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How Donald Trump escaped the attack that brought Twitter to its knees
A major Twitter security breach saw the accounts of many of its highest profile users’ accounts seriously compromised, but not the man who has used the megaphone to the most devastating effect.
While politicians like former President Barack Obama, his VP and current 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden saw their accounts commandeered by Bitcoin scammers seeking a quick buck, the current holder of the office emerged unscathed.
And now we know why President Donald Trump’s account didn’t join luminaries like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Kanye West, Jeff Bezos and the corporate accounts of Apple and Uber. According to a New York Times report, Trump’s account has “extra protection after past incidents.” Interesting.
The report says:
President Trump’s account was not affected by the breach, Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, said on Thursday. Mr. Trump’s account got extra protection after past incidents, according to a senior administration official and a Twitter employee, who would speak only anonymously because the security measures were private.
The report raises more questions than answers. What are those additional security measures? Why is Trump more entitled to them than former presidents and high-profile users? And is there any chance the rest of us could have those tools if Twitter is capable of supporting such security?
According to reports, the Bitcoin hackers, who posted from the affected accounts asking them to pledge Bitcoin in order to reveal double the amount in return, had the keys to the entire Twitter kingdom for a period on Wednesday night.
Twitter has said that no passwords were breached and that the assault was a coordinated social engineering attack. In Tweets from its official Support account the company said: “We detected what we believe to be a coordinated social engineering attack by people who successfully targeted some of our employees with access to internal systems and tools.”
“We know they used this access to take control of many highly-visible (including verified) accounts and Tweet on their behalf. We’re looking into what other malicious activity they may have conducted or information they may have accessed and will share more here as we have it.”
Tough day for us at Twitter. We all feel terrible this happened.
We’re diagnosing and will share everything we can when we have a more complete understanding of exactly what happened.
to our teammates working hard to make this right.
— jack (@jack) July 16, 2020
It’s a shame for the scammers that Trump’s account proved off limits. If anyone on planet Earth is ripe for a blatant Bitcoin scam, it’s the folks who thought it would be a good idea to elect him President of the United States.
The post How Donald Trump escaped the attack that brought Twitter to its knees appeared first on Trusted Reviews.
MLB Parks Will Use Crowd Noises From MLB The Show
Major League Baseball is starting up next week, but the players will be in empty stadiums due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. They'll still get to hear the roar of the crowd, though, as stadium engineers have rigged up the system to play sounds from MLB The Show.
ESPN reports that engineers have set about 75 different effects and reactions, so players can get a big reaction when they score a home run or simulated disappointment when they strikeout. The sounds are borrowed from Sony's San Diego Studios, which has been capturing the sounds over the course of several baseball seasons. The move imitates one that European soccer leagues have used with the FIFA series.
MLB executive vice president for strategy Chris Marinak said they made sure the sounds would be able to match the game's action, so that it wouldn't be distracting.
Continue Reading at GameSpot
Let's Watch Henry Cavill Seductively Build A Gaming PC
Building a PC from scratch can be a fun project, so much so that there's an actual game where you do exactly that. But you know what, it turns out, is even better? Watching Henry Cavill--Superman and Geralt himself--put together a gaming rig in a tank top.
This took place over on his Instagram account, where Cavill shares photos of food he's made, him standing next to horses, him painting minifigures, and the occasional promotional image. Cavill is also a fan of games, and his latest post is a five-plus minute video in which he assembles a PC from scratch. There are different camera angles, including a first-person view of him installing the CPU and other components.
Continue Reading at GameSpot
Spaceballs on Netflix: 35 Things You Didn't Know About The Classic Star Wars Parody
Mel Brooks' Spaceballs is now streaming on Netflix. Here are some Easter eggs you might have missed.
In 1987, Mel Brooks directed and released Spaceballs, his send-up of all things Star Wars. It received a mixed reception at the time--many critics compared it unfavorably to his previous comedy classics like The Producers and Young Frankenstein. But three decades removed, Spaceballs has come to be recognized as a comedy classic in its own right. It may not have the satirical brilliance of Blazing Saddles, but even its silliest jokes elicit a chuckle.
Spaceballs also has a distinct advantage: the ubiquity of its source material. Every new generation that discovers Star Wars also discovers the larger subculture surrounding it. And Spaceballs has become a beloved part of the Star Wars culture, in no small part because Star Wars creator George Lucas loved the script--so much, in fact, that he lent a hand to the movie's post-production.
Here are 35 Easter eggs in Mel Brooks' Spaceballs, now streaming on Netflix. And if you liked this gallery, check out our Easter Egg roundups on Mortal Kombat, Back to the Future, and Back to the Future Part II.
1. A Long Ship
The opening scene of the movie is a parody of Episode IV's opening scene, featuring an overly long spaceship. The spaceship is a practical effect; the real-life model is 17 feet long, and Grant McCune, who worked on the models and practical effects for Star Wars Episode IV, helped design this ship as well.
2. Dark Helmet
Rick Moranis plays Dark Helmet, a parody of Darth Vader. Moranis is also famous for his roles as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, Louis Tully in Ghostbusters, and Wayne Szalinski in Honey, I Shrunk The Kids!. Moranis semi-retired from acting in 1997, and Brooks has said that he would not consider a Spaceballs sequel without Moranis. In a 2013 interview, Moranis claimed that he and Brooks discussed a possible sequel, but the discussions fell apart due to budget concerns.
3. Comedy Legend
Stand-up comedy legend Joan Rivers plays the voice of Dot Matrix, a parody of Star Wars droid C-3PO. Rivers was not in the actual suit. Mime artist Lorene Yarnell performed the droid's movement.
4. Can We Talk?
Dot Matrix says Joan Rivers' signature catchphrase--"Can we talk?"--at the beginning of the movie. During her comedy routines, Rivers typically employed this line right before launching into one of her signature rants.
5. Limited Improv
The late, great John Candy plays Barf, a broad parody of Chewbacca. According to Bill Pullman (who plays Lone Starr), Candy was frustrated with his costume; his ears and tail were both remote-controlled, which gave him less opportunities to improvise and ad-lib the way he wanted to.
6. Dr. Jones, I Presume?
This shot of Bill Pullman taking a nap with his hat over his eyes is a tribute to Steven Spielberg and George Lucas' character Indiana Jones, who often sleeps in the same pose.
7. A Mel Brooks Stand-By
Dom DeLuise plays the role of Pizza the Hutt. DeLuise is a frequent Brooks collaborator who appeared in six of the director's films, starting with Twelve Chairs and ending with Robin Hood: Men In Tights.
8. Deadlocked
The main headquarters of Planet Spaceball has a rotunda that is modeled after that of the U.S. Capitol Building.
9. All Hail Skroob!
ole of President Skroob, the corrupt leader of the Spaceballs. Skroob, you might notice, is an anagram of Brooks. Brooks also plays the role of Yogurt, a parody of Jedi master Yoda.
10. Snotty Beamed Me Twice!
The character Snotty is based on the character Montgomery "Scotty" Scott from the original Star Trek television series. Both characters have exaggerated Scottish accents and serve as engineers of their respective ships.
11. Double Your Pleasure
Doublemint Gum has a longstanding advertising campaign that features female twins and the slogan, "Double your pleasure/Double your fun/It's the right one/The Doublemint gum!" Denise and Dian Gallup, who performed in the Doublemint commercials, poked fun at themselves in this scene with Brooks, where his character dismissively tells them, "Chew your gum."
12. The Man of 10,000 Sound Effects
Michael Winslow plays the Radar Technician who makes the "bleep," "sweep," and "creep" sounds. Winslow is most famous for performing in all seven Police Academy films, where he puts his considerable vocal talents on display.
13. Space Invaders Tribute
There is a Space Invaders pinball machine in the back of Lone Starr's ship. It was released by Bally in 1980, two years after the release of the Space Invaders arcade game.
14. Trippy Colors
The color patterns when Spaceball One hits Ludicrous Speed are similar to the ones in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, when Bowman travels across space via a multi-colored wormhole.
15. Desert Royalty
The desert scene in Spaceballs employs a musical cue from the 1962 epic film Lawrence of Arabia, which is famous for its long, sweeping vista shots of the Arabian desert.
16. An Entire Filmography
When the Spaceballs are searching for the VHS cassette of Spaceballs, you can see Mel Brooks' other films on the shelf: The Producers, Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, History of the World: Part One, and To Be Or Not To Be. You can also see multiple Rocky sequels, which go all the way up to Rocky XIV.
17. Crew Cameo
The assistant director, Mitchell Bock, cameos as the Spaceball who fast-forwards and rewinds the Spaceballs VHS cassette.
18. Anti-Nazi Aliens
The Dinks are humming a tune called the "Colonel Bogey March," which became popular during World War II, when Allied soldiers devised lyrics that made fun of the Nazi leadership. It goes, "Hitler has only got one ball/Göring has two but very small/Himmler is rather similar/But poor old Goebbels has no balls at all." It was also used in the 1958 film The Bridge on the River Kwai as a song of rebellion and non-conformity.
19. Off To See The Wizard
Spaceballs has two different homages to The Wizard of Oz. The first one is this scene, where our heroes meet Yogurt for the first time. The massive Yogurt statue is reminiscent of "Oz, The Great and Terrible." Dot Matrix stands in for the Tin Man. Princess Vespa stands in for Dorothy. And Barf stands in for the Cowardly Lion.
20. Merchandising Rights
Brooks pokes gentle fun at George Lucas' love of Star Wars merchandising by showing a variety of fake Spaceballs merchandise throughout the movie. There's Yogurt's gift shop, of course, but later on, you see Spaceballs-branded towels in the bathrooms, and Spaceballs-branded placemats in the diner. However, Lucas was firm that there not be any real Spaceballs merchandise on store shelves, lest it be confused with Star Wars merchandise.
21. A Common Combination
The combination for access to Planet Druidia's atmosphere is "1-2-3-4-5." Although this sounds like a really stupid idea, it's more common than you might think. A study conducted in 2014 listed "1-2-3-4-5" as the third most common password among 3.3 million leaked passwords. In first place was "1-2-3-4-5-6." In second place was "password."
22. Yiddish Pun
Dark Helmet tells the plastic surgeon who's making out with a nurse to "go back to the golf course and work on your putts." In Yiddish, "putz" is vulgar slang for "penis."
23. Hitler In A Dress
Mel Brooks has made a career out of mocking Adolph Hitler. You'll notice that in this scene, the stuntman for Princess Vespa has a Hitler-style moustache. In the years since World War II, the toothbrush moustache has decreased in popularity thanks to its negative associations.
24. Wilhelm Scream
The last Spaceball that Princess Vespa shoots in the hallway lets out a Wilhelm Scream, a common sound clip that's been used in over 400 films and TV shows since 1952. Star Wars helped to popularize the Wilhelm Scream, which an Imperial Stormtrooper let out when he fell down the Death Star shaft.
25. Improv Doll Play
The scene where Dark Helmet roleplays with his dolls was improvised by actor Rick Moranis. Moranis credits George Wyner, who plays Colonel Sandurz, for making the scene as good as it is.
26. Metamorphosis
Right before Spaceball One transforms into Mega Maid, Dark Helmet says, "Ready, Kafka?" This is a reference to the novella "Metamorphosis," written by Franz Kafka, in which a man wakes up to find he's transformed into a giant cockroach.
27. Founder Of The Vulcan Neck Pinch
The fictional Vulcan neck pinch that Lone Starr attempts to use was conceived by Leonard Nimoy, who played Commander Spock on the original Star Trek television series. He was scripted to club someone over the head with the butt of a phaser, but Nimoy felt that such an action would be out of character for a Vulcan in the 24th century.
28. George Lucas' Blessing
You'll notice while watching the movie that the special effects look quite good. That's because George Lucas' special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, did the post-production for this movie. Talk about being a good sport.
29. Self-Destruct Voice
The voice on the self-destruct sequence belongs to Julie Pitkanen, who was the film's script supervisor.
30. Falcon Cameo
If you look closely at the establishing shot of the diner, you can see the Millennium Falcon docked in the parking lot.
31. John Hurt Cameo.
During the diner scene, the filmmakers got John Hurt to reprise his role as the chestburster victim from Alien (1979). That's why he exclaims, "Oh no, not again!" right before he dies.
32. My Ragtime Gal
The alien sings "Hello! Ma Baby," a Tin Pan Alley tune from 1899. It was made famous by the Warner Bros. cartoon "One Froggy Evening," in which Michigan J. Frog sings it while doing a high-kick dance with a cane and hat.
33. Wicked Witch
When he disappears at the end of the movie, Yogurt yells out, "What a world! What a world!" This is a reference to the Wizard of Oz. When the Wicked Witch of the West dissolves and dies after Dorothy splashes her with water, these are some of her last words.
34. Minister Cameo
The acerbic minister who presides over the wedding between Lone Starr and Princess Vespa is played by Ronny Graham, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan.
35. Planet of the Apes Homage
The head of the Mega Maid crash lands on the beach of an ape-inhabited planet. This is a homage to the ending of Planet of the Apes (1968), when (spoiler alert) Charlton Heston's character realizes the alien planet he's on is Earth, post-nuclear apocalypse.
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Former MythBusters Host Grant Imahara Dies at 49
Imahara’s Mythbusters and White Rabbit Project co-host Kari Byron has also responded, posting a picture of herself alongside Imahara and fellow Mythbusters alum Tory Belleci.I’m at a loss. No words. I’ve been part of two big families with Grant Imahara over the last 22 years. Grant was a truly brilliant engineer, artist and performer, but also just such a generous, easygoing, and gentle PERSON. Working with Grant was so much fun. I’ll miss my friend.
— Adam Savage (@donttrythis) July 14, 2020
Imahara was best-known for his work on MythBusters, which he joined in 2005 and appeared in over 200 episodes. Imahara left the show in 2014 alongside his on-screen “Build Team” partners Byron and Belleci and the trio went on to host the shortlived Netflix Original Series White Rabbit Project in 2016. Prior to his work on MythBusters Imahara spent nearly a decade working in visual effects for Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light and Magic division. Imahara worked as a model maker on a host of high-profile films, including The Lost World, Terminator 3, Galaxy Quest, and all three films in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Luke is Games Editor at IGN's Sydney office.Somedays I wish I had a time machine. @ToryBelleci @grantimahara pic.twitter.com/o9FRE2l16W
— Kari Byron (@KariByron) July 13, 2020
Apollo 16 Lunar Mission Footage Upscaled To 4K 60 FPS is pretty amazing
xMEMS Announces World's First Monolithic MEMS Speaker
Speakers aren’t traditionally part of our coverage, but today’s announcement of xMEMS’ new speaker technology is something that everybody should take note of. Voice coil speakers as we know them and have been around in one form or another for over a hundred years and have been the basis of how we experience audio playback.
In the last few years, semiconductor manufacturing has become more prevalent and accessible, with MEMS (Microelectromechanical systems) technology now having advanced to a point that we can design speakers with characteristics that are fundamentally different from traditional dynamic drivers or balanced armature units. xMEMS’ “Montara” design promises to be precisely such an alternative.
xMEMS is a new start-up, founded in 2017 with headquarters in Santa Clara, CA and with a branch office in Taiwan. To date the company had been in stealth mode, not having publicly released any product till today. The company’s motivations are said to be breaking decades old speaker technology barriers and reinventing sound with new innovative pure silicon solutions, using extensive experience that its founders have collected over years at different MEMS design houses.
The manufacturing of xMEMS’ pure silicon speaker is very different to that of a conventional speaker. As the speaker is essentially just one monolithic piece manufactured via your typical lithography manufacturing process, much like how other silicon chips are designed. Due to this monolithic design aspect, the manufacturing line has significantly less complexity versus voice coil designs which have a plethora of components that need to be precision assembled – a task that is quoted to require thousands of factory workers.
The company didn’t want to disclose the actual process node of the design, but expect something quite crude in the micron range – they only confirmed that it was a 200mm wafer technology.
Besides the simplification of the manufacturing line, another big advantage of the lithographic aspect of a MEMS speaker is the fact that its manufacturing precision and repeatability are significantly superior to that of a more variable voice coil design. The mechanical aspects of the design also has key advantages, for example higher consistency membrane movement which allows higher responsiveness and lower THD for active noise cancellation.
xMEMS’ Montara design comes in an 8.4 x 6.06 mm silicon die (50.9mm²) with 6 so-called speaker “cells” – the individual speaker MEMS elements that are repeated across the chip. The speaker’s frequency response covers the full range from 10Hz to up to 20KHz, something which current dynamic driver or balanced armature drivers have issues with, and why we see multiple such speakers being employed for covering different parts of the frequency range.
The design is said to have extremely good distortion characteristics, able to compete with planar magnetic designs and promises to have only 0.5% THD at 200Hz – 20KHz.
As these speakers are capacitive piezo-driven versus current driven, they are able to cut power consumption to fractions of that of a typical voice coil driver, only using up 42µW of power.
Size is also a key advantage of the new technology. Currently xMEMS is producing a standard package solution with the sound coming perpendicularly out of the package which has the aforementioned 8.4 x 6.05 x 0.985mm footprint, but we’ll also see a side-firing solution which has the same dimensions, however allows manufacturers to better manage internal earphone design and component positioning.
In the above crude 3D printed unit with no optimisations whatsoever in terms of sound design, xMEMS easily managed to design an earphone of similar dimensions to that of current standard designs. In fact, commercial products are likely to looks much better and to better take advantage of the size and volume savings that such a design would allow.
One key aspect of the capacitive piezo-drive is that it requires a different amplifier design to that of classical speaker. Montara can be driven up to 30V peak-to-peak signals which is well above the range of your existing amplifier designs. As such, customers wishing to deploy a MEMS speaker design such as the Montara requires an additional companion chip, such as Texas Instruments’ LM48580.
In my view this is one of the big hurdles for more widespread adoption of the technology as it will limit its usage to more integrated solutions which do actually offer the proper amplifier design to drive the speakers – a lot of existing audio solutions out there will need an extra adapter/amp if any vendor actually decides to actually make a non-integrated “dumb” earphone design (As in, your classical 3.5mm ear/headphones).
TWS (True wireless stereo) headphones here obviously are the prime target market for the Montara as the amplifier aspect can be addressed at design, and such products can fully take advantage of the size, weight and power advantages of the new speaker technology.
In measurements, using the crude 3D-printed earphone prototype depicted earlier, xMEMS showcases that the Montara MEMS speaker has significantly higher SPL than any other earphone solution, with production models fully achieving the targeted 115dB SPL (The prototype only had 5 of the 6 cells active). The native frequency response here is much higher in the higher frequencies – allowing vendors headroom in order adapt and filter the sound signature in their designs. Filtering down is much easier than boosting at these frequencies.
THD at 94dB SPL is also significantly better than even an unnamed pair of $900 professional IEMs – and again, there’s emphasis that this is just a crude design with no audio optimisations whatsoever.
In terms of cost, xMEMS didn’t disclose any precise figure, but shared with us that it’ll be in the range of current balanced armature designs. xMEMS’ Montara speaker is now sampling to vendors, with expected mass production kicking in around spring next year – with commercial devices from vendors also likely to see the light of day around this time.
The Last of Us 2 cast and crew decry sickening abuse, death threats
Naughty Dog, the studio behind the critically-acclaimed The Last of Us 2 PS4 game, has strongly condemned harassment and even death threats received by those involved in making the game.
The company’s developers and voice actors have been subject to sickening abuse from those upset by the game’s widely-heralded decision to break boundaries and challenge norms in terms of character representation.
The presence of characters from typically under-represented communities has apparently deeply angered some ‘fans’ who’ve seen fit to hurl abuse at those involved with making the hit title.
Actor Laura Bailey, who provides the voice of Abby, recently posted screenshots of the abuse she received from online trolls, one of which chillingly reads: “I’m going to find where you live and slaughter you.”
Warning: Disturbing language ahead
Man. I try to only post positive stuff on here… but sometimes this just gets a little overwhelming. I blacked out some of the words cuz, ya know, spoilers.
Side note. Thank you to all the people sending me positive messages to balance it out. It means more than I can say.
pic.twitter.com/kGyULWPpNu
— Laura Bailey (@LauraBaileyVO) July 3, 2020
The game’s director Neil Druckmann – who will have been a driving force behind the decision to be more inclusive when writing the narrative – also received transphobic, homophobic and anti-Semitic abuse at the hands of people claiming to be upset by the creative direction of The Last of Us 2.
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You can love or hate the game and share your thoughts about it. Unfortunately too many of the messages I've been getting are vile, hateful, & violent. Here are just a handful of them (feel it's important to expose.) Trigger Warning: transphobic, homophobic, anti-Semitic, etc. pic.twitter.com/uR9vpGgYQa
— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) July 5, 2020
Now Naughty Dog has posted its own statement decrying the abuse, saying it will prioritise the safety of the cast and crew moving forward.
The firm wrote: “Although we welcome critical discussion, we condemn any form of harassment or threats directed towards our team and cast. Their safety is our top priority, but we must all work together to root out this type of behaviour and maintain a constructive and compassionate discourse.”
Warning: Minor plot spoilers ahead
The Last of Us 2 features two female protagonists, one with a particularly muscular physique, a same-sex relationship, and a transgender character. However, perhaps more important than the presence of these characters is the way they are presented, with the studio avoiding some of the familiar stereotypes.
That’s something our own Jade King was keen to point in a recent opinion piece, calling the presentation of the Lev character “refreshing” and praising the normalised depiction of other issues pertaining to sexual orientation and gender identity.
She added: “Naughty Dog’s presentation of lesbian, bisexual and transgender identities isn’t perfect, partly because of small mistakes and a realistic, messy portrayal of how such people would exist in a world torn asunder. Flaws aside, it champions queer voices in a way no game of this calibre has done before, and The Last of Us 2 isn’t afraid to silence the bigoted minority who stand against them.”
The post The Last of Us 2 cast and crew decry sickening abuse, death threats appeared first on Trusted Reviews.
Yamaha app lets fans cheer out loud in empty stadiums
Top-flight sports is slowly returning to empty stadiums. But not necessarily, noiseless stadiums.
At the EPL, this is the situation. Elsewhere, things are looking to get even better.
Music instruments major Yamaha Corporation has rolled out remote cheering system --- ‘Remote Cheerer powered by SoundUD’ --- to enable remote cheering for 26 football clubs at Japanese soccer league matches across three divisions.
The ‘Remote Cheerer powered by SoundUD’ app, which is still in testing stage, is connected to 58 speakers around the stadium and more or less re-creates the atmosphere of a normal match.
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This is how it works
The app, basically, plays out fans’ claps, cheers, jeers and chants loud into the stadium
Remote Cheerer allows users to tap ‘support buttons’ via a mobile site as matches unfold, playing back their remotely triggered cheers and applause through speakers set up at the stadiums.
Most sports analysts feel that this could be the future as social distancing seems set to continue as the norm and crowded places are shunned.
The app's effect is being experienced from July 4 at the Japanese soccer league matches where 26 different football clubs are using the system at selected matches.
Fans from afar
As it happens, the app was originally conceived keeping in mind hospitalised children, the disabled and elderly. Quite evidently, it was thought up to help football supporters unable to attend matches at stadiums, allowing them to cheer together with supporters at the stadium and having their support reach stadiums.
“The shouts of the fans are an essential element of the match atmosphere,” said Junpei Takaki, from the sales division of soccer club S-Pulse.
Yuki Seto, SoundUD Group, Cloud Business Department, Yamaha Corporation, has said: “We are working to promote this system as a means of delivering cheering and fan support in a wide variety of situations. This includes not only spectatorless matches, but also matches with reduced spectator seating or where shouting is not possible, as well as accommodating fans who can’t attend matches. We look forward to continuing to work with not only league, club, and stadium personnel, but also with players, supporters and fans as well in order to further improve the system and service."
The system is available for iOS, Android, Google Chrome and Safari users.
Future of sports could be tech
The word from Japanese matches suggest that the app has been mostly successful and the response has been positive. Hence, a bigger rollout of the app is likely.
The use of technology for sports coverage is only starting, and it is said that with multiple cameras installed in stadiums, virtual reality video technology could allow spectators at home to control how they watch a match.
When the NBA restarts its postponed season later this month, similar technologies could boost the home viewer experience.
Source: Yamaha.
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Inside the race to develop a safe COVID-19 vaccine
As COVID-19 cases continue to surge in the United States and abroad, researchers are racing to develop a vaccine at record-breaking speeds. In a June 23 hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, reiterated that he is “cautiously optimistic” about the possibility of a coronavirus vaccine being ready by early 2021.
“The development of a vaccine for a new pathogen typically takes many years and sometimes decades,” says Dan Barouch, the director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “The attempt to develop COVID-19 vaccines in a year is truly unprecedented in the history of vaccinology.”
To date, more than 145 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are currently under development in laboratories around the world. Barouch and his colleagues are working on a COVID-19 vaccine candidate with the New Jersey-based company Johnson & Johnson, which will begin the first of several stages of human trials later this month. A number of other vaccine candidates have already entered human testing, including ones developed by researchers at Oxford University and the biotechnology company Moderna Therapeutics in Massachusetts.
Before any vaccine can be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, though, its creators must demonstrate that it is both safe and actually protects people from the intended disease—and many potential vaccines fail somewhere along the way. Here’s how researchers are hoping to streamline this complex, expensive process.
“The goal for COVID-19 vaccine development is to move the vaccine programs forward as fast as possible so long as safety and scientific integrity are not compromised,” Barouch says. “What is not acceptable is any sort of cutting corners that would result in patient safety risks, because safety is the most important part of any vaccine, including a COVID-19 vaccine, even during a pandemic”
A new vaccine candidate must first be tested in animals before undergoing three phases of clinical trials in people. These tests investigate whether the potential vaccine could have any harmful side effects, what dose is needed, what kind of immune response it causes, and how effective it is in large numbers of people. Then, after a vaccine has been licensed, researchers will continue to monitor it to see how well it performs in the general population and to make sure there aren’t any extremely rare reactions that weren’t seen until many more doses had been given, says Bruce Gellin, the president of global immunization at the Sabin Vaccine Institute in Washington, D.C.
“We do this with vaccines all the time; even after they’re licensed, even if they’re recommended, there are systems in place that continue to look at both the safety and effectiveness,” he says. “But [it’s] a good sign if it takes a while for a rare adverse event to show up; that means it’s truly rare.”
One hypothetical concern that can arise during this process is that, if a vaccine contains ingredients that resemble molecules found in our bodies, it could trigger an autoimmune reaction, says Patricia Winokur, the executive dean of the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City. For example, the drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline discontinued its FDA-approved vaccine for Lyme disease due to rare reports in the early 2000s of the vaccine supposedly triggering arthritis. To date, researchers have found no evidence that this was actually happening to people who had received the vaccine.
Today, researchers have sequenced the human genome, as well as that of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, officially known as SARS-CoV-2. “We can see whether there is anything in those proteins that is similar to anything in the human body,” Winokur says. “That helps us make pretty scientific estimates that this vaccine would be safe over the long haul.”
Additionally, the kinds of vaccine candidates that might cause this type of problem tend to include adjuvants—ingredients intended to help the vaccine provoke a more powerful immune response to the virus. While many approved vaccines include adjuvants, verifying their safety adds additional time to the development process. “But the early [COVID-19] vaccines that seem to be on the fast track do not have adjuvants, so you have removed even that concern,” Winokur says.
Scientists will also be on the lookout for the possibility that a COVID-19 vaccine candidate could, in very rare instances, create an immune response that actually worsens the severity of the disease if the person is later exposed to the real virus. Scientists worried that this may have occurred in previous animal studies of experimental vaccines against SARS (another coronavirus). “That’s the scenario that we would need to be watching very carefully in these rapid vaccine studies,” Winokur says. So far, monkeys that received vaccines developed by the Oxford team and the Beijing-based company Sinovac Biotech (which includes an inactivated version of SARS-CoV-2) have not developed exacerbated disease after being exposed to the virus.
There are many different kinds of vaccine candidates for COVID-19 under development. One strategy that may allow researchers to develop a COVID-19 vaccine particularly swiftly is using pieces of DNA or RNA that code for the spike-shaped protein on the surface of the virus. This protein helps the virus latch onto and infect human cells and seems to be the component that our immune systems react most strongly against. These bits of genetic material prompt our own cells to build copies of the spike protein, which cannot cause disease on its own but can train the immune system to recognize the real virus in the future.
Because DNA and RNA vaccines only include fragments of genetic material, they can potentially be developed and evaluated for safety more quickly than traditional vaccines for which a weakened or inactivated form of the virus must be grown. That said, researchers still have to determine how effective this new kind of vaccine will be; no vaccines based on this technology have been licensed yet.
Although COVID-19 is a new disease, researchers have also had a head start on developing vaccine candidates because of previous work on vaccines for other coronaviruses such as the ones that cause SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The vaccine candidate created by Oxford University researchers was able to move into human trials rapidly because the team had used a similar technique to develop a vaccine candidate for MERS and had already shown that it was safe in people.
Certain characteristics of the novel virus may also bode well for our chances of developing a vaccine quickly. Viruses are often less complicated than bacteria or parasites like the one that causes malaria, Winokur says. This makes it easier for scientists to figure out which parts of the virus are likely to be the components that cause the body to mount an immune response and create antibodies that will protect us from future infections. Preliminary research also hints that the body may create a robust immune response after being exposed to the novel coronavirus or its protein pieces, which could give vaccine makers a blueprint for designing an effective preventative drug.
Still, scientists have not yet determined what an immune response that would successfully protect a person from COVID-19 looks like, Winokur says. Because of this, demonstrating that a COVID-19 vaccine candidate can actually prevent infection could be a challenge. “That will be harder to evaluate in a rapidly developed vaccine,” she says.
To find out whether a vaccine candidate is effective, researchers must inoculate a large number of people and then wait and see whether fewer of them catch COVID-19 than people who received a placebo. “The more disease that is [out] there, the quicker you can assess how well a vaccine performs,” Gellin says. By its nature, a pandemic will provide many potential opportunities for participants in these trials to be exposed to the virus. “There is so much virus out there [that] you’d probably be able to determine that relatively quickly.”
There are also ways to compress the time needed to move a vaccine candidate through clinical trials. Because COVID-19 poses such a dire threat to public health, scientists are planning large clinical trials that can launch as soon as the results from smaller, earlier-stage trials for a vaccine candidate arrive, Barouch says. Normally, researchers would have to wait until these early studies had concluded before they could even begin to contemplate designing their next round of testing.
“There is no additional risk to patient safety because the larger study doesn’t start until data exists from the smaller study, but the time lag between finishing a phase I/II study and starting a phase III study could be on the order of days as opposed to years,” Barouch says.
The process of producing vaccines on a large scale can be sped up as well in response to the pandemic. “Many companies are starting to mass produce vaccines even now as we speak, before they have any indication that it’s actually effective,” Barouch says. “By willingness to take [that] financial risk, companies can accelerate the process at a speed that has never been done before.”
Even though researchers are working at breakneck speed to design and evaluate candidates for a COVID-19 vaccine, their efforts may not bear immediate fruit. “It is theoretically possible that a vaccine could be available for emergency use authorization by this winter, but that is in no way guaranteed,” Barouch says. “That will require many things all happening well the first time around, and as we know from science and medicine not everything works out the first time around.”
And even if a vaccine for COVID-19 becomes available in record time, it’s unlikely there will be enough doses to meet the enormous worldwide demand for it immediately. Ultimately, we will probably need a widely-available vaccine to bring the COVID-19 pandemic to an end. But while we wait for that vaccine to materialize, we can at least use measures like wearing masks and social distancing whenever possible to prevent COVID-19 transmission.
“With a vaccine, you want to have people protected as quickly as possible,” Gellin says. “But should they have to wait, there are still ways that they can protect themselves.”
World of Warcraft Sees Huge In-Game Memorials Following Death of Streamer
If you are having suicidal thoughts or just need to talk to someone, text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 if you're in the US. For a list of international helplines and resources, click here. (Hyperlink the last line to this url: http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html) [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.Today we all witnessed not only the largest in-game memorial but also the largest in-game player-driven event in the history of World of Warcraft
In times like this it's easy to think of the evil that people are capable of but we can't forget the purity and kindness as well. pic.twitter.com/5mzOSZrM3Z — Zack (@Asmongold) July 3, 2020
Fallout TV Show In the Works at Amazon From Westworld Creators
Amazon Studios has just announced a Fallout TV series from Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy serving as producers.
#PleaseStandBy. @Fallout @BethesdaStudios #KilterFilms pic.twitter.com/IEDr7AkVvD
— Amazon Studios (@AmazonStudios) July 2, 2020
Variety reports that Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are developing the Fallout show at Amazon based on the popular Bethesda video game RPG franchise.
Bethesda Game Studios will be involved with the development of the show and series director Todd Howard will serve as executive producer on the show.
"Fallout is one of the greatest game series of all time. Each chapter of this insanely imaginative story has cost us countless hours we could have spent with family and friends. So we're incredibly excited to partner with Todd Howard and the rest of the brilliant lunatics at Bethesda to bring this massive, subversive, and darkly funny universe to life with Amazon Studios," said Joy and Nolan in a statement.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-fallout-review&captions=true"] "Over the last decade, we looked at many ways to bring Fallout to the screen," said Todd Howard in a statement. "But it was clear from the moment I first spoke with Jonah and Lisa a few years ago, that they and the team at Kilter were the ones to do it right."Fallout is a video game RPG series set in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of a nuclear war. Bethesda purchased the Fallout IP from Interplay in 2007 and turned the isometric RPG series into a first-person RPG with Fallout 3. Bethesda has since gone to create Fallout 4 and Fallout 76.
Plot details or casting haven't been revealed, so it's unclear if Nolan and Joy are creating an adaptation of one of Bethesda's Fallout games, or a new series set within Bethesda's universe.
[poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.
Raspberry Pi DIY Robot Blows Bubbles for You
Beavis and Butt-Head: Two New Seasons Announced!
"We are thrilled to be working with Mike Judge and the great team at 3 Arts again as we double down on adult animation at Comedy Central," said Chris McCarthy, president of ViacomCBS' entertainment and youth group, in a statement. "Beavis and Butt-Head were a defining voice of a generation, and we can’t wait to watch as they navigate the treacherous waters of a world light-years from their own."
This latest incarnation of the series will re-imagine the characters and their misadventures for a 2020 setting. As the original run did for Generation X, the new Beavis and Butt-Head will satirize Gen-Z culture even as it explores the titular duo's wacky misadventures.
The Beavis and Butt-Head characters originally debuted in Judge's 1992 short film "Frog Baseball" before spinning out into their own series on MTV in 1993. Beavis and Butt-Head received praise for its edgy humor and heavy emphasis on social satire, though the show's humor and violent content also became a source of regular controversy during its seven season run. MTV eventually responded by running a disclaimer before each episode - "Beavis and Butt-Head are not role models. They're not even human. They're cartoons. Some of the things they do would cause a person to get hurt, expelled, arrested, possibly deported. To put it another way: don't try this at home."
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This will actually be the second time Beavis and Butt-Head has returned to the air since the original series wrapped in 1997. The series was previously revived for an eighth season in 2011. It's also worth remembering that fellow MTV animated sitcom Daria is technically a spinoff of Beavis and Butt-Head. In fact, this announcement comes days after Comedy Central announced its acquisition of Daria spinoff Jodie, focused on Tracee Ellis Ross' character Jodie Landon. Are we seeing the beginnings of a shared Beavis and Butt-Head universe (the Beavis-verse?) on Comedy Central? For now, neither series has a release date.
Beavis and Butt-Head joins a growing lineup of animated sitcoms getting long overdue revivals, including a new Boondocks series on HBO Max and Netflix's Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus. We have some thoughts on other animated sitcoms that deserve a revival.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/21/invader-zim-enter-the-florpus-review"]
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Samsung is selling a wireless charger that also sterilizes your phone
How The Last of Us 2 redefines LGBT storytelling in gaming
Spoiler Warning: This piece includes spoilers relating to the game’s plot. If you want a spoiler-free breakdown of the game check out our The Last of Us 2 review.
During the early hours of The Last of Us 2, Ellie and Dina stumble into a queer bookshop. The walls are adorned with pride flags while gay, lesbian and transgender literature litters the shelves, a bitter reminder of the inclusive progress this world was making before the apocalypse brought everything to a halt. They ask themselves loudly, “what’s with all the flags,” clueless about what such identities meant and stood for before their existence was defined by little more than a desperate need for survival.
It’s a sweet, touching moment as these two young women point at an erotic novel displayed before them, jokingly saying “it’s us” while Ellie picks it up and nervously peruses through the pages. It’s a casual observation from two people in love, and their gender has absolutely no bearing on that fact. When the world as we know it ceased to exist, many of its prejudices went along with it, allowing queer identities to flourish in The Last of Us 2 with refreshing liberty. Naughty Dog uses this knowledge to craft a truly inclusive blockbuster, pushing boundaries in a way I’ve rarely seen this medium accomplish before.
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You’ll find more comprehensive efforts in the indie space with an abundance of games screaming from the queer rooftops, but the world of blockbusters has often avoided such storytelling, or pushed it into the periphery. The Outer Worlds, Life is Strange and Night in the Woods are just a few mainstream examples I can think of. These efforts walked so The Last of Us 2 could run, and that’s exactly what it does.
Ellie’s identity as a lesbian stands at the forefront of Naughty Dog’s sequel. Her relationship with Dina is passionate, troubled and wrought with intricacies that lend it a sense of authenticity that reflects reality. Regardless of your sexual orientation, romantic relationships are oftentimes messy, with couples having to work together to find happiness despite their differences. Loved ones aren’t perfectly fitting puzzle pieces, especially when you’ve got an apocalypse to deal with on top of everything else.
Seeing these two women interact, bicker and draw closer to their common goal while supporting one another is genuinely heartfelt, while you can feel yourself growing weary as an eventual rift of division emerges between them. Ellie’s drive for revenge becomes irrational, putting both herself and those she cares for in danger in favour of an endgame that, in my eyes, simply wasn’t worth it. You’ll draw your own conclusions, but seeing this couple inadvertently tear themselves apart only to end up back in each other’s arms is a real heartbreaker, and you can do nothing but sit back and watch.
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While the game’s marketing materials may have led you to believe this is Ellie’s adventure alone, it’s only half the story. During the second half you’ll take control of Abby, playing through events from a new perspective to gain a greater understanding of her plight, motivations and reasons for acting as she does. Much like Ellie, she’s driven by a thirst for vengeance. But unlike Ellie, she comes to realise her vengeance isn’t worth the loss of life it will entail.
She’s also a new component to The Last of Us 2’s wider ambitions for queer storytelling. During her campaign, Abby is captured by a murderous christian cult known as The Seraphites. This twisted sect shuns the old world, opting for more traditional means of living in both the technology they use and the roles their members are assigned at a young age. Men will traditionally be cast as soldiers or hunters, while women can be forced to stay at home as obedient wives who tend the homestead and produce children.
This is where Lev and Yara come into play – two members of the cult who find themselves primed for execution after betraying firmly held beliefs. The only way to repent for your sins is to “be made pure,” which sadly involves being hung before your stomach is sliced open, letting your entrails pool onto the ground below. Lev and Yara save Abby’s life at the last possible moment, and together they escape and manage to salvage a few brief moments of safety.
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From here, the tumultuous circumstances of Lev and Yara begin to unravel. Badly wounded, Yara requires medical attention that can only be found by placing immense trust in Abby, crossing cultural boundaries that will see them form new allies as the place they once called home has left them behind. It’s a fascinating dynamic, establishing a dichotomous relationship of clashing ideals which are eventually pushed aside in favour of one prevailing constant – love. It’s the thing that ties The Last of Us 2 together, even amidst the constant torrents of bloodshed.
But let’s stop beating around the bush and finally establish why Lev and Yara are so groundbreaking in their depiction, showing that queer identities in mainstream media needn’t be cynical ticks on a diversity quota. Lev is a transgender man, and that is stated explicitly and without any doubt on the game’s part. The player’s interpretation is forfeit, with Lev’s identity acting as a driving force behind his banishment from The Seraphites and pursuit of a new life.
In an act of defiance against the role he has been assigned and a continuing struggle with his gender identity, Lev shaves his head to show The Seraphites that he is a man, and wishes to abandon the feminine ideals he’s been straddled with for so many years. It’s a watershed moment for transgender representation in the AAA space, even though it isn’t perfect.
Lev is deadnamed (addressed as their previous name and gender) for plot purposes and his life is torn apart because the burden of hiding who they are simply became too much. As a transgender woman, I’ve had old friends and family members express issues with my identity, failing to realise that this is who I’ve been since I was born, I just wasn’t in a position to figure that out until the time was right, and hiding in the closet was my only option. The Last of Us 2 mirrors this dilemma, except our characters also have a viral apocalypse and homicidal cults to deal with on top of everything else.
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Outside of the cult, Lev finds an immediately welcoming support network in the arms of Abby and Yara. His identity is never questioned or mulled over as an overly scrutinised narrative touchstone. It’s just who he is and that’s accepted without a second thought. It’s refreshing to see a trans character whose “transness” isn’t the defining trait of their existence, even if we’re still forced to watch them suffer at the hands of abusers.
Naughty Dog is no stranger to introducing queer characters and subjecting them to immediate doom, doing exactly that in The Last of Us: Left Behind. It saw the reveal of Ellie’s sexuality moments before her romantic interest is killed, with our heroine being forced to watch as Riley succumbs to the infection and she comes to terms with her own immunity. It’s emotionally wrenching, and a sadly typical example of minority voices being subject to misery purely because cis-voices fail to show representation in any other way.
Lev isn’t immune from this tiresome trope, although thankfully rises above it as we spend more and more time with him. Their interpretation of the world is defined by the cult, and working alongside Abby allows Lev to grow into someone far more independent and forward-thinking. He shows no qualms with fighting back against his past comrades, juxtaposed with Abby finding herself in the exact same predicament. Misery loves company, and The Last of Us 2 emphasises that close relationships can form in the most unlikely of circumstances.
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It’s somewhat ironic that prejudices that dominate our own modern zeitgeist are things of the past in Naughty Dog’s world, only an issue for those who cling to archaic definitions of faith as an irrational drive for survival. The only visible examples of homophobia or transphobia in The Last of Us 2 come from generations who grew up before the pandemic, absorbed by a cultural discourse where LGBT people were demonised for simply existing.
There’s an aura of ignorant bliss when Ellie and Dina stumble into that bookshop, unaware of the significance such iconography bears on the identities they have naturally assumed, simply because it’s normality. It’s a beautiful outlook despite the harrowing circumstances they find themselves in. Everyday they’re fighting for survival against other humans and deadly infected, but they’re never having to defend who they are, because those attitudes aren’t ingrained in their thinking like a lingering parasite.
After escaping from The Seraphites, Lev begins to embrace a world without prejudice, growing closer to Abby and taking inspiration from her passionate, welcoming attitude that is a perfect signature to The Last of Us 2’s beautifully inclusive nature. I have issues with the ways in which it addresses its cyclical themes of violence and the demonisation of queer individuals, but it’s all in service of a message that champions love, hope and admiration above all else.
Naughty Dog’s presentation of lesbian, bisexual and transgender identities isn’t perfect, partly because of small mistakes and a realistic, messy portrayal of how such people would exist in a world torn asunder. Flaws aside, it champions queer voices in a way no game of this calibre has done before, and The Last of Us 2 isn’t afraid to silence the bigoted minority who stand against them.
As The Last of Us 2’s heroes taught us “endure and survive” and be true to yourself doing it.
The post How The Last of Us 2 redefines LGBT storytelling in gaming appeared first on Trusted Reviews.
Four beautiful coloring books for relieving stress
When was the last time you grabbed a box of crayons, opened a coloring book, and let your imagination run wild? These days, there are endless options for coloring books that provide adults with a fun way to explore their creativity. Filled with everything from animals to intricate patterns to pop-culture references, these books have become a revelation and also important relaxation tools. Some really mean it when they call themselves—ahem—“adult,” but many are suitable for all ages, making them excellent activities for parents and their kids, classrooms, or parties. Or, grab a beverage of choices, pick out your favorite set of markers or crayons, and use these books to fill some quality, stress-free, alone time.
Explore the highly-detailed, intricate, and often delicate drawings in this coloring book that helped launch the adult-coloring book craze. As you make your way through the 96 pages, keep an eye out for tiny, hidden creatures—a key in the back can help you out if you don’t find them all. The latest edition of The Secret Garden is printed on heavy-stock paper to help prevent bleed-through. It’s perfect if markers are your medium of choice. Even the book’s cover and jacket can be colored.
Here’s your chance to color some of your favorite childhood cartoons, like Ren and Stimpy, Rugrats, Rocko’s Modern Life, and Hey Arnold! The book is available in both spiral-bound and paperback editions, and with 96 pages of characters, designs, and memories, it’s fun for adults and kids alike.
Fifty-two pages of animals drinking, because who doesn’t love that? They’re all drawn in an irreverent and fun style, but without too much fussy detail. They’re perfect for beginner colorists looking for an easy, low-stress way to have a little fun.
As the title suggests, this 203-page tome features 100 animals to color. Whether full-body or close-up, each is made up of tightly detailed, imaginative patterns that provide an opportunity to explore different creative paths. The results can border on realistic, or get downright trippy—it depends where your muse takes you. The pages are single-sided, so removing and framing your favorites is a cinch.
Anthony Mackie Talks About Falcon And The Winter Soldier TV Show, Says It's Like A 6-Hour Movie
MCU actor Anthony Mackie has shared a little more insight on the upcoming Marvel TV show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Speaking to Variety, Mackie said the show--which reportedly carries a $150 million budget--is being filmed like a movie.
"We're shooting it exactly like a movie," he said. "Everybody who had worked on TV before was like, 'I've never worked on a TV show like this.' The way in which we were shooting, it feels exactly like we were shooting the movie cut up into the show. So instead of a two-hour movie, a six or eight-hour movie."
Mackie also teased that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which also stars Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier, will feature stunt sequences that are "on another level."
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