Biochemistry

Chemistry and Biochemistry Department Adapts to Distanced Learning – The Bates Student

COVID-19 has necessitated a drastic change in how educational models are constructed in order to stop its spread; various departments have been forced to come up with new and creative ways to deliver on the significant material of the class, while keeping all parties safe from an outbreak. This has hit STEM departments with difficult problems, as much of the work is based in group collaboration and in-person interaction with the material.

Prof. Matthew J. Ct, the Chair of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, affirms this process of rethinking how this subject matter could be taught given the current global pandemic. The Bates Student emailed Prof. Ct to ask how the Department has formulated syllabi for this module. He noted that the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department is learning to adapt to changes that have occurred during module A, making the class structures and material discussed flexible to adapt to any necessary changes.

As a department were sharing our experiences with each other so we can zero in on some approaches that work well for our discipline, he wrote. Ct noted that, with the socially distant classroom models, the spaces that the department traditionally inhabits are not being used. This results in an unfamiliar classroom environment for both the students and the professors.

Dana Chemistry Hall, home to the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, is closed due to a wider project to renovate the science buildings on campus, along with the construction of the Bonney Science Center. Because of this, the planners for module A and B knew that this year would look dramatically different.

Ct wrote, We took that into account when designing our approach for 2020-2021, in the hope that we can apply some of this years COVID-adaptation to next years building move adaptation.

Because of the tumultuous summer that required tireless efforts to plan how Bates will function as an in-person institution, the usual summer research program in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department did not run. Instead, folks involved in running that program spent months planning the fall semester.

Staff who would normally have a couple of months off during the summer worked hard to prepare for this year as well. Ct adds, everyone is working creatively to teach during this academic year, but our successes so far have been made possible by their unselfish and diligent efforts last summer.

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Chemistry and Biochemistry Department Adapts to Distanced Learning - The Bates Student

Biochemistry

Dust off the crystal ball: It’s time for STAT’s 2020 Nobel Prize predictions – STAT

The mistake Nobel Prize prognosticators yours truly included make is to look through the greatest hits of biochemistry, biology, and medicine (the areas STAT covers) nuclear hormone receptors! microRNAs! and figure (as last years prediction story did) one of those is due and deserving. The trouble is, as MITs Phillip Sharp, who shared the 1993 medicine Nobel, told me, There is just a lot of good science that will never get recognized.

So focusing on the greatest hits to forecast the science winners who will be announced next week is too simplistic. Theyre all contenders, but the smart money looks for other criteria. Like toggling between discoveries of what cells and molecules do and inventions of techniques that reveal what they do, or between disciplines, or (for medicine) between something that directly cures patients and something about the wonders of living cells.

By that criteria, it might be a techniques turn, since the last such winner in medicine was for turning adult cells into stem cells, in 2012. Could this be the year for optogenetics, which allows brain scientists to control genetically modified neurons with light? I dont think optogenetics has made a big enough impact outside of neuroscience yet, said cancer biologist Jason Sheltzer of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, who dabbles in Nobel predictions, but who knows.

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The last Nobel for DNA sequencing was way back in 1980, he pointed out, and since then we have seen the complete sequencing of the human genome, one of humanitys towering achievements. (Sheltzer correctly predicted 2018s medicine Nobel for immuno-oncology pioneer James Allison. The Human Genome Project could win it for the officials who led it, like Francis Collins of the National Institutes of Health and Eric Lander of the Broad Institute. Would Craig Venter, who led a competing private effort, make it to Stockholm, too? Let the betting commence!

Just to be clear, science Nobels arent chosen all that, well, scientifically. For medicine, a five-member Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine at Swedens Karolinska Institute sifts nominations and selects candidates. The 50-member Nobel Assembly votes, this year on Oct. 5. So you can get head-scratchers from, say, 20-18-12 or similarly split votes if, say, genetics fanciers split their votes among two contenders. (If you want to know if that happened, hang on until 2070: Nobel records are secret and sealed for 50 years.) For chemistry, chosen on Oct. 7 this year, the five-member Nobel Committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences likewise sifts nominations and recommends finalists to the academy for a vote.

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Besides invention and discovery switching off in the medicine Nobel, there certainly seems to be periodicity in terms of disciplines taking turns, said David Pendlebury of data company Clarivate Analytics. He has made 54 correct Nobel predictions (usually in the wrong year, but in 29 cases within just two) since 2002 by analyzing how often a scientists key papers are cited by peers and awarded predictive prizes like the Lasker or Gairdner awards.

Neuroscience won the medicine Nobel in 2000, 2004, 2014, and 2017, immunology in 2008, 2011, and 2018, for instance. Infectious disease and cancer win every decade or two, and so are probably also-rans for 2020. Thats why STAT said last year that the 2018 medicine award for immuno-oncology made cancer an unlikely 2019 winner. Yet William Kaelin, Peter Ratcliffe, and Gregg Semenza won for discovering how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability, through gene regulation, which is tangentially related to cancer. Go figure.

For the medicine prize, periodicity also applies to toggling between super-basic molecular biology and stuff that actually cures people (not year by year, but generally). Last years award for how cells sense changing oxygen levels was pretty abstruse and might shape this years choice.

Prizes with a more clinical focus have been 2003 (MRI), 2005 (H. pylori and ulcers), 2008 (HIV), 2015 (roundworm and malaria therapy), and 2018 (immuno-oncology), [so] maybe a clinical type of prize this year, [such as] hepatitis C treatment, brain stimulation for Parkinsons, cochlear implant, statins Pendlebury said. We wouldnt be surprised at a hep C win for Charles Rice of Rockefeller University and Ralf Bartenschlager of Heidelberg University (2016 Lasker winners) for the super-basic discoveries that led to drugs that cure the viral disease.

Like Pendlebury, Sheltzer believes in predictive prizes. I looked back at the last 20 years of Nobel Prizes in medicine/physiology, he said. Eighty-three percent of them had won at least one of three prizes before the Nobel: the Lasker, the Gairdner, or the Horwitz Prize. Of the five people who have recently won all three, only one works in a field so far ignored by the Nobel committees, he said: Yale School of Medicines Arthur Horwich, a pioneer of protein folding and chaperone proteins. In addition to the Gairdner in 2004, Horwitz in 2008, and Lasker in 2011, he received the $3 million Breakthrough Prize in 2019. So thats guess #1, Sheltzer said.

Unless Weve had a few [medicine] awards that you could classify as cell biology recently oxygen sensing in 2019, autophagy in 2016, even immune regulation is kinda cell biological, Sheltzer acknowledged. So I think a genetics award is more likely than one to Horwich, whose discoveries about how cells fold the proteins they synthesize are central to the understanding of life. STATs nickel says look no further than the 2015 Lasker Basic Medical Research Award: It honored Evelyn Witkin of Rutgers and Stephen Elledge of Harvard for discovering how DNA repairs itself after being damaged.

Might David Allis of Rockefeller and Michael Grunstein of UCLA finally get the call to Stockholm? They discovered one way genes are activated (through proteins called histones). Theyve shared a 2018 Lasker and a 2016 Gruber Prize in Genetics, and basically launched the hot field of epigenetics. I think a prize related to epigenetic control of transcription by DNA and histone modifications could be in order, Kaelin told STAT.

For physiology or medicine, Pendlebury likes Pamela Bjorkman of Caltech and Jack Strominger of Harvard for determining the structure and function of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins, a landmark discovery that has contributed to drug and vaccine development, as well as Yusuke Nakamura of the University of Tokyo for genome-wide association studies that led to personalized approaches to cancer treatment (personally, we doubt this is cancers year again), and Huda Zoghbi of Baylor College of Medicine for work on the origin of neurological disorders.

In chemistry, Pendlebury likes Moungi Bawendi of MIT, Christopher Murray of the University of Pennsylvania, and Taeghwan Hyeon of Seoul National University for synthesizing nanocrystals, a cool new way to deliver drugs, and Makoto Fujita of the University of Tokyo for discovering supramolecular chemistry, in which lab-made molecules self-assemble by emulating how nature makes them. That has some overlap with Frances Arnolds 2018 Nobel for chemistry, so were skeptical, but who knows?

Lets address the elephant in the Nobel anteroom, and the chatter that the revolutionary genome editing technique CRISPR will win for chemistry. (Its value in medicine is still TBD, but its stellar biochemistry.)

The discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 system is certainly worthy of a Nobel Prize, Kaelin said. I suspect the challenge here will be to get the attribution right. Perhaps there could be a chemistry prize for the basic mechanism and a medicine prize for application to somatic gene editing in human cells.

By attribution, he means, who gets CRISPR credit? Only three people can share a Nobel. But CRISPR has more mothers and fathers than that. Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley, and her collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier have won a slew of predictive prizes for their work turning a bacterial immune system into a DNA editor, but dark horse Virginijus iknys of Vilnius University shared the 2018 $1 million Kavli Prize in nanoscience for his CRISPR work. And Feng Zhang of the Broad Institute is more widely cited than the above three, Pendlebury said, a marker of what colleagues think.

CRISPR citations built up more to Feng Zheng et al. than to Doudna and Charpentier, but I dont think that matters as much as judgments about priority claim, Pendlebury said. There are more than three to credit and I do think that is problematic. Bad feelings are not something the Nobel Assembly wants to generate, I am sure.

CRISPR will win, said CSHLs Sheltzer. Its a question of when, not if. Zhang/Doudna/Charpentier/Horvath/Barrangou shared the Gairdner. Pick 2 or 3 of them?

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Dust off the crystal ball: It's time for STAT's 2020 Nobel Prize predictions - STAT

Biochemistry

Yale faculty and alum recognized as inspiring Hispanic/Latinx scientists – Yale Daily News

Courtesy of Yale News

Two Yale faculty members Daniel Coln-Ramos, professor of neuroscience and cell biology, and Enrique De La Cruz, chair and professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry and head of Branford College and Yale alum Robert Fernandez GRD 15 20 have been recognized in a list of 100 inspiring Hispanic/Latinx scientists in the U.S. by Cell Mentor. Cell Mentor is an online resource provided by Cell Press and Cell Signaling Technology with blog-style resources for early-career scientists.

In addition to strong scientific research, Coln-Ramos, De La Cruz and Fernandez have all made extensive scientific outreach efforts through their work in making science more accessible to the Hispanic/Latinx community.

[Coln-Ramos] is a fantastic mentor and does a lot to make science more accessible not just science accessible to people who dont have opportunities, but also science accessible to the lay public so that they understand the value of science, Sreeganga Chandra, deputy chair and associate professor of neuroscience, said.

In his lab, Coln-Ramos studies the synapse the connection between neurons. He examines how synapses are formed and how they are modified when a memory is created. Coln-Ramos lab studies C. elegans, a nematode worm with a simple nervous system of only 302 neurons humans have billions and about 5,000 chemical synapses. According to the labs website, Coln-Ramos has 49 publications with the lab.

According to Sterling Professor of Cell Biology James Rothman, Coln-Ramos work regarding synapse formation and self-assembly mechanisms that spatially couple energy production to energy utilization is receiving the international attention that it deserves.

Beyond research, Coln-Ramos co-founded Ciencia Puerto Rico, a network of Hispanic scientists which works to promote scientific advancement, education and careers in Puerto Rico. According to Coln-Ramos, it currently has close to 40,000 members.

I have collaborated with many colleagues in establishing mentoring programs, in arguing for the democratization of access to science, in arguing that all societies should benefit from science, that science shouldnt be structured as an enterprise that implicitly or explicitly excludes certain demographics or groups from participating or benefiting from the scientific enterprise, Coln-Ramos said. Its a fundamental humanistic request thats part of our culture.

De La Cruzs lab uses kinetics and thermodynamics to understand how mechanical forces affect chemical interactions and reactions of biological molecules. He also examined processes that were previously thought to be incomplete, such as how regulatory proteins break actin filaments or how helicases use ATP to rearrange RNA.

In addition to his work in the lab, De La Cruz serves as a mentor to underrepresented communities as well as his graduate students, according to Mark Hochstrasser professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry. Hochstrasser said this success is something that members of his department are all proud of.

Nandan Pandit GRD 16 20, a postdoctoral associate in De La Cruzs lab, elaborated on the guidance that De La Cruz gives to his students.

Enrique always is looking out for the students and really prioritizing their success while still balancing the success of the lab overall I think he really deserves this award, Pandit said.

The third honoree, Fernandez, is currently working on postdoctoral research at Columbia University. Fernandez is studying how transcription factors regulate neuronal identity in C. elegans.

Fernandez also co-founded an initiative called Cientfico Latino, which aims to help underrepresented minority students navigate higher education. The site includes resources such as a database for fellowships, research programs, post-baccalaureate programs and diversity preview events.

The site also features a blog with stories and advice from underrepresented minority students and STEM faculty. Additionally, the website contains webinars aimed at preparing students for graduate school, fellowship and doctorate applications. De La Cruz also serves as a faculty adviser for this program.

One of our biggest initiatives is our [Graduate Student] Mentorship Initiative, where we pair you with a mentor to look over your graduate application, Fernandez said. Its open to any underrepresented students, not just based on ethnicity, but low-income, first-generation, sexual orientation, disability.

The program was piloted last year with 86 scholars participating, helping 76 get accepted into graduate school programs. This year the program is serving around 300 people.

All three scientists emphasized the importance of diversity in the laboratory. According to De La Cruz, a lack of diversity in the laboratory not only creates situations that cry injustice but also cause labs to miss out on tremendous talent.

I never learned in my biology class about any Latinx scientists, so if we dont see ourselves in science, starting off in elementary, middle school and high school, how exactly are we going to believe that we can get there? Fernandez said. What I love about my lab right now at Columbia [is that] its super diverse, and you get all of these different viewpoints, and thats what makes science great, learning from each other, different cultures, different backgrounds. Science is not just one way of thinking. Its a multidisciplinary way of thinking and different viewpoints help you.

The full list of inspiring Hispanic/Latinx scientists can be found on Cell Mentors website.

Adam Levine | a.levine@yale.edu

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Yale faculty and alum recognized as inspiring Hispanic/Latinx scientists - Yale Daily News

Biochemistry

iBio Enters into Agreement with Safi Biosolutions to Develop Growth Factors and Cytokines Using the FastPharming System – GlobeNewswire

- Project Focused on Proteins used in the Production of Blood Cells -

NEW YORK, Oct. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iBio, Inc. (NYSE AMERICAN:IBIO) (iBio or the Company), a biotech innovator and biologics contract manufacturing organization, today announced that it has entered into a Master Services Agreement (MSA) with Boston-based Safi Biosolutions, Inc. (Safi) to evaluate iBios FastPharming System for the expression of key proteins to be used in the bioprocessing of Safi blood cell therapy products.

Safi is an early stage biotech company working as the cell therapy commercialization partner for a five-year government program aiming to produce blood on-demand, a national priority. Initial development efforts for manufactured blood cell therapies include red blood cells for trauma, tailored red blood cells for specific transfusion indications and a neutrophil progenitor cell therapy for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. To achieve the quality and cost-of-goods objectives for the program, Safi turned to iBios plant-based protein expression system.

iBios process development, biochemistry and pharmaceutical development teams plan to engage with Safi to evaluate options to use iBios FastPharming System to generate cGMP growth factors and cytokines.

iBio is pleased to partner with Safi as we leverage our capabilities and know-how for this innovative cell therapy program, said Tom Isett, Chairman & CEO of iBio. This opportunity is a natural fit for our new portfolio of Research & Bioprocess products, in which we are developing animal-free solutions for cell culture and 3D-bioprinting applications, amongst others.

Pursuant to the MSA, iBio will manufacture ten proteins to be evaluated in the production of Safis cell therapies as part of the first Statement of Work. Safi will have the option to designate certain proteins as proprietary to their bioprocess, but iBio will have the right to commercialize all other products.

DougMcConnell, co-founder and CEO of Safi Biosolutions, commented, Safi Biosolutions believes iBios plant-based expression system has the potential to provide both quality improvement and cost reduction for many of the important cytokines and media used in our cell culture and growth process, and we are excited to initiate this strategic partnership.

Additionally, iBio has agreed to invest $1.5 million in Safi in the form of a convertible promissory note (the "Note"). The Note will bear interest at a rate of 5% per annum and will be fully convertible into common shares of Safi, at the option of iBio under certain circumstances. The Note will have a maturity date of three years from the date of issuance and is due in full if not converted at or before the three-year term.

About Safi Biosolutions, Inc.

Safi Biosolutions is developing blood cell products and therapeutics through novel and proprietary cell manufacturing and source expansion techniques. The co-founders and leadership team at Safi Biosolutions bring experience in ex vivo human blood cell development, biologic and pharmaceutical manufacturing, pre-clinical and clinical development, and regulatory submissions.

About iBio, Inc.

iBio is a global leader in plant-based biologics manufacturing. Its FastPharming System combines vertical farming, automated hydroponics, and glycan engineering technologies to rapidly deliver high-quality monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, bioinks and other proteins. The Companys subsidiary, iBio CDMO LLC, provides FastPharming Contract Development and Manufacturing Services. iBios Glycaneering Development Service includes an array of new glycosylation technologies for engineering high-performance recombinant proteins. Additionally, iBio is developing proprietary products, which include IBIO-100 for the treatment of fibrotic diseases, and vaccines for COVID-19 disease. For more information, visit http://www.ibioinc.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTSCertain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and include statements regarding iBios cell culture, biochemistry and pharmaceutical development teams plans to engage with Safi Bio to accelerate the program and iBios plant-based expression system having the potential to provide both quality improvement and cost reduction for many of the important cytokines and other media used in cell culture and growth processing. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, the ability of iBios plant-based expression system to provide both quality improvement and cost reduction for many of the important cytokines and other media used in cell culture and growth processing, the Companys ability to obtain regulatory approvals for commercialization of its product candidates, including its COVID-19 vaccines, or to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements, regulatory limitations relating to its ability to promote or commercialize its product candidates for specific indications, acceptance of its product candidates in the marketplace and the successful development, marketing or sale of products, its ability to maintain its license agreements, the continued maintenance and growth of its patent estate, its ability to establish and maintain collaborations, its ability to obtain or maintain the capital or grants necessary to fund its research and development activities, competition, its ability to retain its key employees or maintain its NYSE American listing, and the other factors discussed in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2019 and the Companys subsequent filings with the SEC, including subsequent periodic reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contacts:

Stephen KilmeriBio, Inc.Investor Relations(646) 274-3580 skilmer@ibioinc.com

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iBio Enters into Agreement with Safi Biosolutions to Develop Growth Factors and Cytokines Using the FastPharming System - GlobeNewswire

Anatomy

Not-so-special teams: The anatomy of a blocked punt – Mile High Report

The Broncos coverage units in the first two games had been poor. Khalif Raymond of the Titans nearly broke a long punt return after making two defenders miss (although he was aided by holding). The return ended up being 11 yards.

Then in the Pittsburgh game, both the kickoff coverage and the punt coverage units were poor. The Broncos allowed a 49 yard kickoff return to Ray-Ray McCloud and a 32 yard punt return by Diontae Spencer. The punt coverage team also allowed a punt return for a TD that was called back because of an illegal block above the waist. Overall is was really bad coverage in this game which set the stage for what happened against the Bucs - more on this later.

Also against the Steelers, Sam Martin, our high-priced free agent punter, flat-out dropped a perfect snap the literally hit him in the hands, which led to a safety. The most basic (and simplest) job of the punter is to catch the snap.

Tom McMahons special teams had been under performing poorly in the first two games heading into the game against the Bucs.

So the punt coverage guys were all very sensitive to getting down the field. Unfortunately this led to Malik Reed and Trey Marshall failing to block the man who lines up in a 3-tech, over Malik Reed. The fastest way to either block a kick or pressure a QB is to go right up the middle in the G-C-G (A gaps). The job of the guards is to help the long snapper with blocking any man lined up over him (or close to it) as you can see #79 is lined up on the blocked punt. The job of the personal punt protector (sometimes called the upback) is to block first then to cover. Trey Marshall does not block at all on this play and literally runs in front of the guy who blocks the punt without touching him.

This is problem that is rarely seen on the punt team, three players all failing on the same play. I have to guess that both Reed and Marshall were so concerned with getting down the field to cover the punt that they failed their primary responsibility which is to block so that the punter can get the punt off.

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Not-so-special teams: The anatomy of a blocked punt - Mile High Report

Anatomy

How Greys Anatomy Will Tackle COVID-19 Next Season: Weve Actually Reinvented the Wheel (EXCLUSIVE) – Variety

Over 317 episodes, Greys Anatomy has tackled everything from mass shootings to plane crashes. But when the writers room for the ABC medical drama convened in June, showrunner Krista Vernoff posed a surprising hypothetical for Season 17: What if the show existed in a world without COVID-19?

I think that people have fatigue of COVID, and I think they turn to our show for relief, she told them over Zoom.

Then Vernoff challenged the room to change her mind: Who wants to be brave and convince me that Im wrong?

Co-executive producer Lynne E. Litt went first, Vernoff recalled, and said, I think its the biggest medical story of our lifetimes. And then Litt pitched a story. Vernoff said she was also compelled by the doctors on the writing staff: Naser Alazari, who during the shows hiatus had been working on the frontlines at a clinic, said that as the biggest medical show in the world, Greys Anatomy had a responsibility to tell the story of COVID-19. According to Vernoff, he said: This is the biggest medical story of our lifetime, and it is changing medicine permanently. And we have to tell this story.

And I said, OK, Vernoff recalled.

During that wild week in mid-March, when the WHO declared coronavirus a pandemic, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announced from Australia that they had tested positive for COVID-19, and the NBA suspended its season, Greys Anatomy was one of dozens of TV shows and movies to stop production. Star Ellen Pompeo was an especially powerful advocate for the cast and crew, Vernoff said. Not only did no one know how the disease was spread, leading to the panic of those earliest days, but it was thought that people over the age of 60 were especially vulnerable. Now we know that it is an equal opportunity destroyer, she said. But the age of our cast and crew felt significant.

Vernoff described her conversations with Disney Television Studios from that week as consequential and weighty: Thats when you know youre a grown-up for the first time in your life, she said with a laugh.

Greys Anatomy, created by Shonda Rhimes, premiered on ABC in March 2005. In recent years, because of its ratings success, it has had long seasons, even for a show on a broadcast network. So when it shut down with four more episodes to complete, the show had filmed 21 of the seasons 25 and Episode 21 had to serve as the season finale. (Luckily, it felt like one.) For a few months, no one considered going back to work, especially as they began to know people in their lives who had gotten coronavirus, Vernoff said. Then, she was busily working to create Rebel for ABC a show inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich, with Katey Sagal as its lead which in September received a straight-to-series order. (It will begin production in November.)

But after some time passed, Vernoff told Disney she was going to bring the writers back to figure out the next seasons for Greys Anatomy and its spinoff, Station 19 yes, shes running three shows just as real conversations between studios and the unions had started about how to do production safely. Vernoff was talking to her shows line producers and directing producers as well.

Something executive producer/director/Greys Anatomy co-star Debbie Allen said to Vernoff became their mantra. Allen told Vernoff to make a calendar as if they knew when they were beginning production, telling her simply and logically, If we dont start, well never start, Vernoff recounted.

We all just kept quoting her: If we dont start, well never start! And then we had a date to which we were working.

That date got pushed a few times, but production on Greys Anatomy and Station 19 began in early September. Vernoff didnt want to spoil too much about Greys, which, as it heads into its 17th season, is still one of the most popular shows on TV, averaging for last season more than 15 million cumulative total viewers. But she would say that the season premiere a crossover event with Station 19 on Nov. 12 will be set some weeks into the pandemic. It will flash back to the Time Before, using footage from the episode they were in the middle of when the show shut down. Seattle, after all, where both shows are set, was the early epicenter of the outbreak in the United States.

Vernoff called the COVID-19 protocols massive: Its social distancing, its masks, its visors its masks on the actors between takes and during rehearsals. No one is allowed to speak in the hair and makeup trailer, because the actors faces are bare, and that leaves the makeup artists and hair stylists vulnerable. (The actors carry their own bags of makeup for touch-ups, she said.) The actors and anyone who comes within six feet of them are tested three times a week.

Theyve changed the lenses they use on cameras in order to make people standing far apart look closer together. Theyre writing fewer scenes in each script, because instead of nine 12-hour days, theyre shooting 10 10-hour days and everything takes longer, anyway. Its just shocking how slowly were having to move, Vernoff said.

The show is going to look and feel different. And if a signature of Greys is the crowded emergency room, with people rushing around during a disaster, or an operating room full of surgeons and nurses well, those cant happen in the same way. It changes the feeling of the show; it changes the pacing of the show, Vernoff said. It is what it is.

But Greys Anatomy with its many millions of viewers, including the new generation of fans who have discovered the show on Netflix will be back this fall, as they film as safely as they can. And that should be a relief for audiences.

Everyone was willing to scale the mountain, Vernoff said. I keep saying to people, No, no really, weve actually reinvented the wheel. We are changing everything everyone has ever understood about how you make television.

Everything is changing, Vernoff said. And Im proud of what were doing.

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How Greys Anatomy Will Tackle COVID-19 Next Season: Weve Actually Reinvented the Wheel (EXCLUSIVE) - Variety

Anatomy

Long trends and disruption: the anatomy of the "post world" of the COVID-19 crisis – Modern Diplomacy

The second decade of the 21st century put the geoeconomic emphasis and cooperation within the framework of Chinas One Belt, One Road initiative into the China East European states relations.

The Chinese initiative is dictated by the understanding of the importance of the CEE countries as an important component of a unified Europe. Thus, asserting itself in the role of one of the centers of a multipolar world order, Beijing began transforming the economic and political space that developed in CEE with the promotion of favorable economic proposals to the countries of the region, without raising questions of the difference of ideologies and ways of life.

For the first time, a joint project was announced in 2012 in Warsaw, where Premier Wen Jiabao launched an initiative called 12 measures of China to encourage friendly cooperation with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Starting in 2013, the main content of the programs of each 16 + 1 summit is the development of tools for this regional format. Naturally, the format of Chinas cooperation with the CEE countries is closely connected with the implementation of the global concept of the New Silk Road proposed by the Chairman of the PRC Xi Jinping. The concept consists of two parts: the land Economic belt of the Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century and potentially involves cooperation of at least 60 countries in Europe and Asia.

By 2015, China has become one of the largest investors in Eastern and South Eastern Europe. In November 2015, the Eastern Europe-China ( 16 + 1 ) summit was held in the Chinese city of Suzhou, in which the leaders of the PRC and 16 Eastern European member states and the Balkan countries took part. The meeting resulted in the strengthening of Chinas economic presence in Eastern Europe. Also at the trade and economic forum in Hangzhou between China and the countries of CEE in 2015 it was agreed that China is ready to provide financial support for the re-industrialization of the countries of CEE, in the case that it will be conducted using Chinese technologies and equipment.

In 2015 2016, taking into account the opportunities and potentials, each country in the 16 + 1 format chose its own direction. For example, Bulgaria will supervise agriculture, Poland investment and trade. The task of Latvia will be identification of links and projects, cooperation in the field of logistics, Romania will deal with energy projects, Lithuania is responsible for educational programs, and Hungary for the tourism sector.

The 16 + 1 format , in a certain sense, prepared the transition to a more focused and integrated strategy One belt One Road and successfully fits into its main components the projects Economic belt of the Silk Road and Marine Silk Road of the XXI century, aimed at developing new land and sea transport, logistics and trade and production systems linking China to Europe. In the first project, the countries of CEE play a key role, in the second an important transit role in the development of China Europe trade and investment ties, and in the long term in the formation of a broad Eurasian economic space and political stability belt.

The basic design of the first project is the development on a new technological and organizational basis of the traditional direction of trade and transport Sino European ties, complemented by their investment cooperation. This Northern road includes land international transit to Western Europe from China and other countries of the Asia Pacific region (primarily, South Korea and Japan) through Russia and Kazakhstan along the Trans Siberian Railway and the Kazakhstan railway with access to the European part of Russia in The Urals:

Nevertheless, the transit and logistical potential of the other CEE countries is still used slightly. Almost not involved in the European part of the Northern road are the ports of Poland and the Baltic countries that gravitate towards it. On the contrary, the main transport and logistics centers for Chinese goods (primarily German Duisburg and Hamburg) are already overloaded, and the possibilities for expanding their capacities are limited.

Such uneven distribution of cargo flows combined with insufficient technological level of the transport and logistics infrastructure of the CEE countries hinders the further development of China Europe ties. There are also serious organizational and economic limitations of this development. Most of the provinces ( especially the western ones, remote from the sea ) tend to establish regular communication with Europe for both economic and prestigious reasons. The export potential of only the western provinces of China is estimated at $ 40 billion. Therefore, the full utilization of trains and partial financing of transportation costs are provided by local authorities on the basis of public private partnerships (especially since many Chinese companies retain great state involvement) (see Figure 1 below).

Figure 1.:China`s infrastucture investments in the 16 + 1

Source: CSIS; FT Research

The April 9th CEE PRC summit 2019 in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik marked a new beginning in the development of relations between China and Eastern Europe. Although the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) usually focuses on Asian (whether Central Asian, South Asian, or South East Asian) or African participants, post-Communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe have begun to play not less significant role. In fact, the CEE region was one of the most represented regions in the 2017 2019 BRI Forums: of the 28 heads of state or government, four were from this region (representing the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Serbia), and Romania was represented by a delegation led by the countrys Deputy Prime Minister. This list of forum participants reflected the intensive development of cooperation between China and CEE under the auspices of the BRI.

Humanitarian influence is also increasing the leadership of the PRC encourages interpersonal contacts with the CEE countries, especially through tourism, student and youth exchanges, etc. Chinas credibility in the region is also growing, because now almost any project of cooperation on a bi versatile basis is served under the brand One Belt One Road, which allows China to demonstrate real ( albeit small ) successes literally every year. This is especially noticeable against the backdrop of crisis phenomena in the European Union and the weakening of the ties between the CEE region and Russia.

Underlining the main opportunities of BRI for CEE and EU, should be mentioned the following :

Other interviewees considered that rail services would attract demand mainly from shipping rather than from air. One of them, responsible for air cargo services, argued that rail would not abstract demand from air because it could not offer the very short transit times required by the most time-sensitive air cargoes. This interviewee also suggested that, to remain competitive, China and other parts of Asia with rail services introduced as a result of the BRI would still need air freight connections to Europe. In this context, ownership of the capacity of a cargo airline such as Cargolux can be seen as a key element of the infrastructure connecting China and the EU.

A representative of the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (Hereinafter CER Auth.) agreed that rail would attract demand from shipping but would not be able to compete with air services. The European Commission also suggested that, from Chinas perspective, the maritime elements of the BRI were more important and that overland rail was a distraction. In their view, 90-95% of traffic between China and the EU was maritime and would remain so. This is broadly consistent with the analysis of maritime and air traffic. It should also be stressed that the most common investments by Chinese parties in the EU appear to be ports, principally in the Mediterranean and the United Kingdom.

Russian Railways (Hereinafter RZD Auth.) has long operated rail services along the Trans Siberian Railway between Europe and the Sea of Japan. These could, in principle, be used to carry goods from Japan and South Korea to Europe, but these would first have to be shipped across the Sea of Japan to Russia. In contrast, from landlocked north east China, long overland journeys are needed to reach any port, but may also be needed to reach a suitable railhead.

Thus, the commercial objective of growing rail services appears not to be to put pressure on maritime operators, which are already efficient, but to offer a higher speed service. This also helps producers and consumers along the rail routes used.

One interviewee in the logistics sector said that subsidies granted by the Chinese Government to rail services between China and the EU are tremendous. They also stated that Kazakhstan Railways (Hereinafter KTZ Auth.) had reduced tariffs in 2012 but now agreed with RZD to keep tariffs high. KTZ indicated that the Chinese Government provided subsidies to support westbound container traffic, but envisaged that these would be withdrawn by 2020 as balancing eastbound traffic was attracted to the route. These comments illustrate a number of issues relating to the commercial viability of the services.Also trains between China and the EU will be charged transit tariffs by operators such as KTZ and RZD. There is no uniquely correct basis for setting such transit tariffs, although the principal applied in the EU is that they should be based on marginal costs. From the perspective of these transit railways, however, transit traffic is an opportunity to profit from third parties (A similar issue emerges in the provision of air navigation services within the EU, where national air navigation service providers (Hereinafter ANSPs Auth.) may have incentives to overcharge for en-route services provided to overflying, and typically foreign, aircraft to subsidise terminal services provided to aircraft taking off and landing). The incentives on the transit states are typically to maximise their profits, rather than to maximise the economic, social and environmental value of the railway operation as a whole. For both the EU and China, however, there is the potential risk that a growing and successful rail service will be seen as a potential source of profit by the transit railways.

Figure2 and Figure 3below summarise the volumes of loaded containers which are loaded and discharged on flows between ports in the Far East and ports in the EU, measured in TEU. However, the EU Member States in which containers are loaded and discharged may not be the final destination states(The country where custom controls are executed is the country of discharge. This is the reason why Czech Republic is included in Figure 5 below despite it has not access to the sea.)

Figure2 below illustrates the recent growth in loaded containers from the Far East to EU ports, from just over TEU one million in 1996 to about TEU eleven million in 2016. Other than China, no state loads more than one million containers to Europe.

Figure2.:Loaded containers from the Far East to Europe: country of loading

Source: MDST World Cargo Database

Figure 3shows the points at which loaded containers are discharged in the EU. A large proportion are discharged at ports in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, before travelling onwards to the points at which they are stripped. Containers discharged in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, or Genoa (Genova) or Trieste in Italy, for example, may continue by river barge, train or truck to other EU Member States or to landlocked and non-EU Switzerland.

Figure 3.: Loaded containers from the Far East to Europe: country of discharge

Source: MDST World Cargo Database

Thus, the analysis of Figures 2 and 3 and 4show that westbound loaded container flows of 11 million TEU exceed the eastbound flows of 5 million TEU. This creates a need fora large number of containers to be returned empty in the eastbound direction. A representative of the CER said that this represented an opportunity for the EU to rebalance imports and exports.

Of the Member States shown, the largest imbalance in flows is for the United Kingdom, which exports only just over one quarter as many loaded TEUs as it imports. Even in Germany and Sweden, exports are less than two thirds of imports. This appears to confirm CERs view that additional containers could be carried eastbound, in principle at little additional cost.

Figure 4.: Balance in loaded container flows for selected EU Member States

Source : MDST World Cargo Database

Table 1 below summarises a number of the opportunities and challenges which appear to emerge from the BRI. None of these may amount to a clearly-defined problem, as outlined in the ECs Better Regulation Toolbox. Nonetheless, this section briefly discusses the extent to which it might be relevant to consider legislation to address them.

Source: Steer Davies Gleave analysis

Thus, it can be noted that the participating countries of 16 + 1 mechanism understood the scale, prospects and synergies of this interaction. It should be emphasized that the Old EU countries are wary of Chinese activity in the Central European zone of their influence and insist that all members ( and candidate members ) coordinate their cooperation with China, and that the EU should speak with the PRC with one voice. Nevertheless the strategic concepts of the development of these states reflect the importance and priority of both bilateral relations with China and cooperation in the China EU format. That is why most of the foreign policy strategies of the CEE states are oriented toward expanding foreign economic activity and trade with the PRC. It is necessary to emphasize the consistency and planning of work in this direction, conducted by the states of the 16 + 1 format. As we can see, pragmatic economic diplomacy started to prevail in the newest foreign policy history of Europe.

The ninth summit of cooperation between China and CEE, based on the results, was the last for the 16 + 1 format. In April 2019, it became clear that Greece would be invited to be part of this initiative. This actually turns 16 + 1 into 17 + 1. This move confirms claims that the importance of the CEE countries to China is closely linked to COSCOs acquisition of a controlling stake in the Greek port of Piraeus. With this strategy, Beijing is partly paving the way for a resolution of the dispute between Greece and Macedonia, aiming to connect the port of Piraeus via Macedonia to the proposed high-speed rail link between Belgrade and Budapest, and then direct it to the Western part of the continent.

The appearance of 17 + 1 has a direct bearing on the cooperation between China and CEE. Greeces accession is likely to weaken some regional aspects of cooperation between partners and re-emphasize the bilateral nature of Chinas relations with individual countries. This is a strategic step that will bear fruit for both Beijing and the CEE capitals, and will also aim to allay EU fears that China is trying to split the continent.

The potential development of the 17 + 1 initiative demonstrates that China has already become a full-fledged European power. The growing number of Chinese investments and relations on the continent suggests a much broader and more complex deepening into European Affairs than expected by Beijing or any European capital. This reality requires China to own its position as a European power. At the same time, Europe needs to engage in a mature and meaningful debate about the growing influence of Chinas power, which goes beyond simplistic divisions between friend / foe, rival / ally, and so on. As the evolution of cooperation between China and CEE shows, that we live in a complex world and interlocutors can simultaneously perform several contradictory roles. Due to the BRI initiative, Europe has realized that it is impossible to sacrifice China, and ignoring the fact that this country has become the new power of the European continent can cause significant damage to the Union, primarily economic.

[1] The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (Hereinafter CAREC Auth.) Program is a partnership of 11 countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and 6 multilateral development partners (Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Monetary Fund, Islamic Development Bank, UnitedNations Development Programme, and World Bank) working to promote development through cooperation, accelerate economic growth, and reduce poverty. ADB serves as the Secretariat .

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Long trends and disruption: the anatomy of the "post world" of the COVID-19 crisis - Modern Diplomacy

Anatomy

Anatomy of the first AFLW draft – Carlton Football Club

IN THE weeks and months preceding the inaugural AFLW Draft of October 2016 the eight foundation clubs, Carlton included, were permitted to cherry-pick their first players.

AFLW rules dictated that the clubs could specifically secure marquee signings on increased salaries across any state; priority players with existing club connections; and up to two rookies who had not participated in competitive Australian Rules in the three lead-up years.

On July 27, 2016, the clubs recruiters confirmed their first marquee signings the St Kilda Sharks (and future Carlton captain Brianna Davey) and the Darebin Falcons Darcy Vescio.

Make sure to follow @carltonfc_w on Instagram for more from the team

Permitted one priority selection, the club also went with Vescios teammate Lauren Arnell, whose name is forever consigned to history as Carltons first AFLW captain.

As fate would have it, Arnell originally hailed from East Ballarat, a short, ten-minute drive from Sebastopol - the old hometown of Jimmy Aitken who led the men of Carlton onto the Brunswick Street Oval for the clubs very first VFL match in May 1897.

Carlton used its rookie selections on the soccer player Nat Exon and basketballer Kate Shierlaw.

On October 12, 2016, a state-based draft was conducted; the draft order having been determined by random draw on September 29 of that year. The draft order operated in snake formation, with the club holding the first selection of the first round also holding the final selection of the second round, and so on.

The Blues went with Cranbournes Bianca Jakobsson as their first-round selection and three overall), Seafords Kate Gillespie-Jones (second round and 14th), Seafords Sarah Hosking (third round and 19th), Melbourne Unis Gabriella Pound (fourth round and 30th), Cranbournes Danielle Hardiman (fifth round and 35th), Diamond Creeks Shae Audley (sixth round and 46th), Bendigos Bella Ayre (seventh round and 51st), Diamond Creeks Lauren Brazzale (eighth round and 62nd), Cranbournes Breann Moody (ninth round and 67th), Seafords Jess Hosking (tenth round and 78th), Seafords Natalie Plane (eleventh round and 83rd), Bendigos Sarah Last (twelfth round and 94th), St Kilda Sharks Tilly Lucas-Rodd (thirteenth round and 99th), Diamond Creeks Katie Loynes (fourteenth round and 110th), Melbourne Universitys Madeline Keryk (15th round and 115th), Victorias Kate Darby (sixteenth round and 126th), Diamond Creeks Alison Downie (seventeenth round and 129th), Diamond Creeks Laura Attard (eighteenth round and 140th) and Eastern Devils Rebecca Privitelli (nineteenth round and 142nd).

Following the draft, two more players Bendigos Jess Kennedy and Hayley Trevean - were identified as undrafted/free agents to complement Carltons senior list of 25 players.

So where are they now?

Brianna Davey Davey, the former Matildas goalkeeper, took out her clubs best and fairest award in hers and the teams first season, as well as All-Australian honours. She was appointed Carlton captain in 2018, but after 17 matches in three seasons sought a trade to Collingwood.

Darcy Vescio Following in the footsteps of Carltons Wally Koochew more than 100 years before, Vescio, AFLWs first footballer of Chinese heritage, impacted from the outset - booting four goals (more than Collingwoods score) in that memorable first encounter before 18,000 people at Ikon Park. An AFWL leading goalkicker and All-Australian in 2017, the highly-visible Vescio is now 30 games and four seasons into her highlight-catching Carlton career.

Lauren Arnell Having previously worked at the club in an off-field role, including in the development of Carltons bid for a womens team licence, Arnell was named the club's inaugural AFL Women's captain and was first to break the banner in the historic opening round at Ikon Park. Replaced as captain by Brianna Davey the following year, she completed duties as vice-captain before furthering her career with Brisbane in a three-way deal involving Collingwood.

Nat Exon Another feted member of the inaugural AFLW match, in what would be her one and only season with the club, Exon was, together with Bella Ayre, traded to Brisbane in a complex arrangement involving four teams, five players, and a draft selection. In April 2019 and after two seasons with the Lions, Exon joined expansion club St Kilda along with Kate McCarthy.

Kate Shierlaw Having completed her debut in the second round of 2017, in a match with Greater Western Sydney at Ikon Park, Shierlaw was a fixture for the duration of the season. On the completion of season 2018, Shierlaw was delisted, but on the eve of the 2020 season was contracted by St Kilda and took on leadership duties as co-captain.

With Sarah Hosking having recently been traded to Richmond for an end-of-first-round draft selection, only eight of the original 25 squad members for Carltons inaugural 2017 season remain - Lauren Brazzale, Katie Loynes, Gabriella Pound, Jess Hosking, Breann Moody, Alison Downie, Natalie Plane and Darcy Vescio.

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Anatomy of the first AFLW draft - Carlton Football Club

Anatomy

Grey’s Anatomy Showrunner Says COVID-19 Protocols Have Changed the "Feeling of the Show" – E! Online

Vernoff kept herinterview spoiler-free, but she did confirm that the premiere, a two-hour crossover event with Station 19, will find the characters weeks into the pandemic. It will also include flashbacks to life before COVID-19. While she was originally hesitant to include coronavirus in the storyline, citing viewers' "fatigue," her colleagues in the writers' room encouraged her to think differently.

She said that co-executive producer Lynne E. Litt told her, "I think it's the biggest medical story of our lifetimes." And Naser Alazari, a doctor on the writing staff, echoed her statement. According to Vernoff, he said, "This is the biggest medical story of our lifetime, and it is changing medicine permanently. And we have to tell this story."

These days, it's safe to say the doctor knows best.

Season 17 of Grey's Anatomy premieres on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Grey's Anatomy Showrunner Says COVID-19 Protocols Have Changed the "Feeling of the Show" - E! Online

Anatomy

Seeking ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Gifts? Pick These! Choose These! Love These! (PHOTOS) – TV Insider

With all due respect to '90s girl group TLC, yes, we do want some scrubs. And T-shirts. And wine glasses.

The demand for Greys Anatomy merchandise and gifts hasnt flatlined in the decade and a half that the ABC hospital drama has been on the air. If anything, there are more products than ever, thanks to sites like Etsy and Redbubble. Below are some of our favorite examples of Greys merchandise, scrubs included!

Grey's Anatomy, Two-Hour Season 17 Premiere, Thursday, November 12, 9/8c, ABC

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Seeking 'Grey's Anatomy' Gifts? Pick These! Choose These! Love These! (PHOTOS) - TV Insider