Reports of the demise of the Fintech sector may be somewhat premature, based on the optimistic mood prevailing at last week's Intersekt Festival, hosted by Fintech Australia.Despite many (or most) Fintechs doing it tough, there was still much to share and celebrate across a program covering the latest Fintech innovations.Fintech Editor, Ben Ford, appeared on the Fintech Chatter podcast discussing the hot topics arising from the two-day conference, as well as some of the other major talking points (beginning at 11 minutes).https://tieronepeople.com/2022/09/13/intersekt-review-2022/
Dutch company KWS partnered with Wavin and Total to develop PlasticRoad – a prefabricated, modular roadway made from recycled plastic. The modular fitted pieces make it 70% faster to build whilst the plastic hollow design makes it four times lighter than asphalt.The hollow design also allows for pipes and cables to be installed without extensive digging and has the capacity to store excess water during storms and floods. The trial phase began this September with the opening of a bike path in the Netherlands.See https://www.volkerwessels.com/en/projects/plasticroad
Collectively rare diseases are very common when you add them all up because there are many thousands of them and 80% of those rare diseases have a genetic basis. A solution works in a similar way to the Covid vaccine made by AstraZeneca. It uses a harmless virus to take a genetic message into the body. And that vector system is used to then ferry that genetic payload intravenously to the liver where it takes up residence, and hopefully, after a single injection, corrects that person's genetic abnormality for the rest of their life. https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/healthreport/gene-therapy-rare-diseases/101405506
