GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL: MICHAEL ORDMAN

Posted By on August 30th, 2015

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Treatment slows onset of Alzheimer’s.   (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Avraham Pharmaceuticals announced successful interim results in a Phase 2b clinical trial of ladostigil, for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Fewer MCI patients using ladostigil for 2 years progressed to Alzheimer’s than those using the placebo.
 
Detecting lung cancer mutations in the genes.   (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Rosetta Genomics has just had approval from the New Jersey Department of Health, for its OncoGxSelect diagnostic test for lung cancer.  The test detects genetic mutations responsible for the tumors and help clinicians make relevant treatment decisions.
 
A device to treat Peripheral Artery Disease.   (TY Atid-EDI) Eximo has developed a patented hybrid catheter, which is connected to a pulsed laser system, for the treatment of blocked arteries associated with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD).  PAD affects 8-12 million Americans.  Eximo has just received $1.6 million of funding.
 
Restoring eyesight in Kyrgyzstan.  A group of Israeli doctors restored the eyesight of 90 adults and children in Kyrgyzstan thanks to Israeli-Jewish Eye from Zion volunteer organization.  The doctors performed cornea surgery, plastic surgery and removed tumors and cataracts.  Many patients had been blind for years. 
 
How to check if your baby is healthy.   Israel Technion Professor Eli Ben-Sasson and his wife Ayelet have developed an online community (CROINC (CROwd-based INteractive Clustering)) where parents can share information about their child’s development – and compare it to actual scientific and medical facts.
 
HIV is six times less in Israel.   (TY Nevet) Due to circumcision, the annual incidence of HIV infection in Israeli men is on average six times lower than that of the Netherlands and France and for women it is ten times lower.  The Health Ministry study was published in the Israel Journal of Health Policy Research.
 
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
 
The 2015 World Science Conference in Israel.   The WSCI 2015 World Science Conference Israel in Jerusalem not only had 15 Nobel Prize winners under one roof, it also featured Magic, Science, Technology and lots of inspiration.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtCwwQLdn_A
 
Israeli medical startup wins global competition.   Israel’s DiACardio has won the 2015 Shengjing Global Innovation Award in Beijing China.  DiACardio has developed revolutionary software to decode echocardiograms.  Another Israeli startup, Wayerz, came fifth.  All 5 finalists receive $200,000 prize money.
 
Net Zero Energy communities.   Ben Gurion University of the Negev has received an EU Horizon 2020 grant to develop a “Zero Plus” system that preserves energy in buildings.  BGU will then implement four projects across Europe to turn Net Zero Energy (NZE) buildings into NZE communities.
 
Genes that are natural insecticides. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Evogene has used its BiomeMiner computational discovery platform to identify microbial genes with insecticidal properties.  EvoGene will now validate the genes’ insect control properties against some of the world’s worst agricultural pests.
 
Missile protection for the world’s aircraft.   (TY Atid-EDI) Many readers will have seen the video of the C-MUSIC directed infra-red countermeasures (DIRCM) system from Israel’s Elbit that repels terrorist missiles launched at commercial airliners.  Recent international demand for the system is simply phenomenal.
 
Israel and US sign space collision prevention pact.   (TY Nevet) Israel’s Defense Ministry and US Strategic Command (USSTATCOM) have signed a new cooperation arrangement to prevent satellites and other objects colliding in space. The Space Situational Awareness (SSA) agreement will ensure safe spaceflight operations.
 
Preventing evaporation and much more.   I featured the Israeli “Top-up” water-saving spheres previously in Sep 2014.  The company that makes them has just renamed itself from “Top-It-Up” to “NeoTop” and is launching its 2nd generation of product, preventing algae, and even deterring birds from fish farms and airports.
 
5 minutes to recharge an electric car.   (TY Michelle & Nevet) Israel’s StoreDot has promised that by May 2016 it will be able to recharge an electric vehicle from zero to 100% in 5 minutes.  StoreDot is famous for its 30-second cellphone recharging technology, which the company says will be on the market in mid-2016.
 
Agro-tech for the Philippines.   (TY Michelle) Davao City, the 4th largest city in the Philippines, is planning a greenhouse model using Israeli technology to increase food production.  A 1,000sqm greenhouse using Israeli technology can produce 25,000 kilos of tomatoes compared to 4,000 kilos on the same size of open land.
 
Making fashion shopping less frustrating.   (TY Michelle) Israel’s Liat Zakay has developed Donde – an app that uses artificial intelligence to trawl over 6,000 major retailers, classifying fashion images into color, length, neckline etc. Users select an item and filter by anything from hemline and pattern to brands and price ranges.
 
 
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
 
High-speed Jerusalem-Tel Aviv link gets on track.   (TY Atid-EDI) Israel Railways has begun laying the tracks of the high-speed railway line between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv – the first in Israel to run on electricity.  The 56km link will have five tunnels, eight bridges and cost around NIS 7 billion (about $1.85 billion).
 
Work starts on Tel Aviv light railway.   (TY Atid-EDI) Construction of the Tel Aviv light rail system has officially begun.  Workers started excavations near the Allenby Street-Yehuda Halevi Street intersection, where one of the light rail stations will be located.  The project is expected to take six years to complete.
 
Water for 131 Indian villages.   (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s TAHAL Group signed a $74 million agreement with the Government of Karnataka State in India, for the design, construction and operation of a water supply system for 131 villages in the state.  It includes 600km of pipeline, a treatment plant and eight reservoirs.
 
Israeli firm to open start-up center in Korea.   (TY Michelle) Israeli venture capital firm Yozma is opening a campus for startups in Pangyo Valley, Gyeonggi, Korea.  It is also forming a 200 billion won ($169.3 million) start-up fund called Korea Yozma Fund.
 
India to emulate Israeli VC fund.   (TY Michelle) The Indian government has launched a venture capital (VC) fund. Dubbed the India Aspiration Fund, the 20 billion rupee ($306 million) fund hopes to emulate Israel’s Yozma program.  Today Israel has a thriving VC ecosystem.
 
Why China and Israel are doing great trade.   (TY Michelle) Here are some of the reasons why China is likes Israel.  They include China’s ambitious expansion plans and the Israeli technology to help achieve them.
 
Hi-tech dental implants get US partner.   (TY Michelle) Evolution Dental Science in Buffalo Ohio is to house the U.S. sales and distribution headquarters of Noris Medical, one of Israel’s largest manufacturers of implants and dental devices.  Noris already has operations in China, India, Russia and Italy.
 
Multimillion dollar projects in Georgia.   (TY Michelle) Tbilisi Mayor Davit Narmania promoted Georgia to 101 businessmen at the Georgia-Israel business forum.  President of the Israel-Georgia Chamber of Business Itsik Moshe confirmed several multimillion dollar projects will be implemented in Georgia in the coming months.  http://agenda.ge/news/40955/eng   http://agenda.ge/news/41130/eng
 
Israeli start-up competition goes global.   (TY Michelle) Startups have been competing in 21 countries to win one of the 21 available places on “Start Tel Aviv” – a 5-day intensive boot camp in Israel in September.  Here is the Danish winning entry.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRuK6s5De88
 
Changing unwanted foreign currency.   (TY Michelle) More about Israel’s TravelersBox – developers of the handy machines installed at airports that stop you wasting your spare change.  Redeem it from brands such as Starbucks, H&M, Skype, Paypal, iTunes, Google Play, GAP, and countless others.  Or donate it to charity.
 
US-Iranian support for Israel Bonds.   (TY Michelle) The Iranian Jewish community in Los Angeles and New York has been encouraging friends and family to invest in Israel Bonds.  Iranian Jews typically give $100 Israel Bonds for weddings, bar mitzvahs, births and other happy occasions.  http://www.jewishjournal.com/iranianamericanjews/item/l.a.s_young_iranian_jewish_professionals_hot_for_israel_bonds

 

ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
 
Women in Wireless in Israel.   (TY SDM)  The writer of this article, Stefanie Amini, founded Women In Wireless Israel to help empower women.  She concludes that the Start-up Nation encapsulates the innovative spirit typical of Israelis, inspiring and helping women incorporate Israeli culture into their work life.  
 
Haredi woman on El Al pilot course.   (TY Nevet) Nehama (full name withheld) is the first haredi woman to be accepted into El Al’s elite pilot training course.  She earned her pilot’s license in the US and had to travel back to America in order to accumulate sufficient flying hours to take the course, which begins in November.
 
One of the best places to raise your kids.   Israel has been ranked fourth in the world for expat families to bring up their children, according to the Family Life Index carried out by the Inter Nations institute.  The index ranks countries in categories such as quality, cost and availability of childcare and education.
 
20,000 tons of goods for Gaza – as usual.   I don’t report it every week, but every day over 600 trucks bring over 20,000 tons of goods into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing.  The items include medical supplies, food, construction materials and electronic devices.  Each truck is inspected to prevent smuggling terrorist supplies.
 
The IDF’s humanitarian missions.   This new video shows that beyond protecting Israel’s citizens, its soldiers embrace another role: serving a source of relief for people all over the world. From Japan to Haiti, from Nepal to the Philippines, Israel’s soldiers have worked miracles and saved lives.
 
Italian and Israeli bio-meds collaborate.   Dozens of Israeli bio-medical companies are to meet with their Italian counterparts in Milan next fall.  Collaboration between the two countries in the life sciences has been strong since Israel helped many Italian companies rebuild their R&D facilities after the 2012 earthquakes.
 
Why Israel-India relations have grown closer.   Efraim Inbar gives reasons for the improved ties between Israel and India.  They include the return to power of the BJP party; bilateral interaction in defense, intelligence, agriculture, health, science, and technology; increased Indian economic power and less global Arab influence.
 
Water summits in the USA.   The JNF is holding water summits in ten US cities to share Israel’s technological advancements and amazing accomplishments in water resources.  Israeli experts will speak in Albany, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego and Washington DC.
 
Israel’s contributions to the world.   Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the Israeli pavilion at Expo 2015 in Milan that millions around the world have personally benefited from Israel’s advances.  Israel shared its water and agricultural technology, benefiting millions in India, China, Latin America and Africa.
 
 


 
 
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
 
Music to our ears.   The 18th Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival takes place Sep 3 – 12 2015. Musicians from all over the world will perform new compositions, rarely performed works, as well as popular chamber music works.  http://www.midnighteast.com/mag/?p=32181
 
Classic cars in a young state.   Israeli members of the 5 Club, Israel’s largest antique car club, met in a parking lot in Ness Ziona, south of Tel Aviv to show off their restored motor-vehicle marvels. They included Jaguars, Corvettes, Oldsmobiles and a 1967 Ford Anglia, first produced when the UK declared war on Hitler in 1939.
 
Israeli cycling team joins USA Pro Challenge.   “Cycling Academy” is the first Israeli team to enter America’s top cycling event – the USA Pro Challenge – America’s equivalent of the Tour de France.  In its first year, Cycling Academy has won stages of the Tour d’Azerbaijan, the Tour de Berlin and the Visegrad 4.
 
Maccabi Tel Aviv reach Euro Champions League.   Israeli soccer champions Maccabi Tel Aviv have won through to the Champion League group stage where they meet Chelsea, Porto and Dynamo Kiev. Tel Aviv beat Swiss champions FC Basle in the 3rd qualifying round; Eran Zahavi scored his 7th goal of the competition.
 
Israeli triple jumper wins silver in World Championships.   Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko became the first-ever Israeli woman (and the second Israeli) to win a World Championships athletics silver medal when she came second in the triple jump in China.  Her second round jump of 14.78 meters broke the Israeli record.
 
Israeli wins world judoka bronze.   Israel’s Golan Pollack won the bronze medal in the under 66kg category at the World Judo Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan.  The 23-year-old (23rd in the world) beat Davaadorj of Mongolia by landing a yuko with just 5 seconds.  See the video for Pollack’s patriotic reaction at 6:15 mins.
 
 
THE JEWISH STATE
 
108 Ukrainian Jews fly to freedom.   The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews brought 108 Jews from war-torn Ukraine to make a new start in the land of their spiritual forefathers.  They were welcomed at Ben-Gurion Airport by members of the IDF, with Israeli flags, balloons, and warm greetings.
 
Free summer camps for children of French Olim.   Bnei Akiva, aided by the Immigrant Absorption Ministry and the AMI association for French Olim, are holding free summer camps for the many recently arrived French children. Funds were raised by the camp counselors through public events, car washing and other initiatives.
 
A safe and fun place to visit.   (TY Nevet) Julie Bort recently spent a week in Israel and wants everyone to know that it is extremely easy and safe to travel there, even if you’re an American non-Jewish woman traveling alone who doesn’t speak or read Hebrew.  http://www.businessinsider.com/israel-travel-for-americans-2015-8
 
Dolphin rescued at Acre beach.   An exhausted dolphin surprised swimmers at an Acre beach when it was found on the rocks.  Lifeguards, the district veterinarian, naval police and the Shavei Zion diving club all helped rescue the dolphin and transport it for medical treatment by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
 
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