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<title>19 April, 2023</title>
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<title>Covid-19 Sentry</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="covid-19-sentry">Covid-19 Sentry</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-preprints">From Preprints</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-pubmed">From PubMed</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-patent-search">From Patent Search</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-preprints">From Preprints</h1>
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<li><strong>VEGFA mRNA-LNP promotes biliary epithelial cell-to-hepatocyte conversion in acute and chronic liver diseases and reverses steatosis and fibrosis</strong> -
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The liver is known for its remarkable regenerative ability through proliferation of hepatocytes. Yet, during chronic injury or severe hepatocyte death, proliferation of hepatocytes is exhausted. To overcome this hurdle, we propose vascular-endothelial-growth-factor A (VEGFA) as a therapeutic means to accelerate biliary epithelial cell (BEC)-to-hepatocyte conversion. Investigation in zebrafish establishes that blocking VEGF receptors abrogates BEC-driven liver repair, while VEGFA overexpression promotes it. Delivery of VEGFA via non-integrative and safe nucleoside-modified mRNA encapsulated into lipid-nanoparticles (mRNA-LNP) in acutely or chronically injured mouse livers induces robust BEC-to-hepatocyte conversion and reversion of steatosis and fibrosis. In human and murine diseased livers, we further identified VEGFA-receptor KDR-expressing BECs associated with KDR-expressing cell-derived hepatocytes. This defines KDR-expressing cells, most likely being BECs, as facultative progenitors. This study reveals novel therapeutic benefits of VEGFA delivered via nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNP, whose safety is widely validated with COVID-19 vaccines, for harnessing BEC-driven repair to potentially treat liver diseases.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.17.537186v1" target="_blank">VEGFA mRNA-LNP promotes biliary epithelial cell-to-hepatocyte conversion in acute and chronic liver diseases and reverses steatosis and fibrosis</a>
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</div></li>
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<li><strong>Growth Hormone Accelerates Recovery From Acetaminophen-Induced Murine Liver Injury</strong> -
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Background and Aims: Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose is the leading cause of acute liver failure, with one available treatment, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC). Yet, NAC effectiveness diminishes about ten hours after APAP overdose, urging for therapeutic alternatives. This study addresses this need by deciphering a mechanism of sexual dimorphism in APAP-induced liver injury, and leveraging it to accelerate liver recovery via growth hormone (GH) treatment. GH secretory patterns, pulsatile in males and near-continuous in females, determine the sex bias in many liver metabolic functions. Here, we aim to establish GH as a novel therapy to treat APAP hepatotoxicity. Approach and Results: Our results demonstrate sex-dependent APAP toxicity, with females showing reduced liver cell death and faster recovery than males. Single-cell RNA sequencing analyses reveal that female hepatocytes have significantly greater levels of GH receptor expression and GH pathway activation compared to males. In harnessing this female-specific advantage, we demonstrate that a single injection of recombinant human GH protein accelerates liver recovery, promotes survival in males following sub-lethal dose of APAP, and is superior to standard-of-care NAC. Alternatively, slow-release delivery of human GH via the safe non-integrative lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated nucleoside-modified mRNA (mRNA-LNP), a technology validated by widely used COVID-19 vaccines, rescues males from APAP-induced death that otherwise occurred in control mRNA-LNP-treated mice. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates a sexually dimorphic liver repair advantage in females following APAP overdose, leveraged by establishing GH as an alternative treatment, delivered either as recombinant protein or mRNA-LNP, to potentially prevent liver failure and liver transplant in APAP-overdosed patients.
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</div>
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.17.537197v1" target="_blank">Growth Hormone Accelerates Recovery From Acetaminophen-Induced Murine Liver Injury</a>
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</div></li>
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<li><strong>A single-dose of intranasal vaccination with a live-attenuated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate promotes protective mucosal and systemic immunity</strong> -
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An attenuated SARS-CoV-2 virus with modified viral transcriptional regulatory sequences and deletion of open-reading frames 3, 6, 7 and 8 ({triangleup}3678) was previously reported to protect hamsters from SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission. Here we report that a single-dose intranasal vaccination of {triangleup}3678 protects K18-hACE2 mice from wild-type or variant SARS-CoV-2 challenge. Compared with wild-type virus infection, the {triangleup}3678 vaccination induces equivalent or higher levels of lung and systemic T cell, B cell, IgA, and IgG responses. The results suggest {triangleup}3678 as an attractive mucosal vaccine candidate to boost pulmonary immunity against SARS-CoV-2.
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</div>
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<div class="article-link article-html-link">
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.17.537235v1" target="_blank">A single-dose of intranasal vaccination with a live-attenuated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate promotes protective mucosal and systemic immunity</a>
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</div></li>
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<li><strong>Loss-of-function mutation in Omicron variants reduces spike protein expression and attenuates SARS-CoV-2 infection</strong> -
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SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants emerged in 2022 with >30 novel amino acid mutations in the spike protein alone. While most studies focus on the impact of receptor binding domain changes, mutations in the C-terminal of S1 (CTS1), adjacent to the furin cleavage site, have largely been ignored. In this study, we examined three Omicron mutations in CTS1: H655Y, N679K, and P681H. Generating a SARS-CoV-2 triple mutant (YKH), we found that the mutant increased spike processing, consistent with prior reports for H655Y and P681H individually. Next, we generated a single N679K mutant, finding reduced viral replication in vitro and less disease in vivo. Mechanistically, the N679K mutant had reduced spike protein in purified virions compared to wild-type; spike protein decreases were further exacerbated in infected cell lysates. Importantly, exogenous spike expression also revealed that N679K reduced overall spike protein yield independent of infection. Together, the data show that N679K is a loss-of-function mutation reducing overall spike levels during omicron infection, which may have important implications for disease severity, immunity, and vaccine efficacy.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.17.536926v1" target="_blank">Loss-of-function mutation in Omicron variants reduces spike protein expression and attenuates SARS-CoV-2 infection</a>
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</div></li>
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<li><strong>A single inactivating amino acid change in the SARS-CoV-2 NSP3 Mac1 domain attenuates viral replication and pathogenesis in vivo</strong> -
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Despite unprecedented efforts, our therapeutic arsenal against SARS-CoV-2 remains limited. The conserved macrodomain 1 (Mac1) in NSP3 is an enzyme exhibiting ADP-ribosylhydrolase activity and a possible drug target. To determine the therapeutic potential of Mac1 inhibition, we generated recombinant viruses and replicons encoding catalytically inactive NSP3 Mac1 domain by mutating a critical asparagine in the active site. While substitution to alanine (N40A) reduced activity by ~10-fold, mutations to aspartic acid (N40D) reduced the catalytic activity by ~100-fold relative to wildtype activity. Importantly, the N40A mutation rendered Mac1 unstable in vitro and lowered expression levels in bacterial and mammalian cells. When incorporated into SARS-CoV-2 molecular clones, the N40D mutant only modestly affected viral fitness in immortalized cell lines, but reduced viral replication in human airway organoids by 10-fold. In mice, N40D replicated at >1000-fold lower levels while inducing a robust interferon response, and all infected animals survived infection with the mutant, but not the wildtype virus. Our data validate SARS-CoV-2 NSP3 Mac1 domain as a critical viral pathogenesis factor and a reasonable target to develop antivirals, while emphasizing the importance of amino acid identity in viral mutagenesis studies and underscoring the limitations of solely relying on in vitro viral replication studies for target validation.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.18.537104v1" target="_blank">A single inactivating amino acid change in the SARS-CoV-2 NSP3 Mac1 domain attenuates viral replication and pathogenesis in vivo</a>
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<li><strong>A national audit of pancreatic enzyme prescribing in pancreatic cancer from 2015 to 2023 in England using OpenSAFELY-TPP</strong> -
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Objectives: Cancer treatments were variably disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. UK guidelines recommend pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) to all people with unresectable pancreatic cancer. The aim was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on PERT prescribing to people with unresectable pancreatic cancer and to investigate the national and regional rates from January 2015 to January 2023. Data sources: With the approval of NHS England, we conducted this study using 24 million electronic healthcare records of people within the OpenSAFELY-TPP research platform. There were 22,860 people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the study cohort. We visualised the trends over time and modelled the effect of COVID-19 with the interrupted time series analysis. Conclusions: In contrast to many other treatments, prescribing of PERT was not affected during the pandemic. Overall, since 2015, the rates increased steadily over time by 1% every year. The national rates ranged from 41% in 2015 to 48% in early 2023. There was substantial regional variation with the highest rates of 50% to 60% in West Midlands. Implications for Nursing Practice: In pancreatic cancer, if PERT is prescribed, it is usually initiated in hospitals by clinical nurse specialists and continued after discharge by primary care. At just under 50% in early 2023, the rates were still below the recommended 100% standard. More research is needed to understand barriers to prescribing of PERT and geographic variation to improve quality of care. Prior work relied on manual audits. With OpenSAFELY, we developed an automated audit allowing for regular updates.
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</p>
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.08.22277317v5" target="_blank">A national audit of pancreatic enzyme prescribing in pancreatic cancer from 2015 to 2023 in England using OpenSAFELY-TPP</a>
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<li><strong>Mental Health, Substance Use, and the Importance of Religion during the COVID-19 Pandemic</strong> -
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COVID-19 has impacted all areas of life, with lasting effects on physical, mental, and societal health. Specifically, COVID and related losses have exacerbated prolonged grief responses and mental disorders including depression and anxiety. These mental health concerns are associated with increased detrimental coping strategies including substance use. In this study, we analyzed secondary data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results showed a positive association between serious psychological distress and marijuana use, while frequent religious service attendance acted as a moderator in this relationship. Individuals involved in communal religious activity were less likely to use marijuana. This study highlights the impact of religion and faith in bringing hope and purpose during periods of loss, coping with stress, grief, mental health challenges, and substance use.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.11.29.22282907v2" target="_blank">Mental Health, Substance Use, and the Importance of Religion during the COVID-19 Pandemic</a>
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</div></li>
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<li><strong>A compartmental Mathematical model of COVID-19 intervention scenarios for Mumbai</strong> -
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A new mathematical method with an outstanding potential to predict the incidence of COVID-19 diseases has been proposed. The model proposed is an improvement to the SEIR model. In order to improve the basic understanding of disease spread and outcomes, four compartments included presymptomatic, asymptomatic, quarantine hospitalized and hospitalized. We have studied COVID-19 cases in the city of Mumbai. We first gather clinical details and fit it on death cases using the Lavenberg-Marquardt model to approximate the various parameters. The model uses logistic regression to calculate the basic reproduction number over time and the case fatality rate based on the age-category scenario of the city of Mumbai. Two types of case fatality rate are calculated by the model: one is CFR daily, and the other is total CFR. The total case fatality rate is 4.2, which is almost the same as the actual scenario. The proposed model predicts the approximate time when the disease is at its worst and the approximate time when death cases barely arise and determines how many hospital beds in the peak days of infection would be expected. The proposed model outperforms the classic ARX, SARIMAX and the ARIMA model. And It also outperforms the deep learning models LSTM and Seq2Seq model. To validate results, RMSE, MAPE and R squared matrices are used and are represented using Taylor diagrams graphically.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.28.22271624v2" target="_blank">A compartmental Mathematical model of COVID-19 intervention scenarios for Mumbai</a>
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<li><strong>The beneficial role of Candida intermedia and Saccharomyces boulardii yeasts on the immune response of mice vaccinated with a SARS-CoV-2 experimental vaccine</strong> -
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Non-Saccharomyces yeasts emerge as possible new probiotics with a beneficial effect equal to or greater than the reference probiotic yeast, Saccharomyces boulardii. In this work, we evaluated the immunomodulation effect caused by Candida intermedia in mice vaccinated with inactivated SARS-CoV-2. We conducted preliminary tests using murine macrophages (RAW 264.7) stimulated with viable and heat-killed yeast cells, culture supernatant, and DNA, using qPCR to detect the mRNA transcription. Next, mice were supplemented with C. intermedia before each dose of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, and then antibody production was measured by ELISA. The probiotic strain S. boulardii CNCM I-745 was used as a control. We also explored the differences in fecal microbiomes between the non-supplemented and supplemented groups. Live cells of C. intermedia increased the transcription of IL-4, IL-13, and STAT3 by macrophages RAW 264.7, while heat-killed cells up-regulated TNF and Bcl6, and the culture supernatant positively impacted TLR2 transcription. Concanavalin, zymosan, and lipopolysaccharide were used to stimulate splenocytes from C. intermedia-supplemented animals, which showed increased transcription of TNF, IFN{gamma}, IL-4, Bcl6, and STAT3. Sera from these animals showed enhanced levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, as well as IgG1 and IgM isotypes, and sIgA in fecal samples. The microbiome of the C. intermedia-supplemented group showed a higher abundance of Bacteroides spp. and Clostridium spp., impacting the Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes balance. We concluded that C. intermedia and S. boulardii could stimulate and impact the gene expression of cells important for innate immunity, influence the composition of the gastrointestinal microbiome, and primarily boost the humoral response after vaccination.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.30.458196v2" target="_blank">The beneficial role of Candida intermedia and Saccharomyces boulardii yeasts on the immune response of mice vaccinated with a SARS-CoV-2 experimental vaccine</a>
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<li><strong>Effect of Yoga on the Stress, Anxiety, and Depression of COVID-19-Positive Patients. A Quasi-Randomized Controlled Study. International Journal of Yoga therapy 2022 (32)</strong> -
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The spread of COVID-19 has resulted in reports of an increase in stress, anxiety, and depression across society, especially in people who have tested positive for COVID-19, which affects their mental health and well-being. This article reports a quasi-randomized controlled study conducted in the COVID wards of a hospital to examine the efficacy of add-on yoga intervention in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression in COVID-affected patients under quarantine. The peripheral capillary oxygen saturation level and heart rate of the COVID-19-affected patients were also measured. A total of 62 COVID-19-positive patients participated in the study. The participants were randomized into a control group (n = 31), which received conventional medical treatment alone, and a yoga intervention group (n = 31), which received 50 minutes of yoga intervention along with the conventional medical treatment. Standardized Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder–7 Item, Patient Health Questionnaire–9, and Perceived Stress Scale were administered at the beginning and end of the quarantine period. A significant decrease in stress, anxiety, and depression was observed in the patients who undertook the add-on yoga intervention. There was also a significant decrease in anxiety in the control group, but the yoga intervention group had a larger decrease compared to the control group. Further significant improvements in oxygen saturation and heart rate levels were observed in the group of patients who were practicing yoga, but no significant improvement was observed in the control group. The findings of this study suggest that yoga intervention can be an effective add-on practice in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression levels in COVID-19 patients.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/2cswy/" target="_blank">Effect of Yoga on the Stress, Anxiety, and Depression of COVID-19-Positive Patients. A Quasi-Randomized Controlled Study. International Journal of Yoga therapy 2022 (32)</a>
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<li><strong>AMYLASE DEPLETION SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES THE MALDI-TOF PROFILE OF SALIVA-APPLICATION TO COVID-19 DIAGNOSTICS</strong> -
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Human saliva contains a plethora of proteins whose presence and concentration can be monitored for diagnosis and progression of disease. Saliva has been extensively probed for the diagnosis of several systemic and infectious diseases because of the ease with which it can be collected. However, amylase, the most abundant protein found in saliva can obscure the detection of low-abundance proteins by MALDI-ToF MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry) and diminish the diagnostic utility of this specimen type. In the present study, we used a device to deplete salivary amylase from water-gargle samples through affinity adsorption. After depletion, profiling of the saliva proteome was performed by MALDI-ToF MS on gargle samples from subjects whose COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) status was confirmed by NP (nasopharyngeal) swab RT-qPCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction). Amylase depletion led to the enhancement of signal intensities of various peaks as well as the detection of previously unobserved peaks in the MALDI-ToF spectra. The overall specificity and sensitivity after amylase depletion was 100% and 85.17% respectively for detecting COVID-19. Our simple, rapid and inexpensive technique to deplete salivary amylase can be used to unmask spectral diversity in saliva by MALDI-ToF MS, reveal low-abundant proteins and aid in the establishment of novel biomarkers for diseases.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.11.23288361v1" target="_blank">AMYLASE DEPLETION SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES THE MALDI-TOF PROFILE OF SALIVA-APPLICATION TO COVID-19 DIAGNOSTICS</a>
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<li><strong>Core warming of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients undergoing mechanical ventilation - a pilot study</strong> -
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Abstract: Fever is a recognized protective factor in patients with sepsis, and growing data suggest beneficial effects on outcomes in sepsis with elevated temperature, with a recent pilot randomized controlled trial showing lower mortality by warming afebrile sepsis patients in the intensive care unit. The objective of this prospective single-site randomized controlled trial was to determine if core warming improves respiratory physiology of mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19, allowing earlier weaning from ventilation, and greater overall survival. A total of 19 patients with mean age of 60.5 (±12.5) years, 37% female, mean weight 95.1 (±18.6) kg, and mean BMI 34.5 (±5.9) kg/m2 with COVID-19 requiring mechanical ventilation were enrolled from September 2020 through February 2022. Patients were randomized 1:1 to standard-of-care or to receive core warming for 72 hours via an esophageal heat exchanger commonly utilized in critical care and surgical patients. The maximum target temperature was 39.8 °C. A total of 10 patients received usual care and 9 patients received esophageal core warming. After 72 hours of warming, PaO2/FiO2 ratios were 197 (±32) and 134 (±13.4), Cycle Thresholds were 30.8 (±6.4) and 31.4 (±3.2), ICU mortality was 40% and 44%, 30-day mortality was 30% and 22%, and mean 30-day ventilator-free days were 11.9 (±12.6) and 6.8 (±10.2) for standard-of-care and warmed patients, respectively (p=NS). This pilot study suggests that core warming of patients with COVID-19 undergoing mechanical ventilation is feasible and appears safe. Optimizing time to achieve febrile-range temperature may require a multimodal temperature management strategy to further evaluate effects on outcome.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.12.23287815v1" target="_blank">Core warming of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients undergoing mechanical ventilation - a pilot study</a>
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<li><strong>Improvement in drug prescription skills in medical students through in-person and remote simulated interviews</strong> -
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Introduction: Development of drug prescription skills poses critical challenges in medical education. This study determined the effects of simulated interviews on the improvement of drug prescription skills among medical students in 2020. Methodology: This was a quantitative, cross-sectional, analytical, quasi-experimental study of simulated interviews for improving rational drug prescription skills in medical students. Baseline, pre-, and post-intervention assessments of prescription skills were performed using an expert-validated instrument constructed from the WHO Good Prescribing Guide. Three simulated interviews with different simulated patients were conducted in two groups: in-person in the first batch and remotely in the second batch due to mandatory social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemics. Friedman, Dunn-Bonferroni, and Wilcoxon tests were used, considering a significance of level p<.05 and standardized mean difference (Hedges g); data were analyzed using Excel 2016 and SPSS 28. Results: Fifty-four students completed the required assessments; in-person 28 and remotely 26. The total score for pharmacological prescription skills increased significantly from pre- to post-intervention measurements, from 12.72 +/- 2.94 to 15.44 +/- 2.50, respectively (p<.0001) (g: 0.996), and the increase from baseline to post-intervention scores for drug prescription knowledge was 5.39 +/- 3.67, 11.28 +/- 3.50, respectively (p <.01). Discussion: Our results suggest that the implementation of pre-briefing and debriefing strategies in remote and in-person clinical interviews with simulated patients significantly improved drug prescription skills and pharmacological knowledge among medical students. The logical sequence of the WHO Guide for Good Prescribing may have facilitated debriefing, knowledge acquisition, and transfer to various clinical contexts.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.11.23288429v1" target="_blank">Improvement in drug prescription skills in medical students through in-person and remote simulated interviews</a>
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<li><strong>Single Ventricle Reconstruction III: Brain Connectome and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: Design, Recruitment, and Technical Challenges of a Multicenter, Observational Neuroimaging Study</strong> -
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Patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome who have been palliated with the Fontan procedure are at risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, lower quality of life, and reduced employability. We describe the methods (including quality assurance and quality control protocols) and challenges of a multi-center observational ancillary study, SVRIII (Single Ventricle Reconstruction Trial) Brain Connectome. Our original goal was to obtain advanced neuroimaging (Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Resting-BOLD) in 140 SVR III participants and 100 healthy controls for brain connectome analyses. Linear regression and mediation statistical methods will be used to analyze associations of brain connectome measures with neurocognitive measures and clinical risk factors. Initial recruitment challenges occurred related to difficulties with: 1) coordinating brain MRI for participants already undergoing extensive testing in the parent study, and 2) recruiting healthy control subjects. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected enrollment late in the study. Enrollment challenges were addressed by 1) adding additional study sites, 2) increasing the frequency of meetings with site coordinators and 3) developing additional healthy control recruitment strategies, including using research registries and advertising the study to community-based groups. Technical challenges that emerged early in the study were related to the acquisition, harmonization, and transfer of neuroimages. These hurdles were successfully overcome with protocol modifications and frequent site visits that involved human and synthetic phantoms.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.12.23288433v1" target="_blank">Single Ventricle Reconstruction III: Brain Connectome and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: Design, Recruitment, and Technical Challenges of a Multicenter, Observational Neuroimaging Study</a>
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<li><strong>Effect of nasal carriage of Bacillus species on COVID-19 severity: A cross-sectional study</strong> -
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Intranasal sprays containing Bacillus species are being researched for treating viral respiratory tract infections. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the nasal carriage of <i>Bacillus</i> and COVID-19 severity. This was a cross-sectional study that collected nasopharyngeal samples from adults 18 years and above visiting two COVID-19 testing centers in Lagos, Nigeria between September 2020 and September 2021. Bacillus species were cultured from the respiratory samples and confirmed using molecular methods. The dependent variable was COVID-19 status classified as negative, asymptomatic, mild, or severe. The independent variable was the nasal carriage of Bacillus species. Multinomial regression analysis was done to determine the association between nasal carriage of Bacillus and COVID-19 severity after adjusting for age, sex, and co-morbidity status. About 388 participants were included in the study with a mean (standard deviation) age of 40.05 (13.563) years. The majority (61.1%) of the participants were male, 100 (25.8%) had severe COVID-19, 130 (33.5%) had pre-existing comorbidity, and 76 (19.6%) had Bacillus cultured from their nasopharyngeal specimen. Bacillus species presence was significantly associated with higher odds of severe COVID-19 compared to having a negative COVID-19 status. However, the presence of Bacillus species was significantly associated with lower odds of severe COVID-19 compared to having a mild COVID-19 status. The study suggests that nasal carriage of Bacillus species may substantially impact the clinical course of COVID-19. This study supports the exploration of <i>Bacillus</i> species in the prevention and management of viral respiratory tract infections.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
|
||||
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.15.23288553v1" target="_blank">Effect of nasal carriage of Bacillus species on COVID-19 severity: A cross-sectional study</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>Effectiveness and Safety of Quinine Sulfate as add-on Therapy for COVID-19 in Hospitalized Adults in Indonesia ( DEAL-COVID19 )</strong> - <b>Condition</b>: COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: Standard of Care + Quinine Sulfate; Drug: Standard of Care<br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Universitas Padjadjaran; National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia; Prodia Diacro Laboratories P.T.<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>Safety and Efficacy of Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell Exosomes in Treating Chronic Cough After COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>: Long COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>: Biological: MSC-derived exosomes<br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Huazhong University of Science and Technology; REGEN-αGEEK (SHENZHEN) MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
|
||||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy and Safety of Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir for Treating Omicron Variant of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>: Omicron Variant of COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>: Drug: Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir<br/><b>Sponsor</b>: Xiangao Jiang<br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
|
||||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Nasal Treatment for COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>: COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: Optate; Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>: Indiana University<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>A Study of mRNA-1283.222 Injection Compared With mRNA-1273.222 Injection in Participants ≥12 Years of Age to Prevent COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>: COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: mRNA-1283.222; Biological: mRNA-1273.222<br/><b>Sponsor</b>: ModernaTX, Inc.<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
|
||||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>To Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Meplazumab in Treatment of COVID-19 Sequelae</strong> - <b>Condition</b>: COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: Meplazumab for injection; Other: Normal saline<br/><b>Sponsor</b>: Jiangsu Pacific Meinuoke Bio Pharmaceutical Co Ltd<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
|
||||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Evaluation of the RD-X19 Treatment Device in Individuals With Mild COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>: COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>: Device: RD-X19; Device: Sham<br/><b>Sponsor</b>: EmitBio Inc.<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>Clinical Study for the Efficacy and Safety of Ropeginterferon Alfa-2b in Adult COVID-19 Patients With Comorbidities</strong> - <b>Condition</b>: COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: Ropeginterferon alfa-2b; Procedure: SOC<br/><b>Sponsor</b>: National Taiwan University Hospital<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
|
||||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Assessment of Immunogenicity, Safety and Reactogenicity of a Booster Dose of Various COVID-19 Vaccine Platforms in Individuals Primed With Several Regimes.</strong> - <b>Condition</b>: COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: SCB-2019/Clover; Biological: AstraZeneca/Fiocruz; Biological: Pfizer/Wyeth<br/><b>Sponsors</b>: D’Or Institute for Research and Education; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation<br/><b>Active, not 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>Postoperative Sugammadex After COVID-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: General Anesthesia; COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: Sugammadex Sodium; Drug: neostigmine 50µg/kg + glycopyrollate 0.01mg/kg<br/><b>Sponsor</b>: Korea University Ansan Hospital<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
|
||||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase 2/3 Study to Determine the Safety and Effectiveness of Azeliragon in the Treatment of Patients Hospitalized for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>: COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: Azeliragon; Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>: Salim S. Hayek<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>Tailored COVID-19 Testing Support Plan for Francophone African Born Immigrants</strong> - <b>Condition</b>: COVID19 Testing<br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: FABI tailored COVID-19 testing pamphlet; Behavioral: Standard COVID-19 home-based test kit<br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Texas Woman’s University; National Institutes of Health (NIH)<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>A Study to Understand the Effect and Safety of the Study Medicine PF-07817883 in Adults Who Have Symptoms of COVID-19 But Are Not Hospitalized.</strong> - <b>Condition</b>: SARS-CoV-2 Infection<br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: PF-07817883; Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>: Pfizer<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>Cognitive-behavioral Therapy for Mental Disorder in COVID-19 Survivors</strong> - <b>Condition</b>: Post Acute COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>: Behavioral: mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>: Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale di Lecco<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
|
||||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy of Lactobacillus Paracasei PS23 for Patients With Post-COVID-19 Syndrome</strong> - <b>Condition</b>: Post-COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>: Dietary Supplement: PS23 heat-treated<br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Mackay Memorial Hospital; Bened Biomedical Co., Ltd.<br/><b>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>Molecular Networking Accelerated Discovery of Biflavonoid Alkaloids from Cephalotaxus sinensis</strong> - Four undescribed biflavonoid alkaloids, sinenbiflavones A-D, were isolated from Cephalotaxus sinensis using a MS/MS-based molecular networking guided strategy. Their structures were elucidated by series of spectroscopic methods (HRESIMS, UV, IR, 1D, and 2D NMR). Sinenbiflavones A-D are the first examples of amentoflavone-type (C-3’-C-8’’) biflavonoid alkaloids. Meanwhile, sinenbiflavones B and D are the unique C-6-methylated amentoflavone-type biflavonoid alkaloids. Sinenbiflavone D showed weak…</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>Myeloperoxidase Inhibition in Heart Failure With Preserved or Mildly Reduced Ejection Fraction: SATELLITE Trial Results</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: AZD4831 inhibited myeloperoxidase and was well tolerated in patients with HF and LVEF ≥40%. Efficacy findings were exploratory due to early termination but warrant further clinical investigation of AZD4831.</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>Awareness raising and dealing with methanol poisoning based on effective strategies</strong> - Intoxication with methanol most commonly occurs as a consequence of ingesting, inhaling, or coming into contact with formulations that include methanol as a base. Clinical manifestations of methanol poisoning include suppression of the central nervous system, gastrointestinal symptoms, and decompensated metabolic acidosis, which is associated with impaired vision and either early or late blindness within 0.5-4 h after ingestion. After ingestion, methanol concentrations in the blood that are…</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>Ferrocenoyl-substituted quinolinone and coumarin as organometallic inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro main protease</strong> - The 3-chymotrypsin-like protease 3CLpro from SARS-CoV-2 is a potential target for antiviral drug development. In this work, three organometallic ferrocene-modified quinolinones and coumarins were compared to their benzoic acid ester analogues with regard to inhibition of 3CLpro using a HPLC-based assay with a 15mer model peptide as the substrate. In contrast to FRET-based assays, this allows direct identification of interference of buffer constituents with the inhibitors, as demonstrated by 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>Transcription factor <em>Dmrt1</em> triggers the SPRY1-NF-κB pathway to maintain testicular immune homeostasis and male fertility</strong> - Bacterial or viral infections, such as Brucella, mumps virus, herpes simplex virus, and Zika virus, destroy immune homeostasis of the testes, leading to spermatogenesis disorder and infertility. Of note, recent research shows that SARS-CoV-2 can infect male gonads and destroy Sertoli and Leydig cells, leading to male reproductive dysfunction. Due to the many side effects associated with antibiotic therapy, finding alternative treatments for inflammatory injury remains critical. Here, we found…</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>Selective translational control of cellular and viral mRNAs by RPS3 mRNA binding</strong> - RPS3, a universal core component of the 40S ribosomal subunit, interacts with mRNA at the entry channel. Whether RPS3 mRNA-binding contributes to specific mRNA translation and ribosome specialization in mammalian cells is unknown. Here we mutated RPS3 mRNA-contacting residues R116, R146 and K148 and report their impact on cellular and viral translation. R116D weakened cap-proximal initiation and promoted leaky scanning, while R146D had the opposite effect. Additionally, R146D and K148D displayed…</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>Discovery of Potent Pyrazoline-Based Covalent SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibitors</strong> - Among the various genes and proteins encoded by all coronaviruses, one particularly “druggable” or relatively easy-to-drug target is the coronavirus Main Protease (3CLproor Mpro), an enzyme that is involved in cleaving a long peptide translated by the viral genome into its individual protein components that are then assembled into the virus to enable viral replication in the cell. Inhibiting Mpro with a small-molecule antiviral would effectively stop the ability of the virus to replicate,…</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>Esculin alleviates LPS-induced acute lung injury via inhibiting neutrophil recruitment and migration</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: Esculin inhibits β(2) integrin-dependent neutrophil migration and chemotaxis, blocks the cytoskeletal remodeling process required for neutrophil recruitment, thereby contributing to its protective effect against ALI. This study demonstrates the new therapeutic potential of esculin as a novel lead compound.</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>FDA approved drugs with antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2: From structure-based repurposing to host-specific mechanisms</strong> - The continuing heavy toll of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates development of therapeutic options. We adopted structure-based drug repurposing to screen FDA-approved drugs for inhibitory effects against main protease enzyme (Mpro) substrate-binding pocket of SARS-CoV-2 for non-covalent and covalent binding. Top candidates were screened against infectious SARS-CoV-2 in a cell-based viral replication assay. Promising candidates included atovaquone, mebendazole, ouabain, dronedarone, and…</p></li>
|
||||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>4’-Fluorouridine mitigates lethal infection with pandemic human and highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses</strong> - Influenza outbreaks are associated with substantial morbidity, mortality and economic burden. Next generation antivirals are needed to treat seasonal infections and prepare against zoonotic spillover of avian influenza viruses with pandemic potential. Having previously identified oral efficacy of the nucleoside analog 4’-Fluorouridine (4’-FlU, EIDD-2749) against SARS-CoV-2 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), we explored activity of the compound against seasonal and highly pathogenic influenza…</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>Detection of pre-existing neutralizing antibodies against Ad26 in HIV-1-infected individuals not responding to the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine</strong> - CONCLUSION: Ad26.COV2.S vaccination showed a high failure rate in HIV-1-infected patients. Pre-existing immunity against Ad26 could be an important contributor to poor vaccine efficacy in a subgroup of patients.</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 of a novel angiotensin converting enzyme 2 stimulator with broad implications in SARS-CoV2 and type 1 diabetes</strong> - Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is protective in cardiovascular disease, lung injury and diabetes yet paradoxically underlies our susceptibility to SARs-CoV2 infection and the fatal heart and lung disease it can induce. Furthermore, diabetic patients have chronic, systemic inflammation and altered ACE2 expression resulting in increased risk of severe COVID-19 and the associated mortality. A drug that could increase ACE2 activity and inhibit cellular uptake of severe acute respiratory…</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>Chemical-guided SHAPE sequencing (cgSHAPE-seq) informs the binding site of RNA-degrading chimeras targeting SARS-CoV-2 5’ untranslated region</strong> - One of the hallmarks of RNA viruses is highly structured untranslated regions (UTRs) in their genomes. These conserved RNA structures are often essential for viral replication, transcription, or translation. In this report, we discovered and optimized a new coumarin derivative C30 that binds to a four-way RNA helix called SL5 in the 5’ UTR of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome. To locate the binding site, we developed a novel sequencing-based method namely cgSHAPE-seq, in which the acylating chemical…</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>Human Surfactant Protein A Alleviates SARS-CoV-2 Infectivity in Human Lung Epithelial Cells</strong> - SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infects human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2)-expressing lung epithelial cells through its spike (S) protein. The S protein is highly glycosylated and could be a target for lectins. Surfactant protein A (SP-A) is a collagen-containing C-type lectin, expressed by mucosal epithelial cells and mediates its antiviral activities by binding to viral glycoproteins. This study examined the mechanistic role of human SP-A in SARS-CoV-2 infectivity. The interactions…</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>Role of C-Reactive Protein in Kidney Diseases</strong> - BACKGROUND: C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute-phase protein and has been found to be a risk factor for acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney diseases (CKD). However, the role and mechanisms of CRP in AKI and CKD remain largely unclear.</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>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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||||
<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>
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||||
<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>The Stunning End of Dominion’s Case Against Fox News</strong> - The voting-machine company has agreed to a seven-hundred-million-dollar settlement in its defamation suit against Rupert Murdoch’s cable news network. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/the-stunning-end-of-dominions-case-against-fox-news">link</a></p></li>
|
||||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Biden’s New Green Jobs Are Boosting Purple and Red States</strong> - Why the President’s industrial policy could be key to his reëlection bid. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/bidens-new-green-jobs-are-boosting-purple-and-red-states">link</a></p></li>
|
||||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Christian’s Thoughts on the Problem of Christian Nationalism</strong> - The separation of church and state, though under attack from the right, is still ingrained in our national psyche. Who’s best positioned to keep it there? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/a-christians-thoughts-on-the-problem-of-christian-nationalism">link</a></p></li>
|
||||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What Dominion Has to Prove in Its Case Against Fox News</strong> - Did the hosts of the country’s most popular cable news network know that Trump’s lies about the election were untrue? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/what-dominion-has-to-prove-in-its-case-against-fox-news">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What’s Behind the Bipartisan Attack on TikTok?</strong> - A hundred and fifty million Americans are on TikTok. Evan Osnos and Chris Stokel-Walker discuss why politicians are so keen to ban the app. Plus, Broadway’s new comedy of white wokeness. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/whats-behind-the-bipartisan-attack-on-tiktok">link</a></p></li>
|
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>Ari Aster doesn’t want to explain Beau Is Afraid</strong> -
|
||||
<figure>
|
||||
<img alt="Joaquin Phoenix, his head pretty beat up now, looks terrified." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/x9NsWWDeJuESRZr26JG--4soHjA=/702x0:2409x1280/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72194590/beau8.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Joaquin Phoenix in <em>Beau Is Afraid.</em> | A24
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The director of the new Joaquin Phoenix film on animation, nightmares, and all those signs.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Lghh1u">
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Asking Ari Aster to explain his movies is not a winning proposition, and thank goodness. The director of <a href="https://www.vox.com/summer-movies/2018/6/1/17408988/hereditary-review-toni-collette-milly-shapiro"><em>Hereditary</em></a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/6/20/18691638/midsommar-review"><em>Midsommar</em></a> works highly intuitively, and that shows up on the screen. While his films seem to beg for a close reading — take, for example, all the many bizarre and hilarious signs in the background of his latest film, <a href="https://www.vox.com/e/23445758"><em>Beau Is Afraid</em></a> — ultimately, they tend to defy explanation.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VwJwto">
|
||||
That makes his films less locked to one way of thinking about them, less obviously “about” one thing in particular. Audiences get the chance to feel their way through his movies, just as Aster does when he makes them. You can take away your own ideas and discomforts and revelations from <em>Beau Is Afraid</em>, and they might not be the same as anyone else’s, and that’s just fine.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<aside id="cHdyO3">
|
||||
<div>
|
||||
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
</aside>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zz5YHk">
|
||||
Nevertheless, it’s fun to talk to Aster, who is deliberate and insightful about his own working process. Shortly before the film’s release, he and I spoke about how he designed some of the movie’s more comical and whimsical elements, what he’s trying to do when he makes a movie, and one little key to understanding Beau.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="C2uGrc">
|
||||
<em>This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.</em>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xtDvoV">
|
||||
<em><strong>Midsommar</strong></em><strong> fans keep asking me about this movie. The way I describe it is that, whereas </strong><em><strong>Midsommar</strong></em><strong> is an inversion of a Disney Princess fantasy, this is an inverted, twisted hero’s odyssey. Did it start off being that kind of story? </strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Gb7EJ3">
|
||||
It was always something of a risk, playing with the hero’s journey. But it’s also a film that’s about an unlived life. It’s set in this cartoon world that should function as a mirror of the world we’re in. It’s awful in all the ways that the world is awful, but with the dial turned just a little bit higher.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VHKg0l">
|
||||
The trick was to make Beau very real. He’s our surrogate. He is who we have to hold on to. The challenge was, how do I make that experience incredibly visceral and immersive, and then at the same time, put him in this world that is just endlessly malign?
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt="Nathan Lane, in a Hawaiian-style shirt, holds something that looks sort of like a weapon, though it’s actually a grill utensil." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/oR8jtdjQ16-ZN1iRmrtwEYElQtQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24583026/beau4.jpg"/> <cite>A24</cite>
|
||||
<figcaption>
|
||||
Nathan Lane in <em>Beau Is Afraid.</em>
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l5cD7Z">
|
||||
<strong>That’s part of what’s so stressful and good about it. It honestly mirrored some of my most banal but aggravating recurring dreams, and that made it even more tense. I have a recurring nightmare where I need to go somewhere, and everyone I encounter is keeping me from getting there. I have nightmares about everything I do in life being projected in front of the whole world. The fantasy that everyone’s mad at me. These are all very common, boring things that everyone encounters, and yet they are the world as it exists to Beau. Right?</strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z8kxAE">
|
||||
Yeah. It was very liberating to just have this invented world that allowed me to go wherever my intuition led me. If some very stupid idea made me laugh, the challenge was to find a way to get it in there and have it be cohesive with the whole. But there was nothing too crazy, too stupid, too strange. That was just fun.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pCfOHL">
|
||||
<strong>It felt like one guy’s nightmare that just kept getting worse. </strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="f1h1a6">
|
||||
Hopefully, it’s not a pile-on. I tried to shape it so that there were these respites, where the nature of the film would keep changing. Again, it’s tricky, because you hope that all those pieces are in harmony with each other. But with a film like this, you’re really, really clinging to your intuition.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MtY5zp">
|
||||
<strong>And nightmares are funny — when you’re not having them.</strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZKNgSf">
|
||||
Yes, that’s right.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NRVFKBJOWkX6yayj9JEVuLDSUh4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8635113/spoilers_below.png"/>
|
||||
<figcaption>
|
||||
Spoilers! Beware!
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZKwtok">
|
||||
<strong>The character of Beau is extremely passive, the kind of guy who, if you accuse him of doing something, he probably assumes he deserves it. He’s afraid of not following the rules. A revealing detail for me is that he’s trying to leave his apartment, but what he goes back for is … dental floss. </strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pgpaDr">
|
||||
Well, I’ll say this. If you pay close attention, you’ll see that he almost takes the dental floss when he is packing his bag. He stopped. He hesitates, holding the floss, and then takes something else, and then goes back for the floss. I think there’s a key there.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="e33sRD">
|
||||
The movie is so obviously about guilt that it’s not even worth saying that. It’s about a guy who’s really trapped in himself, really, really, really trapped. I’m somebody with a lot of ambivalence. Ambivalence is a very particular kind of hell.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0iyDI8">
|
||||
I really, really want to avoid saying much because I really feel that if you can get on its wavelength, then it’s … it’s a movie that I felt my way through. I have a feeling that’s the only way to watch it as well.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt="Los Angeles Premiere Of A24’s “Beau Is Afraid” - Arrivals" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bc24lo2aU0yVNKyv59G9jAIIkjk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24583235/1481290771.jpg"/> <cite>Robin L Marshall/FilmMagic</cite>
|
||||
<figcaption>
|
||||
Aster with Joaquin Phoenix at the LA premiere of <em>Beau Is Afraid</em>.
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HmzCk6">
|
||||
<strong>My favorite part of the movie might be the massive amount of signage throughout: the graffiti, the posters in the bedroom, there are signs everywhere. My favorite is that there’s a notice about a brown recluse in the building taped to everybody’s door in Beau’s apartment complex, and on the bottom of the sign is a quote from Winston Churchill: “The price of greatness is responsibility.”</strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WyHEGX">
|
||||
Oh, you got that, great. There’s always a sadness in me thinking about all those details that will never be noticed. You’re the first person who caught that. That Churchill quote really makes me laugh. It’s the stupidest.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iqbCQd">
|
||||
That was part of the fun of creating this world. I wanted to make sure that every billboard, every poster, every product, every newspaper was made from scratch, and was made in the spirit of the world: evil comedy. All the comic details.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lle1Zp">
|
||||
There’s this term that was coined by Will Elder, from <em>Mad </em>magazine: chicken fat. It’s the overabundance of background gags that have been crammed into any given panel. I wanted there to be a lot of chicken fat here. I spent a long time building out a list of stupid names and names that made me laugh.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zbwaez">
|
||||
These are things that nobody will know that just made me laugh. Like the city that Beau lives in, in the first part of the film, is called Corrina, Corrina. The city is Corrina. The state is Corrina. That’s a reference to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrina,_Corrina_(film)">a Whoopi Goldberg and Ray Liotta film</a> from the ’90s.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Cm2eja">
|
||||
<strong>Ha! My friends and I were debating about where that actually was supposed to be. </strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xg4xX8">
|
||||
He lives in Corrina, Corrina. And then he goes to Wasserton at the end, the home of Mona Wassermann.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XSrryK">
|
||||
That was a very joyful part of the process. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2356249/">Fiona Crombie</a> was the production designer. She was a joy to work with. It was very fun making sure that the world was dense with detail.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mT0ypT7Cc4DzrZ4Ow6jT3ZHAPVQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24583027/beau7.jpg"/> <cite>A24</cite>
|
||||
<figcaption>
|
||||
Beau wakes up in a teenager’s bedroom.
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mm1zBK">
|
||||
<strong>I couldn’t stop giggling at the poster in the teenage daughter’s bedroom that has the faces of all the K-pop stars, and the band is called “Ki55,” and the tagline is “We are 55 boys and we love you.” And both times I’ve seen it, the whole audience lost it when Beau walks up to his mother’s house and sees the caterer’s van with “Shiva Steve’s Grub For The Grieved” on the back of it. </strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rqi2fh">
|
||||
<strong>There are also those signs nailed to trees as Beau is walking into the woods to meet the theater troupe. They have uplifting slogans about following your dreams and are from musicals, right?</strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zHFcpJ">
|
||||
Those are all lyrics from Broadway musicals and plays. I found that fun that it starts with “Know Thyself,” and then every sign gets dumber and dumber, so it’s all platitude lyrics.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="E2DJBo">
|
||||
<strong>It took me till the second viewing to realize that Beau’s defense lawyer at the end is standing beneath a sign that says 1-800-DEFENCE on it.</strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l0JtKv">
|
||||
Well, yeah. They clearly just couldn’t get all the numbers they needed.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="R6Vch4">
|
||||
<strong>Let’s talk about the animated “Hero Beau” sequence. How did that come into being? </strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Kci31U">
|
||||
That’s a sequence in which Beau enters a play. He’s hypnotized, and he enters the play in his mind. We knew that there was going to be a lot of stagecraft involved; that was the original idea. Then I realized that I wanted it to be animated as well, or I wanted there to be animated elements that were interacting with the stagecraft.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JC1yv4">
|
||||
I was really obsessed with this stop-motion monstrosity called<em> </em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wolf_House"><em>La Casa Lobo</em></a> by Cristobal Leon and Joaquin Cocina. These Chilean animators were so brilliant. I reached out to them to see if they would want to collaborate. I had already shotlisted and storyboarded the sequence, but it became very clear, pretty early on, that not only should they do all the animation, but because that would be interacting with the stagecraft, they should also be the ones to develop the look of the flats and the sets. We spent a long time in development on that, finding an aesthetic that did not clash with the rest of the film.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RDtXJy">
|
||||
I think I drove them nuts, but it was a lot of fun. I’d love to work with them again.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt="Joaquin Phoenix, in a hat, standing in a field of animated vegetation." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/JeHxWX3UmyEhUMBpHneWcAkqXz8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24583031/beau.jpg"/> <cite>A24</cite>
|
||||
<figcaption>
|
||||
The animated sequence was a collaboration between Aster and Chilean animators Cristobal Leon and Joaquin Cocina, as well as supervisor Jorge Canada Escorihuela.
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="teRRi5">
|
||||
We also enlisted the help of an animation producer, a supervisor, to keep everything organized and on track, and make sure that that was always growing as we were making the rest of the film, because it needed constant attention. His name is Jorge Canada Escorihuela. He was really just essential to that getting made in that way and in the right way. He just understood so well what we were doing and kept that train on the tracks. I love him so much, and I know that Cristobal and Joaquin love him. He really, really was so committed to this. He gave it his whole life. It really was a huge undertaking, to be managing that while we were building out all the other worlds. Every shot of that sequence was a world that we not only had to animate later, but we had to build it and shoot it on a stage. So just getting all of that built was a lot.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tnwdVD">
|
||||
<strong>When the animated sequence started, I scribbled down “dream ballet?” because it reminded me of those very Freudian dream ballets that pop up in the middle of musicals from the ’50s and ’60s. Sometimes they reveal the desires of the main character or retell the story in these mythic terms. Was that where this sequence came from?</strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3HaxuT">
|
||||
Well, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Shoes_(1948_film)"><em>The Red Shoes</em></a> certainly came to mind. I know that I sent the guys <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_Narayama_(1958_film)"><em>The Ballad of Narayama</em></a>, because that is so drawn from kabuki techniques and the artifice is so extreme. What else? We were talking about Karel Zeman, especially <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invention_for_Destruction#:~:text=Invention%20for%20Destruction%20(Czech%3A%20Vyn%C3%A1lez,Arno%C5%A1t%20Navr%C3%A1til%2C%20and%20Miloslav%20Holub."><em>Invention for Destruction</em></a>. We were hoping also just to find a look that was its own.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<div class="c-float-right">
|
||||
<aside id="yWt3zD">
|
||||
<q>“I think the movie very much just is what it is”</q>
|
||||
</aside>
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2Bwgsn">
|
||||
<strong>Something great about this movie, I think, is that it runs against the tendency of contemporary moviegoers to demand that things be puzzles to be solved or mysteries that can be unlocked. </strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Hgg4ac">
|
||||
I agree.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rl9ffI">
|
||||
<strong>With this, it’s about feelings. The pieces are not there to be fitted together into a puzzle.</strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kShTYz">
|
||||
No. If anything, the movie’s like an echo chamber. It’s sort of like a hall of mirrors. I want to encourage a deep engagement with it. I want you to search the movie because there’s a lot that I’ve buried as well, and a lot that I think I imagine will make itself much more clear upon a second viewing, just by knowing where it goes, to watch it again and see, “Oh, right. I guess this is a motif.”
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jdlJkr">
|
||||
I don’t know how obvious those things are or if I was able to bury them into the fabric so that it’s not just … there. I think the movie very much just is what it is.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aimMVC">
|
||||
<em>Beau Is Afraid</em> opens in limited theaters on April 13 and wide on April 20.
|
||||
</p></li>
|
||||
<li><strong>The 100-year-old mistake that’s reshaping the American West</strong> -
|
||||
<figure>
|
||||
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rZFrHma33PJWDF5pvVVKOF_ehxs=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72187160/WyattHersey_Vox_cover_final.0.jpg"/>
|
||||
<figcaption>
|
||||
Wyatt Hersey for Vox
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
What happens if the Colorado River keeps drying up?
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uXxf63">
|
||||
You may have heard this before: The Colorado River, which supplies drinking water to seven states in the US and two in Mexico, is the lifeblood of the American West and beyond. It’s drying up at an alarming rate, threatening cities, industries, agriculture, and energy sources. As it shrinks, rich ecosystems across its 1,450 miles are also disappearing.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0bQrqG">
|
||||
In this issue of The Highlight, Vox’s reporters across the science, health, climate, and Future Perfect teams explore the interconnected causes of this crisis, the startling consequences that are already reshaping life in this important region of the world, and the difficult trade-offs we may need to accept to avert disaster.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="mBBqLq"/>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3hZn6L9MzUJKeupeAiUOvckpryA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24561088/Vox_lede1_final.jpg"/> <cite>Wyatt Hersey for Vox</cite>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<h3 id="vstK5I">
|
||||
<a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23670139/colorado-river-drought-lake-mead"><strong>The worst-case scenario for drought on the Colorado River</strong></a>
|
||||
</h3>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AmpoZ5">
|
||||
One in eight Americans depend on a river that’s disappearing.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Bh9ebg">
|
||||
<em>By Umair Irfan</em>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="8Vwj4F"/>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt="A man in jeans and a checked short-sleeved shirt kneels next to a long row of mounded soil, where small green plants are growing." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_zdjf_XaweXV6p3hidTzRA-ybtE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24564616/John_Boelts_showing_me_soil_moisture_in_farm_of_harper_s_melon.jpg"/> <cite>Benji Jones/Vox</cite>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<h3 id="abZQyd">
|
||||
<a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23648116/colorado-river-lake-mead-agriculture-leafy-greens"><strong>You — yes, you — are going to pay for the century-old mistake that’s draining the Colorado River</strong></a>
|
||||
</h3>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RGE4N6">
|
||||
A huge amount of US food is grown in the desert using water from a river that’s drying up.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="udK1Ak">
|
||||
<em>By Benji Jones</em>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="ExLOAS"/>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt="An illustration of a cow drinking from a stream." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9Up50poXNoEmewDa5hilzp9mrI4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24558268/Vox_WyattHersey_WaterCrisis.jpg"/> <cite>Wyatt Hersey for Vox</cite>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<h3 id="ahfXGw">
|
||||
<a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23655640/colorado-river-water-alfalfa-dairy-beef-meat"><strong>Let’s talk about the biggest cause of the West’s water crisis</strong></a>
|
||||
</h3>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NbVwTw">
|
||||
The Colorado River is going dry … to feed cows.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NvKVAA">
|
||||
<em>By Kenny Torrella</em>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="DALUys"/>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZX2mmMxb0tubwXsAZfO0s8K_giw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24567216/MVP_VOX_LEDE_VALLEY_FEVER.jpg"/> <cite>Millie von Platen for Vox</cite>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<h3 id="vRZoEc">
|
||||
<strong>The devil lurking in the dust (</strong><em><strong>Coming Thursday)</strong></em>
|
||||
</h3>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9ojKUX">
|
||||
How extreme weather is driving a deadly fungus further into the American West
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qb0MwP">
|
||||
<em>By Keren Landman</em>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="tzGWGn"/>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1b5A9ZuRhdKCK0vJ3FA1haN2FPw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24566168/MVP_VOX_NEW_LEDE_1.jpg"/> <cite>Millie von Platen for Vox</cite>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<h3 id="tGkViQ">
|
||||
<strong>These 8 species depend on the Colorado River. What happens as it dries up? </strong><em><strong>(Coming Friday)</strong></em>
|
||||
</h3>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PtIbuL">
|
||||
Wildlife needs water, too.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uk6LGA">
|
||||
<em>By Benji Jones</em>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="XQiqm6"/>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jW6hDf">
|
||||
<strong>CREDITS</strong>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="otp9Bk">
|
||||
<strong>Editors: </strong>Sam Oltman, Brian Resnick, Adam Clark Estes, Bryan Walsh <br/><strong>Copy editors/fact-checkers:</strong> Elizabeth Crane, Kim Eggleston, Tanya Pai, Caitlin PenzeyMoog<br/><strong>Additional fact-checking: </strong>Anouck Dussaud, Sophie Hurwitz<br/><strong>Art direction: </strong>Dion Lee<br/><strong>Audience:</strong> Gabriela Fernandez, Shira Tarlo, Agnes Mazur<br/><strong>Production/project editors:</strong> Lauren Katz, Nathan Hall
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<div id="nOfMPX">
|
||||
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
<div id="G4D8gf">
|
||||
<div id="money_pixel_page_level_exception">
|
||||
|
||||
</div></div></li>
|
||||
</ul>
|
||||
|
||||
<ul>
|
||||
<li><strong>Let’s talk about the biggest cause of the West’s water crisis</strong> -
|
||||
<figure>
|
||||
<img alt="An illustration of a cow drinking from a stream." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cKXrMGVnU5GiGoiN8HRbMFjDCaU=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72164760/Vox_WyattHersey_WaterCrisis.0.jpg"/>
|
||||
<figcaption>
|
||||
Wyatt Hersey for Vox
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
The Colorado River is going dry … to feed cows.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MLx7Nv">
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="o6PZOV">
|
||||
<em>Part of the issue </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23682697/colorado-river-drought-100-year-old-mistake-thats-reshaping-the-american-west"><em><strong>The 100-year-old-mistake that’s reshaping the American West</strong></em></a><em> from </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight?itm_campaign=hloct22&itm_medium=article&itm_source=intro"><em><strong>The Highlight</strong></em></a><em>, Vox’s home for ambitious stories that explain our world.</em>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uDELd9">
|
||||
Last May, 30 miles east of the Las Vegas Strip, a barrel containing a <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/police-body-in-barrel-dumped-in-lake-mead-decades-ago-2570462/">dead body</a> washed up on the shores of Lake Mead, the country’s largest water reservoir. In the following months, more human remains surfaced, along with a World War II-era boat and dozens of other vessels.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RZjjpf">
|
||||
While these discoveries might sound like the opening to a crime thriller, they’re more than just morbid curiosities — they’re flashing warning signs that the Colorado River, which supplies water and hydropower to 40 million Americans, is in crisis.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="USOtPw">
|
||||
Along with Lake Powell 300 miles away, Lake Mead stores water for the lower states along the Colorado River: California, Arizona, and Nevada as well as Mexico and around <a href="https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1177&context=books_reports_studies#:~:text=Ten%20(Havasupai%20Tribe%2C%20Hopi%20Tribe,are%20in%20the%20Lower%20Basin.">20 Indigenous reservations</a>. But a climate change-induced <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/03/western-us-megadrought-climate-change/">“megadrought”</a> has led to <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/colorado-river-flow-dwindles-warming-driven-loss-reflective-snow-energizes-evaporation">higher rates of water evaporation</a> in recent decades and a drastic reduction in water supply, with Lake Mead currently at just <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/weekly.pdf">29 percent capacity</a>. The streamflow on the northern part of the river, which supplies Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and five Indigenous reservations, has fallen <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/colorado-river-flow-dwindles-warming-driven-loss-reflective-snow-energizes-evaporation">20 percent</a> over the last century.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt="A small boat sits in a dry, brushy area in Lake Mead." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/p7uAfO_H__QBqjN9OPhMBySCFmE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24535003/GettyImages_1243436694.jpg"/> <cite>David McNew/Getty Images</cite>
|
||||
<figcaption>
|
||||
A sunken boat has reemerged as unprecedented drought reduces the Colorado River and Lake Mead to critical water levels, on September 20, 2022.
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FLGbhH">
|
||||
Heavy snowfall in the Rocky Mountains this winter should give Lake Powell a <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/nation-world/2023/03/08/rockies-snowy-winter-may-not-mean/">modest boost</a> as it melts, but not enough to assuage fears over the lakes reaching what’s termed “dead pool” status, when water levels drop too low to flow through the dams. To avoid that fate, the federal government has <a href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-01-31/states-miss-deadline-for-agreement-on-colorado-river-water">urged</a> states to cut their water use.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hRPuTC">
|
||||
But despite news stories about drought-stricken Americans in the West taking <a href="https://www.deseret.com/utah/2022/4/15/23027100/brown-lawn-watering-utah-poll-flushing-less-utah-plan-save-water-drought-snowpack-west-summer-dry">shorter showers</a> and <a href="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2022/08/22/most-water-used-outdoors-arizona-conservation/">ditching lawns</a> to conserve their water supply, those efforts are unlikely to amount to much — residential water use accounts for just 13 percent of water drawn from the Colorado River. According to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-0483-z.epdf?sharing_token=AJwsiAn4ynFsZOaK61JDHNRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0NcRI4tUpSOob5OVmynl_awiKQ6ZrpST6zlAMJ4jILQ4slvc4trkjzt_yIgLiHMpXuPzcrqNeL9tqAdgmHDtuZELX4gw1OwOwF8-roOOrpx04H3ImO8WrIXA2iUvRyqCnBXeerYv33BmxjGNdxQt1PjZbiBTr3nlwk_On5a7oKBFgz4Knuht6Hs4gLaii6tV7w%3D&tracking_referrer=www.nationalgeographic.com">research</a> published in <em>Nature Sustainability</em>, the vast majority of water is used by farmers to irrigate crops.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-DRW25VquPs9lkmkr17QDXqdPoI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24535007/fd55j_where_the_colorado_river_s_water_flows__1_.png"/>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0JaIWM">
|
||||
<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mv-2bc9r6yie7-j1CXeabxK64dID7eBbYEf8xeQdo90/edit#gid=0"></a>And when you zoom in to look at exactly which crops receive the bulk of the Colorado River’s water, 70 percent goes to alfalfa, hay, corn silage, and other grasses that are used to fatten up cattle for beef and cows for dairy. Some of the other crops, like soy, corn grain, wheat, barley, and even <a href="https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B1311">cotton</a>, may also be used for animal feed.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XkKKt6SRRPaBaUpyDTLg-6f0vxU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24535012/CEXtZ_the_colorado_river_is_being_drained_to_produce_beef_and_dairy__4_.png"/>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PTVD95">
|
||||
“Meat production is the most environmentally stressful thing people do, and reducing it would make a huge impact on the planet,” said Ben Ruddell, a professor of informatics and computing at Northern Arizona University and co-author of the <em>Nature Sustainability </em>paper, over email to Vox. “We’ve known this for a long time.”
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fnfMWZ">
|
||||
The stress on the West’s water supply due to alfalfa is especially acute in Utah: A staggering 68 percent of the state’s available water is used to grow alfalfa for livestock feed, even though it’s responsible for a tiny 0.2 percent of the state’s income. Last year, the editorial board of the state’s largest newspaper, the Salt Lake Tribune, <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/editorial/2022/12/04/why-its-time-utah-buy-out/">declared</a> that “it’s time for Utah to buy out alfalfa farmers and let the water flow.”
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Xb8nOK">
|
||||
California takes more water from the Colorado River than any other state, and most of it goes to the <a href="https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/01/colorado-river-water/">Imperial Valley</a> in the southern part of the state. It’s one of the most productive agricultural regions in the US, producing two-thirds of America’s vegetables during winter months. But the <a href="https://www.iid.com/home/showpublisheddocument/19940/637806820356170000">majority</a> of the Imperial Valley’s farmland is dedicated to alfalfa and various grasses for livestock.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Qh5h57">
|
||||
In Arizona, <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.azcentral.com%2Fin-depth%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Farizona-environment%2F2022%2F06%2F09%2Farizona-gives-sweet-deal-saudi-farm-pumping-water-state-land%2F8225377002%2F">Phoenix’s backup water supply</a> is being drained to grow alfalfa by Fondomonte, owned by Saudi Arabia’s largest dairy company, which it ships <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/26/opinion/arizona-water-colorado-river-saudi-arabia.html">8,000 miles</a> back to the Middle East to feed its domestic herds. (Water-starved Saudi Arabia <a href="https://www.agroberichtenbuitenland.nl/actueel/nieuws/2018/12/03/ksa-fodder-ban">banned</a> growing alfalfa and some other animal feed crops within its own borders in 2018.) Across the 17 Western states, at least <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0gN1x6sVTc">10 percent</a> of alfalfa is shipped to Asia and the Middle East where meat and dairy consumption is low compared to the US but <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2015/july/growth-in-meat-consumption-for-developing-and-emerging-economies-surpasses-that-for-the-developed-world/">on the rise</a>.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt="A water sprayer irrigates a field of alfalfa in Utah." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lxYD6bSDbj8NB7INF81g2ykC4CI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24535017/GettyImages_1449910802.jpg"/> <cite>Jon G. Fuller/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</cite>
|
||||
<figcaption>
|
||||
Aerial view of a wheel line or sideroll irrigation system watering a field of alfalfa hay near Moab, Utah.
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EPl5p7">
|
||||
A drought is the product of two interlocking factors: supply and demand. We can point to climate change for the drought that’s drying up the water supply that is the Colorado River, but we have to reckon with the fact that the West’s already limited water is primarily used to grow a low-value crop, alfalfa, while cities are left to <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/a-quiet-revolution-southwest-cities-learn-to-thrive-amid-drought">spend heavily</a> on water-saving infrastructure to keep the H2O running and ensure reserves. And ironically, all that alfalfa is used to produce beef and dairy — two food groups that themselves <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22905381/meat-dairy-eggs-climate-change-emissions-rewilding">contribute</a> significantly to climate change. In other words, we’re using water supplies that have been shrunk in part by climate change to produce food that will in turn worsen climate change.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6ESuOb">
|
||||
The West’s water squeeze can be explained by poor planning in its past, but it raises a difficult question for its future: As local and state governments are forced to adapt their water use to a changing climate, do we also need to start thinking about adapting our diets?
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<div id="Mrwir7">
|
||||
<div class="volume-video" id="volume-placement-313">
|
||||
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
<div class="caption">
|
||||
Who’s really using up the water in the west?
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
<h3 id="JLvHiR">
|
||||
Why there are so many water-guzzling farms in the desert
|
||||
</h3>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6IU73y">
|
||||
When I asked John Matthews, executive director of the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation, why there are so many water-intensive farming operations in the desert ecosystem of the Southwestern US, he had a simple answer: If we could start from scratch, we would not have designed the system we have today.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="onCFCD">
|
||||
“I don’t think a farmer would design it this way,” he said.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SgQHog">
|
||||
The West’s water system has its roots in the 1862 federal <a href="https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20200403_R46303_dc37e550a62767d9d6fd117b887583fdf61151a1.pdf">Homestead Act</a>, which gave Western settlers up to 160 acres of land for free if they agreed to improve it and stay on it for at least five years, and later offered even more land at a reduced price if they agreed to farm it. But because there was so little water and irrigation was shoddy, Congress passed the <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/history/borhist.html">Reclamation Act</a> in 1902 to “reclaim” arid land in the West for agriculture. The federal government sold tracts of land to fund massive irrigation damming projects to divert rivers and streams to farms. Armed with cheap land and water backed by federal <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2022/06/history-of-water-rights-in-the-west/">price guarantees</a> — and aided by a warm climate that permitted an expanded growing season — Western settlers began to farm cotton and alfalfa.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt="Around 40 people are digging a ditch in the desert." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zHvuP6MMyvw35rdMNjH4tfDJ0RE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24535033/111_SC_083712_43_0549M.jpg"/> <cite>National Archives</cite>
|
||||
<figcaption>
|
||||
An irrigation ditch under construction at San Carlos Indian Agency, Arizona, in 1886.
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nq5oUN">
|
||||
Choosing to put farms on arid land wasn’t the only short-sighted mistake the region made. In 1922, negotiators representing the seven states that share the river’s water <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/9/23/23357093/colorado-river-drought-cuts">grossly overestimated</a> just how much water it could provide, which locked in over-apportionment and thus overuse.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EBLjME">
|
||||
Of course, government officials at the time also couldn’t foresee a historic, climate change-fueled drought, or the growth of sprawling metropolises like Phoenix and Las Vegas in the decades to come that would compete with agriculture for limited resources. (In 1920, Arizona’s total population <a href="https://www2.census.gov/library/visualizations/2000/dec/2000-resident-population/arizona.pdf">was just</a> 334,000 people — around 20 percent of Phoenix’s <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/phoenixcityarizona/PST045221">current population</a> — while all of Nevada had <a href="https://www2.census.gov/library/visualizations/2000/dec/2000-resident-population/nevada.pdf">only 77,000 people</a>.)
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="28dFiO">
|
||||
And most importantly — and at the heart of the conflict today between California and its fellow Colorado River users — is how water rights were obtained.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="J4QJ92">
|
||||
In the Eastern US, water rights are determined using what’s called the <a href="https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Division/Research/Publications/Bkground/BP03-02.pdf">riparian doctrine</a> — everyone who lives near a body of water has an equal right to use it, and is entitled to a “reasonable use” of it. The Western US, as is the case in so many other areas, does things differently.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1Lnvec">
|
||||
Water rights in the West were determined — under state laws — by what’s called the <a href="http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Po-Re/Prior-Appropriation.html#:~:text=The%20prior%20appropriation%20model%20of,located%20far%20from%20the%20watercourse.">prior appropriation doctrine</a>, which gives senior water rights to whoever first uses the water, a right they retain so long as they continue to use it. And those rights were mostly snatched up by miners during the Gold Rush era of the mid-1800s and farmers in the following decades who came to the West after the Homestead and Reclamation Acts (and some of that <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-southwest/how-native-americans-will-shape-the-future-of-water-in-the-west">water</a> and <a href="https://www.nps.gov/home/learn/historyculture/native-americans-and-the-homestead-act.htm">land</a> was taken from Indigenous tribes). Even in <a href="https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Division/Research/Publications/Bkground/BP03-02.pdf">times of shortage</a>, senior water rights holders — many of them farmers — get priority over latecomers, like those millions of Western urbanites.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OSxTZw">
|
||||
That created repeated conflict — as the old Western <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/lc/phoenix/AZ100/1950/whiskey_drinking_water_fighting.html#:~:text=This%20quote%20is%20attributed%20to,the%20foundation%20remains%20the%20same.">saying</a> goes, “Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting.” Over 150 years after the Gold Rush, fights over the prior appropriation doctrine are as fierce as ever, playing out in communities and between states, like <a href="https://grist.org/regulation/arizona-groundwater-cochise-county-riverview/">Cochise County, Arizona</a>, residents battling a water-guzzling mega-dairy, or the six Colorado River states that have agreed to slash their use to make up for the shortfall while California refuses to commit to necessary reductions. It’s now the Golden State versus everyone else.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IpKPaR">
|
||||
California public officials, like many California farmers, argue that they don’t need to cut their water use so drastically because they hold <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/30/us/colorado-river-water-california-arizona-climate/index.html">senior rights</a>. That’s now up in the air. Earlier this month, the Department of the Interior published a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/11/climate/colorado-river-water-cuts-drought.html">draft analysis</a> detailing three options it can take if states fail to reach an agreement: <a href="https://www.vox.com/science/2023/4/13/23680422/colorado-river-lake-mead-drought-cuts">do nothing, make cuts based on existing water rights, or cut water allotments evenly</a> among California, Arizona, and Nevada.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ng7smx">
|
||||
“This is what we have inherited: a very rigid and complex system,” said Nick Hagerty, an assistant professor of agricultural economics at Montana State University, back in February.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="caICMY">
|
||||
Matthews was blunter: “It is a stupid system, but the problem is that people are really heavily invested in that system.”
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8RDRYn">
|
||||
However, it’s hard to get those who’ve benefited from the system for so long to change. California’s Imperial Valley, home to many alfalfa farms, gets about as much water from the Colorado River as the <a href="https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/01/colorado-river-water/">entire state of Arizona</a> — and farmers in the Valley pay just $20 per acre foot (326,000 gallons). Meanwhile, farmers and residents in nearby San Diego County pay around <a href="https://www.sdcwa.org/member-agencies/rates-charges/">$1,000 or more per acre-foot</a>.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="t0sbgX">
|
||||
Many<strong> </strong>Imperial Valley farmers are reluctant to reduce their use, citing their senior water rights. One farmer who chairs an agricultural water committee for the valley’s water district <a href="https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/01/colorado-river-water/">told Cal Matters</a> that unless the federal government adequately compensates farmers, mandated cuts could be akin to property theft, and blamed water shortages on urban growth and excessive use from junior water rights holders.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="31kJBr">
|
||||
The Imperial Irrigation District now conserves around <a href="https://www.iid.com/water/water-conservation">15 percent</a> of its allocation, though much of that conservation is <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/a-quiet-revolution-southwest-cities-learn-to-thrive-amid-drought">funded by San Diego County</a>, which receives some water from the district.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jI9qfP">
|
||||
Sudden changes to the water supply can <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/03/arizona-farmers-are-slammed-by-water-cuts-in-the-west-amid-drought.html">hit farmers hard</a>, and assistance has taken various forms in recent years — and experts like Matthews want to see them get the help they need to adapt to a different, drier economy. As the US Bureau of Reclamation has reduced the water supply for several states and Mexico, a patchwork of federal and state initiatives have moved forward to compensate farmers to reduce water use.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt="About 10 cows are in foreground of the photo, while dozens or more are behind them, in an outdoor feedlot. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BvzSlhfE5wvLj2xOxt8Y2Bh0Cb4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24535048/GettyImages_526583478.jpg"/> <cite>Sandy Huffaker/Corbis via Getty Images</cite>
|
||||
<figcaption>
|
||||
Cattle at a feedlot in California’s Imperial Valley.
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gt0gyl">
|
||||
Late last year, the Biden administration <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/13/biden-unveils-plan-to-pay-farmers-cities-for-colorado-river-cuts-.html">announced</a> it will use some of the $4 billion in drought mitigation from the Inflation Reduction Act to pay farmers — as well as cities and Indigenous tribes — to cut their water use. Utah lawmakers recently proposed spending $200 million on grants for farmers to invest in promising but costly <a href="https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/utah-state-legislature-turns-focus-to-water-conservation-great-salt-lake">water-saving technologies</a>, while farmers in Southern California have been <a href="https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2021/08/27/california-desert-farmers-paid-38-million-save-colorado-river/5609250001/">paid</a> to skip planting some of their fields.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ST1t9G">
|
||||
But Hagerty says a lot more could be done: “I think it’s incredibly important there be more flexibility in the system.” He wants to see farmers have more leeway to transfer, sell, or lease their water rights to cities. In California, farmers don’t directly hold their water rights and instead are members of irrigation districts that collectively hold those rights. But <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/amid-drought-california-experiments-with-leasing-water-rights">California law</a> often impedes the districts from leasing water, leading some farmers to use water even if it may not be critical to their operations because if they don’t use it, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/use-it-or-lose-it-laws-worsen-western-u-s-water-woes/">they lose it</a>.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l4D95K">
|
||||
One solution he’s proposed is a <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/opinion-colorado-river-interiors-plan-wont-solve-the-colorado-river-crisis-heres-what-will">reverse auction</a>, in which water users make bids to the federal government on how much money they’d accept to forgo a particular amount of water use. But he says any reform will inevitably be incremental because there are so many competing interests at play.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mgXowz">
|
||||
“Policymakers have been hesitant to make any real major changes, and I think that’s partly because this stuff is very politically fraught,” Hagerty said. “There’s a whole lot of different stakeholders to keep happy.”
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<h3 id="V59DPR">
|
||||
Adapting to climate change includes changing what we eat
|
||||
</h3>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NMfcFX">
|
||||
A number of short-term solutions should be enough to help Colorado River states get through the next few years, but in the long term, policymakers and food producers — and us — around the world will need to rethink how we farm and eat in a changing climate. It won’t be enough to simply change farming practices in the Western US, as Ruddell, a co-author of the <em>Nature Sustainability </em>paper, noted to me.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9fItZn">
|
||||
That means altering the demand side of the water supply-demand equation and shifting diets globally to foods that use less H2O, which ultimately means less meat and dairy, as well as fewer <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/water-withdrawals-per-kg-poore">water-intensive tree nuts</a> like almonds, pistachios, and cashews (nut milks, however, require <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/22659/cows-milk-plant-milk-sustainability/">much less water</a> to produce than cow’s milk).
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bgWnva">
|
||||
Agriculture isn’t just the largest user of water in the Southwestern US, it’s the largest globally, consuming <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i7959e/i7959e.pdf">70 percent</a> of freshwater withdrawals. And what we need in the Southwest and beyond isn’t just climate adaptation, but dietary adaptation.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kwz_aMUPDThsjRTFsADR6QhZ67U=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24535090/ajjjI_gallons_of_fresh_water_required_per_pound_of_food_product__1_.png"/>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rjVt2f">
|
||||
Just as policymakers made the Western US into the agricultural powerhouse it is today, despite its lack of something that is generally considered key to farming — water — they can also shape water policy and broader agricultural policy to ensure water security for the tens of millions of Americans west of the Mississippi River. But that will require policy changes that go beyond the dinner table.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="09OYym">
|
||||
The federal government, through <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22298043/meat-antitrust-biden-vilsack">deregulation</a>, <a href="https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2022/02/usda-livestock-subsidies-near-50-billion-ewg-analysis-finds">R&D investments</a>, <a href="https://www.cato.org/commentary/examining-americas-farm-subsidy-problem">subsidies</a>, and <a href="https://foe.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/USDA-Foods-Policy-Brief-2021-v8.pdf">food purchasing</a> (like for public schools and federal cafeterias), heavily favors animal agriculture. Given the meat and dairy lobby’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22379909/big-meat-companies-spend-millions-lobbying-climate">political influence</a> and farm states’ overrepresentation in the Senate, drastic changes to our food supply in the near term, ones that would favor plant-based agriculture, are out of the realm of political possibility. But change is afoot: In March, the Biden administration <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Bold-Goals-for-U.S.-Biotechnology-and-Biomanufacturing-Harnessing-Research-and-Development-To-Further-Societal-Goals-FINAL.pdf">announced goals</a> to bolster R&D for plant-based meat and dairy and other animal-free food technologies. Down the road, climate change may force some state and federal government’s hands to turn those goals into comprehensive agriculture policy. Already, American policymakers are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/31/us/california-water-proposal-colorado-river-climate/index.html">mulling</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/03/arizona-farmers-are-slammed-by-water-cuts-in-the-west-amid-drought.html">making</a> hard choices about water use, pitting crops for cows against water for people.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5MZwnz">
|
||||
There’s no disagreement that if the Colorado River can continue to supply Americans with running water, there will need to be cuts to agricultural use. We can learn from the mistakes made by Western planners in 1922 who overestimated how much water would flow from the Colorado River, and act now to shape food policy to adapt to a warming, drier climate.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RbNG1o">
|
||||
<em>Special thanks to Laura Bult and Joss Fong on the Vox video team, whose extensive research for a November 2022 </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0gN1x6sVTc"><em>video</em></a><em> on this subject contributed to this story.</em>
|
||||
</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>Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s son Pankaj to become Cycling Federation of India president</strong> - Pankaj Singh emerged as the lone candidate for the post of the president of the Cycling Federation of India (CFI); all the 25 members of the CFI executive council will be elected unopposed</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>During Ramzan, street cricket lights up Karachi after midnight</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>Suryakumar Yadav continues to lead ICC T20 rankings</strong> - Suryakumar, who has endured a lean run of late, remained static on the ICC list with 906 rating points, and is over a 100 points ahead of the second placed Mohammad Rizwan (798) of Pakistan</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>Champions League | Rodrygo double eases Real Madrid past Chelsea into semifinals</strong> - Rodrygo netted twice from close range for Real Madrid as Chelsea suffer fourth straight defeat under Frank Lampard; AC Milan defeat Napoli 2-1 on aggregate</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>Asian Champions Trophy is a litmus test for Asian Games: Harmanpreet Singh</strong> - In the previous edition in 2021 held in Dhaka, the Indian team finished with a bronze medal</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>Ambasamudram custodial torture | FIR details horrendous torture suffered by three youth at the hands of suspended IPS officer Balveer Singh</strong> - The three were summoned to the Manimuthar police canteen around 1 p.m. on March 25 and allegedly given Rs. 30,000 each by advocate Thirumalaikumar, Ms. Rajakumari and Mr. Abraham Joseph, which was videographed by special branch constable Rajkumar.</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>Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s son Pankaj to become Cycling Federation of India president</strong> - Pankaj Singh emerged as the lone candidate for the post of the president of the Cycling Federation of India (CFI); all the 25 members of the CFI executive council will be elected unopposed</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>MLA’s convoy attacked by suspected Maoists in Chhattisgarh; no one injured</strong> - A car carrying a Zila Parishad member was fired upon</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>Income Tax officials search properties of Congress leader KGF Babu</strong> - The IT sleuths seized around 5,000 sarees meant for distribution among voters besides a large number of demand drafts</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>Construction of ABC centre nearing completion</strong> - The centre, constructed under the aegis of Alappuzha district panchayat, is expected to give a major boost to the animal birth control programme aimed at curbing the stray dog menace.</p></li>
|
||||
</ul>
|
||||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
||||
<ul>
|
||||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: The Russian ships accused of North Sea sabotage</strong> - Disguised Russian ships are said to be preparing sabotage plans in case of war with Western powers.</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>Macron tries to escape French pension row with street song</strong> - The French leader tries to relaunch his presidency as a video is shared by a group linked to the far right.</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-linked hackers a threat to UK infrastructure, warns minister</strong> - Officials are urging organisations to “act now” to defend themselves against the cyber threat.</p></li>
|
||||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine’s Eurovision 2023 act TVORCHI have war on their mind</strong> - Nigerian-Ukrainian duo TVORCHI met in a chance encounter on the street. Now they’re coming to the UK.</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>What Americans can learn from Denmark on handling debt ceiling crisis</strong> - Only two industrialised nations have debt ceilings - how come only the US fights about it?</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>Can an e-bike’s fat tires be offset by a fat battery?</strong> - A well-implemented electric boost handles some of the worst of ultra-fat tires. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1931954">link</a></p></li>
|
||||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Building telescopes on the Moon is becoming an achievable goal</strong> - The current race to the Moon is opening up opportunities for lunar astronomy. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1932920">link</a></p></li>
|
||||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Dealmaster: New low on 55-inch LG C2 TV and 2021 iPad Pro, and more</strong> - These are the lowest prices we’ve seen on LG’s 55-inch C2 and Apple’s 2021 iPad Pro - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1932287">link</a></p></li>
|
||||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Star Trek fans will finally get a Section 31 movie—with an Oscar-winning lead</strong> - Yeoh will reprise her role as Emperor Philippa Georgiou for a streaming movie. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1932896">link</a></p></li>
|
||||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Hundreds of years after the first try, we can finally read a Ptolemy text</strong> - The original writing was hidden in part by a 19th century attempt to read it. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1932873">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>What do you call a deaf gynecologist?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||||
<div class="md">
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
A lip reader.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/JimmysMomGotItGoinOn"> /u/JimmysMomGotItGoinOn </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12rc9sp/what_do_you_call_a_deaf_gynecologist/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12rc9sp/what_do_you_call_a_deaf_gynecologist/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Boys have a thing and girls don’t.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||||
<div class="md">
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
One November afternoon when my daughter was in kindergarten, I picked her up after school. She bobbed out to the car and crawled into the back seat.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
“What did you do today?” I asked.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
She couldn’t wait to tell me. “We learned that boys are different from girls” she chirped.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
Looking into the rearview mirror, I could just see the top of her head. “My teacher told us that boys have a thing and girls don’t,” she added.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
“Well, yes they do…” I said cautiously.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
I couldn’t think of anything else to say, so we were quiet for a moment. Then she piped up again. “That’s how girls know that boys are boys,” she said. “They see that thing that hangs down and they know that he is a boy.”
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
I mentally calculated the distance home. Our five-minute commute already felt like an hour.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
“Did you know that when the boys see a girl they puff up?”
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
My palms were beginning to sweat.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
“Um…well…” I was still searching for something new to say, to change the subject when she asked, “Why do the girls like the boys to have those things?”
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
Well, I didn’t know what to say. I mean, what woman hasn’t asked herself that question at least once? “Oh, well…um…” I stammered.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
She didn’t wait for my answer. She had her own. “It’s ‘cause it moves when they walk and then the girls see that and that’s when they know they are boys and that’s when they like them. Then the boy sees the girl and he puffs up, and then the girl knows he likes her, too. And then they get married. And then they get cooked.”
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
That last part confused me a bit, but on the whole, I thought she had a pretty good grasp on things.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
As soon as we got home and I pulled into the garage, she hopped out of the car, fishing something out of her school bag.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
“I drew a picture,” she said. “Do you want to see?”
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
I wasn’t sure I did, but I looked at it anyway. I had to sit down.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
There, all puffed up so to speak, looking mighty attractive for the ladies, was a crayon drawing of a great big Tom Turkey. His snood, the thing that hangs down over his beak, the thing that female turkeys find so irresistible, was magnificent. His tail feathers were standing tall and proud.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
She was a little offended that I laughed so hard at her drawing, and I laughed until I cried. But when I told her I loved it … and I did … she got over her pique.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
That was the end of that, for her anyway. But I’m not so lucky. Every year I remember that conversation. And to be honest, I haven’t looked at a turkey, or a man, the same way since.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Waitsfornoone"> /u/Waitsfornoone </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12r3hnu/boys_have_a_thing_and_girls_dont/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12r3hnu/boys_have_a_thing_and_girls_dont/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A boy is born with just a head.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||||
<div class="md">
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
A boy is born with just a head. No neck, body, arms or legs. His parents love him, and vow to give him a life like any other child.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
The boy lives a fulfilling and miraculous life, and after a while, he turns 18, and his father takes him to a bar for his first pint of beer.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
The boy takes his first sip, and after finishing the beer, suddenly his neck pops out.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
“By God!”, his father exclaims. “You’ve grown a neck!” His father urges him to drink another beer, to see if anything else might happen. Without hesitating, the boy drinks another beer. Suddenly, a torso pops out. The entire population of the bar are cheering him on.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
His father and everybody else are urging him to drink more, and with each finished drink pops another body part. First, a pair of arms, then a pair of legs. This continues until his entire body is fully grown.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
“Father, I can’t believe it! I can finally walk. I can use my hands, and my legs. I can even run! Watch!”
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
Without further ado, the boy runs out of the bar, shouting joyfully.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
Suddenly, the boy runs into a busy road, and is unfortunately ran over by a truck.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
The boy died instantly.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
Everybody in the bar is silent - besides the bartender, who says to the boys father;
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
“What a shame. He should have quit whilst he was a head.”
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/PretzelsEqualThursty"> /u/PretzelsEqualThursty </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12r6dvw/a_boy_is_born_with_just_a_head/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12r6dvw/a_boy_is_born_with_just_a_head/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Wife: I’m afraid our Neighbour died</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||||
<div class="md">
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
Husband: Who, Ray?
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
Wife: It’s inappropriate to cheer when someone dies
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
(My 7 year old came up with this joke)
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Suspicious_Airline89"> /u/Suspicious_Airline89 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12rd8ko/wife_im_afraid_our_neighbour_died/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12rd8ko/wife_im_afraid_our_neighbour_died/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What did Neil Armstrong say when no one laughed at his moon jokes?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||||
<div class="md">
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||||
“I guess you had to be there.”
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Cubelock"> /u/Cubelock </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12rnt51/what_did_neil_armstrong_say_when_no_one_laughed/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12rnt51/what_did_neil_armstrong_say_when_no_one_laughed/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||||
</ul>
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
<script>AOS.init();</script></body></html>
|
||||
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Reference in New Issue