Ahead of the operation the cells are kept frozen to preserve them, but the freezing process can damage the cells because it produces sharp ice crystals.
Of course the first major challenge of our effort has been getting to Bhutan, along with overweight luggage filled with sharp ice axes and crampons, massive GPS antennas, rock drills, hammers, chisels and personal cold-weather gear and clothes.
Many hardy plants have a clever way around this problem: they use antifreeze: they produce excess sucrose and other organic compounds that stop the water from forming those razor sharp ice crystals in their cells.
Feelings like the ones voiced by Mohammed T. Abboud, a clerk at a Harlem bodega, who remembers the jittery days of high crime when he kept a sharp ice pick in the change drawer of his cash register.
"They didn't even have a proper ice pack and instead gave us a food bag full of sharp ice, it was ridiculous".
Such deep cold can sap the starter battery and the howling winds can press sharp ice crystals deep into the engine's tubes and wires.
