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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>Effectiveness of mRNA COVID-19 monovalent and bivalent vaccine booster doses against Omicron severe outcomes among adults aged ≥50 years in Ontario, Canada</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Objective: We estimated the effectiveness of booster doses of monovalent and bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines against Omicron-associated severe outcomes among adults aged ≥50 years in Ontario, Canada. Methods: We used a test-negative design to estimate vaccine effectiveness (VE), with unvaccinated adults as the comparator, against hospitalization or death among SARS-CoV-2-tested adults aged ≥50 years between June 19, 2022 and January 28, 2023 stratified by time since vaccination. We explored VE by vaccine product (Moderna Spikevax ® monovalent; Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty® monovalent; Moderna Spikevax® BA.1 bivalent; Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty® BA.4/BA.5 bivalent). Results: We included 3,755 Omicron cases and 14,338 test-negative controls. For the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech monovalent vaccines, VE 7-29 days after vaccination was 85% (95% confidence interval [CI], 72-92%) and 88% (95%CI, 82-92%), respectively, and was 82% (95%CI, 76-87%) and 82% (95%CI, 77-86%) 90-119 days after vaccination. For the Moderna BA.1 bivalent vaccine, VE was 86% (95%CI, 82-90%) 7-29 days after vaccination and was 76% (95%CI, 66-83%) 90-119 days after vaccination. For the Pfizer-BioNTech BA.4/BA.5 bivalent vaccine, VE 7-29 days after vaccination was 83% (95%CI, 77-88%) and was 81% (95%CI 72-87%) 60-89 days after vaccination. Conclusions: Booster doses of monovalent and bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines provided similar, strong initial protection against severe outcomes in community-dwelling adults aged ≥50 years in Ontario. Nonetheless, uncertainty remains around waning protection of these vaccines.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.11.23288403v1" target="_blank">Effectiveness of mRNA COVID-19 monovalent and bivalent vaccine booster doses against Omicron severe outcomes among adults aged ≥50 years in Ontario, Canada</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The landscape of biomedical research</strong> -
<div>
The number of publications in biomedicine and life sciences has rapidly grown over the last decades, with over 1.5 million papers now published every year. This makes it difficult to keep track of new scientific works and to have an overview of the evolution of the field as a whole. Here we present a 2D atlas of the entire corpus of biomedical literature, and argue that it provides a unique and useful overview of the life sciences research. We base our atlas on the abstract texts of 21 million English articles from the PubMed database. To embed the abstracts into 2D, we use a large language model PubMedBERT, combined with t-SNE tailored to handle samples of our size. We use our atlas to study the emergence of the Covid-19 literature, the evolution of the neuroscience discipline, the uptake of machine learning, and the distribution of gender imbalance in academic authorship. Furthermore, we present an interactive web version of our atlas that allows easy exploration and will enable further insights and facilitate future research.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.10.536208v1" target="_blank">The landscape of biomedical research</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Comprehensive analysis of nasal IgA antibodies induced by intranasal administration of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein</strong> -
<div>
Intranasal vaccination is an attractive strategy for preventing COVID-19 disease as it stimulates the production of multimeric secretory immunoglobulin A (IgAs), the predominant antibody isotype in the mucosal immune system, at the target site of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) entry. Currently, the evaluation of intranasal vaccine efficacy is based on the measurement of polyclonal antibody titers in nasal lavage fluid. However, how individual multimeric secretory IgA protects the mucosa from SARS-CoV-2 infection remains to be elucidated. To understand the precise contribution and molecular nature of multimeric secretory IgAs induced by intranasal vaccines, we developed 99 monoclonal IgAs from nasal mucosa and 114 monoclonal IgAs or IgGs from nonmucosal tissues of mice that were intranasally immunized with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The nonmucosal IgAs exhibited shared origins and both common and unique somatic mutations with the related nasal IgA clones, indicating that the antigen-specific plasma cells in the nonmucosal tissues originated from B cells stimulated at the nasal mucosa. Comparing the spike protein binding reactivity, angiotensin-converting enzyme-2-blocking and SARS-CoV-2 virus neutralization of monomeric and multimeric IgA pairs recognizing different epitopes showed that even nonneutralizing monomeric IgA, which represents 70% of the nasal IgA repertoire, can protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection when expressed as multimeric secretory IgAs. Our investigation is the first to demonstrate the function of nasal IgAs at the monoclonal level, showing that nasal immunization can provide effective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 by inducing multimeric secretory IgAs at the target site of virus infection.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.10.536311v1" target="_blank">Comprehensive analysis of nasal IgA antibodies induced by intranasal administration of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The Impact Of COVID-19 on Health Financing in Kenya</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background  Sudden shocks to health systems, such as the COVID-19 pandemic may disrupt health system functions.  Health system functions may also influence the health system’s ability to deliver in the face of sudden shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined the impact of COVID-19 on the health financing function in Kenya, and how specific health financing arrangements influenced the health systems capacity to deliver services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study in three purposively selected counties in Kenya using a qualitative approach. We collected data using in-depth interviews (n = 56) and relevant document reviews. We interviewed national level health financing stakeholders, county department of health managers, health facility managers and COVID-19 healthcare workers. We analysed data using a framework approach. Results Purchasing arrangements:  COVID-19 services were partially subsidized by the national government, exposing individuals to out-of-pocket costs given the high costs of these services. The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) adapted its enhanced scheme’s benefit package targeting formal sector groups to include COVID-19 services but did not make any adaptations to its general scheme targeting the less well-off in society. This had potential equity implications. Public Finance Management (PFM) systems: Nationally, PFM processes were adaptable and partly flexible allowing shorter timelines for budget and procurement processes. At county level, PFM systems were partially flexible with some resource reallocation but maintained centralized purchasing arrangements. The flow of funds to counties and health facilities was delayed and the procurement processes were lengthy. Reproductive and child health services: Domestic and donor funds were reallocated towards the pandemic response resulting in postponement of program activities and affected family planning service delivery. Universal Health Coverage (UHC) plans: Prioritization of UHC related activities was negatively impacted due the shift of focus to the pandemic response. Contrarily the strategic investments in the health sector were found to be a beneficial approach in strengthening the health system. Conclusions Strengthening health systems to improve their resilience to cope with public health emergencies requires substantial investment of financial and non-financial resources.  Health financing arrangements are integral in determining the extent of adaptability, flexibility, and responsiveness of health system to COVID-19 and future pandemics.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.05.23288177v1" target="_blank">The Impact Of COVID-19 on Health Financing in Kenya</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Endonuclease fingerprint indicates a synthetic origin of SARS-CoV-2</strong> -
<div>
To prevent future pandemics, it is important that we understand whether SARS-CoV-2 spilled over directly from animals to people, or indirectly in a laboratory accident. The genome of SARS-COV-2 contains a peculiar pattern of unique restriction endonuclease recognition sites allowing efficient dis- and re-assembly of the viral genome characteristic of synthetic viruses. Here, we report the likelihood of observing such a pattern in coronaviruses with no history of bioengineering. We find that SARS-CoV-2 is an anomaly, more likely a product of synthetic genome assembly than natural evolution. The restriction map of SARS-CoV-2 is consistent with many previously reported synthetic coronavirus genomes, meets all the criteria required for an efficient reverse genetic system, differs from closest relatives by a significantly higher rate of synonymous mutations in these synthetic-looking recognitions sites, and has a synthetic fingerprint unlikely to have evolved from its close relatives. We report a high likelihood that SARS-CoV-2 may have originated as an infectious clone assembled in vitro.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.10.18.512756v2" target="_blank">Endonuclease fingerprint indicates a synthetic origin of SARS-CoV-2</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Estimating COVID-19 Vaccine Protection Rates via Dynamic Epidemiological Models–A Study of Ten Countries</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The real-world performance of vaccines against COVID-19 infections is critically important to counter the pandemics. We propose a varying coefficient stochastic epidemic model to estimate the vaccine protection rates based on the publicly available epidemiological and vaccination data. To tackle the challenges posed by the unobserved state variables, we develop a multi-step decentralized estimation procedure that uses different data segments to estimate different parameters. A B-spline structure is used to approximate the underlying infection rates and to facilitate model simulation in obtaining an objective function between the imputed and the simulation-based estimates of the latent state variables, leading to simulation-based estimation of the diagnosis rate using data in the pre-vaccine period and the vaccine effect parameters using data in the post-vaccine periods. And the time-varying infection, recovery and death rates are estimated by kernel regressions. We apply the proposed method to analyze the data in ten countries which collectively used 8 vaccines. The analysis reveals that the average protection rate of the full vaccination was at least 22% higher than that of the partial vaccination and was largely above the WHO recognized level of 50% before November 20, 2021, including the Delta variant dominated period. The protection rates for the booster vaccine in the Omicron period were also provided.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.08.08.22278571v2" target="_blank">Estimating COVID-19 Vaccine Protection Rates via Dynamic Epidemiological Models–A Study of Ten Countries</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Natural Environments, Psychosocial Health, and Health Behaviors in a Crisis – A Scoping Review of the Literature in the COVID-19 Context</strong> -
<div>
The COVID-19 outbreak has led to major restrictions globally, affecting people’s psychosocial health and their health behaviors. Thus, the purpose of this scoping review was to summarize the available research regarding the nature-health-association in the COVID-19 context. Keywords related to natural environments and COVID-19 were combined to conduct a systematic online search in six major databases. Eligibility criteria were a) published since 2020 with data collected in the COVID-19 context b) peer-reviewed, c) original empirical data collected on human participants, d) investigated the association between natural environments and psychosocial health or health behavior, and e) English, German, or Scandinavian language. Out of 8,568 articles being obtained, we identified 82 relevant articles representing 80 unique studies. Most studies focused on adults in the general population and were predominantly conducted in the USA and Europe. Overall, the findings tentatively indicate that nature mitigates the impact of COVID-19 on psychological health and physical activity. Through thematic analysis of the extracted data, three primary themes were identified: 1) type of nature assessed, 2) psychosocial health and health behaviors investigated, and 3) heterogeneity in the nature-health relationship. Research gaps in the COVID-19 context were identified regarding I) nature characteristics that promote psychosocial health and health behaviors, II) investigations of digital and virtual nature, III) psychological constructs relating to mental health promotion, IV) health behaviors other than physical activity, V) underlying mechanisms regarding heterogeneity in the nature-health relationship based on human, nature, and geographic characteristics, and VI) research focusing on vulnerable groups. Overall, natural environments demonstrate considerable potential in buffering the impact of stressful events on a population level on mental health. However, future research is warranted to fill the mentioned research gaps and to examine the long-term effects of nature exposure during COVID-19.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/a9unf/" target="_blank">Natural Environments, Psychosocial Health, and Health Behaviors in a Crisis – A Scoping Review of the Literature in the COVID-19 Context</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Infants and young children generate more durable antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection than adults</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, research has shown that adult patients mount broad and durable immune responses to infection. However, response to infection remains poorly studied in infants/young children. In this study, we evaluated humoral responses to SARS-CoV-2 in 23 infants/young children before and after infection. We found that antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 spike antigens peaked approximately 30 days after infection and were maintained up to 500 days with little apparent decay. While the magnitude of humoral responses was similar to an adult cohort recovered from mild/moderate COVID-19, both binding and neutralization titers to WT SARS-CoV-2 were more durable in infants/young children, with Spike and RBD IgG antibody half-life nearly 4X as long as in adults. The functional breadth of adult and infant/young children SARS-CoV-2 responses were comparable, with similar reactivity against panel of recent and previously circulating viral variants. Notably, IgG subtype analysis revealed that while IgG1 formed the majority of both adults9 and infants/young children9s response, IgG3 was more common in adults and IgG2 in infants/young children. These findings raise important questions regarding differential regulation of humoral immunity in infants/young children and adults and could have broad implications for the timing of vaccination and booster strategies in this age group.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.10.23288360v1" target="_blank">Infants and young children generate more durable antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection than adults</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A methodological framework for assessing the benefit of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination following previous infection: case study of five to eleven year olds in the UK</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Vaccination rates against SARS-CoV-2 in children aged five to 11 years remain low in many countries. The current benefit of vaccination in this age group has been questioned given that the large majority of children have now experienced at least one SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, protection from infection, vaccination or both wanes over time. National decisions on offering vaccines to this age group have tended to be made without considering time since infection. There is an urgent need to evaluate the additional benefits of vaccination in previously infected children and under what circumstances those benefits accrue. We present a novel methodological framework for estimating the potential benefits of COVID-19 vaccination in previously infected children aged five to 11, accounting for waning. We apply this framework to the UK context and for two adverse outcomes: hospitalisation related to SARS-CoV-2 infection and Long Covid. We show that the most important drivers of benefit are: the degree of protection provided by previous infection; the protection provided by vaccination; the time since previous infection; and future attack rates. Vaccination can be very beneficial for previously infected children if future attack rates are high and several months have elapsed since the previous major wave in this group. Benefits are generally larger for Long Covid than hospitalisation, because Long Covid is both more common than hospitalisation and previous infection offers less protection against it. Our framework provides a structure for policy makers to explore the additional benefit of vaccination across a range of adverse outcomes and different parameter assumptions. It can be easily updated as new evidence emerges.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.11.23288409v1" target="_blank">A methodological framework for assessing the benefit of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination following previous infection: case study of five to eleven year olds in the UK</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>NULISA: a novel proteomic liquid biopsy platform with attomolar sensitivity and high multiplexing</strong> -
<div>
The blood proteome holds great promise for precision medicine but poses daunting challenges due to the low abundance of the majority of plasma proteins and the vast dynamic range across the proteome. We report the development and validation of a novel proteomic analysis technology - NUcleic acid Linked Immuno-Sandwich Assay (NULISA) - that incorporates a dual capture and release mechanism to suppress the assay background to the minimum, thus drastically improving the signal-to-noise ratio. NULISA improves the sensitivity of the proximity ligation assay by over 10,000-fold to the attomolar level, which is enabled by antibody-conjugated DNA sequences that mediate the purification of immunocomplexes and contain target- and sample-specific barcodes for next-generation sequencing-based, highly multiplexed analysis. To demonstrate its performance and utility, we developed a 200-plex NULISA targeting 124 cytokines and chemokines and 80 other immune response-related proteins that demonstrated superior sensitivity for detecting low-abundance proteins and high concordance with other immunoassays. The ultra-high sensitivity enabled the detection of previously difficult-to-detect but biologically important, low-abundance biomarkers in patients with autoimmune diseases and COVID-19. Fully automated NULISA uniquely addresses longstanding challenges in the proteomic analysis of liquid biopsy samples and makes broad and in-depth proteomic analysis accessible to the general research community and future diagnostic applications.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.09.536130v1" target="_blank">NULISA: a novel proteomic liquid biopsy platform with attomolar sensitivity and high multiplexing</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2’s evolutionary capacity is mostly driven by host antiviral molecules</strong> -
<div>
The COVID-19 pandemic has been characterised by sequential variant-specific waves shaped by viral, individual human and population factors. SARS-CoV-2 variants are defined by their unique combinations of mutations and there has been a clear adaptation to human infection since its emergence in 2019. Here we use machine learning models to identify shared signatures, i.e., common underlying mutational processes, and link these to the subset of mutations that define the variants of concern (VOCs). First, we examined the global SARS-CoV-2 genomes and associated metadata to determine how viral properties and public health measures have influenced the magnitude of waves, as measured by the number of infection cases, in different geographic locations using regression models. This analysis showed that, as expected, both public health measures and not virus properties alone are associated with the rise and fall of regional SARS-CoV-2 reported infection numbers. This impact varies geographically. We attribute this to intrinsic differences such as vaccine coverage, testing and sequencing capacity, and the effectiveness of government stringency. In terms of underlying evolutionary change, we used non-negative matrix factorisation to observe three distinct mutational signatures, unique in their substitution patterns and exposures from the SARS-CoV-2 genomes. Signatures 0, 1 and 3 were biased to C-&gt;T, T-&gt;C/A-&gt;G and G-&gt;T point mutations as would be expected of host antiviral molecules APOBEC, ADAR and ROS effects, respectively. We also observe a shift amidst the pandemic in relative mutational signature activity from predominantly APOBEC-like changes to an increasingly high proportion of changes consistent with ADAR editing. This could represent changes in how the virus and the host immune response interact, and indicates how SARS-CoV-2 may continue to accumulate mutations in the future. Linkage of the detected mutational signatures to the VOC defining amino acids substitutions indicates the majority of SARS-CoV-2’s evolutionary capacity is likely to be associated with the action of host antiviral molecules rather than virus replication errors.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.07.536037v1" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2’s evolutionary capacity is mostly driven by host antiviral molecules</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Antibodies that neutralize all current SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern by conformational locking</strong> -
<div>
SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve and evade most existing neutralizing antibodies, including all clinically authorized antibodies. We have isolated and characterized two human monoclonal antibodies, 12-16 and 12-19, which exhibited neutralizing activities against all SARS-CoV-2 variants tested, including BQ.1.1 and XBB.1.5. They also blocked infection in hamsters challenged with Omicron BA.1 intranasally. Structural analyses revealed both antibodies targeted a conserved quaternary epitope located at the interface between the N-terminal domain and subdomain 1, revealing a previously unrecognized site of vulnerability on SARS-CoV-2 spike. These antibodies prevent viral receptor engagement by locking the receptor-binding domain of spike in the down conformation, revealing a novel mechanism of virus neutralization for non-RBD antibodies. Deep mutational scanning showed that SARS-CoV-2 could mutate to escape 12-19, but the responsible mutations are rarely found in circulating viruses. Antibodies 12-16 and 12-19 hold promise as prophylactic agents for immunocompromised persons who do not respond robustly to COVID-19 vaccines.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.08.536123v1" target="_blank">Antibodies that neutralize all current SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern by conformational locking</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Unbiased spectral cytometry immunome characterization predicts COVID-19 mRNA vaccine failure in older adults and patients with lymphoid malignancies.</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
COVID-19 affects the population unequally with a higher impact on aged and immunosuppressed people. Hence, we assessed the effect of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in immune compromised patients (older adults and oncohematologic patients), compared with healthy counterparts. While the acquired humoral and cellular memory did not predict subsequent infection 18 months after full immunization, spectral and computational cytometry revealed several subsets within the CD8+ T-cells, B-cells, NK cells, monocytes and CD45RA+CCR7- Tγδ cells differentially expressed in further infected and non-infected individuals not just following immunization, but also prior to that. Of note up to 7 subsets were found within the CD45RA+CCR7- Tγδ population with some of them being expanded and other decreased in subsequently infected individuals. Moreover, some of these subsets also predicted COVID-induced hospitalization in oncohematologic patients. Therefore, we hereby have identified several cellular subsets that, even before vaccination, strongly related to COVID-19 vulnerability as opposed to the acquisition of cellular and/or humoral memory following vaccination with SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.10.23288350v1" target="_blank">Unbiased spectral cytometry immunome characterization predicts COVID-19 mRNA vaccine failure in older adults and patients with lymphoid malignancies.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Global surveillance of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Earlier global detection of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants gives governments more time to respond. However, few countries can implement timely national surveillance resulting in gaps in monitoring. The UK implemented large-scale community and hospital surveillance, but experience suggests it may be faster to detect new variants through testing UK arrivals for surveillance. We developed simulations of the emergence and importation of novel variants with a range of infection hospitalisation rates (IHR) to the UK. We compared time taken to detect the variant though testing arrivals at UK borders, hospital admissions, and the general community. We found that sampling 10 to 50% of arrivals at UK borders could confer a speed advantage of 3.5 to 6 weeks over existing community surveillance, and 1.5 to 5 weeks (depending on IHR) over hospital testing. We conclude that directing limited global capacity for surveillance to highly connected ports could speed up global detection of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.10.23288358v1" target="_blank">Global surveillance of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A cross-sectional study of the association between COVID-19 infection and psychological distress in Japanese workers</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The COVID-19 pandemic infected many people worldwide with SARS-CoV2. Psychological distress is one of the sequelae reported to occur in many of those infected (Choutka et al., 2022). We investigated the association between personal experience of COVID-19 infection and psychological distress in Japan. A total of 18,560 persons participated in the original survey, conducted in December 2020. After excluding unreliable responses, data from 14,901 persons who participated in a follow-up survey in December 2022-were included in the analysis. Odds ratios (ORs) were estimated by univariate and multiple logistic regression analysis with history of COVID-19 infection as the independent variable and presence of psychological distress as the dependent variable. This results showed that the experience of COVID-19 infection is associated with psychological distress. Moreover, most cases of mental distress among those who experienced COVID-19 infection can be at least partly explained by a perception of unfair treatment.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.08.23288312v1" target="_blank">A cross-sectional study of the association between COVID-19 infection and psychological distress in Japanese workers</a>
</div></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Effectiveness and Safety of Quinine Sulfate as add-on Therapy for COVID-19 in Hospitalized Adults in Indonesia ( DEAL-COVID19 )</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Standard of Care + Quinine Sulfate;   Drug: Standard of Care<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Universitas Padjadjaran;   National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia;   Prodia Diacro Laboratories P.T.<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety and Efficacy of Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell Exosomes in Treating Chronic Cough After COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Long COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: MSC-derived exosomes<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Huazhong University of Science and Technology;   REGEN-αGEEK (SHENZHEN) MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Nasal Treatment for COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Optate;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Indiana University<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Clinical Study for the Efficacy and Safety of Ropeginterferon Alfa-2b in Adult COVID-19 Patients With Comorbidities</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Ropeginterferon alfa-2b;   Procedure: SOC<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   National Taiwan University Hospital<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Complementary Self-help Strategies for Patients With Post-COVID-19 Syndrome</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Post-COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Complementary self-help strategies in addition to treatment as usual;   Other: Treatment as usual<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Universität Duisburg-Essen<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>Traditional Chinese Medicine or Low-dose Dexamethasone in COVID-19 Pneumonia</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Pneumonia<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: conventional western medicine treatment;   Drug: Dexamethasone oral tablet;   Other: Traditional Chinese medicine decoction<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   China-Japan Friendship 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>Inpatient COVID-19 Lollipop Study</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   Diagnostic Test<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Device: Lollipop<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   University of Wisconsin, Madison<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>Exploring the Effect of Video Interventions on Intentions for Continued COVID-19 Vaccination</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Vaccine Refusal;   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Informational Video;   Behavioral: Altruistic Video;   Behavioral: Individualistic Video<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Sir Mortimer B. Davis - Jewish General Hospital<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Tailored COVID-19 Testing Support Plan for Francophone African Born Immigrants</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID19 Testing<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: FABI tailored COVID-19 testing pamphlet;   Behavioral: Standard COVID-19 home-based test kit<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Texas Woman’s University;   National Institutes of Health (NIH)<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Understand the Effect and Safety of the Study Medicine PF-07817883 in Adults Who Have Symptoms of COVID-19 But Are Not Hospitalized.</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   SARS-CoV-2 Infection<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: PF-07817883;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Pfizer<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Building Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Randomized Controlled Trial</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Healthy;   COVID-19;   Distress, Emotional<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: RASMUS Resilience Training;   Behavioral: Progressive Muscle Relaxation<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Medical University Innsbruck<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>Effectiveness of Testofen Compared to Placebo on Long COVID Symptoms</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Long Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Testofen;   Drug: Microcrystalline cellulose<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   RDC Clinical Pty Ltd<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Rehabilitation Treatment of Patients With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Rehabilitation;   Pneumonia, Viral;   COVID-19;   Quality of Life<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: exercises;   Other: massage<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University;   MEDSI Clinical Hospital 1, ICU<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>Addressing Vaccine Acceptance in Carceral Settings Through Community Engagement</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: ADVANCE Steering Committee interventions<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Yale University;   National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Investigate the Safety, Tolerability, and Pharmacokinetics of the Monoclonal Antibody VYD222 in Healthy Adult Participants</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: VYD222;   Other: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Invivyd, Inc.;   Novotech (Australia) Pty Limited<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>First study on <em>in vitro</em> antiviral and virucidal effects of flavonoids against feline infectious peritonitis virus at the early stage of infection</strong> - CONCLUSION: Isoginkgetin interfered with FIPV replication during both post-viral infection and virucidal experiments on CRFK cells, whereas luteolin inhibited the virus after infection. These results demonstrate the potential of herbal medicine for treating FIP.</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>Synthesis, antimycobacterial screening, molecular docking, ADMET prediction and pharmacological evaluation on novel pyran-4-one bearing hydrazone, triazole and isoxazole moieties: Potential inhibitors of SARS CoV-2</strong> - The respiratory infection tuberculosis is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its unrelenting spread caused millions of deaths around the world. Hence, it is needed to explore potential and less toxic anti-tubercular drugs. In the present work, we report the synthesis and antitubercular activity of four different (hydrazones 7-12, O-ethynyl oximes 19-24, triazoles 25-30, and isoxazoles 31-36) hybrids. Among these hybrids 9, 10, 33, and 34, displayed high antitubercular activity…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SARS-CoV-2 infection aggravates cigarette smoke-exposed cell damage in primary human airway epithelia</strong> - CONCLUSION: Smoking led to dysregulation of host immune response and cell damage as seen in SARS-CoV-2-infected primary human airway epithelia. These findings may contribute to increased disease susceptibility with severe condition and provide a better understanding of the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection in smokers.</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>Dual action anti-inflammatory/antiviral isoquinoline alkaloids as potent naturally occurring anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents: A combined pharmacological and medicinal chemistry perspective</strong> - In the search for compounds that inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, isoquinoline-containing alkaloids have been identified as compounds with high potential to fight the disease. In addition to having strong antiviral activities, most of these alkaloids have significant anti-inflammatory effects which are often manifested through the inhibition of a promising host-based anti-COVID-19 target, the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. In the present review, our pharmacological…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SARS-CoV-2 Infection of Human Neurons Is TMPRSS2 Independent, Requires Endosomal Cell Entry, and Can Be Blocked by Inhibitors of Host Phosphoinositol-5 Kinase</strong> - 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In addition to respiratory illness, COVID-19 patients exhibit neurological symptoms lasting from weeks to months (long COVID). It is unclear whether these neurological manifestations are due to an infection of brain cells. We found that a small fraction of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons, but not astrocytes, were naturally susceptible to SARS-CoV-2….</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>L-Tartaric Acid Inhibits Diminazene-induced Vasorelaxation in Isolated Rat Aorta</strong> - CONCLUSION: This investigation provides important experimental evidence of the efficacy of L-tartaric acid in inhibiting diminazene-induced vasorelaxation.</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>Deep learning-based network pharmacology for exploring the mechanism of licorice for the treatment of COVID-19</strong> - Licorice, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used for the treatment of COVID-19, but all active compounds and corresponding targets are still not clear. Therefore, this study proposed a deep learning-based network pharmacology approach to identify more potential active compounds and targets of licorice. 4 compounds (quercetin, naringenin, liquiritigenin, and licoisoflavanone), 2 targets (SYK and JAK2) and the relevant pathways (P53, cAMP, and NF-kB) were predicted, which were…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Discovery and characterization of the covalent SARS-CoV-2 3CL<sup>pro</sup> inhibitors from Ginkgo biloba extract via integrating chemoproteomic and biochemical approaches</strong> - CONCLUSION: Collectively, GBE50 and some constituents in this herbal product could strongly inhibit SARS-CoV-2 3CL^(pro) in dose- and time-dependent manner. Gallocatechin and sciadopitysin were identified as potent SARS-CoV-2 3CL^(pro) inhibitors, which offers promising lead compounds for the development of novel anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Enhanced inhibition of MHC-I expression by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants</strong> - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern (VOCs) possess mutations that confer resistance to neutralizing antibodies within the Spike protein and are associated with breakthrough infection and reinfection. By contrast, less is known about the escape from CD8+ T cell-mediated immunity by VOC. Here, we demonstrated that all SARS-CoV-2 VOCs possess the ability to suppress major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) expression. We identified several viral…</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>Neurological damages in COVID-19 patients: Mechanisms and preventive interventions</strong> - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus, causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which led to neurological damage and increased mortality worldwide in its second and third waves. It is associated with systemic inflammation, myocardial infarction, neurological illness including ischemic strokes (e.g., cardiac and cerebral ischemia), and even death through multi-organ failure. At the early stage, the virus infects the lung epithelial cells and is slowly…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Unexpected Protective Role of Thrombosis in Sepsis-Induced Inflammatory Lung Injury Via Endothelial Alox15</strong> - CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated that moderate levels of thrombosis protect against sepsis-induced inflammatory lung injury via endothelial Alox15. Overexpression of Alox5 inhibits severe pulmonary thrombosis-induced increase of ALI. Thus, activation of ALOX15 signaling represents a promising therapeutic strategy for treatment of ARDS, especially in sub-populations of patients with thrombocytopenia and/or severe pulmonary thrombosis.</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>Massively Parallel Profiling of RNA-targeting CRISPR-Cas13d</strong> - Type VI CRISPR enzymes cleave target RNAs and are widely used for gene regulation, RNA tracking, and diagnostics. However, a systematic understanding of their RNA binding specificity and cleavage activation is lacking. Here, we describe RNA c hip- h ybridized a ssociation- m apping p latform (RNA-CHAMP), a massively parallel platform that repurposes next-generation DNA sequencing chips to measure the binding affinity for over 10,000 RNA targets containing structural perturbations, mismatches,…</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>Immune and ionic mechanisms mediating the effect of dexamethasone in severe COVID-19</strong> - CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that dexamethasone attenuates inflammatory cytokine release via Kv1.3 suppression, and this mechanism contributes to dexamethasone-mediated immunosuppression in severe 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>Transporter Inhibition Profile for the Antivirals Tilorone, Quinacrine and Pyronaridine</strong> - Pyronaridine, tilorone and quinacrine are cationic molecules that have in vitro activity against Ebola, SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. All three molecules have also demonstrated in vivo activity against Ebola in mice, while pyronaridine showed in vivo efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 in mice. We have recently tested these molecules and other antivirals against human organic cation transporters (OCTs) and apical multidrug and toxin extruders (MATEs). Quinacrine was found to be an inhibitor of OCT2,…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The therapeutic effect and mechanism of parthenolide in skeletal disease, cancers, and cytokine storm</strong> - Parthenolide (PTL or PAR) was first isolated from Magnolia grandiflora and identified as a small molecule cancer inhibitor. PTL has the chemical structure of C15H20O3 with characteristics of sesquiterpene lactones and exhibits the biological property of inhibiting DNA biosynthesis of cancer cells. In this review, we summarise the recent research progress of medicinal PTL, including the therapeutic effects on skeletal diseases, cancers, and inflammation-induced cytokine storm. Mechanistic…</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>Behind the Expulsions of Two State Representatives in Tennessee</strong> - How Republican super-majorities in state legislatures are undermining the democratic process. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/behind-the-expulsions-of-two-state-representatives-in-tennessee">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ro Khanna’s Progressive Case for Saving Silicon Valley Bank</strong> - The ambitious California congressman has made a career of navigating the demands of Big Tech and the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/ro-khannas-progressive-case-for-saving-silicon-valley-bank">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What’s Behind the Fight Between Pope Francis and the Latin Mass Movement?</strong> - The discord has become a stand-in for conflicts over the decline in Catholics’ participation in Mass, over the progressive orientation of Francis’s pontificate, and over Vatican II itself. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/whats-behind-the-fight-between-pope-francis-and-the-latin-mass-movement">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Liberal Victory in Wisconsin</strong> - Last week’s election upended the ideological balance of the state’s Supreme Court, with big implications for abortion access, voting rights, and gerrymandering. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/a-liberal-victory-in-wisconsin">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Disastrous Potential of the Texas Abortion-Pill Ruling</strong> - A nationwide ban on mifepristone would further erode doctors’ ability to provide—or learn how to provide—lifesaving care. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-disastrous-potential-of-the-texas-abortion-pill-ruling">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Can AI create a convincing Wes Anderson film? (Not really!)</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="An AI-generated image of Harry Potter as a runway model." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/J6vXLuU4jIvYo4QD70DodxhPbtk=/309x0:1674x1024/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72172452/Screen_Shot_2023_04_11_at_10.09.44_AM.0.png"/>
<figcaption>
“You are Balenciaga, Harry.” | YouTube/DemonFlyingFox
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
If Balenciaga Harry Potter is the future of entertainment, could Wes Anderson Lord of the Rings be its next chapter? (Spoiler: No!)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="I8XJ39">
In the past month, not one but two pieces of AI-generated content featuring the fashion brand Balenciaga went viral. The much bigger deal was the <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23661673/pope-puffer-coat-generative-ai-midjourney-imagination">photo of Pope Francis</a> in a white puffer coat (and absolutely dripping in swag) that a lot of people thought was real. But I’d argue the more interesting one was a video that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE39q-IKOzA">imagined <em>Harry Potter</em></a> if it were a Balenciaga campaign in the late ’80s or early ’90s.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wwbcRO">
The clip, which is just under a minute and features mostly zoom-ins of recognizable characters and a deep house backbeat, isn’t really all that interesting in itself, unless you happen to be both a big <em>Harry Potter</em> person and a major fashion stan. Unlike the photo of Balenciaga Pope, the point isn’t to be like, “Haha, you got fooled by AI!” Instead, what’s interesting to me is the question of just how long we, as a society, have before AI-powered video becomes most of what we think of as visual entertainment.
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To find out, I asked the clip’s creator, a YouTuber, photographer, and AI hobbyist who goes by the username Demon Flying Fox and lives in Berlin. (He asked to be referred to by his handle to avoid conflating his photography business and his work with AI.) On where the concept came from, he says, “I was brainstorming random video ideas, and it’s helpful when there’s a big surprising contrast. <em>Harry Potter</em> has been spoofed so many times, so it’s evergreen, and Balenciaga is the most memorable company because of its marketing and aesthetics.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SWmwCd">
More notable than the concept itself, however, was the fact that the clip only took him about two days to create using the AI tools Midjourney, ElevenLabs, and D-ID, and that he’s only been playing around with AI for a few months. Thanks in part to the success of Balenciaga Harry Potter, he’s now able to earn a full income through YouTube ads and Patreon subscribers.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HZ0GDl">
One possible takeaway from all of this is that the future of AI-generated media is thrilling and possibly even mind-opening, allowing us to “greatly increase the raw material of plausible worlds the mind can imagine inhabiting and, through them, the kinds of futures we perceive as possible,” as my <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23661673/pope-puffer-coat-generative-ai-midjourney-imagination">colleague Oshan Jarow argues</a>. Another viable takeaway is that AI could have potentially devastating consequences for art, sidelining subjective human experiences and encouraging the culture industry to only invest in safe, lowest-common-denominator drivel that can be endlessly focus-grouped into maximum profit. “In general, the more a movie seems created by consensus — as many big franchise flicks designed for maximum box office earnings are — the less good it is,” writes my <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/1/29/21058521/hollywood-ai-deepfake-black-mirror-gemini-irishman-cinelytic">other colleague Alissa Wilkinson</a>. “It’s designed to please many and challenge few, not for any philosophical reason but because that’s what makes a lot of money.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TR4Ds6">
Both of these futures are already happening in tandem. We’re already at the point where anyone can spend a few months, days, or hours experimenting with AI and creating something like Balenciaga Harry Potter, and in doing so circumventing (or, depending on your perspective, stealing) the creative labor of actors, graphic artists, and filmmakers. But how far are we from a world in which those months, days, and hours are reduced to seconds? How far are we, really, from typing a few words into an AI and it spitting out an entire feature-length film?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZtQxPD">
So I tried it. Specifically, I tried to follow Demon Flying Fox’s method for AI video creation to see how easy it was for someone with extremely limited experience with either video editing or AI to replicate something like Balenciaga Harry Potter.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BJYD2N">
Not wanting to totally rip off his idea but still honor the spirit of it, I chose a different highly recognizable visual style — the films of Wes Anderson — and another hugely popular fantasy series, <em>The Lord of the Rings</em>. Using Demon Flying Fox’s preferred AI tools (for which I’ll be noting the costs not as an advertisement but for full context), I started by asking ChatGPT to write me a scene from a film adaptation of LOTR if it were directed by Wes Anderson. Here’s the first bit of the full scene it sent me:
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<blockquote>
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<em>INT. BAG END - DAY</em>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jgHgYS">
<em>The camera pans across the cozy interior of Bag End, a hobbit hole in the Shire. We see Frodo (ELIJAH WOOD), sitting on a comfortable armchair, holding a small ring in his hand. Gandalf (BILL MURRAY), an old wizard, enters the room.</em>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sTOWpk">
<em>Gandalf: Good morning, Frodo! How are you feeling today?</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AfrKB3">
<em>Frodo: (looking up from the ring) Oh, hello Gandalf. I’m fine, I guess. Just a bit worried about this ring.</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="A8x9o1">
<em>Gandalf: Ah yes, the ring. It’s a dangerous thing, Frodo. But don’t worry, I have a plan.</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pbvuDf">
<em>The camera zooms in on Gandalf’s face, and we see a mischievous twinkle in his eye.</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2T5l1R">
<em>Gandalf (continued): We need to take this ring to Mordor, and throw it into the fires of Mount Doom. And I have just the team to help us.</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="onyLSj">
<em>The camera cuts to a montage of Gandalf gathering a group of characters, each with their unique personality and skill set. We see Legolas (OWEN WILSON), the elf, Aragorn (JASON SCHWARTZMAN), the human, Gimli (ADRIEN BRODY), the dwarf, and several other characters.</em>
</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="D9CJvT">
It’s pretty bad as far as screenwriting goes, but the fact that it offered suggestions for which actors would play which characters was an unexpected delight (although at 6-foot-1, Adrien Brody is much too tall to play a dwarf, and apparently AI hasn’t heard <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/10/everyone-who-has-publicly-accused-bill-murray-of-misconduct#:~:text=In%20her%20recent%20memoir%2C%20Dying,writes%20Davis%20in%20her%20memoir.">we’re not casting Bill Murray</a> in anything these days).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lN9tyJ">
Next, I used Midjourney (annual subscription cost for basic plan: $96) to create portraits of each character in the scene. This is where it gets complicated, and where some of Demon Flying Fox’s artfulness makes itself apparent. I started with the most basic of prompts — “Gandalf the Grey if he were filmed in a Wes Anderson movie,” for instance, which gave me this:
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/StN5eyVU9ovZo-X1ju2lu_pwlZ8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24577296/Gandalf_1.png"/> <cite>Midjourney</cite>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wAmAPQ">
Nice-looking, sure, but I didn’t want a perfect square shot. From watching <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDp_8lPUbWY">his tutorial</a> on creating AI avatars, I learned that if you want to change the aspect ratio of Midjourney images, you have to include “—ar 3:2” in the prompt, and that it helps to include “full body” if you don’t want super close-ups.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IkPaZT">
After I interviewed Demon Flying Fox, however, he mentioned a couple of other keywords that might be helpful. Although he wouldn’t say exactly what his prompts were for creating Balenciaga Harry Potter, he recommended including the term “cinematic,” as well as adding specific dates for reference. The prompt that landed me with my final Frodo was this: “Frodo Baggins, portrait, full body, cinematic, film still, in the style of a Wes Anderson live-action movie circa 2008 —ar 3:2.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eIcv9L">
For other characters, it helped to add the time of day, which direction they were facing, and any props to include. Here’s what got me my final Legolas: “Owen Wilson as Legolas the elf, portrait, full body, cinematic, holding a bow and arrow, symmetrical, facing forward, film still, exterior shot, daytime, in the style of a Wes Anderson live-action movie circa 2008 —ar 3:2.”
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KIIEc6Qm8rVs3Wll2lGmUHL7jjY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24577299/legolas.png"/> <cite>Midjourney</cite>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n22wwE">
I repeated these steps for all the other characters mentioned in the scene (I also added the other three hobbits in the fellowship, along with Brad Pitt as Boromir, which felt apt for an Anderson adaptation). I particularly enjoyed the results of the prompt in which I cast Tony Revolori as Peregrin Took:
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Rgl8b9JfLBiNYJuKWE35rhWIX5I=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24577301/pippin.png"/> <cite>Midjourney</cite>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="T3DmRL">
Next, I created voices for the two speaking characters in the scene, Frodo and Gandalf, using ElevenLabs (prices start at $5 per month), which clones a sample of an existing voice that you can then make say whatever you want (no need for me to explain all the ways this particular tool could be misused, but I digress). I needed clips where there was zero background noise and you could clearly hear the speaker, so for Gandalf, I found a<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LDdyafsR7g"> clip of a young Ian McKellen delivering the “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” speech</a> from <em>MacBeth</em> that worked well, although the AI randomly got rid of his English accent. I typed his lines into the prompt and then recorded the fake Ian McKellen saying what I wanted him to say, and repeated the process for Elijah Wood as Frodo.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Np04Nmz_8S4AhGhVbI22TFmKHPw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24577303/Screen_Shot_2023_04_05_at_5.14.12_PM.png"/> <cite>Eleven Labs</cite>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="j47tzq">
Then it was time to animate each character and make it appear as though they were actually speaking. To do so, I uploaded each character image from Midjourney into D-ID AI (pricing starts at $4.99 per month), where you can either type out a script for each character to say or upload an existing sound bite. I did the latter for Frodo and Gandalf, and for the other characters who didn’t have speaking roles but still needed to look, y’know, alive, I inserted a series of “pauses” into their speech box. The result was basically just the characters blinking and moving their heads around a bit.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Kw3UEoMokxOSYKxT-sL7LyC0YVs=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24577305/Screen_Shot_2023_04_05_at_5.19.39_PM.png"/> <cite>D-ID</cite>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dUE0ZM">
Once I had all my clips, I edited them together in CapCut (free), because as far as I’m aware, there isn’t currently an AI that takes a bunch of clips and then splices them into something that makes sense. CapCut is by far the most instinctual (but still pretty serious) video editor I’ve used, and the full edit took me about two hours. I added a music backtrack from CapCut’s library labeled “Wes Anderson-esque Unique Suspenseful Orchestra” (unclear whether it was AI- or human-generated), and voila!
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BlgWCl">
Behold, the final video:
</p>
<div id="kfcYsO">
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;">
</div>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Yw5OZ9">
Fair warning: It’s really bad. Like, bad in a way that makes me pretty confident that the world of on-demand bizarro fanfic is far away from being something that we actually need to worry about. It also took significantly more effort than simply typing some words into a box and getting a fully real-seeming cinematic scene, and I still used a considerable amount of my own (again, limited) artistic instinct to make certain judgment calls, so it’s not as if the whole thing was a robot’s doing.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hrW5Sn">
It’s possible, however, that we’re not far away from a robot being able to make “Wes Anderson’s <em>The Lord of the Rings</em>” or something much better. It’s not improbable, for instance, that the tools provided by companies like Midjourney, Eleven Labs, and D-ID could all be integrated into a single system. The startup <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/technology/runway-ai-videos.html">Runway is also a leader in the text-to-video race</a>, where prompts like “a shot following a hiker through jungle brush” or “a cow at a birthday party” can generate corresponding video clips. While the clips shared by the company so far have been short and quite pixelated, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/20/23648113/text-to-video-generative-ai-runway-ml-gen-2-model-access">The Verge called</a> the prospect of Runway’s text-to-video AI “intoxicating — promising both new creative opportunities and new threats for misinformation.” The company plans to roll out beta access to a small group of testers this week.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8TJ4ZK">
There’s also ModelScope, which is free to use and promises the same thing, but when I tried the prompt “Frodo Baggins in a Wes Anderson movie” it presented me with maybe the most horrific gif I’ve ever seen. As to why there’s a fake Shutterstock logo on it, I could not even begin to guess.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CBWc3OpWz-bV-RWuW8sym0wi9Hg=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24577307/ModelScope_Frodo.gif"/> <cite>Model Scope</cite>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Fooeen">
While this was a fun experiment and I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing some truly weird AI-generated fanfic content from people who live on the internet, it’s also impossible to talk about without considering the ramifications of a world in which anyone can summon convincing videos of whatever they want. We don’t know what will happen to the value of creative labor nor to the impossible-to-quantify worth of the human hand in art, opening us up to ideas that AI can only provide a simulacrum of. We don’t know what will happen to people whose livelihoods, both financially and psychically, depend on creating art for others that can easily be replicated by these tools.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="k32nn2">
But we have a pretty good guess. Illustrators are already furious with AI tools that have stolen, mimicked, and devalued their work. “There’s already a negative bias towards the creative industry. Something like this reinforces an argument that what we do is easy and we shouldn’t be able to earn the money we command,” one artist <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/jan/23/its-the-opposite-of-art-why-illustrators-are-furious-about-ai">told the Guardian</a>. The Writers Guild is <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/wga-ban-ai-created-works-negotiations-1235358617/">currently pushing</a> to ban AI-generated work in its next contract, underlining the need to safeguard artists from potentially career-destroying tools not only by evolving cultural norms, but with policy.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7MXnan">
It’s going to be a wild few months, and hopefully we’ll get to see more Balenciaga Harry Potters — fun, inventive videos meant for little else than silliness — than creepily realistic images of public figures wearing expensive puffer jackets that send the entire media apparatus into an absolute tailspin.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LdNSUi">
<em>This column was first published in the Vox Culture newsletter. </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/pages/newsletters"><em>Sign up here</em></a><em> so you don’t miss the next one, plus get newsletter exclusives. </em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MvqfiN">
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cnQ10f">
</p></li>
<li><strong>The climate apocalypse is also a religious crisis</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A Black Jewish rabbi appears to be talking." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ENsZsRSxczqYnPjwgFN45_WH4Qo=/82x0:1149x800/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72172417/extrapolationscover.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Daveed Diggs in <em>Extrapolations.</em> | Apple TV+
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Extrapolations’ Dorothy Fortenberry on God, Laudato si’, and the climate crisis.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jhNRLQ">
Climate change presents us with an unusual apocalyptic moment — and not just because various natural catastrophes and cataclysms are part of its effects. “Apocalypse” means a moment of revealing, when the curtain blows aside and we see the world as it really is. We see ourselves as we really are.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="u19Pgs">
That’s what the Apple TV+ show <em>Extrapolations</em> aims to be: a mirror, held up to its viewers — many of them well-off and comfortable, the kind of people who might assume climate change won’t touch them all that much — to show them who they really are. The answers can be tough to face. Coming to terms with the reality of what could happen due to climate change can raise huge questions and emotions — about guilt, fear, depression, selflessness, and the meaning of life.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0KPI7p">
Having watched the show, I wanted to talk to someone about it — and I could think of nobody better than Dorothy Fortenberry. She’s a writer and producer, and co-showrunner of <em>Extrapolations</em>. Created by Scott Z. Burns, the guy who wrote the 2011 pandemic film <em>Contagion</em>, <em>Extrapolations</em> takes a hard look at the human experience ahead. The eight episodes tell a series of stories spread out over 30 years, starting in 2037.
</p>
<div id="6lGXiN">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VpzcaP">
Fortenberry and I spoke for <a href="https://megaphone.link/VMP1433984231">Vox’s podcast <em>The Gray Area</em></a> about a wide range of topics — choices the show’s writers made about technology, fossil fuels, and more; the complex relationship between individual action and corporate responsibility; and why climate change robs us of not just our future but also our past.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="akTf9J">
But the most interesting part, for me, was when we got into religion — both how religious communities are going to have to confront the effects of climate change and why this apocalypse is, in some ways, an inherently religious one. We discussed Pope Francis’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/6/16/8788813/pope-francis-climate-change">encyclical <em>Laudato si’</em></a>, his first major letter to Catholics as pope, a document <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2016/10/28/13433050/pope-climate-change-polarization">less about persuasion</a> and more, as Fortenberry argues, about contextualizing climate activism in terms of human dignity. You can hear our full conversation on the podcast, and read the part about these topics below.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IRL7mp">
<em>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DRcNWs">
<strong>There is something inherently religious about the climate crisis, and not just because flooding brings to mind the very first apocalypse on record in many religions: a big flood. The climate shift is sort of biblical in proportion. And it raises questions that religion has historically attempted to answer. </strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pH0Q3C">
Religion is one of the areas in which we consider the entire world — the whole planet. You’re thinking about every animal, every plant, all the creepy crawly things, all of the people. That kind of mindset is pretty unusual in most aspects of our life; we don’t often walk around thinking about the entire globe and every live thing upon it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="b3Hdsw">
But it’s also important when you think about climate change to contemplate every live thing on the planet. If there is a God, then that is the perspective of God, right? God is capable of understanding and imagining and holding in mind this notion of all living things. And that’s the perspective that we try to, I think, aim for when we think about climate change.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="no5YTU">
So I think that for anyone who has ever spent any time thinking about the notion of a higher power — certainly a deity that created the universe — it maps very neatly onto climate change, because you’re considering such big stakes.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nh0zsq">
And then exactly as you said, so many religious texts, including the Old Testament, are full of stories where people screw up and then there’s a huge natural disaster.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hylvg2">
<strong>Like a </strong><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%206-9&amp;version=NIV"><strong>flood</strong></a><strong>, or an </strong><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers%2016&amp;version=NIV"><strong>earthquake</strong></a><strong>, or a </strong><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%2010&amp;version=NIV"><strong>fire</strong></a><strong>.</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="raJMoT">
People just sin, and they’re told not to and they’re like, we’ll stop sinning tomorrow. And then eventually, the only consequence of their tremendous quantity of sin is a huge natural disaster, which destroys almost all of them.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zWU3DV">
The few that survive are like, we are definitely not gonna sin again. And then of course they do, and there’s another natural disaster — all of which also maps very neatly onto climate change. The repeated warnings, the reluctance to give up sinning. So I think for somebody who thinks about religion, it’s not a big stretch to put those two on top of each other.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A Black Jewish rabbi crouches near a machine in a flooded synagogue." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QxgDMPYPt3aGKZLCdrdcux98jUA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24577722/extrapolations1.jpg"/> <cite>Apple TV+</cite>
<figcaption>
A flood, in <em>Extrapolations.</em>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fOOcYN">
I had come into the project as a person who was already considering climate change and religion quite a bit. It was something that <a href="https://scienceandfilm.org/articles/3448/dorothy-fortenberry-on-climate-storytelling">was very important to me</a> that I was grappling with, and I was really grateful to be able to join [<em>Extrapolations</em>] at a time when they knew that they wanted to have an episode about a rabbi and about religion, but there was a lot that still had to be figured out. I felt really grateful that I got to kind of raise my hand and be like, hang on, let me jump in here. I’ve got something to say.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="M6U2gn">
Religion and religious spaces provide a physical location for people to come together and have feelings collectively. Which is another thing I think that climate change evokes, and that people really often struggle with [finding] a way to process. People often feel their climate feelings alone, looking at their phone, seeing a sad tweet, feeling kind of doomed, and there’s not anywhere that you can go. And I think one of the things about religious buildings is that they are the place where you go for the wedding, they’re the place you go for the funeral, they’re the place you go when there’s a baby, they’re the place that you go after the disaster. There’s one place where you go for all the different kinds of feelings.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DPHxwa">
And climate change creates so many different kinds of feelings.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CugmJX">
<strong>Climate change brings up a lot of feelings for us. You know, I was thinking about the feeling I have on an unseasonably warm day in the winter. </strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="h4pfF1">
It’s spooky!
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yQGHgT">
<strong>It’s spooky, it’s confusing, and I feel happy to be in the sunshine and also full of dread.</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1uHlHw">
<strong>The show really digs into the depression that climate change can bring on — a slow-rolling depression that really settles over people when it starts to feel like, well, what’s even the point here?</strong><em><strong> </strong></em><strong>If I’m a teenager and I can see this coming, and I know I can get involved with activism, but it also really feels like nobody cares who should, then I’m gonna have these feelings of depression. Other people have feelings of guilt to deal with — sadness and guilt and fear of mortality. </strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1B9xpW">
<strong>This is something religious leaders often have to deal with and help people through. How much of this went into writing the show? </strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jSUOaL">
We were thinking about how religious leaders can help people through these feelings of overwhelm. One of the things that [religious communities are] supposed to be there for is to deal with someone when they’re in grief, when they’re going through a period of depression or anger or any difficult feeling, and shepherd them through that.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OXIcsk">
As a Catholic, I come from a perspective of going to confession. It’s a place you go when you feel bad. There’s a physical place you go, and then you say all the things that you did wrong. And you’re not just let off the hook. You’re given the task of improving your behavior in the hopes that you will not be quite as bad as you were the last time — but you also know that you’re gonna be back at confession a year from now. It’s a duality that acknowledges that you’re never going to reach a place where you don’t have to show up and say what you did wrong, but also that you are capable, perhaps, of improving upon your past behavior and having slightly different superior sentences to confess to next time.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zT5Rw3">
I think those feelings have to have somewhere to go or they ought to have somewhere to go. It’s very difficult to be sitting with those feelings alone. It’s really hard to understand yourself as a carbon-emitting entity on the planet. The whole notion of a carbon footprint can make us feel like the most efficient way of reducing our input would be to stop existing, which I think is horribly bleak. It’s helpful to have somebody else, who’s maybe a professional, guide you through a way of understanding yourself as someone who is, through every action, contributing to this problem, while also finding reasons to keep going, keep the faith, keep hope alive, keep working toward something better.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="i7O7lg">
<strong>I guess that explains why it feels like </strong><a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html"><em><strong>Laudato si</strong></em></a><em><strong>’</strong></em><strong> is such an influence on this show.</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hSDgMS">
I am very fond of <em>Laudato si’</em>. It’s Pope Francis’s encyclical on climate change, on care for our common home. It is a long essay — a short book — about climate change, its causes, its effects, possible solutions. It’s my personal favorite piece of climate writing. I do go around handing it out, which is perhaps somewhat demented, but I think it is underdiscussed, especially by people who are very interested in climate change and not at all interested in the pope — which is a lot of people who are very interested in climate change, fair enough.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="n4ggqW">
<q>“I think there can be a tip in the climate discourse toward despair. There can be a temptation to view all of humanity as the bad guy.”</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Fh5zHJ">
But I think people who think all day about climate change often notice an absence of a humane approach. I think there can be a tip in the climate discourse toward despair. There can be a temptation to view all of humanity as the bad guy. <em>Laudato si’</em>, coming as it does from the pope, views people as gifts of God, that every single person on the planet is supposed to be here and they’re all made in the image of God and we’re so lucky to have them.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="p0whyD">
I think that kind of generosity toward all of humanity is something that the climate movement as a whole could really benefit from embracing, and [Pope Francis is] able to do that while not sparing the fact that there are absolutely people who are responsible. He’s very happy to call out oil companies, gas companies, wealthy people, people who like having nice little organic gardens but don’t like having anybody who’s not rich living next to them. He’s really good at naming all of the people who are responsible while also holding this deep love for all humanity.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8NH5Mr">
He also has a particular relationship to technology, which I think we also tried to capture in the show — that technology can’t be good or bad. Technology is just something that we make, and then we use it in ways that either make things better or worse. But a technological fix is impossible unless it is deployed by humans collectively with their eyes on the collective good.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MwiYqe">
<em><strong>Laudato si’ </strong></em><strong>is very much about privileging short-term gains over long-term effects, and how that creates a throwaway culture, right? Where it’s not just poor people, but elderly people, or people with different mental capacities, who are pushed to the margins in a culture that privileges the short term over the long term.</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PHyfUu">
When you look at the climate movement and you look at the environmental movement, there are definitely strains and people within it who act like some people are disposable, or like it’d be great if some people didn’t exist, or didn’t have so many kids, or stopped being so gross.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nPoekp">
I think that is a bad strain in the climate movement. I think it is correcting for that now and is not as bad as it used to be. But I think there’s certainly still room to have as capacious as possible an understanding of all the people.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1zEIsy">
It goes back to that, like, God perspective. Can we really hold every single person, including severely disabled people, including very old people, including very young people — can we hold all of them in our head as deserving a planet to live on?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="462rWN">
Extrapolations <em>is currently streaming on Apple TV+. New episodes drop weekly on Fridays.</em>
</p></li>
<li><strong>Microsoft’s current AI dominance is thrilling the company’s diehard fans</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A man holding up two copies of Windows 95 in a crowded store, from August 1995." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GG07_XEJZNNzOy6wQCpiaQyT4tY=/22x0:1461x1079/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72172327/GettyImages_51990367.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Back in 1995, Microsoft’s new operating systems were a big deal. | Torsten Blackwood/AFP via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
They stayed true through Zunes, Windows Phones, and the original Bing. Now Microsoft’s fans are enjoying its big AI moment.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZrYAPz">
It’s too early to tell how Microsoft will ultimately fare in the AI search war <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2023/2/7/23590069/bing-openai-microsoft-google-bard">it started</a> with Google. Both companies have now rolled out their AI-infused search offerings, though Microsoft’s new Bing, the result of its <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2023/1/23/23567991/microsoft-open-ai-investment-chatgpt">partnership</a> with OpenAI, which made ChatGPT, has gotten the lion’s share of the attention and praise. <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2023/2/6/23588308/google-bard-chatbot-chatgpt-ai-testing-public">Google’s Bard</a> chatbot, on the other hand, has so far been a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/testers-say-google-bard-worse-than-chatgpt-2023-3">disappointment</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JOvcOF">
This has put Microsoft in a position that we are used to seeing Google in: <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2023/1/26/23571710/microsoft-open-ai-chatgpt-google">on the cutting edge</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KJAdiS">
It has also put Google <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-08/chatgpt-success-drives-google-to-put-ai-in-all-its-products">on its heels</a>. The search giant currently looks like an also-ran with an inferior product. Microsoft has found itself in that position all too often since Google’s early 2000s rise, which would ultimately allow it to dominate the internet. So now Microsoft’s having a rare moment in the sun, and at Google’s expense.
</p>
<aside id="arjpS4">
<div>
</div>
</aside>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="twyIOv">
Microsoft’s fans seem to be enjoying it. Vox asked several of them how they felt about seeing the company at the forefront of what could be potentially world-changing technology for the first time in a very long time. Their answers show how Microsoft’s OpenAI integrations into its consumer products have managed to live up to a lot of the buzz so far, but there’s also a long way to go before anyone can say that they’ll give Microsoft a real edge over competitors.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JpmvYu">
“Oh, how the <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=How%20the%20turn%20tables">turn tables</a>,” Brett Lemoine, an IT worker who lives in Texas, said in an email. “I think, for maybe the first time, Microsoft is ahead of the game on this one. In my opinion, they had better products in the past, but they never stuck because they were released too late and/or never got enough user adoption (Zune, Windows Phone).”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bUsGXW">
Lemoine calls himself a “Microsoft fanboy” on his <a href="https://twitter.com/bremic9188">Twitter profile</a>, where he’s also <a href="https://twitter.com/bremic9188/status/1438233730028539905">posted a photo</a> of his much-faded tattoo of the Windows 7 logo.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Photos of a tattoo of the Windows 7 logo on the back of someone’s left shoulder. One is the brand new version and the other is the faded version 12 years later." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-LPPRMANcWxX9HbM1tkTtG7WswE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24578190/Image__2_.jpeg"/> <cite>Brett Lemoine</cite>
<figcaption>
Brett Lemoine’s Windows 7 tattoo, then and now.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ELcTuX">
“I got the tattoo back in college — was my first one,” he explained. “Always wanted a tattoo and I guess Microsoft was my biggest passion at the time.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zfNH9m">
Lemoine, who says he is not related to Blake Lemoine, the former Google engineer who thought its chatbot <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/11/google-ai-lamda-blake-lemoine/">had become sentient</a>, has also passed what may be the truest test of a Microsoft fan: He had a Windows Phone, which was Microsoft’s <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/10/16452162/windows-phone-history-glorious-failure">ill-fated attempt</a> to compete with Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android ecosystem. Released in 2010 at a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/technology/microsoft-earnings-q4.html">cost of billions</a>, the Windows Phone was a relative latecomer to the market and never really caught on. When mobile devices overtook desktop and laptop PCs in terms of usage, Microsoft didn’t have much of a foothold.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iwN28t">
Vivian Chandra, who works in education and lives in New Zealand, said in an email that her Windows Phone was “quite awesome,” but she had to give it up. Once developers stopped supporting apps for it, she eventually found herself in an airport needing to use an Air New Zealand app that no longer worked. Chandra is still devoted to the Microsoft hardware that hasn’t been discontinued. When the Surface tablet was first released 10 years ago, she made a special pitstop in the United States on a trip to Canada to pick one up so she wouldn’t have to wait for it to come to her country. She recently bought a Surface Pro 9, too.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cPHwVq">
“The buzz [over AI] is quite exciting,” Chandra said. “They missed the boat with smartphones, but this might be a new way for them to move ahead of Google.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F2KYD1">
Microsoft has indeed missed the boat in the past, but it was doing just fine before OpenAI came along. It’s currently the <a href="https://companiesmarketcap.com/">second-most</a> valuable company in the world, with Apple being the first. Google is fourth, just behind the state-owned Saudi Aramco. So Microsoft’s still beating Google in terms of market cap.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0F9vNe">
But, aside from its gaming division, it’s been a long time since Microsoft’s consumer offerings got much buzz. Often, the company either enters a market too late, as it did with the Windows Phone, or it loses out to an upstart that offers something better. Google’s search, Chrome, and Gmail are the majority of consumers’ preferred web search, browser, and email providers. Microsoft’s web search, browser, and email offerings are not. Decades ago, people <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsofts-windows-95-launched-20-years-ago-today/">lined up overnight</a> to get their hands on Microsoft’s new Windows operating system; now, Google’s Android mobile operating system has the <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share#monthly-201501-202304">biggest market share</a>. Microsoft is an enterprise or business services provider, such as Office productivity and server software and cloud computing. Even its social media platform, LinkedIn, is about business. These offerings have been lucrative. They’re also boring.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VAOGGH">
Microsoft seems to believe that OpenAI will help it recapture that past glory and excitement. OpenAI’s integrations with its consumer products were unveiled at a <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/02/07/reinventing-search-with-a-new-ai-powered-microsoft-bing-and-edge-your-copilot-for-the-web/">splashy event</a> in February with a clear message: With generative AI, web search was about to evolve, and Microsoft was going to lead the way. Google was not because it had been playing it too slow and too safe with its AI offerings. Now, Google is forced to scramble to push out its own generative AI products. So far, Bard and Google’s other AI offerings have been met with much less fanfare and had fewer features and <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/i-tested-google-bard-it-was-surprising-in-a-bad-way/">more flaws</a>. Even Bing’s <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/15/23599072/microsoft-ai-bing-personality-conversations-spy-employees-webcams">missteps</a> have been more interesting than <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-ai-chatbot-bard-offers-inaccurate-information-company-ad-2023-02-08/">Bard’s</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zgiypi">
Google is the <a href="https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/3/22/23651093/google-bard-ai-chatbot-microsoft-chat-gpt-generative">boring</a> one now. Microsoft fans who hadn’t used Bing and Edge much before OpenAI — even diehards have their limits — say they’re enjoying the experience now.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IvMBxD">
Sam Hosea was a “teenage Microsoft groupie” whose earliest memory with Microsoft was “tinkering around with QBasic.” Now 40 years old and living outside DC, where he works as a caregiver, Hosea said in an email that, until recently, he “hadn’t thought about Bing in a very, very, <em>VERY</em> long time.” Lately, he’s been using it quite a bit.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ls9qQ4">
“For the past few weeks, I’ve literally been spending much of my free time chatting with the AI bot on the Bing app!” Hosea said. Meanwhile, he hadn’t even heard of Google’s Bard until he was asked how he thought it compared to Bing.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jsVvwL">
Lots of other people are trying out Bing, too. Microsoft recently <a href="https://blogs.bing.com/search/march_2023/The-New-Bing-and-Edge-%E2%80%93-Momentum-from-Our-First-Month/">announced</a> that the search engine <a href="https://blogs.bing.com/search/march_2023/The-New-Bing-and-Edge-%E2%80%93-Momentum-from-Our-First-Month/">crossed</a> the 100 million daily user mark (Google, by contrast, does billions of searches per day). Microsoft also said that Edge “continues to grow in usage” without providing a number. It remains to be seen if Microsoft can build on that to become a real competitor to Google, which remains the undisputed leader in search and browsers, or if it will even be able to maintain the excitement around Bing and Edge if and when the AI novelty and hype fades. Even some of Microsoft’s biggest fans aren’t sure of that yet.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DZNffb">
Chandra admits that she prefers Chrome and Google search over Edge and Bing now. While she hasn’t noticed a big difference yet in the new offerings, she’s hoping Microsoft will continue <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/translator/blog/2019/11/21/kia-ora-te-reo-maori/">its</a> <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/en-nz/2021/10/22/identity-through-the-macron-the-windows-11-aotearoa-keyboard/">tradition</a> of integrating the Māori language into its products by making it available in AI searches.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ySyfVK">
And while Hosea is having fun asking Bing deeper questions and having conversations with it, his “go-to for day-to-day searches” is still Google.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="18kXcL">
Brian Hoyt is the IT director at an elementary and middle school in Washington state, and his Microsoft use dates back to 1984 and MS-DOS. He says he hasn’t used Microsoft’s AI integrations much because they’re not yet available for education customers, but he is wondering if Microsoft will run into issues down the line because it <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-and-microsoft-are-partners-until-they-vie-for-the-same-customers">doesn’t own</a> OpenAI outright, while Google’s AI products were either <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/1/26/11622732/exclusive-google-to-buy-artificial-intelligence-startup-deepmind-for">acquired</a> or developed in-house.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QVrswf">
“They definitely seem to have the first mover advantage, but it is unclear if that will hold up,” Hoyt said, noting that Microsoft will have to <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/20/rely_on_microsoft_bing_search/?td=rt-3a">monetize</a> those costly AI offerings at some point and that could cause some pushback.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YfrSq5">
As for Lemoine, he says he’s considered getting his Windows 7 tattoo refreshed, if not covered up with a newer Windows logo. But he’s not letting Microsoft’s possible renaissance influence that decision.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RlCvoW">
“OpenAI stuff doesn’t sway me either way,” he said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KutrzF">
<em>A version of this story was first published in the Vox technology newsletter. </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/pages/newsletters"><em>Sign up here</em></a><em> so you don’t miss the next one!</em>
</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>IPL 2023 | M.S. Dhoni set to lead CSK for 200th time; Jadeja hopeful of win against RR</strong> - CSK is in the fifth position in the points table with two wins and a loss in three matches and a total of four points</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Champions League QFs | Man City thrashes Bayern 3-0; Inter overcomes Benfica</strong> - Manchester City dominated Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals draw; Inter defeats Benfica 2-0</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>Morning Digest | BJP announces first list of 189 candidates with 52 new faces for Karnataka elections; unfazed India to hold G-20 event in Leh, and more</strong> - Here’s a select list of stories to read before you start your 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>DC vs MI | First win is always special, says Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma</strong> - Five-time champions MI suffered defeats in their first two matches but the Rohit-led side finally pulled off a win after completing a chase of 173 in the last ball</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’m happy I could come up with a match-winning performance, says Nicholas Pooran</strong> - The West Indian batter gives a good glimpse of what he is capable of</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>Woman’s body stuffed in gunny bag found by roadside in Hyderabad</strong> -</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>T.N. Bill seeks to exempt factories from working hour norms</strong> - If the Bill is adopted and becomes a law, the State government would be able to exempt any factory or group of factories from any or all of the provisions of Sections 51, 52, 54, 55, 56 or 59 of the Act</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>‘I was not an aspirant’, says A.T. Ramaswamy</strong> -</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Assam bans use of gestation, farrowing crates in pig farming</strong> - A circular issued by the State’s Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department follows an appeal from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals</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>‘Establish steel factory at Bayyaram as per AP Reorganisation Act’</strong> - Minister Puvvada, MPs Ravichandra and Kavitha appeal to Centre</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine conflict: President Zelensky condemns beheading video</strong> - A video emerges online that appears to shows a Ukrainian soldier being beheaded.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: Leak shows Western special forces on the ground</strong> - The UK has the largest contingent of military special forces in Ukraine, according to a leaked file.</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>Europe migrant crisis: Italian state of emergency to tackle migrant boats</strong> - The six-month measure comes as thousands of migrants land in Italy in three days.</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>Gerard Depardieu: French actor faces new sexual assault allegations</strong> - The actor is accused of sexual assault or harassment by 13 women, a French news website reports.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: Russian parliament approves online call-up</strong> - The Kremlin denies it wants to speed up mobilisation of Russian men or end widespread draft-dodging.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The mounting human and environmental costs of generative AI</strong> - Planetary impacts, escalating financial costs, and labor exploitation all factor. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1929528">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s “15 W” wireless charging is 33% slower than last year</strong> - Compared to last year’s models, Samsung’s wireless charging somehow got worse. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1930900">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Developer creates “self-healing” programs that fix themselves thanks to AI</strong> - “Wolverine” experiment can fix Python bugs on the fly and re-run the code. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1930533">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Forget the race cars, here’s how F1 will really cut carbon emissions</strong> - The cars might be fast but they’re also only 0.7% of F1’s carbon footprint. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1930918">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Questionable $2,500 hoodie makes you look like you were plucked out of Minecraft</strong> - Plus: The pixelated silk pants you’ve been searching for. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1930826">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>what’s the difference between a job and a wife after six years?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A job still sucks
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/thatguy2226xbox"> /u/thatguy2226xbox </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12j8cg3/whats_the_difference_between_a_job_and_a_wife/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12j8cg3/whats_the_difference_between_a_job_and_a_wife/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>kid: “Mum, what’s an orgasm?”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Mum: “I dunno, ask your Dad….”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Allenc38"> /u/Allenc38 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12ipnei/kid_mum_whats_an_orgasm/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12ipnei/kid_mum_whats_an_orgasm/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>When my wife starts to sing, I always go outside and do some garden work….</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
so our neighbors can see there’s no domestic violence going on.
</p>
</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Stationary-Event"> /u/Stationary-Event </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12j6muf/when_my_wife_starts_to_sing_i_always_go_outside/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12j6muf/when_my_wife_starts_to_sing_i_always_go_outside/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A drunk walks up to two priests…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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A drunk walks up to two priests…
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He says “I’m Jesus Christ.”
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The priest shakes his head. “No son, you’re not.”
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The drunk goes up to the second priest. “I’m Jesus Christ.”
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The second priest gives the same answer.
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The drunk glares at them for a second. “Look I can prove it. Follow me.” ….
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He leads them to a bar and walks inside.
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The bartender takes one look at him and says, “Jesus Christ, you’re here AGAIN?!”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/DooleyMTV"> /u/DooleyMTV </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12iuka7/a_drunk_walks_up_to_two_priests/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12iuka7/a_drunk_walks_up_to_two_priests/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Guy takes his best mate home to meet his wife:</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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His wife screams, “You fucking dickhead, my hair and makeup are a mess, the house is a tip, the dishes aren’t done, I’m still in my pyjamas, I can’t be bothered to cook and it’s my time of the month! Why the fuck did you bring him home? The husband replies”Because he is thinking of getting married"…
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Buddy2269"> /u/Buddy2269 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12ixurm/guy_takes_his_best_mate_home_to_meet_his_wife/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12ixurm/guy_takes_his_best_mate_home_to_meet_his_wife/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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