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CB2 Insights to Host Q2 2020 Earnings Call on September 1st, 2020 – GlobeNewswire

Posted: August 26, 2020 at 5:56 am

TORONTO, Aug. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CB2 Insights Inc. (CB2 or the Company) (CSE: CBII; OTCQB: CBIIF), will be hosting its Q2 2020 earnings call on Tuesday, September 1st, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

CB2 will issue a press release and file its interim financial statements and interim Quarterly Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 (the Q1 2020 Filings) after the close of markets on August 31st, 2020.

Conference call details:

A replay of the earnings call will be available on the companys website 24 hours after the call takes place.

Submitting Questions:

Those interested in submitting questions for the earnings call can do so by emailing investors@cb2inisghts.com prior to the start of the call. CB2 Insights will attempt to answer all questions submitted, however some questions may not be answered during the call due to time constraints.

The Company looks forward to providing additional discussion on its Q2 2020 Filings, as well as providing an update on the business and preliminary expectations for Q3 2020. Further, the Company will update shareholders on its future outlook and plans for growth in the coming quarters.

About CB2 Insights

CB2 Insights (CSE:CBII OTCQB:CBIIF) CB2 Insights is a healthcare services and technology company, working to positively impact patient health outcomes. Our mission to mainstream alternative health treatments into traditional healthcare by recognizing the need for patient treatment diversity, and the impacts of integrating alternative and conventional medicine. The Company works primarily to roster and treat patients who are seeking alternative treatments due to the ineffectiveness of conventional medicine, and the inability to find support through their existing care network, or in some cases, inability to access a primary care network. Medical services offered by the Company are defined as Integrative medicine, where we work to understand the real world evidence for the safety, impact and effectiveness of medical treatments including plant based medicines that often lack sufficient research and therefore adoption by conventional healthcare providers.

To support patient care and positive health outcomes, the Company is also focused on advancing safety and efficacy research surrounding alternative health treatments by monitoring and assessing Real-World Data (RWD) and providing Real-World Evidence (RWE) through our proprietary technology, data analytics, and a full service contract research organization.

The Companys primary operations are in the United States, with application to its insights, technology and research services deployed in other International markets including Canada, United Kingdom and Colombia.

The Companys disciplined operating model allows patients to receive access to care in a time efficient and cost-effective manner. Utilizing virtual telehealth and over 30 physical brick and mortar clinics, the Company currently treats over 100,000 patients across 12 States. Utilizing proprietary technology and data analytic platforms, the Company is able to monitor, study and assess a variety of healthcare treatments and products for the safety, efficacy and effectiveness. The Company believes it is well positioned to be the research and technology partner of choice for multiple stakeholders including Big Pharma, Life Sciences, Regulatory Bodies and Payors within the traditional and integrative medical industry.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in CB2s filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will, could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, believe, should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding the Companys unaudited financial results and projected growth.

Although CB2 has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, but not limited to: dependence on obtaining regulatory approvals; investing in target companies or projects which have limited or no operating history and are subject to inconsistent legislation and regulation; change in laws; reliance on management; requirements for additional financing; competition; hindering market growth and state adoption due to inconsistent public opinion and perception of the medical-use and recreational-use marijuana industry and; regulatory or political change.

There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. CB2 disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and CB2 does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein.

No securities regulator or exchange has reviewed, approved, disapproved, or accepts responsibility for the content of this news release.

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Eating Well and Feeling Well: Mental Health and Diet Connection – 929nin.com

Posted: August 26, 2020 at 5:56 am

My introduction to plant-based eating began with curiosity: People I knew and respected in the food world were advocating for it, and as a writer and food lover, I decided to investigate. Id check it out, get a story, somehow survive, and then move on. The fact thatmy investigation transformed me into a mostly plant-based eater had me all the more curious.

My physical health was fine. No medical conditions. So why was I continuing with the mostly plant-based diet beyond my expected experimentation phase?

My mental health was not in great shape. The intersection of middle age and profound personal challenges had me suffering. And then came COVID-19, and more personal challenges heaped on top. It was almost comical (not in a Ha-Ha way!), all that I had going on, but somehow I felt more grounded as the days and weeks and months on a plant-based diet passed.

As time went on, I started to suspect that my new plant-based eating habits were inspired by the wellness it provided me, mentally. My mother used to talk to our plants, claiming that doing so made her happy; maybe eating plants was having the same effect on me?

Mental health is complicated, especially for amateurs, so I decided to run my theory by some experts.

Dr. Jeffrey Morrison, of The Morrison Center in Manhattan, is both an MD and a CDN (Certified Dietary Nutritionist). Hes also a widely recognized leader in the field of integrative medicine with an emphasis on nutrition. We spoke on the phone, and I ran my theory of eating well to be mentally well by him. He agreed.

Plant proteins, such as whole grains and vegetables and legumes, can keep blood sugar in the right zones, preventing swings in adrenaline that trigger the nervous system into fight or flight mode, Dr. Morrison said. So its really a matter of keeping blood sugar at a point where stress hormones, such as adrenaline, arent aggravated.

His point made sense. Being chill is one of the defining characteristics of the vegans or vegetarians I know.There certainlymust be a balance that comes from not having adrenaline randomly triggered every time we eat.

Lindsay Wengler is a Registered Dietitian (RD) and a CDN, (found on Instagram at@nutrizionista.in.cucina)practices nutrition in NYC, so we met for a (socially distanced) spritz to talk about my theory.

Food not only supplies the calories and macro-nutrients needed to fuel the bodys basic functions, but it also provides a variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that contribute to our overall well-being and mental health, Lindsay informed me. People often tell me that they feel better when following a healthier diet or when they cut back on processed foods - and this is with good reason. The foods we eat (or dont eat) influence our energy and mood.

Shealso explained that there are now a number of studies that connect gut function to brain function. Basically, a healthy digestive system, which you have when eating plant-based, improves mood and overall mental health. (Id like to add having a spritz to that theory, but my evidence is purelyanecdotal.)

So the argument that plant-based diets are beneficial to mood is clinically sound, according to two reputable expertswho usescience and logic for their conclusions. I had another sense of eating well that leads to feeling well that was not directly related but is linked to the benefits of eating with other people as a communal act (something I adore).

How we eat plays an important role in mental health as well,"Wengler agreed."Mindful eating patterns have become increasingly popular in our busy world. Small steps such as limiting distractions like cellphones, television, and other technology can increase the enjoyment of meals and decrease anxiety. Mediterranean lifestyle practices - preparing and sharing food with others - can contribute to a sense of community and satisfaction that enhances our mental well-being. For sure.

It reminded me of something Dr. Morrison had said along similar lines. I 1000% believe that eating with other people, in a communal manner, as opposed to everyone staring at a screen of some sort, makes a difference in our well-being, he had told me. The pacing of the meal slows down in a social setting, as opposed to when eating alone or not collectively when we tend to rush through our meal which triggers stress hormones.

MaybeI should have been a doctor. Or a nutritionist. I guess Ill just keep writing and eating well and being well as a result, despite the challenges. Hopefully, otherswill do the same.

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4 things to do at home this week – Marin Independent Journal

Posted: August 26, 2020 at 5:56 am

Smoky weather have you stuck inside? Here are some fun things to do while hunkered down at home.

Dr. Anna OMalley speaks on personal health and resilience during the pandemic, and how to prepare for respiratory illnesses in Breath and Health: Respiratory and Immune Function at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on Zoom. The free talk by OMalley, who practices integrative family and community medicine in West Marin, is the latest of the Coastal Health Alliance and Natura Institute for Ecology and Medicines Community Medicine Circles series. To sign up, contact sophie@naturainstitute.org.

Its important these days to know how to use Zoom. Learn the ins and outs of Zoom at Community Media Center of Marins free workshop at 7 p.m. Wednesday on Zoom. The event, taught by Omid Shamsapour, CMCMs director of education and production, was brought back by popular demand. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Filmmaker Dain Bedford-Pugh teaches some tricks of the trade in CMCMs How To: Frame Your Shot at 7 p.m. Thursday on Zoom. To sign up for both or either of the events, email jill@marintv.org.

Genealogy junkies, learn about immigration records and race and identity in genealogy, and share stories about your ancestors at the Marin County Genealogical Societys online genealogy roundable at 7 p.m. Thursday. To sign up for the free meeting, email info@maringensoc.org.

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What It Takes to Live in the Present Moment – SFGate

Posted: August 26, 2020 at 5:56 am

By Deepak Chopra, TM MD

The allure of living in the present moment is popular but also endangered. The pandemic lockdown has forced millions of people into cramped living conditions that disrupts normal life, puts strain on relationships, adds stress to families, and introduces depression and anxiety. Escaping the present moment is likely to be everyones dream.

But the situation will eventually change, and phrases like the power of now are embedded in peoples aspirations. The present moment has wound up being a problem and a solution at a same time. The most basic question needs answering, then. Why live in the present moment and how is it achieved?

Sometimes the present moment brings experiences of love, kindness, creativity, beauty, and insight. In those moments no one needs to ask why its good to live in the now. (The bodys trillions of cells, including brain cells, dont ask the question, because they are designed to only live in the present, occupied with thousands of chemical reactions and electrical signaling every second. Even when you recall a past event, your brain is strictly confined to the now in order to retrieve the memory.)

The first thing to notice when you are overtaken by the now is that you didnt have to work for it. The present moment is always present. The real question is why we arent in the present moment. Countless people ae working hard on themselves to stay in the now. But if it takes no work to get a glimpse of the beauty, love, and fulfillment that dawns in the present moment, can we expect that working to get back there is really necessary, or even effective?

If you break the whole thing down, the difference is between a temporary experience of the present moment and a constant, unbroken experience. The now is either sometimes or all the time. Sometimes is what all of us experience, those passing moments of bliss, love, beauty, etc. Id argue that these privileged experiences come and go of their own accord. They are as unpredictable as your next thought.

This doesnt preclude working on yourself to expand your awareness through meditation and yoga, going inside to heal old wounds, rising yourself of self-judgment, and all the other things people do in the human potential movement. If you are stuck in worry, depression, fear of aging and death, and other kinds of stuckness that create pain and suffering, then finding a way out is absolutely necessary.

But no amount of personal work is going to change sometimes to all the time. The healthiest, happiest, sanest person in the world doesnt necessarily live in the present moment, because the present moment is timeless. No matter how expensive our Rolex is, it doesnt tell the timeless. To be in the present moment all the time requires a shift in identity, which can be specified as follows:

I am me, a separate person changes to I am, without reference to a separate person.I am here in this location changes to I am unbounded and have no location.I am young (or old or middle-aged) changes to I have no sense of time passing.I want changes to I am without desires, fulfilled in myself.

If there was a mechanism like a cars gear shift to handle these change, we would be machines ourselves. But in reality the I that wants to live in the present is a mysterious creation of the mind, which itself is a mysterious creation of God-knows-what (insert any theory you want here, religious or secular), and the God-knows-what transcends everyday life.

The normal approaches we take to explain I unfortunately were constructed by I, and therefore theres a true Catch-22. If I investigates itself with the intention of going beyond I, the result is simply to reinforce I, making sure it sticks around. Giving your ego the project of going beyond the ego wont succeed, because all youve done is add another project to a self that undertakes a hundred other projects (work, family, relationships sex, hobbies, vacations, gossip, and keeping up with the news are only the beginning).

In my forthcoming book, Total Meditation, I offer a way to escape this Catch-22. It begins with the idea that the whole bodymind is naturally set up to live in the present. When it is subjected to stress, the body adapts temporarily until the stress subsides, and then it returns to a dynamic state of balance known as homeostasis. The mind does the same thing. Between every thought or feeling, the mind returns to readiness for the next thought or feeling. This state of readiness is just as balanced as homeostasis. But we fail to notice it because we are entirely focused on mental activity rather than mental silence.

Yet silence is only a superficial clue. In a stressful world peace and quiet acquire a special value. But in reality, the state of readiness is the source of everything we value in our lives. Love, bliss, compassion, creativity, and insight all have the same origin in pure, unbounded awareness. The whole bodymind has the same source. Knowing this, you can consciously return to the readiness state the minute you notice that you arent in it.

This openness to let your mind regain its balance is the key to total meditation. Unlike occasional meditation, which requires a set time every day that needs to be set aside, total meditation keeps up with our life from moment to moment. You always keep your eye on the prize, which is to live from your source. Theres no struggle or effort involved. You simply allow your mind to obey its own nature.

Theres much to say about this topic, but when it comes to living in the present moment, total meditation changes sometimes to all the time. The beauty of such an approach is that you experience change with the support of existence itself. To be here now looks like some kind of deep spiritual challenge. In reality it is just the opposite. Living in the present moment involves a state of awareness that the mind gravitates toward if you leave it alone and let the nature of the mind be what it is. In fact, this is the secret behind all spiritual attainments. The less you try, the closer you get. One could hardly wish for a more propitious setup.

DEEPAK CHOPRA TM MD, FACP, founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and Chopra Global, a modern-day health company at the intersection of science and spirituality, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation. Chopra is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego and serves as a senior scientist with Gallup Organization. He is the author of over 89 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers.His 90th book, Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential, unlocks the secrets to moving beyond our present limitations to access a field of infinite possibilities. TIME magazine has described Dr. Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.

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Is kombucha safe to drink and is it really healthy for you? – CNA

Posted: August 26, 2020 at 5:56 am

Kombucha is everywhere from supermarket shelves to cafes, the local bar scene and even your health-conscious friend who has a jar of the stuff brewing at home.

But if you think its a new beverage, people in China were already making and drinking it thousands of years ago.

The fermented sugared tea (thats what it is essentially) is probably the latest drink to join detox juices, smoothies, protein shakes and a menagerie of health beverages in recent years.

Its slightly tart, mildly sweet and fizzy nature is thanks to weeks of fermentation by the SCOBY, short for the symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast added to the tea.

Kombucha is sometimes called mushroom tea because of the micro-organism-rich, mushroom-like film found on the surface of the liquid.

But thats not the only part of kombucha where the supposedly beneficial bacteria or probiotics is found. The friendly microbes are also thought to growin the mixture and thats whats getting enthusiasts excited about the drink.

But how much do we all really know about it? Here are some questions you might have.

CAN KOMBUCHA REALLY HELP WITH DIGESTION?

Remember when yoghurt first hit the health food scene as the fermented food du jour? If its cool, creamy, rich texture didnt already win you over then, its litany of health benefits might have gotten you intrigued.

And it seems history is repeating itself with kombucha.A quick Google search on the drinks benefits would get you a list ranging from better digestion to weight loss, improved blood sugar levels, lower heart disease risks and even cancer prevention. But can it really do all that?

Pregnant and breastfeeding women, and individuals with compromised immune systems or known allergies to alcohol should avoid kombucha.

The drink does have several species of lactic acid bacteria, according to a study published in Food Microbiology. However, the study noted that thereis still no evidence that support the probiotic benefits of kombucha.

"There are few controlled studies examining the health benefits of kombucha in humans," said dietitian Goh Qiu Le with Changi General Hospital's Dietetic & Food Services.

Dr Brent Bauer, the director of the Department of Internal Medicine's Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program at Mayo Clinic, also doubted its probiotic function: Limited evidence suggests kombucha tea may offer benefits similar to probiotic supplements, including promoting a healthy immune system and preventing constipation.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER"BENEFITS" SUCH AS PREVENTING CANCER?

There areclaims that kombucha could help your bodydetoxas well as preventand managehealth conditions, from blood pressure to cancer.What do the experts think? Most of kombuchas claims appear to be overstated, said Jaclyn Reutens, the founder and dietitian at Aptima Nutrition & Sports Consultants.

"Further studies are needed to validate and/or debunk these otherwise anecdotal and hypothetical health claims," said Goh.

Dr Bauer also wrote on mayoclinic.org that these claims are not backed by science. At present, valid medical studies of kombucha teas role in human health are very limited.

IS HOME-BREWED KOMBUCHA SAFE?

If youre brewing your own kombucha, be careful. Letting nature take over sugar-rich solutions can sometimes invite harmful pathogens such as Ecoli to grow, too, said Li Zhaoping, a professor of medicine and the chief of University of California, Los Angeless Division of Clinical Nutrition.

Reutens cautioned that you can inadvertently add other bacteria from poor food handling or allow pathogenic bacteria and mould to multiply when the kombucha has not been sealed and stored adequately.

Furthermore, there is no standard to benchmark good or safe kombucha against because there is no gold standard recipe of tea, sugar and SCOBY to be used, said Reutens. Andthere isnt a home kit to let you test your brews nutritional value or safety, except maybe smell and taste.

So how should kombucha taste like then? "Itsflavour profileis comparable to that of apple cider vinegar tart yet slightly sweet," said Goh.

Another way to gauge your home-made kombucha's safety is to test its pH, he said."The fermentation process lowers the sugared tea's pH from 5 to approximately 2.5 over seven to 10 days.If a pH of 2.5 has not been reached by Day 10, the liquid should be discarded."

In fact, Prof Li advised against home brews, especially if theyre made for older people or those with compromised immune systems, as they are notpasteurised.

"Pregnant and breastfeeding women, and individuals with known allergies to alcohol should also avoid kombucha," added Goh.

You cannot get kombucha without sugar because sugar is the substrate for the SCOBY.Your best bet is to look at the per 100ml column and pick the one with the least amount of sugar.

Those who dont imbibe and those with severe irritable bowel syndrome should avoid kombucha as well sinceit contains alcohol and can exacerbate diarrhoea, said Reutens. If you are drinking a highly sweetened kombucha in large quantities, you could end up putting on some weight.

CAN STORE-BOUGHT KOMBUCHA REALLY BE SUGAR FREE?

Speaking of weight gain, just how many calories does kombucha have? A 500ml store-bought bottle can have up to 100 calories, which come mainly from sugar;flavoured options may have more, said Reutens.

Kombucha definitely has a lower calorie count than soft drinks but even so, it is not sugar-free. You cannot get kombucha without sugar because sugar is the substrate for the SCOBY, said Reutens. The sugar can be listed as sucrose, honey, cane sugar, brown sugar, beet sugar, maple syrup or agave."

Goh highlighted that "excessive sugarissometimes added to mask the tangy taste of kombucha" and make it moreappealing to consumers.

Your best bet? Look at the per 100ml column and pick the one with the least amount of sugar,advised Reutens.

WHAT ELSE IS IN THAT BOTTLE OF KOMBUCHA YOU GOT FROM THE SUPERMARKET?

Because the beverage is made of tea, kombuchacan contain polyphenols the antioxidants that tea is known to have.But if that's your reason for drinking kombucha, you might be better off drinking plain black or green tea without sugar, said Reutens.

Neither is kombucha alcohol-free, despite claims on the bottle, as it can contain anywhere from 0.5 per cent to 3 per cent alcohol. Manufacturers are allowed to label the drink as non-alcoholic if it contains less than 0.5 per cent alcohol, said Reutens.

As for kombucha-infused cocktails and drinks at bars and wellness cafes, Gohdoubted their nutritional benefits. "The addition of kombucha to alcohol does nothing for the beverage from a nutritional standpoint."

Also, ensure that the kombucha isrefrigerated and not placed on the shelf at room temperature,said Goh. "Authentic kombucha, which is essentially a symbiotic collection of bacteria and yeast, should look murky with floating strands."

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NeuBase Therapeutic’s CEO, Dietrich A. Stephan, Ph.D., to Present at Tribe Public’s Presentation and Q&A Webinar Event on August 26, 2020 – BioSpace

Posted: August 26, 2020 at 5:55 am

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 24, 2020 / Tribe Public announced today that Dietrich Stephan, Chief Executive Officer of NeuBase Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBSE), a biotechnology company developing next-generation antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapies using its scalable PATrOL platform to address genetic diseases, will present at Tribe Public's Presentation and Q&A Webinar Event at 8 am pacific/11 am eastern on Wednesday, August 26th, 2020. During this complimentary, 30-minute event, Dr. Stephan will introduce the NeuBase's next-generation gene silencing technology and discuss the company's progress with treatment candidates in Huntington's Disease (HD) and Myotonic Dystrophy (DM1). A question and answer session will follow the presentation. To register to join the complimentary event, please visit the Tribe Public LLC website: http://www.tribepublic.com, or send a message to Tribe's management at research@tribepublic.com to request your seat for this limited capacity Zoom-based event.

Dietrich A. Stephan, Ph.D. is an industry veteran who is considered one of the fathers of the field of precision medicine, having trained with the leadership of the Human Genome Project at the NIH and then going on to lead discovery research at the Translational Genomics Research Institute and serve as professor and chairman of the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Stephan has identified the molecular basis of dozens of genetic diseases and published extensively in journals such as Science, the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Genetics, PNAS, and Cell. In parallel, Dr. Stephan has founded or co-founded more than ten biotechnology companies and has advised numerous other companies. These companies are backed by top-tier investors such as Sequoia Capital, KPCB, Thiel Capital, and Khosla Ventures as well as corporate partners such as Life Technologies, Pfizer, and Mayo Clinic. Notably, Dr. Stephan founded NeuBase Therapeutics in August 2018, took it public in 2019, and has since grown the company to market capitalization to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Dr. Stephan received his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh and his B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University.

ABOUT TRIBE PUBLIC LLCTribe Public LLC is a San Francisco, CA-based organization that hosts complimentary worldwide webinar & meeting events in the U.S. Tribe's events focus on issues that the Tribe members care about with an emphasis on hosting management teams from publicly traded companies from all sectors & financial organizations that are seeking to increase awareness of their products, progress, and plans. Tribe members primarily include Institutions, Family Offices, Portfolio Managers, Registered Investment Advisors, & Accredited Investors. Website: http://www.tribepublic.com.

ABOUT NEUBASE THERAPEUTICSNeuBase Therapeutics, Inc. is developing the next generation of gene silencing therapies with its flexible, highly specific synthetic antisense oligonucleotides. The proprietary NeuBase peptide-nucleic acid (PNA) antisense oligonucleotide (PATrOL) platform allows for the rapid development of targeted drugs, increasing the treatment opportunities for the hundreds of millions of people affected by rare genetic diseases, including those that can only be treated through accessing of secondary RNA structures. Using PATrOL technology, NeuBase aims to first tackle rare, genetic neurological disorders. NeuBase is continuing its progress towards developing treatment candidates in Huntington's Disease (HD) and Myotonic Dystrophy (DM1.)

CONTACT:

Tribe Public, LLC.John F. Heerdink, Jr.Managing Partnerjohn@tribepublic.com

SOURCE: NeuBase Therapeutics, Inc.

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NeuBase Therapeutic's CEO, Dietrich A. Stephan, Ph.D., to Present at Tribe Public's Presentation and Q&A Webinar Event on August 26, 2020 - BioSpace

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Canada Foundation for Innovation invests $9.3M in McGill highly-specialized research infrastructures – Science Business

Posted: August 26, 2020 at 5:55 am

Thirty-eight McGill research projects have received federal grants through the CFI's John R. Evans Leaders Fund, which will provide them with state-of-the art research infrastructure needed to foster innovation.

The Government of Canada through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) recently announced their funding investment of more than $96 million to support 377 new research infrastructure projects at 55 institutions from coast to coast. The CFI also announced the funding of projects through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) in partnership with the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Program, investing $4.6 million in 21 Chairs at 16 institutions to provide them with the innovative tools they need to pursue their valuable work.

Thirty-eight McGill research projects have received a combined total of $9.3M in federal grants through this round of JELF. The fund helps universities attract top talent in diverse fields of research by providing them with the highly specialized research infrastructure they need to be leaders in their field. The recipients will also receive matching funds from the Quebec government for their research endeavours.

ProfessorsJrg Hermann FritzandCorinne Mauriceof the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, andBastien Castagnerof the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, received $352,778 in JELF funding for their project on harnessing microbiota metabolism for human health benefits. The project will focus on the ill-defined relationship between bacteria in the human gut, metabolism and the immune system. The research will help design new, more effective drugs to treat inflammatory bowel diseases, obesity, asthma and other chronic diseases.

One McGill project received $520,000 in JELF funding, in partnership with the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program. ProfessorStephen Lomberof the Department of Physiology and Canada Research Chair in Brain Plasticity and Development, received $520,000 from the JELF and CRC partnership to establish an internationally recognized laboratory with state-of-the-art facilities for the study of brain plasticity and auditory neuroscience. The laboratory will help researchers understand how the brain processes sound, and how to best design therapeutic strategies for the 300,000 Canadians burdened with profound hearing loss.

McGill CRC-JELF recipient:

Hearing Loss and Restoration LaboratoryProfessorStephen Lomberof the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, is the principal investigator.$520,000 from the CRC-JELF partnership; $520,000 matching provincial funds.

List of McGill JELF recipients:Creation of a Multidisciplinary Sleep Laboratory at the NeuroProfessorsJulien DoyonandBirgit Frauscherof the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, are the principal investigators.$254, 296 from JELF; $254, 296 matching provincial funds.

Harnessing Microbiota Metabolism for Human Health BenefitsProfessorsJrg Hermann FritzandCorinne Mauriceof the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, andBastien Castagnerof the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, are the principal investigators.$352,778 from JELF; $352,778 matching provincial funds.

Multi-scale in Vivo Imaging of Biological SystemsProfessorAbigail Gerholdof the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, is the principal investigator.$271,990 from JELF; $271,990 matching provincial funds.

MAP-PRO: An Electronic Database and Learning Hub for Canadian Early Psychosis ServicesProfessorsSrividya IyerandManuela Ferrariof the Department of Psychiatry, Medicine and Health Sciences, are the principal investigators.$80,000 from JELF; $80,000 matching provincial funds.

McGill Soil Biogeochemistry and Ecology LaboratoryProfessorCynthia Kallenbachof the Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is the principal investigator.$150,000 from JELF; $150,000 matching provincial funds.

Subsurface Hydrogeochemistry and Fluid FlowProfessorMary Kangof the Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Faculty of Engineering, is the principal investigator.$475,360 from JELF; $475,360 matching provincial funds.

Combined Microreactor Mass Spectrometry Infrastructure for Catalyst CharacterizationProfessorJan Kopyscinskiof the Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, is the principal investigator.$120,000 from JELF; $120,000 matching provincial funds.

Fast Scalable Deep Learning for Sensitive Big Data in Healthcare and Social ContextsProfessorsYue Li,William HamiltonandReihaneh Rabbanyof the School of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, are the principal investigators.$120,000 from JELF; $120,000 matching provincial funds.

Click Chemistry for Precision MedicineProfessorNathan Luedtkeof the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, is the principal investigator.$285,000 from JELF; $285,000 matching provincial funds.

Conformational Dynamics of Complex Proteins in Health and DiseasesProfessorGergely Lukacsof the Department of Physiology, ProfessorKalle Gehringof the Department of Biochemistry, andJean-Francois Trempeof the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, are the principal investigators.$592,636 from JELF; $592,636 matching provincial funds.

Antagonistic Inter-bacterial InteractionsProfessorJennifer Ronholmof the Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is the principal investigator.$143,180 from JELF; $143,180 matching provincial funds.

Blood-based Biomarkers for Ageing-related Brain DiseasesProfessorsPedro Rosa-Netoof the Department of Psychiatry,Gerhard Multhaupof the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, andAngela Gengeof the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, are the principal investigators.$417,175 from JELF; $417,175 matching provincial funds.

Infrastructure for Advanced Arctic and Urban Climate Modelling in Support of Climate-resilient Engineering SystemsProfessorLaxmi Sushamaof the Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Faculty of Engineering, is the principal investigator.$135,180 from JELF; $135,180 matching provincial funds.

CoDEx: Computational Design ExploratoryProfessorTheodora Vardouliof the Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, is the principal investigator.$78,807 from JELF; $78,807 matching provincial funds.

Metabolism of Stress-regulated Genes in Health and Disease using Single Molecule ImagingProfessorMaria Vera Ugaldeof the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, is the principal investigator.$200,000 from JELF; $200,000 matching provincial funds.

Drivers of Breast Cancer Progression Identified within Arm-level Somatic Copy Number AlterationsProfessorLogan Walshof the Department of Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, is the principal investigator.$109,179 from JELF; $109,179 matching provincial funds.

Development of Biodegradable Functional Materials from Low-value Biomass for Food and Agricultural ApplicationsProfessorYixiang Wangof the Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is the principal investigator.$121,500 from JELF; $121,500 matching provincial funds.

The Role of Lipoma Preferred Partner (LPP) in Regulating Breast Cancer ProgressionProfessorsClaire Brownof the Department of Physiology andPeter Siegelof the Departments of Medicine, Biochemistry, and Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, are the principal investigators.$744,304 from JELF; $744,304 matching provincial funds.

Muscle Stem Cell Biology in Health and DiseaseProfessorNatasha Changof the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, is the principal investigator.$149,582 from JELF; $149,582 matching provincial funds.

NIR Imaging Platform for Biophotonic Technologies Relying on New Dormant Sensors/SensitizersProfessorGonzalo Cosaof the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, is the principal investigator.$172,875 from JELF; $172,875 matching provincial funds.

A Path to Anti-aging DrugsProfessorSiegfried Hekimiof the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, is the principal investigator.$179,196 from JELF; $179,196 matching provincial funds.

Markers to Market: A Platform to Translate Quantitative Genomics Data into Field-ready, Value-added Commodity CultivarsProfessorValerio Hoyos-Villegasof the Department of Plant Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is the principal investigator.$152,062 from JELF; $152,062 matching provincial funds.

Mechanism and Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorders Associated with Copy Number VariantsProfessorWei-Hsiang Huangof the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, is the principal investigator.$169,634 from JELF; $169,634 matching provincial funds.

Development of Strategies to Better Understand and Control the Long-term Side Effects of RadiotherapyProfessorJohn Kildeaof the Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, is the principal investigator.$87,579 from JELF; $87,579 matching provincial funds.

4D Immersive Scene Capture and ProcessingProfessorDerek Nowrouzezahraiof the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, is the principal investigator.$78,020 from JELF; $78,020 matching provincial funds.

Mapping Dopamine Circuits in the Healthy and Diseased BrainProfessorJean-Francois Poulinof the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, is the principal investigator.$294,592 from JELF; $294,592 matching provincial funds.

UHPLC-MS to Develop Technologies to Control the Presence and Fate of Contaminants in Natural & Engineered Water SystemsProfessorViviane Yargeauof the Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, is the principal investigator.$406,300 from JELF; $406,300 matching provincial funds.

Integrated Facility for Research on Large Animals SpeciesProfessorsVilceu Bordignonof the Department of Animal Science andLuis B Agellon, of the Department of School of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, are the principal investigators.$800,000 from JELF; $800,000 matching provincial funds.

Exercise and Nutrition to Support Skeletal Muscle Heath Across the LifespanProfessorTyler Churchward-Venneof the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, Faculty of Education, is the principal investigators.$344,957 from JELF; $344,957 matching provincial funds.

Neuroecology of Spatial Behaviour LabProfessorMlanie Guiguenoof the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, is the principal investigator.$165,000 from JELF; $165,000 matching provincial funds.

Biotechnological Production of High-value CompoundsProfessorCodruta Igneaof the Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, is the principal investigator.$140,000 from JELF; $140,000 matching provincial funds.

Atomic Layer Deposition of Electrochemical Energy Storage DevicesProfessorEmmeline Kaoof the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, is the principal investigator.$260,101 from JELF; $260,101 matching provincial funds.

High Throughput Monitoring of Cell Metabolism using a Modernized Tissue Culture FacilityProfessorRyan Maillouxof the School of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is the principal investigator.$234,500 from JELF; $234,500 matching provincial funds.

Anishinaabe Stories DatabaseProfessorAaron Millsof the Faculty of Law, is the principal investigator.$46,961 from JELF; $46,961 matching provincial funds.

New Computational Techniques for Modeling of Disordered Molecular Systems for Applications in Nano- and Bio- engineeringProfessorYelena Simineof the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, is the principal investigator.$80,000 from JELF; $80,000 matching provincial funds.

Circulating Immune Cells and Interactions in the Nervous SystemProfessorJo Anne Strattonof the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, is the principal investigator.$141,863 from JELF; $141,863 matching provincial funds.

Heat Transfer in Thermal Energy TechnologiesProfessorMlanie Ttreault-Friendof the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, is the principal investigator.$233,308 from JELF; $233,308 matching provincial funds.

Read CFIs official press release.

This article was first published on 25 August by McGill University.

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Closing Gaps in Care: COVID-19 in Patients With Cancer Bring Health Inequities to the Surface – Targeted Oncology

Posted: August 26, 2020 at 5:55 am

According to the CDC, patients at any age who have cancer are at an increased risk of severe illness due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and this may be aggravated by aspects such as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic factors.1 Discrepancies in patient outcomes were explored in a virtual symposium on health inequities in the COVID-19 pandemic at the COVID-19 and Cancer meeting, hosted by the American Association for Cancer Research.

The United States has the highest number of reported cases of COVID-19 cases in the world, with deaths occurring more often in patients with advanced age and comorbidities. The disparity for COVID-19 deaths is seen for all age groups, with African Americans showing the highest death rates at any age. Compared with non-Hispanic whites, both African American and Hispanic COVID-19 deaths outpace those of non-Hispanic whites, even at younger ages.

In my own state of Michigan, African Americans share of cases, as well as deaths, greatly outstrip the proportion of African Americans in the state population, John M. Carethers, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Internal Medicine and professor of human genetics at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, said during his presentation.2 Overall, African Americans make up 13% of the population but make up 23% of COVID-19 deaths. If you assess this per 100,000 population, [deaths in] non-Hispanic whites occur at a rate of 27 per 100,000, [whereas] African Americans are at a whopping 62 per 100,000.

In one cross-sectional study evaluating the association between COVID-19 infection and mortality rate from 369 counties of 7 states, African Americans were observed to be more vulnerable to the virus than any other ethnic group. Variables irrespective of race that were most closely associated with death rates in the study were medical disabilities, lack of grocery mobility, and poverty.3

In a cohort of patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, cancer status, race and ethnicity, and descriptive statistics for baseline characteristics were collected to analyze the cumulative effects in patient mortality.

The findings showed that patients in the COVID-19positive cancer population were more likely to be African American, present at an older age, and have an increased risk of intensive care stay and intubation, as well as a longer duration of hospital and intensive care time, compared with the COVID-19positive population without cancer. There was a trend toward higher rates of death in African Americans, men, and patients on Medicare/Medicaid in the COVID-19positive cancer population, but those associations were not found to be statistically significant.4

There was a disproportionate number of men and specifically, African American men, who were coming in and requiring hospitalization, Steven S. Chang, MD, director of the Head and Neck Cancer Program at the Henry Ford Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan, said while presenting the data. Once they are in the hospital, their outcomes were similar regardless of race, but the factors that led to the emergency room door were probably the drivers of morbidity.

It has been surmised that higher mortality and infection rates among racial minorities may be due to disproportionally increased nonCOVID-19 comorbidities seen in stratified patient subgroups.

African Americans in particular carry more health conditions making them more susceptible to COVID-19, with a higher vulnerability index in the middle and older ages and higher numbers of comorbid risk factorscompared with non-Hispanic whites, Carethers said.

However, recent studies suggest that this may not represent the full scope of the issue. In one study, the risk of testing positive for the virus by race and ethnicity compared with the non-Hispanic white population carried higher odds ratios (ORs) in patients who identified as Hispanic/Latino (age-adjusted OR, 2.69; 95% CI, 2.14-3.39), African American (age-adjusted OR, 3.69; 95% CI, 2.83-4.81), and Asian (age-adjusted OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.36-2.58). When adjusted for sex, history of diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, current smoker status, and body mass index, corresponding ORs in the same patient subgroups did not change drastically (multivariate OR, Hispanic/Latino [2.68; 95% CI, 2.13-3.38], African American [3.51; 95% CI, 2.68-4.60], and Asian [1.97; 95% CI, 1.43-2.73]).5

Hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to prevent and treat COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic, was since found to offer no benefit to infected patients.6 In patients who have a sodium channel variant known as p.Ser1103Tyr-SCN5A, seen in 1 in 13 African Americans, there is a higher risk of heart arrythmia and sudden cardiac death, which can be exacerbated by COVID-19related conditions such as hypoxia, myocardial injury, cytokine storm, and use of QTc-prolonging drugs.7

The coalescing of these 3 items puts the patient at extremely high risk for sudden cardiac death, said Carethers, although he noted that there arent any study findings to confirm this association.

Sexual dimorphic responses to COVID-19 may be due to expression of the receptor ACE2 and serine protease TMPRSS2 for S protein priming, which both are necessary cellular factors for virus entry to human cells.8 Preexisting conditions may explain why these have upregulated expression in certain patients. In patients with asthma, those who were men, African American, and/or had diabetes all had increased ACE2 and/or TMPRSS2 from collected sputum cells, providing rationale for monitoring these subgroups for COVID-19 outcomes.9 Patients with lung diseases, including cancer, also have increased expression of TMPRSS2.10

Carethers also pointed out that a societal picture could provide the greatest rationale for disparities in infection rates and outcomes in patients infected with COVID-19

It starts with socioeconomic inequality, where you have lower status, lower level of education, and difficult access to health care that causes downstream consequences [FIGURE], Carethers said.2,11 This in turn causes changes to physiology, which include alterations to the lung and gut microbiome, increased localized inflammation, and compromised immunity. That affects the pathophysiologic health morbidities of cancer, obesity, diabetes, COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder] and asthma, hypertension, and cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease.

The high unemployment rate, in large part caused by the pandemic, worsens inequities in health care. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the rate of unemployment in May was at 13.3, the highest since level since the Great Depression. Importantly, job loss for many patients also leads to loss of medical insurance and in turn reduces access to cancer screening.

In one study that used data from the National Health Interview Survey, the relationship between unemployment, health insurance status, and cancer screening was examined to inform the potential lasting effects of COVID-19. Forty percent of patients who were unemployed were also uninsured versus roughly 10% of those who were currently working, with unemployed individuals more likely to have Medicaid. Racial minority groups were also more likely to be unemployed than employed, including Hispanic and African American respondents.12

Controlling for nonmodifiable risk factors, unemployed individuals were less likely to be up-to-date on breast and colorectal cancer screenings, leading the investigators to conclude that unemployment is adversely associated with guideline-recommended care.

This is concerning because we know that cancer screening can potentially save lives, Stacey A. Fedewa, PhD, an epidemiologist and senior principal scientist in the Surveillance and Health Services Research Program at the American Cancer Society, said while presenting the study data. Because a growing number of people are losing their jobs and several racial and ethnic minority groups are more likely to be unemployed, this could drive disparities even further than what is seen now.

Carethers concluded by reflecting on how socioeconomic and biological factors together explain why these differences in outcome may exist. In many ways, the disparities observed with COVID-19 may start from socioeconomic vulnerabilities that enter a vicious cycle of comorbidities, increased ACE2 and TMPRESS2 expression that [boosts] ones susceptibility to COVID-19, and lead to severe illness and death, he said. If one survives, they become more vulnerable from the aftereffects of COVID-19 and more socioeconomically disadvantaged with loss of jobs.

Although Carethers acknowledged that there is no quick fix for these issues, he is optimistic that bringing these data to the surface will help undermine some of the structural issues that are responsible for aggravating health disparities. COVID-19 has enhanced the visibility of some of the [structural inequalities] that we have in the United States, and most people are seeing that, he said.

This is the first article in a series related to health disparities and their effects on patients with cancer. In the next issue, inequities seen in conducting clinical trials will be reviewed.

References:

1. People with certain medical conditions. CDC. Updated July 17, 2020. Accessed July 23, 2020. https://bit.ly/2WOVvN0

2. Carethers JM. Potential insights into COVID-19 disparities from the science of cancer health disparities. Presented at: American Association for Cancer Research Virtual Meeting: COVID-19 and Cancer; July 20-22, 2020.

3. Abedi V, Olulana O, Avula V, et al. Racial, economic and health inequality and COVID-19 infection in the United States. medRxiv. Published online May 1, 2020. doi:10.1101/2020.04.26.20079756

4. Chang SS, Hwang C, Elshaikh MA, et al. Outcomes by race for cancer patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Presented at: American Association for Cancer Research Virtual Meeting: COVID-19 and Cancer; July 20-22, 2020.

5. Lo CH, Nguyen LH, Drew DA, et al. Racial and ethnic determinants of Covid-19 risk. medRxiv. Published online June 20, 2020. doi:10.1101/2020.06.18.20134742 6. Geleris J, Sun Y, Platt J, et al. Observational study of hydroxychloroquine in hospitalized patients with Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(25):24112418. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2012410

7. Giudicessi JR, Roden DM, Wilde AAM, Ackerman MJ. Genetic susceptibility for COVID-19-associated sudden cardiac death in African Americans. Heart Rhythm. Published online May 5, 2020. doi:10.1016/j. hrthm.2020.04.045

8. Hoffmann M, Kleine-Weber H, Schroeder S, et al. SARS-CoV-2 cell entry depends on ACE2 and TMPRSS2 and is blocked by a clinically proven protease inhibitor. Cell. 2020;181(2):271-280.e8. doi:10.1016/j. cell.2020.02.052

9. Peters MC, Sajuthi S, Deford P, et al. COVID-19-related genes in sputum cells in asthma. relationship to demographic features and corticosteroids. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2020;202(1):83-90. doi:10.1164/ rccm.202003-0821OC

10. Pinto BGG, Oliveira AER, Singh Y, et al. ACE2 expression is increased in the lungs of patients with comorbidities associated with severe COVID-19. medRxiv. Published online March 27, 2020. doi:10.1101/2020.03.21.20040261

11. Carethers JM, Doubeni CA. Causes of socioeconomic disparities in colorectal cancer and intervention framework and strategies. Gastroenterology. 2020;158(2):354-367. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2019.10.029

12. Fedewa SA, Yabroff KR, Zheng Z, et al. Unemployment and cancer screening: baseline estimates to inform healthcare provision in the context of COVID-19 economic distress. Presented at: American Association for Cancer Research Virtual Meeting: COVID-19 and Cancer; July 20-22, 2020.

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Gains for humans, cows and the environment in breeding a socially acceptable cow – Dairy News Australia

Posted: August 26, 2020 at 5:55 am

Dairy cows could be genetically selected to produce "niche milk to improve human health, including a component that provides some benefits of human breast milk, according to an Agriculture Victoria scientist.

And this technology could deliver the dairy industry a step-change in terms of what it could produce with infant formula.

Agriculture Victoria principal research scientist Jennie Pryce said there was great science behind the opportunity to breed cows to produce human milk oligosaccharides.

They are the same as you would find in the milk of human breast milk and give children or babies protection against pathogenic infections, she said.

They also promote development of the intestine and help the gut microbiome to get going, obviously thats one of the reasons why breast milk is promoted.

Professor Pryce was speaking at a presentation about breeding the socially acceptable cow at the 2020 Genetics Australia online conference.

She said a genetic marker explained about 80 per cent of the genetic variation in the oligosaccharide, which meant it would be simple to aggressively select for these niche milks.

Breeding a socially acceptable cow should also consider the cows impact on the environment, its welfare and sustainability, she said.

Sharing preliminary research data, Prof Pryce showed how selecting for bulls with both a high Balanced Performance Index (BPI) and lower methane emissions was possible without too much compromise in profitability.

Prof Pryce plotted the BPI the dairy industry herd improvement organisation DataGenes economic index against a greenhouse gas index.

It showed if a dairy farmer only selected high BPI bulls with the most favourable greenhouse gas emissions, they would compromise their BPI by about 20 units.

This is down from a mean of 333 BPI if they selected the top 30 BPI bulls without a consideration of emissions.

It doesnt seem like a huge comprise to be able to get that advance in terms of reduced emissions, Prof Pryce said.

She also highlighted how Australia led the world with research on heat tolerance and feed saved both traits with contributed to a socially acceptable cow.

The former Australian Breeding Value enables cows to better handle warming temperatures, the latter ABV increasing their feed-to-milk efficiency.

Prof Pryce said a lot of what the dairy industry was already doing was hugely progressive.

Consumers need to know that we are already breeding for more environmentally friendly, resource efficient cows.

If we focus on profit, welfare and social acceptability we will be more successful in the long term.

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Returning Weldon to head up full-time lab – Royal Gazette

Posted: August 26, 2020 at 5:55 am

Published Aug 22, 2020 at 8:00 am(Updated Aug 22, 2020 at 6:51 am)

Coming back: Carika Weldon (File photograph by Blaire Simmons)

An expanded government laboratory will be set up at Bermuda College to help train scientists in an amazing achievement for the island, the Premier said.

David Burt revealed that Carika Weldon, a geneticist, will move back home from Britain to set up the enhanced site, which is expected to help tackle the increased number of Covid-19 tests. He said that he was elated that she decided to relocate.

Mr Burt said at the regular Covid-19 briefing on Thursday: We will be establishing and moving the government lab from its temporary facility, which is at an undisclosed location, to a new and expanded facility at the Bermuda College.

That facility at the Bermuda College will not only enable Dr Carika Weldon to establish the lab a government laboratory there but also to expand what is being done there because some of the capacity issues which we are having with the increase of testing is due to the temporary nature of the small space where Dr Weldon and the Molecular Diagnostic Lab is located.

He added: It will enable us to start teaching laboratory science in Bermuda and so this is an amazing accomplishment.

Mr Burt denied a suggestion that Dr Weldon had resigned her post at the MDL.

Dr Weldon was a researcher at the Oxford Genomics Centre, part of Oxford University Hospitals, before she returned to Bermuda to boost the islands coronavirus test capabilities in April.

Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the public works minister, said earlier that Dr Weldon spent her 14-day quarantine period co-ordinating the set-up of the MDL.

She led the work at the laboratory when it launched later that month.

The Premier added: We are moving the lab from its undisclosed location to the Bermuda College, expanding the service which we will offer and making sure that we can expand the training opportunities that are there at the Bermuda College.

I think that this is something that is amazing and Bermuda is very fortunate and Im myself pleased that a doctor who has taught overseas has decided to come back home and to assist us in the work which we are doing.

Dr Weldon told The Royal Gazette in March that she would like to be able to help with Covid-19 testing in Bermuda.

She added then: All the steps of how the test is conducted are what I teach in my science outreach.

This whole situation has really brought to light how urgently Bermuda needs human genetics research on island.

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