot and welcomes Democrats climate change focus

If the Republicans behind the bill were hoping to hurt their Democratic competitors by allowing Green Party candidates, who typically pull votes from Democrats, onto the ballot, that appears unlikely from a historical standpoint, at least. Green Party candidates never came close to tipping a race when they were on the ballot in 2014 and 2016.

Whitney Bilyeu, a representative to the Libertarian National Committee for a five-state Southern region that includes Texas, said she thinks Republicans and Democrats in Texas are getting very afraid of us.

When we see things like this, which we expect them to continue to happen, it is a sign that people are finally figuring out, No. 1, they have other options, Bilyeu said. And No. 2, that third option, which is us, is the only one that actually gives them what they want and are about what they claim to be about.

Bilyeu said both major parties have reacted to Libertarian candidates success by trying to limit their access to the ballot.

The Texas Green Party did not respond to requests for comment.

Another voice that is pushing ideas

Republican Rep. Drew Springer, who sponsored the bill, said he hadnt studied third-party election results until a reporter presented him with an analysis. The North Texan has run unopposed since he was first elected in 2012.

Springers bill required that third-party candidates either pay a filing fee or submit a petition to run for election, just as major party candidates are already expected to do. Filing fees range from $300 for a State Board of Education seat to $3,125 for a U.S. House race.

Prior to Springers bill passing, Republican Rep. Mayes Middleton had tried to pass a bill, HB 4416, which would have doubled the threshold for parties retaining ballot access by requiring candidates receive 10 percent of the vote in the previous general election.

An amendment Springer later added to his own bill reduced the ballot access threshold to 2 percent of the vote in the previous five general elections. Springer said its purpose was not to impact election results but to bring more voices to the table.

The biggest effect is the fact that you have another voice that is pushing ideas during the campaigning process, Springer said. Democrats and Republicans have to factor those policies into what theyre doing; I think that helps the whole process.

Of the presidential races that Paolino studied, third-party candidates did guide presidential priorities in some cases, such as in 1992, when Ross Perot took 19 percent of the vote, the most won by any independent or third-party candidate since former president Theodore Roosevelt in 1912.

Perots campaign about the dangers of the deficit did create some motivation for the two major parties to think about ways to reduce the deficit and ultimately, as we saw by the end of Clinton administration, produced a surplus, Paolino said. Its the idea that if 19 percent of the voters out there might be concerned with this, then its going to be better if we can show were doing something about it.

While Libertarians success in Texas has mostly been in local elections, Bilyeu said she still thinks the direction at the Legislature has been influenced by the partys platform, including its advocacy for marijuana legalization. The Legislature added several more conditions to the states medical marijuana program in its most recent session.

We are impacting elections one way or another, whether were covering the spread (between Democrats and Republicans) or not, because were getting messages out there that would not be heard otherwise and were putting candidates from these old parties on notice, Bilyeu said.

For subscribers: Libertarian, Green parties sue Texas over ballot requirements

Ballot-access battle

The Texas Libertarian and Green parties, as well as other minor party groups and some individuals, in July sued the state over its ballot requirements, including those imposed in Springers bill.

They argue that ballot access requirements one of which calls for them to track down thousands of voters who did not cast ballots in a primary election and get their signatures create a financial barrier to candidates. A federal judge denied the states motion to dismiss the suit Monday but declined to temporarily block the requirements.

Also on Monday, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen requested that the Committee on Elections during the interim period until lawmakers next meet in 2021 monitor the bill, among others, to ensure intended legislative outcome.

Espinoza, the Libertarian candidate in the 2018 race won by Stickland, said laws that restrict third-party ballot access wont prevent them from spreading their message and getting through to voters.

You can do all the political posturing you want to, but if the public does not see the change they want, thats not going to matter, Espinoza said. Theyre going to try to vote for someone outside the two-party system whos going to do what they say theyre going to do and enhance the individual freedoms of each voter.

Data reporter Stephanie Lamm contributed to this report. taylor.goldenstein@chron.com

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As Texas elections get tighter, more third-party candidates are making inroads - Houston Chronicle

Bill Weld: Everything you need to know about the 2020 presidential candidate – ABC News

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Former two-term Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld became the first Republican to mount a long-shot primary challenge against President Donald Trump. He announced his candidacy for president on April 15, 2019. The 2016 Libertarian vice presidential candidate told ABC News he would have been "ashamed" if he'd passed up on running against the president for the Republican nomination. Weld has touted his bipartisan record and ability to court independent voters in early voting states as his pathway to the White House.

Name: William "Bill" Floyd Weld

Party: Republican -- with a stint in the Libertarian Party from 2016-2019

Date of birth: July 31, 1945

Age: 74

Hometown: Smithtown, New York

Family: Weld has five adult children -- David, Ethel, Mary, Quentin and Frances -- with his first wife, Susan Roosevelt Weld, a great-granddaughter of Theodore Roosevelt. Now, Weld lives in Canton, Massachusetts, with his wife, author Leslie Marshall, and has three adult stepchildren.

Education: Weld graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College with a bachelor of arts degree in Classics in 1966. He received an international economics degree from Oxford University the following year, before returning to Harvard Law School and graduating in 1970.

What he does now: After announcing his candidacy, Weld took an unpaid leave of absence from Mintz Levin law firm. He is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an associate member of the InterAction Council. He also sits on the board of directors of cannabis company Acreage Holdings, alongside former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and on the board of Just Energy Group Inc.

What he used to do: Weld ran as the vice presidential nominee on the 2016 Libertarian ticket. He served as governor of Massachusetts from 1991-1997. He previously served at least seven years as a federal prosecutor, first as U.S. attorney for the district of Massachusetts from 1981-1986 and then as U.S. assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division of the Justice Department from 1986-1988. Early in his career, Weld participated in the Watergate impeachment inquiry as legal counsel on the House Judiciary Committee.

Key life/career moments:

Weld began his legal career as junior counsel on the House Judiciary Committee's staff in the Watergate impeachment inquiry. After working as a staffer in Congress and then as a private attorney in Boston, President Ronald Reagan appointed Weld as U.S. attorney for the district of Massachusetts in 1981. Five years later, Reagan promoted Weld to assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division of the Justice Department.

Weld was elected governor of Massachusetts in 1990, becoming the first Republican to win a gubernatorial election in the state in 20 years. During his governorship, Weld cut taxes 21 times, led 16 international trade missions, oversaw six upgrades for the state's bond ratings, expanded abortion access and broadened LGBTQ rights, according to his campaign website. He was regarded as one of the most fiscally conservative governors in the country.

In 1996, Weld ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate, losing to John Kerry. Weld resigned as governor in 1997 to pursue a nomination by President Bill Clinton as the U.S. ambassador to Mexico but withdrew his nomination after former Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., effectively blocked it in committee. For the next decade, Weld worked a variety of legal and financial jobs including a stint as the chief executive officer of Decker College in Louisville, Kentucky. He re-entered the political sphere in 2005, in an unsuccessful bid for governor of New York.

Weld ran for vice president of the United States in 2016 on the Libertarian ticket with Gary Johnson. He returned to the Republican party in early 2019 when he announced his presidential exploratory committee.

Where he stands on some issues:

Weld has positioned himself as a Republican who blends fiscal conservatism with social liberalism. His campaign told ABC News that getting their candidate on a debate stage with the president is a top priority -- but that's unlikely to take place.

"The RNC and the Republican Party are firmly behind the president. Any effort to challenge the president's nomination is bound to go absolutely nowhere," a RNC spokeswoman told ABC News in July.

In his first 100 days in office, Weld said he would first tackle cutting spending and rebuilding relations with close U.S. allies.

Weld strongly opposes Trump's tariffs and his withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal but has agreed with him on wanting to remove troops from Afghanistan, according to Axios. His website indicates that on the economy, Weld supports tax cuts and reigning in spending. On social issues, Weld supports gay marriage, abortion rights and marijuana legalization.

Weld's campaign website prioritizes the issues of "income inequality, debts and deficits, and climate change." He said he would have the U.S. rejoin the Paris climate accord.

Fundraising:

As of July 2019, Weld's campaign told ABC News that since entering the race in mid-April, they raised nearly $700,000 from 7,000 total donors. On top of supporter contributions, Weld gave at least $181,000 of his own money to the campaign, bringing the second quarter total to $869,000. The average donation for the quarter was $98, according to the campaign.

Weld reported $208,043 cash on hand following the third quarter deadline in mid-October.

During the 2016 presidential race, when Weld ran on the Libertarian ticket, he accepted donations from super PACs.

What you might not know about him:

In 1994, Weld was reelected as Massachusetts governor with 71% of the vote, the largest margin of victory in state history.

Weld's family traces its history back to America's early days, with one of his ancestors' graduating from Harvard College in 1650 and another, William Floyd, signing the Declaration of Independence.

Former special counsel Robert Mueller's sole federal contribution on record went to Weld in 1996 -- two checks totaling $450 during Weld's U.S. Senate race, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

In his time between serving as Massachusetts governor and running for New York governor, Weld published three novels.

ABC News' Will Steakin contributed to this report.

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Bill Weld: Everything you need to know about the 2020 presidential candidate - ABC News

Voters who say they want a third-party option need to actually vote for one – Southgate News Herald

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According to an October Rasmussen poll, 38 percent of likely voters say they intend to vote for "someone other than President Trump or the Democratic presidential nominee" in the 2020 US presidential election.

In a three-way presidential race, 38 percent constitutes a winning plurality, assuming it's distributed among the states such that the Electoral College outcome reflects it.

As a longtime activist in America's largest "third" political party, the Libertarian Party, I'm prone to find that number encouraging.

On the other hand, I've seen numbers like this before and I've watched them not pan out on Election Day. Here's why:

Pluralities or majorities of independent, "swing," and even Democratic and Republican voters always respond positively to polls asking them, generically, about the desirability of a "third party" in American politics.

But generically and specifically are two different animals.

America already has numerous "third parties." In addition to the Libertarians, we have the Greens, the Constitution Party, and a wide assortment of ideological parties across the spectrum, from openly socialist to openly fascist. Even the Prohibition Party, founded in 1869, still nominates a presidential slate every four years.

But most voters who perennially say they don't want a Democrat or Republican for president next time don't agree on a specific alternative. They either vote for the Democrat or Republican for president, or just stay home, when Election Day rolls around.

Even in 2016, when the "major" parties each chose widely disliked and distrusted presidential candidates, only about 5 percent of those who voted strayed outside the major party fold.

Why don't third-party candidates do well, especially at the presidential level? A number of factors play into the poor results.

One is that third-party candidates, already far outspent by the Democrats and Republicans, have to spend lots of the money they raise just getting on ballots. Their actual campaign budgets amount to rounding errors compared to those of their major party opponents. Even those who might prefer a mouse to a whirlwind have trouble hearing the offerings of the former over the din of the latter.

Another is a "fear factor," naturally occurring but energetically encouraged and cultivated by the big players. Don't "spoil" the election. Vote against the major party candidate you fear most, rather than for the minor party candidate you like best. Your only "real" alternative is "the lesser evil."

A third problem is bad voting systems. Ranked choice voting would allow those fearful voters to choose the candidates they prefer while remaining confident that if their first choices failed, their second choices wouldn't be eliminated.

Next year, voters will be told by the major parties that they must choose either four more years of the banana republicanism they chose in 2016, or a buffet of microwaved and reheated 50- and 80-year old New Deal and Great Society programs doused with supposedly "progressive" sriracha.

That won't be the case. Third-party options will likely be on offer in all 50 states. The 38 percent of voters who claim to want one should actually choose one instead of finding reasons not to.

Thomas L. Knapp is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism.

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Voters who say they want a third-party option need to actually vote for one - Southgate News Herald

True conservative views are not fringe – The Mass Media

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Conservatives are often slandered as being racist, classist and misogynistic as a result of their traditional political views. While there are certainly conservatives who may display some of these traits, they are generally condemned by the mainstream conservative movement as being too extreme. Recent months have seen fringe conservatives attempt to legitimize themselves by claiming to be the future of the conservative movement in the United States. These fringe conservatives represent a far-right threat to the conservative movement. In reality, the fringe conservatives and their allies attempt to slander the conservative party by incorrectly claiming that they represent the right-wing of American politics. They are what liberals conflate with the moderate conservatives that make up nearly 50 percent of U.S. citizens.

At the core of the conservative movement is constitutional rights, personal freedoms and economic stability through capitalism. While people may disagree with these political stances, these are in no way fringe ideologies. These are mainstream political agendas held by many politically active individuals. The fringe that exists within the right-wing is a loud but small minority that is used to smear anyone right of the center.

In recent months, far-right provocateurs have flooded mainstream conservative events in a desperate attempt for attention and recognition. These far-right individuals are outright rejected by the mainstream conservative movement for their radical, racist and overly nationalistic rhetoric. Led by an individual who hosts a podcast called America First, these far-right young men believe in an America for white Europeans. This is by no means the mainstream conservative perspective. The mainstream conservative movement focuses on individual rights, constitutionalism and strong state governments. None of these are in any fringe.

One of the largest conservative organizations, Young Americas Foundation, recently distanced themselves from Michelle Malkin, who previously was associated with them. This individual had ties to far-right extremists, and the organization immediately excommunicated her. The firing comes as a result of Malkin's vocal support for 22-year-old far-right provocateur and his allies. YAF gives a platform to a broad range of speakers with a range of views within the mainstream of conservative thought," wrote YAF. "Immigration is a vital issue that deserves robust debate. But there is no room in mainstream conservatism or at YAF for holocaust deniers, white nationalists, street brawlers, or racists." YAF, which is often smeared as being supportive of white supremacists, has made it clear that they will not associate with such figures.

As far-right groups continue to push for recognition and legitimacy, it is essential that both liberals and conservatives alike condemn the far-right for its fascist ideology, illegitimate support base and weak arguments. The true voice of the conservative movement boasts classical liberalism, libertarian economic ideology and a weak federal government that allows local governments to govern their people. Any ideology acting upon race, class or ethnicity, should not and is not welcome in the modern-day conservative movement.

To conclude, there are several key organizations that represent the conservative movement on college campuses. On heavily liberal campuses, such as the UMass system, these organizations are weak in their appearance due to limited membership. Young Americas Foundation represents a conservative movement with an emphasis on free speech and a strong military presence. Young Americans for Liberty is a more libertarian-minded organization with a strong emphasis on prison reform, drug legalization and a weak federal government. Many of their positions promote liberal ideology as well. Turning Point USA promotes capitalist economies, supports a border wall and exhibits heavy support for President Donald Trump, which oftentimes contradicts their small government philosophy. College Republican clubs often exist on college campuses; however, they can push loyalty to the Republican Party rather than the conservative movement. Each of these organizations do have flaws, however, I would suggest true conservative students involve themselves with YAF and YAL in order to truly see how the conservative movement exists within the frame of a college campus.

Young America's Foundation Excommunicates Michelle Malkin for Defending Nick Fuentes

https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/president

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BRADLEY R. GITZ: What is ‘left-wing’? – NWAOnline

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The term "right-wing" is largely meaningless in an ideological sense, invoked over time to refer to such dissimilar, even antithetical movements as monarchial conservativism, Reagan Republicanism, European fascism, and contemporary libertarianism.

Right-wing therefore has meaning only in the sense of opposing a "left-wing" historically united by the goal of socialism.

If "right-wing" is meaningless except as a term of opposition, "left-wing" can be more precisely depicted in increments moving leftward from roughly American Progressivism/New Deal liberalism all the way to Marxism-Leninism.

The problem comes with the failure in common discourse to distinguish between the different strains of leftism. Perhaps because our chattering classes tend to see no enemies on the left, there is no effort made to clarify what left-wing actually means.

The ideological confusion this produces has been on full display in media coverage of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, wherein it is suggested that the further one moves to the left, the more liberal one becomes, as in Elizabeth Warren is more liberal than Joe Biden, and the self-proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders is more liberal than Warren.

All of which raises the rather obvious question of what would be more liberal than Sanders. After all, if liberalism and socialism are indeed different things, as American liberals have always insisted, how far left do you have to drift before you stop being more liberal and become socialist?

Are self-proclaimed socialists actually more liberal than liberals? And by such logic wouldn't Fidel Castro be more liberal than Sanders, and Pol Pot still more liberal than Castro?

Clearly, this isn't a formulation contemporary liberal Democrats should be comfortable with, yet that is the inescapable logic inherent in the fuzziness of the labels they apply to themselves and that are applied to them by sympathetic media.

To clear up a bit of the ideological mess, it might be useful to think of the left as containing four basic positions.

The first and least radical, in the sense of being closest to center, would be American Progressivism/New Deal liberalism, which has championed the welfare state and the principle of redistribution over the last century as a means of reforming the generally unregulated capitalism endorsed by classical liberals.

The central ideological difficulty of this relatively mild form of leftism has always been the failure to identify some kind of logical stopping point in welfare-state growth that prevents the ideology from ratcheting leftward toward more radical, overtly socialist positions.

The most obvious counterpart of American Progressivism/New Deal liberalism in the contemporary European context is what has come to be called "social democracy," represented by the Labor Party of Great Britain, the Social Democratic Party of Germany, and the French Socialist Party.

Social Democracy is an increment further left of American Progressivism by virtue of being originally derived (unlike the American Democratic Party) from Marxian socialism, historically favoring nationalization of certain "commanding heights" of the economy (infrastructure, energy, and heavy industry) and advocating an even larger "cradle to grave" welfare state than American Democrats.

Stepping still leftward, we find "democratic socialism," most conspicuously associated with the Democratic Socialists of America movement of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib and the radical left journal Jacobin. The primary difference between social democracy and democratic socialism is that whereas the former permits a still capacious (but increasing regulated) private sector, the latter seeks to abolish capitalism altogether on the grounds that genuine democracy is incapable of functioning under it. For Democratic Socialists, the goal of democracy is undermined by the oppression and inequalities inherent in capitalism.

Furthest to the left is Marxism-Leninism (communism), which, as originally formulated by Marx, replaces private ownership of the means of production with public ownership operating under a "dictatorship of the proletariat" (meaning, in practice, a dictatorship of the party acting on behalf of an incapable proletariat).

Think at this point, the most radical leftward point, of all those misnamed "People's Republics" under the control of revolutionary "vanguard" parties in places like the Soviet Union, China, and Vietnam and once united under the banner of the Moscow-based Third International (Comintern).

The different strains vary in terms of willingness to tolerate capitalism and respect for liberal democracy, with both declining as you move further left.

The contrast with the political right is striking. Whereas classical liberals and contemporary conservatives and libertarians seek to protect by limiting--more specifically, to protect the blessings of the American founding by limiting the power of the state--the left represents perpetual, frantic movement, constantly seeking to expand state power to combat a never-ending series of problems, however trivial and rooted in the flaws of human nature itself.

Classical liberalism (and its contemporary conservative and libertarian manifestations) is constant in its Madisonian principles, the left entirely fluid, incapable of stopping, with radicalization inherent in its fluidity.

The right is about limits; the left by its very nature can acknowledge none.

------------v------------

Freelance columnist Bradley R. Gitz, who lives and teaches in Batesville, received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Illinois.

Editorial on 12/02/2019

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BRADLEY R. GITZ: What is 'left-wing'? - NWAOnline

Lesson from the London Bridge attack: Once a terrorist, always a terrorist (opinion) – SILive.com

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Some people just belong in jail. Terrorists in particular. And if they ever see the light of day again, it should be after a long, long incarceration.

Thats the lesson to take away from what the world saw in London last week.

Authorities said that Usman Khan, 28, killed two people in a stabbing spree on London Bridge.

Even more shocking is the fact that Khan had been released from jail a year ago, after serving only part of a sentence he received in 2012 for being part of a cell that planned terrorist attacks.

Some of the terrorists working in cahoots with Khan wanted to carry out attacks on the London Stock Exchange. Khan is said to have wanted to foment terrorism in his ancestral homeland of Kashmir.

Khan, who was killed by police during the London Bridge attack, was a terrorist. His associates were terrorists. He was released from jail after seven years, according to CNN, without even a Parole Board review, as part of an initiative that saw other terrorists released early as well.

Khans lawyer said that there was no indication that Khan, who was 19 years old when he was charged in 2010, would re-offend. Hed recanted his radical views at trial. In a jailhouse letter, hed asked to take part in a de-radicalization program.

And yet there he was, carrying out a knife attack on London Bridge. CNN pointed to speculation that recent events in India-controlled areas of Kashmir, where the Delhi government has launched a security crackdown, might have radicalized Khan all over again.

So it looks like Khan hadnt buried his jihadist beliefs all too deeply after all.

By the way, five of Khans 2010 accomplices were among around 70 other convicted terrorists who have also been released early by the U.K., CNN said.

One of them, Mohibur Rahman, was re-arrested after planning a mass-casualty attack on a British military or police target. Hes back in jail, where he clearly belongs. Thankfully, nobody had to die before the error of his release was rectified.

The U.K.s early release of all those terrorists is now being reviewed. Given that radical Muslim terrorists can often become even more radicalized by prison jihadist networks, and grow even more dangerous, its a smart move to just keep them in jail. Or to make sure that theyre segregated from other jihadis while incarcerated. Let the civil libertarians object all they want.

More convicted terrorists are set to be released from across Europe. Can the world really take that risk?

Its important to determine just who can be rehabilitated and who cannot. And to keep close, close track of convicted terrorists if they are paroled. Thats another problem highlighted by the London Bridge bloodshed: Khan was wearing an ankle monitor, but was still able to travel to London to carry out his attack. Whos watching these dangerous parolees?

Knife attacks overall, by the way, have been on the rise in the U.K. in recent years. Knife-related homicides took 285 lives in England and Wales from March, 2017 to March, 2018, according to USA Today. Thats a record amount since data collection began in 1946, the paper said. And the data does not include knife deaths in Scotland or Ireland.

Its another lesson to keep in mind. The United Kingdom has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world. Private ownership of handguns is banned. Police officers generally dont carry firearms. So offenders have found other ways to carry out their mayhem. Because you cant legislate against murderous actions by unhinged people.

Thankfully, the number of fatalities per incident are far lower than whats seen in some mass shootings.

Still, there continues to be a price to pay. Maybe we should ban knives too. We should surely keep convicted terrorists behind bars. And for a long time.

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Lesson from the London Bridge attack: Once a terrorist, always a terrorist (opinion) - SILive.com

Electroplating method makes conductive nanostraws for injecting into and sampling from cells – Chemical & Engineering News

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Credit: ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

An array of platinum nanostraws can be used to deliver molecules to cells or sample their contents.

Hollow nanosized needles, or nanostraws, are a promising tool for opening up tiny, temporary holes in cell membranes to deliver molecules or sample a cells contents. Nanostraws could also deliver gene editors into cells for immunotherapy, cutting the need to use costly viruses for the job. But making nanostraws requires expensive manufacturing equipment in a clean room facility, and using nanostraws often requires applying a high voltage in order to open up the cell membrane. Now, researchers have developed a more affordable fabrication approach that can be done in an ordinary lab. Whats more, the new nanostraws are conductive, thus lowering the amount of voltage needed to levels less likely to damage cells (ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2019, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b15619).

Researchers made earlier iterations of nanostraws with atomic layer deposition (ALD), which grows thin films of materials such as metal oxides one layer of atoms at a time. In their new approach, Xi Xie of Sun Yat-Sen University and colleagues replaced ALD with electroplating, a simple process which uses an electrical potential to deposit ions in a solution onto a surface.

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They first sputtered a thin layer of gold on the bottom surface of a polycarbonate template containing an array of pores in order to make a conductive base layer. Then they electroplated platinum, gold, or the conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)three common materials used in electrophysiology studiesfrom the top. The materials lined the pores of the template, creating the hollow nanostraws. The team then used mechanical polishing and oxygen plasma etching to remove the polycarbonate template, revealing an array of vertical nanostraws, each a few hundred nanometers in diameter. According to Xie, their method can work with templates of various pore sizes or pore densities, or with other plating materials.

Ciro Chiappini, a nanomedicine researcher at Kings College London, says this study is a needed and significant step toward developing affordable nanostraws.

Using a representative platinum nanostraw array, Xie and colleagues demonstrated that they could deliver a fluorescent dye into cultured human cells and extract intracellular materials to examine how the levels of an enzyme changed over time.

The conductivity of the new nanostraws allowed the researchers to open tiny pores in the cell membrane by applying a voltage of only 35 V, a safer range for cells compared with 1020 V needed when using nonconductive nanostraws.

These straws could make cellular treatments such as CAR-T therapy faster, safer, and cheaper, says Nicholas A. Melosh, a materials scientist at Stanford University who has done nanostraw research. Typical immunotherapy delivers therapy to a patients immune cells using viruses, which is costly and carries the risk of dangerous immune responses once the cells are put back into the patient, he says. Nanostraws could potentially deliver the necessary therapies to cells without the need for viruses.

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Electroplating method makes conductive nanostraws for injecting into and sampling from cells - Chemical & Engineering News

Protein-Protected Metal Nanoclusters That Behave Like Natural Enzymes – Advanced Science News

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Metal nanoclusters, made up of several to one hundred metal atoms (e.g., Au, Ag, Cu, Pt), are a novel class of intermediate between metal atoms and nanoparticles. As their size (<2 nm) borders on the Fermi wavelength of electrons, metal nanoclusters possess strong photoluminescence in comparison with large metal nanoparticles (>2 nm). This, combined with tunable fluorescence emissions, high photostability, good quantum yields and facile synthesis, make them excellent fluorescent labels for biomedical applications.

However, the reduction of metal ions in liquid solution during synthesis usually causes large nanoparticles rather than small metal nanocluster formation because of their tendency to aggregate. In light of this, proteins whose thiol, amino, and carboxyl groups have a strong affinity for metal atoms are typically used to stabilize metal nanoclusters to protect them from aggregationthese proctected clusters are commonly called protein-protected metal nanoclusters.

Protein-protected metal nanoclusters have excellent biocompatibility and have received considerable attention as a luminescent probe in a number of fields such as biosensing, bioimaging, and imaging-guided therapy. However, apart from unique optical properties, protein-protected metal nanoclusters also possess interesting biological properties such as enzyme-like activity similar to that of natural enzymes; until recently, this has been an overlooked quality that is starting to shine in basic research and practical applications.

Nanozymes is a new termed used to refer to nanomaterials with intrinsic enzyme-like activity. Since professor Yan and coworkers first discovered that nanoparticleswhich are traditionally assumed to be inertpossessed intrinsic enzyme-like activity, a substantial amount of work has focused on further developing and harnessing the advantageous properties of nanozymes, which include high catalytic ability, high stability, and low cost. Nowadays, more than 540 kinds of nanomaterials, which possess intrinsic enzymatic activity, have been reported from 350 laboratories in 30 countries and have been used in biological analysis, environmental treatment, as antibacterial agents, cancer therapy, and antioxidation therapy.

In a recent study published in WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology, Professor Xiyun Yan and Kelong Fan explore the newly developing field of biologically active protein-protected metal nanoclusters, namely those that possess peroxidase, oxidase, and catalase activities, and are consequently used for biological analysis and environmental treatment.

An intriguing example of this is bovine serum albumin-protected gold (Au) nanoclusters, which exhibit peroxidase enzymatic activity to catalyze the oxidation of colored organic substrates, which is currently carried out using natural peroxidases. This method showed an advantage over the natural peroxidase-based methods because bovine serum albumin-protected Au nanoclusters exhibited higher robustness and retained enzymatic activity over a wide range of pH and temperatures. In another example, lysozyme-protected platinum (Pt) nanoclusters exhibit oxidase enzymatic activity which has been applied to the oxidative degradation of pollutants, such as methylene blue in lake water.

The proteins themselves not only provide protection and stabilization during synthesis, but can also provide a myriad of other functions to the nanoclusters. Proteins have been shown to enable in vivo applications because of their enhanced biocompatibility. In fact, a protease-responsive sensor for in vivo disease monitoring was designed by utilizing the peroxidase activity of peptide-protected Au nanoclusters and their ultra-small size dependent tumor accumulation and renal clearance properties.

The sensor was developed using peptides which are the substrates/targets of disease related proteases as protective ligands to synthesis the Au nanoclusters nanozymes, which were then conjugated to a carrier. After reaching the site of disease, the sensor was disassembled in response to the dysregulated protease and the liberated Au nanoclusters were filtered through the kidneys and into urine to produce a rapid and sensitive colorimetric readout of diseases state. By employing different enzymatic substrate as protective ligands for Au nanoclusters, this modular approach could enable the rapid detection of a diverse range of diseases with dysregulated protease activities such as cancer, inflammation, and thrombosis.

These findings have extended the horizon of protein-protected metal nanoclusters properties as well as their application in various fields, says Kelong Fan. Furthermore, in the field of nanozymes, protein-protected metal nanoclusters have emerged as an outstanding new addition. Due to their ultra-small size (<2 nm), they usually have higher catalytic activity, more suitable size for in vivo application, better biocompatibility and photoluminescence in comparison with large size nanozymes. We think that ultra-small nanozymes based on protein-protected MNCs are on the verge of attracting great interest across various disciplines and will stimulate research in the fields of nanotechnology and biology.

Despite the advantages and advancedprogress in the development of protein-protected metal nanoclusters asultra-small nanozymes, there are still some challenges that need to be addressedin future work.

First, most researchers still only rely on bovine serum albumin as both the reducing agent and stabilizer. Since we know that protein-protected metal nanoclusters may retain the bioactivity of the protein ligand, it is necessary to explore methods for synthesizing other new protein-protected metal nanoclusters, which will widen the diagnostic and therapeutic applications of protein-protected metal nanoclusters nanozymes.

Second, there are six types of catalytic reactions in nature: oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, isomerases, ligases, and lyases. Thus far, although many protein-protected metal nanoclusters have demonstrated enzyme activities they all are oxidoreductase-like activities such as peroxidase, oxidase, and catalase. Therefore, there is a ample room to develop other types of nanozymes based on protein-protected metal nanoclusters. In this regard, more understanding of the structures and catalytic mechanisms of protein-protected metal nanoclusters is required in addition to the deeper understanding on natural enzymes themselves.

Third, a considerable number of reports have suggested that ultra-small nanozymes based on protein-protected metal nanoclusters are promising tools for biological analysis. However, little is known about the therapeutic function of these ultra-small clusters in vivo despite their advantages of suitable size and good biocompatibility. It is well known that peroxidase, oxidase, and catalase are main enzymes in biological systems involved in the maintenance of redox homeostasis. Thus, more attention should be paid to the usage of these ultra-small nanozymes based on protein-protected metal nanoclusters as bio-catalysts in various human diseases involved in redox dysregulation such as cancer, inflammation, cardiovascular diseases. It is also possible to employ the products of redox nanozymes to treat other diseases, for example, use the toxic hydroxyl radicals produced by peroxidase nanozymes to treat bacterial infection.

Overall, there is still much room for future research and application of ultra-small nanozymes based on protein-protected metal nanoclusters. It is expected that the enzyme-like activity of protein-protected metal nanoclusters will certainly attract broader interests across various disciplines and stimulate research in the fields of nanotechnology and biology, making these emerging ultra-small nanozymes become novel multifunctional nanomaterials for a number of biomedical applications.

Kindly contributed by the authors.

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Protein-Protected Metal Nanoclusters That Behave Like Natural Enzymes - Advanced Science News

Design and Synthesis of Gold-Gadolinium-Core-Shell Nanoparticles as Co | IJN – Dove Medical Press

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Fatima Aouidat,1 Sarah Boumati,2 Memona Khan,1 Frederik Tielens,3 Bich-Thuy Doan,2 Jolanda Spadavecchia1

1CNRS, UMR 7244, CSPBAT, Laboratory of Chemistry, Structures and Properties of Biomaterials And Therapeutic Agents University Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cit, Bobigny, France; 2UTCBS Chimie ParisTech University Paris Descartes - CNRS UMR 8258 INSERM U1022 Equipe Synthesis, Electrochemistry, Imaging and Analytical Systems for Diagnostics SEISAD, Paris, France; 3General Chemistry (ALGC), Vrije University of Brussel (Free University Brussels-VUB), Brussel, Belgium

Correspondence: Jolanda Spadavecchia Email jolanda.spadavecchia@univ-paris13.fr

Introduction: The development of biopolymers for the synthesis of Gd(III) nanoparticles, as therapeutics, could play a key role in nanomedicine. Biocompatible polymers are not only used for complex monovalent biomolecules, but also for the realization of multivalent active targeting materials as diagnostic and/or therapeutic hybrid nanoparticles. In this article, it was reported for the first time, a novel synthesis of Gd(III)biopolymerAu(III) complex, acting as a key ingredient of core-shell gold nanoparticles (Gd(@AuNPs).Material and methods: The physical and chemical evaluation was carried out by spectroscopic analytical techniques (Raman spectroscopy, UV-visible and TEM). The theoretical characterization by DFT (density functional theory) analysis was carried out under specific conditions to investigate the interaction between the Au and the Gd precursors, during the first nucleation step. Magnetic features with relaxivity measurements at 7T were also performed as well as cytotoxicity studies on hepatocyte cell lines for biocompatibility studies. The in vivo detailed dynamic biodistribution studies in mice to characterize the potential applications for biology as MRI contrast agents were then achieved.Results: Physicalchemical evaluation confirms the successful design and reaction supposed. Viabilities of TIB-75 (hepatocytes) cells were evaluated using Alamar blue cytotoxic tests with increasing concentrations of nanoparticles. In vivo biodistribution studies were then accomplished to assess the kinetic behavior of the nanoparticles in mice and characterize their stealthiness property after intravenous injection.Conclusion: We demonstrated that Gd@AuNPs have some advantages to display hepatocytes in the liver. Particularly, these nanoconjugates give a good cellular uptake of several quantities of Gd@NPs into cells, while preserving a T1 contrast inside cells that provide a robust in vivo detection using T1-weighted MR images. These results will strengthen the role of gadolinium as complex to gold in order to tune Gd(@AuNPs) as an innovative diagnostic agent in the field of nanomedicine.

Keywords: Gd-gold complex, theoretical study, MRI, relaxivity, biodistribution

This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License.By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.

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Design and Synthesis of Gold-Gadolinium-Core-Shell Nanoparticles as Co | IJN - Dove Medical Press

Biochips Technologies, Companies, Applications & Markets, 2028 – 94 Companies are Included Along with a Listing of 121 Collaborations Between…

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DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 3, 2019--

The "Biochips - Technologies, Markets & Companies" report from Jain PharmaBiotech has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report is an analysis of biochip/microarray markets based on technologies and applications. The report starts with a description of technologies as a basis for the estimation of markets.

Technologies include array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), copy number variation (CNV), DNA methylation, ChIP-Chip, RNA splice variants, and microRNA. Separate chapters are devoted to protein biochips/microarrays, microfluidics and nanobiotechnology-based nano-arrays.

Various applications of biochips and microarrays are described throughout the report. Areas of application such as point-of-care, genetic screening, cancer, and diagnosis of infections are included. Separate chapters are devoted to applications in drug discovery and development as well as personalized medicine

The report provides current share of each segment: market size in 2018 and projected value for the years 2023 and 2028. Gene expression has the largest share and is an established market. Share of microarray technologies in other areas will grow with the maximum growth in RNA splice variants followed by epigenetics.

The growth in protein microarrays is somewhat less, partly because it is more mature than the other submarkets and has already shown considerable growth in the past. The impact of next generation sequencing on segments of microarray markets is identified. Customer requirements and unmet needs are described. Markets are also analyzed according to geographical areas.

Brief profiles of companies involved in biochip/microarray technologies are provided. Currently selected 94 companies are included along with a listing of 121 collaborations between companies. The text is supplemented by 21 tables, 11 figures and 140 references to literature.

Key Topics Covered:

0. Executive Summary

1. Introduction

Definitions of biochips/microarray

Terms used for biochips

Historical aspects of biochip/microarray technology

Relation of microarrays to other technologies

Applications of biochips/microarrays

Advantages of biochips/microarrays

2. Biochip and Microarray Technologies

Introduction

Nucleic acid amplification and microarrays

PCR on a chip

Fast PCR biochip

Multiplex microarray-enhanced PCR for DNA analysis

Universal DNA microarray combining PCR and ligase detection reaction

NASBA combined with microarray

Rolling circle amplification on microarrays

LiquiChip-RCAT

Multiplexed Molecular Profiling

Genomewide association scans

Whole genome microarrays

GeneChip Human Genome Arrays

Arrayit's H25K

Transposon insertion site profiling chip

Standardizing the microarrays

Optical Mapping

Imaging technologies used for detection in biochips/microarray

Fluorescence and chemiluminescence

MALDI-MS imaging and tissue microarrays

Surface plasmon resonance technology for microarrays

Microarray imaging systems

Vidia Microarray Imaging Systems

GenePix 4100A Microarray Scanner

Tecan LS Reloaded

Microarrays based on detection by physico-chemical methods

Electrical biochips

Photoelectrochemical synthesis of DNA microarrays

Microchip capillary electrophoresis

Strand displacement amplification on a biochip

Biosensor technologies for biochips

DNA-based biosensors

Arrayed Imaging Reflectometry

Digital electronic biosensor chips

Phototransistor biochip biosensor

Applications of biosensor biochips

Biosensors in food safety

Cholesterol biosensor

Glucose biosensors

Biochips and microarrays for cytogenetics

Chromosomal microarrays

Comparative genomic hybridization

Array-based CGH

NimbleGen CGH arrays

Single-cell array CGH

Regulatory requirements for array CGH

Combination of FISH and gene chips

Combination of CGH and SNP microarray platforms

Fish-on-chip

SignatureChip

Tissue microarrays

Pathology tissue-ChIP

Carbohydrate microarrays

RNA profiling

RNA splice variants

RIP-Chip

miRNAs

Microarrays for miRNAs

Microarrays vs qPCR for measuring miRNAs

Quantitative analysis of miRNAs in tissue microarrays by ISH

Exon microarrays

Microarrays & DNA sequencing

Microarray-based emerging DNA sequencing technologies

Exome sequencing for study of human variation

High-throughput array-based resequencing

Sequencing by hybridization

SOLiD-System based ChIP-Sequencing

Next generation sequencing vs microarrays for expression profiling

Microarrays for synthetic biology

Arrayit microarray platform for synthetic biology

Microarray-based gene synthesis

Magnetophoretic array-based cell sorting for further studies

3. Microfluidics-based Biochips and Microarrays

Introduction

Use of technologies from other industries in microfluidics

Digital dispensing

Lab-on-a-chip

Amplification of fluorescence signal from lab-on-a-chip

Use of glass in microfluidics

LabChip

LabCD

Lab-on-a-brain

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Biochips Technologies, Companies, Applications & Markets, 2028 - 94 Companies are Included Along with a Listing of 121 Collaborations Between...