Undercurrents: The Oversight Board's Trump decision, and Merkel's legacy Audio bhorton.drupal 25 June 2021

Was Facebook right to suspend Trump? And how will Merkel be remembered?

In the wake of the storming of Capitol Hill on 6 January 2021, social media platforms took steps to remove former President Donald Trump from their websites for infringing community standards. This step was welcomed by many, but also raised serious questions about the power of social media companies to limit free speech and censor elected officials. The suspension of President Trump from Facebook was referred to the Oversight Board, an independent body of experts set up to scrutinise the platform’s content moderation decisions.  

In this episode, Ben speaks to Thomas Hughes and Kate Jones about the outcome of the Oversight Board’s inquiry into the Trump suspension, and the wider implications for content moderation on social media.  

Then Lara is joined by Hans Kundnani to assess the political outlook in Germany and reflect on the legacy of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel.  

Kir2.1, a strong inward rectifier potassium channel encoded by the KCNJ2 gene, is a key regulator of the resting membrane potential of the cardiomyocyte and plays an important role in controlling ventricular excitation and action potential duration in the human heart. Mutations in KCNJ2 result in inheritable cardiac diseases in humans, e.g. the type-1 Andersen-Tawil syndrome (ATS1). Understanding the molecular mechanisms that govern the regulation of inward rectifier potassium currents by Kir2.1 in both normal and disease contexts should help uncover novel targets for therapeutic intervention in ATS1 and other Kir2.1-associated channelopathies. The information available to date on protein-protein interactions involving Kir2.1 channels remains limited. Additional efforts are necessary to provide a comprehensive map of the Kir2.1 interactome. Here we describe the generation of a comprehensive map of the Kir2.1 interactome using the proximity-labeling approach BioID. Most of the 218 high-confidence Kir2.1 channel interactions we identified are novel and encompass various molecular mechanisms of Kir2.1 function, ranging from intracellular trafficking to cross-talk with the insulin-like growth factor receptor signaling pathway, as well as lysosomal degradation. Our map also explores the variations in the interactome profiles of Kir2.1^WT versus Kir2.1^314-315, a trafficking deficient ATS1 mutant, thus uncovering molecular mechanisms whose malfunctions may underlie ATS1 disease. Finally, using patch-clamp analysis, we validate the functional relevance of PKP4, one of our top BioID interactors, to the modulation of Kir2.1-controlled inward rectifier potassium currents. Our results validate the power of our BioID approach in identifying functionally relevant Kir2.1 interactors and underline the value of our Kir2.1 interactome as a repository for numerous novel biological hypotheses on Kir2.1 and Kir2.1-associated diseases.

Undercurrents: Europe's far-right educational institutions Audio bhorton.drupal 8 October 2021

In Hungary, France and Spain, new political movements from the far-right are attempting to reshape their education systems.

Under the supportive eye of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the recently established National University of Public Service seeks to embed nationalist illiberal values in a new generation of Hungarian students. Meanwhile in France and Spain, far-right public figure Marion Maréchal has turned away from the electoral politics of the Front Nationale to set up a new conservative research institute, ISSEP.

Both of these developments represent a challenge to the liberal values which underpin the existing international order. To find out more, Ben spoke with Professor Dorit Geva and Dr Felipe Santos, whose recent article in International Affairs considers the implications of this illiberal educational turn. 

Fed up with their district’s unmet pledges to stop steering African American students into low-level classes, parents take action.

COVID-19 has revealed stark inequities, but education leaders should seize the moment to dismantle them, writes Sonja Brookins Santelises.

Parents of a child with autism filed lawsuits against the Clark County, Nev. district, after video evidence showed him being restrained repeatedly.

Collaboration doesn’t require turning parents into math experts, classroom teachers say.

Looking for new ways to combat kids who bully, some communities are threatening to fine parents with no evidence that the approach is effective.

The state's highest court allowed some claims brought on behalf of relatives of victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School to proceed against the firearms industry.

Nearly 45 percent of children in rural McDowell County, West Virginia do not live with their parents and many are being raised by grandparents.

Ashley Hickey, a parent of a kid with celiac disease, is concerned that Nova Scotia's new school program does not offer any 100 per cent guaranteed gluten-free options.

As a troubled local gym goes dark, some members and the landlord say they haven’t heard from the owner about the future of the business in Thunder Bay, Ont.

The parents of a 16-year-old who died last fall from football-related brain trauma are suing the New York school districts he played for and the medical responders who tended to him the night he sustained his fatal injury.

In the lawsuit, the Chicago-based team's parents allege Little League was aware of potential residency issues, "but chose to ignore and/or deliberately conceal these facts in order to garner higher ratings, publicity, and money."

Districts could face a rising tide of special education-related lawsuits and complaints when schools resume, experts say, if they still cannot offer the services that students with disabilities missed out on for months.

A leading autism researcher and former special education teacher offers advice to help students cope with the abrupt changes brought on by the novel coronavirus outbreak.

A new resource offers tips on how to keep Individualized Education Program meetings focused and on-schedule.

Districts could face a rising tide of special education-related lawsuits and complaints when schools resume, experts say, if they still cannot offer the services that students with disabilities missed out on for months.

A new digital guide aims to identify students missing out on special education services and supports during distance learning.

As the cold weather approaches, it’s important to protect your family from the flu, COVID-19 and RSV. A Penn State Health pediatrician shares some simple tips to help keep everyone healthy.

As schools apply more scrutiny to the methods and materials they use to teach early reading, educators and parents in some states have started to form new advocacy efforts—trying to pressure states and districts to adopt new approaches to teacher training and evaluating materials.

A recent blog post by Walt Gardner ("The Hard Truth About the Achievement Gap," placed the blame for the achievement gap on one group above others: parents.

A comprehensive look at how U.S. schools served students in the aftermath of the coronavirus closures finds that schools responded more fully in communities where parents' education levels were higher.

Hands of the couple that received a tiny cardboard box from a Kasargod court trembled with emotions and their eyes welled up.

Archana's son also joined her on the trip

A small listening session held by the Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) led to more than 1,000 non-custodial parents being notified that that the suspension of their Delaware licenses has been lifted. The Division learned from a group of parents that although they were now in compliance with their child support obligation, they had […]

Talk to Teens About the Importance of Driving Safety During National Teen Driver Safety Week   DOVER, Del. (Oct 14, 2022)— National Teen Driver Safety Week is October 16-22, 2022 — the perfect opportunity to talk with teens about safe driving habits. The Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is teaming up with its traffic […]

to write a letter to parents from student teachers

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