Archive for the ‘Life Extension’ Category

The nations have conflicting research results on Roches Actemra and Sanofi and Regenerons Kevzara. The United Kingdom says the anti-inflammatory drugs significantly reduce the risk of death in covid patients needing intensive care.

FiercePharma:Roche's Actemra, Regeneron's Kevzara Win U.K.'s Favor In COVID-19 After Study Shows 24% Drop In Death RiskThe question of whether seriously ill COVID-19 patients can benefit from anti-inflammatories like Roches Actemra and Sanofi and Regenerons Kevzara has dogged practitioners in the United States thanks to conflicting clinical trial results. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, has reached a definitive answer on the two drugs, both of which are IL-6 inhibitors: They significantly reduce the risk of death in COVID-19 patients needing intensive care, and they should be used to ease the pressure hospitals are now facing as the coronavirus pandemic continues to intensify, the countrys National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) said Thursday. The recommendation came after data from an NIHR-sponsored study showed that Actemra and Kevzara can cut hospital stays for COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care by 10 days and can lower the risk of death by 24% in patients who receive either drug within a day of admission. (Weintraub, 1/8)

Albuquerque Journal:NM Providers Slow To Prescribe Coronavirus Antibody DrugsNew antibody drugs are available around the state that, if given early, can dramatically reduce the chance of at-risk COVID-19 patients getting so sick they end up in the hospital. But there havent been a lot of takers in New Mexico despite a near-record of 43 daily deaths one day last week related to COVID-19. Now the push is on to educate patients and medical providers about the availability and effectiveness of the two IV-administered antibody therapies. (Heild, 1/10)

Fortune:Bayer Strikes Deal To Aid CureVac In COVID-19 Vaccine RolloutThe German biopharma firm CureVac has announced a tie-up with the country's biggest pharmaceutical beast, Bayer, for the development and supply of CureVac's candidate COVID-19 vaccine. The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. Bayer's stock jumped more than 2% on the news Thursday morning. The collaboration and services agreement should aid the supply of "several hundred million" vaccine doses, the companies said. CureVac said in November that it intends to produce up to 300 million doses this year, and up to 600 million doses in 2022. (Meyer, 1/7)

FiercePharma:Look Out, Pharma. A 'Tidal Wave' Of Side Effect Reports Is Coming Amid COVID-19 Vaccine RolloutsWith COVID-19 vaccine launches gaining steamand an unprecedented level of media coverage zeroed inpharma companies of all stripes should brace not only for a wave of adverse event reports, experts say, but for lawsuits that could follow. With tens of millions of Americansset to be vaccinated, including many people athigh risk of severe COVID-19, it's not just vaccine makers who need to actively look out for potential adverse events or drug interactions, lawyers with Sidley Austin said. All pharma companiesnot just those involved in COVID-19 vaccine deliveriescanexpect a significant increase in volume of reports over the coming months,Torrey Cope, a partner in the firm'sFood, Drug and Medical Device Regulatory practice,said in an interview. (Sagonowsky, 1/7)

ProPublica:CDC Shut Down A Lab Involved In Making Faulty Coronavirus TestsWith no public notice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in October shut down a key lab involved in making faulty COVID-19 tests for state and local health authorities early in the pandemic. The move came less than six hours after ProPublica published an investigation that detailed for the first time the chain of mistakes and disputes that unfolded inside CDC labs, which culminated in one of the biggest fumbles in the agencys 74-year history. A CDC acting branch chief told the staff of the Respiratory Viruses Diagnostics Team lab on Oct. 15 that the closure would be for two to four weeks while the CDC investigated and the staff worked on corrective action plans, according to internal sources. But more than two months later, the lab still is not performing tests. (Bandler, Callahan and Rotella, 1/8)

In other pharmaceutical industry news

FiercePharma:FDA Extends Immunodeficiency Drug's Shelf Life As Pandemic Exacerbates ShortagesThe U.S. immunoglobulinsupplyjust got alittle more secure, thanks to a label change enablingone of Octapharma's chief rare disease meds to sitin the fridge for up to three years.The FDA has stretched the expiration date of 42 existing lots of Octapharmas subcutaneous immune deficiency drug cutaquigand granted a 12-month shelf life extension on future lots stored at 36 degrees to 46 degrees Fahrenheit. The drug was previously cleared to last 24 months when refrigerated. Cutaquigs six-month shelf life at room temperature remains unchanged, Octapharma said Tuesday. (Kansteiner, 1/6)

Stat:FDA Advisory Panel Meetings Became "Rarer And Tougher" In 2020Among the myriad changes wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, Food and Drug Administration advisory committee meetings to review medicines are rarer and tougher now, according to one Wall Street analyst. Over the past year, just half of new drug applications taken to advisory committees were recommended for regulatory approval. That compares with 78% in 2019 and a rate of more than 80% in three of the four years before that, according to Cowen analyst Rick Weissenstein, who cited an analysis by the Prevision Policy consulting firm in an investor note. (Silverman, 1/8)

FiercePharma:Should Pharma Charity Contributions Be Publicly Disclosed, Just Like Doctor Payments? Senators Say YesPharma companies have inked a series of federal settlements over payments to charity organizations, which the federal government argues are a conduit to boosting drug sales. Now, after an opioid investigation, two Senators want all those charity payments disclosed publicly. And they have just the mechanism for it. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Wyden have calledforan expansion of theCenters for Medicare and Medicaid Services Open Payments database. Thatdatabase now includespayments from pharma companies to doctors and other medical providers, but the senators propose adding payments to tax-exempt groups, too. Further, the senators have called for anew requirement that the HHS secretary formulate guidelines to boost transparency aroundresearch organizations and others contracted by the health agency. (Sagonowsky, 1/8)

CIDRAP:Nations Facing Drug Shortages Use Registries, Other StepsDrug supply chain vulnerabilities have achieved greater visibility with the COVID-19 pandemic, but they have increasingly plagued countries in the past few years. A survey published in Health Policy's December issue found that 20 of 24 countries used drug registries to combat them, 20 simplified regulatory procedures during shortages, 18 regularly talked with stakeholders, and 15 had financial sanctions in place for when manufacturers missed notification or supply requirements. Even with these practices in place, multiple countries expressed an interest in increasing management strategies, and for good reason. Finland, the researchers report, experienced an 18-fold increase in shortages from 2010 to 2018, with instances doubling from 2016 to 2018 alone. (McLernon, 1/8)

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2 More Drugs Recommended To Treat Covid In UK, But Not In US - Kaiser Health News

No one knows what's gonna happen next in The Ventrue Bros, and yet it always seems like every twist was always meant to happen.

In the second half of 2020, Adult Swim decided to cancel one of its longest lasting and most prominent series, The Venture Bros. Thought by many within its community to be one of the most well-written superhero series of all time and a clear rival to even Rick and Morty, The Venture Bros. was an adult animation stand out that impressed with its witty writing, tot pacing, and large yet complex cast of characters.

RELATED:The Venture Bros: 10 Most Heroic Characters, Ranked

For a series that was initially animated over old, Hanna-Barbera cels, the series clearly became its own beast. This isn't just because it did the action cartoon schtick well but because it more than redefined subversion with its famous line of plot twists and character development. No one ever knows what's gonna happen next, and yet it always seems like every twist was always meant to happen.

One of the earliest and hardest hitting twists in the series was discovering that the Hank and Dean Venture that the fans were introduced to were not, in fact, the original Hank and Dean Venture. As Jonas Venture's old associate, Ben, put it, their dad couldn't handle the heartbreak of seeing them gone and decided to use a big ol' "band aid" to make things better.

RELATED:10 Best Venture Bros. Episodes (Until Season 8)

Due to the Venture Family's dangerous missions, some negligence on Rusty's part, and some stupidity on their part, the boys have actually died a shared 29 times throughout their "lifetime." With the slugs being destroyed and the O.S.I. now watching Dr. Venture for his illegal clone farm, there is now no longer a safety net for the Ventures, meaning that the Hank and Dean of today are likely going to be the last ones.

Myra debuted in Season 2 in another one of her kidnap attempts of Hank and Dean. According to her, she was apparently an old bodyguard of Rusty's that fell in love with him and, after a brief moment of passion, gave birth to the boys. After Rusty and Brock saved them, the two denied that Myra was their mother yet gave a very shaky cover story that she as an American Gladiator.

This gave some fans pause since the series from there would actually show Myra in a couple of flashbacks as Rusty's bodyguard, making some people think that she really could the Venture mom. It wouldn't be until Season 5 when she tried to kidnap Dean that she'd reveal that she never gave birth to them in the first place.

It's to be expected that in the clandestine world of super agents that there would be plenty of twists, turns, and double agents. Colonel Hunter Gathers love and embraces everything about the superspy world.

This meant even taking elective, plastic surgery to infiltrate Molotov's Black Hearts. Yes. Colonel Gathers didn't really betray the O.S.I. but was instead trying to gather intel on another mercenary group. But that's not even true either! Instead, Hunter had initiated is own offshoot of the O.S.I. and a reboot of an old villain organization, S.P.H.I.N.X. to take on bad guys within his own terms.

The relationship between the Venture scientists and their bodyguards is a sacred one. Rusty Venture's trusted second has consistently been Brock Samson. The original Dr. Venture had Kano. And, before them, was Colonel Venture and Eugen Sandow. During the earliest iteration of "The Guild," Colonel Venture was the leader of a group of scientists, artists, and adventurers that had worked together to create the ORB, a MacGuffin purely written to be a MacGuffin.

To prevent Colonel Venture from using it, it looked like Sandow had killed him. Instead, he had actually just broken the ORB, making it useless for future generations. It seemed like the two should've told people, but it did make for a good twist.

The Ventureboys have never shared a bad word against one another, unless for petty, campy reasons. Their closeness had practically been a staple of the series.

RELATED:Love Hurts: The 10 Best Comic Book Love Triangles Of All Time, Ranked

While Season 7 did tease that Dean may have had feelings for Sirena, no one was actually thinking that he'd steal Sirena from Hank, let alone as suddenly and coldly as it was shown at the end. This has created the biggest divide between the two to date and inspired Hank to finally go out on his own. Here's hoping that they work things out in Season 8 and that Season 8 even exists.

Rusty Venture has done a lot of terrible things. He has sacrificed Hank over Dean in a ton of adventures, killed interns in his self-centered Palaemon Project, and literally powered one of his machines with an orphan. These are all terrible things, but it's been easy to pass them off across the story due to the inherently dark and campy nature of the show.

However, if there was one scene of his that assuredly disgusted and horrified fans everywhere, it was learning that he was actually Dermott's father. Upon seducing the 15-year-old president of his own fan club, Rusty held unto one of his darkest and most shameful secrets to date.

It was easy enough to just call Rusty a bad dad given how he's cloned the boys so much. Despite his begrudging efforts to be a good dad, the whole clone thing may have made him even more arrogant and negligent as a father. Did he really need to take the boys on all of those dangerous missions?

As morally ambiguous as the cloning process was, it was surprising (well, not too surprising given Rusty's intelligence) to discover that he didn't actually invent the clones. They were a project of his father's when Rusty himself got into a few too many adventures himself.

Season 7's Morphic Trilogy was the ultimate culmination of some of the series' longest built stories and it was the epicenter of plenty more twists and surprises within the tail end of the story. One of the biggest bombshells was discovering how important the monotoned Vendata really is.

RELATED:20 Comic Dads That Would Make Anyone Wish They Were Orphans

Initially appearing as the most unpopular member of the Council of Thirteen, Vendata was actually Don Fitzcarraldo, the original Blue Morpho, The Monarch's father, and one of Dr. Venture's most trusted associates. After a tragic plane crash, Jonas resurrected Don as Venturion but quickly got rid of him after an incident with Rusty. Don would later get taken in by Dr. Z who reprogrammed him for evil.

While the true nature of Vendata was surprising on its own, his reveals don't compare to the sheer impact of discovering that the original Dr. Venture was still alive...kind of. After the Movie Night Massacre, the original Team Venture quickly got to work to put Jonas in PROBLEM, orPROgressive Biological Life Extension Module.

It was meant to extend someone's life in the event of their untimely death. When Rusty was first called in to check on the PROBLEM's light in Season 1, that was actually Jonas trying to communicate with the passengers of Gargantua-1. He'd resurrect once again in Season 7 only to have one final exchange with the Blue Morpho.

For years, one of the biggest questions in the series was why exactly does The Monarch want to arch Dr. Venture. Fans got somewhat of an idea when he discovered an old childhood photo of the two that he just couldn't recall. In Season 7, it was hinted that Don Fitzcarraldo had some issues conceiving on his own, leaving Jonas to offer his help which inevitably meant sleeping with his wife.

This made Rusty and The Monarch half brothers. Do they now need to compete for the right to the Venture throne? Will The Monarch still want to arch Dr. Venture? Will Rusty actually care about any of this? These questions and more are what keeping longtime fans waiting for Season 8.

NEXT:10 Best Superhero Sibling Rivalries (& Their Best Fights)

Next Legend Of Korra: 5 Characters That Improved After The Time Skip (& 5 That Regressed)

As a writer, auteur, and innovator, I seek to expand human potential through the creative medium, intellectually and emotionally challenging the mass audience. I seek to work in visual and written media, whether it be in film, video games, or publishing, using a variety of mediums to express the full spectrum of art. Over the years, Ive familiarized myself and worked with film organizations and workshops, such as the Austin Film Society, Austin Film Festival, and Austin Film Meet, to grow my understanding of the industry and hone my craft as a writer. My interaction and networking with the Austin film community as well as my interests and studies as a Writing & Rhetoric major have contributed to a fundamental and growing understanding of trends and changes within the art and media industries. In this instance, my knowledge and research could be fundamental in creating and editing effective material. As a whole, Im a valuable asset to any organization seeking experience and knowledge of the media industry as well as any group seeking ambitious storytelling and content creation.

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The Venture Bros: 10 Biggest Twists In The Series | CBR - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Researchers have successfully used a DNA-editing technique to extend the lifespan of mice with the genetic variation associated with progeria, a rare genetic disease that causes extreme premature aging in children and can significantly shorten their life expectancy. The study was published in the journal Nature, and was a collaboration between the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Boston; and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.

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Base editing for progeria treatmentProgeria is caused by a mutation in the nuclear lamin Agene in which one DNA base C is changed to a T. Researchers used the base editing method, which substitutes a single DNA letter for another without damaging the DNA, to reverse that change. Credit: Ernesto Del Aguila, NHGRI.

DNA is made up of four chemical bases A, C, G and T. Progeria, which is also known as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, is caused by a mutation in the nuclear lamin A(LMNA) gene in which one DNA base C is changed to a T. This change increases the production of the toxic protein progerin, which causes the rapid aging process.

Approximately 1 in 4 million children are diagnosed with progeria within the first two years of birth, and virtually all of these children develop health issues in childhood and adolescence that are normally associated with old age, including cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and strokes), hair loss, skeletal problems, subcutaneous fat loss and hardened skin.

For this study, researchers used a breakthrough DNA-editing technique called base editing, which substitutes a single DNA letter for another without damaging the DNA, to study how changing this mutation might affect progeria-like symptoms in mice.

"The toll of this devastating illness on affected children and their families cannot be overstated," said Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., a senior investigator in NHGRI's Medical Genomics and Metabolic Genetics Branch, NIH director and a corresponding author on the paper. "The fact that a single specific mutation causes the disease in nearly all affected children made us realize that we might have tools to fix the root cause. These tools could only be developed thanks to long-term investments in basic genomics research.

The toll of this devastating illness on affected children and their families cannot be overstated.The fact that a single specific mutation causes the disease in nearly all affected children made us realize that we might have tools to fix the root cause. These tools could only be developed thanks to long-term investments in basic genomics research.

The study follows another recent milestone for progeria research, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first treatment for progeria in November 2020, a drug called lonafarnib. The drug therapy provides some life extension, but it is not a cure. The DNA-editing method may provide an additional and even more dramatic treatment option in the future.

David Liu, Ph.D., and his lab at the Broad Institute developed the base-editing method in 2016, funded in part by NHGRI.

"CRISPR editing, while revolutionary, cannot yet make precise DNA changes in many kinds of cells," said Dr. Liu, a senior author on the paper. "The base-editing technique we've developed is like a find-and-replace function in a word processor. It is extremely efficient in converting one base pair to another, which we believed would be powerful in treating a disease like progeria.

To test the effectiveness of their base-editing method, the team initially collaborated with the Progeria Research Foundation to obtain connective tissue cells from progeria patients. The team used the base editor on theLMNAgene within the patients cells in a laboratory setting. The treatment fixed the mutation in 90% of the cells.

The Progeria Research Foundation was thrilled to collaborate on this seminal study with Dr. Collinss group at the NIH and Dr. Lius group at Broad Institute, said Leslie Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., a co-author and medical director of The Progeria Research Foundation, which partially funded the study. These study results present an exciting new pathway for investigation into new treatments and the cure for children with progeria.

Following this success, the researchers tested the gene-editing technique by delivering a single intravenous injection of the DNA-editing mix into nearly a dozen mice with the progeria-causing mutation soon after birth. The gene editor successfully restored the normal DNA sequence of theLMNAgene in a significant percentage of cells in various organs, including the heart and aorta.

Many of the mice cell types still maintained the corrected DNA sequence six months after the treatment. In the aorta, the results were even better than expected, as the edited cells seemed to have replaced those that carried the progeria mutation and dropped out from early deterioration. Most dramatically, the treated mice's lifespan increased from seven months to almost 1.5 years. The average normal lifespan of the mice used in the study is two years.

As a physician-scientist, its incredibly exciting to think that an idea youve been working on in the laboratory might actually have therapeutic benefit, said Jonathan D. Brown, M.D., assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Ultimately our goal will be to try to develop this for humans, but there are additional key questions that we need to first address in these model systems.

Funding for the study was supported in part by NHGRI, the NIH Common Fund, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Engineering, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

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DNA-editing method shows promise to treat mouse model of progeria - National Human Genome Research Institute

Thomas Leurent on creating an innovation step-change through structural digital twins

For engineers and manufacturers, adapting and improving their product line is an unending task. But eventually, simply tweaking an existing product to tease out another few drops of efficiency isnt enough. Sometimes, because of technological advancements or changes in consumer demand, it is necessary to scrap everything and start from scratch. For instance, most of the basic digital services we take for granted today would not have been possible if we had continued with dial-up modem infrastructure. Switching to broadband was a step-change in our digital capabilities and has unlocked a tidal wave of innovation.For the most part, we havent seen the same level of innovation in mechanical and structural engineering. Part of the problem is, when it comes to large assets such as planes or wind turbines, the health and safety consequences of wiping the slate clean can be enormous. Designing a new aeroplane or wind farm from the ground up is a monumental task. Yet as SpaceX demonstrates, embracing new methods and designs can create huge opportunities. For engineers to manage it effectively, they need accurate data, first class modelling capabilities, and an overview of the full lifecycle of current assets so they see how changes in the design will impact performance and operational life. This is why the future of design will depend on next-generation digital twins with full lifecycle management capabilities.

Tweaking an existing product is often significantly easier and cheaper for companies. However, the problem comes when companies end up tweaking a product line long enough that engineers then have to build around outdated features. When Boeing introduced a low-to-the-ground design for its 737-100 in 1968, it was beneficial but, as technology moved on, it became an increasingly problematic design aspect that engineers had to compensate for.

Continually modernising the 737, rather than starting afresh with a clean design, is part of the reason why the company ended up having to halt delivery of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft last year after the Federal Aviation Administrations decision to ground the aircraft. In contrast, by ditching the single-use model for rocket design and prioritising reusability, SpaceX has realistic ambitions to reduce the cost of reaching Earth orbit by a hundredfold. Currently, no other firm can match SpaceX prices, yet Musk is predicting further cost efficiencies while continuing to improve performance.

Yet starting afresh is also tricky due to the lack of data of how a new design will perform. For example, if an offshore wind farm operator wanted to revamp the type of turbine they use, they are immediately faced with a host of problems, including how the balance of the blades would be affected, or whether joints will be placed under unexpected stress levels and suffer from excessive fatigue.This fear of the unknown is driving many asset manufacturers to continue on an incremental innovation path with enormous over-engineeringespecially because high costs and long duration of physical tests typically allows firms to conduct only a few design iterations. Addressing the problem requires the deployment of next-generation digital twins thatare used throughout the entire lifecycle of assets, from design and fabrication, to operations, to life extension, and finally decommissioning. This enables efficient, lean designs to be implemented, with the knowledge that the digital twin will be used to monitor the asset during operations to pre-emptively identify any issues to avoid failures and downtime. Crucially, the insights gleaned from each digital twin are fed into the next generation of designs, enabling further improvements and optimisations.

Having a full-scale digital twin enables engineers to model potential changes to an assets structure and design, complete with insights into the consequences of those changes. For example, considering the environmental issues that have been caused by wind turbine blades once theyve reached their end-of-life, manufacturers are looking at alternative materials compatible with the circular economy.

However, there is a problem, in that there isnt enough real-world failure data from large turbines for engineers to develop effective, streamlined prototypes. This tends to lead to overly conservative designs, when the exact opposite is required. The solution is the simulation capabilities of next generation digital twins which, because of their full life-cycle management capabilities, can link operations and design in new ways, dramatically speeding up the Return on Experience (REX) for engineers, allowing them to go from a single prototype to the mass deployment of thousands of units within a few short years.

Through the digital twin, engineers can gather data from assets in operation and use it to unlock new possibilities, such as leaner designs with adjusted safety margins based on sensor feedback. Engineers can review how these changes affect performance, efficiency, and lifespan of both the new blades and the asset as a whole, as operations and design become a mutually reinforcing virtuous circle. For example, due to a lack of data around fatigue for turbine shafts, many designs have been overly conservative and can be re-engineered to reduce weight and costs. This in turn will affect the stress and fatigue life of other sections of the turbine and supporting structure all of which will be visible on the digital twin simulation, allowing engineers to reduce cost at the system level.

Crucially, having a physics-based digital twin enables engineers to operate assets, simulate changes, and experiment with breakthrough designs and revolutionary technologies at scale, with the same level of certainty as they have now for incremental improvements and tweaks. By giving engineers the confidence to be bolder and more innovative with the design of their assets is the key to creating large-scale physical assets fit for the digital era, like the new Airbus SE ZEROe hydrogen-powered plane.

Ultimately, every design has physical limits. As the Boeing example illustrates, features which are initially extremely helpful can, over time, become increasingly problematic. Yet we still have engineers spending time on out-of-date designs, trying to squeeze out the last few efficiency gains, when they should be scrapping them and starting afresh.

Having digital twins operating throughout the entire asset life-cycle from design, to operations, life extension, and ultimately decommissioning offers engineers the ability to create leaner, more efficient designs while also increasing confidence in the performance and lifespan of the asset. We have to unlock the same tidal wave of physical engineering innovation that weve seen in the software world over the past few decades, and next-generation digital twins are the secret sauce that can offer reliable, real-time data to underpin this transformation, bringing everything from energy to transport into the 21st Century.

Thomas Leurent isCEO at Akselos

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Digital twins and design innovation - Engineer Live

Published OnlineFirst December 1, 2020; DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-3392

CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH | TRANSLATIONAL CANCER MECHANISMS AND THERAPY

Preclinical Characterization of HPN536, a Trispecic, T-Cell-Activating Protein Construct for the Treatment of Mesothelin-Expressing Solid Tumors A C

Mary Ellen Molloy1, Richard J. Austin1, Bryan D. Lemon1, Wade H. Aaron1, Vaishnavi Ganti1, Adrie Jones1,

Susan D. Jones1, Kathryn L. Strobel1, Purbasa Patnaik1, Kenneth Sexton1, Laurie Tatalick1, Timothy Z. Yu1, Patrick A. Baeuerle1,2,3, Che-Leung Law1, and Holger Wesche1

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Mesothelin (MSLN) is a glycophosphatidylinositol- linked tumor antigen overexpressed in a variety of malignancies, including ovarian, pancreatic, lung, and triple-negative breast can- cer. Early signs of clinical efcacy with MSLN-targeting agents have validated MSLN as a promising target for therapeutic inter- vention, but therapies with improved efcacy are still needed to address the signicant unmet medical need posed by MSLN- expressing cancers.

Experimental Design: We designed HPN536, a 53-kDa, tri- specic, T-cell-activatingprotein-based construct, which binds to MSLN-expressing tumor cells, CD3e on T cells, and to serum albumin. Experiments were conducted to assess the potency, activ-

Introduction

Redirection of cytotoxic T cells with bispecic antibody constructs for cancer therapy has been validated in the clinic (1-6). Blinatumo- mab is the rst and thus far the only bispecic T-cell engager (BiTE) approved by the FDA (7). T-cell-engaging biologics function by forming an immunologic cytolytic synapse between cancer target cells and T cells, which leads to target cell lysis independent of T-cell receptor (TCR) specicity, peptide antigen presentation by HLA, and T-cell costimulation. Despite the clinical success of blinatumomab for treating relapsed and refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia, other molecules, including BiTE antibodies, showed only limited activity in the treatment of solid tumors (8, 9). Their short plasma half-life required continuous intravenous infusion limiting their utility for most solid tumor indications. Novel designs for T-cell-engaging antibodies aim at overcoming limitations of the rst generation and are already being tested in clinical trials (10).

The Trispecic T-cell-Activating Construct (TriTAC) design has been specically developed to treat solid tumors (11). TriTACs consist of a single polypeptide chain aligning three humanized, antibody- derived binding domains: a single-domain antibody (sdAb) specic for

1Harpoon Therapeutics, South San Francisco, California. 2MPM Capital, Cam- bridge, Massachusetts. 3Institute for Immunology, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Planegg- Martinsried, Munich, Germany.

Note: Supplementary data for this article are available at Clinical Cancer Research Online (http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/).

Corresponding Author: Mary Ellen Molloy, Harpoon Therapeutics, 131 Oyster

Point Boulevard, 300, South San Francisco, CA 94080. Phone: 773-318-0796;

E-mail: mmolloy@harpoontx.com

Clin Cancer Res 2020;XX:XX-XX

doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-3392

2020 American Association for Cancer Research.

ity, and half-life of HPN536 in in vitro assays, rodent models, and in nonhuman primates (NHP).

Results: HPN536 binds to MSLN-expressing tumor cells and to CD3e on T cells, leading to T-cell activation and potent redirected target cell lysis. A third domain of HPN536 binds to serum albumin for extension of plasma half-life. In cynomolgus monkeys, HPN536 at doses ranging from 0.1 to 10 mg/kg demonstrated MSLN- dependent pharmacologic activity, was well tolerated, and showed pharmacokinetics in support of weekly dosing in humans.

Conclusions: HPN536 is potent, is well tolerated, and exhibits extended half-life in NHPs. It is currently in phase I clinical testing in patients with MSLN-expressing malignancies (NCT03872206).

a tumor antigen, a sdAb specic for serum albumin for half-life extension, and a single-chain fragment variable (scFv) specic for the CD3e subunit of the TCR complex (11). Their molecular size of 53 kDa is about one-third of that of an IgG. Binding of TriTACs to tumor antigen and CD3e is monovalent, which minimizes off-target CD3e clustering that can potentially lead to nonspecic T-cell activation. The absence of an Fc-gamma domain for half-life extension is functionally compensated by an albumin-binding domain. HPN424 (11) and HPN536, the rst two TriTACs are in phase I clinical testing in hormone refractory prostate cancer and mesothelin (MSLN)-over- expressing solid tumors, respectively.

Human MSLN is produced as a 71-kDa precursor of 628 amino acids, which is expressed as a glycophosphatidylinositol-linked cell surface glycoprotein. Its 31-kDaN-terminal domain is released as a soluble protein, termed as the megakaryocyte potentiating factor (MPF), while the 40-kDaC-terminal domain remains attached to the plasma membrane as mature MSLN (12-14). MSLN expression on normal tissue is conned to the single-cell mesothelial layer covering the surface of tissues and organs of the pleural, pericardial, and peritoneal cavities (13, 15). MUC16/CA125 is a binding partner for MSLN, implicating a role for MSLN in cell adhesion (16, 17). However, the precise physiologic functions of MSLN have not been dened, and MSLN-knockout mice exhibit no detectable phenotype or developmental abnormality (18).

MSLN is overexpressed in many malignancies, including ovarian cancer (13, 15, 19), pancreatic cancer (20, 21), non-small cell lung cancer (22-26),triple-negative breast cancer (26, 27), and mesothe- lioma (28, 29). In triple-negative breast cancer (25) and in lung and pancreatic adenocarcinomas (22, 23, 30), overexpression of MSLN correlates with poor prognosis. Differential expression of MSLN in cancer versus normal tissue has made it an attractive target for MSLN- directed imaging agents and therapeutics (10, 31-33). A challenge in developing MSLN-directed therapeutics is the expression of MSLN on normal mesothelial cells, potentially leading to dose-limiting toxicities.

Published OnlineFirst December 1, 2020; DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-3392

Molloy et al.

Translational Relevance

Patients with mesothelin (MSLN)-overexpressing tumors, including ovarian, pancreatic, lung, and triple-negative breast cancer, have a high unmet clinical need. A number of MSLN- targeted therapeutics have been developed that show limited efcacy and safety in clinical trials. HPN536 is a novel, MSLN- targeted, trispecic, T-cell-activating protein construct that can potently redirect T cells to lyse tumor cells and was remarkably well tolerated in nonhuman primates at single doses up to 10 mg/kg, which is far above the expected therapeutic dose level. Our ndings suggest that HPN536 has the potential for high clinical activity and a wide therapeutic window. Its long serum half-life supports once-weekly dosing in humans. Currently, HPN536 is the only MSLN-targeting,T-cell-engaging biologic in clinical testing.

HPN536 specically redirects T cells for potent redirected lysis of MSLN-expressing cancer cells with concomitant T-cell activation. In three different mouse xenograft models, HPN536 induced durable antitumor activity at very low doses. In cynomolgus monkeys, HPN536 was well tolerated, showed a long serum half-life, and elicited signs of target engagement on mesothelial structures.

Materials and Methods

Protein production

Sequences of TriTACs, sdAbs, and extracellular domains of target proteins fused to an Fc domain or a hexahistidine tag were cloned into mammalian expression vector, pcDNA 3.4 (Invitrogen), preceded by a leader sequence. Expi293 Cells (Life Technologies) were maintained in suspension in Optimum Growth Flasks (Thomson) between 0.2 and

8 106 cells/mL in Expi293 media. Puried plasmid DNA was transfected into Expi293 cells in accordance with Expi293 Expression System Kit (Life Technologies) protocols and cultured for 4-6 days after transfection. Alternatively, HPN536 was produced in CHO- DG44 DHFR-decient cells (34). The amount of expressed proteins in conditioned media was quantitated using an Octet RED96 instru- ment with Protein A Tips (ForteBio/Pall) using appropriate puried control proteins for a standard curve. Conditioned media from either host cell were ltered and puried by protein A afnity and desalted or subjected to preparative size exclusion chromatography (SEC) using an AKTA Pure Chromatography System (GE Healthcare). Protein A puried TriTAC proteins were further puried by ion exchange and

formulated in a buffered solution containing excipients. Final purity was assessed by SDS-PAGE by resolving 2.5 mg/lane on TRIS-Glycine

gels and visualized with Simply Blue Stain (Life Technologies). Native purity was also assessed by analytic SEC using a Yarra SEC150 3 mm

4.6 150 mm Column (Phenomenex) resolved in an aqueous/organic mobile phase buffered at neutral pH on a 1290 LC system and peaks were integrated with OpenLab ChemStation Software (Agilent Technologies).

In vitro afnity measurements

Afnities of HPN536 analyte for albumin, CD3e, and MSLN ligands were measured by biolayer interferometry using an Octet RED96 instrument with Streptavidin Tips (ForteBio/Pall). Experiments were performed at 27 C in PBS plus casein in the absence or presence of 15 mg/mL has, as described in Results section and gure legends. Binding sensograms generated from empirically determined ligand

loads, appropriate serial dilutions of known analyte concentrations, and association and dissociation times were then t globally to a one- to-one binding model using Octet DataAnalysis 9.0 software.

In vitro T-cell-dependent cell cytotoxicity and T-cell activation assays

T cells from healthy donors were puried from leukopaks (leuka- pheresis samples, StemCell Technologies) using EasySep Human T Cell Isolation Kits (StemCell Technologies, 17951) following the manufacturer's instructions. All cancer cell lines were obtained from the ATCC, with the exception of OVCAR8 cells, which were obtained from the NCI (Bethesda, MD). Cell lines were passaged a maximum of 36 times after being received from the ATCC. Cell line authentication and Mycoplasma testing were not performed. T-cell-dependent cell cytotoxicity (TDCC) assays were performed as described previously (35). Briey, luciferase-expressing target cells and puried human T cells were seeded per well of a 384-well plate at a 10:1 T cell-to-target cell ratio. Target cell killing was assessed following incubation for 48 hours at 37oC and 5% CO2. Target cell viability was assessed by incubation with the SteadyGlo Reagent (Promega). Luminescence was measured using a PerkinElmer EnVision Detection System. Activated T cells were identied by CD69 and CD25 surface expression (BD Biosciences). Samples were analyzed on a FACSCelesta Flow Cyt- ometer (BD Biosciences). Flow cytometry data were processed using FlowJo v10 Software (FlowJo, LLC).

Binding of HPN536 on MSLN-expressing OVCAR and T cells Cultured cells were incubated with 1 mg/mL HPN536 or anti-GFP

TriTAC (control) for 1 hour. Binding was detected using Alexa647- anti-TriTAC antibody using a FACSCelesta Flow Cytometer (BD Biosciences). The QIFIKIT (Dako) was used according to the man- ufacturer's instructions to estimate the number of MSLN molecules expressed per cell.

Cytokines in the presence of T cells

To measure the cytokines, AlphaLISA Kits were used (PerkinElmer) per the manufacturer's instructions, except that the assays were performed in 384-well plates instead 96-well plates. Plates containing conditioned media from TDCC assays were used for analysis. Plates were read on a PerkinElmer EnVision Plate Reader equipped with an AlphaLISA module.

In vivo mouse efcacy studies

All mouse studies were performed in accordance with the policies of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at

Harpoon Therapeutics and Charles River Laboratories. For TOV21G and HPAFII experiments, NCG (NOD-Prkdcem26Cd52Il2rgem26Cd22/

NjuCrl) mice received subcutaneous coimplants of human cancer cells (5 106) and human T cells (5 106) in 50% Matrigel (BD Biosciences) on day 0. Human T cells were expanded before implantation using Human T Cell Activation/Expansion Kit (Miltenyi Biotec) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Mice were dosed on days 1-15 (HPAFII, Fig. 4A and TOV21G, Fig. 4C) or days 7-16 (HPAFII, Fig. 4B) via intraperitoneal injection. For NCI-H292 experi- ments, NCG mice received subcutaneous coimplants of human cancer cells (1 107) and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC;

1 107). Mice were administered HPN536 daily for 10 days starting on

day 6 via intravenous injection. Tumor size was measured twice weekly and calculated using the following formula: tumor volume (mm3)

(w2 l)/2. Percent tumor growth inhibition (%TGI) was dened as the difference between the mean tumor volume (MTV) of the control

OF2 Clin Cancer Res; 2021

CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH

Rela

HPN536

An

group and the MTV of the treated group, expressed as a percentage of the MTV of the control group.

Exploratory cynomolgus monkey dose range-ndingstudy The pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity of HPN536

were evaluated after a single intravenous bolus dose of 0.1, 1.0, or 10 mg/kg HPN536 in one male and one female cynomolgus monkey per group followed by either a 1- or 3-weekpostdose recovery period. The study followed the protocol and standard operating procedures of the testing facility (Charles River Labo- ratories) and was approved by their IACUC. Pharmacologic activ- ity was evaluated by clinical observations, cytokine assessments, ow cytometry, and evidence of target engagement by histology. Two research electrochemiluminescence assays, a functional assay and an anti-idiotypeassay, were used for measuring HPN536 levels in serum. For the functional assay, HPN536 was captured with biotinylated CD3e and was detected with a sulfo-taggedMSLN. For the anti-idiotypeassay, HPN536 was captured with an anti- idiotype antibody recognizing the anti-albumindomain and was detected with a sulfo-taggedCD3e. Toxicokinetic parameters were estimated using Phoenix WinNonlin pharmacokinetic software. A noncompartmental approach, consistent with the intravenous bolus route of administration, was used for parameter estimation.

Published OnlineFirst December 1, 2020; DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-3392

HPN536 an Anti-MSLN/Anti-CD3T-Cell Engager for Solid Tumors

Toxicity endpoints included daily morbidity and mortality, daily clinical observations, weekly body weights, daily food consump- tion, clinical pathology (hematology, clinical chemistry, and coag- ulation), and anatomic pathology (gross necropsy, organ weights, and histopathology).

Results

Production, structure, and biochemical characteristics of

HPN536

Recombinant HPN536 has a molecular weight of approximately

53 kDa. A humanized llama sdAb specic for human MSLN is placed at its N-terminus (Fig. 1A). A humanized llama sdAb specic for human serum albumin (HSA) is placed in the middle of the molecule. The C-terminal end contains a humanized scFv specic for the human CD3e subunit of the TCR complex. GGGGSGGGS linkers connect the three binding domains.

HPN536 is produced by eukaryotic cell culture and secreted as a single, nonglycosylated polypeptide. Stability studies subjecting HPN536 to various stress conditions, including multiple freeze thaw cycles and storage at 4 C and 40 C for 2 weeks, suggest the protein is stable and stress resistant (Supplementary Fig. S1). The high stability of HPN536 ensures limited aggregation, which would otherwise lead to

huMSLN

huCD3e

huALB

A

B

MSLN

ALB

MSLN

CD3

ALB

CD3

In vitro anity

Human KD (nmol/L)

0.21

6.6

6.3

measurements

CynoK D (nmol/L)

1.1

6.2

5.6

Mouse (nmol/L)

210

NB

170

HPN536 binding to MSLN-

HPN536 binding to

expressing OVCAR8 cells

See the rest here:
Harpoon Therapeutics : Clin Cancer Res 2021; OnlineFirst version Jan 6, 2021 - Marketscreener.com

2020 was transformative in violent and destructive ways - the pandemic has taken a huge social, medical, cultural, and financial toll on us collectively as a species. As of the writing of this note, COVID-19 has caused the deaths of 1.62 million people, including over 300,000 Americans. Our pandemic coverage has attempted to make simple the complexity of this moment, crystalizing expertise from bioethicists, biochemists, immunologists, virologists, bioengineers, epidemiologists, geneticists, healthcare practitioners, and global health specialists.

That said, we did not abandon our bread-and-butter scientific reporting. Ninety percent of our published stories were about research and stories across the sciences and engineering and that paid off in terms of traffic. We had about 2.7M pageviews in 2020, up 65 percent from 1.6M in 2019. COVID-19 coverage overwhelmed many readers in 2020, and we found our non-pandemic articles were welcomed by readers awash in hot-takes by writers without scientific expertise.

Unlike many other science news outlets that saw outsized growth driven entirely by pandemic coverage, our growth has been organic across all of our topics and channels around 11 percent of our pageviews in 2020 came from COVID-19 coverage. This growth bodes well for us in a shifting science news landscape in the coming years, as climate change drives more of the big news cycles.

We've done our best to stay value-aligned, creating equitable structures for our team and our community of scientist writers. We also make our values transparent to our audiences. The values we stated as the national uprising for Black liberation erupted in the summer of 2020 are still values we fight for in our work as a news media organization. The disparate impact of COVID-19 on BIPOC communities is stark and brutal and we will continue to highlight the violence that research can perpetuate when carelessly designed, implemented, and funded.

In addition to leading Massive Science, I started working at the media organization Science Friday in February of 2020, and shortly after my co-founder Allan Lasser began working at the content management system (CMS) company TakeShape. Massive runs on the TakeShape CMS, and Science Friday's audio products and radio program are mission-aligned with the work that Massive does. We've found that working within these organizations has been helpful in pushing Massive to grow in new directions.

We hope in the next two years to find a home for Massive that is more permanent. The options for Massive are infinite, and it will be our goal to find a safe and equitable place for Massive to continue to grow as an editorial science community and platform.

Communicating science during the pandemic has been an interesting challenge for scientists, news media outlets, and journalists. Thankfully, we had spent three years preparing for this moment. One of our first editors, Dr. Ashely Juavinett, summed the challenge up nicely:

Massive broke its previous monthly traffic record in May 2020. We haven't been able to consistently clear 300,000 monthly pageviews yet, but in comparison to 2019, monthly traffic has remained higher and more constant.

2020 easily broke our yearly traffic record set in 2019. The higher traffic also came with a 12 percent increase in the average time readers spend on a page, from 3:03 in 2019 to 3:25 in 2020, with long-form article time-on-page clocking in at 4:11. We're happy with the increase two minutes is considered the start of the "good" time-on-page range, so increasing at a healthy rate here is wonderful.

Massive's bread-and-butter is always basic science, but 2020 was the year we started doing more explainer articles, specifically focused on trending science news. For instance, in July, months ahead of most outlets, we published a piece explaining what exactly an mRNA vaccine is, and what its pros and cons are. In preparation for the winter holidays, we published a series of explainers on evolution and climate change (a two-parter), that we figured would be fodder for family arguments.

In the past, we've experimented with theme weeks, butwe tried a theme month this year and had a lot more success. In the second half of 2020, we started publishing many more interviews than we have in the past. These include one-offs (like this interview with neuroscientist Yewande Pearse about life extension) and series of interviews, like our collaboration with Science Friday on conversations with prominent women scientists. Massive also kept up with the evolving intersection of politics and science. This includes publishing anonymously-written articles from Black scientists as well as immigrant scientists facing deportation.

The most popular articles were, predictably, articles that explained rumors about COVID or put the pandemic in a different light. Five of the 10 most popular articles of the year were about COVID one explained how the virus initially spread, one debunked a conspiracy theory about the virus's origins, and the #1 most popular article put social distancing behavior in a new light.

None of what we do at Massive would have been possible without the support of the community of scientists who work with us and write with us. None of it would have been possible without the support of our partners, supporters and collaborators. And none of it would happen without the dedication of our community, editorial, and infrastructure teams! They are amazing people and I am so proud of what we've done.

I hope this has given you a sense of what Massive is all about, and how we dealt with the ups and downs of 2020. We're really excited about 2021 and hope you'll stick with us. If you ever have questions or feedback about Massive, please email me directly at nadja@massivesci.com.

Onwards to 2021 with the lessons of 2020 close at hand...

Read the original:
Massive Science Year in Review: 2020 edition - Massive Science

Pantheras clinical trial sites in Preston, North Manchester and North London began dosing volunteers in the Phase III PROVENT trial which will evaluate AstraZenecas long-acting antibody combination, AZD7442, for the potential prevention of COVID-19.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial will include adult volunteers who have no history of COVID-19 and have an increased risk of infection, including those over 60, a BMI of over 30, a chronic medical condition, taking immunosuppressive medications or those more likely to be exposed, such as NHS workers, or those living in shared accommodation, such as students or the armed services.

Pantheras dedicated research sites were selected to take part in the trial because of their experience in enrolling and supporting volunteers. The three sites have put in place strict protocols in place to minimise the risk to both volunteers and staff. This enables the company to continue running clinical trials throughout the pandemic.

The trial of AZD7442 single dose inoculation will run for a year and looks to recruit 5000 volunteers globally. The aim of the trial is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a combination of two long-acting monoclonal antibodies - man-made versions of naturally occurring human antibodies of the immune system - in preventing COVID-19 infection.

The "antibody combination" differs from a vaccine as it provides antibodies, rather than prompting the body's immune system to make them.

The treatment is aimed at helping those people with a compromised immune system, who cannot be vaccinated, vaccine hesitant and those who are unlikely to respond to a vaccination.

In the event of any volunteers developing COVID -19 symptoms Panthera will be providing support to the patient and ensuring the study can continue with those individuals safely isolated.

Stuart Young CEO of Panthera commented: We are delighted that we have been chosen to enroll volunteers in this critical study. We have taken great care in making sure our sites are as safe as possible for both volunteers and staff so that clinical trials can continue. This is vital in ensuring that there are new medications available to prevent and treat, not only COVID-19, but the many other conditions which afflict so many people.

AstraZeneca's LAAB combination, AZD7442, has been engineered with AstraZeneca's proprietary half-life extension technology to increase the durability of the therapy for six to 12 months following a single administration. The inoculation combines two LAABs which are designed to increase the potency and reduce the risk of resistance being developed by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

About Panthera Biopartners an Independent Site Management Organisation

Panthera Biopartners was founded by Dr Ian Smith founder of Synexus - and Professor John Lyon previously senior executive in Covance and serial entrepreneur - to provide CROs and pharma clients with services relating to the recruitment and running of clinical trials at customised clinical trial sites by GCP trained healthcare professionals.

Panthera has a growing network of sites across the UK managing studies in a variety of conditions in both primary care settings and hospital sites running trials in key secondary care conditions such as CNS, oncology and NASH with specialist investigators.

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Panthera began dosing volunteers in AstraZeneca's phase III of its long-acting antibody combination AZD7442 for the prevention of COVID-19 at its...

TRUMPS DESPERATE ENDGAME: With the Senate poised to possibly flip to the Democrats and Congress set to certify President-elect Joe Bidens 306-232 Electoral College win later today, President Trump is mounting a final rearguard assault on the constitutional process and will tell thousands of supporters rallying near the White House this morning that he expects Vice President Mike Pence to deliver the victory to him.

In a statement last night, Trump denied reports that Pence had rebuffed his entreaties to intervene to stop Biden from taking office and insisted Pence can act on his behalf. The Vice President and I are in total agreement that the Vice President has the power to act, he said, calling election returns in contested states corrupt and illegal.

Trump said Pence could either send some results back to states for review or simply decertify the results and throw the election to the House of Representatives, where Republicans would have the advantage because each state gets only one vote. Even Trumps own lawyers say that would be unconstitutional.

THE ANGRY CROWD: President Trump has promised to address his supporters personally later this morning at a "March to Save America" rally just south of the White House.

I will be speaking at the SAVE AMERICA RALLY tomorrow on the Ellipse at 11AM Eastern. Arrive early doors open at 7AM Eastern. BIG CROWDS! he tweeted.

Yesterday, hundreds of supporters gathered in Freedom Plaza many without masks and stayed into the night as temperatures dropped to the low 40s and a steady rain fell.

Among the speakers was former national security adviser retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn recently pardoned by Trump, who told the crowd, We stand at a crucible moment in United States history.

The rally opened with one speaker shouting F--- ANTIFA for several minutes, long attacks on George Soros, unspecified links to Hugo Chavez and U.S. democracy, and lots of COVID-19 deniers, reported Tom Squitieri of Talk Media News. Who here is up to the task of not wearing a mask? ... Jesus is king and its time to let freedom ring, one speaker goaded, as he gave website directions for anti-COVID wonder drugs and urged the crowd to hug each other, he reported.

UNARMED, CLEARLY MARKED: Meanwhile, the 340 D.C. National Guard troops requested by Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser are taking great pains to avoid the confusion of last June, when various law enforcement personnel wore military-style camouflage as they moved against mostly peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square. Many observers thought the Guard had moved against their fellow citizens.

A video released by the Guard shows the troops in support of local police, helping to direct traffic and control crowds, and importantly sporting black identification vests that clearly identify them as National Guard, including their names. The black identification vest is not body armor nor a tactical vest, the Guard said in a statement.

And they are unarmed and not equipped with riot shields or batons. We've explicitly been told there is no weaponry of any kind for this mission, a Guard spokesman told the Washington Examiners Abraham Mahshie. If anything came to that, yes, they would have to facilitate transportation back to the armory.

ANTIFA THE REAL PROBLEM: While half-a-dozen protesters were arrested yesterday on various charges, including possession of guns and ammunition and in one case, assaulting a police officer, the White House issued a statement which made no mention of the armed supporters clashing with local police, instead accusing antifa activists, who werent there, of domestic terrorism.

Despite the lack of any significant counterprotesters, the statement from press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump has signed a memorandum to ensure that Federal officials assess actions of Antifa activists in light of Federal laws that restrict the entry of aliens associated with terrorist organizations and aliens intent on criminal activity.

President Trump will not allow Antifa, or any terrorist organization, to destroy our great country, she said.

Good Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyres Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Victor I. Nava. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesnt work, shoot us an email and well add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.

Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what's going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue!

HAPPENING TODAY: WILL HE OR WONT HE? There will be high drama at this afternoons joint session of Congress to certify Joe Bidens win. The big question: How will Mike Pence, serving in his role as president of the Senate, handle what could be the final loyalty test from Trump.

Pence has a largely ceremonial role, opening the sealed envelopes from the states after they are carried in mahogany boxes used for the occasion, and reading the results aloud, noted the Associated Press. But he is under growing pressure from Trump to tip it to the presidents favor, despite having no power to affect the outcome.

Trump tweeted this morning: If Vice President @Mike_Pence comes through for us, we will win the Presidency.

VETERANS DEADLIEST FOE: We learned this week from the Department of Veterans Affairs (first reported by Military Times) that the number of veterans who have died from COVID-19 has now surpassed total military deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined.

The latest figures on the VA website show 6,929 deaths, compared to 6,756 military deaths from Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003 to 2010) and Operation Enduring Freedom (2001 to 2014).

This is obviously a national crisis and one that extends far beyond the veteran community. But the effects on Americas veterans are emblematic of the deteriorating situation and also indicative of where a well-led Department of Veterans Affairs could be contributing to the national recovery, said Jeremy Butler, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Those hardest hit by the pandemic are elderly, those in nursing homes, those with co-morbidities and minorities all demographics that are widely represented by the nations veteran community.

MORE BIDEN PICKS: President-elect Biden plans to nominate Wendy Sherman, the chief U.S. negotiator of the Iran nuclear deal, to be deputy secretary of state, according to published reports.

The No. 3 job at the State Department is expected to go to former department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, who served under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

A former Washington Post reporter, Jon Finer is in line to be deputy national security adviser, according to the Washington Post, citing two people familiar with the decision. Finer is a former director of policy planning at State.

Former Brookings Institution fellow Amanda Sloat, who was deputy assistant secretary of state for Southern Europe and Eastern Mediterranean, is reportedly Bidens pick for senior director for Europe on the NSC, says Politico, which was first to report the potential nominations.

CHINA RAIDS: China has conducted a massive round-up of roughly 50 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, making the arrests under a new national security law, in what many see as a sign of Beijings willingness to crush opposition forces in the former British colony.

Chairman Xi sees a divided and distracted America, and he isnt wasting the moment, said Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, a self-described China hawk, in a statement. These despicable raids expose the Chinese Communist Party for the cowardly dictators they are.

Those targeted appeared to include all candidates who had run in an unofficial opposition primary last year ahead of an expected election for Hong Kongs legislature, reported the Associated Press.

HOW DO YOU MEASURE SUCCESS? President Trumps top border official says the president fulfilled a promise to install 450 miles of border wall along the U.S.-Mexico boundary by the end of 2020. But upon closer examination, the actual figure for new border barriers is closer to 40 miles.

The construction represents a partial fulfillment of Trump's campaign promises, reports Anna Giaritelli, Washington Examiner Homeland Security Reporter. Trump vowed as a candidate to put up 1,000 miles of wall on the nearly 2,000-mile border, which stretches from the Pacific Coast in California to the Gulf of Mexico in Texas. He also said he would get it done for $4 billion. To date, 738 miles of border wall has been funded for $15 billion. Four hundred and fifty miles of the 738 have been completed.

But Giaritelli notes, More than 340 miles of the 450 total newly installed miles are in the place of older fencing, while 40 miles are brand new in previously unsecured areas. The remaining 50-plus miles are secondary fencing or duplicate barriers put up behind the main fence.

STANDOFF NUKE NEEDED: The Heritage Foundation is out this morning with an analysis of the need for the U.S. to modernize its nuclear air-launched cruise missile to sustain the air leg of the nuclear triad.

Patty-Jane Geller, whose portfolio at Heritage is nuclear deterrence and missile defense, argues that fielding the Long-Range Standoff Weapon, or LRSO, will help deter adversaries and assure allies.

The LRSO will also contribute to both the credibility of U.S. deterrence and the United States extended deterrence commitments to allies and provide a hedge against both technical failure as well as an uncertain geopolitical environment, she writes.

Key points:

Washington Examiner: DC National Guard will be unarmed for Electoral College protests after George Floyd failures

Washington Examiner: Trump hits 450-mile goal for 2020 border wall construction

Washington Examiner: Iran submits second Interpol request to arrest Trump

Washington Examiner: SolarWinds hack likely an active Russian intelligence-gathering effort, US spy agencies say

Washington Examiner: China tightens censorship rules despite pandemic backlash

USNI News: Hospital Ship USNS Mercy Tied Up in Maintenance, Cant Deploy for COVID Relief

AP: Kim opens North Korean congress by admitting policy failures

Reuters: China Says It Will Respond To Planned Taiwan, U.S. Defense Talks

Air Force Magazine: STRATCOM Welcomes Nuke Review, but Says Minuteman III Life Extension Should Not be Considered

USNI News: STRATCOM: U.S. Needs Broader-Based Strategic Review To Assess Threats

Breaking Defense: Navy Secretary: US Weighing Patrols Near Russian Arctic Bases

Wall Street Journal: Russias Neighbors Rebuild Defenses

Reuters: China Urges Calm And Restraint After Iran Enrichment Announcement

Washington Post: Iran: Seizure of S. Korean Tanker Is Not Hostage-Taking

Navy Times: SECNAV Not Sure When Nimitz Strike Group Will Come Home

Bloomberg: Pentagon Gets Diversity Watchdog In Bill Passed Over Trump Veto

Washington Post: Trumps Final Efforts To Overturn Election Create Discomfort For The Military

Newport News Daily Press: Navy SEAL Team 6 Member To Plead Guilty In Death Of Green Beret

Just the News: First female Green Beret charged in Colorado with accidentally shooting into neighbor's apartment

Forbes: Opinion: Why Getting Rid Of U.S. ICBMs Could Make Nuclear War More Likely

Bloomberg: Opinion: James Stavridis: Irans Provocations Are A Warning Shot To Biden

WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 6

11 a.m. Washington Post Live "New Government" webinar on "critical issues facing America, with former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel; and former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, founder and chairman of PSP Partners. https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live

12 p.m. Hudson Institute webinar: U.S.-India Defense Ties: Partnership of the 21st Century, with former Indian Integrated Defense Staff Chief Vice Adm. Shekhar Sinha; Abhijnan Rej, security and defense editor at the Diplomat and director of research at Diplomat Risk Intelligence; and Aparna Pande, director of the Hudson Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia. https://www.hudson.org/events

1 p.m. Senate Chamber House and Senate meet in a joint session to count electoral votes of the 2020 presidential election.

4:30 p.m. Intelligence National Security Alliance virtual discussion: The Space Force's intelligence priorities, with Air Force Maj. Gen. Leah Lauderback, Space Force director of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. https://www.insaonline.org/event

THURSDAY | JANUARY 7

1 p.m. Center for the National Interest webinar: Facing the Realities of International Cyber Conflict, with Milt Bearden, distinguished non-resident fellow at the Center for the National Interest; George Beebe vice president and director of studies at the Center for the National Interest; Paul Kolbe, director of the Intelligence Project at Harvard Universitys Belfer Center; and former Undersecretary of Defense Dov Zakheim, vice chairman of the Center for the National Interest. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register

1 p.m. Atlantic Council webinar: Women's Gains in Afghanistan: Supporting Economic Opportunities for Afghan Women as a Driver of Peace and Security, with Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Kelley Currie; Brig. Gen. Kimberly Colloton, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers; Connie Duckworth, chairman and CEO of ARZU Inc.; Razia Jan, founder and CEO of Razia's Ray of Hope Foundation; and Sara Greengrass, executive director of the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event

5 p.m. George Mason University National Security Institute NatSec Nightcap with Amb. Rosemary Banks, New Zealand Ambassador to the U.S.; and Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director, National Security Institute. https://nationalsecurity.gmu.edu/natsec-nightcap

FRIDAY | JANUARY 8

9 a.m. Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: Countering Unmanned Aerial Systems: The Path Forward, with Army Maj. Gen. Sean Gainey, deputy director of Force Protection (J-8) Joint Staff; Nicole Thomas, division chief for strategy and policy at the Joint C-sUAS Office; and Tom Karako, director of the CSIS Missile Defense Project. https://www.csis.org/events

10 a.m. Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies virtual discussion: Did Russia just attack the U.S.? How should the Biden Administration respond? A conversation about the SolarWinds Hack, with Thomas Rid, professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University and author of "Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare"; and Eliot Cohen, SAIS dean. https://sais.jhu.edu/campus-events

This nation has never before had to face the prospect of two peer, nuclear-capable adversaries who have to be deterred differently, and actions done to deter one have an impact on the other This is way more complicated than it used to be.

U.S. Strategic Commander Adm. Chas Richard, on the nuclear challenges posed by Russia and China.

More here:
National Guard troops to take back seat as Trump addresses supporters rallying to his call to overturn the election - Washington Examiner

By Sunil Jayasiri

The Sri Lanka Air Force is to increase its air capability including combat aircraft within the year and it has already sent a number of aircraft including fighter jets Kfir and MI-17 for overhaul purposes overseas, Air Force Commander Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana said yesterday.

We have already initiated discussions with an Israeli Aircraft manufacturer to overhaul five Kfir fighter jets of the Sri Lanka Air Force and within this month all will be finalised on this, the Commander told the Daily Mirror.

He also said that the Cabinet of Ministers had already approved a proposal costing $49 million to overhaul and upgrade five Kfir fighter jets, which were in active service in the SL Air Force.

Air Marshal Pathirana also said that two C-130 aircraft (medium lift transport aircraft) of the SLAF will also be sent for overhaul purposes soon.

Discussions are underway with Pakistan and most probably one C-130 will be sent there for overhauling while bids have already been called for Capital Overhauls and Service Life Extension for the second C-130 aircraft. He also revealed that three Ukraine built Antonov-32 transport aircraft of the SLAF have already been sent to Ukraine for overhaul purposes while another AN-32 will also be sent there soon for the same purpose. Three more MI-17 combat helicopters, that were too on active duty during last two decades had already been sent to Lithuania for overhaul purposes. There were several MI-35 combat helicopters, which are currently grounded and they will also be sent for overhaul and service life extension, the Commander revealed.

Meanwhile, the Air Force Chief said that the SLAF is going to soon purchase two Chinese Y-12 aircraft, which are to be used for several purposes including transport, training, search and rescue missions.

He also said that four more small helicopters that are to be used for training purposes would be purchased and already bids are called for it. For that purpose, we have received the Cabinet approval already, he said.

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Several AF fighter jets, combat helicopters to be overhauled to boost air power - Daily Mirror

By my calculations, Ive gone for treatment a total of 112 times in the past 6 years. Ive had approximately 23 scans, give or take a few due to brain scans, Ive had my heart checked at least 20 times, and blood draws somewhere around 30 times. Add to that oncologist appointments, primary care appointments, mental health appointments, a brief (but impactful) stint in physical therapy, as well as appointments Ive forgotten, and it becomes very clear to me why I struggle with the idea of celebrating a cancerversary that falls during the period of making New Years resolutions.

Like birthdays, Im counting up but there is a lot of the bittersweet when it comes to cancer milestones. I am thrilled to have lived a remarkable six years with metastatic breast cancer, but theres not a lot Ive forgotten about the first year following my diagnosis. It was a steep learning curve featuring fear, loss and gradual understanding along the way.

And yet, with six years in the rearview mirror, the road in front is still mostly the same for all of us. The number of people dying each year from metastatic breast cancer in the United States remains tragically high at over 40,000. The length of those lives at diagnosis remains mostly short. Just 27% of women with metastatic breast cancer and 22% of men are alive at five years from the date of their diagnosis. Theres been progresstoo often in the form of drugs that are so rough on our bodies that some choose to forgo them for the short life extension they promisebut theres been so much pain as well. Its hard to celebrate being here when friends have died far too soon or are facing the end of their treatment options.

Yet, the hope of the cancerversary is real this year.

I look back at my six years of metastatic breast cancer and thereve been two high school graduations with a third on the horizon, a college graduation, good times with good friends and trips to see the people I love. Ive packed a lot into six years and felt it all, good and bad. Year seven, starting at the same time as enormous changes in our country including a new President, new vaccines for COVID-19, renewed hope, seems like the right time to take note of a full six years of life when what I expected at the start was so much less.

So, while Im not fully celebrating, I am aware of all that I would have missed. I am spending this month in thanks for the people whove kept me here, from my friends to my oncologist to the researchers whove put their careers directly in my unplanned path. I am acknowledging the fear I felt that lingers and the love that encircles me even when we cant give one another hugs. Life is short and it is often far shorter with cancer.

Year 7 may be too much like Year 6, where months of doing so very little other than what was devoted to cancer sometimes made it feel endlessly empty, but somehow the future seems to be stretching out in front of me in this moment. Acknowledging a cancerversary in the midst of this particular new year seem like the proper expression of hope. Heres to my Year 7 and to 2021may it be good to us all.

Originally posted here:
Looking At Year Seven On This Cancerversary - Curetoday.com

Sustaining production from mature brownfields is becoming an uphill task in the current storm of pandemic plus economic crisis. In this years papers on mature fields and well revitalization, I have found operators focusing on making all-out efforts to improve their ongoing waterflood operations to extend the life of existing wells, which is preferred over drilling new infill wells.

Waterflooding is the oldest method used for secondary recovery in oil fields because water is readily available and relatively inexpensive. Although the concept behind waterflooding is relatively simple and easy to implement, the reality is different, with many potential challenges such as water circulation because of poor reservoir conformance, induced matrix fracturing resulting in early water breakthrough, and reservoir souring, to mention just a few. The older the waterflood, the more susceptible it becomes to problems and challenges, and the most unavoidable challenge is managing increased amounts of produced water.

A third of the papers studied this year focus on improved-/enhanced-oil-recovery techniques, and a majority of them focus on improving waterfloods through various techniques such as using classical analysis and data-driven technologies for redistributing injected water and integrating efforts with cross-disciplinary teams.

Another area of focus is extending the life of existing wells. It is both a challenge and an opportunity. It is a challenge because operators must find a delicate balance between extending the life of an old well and jeopardizing the safety and integrity conditions in the field. It is an opportunity because it provides an attractive alternative for identifying and appraising possible behind-casing opportunities before plugging and abandonment. Several studies have been conducted to identify and appraise such opportunities.

Natural Dumpflood in Malaysia Succeeds as Low-Cost Offshore Oil-Recovery Method

Fracturing With Height Control Extends the Life of Mature Reservoirs in the Pannonian Basin

Analytical Work Flows Enable Continuous Waterflooding Optimization for a Mature Field

IPTC 19763 Chasing Behind-Casing Opportunities in Low-Salinity Laminated Brown Reservoirs by Noor Faezah Ramly, Petronas, et al.

SPE 199205 Standardization of Inactive Wells-Audit Process for Well Abandonment and Production Enhancement Candidate Screening by Elin Haryanto, Schlumberger, et al.

SPE 197474 Prevention of Well-Control Incidents and Well Life Extension in Mature Fields by Andrey Yugay, ADNOC, et al.

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JPT Mature Fields and Well Revitalization - Journal of Petroleum Technology

WASHINGTON The first full year for the U.S. Space force marked an eventful stretch for the military in space.

From the growth of the nascent military branch to the award of massive new launch contracts, 2020 was a busy year in the space domain. Just this December, the Trump administration formalized its thinking about space in a new National Space Policy and gave Space Force members a surprise birthday gift: an official name. With new developments, launches and announcements spilling out throughout this year, even the most ardent observers could be forgiven for missing a story or two.

And so without any more bloviating heres a recap of the top six military space stories of 2020.

The Space Force takes shape

While history will note 2019 as the year the Space Force was created, 2020 was the year the new service began to take shape.

Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Jay Raymond says his team had five focus areas for year one of setting up the first new branch of the military in 70 years: developing its people, developing its doctrine, presenting an independent budget, designing the force and presenting forces to a joint command. Raymonds team has arguably made strides in all of those areas.

In 2020, the Space Force got its first member and chief of space operations, added 2,500 people to the new service, defined spacepower as distinct from military power in its capstone doctrine, set up the first of three commands, began implementing a series of acquisition reforms, and gave its personnel their official name: guardians. Questions remain, such as which capabilities and offices will transfer to the Space Force from the other services and what the new Space Systems Command will look like. Still, Raymond was optimistic about the progress made in year one.

As I look back on this first year, I look back with great pride great pride for the work that our space professionals have done in establishing this new service, said Raymond in a December media call. The progress we have made far surpasses anything I would have expected. We have completely reorganized the national security space organization the largest restructure in our history.

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(please select a country) United States United Kingdom Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, The Democratic Republic of The Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D'ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and Mcdonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe

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Space Development Agency orders first satellites

When the Trump administration created the Space Development Agency in March 2019, the office was a bit of an enigma. While most observers called for the consolidation of space systems acquisitions, the Trump administration established a new agency outside the purview of the U.S. Air Force. Furthermore, experts questioned whether the agency would survive the year, especially with the establishment of a Space Force imminent.

But in 2020, SDA defined its place in the nations space enterprise: building a new National Defense Space Architecture that will be made up of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit. The core of that architecture a space-based mesh network will serve as the space component of Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control, the Pentagons effort to connect any sensor to any shooter across services and domains.

And while the agencys biggest advocate in the Pentagon Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin left the government for the private sector, the office moved forward confidently in soliciting and awarding its first contracts over the summer. In August, the agency awarded York Space Systems $94 million and Lockheed Martin $188 million to build 10 satellites each for the inaugural transport layer. Then in October, the agency issued contracts for its first eight missile tracking satellites: $149 million for SpaceX and $193 million for L3Harris. A protest from Raytheon Technologies is holding up the tracking layer satellites, though SDA says it is taking corrective action and working to keep the effort on track for a 2022 delivery.

SpaceX and ULA win massive launch contracts

In one sense, the story of 2020 could be the emergence and success of several small launch providers despite a global pandemic. Yet the biggest launch contract of the year was for traditional heavy launches. In August, the Space Force issued its National Security Space Launch contract to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, with the former receiving $316 million and the latter receiving $337 million.

The National Security Space Launch contracts will support more than 30 heavy lift launches for the Space Force and National Reconnaissance Office over a five-year period from fiscal 2022 through 2027. Under the arrangement, 60 percent of launch services orders will go to ULA, with SpaceX taking up the remainder.

While the award is a major victory for SpaceX, which has fought tooth and nail to force its way into the lucrative military heavy lift launch market, it is undoubtedly frustrating for the two companies left out Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin which had been developing new rockets as part of the competition.

On-orbit servicing presents new opportunities

2020 marked the first successful docking of two commercial satellites on orbit as part of a commercial satellite life extension service offered by Northrop Grummans SpaceLogistics. That service involves attaching a SpaceLogistics Mission Extension Vehicle to an Intelsat communications satellite with depleted fuel reserves. By supplementing the satellites fuel reserves with its own and effectively towing the client around orbit, the MEV is expected to stretch the satellites service life by five years.

While the mission was entirely commercial, it has major implications for the military, which is looking into using SpaceLogistics services to extend the lives of its own satellites.

And commercial on-orbit satellite servicing could extend far beyond simply supplementing empty fuel reserves. Following the successful docking in February, SpaceLogistics announced a partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) program, which is working to create the first commercial spacecraft with a robotic arm that can perform repairs, augmentation, assembly, inspection or relocation of other spacecraft already on orbit.

SpaceLogistics is understandably bullish about the prospect of the military purchasing life extension services, and the Department of Defense has expressed interest. Other companies are eager to compete to provide those services. Most notably, Astroscale entered the field in June, providing its own slate of on-orbit servicing solutions.

Perhaps on-orbit servicing wont be as feasible or cost effective as hoped, but 2020 was the year the concept became a reality.

Russia continues anti-satellite weapons testing

Throughout 2019 and 2020, the Pentagon used the development and testing of anti-satellite weapons by Russia and China as a justification for establishing the Space Force. And in 2020, Russia provided plenty of fodder for those who believe that nations space activities are provocative, to say the least.

In 2020, the Russian government conducted two tests of a direct-ascent anti-satellite missile, capable of taking out satellites in low Earth orbit. While Russia has tested such missiles in the past, pushback from the newly established U.S. Space Command brought the issue to the fore in 2020. The 11th combatant command was quick and direct in calling out the tests, which it characterized as aggressive.

Russias DA-ASAT test provides yet another example that the threats to U.S. and allied space systems are real, serious and growing, said Raymond, then-head of U.S. Space Command, after the first test in April. The United States is ready and committed to deterring aggression and defending the nation, our allies and U.S. interests from hostile acts in space.

The command continued its criticisms of Russia in December, when that government conducted another test.

Russia has made space a war-fighting domain by testing space-based and ground-based weapons intended to target and destroy satellites. This fact is inconsistent with Moscows public claims that Russia seeks to prevent conflict in space, Space Command head Gen. James Dickinson said. Space is critical to all nations. It is a shared interest to create the conditions for a safe, stable and operationally sustainable space environment.

But perhaps more concerning than the direct-ascent missiles was what USSPACECOM characterized as the testing of an on-orbit anti-satellite weapon. In July, USSPACECOM announced that a Russian satellite appeared to have launched a high-speed projectile into space, an action inconsistent with its stated purpose. A similar test was carried out in 2017.

U.S. officials have not shied away from characterizing this capability as a weapon especially since Russian government satellites have a habit of sidling up to U.S. commercial and government satellites.

China and Russia are continuing to develop space weaponry, said Vice President Mike Pence in December remarks to the National Space Council. Russia demonstrated a space-based anti-satellite weapon earlier this year. China is developing a new manned space station, and its robotic spacecraft will return samples from the moon in just a matter of weeks.

Army tests space-enabled sensor-to-shooter pipeline

Superficially, the Army doesnt scream space. Yet in 2020, the Army made big advances during Project Convergence that show how it plans to use new space-based capabilities to enable beyond-line-of-sight targeting.

Project Convergence is the Armys new campaign of learning, an effort to transform the battlefield with artificial intelligence, developmental networks and new sensing capabilities. In short, the Army wants to be able to connect any sensor to the best shooter. Satellites were used both as sensors to detect threats and as a network to connect sensors and shooters across the battlefield.

Tactical imagery satellites were a major part of Project Convergence. Taking images of the battlefield from their high vantage point, a satellite would downlink its data to a TITAN surrogate, where artificial intelligence was then used to process that imagery, automatically detect threats, and provide targeting data to Army shooters. In this new setup, satellites can provide the essential sensing capability to enable beyond-line-of-sight targeting.

The Army also tapped into new commercial satellite networks in low Earth orbit to connect its systems. Using proliferated constellations such as SpaceXs Starlink, the Army was able to transport data hundreds of miles in just seconds. Army officials say they will be able to experiment with even more capacity at Project Convergence 2021, as the commercial constellations become more mature.

All told, those space-based capabilities helped cut down the sensor-to-shooter timeline from 20 minutes to 20 seconds.

I can tell you with confidence, there isnt a person in the Army now who doesnt understand or isnt able to appreciate the capability that this deep sensing capability from space provides now, Willie Nelson, director of Army Futures Commands Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing Cross-Functional Team, told C4ISRNET following the exercise. Theres not a dry eye in the room when you look at how fast we can rapidly find threats and get those to shooters.

Much, much more to come

Missing your favorite military space development of 2020? Perhaps you were more interested in the relaunch of the secretive X-37B space plane, the operational acceptance of M-Code Early Use, or even the completion of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications constellation. 2020 was a busy year to be sure, and 2021 looks to be equally enthralling as we learn about the Biden teams plans for the space domain, see how the Space Force organizes its acquisitions, and find out how the military will utilize emerging commercial space capabilities.

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The 6 big military space stories of 2020 - C4ISRNet

LOS ANGELES, United States: QY Research has recently published a research report titled, Global Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Report 2020. This report has been prepared by experienced and knowledgeable market analysts and researchers. It is a phenomenal compilation of important studies that explore the competitive landscape, segmentation, geographical expansion, and revenue, production, and consumption growth of the global Magnolia Bark Extract market. Players can use the accurate market facts and figures and statistical studies provided in the report to understand the current and future growth of the global Magnolia Bark Extract market.

The report includes CAGR, market shares, sales, gross margin, value, volume, and other vital market figures that give an exact picture of the growth of the global Magnolia Bark Extract market.

Competitive Landscape

Competitor analysis is one of the best sections of the report that compares the progress of leading players based on crucial parameters, including market share, new developments, global reach, local competition, price, and production. From the nature of competition to future changes in the vendor landscape, the report provides in-depth analysis of the competition in the global Magnolia Bark Extract market.

Key questions answered in the report:

TOC

1 Magnolia Bark Extract Market Overview1.1 Magnolia Bark Extract Product Scope1.2 Magnolia Bark Extract Segment by Type1.2.1 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Sales by Type (2020-2026)1.2.2 Solid Form1.2.3 Powder Form1.3 Magnolia Bark Extract Segment by Application1.3.1 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Comparison by Application (2020-2026)1.3.2 Pharmaceutical1.3.3 Food and Beverages1.3.4 Others1.4 Magnolia Bark Extract Market Estimates and Forecasts (2015-2026)1.4.1 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Growth Rate (2015-2026)1.4.2 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Revenue and Growth Rate (2015-2026)1.4.3 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Price Trends (2015-2026) 2 Magnolia Bark Extract Estimate and Forecast by Region2.1 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Market Size by Region: 2015 VS 2020 VS 20262.2 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Retrospective Market Scenario by Region (2015-2020)2.2.1 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Region (2015-2020)2.2.2 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Revenue Market Share by Region (2015-2020)2.3 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Market Estimates and Forecasts by Region (2021-2026)2.3.1 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Estimates and Forecasts by Region (2021-2026)2.3.2 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Revenue Forecast by Region (2021-2026)2.4 Geographic Market Analysis: Market Facts & Figures2.4.1 United States Magnolia Bark Extract Estimates and Projections (2015-2026)2.4.2 Europe Magnolia Bark Extract Estimates and Projections (2015-2026)2.4.3 China Magnolia Bark Extract Estimates and Projections (2015-2026)2.4.4 Japan Magnolia Bark Extract Estimates and Projections (2015-2026)2.4.5 Southeast Asia Magnolia Bark Extract Estimates and Projections (2015-2026)2.4.6 India Magnolia Bark Extract Estimates and Projections (2015-2026) 3 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Competition Landscape by Players3.1 Global Top Magnolia Bark Extract Players by Sales (2015-2020)3.2 Global Top Magnolia Bark Extract Players by Revenue (2015-2020)3.3 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Market Share by Company Type (Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3) (based on the Revenue in Magnolia Bark Extract as of 2019)3.4 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Average Price by Company (2015-2020)3.5 Manufacturers Magnolia Bark Extract Manufacturing Sites, Area Served, Product Type3.6 Manufacturers Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion Plans3.7 Primary Interviews with Key Magnolia Bark Extract Players (Opinion Leaders) 4 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Market Size by Type4.1 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Historic Market Review by Type (2015-2020)4.1.1 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Type (2015-2020)4.1.2 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Revenue Market Share by Type (2015-2020)4.1.3 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Price by Type (2015-2020)4.2 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Market Estimates and Forecasts by Type (2021-2026)4.2.1 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Forecast by Type (2021-2026)4.2.2 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Revenue Forecast by Type (2021-2026)4.2.3 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Price Forecast by Type (2021-2026) 5 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Market Size by Application5.1 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Historic Market Review by Application (2015-2020)5.1.1 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Application (2015-2020)5.1.2 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Revenue Market Share by Application (2015-2020)5.1.3 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Price by Application (2015-2020)5.2 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Market Estimates and Forecasts by Application (2021-2026)5.2.1 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Forecast by Application (2021-2026)5.2.2 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Revenue Forecast by Application (2021-2026)5.2.3 Global Magnolia Bark Extract Price Forecast by Application (2021-2026) 6 United States Magnolia Bark Extract Market Facts & Figures6.1 United States Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Company (2015-2020)6.2 United States Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Type (2015-2020)6.3 United States Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Application (2015-2020) 7 Europe Magnolia Bark Extract Market Facts & Figures7.1 Europe Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Company (2015-2020)7.2 Europe Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Type (2015-2020)7.3 Europe Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Application (2015-2020) 8 China Magnolia Bark Extract Market Facts & Figures8.1 China Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Company (2015-2020)8.2 China Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Type (2015-2020)8.3 China Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Application (2015-2020) 9 Japan Magnolia Bark Extract Market Facts & Figures9.1 Japan Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Company (3015-3030)9.2 Japan Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Type (2015-2020)9.3 Japan Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Application (2015-2020) 10 Southeast Asia Magnolia Bark Extract Market Facts & Figures10.1 Southeast Asia Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Company (2015-2020)10.2 Southeast Asia Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Type (2015-2020)10.3 Southeast Asia Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Application (2015-2020) 11 India Magnolia Bark Extract Market Facts & Figures11.1 India Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Company (2015-2020)11.2 India Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Type (2015-2020)11.3 India Magnolia Bark Extract Sales Market Share by Application (2015-2020) 12 Company Profiles and Key Figures in Magnolia Bark Extract Business12.1 Swanson12.1.1 Swanson Corporation Information12.1.2 Swanson Business Overview12.1.3 Swanson Magnolia Bark Extract Sales, Revenue and Gross Margin (2015-2020)12.1.4 Swanson Magnolia Bark Extract Products Offered12.1.5 Swanson Recent Development12.2 Samsara herbs12.2.1 Samsara herbs Corporation Information12.2.2 Samsara herbs Business Overview12.2.3 Samsara herbs Magnolia Bark Extract Sales, Revenue and Gross Margin (2015-2020)12.2.4 Samsara herbs Magnolia Bark Extract Products Offered12.2.5 Samsara herbs Recent Development12.3 Genesis Today12.3.1 Genesis Today Corporation Information12.3.2 Genesis Today Business Overview12.3.3 Genesis Today Magnolia Bark Extract Sales, Revenue and Gross Margin (2015-2020)12.3.4 Genesis Today Magnolia Bark Extract Products Offered12.3.5 Genesis Today Recent Development12.4 Planetary Herbals12.4.1 Planetary Herbals Corporation Information12.4.2 Planetary Herbals Business Overview12.4.3 Planetary Herbals Magnolia Bark Extract Sales, Revenue and Gross Margin (2015-2020)12.4.4 Planetary Herbals Magnolia Bark Extract Products Offered12.4.5 Planetary Herbals Recent Development12.5 Solaray12.5.1 Solaray Corporation Information12.5.2 Solaray Business Overview12.5.3 Solaray Magnolia Bark Extract Sales, Revenue and Gross Margin (2015-2020)12.5.4 Solaray Magnolia Bark Extract Products Offered12.5.5 Solaray Recent Development12.6 Active Herb12.6.1 Active Herb Corporation Information12.6.2 Active Herb Business Overview12.6.3 Active Herb Magnolia Bark Extract Sales, Revenue and Gross Margin (2015-2020)12.6.4 Active Herb Magnolia Bark Extract Products Offered12.6.5 Active Herb Recent Development12.7 LiftMode12.7.1 LiftMode Corporation Information12.7.2 LiftMode Business Overview12.7.3 LiftMode Magnolia Bark Extract Sales, Revenue and Gross Margin (2015-2020)12.7.4 LiftMode Magnolia Bark Extract Products Offered12.7.5 LiftMode Recent Development12.8 Life Extension12.8.1 Life Extension Corporation Information12.8.2 Life Extension Business Overview12.8.3 Life Extension Magnolia Bark Extract Sales, Revenue and Gross Margin (2015-2020)12.8.4 Life Extension Magnolia Bark Extract Products Offered12.8.5 Life Extension Recent Development12.9 thepurehealth12.9.1 thepurehealth Corporation Information12.9.2 thepurehealth Business Overview12.9.3 thepurehealth Magnolia Bark Extract Sales, Revenue and Gross Margin (2015-2020)12.9.4 thepurehealth Magnolia Bark Extract Products Offered12.9.5 thepurehealth Recent Development12.10 Hawaii Pharm LLC12.10.1 Hawaii Pharm LLC Corporation Information12.10.2 Hawaii Pharm LLC Business Overview12.10.3 Hawaii Pharm LLC Magnolia Bark Extract Sales, Revenue and Gross Margin (2015-2020)12.10.4 Hawaii Pharm LLC Magnolia Bark Extract Products Offered12.10.5 Hawaii Pharm LLC Recent Development12.11 Piping Rock Health Products12.11.1 Piping Rock Health Products Corporation Information12.11.2 Piping Rock Health Products Business Overview12.11.3 Piping Rock Health Products Magnolia Bark Extract Sales, Revenue and Gross Margin (2015-2020)12.11.4 Piping Rock Health Products Magnolia Bark Extract Products Offered12.11.5 Piping Rock Health Products Recent Development12.12 Now Foods Source Naturals12.12.1 Now Foods Source Naturals Corporation Information12.12.2 Now Foods Source Naturals Business Overview12.12.3 Now Foods Source Naturals Magnolia Bark Extract Sales, Revenue and Gross Margin (2015-2020)12.12.4 Now Foods Source Naturals Magnolia Bark Extract Products Offered12.12.5 Now Foods Source Naturals Recent Development 13 Magnolia Bark Extract Manufacturing Cost Analysis13.1 Magnolia Bark Extract Key Raw Materials Analysis13.1.1 Key Raw Materials13.1.2 Key Raw Materials Price Trend13.1.3 Key Suppliers of Raw Materials13.2 Proportion of Manufacturing Cost Structure13.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Magnolia Bark Extract13.4 Magnolia Bark Extract Industrial Chain Analysis 14 Marketing Channel, Distributors and Customers14.1 Marketing Channel14.2 Magnolia Bark Extract Distributors List14.3 Magnolia Bark Extract Customers 15 Market Dynamics15.1 Magnolia Bark Extract Market Trends15.2 Magnolia Bark Extract Opportunities and Drivers15.3 Magnolia Bark Extract Market Challenges15.4 Magnolia Bark Extract Market Restraints15.5 Porters Five Forces Analysis 16 Research Findings and Conclusion 17 Appendix17.1 Research Methodology17.1.1 Methodology/Research Approach17.1.2 Data Source17.2 Author List17.3 Disclaimer

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Comprehensive Report on Magnolia Bark Extract Market 2021 | Trends, Growth Demand, Opportunities & Forecast To 2027 - LionLowdown

The R/V Roger Revelle out at sea for a 10-day commissioning and calibration cruise following its midlife refit. Photo: Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Research vessel (R/V)Roger Revelleis back at work after a midlife refit involving upgrades from top to bottom, bow to stern. The primary goal of extending the service life by 15 to 20 years was accomplished with improvements to systems crucial to the vessels operations, scientific capabilities, habitability, and environmental footprint.

The ship is owned by the Office of Naval Research and has been operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego since 1996. It is one of the largest ships in the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, and vitally important to U.S. oceanographic research due to its range, payload, duration, and ability to safely conduct scientific operations in remote areas around the globe.

Roger Revelleisn't just revitalized, it is better than new, said Bruce Appelgate, associate director and head of ship operations at Scripps Oceanography. The midlife refit was an opportunity to apply everything we've learned about the ship since 1996, in order to make a great research vessel even more effective.

The $60 million refit, which includes the base refit cost and investment in scientific systems and instrumentation, was supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), National Science Foundation (NSF), and UC San Diego.

The partnership between the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research in supporting the Global class vessels is one of the most important Federal alliances the Division of Ocean Science has made in safeguarding our critical sea-going science missions, said Rose Dufour, NSF Program Director.

Upgrades to R/VRoger Revelleinclude the addition of diesel engines that reduce emissions by up to two-thirds, ballast water systems designed to protect against the spread of invasive species, and the use of heat captured from the ships engine to desalinate seawater. These upgrades are the latest reflection of an ongoing effort throughout the U.S. Academic Research Fleet to reduce the environmental impact of ships.

An innovative extendable bow thruster has been installed that can be lowered beneath the ship to deliver thrust in any direction. This provides more power and quieter operations compared to the original bow thruster. Coupled with the ships dynamic positioning system, the new thruster enables it to maintain precise positioning and improves maneuverability when coming into port.

The ships overboard handling systems also got an overhaul, with new cranes and a completely refurbished A-frame and hydrographic boom used to deploy and recover scientific instruments while at sea.

Upgraded network capabilities support the significant amount of data collected from these instruments. A new virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) includes display consoles for all systems throughout the ship, reducing the workload for scientists and crew members alike who use these during their operations. New cyberinfrastructure and centralized computer management helps the ships technicians maintain security and reliability of onboard computing and networking.

Another major upgrade was the addition of the acoustics gondola secured below the keel. This new position results in significantly improved sonar performance, enabling operations to continue even in high sea states. Acoustic systems are used to profile the subsurface, identify animals in the water column, track subsurface vehicles, and measure ocean currents. They are also used to map the seafloor, a capability much desired by the renewed effort to map the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone through the Federal National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization (NOMEC) Strategy, which NSF and ONR help lead.R/VRoger Revellewill now have the most sophisticated mapping capabilities in the U.S. Academic Research Fleet.

Inside the ships laboratories, reconfigurable tables feature an innovative nesting design that allows for practical and efficient use of space for scientists with a variety of needs. Improving the living and recreation spaces for everyone on board was important during the overhaul as well, particularly for crew members who make the ship their home for months at a time. Upgrades to living spaces include new carpets, bed curtains, and flooring.

The overhaul of the vessel was conducted in Portland, Ore., by Vigor Shipyard. R/VRoger Revellereturned to its home port of San Diego in July, where Scripps Oceanography technicians worked under UC San Diegos enhanced safety protocols to complete the work.

R/VRoger Revellewas put into service in 1996. It honors former Scripps Oceanography Director Roger Revelle who is widely regarded for not only establishing the institution as an internationally prominent science center, but for solidifying the decades-long relationship between Scripps Oceanography and the U.S. Navy.

Roger Revelle was a visionary who back in 1946 envisioned the Office of Naval Research as a world leader in sponsoring oceanographic basic research, and later foresaw the need for a new University of California in La Jolla that eventually grew around Scripps, said Tom Drake, director of the Ocean Battlespace and Expeditionary Access department at the Office of Naval Research. He also suggested the likely trajectory of the Earths climate, which we are now observing.

Revelle served as an oceanographer for the U.S. Navy during World War II and was instrumental in the founding of the Office of Naval Research. Roger Revelle worked at Scripps Oceanography before and after the war and served as its director from 1950 to 1964. He was among the first to consider the implications of the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and absorption rates of the greenhouse gas by the ocean.

A continuous profiling system under the ship will also measure carbon dioxide in seawater, an essential component of ocean acidification research.

"The revitalization of R/VRoger Revellewill enable even more scientific discoveries at sea to further our understanding of our planet, said Margaret Leinen, vice chancellor for marine sciences at UC San Diego and director of Scripps Oceanography. We appreciate the continued leadership from Congress to build and renovate the U.S. research fleet."

The first research expedition on the all-new R/VRoger Revellegot underway in early November, in an essential research mission led by UC Santa Barbara to retrieve ocean bottom seismometers measuring seismic activity and to collect rocks from seamounts and underwater volcanoes. The ship has already crossed the equator and is putting the upgraded acoustic systems to use while recovering these instruments.

Thesecond research cruise begins on Christmas day, during which R/VRoger Revelletravels to the Southern Ocean. The ships handling systems will be put through their paces as scientists collect samples, photographs, and sensor data to learn about plankton concentrations in eddies that form in the Southern Pacific. This 60-day expedition led by Barney Balch of theBigelow Laboratory for Ocean Scienceswill also deploy biogeochemical floats for theSouthern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling project, a multi-institution program focused on unlocking the mysteries of the Southern Ocean and determining its influence on climate.

While the enduring connection between the Navy and Scripps is manifest in the vessels namesake, this service life extension will serve multiple agencies, academic institutions and inspire the next generation of ocean-going scientists, said Rob Sparrock, program officer with the Office of Naval Research who oversees the research vessel program.

Appelgate said the refit illustrates the continued value of seagoing research vessels even as remote and autonomous observing platforms proliferate to compliment ship-based research.

Shipboard research offers the transformative potential to understand global change and monitor the health of ocean ecosystems, while training the next generation of sea-going scientists and technicians, Appelgate said.

The home port of R/VRoger Revelleis theNimitz Marine Facilityin San Diego, where the vessel is maintained as part of the Scripps oceanographic research fleet alongside the Navy-owned and Scripps-operated R/VSally Ride,the University of California-owned R/VRobert Gordon Sproul,R/VBob and Betty Beyster,and Research Platform FLIP (FLoating Instrument Platform).

Link:
Midlife refit of Scripps' Research Vessel Roger Revelle completed - Research vessel (R/V) Roger Revelle is back at work after a midlife refit...

By Venkatachari JagannathanChennai, Dec 31 : The year 2020 was a challenging year for the Indian atomic sector due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it still performed remarkably well attaining a major milestone and also taking steps towards setting up of a medical research reactor in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode, a top sector official said.

A significant milestone achieved during the year was the achievement of first criticality of KAPP-3 (Kakrapar Atomic Power Project-3), the first of a kind indigenous 700 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), which is the first in a series of 16 such reactors being set up in the country, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman K.N. Vyas told IANS.

The KAPP-3 attained first criticality (controlled self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction) in July despite the handicap of the Covid-19 lockdown.

All efforts are being made to start commercial operation of the first 700 MW unit at Kakrapar, KAPP-3 by March 2021. Work on the KAPP-4 and RAPP 7&8 (Rajasthan Atomic Power Project) is being expedited. In KAPP-4 and RAPP-7, main plant civil construction and erection of major equipment has been completed and balance activities are in progress. In RAPP-8, various construction and erection activities are in progress, Vyas said.

According to him, the nuclear power stations operated at the highest standards of safety and generated 40,718 Million Units of electricity in 11 months of this year (January to November 2020).

Continuing with the trend of setting records in long continuous operation by Indian nuclear power reactors, NAPS-2 (Narora Atomic Power Station-2) continued to operate during the year, registering 851 days of continuous operation as on December 23, 2020, Vyas added.

The year also saw Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing setting up of a research reactor for production of medical isotopes in PPP mode to offer affordable treatment for cancer and other diseases.

Soon after that the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) set the process rolling and in November, appointed the Strategic Consultant and Transaction Advisor for setting up research reactor under PPP.

The consultant is engaged from initial feasibility study to executing the concession agreement, Vyas said.

According to him, the proposed reactor is designed to maximise irradiation capacity, and thus a large quantity of variety of radioisotopes shall be produced in the reactor.

Majority of the isotopes are for medical use. In addition, some of the isotopes would also have industrial use. As per internal assessment, it is expected that with this research reactor, it will be possible to meet the complete requirement of medical isotopes in the country, Vyas said.

In addition, there will be considerable scope to export of radioisotopes. It is planned to have processing facility complex along with the reactor. It would be worlds largest (production volume wise) radio-isotopes production and processing facility, he added.

Following the appointment of the consultant, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) held discussions with the consultant to finalise the business case and PPP model.

To know the expectation of the industry and probable investors, A.T. Kearney has initiated dialogues with leading players/investors of the different field, Vyas said.

As regards the reactor design, the design detailing is under progress.

With several more atomic power plants planned needing fuel, attempts are being made by Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) to increase production.

Looking forward to 2021, Vyas said, the plan is to commence commercial operation of KAPP-3 (700 MW) while work on KAPP-4 (700 MW), RAPP-7&8 (2700 MW), Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project-3&4 (21,000 MW) and Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana (GHAVP-2700 MW) projects are planned to be speeded up in the year after the slowdown in 2020 due to the pandemic.

In addition, start of construction of KNPP 5&6 (2X1000 MW) at Tamil Nadus Kudankulam is also planned in the year.

The year also saw transfer of 25 different technologies through 38 Transfer of Technology (ToT) agreements. The nuclear technologies transferred were developed under various fields like agriculture, bioscience, environment, medical equipment, advanced instrumentation, engineering, water, radiation and chemical.

Vyas said BARC is engaged in research and development activities related nuclear agriculture and food preservation technologies like radiation induced mutants with superior traits, development of super absorbent hydrogel for dry regions and shelf-life extension of fruits.

One Trombay crop variety TKR Kolam (Trombay Karjat Kolam) has been released and gazette notified for commercial cultivation by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. Two rice varieties, Vikram-TCR and CG Trombay Jawaphool were released by State Variety Release Committee (SVRC), Chhattisgarh. Breeder seed production of Trombay crop varieties was carried for groundnut (332 quintals), rice (15 quintals) and pulses (20 quintals), Vyas said.

Pointing out that drought is the most severe stress that hinders the growth of crop plants, causing substantial yield loss to farmers, Vyas said: BARC has developed a super-absorbent polymeric hydrogel using radiation technology. The hydrogel can soak up about 400 times its own weight and act as a water reservoir in the soil, releasing the stored water upon plant/root demand.

In arid areas, the use of BARC hydrogel can increase the water holding capacity of soil, which significantly improves the plant health and productivity. The hydrogel has shown potential during testing in BARC and the same is being tested with the help of State Agriculture Universities, he added.

While BARC will continue to develop and test new mutants/breeding lines of oilseed, pulses and cereals, it will also take up development of technologies for shelf life extension of fish, spreads, vegan milk made of chick pea and preservation of agriculture produce (wheat, pointed gourd etc.), Vyas remarked.

Other notable developments are the biokit for detection of group of organophosphate (OP) and organocarbamate (OC) pesticides for qualitative detection of presence of pesticides in food commodities such as vegetables and fruits and 1,000 Litre Per Hour (LPH) reverse osmosis technology based water treatment plants were commissioned at villages of Maharashtra and West Bengal in alignment with the Jal Shakti Abhiyan and Jal Jeevan Mission of the Centre, Vyas said.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)

Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from IANS service.

Excerpt from:
2020: A year of challenge and achievement for Indian nuclear sector - The Siasat Daily

12/22/2020

Statfjord st

Equinor and its license partners have decided to invest NOK 3 billion in the North Sea Statfjord st field to improve recovery by 23 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Written notification of material changes to the Plan for Development and Operation Statfjord st was submitted to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy 16.12.2020.

The decision to improve recovery on Statfjord st will add considerable value to society and owners and will create positive effects for suppliers. Our ambition is to maintain safe and profitable production and secure valuable activity from the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) for several decades, says Kjetil Hove, Equinors senior vice president for Field Life eXtension (FLX).

Statfjord st is tied back to the Statfjord C platform by pipelines. A total of four new wells will be drilled from existing subsea templates. The project also includes modifications on Statfjord C and a new pipeline for gas lift.

We will be a leading late life operator on the NCS. In order to achieve this, we must work in new ways to reduce costs, thereby offering new opportunities for investments in late life fields ensuring profitable reservoir management. The Statfjord st decision is a good example of this, says Hove.

This decision enables an improvement of the recovery factor on Statfjord st and gives an important contribution to extending the life of the Statfjord C platform and the Statfjord st field towards 2040.

The original oil volume in place on Statfjord st was 415 million barrels of oil. The current recovery factor is 56 percent. As a result of this project, the expected recovery factor is increased to 62 percent.

Plans call for installation of a pipeline for gas lift, modifications on Statfjord C and drilling of new wells in 2022 - 2024. Production start is scheduled for 2024.

The Statfjord st development comprises subsea installations that include three templates. The field is located five kilometres north-east of Statfjord C. The field came on stream in 1994.

The licence partners in Statfjord st Unit: Equinor Energy AS (31.6875%), Petoro AS (30.0000%), Vr Energi AS (20.5500%), Spirit Energy Norway AS (11.5625%), Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS (4.8000%), Wintershall Dea Norge AS (1.4000%).

After several extensions of the Statfjord field life, the current goal is to maintain safe and profitable operation until 2040. Statfjord is part of FLX, which was established to meet the strategic opportunities and challenges of late life fields in relation to Equinors competitiveness.

FLX aims to ensure that Equinor is the leading company in safe and efficient operations with low carbon emissions from late life fields on the NCS.

More:
Equinor stakes NOK 3 billion to improve Statfjord Ost oil recovery - WorldOil

Two new clinical trials in the UK are examining whether administering an antibody combination after someone has already been exposed to the novel coronavirus could protect them from developing COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

The University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Trust announced on Friday that it is running the trials at a new vaccine research center.

Both trials are examining AZD7442, a long-acting antibody (LAAB) combination developed by AstraZeneca.

The first study, called STORM CHASER, is examining whether the antibody can provide immediate and long-term protection to people recently exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

We know that this antibody combination can neutralize the virus, so we hope to find that giving this treatment via injection can lead to immediate protection against the development of COVID-19 in people who have been exposed when it would be too late to offer a vaccine, said study leader UCLH virologist Dr. Catherine Houlihan in a press release from the hospital.

STORM CHASER had recruited 10 people as of Friday. Key participants will include healthcare workers, students in group housing, patients exposed to anyone with the virus, residents of long-term care facilities and those in industrial or military settings.

THE SECOND study, called PROVENT, is examining whether people who may not respond to the vaccine, including immuno-compromised people, or at-risk groups, such as the elderly or those with preexisting conditions, may be helped by AZD7442, even prior to exposure.

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We will be recruiting people who are older or in long-term care, and who have conditions such as cancer and HIV, which may affect the ability of their immune system to respond to a vaccine," said UCLH infectious diseases consultant Dr. Nicky Longley, the head of the study. "We want to reassure anyone for whom a vaccine may not work that we can offer an alternative, which is just as protective.

Both UCLH studies will examine whether AZD7442 reduces the risk of developing COVID-19 and/or reduces the severity of the infection compared to a placebo.

Trial participants will be able to safely leave the study in order to get licensed vaccines if it is deemed medically beneficial, according to UCLH.

Antibodies are produced by the body to help fight infections. Monoclonal antibodies are artificially produced in laboratories for possible medical treatments in patients already infected with the virus and could provide protection before exposure as well.

While vaccines train the body over a matter of weeks to produce its own antibodies, antibody injections skip that step, aiming to provide immediate protection against viruses.

AZD7442 is a combination of two LAABs derived from recovering patients that were discovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and then licensed to AstraZeneca, according to the company, which then optimized the LAABs with half-life extension in order to increase the durability of the therapy for six to 12 months. The combination is also designed to reduce the risk of resistance developed by the virus.

In pre-clinical experiments published in Nature, the LAABs in AZD7442 were shown to block the novel coronavirus from binding with host cells, protecting against infection.

UCLH'S NEW Vaccine Research Center, which opened in December, is operating under the patronage of the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) UCLH Biomedical Research Center and the UCLH Research Directorate, and represents an extension of the NIHR UCLH Clinical Research Facility led by Prof. Vincenzo Libri.

Libri is also a principal investigator on the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine trial and provides oversight of all COVID-19 vaccine/preventative treatment trials.

Mene Pangalos, AstraZeneca's executive vice president of BioPharmaceuticals Research & Development, stated in the UCLH release that AZD7442 has the potential to be an important preventative and therapeutic medicine against COVID-19, focusing on the most vulnerable patients."

"The STORM CHASER trial in particular is a unique approach, with enrollment initiated on site following the identification of a confirmed case to halt the spread of COVID-19 in the facility or community," Pangalos said. "We offer our appreciation and gratitude to everyone involved in these trials from the scientists, researchers and clinicians, to the trial participants and study sites as we all work together to help end this pandemic.

Antibody treatments have been evaluated since nearly the beginning of the pandemic.

In May, the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) completed a groundbreaking scientific development, identifying an antibody that neutralizes the coronavirus.

Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman, Anna Ahronheim and Idan Zonshine contributed to this report.

Visit link:
Antibody study aims to protect those exposed to coronavirus from illness - The Jerusalem Post

Unarmed Minuteman III ICBM Test Launch 2020

Since the 1960s, the nuclear triad has served as the bedrock of American national security. The triad represents nuclear deterrence in-depth for the nation: intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear-equipped bomber aircraft and sea-launched ballistic missiles. Yet, over the last 30 years, U.S. nuclear modernization programs were truncated, deferred, or outright canceled in favor of other priorities. Now, having put off modernization for decades, nearly every part of our nuclear triad is serving well beyond its original service life.

That might be bad enough, but the circumstances today are dire. Russia is pursuing multiple nuclear weapon modernization programs. China is developing its own nuclear triad. And North Korea and Iran continue to pursue their own destabilizing nuclear programs. The U.S. must stop any further delays in modernizing our geriatric nuclear forces in order to maintain a credible nuclear deterrent strategy in the face of these threats.

The good news is that senior U.S. military leaders and civilian defense officials have grown more forceful in recent years in designating nuclear force modernization a top priority. As Lieutenant General Frank Klotz, USAF (Ret.), former Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and former Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, recently remarked: It's time to bite the bullet and to finally stop admiring the problem and start solving the problem.

The bad news is the same cast of critics that argued against modernization in the past are now using the upcoming change in administration to rehash the need to modernize Americas nuclear enterprise. The focus of much of their criticism is the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program, which will recapitalize the Minuteman III missile force that was first fielded 50 years ago. As in the past, their arguments gravitate around five key misconceptions about ICBMs that merit correction.

Misconception No. 1: A land-based ICBM force is superfluous since a dyad of nuclear-capable bombers and ballistic missile-launching submarines are sufficient for deterrence.

Arguments based on this misconception overlook the fact that a land-based ICBM force has unique attributes that significantly strengthen nuclear deterrence. As Admiral Charles Richard, Commander of U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) put it, If you take away the ICBM leg, in fact, if you take away any leg, you just took away a stack of attributes that we have found useful in the past and see being useful in the future which means you just narrowed the range of situations that we were able to effectively deter.

An important characteristic that the other two legs of the triad do not provide is that the ICBM force is widely dispersed across a huge swath of the country and as a result establishes a very highand likely prohibitivethreshold for an adversary to launch a nuclear attack against the U.S. homeland. A preemptive, counterforce strike against the U.S. ICBM force requires an enemy to attack 495 hardened and dispersed ICBM facilities450 silos and 45 launch control centers spread across five states. To strike those with a moderate to a high degree of confidence, an adversary would have to launch 900 to 1,000 nuclear warheads.

This would be a massive and unambiguous nuclear ballistic missile attack guaranteeing an overwhelming U.S. response from the other two legs of the triadAir Force bombers and Navy submarines. This reality significantly complicatesand detersa potential aggressors attack.

As Admiral Richard points out: We have a triadin part because of the flexibility it provides, the ability to hedge inside of itwhat it also enables you to do is address the threat or the risks you didn't see coming. We always built margin into our strategic forces to make sure that we could account for the unknown risks that may be out there alongside the risk that we could reasonably see.

Misconception No. 2: ICBMs are inherently destabilizing because they increase the risk of our possibly stumbling into a nuclear war.

Do ICBMs significantly increase the risk of a mistaken or accidental launch in comparison to the other two legs of the triad? No. As noted above, unlike an enemy's targeting of the other legs of our triad, neutralizing our ICBM force would require a massive and unambiguous nuclear strike on the U.S. homeland. Furthermore, the United States maintains an overlapping network of multi-domain, multi-phenomenology sensors that jointly validate indications of a hostile missile launch to ensure that timely missile attack warning and assessment information is not susceptible to a single point of failure. Additional political-military levels of scrutiny and confirmation are also in place to prevent misidentification.

A U.S. ICBM launch can only occur after an essential series of extremely deliberate, disciplined and cooperative actions are undertaken in proper sequence by many personnel ranging from the National Command Authority to individual ICBM launch crews. As retired Gen. Kevin Chilton, former Commander of USSTRATCOM, explains, People who describe our ICBMs as being on hair-trigger alert either do not know what they are talking about or are intentionally attempting to frighten the uninformed.

Misconception No. 3: Extending the Minuteman III's service life would be more cost-effective.

The most common argument voiced by critics against the GBSD program is that it would cost less to extend the current ICBM force through a service life extension program (SLEP) that would give the Minuteman IIIs propellant stages new fuel cores, modernize its guidance systems, and upgrade is ground support facilities.

Yet the U.S. Air Forces analysis of alternatives conducted in 2014 determined that the total lifecycle cost of the Minuteman III force, including the SLEP, would exceed the cost to procure and sustain the GBSD over its projected 60-year service life. Critics took issue with the Air Forces methodology because it included the cost of building new replacement missiles as part of its cost estimate. However, doing so was sensible because of the four to five live-fire tests conducted annually to ensure the missiles remain viable and safe. Considering this test rate, the refurbished Minuteman III missile inventory would fall below the Department of Defense (DOD) required force of 400 operationally deployed ICBMs by the year 2040. By contrast, the GBSD missile inventory would remain above 400 through 2075. Hence, new Minuteman III missiles had to be included in any honest cost assessment.

Most importantly, the U.S. needs a viable threat to be effective. As General Chilton has pointed out, for deterrence to be effective both capability and the will to use it must be made believable in the mind of the adversary. The 1970s-era Minuteman IIIs were not designed for todays operating environments that now include electronic warfare, cybernetic countermeasures, and advanced missile interceptor threats. A retaliatory weaponwhether nuclear or conventional, ballistic or otherwisemust be able to reach its designated target to be a credible, effective deterrent. If it cannot, it is useless.

Further Minuteman III life extension is not cost-effective nor will it provide a weapon system capable of adapting to advancing technology and changing adversary threats, said then-Commander of USSTRATCOM, Gen. John Hyten in testimony before the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee in 2019. Only GBSD is the right choice because it would answer current and expected threats and cost about the same as extending the life of the Minuteman III.

Misconception No. 4: There is no rush for a Minuteman III replacement.

It is foolhardy to believe there is no urgency to this requirement. The GBSD is literally a just-in-time replacement for the Minuteman III; there is no margin remaining for further delay.

Elements of the guidance system, solid rocket motor, and propulsion system rocket engine in the current Minuteman III inventory cannot be refurbished nor easily replaced. As a result, the U.S. may not be able to support the required ICBM force of 400 operationally deployed missiles very far beyond 2030. Delaying the GBSD by just a couple of years would force the Air Force to develop, manufacture, test, and certify replacements for some critical Minuteman III components resulting in new costs estimated between $6 billion to $8 billion.

Alternatively, the Air Force could simply accept an ICBM inventory shortfall or keep existing Minuteman III missiles beyond their expiration date or by bridging the gap by means of a heavier reliance on the airborne and submarine legs of the triad. All of these options increase risks to the security of the nation. The former option increases the probability of failure during launch and the latter would require placing a number of bombers on nuclear alert status, incurring significant financial and opportunity costs, since missiles are less costly to maintain and assigning more bombers to the nuclear alert mission means they are no longer available for other critical missions.

Adding risk, raising costs, and reducing reliability do not improve national security.

Misconception No. 5: The GBSD award was non-competitive.

Some critics have faulted the GBSD acquisition process, arguing that because Northrop Grumman NOC was the only company to ultimately bid for the contract, the government went into negotiations in a weak position.

This is incorrect. The GBSD acquisition process was competitive. Although the Air Force received only one final proposal, Boeing BA had every opportunity to compete. Controversy over this issue is rooted in the fact that both Boeing and Northrop selected Orbital ATK to produce the solid rocket motors for their GBSD designs. When Northrop acquired Orbital ATK in 2018, Boeing notified the Air Force it would not respond to its request for proposal. The Air Force was willing to modify its GBSD competition process, but when no mutually satisfactory agreement could be reached, it chose not to delay the program further.

Northrop, meanwhile, could not be sure Boeing would not come through with a competitive bid at the last moment and had to make a competitive offer. And because only one company bid, standard government audit procedures took effect to ensure pricing was fair. Single-bid contract awards are not that unusual: About 15 percent of all DOD competitive acquisitions have just a single bidder.

The deterrent power of Americas nuclear triad is the foundation of our national defense. Preserving it is essential to securing our future.

Should we, as a nation, fail to modernize the ICBM force in a timely manner with GBSD, we would be choosing to diminish our national security and nuclear deterrence posture at the very moment when the international security environment is growing more dangerous, when Russia and China are growing more aggressive and assertive and when rogue powers are investing heavily to acquire nuclear arms.

When the Minuteman III entered service, I was in seventh grade. I am now 61, Gen. John Hyten, now Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted recently. It must be replaced...and we must continue to invest substantially to ensure that all three legs of the nuclear triad stand strong.

Awarding the GBSD contract was a crucial milestone toward modernizing the missile force, Hyten added. Given the critical role the GBSD will play in deterring China and Russia, we can't rest until we deliver this capability to the field.

Link:
Five Persistent Misconceptions About Modernizing The US ICBM Force - Forbes

Commercial constellations set new standards for the industry in numbers but GEO comsat and government still drive the biggest demand in manufacturing and launch revenues

In its latest analysis of satellite manufacturing and launch services, Satellites to be Built and Launched by 2029, analyst Euroconsult anticipates almost a quintupling in satellite demand in the next decade with an average of 1,250 satellites to be launched on a yearly basis. In comparison to the 260 yearly satellites launched in the previous decade, this skyrocketing number cements the structural changes occurring in the market and the industry, not only in the number of satellites but also in terms of satellite missions and operators, both governmental and commercial.

The satellite industry will indeed experience a quick and radical transformation when it comes to satellite numbers. However, despite this spike in satellite demand, we are looking at half of the market concentrated around a handful of mega-constellations. In addition, some being vertically integrated means that their procurement will not be done on an open competition basis. Nevertheless, GEO comsat remains the leading segment pulling 1/3 of the market revenues, but here too we anticipate -20% drop in operational assets by 2029. argued Maxime Puteaux, Editor-in-Chief of this research product and Principal advisor at Euroconsult.

Several key market trends are catalysing the satellite industrys structural changes.

Firstly, for the first time in a single year more than 1000 satellites were launched, of which 70% from Starlink alone. This symbolic threshold will become a new standard for the next ten years with significant annual variations mainly driven by the replacement of the commercial constellations.

Secondly, the orders of GEO comsat have been exceptionally high in 2020 at 18 units, of which 13 are for the accelerated C-band clearance plan of the FCC in the US. In addition, proof of a structural slowdown of that market in satellite numbers, GEO comsat replacement is also challenged by fleet rationalisation approaches, in-orbit life extension and transitioning of some of the traffic to upcoming NGSO constellations. Manufacturers GEO comsat product portfolios are diversifying, ranging from a few hundred kilograms to 6 Tons VHTS. Digital payloads become the rule for a data-centric market (rather than a broadcasting market).

Thirdly, beyond the commercial space momentum, governments will remain the first customers with 80% satellite manufacturing and launch revenues for the period. Investments by defence operators is driven by security applications and a growing endorsement of smallsats, COTS and constellations while civil agencies focus on large Earth observation systems.

Lastly, access to the space industry is diversifying with a few smallsat-dedicated launchers now operational and more expected to perform maiden flights in 2021. A new generation of GTO-capable launchers is expected to enter the market within the next two years with a design-to-cost approach. Meanwhile, SpaceX masters reusability and executes Starlinks launches at marginal cost, with Falcon 9 recovery and reuse becoming a standard endorsed by customer.

Original post:
Commercial constellations don't live up to the hype: Euroconsult - SatelliteProME.com

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The global Antioxidant Supplement market has also been classified on the basis of regions. On the basis of the regional diversification, details regarding market share and size have also been obtained.

In the succeeding part, growth factors for the Antioxidant Supplement market have been elucidated. This section also explains the technological advancements made to improve market size and position. Also enlisted is the information pertaining to the end-use industries for the Antioxidant Supplement market.

Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at::https://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/global-antioxidant-supplement-market-report-2020-industry-analysis-759225

Antioxidant Supplement Market COVID-19 Impact Analysis

As the world is still dealing with COVID-19 situation, many of the countries have slowly started to revive its economic situation by starting its trade and businesses. There has been enormous loss in these few months both in terms of economy and human lives. As the WHO has already suggested that there are very less chances that the virus will completely go, hence we will have start living with it. Many of the drug companies are getting positive response of their COVID-19 vaccines, but there is still time for its availability in the global market.

There are 15 Sections to show the global Antioxidant Supplement market

Sections 1, Definition, Specifications and Classification of Antioxidant Supplement , Applications of Antioxidant Supplement , Market Segment by Regions;Section 2, Assembling Cost Structure, Crude Material and Providers, Assembling Procedure, Industry Chain Structure;Sections 3,Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Antioxidant Supplement , Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source, Raw Materials Sources Analysis;Sections 4, Generally Market Analysis, Limit Examination (Organization Fragment), Sales Examination (Organization Portion), sales Value Investigation (Organization Section);Sections 5 and Six, Regional Market Investigation that incorporates United States, China, Europe, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, Antioxidant Supplement segment Market Examination (by Sort);Sections 7 and Eight, The Antioxidant Supplement Segment Market Analysis (by Application) Major Manufacturers Analysis of Antioxidant Supplement ;Sections Nine, Market Trend Analysis, Regional Market Trend, Market Trend by Product Type Medical Grade, Food Grade Market Trend by Application Medical, Food, Cosmetics, Others;Sections 10, Regional Promoting Type Investigation, Worldwide Exchange Type Examination, Inventory network Investigation;Sections 11, The Customers Examination of global Antioxidant Supplement;Sections 12, Antioxidant Supplement Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, system and information source;Sections 13, 14 and 15, Antioxidant Supplement deals channel, wholesalers, merchants, traders, Exploration Discoveries and End, appendix and data source.

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Particulars Of The Global Antioxidant Supplement Market Research Report

Further part in the report enlists the restraining factors for the Antioxidant Supplement market growth. The restraints are explained comprehensively and with details in order that the client can comprehend how these factors are affecting the global Antioxidant Supplement market and how such factors can be tackled effectively using suitable measures.

Also, regional study and analysis of global Antioxidant Supplement market focused on in the report. Here, the major regions with Antioxidant Supplement market establishment have been explained thoroughly. Due to this, our clients will have clarity in understanding the booming markets as well as the potential Antioxidant Supplement markets in the near future.

The concluding section relates to the conclusions and observations regarding the global Antioxidant Supplement market.

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Global Antioxidant Supplement Market Proceeds To Witness Huge Upswing Over Assessment Period by 2025 - The Courier

Three years ago, pictures of bulk carriers queued off the coast of Mackay in central Queensland were framed as evidence of a renaissance in the coal industry.

There were more than 70 coal ships in the offshore gridlock in December 2017. This year there are just 12 waiting equalling a record low mark set at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

At the worlds biggest coal export port in Newcastle, no China-bound ships are waiting or scheduled to load before Christmas. More than 50 ships carrying Australian coal are reportedly waiting off the Chinese coast.

In the face of falling coal prices and volumes, the industry and governments have remained bullish about coals long-term prospects. They say twin pressures of the pandemic slowdown and Chinas ban on Australian coal will ultimately pass.

In an apparent show of faith, the Queensland government took a 9.9% stake in the float of Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure (DBI) one of two large terminals in Mackay, the main hub for exports from the Bowen Basin. The investment was welcomed by the resources sector as a clear vote of confidence ... in the role of resources in Queenslands Covid-19 recovery and economic growth for decades to come.

DBI was launched on the Australian stock exchange this week with government backing and the broader market surging. It was the second biggest Australian IPO this year (the largest, tech company Nuix, gained 63% on debut last week). DBI also promised investors a handsome 7% dividend.

When the stocks hit the market, DBI tanked, down 16%. It gained no ground the following day. Investors were not buying the pitch that coal has a rosy future.

Its a pivotal moment, says Tim Buckley, an energy markets expert at the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

The financial markets do move so much faster than the real world, they are all about constantly reevaluating the risk-return and growth prospects.

Theres no long-term growth prospect at all for the [coal] industry. Its like trying to catch a falling knife.

Australias biggest super fund, AustralianSuper, has committed to hitting net zero emissions across its $200bn investment portfolio by 2050 but has not specifically ruled out investing in coal projects.

Nonetheless, its chief executive, Ian Silk, seems less than enthusiastic about the idea.

The economic outlook for coal stocks generally is incredibly bleak, for obvious reasons, he says.

He says Aussie would approach any particular coal project on its financial merits.

But its pretty plain by the way were so underweight coal that thats not an attractive sector, he says.

Silk is not alone. Institutional investors the big pension funds and other piles of money that provide much of the capital businesses need to operate have increasingly turned away from coal and other fossil fuels.

Norways Government Pension Fund Global, which at US$1.2tn is so big it holds about 1.5% of all the shares in listed companies in the world, has strict rules forbidding it from investing in companies that produce more than 20m tonnes of thermal coal a year or produce power of more than 10,000MW a year from burning coal.

As a result, in May it excluded from investment two big multinationals that mine coal in Australia, Glencore and Anglo American, as well as Australian power company AGL Energy.

It also put BHP on notice that it could dump its stake in the Big Australian if it didnt get out of thermal coal.

In Australia, the big banks have displayed an increasing unwillingness to lend to coal, with ANZ in October saying it would not write new loans to businesses with more than 10% exposure to thermal coal and existing customers with more than 50% exposure would need to show it specific, time bound and public diversification strategies to continue receiving the banks cash.

The harder line from banks followed warnings from their regulator, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, that they needed to consider climate risks when making decisions.

Apra member Geoff Summerhayes laid down the regulators position in a speech in 2017 that was met with howls of dismay and derision by some.

This week, he said the criticism was good impetus for me to actually go harder, because its very much a financial risk with real prudential implications.

It is easy to blame the failure of Australian coal prospects to re-emerge from the pandemic on the situation in China. However, there are growing signals the industry is heading into its final bust cycle.

A few days before the Dalrymple Bay terminal was floated, the largest coal producer in Australia and the western world, Glencore, released its annual investor update and critically announced new plans for a managed decline of its coal business and net-zero emissions by 2050.

While those plans are ultimately long-term (and also play to the companys strategic interest by seeking to keep prices at viable levels by constraining supply) they also show the company expects volumes to drop substantially up to 20% in the next few years, compared to previous projections.

The same investor update last year envisaged Glencore would produce 140m tonnes of coal in 2022. Now the company only expects to mine 115m tonnes that year. It might consider mine-life extension projects but has no plans to develop new coal mines.

Coal is also on the nose at Australias two big mining companies, BHP and Rio Tinto, which have turned away from the black rock and towards red ones as the iron ore price continues to soar.

Rio Tinto sold its last Australian coal mine in 2018 and, under pressure from investors, BHP has promised to get out of thermal coal burned in power plants within two years but so far has found no buyers.

Of particular concern to miners in Queensland is the way financial markets have treated metallurgical (or coking) coal, which is used in steelmaking. More than 80% of the exports from Dalrymple Bay are metallurgical coal.

In the days before the DBI float, company chief executive Anthony Timbrell told the Australian Financial Review it would seek to emphasise the difference between metallurgical and thermal (energy producing) coal.

I guess its our job to draw out that story and remind people of the complexity, Timbrell said.

Thermal coal is the primary target of environmental activists; while metallurgical coal is less susceptible in the immediate-term to a global energy pivot towards renewables.

BHP has also been keen to draw the distinction, which is in its financial interests as metallurgical coal attracts a higher price than thermal coal.

However, as excitement builds around the prospect of (as yet, not commercialised) steelmaking alternatives like green hydrogen, the financial markets increasingly appear to be making little differentiation between the classes of coal.

Buckley points to a graph comparing the US and Australian metallurgical coal producer Coronado with Australian company Whitehaven, which largely mines thermal coal.

Since Coronado was listed in 2018, both Coronado and Whitehavens shares have dived almost in harmony by about 65%. The All Ordinaries is up about 20% over the same period.

The financial markets are no longer really differentiating between coking coal and thermal coal, Buckley said.

Dalrymple Bay is a really interesting bellwether for Queensland. Having already been priced down, having failed to get institutional support, taxpayers effectively did a bailout.

The vendor (Brookfield Asset Management) is the most successful investor in energy infrastructure, and you dont buy from the most successful energy investor in the world and think youre getting a bargain.

This isnt a resources sector problem either, this is a coal problem. The Australian resource sector is having the best year in history, iron ore prices are at phenomenal highs. Its the fossil fuel sector thats on its knees.

The coal company run by John Canavan, the brother of Queensland senator Matt Canavan, went under earlier this month.

The company, ICRA Rolleston, is a junior joint venture partner with Glencore in the Rolleston thermal coal mine in Queensland. Glencore will continue to operate the mine but a court case finalised last month showed how the collapse in the coal price had turned the mine into a loss-making venture.

John Canavans share of the mines costs were about $14m more than sales revenue in August. Glencore expected another $4m shortfall by the end of the year.

The Queensland Exploration Council (an offshoot of the Resources Council) this week released a report card showing some growth in spending by coal speculators during 2019-20 and said there was definitely a feeling of growth and optimism in the sector. In the detail of its report, though, for the first time in four years the QEC downgraded its view on coal prices, saying these has become cause for concern.

In its prospectus for potential investors, DBI warned about a series of risks that included its customers collapsing due to low coal prices, or long-term decline in global coal demand.

Its most significant new investor, the Queensland government, released a study in September that stated there is a substantial degree of uncertainty about assumptions used to underpin long-term market projections, including about the price of coking coal.

Queensland Treasurys analysis highlights that Queenslands future coal demand will continue to be primarily linked to key economies in north-east and south-east Asia. In particular, the future demand for Queenslands metallurgical coal likely hinges on demand from the worlds two largest coal consumers, China and India.

DBIs warnings included that ongoing political tensions between Australia and China could ultimately result in a decline in coal exports from the port.

Demand for metallurgical coal or coal generally may reduce over a period of time due to a variety of reasons, including reduced demand from key coal export markets, such as China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korean and India.

In addition to Chinas import restrictions, China, Japan and South Korea Australias three largest coal customers each announced aggressive pivots towards net zero emissions this year.

Adding to DBIs troubles is the nature of its business where contracts with exporters are regulated by a competition authority. The ports capacity is fully allocated. Unable to raise prices or attract new customers, its pitch to investors has been about expanding its capacity to grow the business, even as shipments are being shunned by China, export volumes contract, coal companies collapse and other Queensland ports face severe debt problems.

Of those terminals, Wiggins Island at Gladstone and the Abbot Point terminal near Bowen, owned by Adani, have both been operating at well below design capacity for all of this decade, a point Buckley and others say shows any expansion of Dalrymple Bay is not viable.

Abbot Point where Adanis debts are estimated in excess of $1.5bn typically has a queue of about three coal ships. Earlier this week, there were no ships waiting to enter the port.

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The end of coal? Why investors aren't buying the myth of the industry's 'renaissance' - The Guardian

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2020 / FIORE GOLD LTD. (TSXV:F)(OTCQB:FIOGF) ("Fiore" or the "Company") is pleased to announce an updated resource and reserve estimate for its Pan open pit mine in White Pine County, Nevada.

Highlights:

Updated Proven and Probable mineral reserves of 24.0 million tons at a gold grade of 0.012 troy ounces per short ton ("oz/st") or 0.41 grams per tonne ("g/t") containing 290,500 ounces of gold (Table 1)

The updated mineral reserve estimate represents a 6% increase in contained gold ounces and fully replaces reserves mined since the last reserve update in September 2018

Updated Measured and Indicated mineral resources of 31.1 million tons at a gold grade of 0.014 oz/st (0.47 g/t) containing 427,400 ounces of gold (Table 2)

The updated mineral resource estimate is 99% of the resource estimate (effective February 10, 2017) at Fiore Gold's inception

An updated Life of Mine ("LOM") plan based on the updated reserve estimate extends the mine life at Pan by two years into 2025 at a mining rate of 14,000 tons per day of ore while maintaining a low life of mine strip ratio of 1.66:1

Tim Warman, Fiore's CEO commented, "Fiore's exploration team has once again added reserves and extended the mine life at the Pan Mine well into 2025. Our understanding of the geology and controls on mineralization at Pan has improved tremendously over the past three years and the team was able to successfully target new areas of mineralization particularly around the North Pit, as well as identifying potential new areas such as the Mustang target. The next program of resource and reserve expansion drilling is already underway at Pan, aimed at defining the resources that should see Pan continuing to operate for many years to come."

The updated reserve and resource estimates continue to support our strategy of replacing ounces at the Pan Mine by methodically and prudently investing internal cash flow to extend the mine life. At Fiore Gold's inception, the Pan Mine Proven and Probable mineral reserves and Measured and Indicated resources (effective February 10 and March 16, 2017 respectively) were 318,000 ounces and 430,000 ounces, respectively. Despite approximately three years of mining depletion, the updated 2020 Proven and Probable reserves and Measured and Indicated resources are 290,500 ounces (91% of original reserve) and 427,400 ounces (99% of original resource), respectively. The reserve and resource replacement has been achieved while spending approximately $1.5 million on exploration annually over the past three years. Importantly, we have achieved these results without diluting shareholders through additional equity raises or taking on corporate debt since the formation of the Company in 2017. We believe this disciplined approach distinguishes us from many of our peers.

Story continues

The goal of the recent drilling program and related reserve and resource update was primarily to convert Inferred ounces to reserve ounces. Pan Mine Proven and Probable mineral reserves now represent 77% of the Measured and Indicated resources, as compared to 61% of the last reserve update in September 2018. Future drilling programs will aim to replenish the Inferred category, particularly with newly identified targets like Mustang which to date are not included in any resource category. We believe our history of conversion and improved understanding of the geology bode well for our ability to convert Inferred resources going forward.

A Technical Report with the details of the updated resource and reserve estimate will be filed on SEDAR under the Company's profile within 45 days of the date of this news release.

Reserve and Resource Update

Table 1. Pan Mine Reserve Statement (effective June 30, 2020)

Reserve

Tons(000s)

Grade(oz/st)

Grade(g/t)

Contained Gold(Au koz)

Proven

11,426

0.014

0.47

158.3

Probable

12,031

0.011

0.38

132.2

Proven + Probable

23,457

0.012

0.42

290.5

Probable Leach Pad Inventory(recoverable)

26

Total Proven and Probable

317

Reserves stated in the table above are contained within an engineered pit design following the US$1,575/oz Au sales price Lerchs-Grossmann pit. Date of topography is June 30, 2020;

In the table above and subsequent text, the abbreviation "st" denotes US short tons;

Mineral Reserves are stated in terms of delivered tons and grade before process recovery. The exception is leach pad inventory, which is stated in terms of recoverable Au ounces;

Allowances for external dilution are applied.

Costs used include an ore mining cost of US$2.09/st, a waste mining cost of $1.97/st, an ore processing and G&A cost of US$3.13/st;

Reserves for Argillic (soft) ore are based upon a minimum 0.003 oz/st Au internal cut off grade ("CoG"), using a US$1,575/oz Au sales price and a Au Recovery of 80%;

Reserves for Silicic (hard) ore are based upon a minimum 0.004 oz/st Au Internal CoG, using a US$1,575/oz Au sales price and a Au Recovery of 60%;

Mineral Reserves stated above are contained within and are not additional to the Mineral Resource, the exception being stockpile and leach pad inventory; and,

Numbers in the table have been rounded to reflect the accuracy of the estimate and may not sum due to rounding.

Gold prices have increased significantly from the $1,250/oz level used in the previous reserve update in 2018 and we have reflected this increase in the $1,575/oz gold price used in the 2020 reserve update. Using a higher gold price naturally pulled in some areas of lower grade ore which in turn resulted in a lower average grade for the reserve estimate than in the previous 2018 reserve estimate. The grade reduction is not expected to materially impact run-rate production in fiscal 2021.

Table 2. Pan Mine Resource Statement (effective June 30, 2020)

Resource(incl. reserve)

Tons/(000s)

Grade(oz/st)

Grade(g/t)

Contained Gold(Au koz)

Measured

11,416

0.015

0.53

175

Indicated

19,714

0.013

0.44

252

Measured +Indicated

31,130

0.014

0.47

427

Inferred

3,726

0.016

0.56

61

Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that any part of the Mineral Resources estimated will be converted into Mineral Reserves;

In the table above and subsequent text, the abbreviation "st" denotes US short tons;

Resources stated as contained within a constrained pit shell; pit optimization was based on an assumed gold price of US$1,700/oz, Silicic (hard) ore recoveries of 60% for Au and an Argillic (soft) ore recovery of 80% for Au, an ore mining cost of US$2.09/st, a waste mining cost of $1.97/st, an ore processing and G&A cost of US$3.13/st, and pit slopes between 45-50 degrees;

Resources are reported using an internal gold cut off grade of 0.003 oz/st Au for blocks flagged as Argillic altered or as unaltered and a cutoff of 0.004 oz/st Au for blocks flagged as Silicic altered.; and,

Numbers in the table have been rounded to reflect the accuracy of the estimate and may not sum due to rounding.

The updated Pan Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") estimate was carried out by APEX Geoscience Ltd. ("APEX") as part of an updated Feasibility Study led by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc. ("SRK"), the same firm who completed the February 2017 Pan Mine Feasibility Study.

The difference in resource grade vs reserve grade is a result of dilution incorporated in the engineered pit design that constrains the reserve estimate.

Gold mineralization at Pan occurs in near-vertical pipes and bodies of silicified solution breccia localized at the Pilot Shale-Devils Gate Limestone contact adjacent to the Branham Fault, or in stratiform-like breccia bodies and zones that run parallel or sub-parallel to the folded Pilot Shale-Devils Gate contact.

The drillhole database used to calculated the resource and reserve estimates is comprised of 1,452 exploration drillholes completed from 1978 to 2016 by previous operators (totaling 380,081 ft) and 267 holes completed from 2018 to 2020 by Fiore Gold (totaling 107,460 feet), yielding a total of 95,181 sample/interval entries.

The MRE was calculated using a block model size of 20 ft (X) by 20 ft (Y) by 20 ft (Z). APEX estimated the gold grade for each block using Ordinary Kriging with locally varying anisotropy to ensure grade continuity in various directions is reproduced in the block model. The block model was partially diluted by estimating a waste grade for the portions of the outer blocks overlapping the edge of the estimation domain boundaries using composites within a transition zone along the outer edge of the mineralized estimation domains. The waste grade was then proportionately combined with the estimated grade for the portion of the block within the mineralized domain to obtain a final grade for each overlapping block. The partially diluted block model was utilized for resource pit optimization. The MRE is reported as undiluted and only includes blocks or portions of blocks within the estimation domains.

Details regarding the methodology used to calculate the MRE and the reserve estimate will be documented in a Technical Report which will be filed on SEDAR and available on the Company's website within 45 days.

Technical Disclosure

The scientific and technical information relating to Fiore Gold's properties contained in this press release was approved by J. Ross MacLean, Fiore Gold's Chief Operating Officer and a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101, except for the information relating to the Pan Mine reserve and resource updates.

Michael B. Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo., President and Senior Principal of APEX Geoscience Ltd. and a 'Qualified Person' for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian securities administrators ("NI 43-101") has approved the disclosure of the scientific and technical information regarding the Pan Mine Resource update in this news release.

Justin Smith, P.E. Mining BSc., SME-RM, a Senior with SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc. and a 'Qualified Person' for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian securities administrators ("NI 43-101") has approved the disclosure of the scientific and technical information regarding the Pan Mine Reserve update in this news release.

A description of the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate mineral reserves and resources at the Pan Mine, as well as data verification procedures and a general discussion of the extent to which the estimates of scientific and technical information may be affected by any known legal, political or other relevant factors relating to the potential development of the mineral resources or mineral reserves, will be included in the report titled "NI 43-101 Updated Technical Report on the Pan Gold Mine, White Pine County, Nevada", with an effective date of June 30, 2020, which is being prepared by Michael Dufresne,, P.Geol., P.Geo., Justin Smith, P.E., RM-SME., Deepak Malhotra, RM-SME, Valerie Sawyer, RM-SME, Fredy Henriquez, MSc., RM-SME, and Michael Iannacchione, P.E..

Corporate Strategy

Our corporate strategy is to grow Fiore Gold into a 150,000 ounce per year gold producer. To achieve this, we intend to:

continue to grow gold production at the Pan Mine, while increasing the resource and reserve base

advance exploration and development of the nearby Gold Rock project

acquire additional production or near-production assets to complement our existing operations

On behalf of FIORE GOLD LTD.

"Tim Warman"Chief Executive Officer

Contact Us:

info@fioregold.com1 (416) 639-1426 Ext. 1www.fioregold.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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Fiore Gold Reports Two Year Mine Life Extension at Its Pan Mine, Nevada - Yahoo Finance

CAMBRIDGE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Crescendo Biologics Ltd (Crescendo), the drug developer of novel, targeted T cell enhancing therapeutics, today announced that it has expanded its global, multi-target discovery and development collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) after Crescendo achieved its sixth technical milestone.

Under its ongoing collaboration and license agreement, Crescendos proprietary transgenic platform and engineering expertise is being used to build Humabody-based therapeutics against certain targets selected by Takeda.

The collaboration expansion gives Takeda access to a range of Crescendos half-life extension Humabodies for use with its two Humabody programmes, previously licensed in November 2018 and July 2019, and Humabody programmes Takeda licenses in the future during the term of the collaboration expansion.

This is the sixth technical milestone achieved by Crescendo in its collaboration with Takeda. Crescendo has successfully delivered novel oncology-targeted Humabody lead molecules using its robust in-house discovery process.

Theodora Harold, CEO of Crescendo, commented:

Crescendo has again demonstrated its ability to deliver differentiated Humabody molecules against specific targets selected by Takeda, on schedule. The expansion of our collaboration, together with the achievement of this sixth milestone, further validates the excellent work being done at Crescendo to progress the next generation of differentiated cancer therapies.

Loc Vincent, Head, Oncology Drug Discovery Unit, Takeda, commented:

Our fruitful collaboration with Crescendo continues to show great progress. We are delighted to expand our work together, drawing on Takedas vast oncology drug discovery experience and Crescendos expertise in developing optimally constructed Humabody molecules to quickly advance novel therapeutics with transformative treatment potential towards the clinic.

-Ends-

About Crescendo BiologicsCrescendo Biologics is a clinical stage T cell enhancing company. Crescendo develops potent, truly differentiated Humabody therapeutics with a focus on innovative, targeted T cell approaches in oncology.

Leading its proprietary pipeline, Crescendo Biologics has developed CB307, a novel CD137 x PSMA bispecific for the selective activation of tumour-specific T cells exclusively within the tumour microenvironment. CB307 is designed to achieve a longer lasting anti-cancer effect whilst avoiding systemic toxicity.

The Companys ability to develop multi-functional Humabody therapeutics is based on its unique, patent protected, transgenic mouse platform generating 100% human VH domain building blocks (Humabody VH). These robust molecules can be configured to engage therapeutic targets in such a way that they deliver novel biology and superior bio-distribution. This results in larger therapeutic windows compared to conventional IgG approaches. Humabody-based formats can also be applied across a range of non-cancer indications.

Crescendo Biologics is located in Cambridge, UK, and is backed by blue-chip investors including Sofinnova Partners, Andera Partners, IP Group, Takeda Ventures, Quan Capital and Astellas.

For more information, please visit the website: http://www.crescendobiologics.com

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Crescendo Biologics Expands its Ongoing Collaboration with Takeda - Business Wire

Creatine is a compound produced by the body and found naturally in a variety of foods.

Creatine supplements are often used to enhance athletic performance, increase strength, and reduce muscle damage (1, 2, 3).

Creatine monohydrate, which consists of a creatine molecule paired with a water molecule, is the most common and best-researched type of creatine supplement (1).

Other types are also available. They combine creatine with other compounds intended to increase absorption or boost performance, such as magnesium, citric acid, malic acid, or hydrochloride.

However, not all creatine supplements are created equal, and with so many options available, finding a high quality supplement can be challenging.

The products included in this article were selected based on the following criteria:

Here are 10 of the best creatine supplements of 2020.

General price ranges with dollar signs ($ to $$$) are indicated below. One dollar sign means the product is rather affordable, whereas three dollar signs indicate a higher price range.

Generally, prices range from $0.10$3.13 per serving, or $8.21$56.37 per tub, package, or bottle, though this may vary depending on where you shop.

Note that serving sizes vary by product.

Pricing guide$ = under $0.50 per serving$$ = $0.50$1 per serving$$$ = over $1 per serving

Price: $

Thorne Research is a company focused on producing high quality, sustainably sourced supplements.

This unflavored product contains 5 grams of creatine per serving and is free of gluten, soy, dairy, yeast, and other major allergens.

Its also NSF Certified for Sport, meaning that it has undergone third-party testing to ensure that its free of harmful contaminants and specific substances that are banned for athletes.

Price: $

With 5 grams of creatine monohydrate per serving, this product from Klean Athlete is ideal for those seeking a simple yet high quality creatine supplement.

Like most other Klean Athlete products, Klean Creatine is NSF Certified for Sport to ensure that it meets strict quality standards.

Its also unflavored and can be easily mixed into smoothies, shakes, and juices.

Price: $

This high quality supplement is a convenient and cost-effective way to help ramp up your intake of creatine.

It contains 5 grams of creatine monohydrate per serving and is formulated without any additives or extra ingredients, such as gluten, sugar, soy, dairy, or yeast.

Plus, BulkSupplements can also provide a Certificate of Analysis (CoA) upon request, which is a detailed document that provides information on the quality, strength, and specifications of a product.

Price: $$

Available in flavors like orange, grape, and fruit punch, this creatine powder from Muscle Tech can be a delicious addition to your workout routine.

It not only includes 5 grams of creatine per scoop but also delivers 1 gram of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), which are a type of amino acid often used by athletes to boost performance and reduce fatigue (4).

It also contains around 36 grams of carbs per serving, which is thought to help maximize creatine retention (5).

Price: $

This product is not only free of artificial colors, flavors, and sweeteners but also made without any genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and contains just one ingredient.

Its likewise certified vegan and certified gluten-free, making it a great option for those with food allergies or dietary restrictions.

Additionally, Naked Creatine by Naked Nutrition contains 5 grams of creatine monohydrate and can be easily dissolved in your favorite pre- or post-workout beverage.

Price: $$$

With 550 calories, 54 grams of protein, and 3.2 grams of creatine per serving, this multipurpose protein powder is perfect for bulking.

It comes in a vanilla crme flavor, which adds a pleasant taste to high calorie shakes and smoothies.

Its also NSF Certified for Sport, making it a good choice for athletes seeking a safe supplement free of banned substances.

Price: $

Featuring 5 grams of creatine monohydrate per serving, this supplement is specifically designed to promote energy production and muscle growth.

In addition to being certified kosher and vegan-friendly, its certified by Informed-Choice, a third-party organization that tests sports supplements for banned substances.

Plus, its produced in a facility that has been certified for following good manufacturing practices (GMPs), which ensure that supplements are produced according to strict quality standards set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Price: $

If you prefer the convenience and ease of pills over powders, these creatine capsules from Life Extension may be a good choice.

Each serving contains approximately 1 gram of creatine, and capsules are certified non-GMO and gluten-free.

Life Extension also provides a CoA for all products to help ensure quality and promote product transparency.

Price: $$

This Power+ product from PurAthlete is made for athletes looking to increase endurance, strength, and stamina.

It features 3.3 grams of Creatine MagnaPower, a type of creatine thats combined with magnesium to enhance absorption and energy production.

Its also NSF Certified for Sport and produced in a GMP-certified facility, meaning that you can feel confident that youre getting a safe, high quality supplement.

Price: $$$

Whether youre a casual gym-goer or competitive athlete, this pre-workout supplement from Proven4 Sport can help boost your exercise routine.

Each serving contains 2 grams of creatine monohydrate, along with a blend of other ingredients like B vitamins, caffeine, and amino acids.

Whats more, this product is NSF Certified for Sport and available in a variety of flavors, including blue raspberry, cherry limeade, fruit punch, and watermelon.

When selecting a creatine supplement, be sure to check the ingredient label carefully and look for products free of artificial flavors, sweeteners, colors, and fillers whenever possible.

However, note that some supplements may contain added carbs or protein, which can help increase the retention of creatine (5).

You should also pay close attention to the dosage of creatine supplements.

Its generally recommended to start with a loading phase of 2025 grams per day for 57 days to increase muscle stores of creatine, followed by a maintenance dosage of 35 grams daily thereafter (6).

If possible, you should also choose supplements that have undergone third-party testing and are certified by organizations like NSF or Informed-Choice to ensure safety and quality.

Some companies may also provide a CoA upon request, which offers detailed information about the purity and potency of products.

Check out these two articles to help make supplement shopping a breeze:

Creatine supplements are available in a variety of forms, flavors, and dosages.

When picking the right product for you, be sure to check the ingredient label and dosage carefully.

Ideally, you should also purchase products that have undergone third-party testing or provide a CoA available upon request.

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The 10 Best Creatine Supplements in 2020 - Healthline

Carlo Wolters, director of Netherlands power company EPZ, has called for an extension to the operation of the Borssele NPP beyond 2033. Alternatively EPZ seeks the construction of two new large reactors at the site to enable the Netherlands to meet its energy and climate goals.

Wolters made the statement at a parliamentary debate on the role of nuclear power in the Dutch energy system, where he presented a position paper, EPZ Vision 2033 A Strategy for Dutch Nuclear Energy, which was first published on 28 November.

EPZ is currently the only Dutch party with the experience to operate a nuclear power plant in combination with a wind and solar park, the document says.

EPZ sees nuclear as a key climate-neutral source of energy, which should continue to be used in the Netherlands. For this there are two options plant life extension and/or newbuild.

As to life extension, EPZ said a letter from EPZ about this has already been sent to Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy Eric Wiebes and the House of Representatives. The condition set by EPZ is that any market risk is covered in the business case, the Vision paper says. It envisages extending operation of the Borssele NPP by 10 to 20 years.

On the newbuild option, EPZ favours building two new Generation III 1500MWe units before the mid-1930s at the Borssele site. A precondition is the choice of a proven (and licensed) reactor design for which the permit and consultation processes can be completed on time, the paper notes. Subsequently, during construction, no changes to design and regulations will be made. Finally it is necessary that any market risk in the business case is covered by the government.

EPZ says construction of an existing, approved reactor concept is feasible. Generation III reactors have three times the power of Borssele and are therefore very interesting economically. They can now be purchased from various suppliers and there is sufficient space for new construction in the immediate vicinity of the existing nuclear plant, EPZ adds.

The addition of two identical nuclear power stations (with phased completion) seems the most optimal strategy, the paper notes. With an adequate project progression, the costs of a new Generation III reactor are 8-10 billion and the construction time is about eight years. With a combination of these two options, climate-neutral capacity could be in use by the mid-2030s. Borssele could even be 3500MWe, with an availability of 90%. This covers approximately 25% of current Dutch electricity demand. The paper adds: A fully climate-neutral energy system by 2050 remains within reach, even if electricity consumption continues to increase.

EPZ notes that around 2030, CO2 emissions from the electricity sector will be between 11 and 25 megatonnes. If EPZ keeps the existing nuclear power plant open and builds two new ones, the savings will be 13 megatonnes.

In September Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Eric Wiebes said in a letter to members of parliament that more nuclear power may join solar and wind in the Dutch energy mix after 2030, in particular small modular reactors (SMRs). The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a recent energy policy review that lifetime extension "could prove of great benefit to maintain the low-carbon generation...and the know-how of the Dutch nuclear sector".

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EPZ calls for continued nuclear power in the Netherlands - Nuclear Engineering