4 Windswept festival in østerild Thousands of inquisitive Jutlanders had the rare chance to see the biggest wind turbine in the world up close when Ida Auken (SF), Danish Minister for the Environment, officially opened Test Centre østerild on 6 october. LedeORd There was sunshine, local beer and hot dogs ad libitum. There were children, adults and pensioners. There were people in suits and ties, lots of people in windproof jackets – and even one with bare feet. Briefly put, the official opening of the national test centre for large wind turbines was an event for everyone. Around 2,100 people had made the trip to Østerild Klitplan- tage dune plantation to witness the inauguration. The event was opened with speeches by Anders Bjarklev, DTU President, Ida Auken, Danish Minister for the Environment, Ditlev Engel, Presi- dent and CEO of Vestas wind Systems A/S, Henrik Stiesdal, Chief Technology Officer at Siemens, and Lene Kjelgaard Jensen, Mayor of the Municipality of Thisted. All the speeches carried the message that this test centre is cru- cial if Denmark is to continue to lead the world in wind turbine technology and retain all the jobs associated with the wind tur- bine industry. Ida Auken marked the official opening by pressing a black but- ton, which caused the 75-metre-long blades of the giant Siemens turbine to turn soon afterwards. And as the crowd whistled and clapped, the event organisers let out a quiet sigh of relief. There are a total of seven test sites at Test Centre Østerild. Ves- tas and Siemens have each purchased two, while the DTU owns GED the remaining three. One of these has been leased to the Chinese DEFo company Envision, and the other two are currently put out for La i tender. Siemens has already erected a 6 Mw turbine, while Vestas H o: Joac expects to set up a 3 Mw turbine in 2013, followed by a giant 8 T o Mw turbine in 2014. PH The green balloons were released into the air when Minister for the Environment ida auken pressed a black button - MArIE VENDELBo FrIDorF to start the turbine blades turning. ossabaw pigs perfect into the wild on Ossabaw Island off the coast test animals because they do not fall ill from„Up until now, it has been difficult to carryout decent obesity trials using conventionalMore than 400 years ago,hARCeSeRSITYeB OSpanish adventurers released a herd of pigs for obesity research all the pork they could eat when they vis- special species of mice and rats, it is almostbeing overweight in the same way as humans.In addition, unless we work with some veryof Georgia in the United States. Their ideawas that the herd would provide them with ited the island again. However, they never impossible to make ordinary laboratory ani- returned, the centuries passed and the pigs mals obese by giving them access to high-cal- A herd of pigs has been living wild on an island off the developed a special eating pattern: they over- orie feed,” explains Professor Peter Heegaard coast of georgia in the United States for centuries. These winter when food is scarce. of DTU Vet – National Veterinary Institute.hile it is more expensive to work withwate during the summer to survive through the pigs have one distinctive trait in common with us humans: American researchers later collected some pigs than with smaller test animals, the re- they are highly skilled in eating themselves sick. that the Ossabaw pigs – as they are called – mans, which is rarely possible with the obe- -sults can often be extrapolated directly to huof the pigs from the island and discovered display signs of type 2 diabetes when they sity experiments performed on mice and rats. have access to food all year round. The reason for this is that these pigs are Survival of the fattest particularly adept at gaining weight very Genetically, Ossabaw pigs are unsurpassed in quickly when they have unlimited access their capacity to store fat, and it is this qual- to food that is rich in calories – just like us ity that allows them to survive on the island humans. Moreover, the island pigs are also in the absence of food during the winter relatively quick to develop the same signs of months. The mechanism is related to what illness as people who suffer from morbid obe- are known as „plump genes“, which are also sity. found in people. For example, they suffer from early stage „Genetically speaking, the capacity to store arteriosclerosis and blood pressure, develop fat is a huge advantage, because it allows the moderate insulin resistance (early type 2 dia- body to build up stocks that it can then draw betes) and build up fat around their internal on during lean periods. The process of natu- organs. This makes the Ossabaw pig ideal for ral selection favoured the humans who were research into obesity and diabetes. best at this – simply because they were the ones who succeeded in surviving periods of Better than mice and rats famine. The problem today is that our part Indiana University has Ossabaw pigs in its of the world rarely experiences periods when y i S stalls, and DTU Vet – National Veterinary food is in short supply,“ relates Tina Rød- r VE iana Uni Institute is the only institute in Denmark to gaard Højbøge. have been granted access to perform experi- a PhD student at LEarn MorE D i , ments on fat tissue from the pigs, for example. DTU Vet – Na- Peter m.H. Heegaard EK r TU Today, it is common to use mice and rats tional Veterinary professor S KE for research and development in treatment Institute. pmhh@vet.dtu.dk o: Mi T of obesity, but their cardiovascular systems Tina rødgaard Højbøge o H P The ossabaw pig will eat itself obese and sick if it has access to fatty food – just like a lot are significantly different from those found in - ANNE LyKKE tinro@vet.dtu.dkhD studentp of people do. This makes it perfect for research into obesity and obesity-related illnesses. humans, as are their fat storage mechanisms.
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