INTELLIGENCE BRIEFS #3
Curated content from across the globe
A truly amazing medical innovation from China: bone glue -
In an unprecedented scientific advance in orthopedics, a team of Chinese researchers led by Dr. Lin Xianfeng in Zhejiang Province has developed an innovative bone glue called Bone-02, capable of joining broken bone fragments in just three minutes without the need for metal plates or screws. This biomimetic adhesive, inspired by oysters’ ability to firmly adhere in wet environments, can fix fractures even in surgical settings with abundant blood, a challenge for medical adhesives until now…..
Its application requires only a minimal incision, and the glue is directly introduced into the fractured area, sealing bone fragments in minutes. Moreover, Bone-02 is biodegradable, absorbing naturally as the bone structure regenerates, eliminating the need for secondary surgery to remove plates or screws, significantly reducing infection risks and recovery times.
China, still saddled with a reputation for copying, is now innovating in just about every tech sector. We should all be keeping an eye on that.
The decision by the governments of Britain, Canada, Australia and France to formally recognise the State of Palestine will do nothing to change the reality on the ground. The reasons are set out in this sober examination from CNN:
Formal recognition by three G7 countries – two of which are also permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – along with Portugal, Belgium and others – will mark a symbolic milestone for the Palestinian cause. But the current situation on the ground makes it almost impossible to imagine that a two-state solution, through which a sovereign Palestinian state would exist alongside Israel, could become a reality….
Yossi Mekelberg, a senior consulting fellow at the London-based think tank Chatham House and a professor of international relations, said that a Palestinian state is the furthest it has been from becoming reality since the Oslo Accords established a peace process more than three decades ago.
Recognition follows facts on the ground. Facts on the ground do not follow recognition.
Don’t look now, chaps, but…..
Implied in that warning, of course, is the inference that, at some point, Britain was ahead of Russia and China. Or, at least. level pegging. But, no. Britain has no orbital launch capacity whatsoever, whereas Russia has had that capacity since 1957 and China since 1970.
The Daily Telegraph used to be a serious media organ. What happened to it?
You may be using ChatGPT or some other AI application for whatever purpose but always remember that it is flawed and unreliable:
An imagined town in Peru, an Eiffel tower in Beijing: travellers are increasingly using tools like ChatGPT for itinerary ideas – and being sent to destinations that don’t exist.
Miguel Angel Gongora Meza, founder and director of Evolution Treks Peru, was in a rural Peruvian town preparing for a trek through the Andes when he overheard a curious conversation. Two unaccompanied tourists were chatting amicably about their plans to hike alone in the mountains to the “Sacred Canyon of Humantay”.
“They [showed] me the screenshot, confidently written and full of vivid adjectives, [but] it was not true. There is no Sacred Canyon of Humantay!” said Gongora Meza. “The name is a combination of two places that have no relation to the description. The tourist paid nearly $160 (£118) in order to get to a rural road in the environs of Mollepata without a guide or [a destination].”
Actually the misinformation could have proved fatal. Do read the whole thing, it’s hilarious.