FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Conservative leaders are calling on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to pass the FACE Act Repeal Act of 2023 “as soon as possible.” “In the aftermath of additional pro-life activists being convicted by the Biden administration under the FACE Act for peacefully protesting outside an abortion business‚ we respectfully urge you to take immediate legislative action to protect peaceful pro-life activists from the Biden administration’s weaponized Department of Justice and an unconstitutional law‚” the leaders said in a Wednesday letter first obtained by The Daily Signal. That letter‚ led by Advancing American Freedom (AAF)‚ is signed by Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America‚ Tom McClusky of CatholicVote‚ Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council‚ Tom Brejcha of the Thomas More Society‚ Ryan Anderson of the Ethics and Public Policy Center‚ Lila Rose of Live Action and Penny Nance of Concerned Women for America. “The Biden administration has weaponized the FACE Act against peaceful pro-life sidewalk counselors and activists who want to save lives and change hearts and minds‚” AAF Executive Director Paul Teller told The Daily Signal. “Justice should be blind. But pro-abortion activists who have scaled bridges shutting down main roads‚ posted the home addresses of Supreme Court justices‚ and vandalized and firebombed pro-life pregnancy centers have not faced the FBI showing up on their doorstep.” “The First Amendment protects the right to peacefully assemble‚ and the FACE Act criminalizes that right‚” he added. “There can be no two-tiered system of justice in our nation.” Final-AAF-Coalition-Letter-Mark-up-and-Pass-the-FACE-ActDownload The letter says that there is “no question as to whether the FACE Act is being disproportionately applied to pro-lifers.” “Despite official requests from members of Congress‚ sparse data is available regarding FACE Act prosecutions‚” the letter continues. “However‚ our best estimates indicate that the FACE Act has been used ~130 times with just 5 FACE Act charges being leveled against pro-abortion activists.” The FACE Act‚ which is supposed to protect not only abortion clinics‚ but also pregnancy resource centers and places of worship‚ was never used to protect pro-life pregnancy centers or churches until Republicans took back the House and “promised to end President [Joe] Biden’s reign of woke and weaponized government‚” the leaders noted. “This is despite hundreds of pro-life pregnancy centers and churches being attacked since the Dobbs decision was leaked in May of 2022‚” the letter continued. “To date‚ the federal government has never used the FACE Act to protect a church.” “We believe that the FACE Act is unconstitutional‚” the leaders told Jordan and Johnson. “It wrongly usurps police powers reserved to the states by the Constitution and allows the Department of Justice to swoop in to punish its political enemies‚ rather than equally applying the law. Additionally‚ the FACE Act protects abortion‚ when taking the life of the unborn is no longer and never rightly was a constitutional right.” The leaders urge Johnson and Jordan to mark up and pass Rep. Chip Roy’s HR 5577‚ the FACE Act Repeal Act of 2023‚ “as soon as possible.” Roy‚ R-Texas‚ introduced this legislation in September‚ The Daily Signal first reported‚ and Sen. Mike Lee‚ R-Utah‚ introduced a Senate version of the bill. “Free Americans should never live in fear of their government targeting them because of their beliefs‚” Roy said in September. “Yet‚ Biden’s Department of Justice has brazenly weaponized the FACE Act against normal‚ everyday Americans across the political spectrum‚ simply because they are pro-life.” “Our Constitution separates power between the federal government and the states for a reason‚ and we ignore that safeguard at our own peril‚” he added. “The FACE Act is an unconstitutional federal takeover of state police powers. It must be repealed.” Pro-life activists Lauren Handy (center) and Joan Andrews Bell listen as Terrisa Bukovinac speaks at an April 5‚ 2022‚ news conference in Washington‚ D.C.‚ about the five fetuses found inside the home where anti-abortion activists were living. (Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Roy also led an effort to defund enforcement of the FACE Act in April 2023‚ but the proposal died when it was not included in the House Appropriations subcommittee draft. The letter comes on the heels of a Nashville‚ Tennessee‚ jury finding six pro-life activists guilty of violating the FACE Act resulting from their peaceful protest in the hallway outside a Mount Juliet abortion clinic in March 2021. Pro-life activists Chet Gallagher‚ Coleman Boyd‚ Heather Idoni‚ Cal Zastrow‚ Dennis Green‚ and Paul Vaughn face up to 11 years in prison‚ The Daily Wire’s Leif Le Mahieu reported. Leaders of three pro-life groups similarly called on Johnson and Jordan on Wednesday to schedule HR 5577 for consideration in the House Judiciary Committee—and for the House to consider and pass the bill once reported out of the committee. Pro-life-Leaders-LetterDownload “We are grateful for your efforts to protect pro-life individuals and entities from the rising occurrences of vandalism and violence‚” wrote Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser‚ March for Life Action President Jeanne Mancini‚ and Americans United for Life General Counsel Steven Aden. “You have repeatedly called for justice‚ especially as the instances rose dramatically since the leaked opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization‚” they noted. “Not only is the Biden administration turning a blind eye to injustices committed against pro-life entities‚ but it is brazenly using the FACE Act to target and sentence peaceful pro-life advocates as if they were violent criminals.” The pro-life leaders emphasized that “now is the time for action‚” accusing Biden’s administration of “targeting and devastating the lives of prayerful‚ peaceful pro-life advocates.” “Because of [the administration’s] repeated abuses of the law‚” they wrote‚ “the law itself has been perverted and is no longer helpful or just.” “This legislation builds on House passage of then-Congressman Johnson’s resolution condemning violence against pro-life entities‚” the pro-life leaders continued. “Additionally‚ the need is well established in Chairman Jordan’s report highlighting the ways the Biden administration has unfairly weaponized the FBI—and particularly‚ the FACE Act— to criminalize and incarcerate pro-life Americans.” Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Leaders Call on Jordan‚ Johnson to Repeal ‘Weaponized’ FACE Act appeared first on The Daily Signal.

A study by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) shows many owners who got their puppies during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic are struggling with their dog's bad behavior.

My Thoughts on Tucker Carlson Interviewing Putin

Biden: "The Only Reason the Border is not Secure is Donald Trump..."

In a world first‚ scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have successfully 3D-printed human brain tissue that can grow and function like the real thing. “This could be a hugely powerful model to help us understand how brain cells and parts of the brain communicate in humans‚” said professor of neuroscience and neurology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Su-Chun Zhang‚ the study’s senior author‚ in a statement. “It could change the way we look at stem cell biology‚ neuroscience‚ and the pathogenesis of many neurological and psychiatric disorders.”The breakthrough has the potential to provide a versatile and effective tool for researchers tackling some of the biggest challenges in neuroscience today‚ such as the hunt for treatments for diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. 3D printing technology has come on leaps and bounds in recent years‚ giving rise to an array of impressive applications. Whether your pet tortoise needs a set of wheels‚ you fancy cooking a lovely two-course meal‚ or you want to watch a snake-like robot growing towards the light‚ 3D printing can help with that. But despite its many uses‚ attempts to 3D-print brain tissue have enjoyed limited success. The innovation came when the team at UW-Madison literally decided to turn the problem on its head.Instead of stacking layers vertically‚ as occurs in traditional 3D printing‚ they decided to work horizontally. They grew brain cells from induced pluripotent stem cells‚ laying them out like a row of pencils within a soft gel they call “bio-ink”.“The tissue still has enough structure to hold together but it is soft enough to allow the neurons to grow into each other and start talking to each other‚” explained Zhang‚ which is vital if you want your tissue to be able to grow and develop as it would within a human body.  “Our tissue stays relatively thin and this makes it easy for the neurons to get enough oxygen and enough nutrients from the growth media‚” added first author Yuanwei Yan. The neurons can reach through each printed layer of gel‚ forming links within and between them like the web of intricate connections inside the brain. They can send signals‚ form networks‚ and interact by releasing neurotransmitters. The team even added another type of cell – astrocytes – into the tissue for the neurons to interface with.“Our lab is very special in that we are able to produce pretty much any type of neurons at any time. Then we can piece them together at almost any time and in whatever way we like‚” Zhang said. The authors say this level of precision and control is beyond what is possible with so-called “mini brains”‚ human brain organoids grown from stem cells. They further tested their 3D printing system by producing tissues from two distinct regions of the brain.Red cortical cells and green striatal cells can be seen in this scan of some of the 3D-printed tissue.Image credit: Waisman Center‚ University of Wisconsin-Madison“We printed the cerebral cortex and the striatum and what we found was quite striking. Even when we printed different cells belonging to different parts of the brain‚ they were still able to talk to each other in a very special and specific way‚” explained Zhang. The team hopes that their technique will be accessible to lots of other labs as it doesn’t need a lot of fancy equipment‚ but they’re also working on refinements for more specialized applications. “In the past‚ we have often looked at one thing at a time‚ which means we often miss some critical components‚” Zhang said. “Our brain operates in networks. We want to print brain tissue this way because cells do not operate by themselves. They talk to each other. This is how our brain works and it has to be studied all together like this to truly understand it.”The study is published in the journal Cell Stem Cell. 

New light has been shed on how molecules leave a solution to become part of a growing crystal. Since crystals’ properties depend on their size and shape‚ and these are influenced by their growth rate‚ the research opens the door to modifying crystal formation to improve usability.Crystals are far more common and crucial than just the pretty stones that are most people’s first association with the word. They can be formed from essential proteins in our bodies‚ power our lives in the form of solar cells‚ and provide the semiconductors that allow you to read this article. Yet crucial aspects of the process of crystal formation have remained mysterious. A new study reveals how molecules attach to sites on the crystal surface so the crystal can grow.Whatever the word may mean to you‚ in materials science kinks are deviations caused by a dislocation defect. They allow crystals to deform under shear forces. Moreover‚ scientists at the University of Houston note in their new paper‚ “The growth rates of crystals are largely dictated by the chemical reaction between solute and kinks.” In other words‚ when molecules in solution attach to crystals so that they grow‚ they do it by bonding to the kink.As with so much in science‚ working out the details has proven difficult‚ but the Houston team have explored the reactions of four solvents at kink sites in exceptional detail.“We show that the binding of a solute molecule to a kink divides into two elementary reactions‚” they report. “First‚ the incoming solute molecule sheds a fraction of its solvent shell and attaches to molecules from the kink by bonds distinct from those in its fully incorporated state. In the second step‚ the solute breaks these initial bonds and relocates to the kink.” A preliminary bond is formed between the solute molecule and the kink in the first stage‚ but this needs to be broken before final incorporation can be achieved‚ something the authors admit is counterintuitive. "For decades crystal growth researchers have dreamt of elucidating the chemical reaction between incoming molecules and the unique sites on a crystal surface that accept them‚ the kinks‚" said senior author Professor Peter Vekilov in a statement. "The mechanism of that reaction‚ i.e.‚ the characteristic time scale and length scale‚ possible intermediates and their stabilities‚ has remained elusive and subject to speculation for over 60 years."The authors found molecules are incorporated into the crystal much more slowly than the solvent supplies them. This‚ they write‚ “announces the presence of an activation barrier.” The same is not seen when crystals grow from gas‚ indicating the barrier is a product of shells in the solvate. Bonds between the solute and the solvent need to be broken to allow the crystal to grow. This means‚ the authors conclude‚ that the intermediate state prior to molecules relocating to the kink determines the speed of crystal growth.“The notions of an intermediate state and its decisive role in crystal growth refute and replace the dominant idea in the field‚” Vekilov said. Ironically‚ that dominant idea – that the activation barrier is determined by interactions in the solution prior to encounters with the crystal – was proposed by Vekilov’s PhD advisor AA Chernov decades ago. Perhaps in a peace offering to Vekilov’s former advisor (who previously served as president of the International Organization of Crystal Growth)‚ the authors acknowledge some crystals may grow in a one-step process‚ but they suggest this is “likely limited to high-symmetry solute that are comparable in size to the solvent.”To unravel the growth process the authors used not only X-ray diffraction – for a century our key tool to understand crystal structures – and absorption spectroscopy‚ but more advanced techniques‚ including time-resolved in situ atomic-force microscopy. The latter is now able to resolve objects at almost molecular scale.The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

A video from everyone's favorite engineer and cartoonist Randall Munroe has pondered what would happen if you were able to throw a baseball towards a batter at 90 percent of the speed of light.The creator of the XKCD webcomic and author of several books pondering fun hypothetical questions ignored how it would be possible for you to throw a ball at near light speed (because you couldn't‚ you just aren't that hench) and leapt straight into the effects.Unfortunately‚ the scenario doesn't end well for the batter‚ the catcher‚ people watching in the stadium behind‚ or those in any nearby city."The ideas of aerodynamics don’t apply here. Normally‚ air would flow around anything moving through it‚" Munroe explains in the video‚ and What If? entry. "But the air molecules in front of this ball don’t have time to be jostled out of the way. The ball smacks into them so hard that the atoms in the air molecules actually fuse with the atoms in the ball’s surface. Each collision releases a burst of gamma rays and scattered particles."The front of the ball gets ripped apart by fusion‚ but even these constant thermonuclear explosions wouldn't slow the ball down that much given how fast it was going. Before the batter has registered the ball leaving your hand‚ they get disintegrated‚ before houses nearby start getting leveled. We imagine it would be of small comfort at this point for the batter's widow to learn the rules state their remains are allowed to advance to first base.

Pistachios are so delicious that people are willing to suffer the indignity of breaking their shells apart‚ like a little squirrel. In fact‚ we love them so much we're willing to risk them spontaneously combusting on their journey to our nut bowls.Before we go any further‚ pistachios are of course "drupes" rather than nuts‚ being a fruit that contains a shell‚ which in turn contains a seed‚ and should go in the drupe bowl with the almonds and cashews. Or maybe not‚ if you don't want them to catch fire.It turns out that shipping these vegan clams (as well as other drupes and nuts) is a lot more dangerous than you'd think. For a start‚ as the fats decompose they produce carbon dioxide and remove oxygen‚ and need to be kept in a well-ventilated area.           Pistachios are pretty good fuel‚ given their oil and fat content.But the real danger‚ according to Reddit‚ comes when the pistachios get moist."If the critical water content of the pistachio nuts is exceeded‚ this promotes hydrolytic/enzymatic fat cleavage‚" the German Transport Information Service (TIS) explains. "The free fatty acids formed are consumed by respiration processes in the pistachio nuts to form carbon dioxide and water‚ a process which is associated with considerable evolution of heat."As the reaction gives off water‚ this can trigger a chain reaction as it reaches other nearby pistachios. "Self-heating of pistachio nuts is an extremely vigorous process‚ as the consumption of fatty acids by respiration processes is associated with a considerably greater evolution of heat than is the case with the respiration equation for carbohydrates‚" TIS continues. "The spoilage process proceeds in a type of chain reaction‚ because heat and water are formed by the fatty acids consumed by respiration‚ which in turn contribute to an intensification of the process."The self-heating of pistachio nuts requires only a small amount of moisture‚ so that within just a few hours‚ heating may occur at moist points for which weeks or months would be required in goods dry on shipment.So‚ should we give up on pistachios and switch to a safer‚ less delicious drupe? Not so fast. Though Reddit posts and others on the internet attribute this spontaneous combustion to the pistachio alone‚ all nuts are high in fat and are capable of spontaneous combustion in moist conditions. A Wikipedia article that only listed pistachios as doing this is likely the root of pistachios being singled out like this.All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text‚ images‚ and links may be edited‚ removed‚ or added to at a later date to keep information current.  

Researchers are always looking for ways to make vaccines more effective‚ but the latest find is a bit of an unusual one. According to a new study‚ alternating arms when receiving the first two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine can modestly improve the body’s immune response.The potential impact of switching arms for multi-dose vaccines has long been a subject of research‚ albeit with mixed results. Researchers from the Oregon Health &; Science University looked to build upon the limitations of these previous studies‚ recruiting a large sample of people and tracking their immune responses for longer.After receiving two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine‚ the team followed 947 participants over the course of just over a year‚ collecting blood samples at various points and analyzing them for the level of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. Those who had received the second shot in their other arm were found to have higher levels of antibodies in their blood compared to those who had received it in the same arm‚ with the effect increasing over time. The improved response was first made clear three weeks after the second dose‚ and by 14 months after vaccination‚ the increase was 1.4-fold.The study also put 108 people into 54 pairs‚ matched based on age‚ gender‚ and time between vaccination. One person in the pair received the two doses in one arm‚ while the other received them in both. Although there didn’t appear to be much of a difference two weeks after the second dose‚ after three weeks‚ those who received the doses in alternate arms showed significantly higher SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels.Quite why this happens is not entirely clear‚ though the researchers think it could have something to do with activating new immune responses in the different lymph nodes in each arm. “By switching arms‚ you basically have memory formation in two locations instead of one‚” explained senior author Marcel Curlin in a statement.The results of the study are in contrast with research published last year that suggested receiving the initial two vaccines and boosters in the same arm could be the most effective method. However‚ it should be noted that the earlier study only looked at the immune response at two weeks‚ not three which could explain why they may not have seen the same effect.Though the effect seen in the current study was significant‚ there was a range of responses‚ all the way from 1.3 to 4-fold increase. However‚ Curlin said that “any incremental improvement might save a lot of lives.”It’s hoped that the improved immune response seen in this particular study might also be seen in other multidose vaccines‚ though the team cautioned that further research would be required for both those and COVID-19 vaccines before any official clinical recommendations could be made.“I’m not making recommendations at this point‚ because we need to understand this a lot better‚” Curlin told The New York Times. “[But] all things being equal‚ we ought to consider switching up the arms.”The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.