The laparoscopic equipment features voice-activated lights, ceiling-mounted monitors and special green lights to reduce the strain on staff's eyes.

BBC: Hospital installs new keyhole equipment

Other Antarctic discoveries include an extract from green algae for use in cosmetic skin treatment, and anti-tumour properties in a strain of yeast.

BBC: NEWS | Science/Nature | Antarctica's resources 'at risk'

Add to this the cost of diesel fuel, the extra carbon emissions and the further strain the trucks would place on the nation's highways and the outlook for clean, supposedly green ethanol looks dimmer and dimmer.

FORBES: Ethanol: Getting There Is None Of The Fun