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Cosmic Rays Map Secret Corridor In Egypt’s Great Pyramid
The nine-meter shaft could reveal more on the construction of the pyramids.
A recent discovery in Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza could reveal more about the construction of the world-famous landmark, according to a team of scientists from the “Scan Pyramids” project backed by the Egyptian Tourism Ministry of Antiquities.
The team used a non-destructive technique known as cosmic-ray muon radiography to scan a gabled limestone structure, discovering a nine-meter hidden corridor. The shaft is situated above the main entrance to Khufu’s Pyramid, one of the most significant archaeological monuments in the world and a site that still holds countless mysteries.
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The Scan Pyramids team has been working on the project since 2015, using infrared thermography, 3D simulations, and endoscope cameras to probe the ancient burial structure. Scientists reported several discoveries in the Great Pyramid of Giza five years ago, and the ongoing scans are helping to better understand the function and architectural makeup of the 5,000-year-old structure.
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Orchid Plans To Find Out What’s Wrong With You Before You’re Born
According to CEO Noor Siddiqui, the company isn’t on a mission to make designer babies, but aims to beat genetic odds and relieve suffering.
Each day, around 400,000 babies are welcomed into the world. However, among those, a growing number will experience some kind of birth defect or inherited disease.
Noor Siddiqui, CEO of Orchid, hopes to “mitigate” unpleasant genetic surprises using genome sequencing technology to reveal a wealth of genetic information on which newborns will grow into healthy adults.
Until 2019, IVF specialists had access to under 1% of the human genome. The tests, called PGT-A and PGT-M, scanned a mere 1,000 data points in a genome comprising around 3 billion bases, offering a very limited dataset compared to the technology used by Orchid.
“Our chromosomes are like chapters in a book that make up the table of contents.” Explained Siddiqui. “[PGT-A and PGT-M tests] only examine the table of contents, whereas what Orchid is doing is like a spellcheck on the entire book.” Orchid’s genome sampling technology assesses “100 times the data, covering many more conditions.” In essence, an Orchid report covers three categories of common genetic issues: monogenic disorders, polygenic conditions, and de-novo mutations.
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Orchid’s technology raises many questions. Aside from the obvious ethical concerns, data privacy is the most obvious potential issue with the tests. Noor Siddiqui is keen to alleviate any concerns: “No data at Orchid is ever sold to any third parties. Parents are in complete control of their data. If they want to delete the data, we’re happy to delete it off of our servers. If they want to export the data, they can export the data. And if they want us to re-analyze the data, we can re-analyze the data”.
Compared to a lifetime of medical bills, gene therapy, and suffering, Orchid’s genome screening report has the potential to change the future lives of thousands of newborns worldwide.
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