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<title>05 January, 2023</title>
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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>COVID-19 Deaths are Not Consequences of Infection and the Chinese are Not their Harbinger</strong> -
<div>
The fears of the world’s people ought to be immediately allayed with the results obtained by visualizing the reality in which COVID-19 deaths occur in the process of constructing immunological concepts which have eluded us since the birth of the repeatedly proven germ theory. These results reveal that the event from which COVID-19 deaths emerge is not one in which a COVID-19 alone is brought about by the coronavirus but rather one in which pathological mechanisms bring about different diseases that co-manifest to bring about the severe outcomes that cause such deaths ONLY when the causes of such diseases are ALL present at a time of the occurrence of the COVID-19 event. They also reveal that the immunological mechanisms that protect us from the severe outcomes of COVID-19 events that cause such deaths, are not those of coronavirus elimination as we have assumed but rather of as uneventful exposure to all the causes of such different diseases that co-manifest for the emergence of such outcomes. These results constitute the “Spectral theory of COVID-19 events” in which the germ theory’s description of the coronavirus as the cause of the outcomes of this event lives on as a limiting case. After all, this coronavirus is the cause of uneventful outcomes that do not call attention to the presence of this coronavirus which occur in the absence of the causes of other disease in the COVID-19 spectrum which must co-manifest with COVID-19 for the emergence of such severe outcomes that called our attention to the presence of this pathogen in Wuhan where it appeared new to us because humanity’s attention had never been called to it since viruses became detectable. The path to the solution to the problem constituted by COVID-19 deaths therefore lies does not lie in branding the variants of the coronavirus in China as the source of such deaths but rather in recognizing the following consequence of these results of reality visualization which has found representation in reality. This consequence is that the severe outcomes of the COVID-19 event did not cause deaths in some of those who were exposed to all of such causes of the diseases in the COVID-19 spectrum which include even those that co-manifest for the emergence of outcomes that include hematological malignancies even in the uninfected, when those conditions that permit immunological mechanisms to bring about uneventful exposure to such causes appeared and remission was observed in such COVID-19 patients in spite of the absence of treatments that are capable of bringing about the same result. The solution to the problem constituted by COVID-19 deaths therefore lies in answering the question that this consequence of the empirical results we have obtained with the Einsteinian method of reality visualization begs. What brings about uneventful exposure to the causes of such different diseases in the COVID-19 spectrum that co-manifested for the appearance of hematological malignancies even before our attention was called to the coronavirus by the severe outcomes of this event at the end of 2019? The answer to this question ought to be our topmost priority now.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/36vnm/" target="_blank">COVID-19 Deaths are Not Consequences of Infection and the Chinese are Not their Harbinger</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Decoding the fundamental drivers of phylodynamic inference</strong> -
<div>
Despite its increasing role in the understanding of infectious disease transmission at the applied and theoretical levels, phylodynamics lacks a well-defined notion of ideal data and optimal sampling. We introduce a formal method to visualise and quantify the relative impact of pathogen genome sequence and sampling times—two fundamental sources of data for phylodynamics under birth-death-sampling models—to understand how each drive phylodynamic inference. Applying our method to simulations and outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 and H1N1 Influenza data, we use this insight to elucidate fundamental trade-offs and guidelines for phylodynamic analyses to draw the most from sequence data. Phylodynamics promises to be a staple of future responses to infectious disease threats globally. Continuing research into the inherent requirements and trade-offs of phylodynamic data and inference will help ensure phylodynamic tools are wielded in ever more targeted and efficient ways.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.06.07.495205v2" target="_blank">Decoding the fundamental drivers of phylodynamic inference</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>In vivo activity of Sotrovimab against BQ.1.1 Omicron sublineage</strong> -
<div>
The successive emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants has completely changed the modalities of use of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. Recent in vitro studies indicated that only Sotrovimab has maintained partial activity against BQ.1.1, a sub-variant of BA.5 that is spreading in the USA and Europe. In the present study, we used the hamster model to determine whether Sotrovimab retains antiviral activity against BQ.1.1 in vivo. Our results show that at exposures consistent with those observed in humans, Sotrovimab remains active against BQ.1.1 variant, although at a lower level than that observed against the first globally dominant BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron sublineages.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.04.522629v1" target="_blank">In vivo activity of Sotrovimab against BQ.1.1 Omicron sublineage</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>HPC-Atlas: Computationally Constructing A Comprehensive Atlas of Human Protein Complexes</strong> -
<div>
A fundamental principle of biology is that proteins tend to form complexes to play significant roles in the core functions of cells. For a complete understanding of human cellular functions, we require a comprehensive atlas of human protein complexes. Unfortunately, we still lack such a comprehensive atlas of experimentally validated protein complexes, which prevents us from gaining a complete understanding of the compositions and functions of human protein complexes and biological mechanisms. To fill this gap, we built HPC-Atlas, as far as we know, the most accurate and comprehensive atlas of human protein complexes available to date. We integrated two latest protein interaction networks, and developed a novel computational method to identify nearly 9000 protein complexes, including many previously uncharacterized complexes. Compared with the existing works, our method achieves outstanding performance on both test and independent sets. Furthermore, with HPC-Atlas we also identified 751 SARS-CoV-2 affected human protein complexes, and 456 multifunctional proteins that contain many potential moonlighting proteins. These results suggest that HPC-Atlas can serve as not only a computing framework to effectively integrate new protein data sources for identifying biologically meaningful protein complexes, but also a valuable resource for exploring new biological findings. The HPC-Atlas webserver is freely available at http://www.yulpan.top/HPC-Atlas.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.03.522554v1" target="_blank">HPC-Atlas: Computationally Constructing A Comprehensive Atlas of Human Protein Complexes</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Bioinformatics Approaches to Determine the Effect of SARS-CoV-2 Infection on Patients with Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma</strong> -
<div>
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causal agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has infected millions of individuals throughout the world, which poses a serious threat to human health. COVID-19 is a systemic disease that affects tissues and organs, including the lung and liver. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) are the most common liver cancer, and cancer patients are particularly at high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The relationship between HCC and COVID-19 has been reported in previous studies, but ICC has been rare. With the methods of systems biology and bioinformatics, this study explored the link between COVID-19 and ICC. Transcriptional profiling of COVID-19 and ICC were obtained from the GEO database. A total of 70 common differentially expressed gene (DEGs) of both diseases were identified to investigate shared pathways. Then top-ranked 10 key DEGs (SCD, ACSL5, ACAT2, HSD17B4, ALDOA, ACSS1, ACADSB, CYP51A1, PSAT1, and HKDC1) were identified as hub genes by protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. In addition, transcriptional regulatory networks regulating hub genes were revealed by hub Gene- transcription factor (TF) interaction analysis and hub gene-microRNA (miRNAs) interaction analysis. This study is expected to provide new references for future research and treatment of COVID-19 and ICC.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.04.522709v1" target="_blank">Bioinformatics Approaches to Determine the Effect of SARS-CoV-2 Infection on Patients with Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The prospect of universal coronavirus immunity: a characterization of reciprocal and non-reciprocal T cell responses against SARS-CoV2 and common human coronaviruses</strong> -
<div>
T cell immunity plays a central role in clinical outcomes of Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Therefore, T cell-focused vaccination or cellular immunotherapy might provide enhanced protection for immunocompromised patients. Pre-existing T cell memory recognizing SARS-CoV2 antigens antedating COVID-19 infection or vaccination, may have developed as an imprint of prior infections with endemic non-SARS human coronaviruses (hCoVs) OC43, HKU1, 229E, NL63, pathogens of common cold. In turn, SARS-CoV2-primed T cells may recognize emerging variants or other hCoV viruses and modulate the course of subsequent hCoV infections. Cross-immunity between hCoVs and SARS-CoV2 has not been well characterized. Here, we systematically investigated T cell responses against the immunodominant SARS-CoV2 spike, nucleocapsid and membrane proteins and corresponding antigens from alpha and beta hCoVs among vaccinated, convalescent, and unexposed subjects. Broad T cell immunity against all tested SARS-CoV2 antigens emerged in COVID-19 survivors. In convalescent and in vaccinated individuals, SARS-CoV2 spike-specific T cells reliably recognized most SARS-CoV2 variants, however cross-reactivity against the omicron variant was reduced by approximately 50%. Responses against spike, nucleocapsid and membrane antigens from endemic hCoVs were more extensive in COVID-19 survivors than in unexposed subjects and displayed cross-reactivity between alpha and beta hCoVs. In some, non-SARS hCoV-specific T cells demonstrated a prominent non-reciprocal cross-reactivity with SARS-CoV2 antigens, whereas a distinct anti-SARS-CoV2 immunological repertoire emerged post-COVID-19, with relatively limited cross-recognition of non-SARS hCoVs. Based on this cross-reactivity pattern, we established a strategy for in-vitro expansion of universal anti-hCoV T cells for adoptive immunotherapy. Overall, these results have implications for the future design of universal vaccines and cell-based immune therapies against SARS- and non-SARS-CoVs.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.03.519511v1" target="_blank">The prospect of universal coronavirus immunity: a characterization of reciprocal and non-reciprocal T cell responses against SARS-CoV2 and common human coronaviruses</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Assessment of Immunogenicity and Efficacy of CV0501 mRNA-based Omicron COVID-19 Vaccination in Small Animal Models</strong> -
<div>
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron and its subvariants (BA.2, BA.4, BA.5) represent the most commonly circulating variants of concern (VOC) in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2022. Despite high vaccination rates with approved SARS-CoV-2 vaccines encoding the ancestral spike (S) protein, these Omicron subvariants have collectively resulted in increased viral transmission and disease incidence. This necessitates the development and characterization of vaccines incorporating later emerging S proteins to enhance protection against VOC. In this context, bivalent vaccine formulations may induce broad protection against VOC and potential future SARS CoV 2 variants. Here, we report preclinical data for a lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulated RNActive N1-methylpseudouridine (N1m{Psi}) modified mRNA vaccine (CV0501) based on our second-generation SARS-CoV-2 vaccine CV2CoV, encoding the S protein of Omicron BA.1. The immunogenicity of CV0501, alone or in combination with a corresponding vaccine encoding the ancestral S protein (ancestral N1m{Psi}), was first measured in dose-response and booster immunization studies performed in Wistar rats. Both monovalent CV0501 and bivalent CV0501/ancestral N1m{Psi} immunization induced robust neutralizing antibody titers against the BA.1, BA.2 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants, in addition to other SARS-CoV-2 variants in a booster immunization study. The protective efficacy of monovalent CV0501 against live SARS-CoV-2 BA.2 infection was then assessed in hamsters. Monovalent CV0501 significantly reduced SARS CoV 2 BA.2 viral loads in the airways, demonstrating protection induced by CV0501 vaccination. CV0501 has now advanced into human Phase 1 clinical trials (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05477186).
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.04.521629v1" target="_blank">Assessment of Immunogenicity and Efficacy of CV0501 mRNA-based Omicron COVID-19 Vaccination in Small Animal Models</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Safety and Effectiveness of SA58 Nasal Spray against COVID-19 Infection in Medical Personnel： An Open-label, Blank-controlled Study</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Approved COVID-19 vaccines to date have limited effectiveness in protecting infection and blocking transmission. A nasal spray of broad-spectrum antibody against COVID-19 (SA58 Nasal Spray) has recently been developed by Sinovac Life Sciences Co., Ltd.. From October 31 to November 30, 2022, an open-label, blank controlled study on the SA58 Nasal Spray against COVID-19 infection was conducted with the medical personnel working in the designated COVID-19 hospitals and Fangcang shelter hospitals (alternate care sites) of COVID-19 cases in Hohhot city, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A total of 6662 medical personnel were involved in this study: 3368 used SA58 Nasal Spray from the drug group, and 3294 not used from blank control group. The medication was self-administered intranasally 1~2 times per day with an interval of 6 hours for 30 days.. The safety results indicated that the SA58 Nasal Spray was well tolerant. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) was 28.6% (497/1736), and the majority of the AEs were mild and from administrative site. 135 COVID-19 cases were identified for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR during the 30-day observation. The cumulative incidence of COVID-19 in the drug group and the control group were 0.026% and 0.116%, respectively. The effectiveness of the SA58 Nasal Spray for preventing COVID-19 infection among medical personnel was evaluated as 77.7% (95% CI: 52.2% - 89.6%). In conclusion, the SA58 Nasal Spray is well-tolerant and highly effective against COVID-19 infection.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.27.22283698v2" target="_blank">Safety and Effectiveness of SA58 Nasal Spray against COVID-19 Infection in Medical Personnel： An Open-label, Blank-controlled Study</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Spatiotemporal trends in self-reported mask-wearing behavior in the United States: Analysis of a large cross-sectional survey</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Face mask-wearing has been identified as an effective strategy to prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2, yet mask mandates were never imposed nationally in the United States. This decision resulted in a patchwork of local policies and varying compliance potentially generating heterogeneities in the local trajectories of COVID-19 in the U.S. While numerous studies have investigated patterns and predictors of masking behavior nationally, most suffer from survey biases and none have been able to characterize mask-wearing at fine spatial scales across the U.S. through different phases of the pandemic. Objective: Urgently needed is a debiased spatiotemporal characterization of mask-wearing behavior in the U.S. This information is critical to further assess the effectiveness of masking, evaluate drivers of transmission at different time points during the pandemic, and guide future public health decisions through, for example, forecasting disease surges. Methods: We analyze spatiotemporal masking patterns in over eight million behavioral survey responses from across the United States starting in September 2020 through May 2021. We adjust for sample size and representation using binomial regression models and survey raking, respectively, to produce county-level monthly estimates of masking behavior. We additionally debias self-reported masking estimates using bias measures derived by comparing vaccination data from the same survey to official records at the county-level. Lastly, we evaluate whether individuals9 perceptions of their social environment can serve as a less biased form of behavioral surveillance than self-reported data. Results: We find that county-level masking behavior is spatially heterogeneous along an urban-rural gradient, with mask-wearing peaking in winter 2021 and declining sharply through May 2021. Our results identify regions where targeted public health efforts could have been most effective and suggest that individuals9 frequency of mask-wearing may be influenced by national guidance and disease prevalence. We validate our bias-correction approach by comparing debiased self-reported mask-wearing estimates with community-reported estimates, after addressing issues of small sample size and representation. Self-reported behavior estimates are especially prone to social desirability and non-response biases and our findings demonstrate that these biases can be reduced if individuals are asked to report on community rather than self behaviors. Conclusions: Our work highlights the importance of characterizing public health behaviors at fine spatiotemporal scales to capture heterogeneities that may drive outbreak trajectories. Our findings also emphasize the need for a standardized approach to incorporating behavioral big data into public health response efforts. Even large surveys are prone to bias; thus, we advocate for a social sensing approach to behavioral surveillance to enable more accurate estimates of health behaviors. Finally, we invite the public health and behavioral research communities to use our publicly available estimates to consider how bias-corrected behavioral estimates may improve our understanding of protective behaviors during crises and their impact on disease dynamics.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.19.22277821v2" target="_blank">Spatiotemporal trends in self-reported mask-wearing behavior in the United States: Analysis of a large cross-sectional survey</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Correcting the Reproduction Number for Time-Varying Tests: a Proposal and an Application to COVID-19 in France</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
We provide a novel way to correct the effective reproduction number for the time-varying amount of tests, using the acceleration index (Baunez et al., 2021) as a simple measure of viral spread dynamics. Not correcting results in the reproduction number being a biased estimate of viral acceleration and we provide a formal decomposition of the resulting bias, involving the useful notions of test and infectivity intensities. When applied to French data for the COVID-19 pandemic (May 13, 2020 - October 26, 2022), our decomposition shows that the reproduction number, when considered alone, characteristically underestimates the resurgence of the pandemic, compared to the acceleration index which accounts for the time-varying volume of tests. Because the acceleration index aggregates all relevant information and captures in real time the sizable time variation featured by viral circulation, it is a more parsimonious indicator to track the dynamics of an infectious disease outbreak in real time, compared to the equivalent alternative which would combine the reproduction number with the test and infectivity intensities.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.01.20241570v5" target="_blank">Correcting the Reproduction Number for Time-Varying Tests: a Proposal and an Application to COVID-19 in France</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Psychological distress during the coronavirus pandemic: A population-representative study</strong> -
<div>
The COVID-19 pandemic is major stressor for the general population. Little is known on the sociodemographic predictors of psychological distress during this crisis. Using the CoRonavIruSHealth Impact Survey (CRISIS), psychological distress (PD) was analyzed in a population-representative cohort of 29,986 participants across Germany comparing June 2020 with three months before the pandemic. Responses of participants demonstrated an overall stark increase of PD. PD was independently predicted by young age, female gender/motherhood, higher education and residency in West-Germany with highest risk in the two largest cities of the country. Findings are discussed in the context of stress burden and stress resilience.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/rvgcs/" target="_blank">Psychological distress during the coronavirus pandemic: A population-representative study</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Early risk-assessment of pathogen genomic variants emergence</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Accurate, reliable, and timely estimates of pathogen variant risk are essential for informing effective public health responses to infectious diseases. Despite decades of use for influenza vaccine strain selection and PCR-based molecular diagnostics, data on pathogen variant prevalence and growth advantage has only risen to its current prominence during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. However, such data are still often sparse: novel variants are initially rare or a region has limited sequencing. To ensure real-time estimates of risk are available in these types of data-sparse conditions, we develop a hierarchical modeling approach that estimates variant fitness advantage and prevalence by pooling data across geographic regions. We apply this method to estimate SARS-CoV-2 variant dynamics at the country-level and assess its stability with retrospective validation. Our results show that more stable and robust estimates can be obtained even when sequencing data are sparse, as compared to established, single-country estimation approaches. We discuss how this method can inform risk assessment of novel emerging variants and provide situational awareness on currently circulating variants, for a range of pathogens and use-cases.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.02.23284123v1" target="_blank">Early risk-assessment of pathogen genomic variants emergence</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health related quality of life in head and neck cancer survivors: an observational cohort study</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
<b>Background:</b> Physical, psychological, and social aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors may be more affected during the COVID-19 pandemic than before the pandemic. However, the impact is not yet understood well.&lt;br /&gt;<b>Methods:</b> Prospectively collected data from the NETherlands QUality of life and BIomedical Cohort study in HNC were used. All patients were diagnosed and treated before the COVID-19 pandemic. Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) collected 24 and 36 months after treatment (M24 and M36) were compared between survivors who completed both assessments before the COVID-19 pandemic and those who completed M24 before but M36 during the pandemic. Personal, clinical, physical, psychological, social, and lifestyle characteristics of the survivors assessed at baseline or M24 were investigated as potential effect modifiers.&lt;br /&gt;<b>Results:</b> In total, 318 HNC survivors were included, of which 199 completed both M24 and M36 before the COVID-19 pandemic and 119 completed M24 before but M36 during the pandemic. Changes in HRQOL between 24 and 36 months follow-up did not differ between the two groups for any of the PROMs. However, in some subgroups of HNC survivors the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the course of HRQOL for several PROMs while it positively affected the course of HRQOL for other PROMs.&lt;br /&gt;<b>Conclusions:</b> The COVID-19 pandemic did not affect HRQOL in HNC survivors in general, but some subgroups were affected in a positive and others in a negative way.&lt;br /&gt;<b>Funding:</b> This work was supported by the Dutch Cancer Society [grant number VU 2013–5930] and the Dutch Cancer Society, Alpe Young Investigator Grant [grant number 12820].
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.03.23284145v1" target="_blank">The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health related quality of life in head and neck cancer survivors: an observational cohort study</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A CLOSER LOOK AT INDIRECT CAUSES OF DEATH AFTER HURRICANE MARIA USING A SEMIPARAMETRIC MODEL</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The Covid-19 pandemic as well as other recent natural emergencies have put the spotlight on emergency planning. One important aspect is that natural disasters or emergencies often lead to indirect deaths and studying the behavior of indirect deaths during emergencies can guide emergency planning. While many studies have implied a large number of indirect deaths in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria; the specific causes of these deaths have not being carefully studied. In this paper, we use a semiparametric model and mortality data to evaluate cause of death trends. Our model adjusts for cause of death effect potentially varying over time while also inferring on how long excess deaths occurred. From September 2017 to March 2018, after adjusting for intra-annual variability and population displacement, we find evidence of significant excess deaths due to Alzheimer9s/Parkinson, heart disease, sepsis, diabetes, renal failure, and pneumonia &amp; influenza. In contrast, for the same time period we find no evidence of significant excess deaths due to cancer, hypertension, respiratory diseases, cerebrovascular disease, suicide, homicide, falling accidents and traffic accidents.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.03.23284158v1" target="_blank">A CLOSER LOOK AT INDIRECT CAUSES OF DEATH AFTER HURRICANE MARIA USING A SEMIPARAMETRIC MODEL</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The time between vaccination and infection impacts immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, long-term immunity against SARS-CoV-2 will be globally important. Official weekly cases have not dropped below 2 million since September of 2020, and continued emergence of novel variants have created a moving target for our immune systems and public health alike. The temporal aspects of COVID-19 immunity, particularly from repeated vaccination and infection, are less well understood than short-term vaccine efficacy. In this study, we explore the impact of combined vaccination and infection, also known as hybrid immunity, and the timing thereof on the quality and quantity of antibodies produced by a cohort of 96 health care workers. We find robust neutralizing antibody responses among those with hybrid immunity against all variants, including Omicron BA.2, and we further found significantly improved neutralizing titers with longer vaccine-infection intervals up to 400 days. These results indicate that anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses undergo continual maturation following primary exposure by either vaccination or infection for at least 400 days after last antigen exposure. We show that neutralizing antibody responses improved upon secondary boosting with greater impact seen after extended intervals. Our findings may also extend to booster vaccine doses, a critical consideration in future vaccine campaign strategies.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.02.23284120v1" target="_blank">The time between vaccination and infection impacts immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants</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>Efficacy and Safety of SA58 Nasal Spray in Close Contact With COVID-19 People</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: SA58 Nasal Spray;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Sinovac Life Sciences Co., Ltd.;   Beijing Ditan 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>Efficacy and Safety of Anti-COVID-19 Antibody SA58 Nasal Spray to Prevent Infection in High-risk Populations</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: SA58 Nasal Spray<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Sinovac Life Sciences 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>Immunogenicity and Safety of COVID-19 Vaccine in Population Aged 18 Years and Above</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: One dose group;   Biological: Two doses group;   Biological: Aged 18-59 years;   Biological: Aged 60 years old and above<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Guangzhou Patronus Biotech Co., Ltd.;   Yantai Patronus Biotech Co., 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>Immunogenicity and Safety of COVID-19 Vaccine as a Booster Vaccination in Population Aged 18 Years and Above</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (CHO Cell) LYB001;   Biological: ZF2001<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Guangzhou Patronus Biotech Co., Ltd.;   Yantai Patronus Biotech Co., 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>Immunogenicity of Heterologous Versus Homologous Prime Boost Schedule With mRNA and Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccines</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: CoronaVac/CoronaVac;   Biological: CoronaVac/BNT162b2<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Institut Pasteur de Tunis<br/><b>Completed</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>Sars-COV-2 Immunity in immunoCOmpromised Populations</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   SARS CoV 2 Infection;   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Diagnostic Test: Humoral immunity<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Maria Goossens;   Université Libre de Bruxelles;   Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium;   Mensura EDPB;   Erasme hospital<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>Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetic Characteristics Evaluation on GST-HG171 Tablets</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: GST-HG171;   Drug: placebo of GST-HG171<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Fujian Akeylink Biotechnology 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>Benefits of an Aerobic and Strength Rehabilitation Program With Post- SARS-CoV-2 Patients Moderate-severe</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: Aerobic plus strength group;   Other: Aerobic group<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de la Fundación Jiménez Díaz<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>The Effect of Amantadine on Post-COVD-19 Fatigue</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Post-COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Amantadine<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences<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>Effectiveness of Rapid Antigen Testing of Students for COVID-19 in Reducing Absences From Schools in Bangladesh</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   School Absenteeism<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Diagnostic Test: Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) for COVID-19<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh;   Columbia University<br/><b>Completed</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>Enhanced External Counterpulsation to Treat Long COVID Fatigue</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Procedure: Enhanced external counterpulsation<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Sheba Medical Center<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>Melatonin, Vitamins and Minerals Supplements for the Treatment of Covid-19 and Covid-like Illness</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Influenza -Like Illness<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: kelavit<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Hôpital Universitaire Sahloul<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>Jing Si Herbal Tea for Long-Coronavirus Disease(COVID) Gut-brain Interaction</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Healthy Subjects;   COVID-19 Pneumonia;   Irritable Bowel Syndrome;   Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Dietary Supplement: Jing Si Herbal Tea Liquid Packet;   Dietary Supplement: Jing Si Herbal Tea Liquid Packet Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Buddhist Tzu Chi 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>Treatment of Long COVID Utilizing Autologous Stem Cells</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Long COVID<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Procedure: Adipose Tissue Harvest;   Biological: ATCell<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   American CryoStem Corporation<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>Identification and semisynthesis of (-)-anisomelic acid as oral agent against SARS-CoV-2 in mice</strong> - (-)-Anisomelic acid, isolated from Anisomeles indica (L.) Kuntze (Labiatae) leaves, is a macrocyclic cembranolide with a trans-fused α-methylene-γ-lactone motif. Anisomelic acid effectively inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication and viral-induced cytopathic effects with an EC(50) of 1.1 and 4.3 μM, respectively. Challenge studies of SARS-CoV-2-infected K18-hACE2 mice showed that oral administration of anisomelic acid and subcutaneous dosing of remdesivir can both reduce the viral titers in the lung…</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>Rapid Resolution of Post-COVID-19 Inflammatory Syndrome in an Adult With Targeted Inhibition of Interleukin-1B</strong> - Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS) is a severe inflammatory response that occurs days to weeks following the infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Initially known in children and named MIS-C, recently several cases of MIS in adults have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), leading to the recognition of a new disease MIS in adults (MIS-A). The current…</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-CD73 antibody activates human B cells, enhances humoral responses and induces redistribution of B cells in patients with cancer</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: Mupadolimab activates B cells and stimulates the production of antigen specific antibodies. The effects in patients with cancer suggest that activated, CD69^(POS) B cells redistribute to lymphoid tissues. Minor tumor regression was observed in several patients. These results support further investigation of mupadolimab as an immunotherapy for cancer and its potential use as a vaccine adjuvant.</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>Spleen tyrosine kinase inhibition restores myeloid homeostasis in COVID-19</strong> - Spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) is a previously unidentified therapeutic target that inhibits neutrophil and macrophage activation in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Fostamatinib, a SYK inhibitor, was studied in a phase 2 placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial and was associated with improvements in many secondary end points related to efficacy. Here, we used a multiomic approach to evaluate cellular and soluble immune mediator responses of patients enrolled in this trial. We…</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>Targeting Spike Glycans to Inhibit SARS-CoV2 Viral Entry</strong> - SARS-CoV-2 Spike harbors glycans which function as ligands for lectins. Therefore, it should be possible to exploit lectins to target SARS-CoV-2 and inhibit cellular entry by binding glycans on the Spike protein. Burkholderia oklahomensis agglutinin (BOA) is an antiviral lectin that interacts with viral glycoproteins via N-linked high mannose glycans. Here, we show that BOA binds to the Spike protein and is a potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 viral entry at nanomolar concentrations. Using a variety…</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>Data-driven drug discovery for drug repurposing</strong> - To improve the decreased efficiency of drug discovery and development, drug repurposing (also called drug repositioning) has been expected, that it is a strategy for identifying new medical indications for approved, investigational or suspended drugs. Particularly, according to the rapid expansion of medical and life science data and the remarkable technological progress of AI technology in recent years, the approach of computational drug repurposing has been attracted as one of the applications…</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>Endogenous G-quadruplex-forming RNAs inhibit the activity of SARS-CoV-2 RNA polymerase</strong> - Replication of RNA viruses is catalysed by virus-specific polymerases, which can be targets of therapeutic strategies. In this study, we used a selection strategy to identify endogenous RNAs from a transcriptome library derived from lung cells that interact with the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of SARS-CoV-2. Some of the selected RNAs weakened the activity of RdRp by forming G-quadruplexes. These results suggest that certain endogenous RNAs, which potentially form G-quadruplexes, can…</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>Prospective mode of action of Ivermectin: SARS-CoV-2</strong> - The well-known anti-helminthic drug ivermectin (IVM) has been established as an example of drug repurposing for the management of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Various study has been done to understand the inhibitory mechanism of IVM against SARS-CoV-2 targets. Broadly, IVM has been categorized as a host-directed agent and the proposed mechanism involves inhibition of the IMPα/ß1-mediated nuclear import of viral proteins. In addition, in vitro/in vivo and molecular docking/dynamic simulation studies…</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>Circulating microRNAs as emerging regulators of COVID-19</strong> - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a global pandemic that has high incidence rates, spreads rapidly, and has caused more than 6.5 million deaths globally to date. Currently, several drugs have been used in the clinical treatment of COVID-19, including antivirals (e.g., molnupiravir, baricitinib, and remdesivir), monoclonal antibodies (e.g., etesevimab and tocilizumab), protease inhibitors…</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 ability of low- and High-SES schools to inhibit learning losses during the COVID-19 pandemic</strong> - The study examined whether the pandemic-induced digital distance learning affected the ability of educational units to inhibit learning losses and whether their SES compositions modified those effects. By applying random-intercept multinomial regression models to educational units’ average test scores comparing the 2019-2021 period to the 2017-2019 period based on data from the National Assessment of Basic Competencies in Hungary, the results indicated that educational units were less likely to…</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>Evaluation of a series of nucleoside analogs as effective anticoronaviral-2 drugs against the Omicron-B.1.1.529/BA.2 subvariant: A repurposing research study</strong> - Mysterious evolution of a new strain of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the Omicron variant, led to a new challenge in the persistent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) battle. Objecting the conserved SARS-CoV-2 enzymes RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and 3’-to-5’ exoribonuclease (ExoN) together using one ligand is a successful new tactic to stop SARS-CoV-2 multiplication and COVID-19 progression. The current comprehensive study investigated most nucleoside…</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 snake venom-analog peptide that inhibits SARS-CoV-2 and papain-like protease displays antithrombotic activity in mice arterial thrombosis model, without interfering with bleeding time</strong> - CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate the antithrombotic activity of the peptide (p-BthTX-I)(2) K possibly by kallikrein inhibition, suggesting its strong biotechnological potential.</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>Diagnostic performance between in-house and commercial SARS-CoV-2 serological immunoassays including binding-specific antibody and surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT)</strong> - This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between in-house and commercial binding-specific IgG antibodies and between in-house and commercial SARS-CoV-2 surrogate virus neutralization tests (sVNT). Samples from healthcare workers who received vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 were tested for RBD-specific antibody, S-specific antibody, and in-house ELISA, commercial sVNT, and in-house sVNT, against wild-type SARS-CoV-2. Three hundred and five samples were included in the analysis. The correlation…</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>Comparison of humoral immunogenicity in solid organ transplant recipients after third-dose mRNA vaccine with homologous or heterologous schedules: An observational study</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of the schedule, the neutralization inhibition rate against the Omicron variant was poor; therefore, additional preventive measures are required in such high-risk populations.</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>New insights into the mucosal immune pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy from the perspective of COVID-19 vaccination</strong> - Large-scale SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is one of the key strategies to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, however, there are increasing reports of IgA nephropathy following COVID-19 vaccination. The clinical manifestation, treatment and prognostic effects are different in IgAN patients who have had an onset after the first and second dose of vaccination, as well as new and recurrent IgAN patients. These conditions bring about a relatively important window for understanding the pathogenesis of IgAN. Gd-IgA1…</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
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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>What Israel’s New Far-Right Government Means for Palestinians</strong> - Critics fear that Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line coalition will damage the country’s democracy and inflame tensions in the West Bank and Gaza. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/qanda-with-raja-shehadeh">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Terrifying Collapse of Damar Hamlin and the Everyday Violence of Football</strong> - Hamlin’s cardiac arrest has shown us again what we always should have seen about the risks of America’s most popular sport. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/the-terrifying-collapse-of-damar-hamlin-and-the-everyday-violence-of-football">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What Kevin McCarthy Will Do to Gain Power</strong> - The Republican leader’s ambition has always been his defining characteristic. Attempting to placate both Trumpists and moderates may lead to his downfall. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/12/26/what-kevin-mccarthy-will-do-to-gain-power">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Benedict XVI’s Most Powerful Influence on the Catholic Church Came Before He Was Pope</strong> - For more than two decades, as a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger repeatedly refused to let Catholics question Church doctrine. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/benedict-xvis-most-powerful-influence-on-the-catholic-church-came-before-he-was-pope">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Behind the Humiliation of Kevin McCarthy</strong> - The G.O.P. has gone from being a disciplined party of limited government to a party of anti-government protest to, now, a party of performative verbiage. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/behind-the-humiliation-of-kevin-mccarthy">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Why we can’t turn off the NFL</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4ya9tjyXdWTHp_OCc-PaIQkZxyE=/171x0:3276x2329/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71826290/GettyImages_1441253134a.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs takes a photo with fans after defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 13, 2022. | David Eulitt/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
America’s unbreakable fixation with football will only lead to more injuries like Damar Hamlin’s.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="s91ImU">
There was nothing remarkable about the play that led to <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2023/1/3/23537280/damar-hamlin-heart-cardiac-arrest-nfl">Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin collapsing on the field during Monday Night Football</a>. A Cincinnati Bengals player caught the ball over the middle, ran upfield, and collided with Hamlin in a rendition of a play that football fans have seen countless times.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mRKJ1E">
But this time, Hamlin staggered to his feet, wobbled, and dropped. We learned later that his heart had stopped. The game, between two of the NFL’s best teams, was suspended, but only after the teams reportedly balked at the league’s suggestion that they regroup and finish the game. (The NFL has denied this; the journalists who reported it <a href="https://uproxx.com/sports/espn-joe-buck-damar-hamlin-bills-bengals-5-minute-warmup-resume-denial-nfl-dispute/">stand by their reporting</a>.) It felt like a seminal moment for a sport beleaguered by questions about the dangers it poses to its players.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CvXJsn">
But the odds are against any long-term impact. America’s most popular sports league will still conclude its regular season next week, followed by three rounds of playoffs, all leading to the Super Bowl on February 12, which will inevitably be the most watched TV show in the United States of the entire year.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hP5G2X">
That’s because the NFL’s grip on the American consciousness is ironclad. The worst-case scenario — a player dying after one of the violent hits that are football’s hallmark — nearly came to pass on Monday night, but Thursday Night Football will kick off unabated.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VBaWb6">
A uniquely American concoction of capitalism and culture has allowed football to continue to thrive, even as <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/2/2/16956440/super-bowl-2020-concussion-symptoms-cte-football-nfl-brain-damage-youth">the dangers it presents to players, both professional and amateur, have become clearer</a>. Football remains the biggest hit on TV.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oRdNmM">
It is dangerous. It is corrupt. It is also a visual spectacle and thrilling competition. Every season brings new and returning characters, dangling plot lines and out-of-nowhere twists, and a dramatic climax on Super Bowl Sunday.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x7ECuH">
To lose football would be to lose a part of ourselves. Rooting for the Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns was integral to my childhood, as much as going to church and school. It was part of my identity.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fn8mzV">
Football is not inevitable. There are signs of slippage, if you look closely enough. But no precipitous collapse. And the NFL, ever mindful of maintaining its dominance, has worked tirelessly to keep it that way.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wdSJiZ">
So the game plays on — with Damar Hamlin, another casualty, left in its wake.
</p>
<h3 id="ZVZcqa">
Why Americans love football
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QBQ4pF">
Americans love television as much as any people in the world, and the NFL is our favorite show: 75 of the 100 most-watched television programs in 2021 <a href="https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/01/08/nfl-games-were-75-of-the-100-most-watched-television-programs-of-2021/">were NFL games</a>. The Super Bowl routinely pulls in <a href="https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/super-bowl-ratings-historical-viewership-chart-cbs-nbc-fox-abc/">100 million viewers or more</a> in the United States. For many of them, that might be the only game they watch all year. But they watch.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/aclTqFkvw6HeOTrrVxTwzZ3b3Ks=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24336691/GettyImages_1203676262a.jpg"/> <cite>Kyle Rivas/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Chiefs fans celebrate at the Power and Light District in Kansas City, Missouri, as the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl on February 2, 2020.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EoPKfA">
The game we call football is fundamentally and uniquely American. It’s an amalgamation of what the rest of the world calls football (but what we call soccer) and rugby; the first recognized game was played in New Jersey between two college squads in 1898, and it evolved and grew in popularity from there.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Lwle8R">
But unlike the other signature American sports, baseball and basketball, football has not found quite the same success abroad.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WxZLI1">
That isn’t for lack of trying. The NFL now routinely holds regular-season games in London and operated <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_Europe">a European offshoot until 2017</a>. Some small <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/germany-edges-past-uk-europes-leading-market-nfl-93042921">fandoms are emerging in the United Kingdom and Germany</a>. But there has been nothing comparable to basketball’s EuroLeague, which now regularly produces <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/doncilu01.html">stars</a> who move to the NBA, or <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/793450/japan-most-watched-sports/">Japan</a> and <a href="https://blog.statscore.com/what-are-the-5-most-popular-sports-in-south-korea/">South Korea’s baseball leagues</a>. Even <a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/the-golden-generation-when-argentinas-basketball-stars-amazed-the-world">Olympic basketball</a> has occasionally yielded to American dominance; football doesn’t have nearly enough international appeal to even be considered for a place in the world’s most historic and varied athletic competition.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kld0zB">
Attempts have been made to explain why Americans seem so beguiled by this particular game. Europeans are more familiar with and attached to football’s predecessors, soccer and rugby, and the fandoms for those sports have their own dark underbellies. But in the United States, the fall calendar for many people revolves around high school football on Friday nights, College Football Saturdays, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football. It is simply woven into our social fabric.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="e3JpNE">
But it wasn’t always this way. Baseball was for a long time regarded as America’s pastime, the subject of wartime patriotism. Football’s preeminence requires more explanation than mere inertia and ubiquity. Murray Ross <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25294480?read-now=1&amp;oauth_data=eyJlbWFpbCI6ImR5bGFuLnNjb3R0QHZveC5jb20iLCJpbnN0aXR1dGlvbklkcyI6W119&amp;seq=11#page_scan_tab_contents">delivered</a> maybe the best one I have read in his essay “Football Red and Baseball Green: The Heroics and Bucolics of American Sport” from 1971, published by the Chicago Review.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GFJpPp">
In his telling, football was a thoroughly modern game compared to baseball, a sport once so synonymous with America that it’s been said the country fought World War II to protect Mom, apple pie, and baseball. Football is a gladiatorial combat between demigods, defined by conquests and the finely tuned cooperation of its gameplay: 11 men on the field with their own specific task and working toward a common goal.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nx0erL">
Baseball — which football overtook by the late 20th century — is, by contrast, pastoral and individualized, Ross wrote. And whereas baseball looked back to a time before industrialization, with its expansive setting and leisurely pace, football embraced the modern age of specialized toil under the pressure of a clock steadily ticking down.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EYj521">
I can’t say I was all that conscious of the ways football’s subtext mirrored that of the developed economy I was growing up in. What I remember are SportsCenter highlights and the 2003 Orange Bowl, when my home state’s Buckeyes triumphed in a nail-biter to win the national championship. I remember all the pain and the occasional bliss of <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30505696/25-years-browns-broke-cleveland-heart-left-baltimore">my stolen-and-resurrected Cleveland Browns fandom</a>. It has been a common touchstone with my friends and family, as I moved across the country and back again.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mdzYrU">
It can be fun to watch, too. Its gameplay is more methodical than basketball’s, allowing the viewer to catch their breath between plays, but faster-paced than baseball’s, with the 60-minute game time adding urgency to every action. It allows the game to maintain a clearer narrative: You don’t know if an RBI single in the first inning will really affect a game’s final outcome, but you can be more confident that a 4th-and-1 in the first quarter might prove important.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8WFpVP">
Every play is its own story in a miniature, each snap an adrenaline rush. The offense and defense burst into action when the ball is hiked. Sophisticated blocking patterns slowly reveal an open hole for the running back. Or the receiving corps runs finely tuned routes to break free of the defense’s coverage, while the quarterback withstands an assault from the defensive line before trying to uncork a pinpoint pass to his target. You might see a fake punt or a flea flicker, in which a running back takes the ball from the quarterback and then tosses it back to him to attempt a long pass. Or the defense could turn the tables by intercepting a pass or forcing a fumble, a plot twist that sends the action screaming in the other direction.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gnIHy3">
It is violent, yes. But it is also balletic and complex, every drive its own game of chess between two teams. The players must not only possess the kind of preternatural athletic ability that makes any high-level sports competition compelling but also act in unison to achieve their goal. It makes for beautiful and tension-filled television viewing, edge-of-your-seat thrillers in which the outcome has not already been predetermined by a screenwriter.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/19_3lcGfB-CDdbA2ZXqlQuLxhrk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24336683/GettyImages_1424994265a.jpg"/> <cite>Nick Cammett/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Taven Bryan, left, of the Cleveland Browns reacts after Greg Zuerlein of the New York Jets made a 57-yard field goal during the fourth quarter of the game at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 18, 2022.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xmOOu1">
The NFL has another advantage for fans: more parity. Unlike the MLB and NBA, where wealthy “glamour” teams can dominate because of their spending advantages or their locales, pro football distributes its revenue evenly among its 30 teams and strictly controls their payrolls, giving each a fairer shot at attracting and keeping talent. Even for my woeful Cleveland Browns, there is a real chance they could turn things around and contend for a Super Bowl, if only they find the right coach or the right quarterback. For lower-rung MLB and NBA teams, those hopes are much fainter because of the disparities in revenue and prestige.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rSOTg3">
And the NFL’s season demands appointment viewing by design. For your favorite team, there is one game a week, usually on Sunday. With only 17 games in the regular season, each individual NFL game carries more import than the typical game of an MLB (162 games) or NBA (82 games) regular season. There are no filler episodes.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ku9JYA">
Even today, aware as I am of the physical dangers and moral hazard for supporting <a href="https://www.route-fifty.com/finance/2022/04/ive-studied-stadium-financing-over-two-decades-and-new-bills-stadium-one-worst-deals-taxpayers-ive-ever-seen/365734/">owners who bilk cities for millions to build new stadiums they don’t need</a> or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/11/sports/football/what-did-jon-gruden-say.html">coaches</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/deshaun-watson-sexual-assault-lawsuit.html">players accused of all sorts of wrongdoing</a>, I do still tune in more Sundays than I don’t.
</p>
<h3 id="YoJbTd">
How the NFL has staved off the death of football
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kW9NAM">
That makes me part of the problem. The NFL continues to defy any claims of its impending doom, in part because people like me are still tuning in.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yMECHI">
The league has worked hard to keep our attention. It has been desperate to stave off the brain damage backlash, which was driven deeper into the public consciousness by shocking stories involving star players, such as retired San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau’s death by suicide (and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-xpm-2013-jan-10-la-sp-sn-junior-seau-brain-20130110-story.html">the subsequent revelation he had CTE</a>) and Indianapolis Colts quarterback <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/insider/story/_/id/35163936/andrew-luck-reveals-why-walked-away-nfl">Andrew Luck’s sudden retirement</a> in his prime to avoid any further injury. There have been <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-ex-players-agree-to-765m-settlement-in-concussions-suit-0ap1000000235494">enormous settlements</a> in lawsuits involving former players who alleged the league hid the risks of playing football from them.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lDc29U">
And football, the game, is facing a more uncertain future. <a href="https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/youth-sports/facts/participation-rates">Participation in tackle football among children ages 6 to 12</a> dropped by nearly 18 percent from 2008 to 2021, while baseball and basketball held steady and soccer soared. Half of US adults now <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220330103204.htm">say</a> the sport is inappropriate for youths.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="52qAkm">
But football, the television show, is still thriving, and, barring a dramatic change, it will continue to do so. The product isn’t going away: The decline in youth participation has not been universal, and in some of its cultural strongholds like the Southeast, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerpielke/2020/01/28/the-decline-of-football-is-real-and-its-accelerating/?sh=93fce8c2f372">more kids have been playing football in the last decade</a>. The NFL should continue to have a pipeline of new stars for the foreseeable future.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Rc0aAJ">
The league has been canny in keeping the game afloat. It has altered its rulebook and made an already cinematic game even more fluid and exciting, with the bonus of doing so in the name of player safety. It has <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2018/9/27/17911444/nfl-roughing-the-passer-penalty-explanation-clay-matthews">instituted rules to protect quarterbacks</a>, its biggest stars, from dangerous hits to their legs and head. If a wide receiver cuts across the middle of the field to catche the ball, defensive players are barred from hitting the other player in particularly rough ways, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2018/03/27/nfls-new-targeting-rule-will-penalize-players-for-lowering-helmet-before-hit/">such as leading with their helmet</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qBODGT">
That may make the game marginally less dangerous. But a notable side effect is that it makes the game easier for offenses. Defensive players have to think twice about landing punishing blows, unless they risk a penalty, and that shift along with new concepts in how offensive plays are designed <a href="https://www.insidehook.com/article/sports/nfl-rule-changes-created-golden-era-quarterback-stats">has opened up the game</a>. Quarterbacks are throwing more passes, for more yards, and teams are scoring more touchdowns <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/NFL/index.htm">than they did in the 2000s and earlier</a>. League-wide scoring <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/NFL/scoring.htm">hit a record high in 2020</a>, though it has dropped off a bit in the past two seasons.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NGfMsE">
The NFL has also long indulged in subtle marketing campaigns to <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2029052-the-flag-and-the-shield-the-long-alliance-between-the-nfl-and-the-us-military">entwine itself with the military</a> (making football, by definition, patriotic) and to soften its image, such as <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/12/13/nfl-breast-cancer-awareness-month-october-becomes-all-cancer-awareness-month#:~:text=Since%202009%2C%20the%20NFL%20has,with%20the%20American%20Cancer%20Society.">previous breast cancer awareness campaigns</a> that saw modern-day gladiators and their frumpy, grumpy coaches wearing dashes of pink.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/T9WP8ruY2P2eE_OoghmGUb80PUM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24336707/GettyImages_1443942214a.jpg"/> <cite>Scott Taetsch/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Isaiah Likely of the Baltimore Ravens takes the field with a member of the US military before the game against the Carolina Panthers at M&amp;T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, on November 20, 2022.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LkdbTG">
Where gambling was once verboten in all professional sports after the Black Sox and Pete Rose scandals of the last century, the NFL, like the NBA and other leagues, has embraced it. First indirectly, via fantasy football (for which the league runs its own platforms), and now more overtly, including NFL <a href="https://fantasy.nfl.com/">deals with sportsbooks</a> and <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-announces-tri-exclusive-sports-betting-partners">partnerships with online betting sites</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HedVuE">
All of which serves to have fans put skin in the game. Murray Ross wrote more than 50 years ago that, while we might be able to imagine settling under a major leaguer’s fly ball and catching it, it’s impossible to believe we could actually hold on to a pass from an NFL quarterback while absorbing a hit from a linebacker in the same way. The NFL has found a way to make us a part of the action. Fans are more invested than ever.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l9R03K">
The game today looks very different from the game Ross was writing about. But at its core, it is still American football. Those reforms didn’t prevent Damar Hamlin’s injury. Enormous men running at breathtaking speed over very short distances and colliding with one another cannot be made entirely safe.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aiRpJ4">
May Hamlin recover quickly. But he won’t be the last player to experience such a trauma. Until America stops watching, there will always be another game on.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KBT3t4">
</p></li>
<li><strong>The streaming boom is over</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A woman in a glamorous Italian outfit stands outside a resort." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YM3_C2xdwVvgOZOrzmLkOdafp-Q=/176x0:1581x1054/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71826270/whitelotuscover.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Jennifer Coolidge stars in the second season of HBO’s <em>White Lotus</em>. | Courtesy of HBO
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Streaming isn’t going away, but go-go spending is going, going, gone.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RUue5z">
Here’s a standard streaming TV joke/complaint: There are so many different services that someone should just put them all together, and then you’d just pay one monthly fee for everything. You know, just like cable TV!
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jOd3oz">
Ho ho ho.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7QSIpm">
The thing is, none of the people running streaming TV services think there are going to be a ton of TV services in the future. They think they will eventually consolidate into a few big players.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zXvaGH">
We’re already seeing some of that, which is why Warner Brothers Discovery is getting ready to launch a yet-to-be-named service that will mash up HBO Max and Discovery Plus, which means you’ll be able to pay for <em>White Lotus</em> and <em>Dr. Pimple Popper</em> with one monthly bill. Careful what you wish for!
</p>
<aside id="sA35wZ">
<div>
</div>
</aside>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y4Ya7I">
In the meantime, if you check out Wall Street earnings reports, you can see quite clearly why conventional industry wisdom is that the industry is going to get smaller, at least in terms of providers: It’s really, really expensive to run a streamer, especially at the start.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="A6y4Vl">
And if you don’t want to dig through public filings, don’t worry, we’ve done it for you. Here’s a quick snapshot of the money Netflix made in the first nine months of 2022, and the money many of the would-be Netflixes lost:
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Netflix is the only streaming company that posted a profit last year, while the others had billions in losses." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/x2EpuiwkgtyFBHtnQvs3CPAFN8g=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24336633/wUGNV_netflix_competitors_are_losing_billions_trying_to_catch_the_streaming_giant.png"/>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Wo9l7s">
There are some caveats here, including the fact that we’re using slightly different definitions of profits and losses for each streamer because they each use different ones in their filings. Add to that the fact that Warner Bros. Discovery’s total is lower than it should be because we only had two quarters of data available for this chart.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kplihc">
But the big picture is that there’s a ton of red ink, and there would be much, much more if we 1) went back further because some of these services have been bleeding money for multiple years and 2) could see the P&amp;Ls of Apple and Amazon, which are burning big piles of money on streaming but are so big that it doesn’t matter to them or their investors (for now).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XQM2Eu">
This chart also explains why shows you love (but other people don’t) <a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/1899-canceled-season-two-netflix-1235477349/">are more likely to disappear now than they have in the past</a>: A couple of years ago, Wall Street was telling media companies that they should emulate Netflix and worry about growth, not losses. That changed last year, <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/23149037/netflix-streaming-hollywood-chill-peter-kafka">for Netflix and for everyone else</a>. Now, Netflix founder Reed Hastings preaches the merits of operating income, and his competitors are talking about rationalizing costs.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SkJZEE">
Streaming isn’t going away. Data firm Ampere Analysis predicts global content spending will hit $243 billion this year. That’s a 2 percent increase, and it’s down quite a bit from the 6 percent growth we saw in 2022. But it’s way, way up from the $128 billion we saw a decade ago. You’re still going to have a lot of choice for a long time.
</p></li>
<li><strong>The treaties that make the world safer are struggling</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="illustration of a person pushing bombs along an abacus" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wMhK0JTiXWHaEVOnBPQ-u6nEt5M=/270x110:3900x2833/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71826232/GettyImages_1400614266a.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Bita Honarvar/Vox; Getty Images/Collection Mix: Subjects RF
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Agreement on arms control is getting harder, but it still really matters.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="426Jsq">
UNITED NATIONS, Geneva — There was a stretch in December’s late-stage negotiations that seemed pretty bleak. Russia was mad, <a href="https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2022-10/news/us-ukraine-refute-russian-bioweapons-charges">mostly that no one would entertain its made-up claims of a US-funded bioweapons program in Ukraine</a>. Iran was mad, <a href="https://iranpress.com/content/70273/iran-envoy-sanctions-block-the-path-intl-cooperation-breach-bwc">apparently about sanctions</a>. And everyone was haggling over language in the final review document for the <a href="https://www.un.org/disarmament/biological-weapons/about/history/">Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention</a> (BWC), the nearly 50-year-old international treaty that prohibits states from developing or deploying biological weapons.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LxaDFB">
Diplomats, delegations, and experts feared this is where the review conference (or “RevCon,” as it’s known) might stall out. The review, which takes place every five years, is intended to make sure the BWC is still operating and being implemented effectively in the current era. Reaching consensus among more than 180 countries on what that means is always a huge task. This time, spillover from geopolitical tensions — capped by <a href="https://www.vox.com/russia-invasion-ukraine">Russia’s invasion of Ukraine</a> — made these talks even messier.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Iw453t">
But after three weeks of discussions that ended about a week before Christmas, the BWC RevCon <a href="https://unodaweb-meetings.unoda.org/public/2022-12/2022-1216%20draft%20final%20document%20CRP_2_Rev_2.pdf">ended up a modest success</a>. The parties basically agreed to agree to keep talking, establishing a working group, which would meet for a little more than two weeks each year and deal with a long, long list of issues related to the BWC, including evaluating developments in science and technology and potential verification and compliance measures. And the unit that implements the convention would get another staff member. A team of three people tasked with helping to keep the world free of bioweapons became four.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LPERBc">
“Modest,” then, is doing a lot of work. But in this geopolitical<strong> </strong>climate, you take what you can get.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="O4utQl">
“I’m sure if the international context had been different, we would have achieved much, much more,” Ambassador Leonardo Bencini, permanent representative of Italy to the Conference on Disarmament and the president-designate of the Ninth Review Conference on the Biological Weapons Convention, told Vox in December.<strong> </strong>“But, as I said, given the situation, we have to be pleased that we managed at least to break the deadlock.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="g9Wxbq">
Bencini echoed the statement from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who called the BWC result <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2022-12-16/statement-attributable-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-the-ninth-review-conference-of-the-biological-weapons-convention">“a glimmer of hope in an overall bleak international security environment.”</a>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rjwTod">
“We were very worried that if we did not get this, we don’t know what might happen to the future of these disarmament negotiations in the multilateral system,” Bencini added.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="g3S646">
Because, right now, the arms control movement is facing something of a tough moment.
</p>
<h3 id="UO1DBu">
The state of global arms control is not great
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uJyZBt">
Take the BWC:<strong> </strong>The norm against the deliberate use of biological weapons is largely still intact, but political wrangling — this year, <a href="https://www.nonproliferation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/op31-compliance-revisited.pdf">and in many years past</a>, <a href="https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2006-09/features/verification-bwc-last-gasp-signs-life">including from the US</a> — has stymied progress, leaving limited breakthroughs to stand as accomplishments. And that means the world is still pretty far away from really strengthening the convention, making it more relevant and responsive to the technological and scientific advances that are changing the nature of biothreats.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OzOLo1">
Other arms control conventions have faced similar challenges. This year, Russia blocked agreement on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/27/russia-blocks-un-nuclear-treaty-agreement-over-zaporizhzhia-clause">apparently over objections to a clause referencing the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine</a>. In November, Russia <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/11/30/russia-us-start-nuclear-treaty/">also last-minute canceled technical</a> talks with the United States on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/publications/interactive/new-start#:~:text=New%20START%20is%20the%20only,U.S.%20and%20Russian%20nuclear%20arsenals.">the last nuclear arms control treaty between Washington and Moscow still standing</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JcisYN">
Russia has certainly played a starring role as an increasingly isolated spoiler in these forums, which is happening against the backdrop of the Kremlin’s invasion and assault on Ukraine, <a href="https://www.cfr.org/article/how-russias-invasion-ukraine-violates-international-law">itself a gross violation of international law</a>. Moscow’s attack also <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2022/11/16/23462343/poland-missile-ukraine-russia-war-nato">increased the risk</a> of a possible nuclear confrontation between Russia and the US and its NATO allies. Russian President Vladimir Putin <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2022/9/21/23364683/russia-mobilization-war-ukraine-nuclear-threats-putin-speech">has raised the specter of a nuclear attack</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Mh7Fk9">
The Ukraine war and its fallout may be among the biggest current threats to global stability. But Russia is not alone. China is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-is-accelerating-its-nuclear-buildup-over-rising-fears-of-u-s-conflict-11649509201">expanding its nuclear arsenal</a> and has rebuffed attempts <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-says-china-resisting-nuclear-talks-after-xi-vow-boost-deterrent-2022-11-01/">to engage bilaterally on arms control with the US</a> even as the competition between Washington and Beijing escalates. North Korea is likely closing<a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/11/5/23440456/korean-missile-launches-nuclear-tests-china-russia-japan"> in on more nuclear tests</a>. Tensions simmer between nuclear powers <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/south-asia/pakistan-india-nuclear-war-conflict-b2145843.html">India and Pakistan</a>. The United States <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/5/8/17328520/iran-nuclear-deal-trump-withdraw">tore up the Iran deal during the Trump administration</a>, one of a few arms control treaties Washington exited in recent years, including the <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2019/8/2/20750158/inf-treaty-trump-russia-withdraw">Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Agreement (INF) </a>and the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/us/politics/us-russia-open-skies-treaty.html">Open Skies Treaty</a>, which allowed for unarmed reconassaince flights. The latter two exits chipped away at the arms control regime with Russia, even as the US had <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2019/8/2/20750158/inf-treaty-trump-russia-withdraw">very valid claims of Russian noncompliance</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Js5ZbI">
These arms control agreements, both bilateral and multilateral, are supposed to be the guardrails in times of global crisis, not unlike the one we’re in now.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sGWN6N">
“Arms control, historically, did a great deal to make threats and the understanding of threats a lot more predictable, and I think that led to a mutual balance and led to a relatively stable mass destruction weapons system worldwide for decades,” said John Gilbert, a retired US Air Force colonel and senior science fellow with the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation’s Scientists Working Group.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XbeTXO">
But <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frma.2022.1012355/full">technology is advancing</a>, <a href="https://www.rand.org/blog/2022/09/debunking-russian-lies-about-biolabs-at-upcoming-un.html">disinformation is spreading rapidly</a>, and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/29/politics/china-nuclear-arsenal-military-power-report-pentagon/index.html">geopolitics are shifting</a>, especially with the rise of <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/01/03/north-korea-kim-jong-un-nuclear-expansion-todd-tsr-pkg-vpx.cnn">authoritarians </a>and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/03/trump-asks-why-us-cant-use-nukes-msnbcs-joe-scarborough-reports.html">anti-democratic forces</a>, who may value disruption above more stable state-to-state relations. That fuels a precarious loop: Tensions make the talks and trust needed to reach deals that much harder, and that, in turn, makes these treaties no longer fit for purpose in the current moment.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="I46aec">
All that may lead to a world where an arms race eclipses arms control. “We do not need to take that decision to react — that would be my hope for some governments, not to fall into the rearmament trap,” said Maren Vieluf, an arms control expert and researcher at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KKgb8A">
Experts strongly caution that we’re not there yet. The multilateral infrastructure is still operating, albeit with more and more limitations and snags.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SBOg1y">
“One question to ask yourself in each case is: What would we do if it wasn’t there — and would the situation be better or worse? And in most cases, I’d say the situation would be worse,” Richard Cupitt, senior fellow and director of Partnerships in Proliferation Prevention at the Stimson Center, told Vox in December.
</p>
<h3 id="ECuT2O">
How did we get here?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cNpG8k">
What fits into arms control is pretty broad. It includes restrictions on weapons of mass destruction, like nukes and chemical and biological weapons. It can cover <a href="https://www.un.org/disarmament/the-convention-on-certain-conventional-weapons/">certain conventional weapons</a> and <a href="https://www.un.org/disarmament/the-convention-on-certain-conventional-weapons/background-on-laws-in-the-ccw/">autonomous weapons</a>, and other tools of war. There are major multilateral treaties like the BWC, or the <a href="https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/cwcglance#:~:text=The%20Chemical%20Weapons%20Convention%20(CWC)%20is%20a%20multilateral%20treaty%20that,the%20possession%20of%20chemical%20weapons.">Chemical Weapons Conventions</a>. And there are really important bilateral treaties, like those between Russia and the United States, that put limits on arms and create transparency to avoid miscalculation or confrontation. Put simply, these all help establish international norms that, ideally, make the world safer.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SDpKrA">
And the world <em>is </em>safer because of these efforts. The number of people killed <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/war-and-peace">in wars between states has declined since the end of World War II</a>. The United States deployed atomic bombs in World War II, but nuclear weapons have not been used since. Bans on conventional weapons like <a href="https://www.un.org/disarmament/anti-personnel-landmines-convention/#:~:text=The%201997%20Convention%20on%20the,Anti%2DPersonnel%20Mine%20Ban%20Treaty.">land mines</a> and <a href="https://www.un.org/disarmament/convention-on-cluster-munitions/">cluster munitions</a> and <a href="https://www.weaponslaw.org/instruments/1995-protocol-on-blinding-laser-weapons#:~:text=The%201995%20Protocol%20on%20Blinding,state%20or%20non%2Dstate%20actor.">blinding laser weapons </a>have not eliminated their use in conflict but have nonetheless, and over time, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/06/21/fact-sheet-changes-to-u-s-anti-personnel-landmine-policy/">helped build norms against their use</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hbxG4h">
A lot of what makes up our arms control regime, particularly around weapons of mass destruction, was shaped during the Cold War period, with two nuclear-armed superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, anchoring the global order. That is one of the obvious challenges the current arms control apparatus faces.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zNbiIo">
“The whole infrastructure of this idea of arms control, and these bilateral and multilateral agreements, were created at a particular time and in a particular world, for a very specific purpose,” said Laura Considine, an associate professor of international politics who specializes in global nuclear politics at the University of Leeds. “And so we’re left with this very, I think, rigid structuring of institutions that is premised on Cold War, bilateral relationships, and the superpowers, and that’s just fundamentally not where we are anymore.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aLiEhq">
Technologies have changed since the 20th century, too, and while these treaties serve as foundations, they also need to account for developments and respond to new risks and threats.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xQrwkT">
Right now, geopolitical divides make actually coming to an agreement on any updates<strong> </strong>difficult. It is hard to pinpoint a precise turning point of when things started souring because these kinds of arms control agreements are inherently difficult to make, requiring relationship-building, public pressure, and political will, all of which ebbs and flows. But a real erosion of trust among countries like the US and Russia has become a roadblock to shoring up some of these institutions.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DKgwFS">
Though some of these arms control treaties may have helped avert catastrophe during the Cold War, they may have seemed less necessary after the fall of the Soviet Union; the George W. Bush administration, for example, pulled out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, a 1972 treaty with the then-Soviet Union, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/13/international/bush-pulls-out-of-abm-treaty-putin-calls-move-a-mistake.html">arguing it had outlived its purpose and prevented America from building up its defense post-9/11</a>. A broader complacency might also have set in, in part because arms control worked, which perhaps led policymakers to underestimate the threat, say, of proliferation and advances in technological capabilities.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Xc8TOh">
The last few years may have accelerated some of these trends. Trump, for example, withdrew the US from multiple arms control treaties, like the INF and Open Skies Treaty. But then the Biden administration <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/us/politics/us-russia-open-skies-treaty.html">did not seek to rejoin</a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-europe-russia-government-and-politics-69038e96de8488f2c759b126c27d1366">citing legitimate Russian rule-breaking</a>. Experts said authoritarian swings — in Russia under Putin, but also in China under Xi Jinping, and rightward shifts in established democracies — also make it harder to make deals. Leaders are less accountable to their publics (who, hey, probably don’t want to die in a nuclear war) but also may see value in gaining an edge over their global rivals.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xf9xAM">
Disinformation, and the quick spread of it, is a tool to undermine the credibility of regimes; Russia, for example, keeps claiming the US is financing a bioweapons program in Ukraine, including designing bioagents that<a href="https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-claims-by-the-russian-defence-ministry-that-ethnic-specific-bio-agents-might-have-been-developed-in-ukraine/"> could target specific ethnic groups</a>. It’s baseless propaganda, but it still serves to undermine the credibility of the institutions — in this case, the BWC. One leader or country can’t unravel an arms control agreement, but their actions and approach can degrade it, as Russia is doing right now.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vKsUqb">
“We all understand the value of arms control. And I think Russia understands the value of it, but they don’t care,” said William Alberque, director of strategy, technology, and arms control at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “Peace and stability aren’t the things they want. They want risk in order to make us afraid, so that we’ll give stuff up.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tP21f3">
That kind of impasse also makes it harder to make future agreements, even if tensions thaw. As experts pointed out, lots of these arms control talks are technical — precise data on weapons and capabilities — but they also hinge on familiarity, trust, mutual respect. When people stop talking, it’s a lot harder to just restart negotiations because that trust erodes. Jessica Rogers, impact fellow at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), said this is the concern about the New START treaty, which is set to expire in 2026 and might not have a follow on. “Just not having that dialogue, it just creates a lot of pessimism among nuclear experts — or generally among arms control experts — because there’s no time really to negotiate a follow on to the expiring New START Treaty,” she said.
</p>
<h3 id="uJBiZB">
These treaties still matter, even if things look a bit bleak. And honestly, it’s not <em>all </em>bad.
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="G3pjep">
Maybe the world where these treaties were forged doesn’t exist anymore, but they still matter — even if they’re imperfect, <a href="https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2021-04/news/us-sanctions-russia-chemical-weapons-use">even if they are violated</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="i6eZlE">
As experts said, the idea that you’re going to get a new legally binding treaty — even if that is what you ultimately want — just isn’t a reality in these current international and <a href="https://www.politico.com/gallery/10-treaties-the-us-hasnt-ratified?slide=0">domestic </a>climates.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MTGwX1">
“Treaties were written at a time when the world was different, and they need to exist; they need to exist as the foundations to ensure that there is something there,” said<strong> </strong>Anuradha Damale-Day, policy fellow and program manager at BASIC. “But I think there’s been more of a willingness because of everything that’s happened to find more innovative ways to problem-solve, that are more incremental, and that add together in their parts into something that is bigger.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Dn6QFL">
That incrementalism may seem quaint compared to the threat of nuclear apocalypse, but that may be the only option available right now. “It’s shifting right now to account for the reality that the situation has changed,” said Shannon Bugos, senior policy analyst at the Arms Control Association. “We know the traditional view of arms control is not necessarily what is best for the current moment.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V4m86d">
Instead, countries are focusing<strong> </strong>on things like strategic dialogues and crisis hotlines — at least we can call you if things get dicey. This kind of risk reduction is more fluid and informal, and not legally binding in the way of a treaty or convention. But it still serves to help change the norms and narratives and, most importantly, deescalate tensions.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IlpeV9">
There are other ways to establish arms-control systems, like political declarations. In November, 80 countries signed the <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/23-nato-states-sign-global-international-agreement-protect-civilians-explosive-weapons-populated-areas#:~:text=Over%20two%2Dthirds%20of%20NATO,Castle%2C%20Friday%2018%20November%202022.">first international declaration to protect civilians in populated areas</a>, which commits states to restrict the use of explosive weapons in those areas, to reduce the harm posed to civilians, and to better assist victims of such attacks. Of course, <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2022/11/18/23460933/ukraine-infrastructure-strikes-russia-blackouts-war">attacks like this are still happening</a>, but experts see it as a critical step to help make it less likely in the future.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ADuHTV">
“The fact that this is becoming more of a widespread understanding will hopefully save civilian lives down the road,” said Bonnie Docherty, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch and a lecturer at Harvard Law. “So, yes, it’s not an overnight panacea. We know that it’s not immediately going to change the lives of the people in Ukraine, unfortunately. But it’s where things start to shift.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mwcRIm">
Unilateral declarations by states — basically, a country saying we think this is bad, so we’re going to stop — also can influence the arms control discussion. A recent example: The Biden administration in April 2022 committed<a href="https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/us-end-anti-satellite-missile-testing/#:~:text=The%20direct%2Dascent%20ASAT%20missiles,defunct%20satellite%20with%20an%20ASAT."> not to conduct direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT)</a> missile testing, a fancy way of saying the US won’t blow up stuff in space, which can be pretty destructive and leave behind debris. This was a major arms control initiative, and since then, <a href="https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/u-s-led-asat-test-moratorium-gains-ground/#:~:text=Switzerland%20has%20accepted%20the%20invitation,United%20States%2C%20that%20makes%20nine.">a handful of other countries have made similar commitments</a>. Sure, they’re mostly the US’s allies and partners, but all these efforts have to start somewhere.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fqZ6Fz">
And adopting universally shared norms against certain weapons or tactics is a slow, slow process. Geopolitical conflict or national interests can unravel or undermine that progress. As of November 2022, <a href="https://www.icanw.org/signature_and_ratification_status#:~:text=The%20Treaty%20on%20the%20Prohibition,force%20on%2022%20January%202021.">more than 91 countries had signed on</a> to a treaty to ban nuclear weapons (admittedly, none of them nuclear powers). Yet this was also the year the world fretted about what might happen if Putin used a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine; <a href="https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/03/07/ukraine-war-european-pharmacies-face-jump-in-demand-for-iodine-pills-after-putin-s-nuclear">people rushed to buy iodine pills in Europe</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BJju8B">
This is exactly the kind of climate arms control treaties are designed for, to stop threats from spiraling. Arms control agreements only work, though, when states trust that their enemy is going to abide by the rules. Without that, countries may see less value in reducing risks than in trying to rearm to prevent them.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NEQQNe">
The fear is that the world might creep toward the brink of a very real disaster to tip that balance back. “Do we have to go through a Cuban missile crisis moment for people to understand the value of arms control — or is this just the new era of risk until we do stumble into a crisis or disaster?” Alberque said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="U9NbtT">
<em>This reporting was made possible by a grant from </em><a href="https://founderspledge.com/"><em>Founders Pledge</em></a><em>.</em>
</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Dear Lady, Leopard Rock and Star Romance impress</strong> -</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>Wild Thing, Mojito and Fortunate Son impress</strong> -</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>Speedstar, Shubankar, Chiraag and Estella please</strong> -</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>Northeast Frontier Railway investing heavily in sports infrastructure across northeast India</strong> - A series of half marathons on February is the first of several events planned in the region</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>Indian National Car Racing Championship resumes in Chennai after a three-month break</strong> - The concluding rounds are scheduled on January 20-22 and January 27-29 also at the same venue</p></li>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Statewide lane discipline drive in Kerala from Friday, says Transport Minister Antony Raju</strong> - The campaign will kick off at Koduvally in Kozhikode</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>Tobacco valued at ₹6,880 crore exported in 2021-22 financial year</strong> - FCV tobacco accounted for a majority of the total unmanufactured exports from India, says top official</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>Revised electoral roll published, over 32,000 young voters included in Mysuru district</strong> -</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>Kanjhawala hit-and-run case | Court sends 5 accused to police custody</strong> - Metropolitan Magistrate Sanya Dalal allowed the Delhi police to have the accused in their custody for four days more for interrogation instead of their prayer for a five-day remand</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>Parliamentary panel ‘surprised’ that govt, SC failed to arrive at consensus on MoP despite lapse of nearly 7 years</strong> - The parliamentary panel noted that the government and the Supreme Court Collegium have on multiple occasions exchanged views on the proposed revised MoP.</p></li>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Pope and 50,000 mourners say farewell to Benedict</strong> - Former Pope Benedict’s funeral takes place at the Vatican, as Francis celebrates Mass with pilgrims.</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>Ros Atkins on… How Ukraine’s deadly new year attack unfolded</strong> - A Ukrainian missile attack killed dozens of Russian conscripts in Makiivka.</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>China Covid: EU officials ‘strongly’ urge testing for travel</strong> - Travel in and out of China gets easier from Sunday, as it moves away from its zero-Covid strategy.</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>German new year riots prompt calls for firework ban</strong> - The mayor of Berlin plans a youth violence summit after police and firefighters come under attack.</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>Meta fined €390m over use of data for targeted ads</strong> - The EU data watchdog says the way Meta obtained permission to process users’ data for ads broke data law.</p></li>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>BMW is developing a full-screen head-up display for 2025’s Neue Klasse</strong> - The EVs, due in three years, are meant to be revolutionary rather than evolutionary. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1907504">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>AMD’s Ryzen 7000 laptop CPU lineup is a bewildering patchwork of old and new</strong> - Four CPU architectures and three GPU architectures get mixed-and-matched. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1907733">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>AMD intros cheaper Ryzen 7000 CPUs, plus faster gaming-focused 3D V-Cache models</strong> - Cheaper 65 W versions and high-performance 3D V-Cache CPUs join the lineup. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1907673">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Asus brings glasses-free 3D to OLED laptops</strong> - High-specced workstations target professionals who want to work with 3D. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1907646">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Black man wrongfully jailed for a week after face recognition error, report says</strong> - Lawyer says police didn’t check man’s height, weight—or the mole on his face. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1907694">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Guy takes his best mate home to meet his wife:</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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His wife screams, “You fucking dickhead, my hair and make-up are a mess, the house is a tip, the dishes aren’t done, I’m still in my pyjamas, I can’t be bothered to cook and it’s my time of the month! Why the fuck did you bring him home? The husband replies”Because he is thinking of getting married"…
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Buddy2269"> /u/Buddy2269 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/103j5y3/guy_takes_his_best_mate_home_to_meet_his_wife/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/103j5y3/guy_takes_his_best_mate_home_to_meet_his_wife/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Password audit</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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During a recent password audit, it was found that a blonde was using the following password:
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“MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofySacramento”
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When asked why such a long password, she said she was told that it had to be at least 8 characters long and include at least one capital.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/cyberfugue"> /u/cyberfugue </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/103o999/password_audit/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/103o999/password_audit/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>I just realized that the word “seven” has ‘even’ in it.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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That’s odd.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/porichoygupto"> /u/porichoygupto </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/103427f/i_just_realized_that_the_word_seven_has_even_in_it/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/103427f/i_just_realized_that_the_word_seven_has_even_in_it/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What is the difference between Kevin McCarthy and a newborn baby?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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In a few months, the baby will be a speaker.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/porichoygupto"> /u/porichoygupto </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/103p5wg/what_is_the_difference_between_kevin_mccarthy_and/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/103p5wg/what_is_the_difference_between_kevin_mccarthy_and/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>It’s okay if your phone autocorrects ‘fuck’ to ‘duck.’</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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You’re still using fowl language.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/makuna_hatata-"> /u/makuna_hatata- </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/103qdfq/its_okay_if_your_phone_autocorrects_fuck_to_duck/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/103qdfq/its_okay_if_your_phone_autocorrects_fuck_to_duck/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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