Monthly Archives: February 2022

Google Cloud adds new cryptomining threat detection capability – The Record by Recorded Future

Posted: February 9, 2022 at 1:42 am

Google has launched today a new security feature for Google Cloud tenants that is meant to detect and block cryptomining operations that may be taking place behind the owners backs.

NamedVirtual Machine Threat Detection(VMTD), Google said this new feature is an agentless system that continually scans the memory of virtual machines deployed in Google Cloud environments for tell-tale signs of increased CPU or GPU usagespecific to cryptomining operations.

To avoid false-positive detections, the feature has been left disabled by default; however, any customer can enable it for their GCP VMs. They can do this by going to the Settings page of their Security Command Center and looking under the Manage Settings section.

Google said the feature will only work with non-sensitive memory, and VMTD will not process memory from nodes marked as Confidential.

VMTD has begun rolling out today for public preview, so tenants are recommended to enable it for smaller portions of their nodes and keep a close eye on its impact on performance.

Over the next months as we move VMTD towards general availability, you can expect to see a steady release of new detective capabilities and integrations with other parts of Google Cloud, said Timothy Peacock, Product Manager for Google Cloud.

Once the feature reaches general availability and is deemed stable, VMTD will most likely become a must-use security feature.

In areportpublished last year, the Google Cloud team said that after analyzing 50 recently compromised GCP instances, 86% were infected with cryptomining payloads that hijack tenants resources such as the CPU or RAM to mine cryptocurrency for the attacker.

In many cases, these attackers enter customer accounts through one misconfigured system and then expand to entire internal networks, so administrators will most likely have to enable VMTD even for systems that are not directly available via the internet, just to be sure.

Catalin Cimpanu is a cybersecurity reporter for The Record. He previously worked at ZDNet and Bleeping Computer, where he became a well-known name in the industry for his constant scoops on new vulnerabilities, cyberattacks, and law enforcement actions against hackers.

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The Promise of AI in Gene and Cell Therapy Operations – Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

Posted: at 1:42 am

Bill WhitfordLife Sciences Strategic Solutions Leader, DPS Group

There is no longer any doubt that artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing biological discovery and biomanufacturing operations. In biological discovery, AI systems such as AlphaFold and the Atomic Rotationally Equivariant Scorer are celebrated for their uncanny ability to predict tertiary structures for proteins and RNA molecules. In biomanufacturing, AI systems usually enjoy less fanfare. Yet they can provide valuable functions such as pattern recognition, real-time assessment of batch quality, multivariable control for continuous manufacturing, prediction/optimization of critical process parameters, and anomaly detection. Such functions are critical to the success of gene and cell therapy operations.

AI-driven deep learning algorithms are being applied to monitoring and inspection activities that used to be too nuanced for true automation. Machine learning applications can update biomanufacturing processes by drawing on diverse data sources, and multiple AI models can actively interact with equipment or processes to realize the digital twin approach, that is, the digital emulation of physical systems. These systems provide a starting point for a true adaptive strategy.

Systems supported by AI can mimic human cognitive functions, use data from many sources (including historical and remote sources), learn from data of various types (including unstructured and multidimensional data), and accommodate new information (including empirical data) as it becomes available. Efficiency in data handling is increased by observability analyzers that distinguish between data that is valuable and data that is redundant, irrelevant, or corrupt. AI can support in silico modeling (including digital twins) and will soon be applied to varied tasks (Table 1), enabling full automation of adaptive modelbased experimental design in product and process development, as well as closed-loop control of robotic activities in biomanufacturing.

We are already familiar with self-contained devices that perform dedicated tasks with living cells. For example, weve grown to trust microbioreactors that mimic the characteristics of large bioreactors and enable cost-effective experimentation. They are supporting savings in facility space, capital, labor, media, and consumables. Now we are becoming familiar with integrated systems.

Besides replicating human activity, fully automated and integrated systems will deploy machine learningequipped robots that can iterate processes endlessly without fatigue or distraction. Many of these technologies are being applied in the pharmaceutical industry.

Gene and cell therapies reflect a range of technical approaches and production practices. For example, there are in vivo and ex vivo approaches, as well as autologous and allogeneic approaches. Nonetheless, there are commonalities that can be exploited in biomanufacturing operations. Shared opportunities include access to many of the same vectors (including viral vectors). Shared challenges include the inability to terminally sterilize products.

AI-enabled smart manufacturing is now beginning to support gene and cell therapy processing with an advanced digitalized integration of the manufacturing processfrom supply chain management to operations control to final product track and trace. It is also empowering Industry 4.0 technologies such as the internet of things; real-time, integrated big data analytics; automated and cyber-physical systems; and advanced sensing technologies (including soft sensing technologies). Finally, it is supporting the widespread application of digital twins in modeling both equipment and operations.

AI can enhance systems that are common to many gene and cell therapies and that have previously presented challenges in traditional process design and manufacturing operations (Table 1). These challenges include the coordination of track-and-trace operations in patient-distal cell processing, as well as the decontamination of incoming process materials. Yet other challenges are encountered in establishing and maintaining standards for patient-related data with respect to security, privacy, curation, storage, and distribution.

Sensitive personal information such as economic status, location, habits, gender, or race can be deduced from the bio-psycho-social context used while reviewing systems to determine the best conditions for a therapys preparation. When the therapy is a gene or cell therapy, the requirements for tools that would ensure patient privacy and data security are especially (even uniquely) stringent. We are seeing the need for concurrent implementation of AI and machine learningcentric data governance, risk, and compliance protocols, as well as for the expertise and guidance of experienced, security-focused AI experts.

With gene and cell therapies, products and practices are so new, critical process parameters are often poorly understood. Consequently, production processes can evolve even after technology transfer.

Typically, gene and cell therapies must work after just one attempt, that is, after one course of treatment. To ensure that the first attempt is as effective as it can possibly be, producers are under pressure to discover process deviationsor better yet, prevent them.

Individual patients cell samples are diverse with respect to their condition, viability, and drug exposure. This can greatly influence a samples characteristics and performance, requiring greater process monitoring and advanced dynamic control. The expected efficacy, quality, and safety of the theraputic under the gene and cell therapy framework is even harder to achieve, batch after batch, than with small- or large-molecule entities.

Furthermore, similar manufacturing processes applied by operators and biopharma engineers present critical differences depending on the specific vector operation to be applied in each batch or patient. Continued supervision is required to double-check the specificity of the particularities associated with such manufacturing. Therefore, each patient must be linked to a single batch which is manufactured and controlled by means of both singularities (specific targets) and commonalities (universal specifications).

AI-empowered process control can aid in sensing or predicting processing anomalies, correlating current performance to past experiences, and determining what measures might remediate deviating parameters. Orchestration of distributed control with centralized processing of an individuals cells or tissues will impose added processing and logistical burdens. Modern data connectivity and AI algorithms have a unique capability to maintain a real-time and dynamic picture of bio-based events. Because they can model nonlinear functional relationships, they excel at reducing model-process mismatches. Such systems can perform sensor validation, detect faults, and incorporate expertise and results from both bioprocess and control engineering.

The potential of AI in realizing gene and cell therapies is remarkable, and expectations for imminent improvements in biomanufacturing operations are high. The modernization of existing gene and cell therapy equipment and investment in digitalization are the initial steps that our industry must take if it is to followlike other industries have already followedthe path to smart control of manufacturing.

Bill Whitford (william.whitford@dpsgroupglobal.com) is the Life Sciences Strategic Solutions Leader at DPS Group, and Toni Manzano, PhD (toni.manzano@aizon.ai), is a co-founder and the CSO of Aizon.

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The Austrian Google Analytics decision: The race is on – IAPP

Posted: at 1:42 am

Last month, the Austrian data protection authority fired the starting gun by issuing the most impactful post-Schrems II enforcement decision to date.

Privacy professionals are racing to assess, to comply, to enforce, and to find a more workable long-term solution for data transfers.

The many runners in our field will recall, perhaps with some nostalgic butterflies, that a starters pistol can signify three things: 1) the start of the race; 2) a fault and disqualification for one or many; 3) that the finish line is approaching one lap left.

Privacy professionals must now help their CEOs, boards, and the senior-most government officials involved in data transfer talks understand these three possibilities and the potential impacts of each.

If we consider the Austrian decision the start of the race, we must acknowledge its been a long and grueling warm up. For more than 18 months, regulators, policymakers and companies have considered all possibilities to remedy the government access concerns identified by the Court of Justice of the European Union when it invalidated EU-U.S. Privacy Shield July 16, 2020 the impetus for this case and decision and implemented those they could. This could be the start of something much bigger.

Austrias decision is the first of a cascade of likely similar decisions to come and is the first among 101 cases of similar substance that NOYB filed across the EU. In response, the European Data Protection Board established a task force and jointly considered how to address these 101 cases. The Dutch and Danish DPAs issued statements that they are considering the Austrian decision, while rumors flew early that France would issue a decision next. This suggests that the remainder of the decisions could follow a similar logic.

This decision is also the first test of the sufficiency of safeguards to remedy foreign government access concerns in practice in the commercial sector. Between July 2020 and January 2022, DPAs issued guidance on supplementary measures, launched investigations into the adequacy of data transfer protections, and issued decisions focused on the public sector and process failures failure to conduct a transfer impact assessment for instance. They held off on deciding whether those protections met their test in practice outside the public sector and particularly sensitive areas.

Until now.

The 101 NOYB cases are also far from everything. Austrias decision comes amidst a broader ramp up in GDPR enforcement and DPAs displayed willingness to bring cases that demand changes in business practices (the Belgian DPAs recent decision against IAB Europe is a case in point). We know this decision will inspire additional complaints regarding Google Analytics and data transfers more generally. We already saw one such complaint in France. Other major investigations, such as the Irish Data Protection Commissions Facebook case may also result in near-term and impactful decisions.

Whether you are watching from the stands or standing on the track, a disqualifying shot is gutting. It certainly could it be for data flows or the communications and business models that rely on them. The question is who or what is out. That depends on whether:

We see evidence of all three already.

Privacy professionals should brief senior leaders on the increased material risks their businesses face and the need for greater due diligence to demonstrate to EU partners that they have mitigated the risks to data transfers in practice. They should conduct transfer impact assessments and implement and document the supplemental measures recommended by the EDPB where possible. They should also make senior leaders aware that risk will remain until a diplomatic solution is reached a new trans-Atlantic accord and longer-term, more global solutions.

To fully understand how Austrias decision shifts the risk calculus, privacy teams should consider its findings. For an in-depth analysis of the decision, see Gabriela Zanfir-Fortunas recent blog post. For the key takeaways, see below.

In short, the decision implements a broad view of what constitutes a transfer of personal data, a legal-only view of the risk that must be remedied and a narrow view of what qualifies as adequate safeguards to remedy identified deficiencies in foreign government access protections.

Since many business operations require access to data in the clear, the operative question is, who or what could be subject to FISA 702? While the U.S. government has attempted to help businesses address that question, what matters now is how EU authorities answer it. On Jan. 25, the conference of German data protection commissioners published an expert opinion by Stephen Vladeck on the scope of FISA 702 applicability. The questions Vladeck fielded and the answers he offered shed light on the broad swath of companies that face near-term risks of regulatory scrutiny, fines, and lost business if EU businesses fear either and shift to domestic service providers.

German authorities asked about the applicability of FISA 702 to businesses as diverse as banks, airlines, hotels and shipping companies, and Vladeck replied that in some contexts, yes, it could be applicable to each. German authorities also asked about data held by companies in Europe with some U.S. connection, in line with the reasoning in the interim German Wiesbaden decision. Here the answer is more nuanced, but, the line of questioning demonstrates that regulatory scrutiny and business risk is far-reaching.

U.S. and EU negotiators building a replacement for Privacy Shield have been jockeying for more than a year, but, it certainly seems they just heard the one-lap-to-go shot. They now seem to be sprinting toward the finish line.

For businesses and regulators, a diplomatic solution can not come fast enough. The EDPBs recommendations on supplementary measures made clear that businesses could not address the CJEUs and DPAs concerns with U.S. surveillance laws alone. The Austrian decision showed just how limited their practical options have become and how likely that businesses on both sides of the Atlantic will pay the price without a political solution.

The remaining question is how soon they will cross the line and how different the field might look by the time they do.

*All quotes are taken from the machine translation of the Austrian decision, posted on NOYBs website.

Photo by Jacek Dylag on Unsplash

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3.7% of WEF Risk Survey Respondents are Optimistic About the Outlook for the World – Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute

Posted: at 1:42 am

Posted on 02/07/2022

The World Economic Forum (WEF), in partnership with Marsh McLennan, SK Group, and Zurich Insurance Group, released its report titled, The Global Risks Report 2022 17th Edition

The executive summary reads, The Global Risks Report 2022 presents the results of the latest Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS), followed by an analysis of key risks emanating from current economic, societal, environmental and technological tensions.

The question How do you feel about the outlook for the world? 23% were worried, 61.2% concerned, 12.1% positive, and 3.7% were optimistic.

The next question Identify the most severe risks on a global scale over the next 10 years.

Most severe to the least.1. Climate action failure2. Extreme weather3. Biodiversity loss4. Social cohesion erosion5. Livelihood crises6. Infectious diseases7. Human environmental damage8. Natural resource crises9. Debt crises10. Geoeconomic confrontation

World Economic Forum Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS) 2021-2022Dataset: A total of 1,183 responses to the GRPS were received. From these, 959 were kept, using as a threshold at least one non-demographic answer.

Respondents44% Europe15% North America13% East Asia and the Pacific10% Latin America and the Caribbean6% South Asia6% Sub-Saharan Africa

41% Business59% Non-Business

64% Male34% Female

Org Type41% Business17% Academia16% Government10% NGO

LINK: https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Global_Risks_Report_2022.pdf

In the 2021 WEF Risk Report, there is an area on FORESIGHT ON FRONTIER RISKS. The 2021 part was written in collaboration with In collaboration with the Global Future Council on Frontier Risks.

Accidental warAn inter-state skirmish escalates to war as governments fail to control action in the absence of accurate information. Weakened multilateralism leads to failure to contain.

Anarchic uprisingYoung activists, fed up with corruption, inequality and suffering, mobilize against elites. AI-powered social media is exploited to spread disinformation, fomenting social chaos

Brain-machine interface exploitedCompanies, governments or individuals utilize burgeoning mind-reading technology to extract data from individuals for commercial or repressive purposes.

Collapse of an established democracyA democracy turns authoritarian through the progressive hollowing out of the body of law. A legal rather than a violent coup erodes the system, with knock-on effects on other democratic systems.

Geomagnetic disruptionA rapid reversal of the Earths geomagnetic poles generates destabilizing consequences for the biosphere and human activity.

Gene editing for human enhancementGovernments begin classified genetic engineering programmes. A class of people is born with genetic capabilities better suited for space, Arctic, or deep-sea survival, setting off a genetic arms race between geopolitical rivals with undetermined ethical consequences.

Neurochemical controlMalicious use of pharmaceutical neurochemicals aims to control adversaries. Governments begin to use these drugs for non-lethal law enforcement.

Permafrost melt releases ancient microorganismsA warming planet leads to permafrost melt in the Arctic. An ancient virus, unknown in modern science, is released into the air, soil, and water systems.

Deployment of small-scale nuclear weaponsNew technology allows for proliferation of low-yield warheads, blurring deterrence frameworks and leading to global nuclear war.

The views in this 2011 section represent those of the Global Future Council on Frontier Risks and not of the World Economic Forum or its partners.

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10 super promising Swiss startups to watch in 2022 and beyond – EU-Startups

Posted: at 1:42 am

As we enter 2022 with a bang, we created a list of Switzerlands most exciting startups that you definitely need to keep an eye on in 2022! We know that Switzerland is world-renowned for its chocolates, having the highest train station in the world, its banking fame, and so on, but its also home to a growing startup ecosystem.

After intense research and some back and forth with the team we can happily present you with what we think are the startups you need to keep a lookout for this year. All of the startups which we are introducing to you below were founded between 2019 and 2021. As signals for early success, weve been looking at factors like team size, funding, growth rate, innovation, market size. With this in mind, here are 10 Swiss early-stage startups to follow in 2021 and beyond.

Genius yield is a Cham-based startup that was founded in 2021. The goal of this startup is to maximize its users crypto yield from Cardano (ADA). Genius Yield is your all-in-one solution to benefit from advanced algorithmic trading strategies and yield optimization opportunities. Their smart liquidity management protocol is intuitive, hassle-free, and secure. Genius Yield minimizes risk and maximizes profits! So far they have raised 3.6 million.

Luya Foods is on a mission to go beyond the hype that surrounds fake meat and create an innovative plant-based alternative that is tasty, juicy, and natural. What more could we ask for? You may be asking yourself, why? Because according to Luya foods, they are convinced that in order to save the planet, we need to rethink the way we eat and use our resources today. Their natural products are made in Switzerland from reduced okara. Thus no food waste, additives, and artificial aromas. Lula foods is a Zollikofen based startup that was founded in 2021 and so far has raised 142k in its efforts to develop the tastiest alternative to meats.

RocketVax is a Basel-based biotech startup that was established in 2020. At RocketVax, they use a proprietary based method to develop new groundbreaking vaccines. Their first product was the RVX-13, an alive, single-cycle vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, which is based on breakthrough genetic engineering. Basically, this startup is involved with making very complex vaccines that are saving lives and because of this, they have raised a total of 8.7 million.

Dropz is for those who dont like the bland taste of water, simply drop in a tablet and watch the true taste and vitamins unfold beyond your eyes. A tablet that strives to eliminate single-use plastic (PET bottles) and comes with no sugar or calories, what more can we ask for? They create the flavours from the finest fruits and herbs. Through careful extraction, they obtain natural flavours, which they process into the practical Dropz. Dropz is an Eggenwil-based startup founded in 2020 and has raised 2.3 million.

Emovo Care is your go-to startup whether you have partially or completely lost the ability to move one hand due to neurological or orthopaedic injury. Emvo is a portable and lightweight tendon hand that allows you to grab and release simple objects at home. With just a simple push of a button, you can control the desired range of motion. The device has detachable components that make it easy to use and maintain. Emvo care is a Lausanne-based startup that was founded in 2020 and was developed during a Ph.D. at Ecole Polytechnique, it has since raised a modest 94k.

Autonomyo is developing the next generation of exoskeletons that enable people with mobility problems to walk again and win back their freedom of movement. They are a Lausanne-based startup founded in 2020 that too came out from Ecole Polytechnique and has raised 105k to develop cutting-edge personalized exoskeletons. Intelligent, human-centred technology is what autonomy stands for. Their mission is to develop a solution that makes a better future for movement-impaired people.

Pabio gives you the option to either rent or buy their furniture. Why pay full price for something that youre not even sure youll like? Thats why you have the option to rent it and if youre happy with the furniture then Pabio lets you buy it. Thanks to their flexibility you can design your dream house without the huge initial upfront investment and to top it off? You get your own designer to help you out! Once youve selected what you want, it only takes 3 weeks for it to get to you and Pabio assembles it for you. Just sit back and relax. Pabio is a Bern-based startup that was founded in 2020 and has raised 2.7 million.

Klapty is for when the pandemic does not allow for physical tours, thats right, Klapty lets you create, share, and discover virtual tours. Its the first social network for virtual tours, and its trusted by over 50 thousand users worldwide. If youre a real estate agent, droneist, photographer, or hotel owner, you will love Klapty since its easy, and doesnt require any technical skills. They are a Bulle-Based startup that was founded in 2020 and has raised 1 million.

Integritee is a Zurich-based startup that was founded in 2021 and has raised a total of 5.6 million in order to bring you the most scalable public blockchain solution for securely processing sensitive business or personal data. You can harness the speed and confidentiality of trusted execution environments, combined with the trust of a decentralized network. They provide a highly secure and scalable system through which companies and developers can build broader, fairer, and more secure data-driven products and services. All without compromising on privacy.

Liquity is for our crypto friends out there who just cant put together enough funds to buy the dip (after already buying the dip). But before you click over to Liquidity and get access to interest-free liquidity at your fingertips, we should add that this article is in no way financial advice, so check it out at your own risk! You can borrow LUSD against ETH at 0% interest. The only caveat? youre going to get charged a small, one-time fee to borrow LUSD. The Baar-based startup has raised a total of 7.3 million so far.

By the way: If youre a corporate or investor looking for exciting startups in a specific market for a potential investment or acquisition, check out ourStartup Sourcing Service!

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Google Maps to fix directions after years of trapped travellers around Burketown – ABC News

Posted: at 1:42 am

Residents in Queensland's Gulf region are growing impatient with seeing ill-informed travellers becoming stranded while following directions on Google Maps.

Several tourists near the community of Burketown have been rescued this wet season from flooded and impassable roads after following routes recommendedby the popular website and app.

National Highway 1, which skirts the Gulf of Carpentaria, is perhaps the most infamous suggested route between Cairns and Darwin at this time of year, as opposed to a more southerly route via Mount Isa.

Ernie Camp, the Mayor of Burke Shire Council, said locals were fed up with rescuing motorists every year because of the strain it put on community resources.

"It's a big resource drain, especially at this time of year, when our locals and first responders are already busy dealing with the wet season and preparing for cyclone season," he said.

"On top of that, resources are stretched thin because of COVID-19."

Burketown is one of several Gulf communities that are often cut off by floodwater during the region's annual wet season.

"Something needs to be done before we lose a life," Mr Camp said.

"There needs to be some assessment done on the routes suggested in the app and maybe advice given on how seasonal our roads are out here."

After being alerted to the issue, Google said it was working on fixing the route recommendations to better align with the wet season.

"We use multiple sources to accurately model the real world, including third-party data, user contributions, along with Street View and satellite imagery," a spokesperson said.

"When there are inaccuracies, we work to fix them as quickly as possible."

Burketown station owner Kylie Camp said a lack of signage made it easy for unaware motorists to wind up in sticky situations.

"If you don't have good situational awareness or knowledge of the region, and if you don't have that driving experience in floods, it can be a matter of life and death," she said.

"I'd encourage people to ring ahead and be better informed before travelling through these remote areas."

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Viewpoint: Anti-GMO groups ‘using the COVID lab-leak theory to spur opposition to a wide swath of important, even life-saving, biotechnologies’ -…

Posted: at 1:42 am

The origin of the virus, and its jump from animals to humans is a question worth investigating. Credit: Infinity Wave

Some scientists, conspiracy theory experts andmedia outlets have reacted to USRTKs sudden interest in virology by highlighting the groups ties to anti-vaccine activists. This is a clever attempt to discredit USRTK and its allies, but its ultimately a mistake that ignores what anti-GMO activists are up to with their lab-leak advocacy.

Groups like USRTK have always couched their anti-technology agenda in termspursuing truth and transparency in public healththat resonate with most Americans. They are doing this again by using the pandemic to attackallbiotechnology. Tying these activist outfits to anti-vaxxers will not prevent them from gaining support among a certain segment of the general public for that agenda, which should concern everybody in the science community.

Nobody knows if SARS-CoV-2 naturally jumped from animals to humans or somehow escaped from a lab, and we may never know for sure. But a lab leak is a plausible scenario that has been investigated byreputable voicesin scientific and geopolitical circles. Respected science writer Matt Ridley and Broad Institute molecular biologist AlinaChan may be a lot of things, but theyre not kooky conspiracy theorists andtheir argumentsneed to be taken seriously.

The real problem is that many activist groups have backed the lab-leak scenario because it comports with their more comprehensive and decidedly unscientific anti-biotech agenda. This is what the media has missed in its coverage of anti-GMO groups endorsing a lab leak. Its a controversial idea to start with,The Daily Beast reportedrecently, and US Right to Know promotes it because they have graduated from agitating against biotech cropsto providing a sheen of legitimacy for the conspiratorial musings of their primary donor, the Organic Consumers Association.Daily Beast:

Like USRTK, the 23-year-old Organic Consumers Association began as a group preoccupied with pesticides and genetically modified organisms. But as it gained financial backing from ultra-rich backers in the wellness sector it adopted their conspiratorial anti-vaccine views

Earlier this year, OCA founder Ronnie Cummins, who has also advanced 9/11 truther narratives, co-authored a book with [Joe] Mercola which purported to expose The Great Reset, Lockdowns, Vaccine Passports, and the New Normal. The books footnotes included multiple citations of USRTK research on COVID-19s origins and, in promoting the book last month, Cummins referred to USRTK as a longtime ally.

The conspiratorial leanings of the anti-biotech movement have been knownfor many years;highlighting them now serves little purpose. Our real concern should be that USRTK and others are using the lab-leak theory to spur opposition to a wide swath of important, even life-saving, biotechnologies.

Consider the Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT), yetanother activist groupfunded by Joe Mercola and closely linked to the Non-GMO Project. Whatever IRT believes about the pandemic, notice that their fundraising letters are clearly designed to alarm people about issues that have little to do the pandemic. The lab-leak theory is a useful rhetorical tool, tagged on almost asan afterthought:

IRT is on a mission to get the word out against the REPLACEMENT OF NATURE [emphasis in original]. Can you help us make a difference? Consider just a few applications of this new gene editing technology known as GMOs 2.0 Do any of these new technologies make you a bit nervous? Will you join us in preventing a gene edited futureand raising awareness about gain-function- research?[my emphasis]

Engineering disease-fighting insects or breeding crops suited for different environments has next-to-nothing in common with gain-of-function research,whichaims or is expected to (and/or, perhaps, actually does) increase the transmissibility and/or virulence of pathogens. While thatcould be consideredgenetic modification, it serves a very different purpose and carries risks that are unrelated to other biotech applications. Such nuances are irrelevant to IRT and its allies, though, because their ultimate goal is to prevent a gene-edited futurefull stop.

Why does this matter? There are millions ofjaded Americanssuffering from pandemic fatigue. Fed up with lockdowns, travel restrictions, and mandatory vaccines, theyre again inclined to take the anti-GMO movement seriously. Indeed, the fact that mainstream science so dislikes USRTKmight even help the groups causewith people who are enraged by the pandemic response. The science community should therefore combat the misconception that a lab-leak theory undermines the safety of biotechnology more generally.

This cohort ofactivistgroups isadept at co-opting the publics concerns. When journalist Matt Taibi suggested in April that Googlehad censored USRTK, group co-founder Gary Ruskintold him that

I really strongly believe in the First Amendment and have been concerned for probably during that entire period about when the censors come for someone, they could easily come for you tomorrow.

Taibbi was apparently unaware that USRTK exists toharass and intimidatescientists into silence. Its frankly disturbing how far Ruskins group has gonein its effortsto shut up academics who speak publicly about biotechnology: publishing their emails, writing hit pieces about them and evenleaking documentsto propaganda outlets like Russia Today (RT), which will promote the same anti-GMO agenda.

In other words, USRTK and its allies arent on the warpath against censorship, nor are they campaigning for safer virology research in any meaningful sense. But they will use those issues to garner public sympathy. Pointing out their ties to anti-vaccine activists is amusing but mostly useless as a means of expanding the publics acceptance of biotechnology.

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IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork) Expands Collaboration With Microdose Psychedelic Insights to Serve as Official Media Sponsor for all 2022 Events – Yahoo…

Posted: at 1:41 am

NEW YORK, Feb. 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PsychedelicNewsWire -- IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork), a multifaceted financial news and publishing company, today announces that it will be supporting the full event line-up organized by Microdose Psychedelic Insights in 2022.

Microdose Psychedelic Insights, a Toronto-based media company, is a well-established leader within the psychedelic industry. The company has sought to provide ground-breaking educational insight to help drive the industry into the forefront of modern medicine through its distribution of compelling sector content, financial analysis and engaging events. Having worked with some of the most respected companies, both inside and outside psychedelics, Microdose has rapidly become the media partner of choice within the sector.

Following its previous successful engagements with Microdoses conferences throughout 2021, IBN will be serving as the official media sponsor for their upcoming 2022 conference schedule. These will include the iterations of Microdoses popular Psychedelic Capital series, the Molecular Masterclasses (such as the upcoming LSD Conference to be held on Feb. 17, 2022) and the well-known Wonderland Miami, which is set to take place in November.

We are pleased to be continuing our collaboration with IBN for all of our events this year, said Patrick Moher, president of Microdose. Their powerful tools and communication solutions create a robust online presence, which strengthens the valuable connections our team creates between executives, industry experts and investors. We are looking forward to producing a standout series of events designed to drive the psychedelics industry into the forefront of modern medicine, and we believe that IBNs assistance in helping us reach a broader investor audience will continue to be very helpful in heightening the success of our events.

In addition to the news-oriented coverage provided by IBNs PsychedelicNewsWire and BioMedWire, which form part of IBNs platform 50+ brands, IBN is also set to provide Microdose Psychedelic Insights with social media coverage for their various events. Collectively, the IBN brands reach more than 2 million likes and followers across a variety of social networks.

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Our team at IBN is excited to be working with Microdose Psychedelic Insights again this year, said Jonathan Keim, communications director for IBN. We will leverage our communications solutions to raise visibility in advance of each of their events and also widen the reach of the content produced to reach additional online audiences.

About IBN

The IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork) consists of financial brands introduced to the investment public over the course of 15+ years. With IBN, we have amassed a collective audience of millions of social media followers. These distinctive investor brands aim to fulfill the unique needs of a growing base of client partners. IBN will continue to expand our branded network of highly influential properties, leveraging the knowledge and energy of specialized teams of experts to serve our increasingly diversified list of clients.

Through NetworkNewsWire (NNW) and its affiliate brands, IBN provides: (1) access to a network of wire solutions via InvestorWire to reach all target markets, industries and demographics in the most effective manner possible; (2) article and editorial syndication to 5,000+ news outlets; (3) enhanced press release solutions to ensure maximum impact; (4) full-scale distribution to a growing social media audience; (5) a full array of corporate communications solutions; and (6) a total news coverage solution.

For more information on IBN, visit https://www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the InvestorBrandNetwork website applicable to all content provided by IBN, wherever published or re-published: https://IBN.fm/Disclaimer

Corporate Communications IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork) Los Angeles, California http://www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com 310.299.1717 Office Editor@InvestorBrandNetwork.com

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IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork) Expands Collaboration With Microdose Psychedelic Insights to Serve as Official Media Sponsor for all 2022 Events - Yahoo...

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Journey Colab Believes It Has The Formula For Addiction Treatment – The Dales Report

Posted: at 1:41 am

Journey Colab is focused on unlocking the science of psychedelics to build a whole new model of addiction care combining the potential of neuroplasticity promoting therapeutics like mescaline with psychotherapy and community support. Their lead program is mescaline one of the naturally-occurring classical psychedelics for the treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) for patients in desperate need of durable remission. Their focus this year is building on the first modern natural data set on mescaline and are currently conducting the first industry-sponsored human trials.

Further, their Journey Reciprocity Trust is setting the industry standard for the healing economy. The Trust holds ten percent of the companys founding equity for the future benefit of groups working to ensure equitable access to mental health treatment, those working on the conservation of naturally occurring psychedelics, and Indigenous communities that have traditionally used psychedelics.

Founder and CEO, Jeeshan Chowdhury: Mescaline is very interesting in that its the only phenethylamine in the classic psychedelic. Its closer to MDMA than psilocybin, which is a tryptamine. When we look at both the traditional use of mescaline, what were seeing now with the rigorous scientific understanding of the mechanism of action, and the clinical studies, these long-acting psychedelics offer a unique advantage.

We know that traditional communities in traditional settings have used mescaline-containing plants for hundreds of years to deal with addiction. In communities that have been disproportionately affected by addiction in response to individual and systemic trauma, the use of mescaline-containing plants combined with therapy and community support shows to be one of the only effective treatments for alcohol use in their communities.

When people think about relearning periods, you can think about when a child is able to learn a language very easily, versus us trying to learn as adults. We know psychedelics can open critical windows of learning. Its very clear now from scientific evidence that longer-acting psychedelics, like mescaline, open this period for not hours like ketamine, but weeks. Were seeing a longer period of neuroplasticity, which lends itself to a chronic condition like Alcohol-Use Disorder where were trying to achieve behaviour change. When psychedelic medicine is combined with therapy and community support, we see the strongest effects.

I would be negligent in trying to create any product or service and not include or learn from the only people who have done this at-scale, who have done it safely and effectively. Its a business decision for us to create a space of dialogue with those communities to learn from each other. Its not a charity, its not window-dressing. It makes us a better company and helps us make better decisions. We were able to learn the potential around mescaline because we setup Journey as a stakeholder model, created a space of dialogue, and understood the unique potential of mescaline that everyone else had overlooked.

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Journey Colab Believes It Has The Formula For Addiction Treatment - The Dales Report

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Whats actually standing in the way of right-wing populism in Canada? – Maclean’s

Posted: at 1:41 am

John Geddes: The convoy chaos suggests Canadians are just as susceptible to Trump-like forces as Americans. Our real advantages lie in our political system.

Its hard to cling to faith in the orderly temperament of Canadians with streets and bridges blockaded, diesel fumes hanging heavy in the winter air. No matter how the convoy chaos in Ottawa (and beyond) is ultimately resolved, this episode should spell an end to illusions about Canadas supposedly peaceable culture and moderate character insulating our country from the scary side of right-wing populism.

In fact, the notion that theres something in the Canadian disposition that makes us less susceptible than the Americans were to Donald Trump (or the Brits to Brexit, or the French to their far-right presidential contenders) has never been all that convincing. Sure, a big majority of Canadians overall disapproved of Trump, but we should have taken heed when an Ekos Research poll at the outset of his dystopian presidency showed that 57 per cent of Conservative voters in Canada viewed him favourably.

And Canada has its share of the factors that strain social cohesion, including economic anxiety, nativist intolerance, regional resentmentsall exacerbated by the nerve-fraying frustrations of the pandemic. Yet this doesnt mean we should abandon hope that sensible, centrist politics might stand a better chance of prevailing here than in some other democracies. Its just that we should trust less in the mysteries of Canadian identity, and more in the advantages of our political system, and key policies and practices that have flowed from it.

The first factor to keep in mind these days is the outsized clout of sparsely populated states in the U.S. Senate, and hence in Washingtons power dynamic. At the federal level, theres nothing in Canada that parallels the way, say, Vermont elects two senators and so does New York, or Wyoming two and so does California. In Ottawa, the big provinces with the big cities wield legislative power at the federal level commensurate with their large, diverse populations.

But that shouldnt be mistaken for meaning resentment of what Toronto and Ottawa symbolize across much of Canada is less virulent than antagonism toward what New York and Washington represent across vast swaths of the U.S. map. Its just that our Parliament doesnt lend the less populous regions nearly as much legislative leverage. Our system is different, not our psyche.

Or consider the way elections are run. In the U.S., local and state control over the voting process has led to the sort of wildly varying rulebooks that Trump and his allies tried to exploit to sow confusion after he lost the 2020 presidential vote. In the early years after Confederation, Canadian elections were also largely local affairs, and subject to confusion and corruption. That was largely fixed in 1885, when the national election processes we benefit from today were instituted.

Dirty politics, though, persisted. For example, gerrymandering was a long-running scandal in Canada up until a key 1964 reform finally took the key task of mapping of ridings out of the hands of party functionaries, and gave the job to upright independent commissions. In the U.S., constituency boundaries for seats in the House of Representatives remain notoriously subject to being redrawn to favour one party or the other. History shows that Canadians arent inherently more fair-minded. We owe our edge to far-sighted reformers who made the right change when the opportunity arose.

Canadians also shake their heads at the highly politicizedeven polarizednature of U.S. judicial appointments. No serious watcher of Canadas courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada, pretends judges dont bring their own ideologies to the bench. But the Canadian process for picking them remains far less tainted by partisanship than in the U.S., and that must be safeguarded to preserve whats left of public faith in institutional authority.

This is another advantage Canadians shouldnt take for granted. Sean Fine, the Globe and Mails veteran justice reporter, has flagged concerns about Ontarios excellent appointment system becoming more exposed to the preferences of the party in power. As well, the Globe reported a few years ago on the federal Liberal government checking potential judges names through a party database. The eye-glazing details of selection processes will never generate sustained public concern, but we need journalists and independent experts to be vigilant and vocal.

This sort of Canads-U.S. compare-and-contrast exercise leads inevitably to an even more fraught issue. Is Canadian politics less twisted by racism? That question is too big for this piece, but I can point to research from academics like University of Torontos Phil Triadalopoulos, who have shown how Canadas immigration policies, dating back to the reforms of the 1960s, offered an easier path to citizenship and fostered greater democratic participation among new Canadians.

Those engaged newcomers tend to concentrate in Toronto and Vancouver, often in suburbs where party election strategists know they must be competitive to have any hope of prevailing in national elections. In this way, immigration policy loops back to reinforce the way power in Parliament properly reflects population density and diversity. (And it helps that getting rid of gerrymandering meant nobody could redraw the electoral map to erase the ballot-box clout of any inconvenient voters.)

These and other ways Canadas democracy looks healthier, compared with the U.S., dont rest on some underlying Canadian sensibleness, some congenital propensity to moderation. In other words, theres nothing in our national character we can count to make us less likely to gather for an unruly, unreasonable protest, issue blatantly undemocratic demands, and lay siege to the capital. Theres also nothing to stop certain duly elected politicians from actually praising such actions. It turns out Canada and the U.S. have this in common.

When the diesel fumes clear, there will be plenty of agonizing over misguided motivations and uncivil inclinations. Fair enough. But soul-searching is less important that recognizing the strongest elements in how our democracy works, and build on the parts that hold firm even when our sentimental sense of our national character is rudely shaken.

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Whats actually standing in the way of right-wing populism in Canada? - Maclean's

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