Please help me support Rashida Tlaib
If you read Daily Kos regularly, you’ve probably been impressed by my Congresswoman, Rashida Tlaib.
The Michigan 13th Congressional District is heavily Democratic, so the real election takes place in the primary on August 4 this year. Rashida is the progressive candidate; her opponent is partially funded by Michigan’s richest human.
A rather impressive group of national advocacy organizations have endorsed her:
Our map of Gnuville: About 410 of us have shared our locations to date.
To leave your mark, please respond to our mappers in the comments or send them a kosmail: tljdk, silverfoxcruiser, keepiru, djbodhi. Please include city and state only, NOT street number and street.
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Science, Science
CRISPR therapy has given a sickle-cell anemia patient her life back
This is the first scientific report of patients with a human genetic disease treated successfully with CRISPR-Cas9 and indicates that CTX001 is a promising approach for the treatment of hemoglobinopathies. [Daily Kos, skralyx]
First you have the discovery that some adults keep making HbF in the first place (pre-1960’s) and the discovery of the genes involved (1980’s). Then you have the discovery that BCL11A regulates HbF (2008). Then the discovery that a certain region of BCL11A is responsible for repressing BCL11A but isn’t needed in other cells — so, a specific target to go after (2013). Then the discovery of CRISPR/Cas9 by people who had no idea what the heck it was (going all the way back to 1987). Then figuring out what it was (2005). Then re-engineering it to edit DNA (2012). Then the ability to deliver it and use it efficiently in HSCs (2019).
And instead of fixing the hemoglobin gene itself, we tap into another form that isn’t even supposed to be there by finding the switch that controls it, so we bypass the defective hemoglobin entirely. [skralyx]
Mice ‘cured’ of Parkinson’s in accidental scientific discovery
Scientists from the University of California (UC) in San Diego set out to better understand the role of proteins in connective cells, only to discover a way to transform many different types of cells into neurons.
Parkinson’s comes about when neurons – nerve cells – that produce the chemical messenger dopamine, which regulates movement, die off. Patients typically suffer tremors, slow movement and loss of balance when 80% of dopamine is lost.
The scientists used this discovery to develop a one-off treatment that eliminated Parkinson’s symptoms in mice, raising hopes of a cure down the line.
Tech Talk for Kosacks (members of Daily Kos)
- Got a Daily Kos tech question? Let us know.
- Answered a DK Tech-Talk question this week? Please repeat it in the comments.
- Question: JerseyDevil asked: “How do you put a quote from an author in a gray box (blockquote)?
- Answers:
- NotNowNotEver: “Above the place where you type text into a comment is a toolbar. There’s a quotation mark symbol in the bar (6th symbol from the left). Highlight the text you want to place in a quote box and press that quotation mark button.” [Many of those buttons reveal their keyboard shortcut when you hover the cursor over the button. ~2t]
- 2thanks: If you are using a PC, when your cursor is in the paragraph of a Daily Kos comment (or a diary draft), create a block quote either by clicking the Quote button that NotNowNotEver described, or by pressing Ctrl + ‘ [Ctrl key and apostrophe at the same time]. On a Mac, press Cmd + ‘. You don’t have to select the paragraph.
Good News Roundups 7 x 7: These Gnusies lead the herd @ 7 a.m., 7 days a week:
- Jessiestaf — Mondays.
- Alternating Tuesdays: NotNowNotEver and niftywriter.
- Alternating Wednesdays: karij and arhpdx.
- Thursdays: pucklady the 1st Thursday, Mokurai the 2nd, oldhippiedude the 3rd, MCUBernieFan the 4th, and Mokurai the 5th (when there is one).
- chloris creator — Fridays.
- GoodNewsRoundup — Saturdays.
- 2thanks — Sundays — A brief roundup of Roundups, a retrospective, a smorgasbord, a bulletin board, an oasis, a watering hole, a thunder of hooves, a wellness.
The 6 R’s of the Resistance
- Resist: Protest on the streets, call senators and representatives, etc.
- Rebel: Run for office, GOTV (Get Out The Vote), support a progressive.
- Revolt: Change the laws, change the culture, build your communities.
- Rely: Trust that millions of others are fighting the good fight.
- Rest: Take care of yourself, we are in this for the long term.
- Rejoice: Joy promotes resilience and gives rise to hope.
How to Resist: Do Something …
… Say Something
We welcome comments in Roundups every day regarding:
- National or local Good News.
- Links, stories, music, videos, quotes, tweets. (No tweets or images of the saffron chlamidiot, please.)
- Your resistance activity.
- Highlights from The Rachel Maddow Show.
In my Sunday smorgasbord Roundups, I especially welcome the following types of comments:
- Who won YOUR week?
- Questions about Daily Kos tech issues or our map.
- Good News Roundups and you.
Thank you for fighting for truth and justice with all us Gnusies! Although 40% of our Readers don’t visit every day, that’s okay, we all do what we can. For 3 years, we’ve shared positive news, laughed, organized, resisted, rebelled, revolted without being revolting, relied, rested, mentored, created, crossed rivers, chewed our cud, puffed methane out both ends, and laughed. Here’s looking at you, kid, and standing upwind! Moo if you are proud of us!
As always, please share more Good News than I can find or provide.
This is a group diary, and by my power I declare this Good Gnus salo(o)n open! Let the good-news sharing and community building begin!
Power with, not power over ❤️ ✊ ❤️
2thanks (he, his)