www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com
At the site see a photo is of Israel’s Walter Bingham, the world’s oldest journalist, who celebrated his 100th birthday by skydiving over Israel.
Bravo to Walter Bingham! Nothing can match his view, but on the ground, nothing can match the stories of Israeli resilience, creativity, and contributions even during wartime delivered weekly by Michael Ordman. rsk
POSITIVE NEWS IN A WAR
He absorbed a bomb but didn’t give up. (TY UWI) Amichay Shindler saved his family by absorbing a bomb planted by Hamas terrorists outside the door to their safe room. Ten months and one prosthetic hand later, it is still not clear how he is alive today. His wife Avital manages a group for the wives of injured Israeli reservists.
https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/08/07/he-never-gives-up-how-one-israelis-miraculous-oct-7-survival-inspired-support-soldiers-families/
Soldier’s recovery and mission. (TY UWI & I24 News) Captain Israel Ben Shitrit, a reservist serving in Khan Yunis, tells his story and future plans. A Hamas terrorist hit his unit with an RPG and he was badly wounded. After three and a half months in rehabilitation, he declares that he is proud to be a Captain in the IDF.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1ivSSk2J7c
Wounded soldier returns to his tank. In Nov 2023 IDF tank crewman Sergeant Aharon Shmuel Bryce was severely wounded by a Hamas-fired RPG missile that hit his tank. After 10 months of surgeries, reconstructions and rehabilitation, he has returned to serve in Gaza in the very same tank that he was injured in.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395922
Druze girl recovers after Hezbollah attack. Kai Marai, the 11-year-old Druze girl, most seriously wounded in the July 27 Hezbollah rocket attack on the Golan Heights, regained consciousness on Aug 13 surprising doctors at Haifa’s Rambam children’s hospital. Kai’s mother thanked the medical team for saving her daughter’s life.
https://www.jns.org/doctors-surprised-by-rapid-recovery-of-11-year-old-druze-girl-badly-hurt-in-hezbollah-attack/
Oct 7 survivor receives her medical degree. Elai Hogeg Golan awoke from a coma 51 days after Hamas terrorists firebombed her home on Oct 7. In May she received her medical degree at an emotional ceremony. She is now finishing her medical internship at Sheba Medical Center, while receiving rehabilitation treatment.
https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/bjoe4ijqr
A nation of superheroes. Rony Ben-Zvi Elimelech is completing her doctorate at Israel’s Technion Institute. She is also a mother of two boys, ages 6 years and 16 months, and chief executive officer of Wisemama, which supports women who are combining parenthood and academic studies. Then she was called up for reserve duty.
https://ats.org/our-impact/rony-ben-zvi-elimelech-israel-is-a-nation-of-superheroes/
Cooking up resilience. Israel’s Technion Institute held a hackathon, attended by 140 science students, who worked with mental health experts to develop solutions to improve mental resilience. The winning team developed a technology to treat post-traumatic stress disorder through cooking, using a virtual reality headset.
https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2024/07/technology-for-mental-resilience/
US doctor volunteered and then made Aliyah. In Nov, cardiothoracic anesthesiologist Dr. Eugene Rapaport volunteered for two weeks at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center, treating some unique injuries and diverse patients. Then in June he realized his dream and made Aliyah through Nefesh b’Nefesh. A fascinating article.
https://www.jns.org/us-doctor-makes-aliyah-after-volunteering-to-treat-oct-7-victims/
Volunteers make a difference. (TY Yanky) Angie Jacobs and Naomi Frankel write about their experiences as volunteers on Kibbutzim, Moshavim, Army bases, children’s homes and more. They really made a difference.
https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/i-needed-to-make-a-difference-why-we-went-to-israel-to-volunteer/
Making chocolates under fire. (TY Rhoda) Rhoda’s great-niece Chana Koenig shows typical Israeli resilience by making gourmet chocolates (without preservatives) in Nahariya, northern Israel. For the last 11 months, she has endured near-incessant aerial attacks by Hezbollah from exploding UAVs and rocket fire.
https://davebender.substack.com/p/from-rockets-to-rosh-hashana-an-israeli (link in article is incorrect)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5yO41eBStU https://www.cacaohagalil.co.il/ (link here is correct)
A wish comes true. Miri and her fiancé Roy are both IDF reserve officers and had to postpone their wedding several times due to the war. When they finally fixed the date, they pleaded on Instagram for help getting Miri’s paralyzed, holocaust-survivor grandfather Kim to attend. Thanks to Israel’s Wish Ambulance, he got there.
https://israfan.com/p/wish-ambulance-reunites-holocaust-survivor-at-wedding
https://www.mdais.org/en/activities/wish-ambulance
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Positive early results of heart repair trial. Israel’s Endospan (see here previously) shared good early news from the trial on 22 patients of its Nexus Aortic Arch Stent Graft System. The trial is being extended to 110 patients. 120,000+ patients suffer thoracic aortic arch disease every year in the USA and Europe.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240130700861/en/Endospan-Releases-Early-TRIOMPHE-IDE-Study-Results-at-Society-of-Thoracic-Surgeons
Detecting high risk of pulmonary embolism. Researchers at Ben Gurion University and Israel’s Sheba Medical Center used AI to detect nearly 2,000 patients at high risk of developing a pulmonary embolism (lung blood clot). Sheba used the BGU algorithm to analyze the records of 46,000 patients who were admitted to ER.
https://nocamels.com/2024/08/sheba-study-ai-can-spot-patients-at-risk-of-pulmonary-embolism/
https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e48595
Non-invasive cancer treatment. Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have developed a sonodynamic cancer therapy – ultrasound that targets sensitive nanoparticles accumulated in the cancerous tissue to treat deep-seated tumors. It destroys tumors without damage to healthy cells.
https://ats.org/our-impact/technion-researchers-develop-promising-treatment-for-tumors/
https://t3.technion.ac.il/technology/drug-delivery-nanoparticles/
Valve replacement startup gets approval & funds. Israel’s TruLeaf Medical has received approval from the Helsinki Committee to begin human trials of its minimally invasive Mitral Valve Replacement procedure. The Israel Innovation Authority awarded TruLeaf an additional NIS 1.5 million, to make a total of NIS 11.5 million.
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/a-new-era-in-heart-surgery–israeli-biomed-company-truleaf-medicals-two-needle-sticks-procedure-for-mitral-valve-replacement-302194644.html
Aquatic plant is good for diabetics. An Israeli clinical trial shows that diabetics who drink a beverage with the Mankai cultivated aquatic plant after meals can reduce blood sugar levels by 20%. It confirms the results of initial tests that Israel’s Ben Gurion University scientists conducted five years ago (see here previously).
https://nocamels.com/2024/08/study-aquatic-plant-reduces-blood-sugar-in-diabetics/
A better fish farm. Traditional aquatics uses the wastewater from fish farms to grow hydroponic vegetables. Now scientists at Israel’s Ben Gurion University have also made use of the solid waste from fish by means of anaerobic digestion. The new system produces biogas, higher crop yields, using less energy and less water.
https://www.bgu.ac.il/en/news-and-articles/bgu-researchers-offer-proof-of-concept-for-unique-aquaponics-system/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921344924003100?via%3Dihub
Real-time medical translator. Current and ex-students from Israel’s Technion Institute have developed CommU – a real-time language translation platform that allows doctors to converse with patients in Hebrew, English, Arabic, Russian, and most other European languages.
https://nocamels.com/2024/08/automatic-translator-breaks-language-barrier-for-doctors-patients/
https://commu.ai/
AI devices for the hard-of-hearing. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Bettear provides Auracast-based assistive listening solutions to enhance sound experience. Its B-CASTER streamer integrates with hearing aids and cochlear implants. Other products support tour guides, teachers, entertainers, and museums.
https://www.bettear.com/solutions
AI contest for Parkinson’s FOG detection. Tel Aviv University researchers ran an international contest to develop an algorithm to detect “Freeze of Gait” (FOG) in Parkinson’s sufferers, using data from 100 patients. The prize of $100,000 attracted nearly 25,000 solutions from AI researchers in 83 countries.
https://english.tau.ac.il/research/fog-detection-ai https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-49027-0
Treating and reversing DDD. Israel’s Discure Technologies is developing an implantable bioelectronic device designed to treat and reverse degenerative disc disease (DDD). The Discure System restores fluids and nutrients to the affected discs. DDD accounts for 35% of all lower back pain, at a cost of $100 billion in the US alone.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/sjvw00d62c
https://www.hcs-capital.com/portfolio/discuretechnologies/