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<title>18 March, 2024</title>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="covid-19-sentry">Covid-19 Sentry</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-preprints">From Preprints</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-pubmed">From PubMed</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-patent-search">From Patent Search</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-preprints">From Preprints</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Cell culture differentiation and proliferation conditions influence the in vitro regeneration of the human airway epithelium</strong> -
<div>
The human airway mucociliary epithelium can be recapitulated in vitro using primary cells cultured in an Air-Liquid Interface (ALI), a reliable surrogate to perform pathophysiological studies. As tremendous variations exist between media used for ALI-cultured human airway epithelial cells, our study aimed to evaluate the impact of several media (BEGM, PneumaCult, "Half½" and "Clancy") on cell type distribution using single-cell RNA sequencing and imaging. Our work revealed the impact of these media on cell composition, gene expression profile, cell signaling or epithelial morphology. We found higher proportions of multiciliated cells in PneumaCult-ALI and Half½, stronger EGF signaling from basal cells in BEGM-ALI, differential expression of the SARS-CoV-2 entry factor ACE2, and distinct secretome transcripts depending on media used. We also established that proliferation in PneumaCult-Ex Plus favored secretory cell fate, showing the key influence of proliferation media on late differentiation epithelial characteristics. Altogether, our data offer a comprehensive repertoire for evaluating the effects of culture conditions on airway epithelial differentiation and will help to choose the most relevant medium according to the processes to be investigated such as cilia, mucus biology or viral infection. We detail useful parameters that should be explored to document airway epithelial cell fate and morphology.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.16.584842v1" target="_blank">Cell culture differentiation and proliferation conditions influence the in vitro regeneration of the human airway epithelium</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Protein-based cell population discovery and annotation for CITE-seq data identifies cellular phenotypes associated with critical COVID-19 severity</strong> -
<div>
Technologies such as Cellular Indexing of Transcriptomes and Epitopes sequencing (CITE-seq) and RNA Expression and Protein sequencing (REAP-seq) augment unimodal single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) by simultaneously measuring expression of cell-surface proteins using antibody derived oligonucleotide tags (ADT). These protocols have been increasingly used to resolve cellular populations that are difficult to infer from gene expression alone, and to interrogate the relationship between gene and protein expression at a single-cell level. However, the ADT-based protein expression component of these assays remains widely underutilized as a primary tool to discover and annotate cell populations, in contrast to flow cytometry which has used surface protein expression in this fashion for decades. Therefore, we hypothesized that computational tools used for flow cytometry data analysis could be harnessed and scaled to analyze ADT data. Here we apply Ozette Discovery, a recently-developed method for flow cytometry analysis, to re-analyze a large (&gt;400,000 cells) published COVID-19 CITE-seq dataset. Using the protein expression data alone, Ozette Discovery is able to identify granular, robust, and interpretable cellular phenotypes in a high-throughput manner. In particular, we identify a population of CLEC12A+CD11b+CD14- myeloid cells that are specifically expanded in patients with critical COVID-19, and can only be resolved by their protein expression profiles. Using the longitudinal gene expression data from this dataset, we find that early expression of interferon response genes precedes the expansion of this subset, and that early expression of PRF1 and GZMB within specific Ozette Discovery phenotypes provides a RNA biomarker of critical COVID-19. In summary, Ozette Discovery demonstrates that taking a protein-centric approach to cell phenotype annotation in CITE-seq data can achieve the potential that dual RNA/protein assays provide in mixed samples: instantaneous in silico flow sorting, and unbiased RNA-seq profiling.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.14.584720v1" target="_blank">Protein-based cell population discovery and annotation for CITE-seq data identifies cellular phenotypes associated with critical COVID-19 severity</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Differential Patterns of Cross-Protection against Antigenically Distinct Variants in Small Animal Models of SARS-CoV-2 Infection</strong> -
<div>
Continuous evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) will likely force more future updates of vaccine composition. Based on a series of studies carried out in human ACE2 transgenic mice (K18-hACE2) and Syrian hamsters, we show that immunity at the respiratory tract, acquired through either previous infection or vaccination with an in-house live attenuate virus, offers protection against antigenically distinct variants in the absence of variant spike-specific neutralizing antibodies. Interestingly, immunity acquired through infection of a modern variant (XBB.1.5) was insufficient in preventing brain infection by the ancestral virus (WA1/2020) in K18-hACE2 mice. Similarly, previous infection with WA1/2020 did not protect against brain infection by XBB.1.5. Our results highlight the importance of immune components other than neutralizing antibodies in maintaining protection against new variants in the respiratory tract, but also paint scenarios where a monovalent vaccine based on a contemporary variant may be less effective against the ancestral strain.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.14.584985v1" target="_blank">Differential Patterns of Cross-Protection against Antigenically Distinct Variants in Small Animal Models of SARS-CoV-2 Infection</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>ONE HEALTH APPROACH ON SARS-COV-2 - USING SHEEP AS SENTINEL ANIMALS TO INCREASE FUTURE PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS - a pilot study</strong> -
<div>
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that can infect a number of species of birds and mammals with great zoonotic potential to cross species barriers and cause spill-over events. SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to cause clinical and inapparent disease and mortality in several animals cohabitating with humans. Sheep are also susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and have potential to harbor and spread the virus, as well as develop neutralising antibodies due to similarities of virus-receptor interactions to those in humans. The main aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibodies in sentinel animals after natural exposure to the virus. The serum samples were collected from sheep in Central Portugal, Serra da Estrela region, both prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sheep were kept on dairy farms for production of Serra da Estrela cheese, in small herds and in constant contact with farm workers. The sera were tested using already established SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus systems for multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants including Wuhan, Delta and Omicron. Partial neutralisation activity towards Wuhan and Delta variants was observed, while neutralisating antibody escape was observed in all Omicron variants tested due to the mutations present . Our results indicate that potential SARS-CoV-2 virus cross-species transmission could have been established through contacts between people and animals on sheep farms. Using farm animals as sentinels is of great importance for implementing One Health Approach in zoonotic virus surveillance and control towards increasing future pandemic preparedness.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.15.585163v1" target="_blank">ONE HEALTH APPROACH ON SARS-COV-2 - USING SHEEP AS SENTINEL ANIMALS TO INCREASE FUTURE PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS - a pilot study</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>de Novo Sequencing of Antibodies for Identification of Neutralizing Antibodies in Human Plasma Post SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination</strong> -
<div>
We present a method for sequencing polyclonal IgG enriched from human plasma, employing a combination of de novo sequencing, proteomics, bioinformatics, protein separation, sequencing, and peptide separations. Our study analyzes a single patient's IgG antibody response triggered by the Moderna Spikevax mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. From the sequencing data of the natural polyclonal response to vaccination, we generated 12 recombinant antibodies. Six derived recombinant antibodies, including four generated with de novo sequencing, exhibited similar or higher binding affinities than the original natural polyclonal antibody. Our neutralization tests revealed that the six antibodies possess neutralizing capabilities against the target antigen. This research provides insights into sequencing polyclonal IgG antibodies while highlighting the effectiveness and potential of our approach in generating recombinant antibodies with robust binding affinity and neutralization capabilities. Our proposed approach is an advancement in characterizing the IgG response by directly investigating the circulating pool of IgG without relying exclusively on the B-cell repertoire or population. This is crucial as the B-cell analysis may not accurately represent the circulating antibodies. Interestingly, a large proportion (80 to 90%) of the human antibody sequences generated against SARS-CoV-2 in the literature have been derived solely from B-cell analysis. Therefore, the ability to offer a different perspective is crucial in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the IgG response.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.14.583523v1" target="_blank">de Novo Sequencing of Antibodies for Identification of Neutralizing Antibodies in Human Plasma Post SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Case of Myocarditis, Pericarditis, and Fatal Aortic Dissection following Covid-19 mRNA Vaccination</strong> -
<div>
We present a case study of a 34-year-old male who was in good health prior to his COVID-19 mRNA vaccination. Sixteen days after his first dose, he experienced acute inflammation, sudden thoracic aortic dissection, and pericardial tamponade, rapidly leading to his death. Studies suggest that young males, in particular, appear to be at increased risk of adverse cardiac events following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination. Although the incidence of such complications are believed to be low, we propose that information gaps exist in the criteria and findings that inform both public health agencies and the public on incidence rates of even severe myocarditis and cardiac adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination. This view is shared within many COVID-19 vaccine myocarditis studies and is evident within the findings of this case of Myocarditis, Pericarditis, and Fatal Aortic Dissection presented here.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/xnr5t/" target="_blank">Case of Myocarditis, Pericarditis, and Fatal Aortic Dissection following Covid-19 mRNA Vaccination</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 remodels the Golgi apparatus to facilitate viral assembly and secretion</strong> -
<div>
The COVID-19 pandemic is caused by SARS-CoV-2, an enveloped RNA virus. Despite extensive investigation, the molecular mechanisms for its assembly and secretion remain largely elusive. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 infection induces global alterations of the host endomembrane system, including dramatic Golgi fragmentation. SARS-CoV-2 virions are enriched in the fragmented Golgi. Disrupting Golgi function with small molecules strongly inhibits viral infection. Significantly, SARS-CoV-2 infection down-regulates GRASP55 but up-regulates TGN46 protein levels. Surprisingly, GRASP55 expression reduces both viral secretion and spike number on each virion, while GRASP55 depletion displays opposite effects. In contrast, TGN46 depletion only inhibits viral secretion without affecting spike incorporation into virions. TGN46 depletion and GRASP55 expression additively inhibit viral secretion, indicating that they act at different stages. Taken together, we show that SARS-CoV-2 alters Golgi structure and function to control viral assembly and secretion, highlighting the Golgi as a potential therapeutic target for blocking SARS-CoV-2 infection.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.03.04.483074v3" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 remodels the Golgi apparatus to facilitate viral assembly and secretion</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Exploring associations between the Covid-19 vaccination campaign and fertility trends: A population-level analysis for 22 countries</strong> -
<div>
Background At the turn of 2021-2022, monthly birth rates declined in many higher-income countries. We explore how the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination was associated with this decline. Methods Using an interrupted time series design, we evaluate the impact of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the start of COVID-19 vaccination on seasonally-adjusted monthly total fertility rates in 22 high-income countries. We study the associations between COVID-19 vaccination and fertility by additionally controlling for youth unemployment, stringency index, and vaccination coverage. Results The start of the pandemic had an immediate effect on fertility in most countries, although the size and direction of level changes considerably varied across countries. The impact of COVID-19 vaccination was less all-embracing. A negative association between the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and fertility nine months later was found for ten out of 22 countries. For several countries, the decline was preceded by fertility increase that took place after the onset of the pandemic. Only four of 22 countries had post-vaccination fertility declines that resulted in fertility being on a lower level than what the pre-pandemic trend predicted. Additional control variables changed the associations only little. Conclusions The COVID-19 vaccination campaign contributed to the variation in the short-term fertility trends. Several countries experienced declines following the campaign, however, this decline often returned fertility closer to the pre-pandemic trend. Fertility appears to have responded in short run to vaccination, but only in few cases such that the long-term trajectory is below the pre-pandemic trend.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/46qdw/" target="_blank">Exploring associations between the Covid-19 vaccination campaign and fertility trends: A population-level analysis for 22 countries</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Urban birds’ tolerance towards humans was largely unaffected by increased variation in human levels due to COVID-19 shutdowns</strong> -
<div>
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic dramatically altered human activities, and, during shutdowns, potentially changed human pressures on urban-dwelling animals. Here, we evaluated whether urban birds from five countries (Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Australia) changed their tolerance towards humans (measured as flight initiation distance) during the COVID-19 shutdowns. We collected 6369 flight initiation distance estimates for 147 bird species and found that human numbers in parks (at a given hour, day, week or year - before and during the COVID-19 shutdowns) had a little effect on birds tolerance of approaching humans. Apart from the actual human numbers in the area (hourly temporal scale) - which as expected correlated negatively, albeit weakly, with escape distance - the effect of human activity at other temporal scales centered around zero. The results were similar across countries, for most species or when we restricted our analyses only to species sampled both before and during the COVID-19 shutdowns. As expected, the level of daily human presence in parks (measured by Google Mobility Reports) correlated negatively with the stringency of governmental restrictions (a weekly proxy for human presence) and was overall lower during COVID-19 shutdowns than during the post-shutdown year (2022). Our results highlight the resilience of birds to changes in human numbers on multiple temporal scales, the complexities of linking animal fear responses to human behavior, and the challenge of quantifying both simultaneously in situ.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.15.500232v2" target="_blank">Urban birds’ tolerance towards humans was largely unaffected by increased variation in human levels due to COVID-19 shutdowns</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Escherichia coli grown in cost-effective conical tubes produces more plasmid DNA</strong> -
<div>
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we grew plasmid-transformed Escherichia coli in Falcon round-bottom-polypropylene tubes (F-Round-PP) and isolated plasmid using a Miniprep kit. When obtaining sufficient quantities of F-Round-PP became problematic during the pandemic and the inflation, we grew them using any available tubes. Notably, we observed that plasmid yield from cells grown in a cost-effective Oxford conical-polypropylene tubes (O-Conical-PP) was higher than that from F-Round-PP. We assessed the impact using O-Conical-PP and other conical brand tubes. As a result, the plasmid yield from O-Conical-PP (the list price is nearly 1/3 of F-Round-PP) was 1.5-fold higher than other PP tubes (p&lt;0.001). We propose that researchers may need to re-assess the effectiveness of their laboratory supplies to optimize the budget during this inflationary period.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.13.584835v1" target="_blank">Escherichia coli grown in cost-effective conical tubes produces more plasmid DNA</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Protein nanoparticle vaccines induce potent neutralizing antibody responses against MERS-CoV</strong> -
<div>
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a zoonotic betacoronavirus that causes severe and often lethal respiratory illness in humans. The MERS-CoV spike (S) protein is the viral fusogen and the target of neutralizing antibodies, and has therefore been the focus of vaccine design efforts. Currently there are no licensed vaccines against MERS-CoV and only a few candidates have advanced to Phase I clinical trials. Here we developed MERS-CoV vaccines utilizing a computationally designed protein nanoparticle platform that has generated safe and immunogenic vaccines against various enveloped viruses, including a licensed vaccine for SARS-CoV-2. Two-component protein nanoparticles displaying MERS-CoV S-derived antigens induced robust neutralizing antibody responses and protected mice against challenge with mouse-adapted MERS-CoV. Electron microscopy polyclonal epitope mapping and serum competition assays revealed the specificities of the dominant antibody responses elicited by immunogens displaying the prefusion-stabilized S-2P trimer, receptor binding domain (RBD), or N-terminal domain (NTD). An RBD nanoparticle vaccine elicited antibodies targeting multiple non-overlapping epitopes in the RBD, whereas anti-NTD antibodies elicited by the S-2P- and NTD-based immunogens converged on a single antigenic site. Our findings demonstrate the potential of two-component nanoparticle vaccine candidates for MERS-CoV and suggest that this platform technology could be broadly applicable to betacoronavirus vaccine development.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.13.584735v1" target="_blank">Protein nanoparticle vaccines induce potent neutralizing antibody responses against MERS-CoV</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Self-inhibiting percolation and viral spreading in epithelial tissue</strong> -
<div>
SARS-CoV-2 induces delayed type-I/III interferon production, allowing it to escape the early innate immune response. The delay has been attributed to a deficiency in the ability of cells to sense viral replication upon infection, which in turn hampers activation of the antiviral state in bystander cells. Here, we introduce a cellular automaton model to investigate the spatiotemporal spreading of viral infection as a function of virus and host-dependent parameters. The model suggests that the considerable person-to-person heterogeneity in SARS-CoV-2 infections is a consequence of high sensitivity to slight variations in biological parameters near a critical threshold. It further suggests that within-host viral proliferation can be curtailed by the presence of remarkably few cells that are primed for IFN production. Thus the observed heterogeneity in defense readiness of cells reflects a remarkably cost-efficient strategy for protection.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.12.571279v2" target="_blank">Self-inhibiting percolation and viral spreading in epithelial tissue</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Engineered Migrasomes: A Robust, Thermally Stable Vaccination Platform</strong> -
<div>
The burgeoning abilities of pathogens and tumor cells to evade immune responses underscore the urgent need for innovative vaccination platforms based on a variety of biological mechanisms. The current logistical challenges associated with cold-chain (i.e. low-temperature) transportation particularly impacts access to vaccines in the global south. We recently discovered organelles called migrasomes, and herein we investigate the potential of migrasomes as an alternative vaccination platform. Their inherent stability and their enrichment with immune-modulating molecules make migrasomes promising candidates, but their low yield presents a hurdle. We address this problem through our engineered migrasome-like vesicles (eMigrasomes), which emulate the biophysical attributes of natural migrasomes with substantially improved yield. We show that eMigrasomes loaded with a model antigen elicit potent antibody responses and maintain stability at room temperature. We demonstrate that eMigrasomes bearing the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein induce robust humoral protection against the virus. Our study demonstrates the potential of eMigrasome-based vaccines as a unique, robust, and accessible alternative to traditional methods.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.13.584850v1" target="_blank">Engineered Migrasomes: A Robust, Thermally Stable Vaccination Platform</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>CircRNA-Pro: A Novel Toolkit for High-Precision Detection of Differentially Expressed Circular RNAs and Translatable Circular RNAs</strong> -
<div>
With the increasing discovery of circular RNAs (circRNAs) and their critical roles in gene regulation and disease progression, there is a growing need for more accurate and efficient tools for circRNAs research. In response, we have developed an integrated software suite specifically for circRNAs. This all-in-one tool specializes in detecting differentially expressed circRNAs, including those with the potential to be translated into proteins, and allows for comparing against relevant databases, thereby enabling comprehensive circRNA profiling and annotation. To enhance the accuracy in detecting differentially expressed circRNAs, we incorporated three different software algorithms and cross-validated their results through mutual verification. Additionally, this toolkit improves the effectiveness in identifying translatable circRNAs by optimizing Ribo-seq alignment and verifying against public circRNA databases. The performance of circRNA-pro has been evaluated through its application to public RNA-seq and Ribo-seq datasets on breast cancer and SARS-CoV-2 infected cells, and the results obtained have been validated against previous literature and databases. Overall, our integrated toolkit provides a reliable workflow for circRNA research, facilitating insights into their diverse roles across life sciences.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.13.584785v1" target="_blank">CircRNA-Pro: A Novel Toolkit for High-Precision Detection of Differentially Expressed Circular RNAs and Translatable Circular RNAs</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Mutability and hypermutation antagonize immunoglobulin codon optimality</strong> -
<div>
The efficacy of polyclonal antibody responses is inherently linked to paratope diversity, as generated through V(D)J recombination and somatic hypermutation (SHM). These processes arose in early jawed vertebrates; however, little is known about how immunoglobulin diversity, mutability, and hypermutation have evolved in tandem with another more ubiquitous feature of protein-coding DNA - codon optimality. Here, we explore these relationships through analysis of germline IG genes, natural V(D)J repertoires, serum VH usage, and monoclonal antibody (mAb) expression, each through the lens of multiple optimality metrics. Strikingly, proteomic serum IgG sequencing showed that germline IGHV codon optimality positively correlated with VH representation after influenza vaccination, and in vitro, codon deoptimization of mAbs with synonymous amino acid sequences caused consistent expression loss. Germline V genes exhibit a range of codon optimality that is maintained by functionality, and inversely related to mutability. SHM caused a load-dependent deoptimization of IGH VDJ repertoires within human tonsils, bone marrow, and lymph nodes (including SARS-CoV-2-specific clones from mRNA vaccinees), influenza-infected mice, and zebrafish. Comparison of natural mutation profiles to true random suggests the presence of selective pressures that constrain deoptimization. These findings shed light on immunoglobulin evolution, providing unanticipated insights into the antagonistic relationship between variable region diversification, codon optimality, and antibody secretion; ultimately, the need for diversity takes precedence over that for the most efficient expression of the antibody repertoire.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.13.584690v1" target="_blank">Mutability and hypermutation antagonize immunoglobulin codon optimality</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>Supervised Computerized Active Program for People With Post-COVID Syndrome (SuperCAP Study)</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Post-COVID Condition <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Device: SuperCAP Program <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Fundación FLS de Lucha Contra el Sida, las Enfermedades Infecciosas y la Promoción de la Salud y la Ciencia; Institut de Recerca de la SIDA IrsiCaixa; Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital <br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Utilizing Novel Blood RNA Biomarkers as a Diagnostic Tool in the Identification of Long COVID-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long COVID <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Diagnostic Test: RNA Biomarker Blood Test <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: MaxWell Clinic, PLC <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>Home-Based Circuit Training in Overweight/Obese Older Adult Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis and Type 2 Diabetes</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Aerobic Exercise; Strength Training; Glycemic Control; Blood Pressure; Oxidative Stress; Metabolic Syndrome <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: 12-week home-based circuit training (HBCT); Behavioral: Standard of care (CONT) <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University <br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>RECOVER-AUTONOMIC Platform Protocol</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long COVID; Long Covid19; Long Covid-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: IVIG + Coordinated Care; Drug: IVIG Placebo + Coordinated Care; Drug: Ivabradine + Coordinated Care; Drug: Ivabradine Placebo + Coordinated Care; Drug: IVIG + Usual Care; Drug: IVIG Placebo + Usual Care; Drug: Ivabradine + Usual Care; Drug: Ivabradine Placebo + Usual Care <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Kanecia Obie Zimmerman <br/><b>Enrolling by invitation</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>SVF for Treating Pulmonary Fibrosis Post COVID-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Pulmonary Fibrosis <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: Autologous adipose-derived SVF IV administration <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Michael H Carstens; Ministerio de Salud de Nicaragua; Wake Forest University; National Autonomous University of Nicaragua <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>RECOVER-AUTONOMIC: Platform Protocol, Appendix A (IVIG)</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long COVID; Long Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid19); Long Covid-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin); Drug: IVIG Placebo; Behavioral: Coordinated Care; Behavioral: Usual Care <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Kanecia Obie Zimmerman <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>RECOVER-AUTONOMIC: Platform Protocol, Appendix B (Ivabradine)</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long COVID; Long Covid19; Long Covid-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: Ivabradine; Drug: Ivabradine Placebo; Behavioral: Coordinated Care; Behavioral: Usual Care <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Kanecia Obie Zimmerman <br/><b>Enrolling by invitation</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>Understanding Adaptive Immune Response After COVID-19 Vaccination Boosters to Improve Vaccination Strategies in Vulnerable Groups.</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Other: Analisys of cellular response and humoral response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine booster doses <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria di Negrar <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>COVIDVaxStories: Randomized Trial to Reduce COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Populations of Color</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Vaccine Hesitancy <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: Storytelling; Behavioral: Learn More (Active Comparator) <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: University of Massachusetts, Worcester; Merck Sharp &amp; Dohme LLC <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>An E-health Psychoeducation for People With Bipolar Disorders</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Bipolar Disorder; Psychoeducation; COVID-19 Pandemic <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Other: e-health psychoeducation <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: University of Cagliari; Alessandra Perra <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>Sulfureous Water Therapy in Viral Respiratory Diseases</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long-COVID; Post COVID-19 Condition; Chronic COVID-19 Syndrome; Post Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Other: Inhalation of Sulfurous Thermal Water; Other: Inhalation of Sterile Distilled non-pyrogenic Water <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: University of Roma La Sapienza; Università degli studi di Roma Foro Italico; Queen Mary University of London; Bios Prevention Srl <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>Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Safety and Immunogenicity of COVID-19 Vaccine and Influenza Combination Vaccine</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: CIC Vaccine Co-formulated tNIV2 , SARSCoV-2 rS and Matrix-M Adjuvant; Biological: Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine; Biological: Comparator Influenza Vaccine - Fluarix; Biological: Comparator Influenza Vaccine -Fluarix High Dose; Biological: Placebo 0.9% sodium chloride for injection <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Novavax <br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Evaluation of KGR Prescriptions in Suppressing COVID-19 Infection.</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Coronavirus Disease 2019; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Combination Product: Kang Guan Recipe (Treat); Combination Product: Kang Guan Recipe (Placebo) <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Sheng-Teng Huang <br/><b>Completed</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>Unveiling the Antiviral Capabilities of Targeting Human Dihydroorotate Dehydrogenase against SARS-CoV-2</strong> - The urgent need for effective treatments against emerging viral diseases, driven by drug-resistant strains and new viral variants, remains critical. We focus on inhibiting the human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (HsDHODH), one of the main enzymes responsible for pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis. This strategy could impede viral replication without provoking resistance. We evaluated naphthoquinone fragments, discovering potent HsDHODH inhibition with IC(50) ranging from 48 to 684 nM, and promising…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Targeting G9a translational mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis for multifaceted therapeutics of COVID-19 and its sequalae</strong> - By largely unknown mechanism(s), SARS-CoV-2 hijacks the host translation apparatus to promote COVID-19 pathogenesis. We report that the histone methyltransferase G9a noncanonically regulates viral hijacking of the translation machinery to bring about COVID-19 symptoms of hyperinflammation, lymphopenia, and blood coagulation. Chemoproteomic analysis of COVID-19 patient peripheral mononuclear blood cells (PBMC) identified enhanced interactions between SARS-CoV-2-upregulated G9a and distinct…</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>Soluble ACE2 correlates with severe COVID-19 and can impair antibody responses</strong> - Identifying immune modulators that impact neutralizing antibody responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is of great relevance. We postulated that high serum concentrations of soluble angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (sACE2) might mask the spike and interfere with antibody maturation toward the SARS-CoV-2-receptor-binding motif (RBM). We tested 717 longitudinal samples from 295 COVID-19 patients and showed a 2- to 10-fold increase of enzymatically active…</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>Evaluating Critical Thinking Disposition, Emotional Intelligence, and Learning Environment of Nursing Students: A Longitudinal Study</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: Critical thinking and emotional intelligence did not change, but students favored the online learning environment over the traditional. These findings suggest that nurse educators persevered, adapted, and maintained the quality of the learning environment despite the pandemic. Moreover, the utilization of an online learning environment may have led to enhanced enjoyment and engagement for students, which could potentially result in improved learning outcomes.</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>Asiatic acid cyclodextrin inclusion micro-cocrystal for insoluble drug delivery and acute lung injury therapy enhancement</strong> - CONCLUSION: The micro-sized inclusion cocrystals AA/γCD were successfully delivered into the lungs by pulmonary administration and had a significant therapeutic effect on ALI.</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>Thai traditional medicines reduce CD147 levels in lung cells: Potential therapeutic candidates for cancers, inflammations, and COVID-19</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: UMD and UMM are potential for reduction of CD147 levels which provide a useful information for further development of UM as potential therapeutic candidates for CD147-associated diseases such as cancers, inflammations, and COVID-19.</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>Design, synthesis, and antiviral activity of 1-aryl-4-arylmethylpiperazine derivatives as Zika virus inhibitors with broad antiviral spectrum</strong> - Zika virus (ZIKV) disease has been given attention due to the risk of congenital microcephaly and neurodevelopmental disorders after ZIKV infection in pregnancy, but no vaccine or antiviral drug is available. Based on a previously reported ZIKV inhibitor ZK22, a series of novel 1-aryl-4-arylmethylpiperazine derivatives was designed, synthesized, and investigated for antiviral activity by quantify cellular ZIKV RNA amount using RT-qPCR method in ZIKV-infected human venous endothelial cells…</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 combination of nirmatrelvir and ombitasvir boosts inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication</strong> - Antiviral therapeutics are highly effective countermeasures for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, development of resistance to antivirals undermines their effectiveness. Combining multiple antivirals during patient treatment has the potential to overcome the evolutionary selective pressure towards antiviral resistance, as well as provide a more robust and efficacious treatment option. The current evidence for effective antiviral combinations to inhibit severe acute…</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>Novel nitric oxide donors are coronary vasodilators that also bind to the papain-like protease of SARS-CoV-2</strong> - Several investigational nitric oxide donors were originally created to correct vascular endothelial dysfunction in cardiovascular diseases. These 48 compounds contain an urea-like moiety attached to the well-known NO donors isosorbide 2- and 5-mononitrate. CR-0305 and CR-0202 were synthesized and found to be nontoxic in the cell lines HMEC-1, A549/hACE2 and VeroE6. CR-0305 induced vasodilation in human coronary arteries ex vivo. Since NO can also have antiviral properties, a study of…</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>Interaction between host G3BP and viral nucleocapsid protein regulates SARS-CoV-2 replication and pathogenicity</strong> - G3BP1/2 are paralogous proteins that promote stress granule formation in response to cellular stresses, including viral infection. The nucleocapsid (N) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) inhibits stress granule assembly and interacts with G3BP1/2 via an ITFG motif, including residue F17, in the N protein. Prior studies examining the impact of the G3PB1-N interaction on SARS-CoV-2 replication have produced inconsistent findings, and the role of this…</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>Eucalyptus Oils Phytochemical Composition in Correlation with Their Newly Explored Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Potential: in Vitro and in Silico Approaches</strong> - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the latest arisen contagious respiratory pathogen related to the global outbreak of atypical pneumonia pandemic (COVID-19). The essential oils (EOs) of Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. ficifolia F. Muell., E. citriodora Hook, E. globulus Labill, E. sideroxylon Cunn. ex Woolls, and E. torquata Luehm. were investigated for its antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. The EOs phytochemical composition was determined using GC/MS analysis….</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>Drug repurposing screen to identify inhibitors of the RNA polymerase (nsp12) and helicase (nsp13) from SARS-CoV-2 replication and transcription complex</strong> - Coronaviruses contain one of the largest genomes among the RNA viruses, coding for 14-16 non-structural proteins (nsp) that are involved in proteolytic processing, genome replication and transcription, and four structural proteins that build the core of the mature virion. Due to conservation across coronaviruses, nsps form a group of promising drug targets as their inhibition directly affects viral replication and, therefore, progression of infection. A minimal but fully functional replication…</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>Favipiravir ameliorates bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis by reprogramming M1/M2 macrophage polarization</strong> - Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease that seriously endangers human life and health. The pathological anatomy results of patients who died of the COVID-19 showed that there was an excessive inflammatory response in the lungs. It is also known that most of the COVID-19 infected patients will cause different degrees of lung damage after infection, and may have pulmonary fibrosis remaining after cure. Macrophages are a type of immune cell population with pluripotency 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>Potent HPIV3-neutralizing IGHV5-51 Antibodies Identified from Multiple Individuals Show L Chain and CDRH3 Promiscuity</strong> - Human parainfluenza virus 3 (HPIV3) is a widespread pathogen causing severe and lethal respiratory illness in at-risk populations. Effective countermeasures are in various stages of development; however, licensed therapeutic and prophylactic options are not available. The fusion glycoprotein (HPIV3 F), responsible for facilitating viral entry into host cells, is a major target of neutralizing Abs that inhibit infection. Although several neutralizing Abs against a small number of HPIV3 F epitopes…</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>2-Bromopalmitate depletes lipid droplets to inhibit viral replication</strong> - The global impact of emerging viral infections emphasizes the urgent need for effective broad-spectrum antivirals. The cellular organelle, lipid droplet (LD), is utilized by many types of viruses for replication, but its reduction does not affect cell survival. Therefore, LD is a potential target for developing broad-spectrum antivirals. In this study, we found that 2-bromopalmitate (2 BP), a previously defined palmitoylation inhibitor, depletes LD across all studied cell lines and exerts…</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Crime Rings Stealing Everything from Purses to Power Tools</strong> - In Los Angeles, a task force of detectives is battling organized retail theft, in which boosted goods often end up for sale online—or commingled on store shelves with legitimate items. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/03/25/the-crime-rings-stealing-everything-from-purses-to-power-tools">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How Quinta Brunson Hacked the Sitcom with “Abbott Elementary”</strong> - With “Abbott Elementary,” the comedian and writer found fresh humor and mass appeal in a world she knew well. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/03/25/quinta-brunson-profile">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How Julien’s Auctions Leads the Booming Market in Celebrity Memorabilia</strong> - As the art market cools, Julien’s Auctions earns millions selling celebrity ephemera—and used its connections to help Kim Kardashian borrow Marilyn Monroe’s J.F.K.-birthday dress. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/03/25/how-juliens-auctions-leads-the-booming-market-in-celebrity-memorabilia">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Has Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine Improved His Standing in Russia?</strong> - As Russians go to the polls, the economy is booming and the public feels hopeful about the future. But the politics of Putinism still depend on the absence of any means to challenge it. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-weekend-essay/has-putins-invasion-of-ukraine-improved-his-standing-in-russia">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Mike Johnson, the First Proudly Trumpian Speaker</strong> - Though he has adopted a “nerd constitutional-law guy” persona, he is in lockstep with the law-flouting former President. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/03/25/mike-johnson-profile">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Could a gambling “error” cost you March Madness?</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Houston Cougars guard Jamal Shead, wearing the number 1, drives the ball against Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Joe Toussaint, number 6, during the second half of a mens NCAA basketball game at the Fertitta Center on January 17." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ImOyBBYnVzsVOWLFwsaXqZdLguE=/0x0:4277x3208/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73214693/1944980305.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
March Madness is here. And that means the biggest mainstream sports betting event of the year is, too. | Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Sports betting is about the odds, but sports books decide whether the odds are fair.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KgQ7b8">
The 2024 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are here.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mh5uoK">
That means it’s time to fill out a bracket, to suddenly become the biggest fan of a school you’d never heard of before this week, or to coat your body in team colors before every game (depending on your obsession level, of course).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Cabcvt">
For many Americans, it’s also time to place some bets.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iibFUu">
This is “the most mainstream betting event of the year,” says David Forman, vice president of research at the American Gaming Association (AGA). “It used to be office pools and squares contests.” Now, with the explosion in <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy/2023/9/7/23835684/nfl-kickoff-2023-opening-day-sports-gambling-betting-odds-fantasy-football">legalized gambling</a> across the US, he says, “people in almost 40 states have the ability to bet on the tournament legally, and we think they’re going to bet about $2.7 billion on the men’s and women’s tournaments.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="09fjwd">
If that estimate has you staggering, you obviously don’t watch all that much live sports. Because if you did, you would have already heard from a slew of <a href="https://www.vox.com/celebrities">celebrities</a>, like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRTeR2kVikI">Jamie Foxx</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eMEhyxc1UM">Rob Gronkowski</a>, selling you on the virtues of major sports books like BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings. You also must’ve missed the headlines around the <a href="https://www.vox.com/super-bowl">Super Bowl</a> last month, when the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/super-bowl-gambling-records-rcna137449">AGA estimated</a> that 67.8 million Americans would bet roughly $23.1 billion.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XCKFmp">
Sports betting is bigger than ever, and 2023 was the <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/resources/aga-commercial-gaming-revenue-tracker/">biggest year yet</a>. But as more states legalize gambling, effective regulation hasn’t always kept pace. And it’s left some bettors <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2023/11/draftkings-pay-out-bets-october-third-party-system-error">wondering</a> whether their bet <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@briandefranco/video/7264231116662508846">will be honored</a>.
</p>
<h3 id="eA9dQ8">
Tournament betting is going to be wild
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wSuaVe">
One of the reasons March Madness is such a big-time event for sports betting is the number of games being played — sometimes at the same time. In just the first four days of the tournament, there will be 48 games.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3WiJe0">
“The thing that makes it very bettable is the structure of the tournament,” says Jack Andrews, co-founder of Unabated Sports, a subscription service that purports to help sports bettors increase their chances of winning. “On the East Coast, the tournament starts at noon on Thursday [March 21]. And then you have game after game after game after game after game. It’s basically a betting bonanza for sports bettors from noon to midnight.”
</p>
<aside id="F2AF15">
<div>
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</aside>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2L3rkj">
In-game betting and <a href="https://theathletic.com/2537514/2022/01/25/prop-bets-how-to-bet-a-prop-best-prop-bets/">prop bets</a> are other forms of wagering that are very popular during the tournament, “especially betting the over/unders,” says David Vinturella, an instructor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas who developed and taught the school’s first ever semester-long course in sports betting this year and who previously worked for a major sports book.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DDzvtE">
He explains over/under bets like this: Betting the over is wagering that a team will score more than sports books’ predicted figure. Betting the under is the opposite.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="955zJ9">
Another well-liked prop bet Andrews describes is betting on the first team to score 15 points. “That is hugely popular in Vegas,” he says. “That’s not really betting on the game, you know — instead you’re just betting on which team gets off to a hot start.”
</p>
<h3 id="xNBjgV">
If you win, will your bet be honored?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BoxPks">
With millions of people expected to place bets with sports books throughout the tournament, can bettors be sure they’ll be paid out if their long-shot bet wins big?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tYUikh">
The answer to that question was a bit murky in the days before legal sports betting, when offshore sports books were the only game in town, says Andrews. “That’s the difference between the US and offshore sports books. If you have a problem offshore, the offshore sports book says, ‘I’m judge, jury, and executioner, and you’re out.’ Whereas in the states with regulated sports betting, [regulators] are supposed to make sure it’s a fair bet.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sgfGdt">
Still, there have been stories recently about <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/01/17/sports-bets-errors-payouts/">sports books</a> in the US <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/betting/story/_/id/39274104/a-13-minute-error-erosion-bettor-bookie-relationship">voiding bets</a> that would’ve paid out big to bettors. The sports books use a clause in the fine print of their regulations saying that if there’s an obvious error with the odds in the bet (a.k.a. “palpable error”), they can cancel your bet.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UZqOGZ">
Critics say this is unfair because the sports books have multiple chances to prevent a soon-to-be-voided bet from ever happening. “The bet is offered by the sports book, the bettor offers a wager to the sports book, and then the sports book accepts the wager,” says Andrews. “They had three chances to stop the bet from ever happening.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="I6rIpC">
Vinturella says that voided bets definitely happen, but that they are rare. “The process of getting a license and securing the license for a mobile sports betting company is not easy or cheap. So sports books don’t want to do anything that would jeopardize that license.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="g9QFbA">
Andrews agrees that most bettors will never have an issue with a sports book over a palpable error. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, sports books just eat the loss,” he says. But Andrews thinks regulators often have a “pro-operator” approach because “they’re funded by the operators,” and “they don’t want DraftKings to lose $1 billion because of something that should have never been out there.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vPsFya">
That’s why regulators should have clear sets of rules for determining what is and isn’t a clear mistake.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ILNW22">
A good example is New Jersey, where the Division of Gaming Enforcement has a two-step process for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fanduel-bet-new-jersey-82000-2018-9">deciding whether the error was palpable</a>. Step one: Was the bet legal to begin with? If so, good. If not, the bet doesn’t count. Step two: Was there a risk of losing? If so, the wager stands. If there’s no risk, then the bet is voided because it must’ve been a mistake.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aZ7Rg5">
It’s that sort of easy-to-follow process that will let bettors trust regulators and confidently participate in the fast-growing billion-dollar industry — ultimately benefiting the sports books, too.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yH5b6A">
<em>This story appeared originally in </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/today-explained-podcast"><em><strong>Today, Explained</strong></em></a><em>, Vox’s flagship daily newsletter. </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/pages/today-explained-newsletter-signup"><em><strong>Sign up here for future editions</strong></em></a><em>.</em>
</p></li>
<li><strong>17 astounding scientific mysteries that researchers can’t yet solve</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Illustration of a person looking through binoculars, with a star field behind them." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/612TjEfWs-lPiqb2P-W8OzcRIcY=/422x0:2955x1900/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73212951/GettyImages_1530562630.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
What is the universe made out of? How should we define death? Where did dogs come from? And more!
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4j5YMp">
Three years ago, Vox launched <a href="https://www.vox.com/unexplainable/"><em>Unexplainable</em></a>, a podcast about unanswered questions and what we learn when we explore the unknown. There’s a line I think about all the time from our very first episode.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zn7dMV">
“Whatever we know is provisional,” <a href="https://campuspress.yale.edu/priya/">Priya Natarajan</a>, a Yale physicist, told us about research on dark matter. But the sentiment also applies to science overall. “It is apt to change. What motivates people like me to continue doing science is the fact that it keeps opening up more and more questions. Nothing is ultimately resolved.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qtvTH4">
<em>Unexplainable</em> isn’t about how scientists don’t know <em>anything</em>. Science is a process of narrowing a gap between the questions we have and the capabilities of our tools and know-how to answer them. In many cases, that gap appears closed. No one doubts, for instance, the existence of gravity.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="faINu4">
But even then, it is a scientist’s job to have<a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/1/4/17989224/intellectual-humility-explained-psychology-replication"> intellectual humility,</a> or at least to be open to the idea that there’s still a piece missing — as there is with <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/08/cern-confirms-hints-of-hypothetical-particle-have-disappeared/">gravity</a> — knowing the results could just end up confirming what they thought in the first place.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="b981vZ">
Really, science is about a big question: How do we know when we’ve completely learned something?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PngHOE">
What this series has taught us is that answering the question is a journey. Sometimes the stories on that journey are exciting — like what happens<strong> </strong>when NASA launches a<a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/22664709/james-webb-space-telescope-launch-date-december-science-hubble"> staggeringly powerful observatory into space</a>. Sometimes they are frustrating, especially when answers to a question are held back by powerful forces like <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/hu/podcast/the-mysteries-of-endometriosis/id1554578197?i=1000532358838">scientific funding</a>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/22360363/replication-crisis-psychological-science-accelerator">perverse incentives</a>, or <a href="https://www.vox.com/unexplainable/24093231/leah-hazard-womb-today-explained-menstruation-menstrual-effluent-uterus-endometriosis-fibroids">stigma</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hF0m9q">
Most often, though, the stories are deeply human: We ask questions because we’re trying to <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/22947671/the-five-senses-touch-hearing-taste-smell-podcast-explainers">understand our imperfect bodies,</a> our <a href="https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/23329291/animals-extinction-lost-species">beautiful but fragile world,</a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/science/24040534/jwst-galaxies-big-bright-mystery-black-holes-cosmology">our place in the universe</a> just a bit better.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="y1lleF">
We’re drawn to questions because<strong> </strong>they are optimistic. They invite us to dream of a better world in which they are answered, where the gaps between questions and our capabilities to answer them are smaller. Scientific knowledge is a gift we can give the future. It’s worth getting right.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Puf9oa">
Here are some of the questions that astounded us the most.
</p>
<h3 id="8IFTOC">
<ol type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">What is the universe made out of?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-left">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7SRIjoBUyBuccbewFiR1KUJyqYU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22053291/heic1506f.jpg"/> <cite>NASA</cite>
<figcaption>
Shown in blue on the image is a map of the dark matter found within a galaxy cluster.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4TGBVq">
If you go outside on a dark night, in the darkest places on Earth, you can see as many as 9,000 <a href="https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-resources/how-many-stars-night-sky-09172014/">stars</a>. They present as tiny points of light, but in reality, they are massive infernos. And while these stars seem astonishingly numerous to our eyes, they represent just the tiniest fraction of all the stars in our galaxy, let alone the universe.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ws9TMb">
All the stars in all the galaxies in all the universe barely even begin to account for all the stuff out there. Most of the matter in the universe is unseeable, untouchable, and, to this day, undiscovered.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5s2ZSQ">
Scientists call this unexplained stuff “dark matter,” and they believe there’s five times more of it in the universe than normal matter — the stuff that makes up you and me, stars, planets, black holes, and everything we can see in the night sky or touch here on Earth. It’s strange even calling all that “normal” matter because, in the grand scheme of the cosmos, normal matter is the rare stuff. But to this day, no one knows what dark matter is.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UK6L3C">
So, how might scientists actually “discover” it?
</p>
<div id="gY6cfC">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7IBYRG">
<em><strong>Further reading:</strong></em><em> </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/21537034/dark-matter-unexplainable-podcast">Dark matter holds our universe together. No one knows what it is.</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="O8Jst4"/>
<h3 id="Aec0L3">
<ol start="2" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">How did life start on Earth?<strong> </strong></li>
</ol></h3></li>
<div class="c-float-right">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Drawing of a unicellular organism." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wJ9gbTnsB2kYpEQARS4_hZa1lnA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24467042/857129344.jpg"/> <cite>DeAgostini/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Even single-celled organism can be incredibly intricate. So how did the first one form?
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GASTE3">
For decades, scientists have been trying to re-create in labs the conditions of early Earth. The thinking is, perhaps if they can mimic those conditions, they will eventually be able to create something similar to the first simple cells that formed here billions of years ago. From there, they could piece together a story about how life started on Earth.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AJR8HG">
This line of research has demonstrated some stunning successes. In the 1950s, scientists Harold Urey and Stanley Miller <a href="https://nature.berkeley.edu/garbelottoat/?p=582">showed</a> that it’s possible to synthesize the amino acid glycine — i.e., one of life’s most basic building blocks — by mixing gases believed to have filled the atmosphere billions of years ago and adding heat and simulated lightning.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xlpvu0">
Since then, scientists have been able to make lipid blobs that look a lot like cell membranes. They’ve gotten RNA molecules to form, which are like simplified DNA. But getting all these components of life to form in a lab and assemble into a simple cell — that hasn’t happened.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GPQ8Si">
So what’s standing in the way? What would it mean if scientists succeeded in creating life in a bottle? They could uncover not just the story of the origin of life on Earth, but come to a shocking conclusion about how common life must be in the universe.
</p>
<div id="RxhWeX">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0hPcKr">
<em><strong>Further reading: </strong></em><a href="https://www.vox.com/unexplainable/23616700/unexplainable-mysteries-life-earth">3 unexplainable mysteries of life on Earth</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="j4XWKh"/>
<h3 id="By9nDy">
<ol start="3" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">How did dogs evolve from wolves?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-left">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A close-up on a wolf’s face." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Y1L7Cr_UJZRnmltsiepMS-wAkVw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24822845/1531243236.jpg"/> <cite>Christian Charisius/picture alliance via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
A young wolf stands in its enclosure at Eekholt Zoo in Germany.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="u1qPwF">
Wolves and dogs are nearly genetically identical, sharing 99.9 percent of their DNA (and are more similar to each other than <a href="http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=5474">we are to our close animal relatives, like chimps</a>), yet they behave differently. Wolves “still have all of their natural hunting behaviors which dogs don’t have,” Kathryn Lord, a scientist who studies the evolution of behavior, says. “In the wolves, everything you greatly fear seeing in a dog pup is totally normal.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YhnxyS">
Scientists still don’t know what precisely caused wolves and dogs to diverge from one another some 20,000 years ago. There are two main hypotheses. Either we humans domesticated wolves through a painstaking and dangerous process (possibly involving breastfeeding wolf pups!), or the wolves, essentially, domesticated themselves by venturing closer and closer to our trash (i.e., food).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dAgmXU">
The answer is more than just trivia. “A better understanding of how this might have happened long ago might give us a better understanding also to how animals and plants and such today might be able to — or not able to — adapt to us,” Lord says.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="U35JXF">
And to find out, Lord has been playing with some puppies:
</p>
<div id="fW3RYZ">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nI8zdt">
<em><strong>Further reading: </strong></em><a href="https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/22928965/gray-wolves-endangered-species-john-vucetich">How gray wolves divided America</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="tfaZzd"/>
<h3 id="EMw5Os">
<ol start="4" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Can animals feel grief?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-right">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="An orca swimming." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/D5iw7XiUGqPEA4jGbAo0RGXfyVw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24822850/1090587404.jpg"/> <cite>Olivier Morin/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
An orca chases herrings on January 14, 2019, in the Reisafjorden fjord region, near the Norwegian northern city of Tromso in the Arctic Circle.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UH9dDM">
In 2018, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/orca-family-grief/567470/">a mother orca</a> carried the carcass of her dead calf for 17 days, covering thousands of miles of ocean. The journey inspired <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/12/us/orca-whale-not-carrying-dead-baby-trnd/index.html#:~:text=An%20apparently%20grieving%20female%20orca,days%20after%20the%20baby's%20birth.">many media reports</a>, but also, one big question: Was this mother orca grieving?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uRhD3v">
Similar stories have popped up across the animal kingdom: of a dog refusing <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5643773/faithful-dog-capitan-cemetery-master-argentina/">to leave its deceased owner’s grave</a>, of elephants apparently convening in “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/17/science/elephants-mourning-grief.html">mourning</a>,” of geese that <a href="https://birdsandwetlands.com/do-geese-mourn/">appear to grieve the loss of a mate</a> and refuse to eat.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ynKuuy">
Though it’s easy to look at these behaviors and assume these animals experience a human-like version of grief, the science of studying animal emotion and death behaviors is much trickier. Some scientists suggest it’s not possible to know the interior life of an animal. Others say there’s a lot to be learned about the evolutionary history of grief if we go with the assumption that this is grief.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YcbMHD">
“There’s a principle in science of parsimony that was to say if something evolved in one species, it’s very unlikely that, you know, it didn’t also evolve in other species,” says Jessica Pierce, a bioethicist.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oOQ9WB">
On <em>Unexplainable</em>, Pierce and two other researchers help us think through this thorny question: What can we learn from animal reactions to death?
</p>
<div id="FOswgg">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4sdK5T">
<em><strong>Further reading: </strong></em><a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/7/20/20700775/fish-pain-love-emotion-animal-cognition-study">Breakups really suck, even if you’re a fish</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="MKxfYC"/>
<h3 id="M3C480">
<ol start="5" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">What will animals look like in the future?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-left">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="An illustration of a dodo-like bird, a large praying mantis, and an aquatic rat." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jlEq3swrKTJ_Qy-t9SQseLQHDYU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22941782/zoofinal_lede.jpg"/> <cite>Amanda Northrop/Vox</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9QnIdl">
It’s impossible to completely predict how evolution will play out in the future, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try. Reporter Mandy Nguyen asked biologists and other experts to weigh in: What would animals look like a million years from now?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F6gWyk">
The experts took the question seriously. “I do think it’s a really useful and important exercise,” Liz Alter, professor of evolutionary biology at California State University Monterey Bay told Nguyen. In thinking about the forces that will shape the future of life on Earth, we need to think about how humans are changing environments right now.
</p>
<div id="cO0lq8">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ke4GCR">
<em><strong>Further reading:</strong></em><em> </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/22734772/future-animals-evolution-unexplainable">The animals that may exist in a million years, imagined by biologists</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="eNxP9w"/>
<h3 id="xMP776">
<ol start="6" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">What’s the secret to a great romantic relationship?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-right">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="An illustration of a chalkboard covered in formulas with a valentine heart superimposed in the middle." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zkcRf9Wdeb7sAaEdfHY6b4UJGFQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23226574/GettyImages_588495757.jpg"/> <cite>Getty Images/Westend61</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yy7jwF">
Scientists grapple with the same relationship questions matchmakers, <a href="https://www.vox.com/e/22675070">romance authors</a>, poets, and anyone who has ever been single do.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Iu4naS">
“The big mystery is — do you really know who you want?” says <a href="https://psych.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/daniel-conroy-beam">Dan Conroy-Beam</a>, a University of California Santa Barbara psychologist who studies relationship formation. Single people often have an imagined perfect partner, but is this person really the one who will make them happy?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ihKF0C">
The question seems simple, but it’s not trivial. A lot of time, energy, and heartache goes into finding solid relationships. “In a lot of senses, who you choose as a partner is the most important decision you’ll ever make,” Conroy-Beam says. “That’s going to affect your happiness, your health, and your overall well-being.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="e9btR7">
Scientists don’t have all the answers, and they often disagree on which answers are even possible. But I found that their hypotheses — along with some advice from matchmakers and relationship coaches — can help us think through how love starts and how to maintain it once it’s found.
</p>
<div id="BCrVuY">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="24YE8b">
<em><strong>Further reading:</strong></em><em> </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2022/2/9/22914378/the-science-and-mystery-of-love">What science still can’t explain about love</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="LFOsIG"/>
<h3 id="gpiKrD">
<ol start="7" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Where the heck does our moon come from?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-left">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TNMVfW8YW4JpCLWQ6yxsyWSgKSc=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23630261/GettyImages_1354421254.jpg"/> <cite>HUM Images/Universal Images Group</cite>
<figcaption>
This view from the Apollo 11 spacecraft shows the Earth rising above the moon’s horizon.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MJuHfK">
Before the moon landings, scientists thought they knew how the moon came to be, assuming it formed a lot like other planets did: Debris and dust leftover from the formation of the sun essentially clumped together to form rocky worlds like Earth and the moon.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="h9uk5L">
But then, Apollo astronauts brought samples back from the lunar surface, and those rocks told a totally different story.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y2qXox">
“Geologists had found that the moon was covered in a special kind of rock called anorthosite,” <em>Unexplainable</em> producer Meradith Hoddinott explains on the show. “Glittery, bright, and reflective, this is the rock that makes the moon shine white in the night sky. And at the time, it was thought, this rock can only be formed in a very specific way: magma.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AtjJcA">
The indication there was magma means the moon must have formed in some sort of epic cataclysm: “Something that poured so much energy into the moon that it literally melted,” Hoddinott says. Scientists aren’t precisely sure how it all played out, but each scenario is a cinematic story of fiery apocalyptic proportions.
</p>
<div id="xFpdL3">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MfS8fm">
<em><strong>Further reading:</strong></em> <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/6/21/18677691/apollo-anniversary-moon-rock-lunar-sample-geology">How Apollo moon rocks reveal the epic history of the cosmo</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="wasHa4"/>
<h3 id="apNAuo">
<ol start="8" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">How does sound become hearing?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-right">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A man wearing headphones." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CkIGphn1OvfmjmVgtJJUilmn0Gg=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25337565/GettyImages_1129342275.jpg"/> <cite>Getty Images/iStockphoto</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5kLfv4">
Sound enters our ears, light enters our eyes, chemicals splash up in our nose and mouth, and mechanical forces graze our skin. It’s up to our brains to make sense of what it all means and create a seamless conscious experience of the world.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TV4E9j">
In the 1970s, psychologist <a href="https://deutsch.ucsd.edu/psychology/pages.php?i=101">Diana Deutsch</a> discovered an audio illusion that made her feel like her brain was a little bit broken. “It seemed to me that I’d entered another universe or I’d gone crazy or something … the world had just turned upside down!” Deutsch recalls on <em>Unexplainable</em>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0xAa4x">
Like the <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/20978285/optical-illusion-science-humility-reality-polarization">visual illusions that trick our eyes</a> into seeing impossible things, the audio illusion Deutsch discovered in the 1970s fooled her ears. Sometimes illusions make us feel like, as Deutsch says, something is off with our minds. But really, these misperceptions show how our brains work.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rZIVa8">
Illusions teach us that our reality isn’t a direct real-time feed coming from our ears, eyes, skin, and the rest of our bodies. Instead, what we experience is our brain’s best guess.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6pRI4a">
But how do our brains do this? And how can scientists use that information to help people, invent new tools, or understand ourselves better?
</p>
<div id="1ivpKz">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7uQLfx">
<em><strong>Further reading: </strong></em><a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/22947671/the-five-senses-touch-hearing-taste-smell-podcast-explainers">What science still doesn’t know about the five senses</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="lby7v0"/>
<h3 id="U52lr1">
<ol start="9" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Why don’t doctors know more about endometriosis?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-left">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Durga Puja Preparations In Kolkata, India" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CQns9fHzVerrM5E5SccsTFBQC0A=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25337619/1701274698.jpg"/> <cite>Sudipta Das/NurPhoto via Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PjuDZq">
In people with endometriosis, a disease in which tissue similar to what grows inside the uterus grows elsewhere in the body. It’s a chronic condition that can be debilitatingly painful. Yet doctors don’t fully understand what causes it, and treatment options are limited.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QrweOt">
Worse, many people with endometriosis find that doctors can be dismissive of their concerns. It can take years to get an accurate diagnosis, and research into the condition has been poorly funded.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NGnJmB">
Vox reporter Byrd Pinkerton highlighted how frustrating it can be to suffer from an often-ignored, chronic condition. “It’s just so, so, so soul-crushing to just live in this body day in and day out,” one patient told Pinkerton.
</p>
<div id="0Rg2j3">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LLHS43">
<em><strong>Further reading:</strong></em><strong> </strong><a href="https://www.vox.com/unexplainable/24093231/leah-hazard-womb-today-explained-menstruation-menstrual-effluent-uterus-endometriosis-fibroids">Menstrual fluid’s underexplored medical treasures</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="TYN35r"/>
<h3 id="YDPRdH">
<ol start="10" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Is there anything alive in the human poop left on the moon?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-right">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TPTG3di_J_WlVee1dW3u3B04C4w=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23630269/21473328149_edd472022d_o.jpeg"/> <cite>NASA</cite>
<figcaption>
A bag of astronaut detritus left on the moon in 1969.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="T2JhXB">
During the Apollo moon missions, astronauts went to the moon and, to save weight for returning to Earth, they dumped their waste behind. Across all the Apollo missions, astronauts left 96 <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/3/8/8163259/moon-objects-weird">bags</a> of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/12/the-trash-weve-left-on-the-moon/266465/">human waste</a> on the moon, and they pose a fascinating astrobiological question.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8AlgWS">
Human waste — and in particular, feces — is teeming with microbial life. With the Apollo moon landings, we took microbial life on Earth to the most extreme environment it has ever been in. Which means the waste on the moon represents a natural, though unintended, experiment.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NRQ3AI">
The question the experiment could answer: How resilient is life in the face of the brutal environment of the moon? And for that matter, if microbes can survive on the moon, can they survive interplanetary or <a href="https://twitter.com/DrPhiltill/status/1098619425916362753?s=19">interstellar travel</a>? If they can survive, then maybe it’s possible that life can spread from planet to planet, riding on the backs of asteroids or other such space debris.
</p>
<div id="UTtpDh">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hcD6mq">
<em><strong>Further reading: </strong></em><a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/3/22/18236125/apollo-moon-poop-mars-science">Apollo astronauts left their poop on the moon. We gotta go back for that shit.</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="iLJ47Z"/>
<h3 id="EUe7U1">
<ol start="11" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Was there an advanced civilization on Earth before humans?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-left">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/oeOlnkPLlMS1jDDI5mq2TUf7SuQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23630260/GettyImages_1316974877.jpg"/> <cite>Science Photo Libra/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Illustration of the supercontinent Gondwana, a landmass that was fully formed by around 550 million years ago and began to break up about 180 million years ago.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lgGJ1E">
Many scientists have long wondered: Is there intelligent life out in the deep reaches of space? Climate scientist Gavin Schmidt and astrophysicist Adam Frank have a different question: Was there intelligent life in the deep reaches of Earth’s history? Could we find evidence of an advanced non-human civilization that lived perhaps hundreds of millions of years ago, buried in the Earth’s crust?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SBUnRL">
This is not strictly a “solar system” mystery, but it is cosmic in scope. At the heart of it, Schmidt and Frank are asking: How likely is an intelligent life form on any planet — here or in the deepest reaches of space — to leave a mark, a sign that they existed? And for that matter: Hundreds of millions of years from now, will some alien explorers landing on Earth be able to find traces of humans if we’re long, long gone?
</p>
<div id="mwNd90">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5GCPem">
<em><strong>Further reading: </strong></em><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-astrobiology/article/silurian-hypothesis-would-it-be-possible-to-detect-an-industrial-civilization-in-the-geological-record/77818514AA6907750B8F4339F7C70EC6">The Silurian hypothesis: Would it be possible to detect an industrial civilization in the geological record?</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="2geAwB"/>
<h3 id="Cw4xU5">
<ol start="12" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">What is the definition of “life”?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-right">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A close-up photograph of the face of a fuzzy black bird of prey with a blobby orange growth over it’s beak." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4OL6pe8LxoAscf4KveeV6235TC0=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25337570/456761468.jpg"/> <cite>Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
A king vulture, native to the jungles of Central and South America, on display at the Los Angeles Zoo on October 6, 2014.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2rFo38">
We know life when we see it. Flying birds are clearly alive, as are microscopic creatures like tardigrades that scurry around in a single drop of water.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kufd34">
But do we, humans, know what life fundamentally is? No.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="H4WSWE">
“No one has been able to define life, and some people will tell you it’s not possible to,” says New York Times columnist and science reporter Carl Zimmer. It’s not for a lack of trying. “There are hundreds, hundreds of definitions of life that scientists themselves have published in the scientific literature,” he says.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GA3DHh">
The problem is, for every definition of life, there’s a creature or perplexing life-like entity that just sends us right back to the drawing board.
</p>
<div id="sBjO29">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ynM0gw">
<em><strong>Further reading: </strong></em><a href="https://www.vox.com/unexplainable/23637531/what-is-life-scientists-dont-agree">What is life? Scientists still can’t agree.</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="E50LxQ"/>
<h3 id="07SBKf">
<ol start="13" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">How should we define death?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-left">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A parking meter with a one-hour time limit and its red flag that reads “time expired.”" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/PSoSqDsbrvUjQEffwbLscXKIta8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25337647/GettyImages_a0028_000177.jpg"/> <cite>Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kSwOk1">
Death used to be fairly self-evident. Someone stopped breathing, their heart stopped beating — they were dead. But new technologies have forced us to ask: When is someone actually dead?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZPiRoR">
Now, new research is raising a further question: Might it even be possible, in some instances or for just a brief moment, to reverse death? It sounds outlandish, but researchers at Yale University describe how they were able to partially revive disembodied pigs’ brains several hours after the pigs’ death.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="E9PfyQ">
If this technology progresses, could it redefine death?
</p>
<div id="FoosFn">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PAIT13">
<em><strong>Further reading:</strong></em><strong> </strong><a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/8/6/17635098/jahi-mcmath-2018-brain-death-definition">There’s a surprisingly rich debate about how to define death</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="85A7ph"/>
<h3 id="RLQRCx">
<ol start="14" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">What did dinosaurs sound like?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-right">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="The skeleton of a dinosaur." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XjJjKh_n5ar1atCZqXkIhy_o9DQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24760475/1258998202.jpg"/> <cite>Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
A life-size dinosaur model is seen on display at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, California.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vOwYCB">
What would it be like to be near a dinosaur? From fossil evidence, scientists can get a decent sense of what these ancient creatures looked like. But they still don’t know what they would have sounded like. Whereas hard tissues like bone can fossilize and leave us information about dinosaur stature and shape millions of years later, soft tissues — like the muscle and cartilage that help generate sound — do not fossilize as readily.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OMyrTw">
Many Hollywood depictions of dinosaur roars are not based in scientific reality (the T-Rex roar in Jurassic Park is partially based on <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-animals-hiding-in-a-t-rexs-roar/">an elephant</a>. A mammal! Dinosaurs were reptiles!). So where do scientists start in trying to imagine realistic dinosaur noises? They look to dinosaurs’ closest relatives alive on Earth today.
</p>
<div id="NN41uX">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bNR0Wq">
<em><strong>Further reading:</strong></em><em> </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/unexplainable/2022/8/24/23318134/dinosaur-roar-science-birds-crocodiles-paleontology">What did dinosaurs actually sound like? Take a listen.</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="dJbCHY"/>
<h3 id="mWwWzJ">
<ol start="15" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Is there such a thing as perfect internet encryption?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-left">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Illustration of a computer chip in the shape of a padlock with glowing lines radiating from it in the four cardinal directions." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WNUQWofYKSiYrSLdXXaedvon2Kc=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25337589/GettyImages_1457931898.jpg"/> <cite>Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TQch2e">
Today’s internet is built on a series of locks and keys that protect your private information as it travels through cyberspace. “Encryption is basically like this cloak that wraps your private information,” <em>Unexplainable</em>’s Meradith Hoddinott says on the show. If someone intercepts your message as it travels around the web, “it just looks like random static”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KGQR2P">
But there’s a fear: With increases in computing power, it’s possible that one day all these locks can be broken.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ggVSEE">
So cryptographers are trying to probe deep, complicated mathematical theory. They want to know: Could a perfect, unbreakable “lock” even exist?
</p>
<div id="WqJFas">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x9XEbg">
<em><strong>Further reading: </strong></em><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/19/1081389/unbreakable-encryption-quantum-computers-cryptography-math-problems/">Inside the quest for unbreakable encryption</a> at MIT Tech Review
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="6zoboC"/>
<h3 id="WxPxTM">
<ol start="16" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Is it safe to use weed during pregnancy?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-right">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Illustration of a headless pregnant body whose hand is holding a lit cigarette." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nK0TZac1FAQB1BsF24yrfOhZFtU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24645103/GettyImages_1094956880.jpg"/> <cite>Getty Images/fStop</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QHp0dP">
There is really good research out there that shows that if a parent drinks too much alcohol during pregnancy, it can have clear <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/alcohol-use.html"><strong>consequences for the child</strong></a>, affecting everything from their weight and size to their cognitive abilities, vision, and hearing. There is also good evidence that smoking cigarettes <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/3/12/18260001/smoking-pregnant-sids-suid"><strong>can harm</strong></a> a fetus.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="T1M6Eg">
As Vox reporter Keren Landman found in recent reporting, by contrast, the consequences of cannabis use are less obvious. The studies that have been done have had <a href="https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/can-marijuana-use-during-pregnancy-harm-baby"><strong>mixed results</strong></a>. Researchers aren’t entirely clear on whether cannabis use affects birth weights, and while there are some connections drawn between cannabis use in pregnancy and attention, hyperactivity, and aggression in kids, these results are also not clear-cut.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gauZkk">
In spite of these mixed results, Landman found that cannabis use in pregnancy is still heavily penalized in states across the US — even in states where the drug is legal. Pregnant parents sometimes use cannabis to help them cope with morning sickness or other pregnancy symptoms, but in many states, they can have their children taken away by child protective services, or even be <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2022/01/weed-cannabis-safety-pregnancy-breastfeeding.html"><strong>arrested and jailed</strong></a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kiv6AS">
Why is there such a mismatch between the science and the policy? And how can we improve both, and make parents feel safe discussing cannabis use with their providers?
</p>
<div id="B1LUfw">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="k7Pack">
<em><strong>Further reading: </strong></em><a href="https://www.vox.com/science/23732852/weed-pregnancy-prenatal-marijuana-cannabis-safety-state-policies">Is weed safe in pregnancy?</a>
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="i4hFta"/>
<h3 id="FLXsjV">
<ol start="17" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">How will <em>everything</em> end?
</li></ol></h3>
<div class="c-float-left">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bywiBbQ0Shkc34FBAYqRPkBdCEI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24371303/STScI_01G8H1NK4W8CJYHF2DDFD1W0DQ.png"/> <cite>NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO</cite>
<figcaption>
The first image released from the Webb space telescope.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="r44iAA">
In the early 1900s, <a href="https://www.aavso.org/henrietta-leavitt-%E2%80%93-celebrating-forgotten-astronomer"><strong>Henrietta Leavitt</strong></a>, a Massachusetts-born “computer” who worked at the Harvard College Observatory, <a href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1908AnHar..60...87L"><strong>published a discovery that</strong></a><strong> </strong>may sound small but is one of the most important in the history of astronomy: She found a way to measure the distance to certain stars.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VrjbS4">
Over time, scientists kept building on Leavitt’s ruler to measure the universe. As they used these measuring tools, their understanding of the universe evolved. They realized it was far bigger than previously thought, there are billions of galaxies, and it’s expanding: Those galaxies are moving farther and farther away from one another.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="s7mSQZ">
Astronomers also realized that the universe had a beginning. If galaxies are moving away from one another now, it means they were closer together in the past — which led scientists to the idea of the Big Bang.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iJgtm2">
It also led them to realize that the universe may, eventually, end.
</p>
<div id="9CmdCS">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zEZpyn">
<em><strong>Further reading:</strong></em><em> </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/unexplainable/22547100/henrietta-leavitt-cosmic-ruler-podcast">How scientists discovered the universe is really freaking huge</a>
</p>
<h3 id="tqiHfy">
There are more than 100 episodes of the <em>Unexplainable</em> podcast. Find the complete archive <a href="https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/unexplainable?selected=VMP5390481926">here</a>.
</h3>
<li><strong>The messy legal drama impacting the Bravo universe, explained</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A blond woman wearing a black, spaghetti-strap mini dress and a black choker necklace, sits on an armchair with her legs crossed and her hands clasped over one knee." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fLmwR9MsGx8_nqJdd7istQJn3k8=/0x0:2667x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73212866/GettyImages_1239938060.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Leah McSweeney on <em>Watch What Happens Live</em> on April 5, 2022. | Charles Sykes/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Reality stars are suing Bravo (and each other) while wrestling with their own reality.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dkKlbI">
<em>Suits</em> may be having a moment, but when it comes to compelling legal drama, Bravo has had the TV genre on lock. The past few years have been rife with court cases: <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2023/1/6/23542202/jen-shah-real-housewife-sentencing-78-months">Jen Shah’s fraud case</a> and subsequent <a href="https://www.vox.com/prison-sentencing">prison sentencing</a> made <em>Real Housewives of Salt Lake City</em> appointment TV, while Erika Jayne’s ex-husband’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/8/12/22620854/rhobh-erika-jayne-lawsuit-true-crime">embezzlement case</a> — the disbarred attorney stands accused of stealing from the relatives of airplane crash victims — gave <em>Real Housewives of Beverly Hills</em> one of its buzziest storylines in years.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ejFZky">
However, the same court drama viewers have become accustomed to watching on Bravo is currently affecting the network off-screen, as several ex-Bravolebrities are laying out behind-the-scenes grievances with producers through legal means.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BJsgan">
A <a href="https://deadline.com/2024/01/brandi-glanville-sexual-assaulted-accusation-caroline-manzo-lawsuit-real-housewives-girls-trip-1235806304/">sexual harassment lawsuit</a> against Bravo filed by former <em>Real Housewives of New Jersey</em> star Caroline Manzo appears to be stalling a season of the Peacock spinoff <em>Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip</em>. Meanwhile, former <em>RHOBH</em> star Brandi Glanville, Manzo’s alleged assailant, is threatening to sue Bravo for its treatment of her following the controversy. Additionally, ex-<em>Real Housewives of New York</em> cast member Leah McSweeney is suing Bravo and <em>Real Housewives</em> executive producer Andy Cohen for discrimination and retaliation. (She’s also accused Cohen of doing cocaine with Real Housewives, <a href="https://people.com/andy-cohen-demands-leah-mcsweeney-retract-false-offensive-claims-lawsuit-8606157">which could become a war of its own</a>.) Shortly after McSweeney’s filing, Cohen’s attorney, Orin Snyder, responded with a letter, claiming her complaint was “littered with false, offensive, and defamatory statements.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HBYBfV">
There’s also former <em>Vanderpump Rules</em> star Rachel Leviss, who’s surprisingly not attempting to sue Bravo <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2023/6/2/23745691/scandoval-vanderpump-rules-reunion-episode-2-ariana-madix">post-Scandoval</a>. Rather, she’s brought a <a href="https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/scandoval-lawsuit-rachel-leviss-suing-tom-ariana-revenge-porn-1235926660/">lawsuit</a> alleging eavesdropping and revenge porn against her co-stars Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix, regarding an explicit FaceTime call Sandoval recorded, which exposed the affair.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tfwxmO">
This isn’t the first time Bravo has been legally confronted over the way shows are made. In 2022, <em>Real Housewives of Atlanta</em> OG NeNe Leakes <a href="https://deadline.com/2022/08/rhoa-nene-leakes-lawsuit-bravo-andy-cohen-racist-show-environment-1235097973/">sued Bravo for racial discrimination</a> (she later dropped it). And last year, former <em>RHONY</em> star Bethenny Frankel made somewhat inconsistent and confusing efforts toward a “reality reckoning,” which mostly manifested in a podcast series. However, her outspokenness about pay disparity, unsafe working conditions, and the general power dynamic between reality stars and producers has clearly had a ripple effect in the Bravo community.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Gv6DUO">
But as the Real Housewives universe continues to expand and grow in popularity, stars of these programs are finally wondering who’s responsible for their own reality.
</p>
<h3 id="zGPJWA">
Which reality stars are suing Bravo right now?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pU3qlR">
During last year’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2023/11/9/23953723/sag-aftra-strike-end">SAG-AFTRA</a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2023/9/24/23888673/wga-strike-end-sag-aftra-contract">WGA</a> strikes, Frankel announced her efforts toward a reality-TV <a href="https://www.vox.com/unions">union</a> in a <a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/bethenny-frankel-reality-union-strike-1235674531/">Variety<em> </em></a>interview. In August, defense lawyers Mark Geragos and Bryan Freedman, reportedly representing Frankel and other reality stars, sent NBCUniversal (which owns Bravo and Peacock) <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/08/porn-violentce-claims-bethenny-frankel-lawsuit-reality-tv-nbcuniveral-bravo-1235454964/">a formal request</a> to preserve documents potentially relevant to a lawsuit. In it, they accused the <a href="https://www.vox.com/media">media</a> company of “grotesque and depraved mistreatment” and covering up “acts of sexual violence.” (An NBCUniversal spokesperson responded that the company is “committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace” and takes “timely, appropriate action” toward complaints.) Since then, Frankel’s <a href="https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/bethenny-frankel-says-shes-not-suing-bravo-but-wants-network-changes/">claimed</a> she’s “not hiring lawyers” nor suing Bravo but helping other aggrieved reality stars seek justice. While not the first to confront reality producers over working conditions, she seems to have provided fellow Bravolebs a framework for addressing the power dynamics in their workplaces.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7bzVgg">
On January 26, <a href="https://deadline.com/2024/01/brandi-glanville-sexual-assaulted-accusation-caroline-manzo-lawsuit-real-housewives-girls-trip-1235806304/">Deadline</a> reported that Manzo was suing Bravo and its affiliated companies — NBCUniversal, Shed Media, Forest Productions, Warner Bros. Entertainment, and Peacock TV — for “encouraging” and “allowing” Glanville to sexually harass her during the filming of the Morocco-set season of <em>Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip</em>. In the <a href="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/brandi-glanville-nbcu-bravo-rh-suit.pdf">complaint</a>, Manzo’s attorneys detail that Glanville allegedly “[held] MANZO down with her body” and “thrust her tongue in MANZO’s mouth” during a party. When Manzo got up to go to the bathroom, she claims that Glanville followed her and continued to assault her.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sJgCpu">
Strikingly, Manzo is not suing Glanville for <a href="https://www.vox.com/sexual-harassment">sexual harassment</a> or assault. Instead, her lawsuit seeks to hold Bravo responsible for hiring Glanville despite her “prior deviant sexual proclivities and sexually harassing conduct” as well as “ply[ing] GLANVILLE with copious amounts of alcohol so that she would act outrageous.” She’s seeking unspecified damages.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Caroline Manzo poses for a photo in-front of a blue backdrop bearing the words BravoCon 2022 at the Manhattan Center in New York City on October 14, 2022. She has short gray hair, and wears large emerald and gold jewelry, statement eyeglasses with maroon frames, and a silk blouse with a bold orange, pink, turquoise, and yellow floral print." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0Ib_jfBJGZJDVkeDsqHADYeeNks=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25338257/GettyImages_1435948799.jpg"/> <cite>Santiago Felipe/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Former <em>Real Housewives of New Jersey</em> cast member Caroline Manzo at BravoCon 2022 in New York City.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yUahpI">
Alcohol is also relevant in McSweeney’s complaint, which is already proving to be a larger point of contention among fans. Before she filed court documents, the streetwear founder had spoken publicly about producers’ alleged disregard for her and other cast members’ sobriety on <em>RHONY </em>and season three of <em>RHUGT</em> in a <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/10/real-housewives-bravo-reckoning">Vanity Fair exposé</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4GBcVR">
In her lawsuit, McSweeney accuses Bravo and its third-party producers of “engaging in guerrilla-type psychological warfare intended to pressurize [her] into a psychological break and cause [her] to relapse.” Most of her accusations focus on producers’ alleged failure to accommodate her “bipolar, depression, and anxiety disorders,” in addition to her alcohol addiction. In her complaint, she references an incident where she was allegedly prohibited from leaving filming to visit her dying grandmother or else be terminated.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sHfxuA">
Critical commenters on social media have argued that it is McSweeney’s personal responsibility to maintain her own sobriety. But Dan Braverman, an employment law attorney at Romano Law, says her addiction to alcohol can be deemed “a disability under federal, state, and local discrimination laws.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bXM9UF">
“This would necessitate that McSweeney be provided reasonable accommodations and not be discriminated against or fired for that reason,” he told Vox. While Braverman notes that McSweeney’s status as a contract worker would typically complicate this situation, in New York, where McSweeney has filed her complaint, the <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/assets/cchr/downloads/pdf/materials/Independent_Contractor_One_Pager.pdf">City Human Rights Law</a> says that all independent contractors “have the right to receive reasonable accommodations for needs related to disabilities.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vDnMvh">
Still, some viewers say that McSweeney’s claims are undermined by her past behavior on the franchise. In her first season of <em>RHONY</em>, she says she started drinking again six months prior to filming. A clip of McSweeney encouraging her <em>RHUGT </em>cast members to drink because they were boring her has <a href="https://x.com/nosmokenomore/status/1764521237693472780?s=20">since resurfaced</a>. Naysayers also <a href="https://x.com/writergal_06/status/1764023659306303635?s=20">point</a> <a href="https://x.com/dramabananna/status/1762692862288724198?s=20">out</a> that she chose to return to Bravo following her negative experiences on <em>RHONY</em>. While this doesn’t automatically disprove her claims — people return to unpleasant job situations out of necessity — it could be used against her in court, according to Braverman.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="C99vt6">
“If McSweeney voluntarily chose to enter this environment again by rejoining the show and encouraging the behavior she is now alleging was discriminatory, the defense could argue that she contributed to some or all of her damages,” he said.
</p>
<h3 id="WPJDrn">
Who’s to blame for reality?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nG9gMK">
Still, the overwhelmingly critical response to McSweeney’s claims reflects a moral quandary that’s always undermined the pleasure of viewing <a href="https://www.vox.com/reality-tv">reality TV</a> — especially in the Bravo universe.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5B6BQP">
That dilemma has become more pronounced as high-stakes, “earth-shattering” drama has increasingly become the norm and desired outcome on Bravo. But after an explosive cheating scandal that incites cyberbullying or a storyline that culminates in <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2023/11/02/rhoc-star-shannon-beador-sentenced-dui-case-3-years-probation/">a DUI</a>, who’s responsible for the devastation that’s left behind?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pHBEKK">
As demonstrated by Manzo, McSweeney, Leakes, and Frankel, that question of accountability is partially a legal matter regarding what reality performers are owed. As Braverman noted, most reality stars are independent contractors — not employees, who are more thoroughly protected under federal laws. Nevertheless, legality doesn’t always overlap with <em>morality.</em> Nor do the current state of employment laws negate the ethical problem of reality performers being overworked, underpaid, mistreated, or placed in harmful work environments.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WG0Xzm">
Still, the point at which producers are expected to intervene when, say, a Real Housewife has too much to drink remains murky. At the very least, it should probably happen when someone, as Manzo’s alleging, is committing a crime against another person. But what about when someone is destroying their own life? How does production proceed when, unlike McSweeney, a reality star isn’t even aware that they could potentially be an addict and can also continue their alcohol consumption off-camera?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eGMWLh">
The issue has presented itself with <em>Real Housewives of Orange County</em> cast member Shannon Beador, who <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2023/11/02/rhoc-star-shannon-beador-sentenced-dui-case-3-years-probation/">received a DUI</a> last year following a hit-and-run and was sentenced to three years of probation. For several seasons now, including the latest season 17, Beador’s drunken behavior has been a point of concern amongst her castmates, and she’s repeatedly denied having a problem.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LOQVzQ">
This type of personal wreckage makes for “good” TV, which is ultimately good for Bravo. Likewise, producers and editors have seemingly played into Beador’s drinking storyline, drawing comedy from her habit of making inebriated phone calls to her fellow Housewives and forgetting them the next day. Shortly after her DUI arrest, she was also permitted to attend Bravo’s annual convention, BravoCon — her presence being somewhat of a draw for the event. There, she <a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/shannon-beador-dui-arrest-sentence-bravocon-1235779725/">announced</a> that she completed “28 days of behavioral wellness” with an alcohol specialist.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KhLnKY">
Beador has been a thoroughly compelling and enjoyable person to watch outside her troubling drinking habits. However, her story arc represents the risk and subsequent discomfort of capturing someone’s life over a long period of time, which can often illuminate a pattern of dangerous habits and poor decision-making. It’s different from watching a competition show like<em> The Bachelor</em> and <em>Love Island</em> where cast members are placed in a temporary, more controlled setting. On more loosely structured, slice-of-life shows like <em>Real Housewives </em>or <em>Vanderpump Rules, </em>there is an understanding that the cast is partially narrativizing their own lives.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CGjOk8">
It’s common knowledge that these plots are produced and edited to varying degrees. But in the case of having a seven-month-long affair with your close friend’s life partner, for example, those facts can’t really be manipulated. This reality makes Leviss’s lawsuit post-Scandoval a little harder to swallow.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Four people, two men and two women, stand arm and arm, smiling and posing for a photograph. Tom Sandoval wears a satin rose-pink suit and black shirt; Rachel Leviss wears a black mini dress with knee high boots; Ariana Madix wears a form-fitting beige mini dress; Tom Schwartz wears a baseball cap and t-shirt." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/R4qxpDwK3CO2ORz1mYmlYwpAsRY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25338270/GettyImages_1353347066.jpg"/> <cite>Araya Doheny/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
<em>Vanderpump Rules</em> stars Ariana Madix, Tom Sandoval, Rachel Leviss, and Tom Schwartz at Hotel Cafe in 2021 in Los Angeles, California.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tit007">
Following the scandal, Leviss decided to forgo filming the subsequent season 11. Instead, she launched a podcast called <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/rachel-goes-rogue/id1719155638"><em>Rachel Goes Rogue</em></a>, detailing her side of the controversy. She also appeared on<em> </em><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/5FdtiZzNGHcMEExEi3YQfl"><em>Just B with Bethenny Frankel</em></a>, where she discussed the machinations behind her so-called “villain edit.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YKb01q">
Without downplaying the potential harm Madix and Sandoval may have caused in this dirty FaceTime debacle, it’s hard not to view her lawsuit as an attempt to regain control of a narrative where she inarguably cast herself as a villain. Plenty of Bravolebrities are already doing this <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/24048539/housewives-slc-finale-reality-von-tease-monica-social-media">by way of podcasts and tell-all interviews</a>. But Leviss’s lawsuit represents a new method in which Bravolebs may be handling the dissatisfaction and humiliation they experience on their shows in the future and are already presently doing.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qMz0sX">
For now, it’s unclear whether Madix actually distributed the video, and if she did, whether it was with an intent to harm Leviss. What’s more firmly laid out in the complaint, though, is a power dynamic where Bravo and other <em>Vanderpump Rules</em> cast members benefited from her bad decisions. Overall, it seems like reality stars and fans are still reconciling whether this is an ethical issue or just the inherent bargain of doing reality TV. Maybe it’s both.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fqNloo">
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7GqIi5">
</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>IOA dissolves ad-hoc committee for wrestling, WFI to take charge</strong> - The IOA said that the decision was also guided the successful conduct of the selection trials for next month’s Olympic qualifying tournament for which the panel collaborated with WFI</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>‘Rohit will have his hand on my shoulders’: Hardik Pandya on taking up MI captaincy</strong> - Pandya admitted his move of leaving the Gujarat Titans’ captaincy and replacing Rohit at the helm in Mumbai Indians did upset a section of fans.</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>WPL Final | Lacked self-belief in pressure situations last year, this season it stayed intact: Smriti Mandhana</strong> - Former RCB skipper Virat Kohli, who is back in India for the IPL, congratulated Smriti Mandhana and the team following the eight-wicket triumph in the WPL final</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>Third ODI against Bangladesh | Sri Lanka wins toss, bats first</strong> - Sri Lanka levelled the series with a three-wicket victory in the second game following a six-wicket loss in the opener.</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>FA Cup | Man United edge out Liverpool in extra-time thriller to enter semifinals</strong> - Manchester United will play Coventry City in the semifinals while Manchester City and Chelsea face each other</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>NCP received its largest single-day donation of electoral bonds while in power</strong> - The party received Rs 10 crore on January 11, 2022, the most it had received on any single-day</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>UN agency says ‘famine is imminent’ in Gaza; aid distribution is virtually impossible because of Israeli restrictions</strong> - In its latest report, the World Food Programme has said that virtually everyone in Gaza is struggling to get enough food and around 2,10,000 people in northern Gaza are in Phase 5, the highest, which refers to catastrophic hunger</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>I will come out of Mysuru palace to listen to the people, says Yaduveer</strong> - If elected, I’ll discharge my duties as any other MP, engaging with the public and reaching out to them on different platforms besides remaining accessible to them any time of the year</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Lok Sabha polls 2024 | NDA finalises seat-sharing agreement in Bihar</strong> - The announcement was made by BJP Bihar in-charge Vinod Tawde in New Delhi.</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>Watch | The strategies of the BJP and Congress | Lok Sabha elections 2024</strong> - Three noteworthy and significant points on the general elections</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>Predicting Putin’s landslide was easy, but what comes next?</strong> - The Russian president will get a confidence boost from the tightly controlled election, says Steve Rosenberg.</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>West condemns Russian ‘pseudo-election’ as Putin claims landslide win</strong> - No credible opposition candidate was allowed to stand in the vote which could see Putin in power until 2030.</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>Putin names Navalny and claims he agreed swap</strong> - Russia’s leader always refused to the Kremlin critic by name, but now he is dead, that has changed.</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>Putin thanks Russia after predictable win</strong> - President Vladimir Putin thanks Russians for putting their trust in him as he celebrates his election win.</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>Trabzonspor fans attack Fenerbahce players after loss</strong> - Trabzonspor fans run on to the field and attack Fenerbahce players after Sunday’s Super Lig match.</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>Redwoods are growing almost as fast in the UK as their Californian cousins</strong> - New study finds that giant sequoias add 70 cm of height and store 160 kg of carbon per year. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2010722">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>2025 Maserati Grecale Folgore review: A stylish SUV, but a hard EV sell</strong> - It’s not really as good as the internal combustion version, sadly. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2010432">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Tick-killing pill shows promising results in human trial</strong> - Should it pan out, the pill would be a new weapon against Lyme disease. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2010699">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>ASCII art elicits harmful responses from 5 major AI chatbots</strong> - LLMs are trained to block harmful responses. Old-school images can override those rules. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2010646">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Finally, engineers have a clue that could help them save Voyager 1</strong> - A new signal from humanity’s most distant spacecraft could be the key to restoring it. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=2010713">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The doc told him that masturbating before sex often helped men last longer during the act.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The man decided, “What the hell, I’ll try it,”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
He spent the rest of the day thinking about where to do it. He couldn’t do it in his office. He thought about the restroom, but that was too open. He considered an alley, but figured that was too unsafe.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Finally, he realized his solution. On his way home, he pulled his truck over on the side of the highway. He got out and crawled underneath as if he was examining the truck. Satisfied with the privacy, he undid his pants and started to masturbate.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
He closed his eyes and thought of his lover. As he grew closer to orgasm, he felt a quick tug at the bottom of his pants. Not wanting to lose his mental fantasy or the orgasm, he kept his eyes shut and replied, “What?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
He heard, “This is the police. What’s going on down there?” The man replied, “I’m checking out the rear axle, it’s busted.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Well,” the cop answered, “you might as well check your brakes too while you’re down there because your truck rolled down the hill 5 minutes ago.”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/KongLongDong77"> /u/KongLongDong77 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1bh5b8o/the_doc_told_him_that_masturbating_before_sex/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1bh5b8o/the_doc_told_him_that_masturbating_before_sex/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Smart Wife</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
After being married for 50 years, I took a careful look at my wife one day and said….<br/> “Fifty years ago we had a cheap house, a junk car, slept on a sofa bed, and watched a 10-inch black and white TV. But hey I got to sleep every night with a hot 23-year-old girl. Now… I have a $750,000 home, a $45,000 car, a nice big bed, and a large-screen TV, but I’m sleeping with a 73-year-old woman.<br/> So I said to my wife:<br/> “It seems to me that you’re not holding up your side of things.”<br/> My wife is a very smart woman.<br/> She told me to go out and find a hot 23-year-old girl and she would make sure that I would once again be living in a cheap house, driving a junk car, sleeping on a sofa bed, and watching a 10-inch black and white TV.<br/> Aren’t older women great? They really know how to solve an old guy’s problems!
</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Azurebluenomad"> /u/Azurebluenomad </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1bhhtwj/smart_wife/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1bhhtwj/smart_wife/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Fidel Castro, Vladimir Putin, and the Oort Cloud are riding on a train</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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Fidel Castro, Vladimir Putin, and the Oort Cloud are riding on a train. Fidel Castro pulls an expensive cigar out of his pocket, lights it, and then throws it out the window after only a few puffs. Vladimir Putin and the Oort Cloud are both surprised by this and ask, “What are you doing, Fidel? That’s an expensive cigar!” To which Castro responds, “In your country or post-heliopausal region perhaps, but in my country these are as cheap as dirt.”
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Then Vladimir Putin pulls a bottle of expensive Russian vodka out of his pocket and, after a few sips, throws the bottle out the window. Fidel Castro and the Oort Cloud are both surprised and ask, “What are you doing, Vladimir? That is expensive vodka!” To which Putin responds, “Pah! In your country or post-heliopausal region perhaps, but in Russia this vodka is as plentiful as rainwater.”
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The Oort Cloud considers this for a minute or two, and then throws a six-mile-wide comet out of the window which, on impact, incinerates everything within a thirty-mile radius, causes massive earthquakes and tsunamis for thousands of miles in each direction, and kicks up a cloud of dust and ash that eventually encircles the Earth, wiping out nearly all forms of life in a matter of months.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/RJamieLanga"> /u/RJamieLanga </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1bhipg0/fidel_castro_vladimir_putin_and_the_oort_cloud/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1bhipg0/fidel_castro_vladimir_putin_and_the_oort_cloud/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Good oral sex will make your day; good anal sex…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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will make your hole weak
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/NYY15TM"> /u/NYY15TM </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1bh7m2q/good_oral_sex_will_make_your_day_good_anal_sex/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1bh7m2q/good_oral_sex_will_make_your_day_good_anal_sex/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Little Jimmy ends up in the wardrobe with his mothers affair…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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“It’s dark in here” says little Jimmy.
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The guy manages not to scream in shock and after some time he makes a deal with Jimmy. For the price of a baseball, Jimmy won’t tell his dad about the guy in Mommys wardrobe when daddy came home
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The man keeps his word, gifts Jimmy a new baseball at the next visit, just to end up in the wardrobe again.
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“It’s dark in here…” says little Jimmy.
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Again the guy manages to talk Jimmy out of his plan to tell his father. This time for the price of a new baseball glove.
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Once more he keeps word. Thinks 3 times is the charm and nothing will happen, just to end up in the wardrobe again…
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“It’s dark in here…” says little Jimmy… The man sighs and a shirt, signed by the local baseball legend changes the owner.
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At a weekend, Jimmys father wants to throw a few balls with his boy and is astonished when Jimmy comes out to play with the shirt, new ball and glove. All things he never bought for his boy. After a stern talking, Jimmy finally tells his father he got all the stuff as a gift from a guy so he would lie about something. Livid about the sin his boy committed, the father takes Jimmy to the next church with a confessional and places him into the confession stand.
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Finally alone, Jimmy mutters: “It’s dark in here…” And the priest goes: " Holy sh*t boy. Can you please just leave me alone?"
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/InitiativeExcellent"> /u/InitiativeExcellent </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1bhaovh/little_jimmy_ends_up_in_the_wardrobe_with_his/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1bhaovh/little_jimmy_ends_up_in_the_wardrobe_with_his/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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