STUFF: News, Technology, the cool and the plain weird

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Seriously? What kind of photography are you doing that requires that you carry around an axe?!

HAHA!! I thought the same, but hey, each to their own

[MIKA27]

Four Technologies That Could Let Humans Survive Environmental Disaster

Scientists say we blew it. We bought too many plastic trinkets; we drove too many petrol-guzzling trucks. We made babies like rabbits without questioning if the planet could handle so many people. Well, it looks like it couldn’t. Climate change is here to stay, and it will probably end up affecting nearly every aspect of our lives over the next century.

Like you, I’m not happy about this. But there are potential solutions. Not the ones politicians and environmentalists are pushing, like recycling, driving electric cars and lessening our carbon footprint. These are things I support, but I believe it’s too late to stop climate change. The way I see it, the race we’re in now — the challenge of the century for our species — is how quickly humans can adapt beyond our biological selves versus how quickly we destroy the planet.

Our species’ fate could hang on our transhuman evolution into a cyborg or machine-like state that’s far less vulnerable to environmental conditions.

There are four critical technologies humans will need to survive most environmental catastrophes — be it the changing climate, a large asteroid hitting the planet, or nuclear war (in case you forgot, the world still has about 25,000 nuclear weapons).

Immunotherapy

The first is new treatments for cancer caused by ozone layer depletion, increased petrochemicals in food production, or radiation fallout from disasters like Japan’s Fukushima meltdown.

Oncology has always hoped for a one-time cure for cancer, but the disease is so complex and varied that there may be no single magic bullet to be found. However, the field of immune-oncology — using the body’s own defence system to attack cancerous cells — is emerging as a promising new way to successfully treat the disease. It could end up rendering cancer far less deadly.

“Within 10 years almost everyone suffering from cancer will be treated with an immunotherapy, Dr Hoos, Vice President of Oncology Research at GlaxoSmithKline recently told Australia’s Herald Sun. One of the reasons many doctors are jumping on the immunotherapy bandwagon is that it may eliminate the need for toxic chemotherapy as a treatment.

Instead, immunotherapy combines a number of other treatments based on the body’s natural defence system to make cancer less disruptive to patients’ lives.

Bionic Organs

Many people die because of organ failure, which is caused by many things, including cellular death, disease, and trauma. One major key to overcoming environmental threats to our biological bodies is better, more durable organs, including robotic ones. A revolution in this field is also underway.

French biotech company Carmat is already installing artificial hearts (pictured left) in patients that can last five years. There’s a chance these bionic hearts will one day be the equivalent of human hearts in how effective they are at moving blood (which carries all-important oxygen) around the body.

Meanwhile, we are making progress 3D printing organs, such as livers. While we have yet to produce a fully functioning organ, researchers have delivered created liver tissue samples outside the lab. These pieces of organ tissue provide way for researchers to test radical new drugs on organ cells without endangering a live patient. Scientists have already recreated skull bones, noses, and arteries, and other human body parts using 3D printed biomaterials.

But perhaps the greatest need in any environmental catastrophe is clean air to breath. The fact we need oxygen at every moment of our lives to operate normally is human beings’ major biological weakness — perhaps even more than eating. Artificial or bionic lungs could be an alternative.

Many hospitals have ventilator systems that assist nonfunctioning lungs and allow patients to survive when they can’t breathe properly, but so far they are complicated and bulky machines. Humans need such respiratory systems built inside themselves. BioLung is an option, an artificial device the size of a soda can that tries to replicate a lung. Human trials will start within two years.

According to WebMD, “University of Texas researcher Joseph Zwischenberger, MD, tried out the BioLung on sheep whose lungs had been badly burned by inhaling smoke. Six of the eight sheep on the BioLung survived five days, doing far better than ventilation machines.”

Another option is “oxygen shots,” a new technology already on its way. The technique involves injecting oxygen-filled microparticles into the bloodstream. Imagine it as something you might take a few times a day when breathing is difficult or impossible.

Wearable Tech for Temperature Control

Of course, it’s not just about staying alive. We want to thrive, not just survive. Which leads me to a third technology we absolutely would need: sophisticated wearable tech that keeps people cool or warm in the harshest conditions, whether it’s global warming or an ice age.

Our skin and temperature regulation can handle extreme temperatures for short periods of time, but long term, we need a stable, suitable climate. Some developing wearable tech is going this direction, offering cooling or heating built into the material.

Fuel Wear Flame Base, a crowdfunded smart-heated base layer, is meant to protect against extreme cold. It electronically warms up your clothes to keep you at just the right temperature, which could be really useful if the planet goes into a mini-ice age. Other clothing like those from ClimaWear (pictured left) claims to keep you cool when it’s super hot — just what we need when the polar ice caps melt and the world warms 20 extra degrees.

Indeed, ideally, the more cyborg parts we get, the less that heating or cooling will be an issue. Some biohackers hope to electively replace limbs with bionic ones within 10 years. These robotic limbs can already tie into our neural system and react to our thoughts, and they won’t need heating or cooling, lessening the overall burden on the body.

Food Alternatives

To speculate even further, a more mechanised body like that of a robot would not need food or water, that other great example of humanity’s fragility. But what if we could eliminate eating and drinking altogether?

Frankly, I think doing away permanently with caloric intake should probably be a goal of all humanity (Eventually, but not in my lifetime as I love to eat and taste food ), since it presents massive hassle from an evolutionary point of view. Millions of people die worldwide every year from food poisoning, digestive issues, and especially malnutrition. The fewer organs we need (including our bowels) the better off we’ll be, and not needing food or water would dramatically lesson our reliance on the environment. If we were mostly integrated with machines, we could instead use other energy sources to power our bodies, like solar or fusion.

But let’s come back down to Earth for now. If we can’t (or don’t want to) eliminate our dependence on food, then it would be wise to find an abundant alternative calorie source that is healthy and nutritious. Something like Soylent, which is healthier than many corn-based products, and in the long run will not require as much food production to feed the world, especially livestock production.

Another food substitution might be synthetic food — edible, energy-providing substances created in a laboratory. The most promising is synthetic meat grown from stem cells. Meat is important since many people around the world eat it, and it’s dense in nutrition and calories. Creating cheap synthetic meat could mean much less reliance on Earth’s resources, since currently 30 per cent of the Earth’s usable land is dedicated to livestock and animal grazing.

Even in the next 50 years, life could get wild and dystopic. But I believe that no matter how bad the planet gets, our species can still thrive, by becoming a species not so dependent on Mother Earth, but rather on the technology we can create. It’s very possible we’ll be able to successfully do that, so long as we’re realistic with ourselves.

The strange truth is that in the very near future we may not need clean water or stable weather to sustain advances in our species. We may not need oceans or forests to feed us, or an ozone layer to help us avoid cancer. We may not even need the sun to shine bright, if we can perfect other forms of power. Existential risk can be overcome by adapting beyond the fragility of human biology.

[MIKA27]

First-Person View Of A Firefighter Fighting Fire Is So Intense

There are few job descriptions (hell, the job description is in the job title) as terrifying as being a firefighter. When things are burning and people are running away FROM a fire, they run toward it. When something catches on fire, it’s your job to put it out. When fire is thrown at you, you have to stare it down. It’s just crazy. And though it’s not like the old days anymore, it’s not always rescuing cats from trees. Just check out this first person view of firefighters from Victorville, California responding to a structure fire.

The San Bernardino County Fire Department writes:

Firefighters from the City of Victorville responded to a reported Structure fire in the 15800 Block of La Paz Drive, in Victorville. Upon arrival, SBCoFD companies found a single story home well involved with one additional home catching fire. Firefighters engaged in an aggressive coordinated attack with hose lines and vertical ventilation, knocking the fire down in 30 minutes. Residents were outside prior to arrival and accounted for. Firefighters did a search to confirm no one was inside. One large dog was found in the search and was reunited with his owners. A total of 3 adults and 4 kids were displaced as a result of the fire. Red Cross was called to arrange for temporary housing, clothing and to assist with medications. Fire cause and origin is under investigation by San Bernardino County Fire Investigators.

5 Engines, 1 Truck Company, and a Battalion Chief responded to the accident. Damages are estimated at $US150,000.

[MIKA27]

Large Sinkhole In Brooklyn

A large sinkhole has swallowed up an intersection in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighbourhood, on 5th Ave and 64th St. No injuries have been reported. The Reckoning approaches.

The concrete shroud partitioning the dank gurgle of the Underworld has been pierced; the Devil has come to claim Brooklyn.

It’s not clear yet if water lines are impacted, although it appears gas lines have been affected and National Grid is on site.

The intersection is closed from traffic.

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Simply Stunning: Watching Patagonia's Sky Fill Up With Clouds Is So Beautifully Ominous

This whole timelapse video, Patagonia 8K by Timestorm Films, is totally worth watching in its entirety just to see the landscapes of southern Chile and Argentina, but I especially enjoy the clip right above where the scattered clouds dance and merge together to form a dense layer that completely blocks out the sky. You know it’s coming down after that.

[MIKA27]

Matt Damon Has Questions About Aquaman In The New Martian Clip:

We've already seen one pretty solid trailer for director Ridley Scott’s upcoming adaptation of Andy Weir’s The Martian. But as we await the next one, 20th Century Fox has dropped a little treat: this viral teaser showing how the Ares 3 crew handled their isolation training prior to the mission that strands astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) on Mars. Watney, as he is in the book, is the coolest cucumber about his 10 days alone, saying he was able to tackle “some of the more important questions” while he was in there. For example? “How come Aquaman can control whales? I mean, whales are mammals. It doesn’t even make sense.”

Fair enough. We also find out that Michael Peña’s Rick Martinez worked on his onanism techniques (“left handed!” he whispers) and that astronaut Beth Johanssen (Kate Mara) probably has the best insights on everyone. “Watney is everybody’s favorite,” she says. “Martinez really thinks he’s funny. Lewis is pretty badass.” Oh yeah, their fearless leader, Commander Lewis (Jessica Chastain), is definitely tough. Just note her answer when asked if being the first woman to lead a Mars mission stresses her out.

“You know from my file that I graduated top of my class from the Naval Academy,” she says. “Have you ever been in a submarine? You try to sleep but with the creaks and the grinding, it sounds like somebody is slowly and violently crushing a soda can that you’re inside of. I slept like a baby from Day 1. So no, I don’t think the added pressure from being the first woman to command a mission to Mars is going to be too intense.”

[MIKA27]

Deadpool First Trailer: Ryan Reynolds Really Is Doing Another Superhero Movie

Ryan Reynolds is back as a costumed superhero, except this time it doesn’t look like a steaming pile of horse manure. This is the trailer for the live action Deadpool movie.

As advertised, it’s not exactly a safe-for-work trailer. Warnings include gratuitous butt, blood and language.

Deadpool hits cinemas in February 2015.

MIKA: The Avocado line at the end of the trailer really cracked me up!

[MIKA27]

Watch John Oliver Explain How Three Young Women Catfished ISIS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiuVemRxM7M

Three ladies from Chechnya scammed ISIS fighters online and got ‘em good.

The three young women persuaded ISIS fighters to send them money, promising they’d journey to Syria for marriage — only to block the accounts once payment was received. Stone cold — and a better smackdown of ISIS’ social media recruitment than some international authorities have achieved. Although the girls were detained by Chechen police E unit, which focuses on monitoring online crime, we agree with Oliver: they deserve a parade, or maybe a pixelated statue.

Though catfishers are usually not viewed with sympathy, the Internet has been celebrating the women as heroes and polls are greatly in favour of releasing them from charges.

[MIKA27]

NORTON COMMANDO BY NYC NORTON

The Norton Commando is a motorcycle that probably shouldn’t have been as successful as it was. It was released in 1968 using a parallel twin that was originally introduced in 1949, this engine was called the Atlas and it was remarkable for a few reasons – perhaps none more so than for the fact that it would power one of the world’s fastest motorcycles 20 years after it was first designed.

Increased competition from both Japan and Italy had taken their toll on the British bike industry by the late 1960s and the R&D budget at Norton was at an all time low. The engineers set to work creating a new frame, a system of isolastic vibration dampers for the engine, modified suspension and a tweaked Atlas 745cc engine.

This new bike was called the Commando and it was first exhibited to the public at the 1967 Earls Court Show and it was a huge hit with attendees, orders began to roll in and most of the early published reviews sang the model’s praises. Much of the success of the Commando was thanks to its revolutionary frame, it was the work of former Rolls-Royce engineer Dr. Stefan Bauer, a man who had been given the unenviable task of designing a replacement for the iconic Norton Featherbed.

Rather than trying to emulate the Featherbed, Bauer chose to create an entirely new frame utilising engineering best practices and including an isolastic vibration dampening system that isolated the engine, gearbox and swing arm from the frame. Vibrations were reduced significantly, handling was improved and riders loved the torque from the big twin.

The Norton Commando would famously go on to win the Motor Cycle News Magazine “Machine of the Year” award for 5 years back to back from 1968 till 1972, and it would earn itself a place in the annals of iconic British motorcycles next to the Brough Superior SS100, the Vincent Black Shadow and the Triumph Bonneville.

Almost 50 years after the world first saw the Commando, the model lives on in the hands of collectors and enthusiasts around the world and there are a few companies like NYC Norton that specialise in keeping the bikes alive and well.

The 1971 Norton Commando you see here was discovered in the back of an abandoned school bus in a junk yard by car collector Dave Austin, he sent it into the team at NYC Norton for a full restoration, where it was promptly nicknamed “The School Bus” thanks to its origins. If the bike looks familiar to you, you may have seen it earlier this year on the Discovery Channel show Naked Speed, where the bike and its rebuild was showcased in front of millions of viewers both in the United States and around the world.

After tearing the bike down to its constituent parts, the rebuild process could begin. The frame was modified to fit the new fuel tank and seat, the motor was completely rebuilt to NYC Norton specifications, the head was decked for increased compression, a pair of Amal 932 Premier Concentric carburettors were fitted along with a Tri-Spark ignition.

If you’d like to read more about this bike or order one for yourself, you can click here to visit NYC Norton.

[Fuzz]

Matt Damon Has Questions About Aquaman In The New Martian Clip:

Watney, as he is in the book, is the coolest cucumber about his 10 days alone, saying he was able to tackle “some of the more important questions” while he was in there. For example? “How come Aquaman can control whales? I mean, whales are mammals. It doesn’t even make sense.”

Well that's just silly. Aquaman can communicate with all aquatic life, not just fish. And he doesn't really control them, he requests their help. Else he could have stopped the piranha from chewing off his hand.

[MIKA27]

Japan Fires Up Nuclear Power Again, But Can It Ever Be Safe Enough?

After two years without any nuclear power in response to the 2011 Fukushima earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis, Japan has restarted its first reactor, Sendai 1.

Following the Fukushima event, Japan’s nuclear power generators were gradually shut down. Before the earthquake, nuclear power accounted for around 30% of Japan’s electricity. After the shutdown, fossil fuels largely picked up the slack and have been doing the heavy lifting ever since, causing a sustained rise in greenhouse gas emissions.

The restart of Sendai 1 is good news for Japan’s response to climate change, and comes with heightened safety regulations around nuclear energy. Based on our assessment of the evidence, this only makes a safe industry safer. But there are still large psychological barriers to overcome.

Visiting Fukushima

In May this year we returned to the megalapolis of Tokyo, following our visit to Fukushima prefecture and the site of the destroyed Daiichi reactors.

We carried dosimeters (a device that measures radiation) through the 20 km radius exclusion zone and wore them at the site. At the very foot of reactor unit 1, the dose rate was serious (greater than 400 microsieverts per hour). Just a couple of hundred metres away at the undamaged reactor 6, the rate was normal background (less than 5 microsieverts per hour).

Our cumulative dose for the site visit during the course of that day was about one-seventh the dose we received on our flights to Tokyo.

The nuclear accident destroyed four of the six reactors at this site. The decommissioning will take a long time. But it did not irrecoverably poison a landscape. Formal expert studies have shown that the radiation has caused and will cause no discernible human harm.

The psychology of a nuclear disaster

The most serious outcomes have, again, been psychological hurt inflicted on those affected. As we heard first-hand from officials in Naraha town, “unfounded rumours” continue to be one of the biggest obstacles for the community to recover from this event.

The prolonged closure of the rest of the largely undamaged Japanese fleet of reactors also led to a steep increase in fossil fuel importation, hurting the Japanese economy and sending greenhouse emissions rising steeply. Japan’s recent electricity supply has come to resemble Australia’s dependence on fossil fuels. That’s not a good thing, unless you sell fossil fuels.

Yet despite the economic hit and the massive setback to its previously announced climate change targets, Japan has been struggling to restart its reactors. When we visited the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum on this same visit, the mood was sober. Public opinion was holding hard against nuclear. The restart was far from certain despite exhaustive checks and approvals.

One in our number was prescient when he said that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government will simply need to spend political capital, restart reactors and manage the response. That appears to have been the case with the restart of 30-year-old, 890-megawatt Sendai 1 reactor this week.

Making a safe industry safer

No informed observer argues that the failings displayed at Fukushima, both technical and procedural, were not serious. So how can people, most of all the Japanese, feel confident in the restart of other reactors?

The Japanese regulator took strong action with major boosts in safety standards. Here are some of those new actions:

A nuclear plant must be designed to withstand a tsunami larger than any recorded event – which includes the 2011 events. As a result, major new seawall infrastructure has been installed to protect plants.

The major failure at Fukushima, the loss of power to the reactor, has been addressed. Off-site power supply must now be from two fully independent circuits. Previously, two emergency on-site generators were required. This has been boosted to a third permanent installed generator, plus two mobile units located in nearby elevated terrain, all with a seven-day fuel supply. These requirements apply to all plants.

Previously, internal flooding was not regarded as a plausible event. Now it is. No matter the hypothetical cause, all critical buildings must demonstrate protection from flooding, for example through the installation of new watertight doors.

At Fukushima Daiichi, the loss of cooling in the core during the first day of the accident led to the buildup of steam and hydrogen gas in the reactor pressure vessel. After delays due to power loss to the pressure pumps, these gases were eventually released from the containment vessel, but the power failure meant that venting from the reactor building itself to the outside failed. The highly volatile hydrogen gas accumulated and chemical explosions subsequently ensued.

There are new systems tied to the additional backup power supply to ensure prompter venting from the containment vessel. Permanently installed filtered venting systems are now in place to then vent any gases from the reactor building.

If containment does fail, large-scale water cannons will be deployed to douse the reactor building and prevent the dispersion of material away from site.

Reactors that have been operating for more than 30 years will require assessment of structure, systems and components at year 30 and every decade thereafter. Operational lives are limited to 40 years with one potential extension of not more than 20 years.

Such extraordinary measures, piled on top of a sector that has operated very safely bar one accident triggered by an extraordinary external catastrophe, will make the very safe even safer.

But do we feel safe?

Despite the increase in regulation, many people still feel unsafe around nuclear energy. This may in fact be because of the high levels of regulation – if something needs so much attention, it must be dangerous, right?

We can contrast this with the risks of fossil fuels. More than 7 million deaths are attributed to air pollution annually, with fossil fuels an important contributor to this figure. Burning coal for energy and heat contributes 20% of greenhouse gases that are warming the earth every year. That all happens when they are in perfect working order.

Will nuclear technology ever win hearts and minds to scale-up and replace coal?

The focus now is on “stupid-proofing” nuclear technology – making nuclear power immune to human error. Reactor technology is heading increasingly in this direction.

Today’s designs like the AP-1000 from Westinghouse go a long way towards “stupid” safety. It will likely be metal-fuelled, liquid-metal-cooled recycling reactors like the PRISM, or fluid-fuelled reactors like the IMSRfrom Terrestrial Energy or the ThorCon reactor that decisively change the game for nuclear technology.

All of these designs incorporate “inherent” safety systems. Rather than requiring an operator, they rely on physical principles to regulate the reactor (for instance, gravity-fed cooling systems or the expansion of the fuel with heat).

Can Japan and the world be confident their nuclear sector is safe? The only evidence-based conclusion we can reach is “yes”. But it may take fundamental changes in the technology before most people will believe it.

[MIKA27]

England Is Exploring The Possibility Of Electric Car Charging Lanes

One of the biggest concerns with electric vehicles is whether they will be able to hold enough juice to get you from A to B. But what if we didn’t have to worry, because we could charge our cars on the highway? England will soon be pilot-testing tech that could lead to EV charging lanes.

Later this year, England will build an off-road testing site where electric and hybrid cars will be fitted with wireless technology that allows them to charge up using unspecified equipment beneath the ground. Highways England, the government agency behind the project, has already completed a feasibility study on the potential use of dynamic charging systems under road surfaces.

But at this stage it’s hard to get too excited, since we haven’t been told anything about the actual technology the government plans to use. More details on that once a contractor has been appointed, Highways England says.

England aims to run experiments for 18 months before deciding whether to pursue an on-road trial.

The idea of car charging lanes isn’t new per se: Buses in South Korea can already charge in specific routes using magnetic fields that generate electricity. A few years back, Japan was also working on a wireless charging system that could deliver power through several inches of concrete. (And gamers will know that the real innovator here is Nintendo, which invented charging strips in the timeless racing game F-Zero, 25 years ago). But it’s exciting to see more countries doubling down on a clever concept that could help spur widespread adoption of EVs.

[MIKA27]

Here's How To Call The International Space Station

Last week, amateur radio enthusiast Adrian Lane sent a call signal to the International Space Station. To his shock and delight, he got a reply. He chatted with an astronaut for about 45 seconds before the station went out of range.

Lane’s brief “phone call” with an actual astronaut in space garnered international media attention, but according to NASA, this kind of thing happens all the time. That’s because there’s a ham radio up on the space station, similar to the ones used by amateur radio enthusiast around the world. That means you, too, can try calling the station!

Ham radio refers to a set of radio frequencies allocated to enthusiasts. To get on the airwaves, you need a basic knowledge of radio technology and operating principles, and you need to acquire a license. For Australia, amateur radio licensing information can be found on the ACMA or WIA websites.

Then you’ll need to get yourself some proper equipment. Read the Amateur Radio Relay League’s (ARRL)guide to learn all about selecting gear for your very first radio station. If you’re serious about calling an astronaut, you’ll also want to check out the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)page, which lists ham radio frequencies currently in use on board the ISS.

Your best chance of making contact with the ISS is when it’s directly overhead. Public domain software is available to help you track the station, find out when it will be within range and where to point your antenna. Here’s AMSAT’s popular pass prediction tool.

Finally, you’ll want to take the schedules of the ISS crew into account. They’re busy men and women, and there’s no guarantee they will answer your call, you ham! Says the ARISS:

The work schedules of the ISS crew dictate when they are able to operate the radios. The crew’s usual waking period is 0730 — 1930 UTC. The most common times to find a crew member making casual periods are about one hour after waking and before sleeping, when they have personal time. They’re usually free most of the weekend, as well. (The current crew work schedule is published on the NASA website.)

[MIKA27]

Incredible Drone Footage Of A Flowing Lava River

It looks like a giant fire scaled dragon snaking its body across the scorched Earth. Or like the fire brick road that leads you into Mordor. Any way my imagination tries to spin it, the reality is that it looks awesome. And the reality is that it’s drone footage from Iceland of flowing lava from a volcano that exploded.

[MIKA27]

The World's Best Swiss Army Knife Is Also The Most Ridiculous

The disarmingly-titled “Multiblade Folding Knife” has to be seen to be believed. You might be proud of your adorable Victorinox, but it has nothing on this monstrosity, manufactured in Germany, sometime around 1880.

It is easily the most ludicrous Swiss Army knife ever made and unsurprisingly, was never intended for actual use… except perhaps by Wile E Coyote.

The knife is currently on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington DC. It measures 8.89 x 8.89 x 23.49cm and although there’s no weight listed, I’m going to guess it’s in the impractical range for a portable knife-of-all-trades.

So, just how many doohickies does this thing have? A hundred — according to the description — which includes:

• Serrated blade
• Two dagger blades
• Several different types of shears and scissors
• An auger
• Corkscrew
• Two saws
• A lancet
• Button hook
• Cigar cutter
• Tuning fork
• Pens
• Mechanical pencils
• A mirror
• Straight razor
• A functional .22-calibre five-shot pinfire revolver

Yes, a revolver. Not sure how you’d go whipping it out in a gunfight and I imagine loading it would be like threading a needle.

[MIKA27]

A US Navy Guided-Missile Destroyer Fires A Harpoon Missile In This Bad Arse Photo

And the rockets red glare. Here’s a bad arse picture of the USS Fitzgerald firing off a Harpoon missile during a drill. After seeing the photo, everything — why the USS Fitzgerald is classified as a destroyer, why the missile is called Harpoon — makes sense.

The US Navy:

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) fires a Harpoon missile during a live-fire drill. Fitzgerald is on patrol in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

[MIKA27]

The Awful Air Pollution In China Is Killing 4,000 People Every Day

The layer of thick smog that blankets many of China’s cities is not just making residents sick, it’s also causing premature death. Up to 4,000 people a day are dying due to China’s air pollution.

A study by Berkeley Earth that has been accepted for publication by PLOS One took hourly measurements from 1,500 stations all over the country over a four month period. While there are many types of dangerous pollution, of concern is a particulate matter named PM2.5 which can penetrate deeply into lungs. These particles can not only cause debilitating diseases like lung cancer and asthma, but they can also trigger cardiac arrest and strokes. About 17 per cent of the deaths in China annually are directly attributed to air pollution. That’s 1.6 million citizens killed every year.

The researchers estimate that 38 percent of Chinese residents were regularly exposed to air that was unhealthy to breathe. Study co-author Richard Muller, scientific director of Berkeley Earth, put it in perspective like this:

“When I was last in Beijing, pollution was at the hazardous level: Every hour of exposure reduced my life expectancy by 20 minutes. It’s as if every man, woman and child smoked 1.5 cigarettes each hour.”

To blame, according to the researchers: Coal plants. China currently gets about 64 percent of its energy from coal. As part of climate change agreements, China has planned to close some plants and cut carbon emissions, but they’re also building three times as many new ones which claim to be “clean coal” plants — ones which slash CO2 and other emissions.

But here’s another scary part of the study. Although these plants are located outside of major cities, the researchers found the particles did not stay localised. Even cities like Beijing were seeing PM2.5s from distant industrial areas. Here’s a real-time map showing air quality.

It’s important to note this is not a problem unique to China. Worldwide, about three millions deaths per year can be attributed to air pollution. The new renewable energy plan from the Obama administration that was announced earlier this month estimated that closing coal plants would prevent 1,500 to 3,600 premature deaths in the US annually. Obama also said that China was following the US’s lead to slash emissions — let’s hope that’s actually true.

[MIKA27]

Scientists Want To Transplant Genetically Modified Pig Organs Into Humans

In news that sounds straight out of a dystopian Margaret Atwood novel, surgeons managed to keep a genetically modified pig heart alive inside a baboon for 945 days before it failed last month. “Xenotransplantation” experiments like this may one day lead to doctors raising pigs for organ transplants.

The recent GM-pig-heart-in-a-baboon transplant bests the previous xenotransplantation record of 179 days, achieved at Massachusetts General Hospital. Also this summer, transplant experts at the University of Pittsburg say they kept a baboon alive with a kidney swap from a pig from for over four months, setting a record for longest “life sustaining” xenotransplant between a pig and a primate.

This may sound like mad science at its maddest, and it certainly raises a host of ethical questions. ButMartine Rothblatt, noted futurist and founder of the biotech company United Therapeutics, which backed the recent xenotransplantation efforts, believes this work will eventually lead to an “unlimited supply of transplantable organs.” And there is some precedent to go off. After all, pig heart valves have been used in human heart surgeries for years.

But the idea of sticking whole pig organs into humans still faces an uphill battle. On the few occasions doctors have attempted xenotransplantation in humans, it’s been a disaster, because of the fierce and swift immune rejection response. MIT Tech Review recounts:

In a famous 1984 case, a California newborn known as “Baby Fae” received a baboon heart. But it lasted only three weeks before failing. The human body reacts even more strongly to pig tissue, since pigs are genetically more distant. All human tests of pig organs have ended quickly, and badly. A Los Angeles woman who got a pig liver in 1992 died within 34 hours. The last time a doctor transplanted a pig heart into a person, in India in 1996, he was arrested for murder.

The recent pig-baboon transplants made use of “humanized” pig organs that contain up to five primate genes. Sprinkling a little primate DNA in there does seem to be helping, but it hasn’t 100% eliminated immune rejection. The pig-hearted baboon in question, for instance, still had to be fed a powerful drug every day to suppress its natural immune response.

What’s more, milestone that it may be, the recent cardiac xenotransplant was not life sustaining. The pig heart was attached to the baboon’s circulatory system and allowed to beat, but the baboon heart remained in place to pump blood.

It will probably be years before anyone dares to try this in humans. At which point, science may have spawned a host of new organ transplant options, including cryopreserved organs, 3D printed organs, and cyborg parts. You can’t say the future won’t be exciting.

[MIKA27]

The Dad Of The Year Built His Daughter A Custom Speeder Bike Rocking Horse

It looks like the 2015 Best Parent of the Year Award is all but a lock for Australian Instructables user ‘Tez_Gelmir‘ who built this custom Return of the Jedi Speeder Bike rocking horse for his daughter. And Tez gets bonus points for meticulously documenting its construction, and sharing those details with the world.

A word of warning, though, this build isn’t for the faint of heart. You’re going to need some serious wood-working, metal-working, manufacturing, and even upholstery skills to get your Speeder Bike rocker looking as amazing as Tez’s does.

Everything from the miniature turbine engines to the insanely-detailed linkages is perfect on this tiny replica. The attention to detail might seem like overkill for a toddler who’s really only in it for the rocking, but Tez clearly built this rocking horse to impress his fellow Star Wars fans, and it’s safe to say he succeeded there too.

[MIKA27]

You Don't Have To Take This Backpack Off To Get At Your Stuff

The one thing that makes backpacks great (they’re always out of the way) is also the one thing that makes them annoying when you need something. Paul Vierthaler agrees, and has come up with a rather clever solution called the Paxis that makes it easy to access some of your stuff.

The Paxis is worn like a regular backpack, but features two main compartments. The top one is where you put all the stuff you probably won’t regularly need, like a few extra layers of clothing if you’re out for a hike. While the bottom is reserved for things you want quick access to, like your phone, or binoculars, or snacks.

To make it easy to access that lower compartment without having to take off the entire pack, it’s mounted to an articulated arm allowing you to swing it around to the front of your body, grab what you need, and then just as easily swing it back where it automatically locks back into place.

Available in different colours and 18-litre or 22-litre sizes that range in price from $US240 up to $US275, the Paxis pack solves the biggest gripe most people have with carrying a backpack — save for having to take it off when you step onto a crowded subway. But assuming that swing arm is strong enough, we might not be the only ones who see this as the perfect portable standing desk for an ultralight laptop? Why waste your time texting and walking when you can be working on spreadsheets or PowerPoint presentations instead? [Paxis]

[MIKA27]

Can You Help Decode The Unknown Language On This 750-Year-Old Sword?

In 1825, a three-foot-long sword was uncovered from a river on the eastern cost of England. “If struck with sufficient force, it could easily have sliced a man’s head in two,” writes the British Library’s Julian Harrison. Though its potential uses might be obvious, the gold inscription on its face is not.

The blade belongs to the British Museum but is currently on display at the British Library as part of an exhibit on the Magna Carta. The sword dates from between 1250 and 1330, and the museum points out that isn’t too different from those being brandished in this manuscript from around the same time(above), detailing the conquest of Normandy by the French.

But while its rough chronology isn’t a mystery, a detail of its design is. The sword’s face is inlaid with an “indecipherable inscription” in gold wire:

+NDXOXCHWDRGHDXORVI+

In a blog post on the library’s medieval manuscripts blog last week, Harrison put out a plea to the internet at large: Can’t someone break this code and tell us what is says? “It has been speculated that this is a religious invocation, since the language is unknown,” Harrison wrote. “Can you have a go at trying to decipher it for us?”

Yes, yes the internet could. Within days, there were pages full of theories and contributing research. So many, in fact, that the comments section is now closed. One commenter named joe2348 suggested a medieval Welsh phrase:

Looks like medieval Welsh..

“No covering shall be over me”?

Possibly meaning the sword and it’s’ owner will always be ready for battle?

Another user, Tannasgh, says that the key to figuring out the provenance of the language might be the W:

Any symbology that might appear on that side is very important. From an alphabet perspective, I was immediately struck by the inclusion of the letter W as it wasn’t in general use in that form until some point during the 14th century when it began shifting from begin written as the the digraph to being written as the ligature more frequently as the 15th and 16th centuries approached. I don’t think I would have stopped if it weren’t in the form it is in. In the early versions of the W ligature it is most commonly written as two V’s whose legs cross over each other. Time and scribal laziness eventually eliminate the crossed sections for ease of writing. This particular W letter form has an apex that is half the height of the arms of the W letter suggesting that the engraving was added nearer the 15 or 16th century. It is important to note that the W letter form is used natively in: German, Dutch, English, Welsh, Polish, Walloon and Maltese. Most romance languages including the Latin of the day did not use the W.

One particularly interesting note, from Marc van Hasselt of Utrecht University’s Hastatus Heritage Consultancy, explained how similar swords have been found all over Europe, bearing similarly inscrutable phrases. According to Hasselt, it seems the “most likely” that the inscriptions are in Latin, though:

Using the excellent research by Thomas Wagner and John Worley, an image of a hugely successful medieval workshop was created, making ‘magical’ swords for the elite. The swords themselves are of a high quality, but what most catches the eye are the inscriptions. Both their mysterious contents and the similarities in the lettering are striking. A sword from Sweden might use the same slightly curved X as the River Witham sword. A sword currently in Berlin has an I-S contraction also used on a sword found in the Netherlands. These similarities go so far as to suggest the same hand in making the inscriptions. However, their contents are still a mystery, regardless of their origins.

That’s an intriguing idea — that these inscriptions might have served a religious purpose, perhaps even as a marketing tool to attract the “elite” to this workshop. Hasselt points out similar inscriptions on other swords:

+BENEDOXOFTISSCSDRRISCDICECMTINIUSCSDNI+

+DIOXMTINIUSESDIOMTINIUSCSDICCCMTDICIIZISI+

Harrison even went on the BBC to talk about the response — but it seems that despite hundreds of comments and massive amounts of press, no one has cracked the code. While the inscription may remain a mystery for some time, and indeed may elude us forever, it’s interesting to see how quickly readers — from academics who specialize in medieval languages to total laypeople — were to respond with theories. We’ll keep an eye out for more details as they emerge.

[MIKA27]

Iron Maiden Made A Video-game-themed Music Video, And It's Surprisingly Not Horrible!

Iron Maiden made a video-game-themed music video, and it’s surprisingly not horrible! I’m a big fan of the band’s older stuff, but I haven’t kept up with their more recent material. This video — littered with clever throwbacks for gamers and Maiden fans alike — has me convinced that I should rectify that mistake.

[MIKA27]

THE GM FIREBIRD III GAS TURBINE CAR

The General Motors Firebird lll gas turbine car was a concept developed in 1958 as a progression of the Firebird I and Firebird II vehicles. None of these cars were intended for mass production, instead they were a testing ground for new technologies and drivetrains.

The Firebird III was developed with a gas turbine drive system, a joystick controller in place of a steering wheel and pedals, a self-driving function and an early version of cruise control. It’s very likely that the engineers at GM thought that we’d have had self driving cars on the road within a decade of two of this film being made, of course the reality is that we’re only now on the cusp of it – 57 years later.

Click here to read more about the Firebird concept cars.

[MIKA27]

The Mysterious Lost Expedition of Mt. Everest

Few mountains of the world have captured the imagination of mankind quite like Mt. Everest. It is a colossal peak that for centuries was seen as one of the last unconquered domains on earth, its peak beckoning explorers and remaining just as inaccessible as the face of the moon. The mountain has also claimed its share of victims, its sheer size and unforgiving, almost malevolent weather seemingly conspiring against those who would attempt to climb it. Among these is an expedition launched in the 1920s, which would aim to be the very first to climb to the summit and which would disappear under mysterious circumstances, spiraling into one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century.

Located within the remote Mahalangur section of the Himalayas and with a peak standing at a mind boggling 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea level, Mt. Everest has long been a mysterious and awe inspiring place. It has also always held a powerful allure for adventurers, its siren call drawing in many brave climbers over the years who would conquer it, yet the soaring peak of the mountain once remained frustratingly elusive and inaccessible, defeating numerous well-equipped expeditions with a seemingly endless barrage of perils including difficult terrain, notoriously unpredictable weather, avalanches, altitude sickness, treacherous gorges and chasms, frigid temperatures, and many other weapons in an arsenal of an apparently malevolent mountain that almost seemed to not want to be climbed. History currently holds that it was not until 29 May 1953, with the groundbreaking expedition of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, that the summit of this perilous, monstrous mountain was finally reached, but is this true? Was there anyone else who may have reached the summit long before Edmund Hillary’s historic achievement? There very well may have.

Go back to the 1920s and Everest loomed large not only over the landscape but also in the public imagination. This was a time when the age of exploration was in full swing, with the North and South poles already conquered and humankind making great progress in penetrating into the previously dark and mysterious remote jungles, oceans, and mountains of the world. Everest was widely seen as posing one of the great final frontiers for exploration, having never been climbed and very little known about whether it was even possible to do so. By 1921, no one had ever climbed higher than 24,600 feet and each step closer to the summit tested our knowledge of our own physiological limits, each extra foot gained a new frontier into the unknown. No one knew what would happen to the human body at such altitudes, or if we could even survive at such heights, making this truly uncharted territory, and so by 1922 the closest we had gotten to the summit was 8,320 m (27,300 ft), still far from the summit yet as far as anyone seemed to be able to go, leading Everest to become known as the “Third Pole.” The peak of the mountain became an almost mythical, seemingly unattainable quest for many, including one adventurer by the name of George Leigh Mallory, who in 1924 would go on to launch an expedition that would go on to puzzle both climbers and historians alike, and take its place in the pantheon of great adventure mysteries.

The 36-year-old Mallory was a highly experienced and celebrated British climber, who had already made two unsuccessful runs up the face of Everest in 1921 and 1922. Other expedition members often spoke of Mallory’s obsession with reaching the summit, a mission which he took as a very personal quest which he would die trying to achieve if it came to that. He was an undeniable tough as nails, old school adventurer, eschewing the use of supplemental oxygen since he saw it as somehow unsporting, although he would later come to the conclusion that reaching the top of Everest would be physically impossible without it. It was for this reason that he ended up hiring a fresh faced, 22 year-old undergraduate student by the name of Andrew “Sandy” Irvine, who had zero high altitude climbing experience but was nevertheless an avid sportsman, having been an accomplished rower, and had incredible engineering acumen, being an expert at repairing the supplemental oxygen equipment used by the British mountain expeditions; unwieldy bottle-like apparatus which were heavy, unreliable and prone to breaking or leaks. Irvine would also be invaluable for maintaining the cameras, stoves, and pretty much every other mechanical device during the expedition. With the help of Irvine, Mallory was able to increase the functionality and strength of the oxygen tanks, designing a tank that weighed 5 pounds less than usual called the “Mark V,” but it was still a cumbersome beast to drag up a steep mountain, at around 33 pounds. Nevertheless, this oxygen was seen by Mallory as the key to reaching the forbidding summit of Everest.

Malloy and Irvine decked out in their oxygen gear

The two made their preparations and with great fanfare started their adventure as national heroes with a 13 strong expedition and equipment that would have been very primitive by today’s standards. After several days of ascending the face of Everest, Mallory and Irvine had climbed up to 26,800 feet on the eve of their final push to take the summit in order to set up a small camp, after which Sherpa guides were sent to tell the rest of the expedition who were at another camp farther down the mountain that they planned to reach the peak the following morning. The next day, on June 8, 1924, Mallory and Irvine set out for the summit of Everest in clear conditions, although the last person to see them, team geologist Noel Odell who watched through a telescope, noticed that something must have gone less smoothly than planned as the pair began their ascent at 12:50 in the afternoon rather than the early morning hours they had originally stated. Nevertheless, Odell reported that the two climbers appeared to be climbing strongly and reached a place at around 28,227 feet called the Second Step, just below the summit pyramid, without incident. Odell felt sure at the time that they would have no trouble reaching their goal, but then a thick bank of sudden clouds and mist enveloped them and they were lost to view. They would never be seen alive again.

The concerned Odell made his way up to the high camp from which Mallory and Irvine had set out to investigate, and found evidence that Irvine had been tinkering with the oxygen apparatus, with hardware from the equipment strewn about the tent.

Unwilling to go any farther up the mountain to search due to a sudden swirl of fierce wind driven snow and mist that had descended upon the mountain, Odell returned to the lower camp and resigned himself to keeping a lookout for the two men. For two days, there were no signs of the two lost adventurers or indeed of any life at all from the cold wasteland above, and Odell went back one more time to the high camp to find that the tent remained abandoned. Subsequently Mallory and Irvine would be declared missing, yet it was totally unknown if they had actually reached the summit or not and no sign of what happened to them could be found. It was as if the mountain itself had swallowed them up.

The 1924 Mallory-Irvine Expedition

It would be years before any clue whatsoever from the doomed expedition would be uncovered. In 1933, a member of the Fourth British Everest Expedition by the name of Percy Wyn-Harris found an ice-axe at around 8,460 m (27,760 ft) which it was determined must have belonged to Irvine due to the characteristic three nick marks that he was known to put on his belongings. The ice-axe find prompted a good deal of speculation, with various theories thrown about for why it was there, including that it was evidence of the scene of a fall, that it had been dropped accidentally, or that it had simply been placed there to be picked up again on the way back down. No one knows. Another tantalizing clue would be found in May 1991 in the form of an old-fashioned oxygen cylinder determined to be from the expedition, but of the bodies of the climbers themselves would remain elusive. Over the years the mystery of the Mallory and Irvine disappearances would draw several expeditions in search of answers, and even Edmund Hillary himself kept an eye out for any evidence of what had happened to them during his own expedition, yet there were no clues, no further traces of the two vanished men.

The most major clue of all was discovered in 1999, when the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition located Mallory’s body, which had originally been thought to be that of Irvine, lying face down, arms akimbo and with fingers dug stubbornly into the ground as if he were still trying to climb even in death, as well as with a rope around the waist, in a funnel shaped basin around 300m below and 100m to the side of where the ice-axe had been found in 1933. The body had been remarkably well preserved by the unrelenting frigid cold, and was covered with various contusions and gashes, suggesting a fall. This was further supported by the presence of severe hemorrhaging in the area where the rope was tied, indicating major rope-jerk trauma and implying that he had fallen a long distance, possibly while still tied together to Irvine. In the forehead of the body was found a large puncture wound that matched the dimensions of what would be inflicted by an ice-axe, which led to speculation that Mallory may have been sliding down the slope and using the axe to control his speed when it bounced up from striking a rock to hit him in the head and kill him. That the body was found off their intended route and several hundred feet below where the ice-axe found in 1933 was located also seemed to indicate an accident. However, despite all of these clues, it is still unclear as to what had actually transpired or what exactly happened in the moments leading up to his death.

George Mallory

Although Mallory’s body has been found, Irvine’s never has. All we have are cryptic sightings and clues. One sighting was made in 1975 by a Chinese climber named Wang Hong-bao, who claimed to have come across what he described as an “Old English Dead” wearing old-fashioned clothing and lying on a rock as if sleeping and with a hole in his cheek at 8,100m during the Chinese Everest Expedition. Unfortunately, Wang died shortly after in an avalanche before any more information could be obtained. It was likely not the body of Mallory as the description does not fit that of Mallory’s, and so it has been speculated that he had in fact seen the body of Irvine. The body of Irvine has been allegedly seen by other Chinese climbers as well, with a sighting by an expedition leader Xu Jing in 1960 and another by a member of the 1960 Chinese expedition, Wang Fu-chou. A Chhiring Dorje Sherpa also claimed to have seen the body of a white man in “army colored clothing” while working as a porter on the Japanese 1995 Nihon University Expedition. Dorje would go on to make plans to launch an expedition to retrieve the body, but it was cancelled when the proper funding didn’t materialize. Yet, despite these clues Irvine’s body remains missing, its whereabouts unknown although there are no shortage of explorers seemingly every year claiming to have discovered its location. Unfortunately, considering the daunting terrain, the large amount of ice and snow cover, and the weather conditions, it is almost a miracle that they ever even found Mallory’s body, so Irvine’s may very well be lost forever.

Besides the matter of what exactly happened to Mallory and Irvine, the case offers other mysteries, with one of the most enduring and puzzling being whether they had managed to reach the summit of Everest nearly 30 years before Edmund Hillary. It’s a subject which has stirred up a great amount of debate and for which there is frustratingly little evidence available to help us come to any sort of concrete answer. The terrain is treacherous and difficult, especially the “Second Step” before the summit, a daunting climb even with modern equipment and Malloy and Irvine had would have been crudely equipped by today’s standards, lacking many of the fixed ropes, anchors and other gadgets modern climbers have at their disposal. They also would have been dressed in gabardine, wool, cotton and silk fastened with fly buttons rather than the high-tech materials zipped up tight used in later years, casting doubt on whether the clothes of the era would have been adequate to protect them from the frigid, deep freeze temperatures high up on the mountain. Nevertheless, it has been surmised that the gear they had was probably adequate for reaching the summit of Everest, and textile studies at British universities have shown that their rudimentary protective clothing would have been actually surprisingly effective in the freezing conditions. All of this makes it seem that it was at least feasible that Mallory and Irvine may have reached the peak. But did they?

Mallory and Irvine

The discovery of Mallory’s body did little to cast much illumination on this particular puzzle as it is uncertain whether he had been on his way up to the summit at the time of his mishap or if he had been on his way down after already reaching it. However, there are a few clues that actually tend to point towards the possibility that he had indeed reached his goal. One is the fact that his snow goggles were found in his pocket, which seems to suggest he was heading down the face at night since they would have been necessary in the blinding white of the daytime snow. A night time or early evening descent would seem to suggest that he was on his way down from reaching the summit at a late time, which coincides with their unexpectedly late departure. It is thought that if they had not reached the summit then it would be unlikely Mallory would still be at that high location at such a late hour, although it could also mean that he was coming down after he had simply given up trying and failing. Another clue is a missing photograph.

Mallory’s possessions were just as well preserved as his corpse and there was a photograph of his wife conspicuously missing.

This is important, as it was well-known that Mallory always carried a photo of his wife with him and had intended to place it at the summit if he ever reached it. The absence of the photograph could mean that he reached the peak and he placed it there as intended, or it could mean that it was simply dropped or dislodged from his pocket during his fall. Tantalizing clues, yet ultimately inconclusive.

Other theories take a more negative route, saying that there is meteorological evidence that a sudden, fierce storm had descended upon Everest on that fateful day or that at the very least a sudden fatal drop in barometric pressure had hit, either of which which would have made it impossible for the pair to have conquered the mountain. The evidence, which is held at the Royal Geographical Society, found that at the time of Mallory and Irvine’s summit attempt there had been a barometric pressure drop of 18mbar, or in layman’s terms, a catastrophic, fatal drop. Such a steep drop in pressure would have robbed the team of already scarce oxygen, and would have subjected them to a profound hypoxic state despite their oxygen equipment. In other words, if this data is true they would have been done for. It has been argued that this deadly weather, plus the fact that Mallory and Irvine were heading into undiscovered country and were uncertain of which route to even take, would have conspired to doom their attempts.

Mt. Everest

Others take the circumstantial evidence from Mallory’s body, Mallory’s expertise and experience, and their close approach to the summit as suggesting they did indeed make it. For his part, Noel Odell, the last to have seen the two alive on that fateful day, was confident that they had made it. He wrote in the 1924 book The Fight for Everest:

The question remains, ‘Has Mount Everest been climbed?’ It must be left unanswered, for there is no direct evidence. But bearing in mind all the circumstances I have set out…. considering their position when last seen, I think myself there is a strong probability that Mallory and Irvine succeeded.

Yet for all of the theorizing, no one can really be sure. Perhaps the best chance we ever have of finding out if they had indeed been the first to reach the summit is if either of the two metal Vest Pocket Kodak (VPK) cameras the pair were known to have been carrying at the time are found. If Mallory and Irvine had indeed reached the summit, they would have most certainly photographed the historical event with their cameras, yet neither one of them has ever been found. No camera was found on Mallory’s body, meaning that he either dropped it somewhere or that Irvine was in possession of both. One reason that finding Irvine’s body has been seen as so important is that if he had even one of the missing cameras on his person it could offer final proof of whether they had reached their goal, or at least offer more insight to what happened on their ill-fated expedition. It is unclear whether the film within the cameras would still be any good, but Kodak film experts have stated that if the cameras had remained in good condition, then the sturdy black and white film of the day could have remained in a deep freeze and could still feasibly produce printable images. Finding either of the missing cameras has been seen as sort of a holy grail towards finding the answers to the conundrum of the Mallory Irvine Expedition and would solve the puzzle once and for all. Then again, if the camera’s structural integrity has been compromised, it will likely only lead to more frustration.

George Mallory (right) and Andrew Irvine

The disappearance of Mallory and Irvine and the question of whether they were the first to mount Everest nearly three decades before Edmund Hillary has become a perplexing historical mystery and daring adventure story rolled up into one, and has attained an almost mythical status. Enduring curiosity as to the fate of the expedition has inspired deep fascination and made sure the race continues to rage on for expeditions to delve into this relatively unexplored no man’s land to find answers. Unfortunately, many of these expeditions seem concerned primarily with how much money they could make off of the discovery, the bidding war for images of Mallory’s body no doubt putting dollar signs in their eyes, and it is this crass commercialization of the whole endeavor that has convinced many that it is perhaps better if Irvine’s body is never found. In particular, Irvine’s relatives and family have expressly made clear their opinion that the expeditions are distasteful and offensive, with most of them wanting him left in peace. There seems to be no question that the discovery of Irvine’s body will be the catalyst for extensive legal battles facing those who find it.

What happened to these two intrepid explorers who dared to face down the mysterious massive bulk of Everest in a time when no one else had? Did they reach the seemingly unreachable summit first in 1924? Until more concrete evidence is found it is unlikely we will ever know for sure. They weren’t the last souls to be claimed by the mountain, with around 150 climbers meeting their doom upon its craggy face since, and there will undoubtedly be more. And that is perhaps the most enthralling mystery of all; that even well into modern times the majestic, imposing and vast Everest can still cast such a powerful, all-consuming allure that draws so many to seek its perilous summit and perhaps even their own deaths to be among the nearly 600 brave souls who have reached the top. One can only wonder how many more lives the mountain will claim, how many more mysteries it will accrue, before we ever find the answers to the one I have discussed here.

[MIKA27]

THE AMANGIRI RESORT IN UTAH

Designed to blend in seamlessly with the rural surroundings, the Amangiri Resort is a desert oasis, situated in a valley near the Utah/Arizona border.

Spanning over 600 acres, this Southwestern gem has everything one could ever ask for. The resort includes 34 suites, all built around a centralized swimming pool, where guests can enjoy views of the Escalante National Monument while soaking in the sweet sunshine. There’s even a handful of private pools and sky terraces designed for a romantic evening of star gazing with your significant other. Of course there are also other ways to unwind like indulging in the full service spa, reading a book in the library, enjoying a chef-prepared meal in the restaurant, or even strolling through the on-site art gallery. Rooms start at $600 per night. [Purchase]