GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL: MICHAEL ORDMAN
www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com
—ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Another clue in the battle against Alzheimer’s. Researchers from Tel Aviv University believe they may have uncovered the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. They injected the protein Tomosyn into the brains of mice, and produced Alzheimer-like syndromes. Tomosyn exists in the brain but excess damages inter-cell communication.
Israeli post-trauma team in Boston. A team from the Israel Trauma Coalition has gone to the Boston suburb of Watertown to help develop “a recovery process” for the local school system. Watertown was the epicenter of the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers. Children in the area are still reeling from the event.
Israeli program to help children of AIDS patients. Professor Pnina Klein of Bar-Ilan University has developed an innovative in-home training program for caregivers and HIV-infected mothers. Children in their care gained significantly improved language skills, memory and cognitive abilities.
Stopping bugs in hospital beds. Reuth Medical Center in Tel Aviv announced that, following a six-month trial of Cupron’s anti-bacterial copper-embedded linens, it will be the world’s first hospital to fully deploy copper-embedded textiles in all its patient-related hospital textiles. (see current JPost blog)
Eat three Israeli dates a day. All nine varieties of dates grown in Israel are better than other varieties at helping protect those who consume them against cardiovascular diseases. Researchers from Haifa’s Rambam hospital and Israel’s Technion have proved this in a study published in the prestigious Journal of Agriculture Food Chemistry. Three dates a day reduce triglycerides and improve cholesterol.
Education for all children – even in hospital. World ORT Kadima Mada in Israel now provides educational facilities in all 35 Israeli hospitals with children’s units. The Swiss-based SASA Setton Foundation has just made a $3.2 million investment to cover youngsters at psychiatric hospitals and mental health units.
Israel’s center for MS patients. The Grabski Multiple Sclerosis Center in Migdal HaEmek is Israel’s first and only dedicated residential and outpatient center devoted exclusively to patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis. It provides a full home environment for 32 live-in patients and serves 35 daily outpatients.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Israel’s street-lab in Manhattan. 15 scientists from Israel, aged 16-18, are to present Israeli technological advancements in a “street lab” tent in Manhattan’s Union Square. The inventions include a handicapped parking protection system, a seizure-alerting cell phone app and a drunk driving prevention system.
Glowing plants. (Thanks to NoCamels.com) No need for electric street lighting in the future – the trees will glow. Israeli-American company Genome Compiler is working to synthesize the DNA of an Arabidopsis plant with genes from a firefly that cause natural luminosity.
Grasping the opportunity. (Thanks to Israel21c) Israel’s Omek Interactive has taken the new Gesture Technology to a different level in order to manipulate PC, mobile and gaming screens. Omek’s “Grasp” follows 22 points along each hand and fingers to open a whole new world of possibilities.
It’s how you say it. Voice emotion recognition developer Beyond Verbal has launched a patented technology that can extract, decode, and measure a full spectrum of human emotions from a person’s raw voice. Based on 18 years of research, its emotional detection engines understand someone’s mood and attitude as they speak.
52 Israeli designers. 52Designers is a project to showcase 52 of Israel’s most talented designers. Each week for a year a new Israeli designer will be featured.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Cooperation with China is flourishing. As Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu visits China, the Chinese Ambassador to Israel says that Israel is a stakeholder in helping China reform, open up and innovate.
And with India. Israel is to advance bilateral business, technology and economic relations with the Indian State of Karnataka. In the first-ever Research & Development agreement between Israel and an Indian state, Karnataka benefits from Israel’s innovations and Israel benefits from the Indian state’s resources.
Indian firm invests in Israeli hi-tech. Indian conglomerate Tata is contributing $5 million to Tel Aviv University’s Technology Innovation Momentum Fund. It is the largest single investment in Israel by an Indian group. TAU’s relationship with Tata, is via an India-Israel tech and business forum set up ago some years ago.
More fizz for SodaStream. Israel’s home carbonated beverages maker SodaStream International announced its profits were up 19.5% and revenue up 34% in the first quarter of 2013.
Sony invests in Israeli medical fund. Sony Corporation has invested $10 million in Rainbow Medical, which invests in the medical device inventions of serial entrepreneur Yossi Gross. Rainbow Medical will effectively function as a kind of R&D center for Sony.
The “Inside” story on Israeli Start-ups. “Business Insider” yesterday listed Israel’s 20 hottest start-ups, and praised the country’s developed start-up industry. Israel is home to some 4,800 startups. It’s also home to least two dozen accelerator/incubator programs in the Tel Aviv area, alone.
“A lean, green manufacturing machine” That’s what Israel can become, according to the Washington Post, thanks to its huge reservoirs of natural gas discovered off the coast of Israel. It is “capable of supplying cheap, clean energy to its people, factories and vehicles for a generation.”
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
The White City’s heritage. Tel Aviv celebrated exactly ten years since UNESCO proclaimed the historic zone of Tel Aviv as a World Cultural Heritage site. The White City, so named for the buildings’ white walls, is the world’s largest grouping of buildings in the International Style, also known as Bauhaus.
“Oh, Tel Aviv!” Depeche Mode’s lead singer Dave Gahan and his band delighted the 35,000 fans that flocked to their open-air HaYarkon Park concert during the second show of Depeche Mode’s Delta Machine tour.
The Bee Gees sang “Israel”. (Thanks to 12Tribe Films) It was news to me that the Bee Gees produced a song about the Jewish State in 1971. The accompanying photos are interesting, but can you spot the odd-ones-out?
Scandal hits Israel. Latest visitors to Israel included a group of American actors, who included Guillermo Diaz, Bellamy Young and Katie Lowes from TV’s presidential drama, “Scandal”. Another was Lana Parilla, who stars as the evil Queen/Regina Mills in the adventure fantasy television series, “Once Upon A Time.”
The Jerusalem anti-racist, winning team. Jerusalem soccer club Hapoel Katamon has gained promotion to the National Soccer League – Israel’s second division. Katamon was established six years ago to provide Jerusalem’s soccer-loving public, with a team built on fan-power, anti-racism and community outreach.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Gaza weekly deliveries: The Kerem Shalom crossing was closed for 3 days due to Hamas rocket firing and Gaza terrorist threats. Subsequently, 447 trucks carried 13,277 tons of goods into Gaza during the week to 4th May. On May 7th, 138 furniture items were exported from Gaza to Egypt, through the Kerem Shalom and Nitzana crossings.
Gaza toddler lives at Israeli hospital. 3-year-old Mohammed was born with a genetic disorder that required the amputation of his hands and feet. Abandoned by his parents and the Palestinian Authority, Mohammed has been at Tel Hashomer Hospital in Ramat Gan all his life with his grandfather, on funds raised by the doctors.
Cleaning up water together. Israel’s Technion is working with Al Quds University, in order to attempt to remove pharmaceutical residues from wastewater. The project, sponsored by the Shimon Peres Center for Peace, is trying to create a community of water researchers working together and visiting each other’s facilities.
PA Health minister visits Hadassah. Palestinian Authority Health Minister Hani Abdeen visited Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital – the first ever visit by a PA minister to Israel’s largest medical facility. There are some 60 Palestinian Arab doctors in residency at the hospital.
IDF saves Palestinian Arab with dry blood plasma. The Israel Defense Forces has become the first army in the world to use powdered blood products in field operations. It was given to a Palestinian Arab with internal bleeding following an auto accident. The man recovered at Hadassah Hospital and has since been discharged.
IDF clears Jordanian landmines. An Israeli specialist mine removal team has cleared dozens of landmines planted by the Jordanian army in 1967 outside the Arab village of Husan near Bethlehem. The Arab Council supported the project and visited the site each day. The mines had killed four local children previously.
Israeli cyclists raise funds for Nepalese poor. (Thanks to Israel21c) Israelis Daniel Moores and Abraham Cohen cycled 1200 km on the highest road in the world to raise over $4200 for low-income communities in Nepal. The journey from Tibet to Kathmandu in Nepal took two weeks, at altitudes up to 5000 meters.
International architects’ tour Israel. Pro-Israel organization Kinetis has brought a group of influential architects to see the Jewish State and its innovative buildings. During the trip, Portuguese architect Souta de Moura received the 2013 Wolf Prize from Israel’s President Shimon Peres.
THE JEWISH STATE
CFHU and Morgan Freeman raise $2m. Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem honored Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman, who is dedicated to combating racism and promoting knowledge and education worldwide. The event raised $2 million for the Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada.
Jerusalem is on the up. Jerusalem Day celebrated the 46th anniversary of the reunification of Israel’s capital city. Jerusalem is the largest city in Israel with 804,400 residents. There was an 11% increase in tourists last year and a 300% increase in cultural events and festivals.
Uncovering the past on Jerusalem Day. While celebrations went on above ground, new excavations underneath and around the Old City are continually being uncovered and opened to the public. Each site is peeling back the layers and expanding our understanding of key events in Jewish history.
They finally found his key. Whoever it was that lost a door key on the way to the Temple in Jerusalem about 2,000 years ago, will be pleased to know that it has been found during the construction of Jerusalem Road 21. The key will be available for collection at the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The festival of Milk and Honey. Here is a guide to some of the exciting events happening in Israel during the week that encompasses the Jewish festival of Shavuot (Pentacost). It includes the 13th annual Jezreel Valley Shavuot Milk and Honey festival, which features agricultural fairs, circus activities and organized valley tours.
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