When it comes to boldly going where no man has gone before, to paraphrase the somewhat sexist statement from television's Star Trek series, one thing is for sure. The deepest points in the ocean of our planet are far more mysterious and impenetrable than some of the locations in outer space. This is a fact – we know more about what the surface of the planet Mars looks like than we do what lies at the foot of the Pacific Ocean.

Uncovering the foreboding undersea world has captivated the imagination of humankind for centuries. The difference is that technology has advanced to a stage that we can now send vessels to depths that were unimaginable until fairly recently. The deepest portion of the ocean is the Challenger Deep, lying at the base of the Mariana Trench. This is a mind-boggling 11 kilometers beneath the surface. In March 2012, the movie director James Cameron (perhaps most widely known for his blockbuster Titanic) entered a self-designed submersible, called the Deepsea Challenger. This was kitted out for exploration and research, allowing Cameron to take samples as well as thoroughly documenting his dive in high-resolution 3D film. Cameron's CV might well be headed ‘movie director', but he is the veteran of 100+ submersible operations to date. 51 of these were accomplished in the Russian craft Mir. The latter vessels were used for dives to 4,900 meters during his research for the Titanic. In his most recent exploration, to the uncharted depths of the Challenger Deep, his craft was a claustrophobic vessel made primarily of specialized glass foam. This material had to be robust enough to withstand the tremendous pressures at that depth. As Cameron slipped through the waters, he sampled material for scientific research, as well as making a feature-length documentary. 

This was a particularly tricky assignment because sunlight does not penetrate to these depths, and the pressure exerted by the sheer weight of water is equivalent to a thousand times what is experienced above the surface. Nevertheless, the research vessel filmed previously unseen aquatic life-forms, as well as scooping up samples of rocks, minerals and animals. As well as being of vital importance to natural historians, the rock samples help geologists to understand the forces that cause earthquakes and tsunamis. The dive also provided answers to questions about the very origins of life on earth.

New discoveries and explorations, advances in technology, and important findings in deep-ocean science happen almost every day. Ocean exploration is a dynamic and exciting field.  New research shows how some deep-sea fish, with their specialised, ultra-black skin, are able to avoid detection even in the presence of light. Certain black-skinned fish, like dragonfish and fangtooth, are capable of absorbing more than 99.5% of light that reaches them.

While deep-ocean exploration is responsible for ground-breaking discoveries, it is also unmasking the true scale of our impacts in the deep ocean. Marine debris is a growing problem, and a new study has shown that even unexplored, remote and protected areas of the central and western Pacific deep ocean are not immune from our touch. We need to clean up the plastic.

Former NASA astronaut and geologist Kathy Sullivan has become the first woman to dive to lowest point on Earth, known as Challenger Deep, inside the Mariana Trench. Sullivan, 68, emerged from the submersible DSV Limiting Factor, which performed a successful expedition at more than 35,000 feet below the ocean's surface.

Mysterious 150-foot deep sea creature is actually millions of tiny clones. Known as a siphonophore Apolemia, the string-like creature is huge, measuring well over 150 feet. But not all is as it seems. The siphonophore is actually made up of thousands of small clones called siphonophores that resemble jellyfish.

Deep-sea fish seasonal migration discovered for first time. Thousands of feet deep down in the oceans off the coast of Angola in southern Africa, scientists have recorded mass movements of various fish species across the sea bed. Using cameras at observatory platforms, they believe they have recorded the seasonal migrations of deep-sea fish for what is said to be the first time.

Deep, dark water doesn't stop humboldt squid from communicating. The creatures can talk to each other visually using bioluminescence, and, researchers now say, through changing skin color patterns that communicate precise messages that could be translated into warnings like "don't touch my food." Oh so that's how squid talk to each other in the dark.

The mobile phone in your pocket is already a museum piece. Well, seriously, it may well be perfectly snazzy-looking and contemporary for the time being. But as we speak there are design engineers all over the world who are actively involved in ensuring your model will be superseded within the next six months or so! So what are the current design trends currently being drafted?

Windows phones

Where most users of smart phones such as iPhones or Samsung s8 or LG g6 these days are offered the straightforward choice of black or white for their shells, there is every likelihood that you might have a transparent option in the not-too-distant future. See-through or 'window' phones will give the user the appearance of clutching a small rectangle of frosted glass. As well as looking fantastic, current weather conditions will be reflected on the screen. You can use your finger as a stylus, or blow at the screen to switch between various modes.

3D

Just as three-dimensional technology has already infiltrated cinema and television screens, this is another way forward for mobile phones. Using hologram-creation technology, three-dimensional images will be projected from the phone screen. This will give the like of Google Maps a whole new range of user-friendly possibilities.

Dexterity

Currently your mobile phone is most probably a small, neat rectangle that fits squarely into a pocket. Increasingly innovative designs will be employed, with some phones becoming 'leaf-shaped', with built-in plastic stems. This will allow the phone to be wrapped around a wrist, arm or neck for safekeeping.

Solar panels

Not only will you be able to power-up you phone for free, you'll be able to keep an eye on your phone to a far greater extent than if it was battling to get noticed amongst the papers, coffee cups and post-it reminders on your cluttered desk!

The innovative design upgrades your visual entertainment and ergonomic comfort. Explore now and future with HUAWEI (in photo).

With the recent diplomatic and corona crisis news, hopefully there will be no disruptions to the FIFA World Cup 2022 taking place in Qatar, 21 Nov - 18 Dec, with total of 64 games will be played to decide the winner.

The use of so-called goal line technology has been sparking furious debate in footballing circles for a number of years. There have been a number of high profile incidents and international matches where the use of technology could have eradicated refereeing decisions since proved to be erroneous.

So what are the pros and cons of introducing goal line technology? Those in favour point to the way that tennis has adopted this technology, vastly improving the flow of matches during top tournaments. Those archive clips of Wimbledon players (most noticeably the likes of Americans John McEnroe or Jimmy Connors) furiously arguing with umpires or line judges about where or not a ball delivered at over 100 kilometers-per-hour had actually skiffed the line, now seem so quaint and amusing. The fact is, knowing that the Hawkeye system will bleep the moment a ball has gone out of play enables the players, and the spectators, to simply relax and get on with enjoying the sport. Slow motion replays allow referees to guarantee pin-point accuracy in decision-making. The level of trust between officials and audience is greatly enhanced.

Hawkeye was introduced by the International Tennis Federation in 2003. However, when the same technology was tabled before FIFA, the world football administration authority, five years later, it was dismissed out of hand. Apparently football's top officials were unimpressed following tests of video replay and the Hawkeye motion analysis system, when applied to their own sport. The main sticking point was the degree of accuracy that technology could offer.

FIFA

remained to be convinced that neither video replays nor Hawkeye analysis would lead to accurate decisions in 100% of instances. Another bugbear for footballs officials was the fact that technology, while having the potential to eliminate a lot of refereeing shortcomings, would also greatly slow down games.

Those in favour of introducing technology point to the fact that bad referee decisions undermine the sport completely. Not only do the officials look foolish in the eyes of thousands of spectators (or millions where the games are being televised), players tend to react badly too, swamping the match officials, so that the game tends to grind to a halt in any case.

Football's rule books were cobbled together in a different era. So the task for its ruling bodies is maintaining a precision balancing act between what tradition demands, and the need to move with the times. As in any other walk in life, when deliberate brake are imposed on natural evolution, then the outcome is always negative. By embracing new technology football will continue to prosper as the world's most popular spectator sport. Television audiences are saturated with video replay. Managers now have access to it in their dugouts. Fans in the stadium can access it in their hand-held devices. Why should the referee alone be denied it?

As well as being at the forefront of expanding economies, Asia has long been respected as a hub for innovative business ideas. A lot of this is down to Asian customers being more receptive to ideas that are more innovative, and perhaps ‘quirkier' than those their conservative western counterparts would willingly take on-board.

Take the concept of the vending machine. Sure, in the UK they are fairly ubiquitous. You'll find one at your local gymnasium dispensing cool drinks. There'll be one at the railway station offering a range of chocolate bars or crisps. But they are not exactly the type of invention to inspire their customers with any sense of reverence. This is not the case in the Far East. In Singapore, vending machines can dispense a whole lot more than packets of crisps or fairly insipid coffee. You'll be able to order a carton of mashed potato smothered in piping hot, delicious gravy.

Korea is another burgeoning Asian economic power that treats its retailers with due respect. The Emart supermarket here has built-in three-dimensional QR (machine-readable) codes that will only work when the sun has arrived at a certain point overhead. The idea behind this simple but devilishly effective marketing ploy has been to ensure that sales are inspired at certain times of the day – previously it had been noted that sales tended to slump over lunch time.

e-mart is the largest retailer in South Korea. By 2023, they plan to expand their presence throughout a projected 200 store locations while penetrating into overseas markets in Vietnam and Mongolia.

These QR codes are one noticeable aspect of how innovation is being harnessed in Far Eastern markets. Mobile phones are another important tool. The technology is also filtering over to the west, with the Canadian grocery firm Sobey's using QR codes to provide information on products, such as point of origin. This helps customers in many ways – by hovering over items with their phones they can be taken to web pages with further data. This can also allow interactivity, or transactions to take place.

There are other incentives being offered to customers that make their shopping experience as pleasant as possible. In Sweden, the retailer ICA are allow about field communication. Shoppers buying their lunch at ICA can adopt contactless payment systems. Anyone taking regular advantage of this is rewarded with a free lunch.

Technology is increasingly being used in-store for the benefit of both retailers and customers. In Thailand, Tesco are growing lettuces in water, making for fresher food, and eye-catching displays. This is so much more appealing than the sight of rows of uninteresting green vegetables lined up on a supermarket shelf, slowly wilting beneath the bright lights.

Another revolutionary idea likely to pave the way for future Asian shopping experiences is ‘smart trolleys'. These will scan products the moment they are placed inside, allowing customers to keep a close eye on their goods and budget accordingly, as well as flagging up the fact they are still within the amount they originally wished to spend – so it is too early to stop!