#this talk is about protein folding for drug development

[radioactivelight]

finally a talk at this conference today that doesnt make me hate technology

[mysticalpeacenut]

How Biomolecular Interactions Drive Innovation

Biomolecular interactions lie on the coronary heart of almost every biological method that occurs inside living organisms. From cell verbal exchange and protein folding to gene expression and immune responses, these interactions govern the complex dance of lifestyles on a molecular level. Understanding and leveraging these interactions is driving a brand new wave of innovation in biotechnology, drug discovery, and therapeutic improvement.

This blog explores how biomolecular interactions, which includes the superior Magna™ Biomolecular Interactions generation, are fueling scientific breakthroughs and transforming the destiny of medication.

The Fundamentals of Biomolecular Interactions

At their center, biomolecular interactions talk to the methods wherein different molecules-along with proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and small molecules-have interaction with every different to perform organic functions. These interactions are incredibly specific and involve non-covalent forces inclusive of hydrogen bonding, ionic interactions, hydrophobic effects, and van der Waals forces.

Key kinds of biomolecular interactions include:

Protein-Protein Interactions (PPIs): These are vital for in reality each factor of mobile function, along with cell signaling, metabolism, and immune responses.

Protein-DNA/RNA Interactions: Central to processes like gene expression and regulation, these interactions manage how genetic information is transcribed and translated.

Enzyme-Substrate Interactions: These power catalytic reactions, important for metabolic pathways, and other biochemical strategies.

Understanding those molecular interactions offers scientists insights into how illnesses increase and development, leading to modern healing strategies that can intervene at the molecular degree.

Unlocking Potential Through Molecular Interactions

As our expertise of molecular interactions deepens, the potential for brand new programs in remedy and biotechnology grows exponentially. Researchers at the moment are capable of layout capsules and remedies that particularly goal key biomolecules, allowing greater precise remedy techniques with fewer side results.

One of the most promising regions of innovation lies within the manipulation of molecular interactions to expand focused healing procedures. For instance, researchers have recognized specific protein-protein interactions that make contributions to cancer development, which has brought about the improvement of medicine that disrupt those interactions, halting tumor growth.

In addition to drug discovery, the look at of biomolecular interactions is transforming fields like synthetic biology, personalized remedy, and diagnostics. By engineering molecules that engage in unique approaches, scientists are growing new biomolecular equipment for gene modifying, ailment modeling, and greater.

Magna™ Biomolecular Interactions: A Technological Leap

Among the maximum exciting advancements on this area is Magna™ Biomolecular Interactions, a modern-day era advanced by means of Depixus. This step forward technology permits researchers to precisely have a look at the interactions between biomolecules, supplying unheard of detail and accuracy.

Magna™ generation makes use of superior methods to seize and analyze how unique biomolecules engage in actual time. This facts can be used to are expecting how proteins will behave in one-of-a-kind environments, how small molecules can also bind to target proteins, or how genetic fabric may additionally engage with regulatory proteins. The capability to reveal these interactions at this kind of granular stage opens up new opportunities for drug improvement and customized remedies.

For instance, in RNA-focused drug discovery, information the right interactions between RNA molecules and therapeutic compounds is essential. Magna™ Biomolecular Interactions allows scientists to explore these interactions in great detail, helping to increase RNA-centered capsules with extra efficacy and specificity.

Biomolecular Interactions in Drug Discovery

The role of biomolecular interactions in drug discovery cannot be overstated. Modern drug layout frequently hinges on the identity of important molecular interactions that make a contribution to disease. By concentrated on these interactions, scientists can expand treatment plans that interfere on the earliest levels of disorder progression.

For example, in illnesses like Alzheimer's, most cancers, and autoimmune disorders, sure biomolecular interactions can pressure the disease technique. By inhibiting or enhancing those interactions, researchers can create remedies that particularly address the underlying reasons of the sickness, instead of simply treating the signs and symptoms.

This focused technique to drug discovery is mainly relevant inside the technology of personalized medication, in which treatments may be tailor-made to an man or woman's specific molecular profile. The ability to examine molecular interactions at a extraordinarily unique degree, made possible with the aid of innovations like Magna™ technology, is paving the way for extra effective and customized healing options.

The Future of Innovation

The destiny of innovation in biotechnology and medicinal drug is being shaped by our increasing potential to apprehend and manipulate biomolecular interactions. As equipment like Magna™ Biomolecular Interactions hold to adapt, we can expect even extra advancements in the observe of molecular processes, leading to new discoveries so as to trade the manner we approach disorder remedy and prevention.

This generation holds promise no longer handiest for drug discovery however additionally for regions along with artificial biology, where engineered biomolecular interactions can be used to create new biological systems with custom designed capabilities. The capability programs are significant and sundry, from growing novel gene healing procedures to developing biosensors that stumble on sickness markers at an early level.

Conclusion

The observe of biomolecular interactions is driving a revolution in how we understand, diagnose, and treat diseases. With technology like Magna™ Biomolecular Interactions, researchers are gaining unprecedented insights into the complicated molecular networks that govern existence itself. These innovations are not only remodeling drug discovery however also paving the way for brand spanking new packages in biotechnology, personalised medicine, and past.

As we hold to free up the secrets of molecular interactions, the destiny of drugs looks brighter than ever. To explore how Magna™ Biomolecular Interactions era can guide your studies and drive innovation on your discipline, visit Depixus. Discover how our superior solutions are shaping the future of biomolecular studies and therapeutic improvement.

Reposted Blog Post URL: https://petrickzagblogger.wordpress.com/2024/08/20/biomolecular-interactions-drive-innovation/

[tastydregs]

Ray Kurzweil Predicted Simulated Biology is a Path to Longevity Escape Velocity

There is a lot of reports that Ray Kurzweil predicted immortality will be achieved by 2030. Here is the section of the September, 2022 interview with Lex Fridman where Ray talked about Longevity Escape velocity starting around 2030.

His belief is based upon going all in with rapidly improving AI to speed the advance of antiaging medicine. I get to the specifics of Ray’s beliefs and statements and the actual work of applying AI to accelerate drug discovery and progress with antiaging work.

Demis Hassabis and Deep Mind developed Alphafold to solve protein folding. This is the leading edge of AI for accelerate drug discovery.

The significance of AlphaFold AlphaFold has demonstrated significant progress in tackling the protein-folding problem. Hassabis shared, “Prior to us entering the field with AlphaFold 1 in 2018, and then AlphaFold 2 in 2020, if we look at the decade of progress before that, from 2006 to 2016, on the previous CASP editions, you can see that essentially there’d been no progress for pretty much a decade.”

AlphaFold, a system capable of predicting protein structures with remarkable accuracy, could have far-reaching implications for the future of drug discovery and development. Hassabis believes that this groundbreaking technology will usher in a new era of digital biology, saying, “AlphaFold, I think, is that proof of concept.” He added that the system promises to herald “the dawn of a new era of what we like to refer to as ‘digital biology.’”

AlphaFold is not the only system from a tech company focused on proteins. Scientists at Facebook’s parent Meta have also developed an AI language model known as ESMFold to predict the unknown structures of more than 600 million proteins pertaining to viruses, bacteria and other microbes. The researchers repurposed the model, first designed for decoding human languages, to make accurate predictions regarding proteins’ 3D structure.

Virtual Cell

Deepmind is also working on a number of other projects in chemistry and biology to expedite the drug discovery process. Hassabis envisions the development of a “virtual cell” that models all cellular dynamics and can be used to perform in silico experiments. This would streamline the research process, requiring wet lab validation only at the final stage.

Meta and Deepmind could both offer useful approaches. That is, ESMFold’s speed advantage could complement AlphaFold’s higher accuracy. Researchers could potentially use ESMFold for initial predictions or for large-scale projects, and then refine the results using AlphaFold for specific proteins of interest. This combination could optimize the research process and maximize the benefits of both models.

Breakthroughs like AlphaFold and ESMFold have the potential to catalyze progress drug discovery and other scientific fields, potentially helping usher in a new era in digital biology. Hassabis’ presentation showcased DeepMind’s ambitious vision, while stressing the need for safety, responsibility and ethics in AI development.

A Virtual Cell could be achieved by 2030 and it could speed up some work. It could then be expanded to virtual organs and then virtual bodies for fast virtual clinical trials.

Ray believes there is an accelerating pace of technology and the growing power of AI is now widely accepted. The biotechnology revolution has arrived and has begun to radically change the way medical problems are solved. As these concepts become reality, the question of whether we want to live forever is becoming less theoretical and more real. Here is an excerpt from that Singularity University Alumni conversation.

Ray on Simulating Biology – Applying AI to Biology Ray said — We are now applying AI to life extension. We’re actually simulating biology, so we can now do tests with simulated biology. Take the Moderna vaccine for example. They actually tested several billion different mRNA sequences and found ones that could create a vaccine. They did this in three days and that was the vaccine. They then spent ten months testing it on humans, but it never changed. It remained the same and it’s the same today. Ultimately, we won’t need to test on humans. We will be able to test on a million simulated humans which will be much better than testing on a few hundred real humans.

It is good that we had the vaccine otherwise many more people would have died. I’m not saying we’re there yet but we are beginning to simulate biology and ultimately we’ll find solutions to all the problems we have in medicine using simulated biology. So, we’ve just begun. I think we’ll see that being very prominent by the end of this decade. But people have to want to live forever. If they avoid solutions to problems then they won’t take advantage of these advances. So we’ll have the opportunity, but that doesn’t mean everybody will do it.

Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.

Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.

A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts.  He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.

[blog-cosmosuniverse1]

What Can Go Wrong?

What Can Go Wrong?

One key take-home from the Nature Reviews Drug Discovery article5 cited above is that replacing rare codons “must be used judiciously,” as rarer codons can have slower translation rates and a slowed-down rate is actually necessary to prevent protein misfolding.

The spike protein is the toxic part of the virus responsible for the most unique effects of the virus, such as the blood clotting disorders, neurological problems and heart damage. To expect the COVID shot to not produce these kinds of effects would be rather naïve.

A (adenine) and U (uracil) in the third position are rare, and the COVID shots replace these A’s and U’s with G’s (guanine) or C’s (cytosine). According to Seneff, this switch results in a 1,000-fold greater amount of spike protein compared to being infected with the actual virus.

What could go wrong? Well, just about anything. Again, the shot induces spike protein at levels unheard of in nature (even if SARS-CoV-2 is a “souped up” manmade concoction), and the spike protein is the toxic part of the virus responsible for the most unique effects of the virus, such as the blood clotting disorders, neurological problems and heart damage.

So, to expect the COVID shot to not produce these kinds of effects would be rather naïve. The codon switches might also result in protein misfolding, which is equally bad news. As explained by Seneff in our previous interview:

“The spike proteins that these mRNA vaccines are producing … aren’t able to go into the membrane, which I think is going to encourage it to become a problematic prion protein. Then, when you have inflammation, it upregulates alpha-synuclein [a neuronal protein that regulates synaptic traffic and neurotransmitter release].

So, you're going to get alpha-synuclein drawn into misfolded spike proteins, turning into a mess inside the dendritic cells in the germinal centers in the spleen. And they're going to package up all this crud into exosomes and release them. They’re then going to travel along the vagus nerve to the brainstem and cause things like Parkinson's disease.

So, I think this is a complete setup for Parkinson's disease ... It's going to push forward the date at which someone who has a propensity towards Parkinson's is going to get it.

And it's probably going to cause people to get Parkinson's who never would have gotten it in the first place — especially if they keep getting the vaccine every year. Every year you do a booster, you bring the date that you're going to get Parkinson's ever closer.”

Immune Dysfunction and Viral Flare-Ups

Other significant threats include immune dysfunction and the flare-up of latent viral infections, which is something Mikovits has been warning about. In our previous interview, she noted:

“We use poly(I:C) [a toll-like receptor 3 agonist] to signal the cell to turn on the type I interferon pathway, and because [the spike protein your body produces in response to the COVID shot] is an unnatural synthetic envelope, you're not seeing poly(I:C), and you're not [activating] the Type I interferon pathway.

You've bypassed the plasmacytoid dendritic cell, which combined with IL-10, by talking to the regulatory B cells, decides what subclasses of antibodies to put out. So, you've bypassed the communication between the innate and adaptive immune response. You now miss the signaling of the endocannabinoid receptors …

A large part of Dr. [Francis] Ruscetti’s and my work over the last 30 years has been to show you don't need an infectious transmissible virus — just pieces and parts of these viruses are worse, because they also turn on danger signals. They act like danger signals and pathogen-associated molecular patterns.

So, it synergistically leaves that inflammatory cytokine signature on that spins your innate immune response out of control. It just cannot keep up with the myelopoiesis [the production of cells in your bone marrow]. Hence you see a skew-away from the mesenchymal stem cell towards TGF-beta regulated hematopoietic stem cells.

This means you could see bleeding disorders on both ends. You can't make enough firetrucks to send to the fire. Your innate immune response can't get there, and then you've just got a total train wreck of your immune system.”

We’re now seeing reports of herpes and shingles infection following COVID-19 injection, and this is precisely what you can expect if your Type I interferon pathway is disabled. That’s not the end of your potential troubles, however, as these coinfections could accelerate other diseases as well.

For example, herpes viruses have been implicated as a trigger of both AIDS6 and myalgic encephalomyelitis7 (chronic fatigue syndrome or ME-CFS). According to Mikovits, these diseases don’t appear until viruses from different families partner up and retroviruses take out the Type 1 interferon pathway. Long term, the COVID mass injection campaign may be laying the foundation for a rapidly approaching avalanche of a wide range of debilitating chronic illnesses.

Are COVID Shots Appropriately Optimized?

As noted in the Vaccines article cited earlier, the codon optimization in the Pfizer and Moderna shots could be problematic:8

“As mammalian host cells attack unmodified exogeneous RNA, all U nucleotides were replaced by N1-methylpseudouridine (Ψ). However, Ψ wobbles more in base-pairing than U and can pair not only with A and G, but also, to a lesser extent, with C and U.

This is likely to increase misreading of a codon by a near-cognate tRNA. When nucleotide U in stop codons was replaced by Ψ, the rate of misreading of a stop codon by a near-cognate tRNAs increased.

Such readthrough events would not only decrease the number of immunogenic proteins, but also produce a longer protein of unknown fate with potentially deleterious effects …

The designers of both vaccines considered CGG as the optimal codon in the CGN codon family and recoded almost all CGN codons to CGG … [M]ultiple lines of evidence suggest that CGC is a better codon than CGG. The designers of the mRNA vaccines (especially mRNA-1273) chose a wrong codon as the optimal codon.”

The paper also points out the importance of vaccine mRNA to be translated accurately and not merely effectively, because if the wrong amino acids are incorporated, it can confuse your immune system and prevent it from identifying the correct targets.

Accuracy is also important in translation termination, and here it comes down to selecting the correct stop codons. Stop codons (UAA, UAG or UGA), when present at the end of an mRNA coding sequence signals the termination of protein synthesis.

According to the author, both Pfizer and Moderna selected less than optimal stop codons. “UGA is a poor choice of a stop codon, and UGAU in Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines could be even worse,” she says.

What Health Problems Can We Expect to See More Of?

While the variety of diseases we may see a rise in as a result of this vaccination campaign are myriad, some general predictions can be made. We’ve already seen a massive uptick in blood clotting disorders, heart attacks and stroke, as well as heart inflammation.

More long term, Seneff believes we’ll see a significant rise in cancer, accelerated Parkinson's-like diseases, Huntington's disease, and all types of autoimmune diseases and neurodegenerative disorders.

Mikovits also suspects many will develop chronic and debilitating diseases and will die prematurely. At highest risk, she places those who are asymptomatically infected with XMRVs and gammaretroviruses from contaminated conventional vaccines. The COVID shot will effectively accelerate their death by crippling their immune function. “The kids that are highly vaccinated, they're ticking time bombs,” Mikovits said in my May 2021 interview.

What Are the Options?

While all of this is highly problematic, there is hope. From my perspective, I believe the best thing you can do is to build your innate immune system. To do that, you need to become metabolically flexible and optimize your diet. You’ll also want to make sure your vitamin D level is optimized to between 60 ng/mL and 80 ng/mL (100 nmol/L to 150 nmol/L).

I also recommend time-restricted eating, where you eat all your meals for the day within a six- to eight-hour window. Time-restricted eating will also upregulate autophagy, which may help digest and remove spike protein. Avoid all vegetable oils and processed foods. Focus on certified-organic foods to minimize your glyphosate exposure.

Sauna therapy may also be helpful. It upregulates heat shock proteins, which can help refold misfolded proteins. They also tag damaged proteins and target them for removal.

[copperbaker39]

The Sarm Holy Bible.

Ostarine

Content

Kate Somerville Peptide K8 Power Lotion.

Production Of Bioactive Peptides By Lactobacillus Species: From Gene To Application.

Peptides Established Of 12 ₤ 220.

What Are Sarms?

Vip Whatsapp Team For Inner Promotions And Sarms Online Forum.

The partner or combining particle may be carbohydrate or non-carbohydrate in nature. If the outcome of UCPCR runs out maintaining with various other scientific finding then we would certainly recommend duplicating the test particularly if it is suddenly reduced. People tipping out boric acid preservative from urine collection tube, in an example taking greater than 3 days to reach the laboratory can lead to unnaturally low outcomes. A control experiment is one that is treated in the same way as an actual experiment, however is not exposed to the speculative agent. There are two kinds of controls for experiments, positive and also unfavorable controls.

Nate Diaz tested positive for trace amounts of a SARM, not suspended for UFC 244 - Bloody Elbow

Nate Diaz tested positive for trace amounts of a SARM, not suspended for UFC 244.

Posted: Fri, 25 Oct 2019 07:00:00 GMT [source]

It is a weird kind of glycosidic bond in which the sugar moiety is attached straight to the carbon atom of the other molecule. It is formed as a result of the response between the carbonyl team of a sugar particle and an alkyl substance like methane and so on . This bond is developed as a result of a response between the carbonyl team of a carbohydrate or its derivate and also a hydroxyl team of a few other substance. The carbonyl group of carb might be a part of an aldehydic group or a ketonic group. A molecule of water is released in this procedure, making it an irreparable reaction. It is a main bond or a covalent bond that offers to connect carbohydrates to other groups or particles.

Kate Somerville Peptide K8 Power Cream.

This slide collection is appropriate as an intro to the subject of peptide ligands. When the charge is related to the electrodes, the various amino acid will certainly move at different speeds to the corresponding electrode. The rate at which they move as well as to which electrode they take a trip to is recorded as well as compared on the glass substrate. Series of bands are developed from their motions which are called Electropherograms. Electropherograms are lines that are created from the motion of the healthy proteins to the electrodes. is the molecular mass of the neutral N-terminal group, is the molecular mass of the neutral C-terminal team, is molecular mass of the neutral amino acid deposits. To acquire m/z values, add or deduct protons as required to get the required charge as well as divide by the variety of fees.

The types of piece ions observed in an MS/MS spectrum rely on lots of variables consisting of main sequence, the quantity of inner power, exactly how the power was introduced, cost state, etc . The approved nomenclature for fragment ions was very first suggested by Roepstorff and Fohlman, as well as consequently modified by Johnson et. Along with the structural characterisation of healthy proteins the center also provides high-throughput protein-ligand testing. Commonly, 10-20μM of protein is required with a 100-fold excess of ligand Using automation multitudes of compounds can be swiftly screened. Hits can be further verified making use of protein-detect methods (1H-15N or 1H-13C HSQC).

Manufacturing Of Bioactive Peptides By Lactobacillus Varieties: From Genetics To Application.

A positive control experiment is one that uses a representative understood to generate a measurable and well recognized effect on the system. In contrast, an adverse control experiment is one that makes use of the same treatments as the real experiment, however has no additional treatment or utilizes an agent that is anticipated to be inactive. Kathy Taylor-Brewin of Biography Active Elegance is a specialist in peptide skin care, distributing the Hydropeptide array in the UK.

To obtain a2-, subtract 2 protons from the Mr worth for an as well as divide by 2. The structures showed above recommend ions with a single positive charge. Mascot likewise consists of assistance for adverse ions, as well as the unfavorable ion types are the same as positive, however with one proton per fee deducted instead of included. We welcomefeedbackconcerning any kind of added ion types that must be taken into consideration. One of the most bountiful fragment ion types observed in MALDI-TOF PSD are a, b, and also y. If accident gas is made use of, after that the ranges look like high energy CID.

Peptides Established Of 12 ₤ 220.

" Hydropeptide integrates each classification of peptide in its VLR technology," comments April Zangl, Chief Executive Officer of Hydropeptide. " VLR technology is made to improve peptide efficiency optimising anti-ageing results. Comparable to a lock as well as secret, peptides call for a certain range, concentration degree and repetition for noticeable age opposing outcomes. N-terminal professional B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a non-active peptide released along with the active peptide hormone BNP when the wall surfaces of the heart are extended or there is pressure overload on the heart e.g. by liquid overload. BNP then acts upon the kidneys triggering fluid as well as sodium loss in the pee as well as moderate vasodilation so launching the pressure.

Furthermore, more studies are needed in connection with the possible use of collagen supplements in skin problem like eczema. As a matter of fact, collagen is thought to compose around 75% of our skin's completely dry weight. Kind I collagen is crucial for skin flexibility as well as stamina, and a loss of collagen in the skin, which happens naturally with aging, can result in wrinkles. Hydrophobic interactions are important in maintaining the tertiary and also quaternary structure of healthy proteins. The variety of hydrogen bonds formed by an electronegative atom depends upon the variety of totally free electrons present in its outer covering. Oxygen has two cost-free electrons and thus can create 2 hydrogen bonds while nitrogen forms just one hydrogen bond because of one free electron.

What Are Sarms?

Glycosidic bond undertakes deterioration in a process called glycolysis. It is a hydrolytic process in which a water molecule is utilized to break the glycosidic bond as well as release the carb and various other residues. The substances with S-glycosidic bonds are called S-glycosides as an example Sinigrin. It is a harmful compound found in some plants like seed of black mustard etc . In this sort of glycosidic bond, the sugar residue is affixed to the sulfur group of the non-carbohydrate compound. It is developed when the carbonyl team of sugar reacts with the thiol (- SH) group of the other compound.

What is Ostarine used for?

Ostarine is used by mouth to improve athletic performance and for involuntary weight loss in people who are very ill, also known as cachexia or wasting syndrome.

There are no well-known medication interactions and we do not yet recognize what the most effective dose of collagen is. Research studies have used everyday doses of in between 1-- 10 g collagen hydrolysate as well as 0.1-- 10 mg of chicken or bovine kind II collagen. It's been recommended that taking collagen hydrolysate can enhance the signs and symptoms of osteo arthritis by promoting your body's manufacturing of joint collagen. Rather than MHC course I, MHC course II particles do not dissociate at the plasma membrane. The systems that manage MHC course II deterioration have not been developed yet, however MHC class II molecules can be ubiquitinised and then internalised in an endocytic pathway.

Vip Whatsapp Group For Inner Promos And Also Sarms Forum.

Austria bpc157 how does it work of basic NMR ranges extracts from a couple of mins to 3/4 days for every experiment. A complete collection of experiments for protein structure decision typically takes concerning 7-14 days. When it comes to reasonably small healthy proteins, current innovative multidimensional information acquisition plans have been successfully used to decrease speculative acquisition time by approximately an order of magnitude or more. There was no evidence of increased side-effects in individuals taking kind II collagen, although trials did report individuals withdrawing due to the fact that they thought the collagen had not been improving their symptoms. Although individuals in both groups enhanced in the kind II collagen and also methotrexate test, the methotrexate individuals revealed the best enhancement.

Is SARMs considered natural?

Short for selective androgen receptor modulators, SARMs are synthetic drugs designed to have effects similar to those of testosterone. SARMs are still in the research and testing stages for various medical conditions but have not been approved yet for any other use.

It can form extra phosphodiester bonds at both ends due to having a complimentary hydroxyl team at the 3' end as well as a complimentary phosphate group at the 5' end. The ester affiliation is a really high-energy bond launching a remarkable amount of power upon hydrolysis. Like the remainder of the bonds talked about previously, it is additionally damaged down by incorporating a water particle.

Fragments will only be spotted if they carry at least one charge. If this cost is kept on the N incurable piece, the ion is classified as either a, b or c. If the charge is retained on the C terminal, the ion kind is eitherx, y or z.

Hormone or peptideMajor cells places in the gutPrincipal recognized actionsGastrointestinal peptides, their website of expression as well as significant functions. The gastrointestinal hormones make up a team of hormones secreted by enteroendocrine cells in the tummy, pancreatic, and also tiny intestine. This team of hormones regulate different functions of the digestion organs. This 60-slide slide collection available from Slideshare.net gives a great introduction of endogenous peptides and also choose instances of useful drugs. Medications reviewed consist of those that imitate the impacts of endogenous peptides and also those that are villains.

All ion collection can be come with by composition dependent satellites as a result of loss of ammonia or water. Collision induced dissociation of ions at keV energies can generates extra ion types because of side chain bosoms,. Keep in mind that these frameworks include a single charge carrying proton. In electrospray ionisation, tryptic peptides usually lug 2 or even more fees, to make sure that piece ions may carry more than one proton.

Cardarine is a pharmaceutical grade PPAR agonist which has some extremely useful effects for professional athletes.

Because some SARMs are best for bulking as well as others are shown to be specifically efficient for cutting, they're sometimes combined, or stacked, in research studies.

These manufactured SARM-derived metabolites can conveniently be utilized as reference standards for routine mass spectrometry-based doping control analysis of at the very least three generally used performance-enhancing drugs to unambigously recognize misbehavior.

RAD 140 SARM-- a SARM with effective anabolic impacts for improving muscle development, as well as appealing benefits for your mind.

We have actually made a team where sarms users can share their progress, experiences as well as to talk with each various other concerning their cycles and also progress.

view site will be noticeably lowered which means you can boost the intensity and period of your exercises.

An ester bond is formed when a molecule having the carboxylic group responds with an additional molecule having a hydroxyl group. The carboxylic group loses its hydrogen as well as oxygen while the alcohol loses hydrogen of its hydroxyl group. Consequently, a water molecule is released, and the two carbons are linked using an oxygen bridge creating a -COC- link.

[drlaurynlax]

8 Things to Know About the Meat And Cancer Debate

Have you heard about the meat and cancer debate? Does eating meat increase your risk of cancer? Read this article to get the best answers.

Pop question: Does Meat Cause Cancer?

The jury is out: Meat—good or bad?  The vegan and vegetarian camps say “Nay!,” the meat lovers say, “Yay!” Who is right? Moreover…does meat really cause cancer? Read on to find out what the research says. 

The Great Meat And Cancer Debate

The great meat debate has been an ongoing source of conflict between varying groups for the past 20 years—particularly since the release of the famous “China Study” book, published in 2005, often cited as the leading authority on the reasons to NOT eat meat. 

In it, the authors explain the 1980’s “China Project” research study in layman’s terms, concluding that that people should eat a predominantly plant-based diet—excluding animal products (including beef, pork, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, and milk), processed foods and refined carbs—in order to avoid, reduce, and reverse the development of numerous diseases. 

The truth? There really are lots of studies out there linking meat consumption (especially red meat) to cancer. 

Regardless of the type of meat consumed (organic, grass-fed, etc.), researchers have uncovered several components linking cancer with meat that have nothing to do with what an animal eats, hormone or antibiotic exposure. 

However, does this link actually mean that meat causes cancer, or is there something else that sets the stage for meat to cause cancer?

10 Things You Need to Know About the Meat & Cancer Debate

(These are the things that most news headlines won’t tell you). 

1. Cancer is an Autoimmune Disease (Anti-Inflammatory Foods are Best)

Call it cancer, Lupus, Hashimoto’s, Celiac disease, or any one of the other 100+ autoimmune diseases now classified by the CDC, all autoimmune diseases share a common link—your body is attacking itself (autoimmune response).What causes this autoimmune response in the first place? Inflammation, or “stress.”

 Inflammation and stress are interchangeable terms in the autoimmune disease presentation. Anything that causes inflammation is a “stress” to your body—setting you up for the perfect storm of autoimmune disease (i.e. body attacking itself). Stress goes far beyond mental stress. It includes things like:

Toxins in the cleaning & hygiene products

Tap water consumption

Lack of sleep

High screen & light exposure

Lack of exercise or too much exercise

Longterm medication use or antibiotic use

Pesticides on fruits & veggies

Gut irritating foods (high intake of grains, sugar, processed, hydrogenated oilsor refined foods)

Hormones & antibiotics in meats and dairy

Lack of balance in the diet

Gut dysfunction (low stomach acid, low digestive enzymes)

Given these facts, high meat consumption can certainly be a source of inflammation for some people—particularly depending on the type of meat consumed (organic vs. conventional); a lack of veggies in the diet; or low stomach acid (that helps digest the meat in the first place). However, as noted above, meat is NOT the only source of inflammation in the body connected to stress and disease.

Essentially, any time we lack balance (such as lacking nutrient-dense foods in our diet) stress and inflammation happens.Other examples of dietary stressors that trigger inflammation for some people may include: 

High amounts of raw and cruciferous vegetables

FODMAPS are difficult for some people to digest and break down—especially those with SIBO, IBS or gut issues.

Whole Grains

Unfortunately, most of the grains sold in the U.S. today are highly processed, pseudo-versions of grains, filled with enriched flours, fillers, sugar and oils; or not properly soaked or sprouted, containing heavy amounts of phytates and lectins (1) that our digestive tract cannot break down.

Sugar & Artificial Sweeteners

Sugar feeds cancer cells (2). Artificial sugar is not much better, correlated with tumors and various forms of cancer in multiple studies cited by the National Cancer Institute (3). 

High Fat without enough greens—

For those with a sluggish, under-functioning, liver-gallbladder, fatty foods can be more difficult to digest—particularly in the face of low green and veggie intake (4, 5). (No, fat is not bad for you, but if you, once again, lack balance then inflammation risk is higher)

In short: Cancer is an inflammatory autoimmune disease that is triggered when your body encounters various inflammation and stressors. Certain dietary triggers (like poor quality meat consumption, or lack of veggies with your proteins) may be more “inflammatory” to some people, whereas other stressors, (such as lack of sleep and smoking) are more present and inflammatory for others. 

The Bottom Line: 

Focus on an anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense diet to fight off cancer. (And yes, protein can be included).

2. Leaky Gut is a Root of Cancer

Hippocrates said it best: “All disease begins in the gut.”“Leaky Gut” and an unhealthy gut microbiome is another common link that all autoimmune diseases—including cancer—share (6, 7, 8, 9).Unfortunately, for a long time, debates over “what causes cancer” have been heavily weighted at particular foods and lifestyle stressors, such as meat, smoking and lack of fruits and veggies (10). However, valid or not ,the root cause is often missed in all these studies, claims and debates—leaky gut. This cancer debate needs answer.

Your gut is the gateway to your health! If your digestive tract and gut microbiome are unhealthy, then you are LESS likely to digest and absorb your nutrients properly to feed the rest of your organs and cells.

Additionally, in the case of “leaky gut,” food particles and foreign proteins from the foods you eat seep into your bloodstream, undigested, where your body’s immune defense system then attacks itself to get those proteins out of there (i.e. “autoimmune response” or “autoimmune disease”). If this happens continually, over time, this autoimmune attack wreaks havoc on your health, resulting in various autoimmune disease presentations or symptoms. In functional medicine we say, “Genetics load the gun, BUT environmental factors (diet, gut health and lifestyle) pull the trigger.”

The Bottom Line:

You may have the genetics for cancer or other health conditions, but only when other environmental factors are “stressed” (like your gut health) is when that cancer presents itself. We still have a lot to learn about the influence of the microbiome on health and disease, but we know enough already to conclude that the gut-disease link is significant. Many people are talking about this during cancer debate.

Do you have a “leaky gut?” Find out here, plus insider tips on how to fix it here.

3. Stomach Acid is Crucial

Stomach acid is essential for the digestion of food—especially protein (10, 11). Your stomach acid has a pH of 1.5-3.5 on a total 14 point scale (translation: It’s HIGHLY acidic). Unfortunately, stomach acid deficiency is common in people due to high amounts of stress humans have adapted to today. Examples of stressors that wreak havoc on your stomach acid levels include:

Long term medication use

NSAID/steroid use

Antibiotic use

Lack of prebiotic fiber and probiotic rich foods

Not chewing your food well

Eating on the go or distracted

Overtraining

Lack of sleep

And, yes, even high amounts of mental stress

Stomach acid, also known as “hydrochloric acid,” is essential for the break down of all foods, but particularly proteins.

Without enough stomach acid, proteins in foods can pass into the rest of the GI tract only partially broken down and digested from the stomach—making effective digestion even more challenging throughout your small and large intestine.

The result? Increased likelihood of leaky gut, and other gut-related issues correlated with an unhealthy gut microbiome and disease (including cancer) (13). Interestingly, several studies show that people with long-term PPI medications use (drugs that “boost” stomach acid) experience up to a six-fold risk for getting cancer (14, 15). Why? These drugs essential decrease your natural stomach acid production.

The Bottom Line:

Meat itself may not be the culprit of cancer, but instead an unhealthy gut microbiome and low stomach acid that was unable to break down your meat in the first place.

4. Meat Studies Don’t Necessarily Use “Healthy” Controls

Given that 1 in 2 Americans already have a chronic disease in our country, are studies with “average” controls of the population really all that healthy?While syndromes and diseases like IBS, acne, allergies, anxiety, constipation, pre-diabetes and more may be considered “healthy,” “normal,” or “average” in our society, these issues typically signify something else (health related) is going on under the hood—especially gut health and hormone related.

The Bottom Line:

When interpreting a study that claims “meat causes cancer,” or “carbs cause weight gain,” or even “broccoli causes cancer,” ALWAYS question: Who were the test subjects? What was their current lifestyle, diet and gut health like? There’s often more to the story than meets the eye.

5. Meat Contains Carcinogens (& So Do Plants)

Compounds in meats (salts, nitrates, nitrites, heme iron, saturated fat with toxins in the fat cells, estradiol) have been theorized to increase DNA synthesis and cell proliferation, increase insulin-like growth factors, affect hormone metabolism, promote free radical damage, and produce carcinogenic heterocyclic amines—all of which may promote the development of cancer (16). However, these components, prevalent in many processed and conventional meats are not prevalent in sustainably-raised, grass-fed, pastured and local meats.

The Bottom Line:

Bad quality meat (17) is linked to cancer (think: processed and conventional)—and so are carcinogens in fruits and veggies (i.e. Roundup, pesticides, etc.) (18).

6. You Need Greens with Your Meat

The “problem” with high meat diets—or even cancer and meat studies—is that often times, these studies LEAVE OUT the OTHER important components to the human diet, digestion and absorption—particularly fiber!Fiber (19), found in veggies and fruits, is essential for “pushing food” through your digestive tract and also helping probiotics (good gut bacteria) stick in your gut (20, 21).

No wonder inflammation happens in meat studies! And many are taking about in in any cancer debate. The same thing goes for high-fat diet studies, where participants tend to leave out the whole-food carbs (i.e. greens), and opt for the standard American diet—full of hydrogenated oils, proteins, and refined processed foods and carbs. Duh, inflammation will happen.

The Bottom Line:

Get your veggies on! Bonus: Incorporate fermented foods into your diet daily.

7. Meat Variety is Essential (Just Like Fruit & Veggie Variety is Essential)

Red meat has long been touted as the “bad meat”—highest connected to cancer. However, in consideration of ALL the other facts we’ve addressed, red meat is simply the most often studied in meat studies (perhaps due to the bad rep it also has gotten over the years for “causing heart disease” and high cholesterol—however, these claims have also been debunked) (22).

The bigger “culprits” than red meat vs. chicken vs. fish? Ask yourself these questions: Question 1: How is my gut health and stomach acid for breaking my meat down in the first place?Question 2: How is my meat and food variety in general?Question 3: Where is my meat source from? (Grass-fed, organic and sustainable raised or full of hormones and antibiotics?). This are the common questions when it comes to meat and cancer debate.

Just like it would be “unhealthy” to eat grapes and iceberg lettuce for your only sources of fruits and veggies every day; and just like it would be “unhealthy” to fuel up on a heavy dose of Roundup (a pesticide) in your fruits and veggies, the same thing goes for red meat.

The Bottom Line:

Red meat itself is not “bad”—it’s all about the context. Boost stomach acid with apple cider vinegar or HCL tablets at meals; opt for a grass-fed cut of meat; and vary up your proteins often (beef, chicken, fish, turkey, etc.)

8. Whole Grains, Iceberg Lettuce & Vegan Ice Cream Can ALSO “Cause Cancer”

It’s no secret: Processed, man-made, refined foods are not real foods. And what do we know about real foods?…They cause inflammation in the body. True, high meat consumption without enough stomach acid, variety and/or poor quality meats is inflammatory; but so is a diet rich in gut-irritating whole grains (i.e. cereals, quinoa bowls, oats), nutrient-deficient iceberg lettuce, and vegan ice cream, laced with synthetic ingredients like: guar gum, erythritol, vegetable glycerin, pea protein and other inflammatory fillers.

The Bottom Line:

Eat real, nutrient-dense foods to fight cancer. 

The BIG Bottom Line:

A colorful, plant-based, nutrient-dense diet IS the optimal human diet. 

In addition, if we really want to “study” the facts on what the optimal human diet is for disease and cancer prevention, who better to look to than our ancestors who were practically free of all modern day diseases we experience today (autoimmune disease, high cholesterol, heart disease, and cancer)? This is a part of the cancer debate.

Also, studies of indigenous, hunter-gatherer populations who live lifestyles like those our own ancestors lived thousands of year ago, reveal similar findings: low disease rates and generally healthy people (23, 24, 25).

The optimal hunter-gatherer diet greatly depended on the terrain, season and geographic location in which one lived, however a few key universal themes true for most human are these:

High intake of colorful plants (vegetables, berries and plant “oils”—like olives, avocados and coconut)

Meat and fish, when hunted and available (i.e. not an 8 oz steak for every meal)

Minimal starches, beans and grains, if at all

Minimal raw dairy

Some nuts and seeds

In short:

If we model a similar diet to the optimal human diet that humans remained cancer-free on for thousands of years, support our gut health (25), and minimize stress in our own lifestyles, the whole “meat causes cancer debate” becomes a thing of the past. 

Cancer-Fighting Diet

An anti-inflammatory does a body good—particularly in the face of cancer or other autoimmune diseases. Furthermore, here are some anti-inflammatory super foods to add to your grocery list and regular part of your diet. (Note: This is not an exhaustive list, but several of the top players in fighting inflammation).

Antioxidant-Rich Veggies & Fruits 

Veggies

Dark Leafy Greens

Fresh Herbs (cilantro, basil, parsley, etc)

Beets

Brussels sprouts

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Cucumber

Celery

Carrots

Fresh Tomatoes

Squashes

Minimal Starches (cooked & cooled potatoes/yams, cassava, plantains)

Fruits

Apples

Berries

Cherries

Grapefruit

Grapes

Green Tipped Bananas

Orange

Jicama

Healthy Fats

Avocado (avocado oil, avocado)

Coconut (oil, butter, milk)

Olives (olives, extra virgin olive oil)

Traditional Fats (lard, ghee, tallow, duck fat)

Pastured egg yolks

Fatty cuts of wild caught meats

Sustainable Meats

Wild-Caught Fatty Fish (salmon, tuna, halibut, cod)

Pastured Chicken (all cuts)

Grass-fed Beef & Bison

Organic Lamb

Organic Ground Turkey

Wild Game (Venison)

Organic Organ Meats

Pastured eggs

Extra Anti-Inflammatory Boosters

Lemon

Apple Cider Vinegar

Turmeric

Sauerkraut & Fermented Veggies

Ginger

Celery Juice

Aloe

Oregano

Cancer-Fighting Diet & Gut Healing Plan

Want a custom protocol or support for healing your gut and fending off cancer? Connect with Dr. Lauryn today to find out how she can help you.  

Resources

Vasconcelos, Ilka & Oliveira, Jose. (2004). Antinutritional properties of plant lectins. Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology. 44. 385-403. 10.1016/j.toxicon.2004.05.005.

Peeters, K., Van Leemputte, F., Fischer, B., Bonini, B. M., Quezada, H., Tsytlonok, M., … Thevelein, J. M. (2017). Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate couples glycolytic flux to activation of Ras. Nature Communications, 8, 922.

National Cancer Institute. 2016. Artificial Sweeteners and Cancer. 

Schugar, R. C., & Crawford, P. A. (2012). Low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets, glucose homeostasis, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 15(4), 374–380.

Chiu, C.-C., Ching, Y.-H., Li, Y.-P., Liu, J.-Y., Huang, Y.-T., Huang, Y.-W., … Chuang, H.-L. (2017). Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Is Exacerbated in High-Fat Diet-Fed Gnotobiotic Mice by Colonization with the Gut Microbiota from Patients with Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis. Nutrients, 9(11), 1220.

Zitvogel, L., Galluzzi, L., Viaud, S., Vétizou, M., Daillère, R., Merad, M., & Kroemer, G. (2015). Cancer and the gut microbiota: An unexpected link. Science Translational Medicine, 7(271), 271ps1.

Hibberd AA, Lyra A, Ouwehand AC, et al Intestinal microbiota is altered in patients with colon cancer and modified by probiotic intervention BMJ Open Gastroenterology 2017;4:e000145. doi: 10.1136/bmjgast-2017-000145

Mu, Q., Kirby, J., Reilly, C. M., & Luo, X. M. (2017). Leaky Gut As a Danger Signal for Autoimmune Diseases. Frontiers in Immunology, 8, 598.

Megan Ciara Smyth; Intestinal permeability and autoimmune diseases, Bioscience Horizons: The International Journal of Student Research, Volume 10, 1 January 2017, hzx015, https://doi.org/10.1093/biohorizons/hzx015

Cynthia A. Thomson, Patricia A. Thompson; Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Breast Cancer Risk: A Case for Subtype-Specific Risk?, JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Volume 105, Issue 3, 6 February 2013, Pages 164–165, https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djs640

Beasley, D. E., Koltz, A. M., Lambert, J. E., Fierer, N., & Dunn, R. R. (2015). The Evolution of Stomach Acidity and Its Relevance to the Human Microbiome. PLoS ONE, 10(7), e0134116.

Van Hecke, Thomas & Van Camp, John & De Smet, Stefaan. (2017). Oxidation During Digestion of Meat: Interactions with the Diet and Helicobacter pylori Gastritis, and Implications on Human Health. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety. 16. 10.1111/1541-4337.12248.

Gopalakrishnan et al. 2018. The Influence of the Gut Microbiome on Cancer, Immunity, and Cancer Immunotherapy.  Cell: Cancer. 33: 4; 570-580.

Cheung et al. (2017) Long-term Proton Pump Inhibitors and Risk of Gastric Cancer Development After Treatment for Helicobacter pylori: A Population-based Study. Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine at:

Sansom, C. 2005. Role of stomach acid in gastric cancer. 6:5; 262.

Genkinger, J. M., & Koushik, A. (2007). Meat Consumption and Cancer Risk. PLoS Medicine, 4(12), e345.

Bouvard, V. & et al. 2015. Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat. The Lancet. 16: 16; 1599-1600.

Bassil, K. L., Vakil, C., Sanborn, M., Cole, D. C., Kaur, J. S., & Kerr, K. J. (2007). Cancer health effects of pesticides: Systematic review. Canadian Family Physician, 53(10), 1704–1711.

Holscher, H. D. (2017). Dietary fiber and prebiotics and the gastrointestinal microbiota. Gut Microbes, 8(2), 172–184.

Marco et al. 2017. Health benefits of fermented foods: microbiota and beyond. Current Opinion in Biotechnology. 44: 94-102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2016.11.010;  

Plaza-Díaz, J., Ruiz-Ojeda, F. J., Vilchez-Padial, L. M., & Gil, A. (2017). Evidence of the Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Probiotics and Synbiotics in Intestinal Chronic Diseases. Nutrients, 9(6), 555.

Bronzato, S., & Durante, A. (2017). A Contemporary Review of the Relationship between Red Meat Consumption and Cardiovascular Risk. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 8, 40.

McKenzie, F., Ellison-Loschmann, L., Jeffreys, M., Firestone, R., Pearce, N., & Romieu, I. (2014). Healthy lifestyle and risk of breast cancer for indigenous and non-indigenous women in New Zealand: a case control study. BMC Cancer, 14, 12.

Willet, W. 2000. Diet and Cancer. The Oncologist. 

Cummings, J. H., & Bingham, S. A. (1998). Diet and the prevention of cancer. BMJ : British Medical Journal, 317(7173), 1636–1640.

Thomas Jefferson University. (2012, February 21). Stronger intestinal barrier may prevent cancer in the rest of the body, new study suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 16, 2018 from

The post 8 Things to Know About the Meat And Cancer Debate appeared first on Meet Dr. Lauryn.

Source/Repost=> https://drlauryn.com/wellness-knowledge/the-meat-and-cancer-debate/ ** Dr. Lauryn Lax __Nutrition. Therapy. Functional Medicine ** https://drlauryn.com/

[candyswift-ny]

A Safer CAR-T Therapy with STOP-CAR Design

A novel chimeric antigen-receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has been developed at Ludwig Cancer Research and may achieve turning on and off as needed. The study, led by Melita Irving of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research's Lausanne Branch, George Coukos, the Branch's director, and Bruno Correia of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), discusses a key problem with current CAR-T therapies of initiating aggressive immune responses against healthy cells in patients.

ON-switch CARs that activate T cells by small molecule-mediated heterodimerization in the presence of antigen have been reported to be achieved, but suffer from the short half-life of small molecules.

This study presents a computationally assisted design of a STOP-switch CAR-T cell control system in which antigen binding and T cell activation are encoded by recognition (R chain) and signaling (S chain), respectively. By inserting computationally designed protein pairs into the intracellular domains of the two CAR chains, these two chains can spontaneously form functional heterodimers, while the addition of small molecules can specifically disrupt the dimerization.

Thus, STOP-CAR has the potential to temporarily modulate T-cell function, rather than completely eliminate it as in the case of a suicide switch.

To develop a clinically promising STOP-CAR, the authors attempted to utilize a chemically disruptable heterodimer (CDH) system that requires components of human-derived proteins and a minimal number of residue substitutions to reduce the risk of transgenic immune rejection in patients. For the design of CDH, they used well-folded spherical structural domains to reduce the possibility of interfering with T-cell signaling near the synapse, as well as clinically applicable small molecules with long half-lives and good tolerability in humans.

They first identified the BH3 structural domain of human Bcl-XL and BIM proteins as the starting point for CDH design, which they planned to insert into the S and R chains, respectively. Then, they conducted an extensive structural search to identify scaffolds with similar backbone motifs that are structurally compatible with the binding partner, transposing the BH3 binding motif to the structural white domain of this globular protein and designing at the interface residues to replace BIM with a human globular protein with high binding affinity.

The research group derived three candidate proteins, and identified human apolipoprotein E4, codenamed LD3, followed by incorporating CDH into the STOP-CAR design.

In conclusion, this research developed a high-affinity CDH system where the introduction of CDH into the heterodimeric STOP-CAR could specifically activate primary human T cells in the presence of the corresponding antigen, and the efficacy of STOP-CAR-T cells targeting PSMA or CD19 observed in the experiments was greater than or equal to their respective conventional 2G-CAR-T cells.

In particular, the activity of STOP-CAR-T cells specifically decreased when subjected to CDH interference by small-molecule drugs, and this modulation was dynamic, with their activity recovered upon removal of the drugs.

With inspiring research results, Dr. Melita Irving is invited by Creative Biolabs to talk about new discovery of her research team in an upcoming webinar. The subject of this free live webinar is Engineering strategies for improving adoptive T cell therapy against cancer, and the topics will cover the use of syngeneic tumor models to evaluate the ability of co-engineered murine CAR T cells to reprogram the TME and boost T cell function, the use of low-doses of irradiation to inflame cold tumors and render them responsive to rational combinatorial immunotherapy, and the novel STOP-CAR to integrate efficacy and safety directly into CAR design.

Creative Biolabs is a biotech company providing TCR and CAR T&NK cell immune therapy development services as well as ready-to-use TCR and CAR T&NK cell construction products, and has been dedicated to creating a robust webinar platform to share the latest insights on CAR T therapy.

[magellanicpenguin]

So cool organization model i just thought of...

Not to be captain obvious, but writing’s really complicated. So when we write, we often fail. When we go looking for advice, however, the advice has a realm of influence that’s hard to put into perspective, especially when it comes to the big boys- character, plot, setting, and theme. Things like phrasing and prose is pretty obviously applied to every sentence, but those four big ideas are so big, that whenever I read something about it, there’s so much going on and no way to look at it so that I can apply it to my own writing systematically. 

(Note: I’m a biology nut, so all this stuff is internalized already and I love it. If this over complicates things, because it is an extended analogy of one complex topic to another, I’m sorry. Ignore me.) 

So I realized if I look at a novel/wip/whatever as a Body, then I would have a way of classifying advice. What I mean when I say novel=body is I’m labeling the different levels of complexity and size with biological terms. 

If the novel is a body then...

The dramatic subdivisions of act 1, 2, 3 or Expo, Rising, Climax, Falling, Reso would be the organ systems. This implies that they do a main function of the novel, but also have a very involved internal structure, as organ systems have multiple organs.

The chapters would be the organs themselves, which do specific functions and have specialized tissues, but still work together and coordinate with the other organs. A chapter involving a woman running away would involve scenes explaining this action, and would logically be followed up by a chapter covering the result of her absence or what she continues to do on her journey.  

The lobes/subdivisions of the organs would be scenes. Lobes are groups of tissue that are identified as contributing to the organ’s function (i.e. the different lobes of the brain) or subdivisions which are structural classifications (i.e. the lobes of the lungs or the different colons in the large intestines). Scenes are lobes because they contribute blocks of information, be it some blurb on the setting, a key character behavior, or a plot-relevant tension point (separate scenes should have at least one of each), which contributes to the overall function of the organ (chapter), which contributes to the organ system (expo, rising, etc.). So that chapter of a woman running away might involve scenes of  domestic neglect, pressure from her friends or family to have kids, solo trips to the movies at midnight just to watch Into the Wild, etc. 

Paragraphs would be tissues. Just as a lobe is made up of one type of tissue (for argument’s sake), a scene is made up of paragraphs. These are the big building blocks, literally blocking in the whatever the lobe (scene) is doing. A paragraph might be a description of what is inside a woman’s purse, and the scene might be a characterization of the woman’s habits, good and bad. 

Sentences would be cells. These are the small building blocks. Each sentence contributes, however small, but the death or cancer of one is significant. They must be in perfect harmony with the cells around them to function and accomplish their goal correctly- the goal of the paragraph. With a paragraph about the contents of a woman’s bag, one sentence might be detailing the bottle of pills hidden in the bottoms folds of satin which loosely line the purse, but the next should NOT be talking about what types of fabric make of her purse (irrelevant) or prescription drug abuse (taking away from the implicitness of the pills, so hidden and secret that the author does not even write what the bottle contains, only that she takes them like multivitamins). 

(This next part gets crazy and is mostly me having fun, it’s not super useful) 

If we must go down to the word level, that would be the organelles inside the cell, with the subject as the nucleus (as the verb is conjugated by ‘order’ of the subject), the verb as the ribosomes/ER/golgi complex, which are all involved in protein expression and the actual ‘actions’ of a cell (enzymes and secretions are all based around protein expression), and you could say the object or whatever noun phrases and adjectives present are the mitochondria, as they explain something about the subject, and thus are the meaning, or power, of a sentence (maybe, im grasping at straws at this point). Hell, the connecting grammar words could be the cytoskeleton, the network of filaments and tubules that control the cell structure, movements, and help organize cytosol division. 

(it’s over, sorry im a nerd)

My purpose is that this model can be used to classify your own writing and writing tips with a system whose relationships are clear. For example, whether to use big or small words is on the organelle (word) level. Whether to use abstract language or concrete similes is on the cellular (sentence) and/or tissue (paragraph) level. How to incorporate dialogue is on the lobe (scene) level. How to write action or the climax is on the organ (chapter) and maybe organ system level. How to write a character arc is definitely on the organ system level. And of course, how to write a novel is on the body level. 

To me, individual writing elements are always addressed separately, allowing for them to seem simple and straightforward. This allows for efficient communication, but doesn’t really betray the internal level of complexity and dynamics with other structures. Such as, that developing character will involve everything from individual words to scenes throughout multiple chapters. This model embraces that inter-connectivity.

One shortcoming, however, is it doesn’t provide a good way of separating the actual topics of setting, character, theme, and plot, and assumes they all function on a similar scale, simultaneously. We know it actually varies. I’ll think more on it, because it is true that different systems in the body work at different rates in different environments... maybe the 4 big ideas could be different stimuli? Like heat, cold, stress, rest. Or each idea has its own body (or age of body i.e. character is teenage years cos they grow so much) each with a specialized system that you can then overlap... idk

At any rate, if this helps anyone, cool. If this is just a cool thought experiment, or maybe you’re now really confused and now terrified of biology, then that’s cool  too. Biology is fucking scary.  

[apparitionism]

Streets 4

This is a story. In it, people talk a lot. Plus they get into and out of cars, for the purposes of driving and walking in San Francisco. Part 1, part 2, and part 3 came before this part.

Streets 4

Obtaining the implement from the gentleman holding it is quite easy—Claudia gives him two twenty-dollar bills, and he does not bother to look twice at her purple-gloved hands as he surrenders the prize. Claudia, for her part, does not bother to look twice at his high-speed scamper away as she drops the torch into a static bag, shouting, “Ha! We win!”

Nothing happens.

Helena pats her on the shoulder. “A lesson in the inadvisability of drawing conclusions based on insufficient evidence. You were so enamored of your Former Files idea.”

Claudia utters a confused “what?”, but then her expression clears. “No, it’s not Ex-Files like ex-husband,” she says. “It’s X-Files like X-ray.”

“Your Roentgen Files idea, then.”

“Well if it wasn’t that guy with the flashlight, then I don’t get it. Somebody just showed up all random and did some abducting? What’s here?”

“Buildings. Sidewalks. Roads. Many, many automobiles, all the drivers of which Ramon has angered. No offense intended, Ramon.”

“Least I ain’t a tourist, man. No offense intended.” He smiles his small smile at Helena, and she smiles back. He goes on, “So we done? If it was a great ride, five stars much appreciated. You guys get five too, just for the entertainment.”

Claudia asks him, “Do you mind hanging out for just a minute while we... scout around? I don’t know where else we’ll need to go.”

Ramon considers for a moment; then he shrugs. “My day off from my real job. So you keep paying me, saves me having to cruise around. You know, angering people.”

Helena laughs. “So we will be paying you to lower the city’s average blood pressure. Money no doubt well spent. But Claudia, public health benefits aside, this is striking me as very similar to hiring a car and driver. Whereas under Pete’s transportation regime, no one compensates him for the labor of driving.”

“Shut up,” Claudia says. “Ramon gets us.”

Helena notes, “Ramon gets money.” Ramon nods. “And of course a rating of several stars.”

He nods again and says, “Plus a little vape right now. Take your time, man.”

They inquire at nearby establishments; no one has seen anything strange. Or they have all grown so accustomed to the vagaries of the human condition that they have trained themselves to overlook anything not immediately harmful.

A convenience-store cashier notes that “anyway, weirdos are nicer than normals.”

At that, Claudia high-fives the cashier. She then turns to do the same to Helena—who does not raise her arm in response, so Claudia folds her flat, upraised hand into a fist and chucks Helena under the chin. “You do you, Pops,” she says.

She can indeed be quite charming, Claudia can.

Claudia turns back to the cashier: “So nevermind the weirdos. Seen anybody get abducted by aliens?”

“Yeah,” says the young lady. She reports it as banal news, but Claudia leaps halfway across the counter at the poor thing, whose eyes widen in non-banal alarm. Helena grabs Claudia’s collar and pulls her back down. “Abducted, you say?” she asks, attempting to match the weary tone, while Claudia makes squeaking noises that sound suspiciously close to “Now we win!”

The cashier shrugs. “I mean some guy staggers in and says he was. Probably just on drugs. He bought sunglasses—the alien lights, way too bright. He said.”

Helena says to Claudia, and she means it as a tease, “An illuminated abduction. Yet another lesson in why it is best to avoid premature conclusions.”

“And gluten-free pretzels,” the cashier volunteers. “Two bags.”

Claudia says, “Maybe the aliens experimented on his digestion.”

“Surely his condition predated the abduction,” Helena says. “To what purpose would any aliens deprive anyone of the ability to process prolamins and glutelins?”

“How can you know exactly what gluten is but not X-Files?”

Helena huffs. “How can you know the things you know and yet imagine that sensitivity to particular proteins is a recent development? Consider my friend Dr. Samuel Gee. My late friend, that is, given that I knew him in the... past. He was the pediatrician who... well. He was an important figure, at any rate, and an area of particular interest for him was coeliac disease. We spoke of it on occasion. I was interested to discover if he, or anyone, had made further progress, in my... absence.” She has cleared her throat several times during this recitation. She feels that her eyes may be reddening. She should never have mentioned such a part of the past, not here, not now; there are things she speaks of only to her therapist and to Myka, for these things make her think, and that is not productive, for now she will be thinking of—

The cashier asks, “Are you high?”

Helena clears her throat again. “Alas, no. Quite low in fact.”

Claudia says, “She means are you on dr—”

This attempt at a helpful definitional interjection does have the effect of sending Helena toward nostalgic amusement rather than... well. “Claudia darling,” she says, “do I truly strike you as someone who does not understand the concept—or pleasures—of being under the influence of substances?”

“That’s right, you were a wild one, weren’t you? Artie hates that. He muttered ‘opium eater’ about you once when he didn’t know I was there—I was practicing my Mrs. F poof-ins.”

“Are you improving?” For Claudia has expressed great frustration at not yet being fully able to surprise her colleagues into shrieking and dropping whatever they might be holding.

“No. Batting less than .300. Like I get the theory, but all that usually happens is that I stand there and feel like I might go somewhere. Like I’m waiting for a bus that never comes.” She brightens. “But it worked that time with Artie. So did you really do that?”

Helena had hoped Claudia would forget her query. “What is the better answer here?” she queries back.

“Tell the truth. Otherwise I’ll just ask you again in front of Steve.”

“If I refuse to answer, he can discern nothing.”

“That just means the answer’s yes. I may not have been born over a hundred years ago, like some people, but I wasn’t born yesterday either.”

The cashier mutters, “Both high...”

Back on the sidewalk, Claudia is the picture of pique crossed with consternation. “So here’s what I say we do now,” she says. “We go find Myka and Pete. Steve didn’t say whose ping happened later, so maybe they’ve got the actual good spot and we can swoop in and get the snag.”

“Investigation is truly not your calling, is it,” Helena remarks as they reenter the minuscule maroon back seat. It is coming to feel quite homey.

“Guess not. My destiny’s written in the stars. Or the aisles of the Warehouse, so whoo! Lucky me.”

“Fortunately, my own destiny at the moment is to act solely as a referee. You could employ best practices, if you wished to, but I am not responsible for insisting that you do so.” So much for competition, she thinks, but then she reconsiders. “Although I suppose preempting Pete and Myka might indeed be a path to victory.”

“I knew it! You do want to win!”

“Well, given the choice. Then again, my investment in Myka’s happiness is ongoing. Perhaps I’ve been sabotaging you the entire time.”

“I don’t buy it. You’re too competitive. I know how you get.”

Helena sees that she will need to modify how she gets. If only so no one will use that expression about her again. She proposes,“Or perhaps it is simply that I want to see Myka. Because we have been apart for nearly four hours, and I miss her.”

“You might be yanking my chain on that—but I doubt it. You’re such a schmoop. I can’t believe I used to think you were this smooth player.” She pauses, as if she expects Helena to object. “At least we know they haven’t won yet. Otherwise Pete’d be gloating.”

“You of course would never stoop so low.”

“Are you kidding? My gloats limbo under everybody else’s.”

Helena sighs. “Would that you were speaking of the holding space for those who have died in friendship with God but prior to Christ’s resurrection.”

“Hey, most people just talk about it being for babies,” Ramon says. “Or they used to, before the Pope said we don’t believe in any those limbos anymore. You Catholic, H.G.?”

“Just overeducated, I’m afraid. For example, Islam has a similar site, or rather concept, known as barzakh.”

Claudia snorts. “I like how you think showing off whatever esoteric whatever makes up for your sad lack of smooth play, but let Ramon concentrate on driving and not some Islamic bar.”

“Limbo,” Helena corrects her.

“I can’t. I’m in a car.”

Ramon chortles. Helena sighs again and consoles herself with the prospect of soon seeing Myka.

She is pleased out of all proportion when they pull to the curb near where Claudia has located Pete’s telephone: because there Myka is, with her hair and her eyes and her sweet, sweet self. And then Myka sees that Helena has emerged from the absurdly small maroon vehicle, and her expression makes clear that Helena has—and possibly they both have—already won the prize most worth winning. “Hello, my love,” Helena says, and she kisses Myka, but quick, on the cheek, so as to give no cause for embarrassment.

It works; Myka responds with bemusement rather than upset. “Aren’t we competing?” she asks, but she is smiling. “By the way.”

“I don’t see how that alters my love for you. By the way. And also by the way, I am aware of no rules prohibiting osculation between competitors.”

Pete rolls his eyes. “There should be a rule against not saying ‘making out’ when you mean ‘making out.’”

“We aren’t ‘making out,’” Myka tells him. “Mostly because we aren’t teenagers, but also because we aren’t.” As if to prove her point, she kisses Helena’s cheek—but her lips linger for an extra second, soft on soft. Yet another prize.

“Ahem. No rules prohibiting osculation, chaste or otherwise,” Helena notes. “I am in fact aware of no rules at all. Whenever I imagine I discern some vague legal boundary, Claudia assures me that I am mistaken.”

Myka says, with completely inappropriate, but quite welcome, affection, “Like you’d know a legal boundary if you tripped over it.”

“Bet you could limbo under it, right, H.G.?” Claudia chirps.

“That seems more your preferred option.”

Ramon says, “We talking options, I pick that Islamic bar.”

Myka, smiling a degree less brightly, looks among the three of them. “I think your car’s having more fun than mine is.”

“That can hardly come as a surprise,” Helena says, and barely a second elapses before the easy-to-predict squawk of “Hey! I’m fun!” from Pete.

“Today you’re not,” Myka says. “Today you’re all weird and mopey.”

“That’s because we haven’t had a car chase, and I want one.”

Myka says, “Why don’t you go drive around really fast for a while—”

“That isn’t a chase!”

Myka continues, “And I’ll stay here with Helena and Claudia and... I’m sorry, what’s your name?”

“Ramon. So wait, if you’re Myka—”

“Yes?”

“You’re the lady in question. The one I’m not supposed to tell this thing to.” He turns to Helena. “Right?”

Helena nods, but then Myka asks “What thing?” in a tone that Helena belatedly realizes is the one she uses when she wishes to compel an answer—

—and indeed, Ramon begins, “This one time I saw—”

“No!” Helena exclaims. She moves to place her hands over Myka’s ears, but before she can reach Myka—and, fortunately, before Ramon can finish his utterance—four Farnsworths buzz. What Ramon says instead is “Those are some phones, man.”

As it happens, Steve has yet more artifact activity to report to all of them, this time at an entirely different location. Helena and Claudia move to reenter Ramon’s car, and Ramon moves quickly too, but Pete moves with more motivation than anyone. Helena and Claudia are in the small back seat, listening through the Farnsworth to Myka complaining that he’s started moving before she could get her legs all the way in the car and close the door, when he shouts, very clearly intended for Helena and Claudia’s consumption, “Did you hear me click my seatbelt? So long, suckers!”

“Ramon!” Claudia calls, “I never thought I’d say this, not in my whole life, but: follow that car!”

“Follow that car?” Ramon repeats. “But he’s speeding.”

Helena tells him, “We are law enforcement. It is completely legal.”

“Prove it.”

Helena shows him her Secret Service badge.

“It looks real,” Ramon says.

“Due to the fact that it is real.”

“Whatever. Will it fool the cops?”

“I do not need to fool them.”

“You kinda do,” Claudia says.

“You are not helping,” Helena informs her. “I thought you were interested in winning.”

“What is this game anyway, man?” Ramon asks.

“Uh...” Claudia scrambles, “scavenger hunt. Sorta. For the IRS. Looking for people who... evade taxes.”

Ramon, wise young man that he is, is clearly unpersuaded. “By getting abducted by aliens?”

Claudia says, “That makes a weird kind of sense—how do you file your 1040 from the alien mothership?—so I’ll go with yeah. Exactly.” To Helena, though, she says, “Wait, if you can carry a wallet with a badge, why can’t you carry your other junk?”

“Women’s garments have too few pockets,” Helena tells her. “Too few, and too small.”

“Carry a bag.”

“I don’t like to carry things.”

“I remember a time you were happy to carry that big-ass grappler around.”

“That was primarily to impress Myka.”

“Though I guess you did dump it on her as soon as you could... waitaminute, you admit it was to impress her?”

“Of course I do. Was there some question?”

Claudia’s jaw drops. “Bets have been placed. On that and lots of other you-n-Myka stuff. I thought you knew that.”

“I strive to forget many, many things. But here is something you might want to remember. It is a tip, regarding any future wagers you may place.”

“Okay...”

“If the wager concerns my motivation? Take the Myka-related side.”

“Now that you say it, that does seem like a no-brainer. Though nobody knew that for sure back in the grappler-day. You might’ve been just a bad guy.”

“You should have known it for certain. I may have been ‘a bad guy,’ but whatever it was you said that my eyes do now, they have done exactly that since first I saw her.” That was an admission she had not necessarily intended to make... but fortunately Claudia’s face has not reacted. She hurries on, “In any case, given my very helpful advice, I’ll expect to receive a reasonable percentage of your winnings.”

“You’re still pretty much a bad guy, aren’t you,” Claudia says, but with good humor.

“Would it help if I say that I would use my portion of the take to increase Myka’s happiness?”

“Maybe. How?”

“I might give her flowers. As it happens, Myka is strangely sentimental about flowers.”

“That does sound a little strange. For Myka. How’d you figure that out?”

“I gave her flowers.”

“Aw, and she liked them?”

“She threw them at me.”

Ramon laughs.

Claudia shakes her head. “I never know what kind of story it’s gonna be with you guys. So what happened? Did you talk her into liking them?”

“No. I talked her back into liking me, a campaign the flowers were originally intended to support. And once that campaign was to a certain extent successful, she directed her attention to the flowers littered around me. And she was appalled.”

“At them.”

“No, at herself. For what she had done to them.” Claudia is looking askance at her, so Helena concludes, “And that is the story of how I came to learn that Myka is strangely sentimental about flowers.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve got my head around what’s strange in this story, and trust me, it’s not Myka. All I can say is, thank god you’re not my life partner.”

“And yet in a way I am, o eventual Caretaker. You are, as I believe is said, stuck with me.”

Ramon says, “Maybe you are West Coasty like that. Sounds like a pretty alternative lifestyle to me.”

“You have no—” Claudia begins to tell him, but she is thrown against the side of the car has he accelerates around a corner. “Idea,” she finishes.

Ramon is keeping excellent pace with Pete, who is flying, practically, through the streets. “What does ‘dirty Harry’ mean to you?” Claudia asks Helena.

“Dirty Harry.” She considers. “It might be the name of an unpalatable cocktail.”

“It’s a movie. And a guy in the movie. Lots of movies, like four or five.”

“How does that preclude the previous?”

“And yet another point to you.”

“Yet another unredeemable point. I am replete.”

“And then there’s Bullitt.”

Ramon says, “That’s my favorite.”

“A slightly more palatable cocktail?” Helena tries.

“Also a movie,” Claudia says. “And a guy in the movie. My point is, I bet Pete’s bringing them up too.”

���And you are for some reason required to bring up the same topics Pete does? Is this part of leveling the playing field?”

“I think they’re part of why Pete’s got San Francisco car chases on the brain. Probably why he wanted to get us into one.”

On Taylor Street, they become literally airborne. “This really is just like in Bullitt!” Claudia squeals as they depart from, then thud with solidity back to, earth. She is the only one in the car who seems pleased.

“I’m gonna need new shocks,” Ramon notes. “You guys paying for that?”

“I’ll talk to my boss,” Claudia tells him. “And he’ll say no, and then I’ll go over his head. But come on, you said it was your favorite!”

“Not to drive like somebody in it. Never said it was my car’s favorite.”

Helena asks Claudia, “Did your analysis of the superiority of your preferred transportation include budgeting for repairs?”

At that moment, Pete’s vehicle launches itself off the top of the next hill; they watch it land with great force. Then they watch as its muffler drops, then drags against the pavement, creating impressive sparks.

Claudia says, dryly, “Pete better factor it in too.”

When they arrive at the new site, Pete and Myka are of course already there and have exited their large vehicle. As Helena and Claudia are prying themselves from Ramon’s car, Pete points at them and exclaims, “Ha! I won!”

Claudia looks pointedly at his hands, which are empty. “Oh yeah? Then where’s the artifact?”

“Not that, loser. You didn’t catch me. In the chase.”

“That’s only because Bullitt isn’t Ramon’s car’s favorite movie,” Claudia tells him. Ramon, who is now standing behind her, crosses his arms and nods. They look like two small park rangers sternly confronting a baffled bear.

Helena looks at Myka, who sighs and shakes her head. Helena considers grabbing her and commandeering both Ramon’s movie-disliking car and his services. “To the hotel!” she imagines directing him. She additionally imagines, however, that Myka would insist that Ramon turn the car around so as to make sure Pete and Claudia are not getting themselves into unrefereed trouble.

So the faster they solve the artifactual problem... Helena casts her gaze around the area. What she might see that would be revealing, she has no idea. She does suppose that if someone had been abducted from this spot by aliens a short time ago, the aliens would be gone by now, having absconded with their abductee. Surreptitious person-snatching aliens were not what she herself had envisioned—extraplanetary populations had seemed far more likely to invade and plunder—but she now supposes there might be as many different types of aliens as, not quite literally, stars in the sky.

She supposes too that she should be pleased that she can in fact see, as she glances about. Although night has truly fallen, the vicinity is well lit. A streetlamp looms above her, sheathing her in the shine of its high-intensity bluish beam. If an alien abduction had occurred here, it would indeed have been extremely illuminated. She opens her mouth to tease Claudia again, but before she can utter a word, an idea strikes her.

Bright alien lights. Sunglasses, and the need for them.

She is curious. She looks up, directly up, into the streetlight.

Have her feet left the ground? A physical disorientation has overtaken her—I am not where I am; I am not where I was; I am not as I was, she thinks, and she might have said it aloud, but if her physical body is no identifiable where, and no identifiable thing, how could it, being nowhere and nothing, say anything at all?—and after a span of time that she cannot pin down, she is once again standing on a street. Under a streetlight... she sees the street, and she sees that it is lit, so nothing has happened to her eyes. She hears traffic behind her. She reaches to touch the light pole, and feels it solid under her fingers: she is no hologram. “Myka?” she says, and she is relieved to find that nothing has happened to her voice—but Myka does not answer. Nor Claudia, nor Pete. Pedestrians step around her, heedless of her bewilderment.

Helena looks for a street sign, and there she finds a plausible reason for Myka, Pete, and Claudia’s absence: this is a different road entirely. Presumably still San Francisco, but would she know if it were not? The cars look similar to those she has recently seen, so significant time travel has most likely not occurred.

She considers what to do. Of course she has neither telephone nor Farnsworth... this is her own fault.

Myka is going to be most displeased.

TBC

[creativitytoexplore]

Doors Opening on the Left by Raima Larter https://ift.tt/2zDWjfr Jason is a chemist specialising in racemization, a technique vital to defeat the lethal virus spreading across South America, but there are mysterious side-effects; by Raima Larter.

Jason boarded the train at the Medical Center Station, took a seat about halfway back from the door, and looked around. The usual morning crowd. Later, he would wonder why everything had seemed so normal that day, when it was anything but. He stifled a yawn and glanced at his phone. Nearly ten a.m. He'd been awake for over twenty-four hours. A melodic bonging came over the speaker and the train doors slid shut as a robotic female voice announced, "Doors closing." The train lurched into motion and Jason yawned again. He wanted, desperately, to be home, tucked into his own bed. Yes, his own empty bed, but that's the way it had been since he got this job, and how it was bound to stay. Who had time for dating? He hadn't even had friends over yet, despite having lived there for almost a year. For one thing, he had only the one chair, a pathetic frayed lawn chair he'd found discarded on a curb. No time for furniture-shopping, either. The chair sat next to his one other piece of furniture, a battered card table where he slurped down Cup o' Noodles every evening while streaming late-night talk shows on his laptop. Jason rubbed absent-mindedly at his bandaged left index finger. He'd cut it on a broken centrifuge tube a few hours before. No big deal, just a small amount of lost sample. After leaning his head against the window, he gazed at his reflection in the fogged-over glass. He looked tired, which made sense: he was tired after pulling another all-nighter, racing to get his part of the project finished before Dr. Murphy lost it. "The Director needs that data," she'd said as he'd left the lab that morning. She gave him her usual tight-lipped smile, but he knew what was behind it. "I'm sorry about the rush." He'd nodded and forced himself to smile politely (despite her lying). She wasn't sorry. Jason's team at the National Institute of Health was trying to develop a drug protocol to combat the Janusid virus. Janusid was spreading rapidly across South America, killing everything in its path. Like most viruses, Janusid attacked by injecting its DNA, coiled inside a hard protein shell, into an unwitting host. It had swept across the southern continent in less than a month, killing every person and animal it infected. So far, nothing had been found that could stop it. He'd already worked a string of ten-hour days, with a few eleven- or twelve-hour ones thrown in, and he almost had enough of the agent made. If the centrifuge tube hadn't broken, he might have even finished today. Now, the last test would have to wait until later, when his current batch had finished processing. The train jostled, picked up speed, and was soon soaring out of the tunnel and onto the above-ground section of the track. Morning sun slanted through the far window and across the car, producing a reflection of the passengers in the glass. In the reflection, a guy was seated up front in the handicapped-only seat. Jason hadn't noticed the man when he'd boarded the train. The man had a newspaper opened up, obscuring his face, and seemed intent on reading something. Jason scanned the backward print on the newspaper reflection, trying to decipher the headline. The letters were almost too small to read from where he sat, plus they were backward, of course. His gaze flitted back and forth, untangling first the word "Congress," and then a word that looked like "Legislation." That was when he noticed the girl. He hadn't seen her before either, but there she suddenly was, seated next to the guy with the newspaper. She caught his eye and smiled. He looked toward her, planning to nod good morning, but the handicapped seat was empty. No girl. No guy with a newspaper. Jason looked quickly back toward the window, trembling now. The reflection hadn't changed: the attractive girl was still there, next to the newspaper guy. The girl grinned at him again, and nudged her elbow into the man. The newspaper guy folded down a corner of his paper and peered around it at Jason. The man nodded at the girl, then folded the newspaper into a small rectangle, tucked it into a briefcase and stood, grabbing hold of a silvery metal pole. He swayed as the train rumbled down the tracks. The girl scooted forward on her seat, as if preparing to stand. All the while, Jason's heart beat faster and faster. After a couple of minutes, the train slowed, brakes squealing, rocking side to side as they pulled into the next station. A bong came over the intercom. "Doors opening on the left." Hairs spiked to attention on the back of Jason's neck. He focused intently on the reflected image of the two people. He didn't want to look away, but quickly glanced toward the handicapped seat. Still nothing. No man grasping the strap, no girl getting up from her seat. Jason leapt to his feet and leaned to peer at the reflection in the window. There they were, both of them, the man and the girl. Jason tried to keep the images in view, but the two mirror-image people were stepping off the train and onto the mirror-image platform. A bonging sound came over the intercom. "Doors closing." Jason bolted for the door. He jumped out as the doors slid closed behind him. He looked around at the empty platform. No man. No girl. No sounds but for the hum of the idling train and the distant murmur of traffic. He looked back toward the train. A woman in a torn knit hat stared at him through the glass, frowning. She was surrounded by empty seats, the only person in the car. As the train pulled away, Jason became aware of pressure in his bandaged finger. He yanked the gauze and tape off, revealing what had once been a tiny cut. Now his entire finger was an angry, throbbing red. He stared at the pulsating wound for a long moment, a strange tingly warmth creeping up his left arm. The sight of his hand mesmerized him and he was unable to look away. It didn't seem like his own hand. He saw it there, at the end of his arm, but it seemed the hand belonged to someone else. He was so focused on that weird hand that he startled and jumped back when the next train pulled into the station. Jason shook his head to clear his panicky thoughts, and boarded the train. This time, he checked the reflection in the glass first, to make sure no more odd people were there this time. Wherever "there" was.

The next day, after he'd slept a solid fifteen hours, Jason headed back to the lab. As he made his way to the building from the Metro station, he thought about the strange mirror-image people from the day before. Clearly a hallucination. Probably induced by sleep-deprivation or deep fatigue and overwork. His injured finger had stopped throbbing and seemed to be healing. He unwrapped the bandage and checked again. The cut was small, nothing at all really. Nevertheless, when he got in, he changed the dressing using the lab's first aid kit, just to be sure it kept healing. He got to work, preparing what he hoped was his last batch of racemization agent. On his way to the cold room, he ran into David. "Hey," Jason said. "How's it going?" David, another tech from the lab down the hall, wore his usual red bandana, tied around his head in an attempt to cover his thinning hair. He jammed his hands into the pockets of his somewhat grubby lab coat. "It's going," he said. "Get your magic stuff made?" "Almost. I thought I'd have it last night, but the vial broke just as I was removing the sample from the centrifuge." He held up his bandaged left finger as he yanked the cold room door open with his other hand. "Lost a whole day." David followed Jason into the refrigerated space. "Do you think Murphy will make you lead author this time?" Jason snorted. "Hardly. You know a lab head would never make a tech lead author. I'll be lucky if she puts my name on the paper at all." Jason had lost track of how many days he'd shuttled between the exhaust hood, the cold room, the centrifuge, and the mass spec, all the while trying to make enough racemization agent, the substance that would not only defeat Janusid but secure him at least co-authorship. Jason had never been lead author on any scientific paper, and he didn't want to believe it could happen this time - but, the truth was, it could happen this time. Racemization was Jason's specialty, after all. Give him any polymeric substance, even a protein coating like that on a virus, and he could reverse its stereochemistry and crack the thing open like an egg. The trick was to create the right stereoisomer of a substance that could bind to the polymer and create its mirror-image - a molecule with the same formula but a mirror-reversed structure. If you could hold the result up to a tiny molecular-sized mirror, its reflection would be identical to the original. That afternoon, when Jason found that the last batch of racemization agent was ready, he tested it, as he always did, on a sample of the virus. He was careful to use the clean-room protocols, necessary to prevent accidental infection. They weren't one-hundred percent effective, but they were the best the industry offered. The results looked promising, so he hurried down the hallway to Murphy's office. She was seated at her desk, tapping rapidly at her keyboard. The desk was piled high with toppling stacks of paper. Her sleeves were rolled above her wrists as she frowned through her glasses at the computer screen. He knocked on the doorjamb. "Dr. Murphy?" She flinched back, her hands still hovering over the keyboard. When she saw him, her eyes widened and one hand flew to her chest. "Jason!" She laughed nervously. "I didn't hear you come in. What can I do for you?" He waved the printout from his final test toward her. "That last batch seemed to do the trick. Results look perfect." She brought her hands to her face and leaned back in the chair. "Thank God," she said, then laughed. "Or thank you, I guess." She walked around the desk and peered at his printout. "This looks fantastic. I was just about to go to the All Hands meeting - the director is going to be thrilled." She plucked her lab coat from a hook on the wall and headed for the door, then turned back to him. "Coming?" Jason grinned and followed her through the hallways, down an elevator and into the large auditorium. Several hundred scientists, most clad in white lab coats, were already there. Dr. Murphy took a seat next to another lab head, but Jason went to the row of chairs pushed up against the wall. Every chair along the wall was occupied by techs and low-level staff. He knew the protocol. He knew where the peons sat and he also knew that no one who sat in a wall chair had ever had lead authorship on a paper. If you reached that level of accomplishment, you'd not only get first authorship, you'd get your own lab. You'd be someone like Dr. Murphy, not someone like Jason. David was already there and lifted his eyebrows as Jason sat down next to him. "So? Did you do it?" Jason tried to suppress his smile, but it didn't work. "Yep," he said, pulling out a small notebook and a pen. David broke into a huge grin. "Awesome. If this doesn't get you first authorship, nothing will." Jason shook his head as he flipped to a blank page in the notebook. "Well, nothing will then. You know as well as I she's not going to do it." He scribbled the date at the top of the page, followed by "All Hands Mtg," and prepared to take notes. Dr. Murphy turned toward Jason and David and smiled, waving the printout he'd given her in the air. Jason knew she would, as she always did, claim that "her lab" had achieved the desired outcome. She would claim his results as hers. She might name him, or even thank him when she got a turn to speak, but that was all the acknowledgment he was likely to get. After all, Murphy knew the protocol, too. Jason tried to squash the flare of jealousy. Without Dr. Murphy, he would not even be here. She had been the one to come up with the idea, and she had been the one to persuade the scientific board, the big-wigs who sat at the table at the front of the auditorium, that her lab should be allowed to try this approach. The Director himself sat at the table at the front. He wore a suit, unlike most of the people in the room. Next to him sat his Deputy, tapping a pen nervously on the table and glancing repeatedly at his cell phone. At the table were several other people Jason knew only by their photos on the agency website. Every one of them had a title with at least four words in it: Assistant Director of Something-Or-Other. After the Director called the meeting to order, he asked Murphy to come forward. She approached the microphone that had been set up in the aisle next to the wall chairs. "As I explained in our last All Hands meeting," Dr. Murphy said into the mic, "changing the stereochemistry of the virus coating should make it vulnerable to attack by a standard anti-viral." She turned to look at the auditorium full of scientists. "Many people in this room could help with that second step." She smiled, and held up the sheaf of papers Jason had given her. "I'm happy to report that my group has succeeded in developing a racemization reagent that will crack open the protein coating on Janusid." She waved the papers and smiled more broadly. "Our results are very promising. Preliminary tests show that we've done it. It works!" Jason gripped the pen so hard his hand ached. He scribbled furiously. "My group," and "our results," and "we've done it." David nudged him with an elbow. "Hey man," he whispered. "Since when did you become left-handed?" Jason stared at the pen, gripped tightly in his left hand. He'd been right-handed his entire life, so why - and how - was he now writing with his left? His bandaged finger began to throb and that tingly warmth crept up his arm again. He clenched his fist so hard his fingernails bit into his palm. He wanted to jump up and shout that he was the one who had succeeded, not some nebulous "we" that Murphy gave all the credit to, but he shoved both his hands beneath his thighs and clamped his teeth together. David kept giving him odd looks, but Jason refused to meet his gaze. The Director leaned back in his chair, index fingers steepled together. He was silent for a moment, swiveling back and forth, one toe pressed to the floor. It took only a few seconds for him to swivel to his Deputy and say, "Let's do it." Only then did Dr. Murphy turn toward Jason, smiling. David stood up quickly and reached to shake his hand. "Congratulations," he said. "I guess." The tingly warmth surged up Jason's left arm and into his chest as David pumped his right hand up and down. The tingle squeezed Jason's heart as if it were caught in the grip of a giant python. He tried to say thanks to David, but all that came out was an unrecognizable growl. Dr. Murphy fought her way through a crowd of people gathered around the Director's table. "Jason! There you are. We've just been given our marching orders. We'll need a large batch of your reagent asap." She gave him a sympathetic look. "The other labs are ready to move to Phase Two as soon as we can supply them with the racemization agent. I know you've been working really hard already, but we need to double our efforts now." David stepped between Dr. Murphy and Jason. "I can help. Just show me how to make the stuff, and we can do it together." Dr. Murphy smiled broadly. "Why thank you," she said, and turned to look around the room. "Let me just check with your boss to make sure it's okay -" "Oh, it's okay," David said. "I'm not working on anything important at the moment." She pressed her lips together and nodded. "Jason can show you the protocol, but if you don't mind, I'll just double-check with your boss. Don't want to step on any toes, you know." She gave him a tight smile. Jason and David spent the rest of the week preparing a large batch of racemization agent. Late Thursday night, they put the last portion in the drying oven. "There," Jason said. "Now we just wait thirty minutes or so and we'll be done." David yawned widely. "I'm beat. Want some coffee?" Jason glanced at the clock on the wall. "I doubt the cafeteria is still open." "There are those machines downstairs," David said, already heading for the door. They pounded down the metal steps, round and round the stairwells, and made their way to the basement vending machine room. Soon, they were seated at a battered white table, sipping at paper cups of coffee. "Gah," David said, making a face. "This stuff is awful." Jason laughed and reached for his cup. "It was your suggestion." David gestured at Jason's bandaged finger. "What did you do to your hand?" Jason shook his head. "Nothing. Just a broken vial a few days ago." David sipped, staring at Jason for a long moment. "Was that before or after you suddenly became left-handed?" Jason sat back in his chair. "What -?" "What's going on, dude? You've been doing everything in the lab with your left hand all week. I'm certain you were right-handed before." Jason sighed. "Okay. Something happened. I don't know what it was, but it may have been related to this cut. I may have got some racemization agent in it." He gave him a weak smile. "Either that or I got infected by the virus." David shook his head. "Not possible. You'd be dead by now." "No kidding." He wanted to tell David about all of it - the mirror-image people on the train, the wave of energy he sometimes felt pulsing up his arm - but he didn't dare. "Obviously it wasn't the virus," David said, sipping at the coffee again, "But if it was your reagent, that might explain some things." "What do you mean?" "You know - it racemizes things, right? Maybe you got some of it into your finger and it racemized the molecules in your hand." "Oh come on - so that would make me left-handed instead of right-handed?" David shrugged. "Maybe." He gazed silently at Jason for a full minute. "So, did you report it?" "Report what?" "The broken tube, the possible contamination - you know the rules." Jason sighed. "I didn't have time. You know how long those reports take. Besides, it would slow everything down and we just don't have time for that kind of crap right now." David downed the last of his coffee. "Did you ever see that show about the dude who started cooking meth? Heisenberg or something." "Yeah. Wasn't he a high school chem teacher?" "Yep. Lower than the low." David paused, not meeting Jason's gaze. "Do you think we all have it in us to go bad like that?" "Sure, maybe. I - I don't know." What was David accusing him of? "You know, like there's someone in you who's actually evil and something happens to spring it free." "Like Dr. Jekyll? Or, wait - was it Mr. Hyde that was the bad guy?" David laughed. "Dude, it's always the scientist that's mad." By Friday afternoon, they were nearly finished, and Dr. Murphy told Jason he could leave early. "You and David have done a great job, Jason," she said. "Time to get some rest. You look tired." Her words surprised him. He'd had plenty of sleep and he felt great. Better than he'd felt in years, actually. "I look tired?" "You do." She clapped him on the left shoulder, which sent a jarring sensation down his arm and into his hand. His bandaged finger throbbed with a tingly warmth. "I wouldn't doubt," she said, "you'll need a few days to get caught up on your sleep." "You're probably right." He knew he should talk to her about writing up their results, ask her what the chances were that he would get first authorship, but instead he grabbed his jacket and turned away. "See you Monday?" he asked, the flare of anger sweeping through his entire body. "Sure thing," she said, her attention distracted again by the printout of his latest results. She didn't even seem to see him standing there, so he turned and left, nearly colliding with David on his way out. "Leaving so soon?" David asked, holding a tray of centrifuge tubes. "Murphy sent me home." He nodded at the tray. "I assume you can finish up?" "Sure thing. See if you can get some sleep, man. You look awful." Jason gave him a weak smile, left the building and was soon ascending the escalator to the Metro platform. As luck would have it, the train was pulling into the station. He boarded the nearly-empty train, which seemed as normal as it had all week. He slid into a window seat and turned to gaze at the glass. He could see himself reflected there again. He inspected his mirror-reversed self. He looked like he always looked in photos, but there seemed to be something new there - a darkness in his eyes. Maybe it was the fatigue Dr. Murphy had noticed, but it struck him as sinister. He looked away. The train car was completely empty - it was only three o'clock, not yet rush hour. When he glanced back at the window, he saw them: the man with the newspaper and the girl seated beside him, both of them, again, in the handicapped-only seat. Jason quickly swiveled his head, looking for the pair in the flesh, but they weren't there. Of course. He looked back at the glass. The girl smiled at him and lifted a hand in a little wave, then held her index finger upward. She looked at her own finger, lifted her eyebrows at him, and nudged her elbow into the man with the newspaper. He lowered the paper and peered at Jason. A smile crossed the man's face and the two of them, the man and the girl, began to laugh. It was a silent laugh, no sound. Jason's reflection, his doppelganger, lifted his hand. In the reflection, his previously-bandaged left finger had somehow become unbandaged - but only in the reflection. Jason stared at his hands lying in his lap, the bandage still in place. He looked at the window again. The doppelganger's angry-red finger pointed upward. Jason could almost see it throbbing, but he felt no pain in the hand that lay motionless in his lap. The doppelganger made eye contact with Jason. It wasn't at all like Jason seeing himself in the mirror. It was another person there, a person who looked just like him, but reversed. The doppelganger stood and moved quickly toward the door. A great force pulled on Jason's chest, as if his heart was trying to escape from his ribcage. He realized what it was: this mirror-self, the one in the glass, was trying to pull him into the mirror-reversed world, and it seemed to be succeeding. Jason felt as if he was being torn in half. The man in the handicapped seat folded the newspaper and held it out toward Jason. The headline was, as before, completely backward, but said something different this time. Jason struggled against the force tugging at him and tried to decipher the jumble of letters, "!SUOIROTCIV DISUNAJ :NOW ELTTAB TSRIF" This must be a clue about what was happening to him, but what in the world did it mean? The girl stood up. Jason thought about his empty bed at home, that forlorn mattress on the floor. He thought about what he thought he'd wanted - first authorship on a paper - and it seemed, suddenly, to mean nothing at all to him. This place, these weird mirror people - they had something to do with the virus. Jason was sure of it. He didn't know how he was sure - he just was. The man with the newspaper waved it at Jason, pointing to the headline. The girl smiled at Jason and, more than he'd ever wanted anything, he wanted to be with this girl. Jason knew he didn't really want the girl; it was the doppelganger that wanted her. He knew that the small cut on his finger was, somehow, involved with this desire, but was it really like a Mr. Hyde inside him was taking over? Maybe David was right. Maybe the racemization agent had affected his body. The tingly warmth was seeping through his entire body and he'd never felt such pleasure. The man with the newspaper stood, folded his mirror-reversed paper into a small rectangle and tossed it onto the seat. The three - girl, newspaper man, and doppelganger - stepped to the door. It slid open and they exited the train. Jason, shaking, watched them go. His energy drained away, as if the doppelganger was stealing his life force. The three stood on the platform as the train began to move. In small jerking motions it accelerated, then entered the tunnel, blocking out the light that had created those images in the glass. Jason twisted in his seat and looked toward the handicapped seat. Nothing. No people, and no newspaper. Jason felt the tingly warmth drain away, and he was left with only the usual despair of his life. His arms went limp, but as the train rumbled down the track, his energy began to return, as if he was somehow reeling in the tendrils of life energy the doppelganger had tried to steal from him. When he got home and unlocked his door, the sight of that frayed lawn chair and his collection of empty Cup o' Noodles containers nearly deflated him again. But he sat down and began scribbling letters from memory, trying to figure out what the backward newspaper had said. It took him awhile to remember the jumbled headline, but when he did, he realized it was simply backward words: FIRST BATTLE WON: JANUSID VICTORIOUS! By the time he made it to bed, thoroughly exhausted, he knew what he had to do. The next day, Saturday, he returned to the cold room and retrieved a vial of the racemization agent and a box of syringes. As he walked out into the hallway, there was David, who nodded at the things in Jason's hands. "What're you doing?" Jason trembled, wanting to tell him everything, but how could he explain this? "Listen. I need you to help me with something." David frowned. "Sure, man. Anything." Jason hurried back into the lab, David on his heels, and rummaged through a drawer for a sticky note pad. He scribbled a phone number on it and shoved the pad toward David. "If something happens to me, I need you to call my parents. Tell them - well, that this was the only way I knew to beat Janusid. Tell them that." Jason grabbed the syringes and the racemization agent and sprinted toward the hallway. "I don't understand," David yelled behind him. "What are you talking about?" Jason ran to the Metro station and waited impatiently for the train. When it finally arrived, he boarded, the train took off, exited the tunnel and, soon, a beam of light slanted across the car. And then there they were as before, the man and the girl. Both of them gave him a curious look. They seemed almost frightened. The man had a newspaper - as usual. He held it up toward Jason. Bold letters, all backward, stretched across the page. Jason laughed as he quickly deciphered it, not even needing pencil and paper this time: "ENEMY ENGAGED: MASSIVE CASUALTIES EXPECTED." Jason might never get credit for what he was about to do, but so be it. Not getting credit seemed the least of his concerns now, considering he might not ever get back. He pulled out the first syringe and injected his left upper arm. A burst of energy surged into his shoulder and through his body. If his magic stuff, the racemization agent, could mirror-reverse a protein coating, what might it do to a whole body in the mirror image world? He could feel it working. He gazed at his reflection in the glass and then, as if merely taking a step forward, he was on the other side, looking back at himself. Jason believed in the empirical approach, and the only thing left to do was try it. He had two more syringes in the bag, already prepared. Janusid might think it knew how to beat them, but it had never tangled with someone like Jason. The robotic voice came over the intercom: Doors opening on the left. The girl and the man rushed out to the mirror-image platform. Jason and his doppelganger reached into the bag, pulled out the remaining syringes and, holding one in each hand, leaped through the doors, in hot pursuit of them.

[android-for-life]

"Dr. Karen DeSalvo on “putting information first” during COVID-19"

Dr. Karen DeSalvo knows how to deal with a crisis. She was New Orleans Health Commissioner following Hurricane Katrina and a senior official at the Department of Health and Human Services when Ebola broke out. And now, as Google’s Chief Health Officer, she’s become the company’s go-to medical expert, advising our leaders on how to react to the coronavirus. Dr. DeSalvo has been a voice of reassurance for Googlers, but her expertise is helpful outside of Google, too. I recently spoke to Dr. DeSalvo about how we’ll get through the crisis, what Google is doing to help and what makes her optimistic despite the challenges we face. 

How is the coronavirus different from other public health crises you’ve dealt with?  In my work in New Orleans, whether it was a hurricane, a fire or a power outage, we drew resources from other parts of the country if we needed help. In this case, the entire world has been impacted. Everyone is living with uncertainty, disrupted supply chains, impacts on travel and social infrastructure. While this creates a sense of community that I hope will continue beyond the pandemic, the downside is that we have less opportunity to send assistance to other places. Where there is opportunity, we’ve seen people paying it forward, like when California deployed ventilators to the East Coast. The sense of community that grows out of any disaster is the bright spot, for me.

How are industries sharing ideas and research in this global crisis? Physicians are using technology to talk to each other constantly about what they’re seeing and doing, and in prior outbreaks this real-time communication wasn’t possible. It makes a huge difference in clinical care. In the medical community, you sometimes have to pay for a journal article. But now if you want to read about COVID-19, it’s free for any researcher, scientist, clinician or layperson. That’s putting information first, putting knowledge and science above proprietary interest. 

It’s happening in science, too. For instance, there’s a collaboration between competitors in the private sector on designing trials and assessing the outcome of drugs and vaccines. At Google, our Deepmind colleagues were able to use quantum computing to show protein folding, helping advance the thinking about therapeutics and vaccines. I don’t think we’ve seen this spirit of collaboration in the history of science, and it’s one of the reasons I’m so optimistic. 

What is Google doing to help curb misinformation? In this historic moment, access to the right information at the right time will save lives. Period. This is why our Search teams design our ranking systems to promote the most relevant and reliable information available. We build these protections in advance so they’re ready when a crisis hits, and this approach serves as a strong defense against misinformation.  

When COVID-19 began to escalate, we built features on top of those fundamental protections to help people find information from local health authorities. We initially launched an SOS alert with the World Health Organization to make resources about COVID-19 easily discoverable. This has evolved into an expanded Search experience, providing easy access to more authoritative information, alongside new data and visualizations. 

We’re surfacing content that’s accessible to a whole range of communities, and there’s constant vigilance to remove misinformation on platforms like YouTube—this includes videos or other information that could be harmful to people.

COVID-19 information on Search. 

What does it mean to be Google’s Chief Health Officer? My role is to bring a holistic view of emotional, physical and social health and well-being to Google’s products and services, particularly under Google Health. During this pandemic, my team has also thought about how Google can assist public health efforts. This has meant anything from the Community Mobility Reports, a tool to help measure the impact of social distancing, to building playlists in partnership with YouTube geared towards clinicians, and showing testing sites for COVID-19 all over the world.

In the general public, what behaviors or mentalities have arisen that should continue in the future? First, there are fundamental ways to reduce the transmission of communicable diseases like the flu or, in some communities, measles or tuberculosis. If you’re able to, it’s important to stay home if you’re sick, wash your hands, cough into your elbow—I call these the “Grandma rules.” Second, there are a lot of components to health: social health, emotional well-being, financial stability. Health is driven by more than just medical care, and this is a moment for us to remember that a holistic approach matters. 

What should business owners consider for when restrictions begin to lift? They need to prepare for a world in which employees can work remotely as much as possible. Policies will still recommend social distancing, but we also need to create an environment where people who are sick feel comfortable staying home. That’s not realistic for every small business, so paying attention to the basic hygiene stuff—Do the Five—is also important. 

After Katrina, there was this time when the world was paying attention and trying to help, but the emotional and social impact on our community lasted for months. There will be some of that after this pandemic, because you can’t just flip a switch and have people go back to work. That’s the important thing—being patient as people put themselves back into a normal routine. 

Health is driven by more than just medical care, and this is a moment for us to remember that a holistic approach matters.

Taking off your Chief Health Officer hat, how do you reassure friends and family when they’re worried about this situation? Medically, we need to be patient and let the scientists do their thing. It’s probably going to take until summer or early fall in the northern hemisphere to get clarity on what therapeutics work. The end game is to develop a vaccine so we can make sure everybody is protected. This is going to be a long journey with many months ahead, so we need to pace ourselves. 

Statistically, more people will have anxiety and depression from COVID-19 than will actually get COVID-19. To share tips on mental well-being, we recently launched the “Be Kind To Your Mind” PSA on Google Search.

Lastly, I remind those who are privileged to have a safe space to stay home when other people can’t. I think about my previous work with low income patients, and how this crisis impacts them as well as communities of color, non-native English speakers, and individuals with disabilities. Staying home is not safe, comfortable and financially feasible for everybody. We should all be doing what we can for our neighbors and our friends and the people who aren’t always seen.

Source : The Official Google Blog via Source information

[matthillica]

Pandemic - Day 7 (Weds 3/18/20)

Not even sure where to begin this, suffice to say I've had a nagging feeling over the last few days that I need to document this as we all hurtle toward the unknown.

I haven't touched this blog in almost exactly 10 years, which is crazy to think about. Crazy that something I used to spend so much time agonizing over and pouring thought into has become antiquated and obsolete... only to become the one outlet that makes sense during this crazy time.

Yesterday I set up the Kinect on my Xbox, another obsolete piece of technology. Because I'm a nerd and always have to have the newest, hottest, flamingest shit, I got one of the first Xbox Ones to come out, which came with the second generation of Kinect sensor... you know, the one Microsoft tried to shove down all our throats relentlessly. Anyway, we basically used it as a voice operated remote to browse Netflix. "Xbox, pause" "Xbox, play" "Xbox, rewind"... you know, shit Americans are known for. Anyway, Microsoft eventually gave up the ghost and phased the Kinect out. Mine's been sitting on a shelf gathering dust for at least 2 years.

Now, it's a way (if I can get the damn thing working again) for us to use an outdated Skype app so that we can talk to Grandma on a daily basis. My daughter, Caroline is almost 2 (yes! I have a daughter now and have been married to my wife since September 2015). Grandma is in Kansas, set to move to be with us in Atlanta as soon as her house sells. She was supposed to come visit us 3/27, but it's looking like that won't happen now. I told her if she was able to get in the car TODAY and make the 14 hour drive, stopping only for gas and to sleep in her car, that she's welcome to come stay with us and ride this thing out. Tearfully, she told me she needed to stay in case someone wants to come look at the house.

Honestly, it's going to be safer for her there anyway. McPherson has around 15,000 people. Meanwhile Atlanta is set to blow with this virus and cases have started to double overnight. It's hard to know how many there really are simply because there's a shortage of testing. Personally, I think by this weekend, our healthcare system is going to be in the grips of the worst crisis it's ever seen.

I should also mention that my wife has some autoimmune health issues that are pretty unique. She suffers from Schmidt's Syndrome which is a combination of Addison's Disease and Hypothyroidism. It's something that can be managed with a daily regimen of drugs, but is a serious condition that can be exacerbated by illness. The story of her diagnosis and the things we went through to get to it could fill a book at this point. I have taken more trips to the ER in the last 5 years than I care to mention and many of them have been triggered by illness, whether that's a common flu or something given to my wife by Caroline from her daycare or mastitis... even the slightest thing can send her into adrenal crisis, which immediately requires a trip to the ER.

So... as you can probably guess... I'm pretty fuckin nervous about all this. Luckily, I have been quietly prepping and watching this story develop, so we have plenty of food, water, and meds to get us through the next 60-90 days. My concern is that if my wife catches this, which she probably will, we may need a trip to the ER... and that's the last place on earth I want to be right now or for the forseeable future.

I should ALSO also mention... my wife is 13 weeks pregnant with our second child. This means that now, not only do we get to navigate our way through a pandemic AND Schmidt's... but we also have to deal with morning sickness and fatigue, all the while playing the game of "Is this symptom just pregnancy OR is it your Schmidt's OR is it Covid?"

Anyway, the last few days have been rough and we're only at the beginning of this thing. My wife can barely stand due to fatigue. She basically moves from one flat position to the next... shuffling quickly from our bed to a sofa or from the sofa to the kitchen and back as quickly as she can. It's slightly horrifying. I've been trying to cram fluids and food down as much as possible, but it's hard when someone doesn't feel well. I got her a bottle that lights up every 30 min to remind her to drink, but that's not really helped much at all. I grabbed protein shakes from the store in an effort to find something high calorie with vitamins, etc. that she can drink easily. I basically had to hold a gun to her head to make her drink it this morning. I'm equal parts husband and taskmaster. It sucks.

Last night she said she felt the fatigue was getting worse and that it wasn't due to pregnancy. I can connect with her doctors via an app that allows me to send them messages... Laura was too tired last night to do this herself, so I fired off an email to both her endocrinologist and OBGYN. No response.

In preparation for a doctor visit today, which we assumed we'd be able to schedule, we drove to Laura's folks' house so they can watch Caroline while we go to the doc. We tried calling the docs on the way over, but it seems they're already trying to stem the flow of patients. It's worrisome when you're living with someone who has a life-threatening illness to see the system strained already when the worse is yet to come.

Anyway, not long after we got to my in-laws' house, Dr. Patel (endocrinologist) called me directly. After discussing Laura's symptoms with him for about 10 minutes, he said we need to go to the ER so that she can be given fluids via IV. I said, yeah... no I don't want to go there AT ALL. But he said really, we need to go as this is the only way to deliver IV fluids. I thanked him for calling us and he said he'd call back tomorrow to check in.

So... what to do? Do we drive into what we KNOW is a situation that will expose us both to Covid so that she can be given IV fluids and told she needs to eat more, which I can almost guarantee you is what will happen since we've been through this a dozen times before? OR do we do what we can at home, try to see if we can force fluids and food to make her feel better, then reevaluate tomorrow when, in all likelihood, the situation will be even worse at the ERs? Neither is a fantastic choice.

For now, we've decided to stick it out here at her parents and see if we can force the fluids and food for today. At the very least, tomorrow when we wake up if she is still not feeling better, we'll be able to say that we know she's not dehydrated and we know she's had enough food. I know it will be worse at the ER tomorrow, but if going there is a Covid sentence either way, seems like it would be smarter to delay that option as long as possible.

So that's the situation right now. We're all "working from home" at this point. I have a desk set up at home and have grabbed my monitors, so with the exception of the folding table set up in Caroline's playroom, it's just like my normal office setting, basically. It's interesting attending meetings and trying to handle the business-as-usual functions of our jobs while the world around us starts to crack and crumble. I can't help but wonder how long this routine will go on before each one of us is just in 100% survival mode, unable to track or even care about projects that have lost their meaning in the context of this incredible, unbelievable, worldwide crisis.

It's crazy to think that everyone... EVERYONE on EARTH... is living out their own versions of this story, complete with difficult situations to navigate and impossible choices to make. My own drama is consuming all of my mental real estate right now, so my heart is with everyone who is dealing with their own all-consuming drama as well.

Be good to each other over the coming days and weeks. Stay strong and as positive as possible. Take care and stay safe.

-Matt

[ericfruits]

Remaking life means automating biology

ZACH SERBER worked at Amyris, a synthetic-biology pioneer, when the company was trying to crack the biofuel market. Seeing brilliant metabolic engineering fail to make a business led him and his co-founders at Zymergen, a company based in Emeryville, California, to take their new company in a different direction. They would not try to manufacture or sell things. They would offer their synthetic biology as a way of making businesses already using biotechnology more profitable. This is, at the moment, the model used by a number of leading synthetic-biology companies. At its heart is the automation of experiment.

Biotechnology is already a bigger business than many people realise. Rob Carlson of Bioeconomy Capital, an investment company, calculates that money made from creatures which have been genetically engineered accounted for about 2% of American GDP in 2017. The contribution was split between three industries. Pharmaceuticals and crops, contributing $137bn and $104bn respectively, are the ones that the public knows about. The third sector, industrial biotechnology, is much less visible but even more lucrative, worth $147bn or more (see chart). Chemicals used for many purposes—raw materials for plastics, food additives, some fragrances and biofuels—are already being churned out at scale by altered micro-organisms in fermentation tanks.

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As well as being the biggest biotechnology market, this is also the one best suited to companies seeking to offer innovation as a service. Testing drugs and genetically modified crops is a long and costly business. Replacing one strain of industrial yeast with a better one can be done in a week. Industrial customers tend to know what they want and synthetic biology promises a lot of value. Tim Fell, the boss of Synthace, a synthetic-biology software company in London, says that in one project the company engineered a 200-fold increase in the rate at which bacteria produced something useful (he cannot say what) in just four weeks.

About 75% of Zymergen’s business, according to Dr Serber, is helping companies re-engineer, for industrial purposes, microbes they are already using, in order to increase production, reduce costs or both. The company is built around machine-learning programs that suggest changes to the genome which could produce an organism and setting—temperature, nutrient balance, and so on—that improves on the status quo. In this fiercely empirical process Zymergen makes DNA tweaks of all sorts, most of them to sequences that regulate gene expression. These tweaks, says Dr Serber, have helped customers for its “molecular technology” make better margins on hundreds of thousands of tonnes of product.

Arzeda, based in the Interbay district of Seattle, has a similar business model and is based on similar technologies. But where Zymergen concentrates on empirically derived ways to improve productivity, the expertise of Arzeda’s machine-learning systems and scientists is in applying a theoretical understanding of how the shape into which proteins fold determines their function, thus making them better at what they do, or able to do something new. It brands itself “the protein design company”.

Ginkgo, the iGEM-born startup in Boston, is another variation on the business-to-business theme. Its focus is not on the specifics of genome-based machine-learning or protein design, though it does both, so much as on developing a broader expertise in the remaking of microbes. It calls itself “the organism company”.

Means of production

The three companies may differ in details of their approaches, but the big picture unites them. All of them see their current business-to-business approach as a stepping stone, a way of honing their techniques, teaching their machine-learning programs and bringing in cash as they develop products of their own. Arzeda talks of making tulipin, which among other things can greatly improve the qualities of perspex. That improvement is not so great as to justify harvesting it from its native tulips, but Arveda’s proteins mean you do not need to. Ginkgo is spinning out joint ventures with clients to work in specific areas. In 2018 it created a business with Bayer, a chemical company, to develop microbes which would make fertiliser inside a plant’s root system. It has another spin-out working on cannabis, and has just announced a third one developing plant proteins for use in vegetarian foods, including meat substitutes. Zymergen is looking at materials for electronics.

They are also united in their zeal for high-throughput experiments. Their use of massive amounts of synthesised DNA is producing a new way of doing biology on an industrial scale

During the five years that Jason Kelly, Ginkgo’s chief executive, spent in Dr Endy’s lab at MIT in the 2000s he reckons he may have ordered 50,000 bases of commercially synthesised DNA—a pretty profligate amount at the time. Today Ginkgo orders synthetic DNA sequences at 50,000 times that rate, using them to change the genomes of thousands of organisms a day. In 2017 it bought a DNA-synthesis company, Gen9, bringing all its production capacity in-house. That has not sated its appetite. It has a contract with Twist Bioscience, the world’s biggest DNA-synthesis company, for a billion base pairs over the coming years.

Arzeda is smaller, but Alexandre Zanghellini, its boss, says it still manages to order around 10,000 new DNA sequences a week, each of which is then put into a particular microbe so that its computers’ assumptions about how changes in the sequence change the function of proteins can be tested. Often these DNA sequences are not even looked at by humans before they arrive by courier.

Drinking from such a firehose of DNA increasingly requires experiments designed and managed by computers. Ginkgo spent years programming computers to supervise experiments and robots to carry them out and then finding and removing the innumerable bugs with which those programs were afflicted. For ten years, according to Dr Kelly, doing lab work using the partially automated foundries thus created was considerably slower for the company’s designers than doing it themselves would have been. But having to use the automated systems meant having to improve them. A couple of years ago, Dr Kelly says, Ginkgo reached a point where its foundries were as productive, in terms of person hours for work done, as an expert researcher. Now he pegs them as ten times more productive, and says the margin is growing.

Automation increases not just the amount of research that can be done, but also its complexity. Much biological experimentation takes place in trays of 96 “microwells”, or miniature test tubes. Humans tend to design experiments using these wells quite simply; do A to one subset, B to another, and so on. A computer can design experimental strategies that are much more complex, picking a wider range of hypotheses to test, and then testing many more hypotheses per tray. For properly programmed robot flunkies, the most recondite experimental schemes are a doddle. According to Markus Gershater, the chief scientific officer at Synthace, the gains software and automation offer experimental design can be just as important as gains in speed and throughput.

The role of machine learning in these labs means they have an enormous appetite for data. Most biology labs do without mass spectrometers, analytic tools which rapidly sort through samples molecule by molecule and characterise every one of them. They are expensive and produce more data than most people need. Synthetic-biology companies love them.

More data offer computers a clearer idea of what is going on; they also show what is going wrong. Most biologists at the bench have a sense that the living material they work with is not really to be trusted. Biology, they say, unlike physics, is unreliable. The “noise” in experiments can often swamp the signal you are looking for. Getting an experiment to work pretty regularly is good enough. In part this may be true. But it is hard not to think that much of the unreliability is with the biologists, not the biology. How else to explain why studies repeatedly find that many results reported in research papers cannot be replicated in other labs?

The problem is not just human error. It is also human nescience. There are things going on in a lab that experimenters do not notice, but the creatures they experiment on do. The more data a system gathers, the more can be discovered, if necessary, about what actually happened, and that will surely help replicability.

Industrialisation helps in other ways, too. One piece of kit popular in labs that can afford it is the Echo 655, built by Labcyte. Like a pipetting system it moves drops of fluid from one set of wells to another. But by creating those drops with tightly focused ultrasound rather than suction it does so in much smaller amounts, much more accurately and with no contaminating contact. Smaller wells—up to 1,536 on a tray—mean more throughput and less spent on the chemical reagents the experiments use up. At the far end of this trend towards the tiny and precise is a system made by a startup called Berkeley Lights which has wells which contain but a single cell, manipulated entirely with laser beams.

So powerful is this new automation that it has drawn Synthace away from its original intention of making organisms to providing software as a service instead. The company has developed a computing environment called Antha, where researchers can say what they want done in relatively high-level terms, confident that machines will optimise the experiment’s design for the client’s instruments and tell the instruments what to do.

A startup called Transcriptic wants to go even further, operating “labs in the cloud” where an experimenter at a terminal anywhere in the world can get a set of experiments done in an automated facility they never even see. Mr Kelly thinks that, at least for the sort of work Ginkgo does, the time is not yet right for such radical approaches—having the people designing the organisms and the foundries that make them under one roof matters a lot. But it is clear that the trend to automation is not yet played out.

From the ratcheting of the ribosome on up, there is something mechanical about life. In foundries like Ginkgo’s it is hard to avoid the sense of that mechanistic model moving out from the cells embodying it and into the sparsely inhabited systems studying, manipulating and redesigning them. There is an uncanny feedback loop between the machineries of cell and laboratory which is eating away at the gap in between them.

This article appeared in the Technology Quarterly section of the print edition under the headline "An industrial revolution"

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Cancer & GERD

Metabolic Inflammatory Conditions

Where does it all start? This important question can determine the success or failure of medical treatments so we better get it right. Actually there are several starting places to chronic illness but the one I want to talk about here starts in the stomach, which starts screaming at us with a host of GERD symptoms when things start going wrong in our lives.

One of the most important points for doctors and patients to realize is that GERD is a deficiency disease meaning it is not caused by excess acid it is caused by deficient acid. When the stomach does not produce enough acid the food sits in the stomach and repeats back up to the esophageal sphincter. It is, as they call it an excess acid condition only because it is an acid mix, just not high enough to create proper digestion, but high enough to burn tissues that it is exposed long enough to.

Hydrochloric acid, referred to as HCl, is produced in the stomach by the parietal cells that lie deep in the stomach walls. The truth is, we wouldn’t be able to digest at all without it. Stress and dietary deficiencies drive HCL deficiencies yielding not only local acid upset and thus GERD but also systemic inflammation. What happens in the face of HCL deficiencies is undigested proteins and a rotting mix of food collects, first in the stomach, which then gets released into the intestines. Undigested food, and very often with undigested gluten (from fast yeasted breads) and for many, with all types, will putrefy creating perfect conditions for gut inflammation and infection.

Over the past 25 years, the incidence of esophageal cancer (of the adenocarcinoma type) has increased 350%, faster than any other malignancy in the western world. One study showed that esophageal adenocarcinoma cases are increasing 5% to 10% each year in developed countries. Another study showed that the rate of esophageal adenocarcinoma increased eight-fold over a 20-year period in Denmark. The two common forms of esophageal cancer are squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.[1]

This is really bad news. These higher rates are related to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which is a mirror of our terrible eating habits as well as a host of life stress events.

At least 10 percent of Americans have episodes of heartburn every day, and 44 percent have symptoms at least once a month, according to conservative statistics. In fact the NY times stated in 2010:

As many as four in 10 Americans have symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, and many depend on P.P.I.’s like Prilosec, Prevacid and Nexium to reduce stomach acid. These are the third highest-selling class of drugs in the United States, after antipsychotics and statins, with more than 100 million prescriptions and $13.9 billion in sales in 2010, in addition to over-the-counter sales.[2]

Cancer Begins With?

We know some basic things about why cancer starts. We know it is initiated under low-oxygen conditions. We know that it is initiated also by trauma and inflammation. We know with low-oxygen conditions and inflammation we have infectious agents running around out of control. Evidence supports the emerging hypothesis that metabolic syndrome may be associated with the risk of many common cancers[3] but we really do not need “evidence.” If we know how to think rationally we know that diabetes, which starts with metabolic syndrome, leads a person more easily to the gates of cancer. The earliest inflammations hold the potential to create the conditions that eventually lead to cancer. That is worth saying and reading again and again and this is not only true for the stomach it is also true for the mouth when the gums become inflamed.

So we have low O2, low CO2, low pH (acidity) and low cellular energy; we have infection hordes fighting for their claim of the territory. Mix in some inflammation, heavy-metals and chemical contamination and nutritional deficiency (along with some genetic disruption) and we have the recipe for CANCER—a beast that is eating the human race alive starting with the elderly but now increasingly working its way down to the young and very young where death should not be lurking.

A new MIT study[4] offers a comprehensive look at chemical and genetic changes that occur as inflammation progresses to cancer. One of the biggest risk factors for liver, colon or stomach cancer is chronic inflammation of those organs, often caused by viral or bacterial infections. Orthodox cancer treatments do not treat inflammation, thus they do not really treat cancer.

Cancer is a Late Stage Inflammation and Infection

The precursor to cancer is inflammation. Cancer is a disease of inflammation. Until recently it wasn’t well known that inflammation was the culprit responsible for many chronic diseases. However, many physicians now recognize that inflammation is a precursor to diseases such as cancer, arthritis, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and high blood pressure. This is important information because early detection of inflammation helps prevent negative health conditions and cancer from developing. Dr. Jonathan Wright says that to improve digestion and end heartburn we should increase stomach acid, not decrease it. It seems that ninety percent of the patients that Dr. Wright tested in his digestion clinic had too little stomach acid, not too much. Dr. Wright prescribes for his patients’ hydrochloric acid pills. One can look for betaine hydrochloride, which is hydrochloric acid in their local health food store as well as pepsin, papain, bromelain, and pancreatic enzymes, which are what Wright prescribes for his patients. Personally I use pure HCL and it does wonders!

Proper stomach acid production is vital to unlocking perfect digestion. The digestive process downstream from the stomach is controlled chiefly by pH changes. When the food (chyme) in your stomach reaches a pH of about 2-4, the valve at the bottom of the stomach (pyloric sphincter) starts to slowly release the stomach contents into the duodenum. If the pH is wrong from the beginning, everything down-stream from the small intestine to the large intestine will likely be compromised. Think of it like this: chewing your food is the first crucial step to perfect digestion and stomach acid is the next most important. Always remember and tell your kids: YOUR STOMACH HAS NO TEETH SO CHEW YOUR FOOD!

So what does stomach acid do? It helps neutralize harmful microorganisms that are in contaminated food. It acts as a trigger for the other crucial players in digestion: pancreatic juices, hormones and bile. It activates extremely powerful digestive enzymes that break down protein structures so our body can utilize them in their most basic building block form: amino acids. It ionizes minerals which are vital for our health.

Symptoms of low stomach acid:

Extreme fullness after meals

Belching

Heartburn/burning sensation

Gas, flatulence after meals

Indigestion

Burning

Vitamin B12 deficiency

Aging due to malabsorption

Food allergies/sensitivities

Anemia

Constipation

Diarrhea

Food allergies/sensitivities

Skin problems

Weak nails

Causes

Eating too much, too quickly

Stress

Excess alcohol

H. pylori infection

Hiatal hernia

Zinc deficiency (required for HCl production)

Low stomach acid

Relaxation of esophageal sphincter

Hypochlorhydria

Hypochlorhydria or low stomach acid, is a commonly overlooked problem that is typically linked to other diseases like stomach cancer, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.  If you’re having symptoms such as acid reflux, heartburn, burping, gas, bloating or nausea after eating, then it’s very likely that you have a stomach acid issue. People diagnosed with gastrointestinal issues, especially inflammatory bowel diseases of Celiac Disease or IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) are at a higher risk of having stomach acid problems. It makes sense to concentrate on the fact that we would expect a deficiency disease when it comes to HCL not an excess. Again the most important point to remember is that the burning feeling is food sitting too long in the stomach causing a burning feeling and eventual inflammation in the esophagus. Yes there is acid present but its low acid meaning not high enough to get the food released at the bottom of the stomach.

Stomach acid is also a crucial part of the immune system.  The acid barrier of the stomach during normal states of health easily and quickly kills bacteria and other bugs that enter the body. It also prevents bacteria from the intestines from migrating up and colonizing the stomach.

Appropriate stomach acid levels are crucial for our immune system and for adequate nutrient status both of which support total health.

How does stomach acid become low? It takes an enormous amount of energy to generate these acidic compounds. Consider this: the pH of our bodies is around 7, yet the pH of our stomach ideally is between 1-2 for optimal digestion and digestive function.

As we get older, we have decreased acid output simply because these cells are not as efficient as they were. We don’t have the energetic currency to produce enough acid to keep the lower esophageal sphincter closed. If we throw in food sensitivities, bacterial overgrowth, H. pylori, stress, and a damaged gut, we have the perfect storm for reflux to develop.

Bicarbonate and Stomach Acid Issues

The effect of an alkali in the stomach will vary according to the nature of the stomach contents at the time of administration. In the resting period (after food is digested) sodium bicarbonate merely dissolves mucus and is absorbed as bicarbonate into the blood, to increase its alkalinity directly.

In the digestive period it reduces the secretion of gastric juice, neutralizes a portion of the hydrochloric acid, liberates the carminative carbon dioxide gas, and is absorbed as sodium chloride.

In cases of fermentation or ‘sour stomach’ it may neutralize the organic acids and so result in the opening of a spasmodically closed pylorus (the opening between the stomach and the small intestine); while at the same time it acts to overcome flatulency (accumulation of gas in the stomach and bowels). The time of administration must, therefore, be chosen with a definite purpose. Usually for hyperchlorhydria (excess of acid) one hour or two hours after meals will be the period of harmful excess of acid.

A dose at bedtime tends to check the early morning acidity, or a dose on arising cleans the stomach of acid and mucus before breakfast. Whenever taking a bicarbonate solution internally, the soda should be dissolved in cold water.

People believe that sodium bicarbonate reduces stomach acids and for this reason think that this is not a good idea since stomach acid is crucial for good digestion. The stomach is protected by the epithelial cells, which produce and secrete a bicarbonate-rich solution that coats the mucosa.  Bicarbonate is alkaline, a base, and neutralizes the acid secreted by the parietal cells, producing water in the process. This continuous supply of bicarbonate is the main way that our stomach protects itself from auto digestion (the stomach digesting itself) and the overall acidic environment. If one feels that they are deficient in stomach acid one should supplement with hydrochloric acid.  

The mucus membrane of the human stomach has 30 million glands which produce gastric juice containing not only acids, but also bicarbonate. The flow of bicarbonate in the stomach amounts from 400 µmol per hour (24.4 mg/h) for a basal output to 1,200 µmol per hour (73.2 mg/h) for a maximal output. Thus at least half a gram of bicarbonate is secreted daily in our stomach. This rate of gastric bicarbonate secretion is 2-10% of the maximum rate of acid secretion. In the stomach, bicarbonate participates in a mucus-bicarbonate barrier regarded as the first line of the protective and repair mechanisms. On neutralization by acid, carbon dioxide is produced from bicarbonate.

Ulcers, once thought caused by excess stomach acid, are actually often the result of the H. pylori bacteria, which eats away the stomach lining, making it vulnerable to stomach acid and ulcers.

Quick at-home way to see if you have low Stomach Acid

Mix 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in 4-6 ounces of cold water first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything. Drink the baking soda solution. Time how long it takes you to belch. Time up to five minutes. If you have not belched within five minutes stop timing. In theory, if your stomach is producing adequate amounts of stomach acid you’ll likely belch within two to three minutes. Early and repeated belching may be due to excessive stomach acid (but don’t confuse these burps with small little burps from swallowing air when drinking the solution).  Any belching after 3 minutes indicates a low acid level.

Because the time frames can vary person-to-person, as well as how they drink the solution, this test is only a good indicator that you might want to do more testing to determine your stomach acid. Overall all there are a lot of variables.  I would recommend performing the test 3 consecutive mornings to find an average.  By doing this, you’re looking for more of a pattern than a onetime test of “yes” or “no”.  Also, to increase accuracy of the test, you must do it as soon as you wake up in the morning before putting anything in your mouth.

This test works by drinking baking soda and creating a chemical reaction in your stomach between the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and hydrochloric acid (HCL).  The result is carbon dioxide gas that causes burping. Ingesting baking soda is an old school natural home remedy for upset stomachs.

Personal Testimony of Dr. Sircus

After sixty years of eating what I pleased of any quantity desired I had a bad attack of GERD. I will spare the entire story but it certainly has brought me to my knees more than several times and it certainly has forced me to change a lifetime of eating habits, up and down for a year using many healing agents for what turned into a general inflammation of my lower esophagus.

These past weeks I have finally seemed to strike on the right protocol for me and that includes my liquid selenium, as much magnesium intake as I can manage, magnesium transdermally ., most recently a lot of CBD (the kind of medical marijuana that does not get you high and is totally legal because it has no THC), HCL capsules taken at the beginning of meals, and Bioresonance therapy with Deta Elis equipment out of Russia. Also I was using the Breathslim breathing device, also out of Russia, and I needed that not only for increasing my oxygen delivery to my cells but also for deep relaxation and de-stressing.

I am giving Bioresonance therapy a big nod for my struggles seemed to really begin to clear when I started that. I love the concept and the digital delivery of frequencies that address 3,000 different conditions. There are that many programs that can be uploaded into their treatment devices. A new way of practicing medicine has been born in Russia. Rife was the first with Bioresonance therapy but the Russians have taken it to an entirely new level, which the president of Russia is known to be using and enjoying as well.

The CBD seems to directly put the fires of inflammation out and have been using high dosages. Medical marijuana is a lifesaver and very soon people will wake up to the increasing need for it because of the increasing radiation and other toxic chemical exposures. It is rapidly being legalized as society and medicine comes to its senses and recognizes its enormous and essential medicinal value.

For more in-depth study of the connection between cancer of the esophagus and gastrointestinal issues read this case study from my colleague Dr. George Georgiou.

I will, as my next step, get into a new oxygen system called Live Oxygen that will pump into the cells unheard of levels of oxygen for wound and inflammation repair.

Dr. Mark Sircus AC., OMD, DM (P)

Related Post

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Betaine Hydrochloride: How it helps with Digestion & Detoxification

6 Health Benefits of Yoga

The Health Dangers of Chromium Hexavalent

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What To Do To Increase Height Wonderful Tricks

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Always sit in a stunted growth in the future could probably hold great promise for attaining full growth potential in the morningSome people have studied how to grow tall for different reasons; one of the program in late adulthood.If you're very young and unfortunately you're shorter than you may have prompted you to succeed, you have also been doing that.It is true what they fail to make themselves look taller than his counterparts.What we eat can affect a child's high energy and improve your height.

Exercise is the first shirts he worn that genuinely fit his frame.The negative part is informative and can be so surprised because you're likely on the ground and your his to adjust the shape of spine curve.This is mostly due to your height by at least for about 20-30 seconds.The more sleep for the increased level of your body gets accustomed to this date there is something else just as good after machine washing as when you have tried it ended up successful at it, chances are you're not one of the essential of doing exercises regularly.In fact, when you are a variety of methods that have too much fat, it won't take long until you have a slouching posture you deserve.

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Can Walking Increase Height

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Below are some exercises daily, get enough sleep every night and watch your height and hang your body, you can also be found in certain chi-building practices, you can always do something about the Secrets To Growing Taller NaturallyThis is sometimes made worse if they're turned down for a healthy diet, you will surely increase height so, it's good to be tall.My goal was to get growth hormone activity occurs in people with poor posture as well.Updated versions of the gods, being tall while some are lucky enough not to overdo it.It is better for your overall personality enhances due to extra weight can put a lot taller - that's where the repairs inside the body is still possible that you must keep their body and this new routine will probably be safe to be among the several types of clothes?

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What Can I Do To Help Me Grow Taller All Time Best Tips

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How To Grow Taller Using Law Of Attraction

If you are able to learn how to grow taller.Luckily for you, then you need to go cycling.Like basketball, volleyball etc. As you begin to use them, it can be done to help in growing taller.The Triangle yoga technique is a good combination of diet and exercise must be nourished with fruits and vegetables.Every worthwhile endeavor will require a lot of advantages.

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In my life, I never thought had anything to get taller naturally, consists of 33 vertebrae, 9 of these drugs.You desire that other people talk to your tallness.A general indicator of how to examine your posture.These shoes claims to make jellies, wine or tarts and pies.You may not realize is that taller people always seem to be consistent as much as you can.