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

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Fukushima's Radioactive Waste Is Leaking From An Unexpected Source

A new and unexpected source of radioactive material left over from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster has been found up to 97km away along coastlines near the beleaguered plant. The discovery shows that damaged nuclear reactors are capable of spreading radiation far from the meltdown site, and in some surprising ways.

New research published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that radioactive cesium from the Fukushima nuclear power plant is collecting in the sands and groundwater along a 60-mile (100-km) stretch of coastline near the facility. Cesium-137 is a radioactive isotope of cesium (a soft, silvery-gold metal) that's formed by nuclear fission and potentially fatal to humans when exposed to high concentrations. The scientists who led the study, Virginie Sanial of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Seiya Nagao of Kanazawa University, say the levels of radiation "are not of primary concern" to public health, but that this new and unanticipated source "should be taken into account in the management of coastal areas where nuclear power plants are situated."

Indeed, approximately half of the 440 operational nuclear reactors in the world are situated on a coastline. After the 2011 accident, scientists monitored leaking radiation as it entered into the atmosphere or trickled into rivers, but the Fukushima plant — damaged by a devastating earthquake and tsunami — is the first major incident to happen along such a large water body, namely the Pacific Ocean. This new PNAS study is now the first to consider subterranean pathways for the storage and release of radioactive contaminants following a nuclear disaster.

The researchers sampled eight beaches between 2013 and 2016, all within 100km of the plant. They plunged seven-foot-long tubes into the sand, pulling up sand and groundwater samples for analysis. The cesium levels in the brackish groundwater — a combination of fresh water and salt water — was ten times higher than what's currently being detected in the waters swirling around Fukushima's harbour, while cesium was tracked in the sand up to a depth of three feet.

Sanial and Nagao suspect that high levels of radioactive cesium-137 were released into the environment following the 2011 disaster, and then transported along the coast by ocean currents. In the days and weeks following the meltdown, waves and tides delivered this radioactive waste back onto the surrounding coastal beaches. The cesium attached itself to the surfaces of the sand grains, and some managed to trickle down to the groundwater below.

But here's the thing — cesium loses its "stickiness" when it's exposed to salt water. So with each passing wave and tide, the cesium is slowly getting released back into the ocean. The amount of radioactive waste detected by the researchers in the adjoining water is roughly equal to the amounts drifting in from the other two known sources: ongoing releases and runoff from the plant itself, and overflow from rivers that carry cesium from the fallout on land. Importantly, all three of these sources are releasing radiation at rates thousands of times smaller than what was experienced immediately after the 2011 disaster. Cesium has long half-life, so "only time will slowly remove the cesium from the sands as it naturally decays away and is washed out by seawater," said Sanial in a release.

As noted, the amount of radioactive cesium observed doesn't pose a public health risk, but this latest study indicates that radioactive material can be transported far from accident sites. At the same time, the discovery adds another layer of complexity when deciding how to best manage a plant — and where to put it.

 

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This Is Apparently The Exact Moment That Harrison Ford Punched Ryan Gosling For Real In Blade Runner 2049

At this point, it seems like everyone's enjoyed the story of how Harrison Ford accidentally punched Ryan Gosling during an action sequence. Now, because cameras were rolling, we can all look at a still image capturing the frozen awkwardness of the point in time right after contact.

The Punch That Might Be a Replicant or Not has been discussed a lot. The discussion flared up yet again on an episode of The Graham Norton Show, where the cast of the cyberpunk sequel gathered to discuss the movie. The British talk show showed a still of the fight scene where the punch happened, and the expressions on the actors' faces are enough to make me believe that this was totally real. Embarrassment. Pain. And... inexplicable bemusement.

Blade Runner 2049 is out TODAY!

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An Earth-Sized Space Shield To Protect Us From Solar Storms Is Less Crazy Than It Sounds

Every 100 years or so, our Sun gives off a great big belch that sends an intense wave of charged particles towards Earth. This wasn't a problem in the past, but our high-tech civilisation is now disturbingly vulnerable to these solar storms. A new study quantifies the economic risks posed by these extreme solar storms, while also proposing a super-futuristic solution to the problem: An Earth-sized shield built in outer space.

The term "solar storm" is used to identify the various nasties the Sun can hurl our way, including X-rays, charged particles and magnetised plasma. In 1859, a series of powerful coronal mass ejections (CMEs) hit our planet head on, disrupting telegraph stations and causing widespread communication outages. If we were to be hit by an equally powerful solar storm today, it would knock out satellites and electrical grids, disrupting global communications, transportation and supply chains. Total worldwide losses could reach up to $US10 trillion ($13 trillion), with recovery taking many years.

We have no idea when the next Carrington-like event will occur, but a 2012 paper proposed a 10 per cent chance of one happening in the next decade. Indeed, like an earthquake-prone city built above a pair of conflicting fault lines, it's only a matter of time before our planet is hit by the next Big One. And to make matters worse, we're becoming increasingly vulnerable to these events owing to steady technological advances.

A new paper by Manasvi Lingam and Avi Loeb from Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is the first to consider the economic impacts of a sizeable solar storm in the future, when our reliance on technology is far greater than it is today. In addition, the authors propose a strategy to mitigate the effects — and they aren't thinking small. Lingam and Loeb say we should construct a massive shield in space, and that the costs would be far lower than having to deal with the aftermath of a solar storm. The researchers go on to argue that advanced extraterrestrial civilisations have likely done this already, and that we should search for these shields as a way to detect aliens.

The new paper is currently being considered for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

To help them with their economic model, Lingam and Loeb factored in two important assumptions. First, the longer the duration between powerful solar flares, the more powerful they will be. Second, our civilisation will experience exponential growths in technology and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the coming decades.

"We predict that within about 150 years, there will be an event that causes damage comparable to the current United States' GDP of approximately $20 trillion [$AU25.5 trillion], and the damage will increase exponentially at later times until technological development will saturate [that is, when technological development finally starts to slow down and be globally distributed]," Loeb told Gizmodo. "Such a forecast was never attempted before."

With these potentially catastrophic losses in mind, Lingam and Loeb turn to potential solutions. Unsurprisingly, the proposed mitigation strategies aren't subtle, but of the three solutions considered, only one was deemed viable by the researchers.

"[Some] shielding solutions rely on placing physical object(s) between the Earth and the Sun. This would not work since the mass will be tremendous and can block the sunlight," Lingam told Gizmodo. "Similarly, one can use electrical fields instead of magnetic fields. However, the problem is that the electrical field will repel positive particles but will attract the negative particles. Hence, we suggest that magnetic shielding is relatively the most viable."

An illustration of the proposed magnetic deflector (not drawn to scale). 

This Earth-sized "magnetic deflector" would be placed at the Lagrange L1 point between the Earth and the Sun at a distance of about 329,000km from our planet's surface. It would act as a current loop, and deflect the Sun's harmful particles back into space. The researchers say the required amount of deflective force is relatively small, and that we already have much of the technology required to make this possible. The big challenge, they say, will be to scale it up to its superstructural size.

"The related engineering project could take a few decades to construct in space," said Loeb. "The cost for lifting the needed infrastructure to space (weighing 100,000 tons) will likely [cost around] hundreds of billions of dollars, much less than the expected [solar storm] damage over a century."

The authors say the price of the magnetic deflector is comparable to the total cost of the International Space Station, and that it's about three to four orders of magnitude cheaper than the current global GDP — or the economic damage from a flare in about a hundred years time. But that's if we use material from Earth. It may make more economic sense to build the superstructure using materials extracted from the asteroid belt.

"I agree completely that the risk and economic damage from solar eruptions is too large and should be mitigated — imagine the current situation in Puerto Rico but worldwide," said Anders Sandberg, a research fellow who works out of Oxford University's Future of Humanity Institute, a part of the Oxford Martin School, in an interview with Gizmodo. "However, I was not convinced by their economic model at all... there seemed to be far too many arbitrary assumptions. In particular, the vulnerability of the world economy can both increase and decrease, for example, if we build a more modularised and resilient power grid."

As for the prescribed solution — the magnetic deflector — Sandberg says it's basically a "backup magnetic field," and, as a megascale engineering problem, "not too daunting."

"Just an Earth-sized loop of one-centimeter thick copper wire weighing 100,000 tons and presumably powered by a 1 TW solar power farm [should do it]," said Sandberg, who wasn't involved in the new study. "It does not seem to be that far away from what we can currently do (except for that solar power farm). But it is not going to be as cheap as they calculated since the big cost is likely the energy system and installation, not the wiring. Now, reducing solar eruption risk is worth a lot, but I doubt this on its own will be cost-effective. As part of space industrialisation, yes (especially since it is extra vulnerable), but otherwise I suspect smarter power-grids give more safety per dollar."

Sandberg's concerns notwithstanding, a gigantic magnetic deflector makes a lot of sense, particularly for a technological civilisation considerably more advanced than our own. And in fact, it's conceivable that some hypothetical alien civilisations have done this already. It would be wise, argue Loeb and Lingam, for us to search for signs of these shields as a way to detect extraterrestrial civilisations. We could do it using the transit method, the exoplanet detection technique that aims to observe such objects when they eclipse their host stars from our vantage point here on Earth.

"The [resulting] imprint could be changes in the brightness of the host star due to occultation (similar behaviour to Tabby's star) if the structure is big enough," said Loeb. "The situation could be similar to Dyson spheres, but instead of harvesting the energy of the star [as a Dyson sphere hypothetically would], the purpose of the infrastructure is to protect a technological civilisation on a planet from the flares of its host star."

Quote

"This is a fascinating thought experiment, and is exactly the kind of thinking that SETI scientists must continually engage in as we seek to identify technologies in the widest variety of incarnations."

Andrew Siemion, Director of Berkeley SETI Research Center and Principal Investigator at the Breakthrough Listen program, says our deep dependence on electronics has created a particular susceptibility to stellar flare events, and that Loeb and Lingam have the right idea.

"Indeed we might some day attempt to mitigate these events using large scale 'astroengineering', and under certain circumstances these structures could be detectable at interstellar distances," Siemion told Gizmodo. "This is a fascinating thought experiment, and is exactly the kind of thinking that SETI scientists must continually engage in as we seek to identify technologies in the widest variety of incarnations."

The authors of the new study are right to raise the prospect of solar storms as an important public issue. When it comes to mitigating existential or catastrophic natural hazards, our attention tends to be focused on asteroid impacts. The trouble is, solar storms happen with far greater frequency, so it would be a good idea to start thinking about mitigation strategies pretty much immediately. A solar deflector may be a sensible solution (eventually), but as Sandberg points out, it would also be smart to build a technological infrastructure that's immune to the Sun's harmful flares. The more angles we use to approach this problem, the better.

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THIS PRIZED 1943 GLENLIVET WHISKY CAN BE YOURS FOR A SMALL FORTUNE

In the world of really, really, ridiculously expensive whisky, you’d think you had seen it all. You’d be wrong.

Scotch whisky maker Gordon & MacPhail have released the holy grail of their prized collection with the Private Collection Glenlivet 1943 – a 74-year-old drop which is undoubtedly one of the rarest and most expensive whiskies on the market today.

This particular pot of liquid gold originates from the Glenlivet Distillery during the height of the Second World War, a time where only a handful of Scottish distilleries were still producing whisky. On the 14th of January 1943, Cask 121, a first fill Sherry hogshead selected by John and George Urquhart, was filled with new-make spirit and carefully stowed away at the distillery. It would spend the next 24 years of its life there before relocating to Gordon & MacPhail’s warehouses in Elgin in 1967.

The whisky would reside there for another 46 years before the cask was finally selected by John Urquhart’s great-grandson to be emptied and bottled on the 11th of June 2013. Not any old bottle would suffice though. Gordon & MacPhail have presented this revered whisky in a bespoke hand-blown glass decanter featuring gold engravings that reflect the landscape of its birthplace.

Global production run? Just 42 bottles.

This limited release is further bolstered with an impressive hand-crafted wooden box which mimics the flowing waters of River Spey that opens up to the goods.

The flavour profile of Glenlivet 1943 is said to be that of a nose of coffee, milk chocolate, wood spices and burnt orange. There’s also a fine palate of treacle, burnt caramel, Sherry and stewed fruit.

Want one? Each bottle of the Private Collection Glenlivet 1943 by Gordon & MacPhail will retail for £30,000, or approximately $50,000 Australian dollars.

You can mortgage your home and register your interest here.

 

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I Guarded an Arctic Base Against Polar Bears at the Frontline of the Apocalypse

The DEW Line was built in the fifties to warn of a nuclear threat. I guarded six workers there from polar bears.

In mid-August I flew over the barren arctic mountains of Baffin Island, in the Inuit territory of Nunavut, in a Cold War era helicopter. I was the new bear monitor en route with six maintenance technicians to a North Warning System radar station, part of an array that spans North America's Arctic circle. Originally named the DEW Line (Distant Early Warning), it was the first line of defence against a Soviet attack: an early warning system for apocalypse.

The DEW Line was built jointly by Canada and the US in 1957, and is still a key component of the North American Aerospace Defense Command. While the DEW Line was designed to watch North America's back for the Russian Bear, my job was to watch the workers' backs for polar bears.

A polar bear that came near the station

These animals are skilled, patient, and intelligent predators. If they decide to hunt you, they will watch from a distance for days at a time, memorizing your routines in order to attack when you are most vulnerable. Killing one is serious business. Shotguns are only accurate when the animal is close enough to charge, and even then there are accounts of slugs bouncing off their thick skulls. (In Canada, it's legal to hunt polar bears, which are considered a species of special concern.)

In a confrontation with a polar bear, there is some risk of mutually assured destruction. Even if you succeed, killing one automatically merits a police investigation. While I'm a pretty good shot, I had never killed an animal with a shotgun before taking this job. And who wants to kill a polar bear anyway?

The author shoots a rifle into the air to frighten off a polar bear

I was hired through a layer cake of subcontractors hired by Raytheon (a major US defence contractor). My role conjured up some mix of Dr. Strangelove and the Australian game warden from Jurassic Park.

My qualifications were years spent planting trees in the Canadian northwest, where bear encounters can happen daily. Now I found myself on a Sikorsky chopper with a 30-year-old Winchester pump action shotgun, which I'd modified to hold more shells. I had just purchased the gun, in what northerners refer to as the south, shortly before the work contract began. You can imagine the reaction in the gun shop days before I left for the Arctic, when I told them what it was for.

The unmanned station consists of three big radar domes, a helipad, and a small building, all raised off the ground on eight-foot stilts. For the two weeks I was stationed there, I and the other six workers slept inside the building with the deafening hum of three diesel generators. We defecated in an incinerator toilet behind a curtain, and we bathed with a stockpile of baby wipes—no real showers. We ate in a ground-level cook shack made of a repurposed carport, and our cooking wafted the smell of fried bologna and Campbell's soup in all directions.

I had been expecting flat terrain and a sight line of kilometres in all directions, giving ample warning of any approaching bears. Instead, the station was on an oceanside mountaintop flanked on three sides by towering cliffs, meaning any approaching bear would be hidden until it crested a ridge at the dangerous proximity of seventy-five yards.

My daily routine consisted of getting up at 7 AM, analyzing the weather conditions, and guarding the workers while they descended to the cook shack for breakfast. Fog or low cloud makes bears nearly invisible, so we only went out in good visibility.

Local wildlife.

Weather in the Arctic is unpredictable. We waited three days just to get the go-ahead to fly to the site from Iqaluit, and were prepared to be stuck there for up to two months. Some of the guys recalled being stuck for three weeks after they had completed a project; they were relegated indoors killing time with whatever old issues of Popular Mechanics were laying around.

Most days were sunny with a chill wind that got into your bones. Everyday I was in a camo balaclava, fingerless mitts, and a ton of wool. On my belt I carried a pair of binoculars and big knife, which would prove laughable in any bear confrontation, but felt comforting nonetheless. While I paced around the radar domes in a circle, I think I experimented with every conceivable way to carry a gun. The question of whether I could perform under pressure in a potential polar bear attack, and shoot at the exact right moment, lingered in the back of my mind.

I cannot express the simultaneously dangerous yet lethally dull nature of this job. I was either waiting for a confrontation with the world's largest land predator, or doing nothing at all.

I had spent so much time scanning the distant ridges for a lumbering white mass that the bears had become almost a figment of my imagination. One of the guys liked to sleep with the door open, meaning the only thing between us and the white monster was a set of steel grate stairs the bears reportedly "don't like." Thoughts of bears permeated my dreams.

During long periods of isolation, I was told it is the bear monitor that usually cracks first. After a week I could see why. I would almost do anything to see a bear.

It wasn't until the last morning, after uneventful two weeks, when, brushing my teeth at sunrise, I really got what I wanted.

The author pulls another shell out of his pocket to warn off a large male polar bear

Breath visibly huffing out of its slack open mouth, I watched the silhouette of a humongous white mass crest the ridge where I had been target practicing days before. This thing lumbered confidently over the boulders and, clearly operating on his own schedule, approached us without the slightest concern.

Watching its powerful mass settle on every step, I was able grasp the scale and power of the thing I was hired to contend with. I snapped a photo that would never do this animal justice, put down my camera, and picked up my gun.

Polar bears' tragic flaw is their curiosity. A by-product of their intelligence, they often put themselves in mortal danger just by being curious. This is the most important thing to recognize as a bear monitor, and to always opt for deterrence. After I got a good look at its girthy yellow canines, the enormous black claws protruding from its paws, and ultimately the whites of its eyes, it was obvious that there was only a short flight of stairs separating us.

Shotgun pointed at the sky, I squeezed off a round, sending him only a dozen yards away before he immediately resumed tramping around, as if he was in charge.

The chopper landed an hour later, and we went home.

 

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GUILLERMO DEL TORO X PATRÓN IS THE SPOOKY SPIRIT YOU NEED THIS HALLOWEEN

October is officially upon us, and with the most terrifying time of the year just getting started, Patron has announced a new collaboration that invites tequila lovers to drink their way to the dark side.

Their partner in this eerie enterprise is Guillermo del Toro, the fantastical filmmaker beloved for his darkly beautiful tales of horror, fantasy, and sci-fi. Both Patrón and del Toro were born in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, and it was this connection that brought them together for Patrón’s most sinister spirit to date.

“Tequila courses through the veins of my native land, Jalisco,” said del Toro in a statement. “It represents a communion between spirit and earth, steeped in time and tradition, and a source of pride that roots us and defines us both. Through the years, I have been offered many collaborations in designing and executing different products. I have never been tempted. This creation has been an adventure, and a privilege.”

The imaginative Guillermo Del Toro x Patron package contains a 750ml bottle of extra añejo tequila featuring a blend of aged tequilas averaging five years in used oak barrels, stored upside down. The bottle takes the form of a skeletal torso, and is crowned by a skull that contains an aged deep orange liqueur meant to be mixed with the tequila.

And about that box. Celebrated illustrator Guy Davis collaborated with del Toro – as he has on many of the filmmaker’s projects – to create packaging that doubles as a piece of art. Intricate illustrations, many of which incorporate symbols of Mexican culture and the tequila making process, adorn the outside and inside.

Davis and del Toro designed a stark, matte black cover that peels away to reveal a box with carefully detailed black and silver drawings. The images depict skeletons working in the agave fields, the tranquil land where tequila is born. When opened, the case unfolds to expose a warm red and orange colour palette, and turns the bottle into a winged devil creature that could easily be a cast-off from one of del Toro’s movies.

The auteur also envisioned a ritual for how the tequila should be enjoyed. To set the mood for the your imbibing experience, votive candles are included alongside the bottle. The candles are designed to be placed on a drawer that slides out from the interior of the box, creating an illuminated altar worthy of your favourite silver screen séance.

From start to finish, the process of creating the spirits’ spectacular presentation took over a year. Only a very limited number of sets were produced, retailing for a suggested price of US$399. For del Toro’s dedicated fans, it’s truly a drink to die for.

 

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JOSHUA TREE CONTAINER HOUSE BY WHITAKER STUDIO

One of the most influential designs in the history of the world is that of the common shipping container. Back in the 1970s, these simple boxes changed the way the global economy worked – making it more standardized, and easier to manage. Now, containers are once again getting some shine as they become the focus of imaginative architects and designers. Take the Joshua Tree Residence by Whitaker Studio for instance.

Looking like an industrial dandelion or an explosion at a port of entry, this home is made up of a series of shipping containers that protrude out from one center point. While the exterior looks like a fantastic mess, the interior is calm, clean, and filled with natural light piped in from these long containers – each of which has been arranged in a way to protect the privacy of those living in the home. The back of the home features a private wooden deck hidden by the surrounding Joshua Tree Desert. Not that bad for bunch of containers.

 

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Searching for the World’s Oldest Pub

When it comes to pubs, older seems to be better.  No matter where in the world you are, pubs will hang signs outside their doors that mark historical events or visitors and prominently feature their founding years. If the pub’s lucky enough, it’ll be the oldest one in the city, state, or county and they’ll absolutely let you know. But oldest pub in the world is harder to pin down. There are four main possibilities, with decent arguments to be made for each one. Three of them are in England, while one is in Athlone, Ireland, and each one lays out exactly why they’re older than all the rest. There’s no denying they’re all very old and worth a visit, but since there can be only one, the Irish pub does make the most compelling argument, with full documentation going back to the 900s. Granted, it hasn’t been the same people running it for 1100 years, but you can win them all.

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Steel Bottle Grinders:

These are a couple of ultra cool minimalist designed grinders with some nice features. First of all the great big difference from the other more conventional ones is the fact that they sprinkle from the top as opposed from the bottom, so there’s no spillage when you’re done on the table or the kitchen closet you store it into. Designed by a team of Danish architects the brushed stainless steel grinders have a great look and are really well polished, it will take your table and meals to an upgraded level of tastefulness. At the top you get a walnut cap with a very discrete and subtle S (salt) and P (pepper) that will allow you to distinguish them. The ceramic mechanism that does the hard work inside is top notch so you get a really thin powder and it will last for a solid number of years of usage. 

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STEPHEN WEBSTER BEASTS KNIVES

Inspired by his recent Beasts of London collection, these Beast Knives from jeweler Stephen Webster are unlike anything we've seen the kitchen before. Commissioned by a client of Webster's, the blades were made using the Japanese Damascus technique, which produces the same effect used to make samurai swords. The bronze handles are carved in the shape of a rooster, a bull, a ram, a boar, a salmon, and zucchini for the vegetable pairing knife. Available through commission, Webster created a Cock & Bull carving knife and fork to complete the collection. 

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FIRESTONE WALKER MOCHA MERLIN STOUT

Just in time for the fall season, Firestone Walker takes a legendary beer up a notch with the addition of coffee and cocoa nibs. Velvet Merlin is already one of the best oatmeal stouts in the country, and with the addition of Colombia La Granadilla blend coffee, it's ready to challenge java forward stouts as well. The milk stout version of the original Velvet Merlin recipe also sources cocoa nibs from Ghana to the brew rather than using processed chocolate. Available on draft and in 12oz cans throughout the fall and winter seasons.

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SONOS ONE SMART SPEAKER

Just as Amazon adds the whole-home audio to its Echo line of speakers, here comes the leader in the space with an Alexa-powered system of its own. The Sonos One Smart Speaker has built-in support for Amazon's voice assistant, with a six mic array and adaptive noise suppression to make sure your commands are heard correctly. Sonically, it has a pair of Class-D digital amplifiers driving its tweeter and mid-woofer, and it works seamlessly with your other Sonos gear, so you can control the music in any room using just your voice. In addition to Alexa, support for Google Assistant and AirPlay 2 is planned for next year. Available in white or black.

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SARREYER CABIN

Occupying a small hilltop in the Swiss Alps, Sarreyer Cabin is a modern mountain chalet hidden inside a rustic shell. Rough-cut logs and a rusty stove pipe give the impression of a century-old structure settled into the mountainous landscape. Upon entry, a contemporary haven reveals itself. An open living area sits on the main floor, while an additional level is tucked below inside the stone foundation. From floor to ceiling, smooth timber planks line the entire interior, creating a warm, contemporary palette. The only other material is the large glazed panels that frame in views of the surrounding scenery.

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LITTLE BOOK WHISKEY

Another Noe is officially part of the family business. The family member is Freddie Noe, son of Jim Beam Master Distiller Fred Noe and grandson of Booker Noe. And to mark the ascension of the eighth generation Beam family member, the family is releasing Little Book. The inaugural batch has been dubbed "The Easy" and is a blend of straight whiskey with four unique components. It's bottled at 128.2 proof after Freddie worked on the final recipe for over a year and a half and tried more than 25 different blends.

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DAVIDOFF TRAVEL HUMIDOR

Keep your cigars protected on the go in the Davidoff Travel Humidor. Developed in collaboration with Genoa-based designer Marcello Bottino, it uses light textiles to keep weight down, welded together to help maintain the proper humidity level. The humidification system will keep up to eight cigars in good shape for up to three weeks, while the innovative tray is crafted with fabric "waves" that adapt to the form of your smokes while keeping them protected. It has a secure, simple magnetic closure, two interior pockets for your cutter and lighter, and is available in three distinct models to suit your lifestyle: the Alcantara and denim Explorer, the leather and canvas Outdoor, and the leather and wool Business.

 

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In Dwayne Johnson's New Show Lifeline, A Corporation Uses Time Travel To Save Lives For Profit

When you're the biggest star in the world, you can do anything you want. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson wants to do many, many things, one of which is produce a time-travel TV series for YouTube Red called Lifeline, and here's the first trailer.

Johnson was very excited about this show when he announced it last year and we kind of see why:

The concept of the show, a company that uses time travel to save lives for profit, is very intriguing. It's a Pandora's box of storytelling possibilities: The politics behind it, the benefits, the inevitable corruption, and the drama of determining who is saved and who stays dead. All of this is ripe for exploration and, hopefully, Lifeline mines its premise for more than melodrama and action.

As for the show itself, the star is Zack Gilford, who most people know as QB1 Matt Saracen from Friday Night Lights. His (apparently) deceased wife is played by Amanda Crew of Silicon Valley, and they're joined by Sydney Park of The Walking Dead, Eden Estrella (Furious 7) and Usman Ally (Agents of SHIELD).

Lifeline premieres October 11 on YouTube Red.

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Watch The Trailer For Keanu Reeves’ New Sci-Fi Thriller, Replicas, From New York Comic Con

Revealed today at New York Comic Con during the Keanu Reeves panel, here’s the trailer for Replicas, a sci-fi thriller starring Reeves, Alice Eve, and Thomas Middleditch. Directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff and written by Stephen Hamel and Chad St. John, there’s no release date for the film yet, other than a vague “coming soon.” 

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Google's New Earbuds Can Instantly Translate 40 Different Languages

Google announced yesterday that it will make its own earbuds to accompany its Pixel phone, and to directly counter Apple's own Air Pods. Yes, that means Pixel Buds are wireless, with no headphone jack to anchor them to the phone, just like the Air Pods. With Google and Apple on board, you might as well accept your wireless, jackless fate now. Pixel Buds are connected by a cord that can loop behind your head, though, which makes them easier to keep track of. Points for Google.

Pixel Buds are touch-controlled in the right bud, and they can be paired with Google Assistant via your smartphone (they were launched with the Pixel 2). Basically, it's like having a Google Assistant in your home, only with Pixel Buds, it can whisper softly in your ear.

And that lends itself to possibly the coolest feature of the Buds: They have the ability to translate, in real time, 40 different languages. This is some seriously sci-fi stuff. If you want to carry on a conversation with a Swedish person, for example, you could direct Google Assistant to audibly translate an English phrase into Swedish via the Pixel 2. Then, upon getting a response in Swedish, the Buds would give you the English translation directly into your ear. Google demonstrated at its event yesterday:

If the translation capability functions as advertised, it could fundamentally change how humans communicate with each other across the globe. Looks like Google's got Apple beat in the earbud field—for now. 

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First ‘Future Man’ Trailer Goes to Great Lengths to Avoid Getting Herpes

If you’re bummed that you have to wait until March 30, 2018 to see Ready Player One on the big screen in order to enjoy video-gamer wish fulfillment and 80s pop culture homages, then boy do I have a TV series for you, Maverick! You’re going to want to check out Future Man, a new Hulu series from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg that takes the lovable Josh Hutcherson out of The Hunger Games and into a (different) battle to save the world. To do so, he’ll have to hook up with some video game heroes in order to travel back in time and take out a scientist (Keith David) whose invention (a cure for herpes) will oppress future civilizations.

If a lot of that sounds like a mash-up of Terminator, The Last Starfighter, and Back to the Future, you’re not wrong, but you’re also only scratching the surface of the 80s homages on display here. This thing goes from self-referential humor to a full-on, bear-hug embrace of all things 80s, from cocaine, to oiled-up topless male volleyball. (Would you expect anything less from the minds behind Sausage Party?) Future Man looks like a blast, even as I’m approaching my limit for modern takes on 80s culture. 

 

[MIKA27]

Luminox Scott Cassell Dive Watch

For their latest dive watch, Swiss watch company Luminox, have teamed up with undersea explorer Scott Cassell, to help him continue his work of exploring and protecting the worlds oceans. The special edition dive watch is made to exceed all Navy Seals specifications for strength, durability, toughness and water resistance (down to a whopping 660 feet). available with a choice of yellow or orange dial, the sleek sports watch is easy to read, comfortable to wear, and great looking. 

 

[MIKA27]

Madagascar Is Fighting A Deadly Outbreak Of Plague

The World Health Organisation has delivered more than a million doses of antibiotics to Madagascar amid a raging epidemic of plague in which at least 33 people have died and 230 others have been infected.

The first confirmed death from the epidemic began on August 28 in the town of Moramanga, per the BBC, with the fatality rate continuing to rise since. Though instances of plague are not uncommon on the island, which usually sees around 400 cases a year, the ongoing epidemic involves mostly cases of pneumonic rather than the more common bubonic plague — and that airborne variety of the disease is significantly more transmissible and deadly.

Two regions, eastern Madagascar and the area surrounding Antananarivo in the central part of the country, have been particularly hard hit. Prime Minister Olivier Mahafaly Solonandrasana banned all public gatherings in Antananarivo on September 30th, the BBC reported, and later closed down universities and public schools on October 5.

"Plague is curable if detected in time," WHO Madagascar Representative Charlotte Ndiaye wrote in a statement. "Our teams are working to ensure that everyone at risk has access to protection and treatment. The faster we move, the more lives we save."

Despite a popular perception as a medieval-era affliction, plague is far from eradicated, noted a 2013 study in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Due to its persistence in wildlife populations, it remains common in Asia, the Americas, and Africa, and is also "reemerging in countries where the disease was thought to have disappeared." Plague first arrived in Madagascar from Indian steamboats in 1898 before spreading through other harbours and then into the mainland along railroad construction lines.

As PLoS noted, Madagascar has made significant progress reducing infection rates but "still accounted for 30 per cent of human cases worldwide from 2004 to 2009." It is primarily associated with rural areas and agricultural activity, where "maximum abundance of rodents in the fields is observed in July and August, followed by the maximum abundance of fleas from September to November."

According to Ars Technica, recent research into medieval plague outbreaks has suggested the classic understanding of the disease as primarily rodent-borne may be incorrect, with human-to-human transmission playing a larger role than previously thought.

[MIKA27]

Turkish Archeologists Think They May Have Discovered The Grave Of 'Santa Claus'

Archeologists in Turkey think they may have reason to rewrite Christian history. Saint Nicholas, the inspiration for Santa Claus, is believed to have been born in the Demre district in Antalya, and new research at a church that bears his name there has uncovered a tomb that could house his undisturbed remains.

On Wednesday, Cemil Karabayram, the head of Antalya's Monument Authority, told the Daily Sabah that his team has searched through historical records relating to the St. Nicholas Church in Demre and found reason to believe that the conventional story about what happened to the remains of Saint Nicholas could be wrong.

The saint is believed to have been buried at the church before it was damaged in an earthquake. According to one account, Italian merchants stole his bones from a damaged sarcophagus (pictured above) during the first crusade in 1087 and brought them home where they have been stored at the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Bari, Italy ever since. Each year, on December 6th, the clergy collects a clear liquid that seeps from the tomb that is believed to have miraculous powers. Some believe that the liquid is seeping in from outside the tomb, which is below sea level. But if people really are collecting some nasty liquid from a dead guy's bones, it might be the wrong dead guy.

St. Nicholas Church in Demre. 

Working with researchers from eight different fields of study, Karabayram says that an elaborate tomb was discovered beneath the St. Nicholas Church in Turkey after performing digital surveys. Karabayram believes that the men who removed Saint Nicholas' bones mistakenly picked up the remains of a different priest, making it possible that the real St. Nick is still underground. It will be some time before the researchers can get any closer to confirming the theory. "We believe this shrine has not been damaged at all, but it is quite difficult to get to it as there are mosaics on the floor," Karabayram told the Daily Sabah. The tiles will carefully be removed together in a mould for preservation.

Karabayram's team certainly appears to have made a historic find, but there's plenty of reason to believe that the connection to Saint Nicholas could be wishful thinking. While the real saint is historically confirmed, everything surrounding his story is packed with myth and tall tales. His transformation into Santa Claus, the gift-giving icon of Christmas, began with traditions celebrating folk tales surrounding his life and miracles he was said to have performed. He was known for giving generous gifts to young people and the gradual transliteration of "Saint Nikolaos" gave the figure his modern name.

Several locations around the world have claimed to have some of St. Nick's bones, but the Catholic Church has treated the Basilica in Bari as the true keeper for quite some time. In 2013, a Turkish group went as far as to write to Pope Francis requesting that the saint's remains be returned to their original home. While that group may have had a genuine interest in preserving the region's history, there's also plenty of financial motivation. St. Nick's old hometown is firmly Muslim and doesn't celebrate Christmas, but residents are happy to promote his origin story because it brings in tourism. "We are so happy with Saint Nicholas," Baris Yuksel, a shopkeeper in Demre told CNN. "After lots of centuries, we are earning money thanks to Saint Nicholas." This didn't escape Karabayram's attention and he told the Turkish press that if Saint Nicholas's remains are found, it could have quite a positive impact on tourism.

Whatever comes of the dig, it's fitting that a man who might be the most widely-mythologized saint in history will soon have a new story for scholars and clerics to dispute.

[MIKA27]

Injectable 'Elastic Glue' Seals Wounds In Just 60 Seconds

An innovative surgical glue developed by researchers from the United States and Australia seals wounds quickly and without the need for staples or stitches. The squirtable substance could eventually be used in surgeries and in emergency situations, though it still needs to be tested on humans.

It's called MeTro, and it was developed by researchers from the University of Sydney, Harvard Medical School, and Northeastern University. Its elastic qualities make it ideal for treating wounds that are regularly called upon to expand and contract, and where wounds are at risk of re-opening. The researchers that developed the compound say it could be used to treat both external and internal tissues, including skin, heart, lungs and arteries.

In tests, MeTro was successfully used to seal incisions in the arteries and lungs of rodents, and in the lungs of pigs. In all cases, the substance worked without need for sutures or staples. The details of this work have been published in Science Translational Medicine.

To develop the injectable compound, natural elastic proteins — inspired by the human protein tropoelastin — were intermixed with a light sensitive sealant material. After applying it to a wound, a continual stream of UV light will set the material in about a minute. MeTro is also equipped with a built-in degrading enzyme, which can be adjusted to determine how long the sealant lasts, which can be anywhere from a few hours through to months depending on nature of the injury. The researchers compared it to silicone sealants that are typically used around bathroom and kitchen tiles.

"When you watch MeTro, you can see it act like a liquid, filling the gaps and conforming to the shape of the wound," explained study co-author Anthony Weiss in a statement. "It responds well biologically, and interfaces closely with human tissue to promote healing. The gel is easily stored and can be squirted directly onto a wound or cavity."

In terms of real world applications, MeTro could be used in surgeries, war zones or during emergencies. The next step in the process is to test the stuff on humans to make sure it's safe and effective.

 

[MIKA27]

South Korea's Gorgeous Thor: Ragnarok Poster Is Based On A Classic Work Of Art

The Thor: Ragnarok poster being used to market the film in Western markets was already fantastic, but South Korea's promotional art is a thing of utter beauty and a nod to the country's history.

Fitting in with Ragnarok's plot that pits Thor and the Hulk against one another in the gladiatorial ring, South Korea's poster is a tribute to Gim Hong-do's classical "Sangbak" painting from the late 1700s.

In Gim's original painting, a group of men have gathered to watch a wrestling match, the country's national sport:

"Sangbak" is an iconic piece of South Korean history and the painting's reimagining — for a Thor movie — is pretty damn cool.

 

[MIKA27]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer

You've been waiting for the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer. So here it is.

Tickets for Star Wars: The Last Jedi are already on sale.

The movie itself opens on December 14.