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The world’s first ‘Zero Star’ Hotel has closed its less-than-fancy doors to paying customers and has turned itself into a museum.

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The Null Stern Hotel which was built into a derelict nuclear bunker in Teufen, Switzerland, will stay open only as an exhibit, while its owners attempt to find a more urban location to re-open their budget enterprise.

Charging as little as £15 a night for a basic bed, the Null Stern Hotel set new levels in low service and hotel amenities claiming that the ‘only star is you’.

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Hosting guests from 29 countries, including Britain over the last year, the hotel is now open as museum where the ‘Null Stern Team’ of brothers Frank and Patrik Riklin, Daniel Charbonnier and wife Samira Singhvi-Charbonnier act as guides.

For a nominal entrance fee of £3, visitors are told how over the past year paying guests have chosen between sharing bunk beds or double beds, were offered hot water bottles for comfort and slippers to avoid the cold stone floor.

“We opened in April last year and before we even unlocked the bolted air raid shelter doors we had over 1000 reservations,” said Daniel Charbonnier, 38, one of the founders of the Null Stern Hotel.

“Guests had no room service, no television and you would have to rise early to get a hot shower.

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“We could accommodate up to 54 guests each night, but we would tell them that if nuclear war broke out, they couldn’t be in a better place.”

Currently working on their new urban city version of the Null Stern Hotel, Daniel is coy on its location.

“It is under construction, it is going to be a zero star hotel, but at the moment we are keeping its location secret,” said Daniel who along with Frank and Patrik Riklin created the hotel with no stars.

“During the last year we made the list of the top 100 hotels in Europe in the exclusive magazine ‘Geo Saison Travel Magazine’.

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“That was an honour and made us all smile at the irony of it all.”

Providing earplugs for sleep in the communal rooms, each guest would have the option of upgrading from their £15 a night bed to a more luxurious £18 a night abode.

“The guests could have taken up our luxury beds, which could be described as more traditionally hotel like,” said Daniel.

“We only had two of them though.”

Explaining that the hotel conceived as an art project by Frank and Patrik, in 2008, but expanded into a working business in 2009 by Daniel is now going up in the world, the hotelier smiles.

Frank and Patrik Riklin (left and right of the picture) with Daniel Charbonnier and Samira Singhvi-Charbonnier © BARCROFT USA

“I have been in the business since my late teens and I know a good idea when I see one,” said Daniel.

“We have a small beetle car here that we need to transform into a larger truck.”

Words by  James Nye

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Cute Rambo has become the first dog in the world to be successfully treated with stem cell therapy.

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The 15-month-old boxer was paralysed after being run over by a car on his evening walk in Chennai, India.
In desperation his owner, Jyoti Pillai, begged vets to do whatever they could to cure Rambo and after months of gruelling treatment he is finally walking again.”We literally begged the doctors to save our naughty Rambo and asked them to do whatever they could,” said Jyoti, 23.

“Doctors initially didn’t think they could do anything so we carried him home on our shoulders.

“A few days later the vet called and told me about a new treatment that had never been successful.

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“They told us there was a 50 per cent chance Rambo would walk again. We had no other options so we lost no time to give our nod.”
The process started in November last year, just days after Rambo was mown down while trying to get his end of walk ice cream from a roadside seller.
The impact severed Rambo’s spinal cord, leaving him unable to use his back legs”We were terribly shocked to see Rambo but we took him to a nearby clinic where he was given some painkillers but they told us to take him to the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) as he had suffered major injuries,” said economics student Jyoti.

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Here vets removed stem cells from Rambo’s bone marrow and harvested them in a special laboratory.
Twenty million stem cells were later grafted onto the dog’s spine by vets in a delicate six-hour operation.
During his recovery, Rambo was given a further 20 million stem cells intravenously. In total the treatment cost just £350.
The months following surgery were full of anticipation for Jyoti and her four sisters, who were anxiously waiting for the Rambo to stand up and run again.

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After 12 weeks Rambo started to take his first tentative steps and began walking again.
The success has been hailed a breakthrough by vets, who believe Rambo is the first dog in the world to walk again following stem cell therapy.
Dr P Thangaraju, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said: “This is a preliminary case we are projecting. The dog recovered within couple of months of the procedure being performed. More studies will be conducted.”

Words by Lucy Tatchell

© G2F MEDIA / BARCROFT INDIA

This is the world’s first high performance motorbike to be ridden from a wheelchair.

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The Conquest International has been designed specifically for those with disabilities from the waist down.

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Its 1170cc BMW engine can do 0-60mph in 7.6 seconds and has a top speed of 105mph.

Former World Championship motocross rider Pit Beirer, who was paralysed in a crash at the 2003 Bulgaria Grand Prix, said: “The Conquest is a very big step forward in terms of getting that feeling again.”

Pit Berier with the new bike © G2F MEDIA / BARCROFT INDIA

“You put your helmet on and feel the wind in your face. Then suddenly that feeling comes back.”

Alan Martin, 70, designed the stunning bike after his 25-year-old son Stuart was paralysed from the waist down in a skiing accident eight years ago.

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He threw himself into developing a bespoke vehicle that would give his son the same unique feeling and freedom of riding a bike.

After years of careful planning and testing the Conquest International was born, and now makes the open road accessible to anyone who craves the thrill of being on a motorbike

A ramp at the back of the three-wheeler allows people to roll straight on to the bike in their own wheelchair, which is then fixed in place with locking pins.

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The Conquest even has space for luggage and an optional passenger seat, which is fitted to the access ramp.

Available in Granite Grey or Black, a basic model will set you back £29,480 but with optional add-ons you could find the amount creeping up quickly.

Words by Lucy Tatchell

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A tourist is lucky to be alive after climbing into a crocodile enclosure and trying to ride on top of a five-metre beast called Fatso.

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The man was ejected from a pub in Broome, Western Australia, on Monday night before climbing the fence of Broome Crocodile Park.
He then entered the pen of a giant saltwater crocodile, called Fatso.
Police said the man, “affected by alcohol”, wanted to touch the crocodile and tried to sit on its back.
Broome Police Sergeant Roger Hayne said: “The five-metre long male crocodile took exception and attacked the drunken intruder, who managed to escape with severe lacerations to his right leg.”

The narrow enclosure © BARCROFT PACIFIC / BARCROFT MEDIA

He added: “For some reason he’s made a decision to climb the fence into the pen where the crocodile was living.
“He appears to have wanted to touch that crocodile and sit on its back, and the crocodile has taken offence to that and bitten him on the right leg.
“He’s extremely lucky to be alive. This is a large male saltwater crocodile, who aren’t renowned for letting people escape once they’ve got hold of them.”
The man, believed to be an Australian on holiday from an eastern state of Australia, has been treated at the Broome Hospital, where he has undergone surgery and received dozens of stitches to a severe wound on his leg.
A spokesman for Broome Police said it was a miracle the man was alive but said he could still face charges of trespassing in the crocodile park.

Words by Jon Kaila

Storm-chaser tour operator Roger Hill © ROGER HILL/BARCROFT USA

If you’re bored of beach holidays and looking for something different this summer then you may want to think about a trip to America’s mid-west.

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Storm-chasing husband and wife team Roger and Caryn Hill take British punters on the hunt of their lives following deadly and destructive tornados.

Ploughing their way through America’s ‘Tornado Alley’, Roger and Caryn drive groups of up to 18 people at a time in three buses and charge up to £230 a day for a ten day tornado chase.

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Offering adrenaline inducing ‘Silver Lining Tours’, Roger, 53 and Caryn, 50, estimate that they have taken almost 1500 people to observe raging tornados in the American mid-west since 2000.

Taking their paying guests to within 1/4 of a mile of some of the swirling 300 mph vertical wind funnels, the husband and wife team have documented awe inspiring incidents of turning twisters and powerful super-cell storms.

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“We do around eight scheduled tours a year between April 15th and July 20th,” said Roger, who quit his consulting job in 1999 to chase storms full time.

“We pride ourselves on the highest rate of successful storm chases in the States for paying customers and we see around 25 percent of our business come from the United Kingdom.

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“Obviously not living in an active tornado zone, the looks on British people’s faces when they see their first twister form out of the sky is wonderful.”

Having witnessed first hand the destructive power of tornados for the best part of 25 years, Roger speaks in respectful tones about the weather phenomenon.

“Each year tornados cause billions of pounds worth of damage and kill upwards of 100 people a year,” said Roger, who also worked for the US Air Force until 1995.

“In my lifetime I have seen 532 tornados and Caryn has seen 140.

Caryn Hill © ROGER HILL / BARCROFT USA

“Each one has its own character and force and each one is to be treated as the lethal and unpredictable storm that they are.”

Marrying childhood sweetheart Caryn in 2003, Roger and his new bride have been a storm chasing team for seven years.

“Caryn’s first tornado was on June 24th 2003 and she witnessed a tornado that razed Manchester, North Dakota to the ground,” said Roger.

“It has yet to be re-built. That was some way to get started storm chasing.”

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It was in 1985 when Roger was stationed in Denver Colorado that he first caught the tornado bug.

“I witnessed six tornados on June 8th 1985 just a few miles from my home,” explained Roger.

“My obsession developed from there.

“I left the air force in 1995 and moved from San Antonio in Texas back to Denver and followed storms during the season.

“I had begun shooting the storms and in 1998, the Weather Channel started to purchase my footage.

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“I quit my job to become a full time storm chaser in 1999 and then in 2000 set up Silver Lining Tours.”

Getting so close to the tornados that he can hear their roar and see debris flying inside them, Roger likes to give his customer the full twister experience.

“They can move at up to 60 mph and they turn at up to 300 mph,” said Roger.

“They can be over one mile wide and they can destroy entire towns and uproot entire villages.

“On one occasion one tornado has shifted direction so rapidly that it has cut right between two of our three buses on the road.

“That was a scary experience.”

Words by James Nye

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Catching a ride on the back of this 10-foot Sand Tiger Shark female free-diver Ashley Futral likes to push the boundaries.

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Captured twenty miles off the coast of Wilmington, NC this July, the fearless extreme sports woman encountered almost a dozen of the deadly creatures.

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Even pausing to touch the nose of one of the 250 pound toothy beasts, Ashley, 27, kept her nerve having swum over 100 times with these sharks in the waters off North Carolina.

Taking advantage of the artificial reef created by the sinking of two copper dredgers, Ashley has been perfecting the Zen like meditation techniques needed in free diving, having only taken up the sport three years ago.

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Able to hold her breath for five minutes, Ashley had had zero experience of ocean diving before she began her steep learning curve in free-diving, and now is able to confidently swim with sharks that can grow to four metres long.
Sand sharks, also known as sand tigers and grey nurse sharks, are large-bodied and display a mouthful of sharp teeth that protrude in all directions, even when the mouth is shut.

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Despite their ferocious appearance, they are a docile, non-aggressive species, known to attack humans only when bothered first.
It is for this reason that Ashley tries to gauge the mood of the animals.

“I have swum with these sharks and other swirling Amberjack fish repeatedly and I feel comfortable in their presence and I think that they are comfortable with me,” said Ashley who owns her own free diving firm in Wilmington, North Carolina.

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“Of course I wouldn’t treat them with any disrespect as they are still sharks and deadly creatures, but these sharks in particular are sharks whose behaviour I feel I understand enough.

“And with my breathing relaxation techniques from my free-diving I am also not in a panicked state when they observe me, with aids me in giving the sharks a positive impression.”

A strong and confident swimmer from the age of four years old, Ashley took up free diving in the summer of 2007, and has been obsessed ever since.

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“I liken free-diving to swinging a golf club,” said Ashley.

“When you first try to hit a golf ball with a club you are likely to miss and to feel a fool.

“But the minute that someone coaches you to swing the club correctly and you connect with the ball it all clicks.

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“So it is with free diving and the breathing techniques and mono-fin usages.

“I can hold my breath for five minutes and 15 seconds and I feel like I can swim freely in the water in a way that I couldn’t with scuba gear on.”

Having hit depths of 201 feet in the Cayman Islands as a depth free diver, Ashley’s abilities advanced frighteningly fast.

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“When I began free-diving I could swim to 40 feet below at the start,” said Ashley.

“After my first three weeks learning I could then dive to 140 feet.

“I felt like I just had a natural ability.”

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Photographed by her friend D.J Struntz only last week in the warm waters off North Carolina, Ashley’s passion for the ocean and its wonders holds no bounds.

“The sharks that swim around the artificial reefs are beautiful creatures,” explained Ashley.

“It is a pleasure and a privilege to be able to swim like this with such freedom in the ocean.

“It is a wonderful thing to be able to free-dive.”

Words by James Nye

© NICK GEORGIOU / BARCROFT USA

Popping up in different locations around New York urban artist Nick Georgiou finds altogether new uses for discarded newspapers.

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Instead of wrapping up his fish and chips in the raggedy old daily papers, Nick, 30, from Queens, New York, has been making statements about the newspaper industry for the last four years.

Having exhibited his works in London’s hip Shoreditch and currently working on his own gallery in Tuscon, Arizona, Nick’s eclectic work is in high demand, especially amongst media types keen on irony.

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Collecting his newspapers from the streets and recycling bins of the Big Apple, Nick’s street paper art has sold for over £100 and can take him anywhere over two days to complete.

“I wanted to react to the digital age through the medium of paper,” said Nick, who has taught his art at the University of Arizona.

“We now have iPad’s and iPhone and laptops and a lot of our information is digested through computer screens.

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“We are no longer using newspapers, or paper for that matter.

“I wanted to make a statement about the fact that paper will be just another artefact of the 21st century before too long.”

Collecting his newspapers from recycling bins and even off the street, Nick began his recycled paper art four years ago.

Nick Georgiou wearing one of his works © NICK GEORGIOU / BARCROFT USA

“I love all types of newspaper, from the New York Post to the pink shades of the Financial Times, they all provide different hues to my work,” said Nick.

‘The works are not as easy as they look to put together.

“They need cutting with craft knives, gluing and sculpting.

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“Each one can take days to produce to my satisfaction.”

Talking about his art’s unusual urban locations and feel, Nick explains the publics fascination with similar artists such as Banksy.

“We all experience an alienation some of the time,” said Nick.

“So instead of looking inside a gallery at work, we now find ourselves looking out and on the street.

“That is an important part of my work.”

Words by James Nye

© SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / BARCROFT MEDIA

© SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / BARCROFT MEDIA

Before and after satellite photos show a horrifying vision of the future and evidence of man’s destruction of the natural environment.

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Taken over nearly 40 years, photographs show the drying up of several bodies of water around the world – receding as mankind’s demand for water grows.

Expert Dr Benjamin Lloyd-Hughes of the Walker Institute for climate system research, University of Reading, has spoken of the devastating effects on local populations caused by the impacts of mankind combined with climate change.

Aral Sea in 1973 © SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / BY BARCROFT MEDIA LTD

Included in the shocking collection is the once mighty Aral Sea in Central Asia.

The expanse of water, like several others across the globe, has been reduced to worryingly sparse levels.

In 1987 © SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / BY BARCROFT MEDIA LTD

In April the situation at the Aral Sea was described as “one of the planet’s worst environmental disasters” by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

Shown here in images taken from space between 1973 and 2009, slowly but surely the Aral – in fact a salt water lake – has shrunk from being the size of Ireland to a cluster of contaminated ponds.

And in 2000 © SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / BY BARCROFT MEDIA LTD

An inland lake, the Aral is found between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and used to be the fourth largest lake in the world. Since the 1960s, it has lost more than half of its volume.

The drying is due to overuse of the lake’s feeder rivers. In the 1960s the former Soviet Union diverted the Syr Darya and Amu Darya for the irrigation of cotton and paddy fields.

Now 50 years later the water is at a dismal 10 per cent of its level when the projects first began.

Aral Sea pictured last year © SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / BARCROFT MEDIA

So great was the impact on the region the local climate was thought to have changed and pollution has risen to dangerous levels.

The destruction of the lake has also decimated the local fishing industry, causing severe knock-on unemployment and further economic woe for the people living around it.

Across the globe once rich and fertile lands are facing the same catastrophe.

Iraq in 1990 © SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / BARCROFT MEDIA

Arid and desolate Iraq was once a green, lush environment even reputed to be the setting of the Garden of Eden.

The marshes were systematically drained in the mid- to late 20th century.

This was done to provide agricultural land, but also to destroy the habitat of the Shi’a Muslim Marsh Arabs, who were persecuted by the Iraqi ruling Ba’athist Party.

Seen from above between 1973 and 2000 the Mesopotamia marshlands straddle the borders between Iraq and Iran near the mighty Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

The difference in 2000 © SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / BARCROFT MEDIA

Also included in the before-and-after pictures are the Toshka Lakes, in southern Egypt.

They were formed in the 1990s by diverting water from Lake Nasser, an artificial lake formed behind the Aswan High Dam on the river Nile.

One image taken in March  2001, shows the lakes near their maximum capacity.

A later satellite picture from December 2005 shows how the waters receded due to drought and rising demand for water, leaving a ring of brown wetlands around the edges of the lakes.

Toshka Lakes in 2001 © SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / BARCROFT MEDIA

Lake Chad, located in the Sahel region near the Sahara, was the fourth largest lake in Africa in the 1960s and had an area of more than 10,000 square miles.

But by the 21st century it had shrunk to less than 600 square miles – around a twentieth of its size.

This was caused by increased use of irrigation combined with severe droughts.

The Toshka Lakes in southern Egypt were formed in the 1990s by diverting water from Lake Nasser, an artificial lake that formed behind the Aswan High Dam on the river Nile.

And in 2005 © SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / BARCROFT MEDIA

The region was planned to be a major new agricultural and industrial site for Egypt but as these images show – between 2001 and 2005 – the region is drying fast.

The waters have receded, leaving a ring of brown wetlands around the edges of the lakes, because of drought and a rising demand for water in the area.

Dr Benjamin Lloyd-Hughes of the Walker Institute for climate system research, University of Reading, said: “Ultimately the disaster seen at the Aral Sea and the  marshes are the combined effects of man and rising temperatures in those regions.

“There has not been much change in rainfall in those areas but the temperature has risen by over 1 degree Centigrade since 1970, which will have enhanced losses due to evaporation.

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“Pollution in the area will have become worse because as the water evaporates, pollutants in the water become more concentrated and less diluted.”

At Lake Chad and the Toshka Lakes the same effect of man in combination with climate change has been observed.

Dr Lloyd-Hughes added: “There has been a 30 per cent reduction in annual rainfall since 1900 in these regions but not a significant change in temperature.
“Reductions in lake levels here seem to driven by reductions in rainfall rather than increased evaporation.

Lake Chad 2007. The added red colour shows vegetation © SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / BARCROFT MEDIA

“The outlook is that there will be no change in rainfall but temperature could increase by another two degrees Centigrade by 2100. This is not good but not so bad as for the Aral Sea and Mesopotamia.

“Global warming is a problem that is happening everywhere but if drought is happening in your region then it is a far greater problem.”

With the growth of mass-agriculture to feed a severely ballooning global population, water demand has begun to perilously outstrip supply, making disasters like the Aral Sea a grim and alarming likelihood for the future.

Words by Liam Miller

© SINGER/ BARCROFT USA

A New York boy celebrated his tenth birthday by smashing a Guinness World Record for wearing the most underwear at once.

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Jack Singer, from Warwick, piled on 215 pairs of tighty whiteys to break the record by 15.

Singer’s parents layered the pants one by one while a crowd of friends and family cheered him on.

“They had to gradually go up in size from XS to 7XL,” said Jack’s mother Melissa Singer, a nurse, 41.
“We had them all laid out in piles ready.”
When they reached 195 pairs, Jack had to lie down because his feet had gone numb.

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“It looked a bit like he was in pain but he was just uncomfortable,” said his dad, a NYC firefighter, 42.
“He was determined to do it.”
After a brief 18 minutes Jack was up to 215 pairs, breaking the current record, set by an Australian, by 15.
On hearing he had made history Jack said: “I feel awesome, I can’t believe I broke it!”

The pants weighted a hefty 30lbs and Jack couldn’t wait to take them off.

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“I choose this record because I didn’t think it would be that hard but it was that hard,” said Jack.
“My legs went to sleep.”
The event was held on Sunday 12th June 2010 and on Jack’s request all the money raised was donated to Marine Sergeant Eddie Ryan who was injured in Iraq five years ago.
“We are very proud of him, “ said his mum Melissa.
“It was a very hot day and a tough thing to do. He’s a very generous boy to give all the money away.”
Just as Sergeant Eddie Ryan and his Marine colleagues live by the Marine motto, “Semper Fidelis,” (Always Faithful), Jack lived up to another famous motto “Semper ubi sub ubi” (Always wear underwear)
“It’s a good motto,” said Jack.

Words by James Nye

© SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / BARCROFT MEDIA LTD

While most people throw away mouldy things and recoil at the site of growing bacteria a group of creative scientists are turning them into mini works of art.

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Proving that bacteria can be beautiful as well as useful, the brilliantly detailed creations include smiley faces, a rose and a human skull.

Also seen are complex patterns like Jurassic-period bird Archaeopteryx made from E Coli and even a miniature of the HMS Beagle – the ship on which naturalist Charles Darwin sailed around on the voyage that led to evolutionary breakthrough The Descent of Man.

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Using different types of bacteria and fungi the scientists behind microbialart.com, which was started by Dr T Ryan Gregory from Canada’s University of Guelph, can blend different shapes together to make their intricate pictures.

Dr Gregory started making microbial art for an exhibition inspired by evolution and biodiversity. He soon discovered that other scientists were also using microbes to make art.

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To create a chain of elephants walking in single file, microbiologist Niall Hamilton created the the animal’s bodies using pink-coloured fungus Aureobasidium pullulans.

But for the darker coloured eyes he used darker-coloured yeast fungus Rhodotorula sp.

The fungi were cultured together on agar jelly to build up the complete piece.

“You can put significant effort into creating a piece,” said Dr Gregory, “only to destroy it a few days later.”

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Microbial art was actually started over 100 years ago by Scottish biologist and pharmacologist Sir Alexander Flemming, who discovered penicillin and was recently named as one of the most important people of the 20th century.

Pioneer Flemming used bacteria coloured with dye to create paintings for fun.

Nowadays the micro artists following in his wake still use similar basic techniques but have gone one step further with a variety of methods, like using glowing bacteria.

Geneticist and artist Hunter Cole produced an incredible rendition of DNA molecules using bioluminescent bacteria.

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Cole produces ‘living drawings’ made from several Petri dishes of light-producing bacteria. She photographs them over a period of two weeks while their shapes change as the bacteria stop glowing and begin to dim and die.

Microbiologist Niall Hamilton likes to work with whatever he finds around the sink plughole using a swab.

“It’s unusual and interesting,” he said,“because the exact result can’t always be completely controlled.”

Because many of the bacteria can cause serious illnesses, microbial art isn’t something you can do at home.

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“There are many potentially pathogenic microbes out there, and you need proper provision for the safe disposal of artworks,” said Hamilton. “The majority of artists are trained microbiologists or biochemists.”

Using a small paintbrush dipped in the bacteria, they are painstakingly ‘painted’ onto the tiny canvas – a petri dish only a few centimetres wide.

Then they are left to ‘grow’ in an incubator, creating these colourful, if simple artworks.

Words by Liam Miller