It's a 12 o'clock noon and we have a wonderful show on the military in Hawaii We can talk about the armed forces YMCA with his executive Lori Moore. Hi, Lori Hello, Jay. Thanks for having us today And we have a general Dan fig leaf. I like the way you put that in quotes, Dan Who used to be a PCSS for quite some time and now he's the chair of Of the board of the armed forces Y among other things. Thank you for joining us. Thank you, Dan and thank you, Lori Good to see you, Jay. Thank you So let's talk about let's talk about the structure of the of the armed forces Y I mean, it goes way back deep, you know I mean the armed forces Y one form another has existed in these islands since the armed forces came here And I couldn't say that it was at that time But I know that the Navy first set up shop at Pearl Harbor in 1850. So it couldn't have been too long after that Wow, so talk about what it is today, Lori So you're right, Jay. We've been here since 1917 serving our military here in Hawaii and you know Part of what we do is is remaining relevant in the moment always whether it's 1917 or 2020 and So our mission has obviously changed a lot over the years It kind of started out with a great building downtown anyone who knows what's now the Hawaii State Art Museum used to be one of our buildings and We used to have you know dances and affordable food and a place for our military to stay overnight and kind of get away from it relax and recoup and As things changed we moved on base and our focus became a lot about the military family in addition to the actual service member and So now our programs are really about education and social social services and things like that So, yeah, I think is a big point to be made here that you are Serving at least for the most part active duty military and their families But I imagine you also serve people, you know people who were active duty and who have been released from the service Dischargement service, but still consider themselves Military, you know military veterans of one kind or another am I right about that? Are and in fact, we do have some veteran services along with you know, we we we provide services to those that are DoD civilians Working on base and so our education programs and our social service programs expand to both of those So what would you say the mission is I mean what exactly what do you hope to achieve? By this and I know that it evolves over the years. It was one thing, you know in World War two It's another thing now. What what is it now? You know Jarrett alkaline is strengthening the military Ohana here in Hawaii And that's really what we do and it's really about finding ways to do that in the moment and Helping them meet the challenges of you know serving in our military and and helping them be recognized for the sacrifices Yeah Generally, if it's such a it's such a pleasure to see you you are kind of a sight for sore eyes I've admired you for years and You know, it's nice to see that you're on this board because I'm you know as a as a retired flag officer You bring so much to the table in terms of dealing with you know that mission Can you talk about your life and experience on the board? well, I Frankly wasn't interested in joining the board because I after I left a PCSS in January of 2017 I spent a lot of time writing and did some traveling consulting and conflict resolution and You know, I had enough to do But then a friend of mine you may have known Lieutenant General retired Jeff Remington Who's here is the Northrop Grumman corporate rep and was also my predecessor on the chairman of the board of management He's wrote me into it and it's the best rope that's ever been thrown around me Once I saw both the organization and the board. I couldn't not join It's a dynamic organization from 1915 on it's very responsive to the needs of the military community and I'm sure was here serving the sailors who my dad taught chemistry when he was a Navy ensign in Hawaii 1946 But it's a great organization. The board of management is not that's a better name than board of directors Because we have an executive director does a wonderful job Try not to puffer up too much, but that's a compliment. Yeah, Laurie is incredible But we try to help with the management and help the armed services YMCA We all occasionally step up and say I'm forces YMCA to Meet the challenges that they've got so for For example right now we have an ad hoc Committee on the future of education because many of our programs for the Kiki involve Early education So we've got people with an educational background including me from my time at a PCS And I consult for adaptive learning company now who just come together and try to See the idea been For Laurie as we try to think about what our educational programs will look like post COVID and into the next decade So there are other Financial and things like that that go to but it it's a great board I'm very I tell them that at the end of every meeting because it the members are very diverse But they all care so much about the good work of armed services YMCA Hawaii What what's the you know diversity of the board? I mean what kinds of people are on the board to join you? Well, there's people like me a couple retired military. It's certainly not the majority Some former educators some people with the finance background, but they're all community and business leaders Additionally the spouses of all of our component commanders are part of the board as well and that gives that gives us a great benefit like what we get from the spouses of the commanders is Insight and access that we wouldn't otherwise have and that's a long-standing Approach that we've taken Laurie. I assume we've been doing that as long as you've been associated with Armed services why so it's it's a diverse board. I have part of several boards of advisors directors and everything else. They're all fine but this one is special because of the unselfish commitment that each of the members makes to the organization Yeah, I Later on in the program. I do want to talk about the military in general as a special culture in our country But Lori, let's talk about your activities. What kind of activities do you organize? What kinds of events? What kind of you know gatherings? Educational experiences do you do you create and how are those things affected by COVID? Well, everything is affected by COVID that's for sure, but We have a lot of early education programs and one of the reasons we do that is because when our military moves to Hawaii In order to participate in early education, so we're talking pre-k programs and earlier There's generally very long wait lists out in the community And they're quite expensive And so we work to provide those on a basis more of a rotating basis because all of our members are military So we do have people PCS-ing in and out which makes space available Our wait lists are not quite as long as out in the community and of course our fees are less We are focusing right now on a parent participation preschool And we do that because we like to involve the parents For one, it's it's a great benefit to the child but two it really helps create community among some of these military spouses and You know if you're new here and you've just moved here Sometimes it's difficult to meet folks, especially if you're not living on base and you're out in town And so this gives them an opportunity to meet other military spouses You know find things in common and create their own community Which I think is a huge benefit when we're talking about strengthening families Some of our other programs were after-school programs that we participate in in the public schools Those are on a high at us right now. We're hoping to bring those back We're in conversations about bringing those back in the spring but a lot of that is is focus around deployment support and What we know is that you know when kids are maybe struggling because mom or dad is deployed Or they're they've just moved here to Hawaii and maybe that's their you know fifth move in as many years And and it begins to take a toll both academically and and socially emotionally So this program is really geared towards addressing both of those aspects of a child's life So one-on-one homework help and tutoring In addition to really kind of addressing some of the social emotional issues that a child may experience Yeah, so, you know, I wanted to ask you about the facilities you have you mentioned there are a lot of them and I'd like to start off with saying that when I was in the service in the time of Vietnam I was on the armed forces disciplinary control board and the armed forces Why they're on Hotel Street was a target of our inquiry on a regular basis because very strange things happen in that building And and you know, we we we work to keep a lid on things it was you know in a stark place where Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgneim and Montgomery Cliff They all made a movie there back back when what was it? gee whiz member on the beach and Yeah, it'll come back back to me a very famous movie back when back black and white So that you gave that up It had a tremendous legacy a tremendous history and now you're on the basis. Can you talk about what basis? You're on what what facilities you have where? So we have a full complement of programs and services at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam as well as Scofield Wheeler and Marine Corps Base Hawaii We also have programs over at AMR Aliamanu military reservation And we specifically have programs there because folks can walk to it You know, it's very very close there in the housing area and we're within walking distance We offer children's waiting room at tripler for example So we're up that tripler and Scofield Clinic as well And that particular program allows a military parent or dependent or even a dependent sibling to attend a Medical appointment and the well child is is cared for in our waiting room And doesn't you know necessarily have to go wait with mom and dad for for a medical appointment And it's kept safe and healthy and away from germs, which is very important right now So do you have visited all these places? Do you you make the rounds? I Do I do I do my best to do that and and actually I love Seeing our participants and our staff and Does keep me busy because I I put some miles on my car going from place to place, but You know, it's so worth it and and we love our military family so much We'll bend over backwards for them. You have staff How big is your staff and how many of them are volunteers and how many are you know full-time or part-time staff? so full-time staff where it's it's pretty small about eight folks and We've got about 30 part-time staffers some of them work at you know more than one facility and Last year I don't have the numbers for this year quite yet But last year we had over 1200 volunteers for the course of the year. So we do rely on well 100. Oh, wow Yeah, that's right. Are those volunteers from from the military or they from the community in general or what both both So a lot of times we'll do a hunt of food drops and that's become an important program over the last several months during COVID and We've distributed over a hundred thousand pounds of food since April and We've had a lot of community volunteers take part in that either doing food drives or actually distributing the food You know just wanting to be part of that and assist where they can That's great. So general by the way, I remember the name of the movie it was from here to eternity and I was on the tip of my brain Bert Lancaster was in there also But you know, I wanted I wanted to ask, you know, so we have what amounts to a social safety net kind of organization here There are many or you know There are actually hundreds of social safety Organizations in Hawaii that do sure like this But it strikes me that the people in the military are you know, it's a different community And they're going to be and I know for a fact They're going to be more comfortable with an organization of the military for the military Then they would be for and you know an all-purpose safety net kind of nonprofit. What do you think about that? Is that part of the discussion you have with your board? Well, we all like being Comfortable in our surroundings and you're most comfortable with the world, you know, and they know the military world So sure doesn't mean they don't get support from other community service organizations But it's comfortable and accessible because the on base presence. So But I think that is part of it. They also Had get some additional comfort Through the association of the parents that are involved with their kids and the programs and that's something we see that That's lost a bit during COVID when our operations are somewhat constrained because the military parents So your mom who's got a her husband is deployed and feeling the stress of that and another mama's in the same boat It's a way to connect While your kids are doing whatever so a very high comfort level Everything's tailored to them by people who know what their needs are and we stay in touch with their needs And So I think it's it's a place that feels like home. Yeah to the military families Yeah, and the military families have special challenges that are you know Exclusive to them unique to them But then I wanted to ask you also, I mean, how do you how do you raise the money pay the staff? Make the arrangements, you know, whatever they are, you know A lot of things Laurie is going to be able to get from volunteers and community organizations that would like to contribute for the cause but You still need money. How do you raise it? Where do you get it from? So Would you would it be untoward to put the arm services ymca.org website up there but through donations individual donations and and also get some Return on the building sale back from the national arm services ymca, which was which their board is headed by bicep will retire bill french youth and Then nations now with covid we took a big hit in that because in November We had best funding fundraising event ever I know that because of end of most of them in the islands. It seems they have a breakfast where we honor A number of the military service plus coast guard plus national guard and their family for their community service and the winners are always Inspiring and compelling and it's a gala breakfast. What's the name of the website? It's ymcahi.org we did J we did Do a virtual breakfast We honored in a covid safe manner the recipients who are all wonderful the Some of the commanders opened their homes up for a small responsible gathering, but they still got their gift baskets, which are Best good baskets ever and we're appropriately recognized and that's 80 your non-military listener Who says well, what's this have to do with me in addition having over 36,000 active duty and over 9,000 Reserving guard folks stationed in Hawaii. They're your neighbors and you're they're good citizens and they They're part of the community you'd appreciate what great citizens They are when you saw the good work that the military member and their spouse have done for the community That got them recognized by armed services ymcahi Yeah, you're you're touching into a very important part of hawaii culture You know the military has been here for 150 years or more Make that 170 years And the military is infused into hawaii And it's not just historical It's day to day. It's not just being consumers A part of the you know what I call it the the customer economy It's it's being part of the the whole culture. I mean, you know, you could swing a cat in any direction It's a military person or family around you Participating in the economy in the community the same way and furthermore like you general There are tons and tons and tons of people who have come out of the military and made their lives here Um and retire here and so in the constant. Yeah, go ahead It's not just generals and admals, you know the rouse the guy who used to do my pest control servicing for many years was a retired nco And he and I sure had a lot in common not just our air force background But we'd both come to and fallen in love with hawaii and many of us do The other thing I'd say make two other points one is The deliciousness of hawaii is the diversity of the population. I mean, that's what's truly unique the beautiful it's a beautiful place, but the population is aloha and You get an extraordinarily diverse Group in the military members and their families and they're a group that's generally traveled the world I've been to 72 countries. Maybe they all haven't been to 72 countries But they bring global experiences and share that with their friends and neighbors And that's that's good for our islands But I'd also say that they've faced many of the same challenges that other Folks have in the islands during covid Yes, the military members still have a job And that's safe But many of them Especially the enlisted are dependent on dual income because you're not getting rich in the in the military and this is an expensive place to live So when the spouse loses their Part-time or full-time employment due to covid that has a big big impact And it's another part of the reason that they need the arm certs as ymca safety net Yeah, absolutely in the In the engagement in the contiguous engagement or the integrated engagement Of the military and the civilian community I mean two issues have come up in the past year or so that I like to ask you Whether you've been thinking about this and what your reaction is one is to the extent we have a disaster Um, it doesn't have to be covid, but it might be Uh, it could be extreme weather. It could be some effective climate change Where the where the state is in dire straits and the state needs help Some people say here in hawaii that we can count on the military They need they they need to to help us that's part of their mission to help us in in dire consequences Other people say no the military has its own mission Um, and they they're not, you know, you can't count on You know the military being there and wrapping the community wrapping around the community In case of an emergence out of circumstances. What are your thoughts about that? I think that in any major disaster in hawaii, the military will play a very important role in response and recovery there'll be some limits to what capacity they have and what's legal just under the the structure of federal armed forces and what they're allowed to do in a community But we're here There's another part of that that makes me so even more certain and that is the extraordinarily tight relationships between the community and the military leaders And including the national guard and uh, so the emergency preparation folks and It's better than anywhere. I've served really and I still know the folks who are involved in it You know, we love this place And then we love the people and that can sound a little fluffy It's not If if they can help whatever help can be provided will be provide provided and I'm certain it will be substantial The other question I want to post to you lory. I'll come back to you in a moment This is for the general Is um, you know over the course of this administration People were concerned that the military would be Would would protect a president who didn't want to leave office that may be moot now Okay, but but people raised the question I said, you know, if he if he as a commander-in-chief called on the military to You know prevent a transition of power It was a question as to whether the military would Take instructions take orders from him as a commander-in-chief or whether they would they would dig it and say no We can't just not a legal order. We can't do that And I you know, right, I think the emerging the the concern about that is passed I think most people Feel now that the military would not do that Um general milley is is one person. I think who makes that clear who made that clear But I wonder, you know about your thoughts about that I mean the military traditionally in this country in this democracy has been apolitical Um, and yet we we've seen that tested over the course of the last few years And I wonder what your thoughts are on where we stand with respect to that issue Well, first of all, I take exception with your premise and say that we've tested been tested on that over the last couple of centuries I mean, it's a it's a dynamic tension. Yes Whether Too loyal or not loyal enough that it goes to our oath of office Where we are called upon to obey all lawful orders And we have a strong sense on what lawful orders are all military members are required to refresh themselves on the constitution annually and I have some friends in china who I talked with occasionally and they kind of asked the same question I said First of all, I personally know several of the service chiefs But even if I didn't And so you're worrying for nothing. That's not how we are now many Retired flagging general officers have become more active politically than they have in the past That's not for me. You know every time I write a paper Op ed like was in the story advertiser 10 days ago or so on north korea The last proof read is to make sure you can't tell what my politics are Because I just don't think it's appropriate. I'm not taking issue with those who do but But on active duty We follow the law. We execute our oath of office And do our duty and whatever that duty calls Thank you for that. Thank you for that Really appreciate that on all levels. So lory just come back to you for a minute How do I get your job lory? What do I have to No chance jay. No chance What do I study? What do I have to learn? What do I have to do to get a job like yours? Oh my goodness. Well, I'll tell you um, I come from a family of of service kind of oriented individuals And that's what we do My husband's a retired marine. I've got a our oldest son is a first lieutenant in the marine corps. Is that right? And our youngest son is a senior in college contemplating joining the marine corps so um, you know, I come from a family of service and and My role as a military spouse Besides having my own career and working You know was was to support those around me and to support other military spouses And I feel very strongly about that because one thing we know for sure and that is military families serve alongside the military member And so for me, it's a great pleasure to be able to continue that work in this capacity Um, and you can't have my job jay. I really like it And jay, I I'm going to interrupt and say, I'm not sure you want her job. She worked really hard and She's led our response to covet and we talked about the comfort of the families One of the reasons they're comfortable with our insurances by mca is the extraordinary care they took in all of the post virus sanitization isolation, etc She's done a great job and the whole team has But when you when you go down to one of the facilities You feel it and it's not you don't feel a burden. You feel their commitment Jay for us getting getting back operating as quickly as possible was really important because we knew As far as our military families offering our programs again and our services again Was important to kind of their bounce back and and you know an aspect of resilience for them And so we worked very hard to get Operating as quickly as possible and our team has done a fantastic job Now one one thing one thing I feel strongly about and I'm wondering how you feel coming from a family surrounded by military is I I thought that Ending the draft in the 70s was a mistake And I think national service is a very worthy Important thing for any country, especially this country Um, if it was up to me, I would I would put the drafts back in back in operation again. What about you? How do you feel about that? From a personal standpoint, I would absolutely support national service for any of our individuals. I mean How do you value a country and how do you value your freedoms and rights if you don't have the opportunity to protect those? And I think it's a great lesson for everyone Um And male or female. I think national service is is really important. Whatever that looks like Okay, I really would like the general to weigh in on No doubt I will Jay uh, first of all my um, son has retired. Her first my daughter was an Air Force Intelligence officer for six years. She's married to an Air Force fighter pilot turned test pilot Which is proof that she doesn't really hate her father and My brother served in the Air Force So, yeah, we believe in service but The draft isn't coming back and I think it this time starting with or highlighted by the george floyd situation. It's a good time to talk about The burden we have as leaders To help our military look as much like it's our society as possible at all levels And that doesn't just happen And you don't fix everything By the promotion of one or two The room has to look like our country. Yes part of that is we'll make better decisions diversity Does enable better decision-making if you're all the Same background and think the same way. You're not going to come up with very innovative answers Um, but the other part of is we have parts of our society that are absolutely not invested in national security And the cliche they don't have skin in the game. In this case, we mean real skin the skin of their sons and daughters so I applaud the military's efforts to To promote diversity to get to underrepresented elements of society We can't draft them It's just not going to happen. I don't I don't think it's a realistic hope. So the burden's on us I I couldn't disagree with any of that So general leaf. I really appreciate it coming around. It's really wonderful to see you and talk to you and And and thank you for tolerating my questions too and you too Thank you for coming around and having this conversation and tolerating our my questions And I hope we can do this again and and and dig deeper and uh, you know And see how you're doing going forward. Thank you so much and stay safe you guys Laurie like hearts and relief happy. Thanks giving everyone happy. Thanks giving aloha


Thanks for tuning back into the channel today, right here with the Rust Belt mechanic. As you guys can see, another episode rocking here with Rust Belt's Nifty Tools of the Week. We've got some really awesome things to show you guys here today, some of which are actually pretty new to the market.  So make sure you stay tuned, let's get into some tools. First we come to our Nifty Tools of the Week is gonna be our Master Oil Funnel Kit. This is by Motivex Tools out of Washington State. This is a 16 piece oil fill and funnel kit. It's gonna be the Master Kit, which is gonna include about 90% of pretty much any vehicle that you guys can think of when it comes to filling those engines with oil. Now this Master Kit comes with all kinds of different adapters, three different funnels, as well as some universal joints here for it as well.  And these clear adapters are either going to thread in to your standard oil fill ports or click lock in to those half twist turnstiles as well. They come out with some really nice rubber seals on it so it's not gonna leak past those seals. And then as well as all these really cool adapters along with it, everything from these two prong, little adapters that go onto the very older style with the metal little engagement points for those older engines, as well as some of the newer things that are kind of off brand, like on those Hondas, the vans and the odysseys that are really hard to get to the oil fill spots. They're really down load in a weird angle. Got some adapters for those as well. Now, if you run into that circumstance where the funnel or the adapter that you have for the vehicle, it just doesn't happen to be in this kit, there's a universal one as well. It's this little spring-loaded adapter right here. Screws and locks into one of these funnel adapters right here so you still have the nice clear adapter and then it's gonna be this nice spring-loaded handle. So you can put it into that housing, let go, release the little trigger here on the end and it's gonna spread itself apart so it goes into that little opening and puts the spring tension and holds that funnel into place. I think this kit's a really great idea, especially for the guys who are doing lube oil and filters all day long and you're tired of getting that nasty mess all over a customer's car. Well, this takes the questions out of the game and gives you a nice comprehensive set to be able to do those oil changes for you. Part number on this one is gonna be MX2300-16, like I said, a 16-piece set. And over on their site, it's actually gonna be running 99.95 as their standard price. But you know what? They decided they're gonna do one better. They're gonna give you guys a discount code just for being the fans of Rust Belt Mechanic. So in check out, if you guys put promo code Rust Belt, you guys are gonna get an additional 10% off this kit. And already at just a hundred bucks at how high a quality this really is, I think you guys are gonna be really happy with this and I would definitely recommend for you guys to pick up one of these tools. Second up on the list, we also have another tool here by Motivex. This is the Motivex Large Trim Tool MX2603. This is the large panel and pry tool that is also non-marring. It's a plastic polymer, pretty rigid, but still is not gonna be one of those really hard metal pry tools. What I really like about this is the size. For those door panels that have those clips that are really far in there, you're not able to get them.  Really rigid, some nice little grooving here in the middle to get a nice grip onto it. And this thing, I've used it twice now on some of the Chevy conversion vans that have those Christmas trees way in there. And this thing works fantastic. And what I like about it is the fact that it is non-marring, but it is very rigid. Like this thing, it's a tough tool. Whereas if you're trying to do it with one of these tools right here to get some of those big pry panels, they're just floppy fish in the wind and that is not gonna pull those heavy Christmas trees apart. So this one is also available over at MotivexTools.com, and this one's gonna be at the killer price of only $14.95. Save you the headaches of all those nasty door trim panels and pick you one of these up as well. I will be sure to have all the descriptions for these tools in the description as well. Third up for these rock and nifty tools is gonna be this nice magnetic tray set by Blue Point or Snap-On. Now when's the last time that you heard a Snap-On tool coming in at under $60 that was really worth your time and money? Not too often does that happen, but they really knocked it out of the park in this one. This one is gonna be a four-piece set. Part number on this one is gonna be BLPMPTSETA. Nice long part number for you guys to remember, but I will put that one down in the description below as well. Like I said, four-piece magnetic tray set and this thing is gonna be awesome for you guys that have these carts like this one, the ones with the flip-up trays and these things are gonna have a nice big magnetic band here to the back of it.  This is actually kind of a softer surface onto it as to not scratch your box. Comes with the four-piece set. I believe we have an eight inch, a 12 inch, a 10 inch and a six inch. So all four different sizes here for you. I like personally to put them on the inside of this tray right here. When I flip the lid up, put it against the lid. The other thing that a lot of the guys you like to use these for is to put these on the corners of your rack to be able to hold all your lug nuts, maybe some brake parts, hardware. Anywhere you guys can stick this, these things are gonna be absolutely amazing. And at only like 58 bucks. 58 bucks, you can pick up this set from Snap-on. Now the other thing that I found was kind of a hassle. They put these out and they realized these are a good price. Lots of guys started buying them and they might be a little bit hard to get. But if you can get your hands on a set of these, I would definitely recommend for you guys to pick them up. Great buy for the money. And then last but certainly not least on this week's Nifty Tools is gonna be the new Blue Point Underhood Service Tray. This one is gonna be part number BLP-U-H-S-T-P-C. Now this one at the price that it is, I think it is a fantastic buy personally for what I do. I like to have my service cart all nice and full of tools. But again, what do I do with all the little parts and the other little things that come off the engine bay? I don't want to really set them on the ground or around on the rack. So this is the perfect alternative to that. You don't always have a roll-around tray available in the shop or a bench that you're easily accessible at especially if when you're doing things across the shop. This tray was perfect for that. Now running at $225 normally, I actually picked this one up at $250 this last week on my truck is a fantastic buy. It's fully adjustable height-wise. You're able to turn the little adjustment bar here on the very end. It's got a nice padded side to it where it won't allow you to scratch the end of the fender or something that you're setting it against. And it's able to adjust up and be able to slide over the hood area where you're working at. The inside portion of this does have some nice really easy foam slide in trays area. So it's not just straight metal to metal scratching it up maybe rusting it over time as well as the thing that I really like is it has this nice rubber bumper around the entire tray. On top of that, it's got six holes here in the end to be able to either put screwdrivers or pry bars whatever you need can slide right through it on down through, hold all the tools and or parts nice and divided, nice and neat underneath that hood that you guys really need. I definitely have enjoyed this one over the last week and a half or so. I would definitely recommend for you guys to pick this up especially if you are some OCD mechanics like I am like to keep everything all nice and neat and organized underneath the hood of the car. It's a great tool to pick up. Now I know it's hot in here but we got some really hot tool deals here going and I decided, hey let's throw in one more for the week. I ended up picking this one up. This is another Motivex tool special here for you. Now a lot more of the information will come on this one. If you guys go over and check out toolheadscrate.com that's the monthly tool subscription service that myself, Mr. JRC54 and Captain Ron have been putting on over the last four or five months. This is actually going to be one of this month's golden tools. Thanks to Motivex they are sponsoring this month's golden tool awards and actually we're gonna have not one, two but we're gonna have three of them. This particular set right here is gonna be their three eighths socket and ratchet master set. Comes with all you see here. We've got all the way from six up to 24 millimeter. Got a nice ratchet, three extensions, a spring loaded swivel and a couple of adapters all within this nice fancy phone molded case right here for you. Now these are some pretty killer kits. It's a really nice fine tooth ratchet very heavy duty to it as well. Nice little contour, metal here for the selector switch and everything is also really well finished on the outside because here along the outsides it's all gonna have this really neat knurled grooving.  I think it's really cool that you stop it and it's gonna land pretty much up every time. So this kit, make sure if you wanna see more on this one it's not actually gonna be out yet over on Motivex's site for the next week or so. They do have the quarter inch set available but the three eighths and half inch will be coming very soon. And so if you guys wanna get your hands on these early possibly get your chance in getting a couple of sets for free. Make sure you go on over to www.toolheadscrate.com and give those a check out as well. Make sure you check out our Instagram page as well. We're running some really cool deals on there. Some promotions for tagging people you might even get yourself a free tool heads crate on top of that. 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Good afternoon and welcome back to the touchline on Y25 for Maxel Waseke is my name. This time round we want to speak about state of basketball in the country with one gentleman and a lady who form an integral part of the game in the country. Zdekai otieno, not an unfamiliar face on this particular platform has been here before several times before he got some nice deal overseas and travelled to Germany and forgot us. Even he was not picking our calls but you know, East of West Ham is the best and Ivy a Rungu from Holiday Inn also joining us this particular platform. Good to see you guys, Zdekai, how are you doing bro? I'm well and thanks for having me. How was Germany then? Since then I'm seeing you, you've been lost and found. Not really, Germany was called, it was nice. It was a nice educational program and I'm happy I'm back implementing all that I'd learnt in Germany now back home. Oh, it was something related to basketball? Yes, it was a basketball scholarship. It was a higher diploma in sports development in relation to science. Wow, good stuff and hopefully you get the opportunity to share the insights you got from Germany so that it gets implemented to the latter locally. Yes and that is why we're here today because that is part of what we learnt in terms of how do we develop the game of basketball and how do we do that is by creating local junior leagues. Good stuff and Ivy a Rungu from Holiday Inn as spear and marketing, good to see you Ivy, how are you doing? Very well, thank you for having me. You also love sports? Yes especially basketball. You see I have the height in case you're doubting. When did you develop your love for basketball? That is a story for another day. And a long one? A very long one. So tell us how you guys are involved in advocating and finding basketball activities in the country? We are very honoured to have partnered with Zeddy and Vikapo Elite because it's something as Holiday Inn we've been working towards getting in touch with the community for different projects not just in arts and the corporate meetings but things like athletics. So this is a fast partnership and we're going to be the hospitality partner for the whole league for the next three months. So if you actually come to watch the games while they're being hosted at Holiday Inn to River Small you're going to have the opportunity to enjoy our hospitality because we're going to be feeding the teams, we're going to be making sure the coaches are refreshed and that's something we're really looking forward to. Looking forward to that. There is something I'm always passionate about and we haven't mentioned whether you guys will be offering it but maybe I'll come to the location and try to establish whether it's on offer. So did you tell us about Junior League for Vikapo Basketball? How is the progress? I think it started a week ago. Yes the launch was a week ago and then the games also started immediately. So basically it's called the Fruits Nairobi Junior League because we had a title sponsor which was Aquamist which came in with their juice brand. Then we have Aphrolite and we have Holiday Inn who are coming in as hospitality partner. It is very very integral for us to have Junior Basketball League for kids because once we start structuring it like this it means it gives these kids a platform whereby they showcase their talent and once they do that it's so easy to identify them and channel them into the Junior National Teams. Remember the Africa under 16s on 5 games have just ended in Rwanda. We did not represent a team and it's so sad and it is because we don't have clear structures in development whereby these kids can be identified early so that they are trained as a national team and they go outside there and represent the country. So having such partners on board gives us the platform to just hold a league for the next three months. We are going to play close to 162 games for the three months and you see these are going to be very very exciting games because we have teams cut across Nairobi from Korogosho, Dandora, Kajole, Umoja, Kibira, Kilimani, Rwanda so it is a league that is covering the whole of Nairobi. Let me be realistic and ask you a very blunt question. When I was at the college I was so passionate about basketball. We were being coached by Griffin Ligare. He was the coach for the college basketball side and I could... Kenya Wan? Ya, Kenya Wan. I could personally attend the entire university games go to KU, USIU, J-Quart. Because of the love and overwhelming passion I had for the game. Not necessarily I was playing but just to watch. But you see, what do we need to do to reclaim the rose gold glory in between there is something that happened to our game and basketball is giving us a kuruji. Yes and it is because of the PR that is going around and also the partners we have because running a league means a lot of financial power that needs to go into it. So with good financing it means we are able to advertise the league, we are able to highlight the league and that is why now the fans are starting to come and remember we need to start training the skill at a very early age and exposing it at a very early age so that you are able to journey with this kid when he is 14, 16 so that you are able to aspire to sit down and watch him play and now we are very very happy that the league is going to run and the partners we have from Aquamis to Olidein to Afralet they are going to ensure that the league is sustained for the next two years and that is what is amazing because some of the partners have committed to that so it means for the next two years we are going to have a league and our work as VKAP is to ensure even beyond the two years we need to come up with an under 14 league that will be running concurrently with the under 16 and also with the under 18 so that you have an under 14 league under 16 league and under 18 league then once that chain is complete now they can be absorbed into the national team both juniors and seniors in the past before you come to live in the past I have seen as putting tournament getting initiated then let's run a few days later I think the federation concerned raise eyebrows over legitimacy of the event this one of you has been sanctioned by Kenya basketball federation so that whatever you are doing is in tandem with lay down regulations of KBF and if you also saw the launch of the league we are representative from Kenya basketball federation we wrote to them before the start of the league they wrote back to us sanctioning the league so it means they are aware of the league existing and running at the same time we talked also with the Kenya basketball referees association to also sanction the referees so we have followed all du protocol that is needed to ensure that the league is legitimate and they are aware the league is running and it will run for the next three months and beyond because some of the contracts that we are getting into with some of these partners is to ensure the sustainability of the league because if you are not able to ensure the sustainability of the league then there is nothing you are doing because you need this league to be there beyond us Aivi, now talk to us about probably in the future if you are seeking spreading your anxiety a little bit further you know supporting senior side now that you are supporting a junior tournament in the name of the league they have started a week ago do you seek maybe going a bit overboard a bit overboard in supporting other sports or Yes, other sports and even the senior basketball league No, yes, definitely so that's why we are very proud of Zeddy and the vikapu elite team this being the first partnership like he mentioned it's something we want to make sure is long term and is sustainable so he's just helped us shout even bigger that we are very open very open to partnering with other sports we are looking forward and cheering them on to go higher because in the same way there is many other holy deans across the globe so you know if you feel Zeddy grew from vikapu elite is now playing games all over that's also another network that we'd be happy to bring in the whole brand because there is more hotels under the brand to support this league and the higher the better the doors are open so we are inviting more people who would like our support we are trying to say that they feel privileged getting spawned that they are reputable so you are saying that you love the sport and you developed a passion for basketball at some point maybe in your tender age where do you see basketball in the next let's say 10 years locally I'll be very honest when we had the first conversation with Zeddy immediately I went online and checked the NBA what they are doing what kind of projects they have so I would like to believe by partnering with people who share vision and who understand basketball way better than I probably would that's why we know we are going to get it to very bigger levels in the next 10 years but as a fan and as someone who played back then the country just showcase basketball at a more competitive level and all across the globe wow good stuff and the country as she looks forward seeing the country showcase basketball at a big stage are we making this happen as recorders of the sport we need to because basketball is one of the first growing sports not only in Kenya but in the continent so I'm proud that us having done or made such strides in development because remember our sustainability in terms of performance is boils down to the development of the league and you guys were talking about Kenya rugby and what they are doing they are not in the big stages right now but what they do locally is what will determine how are they going to perform if they are going to go back into the bigger circuit so in basketball we are putting structures in development and that is the biggest thing and we are happy because you see Aquamista doing it in rugby and Menengai and Cabras and all that and now they are starting to do it in basketball and we hope that such partnerships when they are anchored under good vision under good dream then they need to leave the test of time and we need to give our kids that platform so that they are able to not only represent themselves but represent the country and represent the game as well Initially when you were starting Vikapo Basketball League I think you had prioritized your involvement in schools where we all agree that there is plenty of untapped potential at the school level but they never get the chance to showcase their prowess so that because of lack of structures I don't know how is it like in terms of ensuring continuity that get to be supported at a tender age in school level as they rise above Ya, when you go to Kajole where we are also working with Fais Basketball Association we have been able to put up basketball courts in all the five public primary schools and we are having a sitting also with the governor just to ensure that this can be replicated in all the public primary schools within Nairobi. Remember when we were growing up we used to have basketball courts in all the estates now this is something that needs to come back and when you look at something like this league and say that it encompasses all the communities within Nairobi so it's going to be very interesting when we come to the end of it how they fare on and also trying to see if this can only just be a precursor then maybe have a league with more teams now the teams are only 18 because you have only 10 boys team 8 girls team but you are looking at a situation whereby why not have 30 teams in the league why not have 60 teams in the league because once you get to that level it means every single primary school or majority of them will be in the league they will have something to look up to so that is why the fruits in Nairobi Junior League is so crucial for us at this point and we need to ensure that it is sustained, it exists and players can have something to look up to because when you travel across Africa there are a lot of junior leagues that are happening not only in Kenya we don't have because in other countries you have the junior NBA leagues and all that but in Kenya we don't have so it's so important and I believe those are some of the things that the government also look at when they try to sponsor some of these competitions and it's so sad when a junior national team cannot travel to go compete yet we have kids who are talented and are equal to that opportunity so we need to ensure that we put in structures and having a league so that this one is so essential Aivi, Randa our neighbors and East African compatriots are doing prominently well in terms of basketball of course in an initiative led by their president Paul Kagame we've seen construction of courts when he's already in taking us for benchmarking mission benchmarking mission so that we learn what we're not doing and what Randa has been doing if in case it gets to be replicated we'll do better as well well we'd be very happy to speak to our partners across the continent like I mentioned apart from the holiday in hotel brand the mother brand has many other many other sub brands and properties across the continent but you've heard of Randa's heroic exploits in basketball what can we do to learn from Randa so that we can emulate on them as well I think our leadership just needs to change in terms of their vision in terms of their ideology because as I said basketball is one of the first growing sports in the continent and you see basketball what is called now the basketball Africa League BAL which means they are focusing on the talent that is within Africa so we also need to ensure that our standards in terms of our facilities get to that level because BAL is just a five year deal again with Rwanda it means BAL finals for the next five years is going to be played in Rwanda if you look at our economy is bigger than Rwanda's so it means this is an economy that can sustain Kenyans are people who are lifeist they want to go out, they want to spend what was shere so I think our sports team needs to look into this so that we build facilities and infrastructure NBA and all these other people to come to Kenya because this is a good market this is a good market to hold such activities and that is why we need to start convincing sponsors and everything that it's time to come into sports it's time to invest in sports and it will pay back how is the progress in terms of Kenya's partnership with global basketball? I think it's been in Nairobi constructing several basketball courts how is the progress so far he has done well because this year he opened a court in Kayole he opened a court in Dagoreti and there is one how many politics have you raised Kenyan culture so far so good because you see he has a team that he works with the team is locally so they just do the operation and everything from that point of view so I think there is no politics I think the politic comes in when now we start involving other governments but I think so far so good is doing well it's not going to be the last time that is doing that now the attention shifts to Kigali Rwanda in August because they are doing one of the biggest activities because they are going to bring in 14 different countries for what is called the Jans of Africa Festival we are going to have Davido we are going to have people performing there so it's going to be one week of good basketball experience for kids and I'm happy Kenya is being represented by two teams, a girls team and a boys team and then the team that is playing the finals today the Nairobi County finals will be representing Kenya in Kigali in August are you looking forward to that? yes of course we are it will be a nice experience right? yes that's why we've kicked off with him and the team right now because we know it's getting better and bigger and we are trusting the vision they have with the game because like I said we've just partnered they have the vision and we are happy to join hands and get there together and in the past there has been lack of goodwill from Kenyan corporates coming to the rescue of our dying sporting activities in the country because of that corporate confidence for the few weeks you had a collaboration with them how are things looking like? things are looking promising and like to believe it has been good so far as they did I think maybe what I would mention is just for when you reaching out to partner with any corporate it's important to understand the vision and the mission that they have that way once you're able to align you as a person reaching out for sponsorship or support you're both aligned that way you'll definitely have the corporate supporting more and more but you see now we're also setting an example for other corporates to join the community and support this Wow, Ivy, Rungu and Zedeka joining us this particular afternoon to share their insights regarding state of basketball in the country ahead of the Nairobi County league set for 3pm 3pm today which teams? Vikapu Elite versus Friends so you're obviously looking for to win in your favor of course because I think we put up a very young team it's the youngest team in the league and they have gone all the way to the final and I believe you are very optimistic Yes, that we may take it home Wow, thank you for coming through and sharing the vision you have for the sports with us this particular afternoon Ivy it's been glad having you I thought you would struggle little bit here pleasure having you this particular afternoon thank you Zedek under where you keep talking to us Ashdaa Touchline Y254 quite an interesting conversation coming up in not too long with one gentleman who has been doing a lotrafai Lobonyu is a public policy expert and he will be joining us in not too long to share what he thinks about sports development in the country don't go and stay tuned


The Pepsi NFL rookie of the year would mean a lot to me, you know, everything that Pepsi stands for it's about the fans and it's about the whole culture so that would be unbelievable then to think about, you know, what a year it's been for me, a long turnaround so it's been, it's been a lot of fun.  I think I talked enough trash during the regular season for me to, you know, kind of be a little bit hesitant even though I was so confident going into the Big 12 championship because when it comes down to that championship game I know how our guys are going to play. No, I don't have any bets that I have to pay off.  He works hard, he earns everything he has, he's obviously very gifted but he works for everything and so, you know, he's a great leader in that locker room and so I think he's going to do unbelievably well in the NFL and so whoever gets him is going to be lucky. I mean, it's easy to say it's Tom Brady. I mean, that's the greatest of all time. It's hard to argue that or even think about arguing. I've got to go with Jarvis Landry. That's my guy. You know what, I feel like this whole morning I've been going back and forth on who I'm picking. It's going to be a good game. Whoever wins it's either going to be Tom Brady's MVP or I think Todd Gurrilli the MVP. I can't pick a winner, it's just going to be a good game.


So I've changed a little bit the title, actually. I've had a non-coding RNAs in the story. So we'll start with a general view of what is epigenetics for those of you who don't know, essentially mathematicians, I guess, are not very familiar with the concept. So let's start with genetics. You, of course, know about Mandelian transmission and genetics. You heard about it this morning. Genetics allows a same phenotype with different genotypes. For example, when you have a recessive inheritance of a trait. But genetics, if you take it basically, does not predict different phenotypes with the same genotype. However, it's been known for a very long time, actually, that there are many cases of identical genotypes and different phenotypes, which says that genetics cannot explain everything. So I'll just give you a few examples of that. For example, the queen of the bees and the workers are generated from identical larvae. But they have very different phenotypes, as you can see here, and as you may know. Another example, which is closer to us, is the cells from a single organism. All the cells from a complex organism come from a single cell. They have an identical genotype, as far as we can say. But they come from the same cells originally, and then they become quite different when we are with an embryo. And you have completely different cells, brain, muscle, guts. All these cells have the same genotype, but they have different phenotypes. So the question, which has actually been on for a long time, but it's solved now, is how these cells can have the same genotype but completely different phenotype? And the answer comes from epigenetics. Now, the modern definition of epigenetics is the analysis of stable and reversible changes in gene expression that do not involve modification of genetic information. And how can this happen at the molecular level? So you know that genetic information is burned by DNA, and it's located in the cell nucleus in blue here in this picture. But DNA is not naked. In fact, in a human cell nucleus, there is, which has about 10 micrometer of diameter, there is about two meters of DNA. So these very small nucleus cannot accommodate these two meters of DNA without compaction. And in fact, DNA is compacted in the cells. I apologize for the resolution, which comes from the change of computer, I guess. So you have the naked form of the DNA, and then several degrees of compaction up to the most compacted form, which is the mitotic chromosome. Now, this compaction, in fact, is due to proteins, which are called the histone. So you have several of them. We are not going to go into the details here. But you have two rounds of DNA which is wrapped around the core of histone proteins and with a regular disposition. So these are called the nucleosomes. And the nucleosomes, so this is the chain of nucleosomes, and then this chain can be compacted. And then the new chain is compacted again, and so you have different level of compaction. Now, the problem is that compacted chromatin, in the compacted chromatin, the DNA is not accessible for proteic cellular machineries. So that, and if you want to express a gene, you have to have access to the DNA, to the RNA transcription machineries, the RNA synthesizing machinery, so that, in fact, compacted chromatin is linked to inactive gene. And open chromatin, decompacted chromatin, are potentially active genes. And indeed, if you look at the cell nucleus, you have different degree of compaction that you can even see by electronic microscopy. And you can distinguish what is called eukromatin, which is little compacted and which includes active genes, from heterochromatin, which is highly compact, and which includes inactive genes. Now, chromatin compaction is controlled by chemical modifications of the chromatin. The DNA can be modified. It's methylated. And the histones, the proteins on which it is wrapped, can also be modified. They have little tails protruding out of the nucleosome, which can be either acetylated, methylated, phosphorylated. And you have all sorts of different combinations of all these modifications of the histone tails. So that, and these modifications, these combinations of modifications are specific of the different type of chromatins. In heterochromatin, the highly compacted chromatin, inactive chromatin, DNA is methylated. Histones are deacetylated. And you have methylation on certain residues of the histone tail, for example, as we can find. In contrast, when chromatin is active in eukromatin, you have demethylated DNA. Histones are acetylated. And they are methylated on other residues, such as H3K4, for example. You can actually measure at the whole genome level these modifications, one by one. And this will give you the epigenome of the cell. Now, if you take the genome as a book, the epigenome will tell you which are the open pages. It's the epigenetic marks, which will select the open pages of the book. So this, if you want, is the eukromatin. You can read it. This is the heterochromatin. You cannot read it. So if we come back to the question of the cells which come from a single cell and have an identical phenotype, actually the difference is, at least in large part, due to the epigenome, because their epigenome is different. So if you take a stem cell, for example, you will have the genes A, B, and C, which are methylated, et cetera, and compacted. Whereas if you take its daughter cell, other genes will be methylated, compacted, et cetera. So the pattern of genes which are open and the pattern of genes which are closed are different between these two cells. So the main question appears to be solved. We know what make a different phenotype from a single genotype. But there are other open questions. One of the questions which is very important, actually, is, can epigenome be modified by external signal? It's a socially important question, because it includes the relationship between the genome and the environment. And you know all these problems created by the environment. Well, we know that external signals can modify the epigenome. Like you have a ligand, for example, which will bind to a receptor, activates a chain of transduction, and eventually will change the chromatin very locally at very specific loci from compacted to open, and will activate the gene. At a more organism level, if we come back to the B model, it's, in fact, an external signal, which is the royal nectar with which the queen is fed, which makes the whole difference between the worker and the queen. It is the fact that the queen is fed with this type of food, which modifies the epigenome of the larvae and makes a queen. And it has been proven that some genes are methylated in the absence of royal nectar, and this will give a worker, whereas all the genes will be activated by the royal nectar. And these genes control the size of a reactivity, et cetera, of the future bee. In mammalians also, we have many examples of effect of an external signal on the epigenome. Here, for example, is the example of these mice, which are born from a stressed mother. So when the mouse is pregnant, you stress it by noise, different noises, or stuff like that. Now, the mouse, which are born from a mother stressed during pregnancy, are themselves stressed, whereas the mouse, which is born from a well-treated mother, is not stressed. And it has been linked to the methylation of the gene, which is a gene which is expressed in the neurons and which actually defect is associated with schizophrenia. And the mouse born from the stressed mother, this gene is methylated, whereas in the mouse born from a well-treated mother, the gene is not methylated. So it's expressed. So it is clear, environment, nutrition, external conditions affect the epigenome. Now, another very important question, and this one is not solved at all, is can epigenome modifications be transmitted to the next generations? Now, if we take a somatic cell, like for example, we have a culture, let's say, fibroblasts. It's a differentiated cell. Then all the daughter cells of this fibroblast will be fibroblasts, which clearly indicates that the epigenome is transmitted from the mother cell to the daughter cells. Despite the fact, and I think it's a very interesting question, actually, that during the mitosis, the chromosomes are highly condensed. It's the most condensed form of the chromosome. So despite this fact, they keep, they maintain this information. And actually, we don't know how. But now, if we take not the somatic cells, but the germ cells, is the epigenome transmitted to the descendants, where there are actually numerous studies in mouse and human, suggesting that it might be the case. And if we go back to the stressed mice, actually, the mice which are born from stressed mothers, they are stressed. But they also have a good probability of giving themselves birth to stressed descendants, raising the possibility that this epigenomic status of feature has been transmitted. And there are numerous studies like that in the literature. However, this is a very controversial issue. As actually, these experiments are very difficult to interpret, is the effect due to molecular transmission of the epigenome to the embryo in the germ cells? Or is it due to cultural factors and behavioral transmission, the stressed mother is stressed? She deals with, or it deals, if it's a mouse, with her infants in a very specific way. With the body, in fact, they're stressed, or they're particularly hormone-led. Exactly. It can be, it can be. Stress is chemical, don't you? The stress is chemical, but it's a bit, but the way, sure, but the way that the children receive the stress, it will induce a chemical reaction in them as well. But it's a transmission is. What's an embryo receiving this hormone? And who cares what he's receiving afterwards? Embryo in development was chemically modified. Yes, but if it gives birth, if it gives births, the same embryo will give birth? It keeps chemical signature, not behavior. Well, we'll see that it cannot keep this chemical signature, at least not at the epigenomic level, because if we move directly to the next slide, actually the epigenetic marks are erased during development. They are erased, almost completely erased. So you can always say that maybe the almost is the fact that, but it cannot be really. So this is that. It was a chemist in the blood of a mother. They erased here, but then beyond development, this chemistry of the mother. Yeah, but that is OK for the first generation. No, no, but I see what Michel is saying. This is OK for the first generation, but it's not OK for the second or sometimes the third generation. OK, so at a very important stage. So here are, for example, the methylation marks. So you had the DNA from the mother and from the father. So it's methylated here. And then at a very important stage, which is actually the stage where the embryo appears and the appearance of the embryonic stem cells, then almost everything is erased. So the epigenetic marks are lost. And then they reappear, and you have differentiation of the cells. So how could the marks be transmitted if they are erased during the development? This is a completely unsolved issue at this point. But you can ask the question, are the epigenetic marks the only players? Or are they other players involved? At the genomic level, of course. And good candidates are non-coding RNAs. Non-coding RNAs are transcribed from the non-coding genome. So it means that they don't have any open reading frame to make proteins. Previously, the non-coding genome was called Jank DNA, because it was thought that it is absolutely useless. Now it's rather called the dark genome. Why? In fact, the complexity of organisms is not correlated with the gene numbers. So if we take, for example, C elegans, which has 90 or not far from 20,000 genes, it's a little worm, which has very little complexity. Very little complexity. It's a very small animal as well. And if compared that to human, human is thought to have about 24,000 genes. So you have very little differences in the number of genes. So the complexity of an organism is not linked to the number of genes. However, it is inversely correlated with the percentage of coding sequences. The less coding sequences you have, the more complex the organism is. And in fact, in human, it's 97% of the genome, which is non-coding. All the protein that you heard about this morning represents only 3% of the genome. The rest is non-coding. So if you take, for example, this could be a human chromosome. Well, the coding part is here in red. And all the rest is non-coding. So for long, this non-coding genome has been of no interest at all. Again, it was called the GENG DNA. And then the discovery of small, non-coding RNAs triggered the interest for the non-coding genome. So the non-coding RNAs are the microRNAs that I'm sure you heard about many times. So they are, they've been discovered in CLA, and they are very small RNA sequences which bind to the messenger RNA and prevents the synthesis of protein, the translation of the messenger RNA. But small, non-coding RNAs represent a very small part of the non-coding genome. They are very short and there are a few thousand of them so they don't represent the whole thing. Now we know that actually almost all the genome, it's even more than 70% of the genome is transcribed. We know that thanks to these new sequencing technologies which allow to see molecules which are very little represented in a population because what they do, what we do in these technologies is that we sequence one molecule, the molecules one by one. So if we do enough molecules, if you have a molecule which is very little represented, you can see it. And because of course the transcription of the whole genome does not give rise to very frequent RNAs, it's been totally ignored up to now. But now we know that almost all the genome is transcribed and it's mostly transcribed in long, non-coding RNAs. And we actually know that long, non-coding RNAs are able to modify the epigenome. It's been known for very long that there is a non-coding RNA which is called XIST which covers one of the X chromosomes in somatic cells of mammalian females resulting in the epigenetic silencing of the anti-chromosome. You know that you have to have gene dosage on the X chromosome so that male and female have the same level of expression of the genes which are in the X chromosome. So in nature there are different ways to achieve that and in mammalian cells, one of the X chromosomes is inactivated. And it's inactivated thanks to this long, non-coding RNA although the precise mechanism is not known. Do you know that, is it known with every single one of those X bits of RNA are actually functional? No, of course not, not yet. How will you determine that? Well, it's really starting now. It's been started for I would say five years now.  No, but you have 70% of the genome. It's even more than that. Well, you just said it's 70%, right? Yeah. So how are you going to walk through 70% of the genome and eliminate every single one? That's insane. Well, you will have to do that because there is no way that you can do a cell with only the three percent of DNA. So... How would you test that? Well, what people are doing right now is that they are looking at specific long, non-coding RNAs which are differentially expressed in this or that situation in healthy cells versus whatever, okay? Whatever disease or cancer or whatever. And then they look into these differentially expressed. I think it's a little bit like what was done with the genes at the beginning, you know? At the beginning, people looked at one gene, you know, which is differently, blah, blah, and we didn't have the whole genome sequence and blah, blah. Now, if the question is, did someone imagine a way to prove that... I mean, there are many different sequences there, right? How would you imagine doing the experiments? Yeah. The question is, did someone imagine how to prove that the 70% are functional? I don't think anyone did at this point. Come on, we know that most of it is not functional because most of it is not under constraint. Well, that's not right. I think that's not the right answer and I have a slide at the end, too. What do you prefer to... Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, sure, sure, sure. No, no, no, no, no. No, no, we can have discussion. I don't think it's the right answer because if you take only the constraint, the evolution constraint, then you will say that only the coding part is... And then you will conclude that there is absolutely or almost no difference between a mouse and a human because it's 99.9% the same genes, okay? So you have to admit that a zone without constraint plays a role in this. It's not, in fact, being different with a mouse and a human, biologically, I think, negligible. In a visible one from our perspective, so be it. I think objectively, sort of, why is there a big difference between a mouse and a human? The difference is not being, maybe, but it's the most important. We do not have whiskers. No, no, but... I have the feeling it's a little bit more than that. Actually, you know, actually, Misha, you know that mouse is not a good model for most of the diseases because the mouse does not behave like the human. It's not different, but it's not more complex. You have to have a measure. What do you mean? What do you mean? But you have this measure. The only point that can be said is that a mouse is different from a human, but if you take the gene, the enzymes and all that, they are very, very alike. They always say that it's not different. The question is, what do you emphasize? It appears different, but... No, it's not only the appearance. Even biologically, the mouse is different. If you take, for example, the lifespan, a mouse lives two years. There are a number of parameters, if you look. If you look at the parameters, there are a thousand parameters in different... More forward. For example, one parameter, the size, come on.  Another parameter is the thinking that the mouse doesn't have at this point, or maybe yes, but not the same type of thinking. Not the same type of thinking. We tend to overemphasize humanity, I think, just our perspective, you just thought of the view. That's my point.  No, what you're saying is that we are animals, and I think that's absolutely correct. But then there are many differences. And it's not only the mouse and the human. It's also, again, the C. elegans, warm. It's completely different. I mean, and there are many, many genes which are in common. Actually, the coding sequence of the mouse, or genes of the mouse and human, are almost identical. Yeah. That's actually a good point because what is not, what is very diverse is the non-coding section. Exactly, it's my slide, actually. It's my last slide. Let's move to the last slide. The one that could determine... Theoretically, what is the mouse? Exactly, that's my last slide. Maybe we can skip the last slide. Okay, so what we can think is that maybe non-coding RNAs may keep the memory. They might be in the cytoplasm of the maternal DNA, or they might be associated with the sperm DNA, whatever. But they can keep maybe the memory of these epigenetic marks. And then we come to the last slide. So there are all the open questions. So non-coding RNAs represent 97% of the genome. There's a huge molecular reservoir to explain yet unexplained functions. And there are many of the functions which are not explained by genes, simply by genes. Also, and that's exactly the point of the discussion, in contrast to protein-coding genes, which may be very similar between the different species, non-coding RNAs are highly variable. They are not submitted to constraints from one species to the other and from one individual to the other within the same species. They have the potential to play an essential role in the differences between species and in the difference between individuals within a species. Yes? I just want to talk to your point about the coding regions being the same. That's like saying that in the human, the eye cells are really different from the cells on your hand, right? Like a difference between a mouse and a human. It has nothing to do with the different coding regions. It has to do with the way how the coding regions are regulated, right? Yeah, yeah, but in total, I mean, yeah, this difference within an organism. But in total, if you take the... It's like, I would say, whatever. In total, if you take the human and the mouse, they are... And the genome, in total, they are not identical, but very similar. Yeah, but it's not about the actual sequence. It's about what is being... What is being transcribed when? Yeah, the timing of expression might be different. But actually, the non-coding region can regulate the expression of the coding region. Of course. So because the non-coding region is different, it could determine the difference in the expression. Of course, but my feeling, it's only a feeling, of course, is that the non-coding region doesn't do only... I mean, right now we see it through the eyes of the genetics and the coding sequences. Everything, the game comes back to the coding sequences, OK? Everything is due to gene and protein. I don't think this is the case. And I have the feeling that the non-coding RNAs, they play a role, for example, in the brain functioning. So you started with the difference between different cells in the same organism, with brain and whatever other cells got. And about that, we already asked biologists to call it development. And we have the answers already in the genome because we have the description factors and the enhancers. And we have, I'm not saying at all, but we are beginning to... Yes, I just wanted to make a point. So we are beginning to understand it without looking at the non-coding. We know, at least one example exists, that it is functioning so there will be more... Although we don't know how it works, but we don't. No, but I mean, at least we know what it does. So we are throwing it as 97% of the genome to ask biologists to figure out how we're going to... You know, but the question is a good question, of course. Now, if we think... I don't think that the whole development is due to the genes. And if you take the example of the microRNAs, they were absolutely unknown. And so we didn't even think that this thing were working. So I wouldn't be so... Yes. So one point that we cannot... It's not completely true that they are not under constraints because in different species, they keep the same position in some chromosomes and seems to be related to these chromatin-organization maps that are... The sequence is under less constraints. And there are differences in the non-coding genomes. They are parts which are more common or more conserved. And parts which are less. There are some... They are chromosomal organizations seem to be conserved across species. And there may be some functions at least for part of them to this chromatin-organization map. What you're saying, if I understand it properly, is that they can be common functions between species for the non-coding RNAs. And what I'm adding is that might also be species-specific functions or even individual-specific functions. Let's suppose that you make an artificial genome where you get rid of all the... Everything. And you only have to open the frames? Yeah. Where would that happen? I don't think any... But maybe we should do it. But I don't think that the cell would line. I don't know what they are trying to do. They're trying to get a little bit of chromatism. Chromachylima form, doctor. Chromosome? No, no, no. I didn't say that. I said that you get rid of these bits of... So you make only one small chromosome. You make one small chromosome with the coding sequence. Actually, very... No, but the ways of the RNA form it in a particular shape. If you need this mechanically, yeah? No, no, no, no. So I'm just saying you convert a human being into a yeast. And I'm not sure that human cells will live. How do you know that? Well, we have to try. We have to try. We have to try. Because the rest, because the rest of the cell has been... No, because I think... I'm not saying that I'm right, okay? Just what I think is that the rest of the cell has been designed, but not designed, but has evolved to work with a complex genome. And I'm not sure, yeah. I'm not sure that if you take... But it would be an interesting experiment to do. I think, actually, I have a kind of provocative question. You explain us about the genetic marks, which connected with, like, hermatin, blah, blah, blah. And now you say about non-coding RNAs. And of course, the third question, how you think you suggest the interplay between them? How this non-coding RNAs can be involved? Yeah, I didn't go into the details. Yeah, yeah, I didn't go into the details. But for example, the XIST. The XIST RNA modifies the epigenetic marks on the chromosome, on the X chromosome, which is inactivated, okay? And there are other examples of that. So the non-coding RNAs, they had the capacity to modify the genetic epigenetic mark. But I don't think it's the only way they work. That's my point. Okay, let's go. No, Anik, you choose whom you want. You did not speak of plumes. I think it has well been shown some couple of years ago already transmission up to eight or 10 generations in Arabidopsis. Arabidopsis. I'm not a plant specialist, I have to say. I'm not a plant specialist, I have to say. Yeah, no, no. What is mischievous DNA? The epigenetic transmission, the vincer colore. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It made a big jump in the literature. But so I wanted to know what is, since these... But the problem is, well, the problem in plants, I don't know if there is this erasement of the, you know, epigenetic marks. I'm sorry, I'm not a plant specialist. I don't have the answer. I know in Madal, it appears, it occurs, but... So, a few comments. So, first of all, in your experiment of getting rid of most of the genome and seeing what happens, that's been done in nature several times. So, for example, the puffer fish has a genome which is 100 times smaller than other fish and humans. And it's still a fish, OK? So this proves that most of the non-coning genome is not required to make a fish. For this fish. So why are we starting all this? Well... Nobody... Please, please. If... No, no. If I may comment. Make me comment. If the evolution constraint is so strong and we don't need this 97% of genome, why has it been kept during the evolution? Please. This is population genetics. So genome size is not correlated to complexity in any way. Genome size is to do with the strength of natural selection. So species which have very small, effective population sizes have very big genomes, so plants. Humans have a very small, effective population size. We went through a botanical history.  This is very well understood. Bacteria, fungi have very effective, very large, effective population sizes, very strong natural selection. Every single base pair is under selection and has a fitness cost when you do something. So this is the... Actually, it is not absolutely correct because it's coming back to plants. In plants, it is well known, for example, if you cut half, at least half, of non-coding genome of arbidopsis, it's non-coding bastard. Why is it that arbidopsis? It creates a normal plan from this story. But this is only in plants and maybe only in arbidopsis. But this is very interesting thing. But maybe it is somehow connected with the case that in animals, it has much less plasticity than in plants. And he just made the opposite point. Pardon? He just made the opposite point. He made it into fish. It's a fish that is a natural experiment.  You can't film, you said it. Yes, so you agree. I agree, I agree. Then I agree, yes. But it is not... But I don't know about animals. I don't like animals. The same thing happens in animals. We have very different genome sizes for animals which are very similar to each other. So the genome size is not related to complexity. You don't need most of the genome. But you say about comparison. And I say about experiment. That is not the same. Because comparison still don't say the actual result. OK, but the actual result is wrong. They agree with each other. Then continue. And the other thing is also this measuring which bits of the genome are important. So there's two ways we can do this. One is by conservation during evolution. And this estimates that roughly 8% of the human genome is under constrained, as in it has been under selection during primary evolution. And the other one now is because we have so many sequences of individual human genomes, we can measure the allele frequency, the frequency of the mutations at every base. So the human population is large enough such that every generation within saturation mutagenesis of the human genome now. So somebody is born with a mutation everywhere that is compatible with life. And through sequencing millions of genomes now, we know the frequency at which you get mutations in the population, polymorphism in the population. But when you say sequencing the whole genome or only the... It's mostly the exomes that are becoming the whole genome. And as this gets bigger and bigger, then we will be able to measure exactly how important every base of the human genome is. So this is the other way to answer your experiment. It's like we will have the numbers to do this, to say this base is exactly this important for the fitness within... But again, this is not taking into account the individual differences. So maybe this base is very important in general, but this other base, which is only present in two people, is the one base which makes the difference between these two people. Of course. Excuse me, but that said, I don't understand where this 97% figure comes from then. How do you know that 97%? I didn't do the experiment myself, but it's the percentage of DNA which open reading frame of sufficient size to make a protein. Because what I heard is that like 8% has been shown that has some... Well, it depends on the species. So in human, it's 3% but in other species, it's more. So it only depends on... No, but 97% is definitely not all non-coding RNAs. This is your point. A lot of it is... A lot of what? It's not transcribed at all, you mean? Yeah. Yeah, well, of course. Well, at least there are parts of the genome that we can not even sequence properly. So, of course, we cannot know if they are transcribed or not. So we'll never come to 100% of course. So why are you also focused on the genome? There are many more molecules which have passed from one generation to the next and I'm sure you've talked about germplasm and glycocontrogate proteins and whatnot. I'm just curious to know. No, there might be part, but at some point you have to remodel the genome because if you take after the erasement of the marks, at some point you recall of the marks and you start with a stem cell, which is a blah, blah. And so glycoconjugate, they can induce the modification, the epigenetic modification question. Yes, why not? But at this point it has not been proven that any sugar influences the genome. So, I mean the stretch of the genome. Did anybody ever do an experiment or a micro-injection of long non-coding RNAs? Yes, that, in fertilizing, no. And to show that they actually affect the... Not yet, not yet. So how do we know they're important? It's all correlation. It's an open question again. It's not a demonstrated fact. So why don't you experiment? Yeah. She wants us to do it. She's just suggesting an idea. I think it's not... Yeah, she's just coming up with an idea. That's it. I totally agree that this is not proven. But there are many examples of RNAs, non-coding RNAs, which are modifying the genome. The XIST is one. And there is another one which is very interesting is the paramisia. The paramisia has two nuclei, micro-nuclei and a micro-nuclei. And the micro-nuclei has actually the whole genome and is very condensed. It's like the storage of the genome. And the other nuclei, nucleus, is very large. It has uncondensed DNA. And it's the part which is expressed. And during the division, the cell division, the micro-nuclei will give rise to a micro and a micro-nuclei. So in the micro-nuclei, the sequences which are not expressed are deleted. And this is directed by RNAs. So there are examples, many examples. Paramisia. Sure, no, sure, of course. But it is exactly in paramisia that you have the heredity non-DNA. Oh, no, but, yeah, but it's... Thomas Sonneborn. That's exactly his whole life. No, no, but I'm not talking about the way the... I'm not talking about the genetics of the animals. I'm talking about the molecular... Yeah, I'm talking about the... Mechanism. About something which is different... Yes. Of course, but the molecular mechanism exists. That's what I'm saying, okay? In C. elegans, it was done in C. elegans. Yeah, of course, in C. elegans also, yeah. Yeah, it was shown genetically. But in a way, microRNA is not so... So, well, clickable now as an example of non-coding, of this long non-coding RNAs, because they have their genes, they are transcribed as genes, but not protein genes. They're still not this junk of black... Yeah, but those are not protein genes, either. It's not a protein gene, but they are not on other... So, but they have their... They are transcribed. They don't... They don't... They have their... They have their... They have their... Between long-coding RNA and disease. In disease. For example, in cancer. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And it is... I mean, I believe in diabetes, maybe, as well, but... No, no, no, in cancer, very well. There are several long... And these are those which are really looked at now, because... 50% are coding from this long, non-coding... 50% can code for microproteins. Right. Yes, that's right, but it has not been proven that these microproteins... Some of these microproteins are very important. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm aware of that. They're very small polypeptides, very small peptides, actually. They have a H2G and... Yeah. So, it's not proven that they have any function at this point. But it's, yeah, they are part of this on coding. They have very small open reading... They synthesize, maybe they don't synthesize. No, they are synthesized and they have a function. Well, the function is not for sure, yeah. They are synthesized, yeah. They are synthesized. They say they only have 10, maybe longer, longer quantitized, like they do in digestion. Yeah, if they are very small, they can come from... Yeah, yeah. Yeah, but one reason also what they are studied is because in different tissues, long RNAs have the same expression pattern. So, if you take liver or neurons, you see the same long RNAs expressed in the same tissues. So, this is also one reason why they are, at certain point, they try to understand what they do in the cell, because there are kind of reproducible expression patterns for these long RNAs in osteoarthric tissues. Well, but that's a correlation, and also it can be because of the different types of transcription factors in the different tissues. Right, they said this seems to be under some regulations. Yes. Oh, yeah. OK, so we can take one last question. Do we have one? No. Everybody's angry, I think. Everybody's angry.