Latest news with #AmazonBasin
Daily Mail
19-06-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Land Rover launches new model paying homage to 1980s classic 4X4 - and it's not cheap
Land Rover has unveiled a special-edition Defender to pay homage to a classic model that proved the incredible off-road capabilities of the British 4X4s in the 1980s by racing across some of the world's most gruelling terrains. New 'Trophy Edition' cars get accessories and a retro livery to match the Camel Trophy vehicles from some 40 years ago. The Camel Trophy was an off-roading competition that originated in 1980 with three Jeep-equipped German teams racing across the Amazon Basin. After that first event, organisers turned to Land Rover for support and the tobacco company, Camel, for primary sponsorship, hence the name. Races took place across various locations, including Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Madagascar, Samoa, Siberia, Malaysia and a host of other testing landscapes. Over the course of 20 years, all types of Land Rover cars were provided for the annual adventure challenge - Range Rover, Land Rover Series III, Land Rover 90, Land Rover 110, Land Rover Defender, Land Rover Discovery and Freelander - with all vehicles appearing in the famous cigarette brand's distinctive 'Sandglow' colour scheme. And this is one of two livery options for the new Defender Trophy Edition, which makes its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next month. But it isn't going to be cheap... The new special edition model is only available as the mid-size, five-door, Defender 110. It features unique 20-inch alloy wheels and a choice of Camel Trophy-appropriate Deep Sandglow Yellow - or Keswick Green paint. Both options come with contrasting black bonnet, wheel arches and roof – and a black leather interior. The dashboard panel is painted to match the tone of the car's bodywork. Customers can also opt for a Trophy Edition accessory pack, which costs £4,995 and bolts on a roof rack, retractable roof ladder to make it easier to access objects stored overhead, an air-intake snorkel to tackle water-logged routes, and classic-style mud flaps. The pack even includes gloss black side panniers that provide 'extra space for muddy, wet or sandy items' you don't want to store in the boot. All versions of the new special edition car - which costs from £89,810 - come with black leather interior with accents to match the external bodywork Land Rover says Trophy Edition - which has dropped the 'Camel' name for obvious advertising reasons - celebrates the 'rich history of adventure challenges', adding that the iconic yellow vehicles of the past are 'synonymous with Defenders used on international Trophy-style events'. Without the optional accessory pack, prices start from £89,810 - a mark-up on the £62,795 asking price for a standard Defender 110. Britons will get to see it in the flesh for the first time at Goodwood during the Festival of Speed event taking place between 10 and 13 July. While it does come with a premium price tag, it's half the cost of the commemorative version produced by Land Rover Classic in 2021. The heritage arm of the British car firm made 25 examples of the old-school Defender inspired by the Camel Trophy, with liveries and modifications mimicking those of the expedition vehicles. Despite an eye-watering price tag of £195,000 per car, Land Rover sold out of the Works V8 Trophy line in three days. Consequently, the Classic department commissioned another 25 models to appease its high demand. And many of the original competition cars used in the event between 1981 and the final year in 2000 are still on the road today. Some competitors purchased their vehicles, meaning there are examples dotted across continents and, consequently, are highly sought after if proven to have covered genuine Camel Trophy miles. In March, Iconic Auctioneers sold a 1992 Defender 110 Camel Trophy - which participated in 1993 - for £34,875. This was despite it being in a rather sorry state of disrepair. Last year, Collecting Cars sold another genuine 1984 Camel Trophy Defender in far better condition for £31,500. However, experts say these cars are ripe for appreciation, with collectors eager to find ex-competition cars. In the 20-year history of the event, a UK team won it only once. In 1989, brothers Bob and Joe Ives took first place after tackling the 1,062-mile route through the Brazilian rainforest from Alta Floresta to Manaus in just three weeks driving a Defender 110. In recognition of their achievement, the brothers were awarded the Royal Automobile Club Segrave Trophy - an award reserved for outstanding transport achievements that has includes esteemed recipients such as Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Lewis Hamilton MBE and John Blashford-Snell OBE. The brothers went on to be off-road advisors for BBC's Top Gear and The Grand Tour special features on Amazon Prime.
BBC News
02-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- BBC News
Eight rare juices you can only try in the Amazon
Far from smoothie bars and powdered sachets, these wild Amazonian juices are pulped just hours after picking – making them rich in flavour and cultural meaning. The Amazon is not only the world's largest and most biodiverse ecosystem – it's also one of the most delicious. Among the thousands of native species, around 220 trees are known to bear edible fruit, many of which never leave the jungle. Some are too delicate to export, while others are little known beyond the communities that have nurtured them for generations. But along the Amazon River and its tributaries – from Peru's misty highland jungle to the floodplains of northern Brazil – travellers can find market stalls and cafe counters brimming with thick, vibrant juices that capture the flavour of the forest. These are the fruits you're unlikely to find bottled or powdered at home, often pulped just hours after harvest, served chilled in the tropical heat and prized not only for their nutrients but for their rich textures and sharp tangs. Here are eight juices worth seeking out, whether for their bold flavours, cultural significance or the thrill of trying something new. Aguaje On the eastern slopes of the Andes, where rivers cascade in dramatic waterfalls into the Amazon Basin, travellers will find the aguaje fruit of the Moriche palm. In the small Peruvian city of Tingo Maria, markets are piled high with silver trays of the armadillo-like fruit. Locals soak them in water for a day or two, before peeling the brown armour to reveal an intensely orange flesh. The pulp is soaked, mashed and transformed into aguajina – a thick and custardy drink that tastes like cross between pumpkin pie and flan. Some locals say that the fruit contains oestrogen compounds and men should be careful of drinking too much of it, though there is little scientific evidence. "The aguajina is very useful – for the bone, for the skin, for the complexion – especially for women," says Gianina Pujay, an aguajinera who sells the drink across from Tingo Maria's fruit market. Cocona In the same region, the cocona fruit, a tropical relative of the common tomato, yields a tangy juice that tastes like a pineapple-papaya hybrid with a thick, almost oily body. "Many Amazonian fruits are consumed in juice form because their pulp is acidic, fibrous or difficult to eat raw, like the cocona," explains Miluska Carrasco, a researcher and nutritionist at Peru's Instituto de Investigación Nutricional, "It's also a practical way to use them quickly before they spoil." Camu camu Descending from the verdant slopes of the Andes into the Amazon Basin, the rivers slow down and transform into thoroughfares of commercial activity. On the banks of the Ucayali River is the river port city of Pucallpa, the furthest Peru's road system will take you into the centre of the Amazon. Here, where container barges, passenger ships and canoes all move goods around the forest, camu camu is a must-drink juice. The small, tart, plum-like fruit tastes like a sour strawberry with a hint of peach, and is a favourite of local juice vendors. "[It] has more vitamin C than oranges," says Carrasco, "[as well as] other bioactive compounds." Where a navel orange provides about 6mg of vitamin C per 100g, the camu camu contains more than 2,000mg for the same amount of flesh. The season for camu camu is short, however, typically between January and March, so take advantage of the fresh juice when it's available. Locals also eat the little plums with salt; just spit out the seeds. Tucumã In the heart of Brazil's vast Amazonas state, 700 miles east of Pucallpa as the toucan flies (and at least a week or more on a river boat), tucumã palms provide an orange fruit that's only in season from February to August. During this time, it's often eaten for breakfast with cassava flour and is a key ingredient in the state's signature x-caboquinho sandwich, where slices are layered with salty coalho cheese and sweet chunks of fried plantains. To make juice from the notoriously fibrous tucumã, vendors use peelers, blenders and sieves to reduce shavings of the fruit to a pulp and then filter out the lightly nutty liquid. According to Francisco Falcão, a farmer in the community of Bom Jesus in the Tefé National Forest, "people say that tucumã is good to eat and improves sight and skin". Indeed, the fruit is rich in both manganese and calcium. Where kiwi, which is relatively high in calcium, contains around 30mg of calcium per 100g, tucumã has been measured to contain around four times as much. Pupunha Also in the Tefé region, "there's a palm tree that people eat the fruit of," says Falcão. "Pupunha is a plant that we harvest starting in December and ending February." Spanish-speaking parts of the Amazon know this oily palm fruit as pejibaye or pijuayo, and it is a key source of natural fats as well as vitamin B1 and vitamin E. The pupunha grow in clusters of orange and red acorn-shaped fruit. They cannot be eaten raw, but once boiled they make a filling snack akin to an oily sweet potato. The boiled fruits also produce a creamy orange juice once fully pulped. In Peru, forest communities ferment the pulp into a lightly alcoholic drink called chicha or masato – especially during times of harvest. Cupuaçu In Manaus, capital of the Amazonas, reliable refrigeration means locals and visitors can enjoy fruits in various forms. The thick shell of the cupuaçu contains a collection of seeds surrounded by a fleshy white pulp. That pulp can be transformed into silky, tangy juice. But lately, locals have been incorporating its juice into ice cream. Indeed, the rest of Brazil is catching on, with ice cream parlours in Rio de Janeiro now offering the flavour too. More like this:• Spain's 'white gold' super-drink• A decadent avocado smoothie to break the Ramadan fast• The Caribbean's cooling, healthy elixir for summer Cupuaçu tastes like a creamy pineapple – surprising given that it's a close relative of cacao. "It's the same genus as cacao and people make cupulate [as opposed to chocolate from it]," says Daniel Tregidgo, a researcher at Brazil's Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development. "When you go to the markets there are huge piles of cupuaçu seeds. I look at that and I say that's hipster chocolate right there." Why haven't we heard of cupulate yet? In Tregidgo's opinion, "It's a matter of investment. If you take something from the middle of Amazon and you try to get it out into the global market without being exploitative, it is a bit tricky." Bars produced from cupuaçu have the flavour of chocolate but retain some of their citrus piquancy. Jenipapo In the Amazon delta, jenipapo is known for its traditional use as a blue dye and a temporary tattoo ink. The fruit itself, which grows all along Brazil's coast in addition to the Amazon, has a yellowish pulp that's a great source of vitamin B1 and zinc. While jenipapo can be consumed as a fresh juice that tastes a bit like dried apricots, try ordering licor de jenipapo, an infused cachaça liqueur served in small bars and botecos. Açaí While açaí has become a global wellness trend, the version served in the Amazon bears little resemblance to the frozen bowls found abroad. What many travellers don't realise is that there are seven distinct açaí palm species. Locals distinguish between açaí-do-Pará, açaí-do-mato and juçara, depending on region. In Belém, for example, vendors use pneumatic presses to extract the berry's thick, purplish pulp – sold in clear bags and consumed straight out of bowls with spoons, as if a purple gazpacho. Outside of its natural range in Brazil, the rest of the country enjoys the pulp prepared in yogurts and ice creams. -- For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
US scientists make rubber 10 times tougher, 4x more crack-resistant under repeated stress
Materials scientists in the U.S. have just given natural rubber a major upgrade by developing a method to make it stronger and significantly more resistant to cracking, without compromising its signature stretchiness, even after repeated cycles of use. Led by Zhigang Suo, an Allen E. and Marilyn M. Puckett professor of mechanics at materials at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the study explored crack growth, one of rubber's most persistent weaknesses. According to Suo and his team, while natural rubber has been used for millennia, initially by the indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica, its ability to resist cracking, particularly under repeated stress, has remained largely unimproved. "Improving crack resistance will extend the material's service lifetime and therefore improve its sustainability," Guodong Nian, PhD, a former SEAS postdoctoral researcher and first author of the study. Native to the Amazon basin and sourced from the milky latex of the Hevea tree (Hevea brasiliensis), natural rubber is a durable polymer used in everything from gloves and tires to medical devices, shoes, and conveyor belts. But the research team has now found a way to modify its traditional high-intensity vulcanization process, which usually creates short polymer chains within the material that are densely crosslinked, or chemically bonded. This, according to the team, resulted in a novel type of rubber, which they called tanglemer. Filled with long, entangled polymer strands resembling a bowl of spaghetti, the new rubber reportedly boosts durability by absorbing and distributing stress more efficiently. "We used a low-intensity processing method, based on latex processing methods, that preserved the long polymer chains," Nian explained. According to the scientists the new material is four times more resistant to slow crack growth under repeated stretching, and 10 times stronger overall. This, according to the scientists, is because when a crack forms in it, the long spaghetti strands spread out the stress by sliding past each other, allowing more rubber to crystallize as it stretches, ultimately making the material more resilient. "We imagined that the properties would be enhanced maybe twice or three times, but actually they were enhanced by one order of magnitude," Chen concluded in a press release, adding that the key to the discovery lies in replacing the dominance of chemical crosslinks. Yet, while the research highlights the benefits of preserving long polymer chains, challenges remain as the process requires significant water evaporation, limiting material yield and making it less suitable for larger products such as tires. This currently makes it less suitable for bulky applications like tires, but better suited for thin rubber products such as gloves, condoms, or other items that require flexibility without large material volume. According to the researchers, the new process also opens up possibilities for applications like flexible electronics and components for soft robotics. The study was supported by the National Science Foundation's Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (DMR-2011754) and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. It has been published in the journal Nature Sustainability.
