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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="covid-19-sentry">Covid-19 Sentry</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-preprints">From Preprints</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-pubmed">From PubMed</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-patent-search">From Patent Search</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-preprints">From Preprints</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Legal hunting for conservation of highly threatened species: The case of African rhinos</strong> -
<div>
Legal hunting of highly threatened species – and especially the recreational practice of ‘trophy hunting’ – is controversial with selected ethical objections being increasingly voiced. Less attention has been paid to how hunting (even of threatened species) can be useful as a conservation tool, and likely outcomes if this was stopped. As case studies, we examine the regulated legal hunting in South Africa and Namibia of two African rhino species. Counter- intuitively, removing a small number of specific males can enhance population demography and genetic diversity, encourage range expansion, and generate meaningful socio-economic benefits to help fund effective conservation (facilitated by appropriate local institutional arrangements). Legal hunting of these species has been sustainable, as very small proportions of the populations of both species are hunted each year, and numbers of both today are higher in these countries than when controlled recreational hunting began. Terminating this management option and funding source could have negative consequences at a time when rhinos are being increasingly viewed as liabilities and COVID-19 has significantly impacted revenue generation for wildlife areas. Provided that there is appropriate governance and management, conservation of certain highly threatened species can be supported by cautiously selective and limited legal hunting.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/q79pc/" target="_blank">Legal hunting for conservation of highly threatened species: The case of African rhinos</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Global Economic Crisis, Energy Use, CO2 Emissions and Policy Roadmap amid COVID-19</strong> -
<div>
The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as one of the deadliest infectious diseases on the planet. Millions of people and businesses have been placed in lockdown where the main aim is to stop the spread of the virus. As an extreme phenomenon, the lockdown has triggered a global economic shock at an alarming pace, conveying sharp recessions for many countries. In the meantime, the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have drastically changed energy consumption patterns and reduced CO2 emissions throughout the world. Recent data released by the International Monetary Fund and International Energy Agency for 2020 further forecast that emissions will rebound in 2021. Still, the full impact of COVID-19 in terms of how long the crisis will be and how the consumption pattern of energy and the associated levels of CO2 emissions will be affected are unclear. This review aims to steer policymakers and governments of nations toward a better direction by providing a broad and convincing overview on the observed and likely impacts of the pandemic of COVID-19 on the world economy, world energy demand, and world energy-related CO2 emissions that may well emerge in the next few years. Indeed, given that immediate policy responses are required with equal urgency to address three things—pandemic, economic downturn, and climate crisis. This study outlines policy suggestions that can be used during these uncertain times as a guide.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/69kje/" target="_blank">Global Economic Crisis, Energy Use, CO2 Emissions and Policy Roadmap amid COVID-19</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Establishment of human post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 standard reference sera</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
As SARS-CoV-2 variants emerge, there is a critical need to understand the effectiveness of serum elicited by different SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. A reference reagent comprised of post-vaccination sera from recipients of different vaccines allows evaluation of in vitro variant neutralization, and provides a reference for comparing assay results across laboratories. We prepared and pooled &gt;1 L serum from donors who received the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines (BNT162b2, Pfizer and mRNA-1273, Moderna), a replication-incompetent adenovirus type 26 vaccine (Ad26.COV2.S, Johnson and Johnson), or recombinant spike protein expressed by baculovirus incorporated into a nanoparticle vaccine plus Matrix-M adjuvant (NVX-CoV2373, Novavax). Twice frozen sera were aliquoted and are available for distribution to the research community (BEI Resources). The calculated WHO titer of pooled sera to spike protein was 1,312, 1,447, 1,936, and 587 and the reciprocal RBD binding to ACE-2 IC90-titers were 60, 64, 118, and 46 for BNT162b2, mRNA1273, Ad26.CoV2373, and NVX-CoV2373 sera, respectively.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.24.22269773v1" target="_blank">Establishment of human post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 standard reference sera</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Projection of Healthcare Demand in Germany and Switzerland Urged by Omicron Wave (January-March 2022)</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
After the implementation of broad vaccination programs, there is an urgent need to understand how the population immunity affects the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic in presence of the protection waning and of the emergence of new variants of concern. In the current Omicron wave that is propagating across Europe, assessing the risk of saturation of the healthcare systems is crucial for pandemic management, as it allows us to support the transition towards the endemic course of SARS-CoV-2 and implement more refined mitigation strategies that shield the most vulnerable groups and protect the healthcare systems. We investigated the current pandemic dynamics by means of compartmental models that describe the age-stratified social-mixing, and consider vaccination status, vaccine types, and their waning efficacy. Our goal is to provide insight into the plausible scenarios that are likely to be seen in Switzerland and Germany in the coming weeks and help take informed decisions. Despite the huge numbers of new positive cases, our results suggest that the current wave is unlikely to create an overwhelming healthcare demand: owing to the lower hospitalization rate of the novel variant and the effectiveness of the vaccines. Our findings are robust with respect to the plausible variability of the main parameters that govern the severity and the progression of the Omicron infection. In a broader context, our framework can be applied also to future endemic scenarios, offering quantitative support for refined public health interventions in response to recurring COVID-19 waves.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.24.22269676v1" target="_blank">Projection of Healthcare Demand in Germany and Switzerland Urged by Omicron Wave (January-March 2022)</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Lung Perfusion Disturbances Detected with MRI in Non-Hospitalized Post-COVID-19 Individuals with Dyspnea 3 -13 Months after the Acute Disease</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background Dyspnea is a prevalent symptom in the post-COVID-19 condition, though its mechanisms are largely unknown. Lung perfusion abnormalities have been reported in acute COVID-19 and could be suspected in patients with lingering dyspnea after the acute phase. Objectives To detect pulmonary perfusion disturbances in non-hospitalized post- COVID condition with persistent dyspnea 4-13 months after the disease onset. Methods Non-hospitalized individuals reporting persistent dyspnea after COVID-19 and matched healthy controls were prospectively recruited between October 2020 and May 2021 to undergo pulmonary dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI), six-minute walk test, and self-reported scales questionnaires on dyspnea and physical activity. The DCE-MRI perfusion images were quantified into two parametric values: mean time-to-peak (TTP) and TTP ratio. Results Twenty-eight persons with post- COVID condition and persistent dyspnea (mean age 46.5+/-8.0 years, 75% women) and 22 healthy controls (mean age 44.1+/-10.8 years, 73% women) were included. The post-COVID group had higher mean pulmonary TTP (0.43+/-0.04 vs. 0.41+/-0.03, P=0.011) and higher TTP ratio (0.096+/-0.052 vs. 0.068+/-0.027, P=0.032). Notably, post-COVID males had the highest values (mean TTP 0.47+/-0.02, TTP ratio 0.160+/-0.039, P&lt;0.001 for both values compared to male controls and post-COVID females). Correlation between dyspnea and perfusion parameters was demonstrated in the males (r=0.83, P&lt;0.001 for mean TTP; r=0.76, P=0.003 for TTP ratio), but not in females. Conclusions Lung perfusion disturbances were detected in males reporting post-COVID dyspnea using perfusion parameters from DCE-MRI. The distinct sex difference has implications for understanding the perplexing post-COVID pathophysiology and warrants future studies. DCE-MRI could provide helpful biomarkers for such studies.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.25.22269717v1" target="_blank">Lung Perfusion Disturbances Detected with MRI in Non-Hospitalized Post-COVID-19 Individuals with Dyspnea 3 -13 Months after the Acute Disease</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Dynamics of infection-elicited SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in children over time</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection elicits an antibody response that targets several viral proteins including spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N); S is the major target of neutralizing antibodies. Here, we assess levels of anti-N binding antibodies and anti-S neutralizing antibodies in unvaccinated children compared with unvaccinated older adults following infection. Specifically, we examine neutralization and anti-N binding by sera collected up to 52 weeks following SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and compare these to a cohort of adults, including older adults, most of whom had mild infections that did not require hospitalization. Neutralizing antibody titers were lower in children than adults early after infection, but by 6 months titers were similar between age groups. The neutralizing activity of the children9s sera decreased modestly from one to six months; a pattern that was not significantly different from that observed in adults. However, infection of children induced much lower levels of anti-N antibodies than in adults, and levels of these anti-N antibodies decreased more rapidly in children than in adults, including older adults. These results highlight age-related differences in the antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 proteins and, as vaccines for children are introduced, may provide comparator data for the longevity of infection-elicited and vaccination-induced neutralizing antibody responses.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.14.22269235v1" target="_blank">Dynamics of infection- elicited SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in children over time</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Massive covidization of research citations and the citation elite</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Massive scientific productivity accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the citation impact of COVID-19 publications relative to all scientific work published in 2020-2021 and assessed the impact on scientist citation profiles. Using Scopus data until August 1, 2021, COVID-19 items accounted for 4% of papers published, 20% of citations received to papers published in 2020-2021 and &gt;30% of citations received in 36 of the 174 disciplines of science (up to 79.3% in General and Internal Medicine). Across science, 98 of the 100 most-cited papers published in 2020-2021 were related to COVID-19. 110 scientists received &gt;=10,000 citations for COVID-19 work, but none received &gt;=10,000 citations for non-COVID-19 work published in 2020-2021. For many scientists, citations to their COVID-19 work already accounted for more than half of their total career citation count. Overall, these data show a strong covidization of research citations across science with major impact on shaping the citation elite.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.24.22269775v1" target="_blank">Massive covidization of research citations and the citation elite</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A Novel Barrier Device and Method for Protection against Airborne Pathogens During Endotracheal Intubation</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background The risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to healthcare workers increases during aerosol-generating procedures such as endotracheal intubation. Objectives We tested the effectiveness of a novel barrier mouthpiece in reducing clinician exposure to aerosols and droplets during endotracheal intubation. Design A prospective case control study was carried out, with a single operator performing eight simulated intubations with and without the device on two different high-fidelity manikin models which produced aerosols and droplets. Setting The study was performed during June 2020, at the Clinical Skills Development Service, Brisbane, Australia. Interventions Simulated scenarios included 1) intubation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation 2) intubation while pre-oxygenating via high flow nasal cannula. Photographic images were obtained during each intubation and digitally analyzed using ImageJ v2.1.0/1.53c. Patients Not applicable. Main outcome measures Aerosol and droplets were quantified using pixel counts. Overall results were expressed as means (± SD), with comparisons between groups made using a two-tailed Student9s T-test under the assumption of unequal variances. A P value of ≤ 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results First pass intubation was achieved in all scenarios, with and without the barrier device. Pixel counts demonstrated significant overall reduction in aerosol and droplet exposure when the barrier device was used during intubation [Mean (SD) count:509 (860) vs 10169 (11600); P=0.014]. The highest exposure risk to airborne particles was observed during simulated induction, prior to laryngoscopy and intubation. Conclusions The novel barrier device was effective in reducing environmental exposure to aerosols and droplets during intubation without negatively affecting first pass intubation. The highest risk of exposure to airborne particles was during induction, before intubation takes place. Clinical trials are indicated to further test the feasibility and efficacy of this device. Trial registration Not applicable. Keywords: Endotracheal intubation, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Prevention, Safety
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.24.22269341v1" target="_blank">A Novel Barrier Device and Method for Protection against Airborne Pathogens During Endotracheal Intubation</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The MU Study of Seropositivity and Risk for SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: Crucial Behavioral and Immunological Data from Midwestern College Students</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Objective. We describe our Fall 2020 study of college students9 COVID-19 related behaviors, attitudes, and antibody test results. Participants. The study included 1,446 randomly selected and self-enrolled undergraduate and graduate students from a midwestern university. Methods. An online survey was distributed to a sample of students, between September and December 2020. A sub-group also participated in a SARS-CoV-2 antibody blood draw. Results. Nearly half of students reported a prior COVID-19 test with 22% indicating a positive test, which represents an 11% positivity rate across all student participants. Of those who participated in antibody testing, 15.1% tested positive for SARS- CoV-2 antibodies. Seventy-seven percent of participants said they would get vaccinated. One-third of students reported moderate to severe generalized anxiety disorder and 13% reported moderate to severe depression. Conclusions. This study informed campus decisions in Fall 2020. The importance of effective public health messaging on campus should continue in the future. Keywords: behavior; COVID-19; immunology; students; transdisciplinary research
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.24.22269758v1" target="_blank">The MU Study of Seropositivity and Risk for SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: Crucial Behavioral and Immunological Data from Midwestern College Students</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Structural insight into antibody evasion of SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant</strong> -
<div>
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to mutate and evolve with the emergence of omicron (B.1.1.529) as the new variant of concern. The rapid spread of this variant regionally and globally could be an allusion to increased infectivity, transmissibility, and antibody resistance. The omicron variant has a large set of mutations in its spike protein, specifically in the receptor binding domain (RBD), reflecting their significance in ACE2 interaction and antibody recognition. We have carried out the present study to understand how these mutations structurally impact the binding of the antibodies to their target epitope. We have computationally evaluated the binding of different classes of RBD targeted antibodies, namely, CB6 (etesevimab), REGN10933 (casirivimab), S309 (sotrovimab), and S2X259 to the omicron mutation-induced RBD. Molecular dynamics simulations and binding free energy calculations unveil the binding affinity and stability of the antibody-RBD complexes. All the four antibodies show reduced binding affinity towards the omicron RBD. The therapeutic antibody CB6 aka etesevimab was substantially affected due to numerous omicron mutations occurring in its target epitope. This study provides a structural insight into the reduced efficacy of RBD targeting antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.25.477671v1" target="_blank">Structural insight into antibody evasion of SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>mRNA-1273 Vaccine-elicited Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron in Adolescents and Children</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background The highly transmissible severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant is a global concern. This study assessed the neutralization activity of two-dose regimens of mRNA-1273 vaccination against Omicron in adults, adolescents and children. Methods Neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant was evaluated in serum samples from adults (≥18 years) in the phase 3, Coronavirus Efficacy (COVE) and from adolescents (12-17 years) in the TeenCOVE trials following a two-dose regimen of 100 Background The highly transmissible severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant is a global concern. This study assessed the neutralization activity of two-dose regimens of mRNA-1273 vaccination against Omicron in adults, adolescents and children. Methods Neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant was evaluated in serum samples from adults (≥18 years) in the phase 3, Coronavirus Efficacy (COVE) and from adolescents (12-17 years) in the TeenCOVE trials following a two-dose regimen of 100 μg mRNA-1273 and from children (6-&lt;12 years) in the KidCOVE trial administered two doses of 50 μg mRNA-1273. Neutralizing antibody geometric mean ID50 titers (GMT) were measured using a lentivirus-based pseudovirus neutralizing assay at day 1 and 4 weeks (day 57) following the second mRNA-1273 dose, compared with wild- type (D614G). Results At 4 weeks following a second dose of mRNA-1273 (100 μg), the GMT was reduced 28.8-fold compared with D614G in adults (≥18 years). In adolescents (12-17 years), the GMT was 11.8-fold lower than D614G, 4 weeks after a second dose of mRNA-1273 (100 μg), and compared with adults, were 1.5- and 3.8-fold higher for D614G and the Omicron variant, respectively. In children (6-&lt;12 years), 4 weeks post-second dose of 50 μg mRNA-1273, Omicron GMTs were reduced 22.1-fold versus D614G and were 2.0-fold higher for D614G and 2.5-fold higher for Omicron compared with adults. Conclusions A two-dose regimen of 100 μg mRNA-1273 in adolescents and of 50 μg in children elicited neutralization responses against the Omicron variant that were reduced compared with the wild-type D614G, and numerically higher than those in adults.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.24.22269666v1" target="_blank">mRNA-1273 Vaccine-elicited Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron in Adolescents and Children</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Rapid emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is associated with an infection advantage over Delta in vaccinated persons</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants continues to shape the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. The detection and rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (lineage B.1.1.529) in Botswana and South Africa became a global concern because it contained 15 mutations in the spike protein immunogenic receptor binding domain and was less neutralized by sera derived from vaccinees compared to the previously dominant Delta variant. To investigate if Omicron is more likely than Delta to cause infections in vaccinated persons, we analyzed 37,877 nasal swab PCR tests conducted from 12-26 December 2021 and calculated the test positivity rates for each variant by vaccination status. We found that the positivity rate among unvaccinated persons was higher for Delta (5.2%) than Omicron (4.5%). We found similar results in persons who received a single vaccine dose. Conversely, our results show that Omicron had higher positivity rates than Delta among those who received two doses within five months (Omicron = 4.7% vs. Delta = 2.6%), two doses more than five months ago (4.2% vs. 2.9%), and three vaccine doses (2.2% vs. 0.9%). Our estimates of Omicron positivity rates in persons receiving one or two vaccine doses were not significantly lower than unvaccinated persons but were 49.7% lower after three doses. In comparison, the reduction in Delta positivity rates from unvaccinated to 2 vaccine doses was 45.6-49.6% and to 3 vaccine doses was 83.2%. Despite the higher positivity rates for Omicron in vaccinated persons, we still found that 91.2% of the Omicron infections in our study occurred in persons who were eligible for 1 or more vaccine doses at the time of PCR testing. In conclusion, escape from vaccine-induced immunity likely contributed to the rapid rise in Omicron infections.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.22.22269660v1" target="_blank">Rapid emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is associated with an infection advantage over Delta in vaccinated persons</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Emergence of glycogen synthase kinase-3 interaction domain enhances phosphorylation of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein</strong> -
<div>
A structural protein of SARS-CoV-2, nucleocapsid (N) protein is abundantly expressed during viral replication. The N protein is phosphorylated by glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3 on the serine/arginine (SR) rich motif located in disordered regions. Although phosphorylation by GSK-3{beta} constitutes a critical event for viral replication, the molecular mechanism underlying N phosphorylation is not well understood. In this study, we found the putative alpha- helix L/FxxxL/AxxRL motif known as the GSK-3 interacting domain (GID), commonly found in many endogenous GSK-3{beta} binding proteins, such as Axins, FRATs, WWOX and GSKIP. Indeed, N interacts with GSK-3{beta} similarly to Axin, and Leu to Glu substitution of the GID abolished the interaction, with loss of N phosphorylation. Unlike with endogenous GID proteins, the N interaction neither disturbs endogenous GSK-3 activity nor regulates subsequent canonical Wnt activity and the Snail-EMT program. Notably, N abundance in SARS-CoV-2 is incomparably high compared to other coronaviruses, such as 229E, OC43 and HKU1. Compared to other coronaviruses, N harbors a CDK1 primed phosphorylation site and Gly-rich linker for enhanced phosphorylation by GSK-3{beta}. Furthermore, we found that the S202R mutant found in Delta and R203K/G204R mutant found in the Omicron variant allows increased abundance and hyper-phosphorylation of N. Our observations suggest that the emergence of GID and mutations for increased phosphorylation in N may have contributed to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and evolution of variants, respectively. Further study, especially in a BSL3-equipped facility, is required to elucidate the functional importance of GID and N phosphorylation in SARS-CoV-2 and variants.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.24.477037v1" target="_blank">Emergence of glycogen synthase kinase-3 interaction domain enhances phosphorylation of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The effect of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine on respiratory system: human lung carcinoma cells by means of Raman spectroscopy and imaging.</strong> -
<div>
The paper presents the effect of COVID-19 mRNA (Pfizer/BioNTech) vaccine on human lung carcinoma epithelial cells (A549) studied by means of Raman spectroscopy and imaging. The paper will also focus on Raman imaging as a tool to explore apoptosis and oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondrial dysfunctions. The presented Raman results show alterations in the reduction-oxidation pathways associated with cytochrome c. We found that the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine modulates the concentration of cytochrome c upon incubation with tumorous lung cells. Concentration of oxidized form of cytochrome c in mitochondria of lung cells has been shown to decrease upon incubation the mRNA vaccine. Lower concentration of oxidized cytochrome c in mitochondria indicates lower effectiveness of oxidative phosphorylation (respiration), reduced apoptosis and lessened ATP production. Moreover, mRNA vaccine increases significantly de novo lipids synthesis in lipid droplets and alterations in biochemical composition that suggest the increasing role of signaling. mRNA vaccine does not produce statistically significant changes in cell nucleus. The observed alterations in biochemical profiles upon incubation with mRNA vaccine in the specific organelles of the tumorous lung cells are similar to those we observe for other types of cancer, particularly brain glial cells.
</div>
<div class="article-link article- html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.24.477476v1" target="_blank">The effect of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine on respiratory system: human lung carcinoma cells by means of Raman spectroscopy and imaging.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Structural Ramifications of Spike Protein D614G Mutation in SARS-CoV-2</strong> -
<div>
A single mutation from aspartate to glycine at position 614 has dominated all circulating variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). D614G mutation induces structural changes in the Spike (S) protein that strengthen the virus infectivity. Here, we use molecular dynamics simulations to dissect the effects of mutation and 630-loop rigidification on wild-type structure. The introduction of mutation with ordered 630-loop induces structural changes toward S-G614 Cryo-EM structure. An ordered 630-loop weakens the stabilizing interactions of the anionic D614, suggesting its disorder in wild-type. The mutation allosterically alters the receptor binding domain (RBD) forming an asymmetric and mobile Down conformation, which facilitate Up transition. The loss of D614_K854 salt-bridge upon mutation, generally stabilize S-protein protomer, including the fusion peptide proximal region that mediates membrane fusion. Understanding of the molecular basis of D614G is crucial as it dominates in all variants of concern including Delta and Omicron.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.24.477651v1" target="_blank">Structural Ramifications of Spike Protein D614G Mutation in SARS-CoV-2</a>
</div></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Quantifying Viral Load in Respiratory Particles That Are Generated by Children and Adults With COVID-19 Infection</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Device: COVID-19 Aerosol Collection<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
Massachusetts General Hospital<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Immunogenicity of Booster With AZD1222, mRNA-1273, or MVC-COV1901 Against COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Vaccine<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Half dose of MVC-COV1901;   Biological: Full dose of MVC-COV1901;   Biological: AZD1222;   Biological: Half dose of mRNA-1273<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp.;   Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy of Breathox Device Inhalation Therapy in the Treatment of Acute Symptoms Associated With COVID-19 and in the Prevention of the Use of Health Resources</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: BREATHOX 5 sessions;   Drug: BREATHOX 10 sessions<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   UPECLIN HC FM Botucatu Unesp;   Liita Holdings LTD<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Exercise Fatigue Parameters and Endothelial Function in Pediatric Patients With a History of COVID-19 Infection or MIS-C</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   MIS-C Associated With COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:  <br/>
Device: Cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET);   Device: Peripheral Arterial Tonography (PAT) using the EndoPAT™ device;   Diagnostic Test: Endothelin<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Rambam Health Care Campus;   The Baruch Padeh Medical Center, Poriya<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Immunogenicity of an Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Sinovac Research and Development Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Non-inferiority Trial on Monoclonal Antibodies in COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Bamlanivimab Etesevimab;   Drug: Sotrovimab;   Drug: Casirivimab-Imdevimab<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata Verona;   Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco;   Azienda Sanitaria-Universitaria Integrata di Udine<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Prospective, Phase II Study to Evaluate Safety of 101-PGC-005 (’005) for Moderate to Severe COVID-19 Disease Along With Standard of Care</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: 101-PGC-005 (’005) + SOC;   Drug: Placebo + SOC<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   101 Therapeutics<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>To Evaluate Safety &amp; Immunogenicity of DelNS1-2019-nCoV-RBD-OPT1 for COVID-19 in Healthy Adults Received 2 Doses of BNT162b2</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: DelNS1-2019-nCoV-RBD-OPT1;   Biological: Matching placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   The University of Hong Kong<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Increasing COVID-19 Testing in Chicago’s African American Testing Desserts</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Pandemic<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: COVID-19 Testing<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Rush University Medical Center<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Immunogenicity and Safety Study of a SCB-2019 Vaccine Booster Dose to Adults Who Previously Received Primary Series of Selected COVID-19 Vaccines</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: Candidate vaccine, SCB-2019<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Clover Biopharmaceuticals AUS Pty Ltd<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy of Synchronous and Asynchronous Telerehabilitation in COVID-19 Discharges</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   Telerehabilitation<br/><b>Interventions</b>:  <br/>
Other: Synchronous telerehabilitation programme;   Other: Asynchronous telerehabilitation programme<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Bitlis Eren University;   Marmara University<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Intranasal Heparin Treatment to Reduce Transmission Among Household Contacts of COVID 19 Positive Adults and Children</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: unfractionated heparin;   Drug: 0.9%sodium chloride<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Murdoch Childrens Research Institute;   University of Melbourne;   Northern Hospital, Australia;   Monash University;   The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity;   St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study of F-652 in Subjects With Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pneumonia</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Pneumonia<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: F-652;   Biological: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   EVIVE Biotechnology<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Telehealth Exercise Training in Post-COVID Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Device: Home-based telehealth exercise training program;   Behavioral: Education and self-exercise<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Tri-Service General Hospital<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Respiratory Physiotherapy and Neurorehabilitation in Patients With Post-covid19 Sequelae.</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Pandemic<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Other: respiratory treatment<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Universidad Católica de Ávila<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Brilacidin, a COVID-19 Drug Candidate, demonstrates broad-spectrum antiviral activity against human coronaviruses OC43, 229E and NL63 through targeting both the virus and the host cell</strong> - Brilacidin, a mimetic of host defense peptides (HDPs), is currently in phase 2 clinical trial as an antibiotic drug candidate. A recent study reported that brilacidin has antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 by inactivating the virus. In this work, we discovered an additional mechanism of action of brilacidin by targeting heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) on host cell surface. Brilacidin, but not acetyl brilacidin, inhibits the entry of SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus into multiple cell lines, and…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy of Combination Therapy with the JAK Inhibitor Baricitinib in the Treatment of COVID-19</strong> - Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), resulting from infection with SARS-CoV-2, spans a wide spectrum of illness. In severely ill patients, highly elevated serum levels of certain cytokines and considerable cytolytic T cell infiltrates in the lungs have been observed. These same patients may bear low to negligible viral burdens suggesting that an overactive immune response, often termed cytokine storm, contributes to the severity of COVID-19. We report the safety and efficacy of baricitinib…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Extracellular vimentin is an attachment factor that facilitates SARS-CoV-2 entry into human endothelial cells</strong> - SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells is a crucial step for virus tropism, transmission, and pathogenesis. Angiotensin- converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been identified as the primary entry receptor for SARS-CoV-2; however, the possible involvement of other cellular components in the viral entry has not yet been fully elucidated. Here we describe the identification of vimentin (VIM), an intermediate filament protein widely expressed in cells of mesenchymal origin, as an important attachment factor for…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>ERDRP-0519 inhibits feline coronavirus in vitro</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: These findings confirm that ERDRP is highly effective against a CoV. Experiments will be necessary to assess whether ERDRP is suitable for treatment of FIPV in vivo.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Taking leads out of nature, can nano deliver us from COVID-like pandemics?</strong> - The COVID-19 crisis has alerted the research community to re-purpose scientific tools that can effectively manage emergency pandemic situations. Researchers were never so desperate to discover a ‘magic bullet’ that has significant clinical benefits with minimal or no side effects. At the beginning of the pandemic, due to restricted access to traditional laboratory techniques, many research groups delved into computational screening of thousands of lead molecules that could inhibit SARS-CoV-2 at…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>4’-Modified Nucleosides for Antiviral Drug Discovery: Achievements and Perspectives</strong> - ConspectusModified nucleosides show therapeutic promise for antiviral therapies. However, issues including the emergence of drug resistance, toxicity, and coinfections have posed new challenges for nucleoside-based antiviral drug discovery, particularly in the era of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Chemical manipulation could impact the antiviral potency, safety, and drug resistance of nucleosides. Generally, modified nucleosides are difficult to recognize by intracellular…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Quaternary Phosphonium Compounds: An Examination of Non-Nitrogenous Cationic Amphiphiles That Evade Disinfectant Resistance</strong> - Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) serve as mainstays in the formulation of disinfectants and antiseptics. However, an over-reliance and misuse of our limited QAC arsenal has driven the development and spread of resistance to these compounds, as well as co-resistance to common antibiotics. Extensive use of these compounds throughout the COVID-19 pandemic thus raises concern for the accelerated proliferation of antimicrobial resistance and demands for next- generation antimicrobials with…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Emergency Department Management of Hypertension in the Context of COVID-19</strong> - PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review describes the relationship between COVID-19 and hypertension (HTN), and considerations for emergency medicine providers in the management of hypertensive patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Platelets modulate CD4(+) T Cell function in Covid-19 Through A PD-L1 Dependent Mechanism</strong> - Severe COVID-19 is associated with a systemic inflammatory response and progressive CD4^(+) T cell lymphopenia and dysfunction. We evaluated whether platelets might contribute to CD4^(+) T cell dysfunction in COVID-19. We observed a high frequency of CD4^(+) T cell-platelet aggregates in COVID-19 inpatients that inversely correlated with lymphocyte counts. Platelets from COVID-19 inpatients but not from healthy donors (HD) inhibited the up-regulation of CD25 expression and TNF-α production by…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Anti-inflammatory and anti-COVID-19 effect of a novel polyherbal formulation (Imusil) via modulating oxidative stress, inflammatory mediators and cytokine storm</strong> - In the current scenario, most countries are affected by COVID-19, a pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that has a massive impact on human health. Previous studies showed that some traditionally used medicinal herbs and their combinations showed synergistic anti-viral and anti-inflammatory activity against SARS-CoV-2 type infections. Therefore, the goal of this study is to demonstrate the anti-viral and anti- inflammatory effects of a novel…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Dynamical demeanour of SARS-CoV-2 virus undergoing immune response mechanism in COVID-19 pandemic</strong> - COVID-19 is caused by the increase of SARS-CoV-2 viral load in the respiratory system. Epithelial cells in the human lower respiratory tract are the major target area of the SARS-CoV-2 viruses. To fight against the SARS-CoV-2 viral infection, innate and thereafter adaptive immune responses be activated which are stimulated by the infected epithelial cells. Strong immune response against the COVID-19 infection can lead to longer recovery time and less severe secondary complications. We proposed a…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Vaccine booster efficiently inhibits entry of SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant</strong> - No abstract</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The structure of a novel antibody against the spike protein inhibits Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infections</strong> - Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a zoonotic virus, responsible for outbreaks of a severe respiratory illness in humans with a fatality rate of 30%. Currently, there are no vaccines or United States food and drug administration (FDA)-approved therapeutics for humans. The spike protein displayed on the surface of MERS-CoV functions in the attachment and fusion of virions to host cellular membranes and is the target of the host antibody response. Here, we provide a…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SARS-CoV-2 NSP5 and N protein counteract the RIG-I signaling pathway by suppressing the formation of stress granules</strong> - As a highly pathogenic human coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 has to counteract an intricate network of antiviral host responses to establish infection and spread. The nucleic acid-induced stress response is an essential component of antiviral defense and is closely related to antiviral innate immunity. However, whether SARS-CoV-2 regulates the stress response pathway to achieve immune evasion remains elusive. In this study, SARS-CoV-2 NSP5 and N protein were found to attenuate antiviral stress granule…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Virtual Screening and Molecular Docking to Study the Mechanism of Chinese Medicines in the Treatment of Coronavirus Infection</strong> - BACKGROUND Heat-clearing and detoxifying herbs (HDHs) play an important role in the prevention and treatment of coronavirus infection. However, their mechanism of action needs further study. This study aimed to explore the anti- coronavirus basis and mechanism of HDHs. MATERIAL AND METHODS Database mining was performed on 7 HDHs. Core ingredients and targets were screened according to ADME rules combined with Neighborhood, Co-occurrence, Co-expression, and other algorithms. GO enrichment and KEGG…</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>IDENTIFICATION AND ALARM SYSTEM FOR FACIAL CORONA MASK USING CNN BASED IMAGE PROCESSING</strong> - tThe covid-19 epidemic is the world’s largest wake-up call for people to pay attention to their own and society’s health. One thing to keep in mind is that there is a segment of the population that has been exposed to the covid-19 virus and has generated antibodies without developing any significant illnesses and is continuing to be healthy. This indicates that a significant section of the population, even excluding the elderly, lacks the necessary bodily immunity to combat a Viral infection. As terrible as covid-19 is on a global scale, developing personal health standards and preventative measures for any pathogenic virus as a community would have spared many lives. In’this work, a camera is combined with an image processing system to recognise facial masks, which may be improved in a variety of ways. First and foremost, this method is meant to identify masks on a single person’s face. While this method is efficient in identifying someone has a mask, it does not ensure that they will wear it all of the time. The most effective update for this task is to install a camera with a wide field of view so that many individuals can be seen in the frame, and the faces of those who aren’t wearing markings can be identified, as well as the number of people and the timing. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN346889253">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>ANTIMICROBIAL SANITIZING FORMULATION</strong> - An antimicrobial sanitizing formulation, comprising, i) isopropyl alcohol in the range of 0.1%- 80% w/w, ii) an emollient in the range of 0.1%-15% w/w, iii) hydrogen peroxide in the range of 0.1 0.13% w/w, iv) citric acid in the range of 0.1% to 2.0% w/w, v) silver nitrate in the range of 0.1% to 0.5% w/w, and vi) a fragrance imparting agent in the range of 0.1% to 2.0% w/w. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN346888094">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A HEALTH BAND WITH A BIOMETRIC MODULE AND WORKING METHOD THEREOF</strong> - The present invention discloses a health band with a biometric module and method thereof. The assembly includes, but not limited to, a plurality of sensors configured to gather health data associated with a predefined symptom of a medical condition of a user; a memory unit configured to store the data and an interface, which is configured to determine the medical condition using the data;a processing unit configured to execute the application; and a notification facility configured to provide a notification upon receiving from the interface an instruction associated with the notification, wherein the notification is associated with a drug reminder and the like. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN346889061">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>RNA 검출 방법</strong> - 본 발명은 RNA의 분석 및 검출 방법에 관한 것이다. 특히, 본 발명은 특히, 본 발명은 짧은 염기서열의 RNA까지 분석이 가능하면서도 높은 민감도 및 정확도로 정량적 검출까지 가능하여 감염증, 암 등 여러 질환의 진단 용도로도 널리 활용될 수 있다. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=KR346026620">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>REUNION OF PHOTOTHERMAL THERAPY WITH MXENE ADSORBED UREMIC TOXINS AND CYTOKINES: A SHILED FOR COVID-19 PATENTS</strong> - The COVID-19 pandemic has created havoc throughout the world. The disease has proved to be more fatalfor patients having comorbidities like diabetics, lungs and kidney infections, etc. In the case of COVID-19 patientsI having kidney injury, the. removal of uremic toxins from the blood is hindered and there is a rapid surge in the levelj of cytokine hormone resulting in the death of the patient in a short interval of time. To resolve this issue,iI; researchers have examined that the immediate removal of these toxins can improve the condition of the patient to a |greater extent. Studies have also found the presence of SARS CoV-2 viral RNAs in the blood of COVID-19patients, which risks their life as well as impacts the blood transfusion process, especially in the case ofasymptomatic patients. Hence it is required to control the surge of cytokines and uremic toxins as well as disinfectthe blood of the patient from the virus. MXenes, having a foam-like porous structure and hydrophilic negativesurface functionalization have greater adsorption efficiency as well as superior photothermal activity. Utilizingthese properties of MXenes, the MXene membranes can be used in the dialyzer that can help in the efficient andBiuick removal of the uremic toxins, cytokines, and other impurities from the blood. Along with this the greaterTJAdsorption efficiency of MXenes to amino acids result in the trapping of the SARS CoV-2 viruses on the surface J)3&gt;f the MXene. Many researchers as well as the WHO have proved the efficient reduction of the viral copy numbersjjvith the increase of temperature. Hence, followed by the trapping of the viruses, the implementation of"Zphotothermal Therapy can result in the inactivation and denaturation of the viruses and their respective viral RNAsBJlby the produced heat. The same process can be repeated several times to get better results. This whole process canr&gt;oQ-esult in impurity-free and infection-free blood, that can be returned back to the body of the patient or can be!— I Sitilized for the blood transfusion process without any risk of infection.IM - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN346889224">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>REDUCING AND STOPPING OXYGEN WASTAGE IN HOSPITAL</strong> - In an aspect, the present invention discloses a system (200) for prevention and reduction of oxygen wastage from oxygen mask (202). The system (200) includes the oxygen mask (202) having straps; a tension sensor (204), the tension sensor being sensitive towards tension produced in the straps as the oxygen gets leakage through sides of the mask (202); a processor configured in alignment with the tension sensor (204); and a buzzer (206) in alignment with processor. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN346042219">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>编码SARS-COV-2病毒C.37突变株抗原的DNA分子、DNA疫苗及应用</strong> - 本发明涉及生物技术领域，具体而言，提供了一种编码SARS‑COV‑2病毒C.37突变株抗原的DNA分子、DNA疫苗及应用。本发明提供的SEQ ID NO：1核酸序列在真核表达系统中能够高效转录和表达，而且具有免疫原性，表现在体液免疫和细胞免疫应答中，以此作为活性成分的核酸疫苗同样具有良好的免疫原性。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN347705379">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SARS-COV-2病毒B.1.617.2突变株DNA疫苗及应用</strong> - 本发明涉及生物技术领域，具体而言，提供了一种编码SARS‑COV‑2病毒B.1.617.2突变株抗原的DNA分子、DNA疫苗及应用。本发明提供的SEQ ID NO：1核酸序列在真核表达系统中能够高效转录和表达，而且具有免疫原性，表现在体液免疫和细胞免疫应答中，以此作为活性成分的核酸疫苗同样具有良好的免疫原性。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN347705359">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Hung Thanh Phan COVID-19 NEW SOLUTION</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU344983394">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A METHOD TO REVEAL MOTIF PATTERNS OF COVID-19 USING MULTIPLE SEQUENCE ALIGNMENT</strong> - This present invention consists of different levels of computation and work in a pipeline manner i.e., input of one will be output of another and it is sequential process. Input data given in form of nucleotide sequence (DNA) of different COVID-19 patients (1). Using these nucleotide sequence perform mutation if possible and arrange them in a sequential order (2). Arrange number of nucleotide sequences of different patients in row wise and also compute number of characters in each row. (3). Compute frequency of occurrence of character in column wise and create a matrix having 4 rows and maximum sequence length will be the column size (4). Find the character like A, T, C, and G which one has maximum score and similarly find for each column to produce a final sequence (5). - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN346039750">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Putin, Ukraine, and the Preservation of Power</strong> - Once more, the Russian President is poised to invade the nation. His weapons include military hardware, malware, and propaganda. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/01/31/putin-ukraine-and-the-preservation-of-power">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Is the Plunge in the Nasdaq and Bitcoin the End of a “Superbubble”?</strong> - “Perma-bear” Jeremy Grantham has long warned of a much bigger and far more damaging crash that could include stocks, bonds, and real estate. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/is-the-plunge-in-the-nasdaq-and-bitcoin-the-end-of-a-%20superbubble">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What Is Eric Adams’s Plan for the Rikers Island Crisis?</strong> - The horrors in the city’s jail system have been several administrations in the making. Adams has given a few early signs of how he’ll try to manage them. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/whats-eric-adamss-plan-for-the-rikers-island-crisis">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Damage Done by a Hollywood Stereotype</strong> - A conversation with Robert Capron, who was cast as Rowley Jefferson in “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-damage-done-by-a-hollywood-stereotype">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>In “Compartment No. 6,” the Stranger on a Train Is a Drunken Russian Bear</strong> - This Finnish film is heavy-handed, regressive, and short-listed for an Oscar. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/in-compartment-no-6-the-stranger-on-a-train-is-a-drunken-%20russian-bear">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>How to depolarize a country</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="I Voted stickers." src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/nlznxwgvqMs46wq4J2vncqq6-nc=/364x0:4921x3418/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70433701/1229444671.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
“I voted” stickers on offer in Austin, Texas, on November 3, 2020. | Montinique Monroe/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
An expert makes a strong argument for transforming the way American elections work. But could it ever happen?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IcJK96">
Last week, the Democrats’ voting rights bills <a href="https://www.vox.com/22876643/democrats-voting-rights-senate-
filibuster-manchin">went down in flames</a>, defeated by the Senate filibuster and united Republican opposition. While this<a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22876361/freedom-to-vote-act-senate-filibuster-what-next"> doesn’t signal the immediate collapse of American democracy</a> as some have lamented, it does mean that, at least for now, Congress will not take action to repair a political system that is <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-
politics/22814025/democracy-trump-january-6-capitol-riot-election-violence">barreling toward a crisis</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="X70ExY">
At times like these, it’s worth taking a step back to<strong> </strong>reassess things. Just what exactly are the roots of our current democratic decay, and what can we to do fix it?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oUXT5J">
Lee Drutman, a senior fellow in the political reform program at New America, has a clear answer: transform the way our elections work. In his 2020 book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Two-Party-Doom-Loop-Multiparty/dp/0190913851"><em>Breaking the Two- Party Doom Loop</em></a>, Drutman argued that the very nature of a two-party system tends toward extreme polarization and conflict. Because voters and parties are forced into binary choices and competition, they come to see the other side not just as rivals but as enemies. What’s more, two-party systems have a tough time keeping extreme anti-democratic parties — <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/6/15/22522504/republicans-authoritarianism-trump-
competitive">like, say, the modern GOP</a> — out of power.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tEUpIT">
To break the two-party hammerlock, Drutman proposes changing the way American elections work — to adopt a new system along the lines of what Ireland uses, where there are multiple representatives for each district.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Rv1pXz">
It’s a radical vision for<strong> </strong>how we do elections and, for the next few years, an inconceivable one. If a Democratic trifecta can’t pass a much more moderate set of voting rights bills, what would take to pass a reform aimed at abolishing the political duopoly wholesale?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pYkLWJ">
What follows is a transcript of my conversation with Drutman, probing both his diagnosis of <a href="https://www.vox.com/22798975/democracy-threats-peril-trump-voting-rights">American democracy’s woes</a> and what it would take for something like his solution to ever come about. It has been edited for length and clarity.
</p></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="BJXhx1">
Zack Beauchamp
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wKKLvY">
The <a href="https://www.vox.com/22876643/democrats-voting-rights-
senate-filibuster-manchin">Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act failed</a> because two Democrats, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, were unwilling to part with the filibuster. Doesn’t that make you a little more pessimistic about any kind of big democracy reform? How can you expect the system to get fixed if it can’t deal with an immediate threat staring at us right in the face?
</p>
<h4 id="Mvn0HN">
Lee Drutman
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ReEjKM">
I’m pretty convinced that things are going to get worse over the next few years. The question is, do they get better?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gjasQf">
There’s a part of me that feels like the only way we get to major structural reform is for the Republicans to win unified government in 2025 and then just overreach incredibly. And that there’s a huge backlash and Democrats are convinced that we need to reform the system and come into Congress and have unified government in 2029, recognizing that they have limited time and pass sweeping reforms. I mean, that’s my optimistic case at this point: that the ’20s will be a decade of decline and then renewal.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wbUY9o">
There are a lot of structural reasons why I think that is actually quite possible, a lot of them having to do with changing demographics in the youth bulge, as well as the changing politics of climate. But I don’t know <strong>—</strong> things could be bad for a while and we could wind up with a decades-long period of <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22814025/democracy-trump-
january-6-capitol-riot-election-violence">low-level political violence</a> and other broader problems, especially depending on how the climate stuff plays out.
</p>
<h4 id="JqFv4Q">
Zack Beauchamp
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xxcygu">
But when you put it like that, it suggests that the problem isn’t the party system per se.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NXcS3h">
We’re in agreement that the evolution of the Republican Party has really pushed us in the anti-democratic direction that we’re going. So if that’s the case, then it seems like the drivers of the Republican Party’s changes are primarily longstanding social dynamics in American politics — fundamentally, the conflict over race that has defined the structure and the arc of US history for so long.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6xlA0A">
And if that’s the case, why would having multiple parties change things so much? I mean, in the 1850s, you had Democrats, Whigs, and Republicans. The Whigs ended up falling apart because they just couldn’t navigate the question of slavery.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hL2sPE">
The fact that we had three parties for a brief period of time didn’t prevent the Civil War. That was really a conflict about slavery, not the number of parties that we had.
</p>
<h4 id="rv2B7J">
Lee Drutman
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="c6OJqC">
Right, fair enough. I think there are two ways that I would think about this in the current system.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LEUsX7">
One is just a practical challenge. Say you’re a Democrat and you think the Republican Party is incredibly dangerous: a party that’s been taken over by an extreme illiberal faction. Yet Republicans keep winning elections because they’re the default party for the [part] of the country that sees the Democrats as the opposition, or can’t bring themselves to vote for Democrats. So that’s a problem because I don’t see any way in which Democrats win an overwhelming national majority.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><img alt="Former President Donald Trump Holds Rally In Florence, Arizona" src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/wVVa7xRC3P0hcXkwEfMs0P20B_Q=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23194230/1364898453.jpg"/> <cite>Mario Tama/Getty Images</cite></p>
<figcaption>
A Trump supporter holds a “Trump won” sign at a rally on January 15, 2022, in Florence, Arizona.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eFev3y">
But what if there were a center-right party that could get 15 percent of the vote? [They] could align with Democrats to have a supermajority pro-democracy coalition, as you see in many other countries with proportional multi-party systems — <a href="https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/deep-
shtetl/61c27a114dbd460022ddce6c/yair-lapids-vision-for-a-new-israeli-future/">Israel being a recent example</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WDuAAW">
So that’s on the practical side of how you get out of this. And then the other question that I think is worth asking is: Why did the Republican Party go so crazy? And I think a lot of that does have to do with the binary party system.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QWD90p">
If you are a plurality of a plurality, as I think the MAGA faction initially was, you can take over one of the two major parties and there’s nowhere else for folks in that party to go — unless they want to join the opposing party. And this binary us-against-them mentality, it creates a political situation in which the Republicans basically had to double down on racist rhetoric because their economic policies were incredibly unpopular. They could do that in a two-party system, because there are only two [options].
</p>
<h4 id="b9R9J6">
Zack Beauchamp
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cz5DrJ">
Your proposal for enabling the rise of a multi-party system is a much more radical reform than what the Senate just rejected. The model that you like the best is basically patterned off of Ireland, with two notable features: <a href="https://www.vox.com/22443775/ranked-choice-voting-explained-new-york-strategy">ranked-choice voting</a> and multi-member districts.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1aQCl6">
Can you talk about how those would work and why you think they’re desirable in the American context?
</p>
<h4 id="N84iFE">
Lee Drutman
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZKlPA8">
The Irish system involves multi-member districts: Rather than having a single member represent a single distinct geographical region, you have a much larger geographical region, and then you have [multiple] people represent that region and they’re elected proportionally. In a five-person district, the top five candidates would, after an election, go to Congress.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qOedp4">
The Irish use ranked-choice voting as part of that. When you go into the [voting] booth, you rank candidates in order of preference and then candidates are eliminated from the bottom up. That means that you can vote for candidates that you might not think will have a chance, but your vote is not wasted: You get a backup vote. And in practice, that encourages candidates to be a little nicer to each other and work together and build coalitions.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CBf8af">
I would note that it’s also the system that Northern Ireland adopted when it finally ended the Troubles and had a peace agreement, because it’s a system that encourages cross-cutting coalitions in tense times. If you look around the world and you look at what constitutional scholars and comparative political scientists say about how to build democracy in a diverse society, the thing that they would absolutely say is the worst, most dangerous thing to do is to have a heavily majoritarian binary system.
</p>
<h4 id="3kJsCu">
Zack Beauchamp
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bfK7UA">
But It’s hard to get Congress to agree on anything, let alone to imagine the two parties coming together and agreeing to vote on for a new electoral system that would make them fracture or even, potentially, collapse.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mGneCN">
So even if you’re right that the two-party system is at the root of our problems, and some kind of wholesale reform of how elections work could fix things, how could we plausibly imagine getting from point A to point B?
</p>
<h4 id="njC52w">
Lee Drutman
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9NQCsw">
The first thing is that we have to think in terms of individual lawmakers and not in terms of parties. But the parties are really coalitions of groups [and] individual members of Congress. And there are a lot of people in the Democratic Party right now who are pretty unhappy with the direction of the leadership, and there are at least a few people in the Republican Party who are unhappy with the leadership.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dlIEcy">
So would AOC [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] and many of the progressive Democrats rather have their own party, and maybe form a coalition with the moderate Democrats but get to stand on their own? I think so. Might some centrist Republicans wish to run on their own party? I think absolutely.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JsrfBn">
So if you think in terms of individual members and factions and groups, there’s a potential [for] a lot of folks who are in Congress to say, “Look, this system isn’t working for us. We hate it. And I can get elected under a different system, and I actually might enjoy being a member of Congress more under that other system.”
</p>
<h4 id="yBfxI1">
Zack Beauchamp
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ADumhc">
In theory, yes. In practice, the problem is that in a hyperpolarized environment, whenever something gets proposed by one party or a member of one party, the people in the other party tend to take a reflexive stand against it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hgz3CA">
So let’s take your hypothetical. You start with an AOC-sponsored bill that would change us to an Irish-style system. You can imagine every Republican in Congress running against it on grounds of it’s the far-left radical socialist takeover plan for American democracy. And you can see the reverse happening if Republicans proposed something like this.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><img alt="Eviction Moratorium" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/q9mMUOkInT1gVpB6iWhN-
_kDlmI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23195065/1235404735.jpg"/></p>
<cite>Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks at a news conference outside the Capitol on September 21, 2021.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yxwaEd">
It seems like the structure of a two-party system makes it very, very difficult to imagine a world in which individual legislators start thinking as individuals, in the way that you describe, given the partisan identities that get activated in any debate over a legislative proposal to change things.
</p>
<h4 id="mxOkRi">
Lee Drutman
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pr5jJC">
Yes, that is certainly true. I hope that AOC does not introduce this legislation, or at least gets a surprising Republican co- sponsor, for precisely the reason that you suggest.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oL6VSC">
I think the challenge is really building that broad coalition at the start, in a way that it becomes harder to characterize this as a Democratic or a Republican bill. We’re clearly not there, but maybe we will be, and maybe it means that some states start experimenting with this.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MOxL3R">
There’s <a href="https://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/guest_column/simon-return-to-multi-member-districts-
could-help-women-get-elected/article_14a02eca-f21d-559b-9fa8-40a486f7a23d.html">an interesting proposal in Wyoming</a> — a very conservative state. There are some folks in the legislature there who are thinking about using multi-member proportional districts in their legislature. And one of the reasons for that is because the Republican Party in Wyoming is divided. It’s divided between a more classic conservative Liz Cheney wing and a more radical anti-Liz Cheney, pro- MAGA faction.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xx4RlS">
You see this in a lot of states, or in any city, that are solidly one party. California is an overwhelmingly blue state, but there are divides within the Democratic Party. New York City certainly divides within the Democratic Party, as the <a href="https://www.vox.com/22565095/ranked-choice-adams-garcia-wiley-
nyc">primary</a> showed, although the ranked-choice voting made for some interesting coalitions. But the broader challenge is that we’ve got to think in terms of these intraparty factions, think about the coalitions that could emerge, and start building them ahead of time.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zI8A0h">
Two Senate races I’ll be watching most closely in 2022 are Alaska and Utah: Alaska, because of Lisa Murkowski running under a new system with ranked-choice voting; Utah, because Evan McMullin is trying to run as an independent and he’s going to try to challenge Mike Lee.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="A1jPRN">
Now, the only way Evan McMullin wins is if Democrats basically stand down. And Democrats should stand down and endorse McMullin, because there’s no way a Democrat is going to win statewide in Utah. You could imagine that happening in a couple of states. I mean, there’s no way Democrats are going to win in Missouri or Louisiana, but a moderate independent might win if Democrats stand down. And then you could envision a group of moderate independent center-right folks who could support more transformative legislation.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ULKjlf">
Now, is that a long shot? Sure. But could it happen? Absolutely.
</p>
<h4 id="2NgK8l">
Zack Beauchamp
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FdwyRW">
I think it’s worth dwelling on the reasons why that could be fairly characterized as a long shot, because it illustrates just how much of a mess we are in, in certain ways.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QroEX0">
If you’re a Democrat and you hear Lee Drutman making this argument, I think you’d probably say two things. You say one, we can win in deep red states: We just won in Alabama in 2017. And two, even moderate Republicans now aren’t very helpful for the Democratic agenda.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zhF6k9">
So if Democrats can’t get Mitt Romney on board on their signature legislation, why would they sacrifice even a long-shot chance of getting another Doug Jones in office in favor of a moderate conservative who’s not going to back any of the things that their voters really care about?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bnk6xm">
I’m not saying your scenario is unlikely as some kind of gotcha — you’ve already said that it is. Instead, I’m emphasizing this point because it shows the ways in which partisan self-interest so distorts the way that parties and voters think about the world. Even if in the long run, it would be good for American democracy to have a larger moderate Republican faction — and I think it probably would be — it’s very difficult to imagine Democrats being willing to make the kind of sacrifice that you’re describing.
</p>
<h4 id="bZe6xB">
Lee Drutman
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oNLrC3">
You’re getting at this really important dynamic between the short term and the long term. In the short term, we always have to win the next election because if the other side gets total power, they’re going to do awful things. And look: As basically a partisan Democrat, I kind of believe that. If Republicans get total power, they’re going to do some pretty awful things.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SWzbyW">
But at the same time, if we don’t take some chances and some gambles, we’re going to be stuck in the same cycle. And I think there’s a pretty good chance that Republicans will win at least the next two elections. And so if it’s a long shot for Democrats to win in 2022 and in 2024, then maybe we should just try a bunch of things that could potentially break this doom loop and get us to a better place for the long term. Be willing to take some short-term gambles, because if we keep doing the same thing we’re going to keep winding up in the same place.
</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Why more Americans than ever are starting their own businesses</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Illustration of businessman jumping on a paper airplane." src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/jHrgu4l2OsubJ35l_ATkCOTBjAE=/659x0:5619x3720/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70433651/GettyImages_1294823375.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
It’s risky business but more people are starting their own businesses than ever recorded. | Getty Images/iStockphoto
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Workers are quitting their jobs to become their own bosses. 
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uUhdKo">
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="m2yUcf">
While millions of Americans are quitting their jobs in search of <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22841490/work-remote-
wages-labor-force-participation-great-resignation-unions-quits">better employment</a>, many of them are doing so in the hope of never having to work for someone else ever again.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pQ386N">
The pandemic has, at least for the time being, halted — and perhaps reversed — a decadeslong decline in the pace of entrepreneurship. Americans applied for a <a href="https://www.census.gov/econ/bfs/index.html">record 5.4 million business ID numbers</a> in 2021, according to census data that goes back to 2004. 2022 is already on track to be a record year as well, according to <a href="https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/inspiration/new-business-insights-dec-2021/">projections from QuickBooks</a>. While data on true business formations <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2021/adrm/CES-
WP-21-33.html">is available only through 2019</a>, growth in ID number applications is closely related to actual business formations. Other datasets, including Bureau of Labor Statistics data that shows a rise in self-employed people as well as data from a number of companies that offer small business tools, bear out the trend toward record entrepreneurism.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PZiBrT">
The recent growth in new businesses has big implications for the Americans starting them and the people who used to employ them, as well as for the future of government policy and the <a href="https://www.godaddy.com/ventureforward/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GoDaddy-Venture-Forward-Report-
July-2021-2.pdf">resilience of the economy</a> in general.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VouGH8">
Part of what makes this rise of new businesses important is that it encompasses a broader segment of society than in years past. Women, Black Americans, and those without college degrees are starting a much larger <a href="https://www.godaddy.com/ventureforward/2021-national-
survey-results/#4">share of online microbusinesses</a> than before the pandemic, according to data from Venture Forward, a research initiative from GoDaddy, a web domain company that’s increasingly offering other small business tools. Women started 57 percent of those businesses since March 2020 compared with 48 percent before; Black Americans founded 26 percent, up from 15 percent pre-pandemic; and Americans without college degrees founded 44 percent compared with 36 percent. In 2020, the rate of women and people of all ethnicities starting businesses of all types increased sharply, according to <a href="https://indicators.kauffman.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/03/2020_Early-Stage-
Entrepreneurship-National-Report.pdf">Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship</a> (2021 data will be out in February).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qlNOq0">
“Sometimes our ideas aren’t listened to as thoroughly, so some people just take their own initiative, ‘Well I can do this better myself.’ And they do,” Kimberly Blackmon, a Black woman who, after the pandemic began, quit her job doing human resources for a furniture company. Instead, she expanded her skin care side hustle into a full-time business, launching a new location for <a href="https://glowmourbeauty.com">Glowmour Beauty Medispa</a> in Tampa in September 2021.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="piVqrp">
“Working for myself is much more fulfilling,” Blackmon said. “I have an opportunity to be that CEO, and I mentor my employees and guide them. And I don’t want to ever have them feel how I felt when I worked in the corporate world.”
</p>
<div id="15C2P0">
<div id="datawrapper-tRyvg">
</div></div></li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SX83dZ">
Americans’ reasons for heading out on their own to start their own businesses are as varied as Americans themselves, ranging from the financial to the philosophical. Some set off on their own ventures in industries where they’d previously worked for someone else, while others took on new careers entirely.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BAS1mR">
While business applications have increased in almost every industry since the start of the pandemic, the highest jumps were in <a href="https://www.census.gov/econ/currentdata/dbsearch?program=BFS&amp;startYear=2019&amp;endYear=2022&amp;categories=NAICSRET&amp;dataType=BA_BA&amp;geoLevel=US&amp;adjusted=1&amp;submit=GET+DATA&amp;releaseScheduleId=">retail</a>, especially for stores that only sell things online<strong>. </strong>The data also shows sizable jumps in people starting transportation and warehousing businesses, which do things like coordinating package deliveries or processing returns. The number of new professional services businesses, including stuff like accounting or graphic design, also saw a rise, as did construction businesses, which might not come as a surprise given the hot housing market.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="r4bkxh">
Ari Rasekh had been working as a group product manager at IBM when the pandemic hit. He began freelancing to give himself more flexibility to contemplate and fulfill his dreams.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2Yvj9s">
“It took my departure from traditional employment for me to finally realize fully that I was inside a multi-year emotional lull when it came to my work. I was constantly trying to answer, ‘What do I want to be when I grow up?’” said Rasekh. He since founded <a href="https://www.manor.care/">Manor.care</a>, which helps people maintain the <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22407667/home-sales-boom-rent-housing-single-family-rental">homes</a> they’re spending <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22714777/remote-work-from-home-city-suburbs-housing-traffic">increasing amounts of time in</a>. “The answer, I knew in my heart, was an entrepreneur.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qKdgjg">
Staying home during the pandemic gave many Americans a little extra money and a lot more time to think about how they want to spend their time on Earth. Some realized they hate their boss or that they want to be their own boss. Others decided they want to spend more time with their kids and less in a car. Many cited wanting a feeling of control over their own destiny in an increasingly chaotic world.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z09Z0E">
People often start businesses out of necessity when there’s a recession or high unemployment like there was at the start of the pandemic. But now that the economy is booming and unemployment is low, that’s no longer a big factor. People are <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22776112/quit-jobs-great-resignation-
workers-union">quitting their jobs in record numbers</a> in what’s been called the Great Resignation.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="XmezqD">
<q>“People are really taking stock of what they want out of a job, what they want out of employment, and what they want out of their life”</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iTCZhD">
“We’re kind of thinking about it as a ‘Great Reflection,’ where people are really taking stock of what they want out of a job, what they want out of employment, and what they want out of their life,” explained Danny Speros, VP of people operations at payroll, HR, and benefits software company Zenefits. “And no longer are those stacked-ranked with ‘job’ at the top. I think life is starting to be at the top.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GltTSX">
Increased access to health care marketplaces, more accessible business technology, and a raft of new opportunities created by the pandemic have also helped give many people the push they needed.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UEzzOY">
The rise of new small businesses also has the potential not only to change work for the owners themselves, but for the many more Americans working for someone else. People starting their own businesses are often leaving jobs working for others, adding to the tight employment situation in which there are millions more open jobs than people willing to fill them. That’s already forcing payroll employers to <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22841490/work-remote-wages-labor-force-participation-great-resignation-unions-
quits">raise wages, offer more benefits</a>, and generally make work better for those working for others. (The majority of the small business applications are for businesses that likely won’t hire people, at least not right away).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="j1Y50H">
“People have what they consider a better alternative,” Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR), told Recode. Employers, in turn, will “have to offer them jobs that look better to them than their opportunities for self-employment.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Xeioms">
The decision to set out on your own, though, is full of risks, including steeper health care costs and unfavorable tax codes in addition to irregular paychecks and a high potential of business failure. While a number of groups are lobbying for better policy to support the growing ranks of American entrepreneurs, their benefits are not yet on par with employees in the US.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AyEYzD">
Still, America’s new business owners seem willing to take those risks, at least for now. And in doing so, they are reshaping the makeup of work in America.
</p>
<h3 id="DpZEUB">
Why they’re doing it
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hHsmFC">
The psychological force of the pandemic cannot be overstated.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pAUi2C">
There’s nothing quite like a global health crisis in which millions have died to nudge people into rethinking how they live. Staying at home working or unemployed while much of the economy closed down gave people the time and space to consider their next moves, rather than continuing apace.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QeG5fI">
For some, that manifested in a desire for control. If you are your own boss, your success or failure at least seems dependent on you, rather than on the capriciousness of others. For others, it led them to see that life is short and that they had limited time to live out their entrepreneurial dream.
</p>
<div class="c-float-left">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/a6FS_yeDx8D4AKuuuO0DoKd0ZMA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23194460/kimberly_blackmon_2.jpg"/> <cite>Bayete Stevens/Immaculate Visuals</cite>
<figcaption>
Kimberly Blackmon performs electrolysis on a client at Glowmour Beauty Medispa, which she opened in September 2021 in Tampa, Florida.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="lRbiBh">
<q>“One of the things with me leaving my job was I could catch Covid and be gone tomorrow, and I won’t get to do what I want to do”</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YSmxw6">
As Blackmon put her decision to launch her medical spa, “One of the things with me leaving my job was I could catch Covid and be gone tomorrow, and I won’t get to do what I want to do.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n1yQg7">
Instead, people got a chance to consider what would make them truly happy.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AvhBdw">
Baking had been a lifelong hobby for Emily Keller, but while working from home as a product designer during the pandemic, she really honed that skill and started getting requests on Instagram to buy her custom macarons.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Cz33iu">
“I just started to wonder what if I pushed this baking thing further?” Keller said. “What would happen if I gave it as much energy as I do my full-time job?” That led her to launch <a href="https://www.tasteetreatslou.com/">Tastee Treats Louisville</a>, a home-based bakery in Kentucky, and reduce her regular job to part time in October. She hopes to quit her other job fully this year.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DWCIbs">
“I have made so many dashboards and apps and watched them all disappear and never get created,” she said. “Now I get to see my creations go out into the world and see people enjoy them.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RnTFUf">
The pandemic itself also presented a lot of opportunities for would-be entrepreneurs who are typically more nimble than big businesses and are taking on everything from accommodating online orders to concierge Covid-19 testing to building home offices.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hNESyw">
“Businesses are problem solvers,” said Thomas Sullivan, vice president of small business policy at the US Chamber of Commerce. “There haven’t been more problems to solve than right now.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Bo78Iy">
Extended unemployment benefits, lower spending during the pandemic, and increased savings also gave some people the money they needed to actually launch their businesses. It doesn’t hurt that many of the benefits of traditional employment — job security, pensions, unionization — have been in decline for years, making the perks of employment less rosy. Employee engagement at work <a href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/388481/employee-engagement-drops-first-year-
decade.aspx">dropped for the first time in a decade</a> last year.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qO5Xkr">
Additionally, the introduction of health care exchanges through the Affordable Care Act made it easier for people to get health care without going through their employer, taking some of the risk out of starting one’s own business. Biden’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22360870/american-rescue-plan-act-premium-tax-credit-health-
insurance">American Rescue Plan</a> expanded the amount of money people could make and still receive government assistance to purchase insurance through the exchanges, making non-employer health care a possibility for a wider swath of Americans.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CdTWKs">
That doesn’t mean the process of getting health insurance is easy or inexpensive, especially if you can’t pivot to a spouse’s insurance or if the exchanges don’t offer the type of insurance you need.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cYcCC4">
Chris Nedler quit his job last year at a clean energy nonprofit to work full time on his <a href="https://www.energytransitionshow.com/">subscription podcast</a> about moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy. It was difficult to find insurance that would cover him while traveling outside the US, and it came at a big premium. Nedler called the whole process a “debacle and a huge pain in the ass.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="A5yIMz">
Self-employment does, however, make some things easier, like letting people choose to work from where they want. The vast majority of Americans say they want to work remotely at least some of the time — a situation that has put many of them at an impasse with their bosses, according to the latest survey data from <a href="https://futureforum.com/">Slack’s Future Forum</a> consortium. Executives are nearly three times more likely than non-executives to want to return to the office full- time.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tAPmHG">
“It’s amazing to be able to work for myself and report to no one and have total flexibility in where, when, and how I work,” Nedler said.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><img alt="An illustration of a red
paper airplane taking flight from a line of white paper airplanes." src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/6aXX8JYA6D2Dj82BkKiC93_qm9Y=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23194438/GettyImages_1191913667.jpg"/> <cite>Getty Images</cite></p>
<figcaption>
The growing ranks of entrepreneurs leaving the workforce to strike out on their own is reshaping the makeup of work in America.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pkl8Io">
Not needing an office space also minimizes the costs for new business owners, who can forgo expensive real estate, in addition to more minor costs like signage.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dj41SI">
Technology companies like Zenefits, GoDaddy, PocketSuite, QuickBooks, among many others, help small businesses compete with larger or brick and mortar businesses. The technology they offer includes everything from fast broadband to an influx of software that handles different small business needs — HR, tax, billing, payments websites — to make the prospect of starting your own business less onerous. Increased digital literacy, as well as mature online marketplaces where people can sell goods, has also helped small business formations.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="R3towQ">
“If we had this exact same thing back 15 years ago, we couldn’t pull this off,” said John Haltiwanger, a University of Maryland economics professor who has written extensively about the <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w28912">pandemic’s effects on business formation</a>. “The world is better set up on all kinds of dimensions to be able to go out on your own.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iRNJSF">
Still, it’s not clear yet whether all this technological support will help budding entrepreneurs escape the many risks still facing them.
</p>
<h3 id="BPHnOi">
Risks and what has to change
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iq03K1">
To be clear, starting your own business is a risky business; <a href="https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/Business-Survival.pdf">most new businesses fail</a> within a few years.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ekqLAD">
“I expect most people probably are overly optimistic about their prospects: A lot of people take their life savings and put it into their business, and it doesn’t work out,” CEPR’s Baker said. He added, “It’s my view [that] it’s good they have the opportunity and some will work out.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="P8XmkR">
Even businesses that are ultimately successful can take a long time to be profitable, which is one of the reasons some of the entrepreneurs we spoke with are holding on to part-time or freelance work.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="upO9z9">
“I won’t make the same amount of money,” Keller said of her baking business, but she’s willing to deal with that shortfall rather than stay in her previous job. “The work was still the same, and I was still dealing with the same problems, same design tasks, and dreading all of it.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hYxP4r">
In addition to erratic or nonexistent paychecks, small business owners have to contend with policy that doesn’t favor them. National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) President and CEO Keith Hall says the self-employed don’t have the same level of benefits as big businesses when it comes to things like <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/01/21/venmo-paypal-new-income-reporting-requirement/">taxation</a>, the ability to borrow money, and access to retirement and health care benefits.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="YXJtqB">
<q>“The failure rates are really high, but a small fraction grow really rapidly”</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AYRCoG">
“If everything else is exactly the same, the self-employed person pays 15 percent more for health insurance than somebody who works for American Airlines,” Hall said. “That’s just not right.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DeuCzp">
NASE, which offers members business advice as well as access to consolidated buying power for things like insurance and retirement saving, saw a record number of people join since the pandemic began.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gUAptH">
Last year, the Biden-Harris administration <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUYlRQCUZdW19GSQ0xRkbQXJUjRjEAxtVJql-2BHJvTHLA32qhH5hX0nqeS8zowBMqXwZbhPLIAo0EDQxMXuqtsQk56XkhB-2BBSufQAvobuQWrx0hZOfmUlz29IMVSjMC6gV5CY8PvCtqOprzHtK-2FB98Ooo33lvou3wv-2BdR2hppmv8-2BqcY26pwDhzKracajXo1hfcNJC1TMSAloDEjyb7AlA8HybdHjsD2PX6dswphfM7ZKrjQ-2BjKzsc59OsK50ZjedhWTVfj7yJEjAR5wwOCCQAbILqNHphIiKHTuBgvbBF97dMFiUV_-2BVNgr0yTJyfMmjY9u9layv5jsVvA-2Bnd2wQx0bUuAZgcn-2FvKxbr3eeZGslGyZzsa1ifbBtoWqrTzfmrO9nXRA44-2FM6VbTNNqVT-2BsNxe7gbNre43AKG9XwcLeU9bCVMtSQKQ0ZGVVrxGffsGUZcMEBFAqQTwsi-2BckAiBOH8-2FNGskAlGYL1EMWT4A8XTO5VpyfGrhwe3Kxjq7l60rCOCVQoJLLHni1rrW1r620ikmA1e8F30F-2FQsYzDoFRroCZJCaVjYhDQVru4EVPfEtnJEUVIIF5ImeMn5G5xToHz3huQClbzRoDmm8xyDHs-2BPvi-2BMyFvokxyhOgnWkd0X-2BIyMXJ6YqHKEyqeeXgaJDSEcgKOktU-3D">announced new rules and reforms</a> meant to give small businesses better access to loans and relief, but there’s still a long way to go until they’re on equal footing with larger businesses.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5GaqgS">
There’s also a big learning curve for these smaller entrepreneurs. Venture Forward found that a top need for online microbusinesses, in addition to benefits, access to capital, and affordable broadband, was basic business planning skills.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="d9wfTa">
As Keller put it, “I always shied away from freelancing as a designer because I didn’t think I could handle the business side of things, and while it isn’t a strength of mine, it is a muscle that I am developing.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WolXXL">
Even for those who don’t make it, the tight employment situation provides some succor — they can always go back to working for someone else. What’s more exciting, however, for these entrepreneurs is the prospect that they, someday, will make it big.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tiJOfR">
“The failure rates are really high, but a small fraction grow really rapidly,” Haltiwanger said. “And so the really interesting question will be, who emerges from this?”
</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>How you can get free N95 masks from the US government</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/qCm2odrIHxwZmwD8iWQKPpRMPVw=/129x0:4697x3426/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70430950/GettyImages_1364435245.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
President Joe Biden holds a mask on January 13 as he highlights his administration’s plan to distribute free Covid-19 tests and masks to the American public. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
You’ll soon be able to get free N95 respirator masks from your local pharmacy or community health center.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IlwMig">
This week, the Biden administration will begin distributing free N95 masks — which provide the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/types-of-masks.html">greatest protection</a> among readily available disposable masks<strong> </strong>—<strong> </strong>to the public as part of its push back against the omicron wave.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6u79R2">
The administration had announced last week<strong> </strong>that it would be making 400 million N95 respirator masks freely available to the public at community health centers and pharmacies across the country. That announcement came on the heels of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22890296/covidtests-biden-
free-rapid-test-website">rollout</a> of a <a href="http://www.covidtests.gov/">website for ordering free Covid-19 rapid tests</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Sz3Wox">
The N95s will be coming from the<strong> </strong>United States <a href="https://www.phe.gov/about/sns/Pages/default.aspx">Strategic National Stockpile</a>, which is the federal government’s reserve for crucial medicines and supplies for use during a public health emergency. The White House <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/us/politics/covid-biden-free-masks.html">called the initiative</a> the largest deployment of personal protective equipment in US history. <a href="https://www.vox.com/coronavirus-
covid19/2022/1/20/22889364/joe-biden-covid-19-omicron-plan-free-tests-masks">Belated though it may be according to some experts</a>, the flurry of giveaways signals a shift for the administration to go beyond a <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/01/18/1073292913/a-year-in-experts-assess-bidens-hits-and-misses-
on-handling-the-pandemic">vaccination</a>-centric campaign to fight and control the pandemic.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2EQEIu">
Ezekiel J. Emanuel, the vice provost for global initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and a former member of the Biden transition team’s COVID Task Force, said he welcomed the free distribution of masks. “There are people who can’t afford them, people who can’t get them because they don’t have internet, and being able to walk into pharmacies and just pick them up is fantastic,” he told Vox.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fBl4QQ">
The Biden administration appears to finally be responding to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/28/politics/joe-biden-covid-19-testing-
failure/index.html">criticism</a> this winter for its domestic response to the pandemic. As the masks make their way to distribution areas throughout the country, you may have some questions about how to get them. Here’s what you need to know.
</p>
<h3 id="0I2LyK">
Where and when will the N95 masks be available?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DLDcw4">
The <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22890296/covidtests-biden-free-rapid-test-website">free Covid-19 rapid tests</a> are delivered by mail directly to people who sign up to get them from the <a href="http://Covidtests.gov">covidtests.gov</a> website. But Americans<strong> </strong>will have to go pick up the free N95 masks in person from local pharmacies and community health centers (many of which serve vulnerable and underserved communities), with supplies becoming available<strong> </strong>as early as this week. (You may want to call your local pharmacy first to find out if their shipments have come in.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Tomgc8">
The masks<strong> </strong>will be fully available at tens of thousands of such locations<strong> </strong>by early February, according to the White House. Pharmacies across the country have reported already <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/24/health/free-n95-masks-pharmacies-health-centers-
us/index.html">receiving their shipments of N95 masks and distributing them to customers</a> in recent days.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lPobeh">
The pharmacies participating in the distribution of N95s <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/free-n95-masks-to-be-made-available-at-pharmacies-white-house-
says-11642586403?mod=hp_lead_pos6">will be the same</a> as those that partnered with the government to <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/retail-pharmacy-program/participating-pharmacies.html">provide Covid-19 vaccines to the public</a>. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/retail-pharmacy-program/participating-
pharmacies.html">This includes</a> big retail chains like Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy, Walmart, Rite Aid, Kroger, Albertsons (think Safeway and Randalls), and Costco.
</p>
<h3 id="u9ORW8">
Are these masks free, and how many can each person get?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x1p4Hu">
Everyone can get up to three masks free “to ensure broad access for all Americans,” the White House said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iBlkCb">
Jen Kates, the senior vice president and director of global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, told Vox<strong> </strong>that it’s unknown whether the administration will distribute more masks down the road. But while it’s not clear if this is a one-time measure, the distribution of 400 million N95s amounts to more than half the total 750 million N95 masks currently stored in the Strategic National Stockpile, which might factor into the administration’s thinking on whether to have another giveaway down the road.
</p>
<h3 id="k7agyh">
Why N95s instead of cloth or surgical masks?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ci0qEl">
In <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/types-of-masks.html">updated guidance</a> issued recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that “while all masks and respirators provide some level of protection, properly fitted respirators” — the technical term for a face mask like an N95 — “provide the highest level of protection.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RKiPWI">
<a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/1/8/22873390/covid-19-better-
masks-n95-respirator-surgical-omicron">Experts</a> increasingly are making the case that cloth masks are <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/cloth-face-mask-omicron-11640984082">insufficient</a> in the face of a virus as infectious as the omicron variant of Covid-19, as they are <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/pdfs/understanddifferenceinfographic-508.pdf">not very effective</a> at preventing small airborne particles from passing through to the wearer.<strong> </strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="v223kN">
N95s get their name due to the fact that properly certified masks can<strong> </strong>filter out at least 95 percent of airborne particles, including aerosol particles and respiratory droplets. They also tend to have a tighter fit (if worn properly) that makes them <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/pdfs/understanddifferenceinfographic-508.pdf">superior</a> to surgical masks, which are generally looser fitting.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="riWrAr">
Although the administration is giving out N95s, masks like <a href="https://nymag.com/strategist/article/whats-the-difference-between-kn95-and-kf94-masks.html">KN95s and KF94s</a> are also considered to offer a similar level of protection that N95s provide, and are widely available from retailers. (N95s are certified by standards set by the United States government, KN95s by the<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/01/15/1073273768/n95-mask-respirator-cdc"> Chinese government</a>, and KF94s by the South Korean government.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6ERLsI">
The tricky thing is that there are fake versions of N95s and KN95s on the market. Here is the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2021-124/pdfs/2021-124.pdf">CDC’s guide</a> to determining whether an N95 you encounter is the legitimate article. For KN95s, the CDC <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/usernotices/counterfeitResp.html">documents here</a> what to look out for.
</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/iOQv4T7TqKjDND_V9yzkIQXgQQk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23183028/1231750097.jpg"/> <cite>John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
N95 masks travel on an assembly line in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in March 2021.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h3 id="IBh6rI">
Can you reuse N95 masks?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ggWeo5">
Given that each person can only get three free N95s, you may need to extend the lifespan of the masks.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vNYsTy">
The CDC says you shouldn’t wear them <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/ppe-strategy/decontamination-reuse-
respirators.html">more than five times</a>. However,<strong> </strong>Anne Miller of <a href="https://www.projectn95.org/">Project N95</a>, a nonprofit that assists communities with acquiring personal protective equipment, COVID-19 diagnostic tests, and other crucial supplies, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/01/15/1073273768/n95-mask-respirator-cdc">told NPR</a> that you can think about the five wearings in terms of eight-hour days, or 40 hours of wear total — meaning if you go for a 20-minute trip to the store, you can count that as 20 minutes off of that mask’s 40-hour life.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SlTIXk">
One way the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/respirators-strategy/index.html">CDC</a> and other <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7748974/">experts</a> recommend extending the use of your masks is what Miller calls the “<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/01/15/1073273768/n95-mask-respirator-
cdc">brown bag decontamination method</a>.” You can store an N95 in a breathable paper bag for a week, and then reuse it, as the viral particles on it will have died off by then.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="14PDML">
Still, you should also use your best judgment and dispose of any mask that appears dirty and hard to wear or breathe in, or if the fit is starting to loosen.
</p>
<h3 id="F1rqPh">
Will the free N95s<strong> </strong>fit kids?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fIh1Zj">
<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/18/biden-free-masks-omicron-surge-527335">The supply will not include child- sized masks</a>, though the administration is working to procure masks specifically for children.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4hoOM5">
Because most N95s have traditionally been made<strong> </strong>for <a href="https://www.fda.gov/medical-
devices/personal-protective-equipment-infection-control/n95-respirators-surgical-masks-face-masks-and-barrier-face-
coverings">health care, manufacturing, and industrial use</a>, there are no versions specifically<strong> </strong>designed for children, and one should avoid trusting any N95 marketed for children. Instead, aim to get KN95s and KF94s, as these kinds of respirator masks do have versions made for children.
</p>
<h3 id="UdEEcW">
Better masks, better late than never
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qbty5P">
The rollout of the masks comes during a period when Covid-19 cases are finally <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/22/us/omicron-cases-us-deaths.html">starting to fall overall nationwide</a> following a debilitating weeks-long surge. That timing has some wondering whether the distribution of masks and rapid tests comes too little, too late.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KUZTuU">
“Better late than never,” Kates said, arguing that the plans are important signals that the Biden administration is pushing past “the politicization of masks” and that they will do more to control Covid beyond vaccination.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rX5RnJ">
Emanuel, who has previously <a href="https://twitter.com/ZekeEmanuel/status/1483876185323245569?s=20">stated</a> that individuals “wearing N95s is the single biggest thing we can do to reduce transmission,” emphasized to Vox that “we shouldn’t underestimate the power of social norms.” By distributing free N95s, he said, the Biden administration is encouraging people to be more “socially responsible.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LH0Ktc">
It’s a welcome move — but there’s a whole lot more that needs to be done, including <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.abg2025">improving ventilation</a> on a wide scale, shoring up our <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2782429">hospital systems</a>, bolstering <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/17/us-covid-vaccine-manufacturing-billion-doses-biden">global vaccine production capacity</a>, and increasing the production of effective <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/06/14/time-to-make-essential-medicines-within-the-united-
states/">drugs and treatments</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SN4Osa">
In the meantime, sign up to <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22890296/covidtests-biden-free-rapid-test-website">receive rapid tests</a>, swing by your local pharmacy in the next week to get your masks, and let’s hope that the omicron wave is on its way out.
</p>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Truly special ambassadors of strong relations between our nations: PM Modi writes to Gayle, Rhodes on Republic Day</strong> - Rhodes, a former Mumbai Indians fielding coach who resides in the country for a considerable part of the year, has a daughter named ‘India’, Gayle has been a big hit among cricket fans for his exploits in the IPL</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>‘Trying to get back to my old swing’</strong> - Morikawa says he has hit the “reset button ahead</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Rahul Dravid and a period of necessary churning for Indian cricket</strong> - India’s dramatic slide in South Africa means that transition might have been advanced by a couple of years.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Recent happenings won’t have an effect: Latif</strong> - Former Pakistan skipper say India has a strong base in IPL</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>‘Lack of red-ball cricket hampering players’ skills’: Unadkat</strong> - Unadkat laments about the potential cancellation of Ranji Trophy</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Don’t destroy ‘own property’, will resolve grievances: Railway Minister on violence by job aspirants</strong> - A committee has been formed and it will examine representations by the candidates, says Ashwini Vaishnav</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>U.P. Assembly polls | Chandrashekhar Azad’s ASP reaches out to Gorakhpur voters as he’s set to take on Yogi Adityanath</strong> - Voters’ have differing opinions on his impact against the U.P. CM</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Save MKU Coalition appeals to Governor-Chancellor seeking transparency in V-C selection process</strong> - It appealed to the authorities for the appointment of an academically qualified V-C</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Salem railway division’s goods earnings grow by 116%</strong> - Divisional Railway Manager, Salem Division, A. Gautam Srinivas, said freight loadings and parcel earnings had both grown this year, compared to the same period last year</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>On Republic Day, Tamil Nadu showcases tableau rejected by Centre</strong> - Freedom fighters, the Marudu brothers, Velu Natchiyar and V.O. Chidambaram Pillai were among those featured in the tableau; earlier TN Governor R.N. Ravi unfurled the flag in the presence of CM Stalin</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine: US could sanction Putin personally if Russia invades, Biden says</strong> - US president Joe Biden says an invasion would have “enormous consequences” for the world.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine: What is Nato and why doesn’t Russia trust it?</strong> - Nato countries are trying to help Ukraine in the face of a possible Russian invasion.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Viral videos, stoicism and stockpiling on Ukraine’s uneasy borders</strong> - With an estimated 100,000 Russian soldiers now on Ukraine’s border, what do Ukrainians make of it all?</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Covid: Netherlands to ease restrictions despite rising case numbers</strong> - Dutch hospitality venues, including bars and restaurants, have been closed since 18 December.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Lisa Smith ‘enveloped herself in the black flag’ of Islamic State</strong> - Lisa Smith pleads not guilty to charges of membership of the organisation and providing it funds.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Fabs stretched thin as chip shortage shrinks inventories to just 5 days</strong> - Relief appears to be months, if not years, away. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1828458">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A bug lurking for 12 years gives attackers root on every major Linux distro</strong> - It’s likely only a matter of time until PwnKit is exploited in the wild. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1828446">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A rare find: archaeologists unearth 4,000-year-old board game in Oman</strong> - Team also unearthed remains of several large stone towers dating back to the Bronze Age. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1828269">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Neil Young tells Spotify it can’t have both him and Joe Rogan anymore</strong> - Musician wants streaming platform to address “fake information” on vaccines. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1828408">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Booby-trapped sites delivered potent new backdoor trojan to macOS users</strong> - Written from scratch, DazleSpy is the latest advanced piece of Mac malware. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1828331">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>A young couple dies on their way to their wedding</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
On their way to get married, a young Catholic couple were involved in a fatal car accident. The couple found themselves sitting outside the Pearly Gates waiting for St. Peter to process them into Heaven. While waiting they began to wonder; Could they possibly get married in Heaven? When St. Peter arrived they asked him if they could get married in Heaven. St. Peter said, ‘I don’t know. This is the first time anyone has asked. Let me go find out,’ and he left. The couple sat and waited for an answer…. for a couple of months. While they waited, they discussed the pros and cons. If they were allowed to get married in Heaven, should they get married, what with the eternal aspect of it all? What if it doesn’t work? Are we stuck in Heaven together forever?’ Another month passed. St.  Peter finally returned, looking somewhat bedraggled. Yes,’ he informed the couple, ‘You can get married in Heaven.’ ‘Great!’ said the couple. ‘But we were just wondering; what if things don’t work out? Could we also get a divorce in Heaven?’ St. Peter, red-faced with anger, slammed his clipboard on the ground. ‘What’s wrong?’ asked the frightened couple. ‘OH, COME ON!!!’ St. Peter shouted. ’It took me 3 months to find a priest up here! Do you have ANY idea how long it’ll take to find a lawyer?
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/cacarrot12"> /u/cacarrot12 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/sctbgt/a_young_couple_dies_on_their_way_to_their_wedding/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/sctbgt/a_young_couple_dies_on_their_way_to_their_wedding/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>I was passing by my son’s bedroom and was astonished to see the bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then, I saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow, addressed to, ‘Dad’. With the worst premonition, I opened the envelope and read the letter, with trembling hands…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
"Dear, Dad.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
It is with great regret and sorrow that I’m writing you.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I had to elope with my new girlfriend, because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I’ve been finding real passion with Stacy.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
She is so nice, but I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercing’s, tattoos, her tight motorcycle clothes and because she is so much older than I am.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
But it’s not only the passion, Dad.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
She’s pregnant.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Stacy said that we will be very happy.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
She owns a trailer in the woods, and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
We share a dream of having many more children.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn’t really hurt anyone.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
We’ll be growing it for ourselves and trading it with the other people in the commune for all the cocaine and ecstasy we want.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
In the meantime, we’ll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so that Stacy can get better.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
She sure deserves it!
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Don’t worry Dad, I’m 15, and I know how to take care of myself.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Someday, I’m sure we’ll be back to visit so you can get to know your many grandchildren.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Love, your son, Joshua.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
P.S. Dad, none of the above is true.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I’m over at Jason’s house.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the school report that’s on the kitchen table.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Call when it is safe for me to come home!"
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/TeshaIbarraXlUk"> /u/TeshaIbarraXlUk </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/sco2wl/i_was_passing_by_my_sons_bedroom_and_was/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/sco2wl/i_was_passing_by_my_sons_bedroom_and_was/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>It was the first day of school and a new Indian student named Chandra Subramanian entered the 5th grade</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
It was the first day of school and a new Indian student named Chandra Subramanian entered the 5th grade.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The teacher said, "Let’s begin by reviewing some American History.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Teacher :- Who said ‘Give me Liberty, or give me Death’?"
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
She saw a sea of blank faces except for Chandra, who had his hand up:
</p>
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Chandra :- ‘Patrick Henry, 1775,’.
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’Very good!
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Teacher :- Who said ‘Government of the People, by the People, for the People,<br/> shall not perish from the Earth?’’
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Again, no response except from Chandra:- ‘Abraham Lincoln, 1863’.
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The teacher snapped at the class, ‘Class, you should be ashamed.<br/> Chandra, who is new to our country, knows more about our history than you do.’
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She heard a loud stage whisper: ‘Fuck the Indians.’
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‘Who said that?’ she demanded. But Chandra put his hand up. ‘General Custer, 1862.’
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At that point, a student in the back said, ‘I’m gonna puke.’
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The teacher glares around and asks ‘All right! Now, who said that?’
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Again, Chandra says, ‘George Bush to the Japanese Prime Minister, 1991.’
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Now furious, another student yells, ’ What a stupid son of a bitch!’
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Chandra jumps out of his chair waving his hand and shouts to the teacher,<br/> ‘Joe Biden to Peter Doocy, 2022.’
</p>
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<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/burntpancakebhaal"> /u/burntpancakebhaal </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/scztig/it_was_the_first_day_of_school_and_a_new_indian/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/scztig/it_was_the_first_day_of_school_and_a_new_indian/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>Englishman, Welshman, Irishman and a Scotsman are taken prisoner and sentenced to death</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The captors say “you each get one final request and then you get a bullet in your head”
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They turn and ask the Welshman what his final wish is and he says “I want 1000 men to sing”Land of my Fathers""
</p>
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They turn and ask the Scotsman what his final wish is and he says “I want 1000 bagpipers to play”Flower of Scotland""
</p>
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They turn and ask the Irishman what his final wish is and he says “I want 1000 dancers to perform the Riverdance”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
​
</p>
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They turn and ask the Englishman what his final wish is and he says “Shoot me first”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/smokeywokeypokey"> /u/smokeywokeypokey </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/scm69v/englishman_welshman_irishman_and_a_scotsman_are/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/scm69v/englishman_welshman_irishman_and_a_scotsman_are/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>The Earth’s surface is 70% water.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
That water is uncarbonated. Therefore, the Earth is flat.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Wise_Philosopher_743"> /u/Wise_Philosopher_743 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/scjype/the_earths_surface_is_70_water/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/scjype/the_earths_surface_is_70_water/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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