Image copyrightADRIENNE MURRAYImage captionThe UVD robot takes about 20 minutes to treat a room
"Please leave the room, close the door and start a disinfection," says a voice from the robot.
"It says it in Chinese as well now," Simon Ellison, vice president of UVD Robots, tells me as he demonstrates the machine.
Through a glass window we watch as the self-driving machine navigates a mock-hospital room, where it kills microbes with a zap of ultraviolet light.
"We had been growing the business at quite a high pace - but the coronavirus has kind of rocketed the demand," says chief executive, Per Juul Nielsen.
He says "truckloads" of robots have been shipped to China, in particular Wuhan. Sales elsewhere in Asia, and Europe are also up.
"Italy has been showing a very strong demand," adds Mr Nielsen. "They really are in a desperate situation. Of course, we want to help them."
Image copyrightADRIENNE MURRAYImage captionPowerful UV light is already a proven means to kill microbes
Production has been accelerated and it now takes less than a day to make one robot at their facility in Odense, Denmark's third largest city and home to a growing robotics hub.
Glowing like light sabres, eight bulbs emit concentrated UV-C ultraviolet light. This destroys bacteria, viruses and other harmful microbes by damaging their DNA and RNA, so they can't multiply.
It's also hazardous to humans, so we wait outside. The job is done in 10-20 minutes. Afterwards there's a smell, much like burned hair.
"There are a lot of problematic organisms that give rise to infections," explains Prof Hans Jørn Kolmos, a professor of clinical microbiology, at the University of Southern Denmark, which helped develop the robot.
"If you apply a proper dose of ultraviolet light in a proper period of time, then you can be pretty sure that you get rid of your organism."
He adds: "This type of disinfection can also be applied to epidemic situations, like the one we experience right now, with coronavirus disease."
Image copyrightADRIENNE MURRAYImage captionUVD has tripled output of its disinfecting robots
The robot was launched in early 2019, following six years of collaboration between parent firm, Blue Ocean Robotics and Odense University Hospital where Prof Kolmos has overseen infection control.
Costing $67,000 (£53,370) each, the robot was designed to reduce the likelihood of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) which can be costly to treat and cause loss of life.
While there's been no specific testing to prove the robot's effectiveness against coronavirus, Mr Nielsen is confident it works.
"Coronavirus is very similar to other viruses like Mers and Sars. And we know that they are being killed by UV-C light," he says.
Dr Lena Ciric, an associate professor at University College London and expert on molecular biology, agrees that UV disinfection robots can help fight coronavirus.
Disinfection robots are no "silver bullet", says Dr Ciric. But she adds: "These [machines] provide an extra line of defence."
"We're in the run up to having a lot of coronavirus patients in the various hospitals. I think it's wise to be on top of the cleaning regimes… from an infection control point of view. "
To be fully effective, UV needs to fall directly on a surface. If lightwaves are blocked by dirt or obstacles, such shadow areas won't be disinfected. Therefore manual cleaning is needed first.
UV light has been used for decades in water and air purification, and used in laboratories.
But combining them with autonomous robots is a recent development.
Image copyrightXENEXImage captionXenex also has a device which uses UV light
American firm Xenex has LightStrike, which has to be manually put in place, and delivers high-intensity UV light from a U-shaped bulb.
The company has seen a surge in orders from Italy, Japan, Thailand and South Korea.
Xenex says numerous studies show that it's effective at reducing hospital-acquired infections and combating so-called superbugs. In 2014, one Texan hospital used it in the clean-up after an Ebola case.
More than 500 healthcare facilities, mostly in the US, have the machine. In California and Nebraska, it has already been put to use sanitising hospital rooms where coronavirus patients received treatment, the manufacturer says.
In China, where the outbreak began, there has been an adoption of new technology to help fight the disease.
The nation is already the highest spender on drones and robotics systems, according to a report from global research firm IDC.
Leon Xiao, Senior Research Manager at IDC China says robots have been used for a range of tasks, primarily disinfection, deliveries of drugs, medical devices and waste removal, and temperature-checking.
'I think this is a breakthrough for greater use of robotics both for hospitals and other public places," says Mr Xiao. However space in hospitals to deploy robots and acceptance by staff are challenges, he says.
Image copyrightYOUIBOTImage captionYouiBot has quickly developed its own disinfecting robot
The coronavirus has spurred home-grown Chinese robotics companies to innovate.
Shenzhen-based YouiBot was already making autonomous robots, and quickly adapted its technology to make a disinfection device.
"We're trying to do something [to help], like every one here in China," says YouiBot's Keyman Guan.
The startup adapted its existing robotic base and software, adding thermal cameras and UV-C emitting bulbs.
"For us technically, [it's] not as difficult as you imagine… actually it's just like Lego," says Mr Guan.
Image copyrightYOUIBOTImage captionYouiBot at a hospital in Wuhan
It has supplied factories, offices and an airport, and a hospital in Wuhan. "It's running right now in the luggage hall… checking body temperature in the day, and it goes virus killing during the night," he says. However the robot's efficacy hasn't yet been evaluated.
Meanwhile plant closures and other restrictions to curb coronavirus, have hampered getting parts. "The lack of one single component, [and] we cannot build a thing," adds Mr Guan, though he notes things have improved in the last couple of weeks.
"There are not many good things to say about epidemics," says Professor Kolmus, but it has forced industry "to find new solutions".
UV module: 2-2.5 hours (equal to 9-10 rooms) ... The UVD Robot is used as part of the regular cleaning cycle, and aims at preventing and reducing the spread of ..
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Company offers germ-killing robot to airports to address coronavirus outbreak
Los Angeles-based Dimer UVC Innovations, which develops the GermFalcon germ-killing robot aimed at sanitizing airplanes, today offered to provide its services to three U.S. airports to help address an outbreak of a pneumonia-like illness that originated in China.
The coronavirus, which is in the same family as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), has spread to 473 patients in China, and that 17 people have died from the virus. In the U.S., officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed one case of a Washington State resident testing positive for the virus after a trip to China.
Image: Dimer UVC Innovations’ GermFalcon robot
Dimer said its GermFalcon robot was specifically created to improve airplane hygiene, using ultraviolet-C (UVC) light to kill viruses, bacteria, and “superbugs on surfaces and in the surrounding air.” The GermFalcon is also designed to navigate an airplane cabin, with strategically placed UVC lamps that can expose all high-touch surfaces to the UVC light.
The company said it will offer the germ-killing system to “contribute to emergency response efforts at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York.
“The threat of coronavirus infecting innocent passengers on an airplane is one we must work to eliminate immediately,” said Elliot Kreitenberg, co-founder of Dimer. “This is a dangerous virus that has already taken lives. GermFlacon is a fast and effective response to this threat, and we are pleased to offer it at no expense to contribute to emergency response efforts at LAX, SFO, and JFK airports during this crisis.”
UVC germ-killing robots in hospitals
A UVD robot disinfects an intensive care unit in a hospital. Image: UVD Robots
UVC disinfection robots are typically seen in healthcare facilities and hospitals, being used to disinfect air, water, and surfaces in rooms and operating rooms. Companies in this space include Tru-D (recently acquired by PDI Healthcare), XENEX Disinfection Services and its LightStrike Robots, and UVD Robots, a spinoff from Denmark’s Blue Ocean Robotics robot incubator. A spokeswoman for UVD Robots said several partners of the company in Asia are collaborating with health authorities in the region to disinfect larger areas in airports, as the robot is too large to be used inside an airplane.
The outbreak in China originated in Wuhan, and centered on a seafood market. The CDC said while originally thought to be spreading from animal-to-person, “there are growing indications that limited person-to-person spread is happening.” But it also noted that it was unclear on how easily the virus is spreading between people.
The CDC said it began implementing public health entry screening at SFO, JFK and LAX airports on Jan. 17, and will add entry health screening at two more airports – Atlanta (ATL) and Chicago (ORD). The agency is providing updates on the outbreak at this site.
"Transgenic Wars," takes us on a journey through Europe and Latin America, looking at the effects of genetically engineered (GE) crops, both on livestock and human health ...
September 24, 2016
Story at-a-glance
“Transgenic Wars” journeys through Europe and Latin America, looking at the effects of genetically engineered (GE) crops on livestock and human health
A Danish pig farmer traced a mystery swine illness to herbicide-laced GE soy from Argentina. In Argentina, a GE farmer admits he will not feed the GE soy to his animals, as chickens fed GE soy produce inedible eggs
People living near GE fields in Argentina have 350 percent higher rates of birth defects than the national average; cancer rates have also risen by as much as 250 percent in just one year in some areas
"Transgenic Wars," an award-winning film by French investigative journalist Paul Moreira, takes us on a journey through Europe and Latin America, looking at the effects of genetically engineered (GE) crops, both on livestock and human health.
It also delves into tangential concerns, such as the increased use of glyphosate-based herbicides, atrazine and 2,4-D, the latter of which was an ingredient in the devastating defoliant Agent Orange, used during the Vietnam War.
Coincidentally, Monsanto was a leading producer of Agent Orange during the war, and its war contributions, which began with its involvement in the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb, help explain how Monsanto has managed to secure such staunch allegiance from the U.S. government.
It's a destructive and often incomprehensible allegiance that continues to this day, with the U.S. government's support of and involvement in spreading Monsanto's genetically engineered (GE) crops and toxic chemicals around the world — now repackaged as "necessary" for agriculture.
Monsanto, being a leader in GE seeds and the chemicals that go with them, receives a fair share of the attention throughout the film. Ecologist Patrick Moore, Ph.D., who made the unlikely transition from co-founder of Greenpeace to being a professional GE supporter and lobbyist, is also featured.
In a sensational video1 that has garnered more than 1.4 million views, Moreira suggested Moore drink a glass of Roundup to prove his assertion that the herbicide is completely harmless. Moore's refusal, saying he's "not stupid," is included in the film.
Danish Pig Farmers Struggle With Mysterious Swine Disease
The film starts off in Denmark, where pig breeders are struggling to determine the cause of a mysterious swine disease, simply referred to as "the yellow death." The disease causes violent diarrhea, and is often lethal to the affected pigs.
Virtually all feed their pigs GE soy, and many suspect this may be the source of the problem. Ib Pedersen is a long-time pig farmer in Denmark.
When he first started feeding his pigs GE soy in the 1980s, the mix contained about 20 percent GE soy. Over the years, the ratio increased, and by 2002, about 90 percent of the soy in the feed was GE.
Like other farmers, Pedersen struggled to contain "the yellow death," which would kill up to 30 percent of the piglets born each year, until one day he decided to remove the GE soy from the feed mix. Within two days, changes were noticeable. There was not a single case of diarrhea among his pigs.
In the three years he's been feeding his pigs all non-GE feed, he's never had a single case of "the yellow death" again. Pedersen single-handedly managed to raise doubts about the safety of GE soy among Danish farmers. Interestingly, Pedersen may have identified the problem even more closely. He noticed two intriguing connections:
1.When GE soy was sourced from Argentina, all of the farmers who received it ended up with outbreaks of diarrhea among their pigs. What was it about this Argentinian GE soy that was so much worse than others?
2.He found images of deformed Argentinian children online, which local doctors and scientists insist are caused by pesticide exposure, as many villagers are surrounded by GE fields where toxic chemicals are sprayed with wanton abandon.
He was struck by how similar these deformities were to the deformities found in his piglets. Could pesticide-contaminated GE soy be the cause of the pig farmers' problems?
Transgenic Soy Destroying Argentina
Argentina is the third largest grower of transgenic crops in the world, and the second-largest producer of GE soy. GE crops have radically altered the face of the country.
Transgenic crops have eliminated the need for large workforces on the farm, eradicating entire villages and contributing to massive poverty.2 Gone is the agricultural diversity Argentina used to boast, replaced instead by massive single-crop fields of GE corn, soy and cotton.
Moreira visits Avia Terai, a small rural village surrounded by GE fields. Here, children are born with strange maladies and degenerative diseases of unknown origin. One little girl has large brownish-black spots all over her face and body — marks she's had since birth.
Another is slowly wasting away from an undiagnosed degenerative disease thought to be genetic, aggravated by exposure to herbicides. Many of the children are deformed in one way or another. Many of the elders are dying from cancer.
The villagers refer to Monsanto's Roundup as "the poison," and do their best to avoid getting sprayed. They all fear the large tractor that sprays one of two things on the fields: water or herbicide, and there's no telling what is being sprayed when.
One woman describes how she shuts herself and her children inside whenever she hears the tractor. Still, avoidance is difficult when you're surrounded by fields, and spray drifts in the wind, settling in water and on clothes hanging out to dry.
Argentinian Farmers Recognize GE Soy Cannot Be Used for Animal Feed
Tellingly, a GE farmer being secretly taped by Moreira reveals they do not feed this GE soy to any of their animals; "If you feed your chickens with it, you can no longer eat their eggs," he says. When asked why, he says because the eggs smell so bad you cannot eat them. This is why all of his GE soy is exported.
Meanwhile, the nearby villagers suffer, being regularly fumigated. Efforts to dialogue with the GE soy farmers have led to naught, and the companies that own the fields are so rich, fines do not dissuade them from spraying well within the illegal perimeter of residential housing.
In the 15 years that transgenic crops have been grown in Argentina, there have only been three convictions for illegal fumigation, despite it being a common occurrence. In the case of Avia Terai, the village is only 200 meters (656 feet) from the transgenic soya field.
By law, pesticides are not permitted to be used within 1.5 kilometers (just under 1 mile) of resident housing.
Their situation is not unique. In fact, the problem is so great, the Argentinian government has been forced to subsidize pesticide-induced disability centers to manage the growing health crisis. These centers are now filled with children from villages where the parents were exposed to agricultural chemicals. Overall, birth defects are about 350 percent higher in areas where GE crops are grown, compared to the rest of the country.3
As noted by one of the nurses at a disability center in Saenz Peña, "We export our [GE] soy to your countries to feed the animals you are eating … But we are the ones truly paying the price for it." Retired pediatrician Dr. Maria Del Carmen Seveso goes so far as to call it genocide, saying the situation is really serious.
Deformed Children, Deformed Pigs — Are Herbicides to Blame?
It was images of these deformed Argentinian children, posted on the internet, that got Pedersen, the Danish pig farmer, thinking. Like all other pig farmers, he had his fair share of deformed pigs being born.
He hadn't paid it much attention, other than to recognize that these things happen from time to time, but deformities had become more common, and he was struck by the similarities of the deformities he saw in the Argentinian children who'd been exposed to pesticides in utero.
When it comes to determining which pesticides are to blame, there are many open questions. As it turns out, glyphosate is not the only chemical being used on Argentina's GE soy fields. As resistant weeds flourish, many farmers have resorted to adding other chemicals to the mix, and it's unclear who's using what.
The synergistic action of chemicals will typically augment the toxicity of the mixture, compared to any given chemical on its own, but no studies have been done to determine the exact hazard level of various concoctions.
As Moreira comes across a tractor set to spray a field, he finds not only Monsanto's Roundup, but also atrazine — which is banned in Europe but extensively used in the U.S. — and 2,4-D, one of the main components of the military herbicide Agent Orange, extensively used over the jungles during the Vietnam War.
One thing's clear: The promise that transgenic crops would lead to "greener" agriculture and less chemicals has NOT come to pass. Instead, more and more chemicals are being used on our food and the feed we raise our livestock on.
Mutant Enemies
As transgenic crops have taken over Argentina, herbicide-resistant weeds have become a serious problem. More than 30 million hectares (74.1 million acres) of GE soy is planted in Argentina, and glyphosate is applied to each field at least three or four times a year. This has spawned a whole new kind of weed — one resistant to glyphosate, just like the GE crop itself.
To address the problem, farmers not only apply more pesticides, they also mix different pesticides together to prevent the weeds from adapting to a single formula. As a result, anywhere from three to five additional chemicals are routinely added to the glyphosate. Newer GE seeds are also designed to resist even more toxic combinations.
As noted in the film, there's no definitive proof that agricultural chemicals are responsible for the health crisis in Argentina. But there's no evidence proving they're not responsible either. And the government has done nothing to determine the truth.
In fact, the government of Argentina has been and continues to be very supportive of the GE industry, and Monsanto ads are commonplace on Argentinian TV, assuring the people their products are safe and effective. Meanwhile, no studies have ever been done to ascertain whether all of these chemical cocktails create dangerous interactions or cause the severe health problems now seen among children raised in agricultural areas.
Staggering Increases in Cancer
The only independently organized investigation of the health impact of GE crops, conducted by students of the Rosario Medical University, found that cancer rates increased by 40 percent in a single year in one village. In another, the cancer rate shot up by 250 percent. What these villages have in common is that they're surrounded by GE fields and the fumigation border is extremely close to where they live.
Sadly, Argentina's economy is now fully dependent on transgenic agriculture. According to Alejandro Mentaberry at the Ministry for Science, Argentina made about $65 billion on GE crops between 1996 — the year GE crops were introduced — and 2011. Mentaberry believes the country owes its "miraculous economic recovery" to the export of transgenic crops.
But at what price this miraculous economic boon? In April 2014, Argentinians took to the streets in Cordoba to protest against Monsanto and the use of their products. "Monsanto out! Yes to life, no to Monsanto! Monsanto is poison. Monsanto is corruption," the people chanted as they marched through the streets.
The film goes on to discuss the political powers that support and steer countries into accepting genetically modified organisms(GMOs). For example, Wikileaks revealed how U.S. government officials are secretly doing the chemical technology industry's dirty work, cajoling and threatening governments with retaliation as needed. U.K. government officials have also been caught acting like lobbyists and spokesmen for the GE industry.
Transatlantic trade agreements also stand poised to dismantle any remaining prohibitions against the free flow of GMOs and toxic chemicals into Europe, where laws protecting human and environmental health are stricter than in the U.S. Depending on the final outcome of these agreements, it's possible no country will be able to oppose GMOs in the future, no matter what the human or environmental cost.
Patrick Moore and Golden Rice
Moore, a former Greenpeace activist, has become a prominent adversary of the movement against GMOs. According to Moreira, Moore left Greenpeace 30 years ago on bad terms, and has since made a name for himself as a supporter of all things anti-nature, including the nuclear industry, the mining industry and the transgenic industry. "He also thinks global warming is great for the planet," Moreira notes.
He's been a leading advocate for GE Golden Rice, designed to contain high amounts of beta-carotene, ostensibly to combat vitamin A deficiency in Third World countries. There are problems though. For starters, beta-carotene is a fat soluble vitamin. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, you need at least 3 grams of fat to ensure absorption of beta-carotene supplements.4
This enriched rice is intended for impoverished nations where dietary fats are nearly impossible to come by with any regularity, thereby rendering this type of supplementation useless at best.
It's also unknown whether the beta-carotene in Golden Rice will hold up during storage between harvest seasons, or whether traditional cooking methods used to prepare the rice will destroy the beta-carotene. Last but not least, the rice is still under development, and all claims are therefore little more than wishful thinking.
Such facts should have shut down the Golden Rice fairy tale right from the get-go, but it hasn't stopped the likes of Moore from spending much time and effort to promote it, likening the refusal to approve Golden Rice to genocide and Greenpeace's opposition to the rice "a crime against humanity."
To Build a Saner, Safer Food System, Start Close to Home
The problems may seem insurmountable, but there are solutions. The fact of the matter is farmers do not have to use chemical cocktails to produce ample food. Many areas would need serious intervention to improve and rebuild soil quality, which has been destroyed by decades of mechanized farming and chemicals, but it can be done.
As an individual, you can help steer the agricultural industry toward safer, more sustainable systems by growing your own foods and buying what you cannot grow from local farmers you trust. By far, processed foods are the most likely to contain GE ingredients, so avoiding processed foods of all kinds, including condiments, is one of the best ways to avoid them — and the chemical cocktails sprayed on these crops.
If everyone were to refuse to buy products containing GMOs, insisting on feeding their families pesticide-free, GMO-free foods, the food industry would have no choice but to respond. They cannot stay in business if people don't buy their goods, and if food companies refuse to buy GE ingredients, the chemical biotechnology industry will lose its financial power to corrupt and manipulate governments.
It's really just a massive trickle-down effect, and the masses really do have the power, even though Monsanto and their allies would like you to think otherwise.
There's a way out of this mess, and it starts with each person making different purchasing choices for themselves and their families. While many grocery stores now carry organic foods, it's preferable to source yours from local growers whenever possible, as much of the organic food sold in grocery stores is imported. If you live in the U.S., the following organizations can help you locate farm-fresh foods:
EatWild.com provides lists of farmers known to produce wholesome raw dairy products as well as grass-fed beef and other farm-fresh produce (although not all are certified organic). Here you can also find information about local farmers markets, as well as local stores and restaurants that sell grass-fed products.
Weston A. Price has local chapters in most states, and many of them are connected with buying clubs in which you can easily purchase organic foods, including grass-fed raw dairy products like milk and butter.
This website will help you find farmers markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.
The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants, inns and hotels, and online outlets in the United States and Canada.
The FoodRoutes "Find Good Food" map can help you connect with local farmers to find the freshest, tastiest food possible. On their interactive map, you can find a listing for local farmers, CSAs, and markets near you.
The Cornucopia Institute maintains web-based tools rating all certified organic brands of eggs, dairy products, and other commodities, based on their ethical sourcing and authentic farming practices separating CAFO "organic" production from authentic organic practices.
If you're still unsure of where to find raw milk, check out Raw-Milk-Facts.com and RealMilk.com. They can tell you what the status is for legality in your state, and provide a listing of raw dairy farms in your area.
The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund5 also provides a state-by-state review of raw milk laws.6 California residents can also find raw milk retailers using the store locator available atwww.OrganicPastures.com.
About the Director
I believe in bringing quality to my readers, which is why I wanted to share some information about the director, Paul Moreira, from "Transgenic Wars." Thank you to Mr. Moreira and the wonderful people at Java Films for bringing us "Transgenic Wars."
Paul Moreira from Transgenic Wars
Paul Moreira (born in 1961 near Lisbon, Portugal) is a French journalist and documentary filmmaker who is based in Paris, France. He has directed several investigative documentaries in conflict zones, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma, Israel, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.
On top of this, Moreira has contributed to the emergence of investigative journalism on French television. In 1999, he created a show called 90 minutes on Canal Plus, a European television network. The investigations of his team collected several prestigious French awards. Some of their films even contributed to the reopening of criminal investigations.
Following the success of the show and at the request of the management of Canal Plus, he created a weekly slot dedicated to investigative documentaries called Lundi Investigation. Award-winning movies were commissioned and broadcasted, such as "Escadrons de la mort: l'école française" by Marie Monique Robin.
This film received the award of the political documentary of "Audiovisual Club" of the French senate in 2003, best investigative film at the Festival International du Grand Reportage d'Actualité (FIGRA) and an award of merit from the Latin American Studies Association.
In 2006, Moreira left Canal Plus to create an independent TV production company called Premieres Lignes (First Lines). Since then, he has been developing investigative and comprehensive films on global issues. He works on assignment for various French channels such as Canal Plus, Arte, France Televisions and La Chaine Parlementaire. His films have been broadcasted in most European countries, as well as Canada, India, Singapore, Australia, Japan and Russia …
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