It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, September 08, 2022
CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
What we know about the insider trading lawsuit filed against Bed Bath & Beyond just before the death of its CFO
sdelouya@insider.com (Samantha Delouya) - Yesterday Gustavo Arnal was the executive vice president and
chief financial officer at Bed Bath & Beyond
Bed Bath & Beyond's CFO, Gustavo Arnal, was named in an insider trading lawsuit less than 2 weeks before his death.
The suit alleges that Arnal, along with GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen, conspired to inflate Bed Bath & Beyond's stock for a profit.
These types of suits are common when a company suffers big losses, according to a legal expert.
What the suit claims
Bed Bath & Beyond CFO Gustav Arnal was named in an insider trading lawsuit less than two weeks before he was found dead in an apparent suicide on Friday. The proposed class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of an individual investor Pengcheng Si, names Bed Bath & Beyond, Arnal, Ryan Cohen, and JPMorgan Securities as defendants.
The lawsuit alleges that Arnal, along with activist investor and GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen, conspired to "artificially inflate" the price of Bed Bath & Beyond's stock and take advantage of the higher price by "illegally engaging in insider trading" from late March to mid-August.
Si personally lost more than $100,000 due to Arnal and Cohen's scheme, and thousands of other investors were also affected, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks to hold Arnal, Cohen, and the other plaintiffs responsible for paying back investors like Si.
These kinds of suits aren't uncommon
It's estimated that more than 10,000 class action lawsuits are filed each year, according to a 2020 report from the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Legal experts sometimes criticize these types of lawsuits for placing pressure on defendants to settle even weak claims, the report says.
"Any regular-world company that suffers big losses may be likely to attract the attention of plaintiff's lawyers," said Jason Gottlieb, a partner at Morrison Cohen.
The lawsuit doesn't contain specific evidence of Arnal's involvement in a Bed Bath & Beyond insider trading scheme, though it alleges that there was "heavy communication" about the plan between Arnal, Cohen, and JPMorgan.
"That's not the way you typically see it," said Alex Moreno, a partner at Sheppard Mullin, about the absence of evidence shown in the filing.
He said legal filings of this kind are generally required to show evidence that the accused had a "guilty mind" or an "intent to defraud."
Though the lawsuit claims that Arnal conspired with Cohen to "pump and dump" Bed Bath & Beyond's stock in mid-August, The Wall Street Journal reports that Arnal's stock was automatically sold under a prearranged plan set up in April with securities regulators.
Moreno says a prearranged plan to sell shares is not a "100% bulletproof" cover against insider trading, but it could help Arnal's defense.
Bed Bath & Beyond did not respond to a request for comment by Insider, but in a recent filing, the company said it was "in the early stages of evaluating the complaint, but based on current knowledge the Company believes the claims are without merit."
What happens next?
This case is not guaranteed to go to trial.
Moreno says that the lawyers for Arnal, Cohen and the other defendants will likely file a motion to dismiss this lawsuit.
"They'll say this complaint does not have specific facts showing the false statements, why they're false, and why the person who made those statements made with an intent to deceive," he said.
If the motion fails, then a judge would need to "certify the class" part of the class action lawsuit. That means that a judge would need to approve that Pengcheng Si's experience is representative of thousands of investors' experiences.
"If a class gets certified, that typically creates a lot of pressure on the defendant to try to settle the case," Moreno said.
Alberta provincial government expert tells Stettler County 2021 drought was legendary
A precipitation expert with the Alberta provincial government told Stettler County’s Agriculture Service Board (ASB) 2021 may have been one of the worst drought years since the 19th Century. The report was made at the ASB’s Aug. 24 regular meeting.
The ASB is comprised of members of county council and is chaired by Coun. Les Stulberg.
Ralph Wright, manager of agro-meteorological applications and modelling section for Alberta Agriculture & Forestry, presented dozens of maps to board members illustrating precipitation levels for the past 120 years and said that precipitation, or lack thereof, tells a story.
At one point in his presentation Wright looked back at 2021 and compared it to precipitation for the previous 120 years in Alberta and said last year, “...stuck out like a sore thumb.”
Wright continued, “...(2021) is probably the worst year in living memory that we have for widespread drought across the province.”
He began his presentation by showing board members February is typically the dryest month of the year in Stettler County and pointed out that winter in general isn’t the best time to start thinking about drought because of the lack of precipitation.
Wright stated between October and March Stettler County gets about 20 to 25 per cent of its annual precipitation while in June and July it gets about 50 per cent.
He pointed out it was interesting to note that Lethbridge, usually considered a dry area of Alberta, through January to June of this year could beat out most parts of the province for highest precipitation.
He went on to state 2022 started out pretty dry and there was a lot of worry that 2022 would be a back to back drought year.
“But then the taps just turned right on,” said Wright, who added that precipitation levels in this area were above normal by the end of June.
In a 30 day period between June and July Stettler County received between 50 mm and 200 mm of precipitation depending on location and while Wright noted there was some localized flooding in central Alberta that rain really helped some people out.
Comparing to regions east, the Special Areas received 50 to 75 mm, with Wright commenting that this shows Alberta can’t be called a wet or dry province, there is just too much variation within short times or distances.
Wright also showed a map that showed a corner of Paintearth County with rather high levels of precipitation. He explained the data suggests a dry spell began in southern Alberta in 2017 and culminated in 2021, but ended this year.
“The land was primed for serious, severe drought this year,” he added.
Referring to provincial historical data Wright noted 1902 to 1913 were quite dry but also stated Alberta didn’t have a lot of weather stations at that time, about 30, compared to the roughly 500 Alberta enjoys now.
Data suggests 1905 and 1910 were as bad as 2021 for drought, with 1917 to 18 included as well.
For the period 1926 to 1937 it was quite dry in 1929 which was followed by four more years of dryness. Wright pointed out that “living memory” begins in this time period, as there are residents alive who remember these years. By 1938 to 1949 he stated wet weather started to creep in and the period 1950 to 1961 enjoyed much more moisture. The period 1962 to 1973 was quite wet followed by the period 1974 to 1985 which didn’t suffer a lot of drought.
As Wright pointed out cycles, he mused aloud which was actually anomalous, the wet weather or the dry weather?
Near the end of his presentation he discussed how data can help prepare for flood planning. For example Wright stated based on data Stettler County could, over a 90 day period, experience up to 500 mm of precipitation.
Wright closed by pointing out the hundreds of maps show that recent weather isn’t a reliable predictor of future weather, adding that the best way to plan is to realize you can’t hedge.
“What’s going to happen in the future?” he asked. “Pretty much anything can happen.”
Stu Salkeld, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, East Central Alberta Review
The northern B.C. pipeline you’ve never
heard of — Enbridge’s Westcoast Connector
The Coastal GasLink pipeline is currently B.C.’s most infamous — with the arrests of Indigenous land defenders and journalists, repeated environmental infractions and celebrity activism from the likes of Mark Ruffalo, Greta Thunberg and Leonardo DiCaprio.
But the list of controversial pipeline projects in the province doesn’t stop there.
There’s Pacific Trails, which would parallel the Coastal GasLink route across Wet’suwet’en territory and Prince Rupert Gas Transmission, a pipeline intended to cut through the Kispiox Valley — a proposal that brought members of the Gitxsan Nation and locals from all walks of life together in opposition. And, of course, there’s the federally owned Trans Mountain pipeline, which continues to be met with fierce opposition from First Nations and allies along the route as construction impacts ecosystems, most recently disrupting salmon runs on the Coquihalla River.
And, waiting in the wings for its chance to ship fracked gas from northeast B.C. to overseas markets, is a project quietly clinging to the dream of a liquified natural gas (LNG) boom that was promised more than a decade ago. It’s called Westcoast Connector Gas Transmission.
If you’ve never heard of it, you’re not alone.
Owned by multinational pipeline company Enbridge, the project was first proposed in 2012 and approved by the B.C. government in 2014 — around the same time as Coastal GasLink and on the heels of Enbridge’s ill-fated Northern Gateway bitumen pipeline. At that time, it was a Spectra Energy project. In 2017, Enbridge acquired Spectra and all of its assets, including the proposed pipeline, for $37 billion.
That year, Shell scrapped a planned liquefaction and export facility near Prince Rupert that would have received gas from the pipeline and, despite opposition from some stakeholders, Enbridge applied for and received a five-year extension to the project’s approval in 2019. When that extension was granted, the company was told it must have “substantially started” the project by Nov. 25, 2024. To date, that hasn’t happened. With the deadline nearing, stakeholders along the pipeline route received notice of the company’s intent to file for a rare second extension.
According to B.C.’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, only two projects have ever received a second certificate extension — Seabridge’s KSM mine on the Alaska border and Taseko’s New Prosperity mine on Tsilhqot'in First Nation territory.
If the extension isn’t granted, they’d need to start the lengthy environmental assessment process all over again.
“There is a ton of new information since 2014 — new information on climate, new information on Indigenous Rights and new protected areas,” Naxginkw Tara Marsden, who works on land use planning and governance issues with the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs, told The Narwhal in an interview. “As a whole I can't see all of that being ignored in an extension request, but we'll see.”
In addition to the extension, the company recently asked the B.C. government for permission to shorten the pipeline by removing a section of its proposed route in the northeast, 100 kilometres of which overlaps a First Nations’ territory at the heart of a 2021 B.C. Supreme Court ruling on Treaty Rights.
The landmark ruling, often referred to as the Yahey decision after former chief Marvin Yahey, found the province guilty of infringing on Blueberry River First Nations’ rights by permitting and encouraging widespread industrial development. Here’s what we know about the project and its proposed changes.
The 850 kilometre pipeline — roughly 700 kilometres if B.C. approves the amendment request — would tap into existing infrastructure in the northeast and transport fracked gas to the west coast for liquefaction and export.
The project, as approved, is described as “a pipeline system consisting of either one or two adjacent pipelines” and would be capable of moving 8.4 billion cubic feet of fracked gas daily. That’s four times the amount Coastal GasLink plans to transport during its first phase of operations.
The Westcoast Connector pipeline would not traverse Wet’suwet’en territory — where Hereditary Chiefs oppose the Coastal GasLink project. Its route would cross the province further north, including transecting Gitxsan and Gitanyow territories and crossing the Skeena and Kispiox rivers — both important salmon and steelhead rivers.
Enbridge noted in its recent letter to the environmental assessment office it is “actively developing the project” to build the first Westcoast pipeline and “continues to work on development opportunities for the second pipeline in the future.”
But the company told The Narwhal in an email the “project is in the early stages of development” and final decisions haven’t been made on whether it will proceed, or when.
“The Westcoast Connector Gas Transmission project is not yet approved — we still require additional permits,” a spokesperson wrote.
The environmental assessment approval is the major hurdle for projects but, when construction is imminent, the pipeline will require permits issued by the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission. Permitting is a regulatory process and applications can be submitted for multiple activities at one time. Those applications draw on technical studies conducted during assessment.
The project was originally slated to deliver gas to one of several proposed liquefaction and export facilities near Prince Rupert, none of which are still on the table. Now, the project is listed as a potential supplier for the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG plant on Nisg̱a’a territory. Ksi Lisims is a partnership between the Nisg̱a’a Nation, a consortium of Canadian gas producers called Rockies LNG and Texas-based Western LNG.
Enbridge hadn’t filed an extension request with the province prior to publication, but it is signaling that this will be the next step.
In July, Enbridge made a presentation to Terrace city council citing the main reasons for extending its certificate as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Blueberry River First Nations court decision. The company told the council it spent $10 million on the project in 2022 and noted it is actively engaging potential LNG terminal developers and gas producing partners.
“At this point we’re still engaging with Indigenous nations to better understand their perspective and we have not confirmed any commercial partners,” Enbridge told The Narwhal in an emailed statement. “If this project proceeds, we will be completing an environmental protection plan that will specify the measures required to protect wildlife.”
The company said it is considering applying for the extension but does not know when that might happen.
Gavin Smith, a lawyer with West Coast Environmental Law, told The Narwhal he’s concerned an extension could pave the way forward for a flood of related requests.
“We have seen both with Taseko’s New Prosperity and with KSM in recent years willingness from the provincial government to effectively bend the rules about how long [environmental assessment] certificates are supposed to remain valid,” he said. “Those rules exist for a good reason, which is that … certificates are granted on a lot of complex information, input from communities and so on, that can become stale-dated if left for too long.”
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy told The Narwhal every request is carefully reviewed and the context of the request considered.
“For any extension request, the environmental assessment office and statutory decision-maker consider it on its own merits and its specific circumstances through a robust and transparent process,” the ministry wrote in an emailed statement.
Marsden said an additional concern is how the province handles feedback from communities.
“When they came to us with the KSM extension, they said, ‘What's changed? Is there new information you'd like to share?’ ” she explained. “We shared new information — there's climate change, there's new recognition of Indigenous Rights and requirements for consent. And [the province] came back and said, ‘Well, that's not how we define new information.’ ”
“There's no definition of what new information is, it's this really circular argument of whatever you say doesn't really matter but we are going to go through this process of seeing if you have anything new to say.”
The ministry argued the KSM decision did reflect input from First Nations and other stakeholders, noting the extension included extra conditions that provide the province with “an additional level of regulatory oversight to require that management plans remain current and reflect the best available science and management practices.”
Smith said by extending approvals past legislated guidelines, B.C. could be setting the stage for future conflicts.
“Look at the changing legal realities around implementation and recognition of the [United Nations] Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that were not at the forefront 15 to 20 years ago,” he said. “Those types of changes are relevant to how environmental assessments are carried out.”
In a word: no.
While the extension request would buy Enbridge breathing room until 2029, it’s not the only way to keep the proposed pipeline alive. If a project is deemed to be “substantially started” — a determination made by B.C.’s environmental assessment office partly on sunk costs and on the scale of work completed — it effectively locks in the approval indefinitely.
For example, the Pacific Trails pipeline, that Enbridge bought from Chevron and Woodside Petroleum in early 2022, received “substantially started” designation in 2016. This means its certificate — which was granted in 2008 based on studies conducted in the years prior — remains valid regardless of any changes on the land.
“It's good for forever, essentially,” Marsden said. “It's a big investment of money, but then they're safe in terms of not having to ever re-apply.”
She said the KSM extension and the imminent request from Enbridge show how companies “want to keep riding the market — they want to keep waiting for that sweet spot where they're going to get the prices and they're going to be able to build this thing.”
With governments worldwide pledging major emissions reductions as part of climate commitments, the fossil fuel industry continues to pivot to different business models. The push to export gas from B.C. reserves was initially pegged as a means to “transition” from other fuels such as coal.
But prevailing science now agrees that methane — the main component of natural gas — poses even more of a threat to the climate than conventional fossil fuels. In an April press release, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that methane emissions need to be reduced by more than 30 per cent by 2030 to limit warming to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels.
“Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible,” Jim Skea, with the panel, said.
But open market prices for natural gas remain high, in part because of the energy crunch caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Companies like Enbridge still see potential profits from developing projects like Westcoast Connector.
“Given how completely crazy the global LNG markets have been this year, I can imagine that Enbridge may see some real upside to keeping the project alive,” Clark Williams-Derry, energy finance analyst with the Ohio-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, told The Narwhal.
“In my view, Enbridge is making an economic calculation: there's a benefit to keeping the project alive, there's a cost to keeping it alive and there's a cost to letting it die,” he explained. “They're weighing the costs and benefits — and seem to be deciding that the benefits are worth the costs.”
He said keeping the project on the table is low-risk, financially.
“If you declare the project dead, development costs have to be written off and recognized as a loss,” he said. “Plus there also can be ‘soft’ costs for letting a project die — costs to executives' reputations, to investors' views about a company's future prospects, etc.”
“Meanwhile, it often doesn't take a whole lot of money or effort to keep a project alive,” he added. “A bit of paperwork, a bit of staff time now and again.”
Marsden said the province needs to ask some tough questions about where B.C. is heading in terms of its economy in light of climate change.
“Do you want to risk a bunch of other things that are at play to ensure this industry is prioritized? Or do you want to take a pause and reconsider things?”
The request to remove a section of the pipeline route seems like an example of a fossil fuel company adapting to minimize conflict on Indigenous Rights issues.
In a letter to B.C.’s environmental assessment office in May, Enbridge wrote that “removing the first 138 kilometres of the pipeline from the project as certified will reduce potential cumulative effects on Treaty 8 territory, including those within Blueberry River First Nations territory.”
However, a spokesperson for the company told The Narwhal in an email that “the removal of a 138 km [section] of the pipeline route … is not related to the Yahey decision.” Enbridge did not respond to follow up questions apart from noting the company determined the section “would no longer be required.”
Just how far reaching the impacts of the Yahey decision will be is still unknown but in the short-term, B.C. has put the brakes on any new development on Blueberry River First Nations territory. In October, the province and nations reached an interim agreement that allows projects approved before the court ruling to proceed, but pauses any new authorizations or permits as the nation negotiates a final agreement with the province.
That means if those “additional permits” Enbridge said it needs to move forward are for work on the territory, the project could be tied up for an unknown amount of time.
Blueberry River First Nations opposed the Westcoast Connector from the outset.
During the project’s environmental assessment, the nations’ lands and resource department flagged numerous concerns, submitting a comprehensive report on cumulative impacts. In one of multiple letters filed to the province, the community expressed frustration around the consultation process, saying the few opportunities given to provide feedback were “no more than opportunities to blow off steam.”
That October 2014 letter continues: “Aside from the [environmental assessment] process, there has been no engagement by the provincial Crown in consultation with [Blueberry River First Nations] on the project or on the larger LNG development proposed in B.C., including on the very significant development that will be induced in our territory as a result of the construction and operation of LNG facilities on B.C.’s coast, serviced by pipelines from [our] territory.”
Earlier, in a June 2014 letter, the nation wrote that it was “deeply troubled by the conclusion that there are no identified potential effects of the project on … habitation, hunting, fishing, trapping or gathering practices.”
Despite Enbridge’s statement that its desire to shorten the pipeline is not related to the Yahey decision, that June letter was echoed in its amendment request. By removing the section, the company wrote, the project would reduce or eliminate potential impacts on critical caribou habitat, 50 wetlands, 135 water crossings and “hunting, trapping, fishing and plant gathering locations, trails and travelways, habitation sites and gathering and sacred sites.”
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy confirmed it is reviewing the request and told The Narwhal it will “provide an opportunity for federal, provincial, and local governments, and First Nations and Indigenous people to provide advice and inform the … review.”
The ministry said responding to a request like this typically takes three to six months.
In the era when Westcoast Connector was first proposed, it was just one of many LNG projects brought to municipalities and First Nations across northern B.C. The province cast its net wide to gain support, signing agreements with numerous band councils and other forms of First Nations governments under John Rustad, the former minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation. (Rustad was recently removed from the Liberal caucus for publicly promoting climate change denial.)
Enbridge told The Narwhal it was “pre-emptive” to ask questions about its relationships with First Nations and did not supply any information about agreements it may have with communities along the pipeline route. However, a provincial government webpage shows that six Indigenous governments have signed benefits agreements in support of Westcoast Connector or associated infrastructure — though many of them signed before Enbridge was in charge.
“Spectra was a very well established company in B.C.,” Marsden said. “They had many natural gas pipelines that were sort of familiar to people and had really dedicated a lot of time and resources to building quite strong relationships.”
But, she said, Enbridge is a different company.
“Many of the nations, including Gitanyow, opposed the oil pipeline that Enbridge proposed with Northern Gateway. With the reputation of Enbridge and what their interests have been in trying to get oil to the west coast, that's a huge concern for me, personally, and for others as well at Gitanyow. Is this an attempt to try and get another oil pipeline through? We don't have that certainty and until we do, it’s still a potential threat.”
The pipeline also faces potential opposition from the Gitxsan Nation.
In early August, a Gitxsan house group, Wilps Gwininitxw, declared 170,000 hectares of territory an Indigenous Protected Area, where it will prioritize maintaining an intact watershed that’s home to mountain goats, wolverines and grizzlies. The area is just upstream of the Westcoast pipeline route and TC Energy’s Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line. In a statement released following the announcement of the protected area, the house group noted both pipelines would “directly affect Wilps Gwininitxw by crossing our salmon-bearing rivers and streams.”
“In the absence of meaningful provincial or federal government action to protect the Skeena watershed from industrial development, Wilps Gwininitxw is unilaterally declaring their territories protected.”
It is unclear how the Indigenous Protected Area will impact the pipeline project should it proceed to permitting and construction.
Matt Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Narwhal
THE MONARCHY IS OVER
The Crown Apparently Costs Canada Over $58 Million Each Year & Here’s How It Breaks Down
Back in 2021, the Monarchist League of Canada issued its triennial survey on the cost of the Canadian crown and, well, it sounds like a lot.
According to the League, Canadians shelled out $58,749,485.52 in 2019-2020 for the crown, although this is apparently a 5.95% decrease from the last survey.
While that sounds like an eye-watering amount, the League says it works out to be approximately $1.55 per individual Canadian.
Of this amount, it's the governor general's office that costs the most at $1.27 per person, per year. Lieutenant governors and their offices to the queen cost an additional $0.27 per capita.
If you were curious what the governor general's job is, it's to be the monarch's representative in Canada. Since they're the monarch of 14 other realms, they "cannot be present in each."
In Canada, the governor general is appointed on the advice of the prime minister and often will carry out ceremonial duties on the royal family's behalf.
The survey says the overall cost is "far less" than what other national institutions cost the average Canadian each year, including the House of Commons ($13.30), the Senate ($2.57) and the CBC ($31.86).
LEIBNIZ INSTITUTE FOR ZOO AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH (IZW)
IMAGE: BIORESCUE: 10TH OPU_NORTHERN WHITE RHINO FATU (LEFT) AND SOUTHERN WHITE RHINO TAUWO (RIGHT) AFTER OOCYTE COLLECTION IN FATUview more
CREDIT: JAN ZWILLING
Three years after starting its ambitious programme to save the northern white rhino from extinction through advanced assisted reproduction technologies, the BioRescue consortium draws a positive interim conclusion: Following the 10th event of harvesting immature egg cells (oocytes) in the northern white rhino female Fatu, the international team produced 5 additional embryos – bringing the total to 22 sired by two bulls. This nourishes the hope to eventually succeed in producing new offspring and give a keystone grazer of Central Africa a new future. At the same time, the consortium places the highest value on respecting the life and welfare of the individual animals involved. Regular veterinary and ethical assessments of oocyte collection procedures show that Fatu handles the procedures well and shows no signs of detrimental health effects. BioRescue is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
The 10th oocyte collection in northern white rhinos (NWR) was performed by a team of scientists and conservationists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW), Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Safari Park Dvůr Králové, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) & Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) on July 28, 2022, at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. The BioRescue team was able to collect 23 oocytes from Fatu, the younger of the two remaining NWR females. Oocyte collections from Najin, Fatu’s mother, were ceased in 2021 following an in-depth ethical risk assessment. The oocytes were immediately air-lifted to the Avantea laboratory in Cremona, Italy. Following maturation, 7 of the oocytes were fertilized using cryopreserved, thawed semen from the deceased NWR male Angalifu. Eventually, 5 embryos of Fatu were successfully produced and cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen.
This collection followed on from the 9th oocyte collection held at the same location and by the same team on April 24th. Out of 16 collected oocytes, 3 embryos were produced in the Avantea laboratory, again using the semen of Angalifu. Successful results of both procedures raised the total number of NWR embryos produced to 22 – all of them from female Fatu, with half of them sired by the deceased male Suni who was born in Safari Park Dvůr Králové, Czech Republic, and the other half sired by Angalifu who lived in San Diego Zoo Safari Park, USA.
Once the protocol to transfer the embryos to surrogate southern white rhino (SWR) female recipients is optimized, the embryos will be the foundation of a new NWR population, eventually destined to step back into their ecological role as keystone grazers in Central Africa.
To set up suitable conditions for a successful embryo transfer, the team has been carefully following the interactions of the sterilized SWR bull Owuan, who serves as the oestrus detector, with the possible surrogate females that share an enclosure with him. Once the conditions allow it, the BioRescue team will attempt to conduct an embryo transfer – first with SWR embryos to demonstrate that the whole procedure works properly before the team uses the extremely valuable NWR embryos. The team is currently considering whether adding more SWR females to the program might increase the chance of achieving the first successful embryo transfer.
Quotes
Thomas Hildebrandt, BioRescue project leader and head of Department of Reproduction Management at Leibniz-IZW:
“In 2019, one day before our worldwide first oocyte collection in NWR I said – tomorrow we will change the world. Today I can say, we did: The 5 new NWR embryos created in one set of procedures are a new record in our mission to save the NWR from the brink of extinction. In total, we managed to produce and cryopreserve 22 pure NWR embryos from 158 oocytes collected during 10 collections: 148 from Fatu and 10 from Nájin. Our next aim is to successfully produce viable offspring by inventing and using new scientific embryo transfer methods and techniques. The ground breaking scientific work we are establishing here will lay the groundwork for future conservation rescue initiatives.”
Jan Stejskal, Director of International Projects at Safari Park Dvůr Králové: “Obtaining 22 northern white rhino embryos in three years is a fantastic achievement. However, we have to continue in producing NWR embryos as more embryos simply mean a higher chance to see a NWR baby born in the future. Thanks to the cooperation with the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, we have southern white rhino embryos available for our next embryo transfer attempts. While we would love to have a NWR calf as soon as possible, it is necessary to proceed carefully and use the unique NWR embryos only after we achieved a pregnancy with the more easily accessible SWR embryos.”
Cesare Galli, Director of Avantea: “The new results and the continuous successes of the previous series of collections show that we have developed a remarkably reliable process from the harvesting of the oocytes via transport to maturation, fertilization, embryo culture and freezing. Following these routines, we can expect a similar number of oocytes harvested and embryos produced in the upcoming three years.”
Frank Göritz, Head veterinarian of the Leibniz-IZW, and Stephen Ngulu, Head veterinarian of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy: “During the oocyte collections, we closely monitor all vital parameters of Fatu and examine her reproductive tract for any detrimental effects of our procedures. Fatu shows no signs of reproductive fatigue and keeps responding well to both the anaesthesia and the hormonal protocol. Following the recent oocyte collection, Fatu was up and immediately walking after the anaesthesia was reversed and started grazing normally a few hours later like always.”
Susanne Holtze, Scientist at the Leibniz-IZW: “The new results are also reassuring and promising in a different way. We see absolutely no signs of detrimental health effects of repeated oocyte collections in Fatu. The outcomes of the procedures are constant, but the last collection with 23 oocytes has been the most successful in terms of numbers of harvested oocytes that our team ever conducted in northern white rhinos.”
Barbara de Mori, Director of the Ethics Laboratory for Veterinary Medicine, Conservation and Animal Welfare at the University of Padua: “Keeping a careful watch of the welfare of the animals involved and balancing these aspects with conservation benefits is crucially important to our mission. Similar to our decision to retire Najin from the programme – owing to a misbalance of welfare risks and conservation benefits – we are very certain that for Fatu the combination of highly valuable outcome for the conservation of the species and low risks of adverse health effects for her as an individual animal justify the continuation of the oocyte collections.”
Dr. Patrick Omondi, Director/CEO, Wildlife Research & Training Institute: “We are delighted with the milestones of the project to date. The project demonstrates the success of multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary partnerships and collaborations in saving this iconic species from extinction. The collection of 23 oocytes during the 10th cycle of oocytes collection and production of five (5) pure northern white rhino embryos from them demonstrates the continued optimisation of the field and laboratory procedures.”
Brig. (Rtd) J.M. Waweru, Director General Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), “We are delighted as the State Agency in Kenya mandated with the conservation and management of wildlife and its habitats and as partners in the BioRescue consortium to celebrate the achievements made in recovery efforts of the Northern White Rhino’s with 22 embryos developed so far. We shall continue to give the required leadership and support to ensure the recovery efforts succeed and to look forward to the 1st northern white rhino calf being born on the Kenyan soil after a long period of uncertainty to revive the hopes of saving the species from imminent extinction”.
Media Package
A collection of photographs can be accessed through the following link:
The photographs shall only be used for the news segment of media work and in direct connection with the story depicted in this press release and credit must be “Ol Pejeta / BioRescue.
Boilerplates
Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW)
The Leibniz-IZW is an internationally renowned German research institute of the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. and a member of the Leibniz Association. Our mission is to examine evolutionary adaptations of wildlife to global change and develop new concepts and measures for the conservation of biodiversity. To achieve this, our scientists use their broad interdisciplinary expertise from biology and veterinary medicine to conduct fundamental and applied research – from molecular to landscape level – in close dialogue with the public and stakeholders. Additionally, we are committed to unique and high-quality services for the scientific community. www.izw-berlin.de
Safari Park Dvůr Králové
Safari Park Dvůr Králové is a safari park in the Czech Republic. It’s one of the best rhino breeders outside of Africa and the only place where the northern white rhino bred in human care - both remaining females, Najin and Fatu, were born here. Safari Park Dvůr Králové coordinates efforts to save the northern white rhinos. https://safaripark.cz/en/
Kenya Wildlife Service
Kenya Wildlife Service is the principal government institution that conserves and manages wildlife for Kenyans and the world. It also enforces related laws and regulations.
Ol Pejeta Conservancy is the largest black rhino sanctuary in east Africa, and is the only place in Kenya to see chimpanzees. It is also home to the last two northern white rhinos on the planet. Ol Pejeta’s cutting-edge wildlife security includes a specialised K-9 unit, motion sensor cameras along its solar-powered electric fence, and a dedicated Rhino Protection Unit. www.olpejetaconservancy.org
Avantea
Avantea is a laboratory of advanced technologies for biotechnology research and animal reproduction based in Cremona, Italy. Avantea has over twenty years of experience and the know-how in assisted reproduction of livestock developed through years of research conducted in the biomedical and animal reproduction fields. www.avantea.it/en/
University of Padua
University of Padua in Italy is one of the oldest in the world, celebrating 800 years. Its Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science is developing leading research and education in the field of wildlife conservation and welfare with a special focus on ethical assessment and evaluation of research projects and educational programmes. www.unipd.it/en/
Wildlife Research and Training Institute
The Wildlife Research and Training Institute is a state corporation established under the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act No. 47 of 2013 to undertake and coordinate wildlife research and training through innovative approaches to enable provision of accurate and reliable data and information to inform policy formulation and decision making. wrti.go.ke
Contacts
Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW)
Singapore researchers develop assistive robot to prevent falls and assist in physiotherapy for the elderly
IMAGE: DEVELOPED BY NTU SINGAPORE AND TTSH, MRBA IS A WEARABLE ASSISTIVE ROBOT THAT CAN DETECT AND PREVENT A FALL BEFORE IT HAPPENS, REDUCING THE USER’S RISK OF SUSTAINING INJURIES.view more
The development of the robot, which can also be used to aid patients’ rehabilitation from their injuries, was catalysed by the National Robotics Programme, a multi-agency national programme that looks at the end-to-end development of differentiating robotics enablers and solutions in Singapore, from funding R&D to facilitating partnerships for translation and adoption to maximise socio-economic impact.
Called the Mobile Robotic Balance Assistant or MRBA (pronounced ‘Mister-Bah’), the robot uses its inbuilt sensors to instantaneously detect a loss of balance and catches the user with its attached safety harness which is worn around the user’s hips.
The device would also help users who have difficulty in walking and balancing to stand up safely from a seated position, and to sit down safely from a standing position. It also uses a depth-sensing camera to observe the user’s movements, while its machine-learning algorithms estimate the balance state of the user in real time to better predict any future imbalances or falls.
According to the World Health Organisation, falls are the second leading cause of death from accidental or unintentional injuries worldwide[1]. In Singapore, falls account for 40 per cent of injury-related deaths[2].
Intended for use with minimal caregiver help in both institutional and home settings, it can assist people with limited or reduced mobility in day-to-day tasks, such as entering and exiting elevators, opening doors, getting dressed, performing simple kitchen chores and tasks such as watering plants.
MRBA was co-developed by a team of researchers, engineers, and data specialists at the Rehabilitation Research Institute of Singapore (RRIS), alongside clinicians and researchers at TTSH. RRIS, which is hosted at NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, was founded in 2016 by NTU Singapore, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the National Healthcare Group (NHG).
In clinical trials involving 29 participants, including patients who suffered from stroke, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries, the researchers found that MRBA was successful in aiding them with sitting, standing, and walking, as well as assisting in tasks like fetching water. No falls were recorded in the trials, which spanned three days per participant.
The technology presents an improved tool to help in the care of Singapore’s ageing population, reflecting both NTU's and TTSH’s commitment to using technology and innovation to respond to the needs and challenges of healthy living and ageing, which is one of four humanity’s grand challenges that the University seeks to address through its NTU 2025 strategic plan.
Associate Professor Ang Wei Tech, Executive Director of RRIS, who supervised the project’s development, said: “MRBA could prove to be an invaluable resource for older adult users, and help promote independent living and aging. The development of the robot was as result of a fruitful collaboration with TTSH, blending our expertise in engineering and machine learning with their strengths in rehabilitation and medicine.” Assoc Prof Ang is also from NTU’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
Adjunct Associate Professor at NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine Karen Chua, and Senior Consultant at TTSH’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, one of the co-leads of the MRBA’s development said: “One of TTSH’s key strategies is to empower patients with greater access to innovative robotic rehabilitation. We want to make robotics therapies more sustainable and accessible in the community where our patients can lead healthier and happier lives. The RRIS team’s innovative spirit and clear understanding of clinical needs have made them wonderful partners in developing this technology to support more people to live independently. In the near future, we look forward to seeing the MRBA improved to an industrial prototype with a software data platform that prepares it for commercialisation.”
MRBA’s success in the clinical setting has resulted in interest from Ninkatec and Home Instead, two Singapore home-care providers. The research team has also filed four patents for the technology with NTUitive, NTU’s innovation and enterprise company.
An everyday robotic assistant with a myriad of uses
MRBA comes in three models. The first model caters to users that weigh up to 80 kilograms, while the second assists those who weigh up to 120 kilograms. The third version, the Agile model, supports more dextrous movements.
In addition to assisting users in daily living, the robot can also support physiotherapy consultations by assisting those recovering from injuries to carry out key rehabilitation exercises, such as side stepping, balancing on a rocker board, and standing on one leg. In providing such balance support, users feel more confident in going about their daily activities, including sports, such as bouncing and throwing a basketball, kicking a soccer ball, and even playing badminton.
The research team hopes to expand the study and recruit 71 more participants from day rehabilitation centres to further build the use case for the robot in home and community settings.
The RRIS team is also working with industry partners to commercialise the MRBA within the next year, for the robot to serve people who require such balance and assistive solutions.
(L-R) Associate Professor Ang Wei Tech from NTU’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, who is also Executive Director, Rehabilitation Research Institute of Singapore, and Adjunct Associate Professor at NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine Karen Chua, who is also Senior Consultant at TTSH’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, posing with MRBA.
CREDIT
NTU Singapore
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About Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has 33,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Engineering, Business, Science, Medicine, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and Graduate colleges.
NTU is also home to world-renowned autonomous institutes – the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering – and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) and Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N).
Under the NTU Smart Campus vision, the University harnesses the power of digital technology and tech-enabled solutions to support better learning and living experiences, the discovery of new knowledge, and the sustainability of resources.
Ranked amongst the world’s top universities, the University’s main campus is also frequently listed among the world’s most beautiful. Known for its sustainability, over 95% of its building projects are certified Green Mark Platinum. Apart from its main campus, NTU also has a medical campus in Novena, Singapore’s healthcare district.
About the Rehabilitation Research Institute of Singapore
RRIS was founded in 2016 by NTU Singapore, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the National Healthcare Group (NHG).
RRIS aims to develop data-driven and patient-centric health solutions to prioritise the quality of care for Singapore’s rapidly ageing population, which is vulnerable to immobilising diseases and disabilities like stroke and knee osteoarthritis.
About Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) is the flagship hospital of the National Healthcare Group and part of Singapore’s Public Healthcare System. As a pioneering hospital with strong roots in the community for over 178 years, TTSH is recognised as the People’s Hospital, serving a resident population of 1.4 million living in Central Singapore. Together with 70 community partners and 80 community health posts, it brings care beyond the hospital into the community as an integrated care organisation – Central Health.
As one of the largest multi-disciplinary hospitals in Singapore, TTSH operates more than 1,700 beds with centres of excellence including the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Institute for Geriatrics & Active Ageing (IGA), NHG Eye Institute (NHGEI), and TTSH Rehabilitation Centre.
About National Robotics Programme
NRP is a programme that was established in 2016 as part of our RIE (Research, Innovation and Enterprise) initiative. It aims to catalyse differentiated robotics capabilities in Singapore through the funding of use-inspired research and use-driven development. NRP also leverages the projects it funds to grow our robotics talent pool and nurture a vibrant local ecosystem.
