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<title>11 October, 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>Development and Validation of the Pandemic Fatigue Scale</strong> -
<div>
The existence and nature of pandemic fatigue––defined as a gradually emerging subjective state of weariness and exhaustion from, and a general demotivation towards, following recommended health-protective behaviors, including keeping oneself informed during a pandemic––has been debated. Herein, we introduce the Pandemic Fatigue Scale and show how pandemic fatigue evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic, using data from one panel survey and two repeated cross-sectional surveys in Denmark and Germany (overall N = 34,582). We map the correlates of pandemic fatigue and show that pandemic fatigue is negatively related to people’s self-reported adherence to recommended health-protective behaviors. Manipulating the (de)motivational aspect of pandemic fatigue in a preregistered online experiment (N = 1,584), we further show that pandemic fatigue negatively affects people’s intention to adhere to recommended health-protective behaviors. Combined, these findings provide evidence not only for the existence of pandemic fatigue, but also its psychological and behavioral associations.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/2xvbr/" target="_blank">Development and Validation of the Pandemic Fatigue Scale</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Occupational resilience factors among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a 2-year prospective cohort study</strong> -
<div>
Background. Healthcare workers (HCWs) in COVID-19 pandemic hotspots were exposed to workplace stressors. Structural occupational factors that prevent stressor exposure from translating into mental health problems (i.e., resilience factors) remain poorly understood. This study identifies resilience factors actionable at the workplace and examines the role of cumulative stressor exposure for developing depressive symptoms. Methods. We prospectively followed a convenience sample of HCWs working in Spain. We used a survey to collect self-reported data on (a) sociodemographic characteristics, (b) workplace and COVID-19-related stressors, (c) potential occupational resilience factors, and (d) depression symptoms, at three time points (2020, 2021 and 2022). We operationalised resilience as low stressor reactivity (SR), quantified as individual deviations from the normative relation between exposure to stressors and depressive symptoms. We performed linear and quadratic multiple regression analyses to examine the prospective association between (a) potential resilience factors and (b) prior stressor exposure, with SR across waves. Results. Our sample consisted of 1,872, 1,560, and 431 participants at time points 1, 2, and 3, respectively (median age 42-43 years, 77-80% female). The occupational factors support from colleagues (SOCwork), trust in the workplace (TRUSTwork), and perceived ability to recover from adversity (REC) were prospectively associated with resilience and thus identified as resilience factors. Stressor exposure at baseline was inversely associated with resilience at follow-ups. Conclusions. Occupational strategies that promote key resilience factors and reduce cumulative or prolonged stressor exposure may enhance resilience in times of crisis. The observational design and the large drop in response rates warrant further studies.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/8pf52/" target="_blank">Occupational resilience factors among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a 2-year prospective cohort study</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SHIFTR enables the unbiased and multiplexed identification of proteins bound to specific RNA regions in live cells</strong> -
<div>
RNA-protein interactions determine the cellular fate of RNA and are central to regulating gene expression outcomes in health and disease. To date, no method exists that is able to identify proteins that interact with specific regions within endogenous RNAs in live cells. Here, we develop SHIFTR (Selective RNase H-mediated interactome framing for target RNA regions ), an efficient and scalable approach to identify proteins bound to selected regions within endogenous RNAs using mass spectrometry. Compared to state-of-the-art techniques, SHIFTR is superior in accuracy, captures close to zero background interactions and requires orders of magnitude lower input material. We establish SHIFTR workflows for targeting RNA classes of different length and abundance, including short and long non-coding RNAs, as well as mRNAs and demonstrate that SHIFTR is compatible with sequentially mapping interactomes for multiple target RNAs in a single experiment. Using SHIFTR, we comprehensively identify interactions of cis-regulatory elements located at the 5’ and 3’-terminal regions of the authentic SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome in infected cells and accurately recover known and novel interactions linked to the function of these viral RNA elements. SHIFTR enables the systematic mapping of region-resolved RNA interactomes for any RNA in any cell type and has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of transcriptomes and their regulation.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.09.561498v1" target="_blank">SHIFTR enables the unbiased and multiplexed identification of proteins bound to specific RNA regions in live cells</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 antibodies cross-react and enhance dengue infection</strong> -
<div>
Dengue disease is highly prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. However, its pathogenesis is still incompletely understood, particularly in comparison to other endemic viruses. Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) is a well-known phenomenon for dengue viruses. Given the recent surge in dengue cases and potential cross-reactivity with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, this study explores the impact of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies on DENV-2 infection. The study assessed the cross-reactivity of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with the DENV-2 Virus. Human convalescent plasma samples collected during different waves of COVID-19 and monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies raised against SARS-CoV-2 were examined for their potential to cause ADE of DENV-2 infection using cell-based assays. The study found that anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies acquired from natural infection in humans or through experimental immunization in animals were cross-reactive with DENV-2 and had the potential to enhance DENV-2 infection in K562 and U937 cells. In-silico and in-vitro studies indicated a strong interaction between SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and DENV-2 E-protein, providing a molecular basis for these findings. This study is the first to demonstrate that anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies can cross-react with DENV-2 and can enhance its infection through ADE. These findings have implications for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development and deployment strategies in regions where dengue is endemic.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.09.557914v1" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 antibodies cross-react and enhance dengue infection</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Surrogate virus neutralisation test based on nanoluciferase-tagged antigens to quantify inhibitory antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and characterise Omicron-specific reactivity</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Virus-specific antibodies are important determinants of protective immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). While regarded as the gold standard for detecting functional antibodies, conventional virus neutralisation tests (VNT) or pseudotyped virus neutralisation tests (pVNT) require biosafety level 2 or 3 facilities. Alternatively, the virus-free surrogate virus neutralisation test (sVNT) quantifies inhibitory antibodies that prevent the spike protein from binding to its receptor, human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2). We evaluated secreted nanoluciferase (NLuc)-tagged spike (S) protein fragments as diagnostic antigens in the sVNT in the framework of a vaccination study. First, spike fragments of different lengths were tested for their suitability as diagnostic antigens in a capture enzyme immunoassay (EIA) using unprocessed culture supernatants of transfected cells, identifying the receptor binding domain (RBD) of S as the optimal construct. The sensitivity of the in-house sVNT relying on the NLuc-labelled RBD equalled or surpassed a commercial sVNT (cPass, GenScript Diagnostics) and an in-house pVNT four weeks after the first vaccination (98% vs. 94% and 72%, respectively), reaching 100% in all assays four weeks after the second and third vaccinations. Additionally, serum reactivity with spike constructs of Omicron BA.1 was tested. Compared with a capture EIA, the in-house sVNT and pVNT displayed superior discrimination between wild-type- and variant-specific reactivity of sera. Differences in reactivity were most pronounced after the first and second vaccinations, whereas the third vaccination resulted in robust, cross-reactive detection of Omicron constructs. In conclusion, assays utilising NLuc-labelled protein fragments permit the quantification and functional assessment of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies and the detection of variant-specific differences in reactivity. Potential applications include monitoring therapy and vaccine efficacy and follow-up of prolonged disease courses in high-risk groups. Designed as straightforward, highly flexible modular systems, these tests can be readily adapted to further emerging viral variants.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.10.23296792v1" target="_blank">Surrogate virus neutralisation test based on nanoluciferase-tagged antigens to quantify inhibitory antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and characterise Omicron-specific reactivity</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Scaling COVID-19 rates with population size in the United States</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
We assessed Urban Scaling Theory using time-series data by quantifying allometric scaling relationships of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, deaths, and demographic cohorts within and across three major variant waves of the pandemic (first, delta, omicron). Results indicate that with county-level population size in the United States, the burden of cases disproportionately impacted larger-sized counties. In contrast, the burden of deaths disproportionately impacted smaller counties, which may be partially due to a higher proportion of older adults who live in smaller counties. Future infectious disease burden across populations might be attenuated by applying Urban Scaling Theory to epidemiological efforts through identifying disease allometry and concomitant allocation of medical interventions.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.10.23296807v1" target="_blank">Scaling COVID-19 rates with population size in the United States</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The impact of depression and childhood maltreatment experiences on psychological adaptation from lockdown to relaxation periods during the COVID-19 pandemic</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a significant challenge to societal mental health. Yet, it remains unknown which factors influence the mental adaptation from lockdown to subsequent relaxation periods, particularly for vulnerable groups. This study used smartphone-based monitoring to explore how 74 individuals with major depression (MDD) and 77 healthy controls (HCs) responded to the transition from lockdown to relaxation during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 21 to November 01, 2020) regarding interpersonal interactions, COVID-19-related fear (fear of participants9 own health, the health of close relatives, and the pandemics9 economic impact), and the feeling of isolation. Furthermore, we investigated the effect of a diagnosis of MDD and the experience of childhood maltreatment (CM) on adaptive functioning. During the transition from lockdown to relaxation, we observed an increase in direct contacts and a decrease in indirect contacts and self-perceived isolation in the study population. The diagnosis of MDD and the experience of CM moderated a maintenance of COVID-19-related fear: HCs and participants without the experience of CM showed a decrease in fear, while fear of participants with MDD and with an experience of CM did not change significantly. The finding that elevated COVID-19-related fear was sustained in vulnerable groups after lockdown measures were lifted could help guide psychosocial prevention efforts in future pandemic emergencies.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.10.23296796v1" target="_blank">The impact of depression and childhood maltreatment experiences on psychological adaptation from lockdown to relaxation periods during the COVID-19 pandemic</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Perceptions of access to harm reduction services during the COVID-19 pandemic among people who inject drugs in Chicago</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background The COVID-19 pandemic amplified the risk environment for people who inject drugs (PWID), making continued access to harm reduction services imperative. Research has shown that some harm reduction service providers were able to continue to provide services throughout the pandemic. Most of these studies, however, focused on staff perspectives, not those of PWID. Our study examines changes in perceptions of access to harm reduction services among PWID participating in a longitudinal study conducted through the University of Illinois-Chicago9s Community Outreach Intervention Project field sites during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Responses to a COVID-19 module added to the parent study survey that assessed the impact of COVID-19 on PWID participating in an ongoing longitudinal study were analyzed to understand how study participants’ self-reported access to harm reduction services changed throughout the pandemic. Mixed effects logistic regression was used to examine difficulty in syringe access as an outcome of COVID-19 phase. Results Most participants reported that access to syringes and naloxone remained the same as prior to the pandemic. Participants had significantly higher odds of reporting difficulty in accessing syringes earlier in the pandemic. Conclusions The lack of perceived changes in harm reduction access by PWID and the decrease in those reporting difficulty accessing syringes as the pandemic progressed suggests the efficacy of adaptations to harm reduction service provision (e.g., window and mobile service) during the pandemic. Further research is needed to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted PWIDs’ engagement with harm reduction services.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.10.23296820v1" target="_blank">Perceptions of access to harm reduction services during the COVID-19 pandemic among people who inject drugs in Chicago</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Deep learning-guided selection of antibody therapies with enhanced resistance to current and prospective SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants</strong> -
<div>
Most COVID-19 antibody therapies rely on binding the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD). However, heavily mutated variants such as Omicron and its sublineages, which are characterized by an ever increasing number of mutations in the RBD, have rendered prior antibody therapies ineffective, leaving no clinically approved antibody treatments for SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, the capacity of therapeutic antibody candidates to bind and neutralize current and prospective SARS-CoV-2 variants is a critical factor for drug development. Here, we present a deep learning-guided approach to identify antibodies with enhanced resistance to SARS-CoV-2 evolution. We apply deep mutational learning (DML), a machine learning-guided protein engineering method to interrogate a massive sequence space of combinatorial RBD mutations and predict their impact on angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) binding and antibody escape. A high mutational distance library was constructed based on the full-length RBD of Omicron BA.1, which was experimentally screened for binding to the ACE2 receptor or neutralizing antibodies, followed by deep sequencing. The resulting data was used to train ensemble deep learning models that could accurately predict binding or escape for a panel of therapeutic antibody candidates targeting diverse RBD epitopes. Furthermore, antibody breadth was assessed by predicting binding or escape to synthetic lineages that represent millions of sequences generated using in silico evolution, revealing combinations with complementary and enhanced resistance to viral evolution. This deep learning approach may enable the design of next-generation antibody therapies that remain effective against future SARS-CoV-2 variants.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.09.561492v1" target="_blank">Deep learning-guided selection of antibody therapies with enhanced resistance to current and prospective SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>1Changes in perceived benefits of COVID-19 lockdowns: From Silver Linings to Groundhog Day: The perceived benefits of the COVID-19 lockdowns and how perceptions changed over time</strong> -
<div>
Abstract Objectives: The experienced benefit of the COVID-19 pandemic by adults has not attracted many research studies and lacks longitudinal studies. The purpose of this study is to improve understanding of the lived experiences of adults during the COVID-19 pandemic over time in the UK, with a national representative sample. Design: Using a longitudinal approach, this study examined people’s lived experiences twice over one year of the pandemic (Wave 1 n=26, Wave 2 n=17). We analysed the data with a constructivist grounded theory from Wave 1 and Wave 2. Findings: This study found three themes: intrapersonal growth, interpersonal relationship, and social cohesion. The benefit of the sudden lifestyle change was evident for many. Many people enjoyed having more time for self-care and family, and experienced a sense of solidarity within the community. As the time went on many participants mentioned they experienced groundhog days and that they felt boredom. Despite many participants enjoying the closeness to family members, others talked about tensions. Concerns were raised about future relationships with friends due to the lack of face to face meetings. The feeling of social cohesion and solidarity waned with the progress of the pandemic when people adhered less to the safety rules. The experience of COVID-19 pandemic impacted people’s intrapersonal growth, interpersonal relationships and the sense of cohesion over time. This evidence can inform future pandemic planning.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/m5edn/" target="_blank">1Changes in perceived benefits of COVID-19 lockdowns: From Silver Linings to Groundhog Day: The perceived benefits of the COVID-19 lockdowns and how perceptions changed over time</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Clinical impact and cost-effectiveness of the updated COVID-19 mRNA Autumn 2023 vaccines in Germany</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Objectives: To assess the potential clinical impact and cost-effectiveness of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mRNA vaccines updated for Autumn 2023 in adults aged ≥60 years and high-risk persons aged 30-59 years in Germany over a 1-year analytic time horizon (September 2023–August 2024). Methods: A compartmental Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered model was updated and adapted to the German market. Numbers of symptomatic infections, number of COVID-19 related hospitalisations and deaths, costs, and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained were calculated using a decision tree model. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of an Autumn 2023 Moderna updated COVID-19 (mRNA-1273.815) vaccine was compared to no additional vaccination. Potential differences between the mRNA-1273.815 and the Autumn Pfizer-BioNTech updated COVID-19 (XBB.1.5 BNT162b2) vaccines, as well as societal return on investment for the mRNA-1273.815 vaccine relative to no vaccination, were also examined. Results: Compared to no Autumn vaccination, the mRNA-1273.815 campaign is predicted to prevent approximately 1,697,900 symptomatic infections, 85,400 hospitalisations, and 4,100 deaths. Compared to an XBB.1.5 BNT162b2 campaign, the mRNA-1273.815 campaign is also predicted to prevent approximately 90,100 symptomatic infections, 3,500 hospitalisations, and 160 deaths. Across both analyses we found the mRNA-1273.815 campaign to be dominant. Conclusions: The mRNA-1273.815 vaccine can be considered cost-effective relative to the XBB.1.5 BNT162b2 vaccine and highly likely to provide more benefits and save costs compared to no vaccine in Germany, and to offer high societal return on investment.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.09.23296505v1" target="_blank">Clinical impact and cost-effectiveness of the updated COVID-19 mRNA Autumn 2023 vaccines in Germany</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Computer model and code sharing practices in healthcare discrete-event simulation: a systematic scoping review</strong> -
<div>
Objectives: Discrete-event simulation is a widely used computational method in health services and health economic studies. This systematic scoping review investigates to what extent authors share computer models, and audits if sharing adheres to best practice. Data sources: The Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and ACM Digital Library databases were searched between 1st January 2019 till 31st December 2022. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: Cost-effectiveness, Health service research and methodology studies in a health context were included. Data extraction and synthesis: The data extraction and best practice audit were performed by two reviewers. We developed best practice audit criteria based on the Turing Way and other published reproducibility guides. Main outcomes and measures: We measured the proportion of literature that shared models; we report analyses by publication type, year of publication, Covid-19 application; and free and open source versus commercial software. Results: 47 (8.3%) of the 564 studies included cited a published DES computer model; rising to 9.0% in 2022. Studies were more likely to share models if they had been developed using free and open source tools. Studies rarely followed best practice when sharing computer models. Conclusions: Although still in the minority, there is evidence that healthcare DES authors are increasingly sharing their computer model artifacts. Although commercial software dominates the DES literature, free and open source software plays a crucial role in sharing. The DES community can adopt many simple best practices to improve the quality of sharing.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/c4ytf/" target="_blank">Computer model and code sharing practices in healthcare discrete-event simulation: a systematic scoping review</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The U.S. academic job market survives the SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic</strong> -
<div>
Purpose: This paper aims to identify the extent to which the COVID19 pandemic disrupted the academic job market and the ways in which faculty job applicants altered their applications in response to a changing academia. Design/methodology/approach: The data presented here is the portion relevant to COVID19 collected in a survey of faculty job applicants at the end of the 2019/2020 job cycle in North America (spring 2020). An additional mid-pandemic survey was used in fall 2020 for applicants participating in the following job search cycle to inquire about how they were adapting their application materials. A portion of data from the 2020 to 2022 job cycle surveys was used to represent the late-pandemic. Job posting data from the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) is also used to study job availability. Findings: Examination of faculty job postings from 2018 through 2022 found that while they decreased in 2020, the market recovered in 2021 and beyond. While the market recovered, approximately 10% of the faculty job offers reported by 2019/20 survey respondents were rescinded. Respondents also reported altering their application documents in response to the pandemic as well as delaying or even abandoning their faculty job search. Originality: This paper provides a longitudinal perspective with quantitative data on how the academic job market changed through the major events of the COVID19 pandemic in North America, a subject of intense discussion and stress, particularly amongst early career researchers.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.27.493714v2" target="_blank">The U.S. academic job market survives the SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Direct measures of liking and intensity of taste, smell, and chemesthetic stimuli are similar between young people reporting they did or did not have COVID-19</strong> -
<div>
The recovery period from post-COVID-19 smell and taste dysfunctions varies substantially, lasting from a few days to over a year. We aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on post-COVID-19 chemosensory sensitivity in a group of young convalescents of eastern/central European ancestry. We measured subjects smell and taste capabilities with a standard testing kit, Monell Flavor Quiz (MFQ), and collected surveys on COVID-19 history. During testing, subjects rated liking and intensity of six odor samples (galaxolide, guaiacol, beta-ionone, trimethylamine, phenylethyl alcohol, 2-ethyl fenchol) and six taste samples (sucralose, sodium chloride, citric acid, phenylthiocarbamide, menthol, capsaicin) on a scale from 1 (dislike extremely, or no intensity) to 9 (like extremely, or extremely intense). There was no statistical difference in intensity ratings or liking of any sample between subjects who reported a history of COVID-19 (n = 34) and those reporting no history (n = 40), independent of presence/absence or severity of smell/taste impairments (P &gt; 0.05). Additionally, neither vaccination status (full vaccination or no vaccination) nor time from the COVID-19 onset (2-27 months) correlated with liking or intensity. These results suggest that most young adults who had COVID-19 recovered their sense of smell and taste.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.07.561170v1" target="_blank">Direct measures of liking and intensity of taste, smell, and chemesthetic stimuli are similar between young people reporting they did or did not have COVID-19</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The SARS-CoV-2 Spike is a virulence determinant and plays a major role on the attenuated phenotype of Omicron virus in a feline model of infection</strong> -
<div>
To assess the role of the Omicron BA.1 Spike (S) protein in the pathogenesis of the severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we generated recombinant viruses harboring the S D614G mutation (rWA1-D614G) and the Omicron BA.1 S gene (rWA1-Omi-S) in the backbone of the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 WA1 strain genome. The recombinant viruses were characterized in vitro and in vivo. Viral entry, cell-cell fusion, viral plaque size, and viral replication kinetics of the rWA1-Omi-S virus were markedly impaired when compared to the rWA1-D614G virus, demonstrating a lower fusogenicity and ability to spread cell-to-cell of rWA1-Omi-S. To assess the contribution of the Omicron BA.1 S protein to SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis the pathogenicity of rWA1-D614G and rWA1-Omi-S viruses were compared using a feline model of infection. While the rWA1-D614G-inoculated cats became lethargic and showed increased body temperatures on days 2 and 3 post-infection (pi), rWA1-Omi-S-inoculated cats remained subclinical and gained weight throughout the 14-day experimental period. Animals inoculated with rWA1-D614G presented higher levels of infectious virus shedding in nasal secretions, when compared to rWA1-Omi-S-inoculated animals. In addition, tissue replication of the rWA1-Omi-S was markedly reduced compared to the rWA1-D614G, as evidenced by lower in situ viral RNA and lower viral load in tissues on days 3 and 5 pi. Histologic examination of the nasal turbinate and lungs revealed intense inflammatory infiltration in rWA1-D614G-inoculated animals, whereas rWA1-Omi-S-inoculated cats presented only mild to modest inflammation. Together, these results demonstrate that the S protein is a major virulence determinant for SARS-CoV-2 playing a major role for the attenuated phenotype of the Omicron virus.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.09.561473v1" target="_blank">The SARS-CoV-2 Spike is a virulence determinant and plays a major role on the attenuated phenotype of Omicron virus in a feline model of infection</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>Equity Evaluation of Fact Boxes - Study Protocol for a Multi-center Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT)</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19; Influenza <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Other: Fact box <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Harding Center for Risk Literacy <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>tDCS in the Management of Post-COVID Disorders</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long COVID <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Device: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS); Behavioral: Motor Training; Behavioral: Cognitive Training <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; São Paulo State University <br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Early Awake Alterning Prone Positioning Combined With Non-invasive Oxygen Therapy in Patients With COVID-19.</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 Pneumonia <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Other: Prone position; Other: Standard treatment <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Medicas y Nutricion Salvador Zubiran <br/><b>Terminated</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>ACTIVATE in Public Housing</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Pneumonia; Influenza; Varicella Zoster; Meningitis; COVID-19; Vaccine Hesitancy <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: Increasing Willingness and Uptake of Influenza, Pneumonia, Meningitis, HZV, and COVID-19 Vaccination <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science <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>Effects of a Home-Based Exercise Intervention on Physical Function, Symptoms and Health-Related Quality of Life in Subjects With Long Covid</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long COVID-19; Post-COVID-19 Syndrome <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Other: home-based concurrent exercise <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: University of Vienna <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>Study of the Vector Vaccine GamCovidVac-M (Altered Antigenic Composition)</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: GamCovidVac-M vector vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 with altered antigenic composition <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Health Ministry of the Russian Federation <br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study of the Vector Vaccine GamCovidVac for the Prevention of COVID-19 With Altered Antigenic Profile With Participation of Adult Volunteers</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: GamCovidVac vector vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 (with altered antigenic profile) <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Health Ministry of the Russian Federation <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>Exercise Interventions in Post-acute Sequelae of Covid-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: Exercise <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: University of Virginia <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>Effects of Cacao FLAvonoids in LOng Covid Patients (FLALOC)</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long Covid19; Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Dietary Supplement: Flavonoids <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Guillermo Ceballos Reyes; Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado <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>The Efficacy of the 2023-2024 Updated COVID-19 Vaccines Against COVID-19 Infection</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19; Vaccine-Preventable Diseases; SARS CoV 2 Infection; Upper Respiratory Tract Infection; Upper Respiratory Disease <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: Novavax COVID-19 vaccine (2023-2024 formula XBB containing); Biological: Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (2023-2024 formula XBB containing) <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Sarang K. Yoon, DO, MOH; Westat; Novavax <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>Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Safety of RQ-01 in SARS-CoV-2 Positive Subjects</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19; Infectious Disease; Symptomatic COVID-19 Infection Laboratory-Confirmed; SARS CoV 2 Infection <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Combination Product: RQ-001; Other: Placebo <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Red Queen Therapeutics, Inc.; PPD <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>Motivational Interviewing for Vaccine Uptake in Latinx Adults</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Vaccine Hesitancy <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Other: EHR alert; Behavioral: Motivational Interviewing; Behavioral: Warm hand off to nurse <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Boston College; East Boston Neighborhood Health Center; Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH); Boston Children’s Hospital; National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) <br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study of “Sputnik Lite” for the Prevention of COVID-19 With Altered Antigenic Composition.</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: “Sputnik Lite” vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 with altered antigenic composition <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Health Ministry of the Russian Federation <br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study Will Assess the Safety, Neutralizing Activity and Efficacy of AZD3152 in Adults With Conditions Increasing Risk of Inadequate Protective Immune Response After Vaccination and Thus Are at High Risk of Developing Severe COVID-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: Biological: AZD3152; Biological: Biological: Placebo <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: AstraZeneca <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>Characterization of pre-existing anti-PEG and anti-AGAL antibodies towards PRX-102 in patients with Fabry disease</strong> - Polyethylene glycol (PEG)ylated drugs are used for medical treatment, since PEGylation either decreases drug clearance or/and shields the protein from undesirable immunogenicity. PEGylation was implemented in a new enzyme replacement therapy for Fabry disease (FD), pegunigalsidase-alfa (PRX-102). However, exposure to PEG via life-style products and vaccination can result in the formation of anti-PEG antibodies. We demonstrate the de novo formation of functional anti-PEG antibodies in a healthy…</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>W254 in furin functions as a molecular gate promoting anti-viral drug binding: Elucidation of putative drug tunneling and docking by non-equilibrium molecular dynamics</strong> - Furins are serine endoproteases that process precursor proteins into their biologically active forms, and they play essential roles in normal metabolism and disease presentation, including promoting expression of bacterial virulence factors and viral pathogenesis. Thus, furins represent vital targets for development of antimicrobial and antiviral therapeutics. Recent experimental evidence indicated that dichlorophenyl (DCP)-pyridine “BOS” drugs (e.g., BOS-318) competitively inhibit human furin…</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 N-terminal peptide of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2, targeting dimer interface, inhibits its proteolytic activity</strong> - The main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 cleaves 11 sites of viral polypeptide chains and generates essential non-structural proteins for viral replication. Mpro is an important drug target against COVID-19. In this study, we developed a real-time fluorometric turn-on assay system to evaluate Mpro proteolytic activity for a substrate peptide between NSP4 and NSP5. It produced reproducible and reliable results suitable for HTS inhibitor assays. Thus far, most inhibitors against Mpro target the…</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>Antcin-B, a phytosterol-like compound from Taiwanofungus camphoratus inhibits SARS-CoV-2 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CL<sup>Pro</sup>) activity in silico and in vitro</strong> - Despite the remarkable development of highly effective vaccines, including mRNA-based vaccines, within a limited timeframe, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is not been entirely eradicated. Thus, it is crucial to identify new effective anti-3CL^(Pro) compounds, pivotal for the replication of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we identified an antcin-B phytosterol-like compound from Taiwanofungus camphoratus that targets 3CL^(Pro) activity….</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>Designing peptides predicted to bind to the omicron variant better than ACE2 via computational protein design and molecular dynamics</strong> - Brought about by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in large numbers of worldwide deaths and cases. Several SARS-CoV-2 variants have evolved, and Omicron (B.1.1.529) was one of the important variants of concern. It gets inside human cells by using its S1 subunit’s receptor-binding domain (SARS-CoV-2-RBD) to bind to Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor’s peptidase domain (ACE2-PD). Using peptides to inhibit…</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>Porcine deltacoronavirus accessory protein NS6 harnesses VPS35-mediated retrograde trafficking to facilitate efficient viral infection</strong> - Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is an emerging swine enteropathogenic coronavirus with the potential to infect humans. Accessory protein NS6, encoded by PDCoV, is a key factor required for optimal viral replication. However, the precise mechanism(s) used by PDCoV NS6 to function remains largely unclear. The retromer is an evolutionarily highly conserved protein complex that plays an important role in normal cellular biological processes and viral replication. In this study, we identified VPS35,…</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>Natto extract inhibits infection caused by the Aujeszky’s disease virus in mice</strong> - Aujeszky’s disease virus (ADV), also known as Suid alphaherpesvirus 1, which mainly infects swine, causes life-threatening neurological disorders. This disease is a serious global risk factor for economic losses in the swine industry. The development of new anti-ADV drugs is highly anticipated and required. Natto, a traditional Japanese fermented food made from soybeans, is a well-known health food. In our previous study, we confirmed that natto has the potential to inhibit viral infections by…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Molecular docking analysis of novel quercetin derivatives for combating SARS-CoV-2</strong> - Quercetin belongs to the flavonoid family, which is one of the most frequent types of plant phenolics. This flavonoid compound is a natural substance having a number of pharmacological effects, including anticancer and antioxidant capabilities, as well as being a strong inhibitor of various toxicologically important enzymes. We discuss the potential of newly recently synthesized quercetin-based derivatives to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 protein. ADMET analysis indicated that all of the studied compounds…</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>Native SEC and Reversed-Phase LC-MS Reveal Impact of Fab Glycosylation of Anti-SARS-COV-2 Antibodies on Binding to the Receptor Binding Domain</strong> - The binding affinity of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for their intended therapeutic targets is often affected by chemical and post-translational modifications in the antigen binding (Fab) domains. A new two-dimensional analytical approach is described here utilizing native size exclusion chromatography (SEC) to separate populations of antibodies and bound antibody-antigen complexes for subsequent characterization of these modifications by reversed-phase (RP) liquid chromatography-mass…</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>Comparative docking and molecular dynamics studies of molnupiravir (EIDD-2801): implications for novel mechanisms of action on influenza and SARS-CoV-2 protein targets</strong> - Molnupiravir (EIDD-2801) (MLN) is an oral antiviral drug for COVID-19 treatment, being integrated into viral RNA through RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). Upon ingestion, MLN is transformed into two active metabolites: β-d-N⁴-hydroxycytidine (NHC) (EIDD-1931) in the host plasma, and EIDD-1931-triphosphate (MTP) within the host cells. However, recent studies provide increasing evidence of MLN’s interactions with off-target proteins beyond the viral genome, suggesting that the complete…</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>In Silico and In Vitro Potential of FDA-Approved Drugs for Antimalarial Drug Repurposing against <em>Plasmodium</em> Serine Hydroxymethyltransferases</strong> - Malaria has spread in many countries, with a 12% increase in deaths after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Malaria is one of the most concerning diseases in the Greater Mekong subregion, showing increased drug-resistant rates. Serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT), a key enzyme in the deoxythymidylate synthesis pathway, has been identified as a promising antimalarial drug target due to its conserved folate binding pocket. This study used a molecular docking approach to screen 2509 US Food…</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>Inhibition of the RNA-Dependent RNA-Polymerase from SARS-CoV-2 by 6-Chloropurine Isoxazoline-Carbocyclic Monophosphate Nucleotides</strong> - Isoxazoline-carbocyclic monophosphate nucleotides were designed and synthesized through the chemistry of nitrosocarbonyl intermediates and stable anthracenenitrile oxide. Docking and molecular dynamics studies were first conducted for determining the best candidate for polymerase SARS-CoV-2 inhibition. The setup phosphorylation protocol afforded the nucleotides available for the biological tests. Preliminary inhibition and cytotoxicity assays were then performed, and the results showed a…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Multi-effective characteristics and advantages of acupuncture in COVID-19 treatment</strong> - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a major disease that threatens human life and health. Its pathogenesis is complex and still not fully clarified. The clinical treatment is mainly supportive and lacks specific treatment methods. Acupuncture treatment can inhibit immune inflammatory reactions, neuroinflammatory reactions, oxidative stress levels, and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, improve lung function, and relieve migraine, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. However,…</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><em>In silico</em> and <em>in vitro</em> inhibition of host-based viral entry targets and cytokine storm in COVID-19 by ginsenoside compound K</strong> - SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus that emerged as an epidemic, causing a respiratory disease with multiple severe symptoms and deadly consequences. ACE-2 and TMPRSS2 play crucial and synergistic roles in the membrane fusion and viral entry of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). The spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 binds to the ACE-2 receptor for viral entry, while TMPRSS2 proteolytically cleaves the S protein into S1 and S2 subunits, promoting membrane fusion. Therefore, ACE-2 and TMPRSS2 are potential drug…</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>Development and evaluation of a novel chromium III-based compound for potential inhibition of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants</strong> - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused 403 million cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and resulted in more than 5.7 million deaths worldwide. Extensive research has identified several potential drug treatments for COVID-19. However, the development of new compounds or therapies is necessary to prevent the emergence of drug resistance in SARS-CoV-2. In this study, a novel compound based on hexaacetotetraaquadihydroxochromium(III)diiron(III) nitrate, which…</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>Israel’s Calamity—and After</strong> - October 7, 2023, will be a date etched in Jewish history. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/israels-calamity-and-after">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Uyghurs Forced to Process the World’s Fish</strong> - China forces minorities from Xinjiang to work in industries around the country. As it turns out, this includes handling much of the seafood sent to America and Europe. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-uyghurs-forced-to-process-the-worlds-fish">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Israel May Decimate Hamas, but Can It “Win” This War?</strong> - The scale of the violence, death, and destruction has triggered alarm about a wider regional conflict. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/israel-may-decimate-hamas-but-can-it-win-this-war">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Massacre at a Music Festival in Israel</strong> - Attendees were dancing outdoors when Hamas attacked, firing into the crowd and taking hostages. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/when-massacre-came-to-a-music-festival-in-israel">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Could the Attack on Israel Spell the End of Hamas?</strong> - What Israel’s response to Saturday’s incursion might mean for Palestinians—and their leaders—in Gaza and the West Bank. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/could-the-attack-on-israel-spell-the-end-of-hamas">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>We’re in a new Gilded Age. What did we learn from the last one?</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A caricature-style lithograph from 1882 shows Gilded Age tycoons in top hats with knives carving up the North American continent, covered in railroads. Across the ocean, European royalty look on." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/pQBz1qI3VFwrAR9cj6DsA8mi4lQ=/228x0:4468x3180/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72743732/GettyImages_71081535.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
An 1882 color lithograph shows American railroad entrepreneurs carving up the United States as European royalty watch from across the Atlantic Ocean. | Frederick Burr Opper/Stock Montage/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Former FCC chair Tom Wheeler has a few ideas for how to regulate the “Digital Gilded Age.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="svIBG7">
The 19th century probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you hear about Big Tech’s harms and possible solutions. It’s probably not the second either, or even 50th. But in his <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/books/techlash/">forthcoming book</a> <em>Techlash: Who Makes the Rules in the Digital Gilded Age?</em> Tom Wheeler makes the case that maybe it should be.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="A2ywwS">
The original Gilded Age describes a period at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, when it became increasingly apparent that new, transformative technologies that had done so much for so many had done a lot more for a very few: the handful of men who owned or effectively controlled industries like steel, oil, and the railroads. The money and power they amassed often came at the expense of everyone else. Antitrust laws and federal agencies were created to stop abusive business practices. We still rely on them today.
</p>
<aside id="X0DTeo">
<div>
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</aside>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mUsXDa">
But an increasing number of people think those institutions aren’t equipped to deal with who holds the money and power now: Big Tech companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. They differ on what can or should be done about that, however, and so very little has been done. These companies continue to operate under the rules they’ve made for themselves, which aren’t necessarily in the best interests of the rest of us. Wheeler has a few ideas about the best way to approach governmental oversight in this Digital Gilded Age, as he calls it. And he knows a thing or two about it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2opYsC">
“My entire professional life has been about the intersection of public policy and new technology,” he says, including a stint as chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under President Barack Obama — a tenure that will likely be best known for instituting net neutrality to increase government oversight of broadband internet (which was later repealed under Trump, and now, under Biden, is <a href="https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/9/28/23893138/fcc-net-neutrality-returns">being restored</a>). He also describes himself as an “amateur historian.” All four of his books, including this one, are rooted in history.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Cw6jOo">
But he doesn’t think regulators and lawmakers should respond to the digital economy the way they did to the industrial innovations of 150 years ago. This Digital Gilded Age has a few fundamental differences from the original one, and that, he says, means it has to be regulated differently, too. Ahead of the release of <em>Techlash</em>, which comes out October 15, Wheeler spoke to Vox about all of this. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="vEZDoV"/>
<h4 id="oCDelp">
Sara Morrison
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8e4h90">
How did this concept of two gilded ages come about?
</p>
<h4 id="gyeZq1">
Tom Wheeler
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OHi2KH">
The more you look at the original Gilded Age, the more you say, “Wow, does that sound familiar!” Our technology-driven environment today echoes the original Gilded Age, principally because at its root it is the innovators who make the rules without regard for the consequences. We’ve always celebrated the fact that innovators make the rules. They should; they can see the future that none of the rest of us can see. All the great advances in science, technology, business, the arts, came from people who said, “We won’t obey the rules because we see something different.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TR7xmQ">
But ultimately, that behavior runs into the rights of individuals and the public interest. We saw that in the original Gilded Age, and the Congress responded with <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/sherman-anti-trust-act">antitrust legislation</a>, with the creation of the <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/interstate-commerce-act">first federal regulatory agency</a>, with the <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/23/pure-food-and-drug-act-advances-in-congress-this-day-in-politics-june-23-1906-655483">creation of legislation</a> to protect against unsafe products. And the result of that was incredible growth in the economy and in those companies, as well as protection for consumers and competition.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QxYurr">
I think we’re at that same kind of a hinge moment today. The theme of this book is that unregulated tech has a damaging effect on basic things such as privacy, competition, and truth. And you can put in place an agile oversight that will protect the average American and promote innovation by promoting competition. You can then end up rebalancing the public and the private interest. We did it before and we can do it again.
</p>
<h4 id="ezUme8">
Sara Morrison
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wch8f2">
What are some of the key similarities between that Gilded Age and this one?
</p>
<h4 id="otTzlI">
Tom Wheeler
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7tIxpH">
They were technology-driven, and the application of that technology was defined by a handful of innovators who made the rules based on what was in their interest, rather than what was in the public interest. In both instances, wondrous new things were developed. But they brought with them negative consequences.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BKLsc5">
And lastly, they both have accelerated the pace of life. In the original Gilded Age, industrialization increased the pace of life from the agricultural-based economy that had existed before. And obviously, in the digital Gilded Age, that pace of life has increased even more.
</p>
<h4 id="eAzSqp">
Sara Morrison
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uCBjzi">
But they’re not exactly the same.
</p>
<h4 id="uEfAh6">
Tom Wheeler
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uQGuul">
The assets behave differently. Industrial assets were things you could stub your toes on. Digital assets are soft assets. Industrial assets were expensive; digital assets are inexpensive. Industrial assets were used once and it’s gone. Digital assets can be used again and again. Industrial assets were rivalrous: if I have a ton of coal, you don’t. But digital assets can be shared. And the industrial assets were exhaustible: you could only use something once. In the digital environment, you can use it again and again and again. Every time you sign up for Facebook, you’re using the same software that somebody else signed up with. Every time you download Microsoft Word, you’re using the same software. It’s inexhaustible.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vBMZtD">
So the fact that the assets themselves are different created an economic activity that was different. In the industrial era, it was a pipeline production economy. A hard asset moved through the process until it rolled off the assembly line as a finished product. In the digital era, it is a platform-pairing process, where you create digital assets by pairing them with other digital assets to produce a product.
</p>
<h4 id="Azn0q0">
Sara Morrison
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gu0QlA">
What do those differences mean when it comes to regulation?
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fSUmy3BV_eYiEZa5sop7MkAHtrE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24980379/Wheeler.front.jpg"/>
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</div>
<h4 id="esbDoA">
Tom Wheeler
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nyx2Gy">
The question is not only how do we put guardrails around Big Tech, but also how do we do it in a way that continues to encourage innovation? Industrial-style regulation is like industrial-style management. When Congress went to create these industrial agencies that we know today, including the FCC, they looked at how the companies that were to be supervised were being managed. Industrial management was a top-down, rigid, rules-based approach. The guru of industrial management was a fellow by the name of Frederick W. Taylor, and his management techniques were called <a href="https://managementweekly.org/taylorism-management/">Taylorism</a>. Basically, his idea was to squeeze all creativity out of everybody, and get them to do exactly the same thing by your rules. And that will give you the best industrial production.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KP4S38">
It is just the opposite today. Not only are our companies managed by agile management techniques, in that they’re constantly having to respond to new technology, but they’re also constantly having to respond to marketplace changes. What we need to have are new regulators that look like the new style of agile digital management that exists today.
</p>
<h4 id="YQtkkS">
Sara Morrison
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ge68N4">
You literally ran an agency, the FCC, that came out of that old model. Did your experience there inform your opinion now? Can agencies like the FCC even be agile?
</p>
<h4 id="ucRjlP">
Tom Wheeler
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bMkUMz">
I had to bring agility to an agency that was designed not to be agile. The <a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-332486A1.pdf">net neutrality rule</a> has what’s called the general conduct rule component, which builds in agility to deal with what might happen next. The <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-adopts-broadband-consumer-privacy-rules">privacy rule</a> had agility in it to deal with changes. And what we did in cybersecurity was designed from the outset to be agile, because the bad guys who are trying to crack the security of networks are themselves incredibly agile. Unfortunately, all three of those were repealed in the Trump administration.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MX5XYA">
But, yes, I tried to practice this. Part of the reason why I wrote this book was to convey those learnings and what other solutions might be.
</p>
<h4 id="3n7WLS">
Sara Morrison
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0JJZ9Q">
You use words like “sclerotic” and “rigid” to describe some of the things we have in place to deal (or not deal) with these matters. Can I assume that you don’t think Congress can or will do the job this time?
</p>
<h4 id="5eB3HF">
Tom Wheeler
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CUdRZ7">
I think that they will, eventually. Here’s the important thing, another historical analogue: It was in 1867 that <a href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/grange-movement-1875">the Grange was founded</a> by farmers as a countervailing force to the power of the railroads. Railroads were abusing farmers, and the farmers kept saying, “We need oversight.” But it wasn’t until 1887, 20 years after the Grange was founded, that the <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/interstate-commerce-commission">Interstate Commerce Commission</a> was created. And it wasn’t until almost 20 years after that that Teddy Roosevelt <a href="https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Learn-About-TR/TR-Encyclopedia/Capitalism-and-Labor/The-Hepburn-Act.aspx">finally helped</a> to give it some real enforcement teeth. So the point of the matter is, this always takes a long period of time.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CyLhX0">
I think it needs to move faster now because of the even faster pace of life created by the new technology. I am optimistic that as the American people continue to express themselves about the need for oversight, that Congress will respond.
</p>
<h4 id="zRuN28">
Sara Morrison
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tDNIf0">
Will it? Big Tech companies have a lot of money to spend on lobbyists and whatever else. It seems like that’s been pretty effective at convincing them not to do much of anything so far.
</p>
<h4 id="S3hDw2">
Tom Wheeler
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nUcBhY">
So everybody says, “Oh, Congress is so controlled by the special interests.” But special interests in the late 19th century owned members of Congress. And still, we had antitrust laws, we had consumer protection laws. I think that, today, we the people need to communicate. The reason things changed in the late 19th century was that we the people, folks like the Grange, folks like the progressive movement and populists, kept saying, “This is enough. We’ve got to do something about that.” And I think that’s the hope for us, in our time.
</p>
<h4 id="yta4xj">
Sara Morrison
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SyLOxz">
You give Teddy Roosevelt a lot of credit for Gilded Age reforms in the book. Who is our Teddy Roosevelt now?
</p>
<h4 id="FjC2tF">
Tom Wheeler
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ssOw6n">
There is no one today with Rooseveltian powers and instincts. I think that President Biden has done more to promote competition and have oversight of digital activities than most other presidents in the digital era. And I would hope that someday he will be signing a <a href="https://shorensteincenter.org/new-digital-realities-tom-wheeler-phil-verveer-gene-kimmelman/">digital protection agency bill</a>. But I mean, through his appointments with people like [FTC chair] <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/6/9/23160578/lina-khan-ftc-interview">Lina Khan</a>, those were inspired kinds of activities that have effects.
</p>
<h4 id="J2VSKW">
Sara Morrison
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qjSL3p">
So, what does the ideal government oversight look like to you?
</p>
<h4 id="0tz0NF">
Tom Wheeler
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bODCrH">
We need an agile agency that has a new approach and is built to look like the companies that it is supposed to oversee, rather than built to look like industrial companies that are not part of the digital economy. It’s reverse Taylorism. Where Taylor said we want to squeeze out every incentive for creativity, in digital companies transparency and creativity are the watchwords. We need to have those same concepts as the watchwords in the oversight of those digital companies.
</p>
<h4 id="HYAmhT">
Sara Morrison
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6m3aY2">
One of your legacies at the FCC is net neutrality, <a href="https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/9/28/23893138/fcc-net-neutrality-returns">which is back</a>! Why do you think it’s become such a contentious issue? It seems reasonable to me that, as a technology becomes more and more essential to our lives, there should be more oversight ensuring that we all have access to it.
</p>
<h4 id="7XmA6a">
Tom Wheeler
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="H6W5jO">
I think the real answer to that question is because the companies are afraid that it will lead to rate regulation, which they’re scared to death of. And, as you know, in our <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-releases-open-internet-order">Open Internet Order</a>, our net neutrality rule, we specifically said we’re not going to enforce rate regulation.
</p>
<h4 id="3XCjU4">
Sara Morrison
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZyexZN">
Why <em>not</em> have rate regulation?
</p>
<h4 id="MLhYQp">
Tom Wheeler
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OgMI9x">
The thought process that I went through in making that decision was: I can see how you can regulate a single factor like a voice line. I think it is entirely different to regulate a multifactor service like broadband that is constantly changing. So, it was in large part because A) we didn’t see the need for it today; B) we wanted to encourage broadband expansion; and C) we didn’t know how to do it. A broadband line delivers so much more than a voice channel, so how do you prioritize that? How do you decide that this is going to be priced this way, that’s going to be priced that way? And increasingly, broadband is competitive.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vRyom0">
Having said that, I didn’t want to make the decision that would saddle my successors down the road who might have a need to do something about abusive pricing. I don’t think we’re experiencing that now. And so we said the power is there, but we’re not going to enforce it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0HJXag">
<em>A version of this story was also published in the Vox Technology newsletter. </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/pages/newsletters"><em><strong>Sign up here</strong></em></a><em> so you don’t miss the next one!</em>
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<li><strong>Why you’ve never heard of this common eating disorder behavior — and why that’s a problem</strong> -
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<img alt="A drawing of a sandwich torn apart into shreds as if made of paper." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_rgVEc2d1e_DmeZmwwLohLIx0s4=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72743470/V3_Final_ChewAndSpit.0.png"/>
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Paige Vickers/Vox
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Increased awareness is the first step to helping more people — particularly teens.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5Wvlvk">
<em><strong>Editor’s note: </strong></em><em>This story includes detailed discussions of disordered eating behaviors that may be disturbing or triggering to some.</em>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XOnsbS">
Beginning in her youth and lasting for more than two decades, Heidi McLachlan struggled with a negative body image. Her efforts to avoid weight gain at all costs led her down a path of disordered eating behaviors including anorexia nervosa and chewing and spitting.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F0f7Yj">
Chew and spit (CHSP) is the practice of chewing one’s food and then spitting it out in an attempt to get pleasure from tasting it without ingesting calories.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="L05vhl">
For McLachlan, chewing and spitting began as a symptom of anorexia nervosa — just another one of several strategies she used to steer clear of calories.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xSwEex">
She says she began the behavior while working at a job where a large candy bowl was kept in the reception area. She explains that it was “sitting there all the time” and represented a constant temptation for her. “That’s kind of all I could think about all morning was ‘When can I go grab those chocolates and chew and spit them in the bathroom?’” When she did so, she experienced “a little bit of a dopamine hit … followed by shame.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="d9f4PP">
But the anorexia and chewing and spitting took their toll on her quality of life. She dealt with social isolation, dental troubles, “constant” anxiety, emotional pain, and even suicidal ideation from the extent of hopelessness she was experiencing. “I truly believed that I was alone in being wrapped up in this destructive cycle,” she explains.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xEHoLr">
Now recovered and a licensed <a href="https://www.outshininged.com/">eating disorder recovery coach</a> based in Saskatoon, Canada, McLachlan knows she isn’t alone in her experience.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2q3mu8">
Over the decades, she has seen firsthand the significant attention and research eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia have received, and has become concerned that more people aren’t aware of chewing and spitting.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RePF4o">
That sentiment has only increased as she has met with more and more of the people needing care for it. “We have noticed an increase in those struggling with chewing and spitting reaching out for help,” she says, referring to patients in her practice.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CeuywT">
Some of the patients she helps today engage in chewing and spitting alongside other disordered eating behaviors such as purging, extreme dieting, fasting, and bingeing. For others, it’s the only disordered eating behavior they engage in.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aW2OMD">
Additional eating disorder specialists have noticed similar trends with chewing and spitting.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="A4bzq8">
<a href="https://profiles.ucsf.edu/jason.nagata">Jason Nagata,</a> a pediatrician specializing in eating disorders at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco, tells Vox that the number of teens who have been hospitalized for eating disorders at the hospital he works in has doubled since the pandemic began — including those depriving themselves of key nutrients by chewing and spitting. “I have cared for many patients who have chewed and spit their foods, developed eating disorders, and were subsequently hospitalized for medical complications of their eating disorder,” he says.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XY7Oy4">
<a href="https://www.jamesgreenblattmd.com/">James Greenblatt</a>, chief medical officer at Walden Behavioral Care in Dedham, Massachusetts, and the author of <em>Integrative Medicine for Binge Eating</em> and <em>Answers to Anorexia</em>, tells Vox that “almost a quarter of patients with eating disorders have used chewing and spitting.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ti9P8G">
These experts believe increased awareness of the behavior and its consequences could be helpful. They say it’s essential for those who engage in chewing and spitting to know they are not alone, and also to know this is a problem they can seek help for.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V1v1rw">
Vox interviewed 10 top eating disorder researchers, coaches, physicians, and clinic directors who all agree the behavior is more troubling than some may realize. Critically, they said, it’s also understudied, deserves more research, and, some argued, could benefit from an updated inclusion in the handbook doctors use to treat eating disorders.
</p>
<h3 id="YEnZzJ">
How common is chewing and spitting?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QzHz6g">
Guidance is already readily available for established eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, but it’s much rarer for lesser-known behaviors like CHSP. The studies that do exist, however, show that chewing and spitting is common enough to be concerning — especially among adolescents.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Zad6lB">
From one 2018 <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/eat.22873">study conducted in Australia, for instance, we learn that 0.4 percent</a> of adults (with a median age of 39) engage in the behavior. While that was a very small study that may capture only a fraction of the adults who actually do this, if we were to assume similar rates in the US and project that figure out over the 258 million adults living there, that figure would mean more than 1.3 million of them engage in chewing and spitting. (For contrast, consider that only an <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd">estimated 2.5 million adults</a> in the US have been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD.)
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kZHltN">
And things get especially worrisome when you look at a significantly larger study that was also conducted in Australia the following year. That one looked at the behavior in 11- to 19-year-olds alone and found it to be far more widespread. More than 5,000 students across 13 schools participated in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10640266.2019.1695449?journalCode=uedi20">the study, which showed </a>12 percent of them engaging in chewing and spitting at least once a month.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l5Sij9">
Again, assuming similar rates in the US, this means that of the <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/457786/number-of-children-in-the-us-by-age/">estimated 26.2 million</a> children between the ages of 12 and 17 living in the US, it’s possible more than 3 million of them engage in the practice.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7d7n90">
Moreover, the study showed that 7.7 percent of participants “indicated to chew and spit up to 3 times in the previous 28 days, and over 2 percent reported chewing and spitting 8 or more times in the same period,” explains <a href="https://insideoutinstitute.org.au/team/phillip-aouad">Phillip Aouad</a>, a postdoctoral research fellow at the InsideOut Institute for Eating Disorders at the University of Sydney and a co-author of both the 2018 and 2019 studies.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="izRa9n">
Though such data may only scratch the surface of how prevalent chewing and spitting is, “the fact that over a tenth of adolescents engage in chewing and spitting highlights how common this … behavior is,” says Nagata, referring to the study’s findings.
</p>
<h3 id="F2lJJo">
What concerns the experts?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FkyCZ1">
While the practice of chewing and spitting is less recognized than other forms of disordered eating, those who have suffered through it — or helped others who have — know it still causes harm.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="N3fJWz">
Greenblatt tells Vox in an email that the behavior can cause gastrointestinal issues such as acid reflux, stomach ulcers, and even excess weight. “Odd as it may seem, CHSP can indeed result in weight gain,” he explains. “While researchers aren’t sure as to what drives the connection, some speculate that it’s due to the ‘cold turkey <a href="https://academic.oup.com/braincomms/article/1/1/fcz025/5588408?login=false">rebound effect</a>,’ i.e., drastically restricting food drives a vicious hunger that, later on, causes the person to binge and ultimately consume a far greater number of calories.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZoEGjS">
Chewing and spitting can also lead to dental troubles. Because the people who engage in the practice aren’t swallowing the food they put in their mouth, they often eat a lot more and savor each bite for longer than they would if ingested. Large quantities of sugar frequently coming into contact with tooth enamel has <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4717883/">been shown to</a> cause gum deterioration and tooth decay. What’s more, as soon as food hits the tongue and chewing begins, the enzyme salivary amylase is produced in the mouth. Being slightly acidic, it too can contribute to cavities.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FeaBS8">
Among the lesser-known consequences of chewing and spitting is how the behavior may impact hormone levels and other chemical responses throughout the body. “Experts have speculated that CHSP might result in hormonal imbalances related to the cephalic response,” says <a href="https://psychiatry.uchicago.edu/faculty/jennifer-wildes-phd">Jennifer Wildes</a>, director of the <a href="https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/conditions-services/psychiatry-and-psychology/eating-disorders-program">Eating Disorders Program</a> at the University of Chicago Medicine.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QYijO0">
The cephalic response is an <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7490153/">anticipatory phase</a> that occurs in the brain when the body prepares to receive food. It’s <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/cephalic-phase">known to</a> stimulate hormones, acid production, and saliva secretions. It’s possible that when the body is deprived of the nutrients that are supposed to follow, there may be negative side effects or neurochemical imbalances, though, “as far as I know, no one has looked at the neural correlates of CHSP,” Wildes explains.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nrRaw2">
<a href="https://www.eatingrecoverycenter.com/profile/harry-brandt">Harry Brandt</a>, chief of medical operations for the <a href="https://www.eatingrecoverycenter.com/">Eating Recovery Center</a> in Denver, Colorado, and the chief of psychiatry at the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, agrees that more is likely happening during this process than we currently know about. He was the director of the eating disorder unit at the National Institute of Mental Health from 1987 to 1989 and has been working with eating disorder patients his entire career.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cKtdaS">
He tells Vox that he suspects “something is happening” hormonally and in the brain when people chew and spit. “When you put food in your mouth, you are triggering the body to prepare for caloric intake, and there may be a whole range of neurochemicals that are secreted associated with [that],” he explains. But the imaging studies confirming such impacts have not been done.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lH96eG">
While scientists still don’t know exactly what happens in the brain from chewing and spitting, they have assessed its consequences on <a href="https://www.vox.com/mental-health">mental health</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KIbla8">
Aouad says <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/eat.22873">his</a> <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10640266.2019.1695449">research</a> shows that CHSP is associated with people having negative perceptions of their quality of life — symptoms consistent with depression.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GOBEUE">
“There are adverse physical and psychosocial impacts due to CHSP, particularly if it is prolonged, chronic, or severe,” he says. He notes that beyond chewing and spitting being associated with negative emotions such as shame, “it can also become a maladaptive coping mechanism or escape from reality, which only temporarily provides pleasure or comfort.” In this way, “CHSP can become very addictive and ritualistic,” he tells Vox in an email.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tynIKW">
Perhaps most concerning is that the behavior can be a “gateway” step toward more dangerous eating disorders.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KvfBPI">
“Individuals who participate in chewing and spitting behaviors face an elevated likelihood of developing an eating disorder,” Nagata says. A Johns Hopkins Medicine <a href="https://www.hopkinsallchildrens.org/Patients-Families/Health-Library/HealthDocNew/What-Are-the-Health-Effects-of-Chewing-and-Spittin">article</a> similarly notes that the practice “can be the start of unhealthy attitudes toward food and may be part of a more serious eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="knYIke">
In addition to potentially leading to new eating disorders, chewing and spitting also likely increases the prevalence of existing disordered eating behaviors such as bingeing, vomiting, strict dieting, and laxative misuse, Aouad says. He adds that shape and weight concerns are common among people who chew and spit, and these concerns appeared “to increase the more frequently CHSP was engaged in.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vpmi9o">
Indeed, <a href="https://eatingdisorders.ucsd.edu/bio/adolescent-clinic.html">Anna Karam Jones</a>, a clinical psychologist at the UC San Diego Health Eating Disorders Center for Treatment &amp; Research, cites Aouad’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27555914/">earlier research</a>, telling Vox that, “among individuals who report having ever engaged in chewing and spitting behavior, more than 70 percent report also engaging in dietary restriction and binge eating.”
</p>
<h3 id="nmuGgy">
So why don’t we know more?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BmYhOu">
As illustrated, there are still many open questions regarding chewing and spitting, including how prevalent the practice is, what other ways it might harm its participants, the number of people who engage in the practice without employing other disordered eating methods, and whether chewing and spitting is better defined as a symptom of other disordered eating behaviors or as a problem in itself.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RdCJso">
We also need to better understand how people are introduced to or begin the practice in the first place.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GDYBZf">
For McLachlan, chewing and spitting “happened naturally as a fear response” that stemmed from not wanting to ingest calories. That is, no one taught her to do it. That’s the case for some of her patients as well. Still others were introduced to chewing and spitting by their friends, and it would be useful to know how that happens and whether there are any other outside influences at play.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eXhbaA">
So why don’t we have more definitive answers to these questions? One explanation Greenblatt points to is that much of the research in mental health is driven by pharmaceutical incentive. Because “it is unlikely that there would be a medication to specifically address CHSP,” he says, “my concern is that future research [driven by the pharmaceutical industry] would be limited.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mFhtDW">
Many of the experts point to another explanation for why we don’t know more: All US-based doctors who treat eating disorders turn to the same source of information, <em>The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</em>, or DSM. The DSM handbook is the <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm/frequently-asked-questions">authoritative guide</a> used for matching patients with specific mental health diagnoses and for recommended treatments. It’s also the source insurance companies turn to when determining which diagnoses receive what coverage.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UtBSkw">
In the fourth edition of the DSM, chewing and spitting was mentioned as one example of an “other specified feeding and eating disorders,” or OSFED; in the latest edition of the DSM, known as DSM-5, chewing and spitting isn’t mentioned at all (though it still technically falls in the OSFED category). The OSFED category is where all known disordered eating behaviors or symptoms go until they have enough data to support their own classification or subtype definition — something <a href="https://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/medicalpubs/diseasemanagement/psychiatry-psychology/eating-disorders/">only a handful</a> of eating disorders have.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UFiliU">
To have a disorder defined in the DSM is to draw more attention to it, to better diagnose and treat patients presenting for help with it, and to increase the likelihood of better insurance coverage from providers. It also helps draw in more research attention.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EqefXZ">
<a href="https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/profile/b-t-walsh-md">B. Timothy Walsh</a> is a professor of pediatric psychopharmacology at Columbia University’s Department of Psychiatry who <a href="https://repository.poltekkes-kaltim.ac.id/657/1/Diagnostic%20and%20statistical%20manual%20of%20mental%20disorders%20_%20DSM-5%20(%20PDFDrive.com%20).pdf">chaired</a> the eating disorders work group for the two most recent editions of the DSM. He tells Vox that chewing and spitting is not defined as its own eating disorder or subtype because we don’t have enough data to support that. In other words, we don’t know as much about CHSP as we need to, in part because it’s not in the DSM, but it’s not in the DSM because of a lack of research. For clinicians like Nagata, it’s a frustrating circular problem.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dXqEtp">
For a disorder to be formally defined and classified in the DSM, Walsh says characteristics of the people who engage in it have to be fully described, criteria about its known prevalence has to be met, and a more detailed understanding of how the disorder occurs has to be established. ”That just doesn’t exist for chewing and spitting yet,” he says.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mgqkRg">
To help researchers involved in defining DSM disorders learn more, Brandt says that chew and spit data should be “isolated” from other eating disorder data as it’s often lumped in with bulimia and anorexia research or considered by some researchers to be an anorexia or bulimia subtype.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5E9Gbv">
In addition to isolating such data, population surveys and research grants could be helpful in measuring its prevalence and how it occurs, as would more clinicians screening their patients for this behavior specifically and not merely as a symptom of other eating disorders. This would help researchers not only establish how pervasive it is but also help patients receive more targeted care.
</p>
<h3 id="uxCdai">
More data, less stigmatization
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TnGKy8">
Finding those patients could prove difficult, however, as the experts say yet another reason we don’t know more about the people who chew and spit is that most of them tend to hide the habit very well.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aW3TvT">
McLachlan says she’s treated some patients for months before they’ve confessed even to her that they have this problem. She says it’s a habit many people are extremely embarrassed by, one they don’t want discovered. “If we start to reduce that shame and stigma, I think the [percentages of people we know who do this] would go up,” she says.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="co5dHx">
Complicating matters further is that some of the people who engage in CHSP don’t think of it as a serious problem and don’t consider that they may have an eating disorder.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8YuBhB">
(The line between eating disorders and dietary practices can be difficult even for the experts to define. While exercising and meal replacement shakes are generally accepted as standard dietary measures, compulsive exercise and deliberately skipping meals completely are where things can become problematic.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1hFXfU">
As a general rule, though, Aouad says that any practice that deprives the body of the nutrients it needs would never be recommended by medical professionals as a sound, long-term practice.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CTiy8k">
McLachlan agrees. Regarding the people who chew and spit, she says that if they didn’t have an unhealthy association with food “or if it wasn’t a disordered behavior, they’d just swallow it.” If a behavior is negatively impacting one’s life or if it’s something someone would be ashamed to admit to or recommend to a loved one, then it’s a problem, she adds.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gPU7Xb">
Raising awareness that this is disordered eating and reducing stigma associated with the practice could do a lot of good since someone not seeking help prevents their own care and may prevent others from receiving better treatment options as well.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ywEzYY">
That’s because people not coming forward makes it difficult for researchers to collect enough data to inform clinicians and insurance companies on which elements of the practice need to be covered and cared for.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cm3Fhi">
“If people aren’t presenting for treatment, data doesn’t accumulate,” Walsh explains.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WPOCAF">
Brandt points out that such accumulation of data leading to improved DSM categorization and care recommendations is something that has been done before.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6tKAig">
In the DSM-4, for instance, binge eating disorder wasn’t yet defined in its own category either. Prior to the latest DSM edition that was published in 2013, binge eating disorder was defined as a subtype of bulimia nervosa because both behaviors involved people binge eating large amounts of food. A distinction arose, however, when it was shown that some people binge eat without compensating afterward by way of vomiting, abusing laxatives, skipping meals, or exercising compulsively. “The way binge eating disorder got defined [as an eating disorder] was that people like me identified that there are some people who binge large amounts of food just like somebody with bulimia … but without the compensatory measures,” i.e., vomiting, Brandt explains.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BDyJTX">
Until similar distinctions are established and additional data is collected, compiled, and presented for chewing and spitting, Walsh says physicians can still diagnose and treat it as recommended in the DSM-5 OSFED category. (Consistently recording CHSP patients presenting for treatment this way could be yet another way in which more data could accumulate.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n11g5n">
In the meantime, more researchers could begin isolating existing CHSP data and seeking to answer some of the unanswered questions about the behavior. Brandt says such research “definitely should be” happening if for no other reason because doing so could lead to increased public awareness which could lead to more people seeking and getting the help they need.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sdmt1l">
“Individuals struggling with eating disorders like chewing and spitting often feel like they are the only ones struggling in this certain way,” says McLachlan, again reflecting on her own experience. “The more awareness there is that others struggle in this way too, the more we will see individuals reaching out for help.”
</p></li>
<li><strong>Hamas, the militant group that attacked Israel, explained</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Men in black and olive body armor, their heads covered by helmets bearing the brigades’ green and white logo, their faces masked, march in a deep column down a street, carrying assault rifles." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/aqBv3f5yDUHpC4JJcBq-wy8hHNg=/250x0:5135x3664/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72742512/AP427997953922.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Members of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades parade during Hamas’ 27th anniversary celebration in 2014. | Khalil Hamra/AP
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
What is Hamas and what does it want out of this new resurgence of violent conflict?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iKZPlC">
An unprecedented surprise attack in southern Israel by Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, has led to an increasingly deadly conflict with no resolution in sight.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TyFrSd">
Hamas launched its coordinated attack on southern Israel on October 7, firing rockets, invading Israeli towns and army bases, killing hundreds of people, many of them civilians, and taking Israelis hostage. Israel has retaliated with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/09/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-market-air-strike-jabaliya.html">airstrikes in Gaza</a> that have also killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared war on Hamas, gearing up for a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hamas-fighters-bodies-israel-toll-gaza-ground-invasion-rcna119640">potential ground invasion</a>. <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-hamas-war-death-toll-gaza-strip-palestinians-israelis-latest-news-day-3/">More than 1,500 people </a>have died on both sides as of October 9.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hFWjZQ">
Hamas, designated by many nations as a terrorist organization, has been leading armed resistance against Israel for decades and also controls one of the two major political parties in Palestine. Though popular with some segments of Palestinian society, it remains highly divisive in Palestine and has often been at odds with more mainstream Palestinian politicians.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XcPYFC">
While it has <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/110277/long-road-moderate-hamas">somewhat moderated</a> its militancy since it assumed the responsibility of governing Gaza, it’s not clear what the future holds now that it has shown that it is still willing to risk provoking a major Israeli military operation to achieve its aim of Palestinian self-determination. Netanyahu, meanwhile, has vowed <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/sirens-warning-incoming-rockets-sound-around-gaza-near-tel-aviv-2023-10-07/">“mighty vengeance”</a> on Hamas, seemingly with the objective of reducing its ranks to a point of impotence.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NBspsQ">
Israel’s counterattack is intended to show “that it will be punitive partly for the sake of being punitive, and it will be aimed in part at destroying Hamas as an organization,” said Nathan Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University. “It will definitely have an effect on Hamas as an organization, but it’s unclear … how successful it will be.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y2F4vT">
Here’s what you need to know about Hamas and its role in the latest eruption of fighting in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
</p>
<h3 id="UdVBwb">
What Hamas is and where it came from
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vK9wxF">
Hamas was formed in 1987 as an outgrowth of the <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/egypts-muslim-brotherhood">Muslim Brotherhood</a>, an Islamist political group founded in Egypt in the late 1920s. Hamas, an acronym for <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hamas">Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya</a> (in English, Islamic Resistance Movement), was designed to provide an “Islamic alternative to the nationalist and leftist groups that then dominated the Palestinian scene in resistance to Israel,” Brown said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pB6nx4">
It rose to prominence during the first intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. That uprising formally ended in 1993 with the signing of the Oslo Accords, an agreement between Israel and Palestine to lay the groundwork for the formation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, though that was never realized.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<div id="QnjYDd">
<div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8rDe1v">
In 1997, the US labeled Hamas a terrorist organization following its attacks, including suicide bombings, on Israeli targets. Other countries followed suit, though some, like <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/hamas-know-group-deadliest-attack-israel-decades-rcna119628">New Zealand</a>, have created a distinction between Hamas’s political wing and the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, its military division, viewing the former as legal and the latter as a terrorist group. Because the US views the whole group as terrorists, it cannot have direct diplomatic relations with Hamas, meaning any negotiations, including any peace negotiations, the US might want to hold have to be conducted through a third party.
</p>
<h3 id="DaTEjU">
How did Hamas come to power in Gaza?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oGsNlT">
The group won a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006 over the secular Fatah movement, which has generally had better relationships with Western actors. Established by the Oslo Accords, the Legislative Council was meant to have authority over all of the occupied Palestinian territory — Gaza, where the current conflict is taking place, as well as the West Bank and East Jerusalem — but the 2006 election led to its demise.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3DSlpX">
The international community refused to recognize the Hamas-led government, and Fatah refused to cede power to Hamas entirely. After the two parties failed to reach a lasting power-sharing agreement, a brief civil war broke out. Hamas defeated Fatah’s forces, and though the group’s democratically elected lawmakers were expelled from the legislative council, it took control of the Gaza Strip while Fatah kept control of the West Bank. In Gaza, Hamas continues to <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-mar-02-fg-charity2-story.html">support social services</a> and govern 2.3 million people who have been subject to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/09/world/israel-gaza-war-hamas">highly restrictive blockades</a> by Israel and Egypt that made the availability of basic goods and services very limited even before Israel’s recent counterattack.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BbDkfz">
The need to manage millions of people changed Hamas, to some degree: “That responsibility made it contain ‘resistance’ and slow with any Islamic agenda, but it always made clear that this was a temporary outcome,” Brown said. For instance, while Hamas scaled back its aims of <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hamas-2017-document-full">destroying Israel in a 2017 proclamation</a> that tempered its rhetoric, it has continued to make clear that it wants to end what it calls a “racist, anti-human and colonial Zionist project” and take back much of the land that currently makes up the Israeli state.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jOhTKE">
Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel seems to be a gamble that it can one day do so. Brown said that he thinks the strike, which saw somewhere between a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-gaza-palestinian-authority-israel-war-ed7018dbaae09b81513daf3bda38109a">few hundred</a> and a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/10/hamas-prepared-for-a-long-war-with-israel-as-concerns-for-hostages-in-gaza-grow">couple thousand</a> Hamas militants breach Israeli’s defenses, may have been an attempt by some in Hamas to “break the modus vivendi with Israel that had emerged over the years.” That status quo saw Israel <a href="https://asiatimes.com/2023/10/gaza-israel-war-the-day-the-status-quo-ended/">violently contain</a> Palestinian resistance in Gaza for years at comparatively little cost to its own people. Hamas’s assault may have also been a response to the perceived opportunity in Palestinian politics, with rising alienation and radicalization among youth, he said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="95mX6a">
Hamas remains a polarizing force in Palestinian society. While available data is limited, <a href="https://www.pcpsr.org/sites/default/files/Poll%2088%20English%20full%20text%20June%202023.pdf">some research suggests</a> that if a vote were to be held like the one in 2006, Palestinians would prefer Hamas’s leader to the deeply unpopular leader of the Fatah faction. At the same time, less than a third of Palestinians think the group deserves to represent them.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="G8O6Jk">
There has not been an opportunity, however, for elections. As <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/10/9/23910159/israel-gaza-siege-palestinians-hamas-humanitarian-crisis">Vox’s Jonathan Guyer explained</a>, “Palestinians living in Gaza must endure an unrepresentative government which imposes some Islamic tenets and implements <a href="https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/232088">repressive policies</a> against LGBTQ people and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/06/30/palestine-impunity-arbitrary-arrests-torture">abusive policies</a> against detainees.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zudrUq">
“Palestinians are deeply divided,” Brown said. “Some are members and strong supporters; some are sympathetic; some view it as problematic; some detest it. But most view it as part of the national fabric.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Zpkp4K">
Hamas’s current political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, and other Hamas leaders <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hamas">currently operate out of Qatar</a> because Egypt restricts their movements in and out of Gaza.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5heWnD">
Hamas counts Iran as an ally, sharing an opposition to Israel and the United States’ role in the region. As Vox’s Ellen Ioanes <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/10/7/23907296/israel-war-hamas-attack-rocket-strike-response-2023">reported</a>, Iran has supported the development of Hamas’s rocket, missile, and mortar programs. It has also joined Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia militant group based in southern Lebanon, in providing funding, training, and intelligence to Hamas fighters.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aIv4ir">
But while Hamas has said that <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-gaza-rockets-attack-palestinians/card/hamas-says-attacks-on-israel-were-backed-by-iran-kb2ySPwSyBrYpQVUPyM9">Iran supported its October 7 attack</a> on Israel, “Hamas is not Iran’s proxy,” and its leadership and political agenda are distinct, Brown said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x9Qsh0">
More generally, the question of where Hamas gets its funding is a bit complicated. Some of its money comes from <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/04/despite-egyptian-campaign-gaza-border-tunnels-resume-smuggling-activity">taxes collected on goods</a> smuggled through the Egyptian-Israeli blockade; other income streams include private international donors sympathetic to the group’s cause, and foreign aid, which helps it provide basic governmental services. Beyond Iran, <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hamas">Turkey and Qatar </a>have been suspected of providing financial backing as well.
</p>
<h3 id="Vl584P">
What Hamas wants
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hzeIYb">
At its core, Hamas wants an independent Palestinian state, one that, according to its 2017 manifesto, would at the very least include the land Palestinians held in 1967, a position Israeli governments have long said is out of the question. It also wants greater political power, both in Palestine and internationally.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="m6hL4m">
“Its ultimate goal is the liberation of all of historic Palestine, but Hamas has declared its willingness to reach a long-term cease-fire with Israel in exchange for full withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza and the creation of a Palestinian state,” Syracuse University Middle Eastern history professor Osamah Khalil told Vox.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="b86g3f">
Hamas has a long track record of using armed resistance in order to achieve its aims, including conducting violent cross-border raids via tunnels and shooting rockets across the Gaza border. And <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/10/7/23907323/israel-war-hamas-attack-explained-southern-israel-gaza">as Vox’s Zack Beauchamp has explained,</a> there’s a series of factors that may have contributed to Hamas’s decision to strike now — essentially, things the group wants to see stopped in the short term.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7hI6XW">
Those include what the group described as <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/4/israeli-settlers-storm-al-aqsa-mosque-complex-on-fifth-day-of-sukkot">Israeli settlers’ desecration</a> of the al-Aqsa Mosque, a Muslim holy site near sites also holy to Christians and Jews; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestine-settler-bedouin-displacement-violence-un-108e11712310b5ea099dbded7be8effb">Israeli settlers’</a> growing attacks on <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/6/palestinian-killed-as-israeli-settlers-attack-west-bank-town-of-huwara">Palestinians in the West Bank</a>; and a potential security agreement between <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-israel-saudi-arabia-normalization-hamas-246213034afa75e4dff27e71362a1979">Saudi Arabia and Israel</a>, which would harm Palestine’s bid for independence. More broadly, <a href="https://twitter.com/elgindy_/status/1710840246965858520?s=46&amp;t=Q0DWAgZoZiCSO36rUfhY6A">some experts have argued</a> this attack was intended to fundamentally shift how the world approaches Israeli-Palestinian<strong> </strong>relations — a show of force and strength by Hamas as it seeks to keep the fight for Palestinian independence at the forefront of international discussion.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RpVL13">
“Palestinian factions undertake operations like this one to keep the Palestine issue alive and to prevent any outside power from chipping away at the quest for Palestinian sovereignty,” said UCLA Middle Eastern history expert James Gelvin. “This is what Saudi-Israeli normalization threatens to do.” Experts have pointed to the potential Saudi deal, in particular, as a move that would have undercut Palestinians’ fight for statehood by further legitimizing Israel.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bkkQgd">
Ultimately, Hamas is eager to maintain its own power and to keep the fight for a Palestinian state a chief priority for its allies abroad, including Arab countries like Qatar and Turkey. If Israel is launching brutal military attacks on Gaza and civilians, like those that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/09/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-market-air-strike-jabaliya.html">killed dozens</a> at markets, schools, and hospitals on Monday, it makes it much harder for other Arab countries to normalize their relationship with the country (though it also <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/10/7/23907323/israel-war-hamas-attack-explained-southern-israel-gaza">harms the people Hamas is meant to govern</a>).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="R5UmAp">
As a <a href="https://twitter.com/amberinzaman/status/1710583193466790254">Hamas spokesperson told Al Jazeera</a>, these attacks were a decisive “message” to other Arab countries that they should not normalize ties with Israel.
</p>
<h3 id="fzL3AK">
Where do Palestine’s other political organizations, such as the Palestine Liberation Organization, fit into all of this?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jAb5NV">
One other thing Hamas wants is for its vision for Palestine to win out over that of its chief rival, Fatah.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lYjCzJ">
Fatah, a reverse acronym for <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/10/12/hamas-and-fatah-how-are-the-two-groups-different">Harakat al-Tahrir al-Filistiniya</a> (in English, Palestinian National Liberation Movement), is a secular party started in the 1950s that is also dedicated to establishing an independent Palestinian state.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OP1K1P">
It’s currently the dominant party of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a group of 11 (mostly now defunct) organizations that was created in the 1960s in part to give Palestinians a voice on the world stage. The PLO currently runs the Palestine National Authority (PA), which is a government of semi-autonomous areas in parts of the West Bank.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gklAXV">
Fatah’s standing in Palestinian politics has been greatly weakened since its 2006 election loss to Hamas and <a href="https://ecfr.eu/special/mapping_palestinian_politics/fatah/">subsequent infighting</a> in the party. The PA is also presently led by President Mahmoud Abbas — the head of Fatah — and has faced significant scrutiny for failing to hold democratic legislative or presidential elections since 2006. Abbas has taken actions to consolidate his power in the absence of other elected lawmakers, further including reducing checks in the government’s three branches and cracking down on free speech.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q3c5l5">
Hamas and Fatah differ most notably in their approach to recognizing Israeli statehood and in their approach to advocating for a Palestinian state. Fatah recognizes an Israeli state while Hamas does not. Fatah also supports diplomacy in its quest for an independent Palestinian state, while Hamas supports armed resistance in pursuit of this goal. Previously, Hamas was strongly against the Oslo Peace Accords the PLO struck unilaterally in the 1990s which put a stop to PLO violence alongside an agreement for a two-state solution. That deal also set up the PA, which has attempted and failed to reach multiple peace agreements with Israel.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aVLB2a">
“Hamas sees the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank as a corrupt representative of the Palestinian cause and are considered political rivals, which has included fighting between armed elements of both sides in the past,” said Javed Ali, a University of Michigan national security expert.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gdquFy">
Support for the PA among Palestinians has dipped in recent years as it has offered limited condemnation and response to Israeli violence, especially ongoing settler violence that has <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestine-settler-bedouin-displacement-violence-un-108e11712310b5ea099dbded7be8effb">seen Israelis take land by force</a>. The PA has also suffered from weaker, aging leadership — one of Fatah’s founders, Yasser Arafat, led the PA until his death in 2004; Abbas, now 87, has been in charge since 2005.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UrH9HP">
That has led many Palestinians, especially among the younger generation, to feel that Fatah is out of touch, and it has allowed Hamas to grow its backing among some who support its more aggressive focus on an independent state.
</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Stravinsky pleases</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>Is rock climbing picking up as a fitness option in India?</strong> - Both mind and body matter in bouldering as it steadily becomes a popular sport in India. We meet the enthusiasts who hone their techniques on outdoor rocks and in climbing gyms</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>Ind vs Afg | Afghanistan wins toss, bats first against India</strong> - Shubman Gill is sidelined again for India because of a virus, allowing left-handed Ishan Kishan continue to open the innings with skipper Rohit Sharma.</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>Rizwan credits ton against Sri Lanka to Hyderabad curator, says he will pray for him</strong> - ‘Playing in Hyderabad felt like playing in Rawalpindi,’ said the Pakistan keeper-batter as he scored an unbeaten 131 off 121 balls in the highest successful run-chase in World Cup history</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>FIFA World Cup bid | Indonesia wants to co-host 2034 edition with Australia, Malaysia, Singapore</strong> - FIFA invited member associations from Asia and Oceania to bid for the rights to the 2034 edition last week.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Chikkamagaluru: Police registers three cases for illegal storage of firecrackers</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>Cabinet approves royalty rates for lithium, two other strategic minerals</strong> - The royalty rate on minerals is an important financial consideration for bidders during auction of mines.</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>All four of a family die suspiciously in Tirthahalli</strong> - Bharath, 28, who suffered burn injuries, died in a hospital on Monday</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>MHA introducing more severe and arbitrary measures in name of withdrawing sedition law provisions: Mamata Banerjee</strong> - Mamata Banerjee claimed that a serious attempt is being made by the Ministry to quietly introduce very harsh and draconian anti-citizen provisions in its efforts to substitute the IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act</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>Telangana Assembly Polls 2023 | BJP promises to hike the reservation for tribals to 10% in education and jobs</strong> -</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Finland investigates suspected sabotage of Baltic-connector gas pipeline</strong> - It is still unclear what caused a leak on the Baltic-connector, which is shared with Estonia.</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>Poland’s top army generals quit ahead of key elections</strong> - The resignations come just days before general elections, and amid the war in Ukraine.</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>Russia fails to rejoin UN’s human rights council</strong> - The state was expelled from the body last April after its forces invaded Ukraine.</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>Spain’s Hermoso says image tarnished by Rubiales World Cup kiss</strong> - Spanish TV shows a statement to prosecutors where Jenni Hermoso says she felt clearly disrespected.</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>Bedbugs: Sadiq Khan reassures Londoners over France problems</strong> - Sadiq Khan says he does not think a bedbug infestation will spread to London’s transport network.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The best headphones on sale for Amazon Prime Big Deal Days</strong> - From Bose to Beats to Buds, there are a bunch of options. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1973075">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Amazon Prime Big Deal Days are here: All the best deals on day 2 of the big sale</strong> - This is your last chance to shop Prime Day this year. We’ll update this post with new deals throughout the day. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1968974">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A year from launch, the Europa Clipper spacecraft nears finish line</strong> - The future of NASA’s planetary science division is clouded by a budget crunch. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1975039">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The best Apple deals on Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, all in one place</strong> - The best deals on the hottest Apple tech of the season. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1974842">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Adobe’s AI image generators get beefy updates, including vector graphics</strong> - Firefly 2 improves detail, Firefly Vector generates scalable vectors from a prompt. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1974894">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Divorce Settlement</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
On the first day, he sadly packed his belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
On the second day, he had the movers come to collect his things.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
On the third day, he sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining-room table, by candle-light; he put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of spring-water.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
When he’d finished, he went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimps dipped in caviar into the hollow center of the curtain rods.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
He then cleaned up the kitchen and left.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
On the fourth day, the wife came back with her new boyfriend, and at first all was bliss.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Then, slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything; cleaning, mopping, and airing-out the place.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Vents were checked for dead rodents, and carpets were steam cleaned.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which time the two had to move out for a few days, and in the end they even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting. Nothing worked! People stopped coming over to visit.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Finally, they couldn’t take the stench any longer, and decided they had to move, but a month later - even though they’d cut their price in half - they couldn’t find a buyer for such a stinky house. Word got out, and eventually even the local realtors refused to return their calls.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Finally, unable to wait any longer for a purchaser, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Then the ex called the woman and asked how things were going. She told him the saga of the rotting house. He listened politely and said that he missed his old home terribly and would be willing to reduce his divorce settlement in exchange for having the house.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Knowing he could have no idea how bad the smell really was, she agreed on a price that was only 1/10 nth of what the house had been worth … but only if he would sign the papers that very day.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
He agreed, and within two hours her lawyers delivered the completed paperwork.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A week later the woman and her boyfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home ………………. and just to spite the ex-husband, they even took the curtain rods!!!
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/DocRogue2407"> /u/DocRogue2407 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/174viu2/the_divorce_settlement/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/174viu2/the_divorce_settlement/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>You hear what happened when the triangle tried to make all its angles 90 degree?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Didn’t end well, I hear it’s a wrecked angle now.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/MacFyver"> /u/MacFyver </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1752dkr/you_hear_what_happened_when_the_triangle_tried_to/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1752dkr/you_hear_what_happened_when_the_triangle_tried_to/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>I told my boyfriend we could watch a porn for his birthday and do everything that we saw in the video…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
He wasn’t happy when I started banging the doctor at my next visit.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
​
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Thanks, Johnny Sins.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/HotLeopsard"> /u/HotLeopsard </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/174uv0j/i_told_my_boyfriend_we_could_watch_a_porn_for_his/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/174uv0j/i_told_my_boyfriend_we_could_watch_a_porn_for_his/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>pope francis</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
One day pope Francis dies and comes to the Pearly Gates. God himself is picking him up and guides him to his very own cloud. God leaves.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Francis has his own harp and uses his time to praise the lord. After some hours god shows up again carrying a silver tray with a yogurt on it and a spoon. This repeats for some days. One evening the clouds beneath break up and he has a straight look into hell: he sees the devils making big fires and grilling half pigs, even half cows on the fire. Wine is served and everyone is feasting on an abundance of food.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The next day god comes again with a yogurt. Francis curiosity gets the better of him and he tells god what he saw and asks him: “Lord, in your omniscience, how can it be that they are feasting in hell and I am just getting yogurt?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
God answers him: “do you really expect me to cook just for the two of us?”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/bohogirl1"> /u/bohogirl1 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/17539gc/pope_francis/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/17539gc/pope_francis/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>On the way to a conference, a revered scientist is talking to his chauffeur</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The driver asks him:
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
"–Boss, I’ve driven you around the country for over 10 years. I’ve listened to your talks, hundreds of times. I am pretty sure I know everything by heart now. Would you like to make a bet?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
—What kind of bet?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
—We look alike. You’ve never talked in this city. I bet I could do the talk instead of you without nobody noticing. And if I succeed you’ll pay me double for the trip. If I don’t, this one’s for free."
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Bored and with nothing better to do, the scientist ends up agreeing, believing the chauffeur didn’t stand a chance.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
They switch clothes at a reststop and once they arrive, the driver goes to the stand while the scientist sits in the audience. Miraculously, the chauffeur delivers the talk in an almost perfect way. No one seems to notice.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
At the end, a mic is passed around through the audience for some questions, and the driver answers them all correctly, until a young professor poses a question he has never heard before. He has no idea what the answer is. He freezes before scratching his head, taking a deep breath and saying:
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Dear colleague, I don’t mean to offend you, but that question is so insultingly easy, that I will let my chauffeur in the audience answer it for me.”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/MoonWraith"> /u/MoonWraith </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/174n0pt/on_the_way_to_a_conference_a_revered_scientist_is/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/174n0pt/on_the_way_to_a_conference_a_revered_scientist_is/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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