​Approximately 30% of medical scientific articles are fake ● China will use satellites for the first time to protect nature reserves ● 18th century Indian sword became the most expensive sword in the world

About 30% of scientific medical articles are fake

The problem is not new. There is a percentage Because they have been talking about the publication of fake scientific articles for many years. In fact, the pressure placed on researchers or those who wish to do research to relentlessly publish research has often led to desperate measures. A proper theft.

In this regard, a group of German researchers used artificial intelligence to identify certain patterns that are repeated in the case of questionable studies that are submitted for publication in specialized journals. In this case, we were talking exclusively about medical articles, especially neuroscience.

At least 5,000 articles published in 2020 alone were subjected to this test, and the AI ​​said that 28% of them were fake. Given that the number of profile studies published in 2020 was about 1.3 million, we do a simple calculation and see that about 300,000 studies are not what they should be.

Even taking into account that AI can still make mistakes, of the roughly 100 studies reported by AI, only 37 can be genuine. As the authors noted, this study concerns purely articles in the field of medicine. Who knows how many fakes there might be in all other fields?

It is known that the publishing business has become an extremely profitable business for some. So all kinds of dubious publications appeared on the market, which published anything for a fee. The problem is that some studies manage to make it through the rigors of peer-reviewed publications. Here are good passes for these. And the steps to retract such pseudo-research can be extremely complex.

It is clear that a system is needed that would clean and filter the articles that are submitted for publication as much as possible. The current one is clearly not working properly. Only innovations went in the opposite direction. This is only to mention ChatGPT, which has made the process of detecting fakes even more difficult than it was before.

China will use satellites for the first time to protect nature reserves

The government of Beijing is the first in the world to use satellites to monitor protected natural areas in order to prevent their illegal exploitation. A model that some environmental organizations say they would like to see implemented in as many countries as possible. Few people know that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) named China the third most biodiverse country in the world. This means approximately 2,750 nature reserves and protected areas, as well as hundreds of species of plants and animals that live only here in their natural environment. I would only think of panda bears, Tibetan macaques or tigers in southern China.

The entire area occupied by reserves or protected areas is about 3 million square kilometers, or at least 30% of China’s territory. Plus 150,000 square kilometers of marine territories. It goes without saying that it would take an army of people to cover all that surface.

To facilitate the mission, China has already launched at least 30 satellites that use an algorithm to detect any changes occurring in any of the protected areas. As an example, all activities related to deforestation, illegal construction, illegal mining, etc. will be closely monitored.

This information has already been published in the journal Nature, and many have called it commendable. But there is also a problem. China will not release all the information it receives through satellites. And it interferes. Especially scientists who know that a map of protected areas has already been created, some red lines have already been drawn, but it is not known what exactly. And this can lead, they say, to discretionary actions of officials, which, in fact, will complicate the work of researchers.

An Indian sword of the 18th century became the most expensive sword in the world

The sword of the famous Indian sultan named Tipu, who ruled the southern Indian kingdom with an iron hand in the second half of the 18th century, has become the most expensive sword in the world after it was bought at an auction in London for 14 billion pounds. This despite the fact that the price that the auction house hoped to receive was seven times lower.

The object of great historical value is actually just one of the swords of the famous Indian chief who fought against the British, who was the first to use artillery shells against them and who died in 1799 defending his fortress from Siringapatam.

British soldiers who then entered his bedroom found a matching sword there, which is why it has since been called the “sword of the Sultan’s bedroom”. What is certain is that Tipu slept with it and two collectible pistols, and that he never used it in combat.

Made of Wootz steel, an Indian steel similar to Damascus, and equipped with a gold hilt inlaid with several inscriptions in Persian (as is the blade), the sword was modeled after a German one brought to India by Europeans in the 16th century. Although it belongs to the realm of legend, it is said that the sword was so well made that it could easily cut through the armor of the time. Now no, we shouldn’t believe everything they say either.

Significantly, however, this sword was presented to British General David Baird as a token of appreciation for the courage with which he led the troops that killed Tipu Sultan. It subsequently changed hands countless times, until a few years ago it ended up in the possession of Indian businessman Vijay Vittal Mallya, whom India is still trying to extradite from Britain to face trial for all sorts of crimes.

Mallya reportedly sold the sword for a small sum in 2018 on the grounds that it brought him bad luck. As expected, Bonhams auction house, which organized the auction, did not provide information about either the previous owner or the current one. As for returning the heritage site, you know what the English are like.

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