Monthly Archives: August 2022

Filthy Animals Pries Open The Violent, Animalistic Notions In Human Relationships – Gaysi

Posted: August 27, 2022 at 12:01 pm

Reviews

In Filthy Animals, a collection of short stories, Brandon Taylor is at his most original and inventive.

Brandon Taylors Filthy Animals (Daunt Books Originals, 2021), which won this years Story Prize and was on the Dylan Thomas Prize shortlist, is a collection of 11 short stories, of which a few are interlinked. While each story in this collection is chiselled to perfection and displays Taylors hallmark oeuvre as his characters arcs and their behaviours in the myriad relationships they develop over time, stand out.

In Taylors fiction, relationships neither get conducted in the boring, believable way they tend to do in most fiction writing, nor do they crumble under the weight of meaning as stories about love, longing, and finding ones place in society often seem to carry. Instead, its the vilest of human conduct that Taylor masterfully renders in these stories, prying open the animalistic instincts in human companionships.

He not only exposes the interiority and duality in his characters but also weaves their unsaid motivations wonderfully. Sample the first story, Potluck. Lionel a Mathematics doctorate turned Proctor, whos fresh out of the hospital after trying to kill himself finds that not recognising anyone apart from the host both a comfort and a warning.

Why should one feel this way, you might think? Is it because Lionel is an introvert? Or a Black person? Or someone who is difficult to talk to as professional dancers Sophie and Charles, whom he meets in this gathering, believe?

It may be because even though he leads what appears like a mediocre existence, Lionel refuses to be part of the mindlessness that surrounds him, yet he partakes in the everyday because thats what it takes to survive. For example, Lionel was ashamed of proctoring only when he had to tell other people about it, and only when those people knew that he had once been a graduate student with good brain chemistry.

Theres something intriguing about Taylors prose: it criticises without claiming a territorial hold on the viewpoint. Nor does Taylor overburden his stories with whats expected of a Black queer writer. In comparison, consider the following two novels that become unreadable midway because their authors didnt know how to keep their characters removed from their politics: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy.

When an author snatches away from its character the autonomy to decide for themselves or interferes with their natural progression, then such characters become unrealistic and inauthentic to read. And thats what separates Taylor from his contemporaries: he listens to his characters inherent need to bring themselves out in the story, fully.

Indulge in these moments in his stories. Observing Charles, Lionel finds that Charles has the kind of body you could only get at great personal risk. He was good-looking, in a way that seemed incongruous with ordinary life. Or this, about unprivileged childhoods: That was the blessing of certain childhoods. The illusion of your invincibility. Your safety. Some people didnt know the danger they were in until years later, looking back. These sentences convey the whole background power imbalance, sexual tension, and need for validation in so few words, and need no glorious explanations. Theres beauty in their muteness.

Perhaps it is in this measured way that Taylor crafts his characters that hes able to extract raw emotions in a dialogic manner without appearing philosophical and conveys the meaning without being melodramatic. Sometimes it is the ridiculously mundane that Taylor presents in his story, and you cant help but marvel at the observation and accompanying thought with it. Heres one incident from Proctoring: Lionel swirled the coffee in the cup, aware of the gesture as he performed it, knowing that it had little utility, that it was something performed to make him look a certain way, pensive, thoughtful.

Theres something wounded in each of his characters, too, but he doesnt let them exhibit their hurt. Be it the babysitter in Little Beast who feels its a disservice to let children go on thinking the whole world can be something it cannot or Marta in Anne of Cleves who becomes uncomfortable after meeting her ex-lover, knowing that a part of important information has escaped her: that shell be outed for now he knows everything. Theres unusual humour at play, too. Theres this moment when Lionel feels like laughing, wondering that he hasnt taken his own suicide seriously enough.

Two stories, in particular, were gut-wrenching to read: As Though that Were Love and the titular Filthy Animals. While the choice of Mercy Me the violent game that Simon and Hartjes play is so clever in the first story that this hunger for power and superiority renders it animal recognition, in the second the palpability of violence, which doesnt leave any trace, makes it a fascinating read.

I wouldnt use the word brave to describe this collection, for in one of the stories Lionel says: People called you brave for going on because it affirmed their own value system. They considered their own life worth living, and so they considered every life worthy. It is in fact located beyond the instruments of value system and judgement.

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Filthy Animals Pries Open The Violent, Animalistic Notions In Human Relationships - Gaysi

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Scientists Just Genetically Edited a Million Years of Evolution Into Mouse DNA – ScienceAlert

Posted: at 11:57 am

Changing the number of chromosomes an animal has can take millions of generations to happen in nature through the course of evolution and now, scientists have been able to make these same changes in lab mice in a relative blink of an eye.

The new technique using stem cells and gene editing is a major accomplishment, and one that the team is hoping will reveal more about how the rearrangement of chromosomes can influence the way that animals evolve over time.

It's in chromosomes those strings of protein and DNA inside cells that we find our genes, inherited from our parents and blended together to make us who we are.

For mammals like mice and us humans, chromosomes typically come paired. There are exceptions, such as in sex cells.

Unfertilized embryonic stem cells are usually the best starting place for tinkering with DNA. Lacking that additional set of chromosomes provided by a sperm cell, though, deprives the cells of an important step in negotiating which genes in which chromosomes will be marked active to do the job of building a body.

This process called imprinting was a stumbling block for engineers keen to restructure large chunks of the genome.

"Genomic imprinting is frequently lost, meaning the information about which genes should be active disappears in haploid embryonic stem cells, limiting their pluripotency and genetic engineering," says biologist Li-Bin Wang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"We recently discovered that by deleting three imprinted regions, we could establish a stable sperm-like imprinting pattern in the cells."

Without those three naturally imprinted regions, lasting chromosome fusion was possible. In their experiments, the researchers fused two medium-sized chromosomes (4 and 5) and the two largest chromosomes (1 and 2) in two different orientations, resulting in three different arrangements.

The fusion of chromosomes 4 and 5 was the most successful in terms of the genetic code being passed on to the mice offspring, although breeding was slower than normal.

One of the 1 and 2 fusions produced no mice offspring, while the other produced mice offspring that were slower, larger, and more anxious than those from the fusion of chromosomes 4 and 5.

According to the researchers, the drops in fertility are down to how the chromosomes separate after alignment, which doesn't happen in the normal way. It shows that chromosomal rearrangement is crucial to reproductive isolation a key part of species being able to evolve and stay separate.

"The laboratory house mouse has maintained a standard 40-chromosome karyotype or the full picture of an organism's chromosomes after more than 100 years of artificial breeding," says biologist Zhi-Kun Li, also from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"Over longer time scales, however, karyotype changes caused by chromosome rearrangements are common. Rodents have 3.2 to 3.5 rearrangements per million years, whereas primates have 1.6."

To put this into context, rare leaps in chromosomal rearrangement have helped direct the evolutionary paths of our own ancestors. Chromosomes that remain separate in gorillas, for instance, are fused into one in our human genome.

Those types of changes can occur once every few hundred millennia. While the genetic edits made here in the lab were on a relatively small scale, the signs are that they could have some dramatic effects on the animals involved.

It's still early days this is a scientific first after all but further down the line, there might be the opportunity to correct misaligned or malformed chromosomes in human bloodlines. We know that in individuals, chromosome fusions and relocations can lead to health problems including childhood leukemia.

"We experimentally demonstrated that the chromosomal rearrangement event is the driving force behind species evolution and important for reproductive isolation, providing a potential route for large-scale engineering of DNA in mammals," says Li.

The research has been published in Science.

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50 Times People Took A DNA Test And Found Out More Than They Wanted To – Bored Panda

Posted: at 11:57 am

How much do you know about your family tree? Could you name every branch going back for generations, or do you only know the names of a few leaves hanging close to you? Thankfully, whether your ancestors kept meticulous records or you were adopted and relocated halfway across the world as an infant, DNA technology has become incredibly advanced, and we all have access to our backgrounds through simply submitting a mouthful of saliva.

Unfortunately, however, the results of a DNA test are not always what curious participants had hoped for. After optimistically submitting their samples hoping to find out precisely which Eastern European cuisine they should be preparing on holidays, some people receive their results and are left questioning everything they know about their family members. Weve gathered some of the most amusing, shocking and upsetting discoveries made from taking DNA tests, that have been shared on the 23andMe subreddit, and listed them below for you to read. I sincerely hope you dont have any devastating stories of your own from having tests like this done, but if you do, know that youre not alone.

Keep reading to also find an interview with host of the DNA Surprises Podcast, Alexis Hourselt, and then if youre interested in reading even more stories about DNA tests revealing scandalous family secrets, we recommend checking out this Bored Panda article next.

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Yorkshire woman who took DNA test as a joke discovers she has a half-brother – The Yorkshire Post

Posted: at 11:57 am

Farrah Khilji-Holmes, 52, met her new-found sibling Steve Bolton, 62, for the first time after he travelled to the UK from Canada to see her and her relatives in person. They had the same dad, Dr Mohammad Elijaz Khilji, but different mums and didn't know anything about each other until they sent their DNA tests off and they matched.

Farrah reached out to Steve when his name came back as a match and after chatting for 18 months, Steve flew to meet Farrah in her hometown of Pontefract.

Farrah said: "I only logged on as a joke to see if I was switched at birth. Its been a bit of a running joke in our family for years. So I did a DNA test and made my mum do one too. But it came back with a close match to a man that it said was a first cousin or closer, but it couldnt be sure because there was a wide range.

"I was sat in the pub when a message came through from Steve and I shouted out Ive got a brother! Its absolutely like seeing dad in the flesh. My friends who have seen him say hes the spitting image of dad.

Dr Khilji had a relationship with Steves mum Pamela in London in the 1960s before returning to Pakistan without knowing she was pregnant with his child. Sadly, Pamela died when Steve was just seven and Dr Khilji died in 1998 having never learnt that he had another son.

In the meantime, he fathered children in Pakistan and when he returned to the UK, he had two children from a relationship with Sue Burton - Farrah and her sister Zarah.

Farrah said: "Dad was a big part of all our lives, if he'd known about Steve, he would have ensured he was part of our family too. He took an active role in all his children's lives and there is no way dad would have seen any of his children taken into care."

After his mum died, Steve spent time in a orphanage before his grandparents took him to Jamaica where his mum was born. But when his grandmother got sick, he was placed back in an orphanage in Jamaica before being adopted by a Canadian family and he lived in Toronto from the age of 13.

He said that after his adopted mum died he got his birth certificate and started looking for his dad and two years ago set about researching his family history and sent off a DNA sample that returned a couple of cousins. But was about to give up when he got a message from Farrah out of the blue to ask if he was her brother.

Steve said: After youve been waiting for so long its hard to believe its happened. Its completely surreal, I didnt know how to process it. I got a couple of hits from cousins, but I was about to cancel my membership when Farrah messaged. I hope this encourages other people who have been adopted to do their research because it's really amazing."

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Global Viral Vectors and Plasmid DNA Manufacturing Market (2022 to 2027) – Featuring Audentes Therapeutics, Batavia Biosciences and BioMarin…

Posted: at 11:57 am

DUBLIN, Aug. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Viral Vectors and Plasmid DNA Manufacturing Market (2022-2027) by Product Type, Application, Geography, Competitive Analysis and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

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The Global Viral Vectors and Plasmid DNA Manufacturing Market is estimated to be USD 901.01 Mn in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 2752.97 Mn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 25.03%.

Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Viral Vectors and Plasmid DNA Manufacturing Market stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors.

There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals. As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks.

Company Profiles

The report provides a detailed analysis of the competitors in the market. It covers the financial performance analysis for the publicly listed companies in the market. The report also offers detailed information on the companies' recent development and competitive scenario. Some of the companies covered in this report are Merck KGaA, Lonza, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Cobra Biologics, Catalent, etc.

Countries Studied

America (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, United States, Rest of Americas)

Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Rest of Europe)

Middle-East and Africa (Egypt, Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Rest of MEA)

Asia-Pacific (Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Taiwan, Rest of Asia-Pacific)

Story continues

Competitive Quadrant

The report includes Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc.

Ansoff Analysis

The report presents a detailed Ansoff matrix analysis for the Global Viral Vectors and Plasmid DNA Manufacturing Market. Ansoff Matrix, also known as Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic tool used to design strategies for the growth of the company. The matrix can be used to evaluate approaches in four strategies viz. Market Development, Market Penetration, Product Development and Diversification.

The matrix is also used for risk analysis to understand the risk involved with each approach. The analyst analyses the using the Ansoff Matrix to provide the best approaches a company can take to improve its market position. Based on the SWOT analysis conducted on the industry and industry players, the analyst has devised suitable strategies for market growth.

Why buy this report?

The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Viral Vectors and Plasmid DNA Manufacturing Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies.

The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry.

The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report.

The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies.

The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's Proprietary competitive positioning tool.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Report Description

2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary

4 Market Dynamics4.1 Drivers4.1.1 Increasing Capacities by Manufacturers Owing to Rising Demand4.1.2 Rise in Prevalence of Cancer, Viral Infections, and Genetic Disorders4.1.3 Increase in Awareness Regarding Gene Therapies4.2 Restraints4.2.1 High Cost Associated with Gene Therapies4.2.2 Stringent Government Regulations4.3 Opportunities4.3.1 The Rise in the Development of Allogeneic and Autologous Cell Therapy4.3.2 Increase in Funding for R&D Activities Pertaining to Gene Therapy4.4 Challenges4.4.1 Involved Risks For Mutagenesis and Other Obstruction in Gene Therapy

5 Market Analysis5.1 Regulatory Scenario5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis5.3 Impact of COVID-195.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis

6 Global Viral Vectors and Plasmid DNA Manufacturing Market, By Product Type6.1 Introduction6.2 Plasmid DNA6.3 Viral Vector6.4 Non-viral Vector

7 Global Viral Vectors and Plasmid DNA Manufacturing Market, By Application7.1 Introduction7.2 Cancer7.3 Genetic Disorder7.4 Infectious Disease7.5 Other Applications

8 Americas' Viral Vectors and Plasmid DNA Manufacturing Market8.1 Introduction8.2 Argentina8.3 Brazil8.4 Canada8.5 Chile8.6 Colombia8.7 Mexico8.8 Peru8.9 United States8.10 Rest of Americas

9 Europe's Viral Vectors and Plasmid DNA Manufacturing Market9.1 Introduction9.2 Austria9.3 Belgium9.4 Denmark9.5 Finland9.6 France9.7 Germany9.8 Italy9.9 Netherlands9.10 Norway9.11 Poland9.12 Russia9.13 Spain9.14 Sweden9.15 Switzerland9.16 United Kingdom9.17 Rest of Europe

10 Middle East and Africa's Viral Vectors and Plasmid DNA Manufacturing Market10.1 Introduction10.2 Egypt10.3 Israel10.4 Qatar10.5 Saudi Arabia10.6 South Africa10.7 United Arab Emirates10.8 Rest of MEA

11 APAC's Viral Vectors and Plasmid DNA Manufacturing Market11.1 Introduction11.2 Australia11.3 Bangladesh11.4 China11.5 India11.6 Indonesia11.7 Japan11.8 Malaysia11.9 Philippines11.10 Singapore11.11 South Korea11.12 Sri Lanka11.13 Thailand11.14 Taiwan11.15 Rest of Asia-Pacific

12 Competitive Landscape12.1 Competitive Quadrant12.2 Market Share Analysis12.3 Strategic Initiatives12.3.1 M&A and Investments12.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations12.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements

13 Company Profiles 13.1 Audentes Therapeutics13.2 Batavia Biosciences13.3 BioMarin Pharmaceutical13.4 BioNTech IMFS13.5 Catalent13.6 Cobra Biologics13.7 FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies13.8 Genezen laboratories13.9 Lonza13.10 Merck KGaA13.11 Miltenyi Biotec13.12 RegenxBio13.13 SIRION Biotech 13.14 Takara Bio13.15 Thermo Fisher Scientific13.16 Virovek 13.17 Waisman Biomanufacturing13.18 Wuxi Biologics

14 Appendix

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/n1d1m0

Media Contact:

Research and MarketsLaura Wood, Senior Managerpress@researchandmarkets.com

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The Norwegian Consumer Council warns that Norwegian DNA is being sent to China – Sciencenorway

Posted: at 11:57 am

An increasing number of pregnant Norwegian women take extended foetal diagnostic tests in Denmark. One of the tests is analysed in China, and DNA from both the mother and foetus may end up with the Chinese authorities.

If the Chinese authorities really want to, they will get access to the genetic data. This is the general relationship between Chinese companies and the state. You cannot know what happens to your own and the unborn child's DNA, Mette Halskov Hansen, professor in Chinese Studies at the University of Oslo, tells the Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Boards journal GENialt (link in Norwegian).

A noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) test is an analysis of a foetus' DNA to detect developmental abnormalities. It is done by taking a blood sample from the pregnant woman.

In Norway, it is only permitted to test for three different chromosomal abnormalities, but in Sweden and Denmark several broader NIPT tests are available.

One of these, Nifty, is much cheaper than the others sold in Scandinavia. It has been developed and analysed by the Chinese company BGI, and the company itself writes that Chinese authorities are given access to genetic data if national security considerations dictate this.

The Norwegian Consumer Council is now warning pregnant women.

As far as we can tell, this transfer of samples is not within European data protection legislation (GDPR). It is generally not allowed to transfer personal data to countries with far-reaching surveillance laws, where you do not have satisfactory protection in line with European legislation, Director Inger Lise Blyverket of the Norwegian Consumer Council says.

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Ypsilanti mom credits DNA, detective with getting daughter’s alleged rapist behind bars – WXYZ 7 Action News Detroit

Posted: at 11:57 am

YPSILANTI, Mich. (WXYZ)"We wouldn't have found out who did it without the DNA," said the mother of an 11-year-old girl who was lured off her bicycle in Ypsilanti, kidnapped, and raped.

It happened in May, but the results of DNA testing have identified 35-year-old Brandon Hutson as the assailant, according to Ypsilanti Police.

Hutson is from Detroit but he was recently arrested in Grand Rapids.

He's been arraigned on multiple charges including kidnapping and first degree criminal sexual conduct.

Hutson's bond has been set at $250,000 cash or surety.

Hutson's DNA was already in CODIS, the federal Combined DNA Index System, from a 2012 robbery case in Wayne County for which he spent time in prison.

The Ypsilanti girl, who has high functioning autism, was kidnapped and assaulted in May after her mom said she snuck out of the house to ride her bike while she was taking a nap after work.

"When I woke up, it was like 11pm, and she was gone," the girl's mother told 7 Action News. "I immediately called the police and the police found her bike around the corner but they didn't find her."

"She would have tried to take the bike with her. I think he forced her to get in the car without her bike," she added.

Shortly after police released details of the missing girl, she was released and located in another neighborhood in Ypsilanti where someone called 911.

The girl was rushed to an area hospital where she underwent rape kit testing.

"She's more scared to do certain things, like leaving my side, because she knows that something bad might happen."

In court during his arraignment, Hutson's attorney said he adamantly denies the allegations.

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Liz Truss may trigger article 16 days after becoming PM, amid Brexit row – The Guardian

Posted: at 11:55 am

Liz Truss may trigger article 16 proceedings against the European Union within days of becoming prime minister, as a legal war with Brussels looms over the Northern Ireland protocol.

The foreign secretary and Tory leadership frontrunner is understood to have received fresh advice from trade and legal experts about invoking the emergency clause contained in the post-Brexit deal.

It has long been threatened by Truss, but there is renewed interest as the deadline approaches for the UK to respond to legal proceedings launched against it by the EU for failing to implement proper Irish Sea border checks.

The deadline for doing so is 15 September 10 days after the next prime minister will be announced.

With a lengthy parliamentary battle expected over the Northern Ireland protocol bill, a senior Truss ally quoted in the Financial Times described the triggering of article 16 as a stopgap until the legislation is passed.

Though the source said Truss would prefer a negotiated solution with Brussels, triggering article 16 remained an option as long as the talks remained deadlocked.

Trusss antipathy towards the protocol has grown in recent days, after British steel producers were told they would have to pay a 25% tariff to sell some construction products into Northern Ireland.

Triggering article 16 would allow either side to take unilateral action if they believed the protocol was causing serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties that are liable to persist, or diversion of trade.

Serious difficulties are not defined, giving both sides room for interpretation.

The UK government has long said triggering article 16 remains an option, and some will view renewed discussion of the possibility as sabre-rattling designed to please the ardent Brexit-supporting Tory party members who will choose the next prime minister.

Over the past year, Truss has studiously lobbied Tory MPs believed to have concerns about her plans, in an attempt to avoid a return of the divisions that plagued the Conservatives from 2016 to 2019.

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Sources said the foreign secretary wanted the government to appear united, or else Brussels would believe its threats were empty because Conservative backbenchers could torpedo the most controversial elements of the Northern Ireland protocol bill.

John Finucane, the Sinn Fin MP for North Belfast, said reckless threats to trigger article 16 were evidence of the UK governments total disregard for the democratic wishes of people and businesses here.

He said the protocol was supported by most people, companies and elected politicians in the Northern Irish assembly, but the Conservatives had tried fiercely to undermine it. Finucane urged Truss to get back to the table with the EU to give certainty and stability to our businesses.

Earlier this month, the UK triggered its own dispute proceedings with the EU, accusing it of breaching the Brexit treaty by freezing it out of scientific research programmes following the row over Northern Ireland.

Truss said there had been a clear breach of the trade and cooperation agreement, with her department writing to Brussels requesting formal dispute talks.

The UK government claimed the EU was causing serious damage to research and development in both the UK and EU member states, with Britain frozen out of the science research programme Horizon; Copernicus, the Earth observation programme, which provides data on climate change; Euratom, the nuclear research programme; and space surveillance and tracking.

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How Brexit and Covid-19 changed the craft beer industry for good – The Drinks Business

Posted: at 11:55 am

The impact of both Brexit and the pandemic has led to adapted routes to market and speculation that British drinkers palates are changing.

Brewers and independent retailers from across the industry revealed to the drinks business how Brexit effectively reduced volumes of beer intended for export, leaving more highly-hopped beers than usual on our shores. Additionally, the pandemic forced a direct-to-consumer route to market for breweries that needed to sell their beer for their businesses to survive, however, such beers which would have initially been sold through the independent off-trade are now selling via their own online shops with many undercutting former retailers in terms of price.

Cloudwater Brew Co CEO and founder Paul Jones told db: Brexit had made exports quite difficult and not really in the sense that it couldnt be done, but it just took a lot longer, and it was more expensive plus, there was the notion that the landscape of where beer went was changing and this influx was leading to heightened competition. As Jones identified: In my estimation, many of the top 100 craft breweries in the UK sent around 20% of their output to export markets prior to Brexit. Adapting rapidly to find domestic outlets for all that production volume, once the admin and logistic issues hit [it] caused quite a spike in competition within the industry. Jones observed how, as a result, there has never been as much fresh and hoppy UK-made beer available to this market, and that might well change the tastes of drinkers.

Exeter-based Powderkeg Brewery founder Jess Magill admitted: The pandemic did stick us with a load of stock and no customers open to sell it to. I would say we operate much more on the JIT model now a business our size cant afford to overproduce. But equally we never want our products to be unavailable or we lose customers. So its an eternal tightrope.

Similarly, McColls Brewery in County Durham saw that, almost overnight, the entire business model changed and with it there was a margin-boost along with the shift. McColls owner and director Danny McColl revealed how pre-pandemic we were 90% cask-focused, he explained, but somehow, fortuitously, we had just moved into can production and built a webshop in winter 2019, and without this being fully-functional on the day the news broke back in March 2020 we would definitely not be here now. It brought in immediate cash overnight as sales disappeared from trade, and skyrocketed online, obviously at a fairly better margin.

According to London-based independent retailer Hop Burns & Black, retailers understand that brewers did what they needed to do, but there is a limit to how much support a retailer will give to brewers that repay their loyalty by undercutting them now.

Hop Burns & Black co-founder Jen Ferguson said: Indie retailers now operate in a completely different environment to before the pandemic. An already very competitive landscape has been made even more challenging with more and more breweries selling direct to consumers. However I think most retailers are fairly pragmatic about it. We recognise the extreme challenges of todays market businesses have had to pivot and adapt in order to survive. For many breweries, especially during the first lockdowns, going direct-to-consumer was a much needed lifeline.

Ferguson pointed out: It would be unreasonable to ask breweries to stop selling direct, but hugely undercutting your retail partners in the process seems like a zero sum game and said that, unfortunately, while some breweries take care to ensure theyre not sabotaging retailers, others dont weve even seen examples where breweries are selling their beers cheaper on their web shops than we can buy wholesale from them. This makes indies look unnecessarily expensive customers will go elsewhere if they feel theyre being ripped off so retailers may choose to stop stocking that brewerys beers. It also creates a race to the bottom on pricing in which nobody wins and added: The breweries we have most respect for are those that recognise the importance of the wider ecosystem and the part we all play in it. Indies remain a vital route to market for any brewery, providing convenience, selection and importantly the personal service you dont get at a supermarket or web shop, championing breweries, introducing them to new fans, helping create the next craft beer superstars. The next 12 months are going to be some of the rockiest on record and we all need to pull together to make it through to the other side.

Making it out of the other side will mean, for many, adapting and staying as flexible as possible while other issues such as inflation become the next new challenges. After all, the craft beer revolution flourished when there was much less to worry about and every reason for would-be brewery founders to follow their dreams and remove themselves from the rat-race. But now, facing so many hurdles, the new race was beginning to feel more like a marathon.

Jones identified how a number of things have changed, specifically within craft beer within the UK and reiterated that it is really pertinent to talk about it all because pre-pandemic, the craft sector in the UK was definitely growing and felt very, very buoyant and comfortable growing either through organic means or through investment. There were loads of breweries that had taken on significant investment to grow several times their previous annual output in a short space of time and that felt entirely cool. But, sadly, the pandemic compounded a problem that we were all starting to face. He observed: We are living through slightly different times in terms of what people want and what people need. and inferred that the shape of the craft beer scene is changing as a result of all of the hurdles and ultimately, these struggles are absorbing rather a lot of the excitement that craft had initially brought to the nation.

The pandemic has changed everything. I think that some of the frivolity has been replaced by some of the complexities within the scene, he said, hinting that now, all the industry needs is to find new ways to invoke some of its verve and optimism so it can navigate towards a brighter future.

Perhaps a future where the over-saturation of beers made with dank zesty alpha hops will lead palates to seek out post-craft rebellious brews with a maltier backbone .

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How Brexit and Covid-19 changed the craft beer industry for good - The Drinks Business

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Brexits place in Scottish independence debate is only increasing – The National

Posted: at 11:55 am

MANY of the key issues that will dominate theindependencedebate as it builds over the next year and which will determine its outcome are already clear and were confirmed by the Ipsos Scotland poll this week.

As this newspaper reported, distrust of Westminster and a feeling that Scotlands trajectory in politics and society is different from that south of the Border are strong motivators for a Yes vote, while economic scaremongering and the best of both worlds fallacy still work in the opposite direction, though their influence is diminishing. Brexit continues to be a major concern, and an earlier poll indicated that support for remaining in the EU is now at 72%, a full 10 points ahead of where it was in the 2016 referendum.

Yet I still occasionally hear some people in the Yes movement say that focusing on Brexit is a distraction. Some even contend Scotland should accept what has happened and, as we become independent, seek a substitute for EU membership, such as association with the European Free Trade Association (Efta).

For my part, the importance of Brexit within the national debate is not diminishing but growing. Brexit isnt simply a choice voters in England and Wales made against our and their interests, admittedly nor is it something that can be made to work or done better. In fact, the Tory leadership contest has revealed it to be a fatal poison an obsession which is killing democracy.

READ MORE:Barrhead business loses out on 50k in EU funding due to Brexit

I am sorry to return to the Tory leadership contest again. It is an ever-more-revolting spectacle, and the sight and sound of Liz Truss on the issue of nuclear weapons was particularly horrific. She had clearly rehearsed the question, and it speaks volumes that instead of prefacing her inevitable hardline answer with a touch of humanity and a recognition of the awful nature of the subject, she not only robotically repeated: Im ready to do it she did so to the whoops and cheers of her Tory audience.

Contrast that with a published piece the day after by New Zealands Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pointing to the impasse that seems to have gripped the nuclear non-proliferation treaty renewal talks in New York and quoting John F Kennedys plea to abolish these weapons before they abolish us.

Such an unpleasant glimpse of the current Tory party reveals the effect of the Brexit poison as does Lord Frosts preposterous, bizarre and utterly unworkable proposals to abolish democracy and devolution in Scotland. He, almost unbelievably, echoed the language of Lord Carson a century ago, who argued that Irish Home Rule of any sort could not be permitted because it would leave behind Unionists.

His comments also brought right-wing raving previously only encountered in the far reaches of Ukip and the BNP into the political mainstream and permitted prejudice against difference whether that be European or Scottish to be openly flaunted as was done on Thursday by the appalling Amanda Platell on a licensed TV channel, an intervention that should have brought immediate action from the broadcasting regulator.

EMILY Maitlis further confirmed the corrosive effect of Brexit in her Edinburgh TV Festival lecture because Tory hijacking of editorial control in the BBC took place to secure Brexit and then to ensure the details of the ensuing disaster was never revealed.

Of course, the rehearsal for such perversion of fact and argument was BBC coverage of our first independence referendum in 2014, something that should give Maitlis and her colleagues food for thought. Perhaps they might resolve not to allow it to happen again.

Doing some research a few days ago, I found myself counting the number of people appointed to Theresa Mays first Cabinet in mid-July 2016 who were still there just before Johnsons final meltdown.

The figure is telling, for it shows how completely the Tory party has changed, and how being stridently, fervently and obsessively in favour of Brexit has become the sole determinant for progress into government a fact which deepens the gulf between the politics of Scotland and England.

The figure, including Johnson himself, is five out of 27. The other four are Baroness Evans, the Leader of the Lords; Priti Patel; Sajid Javid; and, of course, Truss all of whom have willingly ridden the Brexit tiger.

An examination of the list of 357 Conservative MPs with the whip presently in the House of Commons tells the same story supporting Brexit is virtually the only way to get elected, just as going on supporting ever-harder versions of it is the only route to promotion. Amazingly Labour and the LibDems have drunk the Brexit Kool-Aid too.

Yet Brexit is clearly an unmitigated disaster, and there can be no doubt it is the major factor in making the general global challenges arising out of the war in Ukraine and Covid so much worse in the UK.

Some are now arguing that Truss is the last hope to secure what Brexiteers regard as a true Brexit.

READ MORE:'Completely stupid': Scottish bike firm reveals how Brexit has hit business

But that isnt true because if she turns out to be a traitor to the cause, as Johnson was increasingly seen, then the Brexit revolution will overturn its latest leader and seek someone even more fanatical.

The Brexit poison will continue to spread through the system, with ever-more disastrous results.

In 18th-century France, the terror was their answer to the failures of extremism. In 20th-century Russia, vast and bloody purges were meant to keep the system pure. In 21st-century England, the remedy is different but the principle is the same. Democracy, prosperity and perhaps even peace can and will be sacrificed for the sake of the Brexit revolution.

The price will be very high, and we must not be among those that are forced to pay it. That is why telling Scotland the truth about Brexit and what it is leading to remains for me at least the key argument in making sure we arent.

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Brexits place in Scottish independence debate is only increasing - The National

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