Free Republic

Police are searching for a woman who allegedly stole thousands of dollars worth of chewing gum in Orange County. On Jan. 27, the woman was captured on surveillance cameras stealing around $1,800 worth of gum from a store in Irvine, according to the Irvine Police Department. After loading up her cart with the stolen items, she exited the store without paying, authorities said.

Previous evidence has shown that people infected with Covid-19 have high levels of the virus in their saliva. Now, researchers have developed an experimental chewing gum that traps SARS-CoV-2 viral particles, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. The gum may help lower viral transmission when infected individuals breathe, talk, or cough, reports Nancy Lapid for Reuters. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania published details of the study this month in the research journal Molecular Therapy. The experimental gum traps viral particles through copies of a receptor called the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors riddled along its surface. Like a key inserted...

An experimental chewing gum could reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a recent study published in the journal Molecular Therapy. You might already have noticed headlines calling the findings "fresh hope" in our fight against COVID-19. But how excited should we be? And would this gum work against omicron, the newest variant of concern? Evidence shows people infected with SARS-CoV-2 have high levels of virus in their saliva. So researchers in the US wanted to investigate whether a specially designed chewing gum could reduce the amount of virus in the mouth, and therefore potentially...

Stone Age humans chewed birch bark pitch, or birch tar, to make a glue-like paste that could be used for tool construction and other kinds of technology. Photo by Jorre/Wikimedia Commons/CC ================================================================ May 15 (UPI) -- Scientists have recovered human DNA from 10,000-year-old chewing gum found in Sweden. The DNA is the oldest to be sequenced from the region. Researchers found the masticated lumps of birch bark pitch, a sap-like tar, among the remains of an early Mesolithic hunter-fisher site called Huseby Klev, located on Sweden's west coast. During the Stone Age, humans used the bark-derived chewing gum as a...

Chewed tar is an unexpectedly great source of ancient DNA. No one today quite understands how they did it, but people in the Stone Age could turn ribbons of birch bark into sticky, black tar. They used this tar to make tools, fixing arrowheads onto arrows and blades onto axes. And they chewed it, as evidenced by teeth marks in some lumps. These unassuming lumps of chewed birch-bark tar turn out to be an extraordinary source of ancient DNA. This month, two separate research groups posted preprints describing DNA from the tar in Stone Age Scandinavia. The two papers have...

On a wall in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, thousands of pounds of chewing gum have built up over the past 20 years, stuck there by locals and visitors, eventually becoming a tourist attraction on its own. This week, the millions of gum wads are being scraped and steam-cleaned away, in a move to preserve the historic buildings, according to a story in The Seattle Times. The Times also reports that the Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority plans to weigh the removed gum before throwing it out. There are apparently no plans to prevent the gum wall from returning...

Stonehenge was damaged during the Winter Solstice, with chewing gum stuck to the ancient monument, it has been disclosed. A report The Heritage Journal also revealed graffiti was sprayed on the stones, people tried to light fires on them and someone dripped a line of oil on several of them in December. Conservationists are calling for a ban to be put in place preventing people from walking among the stones on both the longest and shortest days of the year. It comes as it emerged volunteers and staff at the site were "left in tears" following the last summer solstice...

resident Obama is being knocked by local press for chewing gum today at the Republic Day parade in India. In an ungainly sight, cameras caught .. resident Brack Obama chewing gum during the Republic Day parade on Monday. In the picture captured by cameras and posted on Twitter by some users, Obama was spotted removing his chewing gum while PM Modi was ... this is not the first time that Obama has been spotted chewing gum during an important function

President Obama is being knocked by local press for chewing gum today at the Republic Day parade in India."In an ungainly sight, cameras caught US President Brack Obama chewing gum during the Republic Day parade on Monday. In the picture captured by cameras and posted on Twitter by some users, Obama was spotted removing his chewing gum while PM Modi was seen trying to explain something to the US president," reports the Times of India.Here's the picture that appears to be driving the conversation:The report has more:

The Ventures, Walk Don't Run! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIuIIqbyEIU

<p>President Obama was caught on camera chewing gum during the D-Day ceremonies in France as Queen Elizabeth II was welcomed, and Twitter feeds worldwide exploded with criticism.</p>

Milton Keynes is set to become the first town in Britain to introduce a Singapore-style ban on chewing gum. Anyone caught chewing gum would face an on-the-spot fine under the proposal, which was drawn up after 22 pieces of discarded gum were found in just one square foot of pavement. Those in favor of introducing the ban point to the cost of removing gum, the nuisance caused by it sticking to people's shoes and the eyesore it creates. The proposal has been put forward by After8, a group of businesses in the Buckinghamshire town, which plans to lobby the council...

Student killed by exploding chewing gum A student in Ukraine died after his jaw was blown off reportedly by exploding chewing gum. Published: 11:20AM GMT 09 Dec 2009 The 25-year-old chemistry student, who has not been named by police, was working at his parents' home in Konotop when relatives heard a "loud pop". They rushed to his room and discovered his body. The lower half of his face had been seriously disfigured by the blast. The Russian news agency Ria Novosti said forensic tests found the chewing gum was covered with an unidentified chemical substance, thought to be some type...

/begin my translation N. Korea: Kim Jong-il Giving Field Guidance at a Chewing Gum Factory (Pyongyang KCNA = Yonhap News) N. Korean leader Kim Jong-il gave field guidance at Pyongyang Chewing Gum Factory, according to KCNA report on Jan. 15. 2009.1.16 / (filed by) Chin Sung-chol /end my translation

This is disturning on many levels - LAX passenger hides objects in his body; bomb squad called His plane was diverted but deemed safe. The Iraqi national, a legal U.S. resident, said he was trying to ease stress. He is turned over to ICE. By Andrew Blankstein, Times Staff Writer March 7, 2007 Authorities called in the bomb squad early Tuesday and diverted a flight to Las Vegas after Los Angeles International Airport security screeners found hidden wires and other objects in a body cavity of a Philadelphia-bound passenger. Fadhel Al-Maliki, a 35-year-old Iraqi national living in Atlantic City, N.J.,...

Almost unnoticed at home, Chicago-based Wm Wrigley Jr Co, the world's largest maker and marketer of chewing gum, has quietly built a dominating presence in the Chinese market. With a 60% market share and a jaw-dropping one million sales outlets, Wrigley may have come closer than any other US company to actually realizing the China dreams of American business. - Todd Crowell

A chewing gum which the makers say can help enhance the size, shape and tone of the breasts has proved to be a big hit in Japan. B2Up says its Bust-Up gum, when chewed three or four times a day, can also help improve circulation, reduce stress and fight ageing. The gum works by slowly releasing compounds contained in an extract from a plant called Pueraria mirifica.

A tax on chewing gum is needed to help meet the £150m annual cost of cleaning it off streets, council representatives from across the UK are expected to say. A first national "gum summit" in London will call for a penny-a-packet tax. The Liberal Democrats have also called for anti-litter messages on packs, and the development of biodegradable gum. Gum maker Wrigley's says £5m research on that has been unsuccessful. Cardiff, Westminster, Edinburgh and Belfast representatives are due at the summit. Lib Dem London Assembly member and environment spokesman Mike Tuffrey said: "Chewing gum that is irresponsibly spat on to...

THE Government will today publish proposals for a 5c levy on every packet of chewing gum. The cash collected will go towards the massive cost of cleaning more than 500 million tonnes of the sticky gum now clinging to Irish streets. The detailed plan will be revealed by Environment Minister Martin Cullen in a 100-page report by consultants McIver Consulting, engaged by the Government to examine how to introduce the levies. The report will also outline plans for levies on polystyrene fast foot wrapping and ATM receipts, but will say these can be avoided by negotiation if the industries involved...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore may partially lift its decade-long ban on chewing gum as part of a new trade deal with the United States but locals say the ban should be scrapped entirely. The United States and Singapore said Tuesday they had largely finalized a free trade agreement which covered services, telecommunications, investments, tourism -- and even modifications to the curb on gum imports. "There's a compromise agreed between the two countries, where sugarless gum prescribed by doctors and dentists as having therapeutic benefits will be sold by pharmacists," Singapore's chief negotiator, Tommy Koh, told local media. U.S. Trade Representative...