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

[MIKA27]

Flash Flood Of Fruit Juice Terrorises Russian Town

Disasters aren't funny. But sometimes they're kinda silly.

Such is the case in Lebedyan, a town in southern Russia, where a roof collapse at the local Lebedyansky beverage factory, owned by PepsiCo, lead to a flash flood of fruit juice. Two people were injured in the roof collapse (not funny). The town does seem amused by the juice flood, however, which it documented with dashcam videos that were later uploaded to VK, the Russian equivalent of Facebook.

The streets are literally flowing with delicious pink juice.

It's currently unclear if the juice spilled included Lebedyansky's premium line of juice, Ya, or consisted of the company's low-budget brands: Fruktoviy Sad, Frustyle and Privet. Conservationists are concerned that the juice will flow into the River Don and cause a pollution crisis. Which makes you wonder how safe this juice is to begin with.

[MIKA27]

Glass, The Sequel Both To Split And Unbreakable, Will Be Out January 2019

Well, spoilers be damned, now it's out there. M. Night Shyamalan just announced via Twitter that his next movie is called Glass. It's a sequel to Split and Unbreakable simultaneously, and it will be in theatres 18 January 2019.

Bruce Willis will return as David Dunn. Samuel L. Jackson will return as Mr Glass. James McAvoy will return as The Horde, and Anna Taylor Joy will return as Casey Cooke. And if you are scratching your head about this, you didn't see Split.

For the majority of Split, it's a movie about a man with multiple personalities kidnapping three girls. However, once that man realises one of his personalities is an ultra-powerful being he calls The Beast, things change. The film ends with one of the best M. Night Shyamalan twists of all time as Split is revealed to be set in the Unbreakable universe and we see David Dunn, the main character of Unbreakable, learn about the Beast on TV.

This was always Shyamalan's grand plan. Kevin, the main character of Split, was originally in the script for Unbreakable but got cut when he didn't quite fit. So years later, when looking for his next movie, the director had an idea.

"I said 'Can we make a sequel that they don't realise is a sequel? Can we make an origin story without telling them it's an origin story until the last moment of the movie? So it plays as a thriller and becomes an origin story?'" he explained to us last year. "So that was the idea from go."

And now, that idea will be fully realised in January 2019 with Glass. Here's the early plot description:

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Following the conclusion of SPLIT, GLASS finds Dunn pursuing Crumb's superhuman figure of The Beast in a series of escalating encounters, while the shadowy presence of Price emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.

 

 

[MIKA27]

‘Call of Duty: WWII’ Trailer Returns the Franchise to Its Roots

The Call of Duty franchise has evolved a lot since its origins back in 2003, but now the popular video game series is getting something of a revamp with its next title: Call of Duty: WWII. This next game returns the franchise to its roots, as the 2003 original Call of Duty was something of a ripoff of the popular Medal of Honor franchise as it focused on combat during World War II. The series peaked with 2009’s Modern Warfare 2 and has since become a multiplayer mainstay with the campaign taking a backseat, and the settings have gone past present day all the way into the future. The most recent installment, Infinite Warfare, took players all throughout the solar system, but now we’re going back to a gritty and grounded aesthetic with Call of Duty: WWII.

The reveal trailer for the game is impressive, and it looks like Josh Duhamel plays a key role in the campaign—the last few Call of Duty’s have seen folks like Kit Harington and Kevin Spacey enter the motion-capture fray. Sledgehammer Games is behind Call of Duty: WWII, the studio that co-developed Modern Warfare 3 and made its solo debut on 2014’s Advanced Warfare. It’ll be interesting to see if the Call of Duty franchise keeps churning out future-set installments courtesy of Infinity Ward or Treyarch, or if WWII marks a sea-change.

Honestly I’d be happy to see the video game franchise move back to the past for a bit. Call of Duty: WWII looks to be Europe-focused, but you could squeeze an entire game out of the pacific front of the war. And maybe even go all the way back to World War I, or revisit the Cold War of the Black Ops franchise?

For now, take a look at the Call of Duty: WWII trailer below, and sound off with your thoughts in the comments below. The game will be available for purchase on November 3rd.

Here’s the official synopsis for Call of Duty: WWII:

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Over two years in the making, Sledgehammer Games delivers a gritty, personal experience in the setting of the largest worldwide conflict in history to a new gaming generation in Call of Duty®: WWII. Play through the story of ordinary men turned soldiers in the 1st Infantry Division as they fight to preserve freedom in the face of tyranny. Call of Duty: WWII delivers fast-paced, boots-on-ground combat through iconic locations in the European Theater.

[MIKA27]

Norwegian’s Newest Cruise Ship Has a Ferrari Go-Kart Track

We’ve seen and experienced some crazy cruise ship amenities, from multi-story slides to casinos that rival anything you’d find in Vegas, but nothing like this. Norwegian’s newest cruise ship has a Ferrari go-kart track on the upper deck. That’s right, you can speed around a two level track in electric Ferrari-branded go-karts while surrounded by some of the most spectacular ocean views you’ll ever see. Made possible thanks to a partnership with Scuderia Ferrari, the track filled with quick straights and plenty of high speed corners is reportedly the first ever racetrack at sea. If Ferrari kart racing isn’t enough to pique your interest, the almost 4,000 passenger ship also includes a full park, VR “Galaxy Pavilion,” plenty of shopping, luxurious estate rooms, countless bars and some ridiculously high-end dining. The Norwegian Joy will be setting sail this summer out of home ports in Shanghai and Tianjin (Beijing).

[MIKA27]

Mellow Speaker Table

There are plenty of Bluetooth audio options on the market for room-filling sound, but few blend as seamlessly into your environment as the Mellow Multimedia Speaker Table. Crafted out of beechwood and wrapped in a micro-fabric exterior, the three-legged Mellow table combines smart functionality with simple, clean design to create a piece of furniture that won’t look out of place while also being the life of the party.

Bluetooth 4.2 technology, radiators and speakers make sure any device within 10m can be paired easily before pumping audio through your living room, bedroom, dining room or even on the patio. That’s right, Mellow also has an internal 6600mah Lithium battery that allows you to move the table and get up to 7 hours of playtime (depending on the volume) when you don’t want it plugged into the wall.

The sleek device also has built-in USB ports for device charging and smart buttons sewn into the fabric for audio control. Mellow is currently raising funds on Kickstarter with an expected shipping date in August of this year.

[MIKA27]

LE LABO SANTAL 26 DIFFUSER

Oil diffusers smell great and can improve the air that we breathe in just about any indoor environment. But most of the diffusers on the market are cheap, ugly, and don't last very long. The Le Labo Santal 26 Diffuser on the other hand, not only improves your space but has a unique look you can be proud of. It's made using reclaimed wood from New York's water tanks and comes with a unique number punched on the side. It holds a vintage light bulb that sits alongside the diffuser bulb which diffuses oil through a process that breaks down fragrance oil into a fine mist without diluting the oil in water, heating it, or adding solvent. The light and scent intensity are adjusted simultaneously by simply turning the knob.

[Fuzz]

59 minutes ago, MIKA27 said:

‘Call of Duty: WWII’ Trailer Returns the Franchise to Its Roots

 

Thank the maker for that! Was getting really sick and tired of thrust jumps and running along walls. Battlefield 1 is pretty good as a more realistic multiplayer FPS.

[MIKA27]

23 hours ago, Fuzz said:

Thank the maker for that! Was getting really sick and tired of thrust jumps and running along walls. Battlefield 1 is pretty good as a more realistic multiplayer FPS.

But even running on walls etc, been and done that with Titanfall which IMO has been far better than the recent COD's

[MIKA27]

Meet Okja's Corporate Villain In A Very Weird Ad From Netflix

We're eagerly awaiting Okja, the next film from visionary director Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer). While the plot — a girl named Mija fights to keep a giant company from taking her monster friend — sounds fairly straightforward, this bizarre faux ad for the Mirando Corporation shows it's anything but.

The ad stars Tilda Swinton as Lucy Mirando, the CEO of the company that undoubtedly wants Mija's giant friend Okja. The Mirando Corporation also traffics in the particular corporate BS where it makes you think consuming their products is more ethical than consuming someone else's.

In this video, made as an ad for Mirando, that kind of messaging is taken to the logical extreme where Lucy tells us that Mirando pigs have happy dreams and everyone else's pigs have nightmares. Don't you want to eat bacon from a pig who had sweet dreams?

I warn you: The pig's nightmares will give you nightmares.

Okja comes out June 28 on Netflix.

[MIKA27]

Holy Crap, David Fincher Is Directing The World War Z Sequel

After months of dancing around, Variety is reporting that Fincher just closed a deal to direct the zombie sequel starting early next year. Brad Pitt will once again star and produce the film, based on the popular Max Brooks book.

Fincher and Pitt are old pals who've worked together on three movies you might have heard of: Se7en, Fight Club and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Early rumours stated that Pitt really wanted Fincher to join the project and did a fair bit of convincing to get the visionary director on board.

Fincher hasn't directed a film since 2014's Gone Girl. In that time, he tried to get a show on HBO called Utopia (but that didn't work out) and produced a show called Mindhunter at Netflix. He was also considering directing a remake of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

But now, he's onto World War Z 2 and that's a very good thing. With his three Pitt movies, as well as Zodiac, The Social Network, Panic Room and others, Fincher has become one of this generation's best directors. The fact he'll next tackle action horror genre is something to be excited about, no matter what happens in the film.

World War Z 2 was originally going to be directed by J.A. Bayona and released this winter. He's currently directing the sequel to Jurassic World.

[Fuzz]

1 hour ago, MIKA27 said:

But even running on walls etc, been and done that with Titanfall which IMO has been far better than the recent COD's

Never played Titanfall. Just too many games on the back burner to play.

[MIKA27]

Second Handwritten Copy Of The Declaration Of Independence Discovered In England
 

Harvard researchers have discovered a parchment manuscript of the US Declaration of Independence at a small archive office in the United Kingdom. Only the second parchment copy known to exist, it contains several features that mark it as distinct from the original.

In August 2015, Emily Sneff, a researcher with the Declaration Resources Project, was parsing through a database of every known example of the Declaration of Independence when an item appeared bearing the description: "Manuscript copy, on parchment, of the Declaration in Congress of the thirteen United States of America." Sneff didn't think much about it at the time, figuring it was probably a cataloguing error and that it was likely one of many copies made of the Declaration during the 19th Century. Nonetheless, she contacted the West Sussex Record office in the UK, where the manuscript was kept, just to make sure. When she received a disc with photos of the document, Sneff realised it was no ordinary copy, so she recruited her colleague Danielle Allen to take a closer look.

Nearly two years later, the team has concluded that the document — now known as the Sussex Declaration — is an authentic copy of the Declaration of Independence handwritten on parchment at some point during the 1780s. The only other parchment version is the Matlack Declaration, which is kept at the National Archives. Other handwritten copies of the Declaration exist, but in those versions the text was written out on letter-sized paper for private circulation. These findings are set to appear in an upcoming edition of Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America.

Detail of the List of Signers on the Sussex Declaration. 

The newly discovered manuscript is the same size as the original, 61cm x 76cm, but it's oriented horizontally rather than vertically. The list of signatories is in an alternate order — the name John Hancock isn't listed first. Weirdly, several names are misspelled. There's also a blotch at the top that looks like some kind of erasure. The text contains very little punctuation, and the handwriting style isn't one the researchers have seen before. Other interesting features include marginal ruling, decorative penwork around the titling, evidence of nail holes, and justified, round hand script.

Sneff and Allen say the document was likely commissioned by James Wilson of Pennsylvania, a signatory of the Declaration and a contributor to the US Constitution. Evidence also suggests the parchment was owned by Charles Lennox, the 3rd Duke of Richmond. Known as the "Radical Duke", Lennox was an avid anti-colonist and support of American Independence. The manuscript was likely produced in either New York City or Philadelphia, and then sent across the Atlantic to the Duke.

Like the 1776 Matlack Declaration, the Sussex manuscript was written in an exaggerated size, known as an "engrossed" manuscript in the parlance of the time. As the New York Historical Society explains, "it denotes a document written in a clear, formal hand, meant to be the authoritative copy." The document was produced in the 1780s, after the original version and the American Revolution. It was also written during a time of financial and political uncertainty, and it was meant to send a message. Accordingly, Sneff and Allen believe the ordering of the signatures was adjusted for a very good reason.

As the Harvard Gazette reports:

Quote

 

On most documents of the era, Allen said, the protocol was for members of each state delegation to sign together, with signatures typically running either down the page or from left to right, with the names of the states labelling each group. An exception was made for a small number of particularly important documents — including the Declaration, which was signed from right to left, and which omitted the names of the states, though the names were still grouped by state.

"But the Sussex Declaration scrambles the names so they are no longer grouped by state," Allen said. "It is the only version of the Declaration that does that, with the exception of an engraving from 1836 that derives from it. This is really a symbolic way of saying we are all one people, or 'one community,' to quote James Wilson."

 

In other words, this version of the Declaration was an expression of American unity and cohesion.

Looking ahead, Sneff and Allen would like to learn more about Charles Lennox and how he came to possess of the document. They're also planning to work with a spectral imaging team to see if they can read some of the text that was scraped away at the top of the document.

[MIKA27]

Reebok Announced Two New Alien-Themed Sneakers Which Are Totally For Everyone This Time

In 2016, Reebok released a pair of sneakers themed around the movie Aliens. The idea was universally praised... until those sneakers were released and appeared to only be in men's sizes. Men's sizes for a shoe worn in the movie by a woman. Well, it's 2017 and this year, Reebok is release TWO new pairs of Alien-themed sneakers. But this time, the sizing is unisex.

The shoes in question are called the Alien Stomper "Final Battle" Pack. A pack consists of two pairs of shoes, one that looks like a Queen Alien, the other a yellow Power Loader, just like the climatic battle of James Cameron's 1986 sequel. They will be very limited and go on sale in the US July 18. An Australian release has not been confirmed. The write up on the official US Reebok site says:

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The climactic clash from Aliens has inspired this highly collectible double-pack of Alien Stompers, launching on July 18th in unisex sizing.

Unisex sizing! So maybe the shoes designed to look like a queen and a woman can actually be worn by women this time!

Here are a few more images of the shoes and the box they come in, as well as a video created about the shoes.

 

 

[MIKA27]

SHUN PREMIER 7-INCH ASIAN COOK’S KNIFE

If you appreciate cooking on even the basest level, you should know the value of a good kitchen knife. Truly, it can mean the difference between a perfectly sliced piece of meat and a mangled inedible hunk. Ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but the point remains: a solid blade is a chef’s best friend. And they don’t get too much better than Shun’s Premier 7″ Asian Cook’s Knife.

Its beautiful facade is thanks to a handle made from walnut-colored PakkaWood (a wood/plastic composite designed for hard use) handle and a blade exterior made from 34 layers of Damascus steel. Each of these knives are handcrafted through a process that takes over 100 steps to complete per unit – which includes a unique hammered tsuchime finish that reduces drag. But what’s really special about this knife isn’t entirely visible. You see, at the center of this blade you’ll find a VG-Max “super steel” cutting core capable of holding an unbelievably sharp precision edge that makes cutting through anything like, well, a hot knife through butter. If you have a passion for cooking, do yourself a favor and one of these bad boys up.

 

[MIKA27]

MULHERIN'S HOTEL

Housed in a historic building in Philly's Fishtown neighborhood, Mulherin's Hotel is a unique accommodation. The hotel's four rooms seamlessly blend the old with the new, with an eclectic mix of custom-made furniture, modern fixtures and appliances, original brick walls, king sized beds and hand-picked artwork. Depending on which room you choose, you'll also find flat-screen TVs with Apple TVs attached, McIntosh speaker systems, living plants and cacti, and a custom-built audio console with a curated selection of vinyl. And while all four rooms offer full-sized kitchens, it's hard to pass up the wood-fired Italian fare at the same-named restaurant downstairs.

 

[MIKA27]

FITZROY NAVY RUM

Named after Robert Fitzroy, the captain who steered Charles Darwin on his journeys of discovery comes the world's first sustainable rum. Fitzroy Navy Rum is distilled in the Navy style, featuring flavors from Trinidad, Jamaica, and Barbados. But what's truly unique is the packaging. To clean up the polluted North Sea, the creators melted, blended, and pressed waste from the body of water to create a cap of sustainable marble, whose main ingredient is the red labels from Coca-Cola bottles. The flasks themselves are made using recycled glass and are intended to be re-used, while the wrapper is a piece of custom made art as well if opened carefully. It's the first instance we know of where you can drink and clean up the ocean simultaneously, and all profits are being donated to the Dutch North Sea Foundation.

 

[MIKA27]

Rare 1970s DC Vs. Marvel Documentary Time-Travels Back To Glory Days Of Old-School Comics

"Maybe you think comics are pictures of people walking and talking and beating each other up. Well, comics are art, which means... new ideas, new innovations." A rarely seen 1978 documentary about the comics business has shown up online for the very first time, and it's must-watch material for folks who want to see some of comics' most important talents in their prime.

A rare copy of "The World of Comic Books" — owned by Word Balloon podcast/host John Siuntres — showed at Comic-Con International four years ago but, as far as I can tell, it's never been available online before. I came across it via the Twitter timeline of author Sean Howe, who wrote the seminal Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. First screened on Canadian television 39 years ago, "The World of Comic Books" offers a peek at the internal processes of DC and Marvel editorial at a time when the medium was trying to be taken seriously.

Narrated by Jonathan Winters, the film apes the bombastic style that was in vogue in superhero comics at the time, complete with groan-inducing sound effects. But, despite that, it captures a rare glimpse of the people who made classic comics hashing out ideas with each other. One sequence shows Denny O'Neil, Neal Adams and Julie Schwartz as the creators talked about the famous cover of Superman vs. Muhammad Ali with the late editorial legend.

Another dramatically staged interview has Jim Steranko holding forth about putting film noir elements into his comics, with the creator coming across as if he himself is a private investigator. And, with a Black Lightning show on the way, it's captivating to see artist Trevor Von Eeden at age 17 working on the character's first issue. "World of Comic Books" also looks at the fan culture of the time, with clips from a late 1970s comics convention and interview segments with Ed Summer, the collector/historian who owned the Supersnipe Comic Art Emporium. Cosplay, critical consideration of craft, and creative collaboration on camera… if you care about any of these things you should watch "World of Comic Books." And, you're a reader who happens to know anything about the documentary short, please get in touch with me via email.

[MIKA27]

Ridley Scott Thinks Aliens Are Real And They Will Probably Kill Us

Ridley Scott is at the helm of a nearly 40-year franchise of films about killer aliens who are smarter and deadlier than us. It's not a coincidence, since Scott thinks that could happen in real life.

In an interview with Sky News, Scott mentioned that he believes in aliens, or what he called "superior beings." This isn't exactly surprising. Not only has Scott spent a large portion of his career creating movies about aliens (the latest being Alien: Covenant, which comes out May 10), but a majority of people agree with him. A YouGov poll from 2015 showed that over half of Americans, Britons, and Germans believe in extraterrestrials, and another poll showed four out of five Canadians do too [And apologised for it  ]

"An expert I was talking to at NASA said to me, 'Have you ever looked in the sky at night? You mean to tell me we are it?' That's ridiculous," Scott said, adding that he thinks there are at least 100 to 200 similar species out there right now.

However, Scott doesn't think they'd be waving the white flag of peace right away. While many of us would like to believe there are Vulcans circling the galaxy waiting for Zephran Cochrane to invent warp drive, Scott thinks any aliens we encounter would probably try to blow our brains out — at least if we provoked them. So, it'd definitely be more of an Independence Day-type situation. Let's hope Will Smith's character can come back from the dead.

"When you see a big thing in the sky, run for it. Because they are a lot smarter than we are, and if you are stupid enough to challenge them you will be taken out in three seconds," Scott said.

I'd be curious to see whether Scott believed in aliens first, leading to him making the first Alien film, or whether his work on the series led to his faith in extraterrestrial life. It's really a chicken or the egg scenario — or, if you want to get technical, face-hugger or the egg.

[MIKA27]

China Is Racing Ahead Of The US In The Quest To Cure Cancer With CRISPR

On Friday, a team of Chinese scientists used the cutting-edge gene-editing technique CRISPR-Cas9 on humans for the second time in history, injecting a cancer patient with modified human genes in hopes of vanquishing the disease.

In the US, the first planned trials to use CRISPR in people still have not gotten under way. But in China, things appear to be moving relatively quickly.

Last spring, a team at Sichuan University's West China Hospital used CRISPR for the first time on an adult with lung cancer. In the new trial, reported by The Wall Street Journal, altered genes were injected into a patient with a rare type of head and neck cancer, called nasopharyngeal carcinoma, at Nanjing University's Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital.

The aim is to use CRISPR, which allows scientists to snip out pieces of DNA with greater ease than older gene-editing techniques, to suppress the activity of a gene preventing the patient's body from effectively fighting the disease. On Friday, the university announced that the first patient had received an infusion of altered cells, which are taken from their body and altered in a lab before being injected back in.

In all, 20 patients with gastric cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and lymphoma are expected to participate in the trial. Its first phase is expected to conclude next year.

The other Chinese trial, in which scientists modified immune cells to attack lung cancer in 11 patients, expects to release results this year, according to the Journal.

The first US human CRISPR trial is slated to begin this winter at the University of Pennsylvania, after receiving a regulatory stamp of approval to proceed last year. In that trial, scientists plan to genetically alter patients' immune cells to attack three different kinds of cancer. 

Clearly, a race to cure cancer with CRISPR is underfoot. And right now at least, China seems to be winning.

MIKA: Personally I couldn't give a damn WHO wins this race just so long as we can finally start curing this horrible disease once and for all. I think its fair to say almost everyone will have someone they love or know affected by this horrible illness and death sentence for most. I just learnt a friend of mine who has never smoked in his life has lung cancer at the age of 43.

[MIKA27]

Elon Musk Wants To Turn The LA Underground Into A Giant Slot Car Race

Who's the craziest ultra-rich, would-be supervillain in the whole wide world? It's Elon. Elon Musk.

During a TED talk on Friday, the professional technology brainstormer offered an animated glimpse at what his new tunnelling project, The Boring Company, could one day create. It looks like a post-apocalyptic slot car race that takes place underneath the city of Los Angeles, shielding Tesla owners from the radiation bombarding surface dwellers in the wake our inevitable judgement day. It looks pretty cool, though!

Think of it as a future free of traffic and sunlight. On the surface, Musk explained, cars would drive onto sled-like devices that would descend into the bowels of the Earth, where Musk's Boring Company has built a vast network of tunnels. From there, apparently, the sleds connect to a track that sends the cars zooming through the tubes at speeds of 200km/h. There would be no need to fret about crashing, either, since some supercomputer (somewhere) could carefully direct traffic so that each car and sled rides at a safe but efficient distance from the next one. When all is said and done, you could get from Compton to Malibu in, who knows, maybe a few minutes.

To call this a pipe dream would be both cheeky and incredibly correct. Musk admitted months ago that he and the Boring Company "have no idea what we're doing". Building a vast maze of tunnels and tubes underneath Los Angeles is not only riddled with regulatory challenges but would also amount to an engineering nightmare of, well, apocalyptic proportions. What we're seeing in his very nicely computer-animated demo is better described as a madman's fantasy than a feasible concept.

But hey, we already told you: Elon Musk is the craziest ultra-rich, would-be supervillain in the whole wide world. You have to give him credit for playing that role with panache.

[MIKA27]

Stephen King's Firestarter Is Getting A Movie Remake

It's a very good time to be a Stephen King fan. Besides It and The Dark Tower movies on the way and The Mist coming to TV, there's now another King story getting retold on the big screen: A new adaptation of his 1980 novel, Firestarter.

A young Drew Barrymore starred in the 1984 film adaptation of the book, which focuses around a young girl with pyrokinetic abilities named Charlie, on the run from a sinister government agency intent on weaponising her powers. The new version was announced at the Overlook Film Festival yesterday, and is in the works at Universal with mega-producer Akiva Goldsman tapped to direct, while Rectify's Scott Teems will pen the script.

It seems like the next couple of years are going to be a full-on resurgence for King adaptations — and that's not even counting when the man himself is working on mysterious new TV projects. Chances are more are on their way.

[MIKA27]

Key Mutations Show How Tibetans Thrive At High Elevations

At altitudes of 4570m, Tibetans live in environments that would incapacitate most humans. New research has uncovered several genetic mutations that appear to be responsible for these high-altitude superpowers — including a trait inherited from an extinct human species.

Geneticist Chad Huff of the University of Texas, along with colleagues, have uncovered variants of five distinct genes that enable Tibetan individuals to live and work in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, an elevated stretch of land that extends across Central and East Asia. Known as the "roof of the world", this plateau features an average elevation exceeding 4500m, an expansive arid steppe, mountain ranges, and large brackish lakes. It rarely rains, but when it does, it tends to come down as hail.

Humans have lived in the Tibetan Plateau for thousands of years, and as the new PLOS Genetics study shows, natural selection has been busy at work on these populations, endowing them with a genetic profile specific to this environment.

Huff's team uncovered gene variants that allow Tibetan individuals to withstand low levels of oxygen and limited access to food. Incredibly, one of these genes, called EPAS1, is inherited from the Denisovans, a mysterious subspecies of human that disappeared some 40,000 years ago. Consequently, this study is not just informing us about Tibetan history and physiology — it's also telling us something about a human species we know very little about.

Most humans aren't built to live in the mountains. Once above 2100m, and typically above 4000m, many of us will start to develop chronic altitude sickness, with the decrease in atmospheric pressure making it difficult to breathe, leading to headaches and nausea. More severely, some people develop high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), which can result in swelling and itching in various parts of the body, haemorrhages and even heart failure.

It's hard to believe that people would choose to live in such a harsh environment, but as Huff told Gizmodo, "Humans will go and live anywhere they can." And given enough time, with the aid of Darwinian natural selection, the populations who do live in these environments will start to change.

For the study, the researchers sequenced the whole genomes of 27 Tibetans. As they looked for advantageous genes, Huff's team flagged two that are already known to confer adaptations at high altitudes, namely variants to EPAS1 and EGLN1. Both of these gene variants are activated when oxygen levels are low, triggering production of more haemoglobin — a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body. These genes stave off hypoxia, a dangerous condition that happens when the body is deprived of oxygen.

But the researchers also found variations to three human genes that hadn't previously been associated with high altitude adaptations. Two of these genes, PTGIS and KCTD12, have been shown in prior studies to be related to low oxygen levels and hypoxia, while VDR is known to play a role in vitamin D metabolism. Tibetan nomads are susceptible to vitamin D deficiency on account of their limited diets, and the VDR gene compensates for that.

All of these gene variants, except for EPAS1, emerged through mutations among the ancient Tibetans. The fact that Tibetans inherited an apparent high altitude gene from an extinct subspecies humans is a potential clue about what these poorly understood people might have been like. Frustratingly, the only thing we know about the Denisovans comes from the genetic information extracted from a lone finger found in a Siberian cave in 2010. These hominins were more like modern humans than Neanderthals, and represent a potential subset of Homo sapiens. What's more, the presence of the EPAS1 gene among the Denisovans would seem to suggest that they, like the ancient Tibetans, lived in the mountains.

"I think it suggests it, but it doesn't tell us for certain," Huff told Gizmodo. "That would make the most sense, except that Tibetans acquired only one of these high altitude adaptations from them." Huff thinks it's odd that the Tibetans didn't inherit more of these mountain-friendly traits from their Denisovan ancestors. "It could be that the Denisovans just had this one adaptation, but there may be other reasons why Tibetans didn't acquire other high altitude specific traits."

Huff's genetic analysis suggests that a population diverged from the Denisovans between 952,000 to 238,000 years ago, and mixed with an ancient population of Tibetans. The EPAS1 gene entered into the Tibetan population between 12,000 and 32,000 years ago, and positive pressure on the gene emerged some time between 7000 and 28,000 years ago. The researchers estimate that 0.4 per cent of Tibetan genome comes from Denisovans, but EPAS1 is the only gene that was reinforced by strong selectional pressures among the ancient Tibetans. Incredibly, it took Tibetans only a few thousand years (perhaps as few as 3000 years) to acquire their high altitude traits; for these ancient mountain dwellers, evolution worked fast.

Moving forward, the researchers would like to study the newly identified genes in more detail to get a better understanding of how they help in high altitude environments. They'd also like to study the Andean people who, like the Tibetans, have also evolved high altitude adaptations, though not to the same extent.

[MIKA27]

SPIRIT OF SHACKLETON ANTARCTIC VOYAGE

Embarking from Ushuaia, Argentina, the Spirit Of Shackleton Antarctic Voyage is a 21-day excursion that lets you explore some of the most beautiful, unspoiled land (and water) in the world. On the trip, you'll visit Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and the island of South Georgia, where Shackleton ended up after escaping the wreck of his crushed ship. In addition to all the wildlife you'll encounter, you'll also learn more about the area via lectures given onboard your 134-passenger expedition ship, and hopefully return home with a greater appreciation of life in the polar region.

 

[MIKA27]

VINTAGE ELECTRIC EMORY OUTLAW TRACKER BIKE

Throwback styling meets high-tech electronics on the Vintage Electric Emory Outlaw Tracker Bike. At its heart is a proprietary aluminum battery box that holds all the critical electric components, including the 702 watt-hour battery, and acts as a heat sink to improve efficiency. Combined with a 3,000-watt hub motor, the bike can hit 20 mph in street mode and 36 in race mode, with a maximum range of 35 miles. It's finished off with a moto-inspired inverted fork, brushed stainless steel handlebars, and Schwalbe Fat Frank tires. Limited to just 50 units, all painted a deep metallic Carrera Silver.

 

[MIKA27]

UNCLE VAL'S BOTANICAL GIN

A cool, refreshing cocktail is the perfect answer to the question of what you will be drinking this weekend. And Uncle Val's Botanical Gin should be on your shortlist, featuring botanicals that are just as useful in the kitchen as they are in your gin and tonic. Juniper, Cucumber, Sage, Lemon, and Lavender form the foundation of this light, flavorful spirit which was inspired by the master distiller's Uncle Val's love of gardening and native Tuscan cuisine.