https://mobile.twitter.com/demishassabis/status/1552622520406347777
Demis Hassabis
@demishassabis
A year ago we open-sourced #AlphaFold
Today we're freely sharing the predicted structures of all 200M+ proteins known to science - almost the entire protein universe!
It's our gift to humanity, and a demonstration of the benefits AI can bring to society
https://www.deepmind.com/blog/alphafold-reveals-the-structure-of-the-protein-universe
It’s been one year since we released and open sourced AlphaFold, our AI system to predict the 3D structure of a protein just from its 1D amino acid sequence, and created the AlphaFold Protein Structure Database (AlphaFold DB) to freely share this scientific knowledge with the world. Proteins are the building blocks of life, they underpin every biological process in every living thing. And, because a protein’s shape is closely linked with its function, knowing a protein’s structure unlocks a greater understanding of what it does and how it works. We hoped this groundbreaking resource would help accelerate scientific research and discovery globally, and that other teams could learn from and build on the advances we made with AlphaFold to create further breakthroughs. That hope has become a reality far quicker than we had dared to dream. Just twelve months later, AlphaFold has been accessed by more than half a million researchers and used to accelerate progress on important real-world problems ranging from plastic pollution to antibiotic resistance.
Today, I’m incredibly excited to share the next stage of this journey. In partnership with EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), we’re now releasing predicted structures for nearly all catalogued proteins known to science, which will expand the AlphaFold DB by over 200x - from nearly 1 million structures to over 200 million structures - with the potential to dramatically increase our understanding of biology.
https://mobile.twitter.com/jjcouey/status/1552685661290991617
https://mobile.twitter.com/stevenstrogatz/status/1552646168601104384
Steven Strogatz
@stevenstrogatz
In 2013, I was asked to contribute to a collection of essays on the theme, "What should we be worried about?" This was my answer at the time.
https://torontosun.com/news/national/ottawa-proposes-to-pay-1337-for-ar-15-under-mandatory-buyback-program
Ottawa proposes to pay $1,337 for AR-15 under mandatory buyback program
OTTAWA — The federal government is proposing $1,337 in compensation for turning in an AR-15 rifle under a mandatory buyback program.
Article content
Public Safety Canada has released a price list detailing how much money owners of banned firearms can expect to get under the program.
At the higher end of the scale, forfeiting a Swiss Arms SG550 could net an owner $6,209.
Ottawa will seek input from gun owners, businesses and industry on the proposed compensation amounts from now until Aug. 28.
The mandatory buyback program would cover the more than 1,500 models and variants of what the government considers assault-style firearms, banned two years ago.
While the idea has been praised by gun-control advocates, some others — including Conservative MPs — have suggested it targets legitimate gun owners rather than criminals.
It will be mandatory for owners to take part in the buyback program, have their designated firearms rendered inoperable at the government’s expense or otherwise lawfully disposed of.
Biden Admin To Unveil Reformulated Booster Shots In September
The Biden administration is aiming for a mid-September rollout for reformulated Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 booster shots, after both companies promised they would be able to deliver doses by then, according to the New York Times, citing people familiar with the deliberations.
The new versions are expected to perform better against then now-dominant (yet far more mild than Delta) BA.5 Omicron subvariant, though the Times notes that data on the reformulated shots is still preliminary.
As such, federal officials have decided not to expand eligibility for the next round of existing boosters this summer - which have only been approved for Americans over 50, or those over the age of 12 who have immune deficiencies.
Dr Fauci, interestingly enough, apparently didn't get his way, as the Times reports that he was pushing for more of the current vaccine to go into arms before the reformulated version is ready.
In internal deliberations, some senior health officials argued that eligibility for a second booster should be broadened before the reformulated version is ready because coronavirus infections are on the rise again. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, and Dr. Ashish K. Jha, the White House pandemic response coordinator, both advocated that position. -NYT
"I think there should be flexibility and permissiveness in at least allowing" a second booster for younger Americans, Fauci told the Times earlier this month.
Another alternative under discussion was offering the shots only to a subset of younger, at-risk individuals - such as pregnant women (who don't have periods to disrupt!).
The FDA and the CDC, however, said the government should concentrate on a fall campaign for the reformulated doses, as long as they were ready for 'prime time' (disregarding the typical decade of so development and safety testing for most vaccinations, of course). Both Pfizer and Moderna said millions of doses would be ready by mid-September, so regulators made the call to wait for those shots.
All adults are expected to be eligible for the updated boosters, while Children could be eligible as well according to insiders.
According to the Biden administration, anyone who is eligible for shots now should just get them as opposed to waiting for the fall - despite its reduced efficacy against Omicron vs. the original strains it was developed for.
The Times notes that "Deaths from Covid-19 are still heavily concentrated among older age groups, while hospitalizations remain well below the peak of the Omicron wave last winter."
One concern was assuring that people did not get a booster now followed by another with the updated formulation too soon after. Officials worried that, especially for young men, two boosters in close succession might elevate the risk of a rare heart-related side effect, myocarditis, that has been linked to both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines.
For other reasons, immunologists warn against receiving booster shots in short intervals. -NYT
"You can’t get a vaccine shot Aug. 1 and get another vaccine shot Sept. 15 and expect the second shot to do anything," said La Jolla Institute of Immunology virologist, Shane Crotty. "You’ve got so much antibody around, if you get another dose, it won’t do anything."
"The antibodies stop that next dose from working" if the next dose is administered too early, he continued.
It will be interesting to see how many people actually get booster shots, given that federal officials are already concerned over the 'public's patience with additional shots,' according to the Times, which notes that the number of people getting the jab has been dropping more with each new one offered - to the point where fewer than 30% of eligible Americans have elected to receive a second booster, which would be their fourth total shot.
To accomplish the rollout, the Department of Health and Human Services made an advance purchase of 105 million doses of Pfizer's reformulated offering for $3.2 billion, with a possible fall deployment in mind. A similar agreement with Moderna is expected soon.
https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/biden-admin-unveil-reformulated-booster-shots-september
https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/inflation_reduction_act_of_2022.pdf
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1552701204714725378
President Biden
@POTUS
United States government official
Let me be clear.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 would be the most significant legislation in history to tackle the climate crisis and to improve our energy security.
How clear is a 725 page LAW?