Human Behavior

[Science Solitaire] Time to rethink the power of crowds – Rappler

Maria Isabel Garcia

When humans all over the world were mostly quarantined, we noted how nature was coming back as if it had left us like a prodigal child. During quarantine, certain sounds of animals have been recorded to inhabit the break of dawn different from pre-quarantine dawns. Air pollution dramatically went down in cities around the world. Even fake videos of dolphins now swimming in Venice proliferated as if faking videos would fool nature into doing what we wanted it to do. But if we think about it carefully, nature never left us. We took over it. We crowded nature. That is how we got ourselves into this pandemic in the first place.

With the pandemic, we were all asked to stay apart, to avoid crowded places. But crowding is human nature. It is one of the striking features of being social beings. It can be a mountain and a pit or both at the same time. It can boost our causes and morale as in peaceful protests or concerts. It can also be negative when they amplify infections or our darker tendencies as in looting or mob behavior. It can also be complex like the way we have invented towns and cities where we all crowd and make possible an incredible amount of exchanges in creativity and commerce that uplift lives but also lay waste its waterways and air, and also revealing deep divides in who really gets the net benefit from the urban hype.

As we re-inhabit the places we temporarily allowed to rest, one of the things that will define what kind of normal we arrive at is the way we view and behave as crowds. And maybe it will help, before we re-enter the crowded scene, to know what crowding in the old normal meant, how it could have betrayed us in many ways but most importantly, how we could re-configure the power of the crowds we make.

There is a new map that shows land areas in the world with the degrees of human impact not just where we live but where we farm or mine or extract resources for human consumption. It is a layering of 4 independent mapping efforts.

One of the layers shows that 95% of the entire worlds landmass has been modified by humans and 84% has had multiple human impacts with most of the world in critical thresholds. It also makes us realize that we do not have to have many humans present in a given space to make for a crowd with serious human impact. We do it when we use spaces to serve humans who are crowding in other places just like we clear up forests for cattle-grazing such as the Amazon where there are no crowds, to serve the overwhelming crowds of burger fast food chains. It goes for agricultural areas where there are no crowds but have taken over a third of the planets landmass to feed crowded humans elsewhere.

Another layer is the Global Human Footprint Index. Explore it by zooming in on the places in the world you want to see. Zoom in on Metro Manila and see that it is colored black. That means that the human impact there is extreme. So it is no co-incidence that the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the Philippines is in Metro Manila. Human footprint is how we can measure the impact of human crowds on ecosystems. It could also indicate the quality of life that human crowds have in the spaces they crowd, so it goes both ways.

That is the kind of crowding we did that gave way to this pandemic. This would not matter if there were another planet we could move into but even with the recent success of space tourism, the space tourists could only get as far as the International Space Station. And it is silly and foolish to hinge our new normal on hopes for new real estate development in Mars. There is no Planet B.

But there is also NO Species B. Out of the about 9 million species estimated to inhabit the planet, we humans turned out to be both the most destructive and most creative, so far. Because we humans are the way we are, we made this heck of a mess and good or bad, we are also the only ones with the ability and capacity to change the direction that the human crowd is headed for.

So it is crucial that we redefine how much we can afford crowds in certain critical areas such as the few remaining wild spaces left for nature to do its thing to give us clean air, water and do its web-of-life turns to keep life all of life in a balance.

It could mean serious changes for many aspects of lives that depend on crowds. Here are just some ways we can turn the crowd to work for a better normal:

For tourism, it would mean an abiding respect and adherence to carrying capacity of the areas for tourism and definitely not on how many people want to tick those areas off of their FOMO or YOLO lists which are endless. It would also mean an imperative for tourist crowds to make it an essential part of the nature of tourism itinerary to do restoration activities such as planting trees, beach clean-ups (even in nearby areas that are more affected), wildlife rescue, recycling, and upcycling activities.

For events that rely on physical crowds to gather insights, or cheer them on like conferences, concerts, and sports events, it should be an imperative and not a favor to give visible and audible space for messages on the grave human impact on nature and why no one is exempted. The human impact of any event, especially high-profile ones with crowds should always carry a publicly delivered measurement of carbon footprint not just what they consumed but more importantly, what measures were taken to save on the carbon footprint.

For commerce especially with online delivery, you can do a powerful positive pivot for the impact of the crowd if you worked with groups to help make your packaging work but matter so much less in terms of environmental impact. The online ordering crowd is a powerful player in human impact in nature. I found it gravely sad and ironic during the pandemic when I try to order an item made sustainably but will come in paper, bubble-wrap, and plastic packaging that negates all that.

Data mining as the tool to get to the wisdom of the crowd has always been glorified by many as the edge that will define the success of many organizations but I remain very skeptical. I am skeptical not because I do not understand the math or its power but because I do. All that math and power by AIs still rest on the value settings made by individuals who are given to both the Jekyll and Hyde (and the gray in-betweens) of human nature the complex nature all humans possess. Data-mining for consumer behavior did tell us what the old normal valued and we all fell for that wisdom. Look at where it got us.

But this Species A who is capable of data-mining and more importantly, ethical value setting, should make sure that data-mining from all kinds of crowds can be married with what we know about the pitfalls of our own human nature. That our own behaviors can be self-destructive and worse, consummately destructive if we all did it as a crowd. We have this window of a chance now set a new set of values and make the crowds, including the ones we belong to, work for a better normal. Rappler.com

Maria Isabel Garcia is a science writer. She has written two books, "Science Solitaire" and "Twenty One Grams of Spirit and Seven Ounces of Desire." You can reach her at sciencesolitaire@gmail.com.

View post:
[Science Solitaire] Time to rethink the power of crowds - Rappler

Human Behavior

Helping CEOs Weather the Storms: Psychologist Coaches Wear 4 Hats – CEOWORLD magazine

CEOs need help. Todays business leaders have to contend with industry competition, changing consumer behavior, new technology, and fears of an impending recession. With the sands beneath their feet shifting, theres never been a more uncertain time to be a CEO. CEO turnover increased by 12.9% in 2019 over 2018, according to a survey by Challenger, Gray and Christmas, Inc. There were 1,640 CEO transitions last year, compared to 1,452 in 2018, representing the highest total since tracking started in 2002. This greater uncertainty and turnover has driven an increase in the number of coaches offering to help executives succeed.

Coaching is a booming industry that shows no signs of slowing down. In 2016 there were 53,300 coaches working worldwide who generated $2.4 billion in revenue and these numbers continue to grow. The field of coaching is highly variable. Since there is no regulation about who can call themselves coaches, many have vastly different backgrounds and trainings; the result is a cluttered field of people claiming they can help executives. How can you determine whom to count on for such an important job?

The decision to hire a coach to work with a CEO is an important one. Companies invest millions of dollars and thousands of hours on selection and training for their top executives, all of which can go down the drain if there is an unexpected exit or termination. Finding a coach with proper training and qualifications should be priority number one.

There is a subset of coaches who have experience in the business world, and are trained as psychologists, holding a PhD or PsyD in psychology. This means at least five years of study and a wide variety of experiences in multiple fields. In addition to having business experience, psychologist coaches have experiences working with groups, families, and individuals with areas of focus including work, family, and self-management.

These qualities give psychologist coaches deep knowledge of the roots of human behavior and motivation, and unique insights into another human beings inner and interpersonal world. Through their training, psychologists become experts in creating sustained behavioral change. Psychologist coaches combine their expertise with their knowledge of business to understand the complex strategic, organizational and psychological needs of CEO clients. They use these insights to help CEOs analyze, process and make decisions in their fast-paced, VUCA world.

The question of which coach to pick can be simplified by understanding what coaches can provide, and what clients can expect from their coaches. The list below shows four hats that psychologist coaches wear when working with their CEO clients:

By wearing one or more of these four hats, psychologist coaches can help CEOs sustain themselves in tumultuous times. Reducing CEO turnover means less money lost in search and development, lower severance payouts, and better safeguards on intellectual property. Successful and long-tenured CEOs improve corporate stability and general morale. People want to know that there is a competent captain at the helm. Investment in CEO success through coaching is an insurance policy against disaster. Psychologist coaches really can help CEOs weather the storm.

References:CEO turnover up 22% over last year, the report shows by Valerie Bolden-Barrett.Challenger Survey: CEO Turnover Repor Most CEO Changes on Record.International Coach Federation (ICF): ICF Global Coaching Study.CEO Report: Turnover Up 22% Over Last Year by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Written by William H. Berman. Heres what youve missed?

Worlds Best CEOs.Worlds Best Companies.

Read more here:
Helping CEOs Weather the Storms: Psychologist Coaches Wear 4 Hats - CEOWORLD magazine

Human Behavior

Me and my mother – Greater Kashmir

My elderly mother is quite sharp. She retired from the education department more than a decade ago. Having majored in history and sired doctors she brings an incisive perspective to my struggles in COVID-19. She has read about pandemics while training and teaching. Pasteur, Jenner and Fleming were supposed delivered us from the scourge of the bacterial diseases.

Epidemics and pandemics had threatened in the recent past but seemed to be more hype than substance to her. The Ebola seemed distant, the influenza weak and AIDS a pandemic that never was. I did admire her for the clarity of thought on these issues. But Corona has her at a wits end. She is not able to place it in a neat little box that her ordered life demands. And a lot of the confusion stems from me!!!!

In December 2019 when the early news of the corona virus started hitting the papers, she asked me about it. She understood viral diseases in a broad sense but this time she wanted to know about the virus. Not this particular virus but a virus as a broad organism.

I told her that a virus straddles that space between the living and the non-living adding that it does not do much except inject its genes into a cell and orders the cell to do all the work of producing more viruses.

I added that it is as if the cell loses its capacity to think and blindly follows what the viral gene tells it to do. She thought over it for a while then observed gravely that the closest comparison that she could make was with social media.

It also seems, to her, to make the younger generation behave blindly once the posts enter their minds. I averted her gaze as viral news suddenly seemed to me to suggest more than just the speed of spread.

For a woman who has been very social throughout her life, the social distancing has been quite distressing. She asks with pointed irritability whether the health planners know that several history books start with the statement man is a social animal.

For her, it is difficult to see how the evil of social distancing can overcome the evil unleashed by the virus.

All historic human responses, she emphasizes, have entailed empathy, togetherness and close discussion. She is clearly against this gross mutilation of basic human behavior. The arbitrary lifting of the restrictions makes her sound prophetic to me.

The infodemic that has accompanied the pandemic has made my interaction with my mother quite interesting. Me and my spouse have to do a bulk of our work in the operation theatres. This is in addition to the corona rounds and duties.

Each time we prepare to leave for duties her hands are always in the air praying for our safety. She is free with her dos and donts. I sagely tell her that we might have to go for administrative quarantine, home quarantine, administrative isolation and home isolation. My statements reflect the latest guidelines and interchangeable dictionary gymnastics. When we return in the evening tired and eat together at the table she raises her questioning eyebrows in confusion.

I seem to contradict myself daily these days. It adds to my worries no end that literature and guidelines seem to change every second. There have been U, S, Z and C turns in administrative and medical protocol during the pandemic. If I do not appear coherent, I just cannot blame her.

As a doctor I tend to spend very little time on the internet and am absent from the social media. but that has changed during the pandemic. I have had some time to myself after ages. And, I have an inherently restless mind. Consequently, my nose seems to be perpetually in the laptop. I am trying to write and keep up to pace by attempting to drink from the firehose of the medical infodemic. Her sharp mind takes notice especially in view of my general loathing for the internet and social media. She asks me whether I am appearing for an exam and I vaguely move my head in response. She looks at my greying beard she overcomes the universal weakness of motherhood and calls me out informing me that, as an associate professor, examinations should be far from my mind. I agree wholeheartedly. But I look at the screen and the ever-changing literature. I wonder if this has become an existential crisis. Whether lack of COVID knowledge could mean the end of the world for surgeons. As if reading my thoughts, she shuffles off to the kitchen to bring me that drop of magic. A marvelous cup of tea made with her own hands and filled with love. I protest superficially, asking her to rest and have a bit of sleep. She replies with that tone which makes me feel like a toddler all over again

Mothers dont sleep, they just worry with their eyes closed.

Original post:
Me and my mother - Greater Kashmir

Human Behavior

President Dietz’s message on the Minneapolis tragedy (5/30/20) – News – Illinois State University News

We are all experiencing a time in our nation in which the fight against a health pandemic has been supplanted by a crisis of human behavior, with racist acts of violence so vile and so systematic as to test our limits of comprehension.

With three members of the Minneapolis Police Department negligently observing, another police officer held George Floyd to the pavement and pressed his knee to his victims neck with a callous disregard until he stopped breathing. Despite Mr. Floyds strangled pleas and the screams of onlookers, the officers ignored any expression of human decency and let him die on the street.

Extreme acts of hatred across our country are unfortunately all too familiar. But when they occur while we should be joining together to face the greatest global health threat in memory, it borders on the unimaginable.

Millions in our country tonight will mourn and many millions will speak out, not only over the death of George Floyd but also the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. These acts of mourning and protest against racism are a natural response to social injustice and ISU is a community that welcomes the civil discourse among our students, faculty, and staff that can only serve to make our society a better place, and the right of our campus citizens to speak out.

As President of Illinois State, I have pledged to work harder to make ours a campus that embraces the humanity, the gifts, and the diverse contributions of each and every individual who joins the Redbird community. There is no room on our campus for bigotry and hatred, and I ask each of you to embrace and carry out ISUs core values of fostering an inclusive environment characterized by cultural understanding and engagement, ethical behavior, and a commitment to social justice.

Under different circumstances, actions on campus might have included a march, rally, candlelight vigil, or town hall-style meeting in the Bone Student Center. Unfortunately, the time of year and limits of the COVID-19 pandemic make those types of actions difficult.

For faculty, staff, and students who remain in Normal-Bloomington, I encourage you to attend a community gathering of concerned citizens tomorrow at 5 p.m. at the McLean County Law and Justice Center in Bloomington. I am sure those of you reading this will find similar opportunities wherever you are currently living.

If illness, or concerns about social distancing keep you inside of your homes, I urge you to make your voices heard across social media platforms, and to also keep the names of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor in your thoughts, and in your hearts.

On behalf of the University community, I extend our heartfelt sympathies to the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. We join in mourning their tragic deaths.

More here:
President Dietz's message on the Minneapolis tragedy (5/30/20) - News - Illinois State University News

Human Behavior

Should you fly yet? Here’s what expert scientists say – WESH Orlando

Video above: Virus impact forcing massive job cuts at BoeingAs restrictions open up, and more Americans consider traveling to shake off the quarantine cabin fever, the safest way to travel may not seem so safe. Riding in an airplane, enclosed with people around you, seems like the opposite of social distancing. But with some workplaces requiring travel again, and the prospect of getting away becoming all the more tempting, how, if at all, do you air travel safely?Why the fear of flying?The primary concern with flying or traveling by bus or train is sitting within six feet of an infected person. Remember: Even asymptomatic people can transmit. Your risk of infection directly corresponds to your dose of exposure, which is determined by your duration of time exposed and the amount of virus-contaminated droplets in the air.A secondary concern is contact with contaminated surfaces. When an infected person contaminates a shared armrest, airport restroom handle, seat tray or other item, the virus can survive for hours though it degrades over time. If you touch that surface and then touch your mouth or nose, you put yourself at risk of infection.Before you book, thinkWhile there is no way to make air travel 100% safe, there are ways to make it safer. It's important to think through the particulars for each trip.One approach to your decision-making is to use what occupational health experts call the hierarchy of controls. This approach does two things. It focuses on strategies to control exposures close to the source. Second, it minimizes how much you have to rely on individual human behavior to control exposure. It's important to remember you may be infectious and everyone around you may also be infectious.The best way to control exposure is to eliminate the hazard. Since we cannot eliminate the new coronavirus, ask yourself if you can eliminate the trip. Think extra hard if you are older or have preexisting conditions, or if you are going to visit someone in that position.If you are healthy and those you visit are healthy, think about ways to substitute the hazard. Is it possible to drive? This would allow you to have more control over minimizing your exposures, particularly if the distance is less than a day of travel.You're going, now what?If you choose to fly, check out airlines' policies on seating and boarding. Some are minimizing capacity and spacing passengers by not using middle seats and having empty rows. Others are boarding from the back of the plane. Some that were criticized for filling their planes to capacity have announced plans to allow customers to cancel their flights if the flight goes over 70% passenger seating capacity.Federal and state guidance is changing constantly, so make sure you look up the most recent guidance from government agencies and the airlines and airport you are using for additional advice, and current policies or restrictions.While this may sound counterintuitive, consider booking multiple, shorter flights. This will decrease the likelihood of having to use the lavatory and the duration of exposure to an infectious person on the plane.After you book, select a window seat if possible. If you consider the six-foot radius circle around you, having a wall on one side would directly reduce the number of people you are exposed to during the flight in half, not to mention all the people going up and down the aisle.Also, check out your airline to see their engineering controls that are designed or put into practice to isolate hazards. These include ventilation systems, on-board barriers and electrostatic disinfectant sprays on flights.When the ventilation system on planes is operating, planes have a very high ratio of outside fresh air to recirculated air about 10 times higher than most commercial buildings. Plus, most planes' ventilation systems have HEPA filters. These are at least 99.9% effective at removing particles that are 0.3 microns in diameter and more efficient at removing both smaller and larger particles.How to be safe from shuttle to seatFrom checking in, to going through security to boarding, you will be touching many surfaces. To minimize risk:Bring hand wipes to disinfect surfaces such as your seat belt and your personal belongings, like your passport. If you cannot find hand wipes, bring a small washcloth soaked in a bleach solution in a zip bag. This would probably freak TSA out less than your personal spray bottle, and viruses are not likely to grow on a cloth with a bleach solution. But remember: More bleach is not better and can be unsafe. You only need one tablespoon in four cups of water to be effective.Bring plastic zip bags for personal items that others may handle, such as your ID. Bring extra bags so you can put these things in a new bag after you get the chance to disinfect them.Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer as often as you can. While soap and water is most effective, hand sanitizer is helpful after you wash to get any parts you may have missed.Once you get to your window seat, stay put.Wear a mask. If you already have an N95 respirator, consider using it but others can also provide protection. We do not recommend purchasing N95 until health care workers have an adequate supply. Technically, it should also be tested to make sure you have a good fit. We do not recommend the use of gloves, as that can lead to a false sense of security and has been associated with reduced hand hygiene practices.If you are thinking about flying with kids, there are special considerations. Getting a young child to adhere to wearing a mask and maintaining good hygiene behaviors at home is hard enough; it may be impossible to do so when flying. Children under 2 should not wear a mask.Each day, we are all constantly faced with decisions about our own personal comfort with risk. Arming yourself with specific knowledge about your airport and airline, and maximizing your use of protective measures that you have control over, can reduce your risk. A good analogy might be that every time you get in the car to drive somewhere there is risk of an accident, but there is a big difference between driving the speed limit with your seat belt on and driving blindfolded, 60 miles an hour through the middle of town.

Video above: Virus impact forcing massive job cuts at Boeing

As restrictions open up, and more Americans consider traveling to shake off the quarantine cabin fever, the safest way to travel may not seem so safe. Riding in an airplane, enclosed with people around you, seems like the opposite of social distancing. But with some workplaces requiring travel again, and the prospect of getting away becoming all the more tempting, how, if at all, do you air travel safely?

The primary concern with flying or traveling by bus or train is sitting within six feet of an infected person. Remember: Even asymptomatic people can transmit. Your risk of infection directly corresponds to your dose of exposure, which is determined by your duration of time exposed and the amount of virus-contaminated droplets in the air.

A secondary concern is contact with contaminated surfaces. When an infected person contaminates a shared armrest, airport restroom handle, seat tray or other item, the virus can survive for hours though it degrades over time. If you touch that surface and then touch your mouth or nose, you put yourself at risk of infection.

While there is no way to make air travel 100% safe, there are ways to make it safer. It's important to think through the particulars for each trip.

One approach to your decision-making is to use what occupational health experts call the hierarchy of controls. This approach does two things. It focuses on strategies to control exposures close to the source. Second, it minimizes how much you have to rely on individual human behavior to control exposure. It's important to remember you may be infectious and everyone around you may also be infectious.

The best way to control exposure is to eliminate the hazard. Since we cannot eliminate the new coronavirus, ask yourself if you can eliminate the trip. Think extra hard if you are older or have preexisting conditions, or if you are going to visit someone in that position.

If you are healthy and those you visit are healthy, think about ways to substitute the hazard. Is it possible to drive? This would allow you to have more control over minimizing your exposures, particularly if the distance is less than a day of travel.

If you choose to fly, check out airlines' policies on seating and boarding. Some are minimizing capacity and spacing passengers by not using middle seats and having empty rows. Others are boarding from the back of the plane. Some that were criticized for filling their planes to capacity have announced plans to allow customers to cancel their flights if the flight goes over 70% passenger seating capacity.

Federal and state guidance is changing constantly, so make sure you look up the most recent guidance from government agencies and the airlines and airport you are using for additional advice, and current policies or restrictions.

While this may sound counterintuitive, consider booking multiple, shorter flights. This will decrease the likelihood of having to use the lavatory and the duration of exposure to an infectious person on the plane.

After you book, select a window seat if possible. If you consider the six-foot radius circle around you, having a wall on one side would directly reduce the number of people you are exposed to during the flight in half, not to mention all the people going up and down the aisle.

Also, check out your airline to see their engineering controls that are designed or put into practice to isolate hazards. These include ventilation systems, on-board barriers and electrostatic disinfectant sprays on flights.

When the ventilation system on planes is operating, planes have a very high ratio of outside fresh air to recirculated air about 10 times higher than most commercial buildings. Plus, most planes' ventilation systems have HEPA filters. These are at least 99.9% effective at removing particles that are 0.3 microns in diameter and more efficient at removing both smaller and larger particles.

From checking in, to going through security to boarding, you will be touching many surfaces. To minimize risk:

Bring hand wipes to disinfect surfaces such as your seat belt and your personal belongings, like your passport. If you cannot find hand wipes, bring a small washcloth soaked in a bleach solution in a zip bag. This would probably freak TSA out less than your personal spray bottle, and viruses are not likely to grow on a cloth with a bleach solution. But remember: More bleach is not better and can be unsafe. You only need one tablespoon in four cups of water to be effective.

Bring plastic zip bags for personal items that others may handle, such as your ID. Bring extra bags so you can put these things in a new bag after you get the chance to disinfect them.

Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer as often as you can. While soap and water is most effective, hand sanitizer is helpful after you wash to get any parts you may have missed.

Once you get to your window seat, stay put.

Wear a mask. If you already have an N95 respirator, consider using it but others can also provide protection. We do not recommend purchasing N95 until health care workers have an adequate supply. Technically, it should also be tested to make sure you have a good fit. We do not recommend the use of gloves, as that can lead to a false sense of security and has been associated with reduced hand hygiene practices.

If you are thinking about flying with kids, there are special considerations. Getting a young child to adhere to wearing a mask and maintaining good hygiene behaviors at home is hard enough; it may be impossible to do so when flying. Children under 2 should not wear a mask.

Each day, we are all constantly faced with decisions about our own personal comfort with risk. Arming yourself with specific knowledge about your airport and airline, and maximizing your use of protective measures that you have control over, can reduce your risk. A good analogy might be that every time you get in the car to drive somewhere there is risk of an accident, but there is a big difference between driving the speed limit with your seat belt on and driving blindfolded, 60 miles an hour through the middle of town.

Visit link:
Should you fly yet? Here's what expert scientists say - WESH Orlando

Cell Biology

North Island College leads province in transition to online biology labs – vancouverislandfreedaily.com

North Island College (NIC) biology faculty are among the first in the province to transition lab courses to digital delivery.

Students taking BIO-160 Human Anatomy & Physiology I say they are enjoying the flexibility, accessibility and quality of online learning at NIC.

It was challenging at first to get used to, but theyve given us so much material and resources, its worked really well, said Jade Denbigh, who took the course to get ahead on her Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Im actually finding that the flexibility of online learning, especially as Im working full time, has been a big benefit.

Classmate Megan Truby is taking classes in preparation for studying radiology and says the online platform made labs less intimidating.

RELATED: A Friday the 13th near-full moon brings midnight walkers out to Campbell Rivers Willow Point Reef

It can be stressful to be in a lab setting in real life, whereas the online labs are very accessible and less intimidating, said Truby. Its a good introduction to university-level sciences without being overwhelming.

Truby notes taking online courses this summer is also providing her with other skills that will come in useful as she transitions to medical school.

Soft skills like time management and organization are so important learning online is helping to really strengthen those skills, which I know will help a lot when I have a full course load this fall at NIC and in all my future studies.

Faculty worked with NICs Centre for Teaching and Learning to develop online lab components for the course, which has topics such as biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, and includes an extensive laboratory component, that students would be able to complete from home.

RELATED: North Island College announces blended approach to learning in the fall

This course was actually the perfect test case for doing labs online, because its about the human body, said Sandra Milligan, course developer and biology instructor. Most of the work we do in lab involves the students observing their own body measuring heart rate, movement of joints, so we realized very quickly that most of it could be done from home.

Milligan discovered NIC was ahead of the curve in the transition to digital learning when she attended a virtual meeting with her fellow science faculty from across the province.

I was shocked that so many institutions had cancelled their spring offerings. NIC was one of the few in the province to be running biology labs this spring and summer, she said. Weve shared our curriculum, which is being used as a template for others.

Milligan notes NICs history as a distance education institution, and its size, positioned it well to make the change quickly.

The commitment from faculty and the leadership and support from our amazing Centre for Teaching and Learning team was key in our being able to pivot so fast, she said. The transition wasnt perfect, but, looking back, its incredible what weve been able to accomplish and roll out in a matter of weeks.

The transition has been welcomed by fellow instructor Dr. Emaline Montgomery, who has watched her students adapt to the online labs.

Learning about themselves as learners has been a key part of this, she said. They are learning their own capabilities to push through boundaries and increasing their confidence with the online space and technology. Theres great online engagement with each other and with me as the instructor.

Both instructors have noted other benefits to digital learning as well, including being able to keep an eye on how students are progressing through the materials to more quickly identify those who may need help and the change in evaluation fewer invigilated tests and more reflection-based exercises have helped student who struggle with test anxiety.

The lessons learned through the online spring and summer delivery will also help inform how NICs fall classes are adapted to the digital environment.

RELATED: NIC marine training goes digital

I am optimistic and in full support of online learning especially hybrid and blended options where there are opportunities for the students and instructors to interact but also lots of opportunities for student-driven learning, said Montgomery.

For more details on all NICs science programs and courses, visit http://www.nic.bc.ca/university-studies.

CoronavirusNIC

Continued here:
North Island College leads province in transition to online biology labs - vancouverislandfreedaily.com

Cell Biology

AbbVie, Harbour BioMed, Utrecht University and Erasmus Medical Center Announce Collaboration to Develop Monoclonal Antibody Therapy to Prevent and…

DetailsCategory: AntibodiesPublished on Saturday, 06 June 2020 11:11Hits: 440

NORTH CHICAGO, IL and CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA and UTRECHT and ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands and SUZHOU, China I June 5, 2020 I AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV), Harbour BioMed (HBM), Utrecht University (UU) and Erasmus Medical Center (EMC) today announced they have entered into a collaboration to develop a novel antibody therapeutic to prevent and treat COVID-19, the pandemic respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The focus of the collaboration is on advancing the fully human, neutralizing antibody 47D11 discovered by UU, EMC and HBM and recently reported in Nature Communications. This antibody targets the conserved domain of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2.

Under the terms of the collaboration, AbbVie will support UU, EMC and HBM through the preclinical activities, while simultaneously undertaking preparations for later stage preclinical and clinical development work. AbbVie will receive an option to exclusively license the antibody from the three parties for therapeutic clinical development and commercialization worldwide.

"Treatment and prevention of COVID-19 remains a critical global need. The antibody discovered by UU, EMC and Harbour BioMed is extremely promising based on the mechanism by which it targets the virus and on its developability as a fully human protein," said Tom Hudson, M.D., Senior Vice President, Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer, AbbVie. "We look forward to working with this outstanding team to advance this antibody towards clinical trials."

"AbbVie is a global leader in developing innovative antiviral therapies," said Dr. Jingsong Wang, Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of HBM. "This collaboration will greatly accelerate our efforts to bring this antibody forward into clinical trials as quickly as possible and contribute a solution to this pandemic."

"The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the importance of understanding coronavirus biology," said Berend-Jan Bosch, PhD, Associate Professor, Research leader at UU. "The collaboration with AbbVie provides an excellent opportunity to translate our research into a clinical candidate with great potential for advancing the fight against this disease."

Frank Grosveld, PhD, Academy Professor of Cell Biology, EMC, Rotterdam and Founding Chief Scientific Officer at Harbour BioMed, commented, "The collaboration is an endorsement of our approach to fully human antibody discovery and development. Through this collaboration, we are well positioned to move rapidly towards clinical trials."

The antibody discovery, published online on May 4 in Nature Communications, targets a conserved region of the virus' spike protein. In cell culture studies the antibody blocked infection by the SARS-CoV-2 and a second coronavirus SARS-CoV. The antibody is fully human, which is designed to facilitate its development and minimize immune-related side effects.

About AbbVieAbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, neuroscience, eye care, virology, women's health and gastroenterology, in addition to products and services across its Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at http://www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvieon Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTubeand LinkedIn.

About Utrecht UniversityFounded in 1636, Utrecht University is one of the largest research universities of Europe, with over thirty thousand students and a staff of more than six thousand. We invest in creating the leaders of the future through innovative education of the highest quality, as reflected by the University's consistently high position in international rankings. Dedicated to performing groundbreaking research aimed at resolving large global issues, our culture of cooperation is a breeding ground for innovation, new insights and social impact. http://www.uu.nl.

About Erasmus Medical CenterErasmus MC is the largest University Medical Center in the Netherlands. Our primary goal is a healthy population. Nearly 14,000 employees devote themselves every day to providing outstanding care, facilitating world-class education and conducting pioneering research. These professionals are instrumental in developing expertise on health and illness. They link the latest scientific insights to practical treatments and prevention measures to provide maximum benefit to patients and to enable healthy people to stay healthy longer. Being visibly better and leading the way in the areas of complex, innovative and acute care by collaborating with others: these are key ambitions at Erasmus MC.

About Harbour BioMedHarbour BioMed is a global, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutics in the fields of immuno-oncology and inflammatory diseases. The company is building its proprietary pipeline through internal R&D programs, collaborations with co-discovery and co-development partners and select acquisitions.

The company's internal discovery programs are centered around its two patented transgenic mouse platforms (Harbour Mice) for generating both fully human monoclonal antibodies and heavy chain only antibodies (HCAb) and HBICE immune cell engager technology for developing bispecific antibodies. Harbour BioMed also licenses the platforms to companies and academic institutions. The company has operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Rotterdam, The Netherlands; and Suzhou & Shanghai, China. For more information, please visit http://www.harbourbiomed.com

SOURCE: AbbVie

Read more:
AbbVie, Harbour BioMed, Utrecht University and Erasmus Medical Center Announce Collaboration to Develop Monoclonal Antibody Therapy to Prevent and...

Cell Biology

A Short History of Gene Therapies – News-Medical.net

Sponsored Content by OXGENEJun 1 2020

The relatively short history of gene replacement therapies is a story of the scientific enterprise, perseverance in the face of adversity, and revolutionary discoveries. It includes breakthroughs in cell biology, molecular biology, structural biology, biochemistry, immunology, oncology, virology, engineering, and biotechnology.

However, despite its hypothetical simplicity - overruling the disease-causing effect of an absent or damaged gene by inserting a properly functioning copy - there are still hardly any gene replacement therapies on the market, even though it has been thirty years since Rosenberg et al. proved the potential of retroviral based gene transduction in humans (Rosenberg et al. N Engl J Med 1990; 323:5708).

The early 1990s were simpler times for gene therapies. Both researchers and clinicians believed that they possessed the key to treating all genetic diseases. Start-ups, spinouts, academics, and investors rushed to engage in this encouraging new market, prompted by the opportunity to develop innovative treatments for gene-based disorders.

During this time, the majority of gene therapy trials employed adenoviruses to deliver the transgene into patients, a technique which was made possible by Professor Frank Graham in the 1970s, via his efforts to understand why some viruses are oncogenic, while others are not.

In 1973, Graham who, at the time, was a postdoc at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands was able to create an adenovirus-transformed immortal human cell line, the Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK)293 (Graham et al. J. Gen. Virol. 1977; 36 (1): 5974).

HEK293 cells can be easily transfected and include the adenoviral E1 genes, which enable replication-incompetent adenoviruses to continue to grow within these cells. These characteristics make them a clear choice for the production of the substantial quantities of a viral vector that are needed for human gene therapy.

While gene therapy was rapidly developing, the human genome project was underway, marking another extraordinary feat of scientific investigation. 2003 saw the first publication of the complete human genome sequence the result of fifteen years of global research collaboration.

Following this landmark publication, scientists not only had access to the sequence of every human gene, but there were also now maps which detailed the location of these genes within chromosomes, as well as linkage maps which allowed them to track the inheritance of genetic disease (Science. Apr. 11, 2003 and Nature Apr. 24 2003, full issues).

With the sheer amounts of information now available, it comes as no surprise that the gene therapy industry continued its work to revolutionize modern medicine. In 2003, the China State Food and Drug Administration was the first health authority in the world to specifically approve a gene therapy - an adenoviral vector called Gendicine, which carried the P53 tumor suppressor gene. However, it was not until 2017 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its first gene therapy - Luxterna for retinal dystrophy - for use in the United States (source: genetherapy.net).

Despite many years of investment and research, the comparative lack of gene therapies currently available on the market, coupled with the cost of those that are available, are a testament to the challenges still hindering their development and manufacture.

A key challenge still to be overcome is that of ensuring cost-effective manufacture at the necessary speed, scale, and quality for clinical development. Gene therapies which target localized diseases and necessitate only small doses (like Luxterna), involve relatively simple manufacturing processes.

Published results from a successful hemophilia gene therapy trial in 2011 have, however, reinvigorated the gene therapy industry, as well as highlighting the requirement for innovative, scalable technologies which can support the manufacture of gene therapies for systemic diseases which necessitate high treatment doses (Nathwani et al. N Engl J Med 2011; 365:2357-2365).

Many gene therapy manufacturers currently rely on the scaling out of transient expression platforms. This is resource-intensive and expensive however, due to the significant amounts of GMP-grade plasmid DNA required, and/or the massive cell culture footprint needed by adherent cell cultures.

The future of gene therapy vector production unquestionably lies in stable, scalable manufacturing solutions.

OXGENE is a recognized expert in DNA design and engineering, development of cell lines, upstream and downstream processing, and automation. This expertise is leading the transformation of its fully optimized AAV and lentiviral transient expression platforms, moving them towards innovative technologies for scalable and stable manufacturing.

OXGENE is building on strong foundations. Its gene therapy production platforms are based on the proprietary SnapFast plasmid technology - modular plasmids that have been designed to function like molecular Lego, employing a catalog of characterized DNA elements which can be reliably and easily inserted into specific locations in the plasmid.

OXGENEs engineered AAV and lentiviral plasmids are able to considerably enhance packaging efficiency and viral titer, while its clonal HEK293 suspension cell line has been specifically chosen for optimal viral vector production.

Partnering with OXGENE in the early stages of gene therapy development facilitates the establishment and optimization of transient production, with validated production up to 10 L scale. This process enables straightforward transitioning to a stable technology platform designed for large scale clinical manufacture.

The additional regulatory advantage is gained, as a result of utilizing the same genetic system throughout clinical development. This is because the stable platform maintains the same base cell line and expression cassettes as the transient system.

Producer cell lines are an appealing substitute for transient transfection. Within producer cell lines, all the elements needed for viral vector production, including the transgene of interest, are stably incorporated into the cells genome.

Therefore, these need no transfection and a comparatively little manipulation in order to scale up and reliably produce sizable quantities of the viral vector, with reduced batch-to-batch variation and with considerably fewer cost implications.

OXGENE has successfully developed producer cell lines and stable packaging for lentiviral-based gene therapies. A stable lentiviral packaging cell line was generated by transfecting packaging plasmids reconfigured with inducible vsv-g and gag-pol and constitutive rev expression into the HEK293 cell line.

Next, single-cell clones were screened for growth kinetics, as well as stable and inducible expression of viral genes. After numerous rounds of testing and analysis, a single clonal lentiviral packaging cell line was selected to expand, characterize, and optimize further.

Process optimization has improved viral titer more than ten-fold to date. The sheer level of optimization involved in refining OXGENEs lentiviral packaging cell line makes this an ideal starting point from which to create producer cell lines by stably transfecting a transfer plasmid that contains a self-inactivating lentiviral genome and the transgene of interest.

After a further iteration of the cell line development process, clones which performed the best are expanded further, then transferred for process optimization and scaling up in order to maximize viral titer.

With AAV, however, a different approach was taken. Here, a novel Tetracycline-Enabled Repressible Adenovirus (TERA) system was used as the basis for a stable AAV production platform.

This makes use of an engineered Ad5 adenoviral helper plasmid which includes a switchable negative feedback loop in the viral genome, reducing helper adenovirus contamination to practically zero while increasing AAV yields. This system has also been shown to amplify both AAV rep and cap DNA from the cells chromosomes through the use of the well-established AAV Cis-Acting Replication Element (CARE).

This technology enables the stable integration of DNA into cells, as well as its subsequent amplification and concomitant high protein expression levels, which in turn provides a stable, scalable, and adenovirus contaminant-free manufacturing process for AAV.

To summarize, gene therapies are once again set to transform the treatment of some of the worlds most debilitating diseases. While manufacturing challenges have impeded their development and approval, OXGENE has continued to transform gene therapy manufacturing by pioneering the development of tightly controlled, meticulously optimized technologies which facilitate fully scalable, high-quality and cost-effective gene therapy manufacture meaning that ultimately, gene therapies can be made available to patients who require them.

OXGENE combines precision engineering and breakthrough science with advanced robotics and bioinformatics to accelerate the rational design, discovery and manufacture of cell and gene therapies across three core areas: gene therapy, gene editing and antibody therapeutics.

Gene therapy: Were transforming the vision of truly scalable gene therapies into a reality; progressing our industry leading transient gene therapy systems towards alternative technologies for scalable, stable manufacturing solutions.

Gene editing: We have automated gene editing to deliver CRISPR engineered cell lines at unparalleled speed, scale and quality and generate complex disease models in mammalian cells.

Antibody therapeutics: Were employing a novel proprietary mammalian display technology to discover antibodies against previously intractable membrane proteins.

OXGENE works at the edge of impossible in mammalian cell engineering. Our scientific expertise and technology solutions address industry bottlenecks. For more information, please visit http://www.oxgene.com

Sponsored Content Policy: News-Medical.net publishes articles and related content that may be derived from sources where we have existing commercial relationships, provided such content adds value to the core editorial ethos of News-Medical.Net which is to educate and inform site visitors interested in medical research, science, medical devices and treatments.

The rest is here:
A Short History of Gene Therapies - News-Medical.net

Cell Biology

Scientists Are Questioning Past Research By The Founder of Surgisphere – BuzzFeed News

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus. To help keep this news free, become a member and sign up for our newsletter, Outbreak Today.

The founder of Surgisphere, the little-known health data analytics company blamed for the retraction of two prominent scientific papers on COVID-19, is in more trouble.

On Friday evening, Elisabeth Bik, a consultant who specializes in analyzing scientific papers for signs of data manipulation, spotted multiple duplications in images from a paper published by Sapan Desai in 2004, four years before he founded Surgisphere.

Manipulating images to change their scientific meaning, sometimes involving subtle duplications using the clone tools in Photoshop or similar software, is a major cause of scientific misconduct.

BuzzFeed News asked two other independent experts in scientific data manipulation to review the images. Both confirmed Biks findings, and one said it was one of the most egregious examples he had seen.

Its like the guy went crazy with Photoshop, Daniel Acuna, a computer scientist at Syracuse University in New York, who has developed software to spot image duplications in scientific images, told BuzzFeed News.

Desai did not immediately return requests for comment.

The paper in question was published by the Journal of Neurophysiology in 2004, as part of Desais graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The new concerns about its validity add to the growing number of questions about Desai and Surgisphere.

Desai was one of four researchers behind a massive study published on May 22 that linked hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug hyped by President Donald Trump as a treatment for COVID-19, to an increased risk of death. The paper said the study was based on data on more than 96,000 COVID-19 patients from 671 hospitals across six contents provided by Surgisphere.

Other studies have also concluded that the drug isnt effective against the coronavirus. But after The Lancet published the study about the drugs potentially lethal effects, the World Health Organization paused its human trial of hydroxychloroquine.

The paper was retracted on June 4 after scientists and journalists raised questions about inconsistencies and demanded access to the studys raw data. In the retraction notice, the three other members of the research team admitted that they can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources.

They wrote that they wanted outside experts to independently audit the data, but Surgisphere would not hand it over due to client agreements and confidentiality agreements.

Another study using Surgisphere data to study the coronavirus and cardiovascular disease, involving several of the same researchers, was also retracted on June 4 by the New England Journal of Medicine. This time Desai was an author of the retraction notice, which similarly explained that the scientists were unable to validate the primary data sources.

Surgisphere, which Desai founded in 2008 while a surgical resident at Duke University, is based in Palatine, a suburb of Chicago. Scientists have wondered how this little-known company has been able to obtain all the data it claims to have. The retractions followed stories about Surgisphere in the Guardian and the Scientist, including that the company only appeared to have a handful of employees and that raised serious questions about the legitimacy of its data sources.

Desai has previously stood by his companys data. Our strong privacy standards are a major reason that hospitals trust Surgisphere and we have been able to collect data from over 1,200 institutions across 46 countries, he told BuzzFeed News by email last week, before the two studies were retracted.

The 2004 paper was on the anatomy of the vestibular system, part of the inner ear important for the sense of balance, in various rodents including rats, mice, and squirrels. The main panel of images in the paper shows images of sections of tissue from a structure called the crista ampullaris, which detects rotational movement.

Bik looked at Desais past papers after learning of the concerns about Surgisphere. I immediately saw that there seemed to be very repetitive areas in these images, Bik told BuzzFeed News. After spending a couple of hours finding multiple duplications within the images, she posted her concerns on PubPeer, a website where scientists critique one anothers work. Bik also published a blog post about her concerns on Saturday.

This is highly unusual, Bik said. Its a very, very severe case of duplication.

Acuna, the computer scientist from Syracuse University, ran the images through his software, confirming many of the problems flagged by Bik. Ive never seen something like this, Its outrageous, he said.

I concur with the allegation that there appear to be numerous small duplicated regions in the photographs, Mike Rossner, a former managing editor of the Journal of Cell Biology who now runs a consultancy firm called Image Data Integrity, told BuzzFeed News by email.

The Journal of Neurophysiology said it would look into the matter, after BuzzFeed News reached out about the paper. This has been referred to the journals ethics officer for investigation, Bill Yates, a neuroscientist at the University of Pittsburgh and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neurophysiology, said by email.

Anna Lysakowski, the professor who supervised Desais graduate work at the University of Illinois and was named as the senior author on the paper, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

View post:
Scientists Are Questioning Past Research By The Founder of Surgisphere - BuzzFeed News

Cell Biology

Lockdowns and logistics – HeraldScotland

PREVENTING a second wave, an unnecessary lockdown and the importance of logistics were the topics debated by columnists and contributors in the newspapers.

Dr Rupert Beale, head of the cell biology of infection laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute in London, said he and his staff could see the benefit of going into lockdown as they tested for Sars-Cov-2 to support local hospitals.

"When we ran our first samples, at the peak of the first wave, nearly half were positive. Now we see perhaps one or two positive samples in a thousand," he said. "When Boris Johnson recovered sufficiently to address the nation on 10 May, he outlined a new approach: suppressing this virus, keeping R below 1.Finally, we were pursuing the correct strategy."

He said we now had the right mindset but the challenge facing us is greater than that faced by countries which locked down early.

"We have to turn tests around more quickly, and we must be able to persuade asymptomatic contacts [of those testing positive] to self-isolate," he said. "There is good reason to believe that mask-wearing will only have a substantial effect when most people wear one."

He said recent data from Public Health England showed that less than 10 per cent of the UK was immune to the virus.

"The great majority of us are still susceptible to this virus, and if we allow it to transmit easily between us we will see a second wave possibly during the winter, where it may be even more deadly," he warned.

"If we get the next phase of our response testing, tracing and isolation wrong, our two remaining options are semi-permanent lockdown, or hundreds of thousands of deaths in an uncontrolled epidemic."

The Daily Express

Leo McKinstry asked whether, once the final death toll is known, lockdown caused more deaths than it prevented.

" It is already established government policy swerved violently from inadequate to panic-stricken around March 14," he said. "This was because the Government swallowed the prediction of one man that without total lockdown there would be a holocaust of over half a million casualties."

He said the first action when faced with an enemy was a rapid and accurate analysis.

"Get it wrong and nothing will work," he added, "Worse, it might even be counterproductive. That is the accusation now being levelled at lockdown."

He said the scientists all said different things and the Government listened to 'the scariest'.

"Of the previous pandemics the worst was Asian flu which ran through most of 1969 and spring 1970. When it finally faded we had lost 80,000 citizens," he said. "But we did not close down a single bar, restaurant, pub, corner shop, major industry, airline, hotel, public park or anything else. "

He said thousands of treatments for non-Covid illnesses had been cancelled and non-Covid deaths are mounting.

"We know our Covid deaths are 40,000. But have all the other causes plus non-Covid flu topped that figure? Have we been duped?"

The Scotsman

Professor Alan McKinnon, Professor Emeritus Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, said few people appreciated the 'extent, diversity and complexity of the supply chains that support modern life until they fail, of course, as some clearly have during the coronavirus crisis.'

He said the World Bank rated the UK sixth in the world in terms of its logistics capacity and cited the supermarkets as a case in point with their ability to cope with panic buying and increased demand.

"It is in the health sector that the supply chain response has been woefully inadequate the very place where logistical failures are a matter of life and death," he said. "Chronic shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE have exposed staff in hospitals, care homes and other essential services to serious risk of infection and, as a result, many people have died.

"Given the critical importance of logistics to the management of the Covid19 crisis it is odd that there is no specialist in this field on the governments Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE).

"Hopefully governments everywhere will be drawing more effectively on logistics expertise by the time a vaccine is available and the truly monumental task of distributing it globally begins."

View original post here:
Lockdowns and logistics - HeraldScotland