Beyond the Bricks: Week of 02/03

Trump Updates

President Donald Trump delivered his third State of the Union address Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020. Time reported that speech lasted for about an hour and a half covering topics such as economics, healthcare and border security.

With the speech taking place at the tail end of Trump’s impeachment trials, some politicians and invited guests stated that they would not attend. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said they would skip the speech due to the trial.

At the State of the Union address, CNN reported that Trump ignored Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s offered handshake.

A Trump adviser claimed that by ignoring Pelosi, Trump missed an opportunity to heal a divided nation, reporter CNN. The adviser is quoted as saying, “The country seems very, very divided, but I think Trump made a mistake not shaking her hand.”

Following the speech, Pelosi tweeted, “Democrats will never stop extending the hand of friendship to get the job done #ForThePeople. We will work to find common ground where we can, but will stand our ground where we cannot.”

Pelosi later ripped up her copy of the speech delivered by Trump claiming, “I tore up a manifesto of mistruths,” reported CNN.

This act, in Pelosi’s perspective, was her attempt to get the eyes of the American people to recognize that what Trump was saying was not true, and to be cognizant of how this affects the people.

Not only did Trump deliver his State of the Union speech, he also expanded his travel ban to include six more countries, reported the New York Times. The six countries include Nigeria, Myanmar, Erictrea, Sudan, Tanzania, as well as Kyrgyzstan.

All six of the added countries have a substantial Muslim population and bring the grand total of restricted travel countries to 13.

This move almost blocks immigration from Africa’s most populated country , Nigeria. Visas issued to people seeking to live in the U.S. will be banned from Nigeria, Myanmar, Eritrea and Kyrgyzstan. Sudan and Tanzania both now face restriction on diversity visa lotteries, which grants green card to many citizens. This prevents immigration from those countries as well.

The additions took effect on Feb. 22, 2020, however, immigrants who obtain visas before then will be able to travel to the U.S., reported The New York Times. Certain visas, such as student or temporary work visas, will not be affected.

In Other News

So, yarn made from human skin is now a thing. CNN reported that a team of scientists have developed a medical textile from human skin cells that can be used for knitting, sewing and even crocheting. The team of researchers are made up of people from France, Columbia and the U.S.

The team of researchers from the University of Bordeaux in France told CNN, the string-like substance is predicted to have the ability to integrate with patients’ bodies effectively. The research was published in Acta Biomaterialia, a peer-reviewed journal.

Different textiles are used in the medical field in surgery, as bandages and to serve a variety of other functions. The team is quoted by CNN as saying, “These human textiles offer a unique level of biocompatibility and represent a new generation of completely biological tissue-engineered products.”

Typical synthetic material has a chance to cause an adverse reaction in patients, the team hopes that the futuristic yarn would not run the risk of detrimental reactions.

Phys Org has also reported that the material has been tested on animals and that researchers are ready to start testing on human patients.