Technology

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Can be Cleaned for $7.5 billion

Published

1 month ago

September 6, 2024

After 6 years of development and three years of extraction operations, The Ocean Cleanup declares the Great Pacific Garbage Patch can be eliminatedOcean Plastic pollution is one of the most urgent problems our oceans face today, costing the world up to $2.5 trillion per year in damage to economies, industries and the environmentThe Ocean Cleanup’s operations demonstrate that the elimination of the GPGP can be done at today’s level of performance in 10 years at a cost of $7.5bn*Data and modelling indicate that the removal of the GPGP could be achieved in 5 years at a cost of $4bn*Today we call upon the world to join us in a time for action – the cost of inaction is catastrophic to marine ecosystems, human health, and the environment**

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Ocean Cleanup today declared the eradication of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) achievable within a decade and an ambition to make the cleanup happen faster and more cost effectively. Today’s announcement is the first time both a cost and a timeline has been placed on ridding the Pacific Ocean of the environmental hazard presented by the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Cleanup technology validated and ready for scale-up

Six years after sailing out of San Francisco with the ambition of developing the technology to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup returned to San Francisco with the knowledge and know-how to relegate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to the history books.

Arriving in San Francisco with System 03, the technology created by The Ocean Cleanup to extract plastic from ocean gyres, the organization showcased the results of their most recent extraction operations in the GPGP. Over the past three years, The Ocean Cleanup has removed more than one million pounds of trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, or 0.5% of the total accumulated trash. The data and modelling of these and future operations conclusively proves that the problem is solvable within a decade and could be done in 5 years at a cost of $4bn.

Time for action

The Ocean Cleanup calls upon the world, governments, corporations, individuals, and foundations to prioritize the resolution of this important marine environment and ensure that the cleaning of the ocean becomes a global priority.

In 2025 The Ocean Cleanup will take a one-year operational hiatus to deploy a new hotspot hunting initiative designed to map the “hotspots”, or areas of intense plastic accumulation in the GPGP, making extractions more impactful.

Commenting on the announcement, Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup said: “Today’s announcement is clear, clean oceans can be achieved in a manageable time and for a clear cost. Through the hard work of the past 10 years, humanity has the tools needed to clean up the ocean. We have shown the world that the impossible is now possible. The only missing thing is who will ensure this job gets done. We call upon the world to relegate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to the history books. This environmental catastrophe has been allowed to exist, unresolved, for too long and for the first time we can tell the world what it costs, what is needed and how long it could take. It is time for action.”

For further information please contact:

Niels Broekhof: CFF Communications
niels.broekhof@cffcommunications.nl, +31(0)630374930Alan Dunton: SHIFT Communications
adunton@shiftcomm.com, 415-290-8219

Video assets: https://app.frame.io/reviews/bd4d208e-c479-491e-aa31-2a0ae5ecf609

Note to media:

*Putting the cost of clean oceans in context:

Annual spend in the US on Halloween
decorations

$10.6bn

US pet food spending in 2024

$66.9 bn

Combined net worth of the top 10 richest
people

$1.66tn

1% of the annual revenues of the world’s
plastic producers

$7.2bn

Cost to the world’ economies, industries
and the environment caused by plastic
pollution

$2.5 trillion

**Understanding the environmental impact of cleanup operations:

While prevention of further pollution is critical, measures to reduce future plastic emissions do not address impacts of plastics that have already accumulated in the ocean. Without any action, this legacy plastic pollution will continue to reside in and impact marine ecosystems for decades or centuries to come. Therefore, cleanup of existing plastic pollution in our oceans is needed to reduce identified risks to marine ecosystem (Richon et al., 2023).

To ensure that the harm reduction achieved by removing plastic pollution exceeds potential environmental damage caused by the cleanup, The Ocean Cleanup follows a comprehensive environmental management plan in line with recommendations by independent scientists (Falk-Andersson et al., 2023). The approach consists of environmental impact assessments prior to deployment of cleanup technology, a series of mitigation measures to minimize identified risks, as well as monitoring of interactions with marine life and reporting thereof.

The extensive data collected throughout the past years now allows us to start assessing the net environmental benefit of cleaning the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). Together with independent and renowned scientists we developed a plastic pollution impact assessment framework and applied it to evaluate whether cleaning the GPGP provides a net benefit to marine life and regional carbon cycling. This work is currently undergoing peer review and will be made publicly available upon publication.

ABOUT THE OCEAN CLEANUP

The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: intercepting in rivers to stop the flow and cleaning up what has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops and deploys large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the inflow, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract plastic in rivers before it reaches the ocean. As of August 2024, the non-profit has collected over 16 million kilograms (35.3 million pounds) of trash from aquatic ecosystems around the world. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and opened its first regional office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2023.

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SOURCE The Ocean Cleanup

Technology

Connatix and JW Player Merge To Create the Industry’s Largest Video Technology and Monetization Platform

Published

49 mins ago

October 9, 2024

Advanced offering brings unparalleled monetization and streaming capabilities across CTV and OLV for broadcasters, publishers, and advertisers

NEW YORK, Oct. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — JW Player (JWP), the leading video streaming and data insights platform, today announced it is merging with Connatix, the leading video delivery and monetization solution, forming JWP Connatix. By unifying JWP’s broadcast-level live and on-demand streaming, data, and workflow capabilities with Connatix’s full stack advertising and content technology, JWP Connatix becomes the industry’s most comprehensive independent video technology and monetization platform for broadcasters, publishers, and advertisers.

This merger arrives as the digital video ecosystem is experiencing transformational change. Consumers are increasingly cutting the cord in favor of Connected TV (CTV) and streaming services, leading to rapid shifts in global advertising spend and the emergence of new direct-to-consumer subscription and pay-per-view offerings. In 2024, global CTV ad revenue will surpass $30 billion, while the top ten streaming services alone will support nearly 1 billion subscribers. Given this, publishers, broadcasters, and advertisers must transform their video strategies to meet these evolving viewer expectations and business needs.

“How and where viewers consume video is rapidly changing. As a result, media companies require innovative solutions that allow them to maximize audience engagement and help optimize revenue across disparate monetization models, whether it be advertising, subscriptions or commerce,” said David Kashak, Co-founder and CEO of Connatix. “Together, JWP Connatix fulfills that requirement, by accelerating our companies’ mutual visions to create environments where premium video viewing, powered by best-in-class technology, meets high-quality monetization experiences, enabling media leaders to deliver exceptional results.”

JWP Connatix creates an indispensable partner in this rapidly changing video ecosystem, powering streaming for over 2,000 blue-chip media companies, including 80% of the top 25 Comscore US publishers. As the largest independent global video network across CTV and OLV, the company reaches over 1 billion unique users and delivers 30 billion+ combined video plays and ad impressions every month. Key benefits for customers include:

Global reach and reliable scale: Streaming 7 billion minutes of VOD and live content to over 1 billion unique users on any screen around the worldHybrid monetization models: Support for subscription, advertising and e-commerce business models, leveraging insights from content and audiences to help maximize revenueUnique insights to optimize outcomes: Leverage AI to combine trillions of contextual, consumption, and monetization data signals to match customers with content and ads, boosting engagementSingle end-to-end platform for OLV and CTV: Streamlined video management platform enabling diverse monetization opportunities across content, commerce, and creative

“By joining forces, JWP Connatix ushers in a new era for digital video. The complementary nature of our businesses enables us to bring a unique combination of scale, product breadth, and industry expertise to the market,” added Dave Otten, CEO and Co-Founder of JWP. “Perhaps more importantly, we are bringing together two knowledgeable, and dedicated teams, whose skill-sets and values are a perfect match. We could not be more excited about this partnership and look forward to shaping the future of digital video together.”

As part of the transaction, Dave Otten will become CEO of the combined company, while David Kashak will serve as its Chairman. JWP Connatix will be headquartered in New York City with additional offices in London, Cluj-Napoca, Eindhoven, Skopje, and Tel Aviv.

About Connatix

Connatix is a video technology company that powers the world’s stories with effortless and inspiring solutions. Through a proprietary full-stack platform, Connatix helps publishers deliver, monetize, analyze and create video, while providing advertisers with premium video inventory and a collection of data intelligence solutions including Deep Contextual™and predictive audience targeting. Sitting at the forefront of innovation, Connatix leverages the power of AI to optimize revenue and ensure relevancy, efficiency and scale across campaigns.

Connatix currently works with 350+ publisher groups across thousands of sites and leading brands and agencies. The private equity-backed business has been named an AdExchanger Programmatic Power Player for two consecutive years and included on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies for three consecutive years. Founded in 2014, Connatix is headquartered in New York City and continues to expand its global footprint with offices in London, Cluj-Napoca, and Tel Aviv.

About JWP

JW Player (JWP) is a leader in video streaming and player technology, providing broadcasters and publishers with a platform for delivering and monetizing video content across web, OTT, CTV, and FAST platforms. JWP’s technology helps deliver exceptional video experiences, engage audiences, and increase viewing time. Pioneering innovations like HLS streaming, header bidding for video, and contextual content recommendations, JWP offers a comprehensive end-to-end streaming management platform. Founded in 2008, JWP is one of the fastest growing SaaS companies in the world with a vision to power video-driven businesses so they thrive in the digital video economy. Serving over 2,000 global broadcasters, publishers, and video-driven brands, JWP powers video for over 1 billion users each month and 5 billion minutes of video watched. Headquartered in New York, JWP has offices in London, Eindhoven, and Skopje.

Media Contact
Cassady Nordeen
cassady@purposenorthamerica.com

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SOURCE Connatix

Technology

Proteotype Awarded £1.5 Million Grant to Advance Early Cancer Detection with Innovative Enlighten® Test

Published

49 mins ago

October 9, 2024

CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, Oct. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Proteotype Diagnostics Ltd, in collaboration with the University of Southampton, has been awarded £1.5 million in funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Office for Life Sciences (OLS). The grant (NIHR207538) will support clinical validation of Proteotype’s novel Enlighten® Multi-Cancer Early Detection test, a revolutionary approach to detecting early-stage cancers by focusing on the body’s response to tumour development.

A Breakthrough in Early Cancer Detection

While many cancer diagnostics rely on tumour-released signals, such as circulating tumour DNA, which is often only detectable once cancer has progressed, Enlighten® takes a different and potentially more powerful approach. It measures the host response to tumour development, tracking changing levels of proteins that occur even in the earliest stages of cancer.

Initial results have been promising. At AACR 2024, Proteotype reported a detection rate of 86% across multiple cancers, with a 0% false-positive rate and strong signals for early-stage cancers. The test now needs to be validated in a larger group of patients, enabling a statistically powered calculation of performance.

Dr. Emma Yates, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Proteotype Diagnostics, said: “When cancer is discovered earlier, patients have more treatment options and better outcomes. Enlighten® is designed to disrupt, detecting cancer as early as the immune system, whilst remaining simple enough yet robust enough to fit existing care pathways and NHS needs.”

Focused on Health Equity

Enlighten® will be trialled in real-world NHS settings with a specific focus on reaching higher-risk, underserved populations. The MODERNISED clinical study, led by Professor Andrew Davies from the University of Southampton Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, will recruit 1,350 participants across Southern England, targeting cancers with high mortality rates in socio-economically deprived areas, such as colorectal, lung, and pancreatic cancers.

Wesley Sukdao, co-founder and CEO of Proteotype Diagnostics shared: “Growing up in poverty in South Africa, I lost three of my closest family members to cancers detected too late, all before I turned fourteen. To meaningfully impact health inequalities, cutting-edge cancer diagnostics must be both affordable and accessible. My team and I are focused to deliver on this mission.”

Driving Cost-Effective Screening for the NHS

Enlighten® does not require highly expensive, specialised equipment or consumables. Affordable laboratory kits applied to crude patient plasma enable easy scale-up for mass screening. With low data requirements and results within 24-hours of sample measurement, it is well positioned for NHS-wide adoption.

MODERNISED will be accompanied by a Health Economic Evaluation to ensure it delivers clinical benefit and meets NHS financial goals.

A Critical Step Forward

This grant is part of a UK Government commitment of £22.5m to deliver the OLS Cancer Programme. The NIHR i4i-OLS call forms part of this programme. Over the next 24-months, Enlighten® will undergo clinical validation, bringing it closer to regulatory approval and potential integration into NHS cancer screening programs.

Professor Andrew Davies, Chief Investigator (MODERNISED), commented: “Enlighten is innovative, capturing changing levels of proteins released into the bloodstream even in the earliest cancer stages. If Enlighten performs well in MODERNISED, it could mark a step change in early cancer diagnostics.”

About Proteotype Diagnostics Ltd

Proteotype is a pioneering diagnostics company dedicated to the development of advanced multi-cancer early detection and personalised medicine tests that measure the host response to tumour development. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies and comprehensive research, Proteotype aims to revolutionise cancer diagnostics and improve early detection, ultimately enhancing patient outcomes and survival rates.

Media contact: pr@proteotype.com

Email invest@proteotype.com to partner and bring this test to a clinic near you.

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SOURCE Proteotype Diagnostics

Technology

DCS Awarded $70.7M Contract to Support Army’s Ground Vehicle Systems Center

Published

49 mins ago

October 9, 2024

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — DCS Corporation is pleased to announce the award of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) Ground Vehicle Simulation Lab (GVSL) contract valued at $70.7M.

Under this 5-year contract, DCS will continue to provide technical services to the U.S. Army (DEVCOM) GVSC Immersive Simulation Directorate (GVSC-IS) in Warren, Michigan. GVSC-IS is home to a world-class facility that develops and applies physics-based simulations, simulators, crew station design, and virtual simulation in support of Army ground combat vehicle technology research, development, and maturation. Under this contract, DCS will provide technical services for: Immersive Ground Vehicle Simulation development, integration, and execution; Ride Motion Simulation and Crew Station/Turret Motion Based Simulation; crew station development and integration; and conduct and evaluation of Virtual Experimentation. The technology developed will advance the Army’s ability to evaluate concept and existing vehicle systems mobility, durability, and operations on the move.

“For more than 20 years, DCS has supported GVSC-IS and U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command in conducting motion-based and large-scale experiments at the world-class GVSL modeling and simulation facilities,” commented Bill Protzman, DCS President and COO. “We are excited to continue supporting GVSC-IS and the Warfighter.”

DCS has been a trusted partner of the U.S. Army GVSC and its predecessor organizations for more than 35 years. DCS employee-owners work alongside Government counterparts to further the research, development, acquisition, integration, testing, fielding, and post-fielding operations of manned and unmanned ground vehicles. These Government-contractor teams develop and deliver innovative solutions to support the mission of the Army.

About DCS An employee-owned company, DCS offers advanced technology, engineering, and management solutions to Government agencies in the national security sector. The transformative ideas, commitment to quality, and entrepreneurial spirit that characterize our employee-owners allow us to ensure the success of each customer’s mission and actively contribute to the well-being of the Nation. For more information, please visit: https://www.dcscorp.com.

Contact: DCS Media, dcsmedia@dcscorp.com, 571-227-6000

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. OPSEC9069

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SOURCE DCS Corporation