ULASAN BUKU : Menguak Tabir di Balik Kesaktian Jawara

Judul               : Rahasia Kesaktian Para Jawara
Penulis             : M. Athoullah Ahmad
Penerbit           : Pustaka Pesantren
Edisi                : I, 2011
Tebal               : xiv+ 230 halaman
ISBN               : 979-8452-78-X
Peresensi         : Ali Mahmudi CH )*

Banyak orang mengira bahwa ilmu kesaktian para jawara merupakan suatu  hal naif dilakukan orang awam. Kyai boleh dikatakan sakti apabila ia mampu berpindah dari tempat satu ke tempat lainnya hanya dengan sekejap mata. Seseorang mampu mencederai musuh hanya dengan cukup sekali pukul pakai telapak tangannya. Bahkan hanya dengan nyelentik lawan, kyai mampu merobohkan musuhnya dengan sekejap. Inilah kesaktian yang hanya dimiliki oleh segelintir orang.

Setelah diteliti lebih lanjut, ternyata menguasai ilmu hikmat ini memang mudah-mudah susah. Dikatakan susah, faktanya yang mampu menguasai ilmu itu hanya beberapa orang. Ilmu ini mempunyai dedikasi yang tinggi. Ia dapat dikategorikan sebagai ilmu tingkat atas. Tetapi, dibalik itu semua pasti ada rahasianya.  

Salah satu kata kuncinya terletak pada rahasia kata-kata puitis dalam Al-Qur’an. Pada dasarnya, kata-kata memiliki kekuatan tersendiri bagi kehidupan manusia. Sebab, dengan kata-kata manusia bisa menangis, tertawa, bahagia sedih, dan mampu mengerjakan hal-hal yang tak mungkin boleh dilakukan sewajarnya. Bagaimana jika kata-kata yang dikatakan adalah kalam suci dari Al-Qur’an yang telah diuji coba oleh para ulama mengenai khasiat dan kehebatannya?

Mungkin inilah yang kita sebut dengan tabir rahasia. Rahasia banyak menyimpan tabir mistik yang sangat luar biasa. Ilmu hikmat mencoba membuka secuil tabir misteri dari rahasia yang terkandung dalam dunia keislaman. Rahasia ini boleh dijumpai dalam huruf-huruf, ayat, surat dan asmaul husna serta doa yang dipanjatkan oleh setiap muslim. Dari sini dapat diketahui berbagai rahasia yang dapat digunakan untuk keperluan duniawi maupun ukhrawi.

Upaya untuk mencapai tujuan ini dapat dilakukan melalui riyadhah. Riyadhah ini dapat dijalani dengan praktik menjalankan dzikir, puasa, wirid, dan sebagainya. Ini dijalani dengan ritual praktik keagamaan secara seimbang. Kegiatan ini memang terasa berat dan sulit dilakukan bagi orang yang bukan ahlinya. Tetapi, bagai yang telah terbiasa melakukannya akan merasa mudah dan mampu mencapai puncak ilmu hikmat.

Secara terminologi falsafati, ilmu hikmat merupakan ilmu yang membahas mengenai hakikat sesuatu obyek  sesuai kemampuan akal manusia. Obyeknya berupa hal-hal konkrit maupun akli-dzihni. Secara prinsip, tujuannya untuk mendapatkan kemuliaan prima di dunia dan keselamatan serta kebahagiaan diakhirat kelak. Singkatnya, ilmu hikmat merupakan ilmu yang  membicarakan mengenai rahasia huruf. Baik huruf secara keseluruhan beserta angka yang terdapat di dalamnya, mapun huruf secara khusus seperti dalam permulaan surat.

Buku bertajuk “Rahasia Kesaktian Para Jawara”, ditulis oleh M. Athoullah Ahmad telah mengupas banyak mengenai ilmu hikmat. Tetapi perlu diingat, bahwa kehadiran buku ini bukan bermaksud untuk mengobral murah ilmu hikmat. Sebaliknya, buku ini merupakan salah satu ikhtiar dalam nguri-nguri dan melestarikan tradisi “berilmu hikmat”. Sebab, ilmu hikmat akhir-akhir ini menjadi langka akibat tergerus arus modernitas.

Menurut pakar ahli hikmat, setiap huruf atau ayat mempunyai khadam (malaikat, jin atau alam arwah) sebagai menunggunya. Maka, ketika seseorang sedang melakukan riyadhah, ia akan dihampiri oleh penunggu tersebut. Uniknya, bahkan diantara mereka boleh melaksanakan transaksi/negosiasi untuk memenuhi kebutuhan hidupnya. Riyadhah ini hanya mampu dijalani oleh seseorang berjiwa khusyu’ tinggi.

Betapa banyak ayat yang mengandung vitalitas dan spiritual. Apabila salah satu kunci telah dipegang oleh seseorang, maka ia akan dapat membuka pintu yang lain secara sendirinya. Wawasan kajian ilmu hikmat didasarkan pada kajian filsafat, ajaran islam, dan tingkah laku orang shalih terdahulu. Dalam catatan sejarahnya, filsafat lahir dari peradaban panjang. Sebelum islam berkembang, peradaban ilmu-ilmu klasik telah jauh berkembang.

Fakta ini sebagaimana yang telah terjadi dalam peradaban Timur maupun Barat. Sebagaimana yang terjadi di Mesir kuno, Sumeria, Babilonia, Siria, Persia, India, China, dan Yunani. Berbagai pemikiran ini kemungkinan besar juga  ikut andil dalam pertumbuhan filsafat islam. Salah satu yang berperan adalah produk pemikiran filsafat yunani. Filsafat yunani merupakan filterisasi dari kebudayaan lama. Pada mulanya, pemikiran ini merupakan pengujian terhadap agama secara sederhana dengan ukuran akal pikiran.

Secara simpel, ilmu hikmat merupakan ilmu keislaman yang praktiknya dipengaruhi ajaran dari luar islam. Dalam praktiknya dibingkai dengan riyadhah dan mujahadah ole para ahli tarekat. Ilmu hikmat ini membicarakan rahasia huruf, ayat, surat, asmaul husna, dan doa. Ditinjau dari sisi derajatnya, ilmu ini sangat tinggi derajatnya. Sehingga jarang yang menguasainya.

Dalam kenyataannya, ilmu hikmat bagai istana gading di awang-awang. Tak ada seorangpu yang mampu singgah disana. Kecuali orang yang mempunyai sayap dan sanggup menerawang alam atas dan bawah. Sehingga, ia berada diantara dua jarak sisi yang sama. Sudah selayaknya, pelaku ilmu hikmat melakukan itu semua karena ikhlas lillahi ta’ala. Sebab, tak sedikit dari mereka yang masih terpana dengan dunia fatamorgana.

Di dalam penambahan daya spiritual, tidak diperkenankan melenceng dari syara’. Sehingga, keutuhan tauhid tetap terjaga dan terkendali. Oleh sebab itu, biasanya sebelum mereka mengaji ilmu hikmat, terlebih dahulu mereka harus memahami syariat islam dengan sepenuhnya. Sebab, syariat merupakan petunjuk islam yang sesungguhnya. Syariat yang benar merujuk pada pedoman kaidah Al-Qur’an dan Hadits.

*Penulis: Pustakawan, TBM Pustaka Hasyim Asy’arie Yogyakarta.
http://oase.kompas.com/read/2011/04/03/02464420/Menguak.Tabir.di.Balik.Kesaktian.Jawara

INFO : Ilmuwan AS Tumbuhkan Jantung Manusia

Ilmuwan Amerika Serikat tengah bereksperimen menumbuhkan jantung manusia. Jika berhasil, hasil eksperimen ini membuka harapan bagi jutaan penderita penyakit jantung.

Seorang ahli pengobatan regeneratif dari Universiti Minnesota, Minneapolis, Amerika Serikat, yang turut serta dalam eksperimen ini, Dr Doris Taylor mengatakan untuk menumbuhkan jantung, tetap diperlukan jantung dari penderma. Ilmuwan kemudian memisahkan otot jantung penderma dari jaringan kolagen. Kolagen ini kemudian bertindak sebagai rangka bagi sel jantung baru yang diambil dari jantung pasien.
Sel jantung baru yang disuntikkan pada rangka kolagen diharapkan dapat tumbuh sebagai jantung yang aktif dalam waktu beberapa minggu. "Jantung tersebut berkembang. Kami berharap dalam beberapa minggu ke depan boleh menunjukkan tanda-tanda berdetak," ujar Taylor.
Jika eksperimen ini berhasil, pasien penyakit jantung akan lebih mudah memperoleh cantum jantung karena sel jantung berasal dari tubuh pasien sendiri.
Selama ini pembedahan cantum jantung sangat bergantung pada kesesuaian organ yang dicantum dengan tubuh pasien. Pasien juga harus mengkonsumsi obat-obatan sepanjang hidupnya guna menambah sistem kekebalan. Eksperimen ini juga menjadi pintu masuk bagi kemungkinan penumbuhan organ hati, paru-paru, dan ginjal.
Eksperimen menumbuhkan organ jantung telah dilakukan sejak beberapa tahun lalu. Pada tahun 2007, sekelompok dokter dari Inggris menumbuhkan katup jantung manusia menggunakan teknik stem sel yang diambil dari tulang sumsum. Setahun kemudian, ilmuwan sukses menumbuhkan jantung hewan untuk pertama kali.
Team yang dipimpin Dr Taylor sendiri sudah menciptakan jantung yang berdetak untuk tikus dan babi. Namun jantung ini masih terlalu lemah untuk dicantumkan kepada hewan.
"Perjalanan menumbuhkan jantung untuk dicamtumkan masih panjang. Namun kami telah membuka pintu bagi kemungkinan penumbuhan organ untuk dicantumkan kepada manusia," ujar Taylor.
http://www.tempointeraktif.com/hg/iptek/2011/04/04/brk,20110404-324900,id.html

Live human heart grown in lab using stem cells in potential transplant breakthrough

By David Derbyshire

Breakthrough: Scientists are hopeful their artificial heart will be beating within days

Scientists are growing human hearts in laboratories, offering hope for millions of cardiac patients.

American researchers believe the artificial organs could start beating within weeks.

The experiment is a major step towards the first ‘grow-your-own’ heart, and could pave the way for  livers, lungs or kidneys to be made  to order.

The organs were created by removing muscle cells from donor organs to leave behind tough hearts of connective tissue.

Researchers then injected stem cells which multiplied and grew around the structure, eventually turning into healthy heart cells.

Dr Doris Taylor, an expert in regenerative medicine at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, said: ‘The hearts are growing, and we hope they will show signs of beating within the next weeks.

‘There are many hurdles to overcome to generate a fully functioning heart, but my prediction is that it may one day be possible to grow entire organs for transplant.’

Patients given normal heart transplants must take drugs to suppress their immune systems for the rest of their lives.

This can increase the risk of high blood pressure, kidney failure and diabetes.

If new hearts could be made using a patient’s own stem cells, it is less likely they would be rejected.

 

More...

• 'I started the day seeing clearly - then everything went black...': The moment MasterChef host Michel Roux Jr suffered a detached retina
• How blind grandfather could 'see' his grandson for the first time with revolutionary bionic glasses

The lab-grown organs have been created using these types of cells – the body’s immature ‘master cells’ which have the ability to turn into different types of tissue. The experiment follows a string of successes for researchers trying to create spare body parts for transplants.

In 2007, British doctors grew  a human heart valve using stem  cells taken from a patient’s  bone marrow.

HOW TO GROW YOUR OWN HEART

• The donor heart is removed from the body; pig hearts may also be suitable.
• Detergents are then used to strip the cells from the heart leaving behind the protein skeleton or 'ghost heart'.
• Stem cells grown from cells taken from a patient are then added to the ghost heart.
• The stem cells then multiply and generate new heart cells. now all that is left is the hope that these will start beating.

A year later, scientists grew a beating animal heart for the first time.

Dr Taylor’s team have already created beating rat and pig hearts. Although they were too weak to be used in animals, the work was an important step towards tailor-made organs.

In their latest study, reported at the American College of Cardiology’s annual conference in New Orleans, researchers created new organs using human hearts taken from dead bodies.

The scientists stripped the  cells from the dead hearts with a powerful detergent, leaving ‘ghost heart’ scaffolds made from the protein collagen.

The ghost hearts were then injected with millions of stem cells, which had been extracted from patients and supplied with nutrients.

The stem cells ‘recognised’ the collagen heart structure and began to turn into heart muscle cells.

The hearts have yet to start beating – but if they do, they could be strong enough to pump blood.

However, the race to create a working heart faces many obstacles.

One of the biggest is getting enough oxygen to the organ through a complex network of blood vessels. Scientists also need to ensure the heart cells beat in time.

Dr Taylor told the Sunday Times: ‘We are a long way off creating a heart for transplant, but we think we’ve opened a door to building any organ for human transplant.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1372938/Live-human-heart-grown-lab-using-stem-cells-potential-transplant-breakthrough.html

INFO : Ikhwan, Salafi dan Tabligh Sepakat Bersatu

Para ulama Badan Perwakafan, Al Ikhwan Al Muslimun, Salafi, Jama’ah Al Islamiyah serta Jama’ah Tabligh berkumpul di Aswan Mesir untuk membentuk sebuah badan yang berfungsi untuk menyatukan umat Islam di Mesir, dari berbagai komuniti dan organisasi, demikian lansir onilsam.net (3/4)

Pasca revolusi 25 Januari, Al Ikhwan Al Muslimun negeri Aswan  telah membentuk badan khusus yang bertujuan untuk memperkuat ukhuwah antara jama’ah dan organisasi Islam. Para anggota badan ini, yang terdiri dari berbagai jama’ah menyebutkan bahwa masih-masing akan menghormati perbedaan antara jama’ah, akan tetapi mereka bekerja sama dalam hal-hal yang disepakati.

Sebagai langkah permulaan, para anggota Badan “Persatuan Islam” ini, beserta sekjennya melakukan silaturrahim ke beberapa jama’ah. Pertemuan sekaligus melaksanakan shalat Isya’ pada minggu mendatang rencananya di lakukan di Anshar As Sunnah, yang berhaluan Salafi.

Sedangkan agenda yang lebih besar direncanakan terselenggara pada tanggal 24 April mendatang di stadion Port Said, yakni mu’tamar yang diikuti oleh para tokoh sentral berbagai organisasi dan jama’ah Islam di Mesir. Hal itu dilakukan untuk merumuskan program-program yang dapat melibatkan seluruh kelompok tersebut.

Hanya saja yang belum bergabung dalam badan ini adalah jama’ah Sufi. Namun, hal itu karena masalah teknis saja,  karena banyaknya kelompok Sufi di daerah tersebut. Saat ini, pembicaraan sudah sampai pada tahapan siapa yang bakal mewakili mereka dalam badan ini. Sebagaimana juga telah dilakukan kunjungan pengurus badan ini kepada Syeikh As Sayyid Hasan Idris selaku tokoh Sufi di Aswan, seperti yang dijelaskan oleh Sekjen organisasi ini , Prof. Majdi Abu Uyyun.

Saat ini sudah 3000 tokoh dari berbagai jama’ah dan organisasi Islam Mesir telah bergaung dalam organisasi ini.*

 Sumber : onislam.net
http://www.hidayatullah.com/read/16205/04/04/2011/ikhwan,-salafi-dan-tabligh-sepakat-bersatu.html

Regu penyelamat Iran dan Israel?

Dunia Barat dan Timur tengah tidak menyangsikan sikap keras Iran terhadap Israel atas kekejamannya selama ini terkait Palestin. Atas sikapnya itulah, negeri Yahudi tersebut kerap menuding negeri mullah Iran sebagai sponsor utama para pejuang di Timur Tengah, seperti Hamas dan Hizbullah.

Namun, keadaan yang kerap diselimuti dengan perang urat syaraf tersebut, seketika hilang. Hal itu terjadi ketika gempa dan tsunami Jepun mempertemukan keduanya. 

Iran dan Israel, sama-sama mengirimkan warganya untuk membantu mengevakuasi para korban gempa 9 skala richter yang kemudian disusul tsunami itu. Konflik antara kedua negara tersebut seperti tidak menjadi fokus utama.
Kedua negara itu hanya mementingkan bagaimana caranya menemukan jenazah warga Jepun yang masih tercatat hilang. Iran dan Israel bahu-membahu membantu pemulihan warga di kota Kamashi, Jepun.
Di wilayah tersebut, enam ratus ribu dilaporkan tewas, sementara lainnya belum ditemukan hingga kini. Regu penyelamat dari Israel yang bernama ZAKA yang dipimpin oleh Yehudah Meshi-Zahav itu beranggotakan 12 orang.

http://www.republika.co.id/berita/internasional/global/11/04/06/lj8eh6-tsunami-jepang-damaikan-iranisrael

01. A helicopter drops off supplies at a remote warming station near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in this March 18, 2011 picture. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Spring has arrived and we’re all excited about the first blossoms, green grass and fluffy baby animals. It has even arrived in the Arctic. It might be a place dominated by ice, snow, freezing temperatures and biting wind, but it can be amazingly beautiful when the sun is shining.

02. The moon rises over Arctic ice near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

03. Wind patterns are left in the ice pack that covers the Arctic Ocean north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 19, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

04. A manual fire button for the number one torpedo tube can be seen in the Virginia class submarine USS New Hampshire as the ship participates in exercises underneath ice in the Arctic Ocean north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 19, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

05. Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS) employee Nick Michel-Hart (2nd L) is handed an ice auger as US Navy graduate school researchers Lt. Brandon Schmidt (R) and Lt. George Suh prepare a hole to hang sonar instrumentation for research at the 2011 Arctic APLIS camp north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. Using a new low-frequency messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the station were able to help the USS New Hampshire find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. The new digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system built by Raytheon Co could revolutionize how military commanders stay in touch with submarines all over the world, allowing them to alert a submarine about an enemy ship on the surface or a new mission, without it needing to surface to periscope level, or 60 feet, where it could be detected by potential enemies. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

06. U.S. Navy sailors watch their sonar screens as they work in the control room of the Virginia class submarine USS New Hampshire during exercises underneath the ice in the Arctic Ocean north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 20, 2011. Using a new low-frequency messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory were able to help the USS New Hampshire find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. The new digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system built by Raytheon Co could revolutionize how military commanders stay in touch with submarines all over the world, allowing them to alert a submarine about an enemy ship on the surface or a new mission, without it needing to surface to periscope level, or 60 feet, where it could be detected by potential enemies. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

07. Wind patterns are left in the ice pack that covers the Arctic Ocean north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 19, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

08. Navy officers use a new Raytheon messaging system called Deep Siren on the USS New Hampshire during military training exercises in the Arctic Ocean in this photo taken on March 19, 2011. The signal sounded like crickets chirping, but the encoded message transmitted from the camp atop the frozen Arctic Ocean was music to the ears of the USS New Hampshire submarine crew. Using a digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the camp last Saturday were able to help the submarine find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. REUTERS/Andrea Shalal-Esa

09. Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLS) employees use a chainsaw to cut through the ice covering the hatches of the Seawolf class submarine USS Connecticut after it surfaced through through Arctic sea ice during an exercise near the 2011 APLS camp north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. The new digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system built by Raytheon Co could revolutionize how military commanders stay in touch with submarines all over the world, allowing them to alert a submarine about an enemy ship on the surface or a new mission, without it needing to surface to periscope level, or 60 feet, where it could be detected by potential enemies. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

10. An Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS) employee uses a hot water dispenser to prepare a hole in the Arctic ice that will allow sonar instrumentation to be used for research at the 2011 APLIS camp north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. Using a new low-frequency messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the station were able to help the USS New Hampshire find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. The new digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system built by Raytheon Co could revolutionize how military commanders stay in touch with submarines all over the world, allowing them to alert a submarine about an enemy ship on the surface or a new mission, without it needing to surface to periscope level, or 60 feet, where it could be detected by potential enemies. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

11. Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS) employee Keith Magness (L) and Nick Michel-Hart cut a hole in the Arctic ice to hang sonar instrumentation for research at the 2011 Arctic APLIS camp north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. The new digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system built by Raytheon Co could revolutionize how military commanders stay in touch with submarines all over the world, allowing them to alert a submarine about an enemy ship on the surface or a new mission, without it needing to surface to periscope level, or 60 feet, where it could be detected by potential enemies. At present, submarines use an underwater phone to communicate with associates on top of the ice or with other submarines, but those devices are little more than tin cans on a string and work only at shorter distances. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

12. Cables for sonar equipment lead into a hole that has been cut through the Arctic ice at the Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Camp north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, March 18, 2011. Using a new low-frequency messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the camp were able to help the USS New Hampshire find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. The new digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system built by Raytheon Co could revolutionize how military commanders stay in touch with submarines all over the world, allowing them to alert a submarine about an enemy ship on the surface or a new mission, without it needing to surface to periscope level, or 60 feet, where it could be detected by potential enemies. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

13. The Seawolf class submarine USS Connecticut begins to rise through through Arctic sea ice during an exercise near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

14. Water cascades off the sail of the Seawolf class submarine USS Connecticut at it rises through Arctic sea ice during an exercise near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. The new digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system built by Raytheon Co could revolutionize how military commanders stay in touch with submarines all over the world, allowing them to alert a submarine about an enemy ship on the surface or a new mission, without it needing to surface to periscope level, or 60 feet, where it could be detected by potential enemies. At present, submarines use an underwater phone to communicate with associates on top of the ice or with other submarines, but those devices are little more than tin cans on a string and work only at shorter distances. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

15. A congressional delegation and the Secretary of the Navy walk around the Seawolf class submarine USS Connecticut after the boat surfaced through through Arctic sea ice during an exercise near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. The new digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system built by Raytheon Co could revolutionize how military commanders stay in touch with submarines all over the world, allowing them to alert a submarine about an enemy ship on the surface or a new mission, without it needing to surface to periscope level, or 60 feet, where it could be detected by potential enemies. At present, submarines use an underwater phone to communicate with associates on top of the ice or with other submarines, but those devices are little more than tin cans on a string and work only at shorter distances. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

16. Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLS) employee Keith Magness uses a chainsaw to cut through ice on the hatches of the Seawolf class submarine USS Connecticut after the boat surfaced through Arctic sea ice during an exercise near the 2011 APLS camp north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. The new digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system built by Raytheon Co could revolutionize how military commanders stay in touch with submarines all over the world, allowing them to alert a submarine about an enemy ship on the surface or a new mission, without it needing to surface to periscope level, or 60 feet, where it could be detected by potential enemies. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

17. Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLS) employee Keith Magness uses a chainsaw to cut through ice on the hatches of the Seawolf class submarine USS Connecticut after the boat surfaced through Arctic sea ice during an exercise near the 2011 APLS camp north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. The new digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system built by Raytheon Co could revolutionize how military commanders stay in touch with submarines all over the world, allowing them to alert a submarine about an enemy ship on the surface or a new mission, without it needing to surface to periscope level, or 60 feet, where it could be detected by potential enemies. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

18. U.S. Navy safety swimmers stand on the deck of the Virginia class submarine USS New Hampshire after it surfaced through thin ice during exercises underneath ice, in the Arctic Ocean north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 19, 2011. Using a new low-frequency messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the camp were able to help the USS New Hampshire find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. The new digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system built by Raytheon Co could revolutionize how military commanders stay in touch with submarines all over the world, allowing them to alert a submarine about an enemy ship on the surface or a new mission, without it needing to surface to periscope level, or 60 feet, where it could be detected by potential enemies. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

19. A participant in the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station uses a pick to dig fresh Arctic ice for drinking water north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

20. Steam rises from seawater through a crack in the Arctic ice near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

21. A participant in the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, pushes a generator towards a refueling station March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

22. A plane takes off from an ice runway near the Applied Physics Lab Ice Station to return to Prudhoe Bay in the Arctic north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

23. A man carries an ice auger to a remote warming station near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

24. Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS) employee Keith Magness (L) watches as U.S. Navy postgraduate researcher Lt. Brandon Schmidt works to prepare a hole in the Arctic ice that will allow sonar instrumentation to be used for research at the 2011 APLIS camp north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

25. The sun sets over Arctic ice near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

26. Buildings making up the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station are seen on Arctic ice north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

27. Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLS)employee Hector Castillo waits for the hatches of the Seawolf class submarine USS Connecticut to be cut free after the submarine surfaced through Arctic sea ice during an exercise near the 2011 APLS camp north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. The new digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system built by Raytheon Co could revolutionize how military commanders stay in touch with submarines all over the world, allowing them to alert a submarine about an enemy ship on the surface or a new mission, without it needing to surface to periscope level, or 60 feet, where it could be detected by potential enemies. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

28. An Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station employee carries a shotgun as he guards against polar bears near the Seawolf-class submarine USS Connecticut after the boat surfaced through through Arctic sea ice during an exercise north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

29. Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS) employee Nick Michel-Hart (L) and U.S. Navy graduate school researcher Lt. Brandon Schmidt dig a hole to hang sonar instrumentation for research at the 2011 APLIS camp north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

30. US Navy sailor Harold Brown watches as he waits for the Seawolf class submarine USS Connecticut to surface through Arctic sea ice during an exercise near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in this March 18, 2011 picture. Using a digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the camp were able to help the USS New Hampshire submarine find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

31. Two participants in the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station walk across the Arctic ice north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

32. A helicopter moves a remote warming station near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

33. Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS) employees wait for a meal inside of the mess tent at the 2011 APLIS camp north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in this March 18, 2011 picture. Using a digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the camp last Saturday were able to help the submarine find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

34. Workers walk towards a helicopter after delivering supplies to a remote warming station near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in this March 18, 2011 picture. Using a digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the camp were able to help the USS New Hampshire submarine find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

35. Workers use a radio to verify their position after delivering supplies to a remote warming station near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in this March 18, 2011 picture. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

36. Participants in the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe ay, Alaska carry supplies that are to be delivered to a remote warming station, in this March 18, 2011 picture. Using a digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the camp were able to help the USS New Hampshire submarine find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

37. Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS) employees Keith Magness (C) and Nick Michel-Hart (L) work to clear ice from a hole as US Navy postgraduate researchers Lt. Brandon Schmidt (2nd L) and Lt. George Suh prepare to insert sonar instrumentation that will be used for research at the 2011 APLIS camp north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in this March 18, 2011 picture. Using a digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the camp were able to help the USS New Hampshire submarine find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

38. A congressional delegation walks to inspect arctic ice as they wait for the Seawolf class submarine USS Connecticut to surface near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in this March 18, 2011 picture. Using a digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the camp were able to help the USS New Hampshire submarine find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

39. The sun sets over Arctic ice near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in this March 18, 2011 picture. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

40. Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS) employee Fred Schultz warms himself between jobs inside of the mess tent at the 2011 APLIS camp north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in this March 18, 2011 picture. Using a digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the camp were able to help the USS New Hampshire submarine find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

41. Congressman Andrew Crenshaw (R - FL) surveys ice structures in the Arctic near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in this March 18, 2011 picture. Using a digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the camp were able to help the USS New Hampshire submarine find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

42. The moon rises behind a fake North Pole marker near the Applied Physics Lab Ice Station in the Arctic north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

43. A urinating station is lit by the sunrise at the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in this March 18, 2011 picture. Using a digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the camp were able to help the USS New Hampshire submarine find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

44. A man urinates into a box as the sun sets over Arctic ice near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in this March 18, 2011 picture. Using a digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the camp were able to help the USS New Hampshire submarine find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

45. The sun sets over Arctic ice near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in this March 18, 2011 picture. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

46. Wind patterns are left in the ice pack that covers the Arctic Ocean north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

47. Wind patterns are left in the ice pack that covers the Arctic Ocean north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

48. Ice crystals are seen at the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

49. Reuters photographer Lucas Jackson takes a self portrait as ice forms on his facial hair while working near the Applied Physics Lab Ice Station in the Arctic north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

50. A helicopter flies over Arctic ice towards the Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLS) during an exercise near the 2011 APLS camp north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in this March 18, 2011 picture. Using a digital Deep Siren tactical messaging system and a simpler underwater telephone, officials from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory at the camp were able to help the USS New Hampshire submarine find a relatively ice-free spot to surface and evacuate a sailor stricken with appendicitis. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson