Category Archives: Covid-19

Such is the strange new phase of Britains pandemic: The public has moved on, even if the virus has not. Given that Britain has been at the vanguard of so many previous coronavirus developments from incubating variants to rolling out vaccines experts say this could be a glimpse into the future for other countries.

We dont seem to care that we have these really high infection rates, said Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at Kings College London who has been leading a major study of Covid-19 symptoms. It looks like were just accepting it now that this is the price of freedom.

Some of that equanimity may stem from the fact that Britains case rate, while high, has not yet risen anywhere near the level that government officials predicted when they lifted virtually all Covid restrictions last month. Some may be because so many Britons are vaccinated, fewer serious cases are being reported. And some of it may simply reflect fatigue, after 17 months of baleful headlines and stifling lockdowns.

Theres a feeling that finally we can breathe; we can start trying to get back what weve lost, said Devi Sridhar, the head of the global public health program at the University of Edinburgh. Its really difficult to ask people not to mix for a prolonged period, especially if there is no solution.

With nearly 80 percent of the adult population fully vaccinated and the virus still circulating widely, Professor Sridhar said, Britain may be a model for other countries of whether you can manage Covid in a sustainable way. The evidence, she added, was inconclusive because Britain still faces critical challenges, like the reopening of schools on Wednesday.

That will almost certainly drive rates up further, particularly because Britain has resisted vaccinating children and younger teenagers. But epidemiologists are loath to make specific predictions because many were proved wrong in July when cases fell immediately after Freedom Day, when most restrictions were lifted.

New cases, in any event, are a less all-important metric than they once were, given that a much smaller percentage of those infected end up in the hospital than in the earlier stages of the pandemic. Almost 970 people were admitted to hospitals on Aug. 24, the most recent date for which data is available. That compares with 4,583 on Jan. 12, the peak of the last wave of infections.

Hospitalizations are rising, however, as is the fatality rate. Admissions last week were up 6.7 percent over the previous seven-day period, while deaths were up 12.3 percent, totaling 133 people on Saturday. With a backlog of patients with other illnesses, doctors say the National Health Service has little slack to cope with another influx of Covid victims.

Weve found rising numbers of cases, and we are under a lot of pressure again, said Susan Jain, a specialist in anesthesia and intensive therapy who works in the intensive care unit at the Homerton University Hospital in East London. All our Covid cases are unvaccinated by choice.

The government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, preoccupied with the chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan, has said little about the rising hospital numbers or indeed about the pandemic at all in recent weeks.

Relieved that the more gloomy predictions of spiraling cases have not materialized, the government argues that its strategy has been vindicated, with infections manageable because of the success of its vaccination campaign.

Nadhim Zahawi, the minister responsible for the vaccine rollout, compared the daily total of new cases with a similar moment in December. There were **five times** the number of deaths we see today, he wrote on Twitter, adding, The vaccines are working.

Still, critics said a death toll of around 100 a day should not be a source of pride. Moreover, they said, Britains early lead in the vaccination race meant that some protection from inoculations was starting to fade.

Aug. 29, 2021, 10:10 p.m. ET

It is a grim new normal, said Gabriel Scally, a visiting professor of public health at the University of Bristol and a former regional director of public health.

Britains Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization is likely to recommend booster shots soon, but they will initially be targeted at people with weakened immune systems.

Because Britain was one of the first big countries to do mass vaccination, Professor Scally said, it will be one of the first to experience the waning of immunity an issue that has afflicted Israel, another early vaccine adopter. And despite its robust rollout, Britain has not reached the highest levels of population immunity because millions of young people remain unprotected.

The governments policy on vaccinating younger teenagers is in flux, with no decision yet on whether to go ahead with a campaign to jab those 12 to 15, though Britains medical regulator has authorized a vaccine for this age group.

The rollout of the vaccine program for adults has been incredibly impressive, but, for children and young people it has been frankly shambolic, Camilla Kingdon, the president of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, said this month.

At the same time, public observance of measures to contain the spread of the virus seems to be slipping, a factor that some epidemiologists said accounted for Britain having a higher case rate than countries like France and Spain, where infections are now falling.

I do wear masks indoors in public places, said Philip Crossley, 69, walking on a street in the northern city of Bradford. I noticed a lot of people dont. Maybe thats not a big problem, but they still could carry the virus.

UnderstandVaccine and Mask Mandates in the U.S.

According to official survey data, about nine in 10 Britons said they had used face coverings within the past seven days when outside their homes. But anecdotal evidence suggests that compliance is much spottier, even on buses and subways in London, where wearing a mask is still compulsory.

After most restrictions were lifted, the transport police lost legal responsibility for enforcement of that rule. That left the task to transportation workers, who have been advised by one union to avoid confrontations with the public.

Our members have no enforcement powers, and its a bit of a farce, really, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers said in a statement. Its an impossible situation, so our advice to our members is that they should not substitute for the police and should stay safe.

Outside Downing Street, an anti-lockdown protester, Simon Parry, said he had never worn a mask on public transportation and had yet to be challenged.

I get people looking at me like I want to kill my grandmother, he conceded before adding that he thought the argument was moving his way and that one woman had recently shed her face mask after an exchange on the subway. I make it my mission to get someone to take a mask off in the Tube, he said.

One government minister, Greg Hands, tweeted a picture of himself on the subway wearing a mask, but complained that only about half of the passengers around him were doing likewise.

The office of Londons mayor, Sadiq Khan, said its data showed that 82 percent of passengers said they always wore face coverings on subway trains and buses, a solid number given the central governments decision not to adopt a national mandate for face coverings on public transportation.

Other critics blame the governments mixed messages, pointing to members of Mr. Johnsons Conservative Party, many of whom abandoned their masks when they returned to a crowded chamber of Parliament recently to discuss Afghanistan. The governments official position is that people should wear face coverings when confined indoors.

For some who objected to Britains recurring lockdowns, the return to normalcy was both welcome and overdue. But some said the tensions between freedom and security could easily resurface.

The intensity has gone out of the debate, but it will come back if there is another wave, said Jonathan Sumption, a former justice on Britains Supreme Court who has been an outspoken critic of the lockdowns.

If it does come back, he added, well then be in the position that even the vaccines dont work. What is the exit route?

Aina J. Khan contributed reporting from Bradford, England.

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Coronavirus in UK: Britons, Unfazed by High Covid Rates, Weigh Their Price of Freedom - The New York Times

ATLANTA A new survey is giving insight into vaccine hesitancy in Georgia.

Channel 2s Lori Wilson talked to Emory Universitys Vice Chair of Epidemiology, Dr. Jodie Guest, about the three main reasons people say they havent gotten the COVID-19 vaccine.

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According to a survey distributed by the U.S. census, 60% of people in Georgia who are vaccine hesitant dont trust that the vaccine works. At least 57% say they are concerned about side effects.

Another 50% said they dont believe they need a vaccine.

That third reason people are hesitating to get vaccines in Georgia is particularly relevant to younger people.

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The third one in the state of Georgia is they dont feel that they need it yet, Guest said. And that is particularly relevant for the 18- to 39-year-old population that we see in Georgia, which are really leading our case count.

Guest suggests that maybe some of those people have recovered from COVID-19 and are relying on their natural immunities.

But Guest said data shows that even if you have had a natural COVID-19 infection, you might have some antibodies, but they dont offer the same protection as the vaccine does.

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You are two times more likely to become sick with COVID-19 again, unless youre vaccinated, Guest said. So if weve got two groups of people who both had COVID, the vaccinated group is significantly more protected from getting the Delta variant than the unvaccinated group.

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Why are Georgians hesitant about COVID-19 vaccines? Here are the top 3 reasons - WSB Atlanta

Sssssseriously?

Getting very ill with COVID-19 is like getting bitten by a poisonous rattlesnake, according to a new medical study.

Researchers including from Stony Brook University on Long Island have identified an enzyme in the coronavirus that ravages the body like the neurotoxins from rattlesnake venom, according to the analysis published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Targeting the enzyme, which causes severe inflammation, could better treat and save the lives of COVID-19 patients amid the virus resurgence with the Delta variant, said the studys scientists from the SUNY school, the University of Arizona and Wake Forest University.

The coronavirus enzyme, sPLA2-II, has similarities to an active enzyme in rattlesnake venom that is typically found in low concentrations in healthy individuals and has long been known to play a critical role in humans defense against bacterial infections, the study says.

But when the same enzyme circulates at high levels, it can shred the membranes of vital organs, said University of Arizonas Floyd Ski Chilton, a senior author of the paper.

The study supports a new therapeutic target to reduce or even prevent COVID-19 mortality, explained co-author Doctor Maurizio Del Poeta of Stony Brooks Renaissance School of Medicine.

Because inhibitors of sPLA2-IIA already exist, our study supports the use of these inhibitors in patients with elevated levels of sPLA2-IIA to reduce, or even prevent, COVID-19 mortality.

Del Poeta said Chilton contacted Stony Brook to analyze blood samples in COVID-19 patients to study the snake venom-type enzyme.

Dr. Del Poeta and his team, co-led by him and research assistant Jeehyun Karen You, collected stored blood plasma samples and analyzed medical charts from 127 patients hospitalized at Stony Brook University Hospital between January and July 2020.

A collection of 154 patient samples from Stony Brook and Banner University Medical Center in Tucson between January and November 2020 also were examined.

Our study is especially timely given how the Delta variant is contributing to rising COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization rates both in the US and worldwide, You said.

As of Friday, 55,453 people have died from COVID-19 in New York state, according to data provided to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As the Delta variant makes its way through communities across the country, its crucial we keep doing everything we can to keep each other safe from the COVID virus, Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement Sunday.

Wear a mask, and, if you havent already, get your vaccine as soon as you can. The vaccine is the best way to protect yourselves and your loved ones.

Hochul and the state Health Department issued a mandate Friday requiring staff and students in public and private schools to wear masks for the new academic year to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The DOH last week also approved an emergency rule requiring virtually all 450,000 healthcare workers in hospitals, nursing homes and other settings to get the coronavirus vaccine or face disciplinary action including getting fired.

Meanwhile 634,157 people were killed by the coronavirus throughout the United States.

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Getting very ill with COVID-19 is like rattlesnake bite: study - New York Post

As the NBA braces for another season with the threat of COVID-19 lurking, the league is taking steps to minimize outbreaks around the league. In a statement announcing its latest measures, the league said Saturday all NBA referees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 for the 2021-22 season.

Per the league's statement:

The NBA announced today that it has reached an agreement with the National Basketball Referees Association requiring vaccinations for all referees working NBA games during the 2021-22 season.

The agreement specifies that all referees must be fully vaccinated unless they have a religious or medical exemption. The referees have also agreed to take any recommended boosters. Any referee who does not get vaccinated and is not exempt will be ineligible to work games.

The National Basketball Referees Association (NBRA) voted on the deal prior to the announcement, and were in agreement that it was the right decision.

"This agreement is a win-win," the NBRA said in a statement. "It supports the NBA's objective of creating a safer on-court environment & continuity of play while protecting the health & wellbeing of the officials; a clear example of when labor and management work together for the common good of collective business."

The announcement comes after it was reported earlier in the week that the league would also be requiring any team, arena and personnel who regularly interact with players and referees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, per The Athletic's Shams Charania. Thatincludes coaches, front-office members, medical and equipment staff, player development, team and arena security, social media team, PR employees and those who work the scorer's table. It also includes any personnel who will work near the court, like broadcasters and photographers. Back-of-house team and arena operations will also be required to be vaccinated, like locker room attendants, and those who provide food and drinks. The deadline for team personnel to be fully vaccinated is Oct. 1, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps.

Players are not required to get vaccinated, but last season the league and the NBPA agreed that certain COVID-19 restrictions would be relaxed if a certain vaccination threshold was met on a team-by-team basis. Some players across the league advocated for people to get vaccinated, while also sharing pictures of getting vaccinated themselves.

The league is hoping that it won't run into as many postponed games as it did a season ago if a large portion of the league is vaccinated. The 2021-22 regular season starts on Oct. 19, with training camps set to begin in late September.

Continued here:

NBA requiring referees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 this upcoming season - CBS Sports

Texas Pastor Danny Reeves plans to share his own dire experience with COVID-19 with his congregation and encourage everyone who's eligible to get vaccinated. Courtesy of Danny Reeves hide caption

Texas Pastor Danny Reeves plans to share his own dire experience with COVID-19 with his congregation and encourage everyone who's eligible to get vaccinated.

Last month, Pastor Danny Reeves was fighting for his life in the ICU at Dallas' Baylor Medical Center. He had COVID-19 and he wasn't vaccinated.

Now, the senior pastor at First Baptist Corsicana in North Central Texas regrets not getting the shot earlier, and he plans to tell his congregants his story on Sunday when he returns to the pulpit.

"I was falsely and erroneously overconfident," Reeves told NPR's Debbie Elliott on Morning Edition.

Reeves says he isn't against vaccines, and he encouraged certain people in his community mostly seniors to get vaccinated before he contracted coronavirus. But he thought since he's in his 40s and generally healthy, getting the virus wouldn't be a big deal.

"Unfortunately, that was the attitude that I had: That if I did get it, I thought it would just be a nothing issue. And in that I was deeply, deeply wrong."

Pastor Danny Reeves, on why he didn't get a COVID-19 vaccine

Reeves describes his experience at the hospital as "harrowing." At one point during his two night stay at the ICU, a doctor told Reeves he might die.

Weeks later, Reeves is still recovering.

"It ravaged my healthy body," he said. "There's no doubt."

COVID-19 cases are surging across North Texas and projections indicate they may soon reach last winter's peak.

Of his first service back, Reeves says, "We're going to praise God together for his rescue. I'm going to lay out lessons that I've learned ... And certainly I'm going to talk straight to our people about who we can and should be as God's people and what it really means to love our neighbor."

Reeves says he plans to get vaccinated once his doctor tells him it's safe to do so.

This story originally appeared on the Morning Edition live blog.

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Texas Pastor Who Almost Died Of COVID To Preach Vaccination - NPR

The University of Iowas student governments said they feel like the rules are stacked against them when navigating COVID-19 incentivization and mitigation on campus.

The University of Iowa strongly encourages mask-wearing and the COVID-19 vaccine, which is the most that the university can do, with the state Board of Regents holding the gavel to mandate masks on campus.

Regents President Mike Richards lifted the state of emergency for regent-governed universities on May 20, ending the requirement of masks for all faculty, staff, and students.

Moala Bannavti, UI Graduate Professional Student Government president, said she thinks the UI is doing everything it can legally to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 among faculty and students, but as a UI leader, she has non-negotiables about the pandemic.

The question becomes, If peoples lives are at risk, are we all going to just sit around and stop and stare at the law, or are we going to do something beyond that to save lives, even if its intermediately? Like I said, we all have to have a hill that were willing to die on, Bannavti said.

Bannavti said she has been speaking every day to university personnel about COVID-19 to do everything she and her executive board can.

Somebody is going to have to lose, so let us all be on the right side of history when this is over and take the side of public safety, she said. Weve seen time and time again, where things that were law and legal were not correct. And we, as a country, have rectified them.

As previously reported by The Daily Iowan, the UI is the only Big Ten institution that does not require masks on campus.

Undergraduate Student Government President Regan Smock said it has been a frustrating time to work within the rules. The UI has not been able to collect information on which students are vaccinated.

It felt like playing within a game where it was completely stacked against you, Smock said. But its been kind of honestly, like, a great learning experience for me to be able to think outside of that, and how we can still do stuff.

Smock said the UIs student governments plan to announce a COVID-19 vaccination incentivization program for students to win prizes like Apple products, a tour of Kinnick Stadium, dinner with UI President Barbara Wilson, meditation app subscriptions, and private yoga lessons.

I think something else, and one of the almost hardest things to work with, is just not being able to collect any information about vaccine status, Smock said. Because if students are, like, 90 percent vaccinated, we dont know that, and itd be a very different situation.

GPSG Vice President Walt Wang said a lot of the graduate and professional students that he has talked to are very disappointed right now.

He said after going to the UIs Campaign to Organize Graduate Students Union meeting last week, COGS members said they feel that there has been a breach of their contract and safe employment.

The fact that they happen to feel that way indicates a problem because students arent supposed to feel that their workplace will pose a danger, Wang said.

Smock said while she thinks the general population of Iowa City would opt for a mask mandate against the regents orders, the UI administration has done the most it can right now.

Weve been able to speak with President Wilson so many times about it, Smock said. I really do think shes doing an amazing job with what shes handling, especially like her first year and how to navigate a very different political climate than her last state. Its a tough thing, and honestly, having that door be so open has been really nice.

Excerpt from:

UI student governments respond to regents' COVID-19 rules - UI The Daily Iowan

As governments and industries work toward a net-zero future, the food system remains a stubborn source ofone-thirdof total global emissions. While some new technologies are finally nudging carbon outputs in the right direction, one underutilized technology stands out as a climate game-changer genetically engineered crops.

In 2018, greenhouse gas emissions from the global food systemtotaled16 billion tons CO2equivalents per year (GtCO2e/yr), and of global food system emissions, a quarter (about 4 GtCO2e/yr) comes from conversions of natural ecosystems to farmland. Our research shows that modifying key crops in the US with just one new genetically engineered trait could increase yields by 15%, thereby decreasing global food system emissions from land conversion by 5%, or 214 million tons CO2equivalents per year (MtCO2e/yr). With the addition of two more genetically engineered (GE) crop traits, that yield increase could quadruple to 60%, causing dramatic emissions reductions on a global scale.

Crop yield increases have historically played a crucial role in limiting land conversion and associated emissions without them, land use for cereal production would haveexpandedover 6 times more than it did. Improvements in crop genetics have contributed roughlyhalfof historical yield gains, making yield growth a powerful way toreduceemissions.

Increasing crop yields by using genetic engineering to improve crop genetics has a large, but largely overlooked, potential to reduce agricultures climate footprint. By someestimates, dramatic improvements in plant breeding, including genetic engineering, could reduce global agricultural GHG emissions by almost 1 Gt CO2e/year by 2050, mainly by increasing yields.

Historically, most GE crops commercialized in the US were not designed explicitly to increase yields, but that is changing. A long-pursued application of genetic engineering in agriculture has been to improve photosynthesis in crop plants because photosynthesis is a key determinant of crop yields. Plant breeding has led to huge agricultural improvements, but photosynthesis is a process that cant be improved much using conventional breeding. Until relatively recently, improving photosynthesis in field crops was hypothetical. But three studies published from 20162020 through the National Science Foundation-funded Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) project show crop yield increases of1540%from different GE traits that improve photosynthesis by improvingadaptationto changing light,detoxifyingphotosynthetic byproducts, andaddingcellular machinery. All these traits combined could increase crop yields by a revolutionary60%, compared to the13%average annual yield increases in UScorn, soybeans, and wheat since the 1960s (Figure 1).

If we apply just one RIPE-developed improvement to photosynthesis with the smallest [1] yield increase to the five most widely-grown GE crops in the US, avoided emissions could total 214 million tons CO2equivalents per year (MtCO2e/yr). If this photosynthetic improvement were also adopted on half the US acreage of wheat we assume lower adoption because no GE wheat is currently grown in the US avoided emissions could total 221 MtCO2e/yr.

Of this total 221 MtCO2e/yr in emissions avoided, Figure 2 above shows that the vast majority is due to avoided emissions from land-use change, with only small increases or decreases in production emissions. Avoided emissions from land-use change are based on the assumption built into the Carbon Benefits Calculator we use fromSearchingeret al.(2018) that increased crop production in one location leads to a proportional decrease in production and related land-use change elsewhere. Because the US typically has higher crop yields than the global average (Figure 3), increasing US production by growing GE crops with higher yields results in a net reduction of global agricultural land area and emissions.

We project that production emissions, on the other hand, would not change much. These include the emissions associated with inputs to production including fertilizer application, on-farm energy use, and production of fertilizer and pesticides. Since production emissions are measured per output, they only increase if higher input levels dont lead to higher yields. The only crop for which production emissions would increase is soybean because cultivation in the US has higher emissions per bushel than the global average due to high fertilizer use. Figure 2 also shows that different crops contribute vastly different amounts of total emissions savings, due primarily to the total area on which theyre grown in the US, and secondarily to the difference between average US and average global yields for that crop.

To be sure, there are limitations to our analysis. In using theSearchingeret al.(2018)Carbon Benefits Calculator, we assume a 1:1 relationship between increased crop production in the US and decreased crop production elsewhere. While raising yields in one location does generallyreducethe need to convert new cropland elsewhere (because global crop demand and production are rising), it is difficult to predict how land use will respond to crop yield increases in aparticularsituation becauseoutcomes vary. However, even under the conservative assumption that only half of increased crop production in the US leads to decreased crop production elsewhere, the mitigation potential is still large at 109 MtCO2e/yr.

Of course, GE crops can mitigate the climate impacts of agriculture via mechanisms beyond increasing yields, and the two are not mutually exclusive. Another long-pursued goal of plant breeding is to make more crops, particularly grain crops, able tofixtheir own nitrogen as legume crops like soybeans, chickpeas, and lentils do through a symbiotic relationship with bacteria that pull nitrogen gas out of the air and convert it to a form plants can use (production of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer also pulls nitrogen gas from the air but using an industrial process). More nitrogen-fixing crops could decrease the need for fertilizer application and related emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, as well as fertilizer runoff that pollutes waterways. Even crops bred for increased nitrogen useefficiency(i.e. how plants take up, assimilate, and allocate nitrogen) could achieve a portion of this impact. A 1% increase in nitrogen use efficiency of cereal crop production just in Brazil could decrease nitrogen fertilizer application by over20,000 tons(compared to almost 2 million tons total applied to cereal crops in Brazil in 2011).

In order to fully benefit from agricultural applications of biotechnology, the US and other countries should make sure that regulations adequately mitigate risk without unnecessarily stifling innovation and commercialization of useful technologies. Likely all photosynthetic improvements will be achieved using transgenics, which involves the insertion of DNA from outside a plants species or natural breeding pool; and while the new 2020SECURErule for biotechnology regulation in the US is a dramatic improvement for non-transgenic traits, the regulation of transgenic GE traits isnot substantially improved. [2]The SECURE rule first categorizes the level of potential risk from a GE trait based on the way it was engineered rather than the actual characteristics of the resulting plant, which isinconsistentwith the factors that influence risk. By remedying this issue the USDA would better allocate resources and reduce the unnecessary regulatory burden on low-risk traits. Similar regulatory changes in other countries would allow more global benefit from GE technology in agriculture.

To maximize the environmental potential of biotechnology, countries must also allow for imports of human-edible GE foods such as wheat. Wheat is largely used for human consumption, while GE soybean, maize, cotton, canola, and sugarbeet mainly go to animal feed, non-food products, and/or highly processed products for human consumption (which containlittle to noremaining genetic material). Regulations in many countries prevent the import of GE crops for human consumption, which has hampered the commercialization of GE wheat even in the US. A GE wheat could be commercialized and grown for human consumption domestically, but this would jeopardize wheat exports. Recently,Argentinaapproved the worlds first GE wheat for commercialization, but only after confirming thatBrazil which buys almost 50% of Argentinas wheat exports would accept the product for importation. These examples of GE wheat demonstrate that global regulatory change is needed to amplify the global benefit from GE crops.

Despite the greater potential benefit from GE crop adoption on a global scale, the climate benefits are clear even with the adoption of yield-enhancing photosynthetic improvements in the US. We show that using genetic engineering to improve photosynthetic efficiency in crops just in the US could increase yields by at least 15%, and thereby decrease global food system emissions from land conversion by 5%, or 214 MtCO2e/yr. With multiple improvements to photosynthetic efficiency, yields could increase by a revolutionary 60%, with a concomitant decrease in global food system emissions. Further emissions-reducing GE traits like nitrogen fixation and increased nitrogen use efficiency make it eminently clear that GE crops are powerful tools for making agriculture more climate-friendly.

In order to calculate potential avoided emissions from cultivation of crops with enhanced photosynthetic efficiency, we used a 15% increase in biomass yield at flowering [3] as shown in field trials of tobacco byKromdijket al.(2016). SinceKromdijket al.(2016) measured plant biomass at flowering, we assumed an average of 50% yield partitioning to the harvested product for our six crops, meaning that the increase in harvested product would be 15%. We then applied this yield increase to the top five most widely-grown GE crops in the US (soybean, maize, cotton, canola, and sugarbeet). We also applied the yield increase to wheat but assumed adoption on only half of wheat acreage since GE wheat is not currently grown or approved for production in the US. [4] We used crop acreage and yield data from FAOSTAT, and fertilizer use data fromZhanget al.(2015). We modeled a scenario where a GE trait that increases crop yields by 15% was available in 2017 and adopted at the same rate as other GE traits in the US that year, using values for percent adoption from Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops in 2017, (ISAAA).

When calculating production emissions using theSearchingeret al.(2018)Carbon Benefits Calculator, we entered site-specific values only for fertilizer application, using default values for on-farm energy use and energy used to produce fertilizer and pesticides; for fertilizer application, we made the conservative assumption that it increases in proportion to the increase in crop yield. When calculating the carbon benefits for each crop, we used the default carbon opportunity cost for each crop with the default 4% discount rate; under the scenario where only half of the increased crop production in the US leads to decreased crop production elsewhere, we reduced the percentage of replacement crops attributed to intensification to 50%.

We use the low end of yield increases achieved through RIPE research as a conservative estimate. Results will vary with different traits across different growing conditions, but gains from all three of these traits together would likely be consistently above 15%.

According to RIPE scientists, traits developed through the project will take15-20years to pass through the US regulatory process.

A 15% increase in vegetative biomass, assuming 50% yield partitioning to vegetative biomass and 50% to reproductive biomass, results in a 15% increase in reproductive biomass: 0.5 vegetative/0.5 reproductive=0.15 increase in vegetative/x -> x=0.15 increase in reproductive. In modern grain cultivars about 60% of yield is partitioned to the grain, so 50% is a reasonable conservative value for maize and wheat(Longet al., 2006). Yield partitioning in modern soybean cultivars is approaching 60%(Koesteret al., 2014). In modern canola cultivars, yield partitioning is around 40-50%(Zhang and Flottmann, 2016). Yield partitioning in sugarbeet ranges from 50-85% depending on how yield is calculated (De, Moore, and Mikkelsen, 2019;Hoffmann, 2019). For seed cotton, yield partitioning ranges between 55-65% (Pabuayon, 2020;Makhdum, 2007).

After27 yearsof commercialized GE crops in the US, Argentina is about to commercialize the worlds first GEwheat.

Emma Kovak is a food and agriculture analyst at the Breakthrough Institute. Follow her on Twitter@EmmaKovak

A version of this article was originally posted at theBreakthrough Instituteand has been reposted here with permission. The Breakthrough Institute can be found on Twitter@TheBTI

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Viewpoint: Carbon-preserving regenerative agriculture inextricably linked to CRISPR and gene edited crops - Genetic Literacy Project

Scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden apply a combination of spatial resolved transcriptomics profiling, single-cell RNA sequencing and image analyses to identify new microarchitectural nuances in human white fat (adipose) tissue, whose inherent disparateness has been poorly understood, until now.

They identify 18 different types of fat cells (adipocyte) with unique tendencies to form different types of clusters in white adipose tissue. These include three mature fat cell subtypes with distinct location-specific mRNA and protein signatures, only one of which (called AdipoPLIN) responds to insulin in the body.

Spatial mapping of human white adipose tissue under the skin, detects 18 cell types [Backdahl et al/Cell Metabolism]The findings are reported in the article, Spatial mapping reveals human adipocyte subpopulations with distinct sensitivities to insulin published in the journal Cell Metabolism. The findings may help develop better treatments for metabolic diseases such as obesity and insulin-resistant type 2 diabetes.

Niklas Mejhert, researcher at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge, at the Karolinska Institute says, These findings increase our knowledge about the function of fat tissue. They show that the overall capacity of fat tissue to respond to insulin is determined by the proportion and function of a specific fat cell subtype.

The researchers examine how the different subtypes of fat cells in white adipose tissue respond to transient increases in insulin levels, to assess whether the fat cell subtypes perform different functions. They observe insulin activates gene expression in the subtype AdipoPLIN but not the other two subtypes (AdipoLEP and AdipoSAA). They also observe the response to insulin stimulation in these cells is proportional to the individuals overall insulin sensitivity.

Our findings challenge the current view of insulin resistance as a generally reduced response to insulin in the fat cells, says Mikael Rydn, PhD, professor at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge, at the Karolinska Institute and co-corresponding author on the study.

Mikael Rydn, PhD, professor and senior consultant at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institute [Souce: Ulf Sirborn]Instead, our study suggests that insulin resistance, and possibly type 2 diabetes, could be due to changes in a specific subtype of fat cells. This shows that fat tissue is a much more complex tissue than previously thought. Like muscle tissue, people have several types of fat cells with different functions, which opens up for future interventions targeted at different fat cell types, says Rydn.

Niklas Mejhert, PhD, researcher at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institute is co-corresponding author on the study [Nancy Farese]Rydn and Mejherts group developed the spatial transcriptomics approach for this study in collaboration with Patrik Sthl, PhD, associate professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology and SciLifeLab, scientific consultant to 10x Genomics which holds the IP rights to the spatial transcriptomics technology and co-corresponding author on the study.

This study is unique in that it is the first time weve applied spatial transcriptomics to fat tissue, which has a special set of characteristics and composition, says Sthl. We are very happy that the technology continues to contribute to solving biologically complex questions in an increasing number of research areas.

The study brings forth other novel insights on adipose tissue. For instance, earlier studies have shown adipocyte size affects their function, including the amount of signaling molecules they release. Spatial mapping in the current study confirms gene expression differs in large versus small fat cells, however, it also shows that the distribution of fat cells of different sizes is similar among the different fat cell subtypes, indicating fat cell size does not determine the difference in fat cell function. The study also suggests the specialized mature fat cells are derived from specific precursor cells.

Further studies will be needed to ascertain whether the different progenitor cells that the authors have identified contribute to the heterogeneity of mature fat cell structure and function.

Read more here:

Microarchitecture and Insulin Responsiveness of Fat Cells Uncovered by Spatial Transcriptomics - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

The return of Euphoria for season two seems to be the hot topic of the summer, and everyone in the cast is talking about it. Since the HBO series first aired in 2019, its become an obsessive binge watch of many not only inspiring a new generation of style and beauty, but sparking an open conversation around controversial topics that depict the harsh realities of love, identity, drugs, pain and trauma for young people. Both critics and viewers approved, with over five million people tuning in to watch the seasons premiere.

With new cast members comparing season two to a long music video and the shows lead star Zendaya gravely warning us that its not going to be fun to watch, teasers for Euphorias next chapter are finally coming through. From potential plot lines to a possible release date, heres everything we know about it so far.

With a series of unanswered questions. It took us on a journey with 17-year-old narrator, Rue, as she navigated her ongoing battle with drugs following an overdose. After meeting new girl, Jules (thats Hunter Schafer), Rue finally warms to the idea of happiness which ultimately leads to a confusing and uncertain romantic relationship between herself and Jules.

In the final episodes, the pair assemble a plan to run away for good, which Rue backs out of at the last minute, leaving Jules to go away on her own. Back at school, on-and-off again, Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Maddy (Alexa Demie) finally sit down to discuss their toxic relationship and whether a future still exists between them, while Kat (Barbie Ferreira) and Ethan (Austin Abrams) finally admit their feelings for each other.

The finale sees Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and her story develop as she finally opens up to her mother about her unplanned pregnancy and the prospects of having an abortion, after football star McKay (Algee Smith) exclaims he is not ready to be a father. A debt with drug dealers sees Fezco (Angus Cloud) take a dark turn, attempting a high-risk robbery. The season ends with Rue relapsing after several months of being sober.

We dont know exactly what Euphoria season two will look like yet, but in an interview with Teen Vogue last month, Zendaya disclosed that this seasons storyline will definitely be a lot more intense than the first. Its a challenging season, she said. I think this season is not going to be easy though. Its not going to be a fun watch. Perhaps Euphoria will move away from the hedonistic storylines that dominated season one?

This week, in an interview with Variety, 18-year-old actress Storm Reid (who plays Gia, Rues 15-year-old sister) revealed that emotions in season two have heightened and we will be seeing a lot more of Gias development within the show perhaps even her own storyline. Even though I am 18 now, I dont think Gia is quite there, Storm said, but I think she will be evolving as a character and as a human and hopefully get her own episode and we start to see a little bit more of her storyline.

New cast member, the musician Dominic Fike, even compared the show to one long music video when speaking to Variety. All of this, while not giving too much away, tells us that this season is set to be uncomfortable, but beautiful and emotional too.

Filming for season two was set to take place last year, but due to our good sis coronavirus, the schedule was halted, leading to delays. At the time, the team announced on Twitter that they would be pausing production for the foreseeable future to make sure the cast and crew remained safe. Filming officially started again in 2021. In May, Zendaya posted a series of photos on her Instagram stories of her fellow cast members, which revealed that production for season two was back in full swing. It seems like theyre shooting as we speak, but its not unusual for shows to start airing while the filming of later episodes is still underway.

All of the show's main characters will be returning for the second season. Season one introduced us to key characters such as Rue; Jules, a trans girl who is new to the town; Kat Hernandez, a body-conscious teen exploring her identity through camming; and Nate Jacobs, a star quarterback struggling to deal with his sexuality. Then theres Maddy Perez, our favourite muse and Nates on-and-off-again girlfriend, forced to deal with the weight of his emotional baggage; and Cassie Howard, who deals with being a victim of revenge porn and having rumours about her sexual history circulating the school.

Season two will introduce at least three new cast members to the show: Dominic Fike, Minka Kelly and rapper Lil Meech. Waves star Kelvin Harrison Jr. was previously set to appear in the show, but dropped out due to other commitments clashing with the rescheduled shoot.

According to Deadline, at least one of those characters will be recurring. Dominic told Variety he will play a degenerate homie of Rue and Jules, but exact details of the roles that new cast members will play is yet to be disclosed.

Last month, in an interview with the AP, Zendaya revealed that the cast and crew were about one-third of the way through the filming process. The new series is being shot on film, so factoring in that added morsel of aesthetic beauty, were prepared to wait a little longer for new episodes. Fingers crossed HBO will announce a premiere date of late 2021 or early 2022 for Euphoria season two very soon.

Follow i-D onInstagramandTikTokfor more on Euphoria

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Everything we know about season two of Euphoria - i-D

When it comes to breakfast, I've long believed people can be split into two camps: those who see the first meal of the day as a time to inject the right fuel into the body so that it runs like a well-oiled machine, and those who are hedonists. They're the ones who eat like they've been invited to a feast at Marie Antoinette's castle, all cakes, batter and attractive men feeding them fruit dripping with chocolate.

Lavish Turkish breakfasts aside, I've actually never been one for consuming anything besides coffee until midday, but the one dish that brings me Marie Antoinette-level undone? Hamur kzartmas, a super-yeasty dough which is fried until it balloons like a pillow and is then consumed piping hot and sprinkled with sugar. In Turkey, land of the dedicated glutton, it is considered a breakfast food and I hear it goes well with cigarettes, disappointment and endless cups of tea (I'm a non-smoker and pretty happy-go-lucky so I can't and won't vouch for this). What I will say, however, is my commitment to this dish is absolute.

HAMUR KIZARTMASI IS SPECIAL, TOO

My aunty's name is Sabiha, but I refer to her as "the drug pusher" for she is the one who first introduced me to this dish back when I was visiting her in Ankara as a small child. Frustrated by my unwillingness to eat anything, she got to work in the kitchen, hands busily kneading a particularly pungent dough (decades later I now know it smells like beer), a lit cigarette dangling from her lips. "If this doesn't get you eating, I don't know what will," she uttered as she pulled the dough into small pieces and pounded them with the palm of her hand. She was terrifying in her determination, but with a mouthwatering smell filling the kitchen as the fritters fried, I had to admit I was also excited. "Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!" Dom Perignon apparently said when he tasted the first Champagne, and this is precisely how I felt when I took my first bite of Hamur kzartmaz. Stars that stretch on for eternity.

Over the years, it's become our little habit, a starting gun sounding the beginning of my annual trip back to Turkey. "Yenge, I'll be there next week," I'll message my aunt before my trip. "Excellent! I'll go and get the dough," she'll respond, sticking to her time-honoured tradition of buying her dough ready-made from a specialty shop around the corner. When I arrive in Istanbul, where she now lives, she throws open the door, runs toward the kitchen and begins throwing pieces of dough into the oil. Hamur kzartmas bookends each trip to Turkey. It's our first meal and our last. I always savour the last bite knowing it will be a year before I eat it again. Well, I did until COVID-19 hit.

"Hamur kzartmas bookends each trip to Turkey. It's our first meal and our last."

It's been two years since I've tasted my aunty's hamur kzartmas, indeed, two years since I've seen my family and how I yearn for both. There are recipes for the dish online of course, but something about making and eating it in my own home feels off, like a betrayal. I stick to my coffee and my weekend Turkish breakfast spreads and try not to think about what I'm missing. Or, that was the case until recently when I came across a version of the dish at a stall at Kings Cross Organic Food Markets. It didn't quite look the same (this one is rolled into a snail like brek), but one bite was all it took for me to be transported back to my aunty's house in Istanbul. "Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!" I shouted to my children playing in the playground beside us. Then, together we sat, side by side, eating the Milky Way together. It's a new tradition that will have to make do until we can go back and reclaim the old, and I for one, cannot wait.

Originally posted here:

Hamur kzartmas: the breakfast choice of hedonists - SBS