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Biochemistry

Review: A Chinese American woman grapples with race, romance in ‘Days of Distraction’ – USA TODAY

Mark Athitakis, Special for USA TODAY Published 7:00 a.m. ET March 30, 2020

Days of Distraction, by Alexandra Chang.(Photo: Ecco)

Jing Jing, narrator of Alexandra Changs spiky and contemplative debut novel, Days of Distraction (Ecco, 336 pp., out of four), is a tech journalist. And like every tech journalist, part of her job is worrying about how many people are reading her. I am consistently middling, with the occasional bump, she notes.

Shes talking about page views, but shes also talking about everything. As a Chinese American woman on a staff with few people of color, shes underpaid and promised a raise ... someday. Shes scraping by in San Francisco and wants to move, but her living situation is a function of her boyfriend, J, whos applying to Ph.D. programs in biochemistry. Her parents have split, with her father living back in China and imploring her to visit. But she feels too at odds with herself to make a decision to go.

Until she has her life sorted out, her work is a series of racist microaggressions and banal job tasks. I post about an app-controlled massage pillow, an app-controlled oven, an app-controlled blood pressure monitor, an app-controlled fork, she writes. Sometimes the bumps are potholes.

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This seems like extremely thin fictional material, but Chang has plainly inhaled the work a generation of contemporary novelists Jenny Offill, Rachel Cusk, Dana Spiotta with a knack for making gripping fiction out of banality. The lack of outward drama in Days of Distraction belies the stormy consciousness of a woman whos struggling to define her identity as others try to do the job for her.

A main trigger for Jing Jings reckoning is Js landing a slot in Cornells biochemistry program. To spell her loneliness in upstate New York, she takes a job at a history museum, where she stumbles on a photo of Kin Yamei, a pioneering Chinese American doctor with a fiercely independent streak. (Her divorce was the stuff of national news in 1904.) Kin isnt exactly a mirror for Jing Jing though she does have second thoughts about her relationship with J but she helps her feel less alone in her disconnection.

Early on, she craves Js assuredness as a white man: If there were an app that let me see the world as J sees the world, Id pay more than two dollars for it and would give it five out of five stars, she writes. But no one filter will resolve her identity. Visiting her father in China is not the revelation she hopes for, and the country reveals its own class and racial divides, not to mention dads prattling on about meals. What I wanted were answers, she thinks, and all Im getting is food commentary.

Author Alexandra Chang(Photo: Alana Davis)

Changs strength is her ability to give a sense of confusion contours: Jing Jings observations are pointed, witty, and free of easy resolutions. And Changs deadpan style offers up moments of absurd humor. (A former editor offers up some work: Do you want to do a roundup review of mechanical pencils? No rush, its evergreen.)

Ultimately, though, Chang shows the challenge of trying to raise issues about racism that even those closest to her wish to avoid. Struggling to spark a conversation nobody wants to have, she conducts an engrossing one with herself.

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Review: A Chinese American woman grapples with race, romance in 'Days of Distraction' - USA TODAY

Biochemistry

Greek-American Dr. Tom Maniatis on New Findings and Insights into ALS – The National Herald

Dr. Tom Maniatis, the Isidore S. Edelman Professor of Biochemistry and Principal Investigator at Columbia's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. Photo by Eleni Sakellis

NEW YORK According to a news release dated March 27, Columbia scientists have provided new insights into how mutations in a gene called TBK1 cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that robs patients of movement, speech, and ultimately, their lives. The researchers found that ALS-associated mutations in TBK1 can have both positive and negative effects on the progression of disease in mice genetically modified to have ALS-like symptoms.

These findings, reported on March 27 in the scientific journal Neuron, provide both genetic and mechanistic insights that could lead to novel strategies for the development of treatments for ALS.

One of the greatest challenges to finding a cure for ALS is using genetic data to understand the diseases underlying mechanisms, said the studys senior author, Tom Maniatis, PhD, a principal investigator at Columbias Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute.

For example, neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS involve multiple cell types that are constantly changing as the disease progresses, so a drug that is beneficial in the early stages of the disease could be detrimental at later times. Our study provides a glimpse into the complex relationship between ALS genetics and its mechanisms, and highlights the challenge in developing safe and effective drugs to treat the disease, commented Dr. Maniatis, the Isidore S. Edelman Professor of Biochemistry at Columbias Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

ALS is a disease of the spinal cord, which can be triggered by the accumulation of misfolded proteins in motor neurons, the nerve cells in the spinal cord that drive movement.

The human TBK1 gene is one of more than 25 genes that have been shown to associate with or cause ALS when bearing a mutation. TBK1 is a central player in multiple cellular functions, including autophagy, a process that removes misfolded proteins, damaged bits of cells, and bacterial pathogens. TBK1 is also required for the antimicrobial interferon response, which protects cells from bacterial and viral infections.

TBK1 helps cells clear away clumps of misfolded proteins and defends the body against invading viruses and bacteria, said Valeria Gerbino, PhD, an associate research scientist in the Maniatis lab, and the papers lead author. And because individuals with certain mutations in TBK1 have ALS, we wanted to develop a deep, mechanistic understanding of how these mutations affect cellular functions in the spinal cord during the course of the disease.

Working in partnership with The Jackson Laboratory, Drs. Maniatis and Gerbino inserted ALS-causing TBK1 mutations in mice. These mice showed no signs of motor neuron disease.

This was not surprising, as only a few of the many human ALS mutations tested thus far in mice by other ALS researchers have resulted in motor neuron disease, said Dr. Maniatis, who is also director of Columbias Precision Medicine Initiative.

In an attempt to overcome this problem, the researchers inserted TBK1 mutations into an already established mouse model of ALS: the SOD1 mouse. Dr. Gerbino and collaborators at the Zuckerman Institute then tracked disease progression in these mice.

These new mice displayed striking differences in disease progression compared to mice that only bear the SOD1 mutations. Specifically, the disease onset began earlier.

We found that mice bearing both SOD1 and TBK1 mutations experienced earlier movement abnormalities compared to those bearing only SOD1 mutations, said Dr. Gerbino. A closer examination of the mice also revealed damage to motor neurons and the loss of muscle connections earlier than expected.

To further investigate this phenomenon, the scientists examined another group of SOD1 ALS mice, in which the TBK1 gene was deleted only in motor neurons, and not in other cells in the spinal cord. The team found that the absence of TBK1 activity in motor neurons alone led to the loss of autophagy in these cells. This loss led to an increase in the accumulation of harmful proteins, earlier death of motor neurons, and lost neuron-muscle connections. These observations demonstrated that early disease onset was a consequence of losing TBK1 in motor neurons.

Paradoxically, however, disease progression slowed down later in disease, and mice with TBK1 loss of function in all cells lived 25 percent longer than both the mice bearing only SOD1, as well as those mice for which the TBK1 gene was deleted only in motor neurons.

The team next investigated precisely how TBK1 mutations influenced other cells in the spinal cord. The researchers discovered that the interferon response was suppressed in glial cells, namely astrocytes and microglia. The interferon response, while critical for defense against infections in healthy people, can be toxic if over produced (as in the case of ALS mice), and can trigger a cascade of cellular processes that are toxic to motor neurons.

The loss of TBK1 in microglia and astrocytes clearly diminishes the interferon response in the spinal cord of ALS mice, said Dr. Maniatis, who is Evnin Family Scientific Director and Chief Executive Officer at the New York Genome Center. This correlates with significantly extending their lives.

Our study provides an example of how multiple pathways within and between cells can be targeted through manipulation of a single gene, and how modifying these pathways in ALS can be beneficial or detrimental at different stages of disease progression, Dr. Gerbino added.

Dr. Maniatis argues that this type of foundational, discovery-driven research will move the needle toward treatments that focus on the underlying mechanisms driving ALS and its devastating symptoms.

All neurodegenerative diseases ultimately begin with genes, said Dr. Maniatis. As we continue to gather critical genetic information, we can identify mutations, like those in TBK1, which will provide additional mechanistic insights. These genes and the pathways they control will hold the key to developing drugs that make a difference in the life of ALS patients.

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Greek-American Dr. Tom Maniatis on New Findings and Insights into ALS - The National Herald

Human Behavior

Trapped at home? You can help UW study bird responses to social distancing – KUOW News and Information

Is our social distancing affecting the bird life around us? The University of Washington is inviting citizen scientists to find out and connect with nature themselves.

The stay-at-home restrictions prompted by Covid-19 are resulting in sudden changes to traffic, air pollution, and use of green spaces. Researchers with the University of Washingtons Quantitative Ecology Lab want to know whether birds will respond to these changes by living and nesting in different places.

They're asking people throughout the Northwest to sign up to document the birds they see or hear in a specific place, such as their backyards or local parks, at least once a week for 10 minutes through June 30. They said beginners are welcome; theyll record their sightings through an app called E-Bird.

Olivia Sanderfoot, the project coordinator, said the goal is to get insights about birds, while benefiting humans as well.

I am hopeful that this project will help us learn more about how humans directly and indirectly affect bird communities in the Pacific Northwest, she said. And Im hoping that the folks who are involved can use this as an opportunity for self-care in a very challenging time.

Before the coronavirus hit, Sanderfoot had planned to study the impact of wildfire smoke from prescribed burns on birds. Now that research is on hold.

I figured why not take advantage of this moment and see if we can start to think about how air pollution in our cities is changing right now, she said. And collect observations of birds that could help us figure out how birds respond to changes in air quality.

She said researchers know some birds are more threatened by urbanization than others. But under normal conditions, it can be hard to tease out the impact of factors like loss of habitat versus air quality.

So what were hoping to do is think about how social distancing is affecting human behavior in a way that is leading to short-term environmental change that we could then zoom in on, Sanderfoot said, and see how birds are responding.

She said shes mindful of the trauma and tragedy that occasioned the public health restrictions.

We dont want our project to be misconstrued as something that is a positive spin on a pandemic, she said. Instead were hoping to, as ecologists, take advantage of this moment to think differently about a research question that weve already been considering but now have an opportunity to look at in new ways.

But Sanderfoot said it seems like a blessing to find this way for people to connect with nature while following health guidelines.

I was trying to figure out how we could get more people outside just a little bit each day, she said. Because we know that exposure to the outdoors is super-important for mental health. And right now I think a lot of us are feeling trapped.

She said 66 people have signed up so far; most are pledging to monitor the birds they see out their windows or in their yards. Researchers hope people can monitor the same place again next spring to compare any changes without the social distancing rules.

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Trapped at home? You can help UW study bird responses to social distancing - KUOW News and Information

Human Behavior

Why streaming horror may be just the thing to get you through the lockdown – OCRegister

As were all hunkering down to do our part to help flatten the curve and curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, many households are turning to streaming TV shows, movies and music for entertainment.

Whether its getting lost in the feel-good romance and sparkling holiday lights via the back-to-back Christmas movies airing on The Hallmark Channel or laughing out loud while binging on classic sitcoms like The Office, Friends or Parks and Recreation, people are seeking comfort viewing.

It might even be a dark psychological thriller or bloody slasher.

Samuel Zimmerman, curator of AMC Networks Shudder premium streaming service, said that indulging in the horror genre during times of turmoil can be as cathartic as cozying up with a holiday classic.

We can look at our own anxieties and fears through the prism of fiction, he said. Its not just films about pandemics, but even apartment horror, where people are shut inside or trapped somewhere, those can be comforting in a weird way. For people who are just horror fans, this is our comfort food. Fans may go back and re-watch Re-Animator or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre just because theyre familiar.

Actors Samara Weaving (left) and Steven Yuen (right) star in the comedy horror film Mayhem, which is currently streaming on Shudder, AMC Networks premium streaming service. (Photo by Sanja Bucko)

Actress Tricia Helfer starring in an episode of Creepshow, the dark comedy and horror anthology series based on the 1982 film of the same title. The first season of Creepshow, which is executive produced by Greg Nicotero from The Walking Dead, is now streaming via Shudder, AMC Networks premium streaming service for all things horror. (Photo courtesy of AMC Networks and Shudder)

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Shrews Nest, a tense Spanish psychological drama, is now streaming via Shudder, AMC Networks premium streaming service for all things horror. (Photo courtesy of AMC Networks and Shudder)

Rob Zombies The Devils Rejects follow-up, Three From Hell, is one of the top streamed films on Shudder, AMC Networks premium streaming service for all things horror. (Photo by Gene Page)

Actor Gincarlo Esposito starring in an episode of Creepshow, the dark comedy and horror anthology series based on the 1982 film of the same title. The first season of Creepshow, which is executive produced by Greg Nicotero from The Walking Dead, is now streaming via Shudder, AMC Networks premium streaming service for all things horror. (Photo courtesy of AMC Networks and Shudder)

Actor Steven Yuen (right) stars in the comedy horror film Mayhem, which is currently streaming on Shudder, AMC Networks premium streaming service. (Photo by Sanja Bucko)

John Carpetners In The Mouth of Madness is currently available on Shudder, AMC Networks premium streaming service. (Photo courtesy of AMC Networks/Shudder)

The Dead Lands is an original supernatural adventure series from Shudder, AMC Networks premium streaming service, thats based around the Maori people and culture of New Zealand. (Photo by Matt Kiltscher)

Shudder offers a variety of horror movies, TV series and documentaries in an array of sub-genres including psychological thrillers, slashers, supernatural/paranormal, comedy, Sci-Fi, crime, mystery, creature features and more.

It also includes original content with series like The Dead Lands, Creepshow (from The Walking Dead executive producer Greg Nicotero) and original films including Satanic Panic, Daniel Isnt Real and Room. During the mandated stay at home orders, Shudder has extended its 7-day free trial to 30-days for new customers using the code SHUTIN (and its $4.75 a month after that).

Zimmerman said its no coincidence that pandemic and epidemic movies like Contagion, Virus, Infection and Outbreak are currently emerging atop of lists on a variety of streaming services (including Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime), but hes also seen a surge in zombie films.

Speaking of zombies, fans that tuned in to AMCs The Walking Dead, which is currently airing its 10th season, last week found out that the season finale would be delayed because of the global pandemic as the effects work wasnt completed on that final episode before things were locked down. It will air sometime later this year.

We have decades and decades of the modern zombie movies to prepare us for not only what an epidemic looks like, but what quarantining yourself or shutting yourself in looks like, as well as what human behavior looks like, he said.

Since its a longstanding trope in horror that the real monsters are actually human, its interesting how current behaviors mirror that of the survivors in films like Dawn of the Dead or Day of the Dead.

Sure, everyone now is concerned what human behavior is going to be like when things start running out or when people are desperate, he said. I think thats on the top of all genre fans minds at the moment.

However, horror films never prepared us for the panic and hoarding of toilet paper.

Thats true, he said with a laugh. Theyre always going to a mall though and trying to stock up on as much stuff as they can even though theyre not going anywhere.

Though many think of horror as just violence, blood, guts and gore, Zimmerman said theres almost always that glimmer of hope, that light at the end of the tunnel and, of course, the so-called final girl, who against all odds, survives.

Movies that show people in really tough trials and tribulations and then they come out the other side, I think that can be exorcising, he added.

And the horror-comedy sub-genre has always been popular. Currently on Shudder, theyre streaming movies like Night of the Living Deb, Heathers and Mayhem, all of which provide some comic relief.

Even Netflix also has a variety of comedy-horror, paranormal and Sci-Fi shows with The Haunting of Hill House, Stranger Things, Santa Clarita Diet, Ash Vs. Evil Dead and iZombie. Netflix added the Chiodo Brothers 1988 horror, Sci-Fi and comedy film Killer Klowns from Outer Space to its lineup on April Fools Day. Hulu has Anna and the Apocalypse, which is a horror musical, as well as more traditional gems like Hellraiser, Childs Play and A Quiet Place.

Then theres Shaun of the Dead, a classic zombie-comedy film by Edgar Wright featuring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It can be rented via Amazon Prime for just $3.99 and its worth every penny.

Thats the one all people love, Zimmerman said. Everyone wants to go to the pub and wait until its all blown over. There are a million horror-comedies that you can lose yourself in theyre a great escape.

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Why streaming horror may be just the thing to get you through the lockdown - OCRegister

Human Behavior

Exploitation in the Amazon, and Why We Underestimated COVID-19 – The New Yorker

Illustration by Golden Cosmos

Despite the warnings of politicians and health-care professionals, many have failed to treat the coronavirus pandemic as a serious danger. Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize-winning expert on human behavior, speaks with Maria Konnikova about why the threat posed by COVID-19 defies intuitive comprehension. Plus: Jon Lee Anderson reports from Brazil, where Jair Bolsonaros government is pushing to allow commercial mining in the Amazon, despite the harm that it will bring to the indigenous groups who live there. And Jelani Cobb speaks with DJ D-Nice about his Instagram Live party, Club Quarantine, which attracted hundreds of thousands of socially distanced attendees.

Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize-winning expert on human behavior, on the reasons that so many people failed to take the coronavirus seriously.

Jon Lee Anderson reports on Jair Bolsonaros push to allow commercial mining on protected lands, and the harm it will do to Brazils indigenous groups.

The story of an Instagram Live party that attracted hundreds of thousands of peopleincluding Rihanna, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Drake.

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Exploitation in the Amazon, and Why We Underestimated COVID-19 - The New Yorker

Human Behavior

You touch your face 23 times an hour. Heres how to stop. – Houston Chronicle

Chances are, youve touched your face twice in the last five minutes. Even if you havent noticed. And amid the COVID-19 outbreak, this could be one of the most subtle, yet dangerous ways humans can contract the coronavirus.

Its not quite a reflex, but its automatic and we dont think about it, which is what makes it so hard to stop doing it, said Jim Pomerantz, a professor of psychological sciences at Rice University.

This is something thats so important, but I dont think its well enough understood by the public, continued Pomerantz, who is chair of the Psychonomic Society Governing Board, which released a list of five science-backed ways to stop this ingrained habit. Essentially, touching your face is the way not a way, the way that we get the virus.

On average, people touch their face 23 times an hour, according to a 2015 study in the American Journal of Infection Control. Whats more, the study reported that 44 percent of these touches involve contact with a mucous membrane, like the eyes, nose and mouth.

And these are our bodys greatest weaknesses, since coronavirus is spread through tiny droplets that can be inhaled or otherwise ingested through these openings, before attacking a persons insides.

Coronavirus is largely spread through human behavior; shaking someones hand and then failing to wash your hands. Then, Pomerantz said, were off to the races.

The only other way we get it is by folks coughing or sneezing in your face. And I cant remember the last time anybody ever sneezed or coughed in my face, said Pomerantz. So its entering through your eyes, nose or mouth. And the only way it gets there is if youre touching your face.

But how do you stop doing something you probably didnt even realize you were doing so often?

ON RENEWHOUSTON.COM: New evidence shows social distancing works

The first step, he said, is awareness. Like any other habit hair twirling, or fingernail biting realizing how often you perform these behaviors is key to breaking the pattern. He suggests dabbing perfume or cologne on your fingertips, so youll smell your hand when it nears your face. Or perhaps try wearing a bandanna, he said. Your fingers are more likely to sense the alien fabric and alert your brain that somethings up.

Its like were saying, It cant be that simple! We have to have a vaccine or an expensive medical invention, said Pomerantz. But we can help save ourselves through simple preventions.

Here are the full set of guidelines to kick the habit, according to the Psychonomic Society:

Increase awareness. Ask a partner to tell you when youre touching your face. Try an hour of that, and youll realize youre not touching your face as much, said Pomerantz.

Help others. Think of the people youre trying to protect by not touching your face; gently remind others when you see them touch their faces.

Do other things with your hands. Put your hands in your pockets; hold something like a ball or a deck of cards in your hands; make fists for one minute after each time you catch yourself touching your face.

Change postures. Keep your elbows off the table; sit in chairs without armrests or the middle of your couch; sit on your hands if you cant keep from touching your face.

Practice relaxation techniques. Focus on taking a long, slow, deep breath an relaxing tense muscles; Sit in a quiet place and be mindful of that present moment; spend time in nature at a safe distance from others.

maggie.gordon@chron.com;

twitter.com/MagEGordon

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You touch your face 23 times an hour. Heres how to stop. - Houston Chronicle

Human Behavior

Blackbird.AI CEO: COVID-19 is the Olympics of disinformation – VentureBeat

COVID-19 disinformation has exploded in recent weeks, with campaigns using a combination of bots and humans to sow fear and confusion at a time when verifiable information has become a matter of life or death.

According to a new report from Blackbird.AI, a wide range of actors are leveraging confusion around the coronavirus to dupe people into amplifying false and misleading information. With COVID-19s almost unprecedented impact around the globe, virtually every type of player in the disinformation wars, from nations to private actors, is rushing into the breach.

If its favorable for creating societal chaos, for sowing some sort of discord, then they all kind of jump on, said Blackbird.AI CEO Wasim Khaled. COVID-19 is the Olympics of disinformation. Every predator is in for this event.

In the past few weeks, many of the leading online platforms have attempted to clamp down on the information warfare their services have enabled. To direct users toward helpful sites, many of them now place links to reputable scientific or government sources at the top of feeds or in search results.

And theyve implemented other tactics in an attempt to turn the tide. Pinterest has been highlighting verified health advice, while Facebook gave unlimited free advertising to the World Health Organization. Meanwhile, Google has announced it will invest $6.5 million to fight misinformation.

Still, voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant are struggling to respond to questions about COVID-19. To address the onslaught of erroneous information online, the U.K. has established a disinformation rapid response team. Today, an EU official blasted players like Google, Facebook, and Amazon for continuing to make money from fake news and disinformation.

We still see that the major platforms continue to monetize and incentivize disinformation and harmful content about the pandemic by hosting online ads, the European Unions justice chief Vera Jourova told Reuters. This should be stopped. The financial disincentives from clickbait disinformation and profiteering scams also should be stopped.

Founded in 2014, Blackbird.AI has developed a platform that uses artificial intelligence to sift through massive amounts of content to dissect disinformation events. It uses a combination of machine learning and human specialists to identify and categorize the types of information flowing across social media and news sites. In doing so, Blackbird. AI can separate information being created by bots from human-generated content and track how its being amplified.

Typically, the company works with corporations and brands to monitor changes to their reputation. But with the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has shifted to focus on a new threat. The goal is to raise companies and individuals awareness in the hopes that they can curb the virality of disinformation campaigns.

Anyone whos watching this spread is pretty familiar with the concept of flattening the curve, Khaled said. Weve always used a similar concept. Weve described disinformation as a contagion, with virality being the driver.

Unfortunately, the spread of disinformation is still in the exponential part of the curve.

For its COVID-19 Disinformation Report, the company analyzed 49,755,722 tweets from 13,203,289 unique users on COVID-19 topics between February 27 and March 12. The number of tweets in this category soared as Italy implemented lockdowns and the Dow Jones plummeted. Of those tweets, the company found that 18,880,396 were inorganic, meaning the tweets were being manipulated in a manner not consistent with human behavior.

Measuring the ratio of inorganic content helps the company generate a Blackbird Manipulation Index. In this case, the BBMI of COVID-19 tweets is 37.95%, which places it just inside the medium level of manipulation.

Were facing this kind of asymmetrical information warfare thats being waged against not only the American public but across many societies in the world at a really incredible clip at one of our most vulnerable moments in history, he said. There is incredible fear and uncertainty around what is right and what is wrong. And today people feel if you do the wrong thing, you just might kill your grandfather. Its a lot of pressure and so people are looking for information. That gives a huge opening to disinformation actors.

That BBMI number varies widely within specific campaigns.

For instance, on February 28 President Trump held a rally in Charleston, South Carolina, where he claimed the concern around coronavirus was an attempt by Democrats to discredit him, calling it their new hoax. Following that speech, Blackbird.AI detected a spike in hashtags such as #hoax, #Democrats, #DemHoax, #FakeNews, #TrumpRallyCharleston and #MAGA. A similar spike occurred after March 9, when Italian politicians quarantined the whole country.

In both cases, the platform detected a coordinated campaign to discredit the Democratic Party, a narrative dubbed Dem Panic. Of 2,535,059 tweets, 839,764 were inorganic for a BBMI of 33.1%.

But within that campaign, certain hashtag subcategories showed even higher levels of manipulation: #QAnon (63.38% BBMI), #MAGA (57.00%), and #Pelosi (53.17%).

The driving message: that the Democrats were overblowing the issue in order to hurt President Trump, the report says. The Dem Panic narrative and related spin-offs also included the widespread mention of the out of control homeless population and high number of immigrants in Democratic districts. Many of these messages unwittingly found their way into what would traditionally be considered credible media stories.

In all these cases, the hashtags have synthetic origins but eventually spread far enough that real people picked them up and furthered their reach. The broad goal of such campaigns, said Khaled, is to delegitimize politicians, the media, medical experts, and scientists by spreading disinformation.

While all the policymakers are still trying to decide what is the best course of action, these campaigns work very hard at undermining that type of advice, he said. The goal was, How do we downplay the health risks of COVID-19 to the American public and to cast doubt on the warnings that are given by the government and public health agencies?'

Other coronavirus disinformation campaigns include the conspiracy theory suggesting the U.S. had bioengineered the virus and introduced it into China.

This content was seeded into public media in China, Khaled said. And, of course, it was immediately distributed by social media users who believed those narratives and amplified them. Its happened around the world and in dozens of languages. There was not only the U.S. and China, but there was Iran blaming the U.S., the U.S. blaming China, all of these campaigns were out there.

While Blackbird.AI doesnt necessarily identify the originators of these campaigns, Khaled said they generally fall into three categories. The first is state-backed, typically Russia or China these days. The second is disinformation-as-a-service, where people can hire firms to buy disinformation service packages. The third is the lone wolf that just wants to watch the world burn.

It all has the objective of creating a shifting in perceptions in the readers mind pushing them toward a behavior change or pushing them to spread the narrative further, he said.

This doesnt mean just retweeting fake news. Behavioral manipulation can also be used to move fake masks or drugs. And in some extreme circumstances, it has resulted in direct threats to life. Khaled noted that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease specialist who is featured at presidential briefings, required extra security following death threats that were fueled by online conspiracy theorists. In addition, a train engineer attempted to attack the Navy ship entering a Los Angeles harbor by derailing a train because he believed another set of online conspiracies about the ship being part of a government takeover.

While Blackbird.AI is trying to help rein in the chaos, Khaled is not optimistic that the campaigns are going to be contained anytime soon.

Im 100% confident this is going to get much worse on the disinformation cycle, he said. Not only are we not seeing any indication that its slowing down, were seeing significant indication that its significantly ramping up. These disinformation actors, theyre going to take every possible advantage right now. People have to be aware. They have to understand that the things that they are going to see might have bad intent behind [them], they have to go to the CDC, they have to go to the WHO, they cannot take the stuff that they see at face value.

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Blackbird.AI CEO: COVID-19 is the Olympics of disinformation - VentureBeat

Human Behavior

Passover in trying times – The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle

This is not a direct parallel, but I remember, back on Sept. 11, 2001, I was a newspaper reporter driving in to work in the morning. I was the only reporter with a cell phone, and my editor called. He told me to head to Mitchell International Airport, where I found hundreds standing around a TV there that used to be in the center of the main area. They were all silently watching events unfold. They were so riveted, when I approached people to request an interview, they kept declining. This was an immediate change in human behavior. People usually say yes to interviews.

This coronavirus moment, too, is a circumstance that is changing our behavior, but what doesnt change is who we are. We are the Jewish people, and that means something.

Pesach is a reminder that the Jewish people have endured trying circumstances countless times before. Today, the whole world is under pressure and were part of that world. Thats our current reality.

Its also a reality that the Jewish people are a family, a little group of fewer than 15 million worldwide and not more than 30,000 locally. Michpacha looks out for mishpacha, and we hope to do the right thing for our family in our little corner of things, as best we can.

So heres our plan: Were on it. In this edition of the Chronicle and online, weve worked to connect you with Jewish-related resources and information on the coronavirus. Were reporting on the complexities of our societal reaction to the problem. Were connecting you with educational leaders, synagogues and more, and well continue to do so. Check our website and social media for updates. Meanwhile, if youre aware of more information for the Jewish community, please let us know.

In our Passover section this month, weve got great content on items as disparate as horseradish and Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority sisters making cookies in Madison. So when youve had your fill of coronavirus coverage and could use a break, weve got that, too.

Yours, with washed hands, Rob Golub, Editor

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Passover in trying times - The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle

Human Behavior

After the Pandemic: Designing a Just and Resilient Economy For All – State of the Planet

by Dale Willman|April 3, 2020

A ship passing through the Panama Canal. Photo: Dale Willman

The coronavirus pandemic has shown the immense brittleness and vulnerability of the worlds economy. Extended supply chains have collapsed, many staples are in short supply, and life-saving healthcare in many countries is being rationed. So, what will a recovery look like? Will it focus on a return to normal the same conditions that made such a collapse possible in the first place? Or do we find another path forward?

Normal might not be a system that were all benefiting from, says Jon Erickson, an ecological economist with the University of Vermont. Normal might be a system that concentrates the benefits to the few but distributes the costs to the many. So ultimately, I think this conversation is about returning to what system, and how and for whom.

Erikson along with Juliet Schor of Boston College and Nate Hagens of the Post Carbon Institute recently took part in an on-line conversation about how to make the economy more resilient and able to withstand deep disturbance. The conversation was hosted by the Resilience Media Project, which is part of the Earth Institute Initiative on Communication and Sustainability, and included hundreds of journalists and economists.

There are two timelines tight now, says Hagens, and we need to do two things right away. He calls these emergency measures, necessary to stop the economic hemorrhaging. Republicans dont want to bail out people we have to bail out people. Democrats dont want to bail out corporations we have to bail out corporations. We have to keep the system afloat during this period.

Once the economy is stabilized though, or not too long after, Hagens says well have no choice but to take a different path. It will be just a few years before societies start to recognize that we dont have the materials or energy to continue growing. So all futures are going to, I would argue, need to use 30 percent to 50 percent less energy. And what that means is that we can no longer have GDP as our global, cultural human objective. Instead, he says, our goals will shift to well-being.

One effort to start moving in that direction can happen immediately, says Juliet Schor. Schor is an economist at Boston College. She says expanding community-level sharing economies can help us move toward a new economic system. But when she talks of sharing, she says that doesnt mean gig economy companies such as Uber and AirBNB. They are less resilient than conventional firms, and that is because the key part of their business model is shifting risk onto their workers. What she wants to see more of are economies that are truly locally based.

These tend to be a bit more resilient than those with global supply chains, she says. And there are other aspects of the sharing economy that are particularly resilient. So for example, if we think about something like cooperative ownership, which is a sharing idea cooperatively owned firms (worker cooperatives), they tend to do what we call labor hoard during downturns. They keep people on the payroll in periods of reduced demand more than conventional firms do. And this hoarding means that more people have income in downturns and these companies are able to retain trained talent that will sustain them when the economy picks up again.

In the end, The new economic story will really be stories, with an S, says Erickson. And from my perspective as an ecological economist, perhaps whats most needed and the least discussed is a story about right-sizing the economy with a focus on dialing back the scale of the economic system to within its ecological limits.

Some things to consider as we try and find that new path forward.

You can watch the entire program here:

Additional resources for journalists below.

How the Pandemic Will End The Atlantic. A great general overview of what we know, and where this might end

Coronavirus Facebook page for sharing ideas for radio stations

Coronavirus shows that yes, we can affect rapid change

Traffic and Pollution Drop Because of Coronavirus

World stats on Coronavirus (not economic)

Return to business as usual

From Jon Erickson:

A Green Stimulus to Rebuild the Economy, from The Next System Project

Jons video

From Juliet Schor:

New Economy Roundup from the New Economy Coalition

After the Gig: How the Sharing economy got Hijacked Her new book out soon

True Wealth

From Nate Hagens:

Systemic Implications of the Coronavirus Post Carbon Institute

The Human Predicament 55-minute video summary of situation and framework for response

Economics for the Future Beyond the Superorganism Ecological Economics paper

Where are We Going? Transcript of 2018 Earth Day talk

The Human Predicament Short Course 4 videos totaling 75 minutes, made for all University of Minnesota freshmen on human behavior, energy, environment and what to do

Reality 101 -mini course 5-hour video series summarizing overview of the University of Minnesota course Reality 101 in particular the energy section is important for journalists

New Economy Coalition

The Democracy Collaborative

Cooperation Jackson Jackson, MS

Post Carbon Institute

From Chelsea Green:

The ALL NEW Dont Think of an Elephant! George Lakoff

Doughnut Economics Kate Raworth

Thinking in Systems Donella Meadows

From What Is to What If Rob Hopkins

Systems Thinking for Social Change David Peter Stroh

From Island Press:

Free books on resilience thinking.

From Jon:

We have tons and tons of reactive stories about the fast variables, the changes that are happening and measurable and right before our eyes like unemployment. We dont have enough proactive stories about the slow variables. The pandemic came as no surprise to people who have been working in the field of environmental public health. Weve been connecting the dots for a long time between the deterioration of ecosystems and the emergence of both old and new infectious disease. But no one is telling these stories of the slow deterioration of systems.

From Juliet:

Cities and towns doing moratoriums on foreclosures

The importance of self-organizing in the presence of state failure, such as the 3D printing of medical equipment, self-help groups for medical aid.

From Nate:

GDP is 99.5% correlated with energy, so it would more effectively be called GDB Gross Domestic Burning. Because for every product in our world, a little fire was started somewhere on the planet to provide it. But all the laughter and joy I get from my dog is not included in GDP. You go for a walk in the woods all these things that are not quantified in our success of how we enjoy our lives are not remotely included. But taking trips and other things boost GDP. We have to get away from the burning and move toward the well-being. Look for these types of stories.

Anyone who thinks that endless growth in a limited world is possible is either a madman or an economist. Kenneth Boulding

Dale Willman is an award-winning journalist and educator. He has joined the Earth Institute to create programming that will help journalists and other science communicators in their efforts to translate science information for a general audience.

Read more:
After the Pandemic: Designing a Just and Resilient Economy For All - State of the Planet

Human Behavior

Letters to the Editor – The Nation

Media effects

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in the year 2020, approximately 1.5million people will commit suicide. Suicide and social media have become a relatively new phenomenon, it is influencing suicide-related behavior. Social media is changing human behavior especially affecting teenagers.

Nowadays, people are mostly busy in their online world which causes mental and emotional issues leading them to depression. Social media is promoting different kinds of pro-suicidal sites, message boards, chat rooms and forums. Our youth has completely lost their self-control, their minds are under the control of media influencers.

Their thinking power has finished, the first media was in our control but now we are controlled by media. Children are spending their time on social media and have no time for their family which is a really serious issue. They feel their selves happy in the fake world of the internet and cut off from the real-life. They start living in the world of fantasy which later on results in mental health issues.

Parents should look after their children, its their responsibility to check their children and their activities on social media. They should tell their children that life is no bed of roses. I also request the authorities that they should ban such sites which affect our behavior, mental health, and ethics. Otherwise, the result will be really worse for our future.

SHAHZADI HUSSAIN,

Karachi.

Rise of e-commerce

E-Commerce is an opportunity to bring people in the mainstream and connect them with international markets through global online platforms. It can facilitate freelancers and start-ups run by young people, women, and rural workers especially the ones involved in manufacturing/supplying local handicrafts.

I believe this is the break businesses are looking for in these tough economic times. Many of the institutions are now conducting training on e-commerce completely free of cost to build up the skills of youngsters and entrepreneurs which would help them to boost their profit returns even more

While capitalising on such efforts, Pakistan can step up and take measures to increase the competitiveness of local e-commerce players, thereby enhancing their share in local and global trade.

KANWAL ASHRAF,

Islamabad.

More:
Letters to the Editor - The Nation