GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL: MICHAEL ORDMAN
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Immune cells prevent and cause brain degeneration. Weizmann Institute’s Professor Michal Schwartz and her team have discovered that immune cells at the edge of the brain travel an extraordinary route to repair brain trauma. In the elderly, the cells no longer do their function, which could open up new treatments for dementia.
Immune cells fight or cause liver disease. Sounds familiar? Professor Rifaat Safadi’s team from Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem has identified that the normal function of Neuroliglin 4 in the immune system is to fight cirrhosis of the liver. But in patients with Hepatitis or alcoholics, the cell changes and attacks the liver.
Sweetner could treat Parkinson’s. Researchers from Tel Aviv University have found that the sugar substitute mannitol protects the brain against the effects of Parkinson’s disease. Laboratory trials are to be completed before human clinical trials can commence.
Pediatrician delivers baby in elevator. On her way to give a lecture at Kaplan Medical Center Dr. Hanni Olivestone found a woman in labor in a public bathroom. She took the woman in a wheelchair to the delivery room but as they entered the elevator, the baby’s head emerged.
Top US award for Israeli cancer specialist. The American Association for Cancer Research has awarded Professor Alexander Levitzki of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem its 2013 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research. It recognizes Prof Levitzki’s work on signal transduction therapy and the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors as effective agents against cancer.
Repairing the damage from acne. (Thanks to Atid-EDI) Israel’s Syneron Medical is launching its unique bi-polar fractional radio-frequency (RF) energy device to remove acne scars. 22% of adults 18 years and older are adversely affected by acne scars and 77% of them want a low-cost, quick and painless way to remove them.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Israeli hospitals treat hundreds of Gazans. Siblings Ahmad and Hadil Hamdan from Gaza both suffer from chronic kidney disease. For a few days each month, they receive dialysis treatment at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel. “Before I came here, I couldn’t breathe or walk. My situation was really bad,” said Hadil. In 2012, Rambam Medical Center alone treated nearly 400 children from Gaza.
Muslim heads Hadassah’s emergency medicine. 57-year-old cardiologist Dr. Aziz Darawshe is the new director of the emergency department at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, and chairman of the Israel Society for Urgent Medicine. Dr Darawshe lives in the Arab village of Iksal, near Nazareth.
Israel gives Turkey safe passage. Transportation of Turkish exports has been severely hampered by the Syrian crisis and riots in Egypt’s Port Said. So the Israeli government is allowing Turkish trucks to enter Israel from Haifa and then travel over the ElKhalil Bridge to Jordan. About 100 trucks a week use this route.
Tmura shares its shares. Here is an update and new video about Israel’s charity that receives donated shares from start-ups and sells them when the start-up is successful. When CISCO bought Intucell, Tmura gained $400,000, which goes to support educational initiatives and youth opportunities. These include AMICHAI (integrates mentally disabled), Krembo Wings (special needs children) and Eliya (programs for blind and visually impaired children and their families).
Israeli model saves leukemia sufferer. Israeli actress and model Agam Rudberg donated bone marrow in an effort to save the life of a woman with leukemia who urgently needed a transplant. Agam was automatically added to the national bone marrow donor registry Ezer Mizion in 2005 when she was drafted into the IDF. The transplant was successful.
Israel commemorates World Downs Syndrome Day. More than 400 participants came to Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center at Mt Scopus, Jerusalem for World Down Syndrome Day. Israel and Singapore established the event in 2006 and it was subsequently adopted by the United Nations internationally.
65 ways Israel is saving the planet. (Thanks to Israel21c) To celebrate Israel’s 65th Independence Day, here is Israel21c’s list of the top 65 solutions that Israel has provided to some of the world’s most pressing problems.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Israel and Technion are top innovators. Massachusetts Institute of Technology conducted a survey of 61 experts from 20 countries who voted Israel’s Technion as the world’s sixth highest in the league chart of entrepreneurship and innovation in higher education institutions. Israel came third in the national chart.
A robot milking machine. Israeli agri-tech start-up MiRobot has developed “the greatest thing to happen in dairy farming in 100 years” – an automated milking machine. At a fraction of the cost of competitors, MiRobot is finishing the development of a working demo and seeking to raise funds in order to go into full production.
Hear what your friends are listening to. (Thanks to NoCamels) Israeli startup ListNPlay has developed an app called EQuala that enables users to create a personalized music stream based on the musical tastes of their friends. It is claimed to be the first true social radio.
The answer in 10 seconds. Companies using computer software from Israel’s SiSense can analyze their massive files of business data in seconds to provide answers to key business intelligence questions. SiSense has customers in 49 countries and has just raised funds to grow its sales and support teams.
Ships that pass in the night. Israeli security company Windward Maritime Solutions combines satellite imagery with intelligence data to spot vessels with potentially dangerous cargos or suspicious intentions.
Finding a needle in a haystack. Israeli start-up SphereUp has developed a smart contact search which can find anyone on a website, contact database, or any other information source. The search is nearly instantaneous, eliminates duplicates and displays only the relevant data.
The Agri-tech road-show. Five Israeli agriculture technology start-ups are shortly to tour the US, seeking investors. They include use SolChip (solar powered livestock tracking sensors), EdenShield (natural herbs to prevent insect infestation of plants) and MiRobot (robot milking machine – see above).
The future is aluminum. More details about the evolutionary aluminum-air battery of the Israeli-based technology company Phinergy. It powers an electric vehicle (EV) for up to 1,000 miles (1600 km) before needing a recharge – three times longer than existing EVs. It certainly impressed US President Obama.
And yet another innovative battery. Tel Aviv’s Enstorage has produced the first ever grid-connected Hydrogen-Bromine (HBr) flow battery. The 50 KW battery provides up to 100 KWh of energy. It is the cheapest, smallest and most powerful flow batteries on the market.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Israel invests NIS 3 billion in water. (Thanks to Atid-EDI) More than NIS 3 billion was invested in Israel’s water infrastructures in 2012. The increased desalination and recycling facilities means Israel’s water supply is now in a position to meet future crises.
First Budapest and now Bucharest. Just four months after launching flights from Tel Aviv to Hungary’s capital, low-cost airline Wizz Air has announced a new route – from Tel Aviv to the capital of Romania. Wizz Air says that its decision comes in response to the enthusiastic reception shown by customers in Tel Aviv.
$400 million for CyOptics. In another massive exit deal, Israeli optical transmission company Cyoptics has been bought up by Nasdaq listed Avago Technologies. CyOptics’ customers include governments and some of the world’s biggest companies and tripled its sales in the past three years to $210 million in 2012.
One in six US prescriptions are for Teva products. The CEO of Israel’s largest biotech has been speaking out proudly of Teva’s moral principles. Jeremy Levin said, “We are an Israeli company, and we will remain an Israeli company.” At our Ashdod plant, whilst people (in Gaza) fire rockets, we make medicines.
The shekel is the strongest currency. Of the 31 currencies monitored by Bloomberg, Israel’s shekel had the best performance in the first three months of 2013. Reasons include Israel’s stable growth and anticipation of the favorable economic impact of new natural gas flowing from the Tamar field.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Reality “check”. (Thanks to Ted Belman) The Israeli Chess Championships 2013 for men and women are taking place in April in Acre. Of the 32 registered players for the men’s event, no less than 16 are Grandmasters.
“What the world needs now is love”. It sure does – and the composer of that song, Burt Bacharach, is coming to Israel to perform some of his 70 top 40 hits. There will be some “Magic Moments” at the Zappa Shuni Amphitheater in Binyamina on July 2nd. “Say a little prayer” if you get tickets, but don’t “Walk on by”.
Sonic Vision hits Tel Aviv. Sonic Vision is an amazing light show, transferring visitors from Tel Aviv into a 360-degree party, through sound, light, and music. It takes place at the Planetarium at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv until April 27. The show lasts around forty minutes.
“Hope” for Yom Haatzmaut. Here it is – the Fountainheads new video and song for Israel’s 65th birthday.
THE JEWISH STATE
Hiking in the Eshkol forest. Another beautiful video from newsletter subscribers Shmuel and Chana who run Villa Rimona in the Galilee.
Talking in the holy language. Young members of the Religious Zionist kibbutz movement are to spend Shabbat on the Hareidi Kibbutz Or Ganuz. Despite ideological differences, it is hoped that discussions and mutual learning will benefit both groups and increase cooperation among agricultural settlements.
Happy 65th birthday. Great article by David Harris containing details of Israel’s history of achievements.
65 things we love about Israel in 65 seconds. See how many you love. I could add about 65,000 more!
2000 year-old ritual bath discovered. Archaeologists have discovered a mikvah (ritual bath) from the second Temple period. It was found during excavations prior to paving a highway in Kiryat Menachem, near Jerusalem. The water system is one of the most intricate ever discovered – preserving every drop of rainwater.
State archives go on-line. In honor of Israel’s 65th Independence Day, the State Archives have been digitized and put on line. Content includes the first Independence Day celebrations, the 1948 War of Independence, the Six Day War, life in immigrant camps, the Eichman trial and many immigrant and census records.
Shining bright for 65 years. (Thanks to Israel21c) A fast-moving collage of hundreds of beautiful photos of the Jewish State. Accompanied by an inspiring song.
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