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Army Vet Who Lost Both Legs to a Roadside Bomb Is Accepted to Harvard Medical School – PEOPLE.com

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

A wounded Army veteran is close to achieving his dream of becoming a doctor after earning admittance to the prestigious Harvard Medical School.

GregGaleazzi, 31, lost both of his legs and part of his right arm when a roadside bomb exploded in May 2011 during his deployment to Afghanistan. Since then, he has endured dozens of surgeries and hundreds of hours of physical therapy, which he called a nightmare. But through all the trauma he experienced,Galeazzi held on to his dream of one day becoming a doctor.

Not only did I still want to practice medicine, but it strengthened my resolve to do it, he toldABC News.

Galeazzi took 18 pre-med courses over two years at the University of Maryland, before finishing in May 2016. It was in those classes that Galeazzi met his future fianc,Jazmine Romero, who he plans to marry next year.

Around that time, Galeazzi studied for six months to prepare for the hours-long Medical College Assessment Test, and after passing it, he sent applications to 19 medical schools on the East Coast. While he was accepted to many, Galeazzi announced in a blog poston August 5 that he had chosen to attend thetop-ranking medical institution in the world, Harvard Medical School, where he will study for the next four years.

It is tough to explain just how thrilled I was to simply be invited to interview at Harvard, let alone be accepted, Galeazzi wrote in his announcement. Mostly, it came as an immense relief to know that my hard work in pre-med and MCAT preparation paid off; and it reminded me just how grateful I am to have survived my injuries, and still have talents to share with the world.

Galeazzi is still deciding what type of medicine hellpractice, but hes leaning toward primary care, he told ABC News. In the end, Galeazzi said, he just wants to be a good doctor.

While Ive overcome some pretty harrowing life challenges, medical school is going to be an entirely different struggle, so please wish me luck! he wrote. Then again, I recognize that this is a wonderful challenge to have, and I am happy and eager to take it on!

Thousands march through Boston week after Virginia bloodshed – Politico

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said Friday that 500 officers some in uniform, others undercover would be deployed to keep the two groups apart on Saturday

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

08/19/2017 09:48 AM EDT

Updated 08/19/2017 01:20 PM EDT

BOSTON Thousands of leftist counterprotesters marched through downtown Boston on Saturday, chanting anti-Nazi slogans and waving signs condemning white nationalism as conservative activists rallied a week after a Virginia demonstration turned deadly.

Police Commissioner William Evans said Friday that 500 officers some in uniform, others undercover were deployed to keep the two groups apart Saturday. Boston's Democratic mayor, Marty Walsh, and Massachusetts' Republican governor, Charlie Baker, both warned that extremist unrest wouldn't be tolerated in this city famed as the cradle of American liberty.

Story Continued Below

Organizers of the midday event, billed as a "Free Speech Rally," have publicly distanced themselves from the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and others who fomented violence in Charlottesville on Aug. 12. A woman was killed at that Unite the Right rally, and scores of others were injured, when a car plowed into counterdemonstrators.

But opponents feared that white nationalists might show up in Boston anyway, raising the specter of ugly confrontations in the first potentially large and racially charged gathering in a major U.S. city since Charlottesville.

Events are planned around the country, in cities including Atlanta, Dallas and New Orleans.

Walsh greeted counterprotesters Saturday morning outside Reggie Lewis Center in the city's Roxbury neighborhood. Counterprotesters from Black Lives Matter and other groups denouncing racism and anti-Semitism marching from there to the Common, and another group plans to rally on the steps of the Statehouse overlooking the sprawling park.

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Some counterprotesters dressed entirely in black and wore bandannas over their faces. They chanted anti-Nazi and anti-fascism slogans, and waved signs that said: "Love your neighbor," ''Resist fascism" and "Hate never made U.S. great." Others carried a large banner that read: "SMASH WHITE SUPREMACY."

Boston police estimated the size of the crowd participating in the march to the Common at about 15,000. In stark contrast, only several dozen people have turned out for the conservative rally itself.

TV cameras showed a group of boisterous counterprotesters on the Common chasing a man with a Trump campaign banner and cap, shouting and swearing at him. But other counterprotesters intervened and helped the man safely over a fence into the area where the conservative rally was to be staged. Black-clad counterprotesters also grabbed an American flag out of an elderly woman's hands, and she stumbled and fell to the ground.

The permit issued for the rally on Boston Common came with severe restrictions, including a ban on backpacks, sticks and anything that could be used as a weapon. The permit is for 100 people, though an organizer has said he expected up to 1,000 people to attend.

The Boston Free Speech Coalition, which organized the event, said it has nothing to do with white nationalism or racism and its group is not affiliated with the Charlottesville rally organizers in any way.

"We are strictly about free speech," the group said on its Facebook page. "... we will not be offering our platform to racism or bigotry. We denounce the politics of supremacy and violence."

But the mayor pointed out that some of those invited to speak "spew hate." Kyle Chapman, who described himself on Facebook as a "proud American nationalist," said he will attend.

Black Lives Matter said Friday that members from around the U.S. planned to march Saturday in Boston.

Walsh said the city would do whatever is necessary to head off violence initiated by either side. "If anyone gets out of control at all it will be shut down," he said.

"We will not tolerate any misbehavior, violence or vandalism whatsoever," said Evans, Boston's top cop.

Dating to 1634, Boston Common is the nation's oldest city park. The leafy downtown park is popular with locals and tourists and has been the scene of numerous rallies and protests for centuries.

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Thousands march through Boston week after Virginia bloodshed - Politico

Liberty snap Sun winning streak – Norwich Bulletin

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

Marc Allard mallard@norwichbulletin.com, (860) 425-4212 mallardnb

MOHEGAN The last time the Connecticut Sun lost, it was at the hands of the New York Liberty at Madison Square Garden on July 19.

The Liberty did it again on Friday, taking the season series and ending a six-game win streak for the Sun with an 82-70 decision before 7,016 fans at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The loss also ended Connecticuts (18-10) eight-game win streak at home.

The game was supposed to begin on a high note.

Connecticut coach and general manager Curt Miller invited New York to join the Sun in a show of unity, joining hands during the national anthem, something the WNBA endorsed after the tragic events this week in Charlottesville, Va.

New York declined.

We talked. They elected to not participate with us in a group effort. They will do their own thing. They have already had a moment of silence already and they have something planned for an upcoming home game. We continued to show our own individual unity as a team tonight, Miller said.

Unfortunately, that unity did little to stop former UConn standout Tina Charles.

In the second quarter, Charles did what Miller was most afraid of.

She went into beast mode.

According to New York coach Bill Laimbeer, it was quite possible that Charles wasnt even going to play. Charles was suffering from back spasms and, as of Thursday, wasnt going to play. It became a possibility on Friday and then she decided before game time that she was good to go..

She didnt do much in the first quarter, going 0-for-2 from the field,

That slow start worried me, Laimbeer said. Sometimes, you have a little injury, you get off to a slow start and put your head down and dont recover. She did recover.

Charles made 6-of-8 from the floor and 6-of-9 from the free throw line in the second quarter, 18 points in total, and rallied the Liberty (16-12) from a six-point deficit to as much as a 12-point lead.

She is one of my toughest assignments, Connecticuts Alyssa Thomas said. Shes a great player, has a lot of counter moves and has a size advantage on me.

The Sun, sparked by a 3-pointer and three free throws by Shekinna Stricklen closed to within three, 44-41, at the half.

But even though Charles got just six more points the remainder of the way, the damage was done.

The Sun got within two briefly late in the third quarter, but were outscored 15-6 to fall behind by double digits halfway through the final quarter.

We couldnt find our rhythm (Friday), Jasmine Thomas said. Even when it looked like we were getting close, we couldnt get over that hump, couldnt tie it, couldnt take the lead. It happens sometimes.

It was a poor offensive night overall for Connecticut which shot just 34 percent from the floor and missed 10 free throws.

We were 25 percent outside the paint (Friday), could not get our 3-(point) game going, could not get our deep-two, pull-up, game going. They made more shots than us, neither team made a lot, and more tough plays, Miller said.

Jasmine Thomas led the way for Connecticut with 15 points while Shekinna Stricklen added 12.

The Sun return to the court at Mohegan Sun Arena at 3 p.m. Sunday when they host Phoenix.

MOHEGAN The last time the Connecticut Sun lost, it was at the hands of the New York Liberty at Madison Square Garden on July 19.

The Liberty did it again on Friday, taking the season series and ending a six-game win streak for the Sun with an 82-70 decision before 7,016 fans at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The loss also ended Connecticuts (18-10) eight-game win streak at home.

The game was supposed to begin on a high note.

There is little love, however, between the two franchises.

New York declined.

Unfortunately, that unity did little to stop former UConn standout Tina Charles.

In the second quarter, Charles did what Miller was most afraid of.

She went into beast mode.

After an 0-for-2 first quarter, Charles came out and made 6-of-8 from the floor and 6-of-9 from the free throw line in the second, 18 points in total, and rallied the Liberty (16-12) from a six-point deficit to as much as a 12-point lead.

She is one of my toughest assignments, Connecticuts Alyssa Thomas said. Shes a great player, has a lot of counter moves and has a size advantage on me.

The Sun, sparked by a 3-pointer and three free throws by Shekinna Stricklen closed to within three, 44-41, at the half.

But even though Charles got just six more points the remainder of the way, the damage was done.

The Sun got within two briefly late in the third quarter, but were outscored 15-6 to fall behind by double digits halfway through the final quarter.

It was a poor offensive night overall for Connecticut which shot just 34 percent from the floor and missed 10 free throws. Jasmine Thomas led the way with 15 points.

Excerpt from:

Liberty snap Sun winning streak - Norwich Bulletin

Golf: Liberty’s Sadler seeking ‘redemption’ this fall – Carroll County Times

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

Brian Sadler is fan of Oakmont Green Golf Course near Hampstead, so the Liberty High School senior was raring to go for Fridays season-opening tournament that featured players from all seven county schools.

Sadler, the reigning Times Player of the Year, was in good position to earn medalist honors after playing 12 holes at even-par. Thats when the thunderstorms broke through and suspended play at Oakmont, with Sadler and his playing partners in the fairway on the first hole.

During the delay, the county coaches met and decided there wouldnt be enough light remaining in the day to finish the tournament, with some groups still needing to finish anywhere from 7-9 holes.

The tourney was washed out and wont count.

I was playing really solid golf, Sadler said. It sucks. I thought we would go back out, but you cant control the weather.

Sadler played solid golf last fall as a junior, leading Liberty to a 17-3 record (5-1 in the county) and a spot in the Class 2A-1A state tournament. He averaged 38.9 per nine holes, the lowest in Carroll all season. He fired a 73 at the 2A-1A District I tournament, and the Lions won it to qualify for states.

He felt good about his chances to win the county tournament he took medalist honors as a sophomore in 2015, playing for North Carroll on a course he describes as good for his iron game.

Then came an 81, 9-over par. Sadler and the Lions finished second to county champion Winters Mill.

It was surprising that day, just to how I had played the whole season before it, Sadler said. And I really like Oakmont. That has kind of driven me since that day. Just focus on putting, because my putting that day was atrocious. It gave me some motivation to work on my putting, and putting is probably my favorite thing to work on now.

Putting helped Sadler throughout the summer, he said, and the effort showed in some of his tournaments. Like the annual Bobby Gorin match-play tourney late last month at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, where Sadler was the 15th seed out of 16 players and reached the semifinals.

He finished tied for third place.

On Friday, Sadler cobbled together his share of pars and had one bogey and one birdie, a two-putt on the par-5 10th hole (Sadlers group started on No. 7) after he reached the green in two. His bogey came on 18, which dropped him to even with six holes remaining.

Today I came in, I really wanted redemption from [the county tournament] last year, Sadler said. I really wanted to put an emphasis on having a good start, and I did that.

Libertys season begins Wednesday with a tri-match against Hereford and Towson at River Downs, the Lions home course. Two days later, they face county rivals Century and South Carroll at Links at Challedon.

Much like he wanted to do Friday, Sadler said a hot start to the season should keep Liberty in contention for the county championship.

Coach [Paul] Bangle has really put an emphasis on just trying to have fun this year, Sadler said. Hes such a great coach for that. He lets us have fun out at practice, at the same time still putting in hard work and trying to shoot good scores. But Im looking forward to my senior season.

I have goals for myself that I want to achieve, and I also, at the same time, want to have fun.

pat.stoetzer@carrollcountytimes.com

410-857-7894

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Golf: Liberty's Sadler seeking 'redemption' this fall - Carroll County Times

Staley tops Liberty North to start out season – Kansas City Star

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

Kansas City Star

Staley tops Liberty North to start out season
Kansas City Star
It took Liberty North all of two plays and 16 seconds to blow the lid off of its sparkling new football stadium with a quick-strike touchdown drive. It was a haymaker, but Staley didn't blink. The Falcons responded by scoring four straight touchdowns ...

Police search for Jeep Liberty involved in deadly hit-and-run – Sun Sentinel

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

Authorities believe the vehicle that hit and killed a 56-year-old man and fled the Lauderdale Lakes scene was a Jeep Liberty.

It was likely a 2002 through 2007 model and should have front-end damage, said Keyla Concepcion, a spokeswoman for the Broward Sheriffs Office.

Anthony Presley was trying to cross West Oakland Park Boulevard in the middle of the 3400 block when he was hit about 1 a.m. Sunday, she said.

Presley had no known address, Concepcion said.

The vehicle was heading west in the far-left lane when it hit Presley, who was walking southbound, she said.

The vehicle would have damage to the bumper and headlight on the drivers side and possibly the hood.

Investigators urge anyone with information about the fatal hit-and-run to contact Detective Michael Kelliher at 954-321-4845. Anonymous tips can be made to Broward Crimestoppers at 954-493-8477 or online at http://www.browardcrimestoppers.org.

Tips that lead to an arrest are eligible for a reward of up to $3,000.

tealanez@sun-sentinel.com, 954-356-4542 or Twitter @talanez

Meet West Liberty Schools’ new superintendent – Muscatine Journal

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

WEST LIBERTY Incoming West Liberty Superintendent Joseph Potts has an unusual career arc, starting in higher education and spanning K-12 education in several states.

But after his years away, the Dubuque native wanted to return to his home state. On Aug. 1, he replaced outgoing superintendent Steve Hanson, who retired after six years in the district and 40 years in education.

In an interview Friday, Potts said his career has almost always involved diverse student bodies, an experience that would serve him well as he guides the 1,400-student school district the most diverse district in the area. West Liberty was the first town in the state of Iowa to achieve a majority Latino population, 52 percent according to the 2010 Census, and the district reflects that.

Potts most recently served as principal of Kentlake High School in Kent, Washington, a diverse district in its own right. Its students speak a collective 138 languages.

Potts said he chose to go into education because he enjoys people.

The happiest times I have ever experienced in my career that I can really work and help people, students, teachers, administrators, he said. If I can be of service to people, I feel that I am doing what I should do.

But a people person can go anywhere and choose almost any career path, from Human Resources to Ministry. Potts credits his career choice to his family both his parents and his grandmother were educators.

Both his mom and grandmother taught in a one-room schoolhouse, where the teachers were the school and eight grade levels learned together as one.

Back then, teachers wore all hats. They taught and disciplined, effectively serving as teacher and principal. At one point, according to the Iowa State Historical Society, almost 14,000 such schools operated, but most of them were closed in the 1960s when new laws mandated the creation of school districts.

My mom talks about her last class in that one-room schoolhouse and she talks about how she had the honor of teaching so many really high performing professionals attorneys, doctors and so on, he said.

In essence, Potts family encompasses the shifts in Iowas education culture. A culture now marked by assessments, specialized roles such as instructional coaches and para-educators and a push toward evidence-based teaching practices. Potts said most of these changes have been positive.

Were really learning how kids learn and how to teach better so that a diversity of children can succeed, he said. So most of it is really focusing our attention on practices and innovations and interventions that actually makes a difference and help kids.

State standards, for example, he said, are a good way of creating consistency between school districts, unifying the quality of education. But technology, while helpful in some applications, can create distractions in the classroom.

Potts said he has been familiarizing himself with the district since hes come on board a couple of weeks ago. The real work will begin next week when students return from their summer vacation. Some of the things the district will have to face in the coming years, he said, are facility upgrades and upkeep and a happy problem unlike many districts in the area, who are struggling with declining enrollment, the West Liberty School District projects that its enrollment will increase by about 100 students.

With it, Potts said, the district may face some challenges in accommodating the students, though Potts stresses that the district is perfectly capable of handling the influx of students at the moment.

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Meet West Liberty Schools' new superintendent - Muscatine Journal

Historians compile book on Liberty County churches – Chron.com

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

Community Report, cadvocate@hcnonline.com

The Liberty County Historical Commission recently completed a book on the countys historic churches. The books are being sold for $8 per copy.

Historians compile book on Liberty County churches

After a year of compiling, writing and editing, the Liberty County Historical Commission is nearly ready to begin selling its new book titled "Historic Churches of Liberty County." Beginning Sept. 10, the book will be offered for $8 per copy.

An event to sell the books will be held on Sept. 10, 1 to 3 p.m, at the A.J. "Jack" Hartel Building, 318 San Jacinto St., Liberty. Anyone wanting to buy a copy is encouraged to attend. Copies also will be donated to all public libraries in the county.

According to a statement from the historical commission, churches in Liberty County that are over 50 years old are included. The Commission asked all churches that qualified as "historic" to submit any printed or oral histories along with any early photographs for inclusion in this book. An LCHC committee was formed to gather these materials, edit and compile this book.

"Much to our amazement, there were numerous churches in our county which had been continuously active for more than 150 years, some more than 175 years. Early churches were the backbone of most communities, particularly in rural areas and often the first structure built even before permanent homes," the statement reads. "Many times, families fathered together in a newly formed community under temporary structures known as 'brush arbors.' These coverings were roughly constructed from trees, vines and twigs to protect worshipers from inclement weather. Social interaction among neighbors and families was centered around the community church."

These early churches in Liberty County included many denominations: Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Episcopalian, Lutheran and others. These histories tell stories of the early settlers in our county and the struggles of black churches after emancipation.

"The Liberty County Historical Commission feels it is our duty and obligation to preserve and safeguard the history of our county for future generations. In publishing 'Historic Churches of Liberty County, Texas,' we hope we have achieved the goal of preserving the rich heritage of this very important part of our history," the statement reads.

For more information, call LCHC Chair Linda Jamison at 936-334-5813 or email lchc318@gmail.com.

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Historians compile book on Liberty County churches - Chron.com

A Libertarian changed his mind about using a Seattle bike share – MyNorthwest.com

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

LISTEN: How John Curley changed his mind about Seattle bike shares

Hey, check out my bike! (John Curley, KIRO Radio)

John Curley has been critical of any bike share in Seattle. So how is it possible that he could change his mind about something he has called socialist in the past?

Then I realized that Im supporting private enterprise, Curley said. The other one (Pronto!) I was forced to participate in it by having my tax dollars support it. I wasnt given a choice whether or not I wanted to get on the bike. The government just said, Hey, we think this is a good idea. We are going to pour money into this failure.

RELATED: 3 days commuting via a Seattle bike share

Seattles previous failed bike share, Pronto!, was largely publicly funded. The city even bought it out for $1.4 million before shutting it down. But the bike share companies currently setting up shop in Seattle are quite different than the Pronto system. First of all, as Curley points out, they are private companies competing to become Seattles main bike share (SDOT will make some money off of them, however). They also dont use stations. You drop them off wherever you are.

In Curleys case, he picked up a Limebike from Eastlake near the KIRO Radio studios and rode it down to Safeco Field to watch a Mariners game avoiding traffic and parking.

I got there in plenty of time; soon enough to see the first batter, get the second pitch and hit a home run against the Ms, Curley said.

Overall, it was terrific, he said. One dollar was all I got charged. It was fast, easy, and efficient. I didnt wear a helmet; made you feel a little bit like an outlaw, especially as I rode past a bunch of cops without a helmet.

RELATED: Seattle enforcing bike helmet law less and less

While he found it convenient and cheap to use, there are some drawbacks.

I will do it again in the future, but you will never win the Tour de France on one of these things, Curley said. They are clunky and slow. At first, I felt really embarrassed to be on it. Because you got the big basket and you look like the Wicked Witch of the West. Its just not something you want to see yourself on. I passed by a plate glass window and watched myself on it not the best look.

A Libertarian changed his mind about using a Seattle bike share - MyNorthwest.com

Christopher Cantwell, white nationalist in Va. protest, sought to run for Congress – Newsday

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

A self-professed white nationalist featured in a video about protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend has been identified by Suffolk County political figures as a man who once tried to run for Congress in the 1st District on the East End.

Christopher Cantwell, 36, announced as a Libertarian Party candidate in 2009 but failed to collect enough signatures to get on the ballot, according to his website and Republican, Democratic and Libertarian political operatives.

In a video documentary from Vice News that was viewed by millions of people, Cantwell brags about his capacity for violence and he and others chant anti-Semitic slogans as they march with torches to a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Facebook banned Cantwell, and YouTube removed his videos on Wednesday for violating their policies on hate speech.

As recently as 2014, Cantwell was a featured speaker at the Suffolk County Libertarian Partys annual fundraiser at a Babylon restaurant, according to Suffolk Libertarian Party chairman Michael McDermott. There was no indication of hatred or violence on Cantwells part, McDermott said.

Cantwell attended Ward Melville High School and court records show he had multiple arrests in Suffolk County and served time in jail.

Cantwell told Hatewatch, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit whose mission is to fight extremism, that he grew up in Stony Brook and lives in Keene, New Hampshire.

The center describes him as an unapologetic fascist who uses his call-in Internet show and website to argue for a state free of African-Americans, Jews and nonwhite immigrants, save, perhaps for the occasional exception.

In a separate video posted Wednesday, Cantwell wipes away tears and says hes facing an arrest warrant and is terrified of being killed. He says he did not provoke any of the violence in Charlottesville. In a post on his Web page Thursday, Cantwell says hes preparing to turn himself in to police in Virginia.

Cantwell did not respond to requests left on his cellphone, in text messages and through his website seeking comment.

Long Island political operatives said they recognized Cantwell from videos of the Charlottesville march.

Cantwell became involved in Suffolk politics in 2009, local political figures said.

I remember him being a passionate libertarian, said Kevin Tschirhart, a political consultant who worked for Republican congressional candidate George Demos at the time.

This is just very surprising, and frankly very sad that someone would fall into this sick type of thinking, Tschirhart said of Cantwell. He said he has not had contact with Cantwell since the campaign.

McDermott, the Suffolk Libertarian Party chairman, described Cantwells 2014 speech to the annual fundraiser in Babylon as very calm and normal.

It was a warm and tender speech that came from the heart, he said.

McDermott said he has followed Cantwells progression toward racism and fascism through Facebook. Now I cant even listen, its so obscene, McDermott said.

In a 2014 posting on his website of his prepared remarks for the 2014 speech, Cantwell said a DWI arrest in 2009 caused him to lose his job and nearly bankrupted him. He said he contemplated violence against the police officers and the government.

Gary L. Donoyan, a Nassau Libertarian who Cantwell has said managed his congressional campaign, said he helped Cantwell only briefly.

I did not know that he is a racist or a fascist, as he himself calls himself, said Donoyan, who recognized Cantwell from current pictures. Thats a shock to me, and Im very disappointed.

Donoyan, an attorney, said he last spoke with Cantwell about a year ago when Cantwell called him with a business issue. Donoyan said he told him he couldnt help him.

Cantwell in 2000 pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and driving while intoxicated. Cantwell told the Southern Poverty Law Center he served four months in jail before being released.

The issue of his criminal record was raised by his opponents in his attempted run for Congress, in particular because he had faced another DWI charge after a March 2009 arrest by East Hampton Town police, according to Tom Stevens, a Mineola-based attorney and libertarian activist. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail, according to Suffolk County court records.

During his try for Congress, Cantwell listed a Stony Brook address, and his mother as his campaign treasurer on Federal Election Commission documents.

A man at the Stony Brook house, who confirmed he was Mr. Cantwell, said Wednesday he did not know a Christopher Cantwell.

Shown pictures of Cantwell from the Charlottesville rally, two neighbors in Stony Brook confirmed that it was Christopher Cantwell who had lived there years before. They declined to give their names.

Excerpt from:

Christopher Cantwell, white nationalist in Va. protest, sought to run for Congress - Newsday

Calvary shuts out Islands in Stroud’s return – Savannah Morning News

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

Mark Stroud coached Calvary Day to many memorable wins in his first stint at the school.

The 2013 Class A Private state semifinals game, for instance.

The Cavaliers 20-0 victory Friday over Islands in Strouds return wont rank among the unforgettable. Yet for the coach, who spent last season leading his alma mater Swainsboro High only to come back to Savannah this summer, the win will stick with him a while.

Its just great to be back and to jump back in, said Stroud, who went 67-25 in eight previous seasons at Calvary. As for the game, we have to get better. The team. The coaches. Me. All of us.

Errors on both sides marred the season opener. The two teams combined for more than two dozen negative yardage plays and 14 penalties, while Islands committed two turnovers and lost a muffed punt.

The play was particularly uneven early. Calvary netted just six yards in the first quarter and 56 yards in the half, with just one drive of more than 20 yards. The Cavaliers lone first half score came on Alan Gibbs 32-yard field goal as the halftime horn sounded.

As for Islands (0-1), a solid game-opening drive ended in a lost fumble on Calvarys 20-yard line, and the offense never recovered. Heat and thunderstorms have limited the Sharks practice opportunities this month, and against an established team with a veteran defense Calvary returns seven starters from last years 10-1 team an out-of-synch offense sunk Islands chances.

Given the circumstances, its quite a challenge to get an offense to click, third-year coach Robert Zoller said. The strength of their defense is on the defensive line, and we thought we could do some things on the perimeter. We just couldnt do it consistently.

Calvarys halfback tandem of Jalen Leary and Jaydon Grant did their running damage between the tackles and kept the M.C. Anderson Field crowds attention. Leary ran for 112 yards, including 97 in the first half, while Grant added 70 yards and a touchdown.

Islands was led by sophomore quarterback James Shellman, who completed 8 of 15 passes for 66 yards.

IS|0|0|0|0||0

CD|0|3|14|3||20

CDAlan Gibbs 32 FG

CDJaydon Grant 11 run (Gibbs kick)

CDVince Grassi 1 run (Gibbs kick)

CDGibbs 36 FG

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Calvary shuts out Islands in Stroud's return - Savannah Morning News

Tropical Storm Harvey slams Caribbean islands, heads for Central America – USA TODAY

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

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Tropical Storm Harvey is forecast to cross the Caribbean Sea over the next several days.(Photo: National Hurricane Center)

Tropical Storm Harvey brought drenching rain and strong winds to several islands in the eastern Caribbean on Friday, the National Hurricane Center said.

Authorities in the eastern Caribbean warned residents to stay indoors Friday, the Associated Press reported.

The heavy rain "could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," the hurricane center warned.

Harvey should continue to move west across the Caribbean Sea and hitCentral America next week. It's forecast to strengthen to near hurricane-force by Monday as it approaches Nicaragua, Honduras and Belize.

In addition to rain and wind, the storm will also threaten storm surge and coastal flooding as it approaches and makes landfall.

As of 5 p.m. ET, the hurricane center said Harvey had winds of up to 40 mph and was moving west at 21 mph. The stormwas centered about 130 miles west-southwestof St. Lucia.

Two other areas are being watched in the central Atlantic for possible development, the hurricane center said.

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Tropical Storm Harvey slams Caribbean islands, heads for Central America - USA TODAY

Anambas Islands to finish airport expansion in September – Jakarta Post

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

The Anambas Islandsin Riau Islands province is set to finish the expansion of its only commercial airport, Letung Airport on Jemaja Island, in September.

The airport's runway will be extendedto 1,430 meters from 1,200 metersas part of an effort to boosttourism.

Letung air transportation head Ariadi Widiawan said on Friday that with the completion of the overhaul, the airport would be able to welcome more small-sized aircraft, such as the ATR 72, a twin-engine turboprop airliner.

"We plan to open flights from Letung to Batam and from Letung to Ranai [in Natuna Islands]," he said.

Read also: Things to do while holidaying on the Anambas Islands

At present, private carrier Susi Air is the only airline that flies from Letung to Tanjung Pinang, the capital ofRiau Islands, once a week, carrying a maximum of 15 passengers.

Other flights are run by chartered airliners that typically serve tourists from overseas.

In addition to Letung Airport, the Anambas Islandsalso has a special airport,Matak Airport on Palmatak Island. It isoperated by oil and gas firm PT Medco E&P. The airport supports operational activities of Medco, local firm Star Energy Group Holdings and British oil firm Premier Oil.

With additional flights, the local government hopes to drawmoretourists to the region, Ariadi said.

Itwas also seekingto improve ferry services connecting Jemaja withother islands, he added.

Poor infrastructure has affected tourism in the Anambas Islands, which comprise 255 islands that arefamous for its beautiful lagoons and pristine coral reefs.

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Anambas Islands to finish airport expansion in September - Jakarta Post

DNR Ending Lake Trout Season Early In Apostle Islands Region – Wisconsin Public Radio News

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

Wisconsin Public Radio News

DNR Ending Lake Trout Season Early In Apostle Islands Region
Wisconsin Public Radio News
Some sports fishermen on Lake Superior won't be able to hook another lake trout after this weekend. The season is ending early around the Apostle Islands region because anglers have already reached their quota of 9,800 fish. The Wisconsin Department of ...

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DNR Ending Lake Trout Season Early In Apostle Islands Region - Wisconsin Public Radio News

Love Island’s Georgia Harrison announces she’s SPLIT from Sam Gowland as she says one girl wasn’t enough for him – Mirror.co.uk

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

Georgia Harrison has announced she's split from her Love Island boyfriend Sam Gowland - and said that one girl wasn't enough for him.

The pair met on the ITV2 dating show and stayed together after being dumped from the island.

However, they've since taken to Twitter to announce that they're no longer together.

Georgia told her followers: "Would like to confirm that myself and sam are no longer together. Unfortunately for some men one girl isn't always enough."

She completed the post with a string of girl emojis surrounding a boy emoji.

Georgia's fans drew the conclusion that he had cheated on her and rushed to offer her support.

One said: "More fool him! He was punching above his weight anyway!"

Another wrote: "Hope that you're okay girl, you are beautiful and deserve so much better"

But Georgia later clarified that Sam hadn't been unfaithful to her.

She added: "I'm not saying @SamGowland123 cheated ... that's not the case our relationship pretty much broke down a couple of weeks ago now

"But following on from his social media posts last night I felt it's best to announce we are both single."

He took to his own account to spread the news.

He wrote: "I can confirm that me and georgia aren't together anymore, we haven't been for a while now! Wish her all the best in the future x"

He later added: "Just to clarify ! Still mates now, wish her all the best x"

Solomon Islands undersea cable red-flagged by Australia’s spy agencies dogged by donation allegations – The Sydney Morning Herald

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

The undersea cable project was supposed to bring reliable internet to the Solomon Islands, the small Pacific nation where Australian military and police forces have been helping keep political stability since 2004.

The project, which was to connect the Solomons to Sydney via a 4500-kilometre fibre optic cable, had the backing of the Asian Development Bank and a favoured contractor in a British-American company. It even had the nod from the Australian government to land the cable in Sydney.

But then last year, abruptly and allegedly without proper processes, the Solomons government switched to a subsidiary of the Chinese firm Huawei, which was banned from involvement in Australia's national broadband network on security grounds on the advice of ASIO.

Since then, allegations have surfaced of a $6.5 million political donation paid by Huawei to the ruling party in Honiara. Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare visited Canberra this week and discussed the matter with his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull.

Mr Sogavare said afterwards that "the security issue was expressed to us" but added "we continue to have discussions with the Australian government to see how we can solve that" and expressed confidence there was a way through the issue.

In a separate statement, Mr Sogavare said he was "considering all available options" which could point either to ditching Huawei as a contractor or connecting to another hub such as Fiji or Papua New Guinea.

Officially, Australia will assess any landing permit for the cable under the new arrangement with Huawei Marine a joint venture between Huawei and British firm Global Marine Systems.

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But multiple sources have indicated to Fairfax Media that Huawei plugging into Australia's telecommunications infrastructure backbone presents a fundamental security issue. And experts have said beyond the fear that Beijing is trying to find a new way into Australia's infrastructure is the broader concern around growing Chinese influence in the Pacific region, including through telecommunications projects that don't follow recognised rules of transparency.

Nick Warner, the head of the intelligence agency ASIS, warned Mr Sogavare of Australia's concern during a visit to capital Honiara in June.

Huawei is a commercial company but has remained under a cloud because of its possible links to the Chinese government. The US Congress found five years ago that Huawei "cannot be trusted to be free of foreign state influence and thus pose a security threat to the United States and to our systems".

Huawei Australia's director of corporate affairs Jeremy Mitchell said in response to detailed questions sent by Fairfax Media that "Huawei won an open tender with the best product and the best team to deliver the project".

He added that the firm was a leading telecom provider in the world and "has and will always comply with local laws and regulations".

But a spokeswoman for the Asian Development Bank said it was forced to withdraw approval for a $23 million loan nearly a third of the total cost of the project because "the Huawei contract was developed outside of ADB procurements processes". She said the bank received no information about who the other bidders were and "on that basis, ADB could no longer be involved and therefore cancelled the project in May 2016".

The Solomons Parliament's public accounts committee meanwhile has produced a report provided to Fairfax Media noting allegations that "Huawei Technologies ... had promised the Prime Minister a political donation of $40 million [$A6.5 million] for the award of the contract".

"If true, this is a corrupt and criminal offence and the committee calls on the [Royal Solomon Islands Police] to conduct an urgent investigation into this," the report said.

"The committee is of the view that this is the main reason for the government to bypass procurement requirements in favour of the company Huawei."

The head of that cross-party committee, Rick Houenipwela, is a respected MP and opposition finance spokesman who has previously been the country's central bank governor and a senior official at the World Bank.

"It's a very frustrating situation," he said. "We've raised those concerns and we still have those concerns ... Why did the government take the stand to just select Huawei and not do a normal tender?"

Allegations of the political donation have been circulating for some months in Honiara and have appeared in local news reports. Mr Sogavare has made the counter-claim that the political donation was actually paid to Sir Thomas Chan, the ethnic Chinese businessman who is chairman of Mr Sogavare's United Democratic Party.

Mr Chan has described those claims as "an absolute lie". He did not return repeated phone calls last week.

Fairfax Media sent written questions to Mr Sogavare's office more than a week ago but as of Saturday had not received answers.

Fairfax Media asked the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force a week ago whether they were investigating the claims. On Friday a spokesman replied to Fairfax Media asking for a copy of Mr Houenipwela's committee's report.

A spokesman for the Attorney-General's Department said the Solomon Islands Submarine Cable Company had not applied for a submarine cable installation permit.

Any application would be "considered on its merits" and the department would consider "matters of international law, native title and national security", he said.

Experts said Australia was right to have security concerns around critical infrastructure

Huawei is involved in Australian communications in various ways, but involvement in backbone infrastructure is regarded as a more significant security risk.

Peter Jennings, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said plugging it would be a "high priority" for China, allowing bulk collection of data on the cable itself but also potentially allowing "one more vector" for sabotage in a security crisis.

"They'd be looking at a way of getting any backdoor into Australia's infrastructure and systems," he said.

He added that China was more broadly aiming to weaken Australian and American relationships in the Pacific region and increase its own influence there including through infrastructure development.

Chinese telco firms have substantial involvement elsewhere in the region. Huawei Marine is also laying a 5500-kilometre undersea cable network to service Papua New Guinea and connect it internationally via Indonesia.

The Australian Financial Review reported in 2012 that the federal government was investigating Huawei Marine over its involvement in a planned undersea cable between Perth and Singapore. That project did not go ahead.

Rory Medcalf, head of the Australian National University's National Security College, said China's growing activity in the Pacific should concern Australia though Canberra should maintain a balanced view of it.

He said China's willingness to offer help but "with strings attached" could create political dependence on Beijing that could "dilute our ability to exert constructive influence on South Pacific countries".

Jonathan Pryke from the Lowy Institute said it was "absolutely right" to raise concerns about the project, especially given the way Huawei had won the contract.

"It's completely legitimate for us to be raising concerns with the leadership of the Solomon Islands especially given the strong partnership and the strong commitment we have to see them develop," he said.

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Solomon Islands undersea cable red-flagged by Australia's spy agencies dogged by donation allegations - The Sydney Morning Herald

Pacu Jalur Festival to enliven Riau Islands – Jakarta Post

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

Riau Islands is set to host a rowing competition called Pacu Jalur Festival from Aug. 23 to 26 at Tepian Narosa Teluk Kuantan, Kuantan regency.

Pacu Jalur Festival isnt just a competition, its also a cultural pride of the people of Riau Islands province, especially those who live in Kuantan Singingi. Its a rowing competition on a river using long wooden boats; a combination of sports and art, said Kuantan Singigi Regent H. Mursini.

Prior to the festival, smaller rowing events were held in four districts from July 6 to 29, followed by a traditional mini route held at Tepian Narosa Teluk Kuantan from Aug. 19 to 21.

One boat can accommodate between 50 to 60 rowers who are aged between 15 to 40 years old. Each of them has a role to play in the team, one acts as the commander and another acts as the helmsman. Theres also member of the team who is in charge of synchronizing the others movement.

This competition adopts the knockout system, meaning that losing teams are not allowed to compete again.

The race begins after the sound of a cannon explosion is heard. Such is used because it creates a louder sound than a whistle. (kes)

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Pacu Jalur Festival to enliven Riau Islands - Jakarta Post

Will Gene Editing Allow Us to Rid the World of Diseases? – Healthline

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

Scientists recently used a gene-editing tool to fix a mutation in a human embryo. Around the world, researchers are chasing cures for other genetic diseases.

Now that the gene-editing genie is out of the bottle, what would you wish for first?

Babies with perfect eyes, over-the-top intelligence, and a touch of movie star charisma?

Or a world free of disease not just for your family, but for every family in the world?

Based on recent events, many scientists are working toward the latter.

Earlier this month, scientists from the Oregon Health & Science University used a gene editing tool to correct a disease-causing mutation in an embryo.

The technique, known as CRISPR-Cas9, fixed the mutation in the embryos nuclear DNA that causes hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a common heart condition that can lead to heart failure or cardiac death.

This is the first time that this gene-editing tool has been tested on clinical-quality human eggs.

Had one of these embryos been implanted into a womans uterus and allowed to fully develop, the baby would have been free of the disease-causing variation of the gene.

This type of beneficial change would also have been passed down to future generations.

None of the embryos in this study were implanted or allowed to develop. But the success of the experiment offers a glimpse at the potential of CRISPR-Cas9.

Still, will we ever be able to gene-edit our world free of disease?

According to the Genetic Disease Foundation, there are more than 6,000 human genetic disorders.

Scientists could theoretically use CRISPR-Cas9 to correct any of these diseases in an embryo.

To do this, they would need an appropriate piece of RNA to target corresponding stretches of genetic material.

The Cas9 enzyme cuts DNA at that spot, which allows scientists to delete, repair, or replace a specific gene.

Some genetic diseases, though, may be easier to treat with this method than others.

Most people are focusing, at least initially, on diseases where there really is only one gene involved or a limited number of genes and theyre really well understood, Megan Hochstrasser, PhD, science communications manager at the Innovative Genomics Institute in California, told Healthline.

Diseases caused by a mutation in a single gene include sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, and Tay-Sachs disease. These affect millions of people worldwide.

These types of diseases, though, are far outnumbered by diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, which kill millions of people across the globe each year.

Genetics along with environmental factors also contribute to obesity, mental illness, and Alzheimers disease, although scientists are still working on understanding exactly how.

Right now, most CRISPR-Cas9 research focuses on simpler diseases.

There are a lot of things that have to be worked out with the technology for it to get to the place where we could ever apply it to one of those polygenic diseases, where multiple genes contribute or one gene has multiple effects, said Hochstrasser.

Although designer babies gain a lot of media attention, much CRISPR-Cas9 research is focused elsewhere.

Most people who are working on this are not working in human embryos, said Hochstrasser. Theyre trying to figure out how we can develop treatments for people that already have diseases.

These types of treatments would benefit children and adults who are already living with a genetic disease, as well as people who develop cancer.

This approach may also help the 25 million to 30 million Americans who have one of the more than 6,800 rare diseases.

Gene editing is a really powerful option for people with rare disease, said Hochstrasser. You could theoretically do a phase I clinical trial with all the people in the world that have a certain [rare] condition and cure them all if it worked.

Rare diseases affect fewer than 200,000 people in the United States at any given time, which means there is less incentive for pharmaceutical companies to develop treatments.

These less-common diseases include cystic fibrosis, Huntingtons disease, muscular dystrophies, and certain types of cancer.

Last year researchers at the University of California Berkeley made progress in developing an ex vivo therapy where you take cells out of a person, modify them, and put them back into the body.

This treatment was for sickle cell disease. In this condition, a genetic mutation causes hemoglobin molecules to stick together, which deforms red blood cells. This can lead to blockages in the blood vessels, anemia, pain, and organ failure.

Researchers used CRISPR-Cas9 to genetically engineer stem cells to fix the sickle cell disease mutation. They then injected these cells into mice.

The stem cells migrated to the bone marrow and developed into healthy red blood cells. Four months later, these cells could still be found in the mices blood.

This is not a cure for the disease, because the body would continue to make red blood cells that have the sickle cell disease mutation.

But researchers think that if enough healthy stem cells take root in the bone marrow, it could reduce the severity of disease symptoms.

More work is needed before researchers can test this treatment in people.

A group of Chinese researchers used a similar technique last year to treat people with an aggressive form of lung cancer the first clinical trial of its kind.

In this trial, researchers modified patients immune cells to disable a gene that is involved in stopping the cells immune response.

Researchers hope that, once injected into the body, the genetically edited immune cells will mount a stronger attack against the cancer cells.

These types of therapies might also work for other blood diseases, cancers, or immune problems.

But certain diseases will be more challenging to treat this way.

If you have a disorder of the brain, for example, you cant remove someones brain, do gene editing and then put it back in, said Hochstrasser. So we have to figure out how to get these reagents to the places they need to be in the body.

Not every human disease is caused by mutations in our genome.

Vector-borne diseases like malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, and sleeping sickness kill more than 1 million people worldwide each year.

Many of these diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes, but also by ticks, flies, fleas, and freshwater snails.

Scientists are working on ways to use gene editing to reduce the toll of these diseases on the health of people around the world.

We could potentially get rid of malaria by engineering mosquitoes that cant transmit the parasite that causes malaria, said Hochstrasser. We could do this using the CRISPR-Cas9 technique to push this trait through the entire mosquito population very quickly.

Researchers are also using CRISPR-Cas9 to create designer foods.

DuPont recently used gene editing to produce a new variety of waxy corn that contains higher amounts of starch, which has uses in food and industry.

Modified crops may also help reduce deaths due to malnutrition, which is responsible for nearly half of all deaths worldwide in children under 5.

Scientists could potentially use CRISPR-Cas9 to create new varieties of food that are pest-resistant, drought-resistant, or contain more micronutrients.

One benefit of CRISPR-Cas9, compared to traditional plant breeding methods, is that it allows scientists to insert a single gene from a related wild plant into a domesticated variety, without other unwanted traits.

Gene editing in agriculture may also move more quickly than research in people because there is no need for years of lab, animal, and human clinical trials.

Even though plants grow pretty slowly, said Hochstrasser, it really is quicker to get [genetically engineered plants] out into the world than doing a clinical trial in people.

Safety and ethical concerns

CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful tool, but it also raises several concerns.

Theres a lot of discussion right now about how best to detect so-called off-target effects, said Hochstrasser. This is what happens when the [Cas9] protein cuts somewhere similar to where you want it to cut.

Off-target cuts could lead to unexpected genetic problems that cause an embryo to die. An edit in the wrong gene could also create an entirely new genetic disease that would be passed onto future generations.

Even using CRISPR-Cas9 to modify mosquitoes and other insects raises safety concerns like what happens when you make large-scale changes to an ecosystem or a trait in a population that gets out of control.

There are also many ethical issues that come with modifying human embryos.

So will CRISPR-Cas9 help rid the world of disease?

Theres no doubt that it will make a sizeable dent in many diseases, but its unlikely to cure all of them any time soon.

We already have tools for avoiding genetic diseases like early genetic screening of fetuses and embryos but these are not universally used.

We still dont avoid tons of genetic diseases, because a lot of people dont know that they harbor mutations that can be inherited, said Hochstrasser.

Some genetic mutations also happen spontaneously. This is the case with many cancers that result from environmental factors such as UV rays, tobacco smoke, and certain chemicals.

People also make choices that increase their risk of heart disease, stroke, obesity, and diabetes.

So unless scientists can use CRISPR-Cas9 to find treatments for these lifestyle diseases or genetically engineer people to stop smoking and start biking to work these diseases will linger in human society.

Things like that are always going to need to be treated, said Hochstrasser. I dont think its realistic to think we would ever prevent every disease from happening in a human.

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Will Gene Editing Allow Us to Rid the World of Diseases? - Healthline

Bacteria May Rig Their DNA to Speed Up Evolution – WIRED

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

In 1944, a Columbia University doctoral student in genetics named Evelyn Witkin made a fortuitous mistake. During her first experiment in a laboratory at Cold Spring Harbor, in New York, she accidentally irradiated millions of E. coli with a lethal dose of ultraviolet light. When she returned the following day to check on the samples, they were all deadexcept for one, in which four bacterial cells had survived and continued to grow. Somehow, those cells were resistant to UV radiation. To Witkin, it seemed like a remarkably lucky coincidence that any cells in the culture had emerged with precisely the mutation they needed to surviveso much so that she questioned whether it was a coincidence at all.

Original story reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent publication of the Simons Foundation whose mission is to enhance public understanding of science by covering research developments and trends in mathematics and the physical and life sciences.

For the next two decades, Witkin sought to understand how and why these mutants had emerged. Her research led her to what is now known as the SOS response, a DNA repair mechanism that bacteria employ when their genomes are damaged, during which dozens of genes become active and the rate of mutation goes up. Those extra mutations are more often detrimental than beneficial, but they enable adaptations, such as the development of resistance to UV or antibiotics.

The question that has tormented some evolutionary biologists ever since is whether nature favored this arrangement. Is the upsurge in mutations merely a secondary consequence of a repair process inherently prone to error? Or, as some researchers claim, is the increase in the mutation rate itself an evolved adaptation, one that helps bacteria evolve advantageous traits more quickly in stressful environments?

The scientific challenge has not just been to demonstrate convincingly that harsh environments cause nonrandom mutations. It has also been to find a plausible mechanism consistent with the rest of molecular biology that could make lucky mutations more likely. Waves of studies in bacteria and more complex organisms have sought those answers for decades.

The latest and perhaps best answerfor explaining some kinds of mutations, anywayhas emerged from studies of yeast, as reported in June in PLOS Biology . A team led by Jonathan Houseley, a specialist in molecular biology and genetics at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, proposed a mechanism that drives more mutation specifically in regions of the yeast genome where it could be most adaptive.

Its a totally new way that the environment can have an impact on the genome to allow adaptation in response to need. It is one of the most directed processes weve seen yet, said Philip Hastings, professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, who was not involved in the Houseley groups experiments. Other scientists contacted for this story also praised the work, though most cautioned that much about the controversial idea was still speculative and needed more support.

Rather than asking very broad questions like are mutations always random? I wanted to take a more mechanistic approach, Houseley said. He and his colleagues directed their attention to a specific kind of mutation called copy number variation. DNA often contains multiple copies of extended sequences of base pairs or even whole genes. The exact number can vary among individuals because, when cells are duplicating their DNA before cell division, certain mistakes can insert or delete copies of gene sequences. In humans, for instance, 5 to 10 percent of the genome shows copy number variation from person to personand some of these variations have been linked to cancer, diabetes, autism and a host of genetic disorders. Houseley suspected that in at least some cases, this variation in the number of gene copies might be a response to stresses or hazards in the environment.

Jonathan Houseley leads a team that studies genome change at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge. Based on their studies of yeast, they recently proposed a mechanism that would increase the odds for adaptive mutations in genes that are actively responding to environmental challenges.

Jon Houseley/QUANTA MAGAZINE

In 2015, Houseley and his colleagues described a mechanism by which yeast cells seemed to be driving extra copy number variation in genes associated with ribosomes, the parts of a cell that synthesize proteins. However, they did not prove that this increase was a purposefully adaptive response to a change or constraint in the cellular environment. Nevertheless, to them it seemed that the yeast was making more copies of the ribosomal genes when nutrients were abundant and the demand for making protein might be higher.

Houseley therefore decided to test whether similar mechanisms might act on genes more directly activated by hazardous changes in the environment. In their 2017 paper, he and his team focused on CUP1 , a gene that helps yeast resist the toxic effects of environmental copper. They found that when yeast was exposed to copper, the variation in the number of copies of CUP1 in the cells increased. On average, most cells had fewer copies of the gene, but the yeast cells that gained more copiesabout 10 percent of the total population became more resistant to copper and flourished. The small number of cells that did the right thing, Houseley said, were at such an advantage that they were able to outcompete everything else.

But that change did not in itself mean much: If the environmental copper was causing mutations, then the change in CUP1 copy number variation might have been no more than a meaningless consequence of the higher mutation rate. To rule out that possibility, the researchers cleverly re-engineered the CUP1 gene so that it would respond to a harmless, nonmutagenic sugar, galactose, instead of copper. When these altered yeast cells were exposed to galactose, the variation in their number of copies of the gene changed, too.

The cells seemed to be directing greater variation to the exact place in their genome where it would be useful. After more work, the researchers identified elements of the biological mechanism behind this phenomenon. It was already known that when cells replicate their DNA, the replication mechanism sometimes stalls. Usually the mechanism can restart and pick up where it left off. When it cant, the cell can go back to the beginning of the replication process, but in doing so, it sometimes accidentally deletes a gene sequence or makes extra copies of it. That is what causes normal copy number variation. But Houseley and his team made the case that a combination of factors makes these copying errors especially likely to hit genes that are actively responding to environmental stresses, which means that they are more likely to show copy number variation.

The key point is that these effects center on genes responding to the environment, and that they could give natural selection extra opportunities to fine-tune which levels of gene expression might be optimal against certain challenges. The results seem to present experimental evidence that a challenging environment could galvanize cells into controlling those genetic changes that would best improve their fitness. They may also seem reminiscent of the outmoded, pre-Darwinian ideas of the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, who believed that organisms evolved by passing their environmentally acquired characteristics along to their offspring. Houseley maintains, however, that this similarity is only superficial.

What we have defined is a mechanism that has arisen entirely through Darwinian selection of random mutations to give a process that stimulates nonrandom mutations at useful sites, Houseley said. It is not Lamarckian adaptation. It just achieves some of the same ends without the problems involved with Lamarckian adaptation.

Ever since 1943, when the microbiologist Salvador Luria and the biophysicist Max Delbrck showed with Nobel prize-winning experiments that mutations in E. coli occur randomly, observations like the bacterial SOS response have made some biologists wonder whether there might be important loopholes to that rule. For example, in a controversial paper published in Nature in 1988, John Cairns of Harvard and his team found that when they placed bacteria that could not digest the milk sugar lactose in an environment where that sugar was the sole food source, the cells soon evolved the ability to convert the lactose into energy. Cairns argued that this result showed that cells had mechanisms to make certain mutations preferentially when they would be beneficial.

Budding yeast (S. cerevisiae) grow as colonies on this agar plate. If certain recent research is correct, a mechanism that helps to repair DNA damage in these cells may also promote more adaptive mutations, which could help the cells to evolve more quickly under harsh circumstances.

Jon Houseley/QUANTA MAGAZINE

Experimental support for that specific idea eventually proved lacking, but some biologists were inspired to become proponents of a broader theory that has come to be known as adaptive mutation. They believe that even if cells cant direct the precise mutation needed in a certain environment, they can adapt by elevating their mutation rate to promote genetic change.

The work of the Houseley team seems to bolster the case for that position. In the yeast mechanism theres not selection for a mechanism that actually says, This is the gene I should mutate to solve the problem, said Patricia Foster, a biologist at Indiana University. It shows that evolution can get speeded up.

Hastings at Baylor agreed, and praised the fact that Houseleys mechanism explains why the extra mutations dont happen throughout the genome. You need to be transcribing a gene for it to happen, he said.

Adaptive mutation theory, however, finds little acceptance among most biologists, and many of them view the original experiments by Cairns and the new ones by Houseley skeptically. They argue that even if higher mutation rates yield adaptations to environmental stress, proving that the higher mutation rates are themselves an adaptation to stress remains difficult to demonstrate convincingly. The interpretation is intuitively attractive, said John Roth, a geneticist and microbiologist at the University of California, Davis, but I dont think its right. I dont believe any of these examples of stress-induced mutagenesis are correct. There may be some other non-obvious explanation for the phenomenon.

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I think [Houseleys work] is beautiful and relevant to the adaptive mutation debate, said Paul Sniegowski, a biologist at the University of Pennsylvania. But in the end, it still represents a hypothesis. To validate it more certainly, he added, theyd have to test it in the way an evolutionary biologist wouldby creating a theoretical model and determining whether this adaptive mutability could evolve within a reasonable period, and then by challenging populations of organisms in the lab to evolve a mechanism like this.

Notwithstanding the doubters, Houseley and his team are persevering with their research to understand its relevance to cancer and other biomedical problems. The emergence of chemotherapy-resistant cancers is commonplace and forms a major barrier to curing the disease, Houseley said. He thinks that chemotherapy drugs and other stresses on tumors may encourage malignant cells to mutate further, including mutations for resistance to the drugs. If that resistance is facilitated by the kind of mechanism he explored in his work on yeast, it could very well present a new drug target. Cancer patients might be treated both with normal courses of chemotherapy and with agents that would inhibit the biochemical modifications that make resistance mutations possible.

We are actively working on that, Houseley said, but its still in the early days.

Original story reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine , an editorially independent publication of the Simons Foundation whose mission is to enhance public understanding of science by covering research developments and trends in mathematics and the physical and life sciences.

Bacteria May Rig Their DNA to Speed Up Evolution - WIRED

White nationalists see a new enemy in pursuit of ‘racial purity’: Science – CNN

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Danzig

In a recent study, researchers found white nationalists sometimes skew their view of science for their own benefit when a genetic test challenges their personal identity. The study, which is currently under review for publication, was led by Aaron Panofsky, an associate professor at UCLA's Institute for Society and Genetics, and sociologist Joan Donovan.

"White nationalists tend to follow this ideological rule that they have," and when they get scientific results that don't align with that rule, they "find some way to get around it," Panofsky said.

To conduct their study, Panofsky and Donovan analyzed 153 posts where users displayed results of their genetic tests on the white nationalist online forum Stormfront. The posts spanned more than a decade.

Out of the 153 posts, Panofsky said about a third of them were users celebrating "good news," or results that showed they were as "pure" as they thought they were or more "pure" than they thought.

The other two-thirds were either users analyzing "bad news" from their genetic tests, or results that showed they were less "pure" than they thought, or users who posted their results without context.

Stormfront users employed a variety of services to get their genetic results, from Ancestry.com and 23andMe to DNA Solutions. Companies such as Ancestry.com allow customers to request an at-home test for $99 and up, and then send in their DNA, which scientists use to compare with reference panels. Results can be mailed back in up to six weeks.

In a statement, Ancestry.com spokesman Brandon Borrman said the company does not condone people using its services to justify what they see as racial purity.

"We are against any use of our product in an attempt to promote divisiveness or justify twisted ideologies. People looking to use our services to prove they are ethnically 'pure' are going to be deeply disappointed. We encourage them to take their business elsewhere," his statement said.

Most Stormfront users were motivated to do these tests because they are "invested in remaining white," Donovan said. "White nationalists are not acting out of ignorance; they're trying to actively construct a version of an ideological whiteness that depends on science."

Panofsky said users who were given "bad" results either used the genetic tests to rethink the boundaries of whiteness or looked for an explanation as to why the tests were faulty. Sometimes users would repeat tests multiple times to try and get a "more desired" result.

Some users excused the test results by claiming the genetics companies were run by Jewish people, who purportedly skewed results in an attempt to create a multicultural nation, Panofsky said. Others saw the results as a way to expand the boundaries of whiteness and ask what percentage of nonwhite is "acceptable."

"The scientific criticisms were often very sophisticated. You get people who say this is bad news here for our nation, but we need to deal with this and change our definition of white nationalism to take account of this," Panofsky said.

Some users found they were from multiple European cultures, which they used to claim an ideology of multiculturalism without having to accept people of color.

From a white nationalist's point of view, Panofsky said, such results look like diversity within the European population, while they see all nonwhite people as basically the same.

"It's not necessarily changing their minds (about getting away from white nationalism), but they're grappling with it," he added. "You can't rely on people learning more about the truth of human relatedness and genetics to change their minds."

Excerpt from:

White nationalists see a new enemy in pursuit of 'racial purity': Science - CNN

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