In this installment of “Motor School‚” Quinn encourages riders to try a little tenderness. The benefits of getting in touch with what your motorcycle is saying are massive. Don’t be shy‚ give it a try. We’ve known each other for a little while now‚ so let me just come out and say it: Deep down‚ you’re a sensitive person. It’s no secret you get misty-eyed every time you watch Titanic. We all know it‚ and nobody thinks any less of you. It’s one of the things we really like about you. When it comes to riding your motorcycle‚ however‚ where’s that same tenderness? Remember that early ’80s ballad by the Pointer Sisters about having a slow hand and an easy touch? I’m not saying you’re unsafe or dangerous; it’s just that when I watch you ride – mashing the controls and strangling the life out of the handlebar – it reminds me of a grizzled old garbage man beating helpless metal cans into submission as if he’s trying to settle all of life’s injustices. All that blind fury isn’t necessary‚ and it makes for a lousy ride up the coast. Similar to your ability to get in touch with your emotions while watching a tearjerker movie‚ your riding would greatly benefit from cultivating a little more sensitivity to what your bike is doing beneath you. If you’re unable to truly connect with your motorcycle‚ you’re likely to miss cues and clues – some of which are quite subtle – that will give you better control and help you get more enjoyment out of riding. Obviously‚ you understand the basics of using the throttle‚ clutch‚ and brakes‚ but how well do you listen to your motorcycle when it goes‚ stops‚ or turns? Are you sensitive to how your bike reacts when you demand action from it? In this file photo from the 18th annual Barber Vintage Festival‚ BMW Authority Sales Ambassador and Rider columnist Quinn Redeker gives a demonstration of police‑­style riding. Case in point: Watch a pro motorcycle racer during a track test. The mechanics will change engine mapping‚ suspension‚ handlebar position‚ chassis geometry‚ gearing‚ and about 7‚000 other little things to help the rider find comfort‚ confidence‚ and cooperation with the motorcycle. Every top-level racer has an incredibly sensitive feel for the smallest changes made to the bike. One minuscule clicker adjustment on the rear shock can be detected after only a few corners‚ and the rider will provide feedback to the mechanics to let them know if they are headed in the right or wrong direction. How is this possible? Simple. They listen to the bike. They tune in to subtle communications from the engine‚ chassis‚ and tires until they feel and understand what each is telling them. Armed with vivid‚ unfiltered feedback‚ they learn how best to squeeze the most performance out of the motorcycle. And guess what? They also pay attention to the environment‚ including track surface‚ changes in camber‚ weather conditions‚ and more. Racers are constantly in the moment and tuned in to everything around them‚ yet they are also able to block out distractions and noise to focus on what’s most important. You don’t have to be a pro racer to get valuable results from sensitivity training. At Total Control Training‚ where I’m an instructor‚ we have a drill in our Advanced Rider Clinic that helps students become better “listeners‚” thereby developing more sensitivity to the ebb and flow of their motorcycle’s behavior. But before I walk you through it‚ understand that repetition is key. Unlike your New Year’s resolution to use those cool stretch bands‚ which you abandoned after a week‚ you need to stick to the program if you want to see results. You can’t just do it once and complain that it didn’t work. Do it repeatedly‚ and before you know it‚ you’ll get there. Find a smooth‚ flat‚ empty parking area where you can ride at least 200 feet in a straight line. From a stop with your bike in 1st gear‚ accelerate up to about 20 mph in a smooth manner that minimizes fork extension and rear-end squat. Then brake to approximately 5 mph‚ doing your best to minimize front-end drop. Accelerate to 20 mph again before coming to a complete stop‚ making a concerted effort to minimize chassis pitch from start to finish. (Note the subtle differences in the photos below) Take it slow when you go. Keep the chassis as composed as possible under acceleration. And listen. What is your bike telling you? Ease into the controls under braking. Feel the suspension and feel the tires. How well are you listening for feedback? This drill gets harder as your acceleration and braking intensity increases‚ so start slowly and work up from there. See how sensitive you can be to the rising and falling of the front end‚ working to eliminate it completely. Find Quinn at Police Motor Training. Send feedback to rider@ridermagazine.com. See all of Quinn Redeker’s “Motor School” articles here. The post Motor School With Quinn Redeker: Motor (Sensitivity) Training appeared first on Rider Magazine.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Casgevy‚ a $2.2 million per patient treatment for use in patients with sickle cell disease. Casgevy‚ which utilizes CRISPR technology to edit a person’s genes‚ was developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics. BREAKING NEWS $CRSP FDA Approves First Gene Therapies to Treat Patients with Sickle Cell Disease https://t.co/lxb2diXT9r — Gene Investing w/Anthony (@GeneInvesting) December 8‚ 2023 CNBC reports: The approval comes about a decade after the discovery of CRISPR technology for editing human DNA‚ representing a significant scientific advancement. Yet reaching the tens of thousands of people who could benefit from the treatment could be challenging given the potential hurdles — including cost — of administering the complex therapy. Casgevy‚ co-developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics‚ uses Nobel Prize-winning technology CRISPR to edit a person’s genes to treat disease. The treatment was approved by U.K. regulators last month. Sickle cell‚ an inherited blood disorder‚ causes red blood cells to become misshapen half moons that get stuck inside blood vessels‚ restricting blood flow and causing what are known as pain crises. About 100‚000 Americans are estimated to have the disease. Casgevy uses CRISPR to make an edit to a person’s DNA that turns on fetal hemoglobin‚ a protein that normally shuts off shortly after birth‚ to help red blood cells keep their healthy full-moon shape. In clinical trials‚ Casgevy eliminated pain crises in most patients. The FDA approved the treatment for people 12 years and older. “Sickle cell disease is a rare‚ debilitating and life-threatening blood disorder with significant unmet need‚ and we are excited to advance the field especially for individuals whose lives have been severely disrupted by the disease by approving two cell-based gene therapies today‚” said Nicole Verdun‚ M.D.‚ director of the Office of Therapeutic Products within the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Gene therapy holds the promise of delivering more targeted and effective treatments‚ especially for individuals with rare diseases where the current treatment options are limited‚” she added. “According to a 2012 paper that first announced the technology‚ CRISPR is basically a cheap and easy way to edit genes and create new genetically modified organisms (GMOs) – in this case‚ out of human beings‚” Natural News wrote. U.K. approves CRISPR gene editing to create GMO humanshttps://t.co/aJcQdUAI71 — Truthseeker (@Xx17965797N) December 8‚ 2023 Natural News discussed the risks involved with CRISPR gene-editing technology: Developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics‚ the technology was approved after just one study that followed only 29 out of 45 total participants for 16 months. Twenty-eight out of these 29 supposedly had no pain after one year‚ Nature reported. In a clinical trial for beta thalassemia‚ 39 of the 42 trial participants tracked did not end up needing a routine red blood cell transfusion for a full 12 months at least – without Casgevy‚ these same beta thalassemia patients require a blood transfusion every three to five weeks. While the media and the companies they back that produce this kind of stuff are celebrating these amazing recoveries‚ what they are not telling people is that CRISPR comes with serious side effects‚ not the least of which include unexpectedly large deletions that result in even more serious genetic mutations. “It is well established that CRISPR / Cas9 gene editing is not only prone to off-target genetic damage but also a wide range of unintended mutations even at the intended edit site‚” said Michael Antoniou‚ PhD.‚ head of the Gene Expression &; Therapy Group at King’s College London. “This can negatively impact the function of multiple genes‚ which can lead to cancer.” “It is thus vital that those responsible for administering the gene editing therapy conduct unbiased genome-wide analysis of treated patients for potentially life-damaging DNA mutations. This is essential as it only takes one cell within the large pool of edited cells to go wrong and cause cancer.” In the meantime‚ a U.S. company is pushing a different but similar CRISPR technology called “base editing” that was reportedly designed to artificially reduce people’s cholesterol levels.