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

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BACKWATER HOUSE

Set on a secluded lagoon in the Norfolk Broads, the Backwater House makes for an ideal country getaway. The home offers four total bedrooms and sleeps eight, with an en-suite for the master and a small twin room for youngsters, all done in the same understated aesthetic as the open kitchen and living areas. Surrounded on three sides by water, there's also ample deck space, an outdoor BBQ, and a place to dock your boat, with access to Wroxham Broad and the Bure River.

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New Trailer For Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

 

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Netflix's New Series Dark Looks Like The Scarier German Version Of Stranger Things

 

"A missing child sets four families on a frantic hunt for answers. Their search for a culprit unearths a small town's sins and secrets." No, it's not the description of Stranger Things. It's actually the plot of a new Netflix original series called Dark and while the two sound very similar, but that's where the similarities end.

Dark premieres this winter, presumably after Stranger Things season two, and it looks terrifying. Here's the first teaser.

Where Stranger Things took the premise of a missing kid and went mysterious and nostalgic with it, it seems like Dark is going, well, dark. This has a genuine horror vibe to go along with the mystery and intrigue. I love that the trailer just looks like your basic missing person story but then hits you with that time travel reveal at the end. Who doesn't love a good time travel story? Especially one that's so freaking creepy.

Since it's entirely produced and filmed in Germany, we don't know much about Dark yet. But consider it officially on our, and your, radar.

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Lamborghini Rips Nürburgring Production Car Record Into Shreds; Lights Those Shreds On Fire; Casts Ashes To The Wind To Blow In The Face Of Porsche

FLASH! BANG! ZOOM! THE NEW LAMBORGHINI HURACÁN PERFORMANTE JUST SMASHED THROUGH THE PRODUCTION CAR LAP RECORD AT THE NÜRBURGRING. Holy fuck! Who saw that one coming? YOU DID.

That puny Porsche 918 time? The one that was under seven minutes that everyone made a big stink about?

This Lamborghini is faster. By five seconds. Damn!

What will humanity accomplish next?

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Italy’s Etna Volcano Throws Lava Bombs in Its First Big Eruption of 2017

AFTER ONE OF the most quiet years in decades, Etna has decided to make 2017 a little more exciting. Early this week, the volcano had a moderate strombolian eruption, what the folks who monitor Etna call a “paroxysm,” that produced a lava fountain over the summit of the volcano. Strombolian eruptions (named after nearby Stromboli) are caused by gas-rich magma reaching the surface and erupting explosively. They also tend to produce lava flows at the same time, but they are less intense explosions than a plinian eruption (like what happened at Pinatubo or St. Helens).

Some of the images of the eruption show a stream of lava coming from the New Southeast Crater while strombolian explosions threw lava bombs hundreds of meters from the vent. The ash from this eruption did not disrupt the air traffic in or out of the airport at nearby Catania—however, past stronger eruptions have caused it to shut down.

Of course, there was a torrent of hyperbole published about this eruption. But even as dramatic as this eruption looked, it is relatively benign, mainly impacting the summit area of Etna. Always be skeptical of news articles that sell any volcanic eruption as a portend of doom or massive destruction.

Very few actually are as hazardous as breathless media outlets would suggest. Eruptions at Etna may pose a hazard to air traffic through ash emissions, and slow-moving lava flows could endanger some of the villages and homes on the lower slopes of the volcano. This has happened before, and attempts were made to divert the lava flows (with moderate success). But the lava flow jeopardizes property much more than life; the flows move so slowly that you can likely out-walk them. Etna does have some history of explosive eruptions, but in its most recent activity over the last decade, these events have been very rare.

Remember, there are a lot of webcams pointed at Etna. You can see a lot of different views (including IR thermal camera) on the INGV webcams, while Radio7 has a variety from different views and EtnaGuide has some near the summit. The next time Etna rumbles, be sure to check it out live.

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A Decade After Zodiac, David Fincher Returns to the Serial Killer Genre

David Fincher is returning to the serial killer sub-genre as executive producer on the new Netflix drama Mindhunter, which sounds a lot like Criminal Minds if it were made for cable. Set in the 1970s, the show stars Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany as two FBI agents who conduct a series of interviews with incarcerated serial killers in order to shed light on new cases.

"Imagine what it takes to bludgeon someone to death–the lust for control, the feeling of arousal..." intones an appropriately creepy female voiceover as the trailer begins. From the sounds of it, Groff's Holden Ford is the more gung-ho of the two, reasoning, "We can't like everything we do–we're talking to serial killers. You want truffles? You gotta get in the dirt with the pigs." McCallan's Bill Tench is the more reluctant and cautious veteran agent, aka the Morgan Freeman to Groff's Brad Pitt in the inevitable Se7en comparison.

Fincher has a long history with Netflix–he was instrumental in establishing its now-thriving production arm for original content, bringing in House of Cards back in 2013. Charlize Theron is his co-exec on Mindhunter, which is based on the non-fiction 1995 book Mind Hunter: Inside FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit.

 

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BIRD’S NEST TREEHOUSE CABIN

We have a thing for homes that blend into their surrounding, but this cabin is on an entirely different level. Located on the grounds of the Treehotel in Northern Sweden, the stunning Bird’s Nest Cabin is almost completely hidden among the trees.

While this human-sized nest may look like it’s sharp and drafty from the outside, the interior offers up all the creature comforts you could hope for. With room to sleep four, a strong WiFi connection, and little portholes through which you can peak out at the world – the unique cabin comes across as being an ideal cold weather getaway. The room itself, however, isn’t the only appealing thing about the cabin. A quick climb back down the ladder and a walk through the woods will put residents right near a sauna, or a mid-century inspired ‘Pensionat’ where they can enjoy drinks and meals. Not bad for a bunch of sticks. Prices for a stay are available on request.

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BEONCAM WRIST CAMERA

With the look of a smartwatch and a camera comparable to the one you'd find in your smartphone, the Beoncam Wrist Camera can capture you and the world around you in 360-degree HD. The world's first removable 5MP panoramic camera housed in a smartwatch is lightweight, compact, and splash proof. Beoncam is also built with an always on single touch system that is paired with a long-lasting rechargeable battery so you can capture a moment quickly and easily. Take 360-degree photos and videos or live stream your next adventure or spontaneous moment. You can even pop it out of the watch band and attach it to a backpack, bike, or tripod. Available for IOS and Android, the Beoncam app gives you remote control to the camera as well, so you can capture photos and video when it's outside of arm's reach.

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Here Are Most Incredible Life Forms NOAA Found On Its Latest Deep Sea Dive

For the past three weeks, biologists aboard the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer have been investigating marine sanctuaries in the American Samoan region of the Pacific. They have found a smattering of weird and dazzling creatures, reminding us just how little we know about life at the bottom of the ocean.

NOAA's 2017 American Samoa Expedition is part of a three-year campaign to collect important scientific information both in and around US marine protected areas in the central and western Pacific. American Samoa is a particularly rich area for discovery, consisting of three different marine sanctuaries: the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, the waters of the National Park of American Samoa, and the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa (NMSAS). These areas area have been set aside to protect extensive coral reefs, deepwater reefs, hydrothermal vent communities, and even archaeological relics.

Map showing the region of the south Pacific NOAA explored on its latest round of deep sea dives.

"Much remains unknown about the deep-sea habitats and geology in and around these protected places," said NOAA team member and Lehigh University molecular ecologist Santiago Herrera told Gizmodo. "This expedition will contribute new information by exploring areas of the deep ocean in American Samoa for the first time."

Yellow zoanthids at the base of a dead golden octocoral skeleton. (Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2017 American Samoa.)

From February 16 to 26, and with the assistance of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), the scientists conducted several dives, uncovering an assortment of biological curiosities — from cosmic jellyfish and mollusks through to bipedal searobins and aquatic Venus flytraps.

"We observed at least a dozen of potential new species of sea stars, sponges, feather sea stars, corals and mollusks, several of which we have collected," said Herrera. "These collections will allow us to confirm new species designations, provide type specimens for descriptions and enable genetic analyses to establish evolutionary relationships with other known species."

The researchers also identified distinct communities on seamounts, and documented significant growth of an active volcano, Vailulu'u, whose summit is found half a mile below the sea surface.

Here are some of our favourite discoveries made by the NOAA scientists:

One of the more incredible finds was a Venus flytrap sea anemone (video above). Like its terrestrial counterpart, this large sea anemone closes its tentacles to capture prey, or to assume a defensive posture. According to Herrera, its tentacles have stinging cells equipped with microscopic harpoons that inject venom. They're typically found in deep water canyons in the Gulf of Mexico, but as this remarkable NOAA video shows, they can also be found in the American Samoa.

A chrysogorgiid octocoral with a brittle sea star clinging to it. (Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2017 American Samoa)

While investigating the Utu Seamount in the NMSAS, the researchers spied an area of loose rock that likely formed from volcanic material that had broken off a crater wall and rolled down a hill. This area is now home to a wide range of aquatic life, including chrysogorgiid octocorals and brittle sea stars (both pictured above).

Also at the Utu Seamount, the researchers stumbled upon rhopalonematid trachymedusa, a transluscent jellyfish with a very UFO-like appearance. Its reproductive organs can be seen in bright yellow, and its digestive system appears in red. The creature's two unique set of tentacles — one facing up and once facing down — likely help it to catch prey.

This remarkable armoured searobin uses modified fins as legs to move across the seafloor. It was spotted searching for food in the Ta'u section of NMSAS.

A hydroid exploring Leoso Seamount. (Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2017 American Samoa)

A hydroid is seen exploring the Leoso Seamount, an area that straddles the boundary between the American Samoa Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the Cook Islands EEZ. These alien-like creatures are closely related to most jellyfishes, and attach themselves to rock while using their two-tiered tentacled mouths to snatch food floating nearby.

A brisingid sea star clings to a manganese rock. (Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2017 American Samoa)

Also at the Leoso Seamount, the NOAA researchers observed several glass sponges, yellow sea urchins, barnacles, anemones, and a fantastic, long-legged brisingid sea star that was clinging to a manganese rock (pictured above).

A scorpionfish. (Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2017 American Samoa)

This scorpionfish was spotted on the seafloor at a depth of 1,1025 feet (340 meters) in Rose Atoll Marine National Monument.

You can check out even more incredible photos and videos from the latest dive here. Congrats to the NOAA for yet another astounding mission to the deep.

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Michael Jackson Almost Played Professor X In The Original X-Men Films

The original X-Men trilogy helped kickstart the modern superhero movie boom — and it gave us iconic takes on characters like Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and Patrick Stewart's Professor X. What that casting might have been though, according to the people behind it, paints a totally bizarre alternate picture.

Speaking in an extensive interview with THR, David Hayter, who wrote the screenplay for the first two X-Men films, discusses some of the totally wild alternate casting choices that might have been:

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I was writing it for the comic book characters. I was brought on as they were casting, so I was lucky enough to be there for some of the people who came in like Terence Stamp for Xavier and Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey for Storm. Michael Jackson came in because he wanted to play Professor X. It was amazing. Shaq came in. Viggo Mortensen came in. I really liked Viggo for Wolverine, but it didn't come together for whatever reason. Angela Bassett was our first choice for Storm, but her agents wanted more money than we had at the time. Same with Rachael Leigh Cook for Rogue.

Angela Bassett for Storm. Michael Jackson for Professor X. Shaq, apparently, wanted to be Bishop, but Hayter eventually cut the character from the script due to his unfamiliarity with the hero. Holy moly, this is crazy.

But can you imagine that first X-Men movie with some of these names floating around instead of what we got? Hugh Jackman's Wolverine has become iconic at this point, but I want to see the alternate realities where Viggo Mortensen or Dougray Scott — who originally cast as the hero before having to pull out due to suffering severe injuries on the set of Mission Impossible 2 — brought Logan to life.

Or actually, the alternate Wolverine reality I really want to see is the one suggested by legendary X-Men comic writer Chris Claremont in a separate interview with THR: One where, before he saw Jackman audition, he wanted Bob Hoskins to play Wolverine.

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Well, that's a perception of the medium in 1988. At the same time, when I was looking at the pairing of Ororo [X-Men's Storm] and Logan, to me it seemed perfectly rational to have Angela Bassett and Bob Hoskins, because the image I had of Hoskins was from the films he made in England where they emphasised, in terms of his character, the harshness, the Cockney, the brutality of him. There was a film he did called Lassiter with Tom Selleck, and if you look at the two of them together, Tom Selleck is this 1.83m-plus powerful, handsome, glorious leading man and Hoskins is this little cop. In one scene, Selleck comes to the door of [Hoskin's] house and Hoskins takes one look at him and hauls off and shoves Selleck back down the drive, yelling "You come to my house?" and just repeating it over and over as he shoves Selleck back down the path and through the fence out onto the street. And the expression on Selleck's face is "Holy Shit!" and I thought, bingo. That is Logan. That instant rage.

But like I said, this is the world of 1988. Cut ahead 12 years to when we're sitting down, when [producer] Lauren Shuler Donner was putting together Wolverine and we were talking about it, and the actor who was originally chosen for the role got injured on the set of Mission: Impossible II, Dougray Scott, and she had Hugh Jackman on her list. He had just won the Olivier award for Oklahoma!, which is the totally opposite end of the spectrum, and, again, you look at him and you think, too tall, too handsome, too this, too that. And he walked out into the audition and just nailed it and they put him on a plane to Vancouver within 24 hours to start shooting X-Men. The rightness of that decision has been proved ever since.

 

I really hope Earth-3981737 is really happy with this version of Logan:

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Mysterious Ancient Staircase to Nowhere Found in Cambodia

Maybe it’s because I grew up watching the Indiana Jones films, but for me, nothing beats a good ol’ fashioned unexplained ancient lost city mystery. The Cambodia Daily has reported that a team of international archaeologists have begun studying a mysterious ancient staircase in the Phnom Kulen mountain range north of Angkor Wat. The mountain has been eyed for addition to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list and is considered sacred in the Buddhist tradition, containing several shrines and Buddha statues.  

The 550-meter staircase in question has been carved out of the red rock of the mountain itself. The stairs have been interspersed with several flat areas believed to have been designed as rest areas with water sources. Archaeologists have yet to determine a precise date for its construction, and historical accounts vary. For centuries, local villagers have been passing down various legends and anecdotes about their ancestors’ use of the staircase. None of these, however, helps unravel the mystery of who made the staircase or for what purpose.

Archeologists Khieu Chan, left, and Ea Darith, right, interview a Ta Han villager on Pleu Cere staircase on Mount Kulen.

One thing is certain, though: the staircase took a tremendous amount of coordination and labor. According to archaeologist Jean-Baptiste Chevance, this implies social organization likely stemming from an unknown ancient ruler:

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If you deploy so much labor to build such a feature, it’s coming from the top. It’s not just some local rich guy who built it. The problem is to know when it was built, because there are no carvings, no other remains.

A leading theory is that the staircase provided access to the ancient city of Mahendraparvata, a Khmer Empire stronghold dating back to the ninth century. Aerial radar has recently revealed that the lost city is much more extensive than previously thought and shows remarkable levels of urban planning and sophistication.

Archaeologists hope that the recent discoveries surrounding the staircase might speed up protection efforts; logging operations have been damaging the site in recent years. Locals, however, hope the staircase will soon become a lucrative tourist attraction.

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Chilean National Police Spooked by Seemingly Haunted House

I tend to stay away from covering haunted house stories because they usually only come in one of two forms: clearly doctored “home videos,” or unsubstantiated eyewitness testimony. This story, however, contains official reports from an entire squad of Carabineros, Chile’s official national police force. According to Chilean news outlet Cooperativa, the Carabineros were called to a home in the southern Chilean town of Puerto Montt on Sunday, February 26 when the home’s residents reported witnessing strange paranormal phenomena. The family claims several small fires were seen to spontaneously ignite, and objects were thrown about by what sounds like a poltergeist.

 

Burnt objects and debris littered the area outside the home the morning after police were called.

Video taken the night of the incident shows…well, a lot of panicked voices, yelling, and the sounds of glass breaking:

Police arrived around 2:00 a.m. to find the house in disarray with several broken windows and various household items strewn about the residence. Carabinero Sgt. Boris Olavarria claimed that he immediately felt the presence of dark forces immediately after arriving at the home:

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At first, it was strange, but once inside, I was questioning one of the owners when a trowel fell down from the attic. I called upon the devil, telling him to get out of there and when I was leaving I felt a knife that grazed my back. Since I was wearing a bulletproof vest, I was able to avoid injury.

The Carabineros were sufficiently spooked to high-tail it out of the house and relocate the family to a nearby shelter. A local reporter also reported feeling a dark presence when visiting the home, complete with strange, unexplained anxiety and numbness in her limbs.

Police were unable to offer any other official explanation.

Several groups have visited the house in an attempt to exorcise whatever evil spirits might be causing the haunting. As is the case with most of these stories, concrete evidence is scant, and the video of the event which went viral shows little but a clearly excited group of people and a lot of camera shaking. Is this alleged poltergeist merely some lame publicity stunt, or could it be a real-life haunting? Who knows. I’m going with a case of the good ol’ folie à deux.

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ALPINE A110 COUPE

It’s been awhile since the French car manufacturer Alpine released a new vehicle for the enjoyment of the car community. In fact, over two decades have passed since anything came out of the Alpine shop. Thankfully, this year’s Geneva Motor Show marks an end to such a drought with the all new Alpine A110, a redux of the famed French sports car from the ’70s

Set to launch in an edition that’s limited to 1,955 vehicles, this number makes the car quite the exclusive build for lucky buyers and alludes to the year in which Alpine first opened their doors for business. The ride features a full aluminum platform and body for combined weight saving and agility along with a turbocharged, 300HP four-cylinder Renault engine allowing the ride to hit 62mph in 4.5 seconds. It’s also available in blue, white, or black depending on your personal preference for the retro-inspired car. Unfortunately, Alpine doesn’t plan on making this ride available in the U.S. at this time so it looks like you’ll have to travel abroad to get your hands on this little coupe with a starting price of $62,000.

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‘War Machine’ Trailer

If you’ve been dying for more of Lt. Aldo Raine’s hilariously hard to place accent, you’re (kind of) in luck. Brad Pitt is set to star in the Netflix Original War Machine, an absurdist war story in which he plays a hot-shot general with a… Southern?… German?… Guy who smokes three packs a day and has an issue with his lips? accent. Based on The Operators, a nonfiction book from Michael Hastings, the story centres on General Dan McMahon (based on General Stanley McChrystal) as he commands NATO forces in Afghanistan, only to be challenged by the swift pen of a tenacious journalist. Here’s your first look and your first listen to that glorious accent. “We’re going to be doing one thing and one thing only: Killin’ Naazis.”

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Breitling Aerospace Evo Cirrus Aircraft

Breitling have released a special interpretation of their legendary model Aerospace Evo. For the limited edition Aerospace Evo Cirrus Aircraft, Breitling teamed up with aircraft manufacturer Cirrus Aircraft, the sleek interpretation features a dynamic and technical new style, with a simple and logical control system. The crown is your single touch point for the entire set of functions that are useful to pilots. The Aerospace Evo also features an extremely effective and NVG-compatible display backlight system. Built from beautiful black satin brushed titanium, the sleek chronometer is available in a serialized limited edition of only 220.    

 

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DECIBEL UPGRADEABLE SPEAKER

Technology pushes forward at such a quick pace that many gadgets are already outdated by the time they hit store shelves. The Decibel Upgradeable Speaker looks to break this cycle by letting you replace any part inside its anodized aluminum chassis. That includes the electronics, which set together on a single board, the speakers, which include dual two-inch cast alloy bass drivers and two soft dome tweeters, and the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. It can charge directly over USB-C or via the included wireless charging dock, can link with other Decibel units for more room-filling sound, and is available with either a white or black removable grille.

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PORSCHE PANAMERA SPORT TURISMO

Combining the convenience of a station wagon, the elegant lines of a shooting brake, and the performance you'd expect, the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo is the latest model in Stuttgart's lineup of four-door vehicles. Its oversized D-pillar transitions into the rear in a coupe-like fashion, while the adaptive spoiler — it changes its angle based on the driving situation and settings — extends out from the window of the large rear hatch, creating the distinctive roofline. The 2+1 seating arrangement in the rear makes it the first Panamera capable of seating five, with the revised roofline providing more headroom, and also more storage with the seats folded down. Available in five models, ranging from the 4 to the flagship Turbo.

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The Promise Trailer Has Christian Bale & Oscar Isaac Witness the Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide is arguably the earliest case of ethnic cleansing in modern history (and is the event that spurred the invention of the word “genocide” to boot). Beginning in World War I, and continuing well after it, the Ottoman Empire orchestrated the systematic mass murder of Armenian Christians through military conscription, work camps, death marches, and more. But it began in 1914 with the rounding up of Armenian intellectuals.

Thus it is a potent backdrop for any attempt at dramatic fiction, which The Promise offers a grand attempt at, presenting a war epic and melodrama in the vein of how Hollywood storytellers once depicted the Second World War as fertile ground for narratives.

In The Promise, it is 1914 and the Great War looms as Constantinople, once a multicultural golden city on the Bosporus, has descended into chaos. In this context, Michael Boghosian (Oscar Isaac) arrives in the city as a medical student determined to learn new cutting edge techniques for his Southern Turkey home village, where Turkish Muslims and Armenian Christians live in peace. Meanwhile, photojournalist Chris Myers (Christian Bale) is also documenting the political upheaval in the area while also falling in love with Ana (Charlotte le Bon), an Armenian artist he has traveled with from Paris as they reach her native land.

Naturally, a love triangle is sparked when Michael meets Ana, but the problems of three little people might not amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world, because the Turks are simultaneously forming an alliance with Germany, which leads to the Ottoman Empire to begin targeting its own ethnic minorities… including the Armenian Christians of which Michael and Ana are counted amongst.

As the logline says, “promises are made and promises are broken.”

The picture is written and directed by Terry George who has had success in documenting through narrative cinema other grim occurrences of 20th century genocide, as seen in 2004’s Hotel Rwanda. The Promise, meanwhile, opens April 21, 2017.

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Pirates of the Caribbean 5 Trailer

It’s been six years since the not-very-good Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides arrived in 2011 and promptly gobbled up more than $1 billion at the global box office. But the fifth film in the series -- Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales -- finally arrives this summer after a long sabbatical following production.

Filming’s been done for a while on this one -- even with a few delays and production issues in the mix -- so there is plenty to know about and even more to write of. So join us, but be warned, here there be monsters.

The latest full-length trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is filled with CGI Young Jack Sparrow, plenty of references to Pirates of the Caribbean: 1-4, and a better understanding of the plot. 

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales will be setting sail to a theater near you on May 26, 2017.

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Biotech Firm Halts 'Revolutionary' Cancer Treatment After Patient Deaths

Following the deaths of five patients, Juno Therapeutics has decided to pull the plug on an experimental cancer treatment that boosts the power of a patient's immune cells. The news comes just days after the company's rival, Kite Pharma, announced its success with a similar method, showing there's still hope for this potentially revolutionary gene therapy.

Called JCAR015, the therapy was being used to treat adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a cancer of the immune system. Back in July 2016, three patients died while participating in Juno's Phase II clinical trial, known as ROCKET, prompting the FDA to suspend the therapy. The trial was eventually allowed to continue, but it was suspended yet again in November following two more deaths. These setbacks, in conjunction with a rash of criticisms accusing the company of hiding the deaths from the public and "going way too fast" with the trials, has finally led Juno to put the brakes on the program entirely.

"We have decided not to move forward with the ROCKET trial or JCAR015 at this time, even though it generated important learnings for us and the immunotherapy field," noted Juno President and CEO Hans Bishop in a statement. The CEO restated the company's "commitment to developing better treatments for patients battling ALL," adding that "an approach using our defined cell technology is the best platform to pursue."

This platform, known as CAR-T, produces genetically juiced-up immune cells that are reintroduced into a patient's bloodstream, preventing cancer from spreading and taking hold. Considerable buzz has emerged in light of this (potentially) revolutionary gene therapy, particularly after early results came in from a clinical trial showing that 94 per cent of approximately 35 terminally ill patients who were treated with CAR-T went into remission.

Unfortunately, however, this new immunotherapy has also directly resulted in patient deaths, likely due to a reaction between chemotherapy drugs and the CAR-T treatment. Juno blamed the deaths on a change to the trial's original protocol — specifically, the addition of the chemo drug fludarabine alongside the chemo drug cyclophosphamide. Troublingly, one of the patients who died was not receiving chemotherapy at all, throwing Juno's claim into doubt.

As noted, Juno may be giving up on JCAR015, but it's not giving up on CAR-T as a concept. To that end, the Seattle company is focusing on its second CAR-T treatment. Called JCAR017, it has shown early promise in treating diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), which is the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. As reported in STAT, an early Juno trial on 19 patients had a positive effect on 42 of participants over three months, and the company plans to launch a larger study later this year.

But at this stage, Juno has fallen a bit behind. There are two other major players currently working on their own CAR-T treatment for DLBCL, namely Kite Pharma and Novartis. On February 28, Kite announced some exceptionally promising results from its clinical trials, showing that 82 per cent of some 100 patients saw their cancer shrink by half at some point. The Santa Monica-based company now plans to file for FDA approval. Novartis plans to do the same by the end of the year.

The race for this treatment — estimated to be worth $US1.5 ($2) billion in annual sales — is moving ahead a swift pace, while Juno Pharmaceuticals is now forced to play catch up.

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NASA Wants To Launch A Magnetic Shield To Restore Atmosphere On Mars

With an atmosphere, Mars was a temperate planet with surface water - but that was 3.5 billion years ago. Imagine if we could help it create one again?

At The Planetary Science Vision 2050 Workshop at NASA headquarters, Jim Green - NASA's Planetary Science Division Director - is proposing launching a magnetic shield to do just that.
If that sounds a bit, um, unattainable, don't worry - this workshop is a forum where super ambitious space projects are discussed, and none are expected to be completed - or even started - until 2050.

Now, onto the magnetic shield.

The shield would be made up of a large dipole—a closed electric circuit - powerful enough to generate an artificial magnetic field - and its goal is to protect Mars from high energy solar particles.

Ultimately it would mean Mars could begin restoring its atmosphere, 90 per cent of which has been stripped away by solar particles.

Simulation models show half the atmospheric pressure of Earth could be achieved on Mars "in a matter of years". Frozen CO2 at Mars's polar ice caps would turn into gas, the greenhouse effect would start to fill Mars's atmosphere to heat the planet, and ice under the poles would melt and flood the world with liquid water.

"Perhaps one-seventh of the ancient ocean could return to Mars," Green said.

 

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People Are Worried About Dead Pixels On The Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Isn't

Supplies of Nintendo's latest console, the Switch, are extremely limited at the moment and most people aren't lucky to have one. But some who have managed to get their gamer mitts on the coveted item are finding dead pixels on the screen. Nintendo's solution? Just don't consider it a defect.

Nintendo's official response to the issue of finding a dead pixel on the Switch's portable screen can be found on its troubleshooting page. It reads in its entirety:

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Small numbers of stuck or dead pixels are a characteristic of LCD screens. These are normal and should not be considered a defect.

That's a vague response to what could be a serious issue for some consumers. Many people would be able to blow off a defect like this:

But, for others that little flaw might be just the kind of thing that nags at their fastidious nature and makes it impossible to spend hours staring at the relatively expensive little screen.

The fact is, a dead pixel or two on an LCD screen is not an uncommon occurrence. As manufacturing processes improve, they have become less of a problem. A lot of manufacturers have a publicly available Dead pixel policy that outlines what they consider to be a problem. This policy can mean the difference between having a warranty honored or whether a retailer might give you problems with an exchange. For instance, HP's limited warranty for monitors that were manufactured after May 2009 has a zero tolerance policy for "full pixel defects." However, the policy tolerates up to "five combined bright/dark anomalies."

Nintendo doesn't appear to have a broad policy that's easily available. We've reached out for comment and will update when they reply. For now, it appears that users will have to wage their complaints on an individual basis. It's worth noting that after back in 2004, Nintendo bowed to pressure from consumers and offered to fix any dead pixels on its DS handheld system.

If this is a problem for you, don't give up. Go through the channels at your disposal and if you run into any egregious situations let us know. In the meantime, Nintendo might announce a plan to take care of consumers.

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Jeff Bezos Wants To Set Up Amazon On The Moon

In September 2016, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced his grand ambitions to colonise Mars. Earlier this week, he doubled down on that promise by announcing SpaceX's plan to launching two private citizens in a tour around the Moon in late 2018. Not to be outdone by his billionaire competitor, this week, it was revealed that Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos is planning to launch a cargo spacecraft to shuttle goods — and eventually, humans — to and from the Moon, with uncrewed missions beginning as early as July 2020.

This stunning discovery was uncovered by The Washington Post, which is conveniently owned by Jeff Bezos.

According to WaPo, Blue Origin has been circulating a seven-page white paper to NASA leadership and the Trump transition team, detailing Bezos's ambitions.

Apparently, the Amazon CEO has urged NASA to create an initiative that "incentives to the private sector to demonstrate a commercial lunar cargo delivery service," per the documents. Bezos wrote that the only way his project can work is with NASA's expertise and assistance.

"Our liquid hydrogen expertise and experience with precision vertical landing offer the fastest path to a lunar lander mission," Bezos wrote. "I'm excited about this and am ready to invest my own money alongside NASA to make it happen."

Bezos' plan is to fly a hypothetical "Blue Moon" lunar lander atop a NASA's SLS rocket, United Launch Alliance's Atlas V, or the company's own New Glenn rocket all the way to the Moon's South Pole. There, the Blue Moon's solar panels can receive ample solar radiation in order to function.

"Once on the surface, the lander's useful payload can be used to conduct science or deploy rovers," Bezos said. "A robotic arm attached to the lander will deploy to examine the lunar surface with an array of instruments."

The next steps are a bit unclear, even if all goes according to plan. That said, in the same document, Bezos revealed that his ultimate goal is to create a "permanently inhabited lunar settlement," and that delivering supplies to the Moon would be the first step toward that eventual goal.

Although Blue Origin has launched its dick-shaped (Above) New Shepard rocket five times over the last year, the company remains notoriously secretive, in stark contrast to its main competitor, SpaceX. We'll take all the crumbs of news we can get, especially all those Bezos exclusives from The Washington Post!

And while one click shopping on the Moon sounds very exciting, let's wait and see how this all pans out. Gizmodo has reached out to Bezos and Blue Origin for comment and will update this post if we hear back, which is highly unlikely but was worth a shot.

[MIKA27]

Why Did Brooklyn Brewery Need a Wood Chipper to Make Its Latest Beer?

I am sitting at the The Bar in the Great Northern Food Hall. Despite being tucked in a corner of Grand Central Terminal, the Nordic-designed space is a relaxing respite from the hustle of the commuter rail station. Equally relaxed is my drinking partner, a man that makes you realize "hygge" isn't just some bullshit buzzword. This is beverage director Jonas Anderson, clad in a cozy sweater and sipping a cappuccino as we talk. What I came here to find out is: Why did this gentle man need a goddamn wood chipper to make his latest beer?

"We have all this rye bread at the end of service every day. You make so much because there's nothing worse than running out," Anderson tells me. The Danish-owned MeyersUSA hospitality group, which runs Great Northern, is big on not creating food waste, so instead of tossing the bread like most restaurants might, it began storing it in its freezer at the end of every day. Sure, some of the stale bread could eventually become croutons, but what to do with the rest of its fast-growing stockpile? This is where Brooklyn Brewery comes in.

Great Northern Food Hall is the more casual, thrifty version of Danish culinary wizard Claus Meyer's burgeoning empire. Through a nearby doorway is Agern, his seasonally driven sit-down spot that just scored a Michelin star (and where Anderson is also beverage director). Both restaurant and bar focus heavily on interesting alcohol pairings for their bites, offering fruited meads, funky ciders, and biodynamic wines. Beer-wise, that means exclusively dealing with local brews if they can help it.

Brooklyn brewmaster Garrett Oliver was already a fan of Meyers's cooking and proposed a partnership. Last year, he let Meyer and Anderson walk through his warehouse to taste countless barrels filled with many of his more experimental beers. Eventually, the Agern pair found an intriguing golden ale they liked that had been fermented with lees (yeast sediment) from a Finger Lakes riesling from the Hermann Wiemer Winery. That beer, Finger Søerne, was tasty but didn't incorporate anything from Agern, and the pair wanted something of their own for the second beer in the series.

Maybe there was finally a use for all that stale rye bread.

The loaves were delivered to Brooklyn Brewery back in January, where Oliver, Meyer, Anderson, and the rest of the beverage and brewing teams were on site and ready to brew. One problem: The rye loaves had frozen into solid bricks. They needed to be broken into smaller pieces in order to become part of the beer mash.

"We tried to break it up with our hands. Impossible. Then we started cutting it into tiny cubes. There was so much that would have taken forever," Anderson tells me. "Finally, I got an idea..."

Anderson's vision was to head to a nearby Home Depot and buy two brand-new wood chippers. They were wheeled onto the brewhouse floor, and the loaves were dropped into them. The rye was absolutely obliterated into a bready sawdust they could actually brew with. A practical solution, but also, who hasn't wanted to stuff shit through a wood chipper?

"Yes, it was actually pretty fun," admits Anderson with a wry smile (no pun intended).

The resulting beer is called Ruggernaut—"rug" means "rye" in Danish, and Juggernaut is a comic book character that Oliver loves. It's a 9.8 percent ale that almost exclusively uses that rye beer as its grain bill (a little barley was added to help fermentation). It is bold and flavorful, caramely and grainy but with a nice zip of acidity from the bread's yeast. In coming months, another version will be released after aging in New York Distilling Company barrels, which were formerly filled with, yes, rye whiskey.

Ruggernaut is now on the menu at Great Northern and Agern, the only places you can currently purchase it. Wood chippers and stale bread, however, are available everywhere.

[MIKA27]

TEMPLETON RYE SPECIAL RESERVE WHISKEY

Introduced in 2006, the folks at Templeton Rye have something special up their sleeves to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Templeton Rye Special Reserve Whiskey is aged for 10 years — which is more than twice as long as the standard Rye you're already familiar with. Made from 34 barrels, Special Reserve yielded exactly 6,080 bottles — each of which is hand-numbered and sold along with a commemorative box.