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In one more hurdle for Iron Dome, Rand Paul refuses to fast-track $1 billion in new funding – JTA News – Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Posted: October 7, 2021 at 4:10 pm

WASHINGTON (JTA) Rand Paul, the Republican senator from Kentucky, is the latest lawmaker to get in the way of $1 billion in new assistance to Israel to replenish its Iron Dome anti-missile system.

Paul on Thursday revealed himself to be the single senator refusing to hotline the bill now that it has been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives. Hotlining is when all 100 senators agree to allow a bill to go straight to the floor for a vote, substantially accelerating the process.

Paul is one of the most outspoken opponents of foreign assistance, and for a period a number of years ago proposed eliminating assistance to Israel. Now, aspokesperson for Paul told Politico that Paul will drop his objection to the Iron Dome hotlining if the $1 billion comes from proposed assistance to Afghanistan.

In an email Friday, Paul told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that all 50 Republicans in the Senate backed his formula for using money from funds designated for Afghanistan. but Democrats were opposed.

All 50 Republicans have agreed to my hotline to fully fund Iron Dome with funds that might otherwise go to the Taliban, he said. Democrats are holding my bill to fund Iron Dome.

Pauls stand is the latest wrinkle in a funding request that has roiled Congress. Progressives last week squelched a plan by the Democratic leadership in the House to slip the money into an unrelated emergency stopgap government funding bill, saying the last-minute inclusion undercut congressional conventions.

Instead, the Democratic leadership advanced the funding in a standalone bill, which the House approved after a brief debate. The standalone bill passed overwhelmingly, including among progressives in the Democratic caucus.

Israel asked for the $1 billion, which is in addition to $500 million the Iron Dome gets each year, to replenish supplies after Israels Gaza conflict in May.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Twitter urged Paul to stand with our ally Israel.

Blocking emergency funding to ensure Israel can protect its citizens from terrorist rockets rewards Hamas and undermines Americas interests & values, the lobby said.

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Taiwan’s Wealth Shows Cuba’s Poverty Is the Result of Socialism, Not a Blockade – Foundation for Economic Education

Posted: at 4:10 pm

For decades the Communist Party of Cuba has blamed the United States for Cubas misery and poverty, alluding to the blockade that the U.S. maintains against Cuba. However, the alleged blockade wielded by the island is in reality a trade embargo that only makes it impossible for people and companies in certain sectors within the United States to do business with Cuba, the rest of the world can trade freely with the island.

Even the United States annually exports about $277 million in goods to Cuba despite the trade embargo, a majority of these exports are foodstuffs.

In addition, despite the establishment of a dictatorial regime in Cuba that has been in power for more than 60 years without any kind of alternation, elections or basic freedoms, the whole world recognizes the communist authorities and Cuba has a presence in all multilateral international organizations, the main one being the United Nations.

Then there is Taiwan, which has characteristics very similar to those of Cuba, since it is also an island that is close to one of the two world powersChina. In the case of the authorities of Taipei they have been completely blocked by the Asian giant, since China claims sovereignty over the island.

Taiwan is recognized by only a dozen nations around the world, has no representation in the United Nations, and its official name cannot even be pronounced at any international event: be it an Olympic Games, a United Nations General Assembly, or even by the embassies of most countries in the worldincluding the United States. And yet, despite all these difficulties, today Taiwans economy is one of the most important in the world, with a poverty rate of 0.7%, as opposed to Cuba, which has one of the most depressed economies on the planet and 90% of its population living in poverty. What is the difference between the two islands? The economic and political model they applied in their nations.

Cuba and Taiwan, despite being located at two different poles of the planet earth, have very similar characteristics, the one that most resembles them is the fact that they are less than 200 kilometers away from the two superpowers of the worldthe United States and China respectivelyand suffer trade embargoes or political blockades by the neighboring superpowers; on the other hand, Cuba has a little more than 11. 3 million inhabitantsa couple of million more have fled the country, while Taiwan has 23.5 million residents, despite the fact that Cuba has a land area about three times larger.

Despite the similarities, both nations are currently a long way apart in terms of economic, social, cultural, and technological development, as well as individual freedoms and democracy. Today, Taiwans economy is five times larger than Cubas, but fifty years ago things were not so different, in the 1970s the GDP of both countries was similar and the largest industry of both was agriculture.

The painful results of the cultural revolution in Mao Zedongs communist China, which caused the death by famine of at least 30 million Chinese, illuminated the path of the regions governments, who quickly understood that the failed model of putting the State in control of the means of production would make them all more vulnerable and miserable.

Then the Peoples Republic of Chinas neighbors began a series of economic and political reforms that would drastically change the quality of life of their inhabitants; Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and, of course, Taiwan, would begin to open their markets, encourage private enterprise and transform their authoritarian regimes into nations with democratic institutions, and little by little the sun began to shine for the so-called Asian tigers.

Despite territorial limitations and Chinas political blockade of the island, Taiwans inclusive institutions paved the way for the production of technology to supply a severely deficient world market. Taiwanese entrepreneurs began to specialize in the production of semiconductors, those microchips that today we find in all electrical devices in the world, from computers to smartphones and even cars, and little by little the poor island of the past became a rich and developed country.

Currently, Taiwan has the sixth freest economy according to the Index of Economic Freedom, Singapore is the first nation in this section, while Malaysia ranks 22nd and South Korea 24th.

In an article published by the Taiwanese embassy in Mexico, the authorities stated that: Taiwan, thanks to the policies of its government, began a rapid and overwhelming commercial development, becoming a stable industrial economy. Today it is the 22nd largest economy in the world. This allowed it to establish relations with countries that were in search of good trade relations.

In the same brief they explain the transition that occurred in Taipei:

Despite having started as a one-party military dictatorship, in the 1990s it began a process of democratization that today has it as one of the freest countries in the world, with high rates of press freedom, health service, public education, economic freedom and human development. That is why communist China sees Taiwan, and its international recognition, as an existential threat. The contrast is stark. Democracy has not only proven that it can work, but has brought multiple benefits to the population. The Taiwanese have a better quality of life, and opportunities for personal development, than the average Chinese on the mainland. And all this within a framework of freedoms that are unthinkable in a communist China that censures dissidence and whose ruling party increasingly tightens its control over all aspects of the country.

On the other side of the planet, in Cuba, they decided to cover their eyes with the results of the cultural revolution perpetrated in China, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union. While Taiwan took off with a capitalist model, Cuba remained anchored in the old revolutionary dogmas of Fidel Castro, who far from trying to change, he sought to expand his regime of misery in the rest of the continent, achieving it quite successfully in countries such as Venezuela and Nicaragua.

The Cuban revolution took power on the island in 1959 by force of arms and never let go again. With popular slogans such as redistribution of wealth, supposed aid to the poor, and socialism, Fidel Castro began to expropriate land and private companies to be managed by the state, and in a short time Cuba, which used to be one of the largest producers and exporters of sugar in the world, found that it could no longer even produce sugar for internal consumption and had to import it.

For decades, the Cuban revolution was able to stay in power exclusively thanks to the financing offered by the Soviet Union with the aim of increasing the ideological enemies in the backyard of the United States. After the fall of the USSR, in the 90s Cuba lived one of the worst decades of its history, until the political astuteness of Fidel Castro managed to put Hugo Chavez in power in Venezuela, and since then they lived off the oil of that country, until the same failed socialist model ended up ruining the nation with the largest oil reserves in the world, and Cuba was again involved in a tremendous economic crisis, with millions of citizens in extreme poverty, which has recently provoked one of the largest civil uprisings against the communist authorities.

Cuba and Taiwan began the decade of the 70s with similar economies, but today the GDP of the Caribbean island is five times less than that of Taiwan, and 90% of its population lives in poverty, while in the Asian island only 0.7% of its population is poor.

It is definitely not the fault of the blockade, but of socialism.

A version of this article originally appeared in El American.

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Taiwan's Wealth Shows Cuba's Poverty Is the Result of Socialism, Not a Blockade - Foundation for Economic Education

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2005 World Series White Sox and Astros – The Daily Advocate

Posted: at 4:10 pm

By Ron GriffittsContributing Columnist

The 2005 World Series took place between the Chicago White Sox 99-63, managed by Ozzie Guillen who played shortstop for the Sox for thirteen years and had as general manager Ken Williams. They were in their first series since 1959 when Al Lopez was manager, Early Wynn started and Ted Kluszewski had two home runs against the Dodgers in game one.

They were led in batting by Paul Konerko 40 HR, 100 RBI, 98 RS, Joe Crede 22 HR, 62 RBI, Jermaine Dye 31 HR, 86 RBI, Carl Everett 23 HR, 87 RBI and Scott Podsednik 59 SB, .290 BA.

Their pitching staff was led by Mark Buehrne 16-8, Freddy Green 14-8, Jon Garland 18-10, Jose Contreras 15-7 and in the bullpen Dustin Hermanson 2.04 ERA, 34 SV, Cliff Politte 7-1, 2.00 ERA and Neal Cotts 4-0, 1.94 ERA.

They faced the Houston Astros 89-73, playing in their first World Series and managed by former Astros player Phil Garner with general manager Tim Purpura and were led on offense by Lance Berkman 24 HR, 82 RBI, Craig Biggio, playing in his 18th season in the majors, 26 HR, 69 RBI, 94 RS, Morgan Ensberg 36 HR, 101 RBI, 86 RS, Jason Lane 26 HR, 78 RBI and Willy Taveras 34 SB, .291 BA, 82 RS.

It is interesting to note neither team had a starter batting over .300.

The Astro pitching staff was led by starters Roy Oswalt 20-12, 2.94 ERA, Andy Petitte 17-9, 2.39 ERA, Roger Clemens 13-8, 1.87 ERA, Brandon Backe 10-8 and relievers Brad Lidge 42 SV, 2.79 ERA, Chad Qualls 6-4 and Dan Wheeler 2.21 ERA.

Game one was held at U S Cellular Field on the south side of Chicago and was tied 3-3 going into the fourth inning until Joe Crede homered off of Wandy Rodriquez which proved to be the winning run as the Sox go on to a 5-3 victory.

Jose Contreras went seven innings for the win and Jermaine Dye added a home run for Chicago and Mike Lamb one for Houston.

In game two the Astros had a 4-2 lead behind Andy Petitte going into the bottom of the seventh inning until Paul Konerko connected for a grand slam home run off of Chad Qualls to make the score 6-4 Chicago.

The Astros tied it with two runs in the top of the ninth on a two run single by Jose Vizcaino and the game went to the bottom of the ninth tied 6-6.

With one out and Brad Lidge pitching Scott Podsednik lofted a home run over the right center field wall and the Sox go up two games to none with a 7-6 win.

For game three the teams switched to Minute Maid Park in Houston for the first World Series game there ever. This was a key game as Houston did not want to lose at home and led 4-0 behind Roy Oswalt going into the top of the fifth inning.

Joe Crede led off with solo home run and before the side was retired the Sox scored five runs highlighted by a two run single by A. J. Pierzynski for 5-4 lead.

Houston tied the game in the bottom of the eighth and the game went into extra innings until in the top of the fourteenth inning Joe Crede led off with a solo home run and the Sox added another run in the inning for a 7-5 lead.

The Astros had two runners on with two outs in the bottom of the inning but Mark Buehle came in to get the last out and Chicago goes up 3-0.

Game four was the most tightly pitched game of the series and was scoreless until Jermaine Dye singled in Willie Harris with the games only run in the top of the eighth inning and the Sox win the game 1-0 and the series.

The difference in the two teams was in their respective bullpens as the White Sox held leads better than the Astros on their way to their first World Series title since 1917.

Jermaine Dye got the series MVP and Houston returned in 2017 while the White Sox have not been back to a fall classic since 2005 but this year have clinched the AL Central Division and will be in the playoffs as well as the Astros who have clinched the AL West Division.

Statistics were from baseball-reference.com and baseball-almanac.com.

Ron Griffitts a contributing columnist for The Daily Advocate.

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Frontcourt experiment seemed to work for LaMarcus Aldridge and Paul Millsap – NetsDaily

Posted: at 4:10 pm

Steve Nash knows how crowded his frontcourt is. He knows theres a lot of veteran talent and some promising young kids. Getting to a rotation is, as he said Friday, going to be a challenge.

We had an opportunity to get three or four veterans at the minimum. We thought it would be better to get the best players we can and work through that rather than not having the players and trying to figure it out, said Nash Friday.

It will be a challenge. Those guys have to sacrifice. Well have to play for something bigger than ourselves and find a way to affect the group positively whether theyre playing or in the rotation or not in the rotation or youre not even suiting up some nights I think were all here for a bigger goal and thats to see this team be at its best level.

So expect a lot of line-ups, some experiments, in the teams remaining practices and preseason games, starting Friday vs. the Bucks at Barclays Center. But so far, so good. The first experiment, running LaMarcus Aldridge and Paul Millsap together, seems to have worked out well.

Wasnt bad, Steve Nash said of the veteran big men playing together. Paul brings a versatility, and LaMarcus obviously brings his skill set as a true big for us. Theyre both intelligent, know how to play, can play off each other, even if its not a traditional look for our team.

They both had a really good camp. Both moved well, played well, showed their intellect and skill set. I thought they played quite well together even though its not something that weve necessarily done traditionally, played the two bigger guys.

It was pretty smooth, Millsap said of his time on the court with Aldridge. And the way we play, we feel we can implement anybody in the system and be successful, so as long as were moving and were cutting and were playing for each other, its gonna look good.

At the end of last season, after Aldridge went down, Nash started another big with an award-adorned resume, Blake Griffin, at the 5. He didnt play Sunday vs. the Lakers. Nor did Kevin Durant who will occasionally man the big man positions along with other positions in the regular season.

That said, the numbers as well as the win were encouraging. Paul Millsap had a double double of 10 and 10 plus three assists while Aldridge finished with six points, four rebounds and tied a team-high with three assists in little more than a quarters worth of action, playing 14:43 for the game. Also, he used his size and cunning to battle DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard, the Lakers counterpart to him and Millsap.

Nash praised Aldridge in particular during training camp in San Diego.

He looked good. He had a good week of camp and it looks like hes moving well. Confident. Doesnt look like hes missed a beat, said Nash. Were really pleased with him. Excited, one, just to have him back playing the game, back with us, because we enjoyed having him last year. Its icing on the cake that he played so well and looks good.

Its great to have him back. We really enjoyed having him last year for a brief period of time. We were all really sad and devastated for him when he had to retire. He was fitting into our team, but more importantly him having to step away from the game was tough. So to have him back is a great story, and hes been not only a pleasure to coach but he looks good. Playing well, moving well. Im almost a little surprised, considering the layoff and everything that went on.

Nic Claxton will likely get bigger and hopefully more effective minutes Friday night than he did Sunday afternoon vs. the Lakers. He had three straight offensive foul calls early that seemed to take him out of his game and he finished with three points, three boards, three turnovers and six personal fouls. Nash seemed to shrug it off. It is after all, preseason.

Also expect to see more minutes for DayRon Sharpe, whos likely to spend a lot of his time in Long Island. The 19-year-old had a surprisingly good game in his first pro outing, scoring 13 points and grabbing six rebounds in 14 minutes. His performance in training camp impressed the coach. Expect him to take more shots on the perimeter. The Nets see potential there as well as underneath.

He hasnt gotten a lot of shots up here, Nash had said Thursday. But in the future, I think hes capable. He has a soft touch and he can make shots. But thats definitely something hes got to develop.

I mean, shooters shoot. They shoot every day. So if youre trying to become a shooter or you are a shooter, you have to shoot every day if thats where youre going. If youre not a shooter, maybe thats not a part of your development. A guy like that, just like the other shooters on the team, you got to shoot every day and get better at it.

The Nets didnt play James Johnson Sunday. Hell probably start to get some minutes starting Friday.

There will probably be more than just experimentation coming up. Therell be roster decisions. Although the Nets think they see a multi-position in Sekou Doumbouya, hes primarily a defensive big right now. DeVontae Cacok is another big with defensive chops whos facing the numbers game.

But as Alex Schiffer wrote Monday, its a problem a lot of coaches would like to have.

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As Facebook Crumbles, the Case for Breaking It Up Is Weaker Than Ever – Reason

Posted: at 4:07 pm

After a month of disastrous news coverage following various revelations of alleged misdeeds, Facebook reached its nadir on Monday with the site suffering a massive outage. Perhaps Facebook isn't so dominant, after all, and thus government force is absolutely not necessary to constrain it.

All apps in the Facebook familyincluding Instagram and WhatsAppwent down simultaneously on Monday. By the evening, they were up and running again, though not in time to rescue Facebook's stock, which slipped 4.9 percent in value. (CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly lost more than $6 billion in just a few hours.) The outage was so bad that Facebook employees couldn't even get inside the company's headquarters: The security systems were part of the same network.

The company's recent woes have fueled a new wave of criticisms from tech skeptics on both the left and right who want the government to either break up Big Tech, take away its liability protection, or either prohibitor possibly require!so-called misinformation on the platforms. A major theme of the Big Tech battles is that former President Donald Trump, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (DMass.), and everyone in between wants to go after the companies, but for opposite and often conflicting reasons.

Conservatives think the platforms engage in too much moderation and have corrupted democracy in favor of 2020 election winner Joe Biden; liberals think Facebook doesn't practice nearly enough moderationallowing right-wing violence and faulty info about quack COVID-19 cures to spreadand also corrupted U.S. democracy in favor of 2016 election winner Donald Trump. That the most extreme and opportunistic members of both political factions like to blame all their problems on Big Tech probably tells us more about them than it does about Facebook.

If there's one fear that unites the left and right, though, it's moral panic about social mediaInstagram, in particularcausing feelings of depression and anxiety among teenage girls. This isn't a new fear: The psychologist Jean Twenge has been writing about it for years, and even Jonathan Haidt, co-author ofThe Coddling of the American Mind and a figure generally well-respected by libertarians, thinks there's something to it. But it received a powerful narrative boost recently after a former Facebook employee came forward as a "whistleblower" and provided a series of scoops to The Wall Street Journal.The most significant of these scoopsas judged by the fact that it prompted an immediate (and, per usual, wildly embarrassing) Senate hearingconcerned Facebook's internal efforts to gauge Instagram's ill-effects on the mental wellness of young people.

The whistleblower, Frances Haugen, appeared on 60 Minuteson Sunday and will testify before Congress on Tuesday. Thanks to Haugen and the Journal's reporting, we know that Facebook attempted to survey teen users on how the platforms were impacting their mental health. Unsurprisingly, their findings were not entirely encouraging: One in five respondents said Instagram made them feel worse about themselves, and teens already struggling with mental illness said the platform was giving them a harder time.

Ostensibly, the problem with Instagram is that it promotes social competitionthe race for likes and commentsamong users posting artificial, filtered images of themselves, which may exacerbate body images issues. Of course, there's absolutely nothing new about this: Glossy magazines have been accused of doing the same thing for decades, but no one talks about the existential threats of CosmopolitanorTeen Vogue.High school is a major source of misery and depression for many teenagers, but as Mike Solana pointed out in a terrific article on the anti-Facebook crusade, no one is demanding that the secretary of education be hauled before Congress:

Among teenagers in a state of mental crisis, how many are struggling with their family? How many are struggling with their friend group, or their crush? How many are struggling in a classroom? To the question of "does high school make you want to kill yourself," how many suicidal teenagers would answer "yes" emphatically? Almost all of them? Next question, when are [we] dragging the Secretary of Education in front of Congress to explain why he hasn't solved depression?

Solana pointed out that Haugen didn't tell us anything new about Facebook and Instagram: Her achievement was really one of self-branding. Since the mainstream media is already inclined to believe the very worst about social mediaa disfavored upstart competitoranyone who comes forward and tells the media exactly what they want to hear on this subject is going to be celebrated as a hero. Thus Haugen is already being hailed as some sort of brave truth-teller, though her perspective is very much the popular one in progressive circles: Facebook emboldens hate and disinformation, and it has far too much power.

On this last charge, it's never been more apparent that something close to the opposite is true. Far from occupying some dominant and unassailable position in modern society, Facebook's relevance is probably fading. The company is desperate to attract the sorts of usersyoung people, mostlywho provide cultural cache and excite advertisers and investors. But this is increasingly a losing battle. Facebookor "Boomerbook" as some call ithas never been less popular with the kids, and even Instagram faces tremendous competition from Snapchat, TikTok, and whatever cool new thing is coming along next.

"The truth is that Facebook's thirst for young users is less about dominating a new market and more about staving off irrelevance," wroteThe New York Times'Kevin Roose in an article that sounded a highly pessimistic note with respect to the company's long-term health. "Facebook's research tells a clear story, and it's not a happy one."

For the past several years, anti-tech crusaders on both the left and right have assured the public that Facebook is a menace, and can only be stopped via aggressive government action: antitrust legislation, Section 230 reform, and so on. Despite repeated threats, politicians never made good on their promises to do somethingand yet Facebook is undeniably in a much weaker position. While it's hard to predict the future, it's even harder to picture the company mounting some massive comeback and becoming a popular trendsetter once again. Expectations that Facebook had fought its way into an unbeatable, permanent, market-dominant position suddenly look incredibly foolish.

In fact, Facebook may soon find itself in the position ofneedinggovernment intervention to maintain its dominance. It's worth remembering that the company has actually come out in favor of reforming Section 230, the federal statute that limits the legal liability that online platforms face.

"I believe that Section 230 would benefit from thoughtful changes to make it work better for people, but identifying a way forward is challenging given the chorus of people arguingsometimes for contradictory reasonsthat the law is doing more harm than good," noted Zuckerberg during a March 2021 appearance before Congress.

Of course, tinkering with the liability protections enjoyed by social media sites could actually help Facebook stave off competition: As long as the company remains the largest social media site, its armies of moderators might be better prepared to deal with increased moderation demands than smaller rivals like Twitter. Facebook is also better positioned to lobby and steer whatever new governmental agency arises to enforce a modified version of Section 230. All those who support Facebook's bid for ongoing relevance should want the company to hand-pick the members of a new federal bureaucracy tasked with regulating Big Tech's policies; on the other hand, anyone who thinks the company should face free and fair competition might prefer to leave the matter out of the government's hands.

My new book, Tech Panic, is subtitled Why We Shouldn't Fear Facebook and the Future. The events of the past few weeks provide additional, concrete reasons. Zuckerberg's platform is not in control of our lives, our economy, or our democracy, and the mainstream media's cynical attempts to convince the public otherwise should be easierto dismiss in light of recent events.

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Second Genome Presents Preclinical Data at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Demonstrating that…

Posted: at 4:03 pm

Published: Oct. 7, 2021 at 7:00 AM EDT|Updated: 9 hours ago

BRISBANE, Calif., Oct. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Second Genome, a biotechnology company that leverages its proprietary platform sg-4sight to discover and develop precision therapies and biomarkers, presented preclinical data demonstrating that the Company's novel microbiome-derived peptide, SG-3-0020, can upregulate key co-stimulatory and checkpoint molecules on T cells. The data (poster P260) were presented at the 2021 AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held virtually on October 7-10, 2021.

"Our findings that SG-3-0020 enhanced PD-1 expression and IFNg secretion by anti-CD3 activated human T cells in vitro provide a strong rationale for SG-3-0020's potential future use in cancer therapies. Additionally, we are pleased to see these results provided additional validation of the advanced capabilities of sg-4sight, Second Genome's proprietary platform, to identify targets for microbial peptides and proteins with potential therapeutic relevance in immuno-oncology," said Helena Kiefel, Ph.D., Head of Immuno-Oncology at Second Genome. "Given these promising preclinical data, we are looking to furtherdevelop SG-3-0020 with an experienced partner, as we continue to advance SG-3-00802, our lead immuno-oncologyprogramfor whichwe anticipate an IND submission in 2022 for SG-3-00802."

Using Second Genome's large and curated microbiome database coupled with its proprietary bioinformatics and machine learning tools, the Company analyzed the genome of Bifidobacterium (B.) breve and B. longum for proteins which were potentially secreted and had unknown functions. 50 peptides were chemically synthesized and then screened in cell-based assays for T cell activation and cytokine secretion.

SG-3-0020, a novel B. breve-derived 42-aa peptide, stimulated secretion of effector cytokines by in vitro-cultured T cells (IFNg, TNF-a, IL-10 and IL-2) and increased the expression of PD-1 on both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells when stimulated with low-dose anti-CD3 antibody. Mass spec analysis showed that SG-3-05308, a variant of SG-3-0020, binds to a transmembrane glycoprotein of the immunoglobulin superfamily. Silencing this gene via CRISPR-Cas significantly decreased PD-1 levels, cell proliferation and IFNg production in human pan T cells.

The potency of SG-3-0020 was further optimized for binding to activated T cells through protein engineering. The peptide with the highest potency, SG-3-05429, was selected for further investigation of the mechanism by which binding of its glycoprotein target results in activation of downstream T cell signaling pathways.

The poster presentation will be available for on-demand viewing on the AACR-NCI-EORTC Virtual International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics website and will also be made available on the Company's website at https://www.secondgenome.com/news/events.

About Second Genome

Second Genome is a biotechnology company that leverages its proprietary tech platform sg-4sight to discover and develop transformational precision therapies and biomarkers through clinical development and commercialization based on novel microbial genetic insights. We built a proprietary microbiome-based drug discovery and development platform with machine-learning analytics, customized protein engineering techniques, phage library screening, mass spec analysis and CRISPR, that we couple with traditional drug development approaches to progress the development of therapies and diagnostics for wide-ranging diseases. Second Genome is advancing a deep drug discovery and biomarker pipeline with precision therapeutics and biomarker programs in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and cancer, with the lead programs IBD and cancer expected to enter clinical development in 2022. We also collaborate with industry, academic and governmental partners to leverage our microbiome platform and data science. We hold a strategic collaboration with Gilead Sciences, Inc., utilizing our proprietary platform and comprehensive data sets to identify novel biomarkers associated with clinical response to Gilead's investigational medicines. We also hold a strategic collaboration with Arena Pharmaceuticals to identify microbiome biomarkers associated with clinical response for their lead program in gastroenterology, etrasimod. For more information, please visit http://www.secondgenome.com.

Investor Contact: Argot Partners212-600-1902secondgenome@argotpartners.com

Media Contact: Argot Partners212-600-1902secondgenome@argotpartners.com

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SOURCE Second Genome

The above press release was provided courtesy of PRNewswire. The views, opinions and statements in the press release are not endorsed by Gray Media Group nor do they necessarily state or reflect those of Gray Media Group, Inc.

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Amyris Partners with Inscripta to Enhance Development of Sustainable Ingredients Using the Onyx Genome Engineering Platform – PRNewswire

Posted: at 4:03 pm

Amyris' product development and formulation teamuses a proprietaryLab-to-Market operating system to develop and scale a growing portfolio of sustainable ingredients. The Onyx platform automates benchtop biofoundry activity and will bring greater genetic diversity and value to Amyris' ingredient development pipeline, complementing Amyris' existing Lab-to-Market operating systemwith the goal of improving efficiency and reducing timelines for the development of future molecules. To date, Amyris has successfully commercialized 13 sustainable ingredients, which are formulated in over 20,000 products and used by over 300 million consumers, demonstrating the growing demand for sustainable products with clean and effective ingredients.

Automated, high-throughput gene editing is revolutionizing the writing of genomes the way next-generation sequencing transformed the reading of genomes. Inscripta is the first company to deliver an integrated and intuitive benchtop platform that will expand access to scalable, robust genome engineering and help scientists develop solutions to some of today's most pressing challenges.

"Amyris has shown the world how new products can be made more sustainable through biology. Their team has high proficiency in utilizing cutting-edge technology, and we are excited they will be pioneering the use of our platform," said Sri Kosaraju, President and CEO of Inscripta. "We have great regard for Amyris' mission, and we are committed to seeing the Onyx platform become a substantial contributor to new clean chemistry products in the future."

"The Onyx platform offers significant potential for generating greater genetic diversity in our projects, which we expect to lead to more efficient product innovation," said Sunil Chandran, Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Amyris. "Inscripta's platform seamlessly integrates with our own and opens up new experimentation avenues for our scientists to continue bringing unique bio-based products to customers. We pride ourselves on continuous innovation and expect Onyx to help us expand our pipeline, while achieving lower costs and reducing time to market."

For more information about Amyris visit amyris.comand to learn about Onyx, visitwww.inscripta.com/products.

About InscriptaInscripta is a life science technology company enabling scientists to solve some of today's most pressing challenges with the first benchtop system for genome editing. The company's automatedOnyx platform,consisting of an instrument, consumables, assays, and software, makes CRISPR-based genome engineering accessible to any research lab. Inscripta supports its customers around the world from facilities in Boulder, Colorado; San Diego and Pleasanton, California; and Copenhagen, Denmark. To learn more, visitInscripta.comand follow@InscriptaInc.

About AmyrisAmyris (Nasdaq: AMRS) is a science and technology leader in the research, development and production of sustainable ingredients for the Clean Health & Beauty and Flavors & Fragrances markets. Amyris uses an impressive array of exclusive technologies, including state-of-the-art machine learning, robotics and artificial intelligence. Our ingredients are included in over 20,000 products from the world's top brands, reaching more than 300 million consumers. Amyris is proud to own and operate a family of consumer brands - all built around its No Compromise promise of clean ingredients: Biossanceclean beauty skincare, Pipetteclean baby skincare, Purecane, a zero-calorie sweetener naturally derived from sugarcane, Terasanaclean skincare treatment, Costa Brazil luxury skincare, OLIKA hygiene and wellness, Rose Inc. clean color cosmetics and JVN clean haircare. For more information, please visit http://www.amyris.com.

Amyris, the Amyris logo, No Compromise, Biossance, Pipette, Purecane, Terasana, Rose Inc. and Lab-to-Market are trademarks or registered trademarks of Amyris, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis release contains forward-looking statements, and any statements other than statements of historical fact could be deemed to be forward-looking statements.These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding Amyris' expectation of exploring additional research and development opportunities with Inscripta in the future and its expectation that Onyx will help Amyris expand its pipeline while achieving lower costs and reducing time to market. These statements are based on management's current expectations and actual results and future events may differ materially due to risks and uncertainties, including risks related to any delays or failures in the successful launch of a clean skincare brand; potential delays or failures in development, production, regulatory approval and commercialization of products, risks related to Amyris' reliance on third parties; Amyris' liquidity and ability to fund operating and capital expenses; and other risks detailed from time to time in filings Amyris makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Amyris disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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Amyris Partners with Inscripta to Enhance Development of Sustainable Ingredients Using the Onyx Genome Engineering Platform - PRNewswire

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Leveraging the Power of Genomics To Detect and Track SARS-CoV-2 Variants – Technology Networks

Posted: at 4:03 pm

Monitoring changes in the viral genome is continuing to play a crucial role in shaping the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.The COVID-19 pandemic has caused over 4.5 million deaths worldwide, with more than 200 million people having been infected with the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Since the virus first emerged in China in December 2019, the analysis of genetic sequencing data from millions of positive samples has revealed how the virus has evolved.Changes in the SARS-CoV-2 genome occur at a rate of around one or two mutations per month, says Dr. Alessandro Carabelli, Research Associate at COG-UK, University of Cambridge, UK.Most mutations have little or no effect on the biology of SARS-CoV-2 and persist in the descendants of that virus providing useful tags for tracking its spread.By understanding viral transmission pathways within a certain setting, such as a workplace or prison, this can help inform decisions on what actions are needed to contain an outbreak, says Patricia Brennan, director of Science Product Management at Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, San Francisco, USA.But some mutations can alter the biological behavior of SARS-CoV-2, such as improved transmissibility or ability to evade the immune system. Detecting and tracking the emergence of these changes is vital as they may threaten the performance of vaccines, therapies, diagnostic tools or other public health and social measures.

While coronaviruses, like SARS-CoV-2, have evolved some proofreading mechanisms to maintain their genomes, random errors can still occur.

As mutations accumulate, this leads to numerous differences in the virus population over time, explains Carabelli.But some mutations can change the behavior of the virus and these will persist if they confer an advantage, such as altering its ability to cause disease or transmit from one person to another. Changes that occur in the gene encoding the spike protein are of particular interest, as it is involved in the virus entering human cells and is the target for most COVID-19 vaccines.A concern is that mutations may arise that lead to lower vaccine efficacy, says Carabelli. The most numerically important mutation to date is the spike protein variant D614G, which was not present when the virus first emerged but is now almost ubiquitous.Accurate SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance With Resilience to Genomic Variation

As a result of persistent transmission, there are now several mutational variants of SARS-CoV-2. These variants have emerged and rapidly changed the viral dynamics, thus threatening ongoing public health efforts to limit the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Download this app note to discover a surveillance assay that will remain effective as new variants emerge while offering high sensitivity and capture efficiency.

New variants will continue to emerge, and it is important we understand the phenotypes of emerging variants in terms of infectivity, transmissibility and antigenicity as soon as possible, says Carabelli.

Tracking mutations in the virus is an essential surveillance partner to vaccine roll-out and it likely to be needed for as long as the vaccine is required, states Carabelli.

COVID-19 vaccines might have to be periodically updated to reflect any changes in the virus.Whats great about many of the latest technologies used to develop COVID-19 vaccines such as mRNA vaccines is that they can be updated quickly to target those emerging variants, says Ayscue.Where Do We Go From Here: A Reflection of COVID-19

In less than two years, much has been discovered about SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, and to date several vaccines have been created. Capitalizing on several decades of progress on new vaccine technologies, viral immunology, structural biology and protein engineering research, along with clinical trial operations, seven vaccines have undergone the process of rapid development, evaluation, manufacturing and deployment. Download this app note to explore various solutions designed to improve COVID-19 detection and the development of vaccines and therapeutics.

Genomic data is great for understanding transmission pathways it can tease out whether a cluster of infections is associated with people getting infected within that setting or bringing it in from outside, explains Ayscue. Its essentially giving you breadcrumbs to follow those mutations and work out where viral transmission is happening providing the evidence to inform what measures are needed to disrupt it.

But the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed huge disparities in the current capacity of public health systems to perform genomic surveillance of circulating pathogens both at a national and international level.

Public health systems are extremely fragmented in many countries, including the US, says Brennan. This means that the frontline work is often being done by people who dont have the necessary skills and infrastructure to carry out these analyses.The development of an open-source free software tool, called Aspen, is one step towards democratizing the technology enabling individual public health laboratories to conduct genomic analyses and interpret the data independently.People can load their data and do the analysis so they can see where the mutations have occurred, says Brennan. They can look at those in terms of the population they came from and work out where they need to take action.

Genomic surveillance and the use of pathogen genomes on this scale to track the spread of the virus, study local outbreaks and inform public health policy signifies a new age in virus genomic investigations, says Carabelli.

The global community will need to work together to put the necessary infrastructure in place to be ready for future pandemics.

If COVID-19 has taught us anything, its that borders and boundaries dont exist as long as people are moving around, says Brennan. We need to get the tools that researchers have developed to places where they can be applied and used more readily as a society, I hope we can tend to that more diligently than we have in the last many decades.

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Leveraging the Power of Genomics To Detect and Track SARS-CoV-2 Variants - Technology Networks

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Synthego Preemptively Sues Agilent Technologies to Ward Off CRISPR Patent Infringement Allegations – GenomeWeb

Posted: at 4:03 pm

This story has been updated to include a response from Agilent Technologies.

NEW YORK Gene editing firm Synthego has sued Agilent Technologies in US federal court after Agilent allegedly tried to get the firm to license patents related to CRISPR synthetic guide RNAs.

In a complaint filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, Synthego asked for a judge to declare that its CRISPRevolution products do not infringe US Patent Nos. 10,900,034 and 10,337,001, both titled "Guide RNA with chemical modifications" and held by Agilent.

Such a declaration is necessary, Synthego said, because Agilent tried to get the company to license patents related to synthetic guide RNAs and "create[d] a reasonable apprehension it would pursue legal action against Synthego were Synthego not to acquire a license."

"We are confident that the patents in question lack innovation," Synthego said in a statement. "We will continue to provide uninterrupted support for the essential work of CRISPR researchers and therapeutic developers with the highest quality products and services that our customers have come to expect."

Agilent declined tocomment.

Santa Clara, California-based Agilent has developed chemically modified guide RNAs for use in CRISPR genome editing in T cells and other cells. Synthego, based in Menlo Park, California, offers a variety of genome editing products, including synthetic guide RNAs, screening libraries, and even engineered cells and cell lines.

According to the complaint, Agilent Associate VP Thomas Redder sent Synthego a letter in June offering to license patents covering guide RNAs. Synthego alleged that in a subsequent email Redder said that if the firm did not respond by a certain deadline, the "process will likely be escalated to other, more formal, legalistic processes for managing [Agilent's] out-licensing programs and opportunities."

Synthego said that it asked for more time to conduct due diligence and alleged that Redder called the request "disappointing" and ultimately demanded that the company respond to a term sheet proposed by Agilent by Oct. 6.

Synthego's complaint said that because its products are used for purposes related to the development and submission of information to the US Food and Drug Administration, they do not infringe the patents under the safe harbor provisions of 35 U.S.C. 271(e)(1).

Synthego also asked the court to prevent Agilent from alleging infringement in the future and for attorneys' fees and expenses related to the case.

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Synthego Preemptively Sues Agilent Technologies to Ward Off CRISPR Patent Infringement Allegations - GenomeWeb

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Editas Medicine to Present Preclinical Data on Novel Engineered iPSC Derived NK Cells for the Treatment of Cancer at the Society for Immunotherapy of…

Posted: at 4:03 pm

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Editas Medicine, Inc. (Nasdaq: EDIT), a leading genome editing company, today announced that the Company will present preclinical data on its progress in the development of cell therapy medicines for the treatment of cancer at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 36th Annual Meeting being held in Washington, D.C., and virtually, November 10-14, 2021.

The Company will present a poster on its new method to drive high-level constitutive CD16 expression on the surface of iPSC-derived natural killer (iNK) cells through transgene knock-in (KI) at the GAPDH locus using an Editas-engineered AsCas12a. New preclinical data demonstrated that CD16 KI confers significantly increased cytotoxic activity in iNK cells against tumor cells compared with wild type iNK cells.

Full details of the Editas Medicine presentation can be accessed on the SITC website at https://sitc.sitcancer.org/2021/abstracts/titles/.

Poster Presentation:Title: GAPDH Knock-in of High Affinity CD16 in iPSC Derived NK Cells Drives High-level Expression and Increased Anti-tumor FunctionDate and Time: Friday, November 12, 2021, 7:00 a.m. 8:30 p.m. ETAbstract #: 191 Session Title: Cellular Therapies

About Editas MedicineAs a leading genome editing company, Editas Medicine is focused on translating the power and potential of the CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/Cas12a (also known as Cpf1) genome editing systems into a robust pipeline of treatments for people living with serious diseases around the world. Editas Medicine aims to discover, develop, manufacture, and commercialize transformative, durable, precision genomic medicines for a broad class of diseases. For the latest information and scientific presentations, please visit http://www.editasmedicine.com.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "target," "should," "would," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including: uncertainties inherent in the initiation and completion of preclinical studies and clinical trials and clinical development of the Companys product candidates; availability and timing of results from preclinical studies and clinical trials; whether interim results from a clinical trial will be predictive of the final results of the trial or the results of future trials; expectations for regulatory approvals to conduct trials or to market products and availability of funding sufficient for the Companys foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements. These and other risks are described in greater detail under the caption Risk Factors included in the Companys most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as updated by the Companys subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in other filings that the Company may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the future. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise.

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Editas Medicine to Present Preclinical Data on Novel Engineered iPSC Derived NK Cells for the Treatment of Cancer at the Society for Immunotherapy of...

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