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Local weather change might convey again wind as the ability supply for ocean ships

Climate change may bring back wind as the power source for ocean ships

Airseas, the maritime unit of France’s Airbus, has developed a gigantic, automated kite called Seawing, which essentially tows a ship.

Airseas

The shipping industry accounts for nearly 3% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, producing as much manmade carbon dioxide as all the coal-fired power plants in the US combined. Still, it’s a relatively small output within the overall transportation sector, which is responsible for 37% of annual global greenhouse gases.

Yet as international trade continues to grow and heavily rely on oceangoing vessels to move cargo — they currently carry more than 80% of it — some scientists warn that by 2050 shipping could account for 17% of greenhouse gases.

That’s why, after years of lackluster efforts to decarbonize, the industry’s regulatory body is getting on board. In 2018, the International Maritime Organization, or IMO, a London-based United Nations agency comprising 175 member countries — many with delegates directly tied to businesses resistant to curbing emissions — adopted a strategy to reduce greenhouse gases by 50% by 2050 compared to the 2008 levels.

Critics say that goal is too little and too late, insisting the IMO reset its target to 100% decarbonization by mid-century, or preferably sooner.

“The IMO has been rather late to the party, in terms of developing climate measures and coming up with a strategy,” said Lucy Gilliam, shipping policy officer at Seas at Risk and a board member of the Clean Shipping Coalition, both environmental NGOs. She cited the fact that international shipping is not included in the Paris climate accord. Plus, a recent study found that only 33 out of the 94 largest shipping companies have a clearly expressed policy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and/or have committed to the IMO’s goal.

The simplest green shipping solution

Nonetheless, the private sector is undertaking some initiatives to lessen its climate impact. The simplest solution would be for ships to simply slow down, thus using less carbon-emitting fuel. Shipbuilders are also experimenting with hulls coated with air bubbles to reduce drag, as well as sleeker bows, more efficient engines, propellers and thrusters, and AI-assisted navigation systems.

Meanwhile, the industry is beginning to establish green corridors, or specific shipping routes and ports that support zero-emission solutions and policies. The financial world is joining the decarbonization movement as well, with 29 institutions signing onto the Poseidon Principles, an agreement to consider efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions when lending to shipping companies. The signatories represent more than $185 billion in loans to international shipping — nearly half of the global ship finance portfolio.

But with a global supply chain designed for speedy deliveries, the big breakthrough bets are being made on the development of low-emission or zero-emission fuels — including green methanol, hydrogen, liquid natural gas (LNG) and ammonia — to reduce or replace the molasses-thick, noxious bunker fuel that feeds most ships’ massive diesel engines.

These efforts include electric propulsion, several wind-power technologies and nuclear energy, which has driven naval vessels since the mid-1950s and is getting some attention as it generates zero emissions, though safety and security concerns are major impediments.

Here’s an overview of the biggest bets being placed on low-carbon and no-carbon breakthroughs in ocean shipping.

Green methanol

Denmark’s AP Moller-Maersk, which moves 17% of the world’s shipping containers, has 13 ships on order from South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries that run on green methanol. The first, a small vessel with a capacity to carry 2,000 containers (the largest such ships transport 24,000 containers) will launch next year and operate in the Baltics and northern Europe, said Lee Kindberg, Maersk’s head of environment and sustainability in North America.

“Beginning in 2024, every quarter we are going to launch two 16,000 TEU vessels that will operate on transpacific routes,” she said, using the logistics acronym for twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard measurement of 20-foot-long containers. “Our current commitment is to go to net-zero carbon shipping by 2040.”

An artist’s rendering of a Maersk 16,000-TEU container ship that will run on green methanol.

AP Moller-Maersk

Most of the methanol produced today is derived from fossil fuels, but Maersk, CMA CGM and other leading shipping companies are testing two different green, carbon-neutral versions. One is made from solid and liquid biomass extracted from agricultural and forest residues and farming and poultry waste. The other is e-methanol, made by combining CO2 with hydrogen produced from water using renewable electricity. Both are liquids that can be safely stored in non-pressurized tanks at ambient temperatures. Although more expensive than bunker fuel and in limited supply, green methanol can be mixed with bunker in dual-fuel engines to effectively lower carbon emissions.

Liquid hydrogen is another fuel option, often touted because it produces almost no carbon emissions when combusted. Yet about 95% of hydrogen is produced by reforming natural gas or other fossil fuels. It can be made renewably, however, by splitting water using energy from solar, wind, nuclear and hydro power. Green hydrogen can be used in a ship’s internal combustion engine or in fuel cells that generate emission-free electricity. And it may become a cheaper and more attractive alternative due to production tax credits included in the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Washington, DC-based International Council on Clean Transportation conducted a study in 2020 on the potential of using renewable hydrogen fuel cells to power container ships servicing the busy corridor between China and the San Pedro Bay near Los Angeles. “Without making any other changes to the vessels, around 43% of the voyages made in 2015 could be made with that technology,” said Xiaoli Mao, a senior marine researcher at the nonprofit organization. “And with minor adjustments to ship design or adding one more refueling stop, 99% could be realized.”

LNG as an alternative fuel source

LNG tops the list of alternative fuels currently used in commercial ships, including some large container vessels, according to Clarksons Research, a shipping analytics firm based in London. Although less than 5% of the current cargo fleet of around 55,000 ships can run on lower-emission fuels, 38% of new builds will have the option, up from 28% a year ago and 12% five years ago. LNG will power nearly a third (741) of those new vessels, while 24 will run on methanol and six on hydrogen.

The knock on LNG for shipping is it’s still a fossil fuel that emits methane and requires considerable capital investment for retrofitting existing engines and fuel tanks. What’s more, it would extend the use of carbon-based fuels for at least another 20 years, which is a typical lifespan for large ships.

Green ammonia

Ammonia is garnering attention, too. It’s in abundant supply and can be used in dual-fuel engines and fuel cells. As with hydrogen, most ammonia is derived from fossil fuels and its production releases considerable CO2, although it is made environmentally friendly by combining green hydrogen with nitrogen from the air. Safety is the biggest concern, because ammonia is dangerously toxic to humans and marine life, which could dissuade ports from storing it.

Last December, LMG Marin, a subsidiary of Singapore’s Sembcorp Marine, agreed to design what it describes as the first green ammonia-fueled tanker for a unit of Norway’s Grieg Maritime Group. Planned for launch in 2024, the MS Green Ammonia will, appropriately, transport green ammonia.

On a larger scale, in June, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, announced the completion of the conceptual design of a very large gas carrier (VLGC) initially powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), but adaptable for future use of ammonia as the main fuel. The Tokyo-based shipbuilder previously built more than 80 VLGCs, and the new design will allow retrofitting of those vessels to run on ammonia.

Electric robo ships

Mitsubishi’s designers are also pioneering electric-powered ships with a vessel called Roboship, which will be built by Honda Heavy Industries and launched next year. The 550-ton ship will replace a conventional diesel engine with a hybrid-electric system, including storage batteries, propellers, motors, switchboards and generators. The digital platform used to control the electric propulsion equipment was developed by e5 Lab, a Tokyo startup promoting electric propulsion and digitization of ships.

e5 is collaborating with another Japanese shipbuilder, Asahi Tanker, to build a pair of all-electric, zero-emissions tankers, powered by large-capacity lithium-ion batteries. The workload of the bunker vessels’ crews will be lightened with automated equipment and digital tools. The first model delivered marine fuel to ships in Tokyo Bay in April, with the second scheduled to begin operating next year.

As with electric cars, travel range and battery charging are issues with e-ships, so they’re being designed for short, local voyages. Electrified ferries, pilot boats and cruise ships are showing up in ports and harbors in Japan, Sweden and Denmark.

The Yara Birkeland, billed as the first fully electric and autonomous container vessel, began transporting small loads of fertilizer in Norway last spring. During its initial two years, the ship will operate with a full crew while gradually transitioning toward full autonomy, including unmanned navigation, loading, unloading and mooring. Electrifying larger TEU-capacity container ships capable of traversing longer regional routes would require lower-cost battery storage and expanding on-shore charging infrastructure.

The return of wind-powered cargo ships

The Flettner rotor system used by shipping industry wind power company Anemoia, was invented by German engineer Anton Flettner in the 1920s. It features smokestack-like cylinders mounted on a ship’s deck that rotate rapidly with the wind, generating thrust.

anemoi

Of course, the earliest cargo ships sailed the seas solely under wind power, a concept being modernized today.

“There are currently 20 large vessels under some wind-assisted technology,” said Gavin Allwright, secretary for the London-based International Windship Association. They include tankers, bulk carriers and vehicle transporters, he said, which have enough deck space to accommodate different systems.

The front runner, Allwright said, is the Flettner rotor system, a concept invented by Anton Flettner in the 1920s. It features tall, smokestack-like cylinders, mounted on a ship’s deck, that rotate rapidly with the wind and thrust the vessel forward. Among recent applications, the Australian mining company BHP is partnering with Pan Pacific Copper and Nippon Marine to test a rotor sail system aboard a bulk carrier.

Cargill, the food and agriculture behemoth that charters more than 600 dry bulk carriers, is set to test a ship outfitted with WindWings, solid sails designed by BAR Technologies. “Through this partnership we will bring bespoke wind solutions to customers who are actively seeking to reduce CO2 emissions from their supply chain,” said Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill’s Ocean Transportation business. The company reportedly plans to charter at least 20 new wind-assisted ships in the coming years.

A ship outfitted with Wind Wings, solid sails designed by BAR Technologies. Cargill reportedly has plans to charter at least 20 ships using the technology in coming years.

BAR Technologies

Airseas, the maritime unit of France’s Airbus, has developed a gigantic, automated kite called Seawing, which essentially tows a ship. The wind-assist technology, Airseas claims, can reduce fuel consumption by an average of 20%. Another French company, Michelin, is testing its inflatable, retractable, automated wing sail mobility prototype on a ferry running between the UK and Spain.

Despite its embrace of these various decarbonization projects, the maritime industry will have a tough time weaning itself off fossil fuels. Indeed, Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is financing some of the IMO’s green shipping efforts. But as Amazon, Ikea, Unilever and other major movers of cargo seek ways to meet their net-zero goals, shipping is a prime target.

“If they want to reduce their emissions,” said Maersk’s Kindberg, “they need us to reduce ours.”

Categories
Politics

Taliban Advances in Afghanistan Might Deliver Political Peril for Biden

Taliban Advances in Afghanistan Could Bring Political Peril for Biden

When President Biden announced his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the politics seemed relatively simple: Many polls showed that Americans supported ending the country’s nearly 20-year involvement in a war whose goals had become obscure.

But four months later, with the Taliban storming across the country much faster and more ruthlessly than expected, new political risks are coming into view for Mr. Biden, who had hoped to win credit for ending what he has called one of America’s “forever wars.”

Now U.S. officials are racing to evacuate Afghans who assisted the American military and may be targets of Taliban reprisals, and are contemplating the prospect of hastily evacuating the 4,000 Americans at the U.S. Embassy in the capital city of Kabul.

The threat of a Taliban conquest and new risks to U.S. personnel and allies in the country could cause Americans who had been paying little attention to Afghanistan for the past several years to reconsider their views, particularly if Republicans amplify a message of American failure and capitulation.

“Everybody’s worried about a repeat of the Saigon images,” said Brian Katulis, a foreign policy expert at the liberal Center for American Progress, referring to the chaotic April 1975 evacuation of the American Embassy in South Vietnam’s capital. Desperate Vietnamese clung to the struts of departing helicopters as the city was being conquered by Communist forces.

Americans remain focused on domestic matters like the coronavirus and the economy, and are unlikely to care much that the Taliban have captured unfamiliar cities like Kunduz, said Mr. Katulis, who has studied public opinion about foreign policy.

“But this could change,” he added. “If you have a parade of horribles continue to unfold in Afghanistan, it could seep into the public consciousness the way Iraq did in 2013 and 2014” when the Islamic State stormed across that country after American troops withdrew.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Mr. Biden said he did “not regret” his decision, noting that the United States continued to support Afghanistan’s government and security forces but adding, “They’ve got to fight for themselves.”

Officials in the Biden administration have repeatedly expressed hope that negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government might produce a peaceful resolution short of a Kabul-based Taliban emirate, but prospects for successful talks are swiftly fading.

Fortunately for Mr. Biden, many Republicans in Congress have turned against foreign military adventures and supported a full exit from Afghanistan, to which President Donald J. Trump first committed last year when he struck a deal with the Taliban. Under the agreement, the group halted its attacks on U.S. forces and began peace talks with the Afghan government.

Understand the Infrastructure Bill

    • One trillion dollar package passed. The Senate passed a sweeping bipartisan infrastructure package on Aug. 10, capping weeks of intense negotiations and debate over the largest federal investment in the nation’s aging public works system in more than a decade.
    • The final vote. The final tally in the Senate was 69 in favor to 30 against. The legislation, which still must pass the House, would touch nearly every facet of the American economy and fortify the nation’s response to the warming of the planet.
    • Main areas of spending. Overall, the bipartisan plan focuses spending on transportation, utilities and pollution cleanup.
    • Transportation. About $110 billion would go to roads, bridges and other transportation projects; $25 billion for airports; and $66 billion for railways, giving Amtrak the most funding it has received since it was founded in 1971.
    • Utilities. Senators have also included $65 billion meant to connect hard-to-reach rural communities to high-speed internet and help sign up low-income city dwellers who cannot afford it, and $8 billion for Western water infrastructure.
    • Pollution cleanup: Roughly $21 billion would go to cleaning up abandoned wells and mines, and Superfund sites.

Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden were in sync with public opinion. Polls have shown for years that a plurality of Americans support withdrawing from Afghanistan, with a majority supporting either a full exit or a smaller U.S. presence.

But as the U.S.-backed Afghan government in Kabul appears more imperiled, some prominent Republicans are increasing their criticism of Mr. Biden.

“Reality was clear to everyone but the very top of the Biden administration,” Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the minority leader, said in remarks on Monday on the Senate floor, as he noted prior warnings that the Taliban might quickly overwhelm the Afghan government’s security forces. “From their bizarre choice of a symbolic Sept. 11th deadline to the absence of any concrete plan, the administration’s decision appears to have rested on wishful thinking and not much else.”

“No one should pretend they’re surprised the Taliban is winning now that we abandoned our Afghan partners,” Senator Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska, said in a statement on Tuesday.

But Mr. Sasse also nodded to the complicated political dynamic in which Mr. Biden is delivering on a promise made by Mr. Trump.

“Our troops served America and our allies admirably, but the last administration and the present administration chose to give up the fight,” Mr. Sasse said.

Updated 

Aug. 11, 2021, 9:06 p.m. ET

It may be a consolation to Biden administration officials that Mr. Trump is unlikely to join in the attacks. The former president, who made U.S. troop withdrawals a key campaign theme in the 2020 election, pressed his generals in vain to accelerate the American exit.

And Mr. Trump reiterated his support for leaving Afghanistan as recently as April, when he attacked Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming, in a statement as a “warmongering fool” who “wants to stay in the Middle East and Afghanistan for another 19 years, but doesn’t consider the big picture — Russia and China!”

“If Trump is the Republican nominee again, I think it would be hard for him to criticize Biden for executing a plan that Trump put into motion,” said Richard Fontaine, the chief executive of the Center for a New American Security and a former foreign policy adviser to the hawkish Republican senator John McCain.

“Trump didn’t just open the door” to a withdrawal, Mr. Fontaine added. “What he did was force the issue in a way that it hadn’t been forced before.”

But Mr. Fontaine, who opposes the American troop withdrawal, said that major political and security risks remained for Mr. Biden. He argued that domestic support for leaving Afghanistan had never been intense, coming nowhere near the mass demonstrations opposing the Vietnam and Iraq wars.

And he said that the possibility of a Taliban takeover followed by a return to the country of the group’s longtime Qaeda allies would be a huge liability for Mr. Biden.

“Polls show that a majority of Americans want to leave Afghanistan,” Mr. Fontaine said. “But they also show that if you ask Americans about their foreign policy or national security objectives, they will almost always rank preventing terrorist attacks on the United States as No. 1 or 2, and they will rank extracting America from military operations overseas far below that.”

Mr. Trump’s top lieutenants, who frequently lead political attacks on Mr. Biden, are similarly constrained in their ability to turn events in Afghanistan against him.

Mike Pompeo, who as secretary of state attended the signing ceremony in Qatar of Mr. Trump’s deal with Taliban leaders, has repeatedly attacked the Biden administration as weak on foreign policy.

In an appearance this week on Fox News, however, Mr. Pompeo — who is contemplating a 2024 presidential bid — called the troop withdrawal “the right thing to do.”

In language that closely echoed Mr. Biden’s recent remarks, he added: “This is now the Afghans’ fight.”

Some prominent supporters of a military withdrawal from Afghanistan say that Mr. Biden has little to worry about in political terms, noting that his decision enjoyed broad bipartisan support, including from politically diverse veterans’ groups.

“I think that the American public is much more likely to see what’s happening right now, as tragic and worrisome as it is, as ultimately the failure of two decades of war and occupation in Afghanistan,” said Kate Kizer, the policy director of the anti-interventionist group Win Without War.

“It’s important to remember that the reason the public supports a military withdrawal from Afghanistan, as well as from Iraq, is that they think these wars themselves are a mistake and failure,” she added.

Ms. Kizer said she worried that some “members of the foreign policy establishment in Washington took the lesson from Iraq that chaos ensues when the U.S. withdraws” and would be quick to press for renewed American intervention.

Mr. Katulis said he could imagine pressure for an American return to Afghanistan, years after President Barack Obama reluctantly sent troops back to Iraq after the Islamic State began to capture and execute American hostages.

Such a scenario would likely require worst-case outcomes, he said, like the killings of Americans or senior Afghan government officials. (After the Taliban first conquered Kabul in 1996, militants captured the country’s president, Mohammad Najibullah, shot him in the head and hung his beaten body from a tower.)

For now, Mr. Katulis said, “people care more about their bridges and roads getting fixed. Afghanistan right now is out of sight, out of mind.”

Categories
Entertainment

‘Can You Carry It: Invoice T. Jones and D-Man within the Waters’ Evaluate: Nonetheless Making Waves

‘Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters’ Review: Still Making Waves

What happens to a work of art when time displaces it from its original context and from the impulse that inspired it? That is a question that can elicit dry theories. But in Can You Bring It ?: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters, a new documentary by Tom Hurwitz and Rosalynde LeBlanc Loo, the answer is passionate and moving.

Jones is a co-founder of the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Company, a modern dance group. It grew out of the performer duo that Jones formed with his partner Zane, who wasn’t a dancer in the early 1970s.

Zane died in 1988 of AIDS-related lymphoma. The film gives a moving overview of their work-life collaboration before delving into the choices Jones made after Zane’s death. One of these decisions was the piece “D-Man in the Waters”.

The dance was inspired by a series of group improvisations. It was a mirror of the troop’s experiences, their struggles and their losses. As a choreography, it has since been performed by dozen of college and professional companies. “Can you bring it with you?” Jones asks a group of dancers at Loyola Marymount College in 2016 as they prepare the piece under the direction of Loo, a former member of the Jones / Zane Company.

These students have little knowledge of AIDS, so Jones and Loo ask them to find points in their lives where they struggle as part of a student community and in other ways. The cut between vintage recordings by Company Jones / Zane and the student production as well as recordings from another contemporary production of the piece – recorded with an intimacy on stage that is reminiscent of the in-the-ring segments of Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull” – ensure an unusually lively documentary experience.

Can you bring it with you: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 34 minutes. In theaters.

Categories
Entertainment

Foo Fighters Convey Rock Again to Madison Sq. Backyard

Foo Fighters Bring Rock Back to Madison Square Garden

The house lights inside Madison Square Garden went down Sunday night, and the thousands of fans, packed like sardines in their seats, stood as if on cue. As they roared their approval, bouncing in place on the balls of their feet, the ground began to tremble. Cellphone flash lights illuminated the darkness.

The sound of a keyboard echoed through the rafters. Dave Grohl, the Foo Fighters’ frontman, appeared on the stage.

“It’s times like these, you learn to live again,” Grohl sang.

The lyrics had seldom felt so on point.

After many difficult months of illness, death, hardship and pain, and shifting limits on how many people could gather, especially indoors, arena rock returned to New York City just over a year after the city was the center of the outbreak. It was the Garden’s first concert in more than 460 days, and it drew a full-capacity crowd that was asked to show proof of vaccination to enter. Inside, people grooved, tightly packed, with few masks visible.

On Sunday, a concert attendee would have had to squint to see signs of the pandemic persisting. In many ways, the evening felt like prepandemic times.

In a sea of thousands, only a few patrons here or there wore face coverings. Thousands of vaccinated people, their faces bare, belted out the lyrics to well-known songs, sending aerosols flying through the air. No one seemed concerned.

Fans were packed together. A sudden arm gesture could send a beer flying. Strangers hugged and high-fived. They bumped into each other in the busy concourse. They punched the air, swung their hair and danced, twisting and swaying at their seats in a state of high-decibel music-induced bliss.

It was “just epic,” said Rachael Cain, 51, who was among the first people to arrive at the Garden on Sunday afternoon.

But there were subtle reminders of the pandemic everywhere. Hand sanitizer pumps were clamped to the walls, and wipes could be found near any napkin dispenser. Ticketing was digital and concession buying appeared mostly cashless.

At the entrances, staff members checked people’s vaccine cards with varying levels of scrutiny. Some asked for identification to match with proof of inoculation, in a slow-moving process. Other checkers simply waved people through as they flashed their passes while walking by. A small anti-vaccine protest on the sidewalk outside drew little attention.

Several patrons said that the vaccine requirement helped them feel safe about returning to such a big indoor gathering.

“I was expecting it to be a little longer before I came to a concert again,” said Nick Snow, 29, who was among the few fans who wore a mask while inside the arena. “The precautions with the vaccinated only, they help.”

Grohl himself took care to acknowledge from the stage the unique milestone he and his band were participating in. At various points during the roughly three-hour show, he asked the crowd rhetorically if they had missed music, and mused about how good it felt to be around thousands of people while playing rock songs. The band sang “My Hero” as a tribute to those who had made the concert possible. And in a surprise cameo to celebrate the occasion, the band brought out the comedian Dave Chappelle to sing a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep.”

“Welcome back, New York City!” Chappelle yelled as he exited the stage.

The show represented the return of some old, familiar comforts that music lovers may not soon take for granted again. There was call and response; people gesturing wildly to no one in particular; fans screaming the lyrics to songs only to realize their voices were drowned out by the music; and an entire floor section jumping up and down as one wave.

“I would get vaccinated 10 times over just to see a live show like this with people,” said Rich Casey, 53, of Massachusetts.

Having reached the ground floor of the venue and the echoey plaza that leads to the street, Foo Fighters fans seeking one last communal experience for the night sent up a chant, reveling again in one of the band’s most well-known songs, “Best of You.”

Ohhhhhh
Ohhhhhh.
Ohhhhhh.
Ohhhhhh.

Then they erupted in one final cheer and walked out into the New York night.

Categories
Entertainment

Kylie Jenner, Travis Scott Deliver Stormi to Parsons Profit

Kylie Jenner, Travis Scott Bring Stormi to Parsons Benefit

Um, excuse me, are Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner officially back together? On Tuesday night, the former couple made an appearance at the 72nd Annual Parsons Benefit in NYC where Travis was accepting an award. They walked the red carpet together with their 3-year-old daughter Stormi — their first event as a family of three in nearly two years since Kylie and Travis split in October 2019.

Rumors about Kylie and Travis rekindling their romance have circled for some time now, and according to E! News Travis all but confirmed this speculation in his acceptance speech. “Stormi, I love you and wifey, I love you,” he said. Wifey, you say? I love you, you say? Iiiinteresting. Kylie also shared a cozy photo of herself and Travis at the event, captioned, “24 hours in NYC.” The couple hasn’t confirmed their relationship publicly, but all signs point to a flirty reconciliation. Check out more photos from their night on the red carpet, ahead.

Categories
Business

United Airways Desires to Carry Again Supersonic Air Journey

United Airlines Wants to Bring Back Supersonic Air Travel

The era of supersonic commercial flights came to an end when the Concorde completed its last trip between New York and London in 2003, but the allure of ultrafast air travel never quite died out.

President Biden mused about supersonic flights when discussing his infrastructure plan in April. And on Thursday, United Airlines said it was ordering 15 jets that can travel faster than the speed of sound from Boom Supersonic, a start-up in Denver. The airline said it had an option to increase its order by up to 35 planes.

Boom, which has raised $270 million from venture capital firms and other investors, said it planned to introduce aircraft in 2025 and start flight tests in 2026. It expects the plane, which it calls the Overture, to carry passengers before the end of the decade.

But the start-up’s plans have already slipped at least once, and it will have to overcome many obstacles, including securing approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and regulators in other countries. Even established manufacturers have stumbled when introducing new or redesigned planes. Boeing’s 737 Max was grounded for nearly two years after two crashes.

The deal is United’s latest attempt to position itself as a risk taker shaking up an industry that is just getting back on its feet after a devastating pandemic. The airline announced a $20 million investment in an electric air taxi start-up, Archer, in February, and it is working on a “steady drumbeat” of more such bets, said Michael Leskinen, who heads corporate development at United.

“We are really confident in the future,” Mr. Leskinen said. “Aerospace takes a long time to innovate. And so if you don’t start setting these opportunities out now, you will have missed them.”

United and Boom would not disclose financial details, including the cost of each plane, but Mr. Leskinen said the economics should be about the same as a new Boeing 787, a wide-body plane that airlines typically use on international routes. United has committed to buying the planes if Boom manages to produce them, secure regulatory approvals and hit other targets, like meeting its sustainability requirements.

Boom also plans to make planes for Japan Airlines, an investor in the company.

What is not clear is whether Boom has solved the problems that forced British Airways and Air France to stop using the Concorde on trans-Atlantic flights — high costs, safety concerns and flagging demand.

“There was no airline interest,” Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and consultant, said about why supersonic flights languished. “And a big part of the lack of airline interest was there were no engines that were commercially available that would allow a supersonic jet to be economically viable.”

Two decades later, some start-up companies, including Boom and Spike Aerospace, are pushing ahead with new designs and plans.

Today in Business

Updated 

June 2, 2021, 4:35 p.m. ET

Boom, which is working with Rolls-Royce, the British jet engine maker, said its plane would be more efficient than the Concorde; United estimates it will be 75 percent more efficient. Boom’s planes will not be as noisy as the Concorde because their engines will create a sonic boom only when flying over water “when there’s no one to hear it,” said Boom’s chief executive, Blake Scholl, who previously worked at Amazon and Groupon.

In recent years, many people have also grown increasingly concerned about air travel’s contribution to climate change. Supersonic jets are expected to use more fuel than regular jets per passenger per mile, according to experts.

Mr. Scholl said the engines on Boom’s planes would rely entirely on sustainable aviation fuel, which can be made from waste, plants and other organic matter. Experts say such fuel could reduce emissions, but its supply is limited, it is expensive and its use does not eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.

United said it was too early to know how much it would charge for the flights, which it would run out of its hubs in Newark and San Francisco to start. But another big question mark about the plane is how many people will be willing to spend the thousands of dollars that each ticket on a supersonic flight is likely to cost.

United has long focused on business travelers, including by adding flights to Israel, China and other destinations popular with executives and by offering more business class seats on its planes. Mr. Leskinen called the idea of supersonic travel a “really powerful tool for business.”

“You can have a business meeting and still be home to have dinner with your family,” he said.

But corporate and international travel is expected to rebound slowly from the pandemic, and some experts say it might not recover fully for years because companies have realized that they can be effective without as many in-person meetings.

“The key to the success of supersonic transportation is the overlooked, underappreciated corporate travel manager, who is probably relegated to one of the worst offices in his or her company — and his primary task is to minimize corporate spending on business travel,” said Mr. Harteveldt.

If flights save a third of the travel time but also cost a third more, travel managers may end up saying, “I don’t know if we can justify that,” he said.

Categories
Business

Artwork Basel Hong Kong and Eurovision convey the worldwide arts scene again

Art Basel Hong Kong and Eurovision bring the global arts scene back

With two major cultural events last weekend, the international art scene signaled that it does not intend to have Covid cancel another year.

Held May 19-23, Art Basel Hong Kong marked the return of one of the most revered art fairs in the world. The show followed Frieze New York, which happened earlier this month and was the first major art fair in New York since the pandemic began.

After a one-year hiatus, the extremely popular Eurovision Song Contest also returned to Europe. The competition took place May 18-22 and, according to the show’s organizers, was watched by nearly 200 million viewers, including a live audience of 3,500 people.

After large gatherings around the globe were canceled for more than a year, both events mark a significant step forward on the path to normalcy after the pandemic and highlight the different methods Asia and Europe are using to achieve this goal.

Art Basel Hong Kong becomes “hybrid”

With its first show in more than a year, Art Basel returned to the world stage after canceling its three annual shows last year – Hong Kong in March, its flagship show in Basel, Switzerland in June, and Miami Beach (Florida) in December.

All three events are back this year with the first Art Basel Hong Kong, which will present a “hybrid” format that allows participants to appear virtually or in person.

Art Basel Hong Kong 2021, which was relocated from March to May, made its debut in a “hybrid” trade fair format.

Mighuel Candela | SOPA pictures | LightRocket | Getty Images

Private collectors from more than 30 countries and territories took part in “virtual tours” of the fair, which was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. More than 100 galleries participated, with many joining through satellite booths that allowed gallery owners to interact with attendees without traveling to Hong Kong.

“After we had designed our booth plan for the fair, the gallery delivered all of the artwork to Hong Kong to be installed by the Art Basel team, as in previous years,” said Valerie Carberry, partner at Gray. Chicago, New York. “Since we couldn’t travel to Hong Kong to attend the fair ourselves, Art Basel appointed us a booth assistant who took care of the booth in our place.”

The gallery planned video meetings ahead of the show to prepare the assistant, who, according to Carberry, “was incredibly professional … we felt well represented”.

Face masks were created as new canvases at Art Basel Hong Kong 2021.

Anthony Kwan | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

The participants were also able to view their collections via online viewing rooms that Art Basel launched last year. Online rooms of the canceled exhibition in Hong Kong in 2020 showed works from more than 230 galleries and, according to Art Basel, attracted around 250,000 visitors.

“We all wanted to be there in person, of course, but the ability to share real-time information with customers at your booth was as close as ever to an in-person pandemic art fair,” said Carberry.

“We all felt a bit ‘jet lagged’ after we did not travel, but it was worth telling our Hong Kong customers how much we value their business and the support of our program.”

The Eurovision Song Contest is back

The cancellation of last year’s Eurovision Song Contest, or Eurovision for short, may have resulted in this year’s competition reaching its largest audience since 2016.

In the singing competition that began in 1956, musical acts from predominantly European countries compete against each other, with 26 reaching the grand finals. The country that produces the winning act hosts the next competition.

This year, the Italian rock group Maneskin won the main prize and made sure that the competition will take place in Italy in 2022.

Italian rock group Maneskin won Eurovision in 2021, which relied on social distancing and testing to keep participants healthy before the show.

Soeren Stache | Image Alliance | Image Alliance | Getty Images

The show was largely a face-to-face event with most of the attendees performing live from Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The Australian Montaigne performed over a taped shot due to their inability to travel to Europe. This was a first in the show’s 65-year history.

Participants wore masks and followed social distancing mandates. According to Eurovision, the participants were subjected to regular Covid tests and isolated in their hotel rooms unless they were exercising.

The show also limited the number of live viewers present. Still, the 3,500 people who watched in person were enough to make Eurovision one of the largest live entertainment events in Europe since the beginning of the pandemic in 2021.

The annual competition, which casts a spell over Europe but is largely unknown to American audiences, is slated to launch in the US next year on NBC. According to the Eurovision website, artists from 50 states, five US territories and Washington, DC will compete in the “American Song Contest” for the title of the best original song.

What’s coming?

With the exception of Art Dubai, which began in late March 2021, most of the major international art exhibitions that were originally supposed to take place before May have been canceled. These include Frieze Los Angeles and Dutch Tefaf Maastricht, both of which were postponed before being canceled.

The Art Basel fairs in Basel and Miami Beach are back in the books, although the Switzerland show has been postponed from June to September in order to “visit as broad an international audience as possible,” according to the fair’s website.

Another top international art fair, Frieze London, is slated to return in October.

It is expected that these fairs will be very personally attended. According to Marc Spiegler, the global director of Art Basel, the digital components of Art Basel will be retained.

“We have developed a variety of techniques and tactics for people to access a gallery’s programming digitally,” he told the New York Times. “The pandemic has enabled us to do a better job for the collectors who cannot attend.”

The next Eurovision competition is planned for May 2022. Although details have not been confirmed, online speculation about dates and locations has begun.

Hong Kong is also pushing high-profile plans that align with the city’s conservative approach to curbing Covid. In line with its nickname as the “Art Capital of Asia”, the city will host a number of art festivals and exhibitions, including the contemporary art exhibition “Ink City” and the French May Arts Fest with around 80 events across the city in June.

This year, a new visual arts museum is due to open in Hong Kong’s new “T” -shaped M + building.

PETER PARKS | AFP | Getty Images

The Hong Kong Ballet will play Romeo + Juliet next month after the show was canceled last summer.

The new M + building in Hong Kong will house one of the largest museums for contemporary visual culture in the world. The “T-shaped” museum has an area of ​​65,000 square meters, including 33 galleries, three cinemas, a research center, restaurants, a tea and coffee bar, a members’ lounge and a roof garden with a view of Victoria Harbor.

The museum is slated to open this year.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.

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Health

Deepak Chopra says he desires to carry consciousness to psychedelics as a possible supply of mind-body therapeutic

Deepak Chopra says he wants to bring awareness to psychedelics as a potential source of mind-body healing

Self-Care Leader Deepak Chopra announced Tuesday a new partnership with MindMed, a clinical-stage psychedelic medicine company, saying the collaboration was in line with his continued interest in the mind-body relationship.

“I am working with MindMed to educate the public and raise public awareness of research on psychedelics,” said Chopra. “I don’t think psychedelics are a panacea, but I think they play a big role … in PTSD, depression, suicide prevention, and a lot more.”

A phase 3 clinical study found that MDMA, popularly known as ecstasy, when combined with therapy, helped people with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Two-thirds of the participants in the MDMA test group no longer qualified for a diagnosis of PTSD two months after treatment. However, the therapists warn that home treatment cannot be repeated with the street version of the drug.

Chopra told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” that mental distress “is the number one pandemic in the world” and that someone commits suicide every 40 seconds and is another reason they want to raise awareness about psychedelics.

Commenting on Chopra, host Shepard Smith said he has “long supported alternative drugs with mixed results that are often questioned by doctors,” and wanted to know how his partnership with MindMed is different. Smith added a quote from evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins who said that Chopra “uses quantum jargon as plausible-sounding hocus-pocus”.

Chopra explained to Smith that a Google search would lead to evidence when it comes to psychedelics and mindfulness.

“You just have to look it up, just googling the evidence of mindfulness and mindfulness on psychedelics and ignoring people like Dawkins,” said Chopra.

Richard Dawkins did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

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Health

This New Covid Vaccine May Carry Hope to the Unvaccinated World

This New Covid Vaccine Could Bring Hope to the Unvaccinated World

Anfang 2020 versuchten Dutzende wissenschaftlicher Teams, einen Impfstoff gegen Covid-19 herzustellen. Einige entschieden sich für bewährte Techniken wie die Herstellung von Impfstoffen aus abgetöteten Viren. Eine Handvoll Unternehmen setzen jedoch auf eine riskantere Methode, bei der noch nie ein zugelassener Impfstoff hergestellt wurde: den Einsatz eines genetischen Moleküls namens RNA.

Die Wette hat sich ausgezahlt. Die ersten beiden Impfstoffe, die aus klinischen Studien von Pfizer-BioNTech und Moderna erfolgreich hervorgegangen sind, bestanden beide aus RNA. Es stellte sich heraus, dass beide Wirksamkeitsraten so gut waren, wie ein Impfstoff nur sein konnte.

In den folgenden Monaten haben diese beiden RNA-Impfstoffe zig Millionen Menschen in rund 90 Ländern geschützt. Aber viele Teile der Welt, einschließlich derer mit steigenden Todesopfern, hatten kaum Zugang zu ihnen, auch weil sie in einem Tiefkühlschrank gehalten werden müssen.

Jetzt kann ein dritter RNA-Impfstoff dazu beitragen, diesen globalen Bedarf zu decken. Ein kleines deutsches Unternehmen namens CureVac steht kurz vor der Bekanntgabe der Ergebnisse seiner späten klinischen Studie. Bereits nächste Woche kann die Welt erfahren, ob der Impfstoff sicher und wirksam ist.

Das Produkt von CureVac gehört zu dem, was viele Wissenschaftler als zweite Welle von Covid-19-Impfstoffen bezeichnen, die die weltweite Nachfrage insgesamt senken könnten. Novavax, ein in Maryland ansässiges Unternehmen, dessen Impfstoff Coronavirus-Proteine ​​verwendet, wird voraussichtlich in den nächsten Wochen eine US-Zulassung beantragen. In Indien testet das Pharmaunternehmen Biological E einen weiteren Impfstoff auf Proteinbasis, der von Forschern in Texas entwickelt wurde. In Brasilien, Mexiko, Thailand und Vietnam starten Forscher Versuche für einen Covid-19-Schuss, der in Hühnereiern in Massenproduktion hergestellt werden kann.

Impfstoffexperten sind besonders gespannt auf die Ergebnisse von CureVac, da die Impfung einen wichtigen Vorteil gegenüber den anderen RNA-Impfstoffen von Moderna und Pfizer-BioNTech hat. Während diese beiden Impfstoffe in einer Tiefkühltruhe aufbewahrt werden müssen, bleibt der Impfstoff von CureVac im Kühlschrank stabil – was bedeutet, dass er die neu entdeckte Kraft von RNA-Impfstoffen leichter an schwer betroffene Teile der Welt liefern kann.

“Es ist weitgehend unter dem Radar verschwunden”, sagte Jacob Kirkegaard, Senior Fellow am Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, DC. Jetzt fügte er hinzu: “Sie sehen ziemlich gut positioniert aus, um den globalen Markt aufzuräumen.”

Für den Mitbegründer von CureVac, den Biologen Ingmar Hoerr, ist die Covid-19-Impfstoffstudie des Unternehmens der Höhepunkt einer Arbeit von einem Vierteljahrhundert mit RNA, einem Molekül, das dazu beiträgt, DNA in Proteine ​​umzuwandeln, die die Arbeit unserer Zellen erledigen. Als Doktorand an der Universität Tübingen in den 1990er Jahren injizierte Dr. Hoerr Mäusen RNA und stellte fest, dass die Tiere das von den Molekülen kodierte Protein herstellen konnten. Er war überrascht festzustellen, dass das Immunsystem der Mäuse Antikörper gegen die neuen Proteine ​​bildete.

Hier, dachte Dr. Hoerr, könnte dies die Grundlage für eine neue Art von Impfstoff sein. “Ich dachte, Wow, wenn das beim Menschen so funktioniert, dann haben wir eine völlig neue pharmazeutische Möglichkeit”, sagte er.

Zu dieser Zeit betrachteten nur wenige Wissenschaftler auf der Welt einen RNA-Impfstoff als ernsthafte Möglichkeit. Aber Befürworter dachten, es könnte die Medizin verändern. Theoretisch könnte man ein RNA-Molekül herstellen, um Menschen gegen jedes Virus zu immunisieren. Sie könnten sogar in der Lage sein, einen RNA-Impfstoff zur Heilung von Krebs zu entwickeln, wenn Sie ein RNA-Molekül herstellen könnten, das ein Tumorprotein codiert.

Im Jahr 2001 war Dr. Hoerr Mitbegründer von CureVac, um der Idee nachzujagen. In den ersten Jahren kämpfte das Unternehmen jedoch ums Überleben. Um das Licht an zu halten, wurden Aufträge von anderen Labors für maßgeschneiderte RNA-Moleküle entgegengenommen. Nebenbei bastelten die Wissenschaftler von CureVac an ihren eigenen Entwürfen für RNA-Impfstoffe.

Im Laufe der Zeit fanden sie subtile Verbesserungen an RNA-Impfstoffmolekülen, die dazu führten, dass Zellen mehr Proteine ​​produzierten. Je wirksamer die RNA ist, desto niedriger ist die Dosis, die sie für Impfstoffe benötigt.

Die Forscher von CureVac fanden auch heraus, wie die RNA-Moleküle in Fettblasen eingebracht werden können, um sie auf ihrem Weg zu den Zellen vor Zerstörung zu schützen. Und vielleicht am wichtigsten war, dass sie eine Form von RNA verwendeten, die bei relativ warmen Temperaturen stabil bleiben konnte. Anstatt eine Tiefkühltruhe zu benötigen, könnte der Impfstoff von CureVac gekühlt werden.

Mit der Zeit stiegen auch andere Unternehmen in das Geschäft mit RNA-Impfstoffen ein: BioNTech in Deutschland im Jahr 2008, dann Moderna in Boston im Jahr 2011. Ihre Experimente zeigten, dass diese Impfstoffe Tiere vor einer Vielzahl von Viren schützen können. Im Jahr 2013 injizierte CureVac Freiwilligen in der ersten klinischen Studie der Technologie gegen eine Infektionskrankheit einen Tollwut-RNA-Impfstoff.

CureVac und andere RNA-Impfstoffhersteller haben jahrelang daran gearbeitet, ihre Impfstoffe zu perfektionieren. Der erste Versuch von CureVac mit einem Tollwutimpfstoff zeigte, dass er sicher war, aber eine schwache Reaktion des Immunsystems hervorrief. Das Unternehmen hat diesen Impfstoff inzwischen umgerüstet, und die aktualisierte Version hat sich in frühen klinischen Studien als vielversprechend erwiesen. Aber andere Bemühungen scheiterten. Im Jahr 2017 gab CureVac bekannt, dass sein RNA-Impfstoff gegen Prostatakrebs den Patienten keine Vorteile bietet.

Trotz dieser Rückschläge hat sich das Unternehmen einen guten Ruf erworben. “Sie haben die Kriterien für wissenschaftlichen Scharfsinn, Geschwindigkeit, Umfang und Zugang erfüllt”, sagte Nicholas Jackson, Leiter der Impfstoffforschung und -entwicklung bei der Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, einer Stiftung, die die Impfstoffforschung unterstützt. CEPI spendete CureVac 2019 34 Millionen US-Dollar, um die Entwicklung von RNA-Impfstoffen für zukünftige Pandemien zu unterstützen.

Aktualisiert

5. Mai 2021, 15:31 Uhr ET

Als die Coronavirus-Pandemie auftrat, sprangen CureVac, BioNTech und Moderna ein, um RNA-Impfstoffe herzustellen. Aber BioNTech und Moderna haben sich bald durchgesetzt, auch dank tief in die Tasche gesteckter Verbündeter. BioNTech hat sich mit dem Pharmagiganten Pfizer zusammengetan, während Moderna mit den National Institutes of Health zusammenarbeitete und im Rahmen der Operation Warp Speed ​​eine Milliarde Dollar von der US-Regierung erhielt.

CureVac blieb zurück. CEPI stellte dem Unternehmen 15 Millionen US-Dollar zur Verfügung, aber CureVac würde weit mehr benötigen. “Wenn Sie dies tun, brauchen Sie eine beträchtliche Menge Geld”, sagte Franz-Werner Haas, der Geschäftsführer von CureVac, in einem Interview. “Und die beträchtliche Menge an Bargeld war nicht da.”

Im März 2020 berichteten deutsche Zeitungen, dass Präsident Donald J. Trump CureVac 1 Milliarde US-Dollar angeboten hatte, um seine Aktivitäten in die USA zu verlagern. CureVac lehnte die Berichte ab, aber der Geschäftsführer ging plötzlich, um von Dr. Haas ersetzt zu werden.

Die Forscher von CureVac haben ihre begrenzten Ressourcen weiterentwickelt und ein RNA-Molekül entwickelt, das für ein Protein kodiert, das sich auf der Oberfläche des Coronavirus befindet und als Spike bezeichnet wird. Experimente an Hamstern zeigten, dass es die Tiere vor dem Virus schützen kann.

Im Juni investierte die Bundesregierung 300 Millionen Euro in das Covid-19-Research von CureVac, weitere Investoren folgten bald. Nach vielversprechenden Daten aus frühen Sicherheitsstudien startete das Unternehmen im Dezember seine letzte sogenannte Phase-3-Studie, in der 40.000 Freiwillige in Europa und Lateinamerika rekrutiert wurden. Das Unternehmen wird einen ersten Blick auf die Daten werfen, wenn 56 Freiwillige Covid-19 entwickeln. Wenn die meisten von ihnen in der Placebo-Gruppe und nur wenige in der geimpften Gruppe sind, ist dies ein Beweis dafür, dass der Impfstoff funktioniert.

Dr. Haas sagte, er rechne damit, diese Daten bis Mitte Mai zu haben. Es gibt keine Möglichkeit, im Voraus zu wissen, wie es CureVac ergeht. Angesichts der Leistung anderer RNA-Impfstoffe und der frühen Ergebnisse von CureVac haben einige Wissenschaftler hohe Erwartungen.

“Ich wäre nur wirklich überrascht, wenn es nicht gut funktionieren würde”, sagte John Moore, Virologe bei Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, der mit CureVac an einem RNA-basierten Impfstoff gegen HIV zusammengearbeitet hat

Dennoch steht der Impfstoff von CureVac vor einer Herausforderung, die Pfizer und Moderna nicht hatten: neue Varianten, die möglicherweise seine Wirksamkeit beeinträchtigen können. Experimente an Mäusen haben gezeigt, dass der Impfstoff gut gegen die B.1.351-Variante wirkt, die erstmals in Südafrika aufgetaucht ist.

Im vergangenen Jahr hat CureVac mit einer Reihe großer Unternehmen zusammengearbeitet, um die Produktion seines Covid-Impfstoffs zu steigern, falls die klinischen Studien gut verlaufen sollten. Das Unternehmen verhandelte außerdem mit der Europäischen Union einen Vertrag über 225 Millionen Dosen sowie die Option, in den folgenden Monaten weitere 180 Millionen Dosen hinzuzufügen.

Jetzt ist jedoch nicht klar, wer den CureVac-Impfstoff erhalten könnte, wenn er nächsten Monat verfügbar sein wird. Im Januar erteilte die Europäische Union einem Impfstoff von AstraZeneca die Notfallgenehmigung und plante, sich für den größten Teil seiner Versorgung auf dieses Unternehmen zu verlassen. Aber AstraZeneca blieb drastisch hinter seinen Lieferversprechen zurück und veranlasste den Block, sich mit einer Klage zu rächen.

Im April hat die Europäische Union dieses Defizit endgültig behoben und mit Pfizer und BioNTech verhandelt, um bis 2023 1,8 Milliarden Dosen ihres Impfstoffs zu erhalten. Aufgrund dieser Vereinbarung haben sich Analysten gefragt, wie viel Nachfrage nach CureVac noch bestehen wird.

“Sie werden das Boot auf den großen Märkten der fortgeschrittenen Wirtschaft vermissen”, sagte Dr. Kirkegaard. “Die USA, Europa und Japan werden mit diesen Moderna- und Pfizer-Impfstoffen weitgehend geimpft.”

Dr. Haas konterte, dass die meisten Dosen des Blocks von Pfizer-BioNTech erst im nächsten Jahr kommen werden. “CureVac sieht sich als wichtiger Akteur bei der Beendigung der Covid-19-Pandemie in Europa und anderswo”, sagte er.

CureVac wird aber auch mit einem weltweiten Mangel an Rohstoffen zu kämpfen haben, die für RNA-Impfstoffe benötigt werden. Das Defizit ist für das Unternehmen besonders akut, da die Importe aus den USA durch das Defence Production Act begrenzt sind. Im Gegensatz zu Pfizer-BioNTech oder Moderna verfügt CureVac über keine US-Einrichtungen.

“Das US Defence Production Act war ein Faktor, der unseren Zugang zu einigen Materialien und Vorräten beeinflusste”, sagte Dr. Haas. “Wir gehen jedoch derzeit nicht davon aus, dass dies unsere Produktionsprognosen für den Rest des Jahres 2021 und darüber hinaus wesentlich beeinflussen wird.”

Ursula von der Leyen, Präsidentin der Europäischen Kommission, sagte, wenn der CureVac-Impfstoff funktionieren würde, wäre er dank zweier Vorteile in der Mischung: Es handelt sich um einen mRNA-Impfstoff, der in Europa hergestellt wurde. Es ist auch möglich, dass einzelne europäische Nationen Nebengeschäfte mit dem Unternehmen abschließen.

Milliarden anderer Menschen in Ländern mit niedrigem und mittlerem Einkommen haben noch keinen Impfstoff erhalten, und Experten sagen, dass CureVac einen Teil ihrer Nachfrage befriedigen könnte. “Wir brauchen weltweit immer noch viel Impfstoff”, sagte Florian Krammer, Virologe an der Icahn School of Medicine am Mount Sinai in New York. “Ich denke, viele Menschen können davon profitieren.”

Die Impfstoffe von Moderna und Pfizer-BioNTech sind in Entwicklungsländern aufgrund der zum Einfrieren dieser Impfstoffe erforderlichen Ausrüstung und Stromversorgung nur schwer zu vertreiben. Der RNA-Impfstoff von CureVac kann bei 41 Grad Fahrenheit mindestens drei Monate lang stabil bleiben und vor der Verwendung 24 Stunden lang bei Raumtemperatur stehen.

“Die Stabilität ist ein echter Vorteil”, sagte Dr. Jackson. CEPI befindet sich “in sehr aktiven Gesprächen” mit CureVac über die Verteilung des Impfstoffs des Unternehmens über Covax, eine Initiative zur Verteilung von Impfstoffen an Länder mit niedrigem und mittlerem Einkommen.

CureVac entwickelt aber auch eine neue Generation von Impfstoffen mit dem Ziel, schließlich auf den Märkten in den USA und anderen reichen Ländern Fuß zu fassen. Da für seine potente RNA nur eine geringe Dosis erforderlich ist, könnte das Unternehmen möglicherweise Impfstoffe für verschiedene Varianten herstellen und diese in einem einzigen Schuss mischen.

Solche Möglichkeiten sind jedoch bedeutungslos, bis CureVac nachweisen kann, dass sein Impfstoff funktioniert. Mary Warrell, eine Impfstoffforscherin an der Universität von Oxford, zögert, vor diesem Meilenstein über das Schicksal des Impfstoffs zu spekulieren.

“Vorhersagen während dieser Pandemie waren selten rentabel”, warnte sie.

Matina Stevis-Gridneff trug zur Berichterstattung bei.

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Entertainment

Virus Circumstances Delay Effort to Deliver Indoor Dance Again to New York

Virus Cases Delay Effort to Bring Indoor Dance Back to New York

It was one of the most famous experiments to bring indoor live performances back to New York City.

The Park Avenue Armory decided to use the cavernous, flexible space of their 55,000 square foot drilling hall to hold a short season called the Social Distance Hall. It received permission from state health officials to re-invite an extremely limited audience and planned to do all rapid tests for the coronavirus. To kick off, one of the great choreographers of the day, Bill T. Jones, turned to “Afterwardsness,” a new piece that explores the coronavirus pandemic and violence against blacks.

However, the highly anticipated performances, due to begin Wednesday for a sold out seven-day run, had to be postponed after several members of the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Company, Rebecca Robertson, tested positive for the virus, president and executive producer of the Armory said on Saturday in an email to ticket holders.

“The artists concerned are, thank goodness, comfortable,” wrote Robertson.

“While this is very disappointing to the artists, the armory and our audiences, this shift is a necessary part of the process of collectively returning to personal appearances in a responsible and safe manner,” she added.

Kyle Maude, director of production for the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Company, said three members of the company who had received a rapid antigen test tested positive on Thursday and that those results were later confirmed when they became more reliable in PCR -Test for which the results came back on Saturday.

The scheduled opening in March had brought the Armory ahead of the April 2nd opening date announced by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo for reduced-capacity performances in New York, but state officials had agreed to the early opening. Robertson told the New York Times earlier this month that the decision was made in part because the armory had tested its security procedures back in October when Afterwardsness was filmed in front of a live audience of volunteers in their drill hall.

The armory, whose spacious drilling hall holds a huge volume of air, seemed an ideal place to experiment with indoor performance. The plan was to limit the audience to 100, which is only about 10 percent of the capacity of the hall, and to accommodate people at a distance of at least two meters. A number of precautionary measures are in place for the spring season, including masks, quick on-site tests for all spectators, electronic ticketing and temperature checks.

The armory announced that all ticket holders for “Afterwardsness” would be reimbursed and that they would have early access to book tickets for the newly planned performances when dates are announced.

“Afterwardsness” should be “Social! the Social Distance Dance Club ”, conceived by the choreographer Steven Hoggett, the set designer Christine Jones and the musician David Byrne. Dates for this will be announced shortly, said the armory.