CureVac Story of a disappointed hope

Status: 06/17/2021 8:30 p.m.

While the world is now being vaccinated with BioNTech, the vaccine from CureVac has proven to be ineffective. How could the two great German hopefuls develop so differently?

By Thomas Aders and Sebastian Deliga, SWR

At first it was a German head-to-head race between the Mainz-based pharmaceutical company BioNTech and the Tübingen researchers from CureVac. Both use the same technology “Messenger RNA”, the share prices of both companies initially took off on the stock exchanges, and both have professional and global partners. The Mainz-based company was able to bring the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on board, while the Tübingen-based company found what they were looking for at Bayer. And not only that: At the beginning of September, a man came to visit Tübingen, whose name makes technology enthusiasts, e-mobility enthusiasts and stock market speculators enthusiastic: Tesla boss Elon Musk. Even before he paid his respects to Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, he stopped by CureVac. For the production of their vaccines, the people of Tübingen used the technology of the medium-sized company Grohmann in the Eifel, which in turn has been part of the Tesla empire since 2017.

The field of support from both companies was also in competition: in Tübingen, SAP boss Dietmar Hopp became the majority owner, in Mainz the twins Thomas and Andreas Strüngmann, who had become rich in the pharmaceutical business, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation were behind BioNTech boss Ugur Sahin. From the outside, it was still the duel between digitization pioneer Hopp and oncology professor Sahin. Both were believed to be successful.

But since the beginning of 2021, the people of Baden-Württemberg have stumbled in the race against the Rhineland-Palatinate; while the BioNTech drug was approved by the authorities, CureVac has still not fully completed the third phase of its vaccine testing. Today’s publication of the inferior efficacy of the Tübingen vaccine candidate CVnCOV of only 47 percent – in contrast to 90 percent for BioNTech / Pfizer – was the end of hopes for mass production soon and the end of hopes for strong profits on the stock market; the price of CureVac has more than halved.

Why does the vaccine protect so poorly against Covid-19?

When the Tübingen-based company delayed the crucial phase 3 and tested the vaccine, there were already several mutations of the corona virus. That made research much more difficult. Virologist Martin Stürmer from the University of Frankfurt also sees this as one of the problems: “BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Co. – they only had to deal with B.1.1.7 (the Alpha variant, first developed in England).” In addition, it was the Tübingen’s unwritten law to administer RNA as pure as possible and not chemically treated. This also had fatal consequences for CureVac, because the competition achieved a much higher concentration by modifying the messenger RNA. The head of the CureVac vaccination study, Peter Kremsner: “BioNTech and Moderna were able to dose three to ten times as high because they chemically changed the RNA. At CureVac, the dogma was that the RNA should be injected as unchanged as possible, which is basically correct, but unfortunately it did not work.” The goal of the Tübingen was a noble one. And the SPD politician and epidemiologist Karl Lauterbach is talking about the company’s fate today tagesschau.de “terribly sorry”. He always admired the particularly ethical and moral standards of the Tübingen population. But Lauterbach no longer sees any basis for hope either. Even if CureVac starts all over again, the competitors from BioNTech or Johnson & Johnson, for example, have made further progress in their research. So the Tübingen train left for many.

What does this mean for the vaccination campaign in Germany and Europe?

Epidemiologist Lauterbach very much regrets the bitter fate of CureVac, but he sees the German vaccination campaign as hardly endangered in the Tübingen disaster. Several other vaccines worked to a great extent in his opinion, and in his view today’s setback would result in a delay of no more than three weeks. “By the end of September we will probably have a vaccination rate of 70 percent, and thus herd immunity.” The Federal Ministry of Health is also anything but panicked. Got the latest news about CureVac “no impact on the pace of our vaccination campaign”. Brussels does not want to comment directly on the CureVac disaster, that is a matter for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Amsterdam, which decides on the approval of vaccine preparations. However, the EU has apparently taken precautions in the event that CureVac fails: The contract with the Tübingen region includes “Termination clauses in the event that the vaccine is not approved by the EMA”. There are also rather composed comments from Parliament: of course, the results at CureVac are inadequate “a big disappointment”, said MEP Peter Liese. “The goal of offering people in Germany and Europe a vaccination offer by the end of the summer is still realistic.” This is due to the positive developments at BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson. Additional information is interesting in Peter Liese’s statement: CureVac CEO Franz-Werner Haas had already promised him in December that his company would work with other manufacturers, “if your vaccine doesn’t work”. With today’s publication of this conversation note, the pressure on the Tübingen-based company and its partner Bayer should now have increased rapidly to cooperate quickly with successful competitors from Mainz and to convert their own capacities to the production of BioNTech.

Did the state lose money promoting CureVac?

“The federal government is participating in this promising company because it expects it to accelerate developments and to enable CureVac financially to exploit the potential of its technology.” Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier said that almost exactly a year ago. The federal government then invested 300 million euros in the Tübingen-based company. In addition, there was the Federal Ministry of Research, which made a commitment for funding of 251.6 million euros.

All in all, a good half a billion euros. So is the money gone now? The answer: only in part. On the one hand, the federal government received a share in the company for its investment. And although CureVac’s price has slumped by more than half today, the value of that portion is still likely to be significantly higher than when the company went public. And on the other hand, of the promised 251.6 million, only 102.8 million euros have actually flowed so far, as the Ministry of Research tagesschau.de confirmed today. The rest will probably be withheld as the payout “depending on the progress of the project” is. Regardless of the possible “Losses” The question arises, however, what would have happened if the federal government had not invested a cent in promising companies such as CureVac or BioNTech. An outcry would probably have gone through the republic, even though an alleged takeover offer by ex-US President Donald Trump turned out to be a hoax. The situation in the crisis year 2020 was dramatic, according to SPD health expert Lauterbach. “It was an extremely noble attempt by our German companies to develop a new type of Covid vaccine and make it available to the whole world. The investments were right, although in the case of CureVac there was no success.”

A few days ago, foreign media interviewed Facebook founder Zuckerberg and Reality Labs head Andrew Bosworth on Instagram Live. The content is straight to Facebook’s core topics on the next step of the VR ecosystem, AR operating system, AR glasses terminal, and brain-computer interface. The entire conversation lasted about an hour and a half.

Zuckerberg: VR terminal prices are still not close enough to the people

Will increase efforts to promote popularization

Quest2 sold for US$199, coupled with a relatively complete VR content ecology, which directly led to the outbreak of the second spring of the VR industry. But for Zuckerberg, this is far from enough.

Since the announcement of the acquisition of the Oculus team in 2014, Facebook has never stopped betting on the VR industry. Zuckerberg has publicly stated more than once that he is confident in the future development of AR and VR equipment.

Zuckerberg believes that the immersive industry will be divided along the route of wired and wireless, and that wireless devices may win a larger consumer market share. More and more brands have successively launched VR all-in-one devices to break free from the limitations of connection lines. In the future, the standard for high-quality VR and AR products will be based on wireless.

Source: bilibili@默者VR

Zuckerberg also mentioned another important reason for the popularization of VR and AR technology-price. The immaturity of technology and the cost of R&D investment have made VR and AR equipment currently unable to be perfect in terms of price and configuration. The price must be as affordable as possible for more people, and it is possible to realize the vision of a next-generation computing platform.

Facebook stated that its plan in this regard will be similar to the practice of game makers, pre-subsidy and subsequent subsidies through the sale of applications and other services. In the next ten years, prices will determine the popularity of these technologies.

In terms of VR ecological construction, Facebook has recently set its sights on a large number of virtual reality studios, including the acquisition of “Beat Saber” developer Beat Games, “Asgard’s Wrath” developer Sanzaru, and Roblox-like game creation platform Crayta.

Image source: Crayta

VR is actually a “curve to save the country” strategy

The research and development of AR glasses and operating system are adv

Zuckerberg once said that VR will be an important part of how AR is built. It seems that Facebook’s current actions are all paving the way for its AR products.

When talking about the research and development of AR glasses, Zuckerberg once said that it will launch Facebook’s first AR glasses this year, but it is not technically complete. “If you are building an AR glasses that look like ordinary glasses, you need to perform very strict optimization of the system to complete all the calculations expected by modern computers based on this, but because AR glasses are devices on the human face, heat dissipation And power will be a very big challenge.”

Source: tech.sina

Zuckerberg said: “For the layout of the AR industry, Facebook can be said to be a pioneer in the field. In 2018, we launched the Portal platform and injected it with interesting and practical AR filter functions a year later.”

Bosworth added that during the epidemic, Zuckerberg invested a lot of energy in promoting the development of Portal, making it a “lifeline” for Facebook employees to work from home. Portal is a smart display used for video call services launched by Facebook in previous years, similar to Amazon Echo show and Google Home Hub. Although the sales of Portal devices were once underwhelmed by the Facebook privacy leak, the sales of the new Portal exceeded expectations during the Christmas period last year.

Image source: NYTimes

This sales performance may be related to the state of the epidemic that is likely to continue for a long time in the future and a series of improvements made by Facebook on the product, so it also arouses more curiosity about the subsequent development of this product. .

In this regard, Zuckerberg believes that under the influence of the epidemic, people’s social methods have also changed, and the use of video calls to socialize has become a more likely thing. Since the launch of the Portal device, Facebook has been continuously improving the AR function to add fun and sociality to the device. Even if the video is two-dimensional, it is still impossible to achieve the effect of “face-to-face” communication, but for most people, video technology is currently the most “sense of existence” tool, and people can establish a connection with each other when using video calls. Real-time contact.

On the one hand, it is to create a brand new remote call mode through Portal. At the same time, Zuckerberg also said that they regard the Portal device as an extended product of Facebook’s virtual laboratory, and this is related to Facebook’s layout in AR and VR.

“Of course this has to do with the bigger picture of AR and VR that we are doing. Many people think that AR and VR are these technologies, but in fact they are tools and platforms that convey a sense of existence.”

Source: techcrunch

Although the specific news of Facebook’s AR glasses has not been revealed, according to foreign media reports recently, Facebook intends to launch the first smart watch next summer, which will be the key input device for its AR glasses. Not only is it preparing for AR glasses on the hardware, Facebook is also developing a virtual reality system independently.

“We are building a real operating system, which will be a new platform that is different from all other platforms. This is a very big challenge, but our team has gone a long way in this regard. We are building a new platform based on micro The kernel’s operating system.”

Neural interface will be the universal input method for AR and VR in the future

The brain-computer interface is a very sci-fi concept, and it is now in a very early stage. Before Musk established Neuralink to focus on brain-computer interface technology, Facebook acquired the neural interface service provider CTRL-Labs and announced its entry into the neural interface field. Unlike Neuralink’s invasive device that needs to be implanted in the brain, Facebook’s is a non-invasive watch-type device.

Source: venturebeat

In the field of neural interfaces, people have always been worried about personal privacy-related issues, and Zuckerberg believes that the public has some misunderstandings about neural interfaces. The neural interface system is not a “mind-reading technique”, but gives a person an ability to make Their brains send signals about this work to other body parts. As early as when he acquired CTRL-Labs, Zuckerberg stated that he hoped to use neural interface technology to create a better way of socializing, and only relying on ideas to achieve functions such as typing and adding filters to photos.

Zuckerberg is confident about the future prospects of neural interfaces, “In some respects, the breakthrough in all of this will be neural interfaces.” However, it is clear that the field of neural interface is not mature enough in all aspects. The person in charge of the neural interface project also said: “We think this may take ten years. This is a long-term research project.” Zuckerberg revealed in the conversation that the time limit for some “cool” things that Facebook is about to launch is calculated in units of 5 or 10 years.

Source: sohu

And he believes that “when designing a new platform, the most important thing is the “input” method. How to control the platform is the most decisive factor. If the interactive activities around AR and VR do not require any physical controllers or the like , That must be a brand new revolution.”

Judging from Zuckerberg’s description, the input methods of VR and AR in the future are likely to be realized by neural interface devices. On this basis, Facebook will create a futuristic social platform.

This is a program approved by the Prime Minister in 2013, in order to focus on developing synchronously the infrastructure system, human resources and intermediary institutions of the science and technology market in order to improve operational efficiency. application and technology transfer; promote supply and demand relationships for science and technology products and services. Mr. Pham Duc Nghiem – Deputy Director of the Department of Market Development and Science and Technology Enterprises (Ministry of Science and Technology), in charge of Program 2075 – visited the exhibition booth of the research team including Pharmacist Phan Ke Son and Assoc. Dr. Ha Phuong Thu (Institute of Materials Science). This commercialization project is chaired and implemented by the Institute of Materials Science, in collaboration with CVI Cosmetics Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company with funding from the State Budget and reciprocal funding from enterprises – companies. CVI company for raw materials, machinery and equipment. The close cooperation between scientists and enterprises not only helps the successful research of the project but also transfers the research results into commercial products to the market. However, during the implementation of the project, the Department of Market Development and Science and Technology Enterprises of the Ministry of Science and Technology – the focal unit to implement the 2075 Program – played an important bridging role. , while actively following the project’s tasks, completing the legal environment, improving the efficiency of state management of the S&T market; promote S&T market service activities as well as technology demand and improve technology transfer capacity. Through the 2075 program, with the support of the Department of Market Development and science and technology enterprises, the project has completed the technological process of manufacturing functional foods from three-size nanomaterials and commercializing them. successful technological process as well as functional food products. In addition, the 2075 Program has helped promote the connection between state agencies and agencies, science and technology enterprises, innovative start-ups and intermediaries and thereby improve effective commercialization of technology, contributing to attracting stakeholders to the S&T market.

Apple hires former BMW CEO for electric car project. The iPhone maker’s car-making efforts, known as Project Titan, have progressed unsatisfactorily since 2014. At this point, Apple began designing its own vehicles for the first time. In December 2020, Reuters reports that Apple is working on self-driving car technology and aims to produce a passenger vehicle, including breakthrough PIN technology, by 2024. Previously, in 2018, the tech giant Apple hired former Tesla design chief Andrew Kim, sparking speculation that Apple was once again trying to develop its own car. The timing of Apple’s hire of Andrew Kim seems to coincide with Doug Field’s return to Apple as well. Looking at the profile of Andrew Kim, this designer has contributed to Tesla’s hit models Model 3, Model S, Model X, Model Y as well as Roadster V2 and Semi. Before taking on a major role at Tesla, Kim spent three and a half years at Microsoft, where he developed user interfaces and Windows 10 products such as HoloLens and Xbox One S.

This is the first time the Government has introduced the concept of Digital Government. Accordingly, digital government is essentially e-government, with changes in approach and implementation thanks to the development of digital technology. “Solving administrative procedures without contact” is one of the four criteria of e-Government. Photo: VGP. The strategy clearly states that by 2030, Vietnam is in the group of 30 leading countries in the development index of e-government and digital government according to the United Nations ranking. Digital government will transform the way people and businesses are served. From there, it helps to reduce costs, increase the productivity of businesses, create favorable conditions, and bring satisfaction to people. The ultimate goal is for people and businesses to participate more in the activities of state agencies, jointly creating values, benefits, satisfaction, trust and social consensus. The digital government also transforms the way it is organised, operated, working environment and tools so that cadres, civil servants and public employees can best perform their duties. For each stage, specific goals are set with basic targets. By 2025, the strategy sets five goals including providing quality services to serve society; widely mobilize the participation of society; optimal operation of state agencies’ activities; effectively solve major problems in socio-economic development, and make breakthrough changes in national ranking. Regarding the national key tasks, the strategy clearly states 6 tasks including: Perfecting the legal environment, developing digital infrastructure; develop digital platforms and national scale systems; develop national digital data; development of national applications and services; ensure the safety and security of the national network. These six tasks are also the key tasks of ministries, branches and localities to implement within their respective sectors, domains and localities. The strategy clearly states 10 solutions for implementation, including solutions on: Organization, apparatus, network; training and fostering digital skills; propaganda, dissemination and awareness raising; cooperation between state agencies and enterprises; researching, developing and mastering core technologies; standardization and restructuring of business processes; international cooperation… According to Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung, e-Government targets will be basically completed in 2021, with a focus on level 4 online public services reaching 100%. The digital government will be formed in 2025. Accordingly, government services are provided automatically 24/7 according to demand, new public services are provided in a timely manner and on the basis of open data. Digital government is essentially e-government, with changes in approach and implementation thanks to the development of digital technology. Therefore, when we say that developing digital government means developing e-government, digital government includes e-government. E-Government, simply understood, is the “four Nos”, including the ability to meet face-to-face, process paperless documents, handle contactless administrative procedures and make non-cash payments. Digital government is e-government, adding “four Yess”, having all safe actions in the digital environment, being able to provide new services quickly, having the ability to use resources optimally, and being able to ability to create development, lead the country’s digital transformation, effectively solve major problems in socio-economic development and management.

A lot of women want to lose weight and keep fit, exercise to have a slim waist, toned stomach, but the more summer, the more refreshments, sweets or at home, the more they eat and drink, so the exercise Weight loss training stagnated. There are always a lot of methods and tips to lose weight suitable for the summer, and you also learn the exercises that do not take too much time, practice at home but still keep in shape very effectively. And if you have the same need, you can refer to this move, a move that you practice right in the living room salon with 300 times a day, your waist will be big and your belly will become slim. fast firming. This movement directly affects the abdominal muscles, and both hips and buttocks to directly burn fat in the 2nd round, the 3rd round is more enlarged, the thighs are also affected to become slimmer and firmer. The movement of lifting people with legs Perform: 300 times / day (Can be divided into 3 sets morning – afternoon – evening) * Prepare: – Lie on your back with your back on the floor, then raise your legs up on the chair. – Raise your body on an inclined plane, hands pressed to the floor to keep balance. – Pay attention to keep the shoulders, neck and head fixed on the floor. – Squeeze the abdomen, use the abdominal muscles to lift the body. * Begin: -Collect each leg close to the abdomen, while contracting and contracting the abdomen and breathing rhythmically. – The other leg remains in the resting position on the chair. – Keep the lifter in the inclined plane and breathe evenly through the exercise beats. Change legs regularly, rhythmically and breathe evenly. During the exercise, you will be quite tired of the leg muscles and abdominal muscles due to the contraction and contraction of the abdomen to keep balance. Start with 50 leg lifts (25 each) for the first set in the morning, then add more in the afternoon and evening. Maintain correct exercise 300 times per day, you will definitely have toned abs after 1 week of training. Exercises at the salon help slim waist and flat stomach, extremely effective slimming. The movement is very easy to do, for those who practice for the first time. It does not require you to have specialized techniques or instructors, nor any tools, but the effect is enough to surprise you. A slim waist or a toned round 3 is no longer a distant dream for women, just maintain this movement 300 times a day to have a good body right away.

Head skin While you’re very concerned about applying sunscreen, the scalp is a bit more of a problem unless you’re bald. Hair alone is not enough to protect the scalp, especially if you have light colored hair. Experts believe that skin cancer hides between the lines on your scalp. One way to protect oily skin from harmful UV rays is to wear a hat that covers your head to reduce your risk of developing skin cancer. You can also choose to spray sunscreen to allow the cream to penetrate your scalp. Palms and feet The tops of the hands and feet are more exposed to the sun, but that doesn’t mean the palms and soles are immune to skin cancer. While it’s a rare condition that mostly affects people of color, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. So pay attention to any changes in the color of the skin around these areas. Fingernails and toenails Malignant tumors that form on fingernails and toenails can cause the skin in these areas to darken or change. They can also be a breeding ground for squamous cell carcinoma, which manifests as red, rough, or thickened nodules on the skin that may be hidden. In this situation, however, sun exposure is not the only factor, genetics and trauma also play a role in developing the skin cell disorder. Eyelid According to the British Journal of Ophthalmology, 10% of skin cancers are found in the eyelids. You may not have noticed, the eyelids are the most exposed area to the sun, but often overlooked when you apply sunscreen. So don’t forget to apply sunscreen to your eyelids. You can also wear sunglasses and a hat whenever you’re out in the sun. Genitals Believe it or not, sun exposure isn’t the only factor in skin cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma, which can affect the skin adjacent to the genitals, is thought to be associated with human papillomavirus infection. It usually goes undetected unless you regularly check for abnormalities. So the best way to reduce your risk of papillomavirus-related cancers is to practice safe sex and talk to your doctor about getting vaccinated.

“A key element in Kia’s transition has been the transition from internal combustion engines to electric motors,” said President and CEO, Kia North America. With our strategic investment in the United States to produce electric vehicles, we are not only taking great strides toward leading the electric vehicle market, but also increasing our economic contribution to the countries in which we do business.” Illustration. The manufacturers also plan to work with local governments and businesses to expand hydrogen infrastructure in the US. Currently, Hyundai Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with the US Department of Energy to cooperate on the expansion and innovation of fuel cell technology. This includes the installation of hydrogen pumping stations for NEXO. Automaker Hyundai is planning to introduce an electric fuel cell commercial truck. The plan is to use these vehicles to replace diesel trucks for logistics services between seaports and warehouses. Earlier, Hyundai announced plans to buy a controlling stake in robotics company Boston Dynamics and has formed a joint venture with Motional, an American autonomous vehicle company. The company has plans for commercial use of the robot on the streets by 2023. “This investment demonstrates our strong commitment to the US market, our dealers and customers. Hyundai will lead the future of the auto industry in the US and around the world. Our efforts are positive proof that Hyundai will continue to pursue excellence in its current and future product lines,” said Jose Munoz, CEO of Hyundai Group. . Hyundai currently operates a plant in Alabama.

The sea tourism potential of Phu Yen is of interest to Kon Tum businesses. Photo: Phu Yen Newspaper This tourism stimulus event is organized by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Phu Yen Tourism Association in collaboration with the Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Gia Lai, Dak Lak and Kon Tum provinces from April 14-17. In the three provinces mentioned above, the Phu Yen tourism industry has provided general information on the potential and advantages of Phu Yen tourism with tourism businesses in the three Central Highlands provinces. Phu Yen is a locality with a coastline of 189 km along with a variety of topography, with many beautiful beaches such as Xuan Dai Bay, Vung Ro Bay, Bai Xep, Bai Tram, Bai Mon, Long Thuy, Tuy Hoa Beach, etc. … very convenient for eco-tourism and beach resort. Besides, Phu Yen also has 2 national monuments, especially Nhan Tower and Da Dia Reef, 20 national monuments and 72 provincial relics. The unique feature of Phu Yen culture is the interweaving and interference of many different cultures with 32 ethnic groups living together, creating rich folklore nuances; many traditional festivals, folk songs, and folk dances, ranging from tuong singing, Bai Choi, Ho Ba Trao to Truong Ca; Ethnic instruments such as double drums, triple gongs, five gongs, stone lutes… Phu Yen cuisine is also considered a strength with many famous specialties; in which there are 5 specialties voted in the top 100 famous delicious specialties of Vietnam such as tuna, tuna eyes with medicinal herbs, O Loan blood cockle, O Loan oyster, Song Cau grilled chicken… Phu Yen currently has 380 tourist accommodation business establishments with 6,160 rooms; There are 8 relics and landscapes recognized as local tourist attractions. In particular, Xuan Dai Bay National Tourist Area has been approved by the Prime Minister of the Master Plan for Tourism Development to 2030… Deploying tourism stimulus program, tourism units and establishments of Phu Yen such as: Sao Viet resort, Sao Mai Beach resort, Stelia Beach resort, Rosa Alba resort, Saigon – Phu Yen Hotel… introduce services with preferential prices for customers in 3 provinces of the Central Highlands. Tourism enterprises in the Central Highlands highly appreciate Phu Yen’s marine tourism products and as a result, many direct memorandums of understanding between Phu Yen’s businesses and the provinces are signed during the upcoming peak tourist season. as well as in the long run. It is worth noting that the tourism industry of Phu Yen and the three provinces of the Central Highlands will focus on exploiting the difference between coastal-mountain tourism products to provide tourists with interesting vacations. This is also the basis for the four provinces to link and cooperate to promote their strengths to effectively form and exploit the tourist route “Blue Sea connects the great thousand”. Gia Lai tourism service enterprise is interested in tourism products of Phu Yen. Photo: Gia Lai Newspaper After introducing relevant information, many MOUs on cooperation were signed by businesses with the hope that the parties will facilitate the attraction of tourists in order to accelerate the tourism recovery process.

Motorola partnered with Guru to develop remote wireless charging technology. Photo: Motorola GuRu powers devices at watts-over-meters, Guru’s proprietary technology has revolutionized the consumer experience and eliminates power as an everyday concern. . GuRu’s patented, miniature modules will allow devices to be powered at long distances by precise power delivery. Motorola and GuRu, will work together to meet Motorola’s stringent requirements for quality, power efficiency, and safety. Florian Bohn, CEO and Co-Founder of GuRu, said the partnership with Motorola will help Guru access the ecosystem of smart devices and solutions with the goal of improving the consumer experience. use. Guru will introduce true mobility to mobile smart devices and IoT sensors. GuRu’s technology enables safe, efficient, and customizable transmission of electricity through the air using integrated millimeter wave (mmWave) circuits, modules, and proprietary Smart RF Lensing technology. A miniature power transmission system that efficiently and accurately delivers power over long distances like never before. GuRu’s proprietary technology enables safe, accurate transmission and recovery of micro-watt to multi-watt-level wireless power over long distances. Photo: Guru GuRu’s wireless solution can be used as a charging hub or power source in a variety of settings that require access to a power source. It’s easy to set up, secure, and sophisticated enough to find and adjust different power levels to match the needs of any device. Even during use, it continuously charges devices and as a safety measure, reroutes power as needed. Motorola and Guru have not provided much information about this partnership and when phones using remote wireless charging technology will be available to consumers, but the two will work together to meet the requirements. strict requirements on quality, efficiency of electricity use and safety. Earlier this year, Motorola showed off a demo of a device allegedly called the Motorola One Hyper that charges two Moto Edge phones remotely, but didn’t say if it would work with Guru on the project. Remote wireless charging technology has also been researched by many companies since 2015, such as Energous company researched and claimed to be able to charge phones from about 4 meters away. This year, Xiaomi also introduced Mi Air Charging Technology, which in the future can remotely charge multiple devices at the same time.

Quynh Nhai lake sea. (Photo: Dinh Thuan / VNA) On April 20, the Hanoi Tourism Association in coordination with the Son La Provincial Tourism Association held a ceremony to cooperate with the development and promotion of tourism products. Son La is known for its familiar destinations such as Moc Chau, Ta Xua-Bac Me, Son La prison … and the beautiful natural landscape and cultural colors of the ethnic groups. The province is developing tourism associated with preserving national cultural identity; preserving and embellishing historical relics and landscapes; to restore traditional festivals. Son La province is assessing tourism resources, advantages and potentials of each locality, focusing on building and developing unique, different, professional tourism products, creating an important and breakthrough tourist product. break. Moc Chau tourist area is built from 5-6 standard tourist products of the region Quynh Nhai lake sea 3-4 products, Son La city 2-3 products, Bac Yen district 2 products, the rest districts 1 product. By 2025, Son La province is expected to attract 5.2 million visitors, revenue from tourism will reach VND 5,800 billion. Also by 2025, Son La will build Moc Chau tourist area into a national tourist area and Quynh Nhai lake area into a provincial tourist area. At the ceremony, the Tourism Association of Son La province and the People’s Committee of Quynh Nhai district announced the new product tour Hanoi-Son La city-Quynh Nhai-Thuan Chau. With this tour, visitors can explore Golden Forest Tourist Area, Vuon Dao Meeting Stream, Son La Prison, Quynh Nhai Lake, Pha Din Pass … In particular, Quynh Nhai Lake has the characteristics of rivers, mountains, villages on both sides, in the lake bed area there are up to 45 large and small islands. Quynh Nhai lake beach is impressed with tourist attractions such as Pa Uon bridge, Nang Han-Linh Son Thuy Tu temple cluster, Heart island, Uy Phong bay … Association President Traveling Hanoi Nguyen Manh Than said the association and cooperation between Hanoi-Son La tourism creates advantages to exploit and develop new products, to attract tourists to Son La. In the context of translation COVID-19 basically controlled, the tourism industry is stimulating demand Domestic tourism . In addition to reducing tour prices and travel services, the construction and promotion of new products will create more opportunities for tourists to choose and bring new experiences for guests. However, the locality needs to invest in infrastructure, tourism services, to create a highlight for tourists. Assessing the tourism potential of the locality, many Hanoi travel businesses also say that in order to create the attraction for tourism products, the locality needs to invest synchronously in products, accommodation facilities, and accommodation. real travel services. Currently, many infrastructure and tourism services here are not really up to standards. For districts such as Quynh Nhai, it is necessary to rely on advantages to develop adventure tourism products, sports such as paragliding, water motorbikes, kayaking, cycling, community tourism development … Head of Tourism Management Division – Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Son La province Bui Khac Bao said that the province determines to develop tourism into a spearhead economic sector. Besides developing new products, Son La promotes communication and promotion; promoting investment promotion for tourism development; human resource development … In particular, the construction of tourism infrastructure will be focused, in order to step by step make Son La an attractive destination. At the ceremony, tourism businesses in Hanoi and Son La signed a memorandum of cooperation to exploit and develop tourism./.

Unique new product, attractive price Mr. Tran Van Phuc, Deputy Director of the Tourism Department of Thua Thien – Hue province, said to restore tourism and support businesses, attract tourists to the central provinces, the program “Miraculous Heritage Region” It has been built by the 4 local tourism industry with many new, unique, high quality products and services with attractive demand stimulating prices … According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Binh, Deputy Director of Da Nang City Department of Tourism, localities will support businesses to restructure their local tourism products, continue to diversify forms of support and incentives at 4 destination of the Central region. Specifically, a series of new tour products with attractive prices have been launched by localities such as the tour program “Miraculous Heritage Area” 4-day 3-night package priced from VND 4.09 million, including tickets. round trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang; tour program “Amazing Da Nang” package 3 days 2 nights priced from 3.49 million including round-trip air tickets. Visitors will discover famous destinations such as Ba Na, Son Tra peninsula, Ngu Hanh Son, Hoi An ancient town, experience the Han River at night … According to the Da Nang Department of Tourism, tickets will be 100% free to visit Ngu Hanh Son scenic area, Da Nang Museum, Museum of Cham Sculpture, Museum of Fine Arts. Hotels, resorts in Da Nang 20% ​​-50% off room rates, services, gift vouchers for guests to stay … Promotion applies to the end of December 31. In Thua Thien – Hue, the tourism industry will reduce 50% of the entrance fee for travel service business units to bring visitors to the Hue cultural heritage sites of the Hue ancient monuments complex from now until 31- 8; 60% reduction in fees to visit souvenir areas, mineral springs tourist areas; 50% off room rate at 3-5 star hotel … Effective from linking In Ho Chi Minh City, to promote the destination on the occasion of the April 30th, the Department of Tourism is implementing a series of communication activities to introduce attractive destinations, unique cultural – artistic features, diversity in the humidity. real, quality service and unique shopping experience … Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Department of Tourism of Ho Chi Minh City, said that Ho Chi Minh City will organize many key activities such as City Tourism Festival, Ao Dai festival, international marathon event with the participation of athletes. international professional … in order to constantly promote the image, destination. Tourists experience, explore the land, people, culture, cuisine. Some businesses also actively link with localities and destinations to promote tourism, create new tourism products for tourists. Vietravel Company has just cooperated with Vietravel Airlines, Department of Culture – Sports and Tourism of Ha Giang province to organize a tourism survey and promotion program with the theme “The Northern Quintessence – Colors of Ha Giang”, to introduce the tourism potential of Ha Giang province as well as stimulus programs. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture – Sports and Tourism of Ha Giang province, acknowledged that the association has contributed to promoting the development of local tourism every day. In the first four months of the year, this destination welcomed nearly 500,000 visitors, an increase of about 35% over the same period last year.

According to the developers, the tugboat weighs 80 kg, carrying 16 kg of liquid fuel. The tugboat is designed to pull a number of satellites into different orbits. That is seen as a competitive advantage over missiles without tugs. Russia is ambitious in future tugboat development projects. Russia is popularizing the use of the accelerator decks, in fact the tugboats put satellites in different orbits. On March 22, the Fregat stage used in the Soyuz rocket carried 38 foreign satellites to different orbits. By the end of 2020, Russian media reported that Roskosmos State Space Group would spend 4.2 billion rubles on the development of nuclear space tugs for flights to other planets of the solar system. Accordingly, the state corporation plans to develop a preliminary project on creating a space complex with an energy-transport module based on a nuclear electric motor. Expressing confidence in this program, Mr. Alexander Bloshenko – chief executive officer “Roskosmos” said the nuclear space tugboat will be launched to one of the satellites of Jupiter by 2030.

At the meeting above, the representative of the World Investment Fund Joint Stock Company summarized the outline of the master plan for tourism development in Quynh Nhai district. Specifically, the outline has proposed a solution for planning the exploitation of Quynh Nhai tourism development with a focus on the Son La hydropower reservoir area, creating a high-class community-based eco-tourism area in Son La province. with many types of tourism and class services, focusing on exploiting typical space, long-standing cultural values, creating a unique identity that attracts tourists, becoming an attractive tourist center. attracting domestic and international tourists. Also according to this outline, the scope of the project formulation includes the entire water surface of the Son La hydropower reservoir in Quynh Nhai district, 10,520 ha wide and the ground area surrounding the lake bed, including islands, The peninsula lies on the lake bed from Pa Ma Pha Khinh commune to Muong Chien commune. In which, the proposed investment scope is a water surface area of ​​about 3,000 ha and a ground area of ​​about 500 ha. Representing the leaders of Son La province at the meeting with the World Investment Fund Joint Stock Company In addition, with its intrinsic strengths, Quynh Nhai district is oriented to invest in becoming a tourist area of ​​the “5-star” hydroelectric lake bed with majestic natural beauty, meeting top standards and world-class luxury. It is expected to gather entertainment areas with modern scale and leading trends in the world, including zoological park planning … towards being recognized as an amusement park. top of Asia. At the same time, the outline also mentions the planning of a complex lake-bed resort with many types of services such as golf courses, resort services, hot spring baths, adventure games, movies. School … Estimated, the total investment value in this project is up to 3,000 billion VND with the goal of making the lake-bed tourist area become a tourist destination praised by the world community as one of the most beautiful destinations in the world. gender. Thereby helping Vietnam tourism rank up in the international arena and contribute to making Vietnam an attractive destination for the elite and international stars. Responding to the outline of the World Investment Fund Joint Stock Company, Mr. Pham Van Thuy – Vice Chairman of Son La province welcomed the investor’s idea of ​​developing Quynh Nhai hydropower reservoir tourism, evaluating the idea. the above is “new, attractive and consistent with the province’s policy in tourism development”. Along with that, the representative of the leadership of Son La province assigned the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to advise the Provincial People’s Committee to soon have a document to register with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to develop a tourism development plan for Son La hydropower reservoir to become a national tourist area. Mr. Pham Van Thuy emphasized that the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is the focal point along with relevant departments and agencies and Quynh Nhai district closely coordinating with investors, studying and guiding the procedures to ensure the correct implementation steps. procedure. Quynh Nhai District, Son La Province, with a focus on the Son La hydropower reservoir, is expected to become a leading tourist attraction in the country and the world. The leaders of Son La province also set the expectation to make Quynh Nhai district – a northern mountainous district of this situation become a bright spot to attract tourists when possessing a lot of potential for natural tourism (Pa Uon bridge has a high head). most in Vietnam with a total length of 1,418m; pristine cave system with different geological structure that has never been announced or exploited …), minerals for tourism (hot springs have abundant water can be exploited into hot mineral springs …), spiritual tourism (Temple of Linh Son – Thuy Tu and Nang Han ..), cultural and social tourism (historical sites of Pac Ma banyan tree, Thai villages white riverside Da river, shampoo festival of Thai ethnic group …) and especially lake-bed tourism. Accordingly, Son La hydropower reservoir bed has majestic natural landscape, multi-ethnic and multicultural population … On the other hand, this site is located in the Northwest triangle area connecting the two points of Lao Cai and Dien Bien. creating a diversified tourist population. Regarding geographical location, Quynh Nhai district is located in the northernmost part of Son La province, with the Da river flowing through and most of Son La hydropower lake is located in the district. The district center is 60 km north of Son La city. This place is known as “Ha Long Bay on the mountain” because of its beauty as a water-based painting in the mountains and forests of the Northwest: with a population of islands, caves and primeval forests hidden deep in the mountains.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Duong – Deputy Director of Finance Department of Banks and Financial Institutions (Ministry of Finance) gave opening speech at the conference. Photo Do Doan

April 16 in the city. Ho Chi Minh, the Ministry of Finance cooperates with the Asian Development Bank to hold a Conference on Development of credit rating activities in Vietnam. The event is part of a series of conferences of the Ministry of Finance to disseminate, train and provide information to businesses (DN), investors (investors), and participants in the financial market about rating activities. credibility in Vietnam.

Credit rating plays an important role in the development of the financial market in general and the bond market in particular. Through the determination of the credit rating, investors have more information to evaluate the financial ability, solvency of the creditors, of the financial products rated by credit, as well as the risks involved.

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Duong – Deputy Director of Finance Department of Banks and Financial Institutions (Ministry of Finance) said, to develop credit rating activities in Vietnam, Ministry of Finance submitted to the Government for promulgation Decree No. 88/2014 / ND-CP on credit rating services, which fully regulates the contents of organization, operation, service provision, and information disclosure of the organization. credit rating organization.

Enterprises discuss with international financial experts about credit rating services. Photo: Do ​​Doan

The Securities Law 2019 and guiding documents have specific provisions on cases where enterprises issue bonds to the public must be rated with credit ratings and implementation roadmap, and at the same time encourage businesses to issue bonds. Private corporate bonds (corporate bonds) use this service to enhance the publicity and transparency of the corporate bond market.

“The Ministry of Finance is also studying to associate the regulations on credit rating results with regulations on classification and investment criteria for some particular financial institutions or using credit rating results. when calculating the indicators of capital safety and assets of organizations in the financial market “- Mr. Nguyen Hoang Duong said.

At the conference, experts from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, international rating organizations S&P, Moody’s and the credit rating agency Fiin of Vietnam presented about the role of the rating agency. credit rating in the financial market, credit rating methods and processes, factors affecting the credit rating of enterprises, the contents to be noted to improve ratings and the impact of results. credit rating results for decisions of investors.

In general, the contents of the conference are intended to provide full information on the development of credit rating activities in Vietnam and to raise market awareness about this activity.

It is known that, according to Decision No. 570 / QD-TTg dated April 17, 2015 of the Prime Minister approving the Plan for development of credit rating services to 2020 and a vision to 2030, the Ministry of Finance will see review and grant certificates of eligibility for business in credit rating services for up to 5 enterprises.

Up to now, 2 Vietnamese enterprises have been granted business eligibility certificates and are providing credit rating services in the market. The Ministry of Finance has also received a request for attention from a number of reputable international credit rating organizations and will consider and appraise it in accordance with the law./.