Progress in understanding the genetic basis of mental health – SFARI News

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On May 6, 2020, Benjamin Neale will discuss progress in mapping genetic risk factors for autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

His talk is part of the Simons Foundation Autism Research lecture series.

The past decade has seen rapid progress in mapping genetic risk factors for autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In this talk, Benjamin Neale will review this progress, delving into how study designs and genetic variants are teaching us about different aspects of mental health. With that backdrop, he will then introduce the International Common Disease Alliance (ICDA), a nascent effort to bring the community together to tackle the challenge of moving from genetic maps to biological mechanisms and medicine. The ICDA has developed a set of recommendations for realizing the promise of human genetics to transform our understanding of and treatment for common disorders, such as autism.

Registration is required for this free event.Further instructions and access to join the webinar will be sent to all registrants upon sign up.

Benjamin Nealeis an associate professor in the Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he directs the Genomics of Public Health Initiative. He is also an associate professor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and an institute member at the Broad Institute. Neale is strongly committed to gaining insights into the genetics of common, complex human diseases. Neale and Mark Daly, both of whom are associated with the Broad Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital, lead the ADHD Initiative. This collaborative effort focuses on genomic studies of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

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Progress in understanding the genetic basis of mental health - SFARI News

Coronavirus was widespread in UK at very start of pandemic, says genetics expert – Sky News

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One of the world's leading human genetics experts has told Sky News that coronavirus was widespread in the UK at the very start of the pandemic and a lack of vigilance allowed the virus to take hold.

Dr Kari Stefansson is overseeing a massive project in Iceland to genetically sequence every positive case of COVID-19 in the country to find out how it mutates and spreads.

He spoke to Sky News at the headquarters of his company deCODE Genetics in Reykjavik, which houses a massive database of more than half the Icelandic population's genetic material.

Founded almost a quarter of a century ago, the samples are used to look into the genetic components of diseases. Now he's looking into COVID-19.

He says sequencing tells them where the cases come from.

"So the virus now has basically a barcode for every part of the world," he said.

"There is a collection of mutation that is relatively characteristic for Austria, another for Italy as well as Great Britain and for the west coast of the United States etc."

Prof Stefansson said that in the beginning, almost all of the cases came into Iceland from the Alps, from people who had been skiing in Austria and Italy.

The authorities responded by trying to contain the spread of infection from those high risk countries.

He added: "But as they were doing this, the virus was actually sneaking into the country with people from all kinds of other countries.

"And the most notable there is Great Britain. So it looks like the virus had a fairly wide spread in Great Britain very, very early in this epidemic."

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Prof Stefansson said the UK - and the USA - weren't vigilant enough from the start, pointing to Iceland's policy of mass testing.

Iceland has now tested a higher percentage of the population than any other nation. 45,000 tests have been carried out in a population of 360,000.

deCODE is working alongside the health service to take samples from as many people as possible - the sick as well as the seemingly healthy.

Dr Stefansson says that is the only way to discover the true spread of the disease in the community.

The policy has allowed Iceland to identify cases quickly and isolate carriers.

After it was suggested that it is easier for a small nation to test and bring the virus under control, he replied: "Yes, there may be fewer of us but countries like the United Kingdom and the United States have much, much more resources than we do.

"It is all just a question of using what you have. They weren't vigilant enough. They didn't react to this early enough.

"You know, the countries that taught us the methods that we are using, in doing this in a place like Iceland, they didn't use it themselves. And that is tragic."

As well as testing for COVID-19, deCODE is also taking blood from volunteers to test for antibodies to fight the virus.

And the company is examining whether there is a genetic component to coronavirus.

Dr Stefansson says it is curious how different people respond to the virus.

"There are those who describe this as a mild cold," he said.

"There are those who end up in the intensive care unit on a respirator. And there is everything in between.

"We know that women have less tendency to get infected than men. And if they get infected, they don't get as sick as men. What is it that generates this clinical diversity?"

That is the big question that needs answering, he says, and deCODE has already begun sharing its findings in the hope of finding an answer.

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Coronavirus was widespread in UK at very start of pandemic, says genetics expert - Sky News

This is how you do the genetics heritage filter on Instagram that everyone’s doing – The Tab

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Rogue Instagram filters have been a saving grace right now as were all quickly running out of things to do. The newest one that most people are loving is the genetics heritage scanner filter. This filter scans you and makes you think its going to tell you what percentage of a certain nationality you are, but then actually morphs your face into a weird human/animal creature.

This filter merges surprise, ugly faces and animals all in one the perfect combination to guarantee a laugh every single time, without fail.Get involved, then get your mum involved, then (for some real comedy gold) send to your grandparents and get them to make one. Its a great time and this is how you do it.

Its a filter on Instagram that pretends to scan your face at first a load of different nationalities flick past (Welsh, French, Italian, etc) as well as a percentage. At this point, youll think its just boring and slightly problematic but then suddenly it lands on 85 per cent pangolin and morphs your face into a messed up (but hilarious) animal shape. Like so:

There are a lot of different animals you can get. We dont know exactly how many but weve seen crab, mole, rat, dog, pangolin, slug, limpet, llama, wasp and chameleon.

The official name for the filter is genetics scanner and it was created by iamcraiglewis2. If someone on your Insta uses it, youll see the name of the filter in the top left corner, you can then click on this and save it.

You can also search for the filter on your phone. If you go onto your camera on Insta, scroll right through all the filters at the bottom until you find the search icon. Then search genetics and it will come up, save it onto your phone and youve got hours of fun right there.

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This is how you do the genetics heritage filter on Instagram that everyone's doing - The Tab

MRC scientists elected Fellows of the Royal Society – Cambridge Network

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As the UKs independent academy for science, the Royal Society seeks to promote excellence in science through its fellowships and foreign memberships. Each year, the Royal Society elects up to 52 new Fellows and up to 10 new Foreign Members, recognising scientists who have made substantial contributions to the improvement of knowledge in the sciences.

Professor Gordon Brown, Director of the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter, is an international leader in the fields of innate immunity and medical mycology. Professor Browns work is recognised for significantly advancing our understanding of host-pathogen interactions, and his research has helped to bring mycology into the mainstream interest of the immunology community.

Dr Francois Guillemot is a Senior Group Leader focused on molecular neurobiology at the Francis Crick Institute. Dr Guillemots Group aims to learn exactly how cells of the nervous system form, where and at what stage in development, in order to generate new ideas for therapies to treat brain disorders.

Professor Andrew Jackson is a clinical geneticist and Programme Leader at the MRC Human Genetics Unit at the University of Edinburgh and is the Deputy Chair of the MRC Molecular and Cellular Medicine Board. Professor Jacksons research has focussed on the identification of genes for inherited neurological disorders and in defining the functional role of the proteins they encode, in particular human disease genes acting in growth and inflammation, involved in fundamental cellular processes.

Dr William Schafer is a Group Leader in the Division of Neurobiology at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Dr Schafers research addresses basic questions about how ion channels and signaling molecules function in the context of neural circuitry to produce behaviour and he is recognised for being instrumental in developing optical approaches for measuring neural activity, and applying these methods to investigate how individual genes affect the activities of neurons in defined neural circuits, and how this impacts behaviour.

Visit the Royal Society website for a full list of the Fellows and Foreign Members elected in 2020.

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MRC scientists elected Fellows of the Royal Society - Cambridge Network

COVID-19 vaccine in Ireland could take a year and a half – IrishCentral

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"Vaccines take time to develop years, if not decades. But, due to the urgency of the pandemic, the timetable is being shortened."Getty

A COVID-19 vaccine may not be available in Ireland for another year and a half, experts have warned.

The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) noted that while progress is being made, it could be as late as October 2021 before a vaccine is developed, tested, approved, and manufactured.

The IPHA said, Vaccines take time to develop years, if not decades. But, due to the urgency of the pandemic, the timetable is being shortened.

But scientists know that there can be no short-cuts on the testing needed to ensure a vaccine, or a treatment, is safe and effective.

Read more:Irish scientist leads Oxford COVID-19 vaccine drive considered most promising

Several medicines to treat the virus are already in various stages of development while some are even in the late phase of clinical trials.

Ultimately the IPHA said a vaccine is the only way to effectively protect the worlds population against any further waves of the deadly coronavirus.

Ireland, like many nations around the world, is contributing to the development of a vaccine or treatment, with figures in the pharmaceutical industry working in partnership with government officials, academics, health authorities, patient advocacy groups, and charities in a coordinated response.

Jon Barbour, director of Medical Affairs with pharmaceutical giant GSK Ireland, said, The great challenge in the Covid-19 pandemic is to develop an effective vaccine quickly.

The good news is that this is the first time in history that there has been such a concerted global effort and collaboration between pharmaceutical companies and research organizations to find a specific vaccine.

According to the latest data from the World Health Organization, there are three vaccine candidates in clinical evaluation and at least 67 vaccine candidates in preclinical evaluation globally.

GSK is currently collaborating with fellow pharmaceutical firm Sanofi on an adjuvanted Covid-19 vaccine designed to promote a better immune response to the virus.

Read more:New drug effective against COVID-19 clinical trial shows

Adjuvants can also reduce the amount of a virus required to produce a vaccine.

However, Barbour warned that vaccine development is a lengthy, complex process and there are no shortcuts.

Once a vaccine has come through the clinical trial process, the next challenge will be scaling up manufacturing to produce millions of doses which will require a partnership approach between pharmaceutical manufacturers that have the expertise and resources to produce vaccines to meet global need, he said.

Despite his calls for patience, several other potential vaccines are already heading towards clinical trials.

Johnson & Johnson is to begin human clinical trials on a vaccine this September, with a view to have a several batches available for emergency uses as early as next year.

Pfizer is also Germanys BioNTech to co-develop a potential vaccine while the British American Tobacco Company is also working on a possible solution.

The most advanced effort is taking place at the University of Oxford, where the first human trials for a Covid-19 vaccine began last week.

Professor Adrian Hill, an Irish scientist who has worked on Ebola and malaria vaccines, is heading up the Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine effort which The New York Times says is currently the leader in the search for a workable vaccine.

In the worldwide race for a vaccine to stop the coronavirus, the laboratory sprinting fastest is at Oxford University, the Times reports.

Hill and Oxford researchers had already been working on coronavirus type vaccines and just very recently monkey trials showed the Oxford vaccine protected the animals from Covid-19.

Dublin-born Hill 61, head of the Jenner Institute in Oxford and Professor of Human Genetics developed a fascination with malaria and other tropical diseases as a medical student in Dublin in the early 1980s when he visited an uncle who was a priest working in a hospital during the civil war in what is now Zimbabwe.

Read more:Irish create 3D printed ventilators to fight COVID-19 pandemic

"Vaccines take time to develop years, if not decades. But, due to the urgency of the pandemic, the timetable is being shortened."Getty

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COVID-19 vaccine in Ireland could take a year and a half - IrishCentral

Parkinson’s discovery implicates "second brain" in the gut – New Atlas

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A growing body of evidence is forging a stronger and stronger connection between the onset of Parkinsons disease and the gut. Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have thrown further weight behind this theory, with an investigation of cellular behavior in the nervous system of the digestive system revealing possible tell-tale signs at the earliest stages of the disease.

The notion that Parkinsons disease could get its start in the gut has been around for some time, but in recent years we are seeing some compelling research that suggests our bellies may well play an important role in its onset. The disease is characterized by the cell death of neurons that secrete dopamine in the brain, which drives the motor impairments and other common symptoms of the illness.

What causes the demise of these neurons is not known for certain, but a leading hypothesis is that it is caused by aggregations of misfolded proteins known as Lewy bodies. An animal study last year produced the best evidence to date that these toxic protein clumps first form in the gut and move upward to the brain via the vagus nerve.

This new research hints at the role the enteric nervous system, as the regulator of digestive system, could play in these processes. Made up of a hundreds of millions of neurons, the bodys largest collection outside the brain, the enteric nervous system can operate independently of the central nervous system and for this reason is sometimes referred to as the second brain.

The authors of the new research studied gene expression in mice in combination with human genetics to systematically identify cell types that underly certain brain disorders. They then analyzed brain tissue taken from both healthy subjects and sufferers of Parkinsons, taken at different stages of the disease. This revealed alterations in enteric neurons, even at the earliest stages of disease progression, the scientists write.

"As expected, we found that dopaminergic neurons were associated with Parkinson's disease, says senior author Patrick Sullivan. More surprisingly, we found that enteric neurons also seem to play an important role in the disorder, supporting the hypothesis that Parkinson's disease starts in the gut.

The teams research also produced another useful insight. By looking at these brain tissue samples taken at different points in disease progression, they found that important support cells in the brain called oligodendrocytes were impacted early on, even before the loss of the dopamine-producing neurons.

These results suggest that oligodendrocyte could be an attractive target for therapeutic interventions as they appear to be affected before dopaminergic neurons, says the Karolinska Institutets Julien Bryois, senior author of the study.

The research was published in the journal Nature Genetics.

Source: Karolinska Institutet via EurekAlert, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Parkinson's discovery implicates "second brain" in the gut - New Atlas

Humans: are we the most effective vector of disease? – BugBitten – BMC Blogs Network

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Over one-seventh of the world's population moved within the last year. Migration is only expected to increase in the coming years. What is important to understand about these populations so that we can improve the health of all?

Christina Faust 1 May 2020

One billion people were on the move or have moved in the last year. The majority of this movement occurs within countries, but people are also moving across international boundaries. The scale of people moving raises the question: are we the most prevalent vectors of disease?

Restrictions to limit travel for essential purposes only has slowed down the movement of people within countries and between countries in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 and protect those most vulnerable to the pandemic. It is easy to see how human movement plays a role in the movement of new pathogens and historical movement has introduced malaria, leprosy, and smallpox across the globe. But what about diseases that are endemic?

Research has focused on emerging infections, but work also been done to show how human movement affects important viruses, such as measles and yellow fever virus. In this blog well focus on the increasing capacity to understand how human movement affects parasitic diseases, when it is crucial to understand human movement, and how lessons can be applied to improve control of endemic disease. We will use extensive work on malaria to illustrate how human movement affects transmission, particularly close to elimination targets, and some new theoretical work on how these tools and concepts can be used in neglected tropical diseases, namely soil-transmitted helminths.

The reasons for movement are many: business, tourisms, labour migration (including seasonal work), forced migration, climate change refugees, and even human trafficking. The drivers of movement are complex and dynamic, but are essential to understand for the sustainable control of many infectious diseases.

The majority of research on human movement and parasitic diseases has been conducted on malaria. A previous post discussed a recent paper that investigated the role of mosquito movement in the long- distance dispersal of vectors and potentially disease. However, human movement leads to introduction of malaria to new places and has been shown to increase risk of infection with zoonotic malaria. For countries aiming for elimination, it is important to prevent introduction of new cases and differentiate this from ongoing transmission within resident populations. For example, astudy examined this question across Southeast Asia and demonstrated that some malaria parasite transmission networks are isolated, suggesting that human movement is not that important in these areas. However many other parasite transmission networks occurred on international scales, suggesting treating migrants and/or travelers will be essential. Within Bangladesh, another study combined genetics of the parasites with surveys and mobile phone calling data to understand where transmission was occurring within a heterogenous region with large areas of forests but also cities. Combining these three datasets, they were able to show that parasites were being spread over large distances through human movement and that the clinical cases alone could not be used to design interventions in that part of the country. Movement between rural and urban environments, through human movement (for work, education, family visits, etc) has also been shown to be important for tuberculosis and other diseases.

Although there is not empirical data, yet, for the role of human movement in the spread and transmission of soil-transmitted helminths, some recent work has modelled the impact of movement on control of STHs. As countries move from elimination of STH as a public health problem to elimination of the diseases, the authors show that the role of human migration will become increasingly important. If a location is near achieving elimination, migration of infected humans into the control area can lead to a variety of outcomes, depending on how many are infected and how often they are moving in/out. Therefore, in places that have achieved control of a disease, it will be important to understand the role of human movement in subsequent infections.

Efforts are underway to help map population movement, but oftentimes the most vulnerable are left out of these metrics. Migration, rather than a challenge to health systems, can be an opportunity for improving health of migrants and residents. There are many organizations working to improve access to health services and in particular improve outbreak response. As more and more people move around in this world, it will be important to address health of migrants to improve health for all.

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Humans: are we the most effective vector of disease? - BugBitten - BMC Blogs Network

Oil demand will bounce back post-pandemic – Offshore Technology

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]]> Tankers have become offshore storage facilities as oil demand stays low.

Despite current market conditions, the demand for oil will bounce back, according to a poll of Offshore Technology readers.

The poll asked: Demand for oil has dropped by over 20%. Will it bounce back? Of more than 750 votes cast, the overwhelming majority showed a strong belief that prices would eventually recover.

Given the options Yes, No and Im not sure, 67.6% of votes were cast for Yes, 19.2% for No and 13.2% for Im not sure, strongly indicating readers expect oil demand to recover to the same levels it was at before the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.

Rystad Energy vice-president of cost analysis Matthew Fitzsimmons recently told Offshore Technology he did not expect the Covid-19 downturn would affect the expected date of peak oil. Analysts at the firm currently expect this to fall in the late 2020s.

However, recovery will be slow. The International Energy Agencys monthly oil report for April predicted global oil demand throughout 2020 would fall by 9.3 million barrels per day compared with 2019. This would be the largest fall ever recorded.

Across the second quarter, demand is expected to be 23.1 million barrels per day less than the same period in 2019. In the second half of the year, the report said it expects recovery to be gradual.

On Wednesday, Rystad published a report showing April as the low point for demand. This predicts Mays demand will be better, but still below demand in March. Currently, it says oil demand is down by 10.8%, road fuel demand is down 11.2%, and jet fuel demand is down 33.6%.

Ultimately, demand will be decided by when large economies ease restrictions. While the restart of some industries will stimulate demand, fractions such as kerosene and bunker fuel will need international travel restrictions lifted to begin recovery.

GlobalData pharmaceutical analysts expect the worlds largest economies to emerge from lockdown before the end of June. However, recovery after this will rely on countries maintaining restrictions until the virus is contained. Any second wave of infections would likely mean restrictions would be re-imposed.

Even after consumers are permitted to travel, demand will not recover instantly. To put this in perspective, the IEA predicted demand in December would still be 2.7 million barrels per day behind December 2019.

Demand was first hit in China with the initial outbreak of Covid-19 there. Chinas economy is one of the worlds largest, and it is still rapidly growing. This growth drives demand for oil, and the countrys slowdown started the global oil price slide.

It is now recovering and returning to normal life. Schools are reopening, and more movement is leading to more demand, a pattern that is likely to follow elsewhere.

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Oil demand will bounce back post-pandemic - Offshore Technology

DEME- JV to start works on first Taiwan-built offshore wind installation ship – Recharge

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The CDWE joint venture between Belgian contractor DEME and Taiwanese shipbuilder CSBC has agreed t start early works and the ordering of critical packages for the first Taiwan-built offshore wind installation vessel.

CDWE is slated to deliver the ship to be named Green Jade in 2022 for the installation works at the Hai Long offshore wind project, for which the JV in October 2019 had singed a large-scale balance of plant (BOP) preferred supplier agreement.

The vessel is also planned to be deployed at the 300MW Zhong Neng project, for which CDWE had signed two contracts with Zhong Neng Wind Power Corp. that comprise the transportation and installation of foundations, as well as a preferred bidder agreement for the installation of wind turbines.

We are very excited to initiate the early works of the first floating offshore installation vessel in Taiwan, said DEME Offshore managing director Hugo Bouvy.

The Hai Long and Zhong Neng Projects have played an integral part in our decision to invest in an installation vessel.

The Green Jade will feature a high-tech, 4,000-tonne capacity crane and DP3 capability. The vessels deck space has been maximised, enabling it to transport monopiles, jackets, wind turbine components and structures in a single shipment.

DEME said the vessel can transport and install the next generation of foundations and multi-megawatt wind turbines. The Green Jade will be able to accommodate a crew of up to 160 people.

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Virus throws wrench into US offshore wind – Finance and Commerce

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The nascent U.S. offshore wind industry is off to a rocky start, and stay-at-home orders are making it worse.

Restrictions in New York, New Jersey and elsewhere that have closed businesses and stalled construction projects are hampering undersea surveys and other steps necessary to start building wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean, developer Orsted A/S said in a filing Thursday. It comes as the Trump administration has already delayed permitting for projects.

While it has thrived in Europe, offshore wind has long struggled to take off in the U.S. But projects have gained momentum in recent years as states push to meet climate goals and bring renewable power to regions too crowded for big installations on land. Analysts forecast it could grow into a $70 billion industry that revitalizes ports from South Carolina to Maine.

Orsted now expects a project its building off Maryland to be commissioned in 2023, one year later than scheduled. A project the Danish company is planning off Long Island, will also be delayed beyond 2022. Projects off New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts also face potential setbacks, the company said.

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Virus throws wrench into US offshore wind - Finance and Commerce

First 3D results issued from offshore Papua New Guinea survey – Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

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Painimaut multi-client 3D GeoStreamer survey.

(Courtesy PGS)

Offshore staff

OSLO, Norway PGS has completed its Painimaut 3D multi-client program, which involved acquiring more than 6,100 sq km (2,355 sq mi) of seismic data offshore Papua New Guinea.

Fasttrack 3D GeoStreamer data is now available, the company added.

The Painimaut program focused on various play types in the little-explored Papuan basin in both held and open acreage. It targeted Tertiary carbonate build-ups and Mesozoic rift basins adjacent to the Papuan and Eastern plateaus, and pinch-out plays and drapes over deeper structural highs.

PGS Ramform Hyperion towed a 12 x 8 km x 150-m (7.5 x 4.97 mi x 492-ft) streamer configuration with a triple-source to acquire the high-resolution broadband data.

Imaging teams are now processing the results using techniques that include a full pre-stack time and depth workflow.

Full integrity, high-resolution GeoStreamer data should be released early next year, and gravity/magnetic data will also be available.

05/01/2020

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First 3D results issued from offshore Papua New Guinea survey - Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm installs last turbine – Energy Live News – Energy Made Easy

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Nearing completion, the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm has finished installation of all 102 turbines.

The 2.5 billion project is a joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables and Macquaries Green Investment Group (GIG) and the first of four offshore wind farms being developed in the region.

On completion, the project is expected to generate more than 714MW of renewable energy annually enough to power 630,000 UK homes.

The turbines have been developed by Siemens Gamesa at a specially built factory in Hull, UK.

The project forms part of the UKs pledge to go net zero by 2050, in addition to generating more than 800 jobs.

Edward Northam, Head of GIG Europe, said: East Anglia ONE has illustrated the role offshore wind projects can play in supporting businesses across the UK, supporting hundreds of skilled jobs in the process.

Were committed to driving the UKs energy transition, establishing offshore wind as the backbone of the UKs new low-carbon energy system.

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East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm installs last turbine - Energy Live News - Energy Made Easy

Second Offshore Wind Farm Starts Surveys – The SandPaper

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By Pat Johnson | on April 30, 2020

SPINNING WHEELS: Atlantic Shores Offshore wind farm lease area plus potential energy export cable routes to Mansquan and Atlantic City. (Supplied Image)

A second offshore windfarm, Atlantic Shores, is starting to conduct marine surveys of its Outer Continental Shelf lease, 180,000 acres that stretches 9 to 20 miles off Atlantic City and Barnegat Light, Long Beach Island.

The Atlantic Shores lease is owned by Shell New Energies US and EDF Renewables North America. The surveys will begin in May and continue through August in waters from 60 feet to 100 feet deep.

Maneuverability of all survey vessels will be restricted, and mariners should retain a nautical mile distance from each vessel. Mariners can listen to VHF channel 16 for locations.

The first vessel to do surveys starting May 1 is FugroBrasillis, 67 meters long, which will be looking for possible export cable routes between Atlantic City and Manasquan. On or about June 24, the Zephyr Westerly, 50 meters long, which will be doing nearshore surveys in the same area as above in depths of 12 meters or less. Starting on July 1, the Tidewater Royal, 71 meters, will conduct vibracore (low impact sonar) activities every kilometer along proposed cable routes. On July 10, the Geoquip Saentis 80 meters, will mobilize to drill 15 boreholes within the lease area.

The surveys are to support Atlantic Shores site application plan to the Interior Departments Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Atlantic Shores is the second offshore wind farm to attempt wind turbines off the New Jersey coast. Orsted, a Danish energy company with intentions to erect 92 to 99 wind turbines 15 miles off the Atlantic Coast. rsted has completed its SAP and is working on getting approval for its construction and operations plan. rsteds plan is to power half a million homes from renewable wind power. Atlantic Shores says it has the potential to power a million homes but has not yet released how many turbines it is expected to erect. P.J.

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Second Offshore Wind Farm Starts Surveys - The SandPaper

Wind – Turbine installation successfully completed by DEME Group at Offshore Wind Farm – Renewable Energy Magazine

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At East Anglia ONE, DEME Offshore was working directly for Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. Turbine installation started in June 2019. During the winter period both Sea Installer and Sea Challenger were deployed on the project to optimise the installation progress, following severe weather conditions during autumn and winter.

We are very proud of our crews and project team for achieving this major milestone at one of the worlds largest wind farms under construction said Michael Glavind, Business Unit Director DEME Offshore. Together with the developer Scottish Power and our client Siemens Gamesa, we navigated through the COVID-19 challenges and successfully maintained operations, with the last turbine safely and successfully installed. A truly exceptional achievement of everyone involved. We look forward to continue our excellent partnership with Siemens Gamesa on future wind farm projects.

East Anglia ONE is the wind farm where DEME Offshore achieved a remarkable milestone in January 2020, when turbine number 2,200 was installed. With now well over 2,200 turbines installed, DEME Offshore continues to grow an unmatched track record in wind turbine installation.

Sea Installer will now set sail to the Borssele 1 & 2 wind farm in the Netherlands, joining offshore installation vessel Sea Challenger, for the installation of 94 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW turbines.

For additional information:

DEME Group

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Wind - Turbine installation successfully completed by DEME Group at Offshore Wind Farm - Renewable Energy Magazine

Mayflower Wind airs offshore plans – Martha’s Vineyard Times

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Mayflower Wind President John Hartnett presented selectmen with an overview of the companys plans to construct a 1,200 megawatt wind farm approximately 25 miles off the southern coast of Marthas Vineyard.

In August, Cambridge-based Mayflower Wind was awarded Massachuestts second offshore energy contract, following Vineyard Wind. The company plans to connect its turbines to a facility near Falmouth and onto Bourne via a 70-mile undersea cable that would run east of Chappaquiddick, according to Hartnett. Mayflower Winds lease area sits southeast of the Vineyard Wind site.

Mayflower Wind is hoping to submit federal permitting plans by the start of 2021, with a hope of approval in 2023. Much like Vineyard Wind, Mayflower Wind would need approval from the Marthas Vineyard Commission, the Edgartown conservation commission, and several other local, state, and federal agencies.

No community benefit agreements have been made with individual towns. Vineyard Wind plans to have 40 employees on Island and other community benefits. In February, Vineyard Wind was dealt a setback after the U.S. Department of the Interior delayed publication of a document key to the wind energy companys first offshore project, Vineyard Wind 1.

Last year, Vineyard Wind dealt with significant permitting setbacks to install cables in Edgartown waters. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection overruled the Edgartown Conservation Commissions 5-1 vote to deny the installation of export cables in the Muskeget Channel, and determined the cables can be installed. Edgartown has appealed that decision to the DEPs Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution.

In his presentation, Hartnett listed some of the Mayflower Winds benefits as a total of $2.5 billion in total economic benefit, 75 percent of operation and management jobs to be Massachusetts based, the lowest prices for offshore wind energy in the United States, and the elimination of 2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually or the equivalent of removing 5 million cars from the road.

I wanted to get through this presentation and lay out what our project looks like and we look forward to working with the town as we move forward in our development, Hartnett said.

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Mayflower Wind airs offshore plans - Martha's Vineyard Times

Remotely-operated surface vessel surveys Greater Gabbard turbine foundations – Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

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Operator view of the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm from onboard cameras.

(Courtesy XOCEAN)

Offshore staff

GREENORE, Ireland XOCEAN has completed two unmanned survey operations on the Greater Gabbard wind farm offshore Suffolk in eastern England.

The company claims this is a first for the offshore wind market.

In January, the initial survey of seven turbine foundations was performed in challenging conditions with maximum wave heights exceeding 2.5 m (8.2 ft). A subsequent survey of 31 turbine foundations and eight inter-array cables was completed in April.

On both projects, the USV was mobilized out of Lowestoft and transited 60 km (37 mi) unaccompanied to the wind farm. On arrival, survey operations were performed on a 24-hour basis over multiple days with the USV pilots and surveyors managing the vessel remotely from their home offices in Ireland and the UK.

The Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables and innogy.

04/30/2020

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Remotely-operated surface vessel surveys Greater Gabbard turbine foundations - Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

Highlights of the Month – April 2020 – Offshore WIND

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Three Injured after CTV Hits Turbine at German Offshore Wind Farm

Three persons were injured, one seriously, after a crew transfer vessel (CTV) allided with a wind turbine at the Borkum Riffgrund 1 offshore wind farm in the German North Sea.

Vestas to Lay Off 400 People, Close Temporary Offshore Wind Facility

Vestas will stop some of its projects with immediate effect and lay off around 400 employees. The company will cut workforce across functions that do not directly support its 2020 deliveries.

Lamprell to Close Sharjah Yard after Moray East Work Done

The UAE-based Lamprell plans to close its Sharjah facility after completing the portion of work on the Moray East offshore wind project currently carried out at the location.

MHI Vestas Turbines for 700 MW Japanese Offshore Wind Project

Renova has selected MHI Vestas to supply turbines for the Akita Yurihonjo offshore wind project in Japan.

Van Oord Reveals French Offshore Wind Connection

Van Oord has signed a preparatory works agreement with Iberdrola for the installation of 62 jacket foundations at the 496 MW Saint-Brieuc wind farm offshore France.

Offshore Wind to Hydrogen Project Takes Off in Germany

Partner companies gathered around the Westkste 100 project in Germany have submitted the full application with a detailed project description to the project management company Jlich.

Siemens Gamesa Turbines for German Offshore Wind Farm

Siemens Gamesa has received a firm order to deliver its SG 8.0-167 DD Flex turbines for innogys 342 MW Kaskasi offshore wind farm in the German North Sea.

DEME Charters Floatel to Pre-Quarantine Offshore Crews

DEME Group has chartered a floatel for pre-quarantine for crews working on offshore wind and dredging vessels.

rsted and ITM Power Explore Different Approach to Integrating Offshore Wind and Hydrogen

rsted and ITM Power are working on a design concept to integrate hydrogen electrolysers into offshore wind turbines.

rsted Faces Delays Across US Offshore Wind Portfolio

rsteds offshore wind development projects in the U.S. are moving forward at a slower pace than originally expected, the companys CEO and President Henrik Poulsen said.

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Highlights of the Month - April 2020 - Offshore WIND

Southern Poverty Law Center Now Has $162 Million Stashed in Offshore Accounts – Washington Free Beacon

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The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which last year faced accusations of racism among its highest ranks, reported $162 million stashed in offshore investments and paid its disgraced former leaders over $1 million.

The controversial group has continued to build its massive war chest by tens of millions of dollars even after employees claimed that the group's leadership allowed sexual harassment and racial discrimination against its minority staffers. The ensuing media firestorm ultimately led to the ousting of cofounder Morris Dees, longtime president Richard Cohen, and legal director Rhonda Brownstein from the group in March 2019. New forms,covering a period beginning Nov. 1, 2018, and ending on Oct. 31, 2019, show that Cohen and Brownstein each received six-figure severance packages.

Critics of the SPLC in recent years have characterized the group as a money racket that labels conservative organizations as "hate groups" to fundraise, and its most recent financial forms may fuel that criticism. The SPLC achieved numerous civil rights victories decades ago but has since veered far left, partnering with numerous tech and media giants to expand its influence.

The SPLC experienced a drastic uptick in assets even as its contributions and grants have declined. Its most recent tax forms reported annual contributions of $97 million, down from the $132 million it reported in October 2017.Despite that decline, it reported $570 million in assets between its main organization and its action fund, a $52 million increase over what itreportedthe prior year. The jump can largely be attributed to the SPLC's vast investment portfolio, which now includes $162 million stashed in offshore accounts, $41 million more than the group previously reported.

The financial records also reveal that amid the cash influx, Dees, Cohen, and Brownstein collected over $1 million from the group despite being forced out early in the year over a workplace culture that allegedly fostered racial discrimination and sexual harassment.

Dees was paid $338,000 in base compensation and $35,000 in other reportable compensation, the tax forms show. Cohen collected $373,000 in base compensation, nearly $10,000 in other reportable compensation, and received a severance payment of $216,318. Brownstein was paid $233,062 in base compensation, given $2,000 in other reportable compensation, and received a severance payment of $131,283.

The SPLC has long come under fire for labeling socially conservative organizations such as the Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom as "hate groups" alongside groups like the Ku Klux Klan. The SPLC's designations have often been cited by mainstream media outlets, leading nearly 50 conservative nonprofit leaders to release a letter in 2017 calling on the media to stop citing SPLC "hate" lists. The letter called the SPLC "an attack dog of the political left."

"It appears that the SPLC's legacy of fundraising by hysteria is paying off," said Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, the executive vice president of the Family Research Council, which was targeted by a gunman in 2012 after the SPLC included it on its list of "hate groups."

"For decades, the organization has used its direct-mail expertise and overt hostility to orthodox religious principles as the basis for bilking wealthy, gullible donors out of their donation dollars," Boykin said. "This discredited, partisan hate machine has been given carte-blanche credibility by partisan Silicon Valley social media giants."

The SPLC has expanded its influence by partnering with tech giants Amazon, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and PayPal to identify "hate groups." It is also part of a massive, unverified "hate crime" database that was initially bankrolled by liberal billionaire George Soros's Open Society Foundations and is used by more than 100 media partners, including Google News Lab, theNew York Times opinion page, and ABC News.

Tyler O'Neil, senior editor of PJ Media and author ofMaking Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center,told the Washington Free Beacon,"As it turns out, scaring people with exaggerations of hate' is particularly profitable."

"If the SPLC truly wanted to clean house and prove itself a changed organization, the least it could do is stop storing money offshore," O'Neil said. "This kind of nefarious dealing only bolsters claims that the SPLC's hate' accusations are a fundraising scheme."

A former employee of the SPLC, Bob Moser, penned a piece last year in the New Yorker following the SPLC's inner turmoil stating that employees at the organization would pass along articles warning newcomers what they were getting themselves into. Female staffers were also warned about Dees's "reputation of hitting on young women."

"But it was hard, for many of us, not to feel like we'd become pawns in what was, in many respects, a highly profitable scam," Moser wrote.

The SPLC did not respond to a request for comment about the $162 million it now holds in offshore accounts.

Joe Schoffstall is a staff writer for the Washington Free Beacon. Previously, he spent three years with the Media Research Center and was most recently with the Capitol City Project. He can be reached at Schoffstall@freebeacon.com. His Twitter handle is @JoeSchoffstall.

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Southern Poverty Law Center Now Has $162 Million Stashed in Offshore Accounts - Washington Free Beacon

Seabed Surveys to Start at Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Site – Offshore WIND

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Fugros vessels Brasilis and Enterprise are set to mobilise for geophysical surveys at New Jerseys Atlantic Shores offshore wind site on 1 May.

The vessels will carry out surveys within the Atlantic Shores lease area and along potential export cable routes, according to the developers Notice to Mariners.

Fugro secured a contract for geophysical surveys at the Atlantic Shores site in February.

The lease area, for which a joint venture of EDF Renewables North America and Shell New Energies hold development rights, spans across 183,000 hectares and has the potential togenerate 2.5 GW of wind energy.

Along with the upcoming operations to be carried out by Fugro, the site will see further surveys throughout the summer.

The Zephyr Westerly vessel is expected to mobilise for nearshore surveys off Atlantic City and Manasquan on 24 June. A few days later, the Tidewater Royal should begin with vibracore activities along the proposed export cable routes.

Furthermore, the Geoquip Saentis is scheduled to start drilling 15 boreholes within the lease area mid-July.

The Atlantic Shores site covers an area some 14 to 32 kilometres off the New Jersey coast, between Barnegat Light and Atlantic City. The water depths at the site range from 18 to 30 metres.

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Seabed Surveys to Start at Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Site - Offshore WIND

Innogy to pilot offshore wind training hub in North Wales – www.businessgreen.com

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Apprentices are set to gain hands-on experience at Rhyl Flats offshore wind farm

German energy giant launches recruitment drive for technician trainees to help fill looming skills gap in burgeoning UK offshore wind sector

Innogy has announced it is to develop a national offshore wind training hub in North Wales as part the German energy firm's apprenticeship programme, in a bid to offer hands-on experience at state-of-the-art wind farms around the UK coastline.

The company launched a recruitment drive for five prospective candidates to joint its three-year apprentice wind turbine technician programme in September, as part of which it is piloting a national apprenticeship hub to "help meet the skills-need" of the UK's growing offshore wind sector.

As part of its Offshore Wind Sector Deal first announced last year, the UK government has set its sights on the industry providing 40GW of electricity capacity by 2030, up from less than 10GW today.

The training hub builds on Innogy's existing apprenticeship programme at Coleg Llandrillo. Apprentices are set to spend two years at the North Wales college, and a third year gaining work experience at offshore wind farms Rhyl Flats in the Irish Sea and Titon Knoll off the coast of Lincolnshire, the firm said.

Richard Sandford, director of offshore investment and asset management for Innogy Renewables UK, said he was "thrilled" to launch the pilot apprenticeship programme, with which the firm aimed fill the looming gap in skills when Innogy builds out its UK offshore wind pipeline.

"Our extremely successful apprenticeship programme was first launched in 2012to generate skilled technicians that could meet the needs of Gwynt y Mr [574MW offshore wind farm]," he said. "This course has since trained nearly 30 new apprentices producing high quality technicians who have been deployed, both locally and across the UK. This is why we are keen to trial this national hub as the need is clearly now wider than North Wales."

With three apprentices already recruited, this year the firm said eight trainee wind turbine technicians would be joining the programme in total, its biggest intake to date. Successful apprentices will gain an NVQ qualification, affording them potential to work on some of the world's largest wind farms, it said.

The move follows growing calls from the green economy to upskill the UK's workforce as the net zero transition gathers momentum. Earlier this week the European Corporate Leaders Group, the coalition of major firms pushing for climate action, produced a report urging European governments to put green jobs and skills at the forefront of Covid-19 recovery plans.

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Innogy to pilot offshore wind training hub in North Wales - http://www.businessgreen.com