A couple of Israeli scientists may have achieved what all the king’s horses and all the king’s men could not: Gelrin, a newly engineered gel developed by Haifa’s Technion-Israel Institute of Technology that mends bones at the molecular level and speeds healing, could have far-reaching benefits for the accident-prone. Reports J.:
With some one million orthopedic bone substitution procedures performed annually in the United States alone, Gelrin could have widespread applications. It could reduce the need for bone transplants and heal bone defects caused by cancer, trauma or age-related degeneration; be used to treat sports injuries; and aid in spinal fusion operations.
But can it put Humpty together again?

Our favorite Jewish hottie, Natalie Portman, scored the Best Supporting Actress award at last night’s Golden Globes for her role in Mike Nichols’ sexy drama Closer! This ups her chances for an Oscar nomination, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed…
(Thanks to Daily Jews for the photo that captured the moment!)

Rob Morrow, who will forever be “Fleischman” to us Northern Exposure fans, has a new series beginning next Sunday on CBS: Numb3rs features Morrow as an FBI agent who recruits his math genius brother (played by fellow J. David Krumholtz, last seen by us as another nerdy brother in Slums of Beverly Hills) to help him solve tough L.A. crimes. Rounding out the cast is Judd Hirsch as their curmudegonly (could he play it any other way?) father, making this the most Jewish non-Jewish show on television.
Oh, and in other Morrow news, we have confirmed that his daughter’s name is indeed Tu. We expect to see a reality show twelve or so years from now where Tu Morrow, Apple Paltrow and Coco Cox are sent to a celebrity boot camp for wayward teens.

Sacha Baron Cohen, aka Ali G, almost caused a riot at a Roanoke rodeo while filming an episode of his satiric tv show this week. In character as bumbling Borat the Kazakhstani, Cohen told the crowd he supported America’s war on terrorism and said “I hope you kill every man, woman and child in Iraq, down to the lizards … And may George W. Bush drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq.” He then sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” with garbled enthusiasm. The audience didn’t realize the joke was on them (they never do; see Cohen’s previous political prank) and Cohen and his crew had to be escorted off the premises before some rodeo-goer pulled a weapon.
The incident is rather encouraging, since the crowd didn’t raise their lassoes in solidarity with Borat’s message (as they did in the country-western bar when he called for all Jews to be thrown down a well), but geez, don’t they have cable in Virginia?

Prince Charles is said to be “incandescent with rage” (that’s proper English for royally pissed off) regarding his second son’s grossly inappropriate costume choice of last week and is demanding that Harry visit Auschwitz to make amends. The half-wit prince has apologized (lamely, as if caught smoking in the boys’ room) for attending a party dressed as a slacker Nazi, but hopefully he’ll find out what “sorry” really is after one of the most harrowing tours we’ve ever taken.

So, we’re glad the weird rumors about the exhumation of Bob Marley’s body and its subsequent reburial in Ethiopia have proved to be untrue. We’ve always felt a kinship with our Rastafarian brothers and sisters and some of us aren’t ashamed to admit we occasionally partake of the sacred herb to better appreciate God’s creation. And now, thanks to Jewschool, we know we’re not the only ones: He’s only written one post, but we hope to learn more from blogger Yoseph Leib’s crazy Kabbalistic exploration of the Jewish cannabis connection. Let’s just hope he’s not too big of a stoner to neglect his blog.
Wishing all a good Shabbos, however you choose to observe it.

We’ve never been huge Prince Harry fans, preferring his handsomer, smarter, better-behaved older brother, and now we we know why. His choice of costume for a “fancy dress party” plainly demonstrates that he’s retarded as well as a second-born loser. We agree with The London News Review, who calls him the “nightmheir to the throne,” and wish the royal family lotsa luck spinning this latest P.R. disaster.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center responds to Hopeless Harry’s “gaffe” with the following request:
We strongly urge Prince Harry to accompany the British delegation on 27th January to the Auschwitz death camp to commemorate 60 years since liberation. There he will see the results of the hated symbol he so foolishly and brazenly chose to wear.
We’re taking bets whether he actually goes to Poland or opts for a relaxing week in the Alps instead.

Many thanks to Jewlicious (via IsThaLegal, who saw it in a supermarket in the Dominican Republic) for providing us with our guffaw for the day.
Says ck: No, the people depicted in the ad are not Falashas. Apparently Manischewitz is very popular in the Caribbean. Go figure. Read ck’s account of the first time he met Mr. Manischewitz, then post your own cheap hangover stories.
As for ours, we remember being ten and trying to match the adults cup for cup at the family seder, which led to us changing into one of our mother’s terry-cloth tube tops and passing out under the table.

From MSNBC: An ivory pomegranate long touted by scholars as the only relic from Solomon