In the 20th Jul 2014 edition of Israel’s
good news, the highlights include:
·
Two Israeli biotechs have developed
solutions to eliminate diabetes.
·
An Israeli system can train your brain
so that you can read without glasses.
·
Israeli hospitals are treating Gazan
children, UN peacekeepers and the President of Zambia.
·
An Israeli alarm system reminds
drivers not to leave their baby in a hot car.
·
Japan’s research & development
agreement with Israel is its first with any foreign country.
·
Israel beat Germany and Japan at the
Lacrosse World Cup to become world number 7.
·
Despite the rockets from Gaza, 900
Jews began new lives in Israel last week.
Page Down for more details on these and
other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Transforming liver
cells to cure type 1 diabetes. (Thanks to Israel21c) Israel’s Orgenesis is
a pioneer in the field of “cellular trans-differentiation”, a process to
transform a type 1 diabetic patient’s own liver cells into new
insulin-producing cells. Orgenesis is
partnering with Belgium’s MaSTherCell to scale up development.
Minimally invasive
implant to cure diabetes. Globes “startup of the week” is Israel’s Endobetix with its
implanted device that traps bile fluids and diverts them to another part of the
intestine. The result is lower blood
sugar without drugs or major surgery; hence no more diabetes.
Hadassah professor wins Euro Cystic
Fibrosis award.
Professor Eitan Kerem, MD, Chief of Pediatrics at Israel’s Hadassah
University Medical Center, is the recipient of the prestigious 2014 European
Cystic Fibrosis Society (ECFS) Award, for his research and contribution towards
further understanding and treating the disease.
National Education award for
experimental hospital school. Hadassah’s Experimental School (HES) has
been awarded Israel’s Ministry of Education “National Education Award”. HES serves children of all ages and
backgrounds in the Jerusalem area, providing a unique taste of "healthy
life".
FDA approves EarlySense smart chair
sensor.
EarlySense, developer and marketer of a hospital bed-monitoring device,
has developed a chair to perform the same task. The chair monitors heart rate,
respiration, and activity level. The product has now received US medical
approval for marketing to hospitals in the USA.
Get rid of your
reading glasses.
(Thanks to NoCamels.com) Scientists at Israel’s GlassesOff have
developed a proprietary method for improving near vision sharpness, by
improving the image processing function in the visual cortex of the brain. A smartphone app can turn back the age clock
of your eyes by over 8.5 years.
Another Alzheimer’s breakthrough. Technion scientists have
discovered that mutant gene UBB+1 is responsible for preventing the protein
ubiquitin from marking other proteins for destruction. The proteins then are more likely to form
the deadly plaque associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Mapping autism in the brain. (Thanks to Nevet – www.broaderview.org) Ilan Dinstein, from
Israel’s Ben-Gurion University, is using MRIs, DTIs and EEGs to transform the
definition of autism from one that is behavioral to one that is biological.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Rescuing food virtually. Leket Israel, one of the
country’s largest food bank networks, is going high-tech with the introduction
of Leket’s Virtual Food Rescue site, where donors can fill up a digital
shopping bag with fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and other necessities,
sending them on their way to families in need.
Physical disability doesn’t have to be
fate.
Staffers at Jerusalem’s Alyn Hospital believe that it is the right of
every child – including those suffering from physical challenges – to have the best
quality of life possible. A child with
one functional toe can get a drink by himself. Even babies can drive robotic
cars.
Helping the disabled during rocket
attacks.
Beit Issie Shapiro, Israel’s leading organization providing support for
families with disabilities, has initiated a hotline to help people with
disabilities and their families overcome emotional stress and to cope with
Israel’s difficult security situation.
Children are not our
enemies.
(Thanks to Israel21c) While her hometown is under constant missile
attack from Gaza, Irena Nosel from Ashdod cares for critically ill Gazan
childrens in Israel’s Wolfson Medical Center.
Irena is pediatric ICU head nurse for Israeli charity Save A Child’s
Heart. Plus another similar article.
Two UN peacekeepers
from Syria treated in Israel. Ziv Medical Center in Safed received on
Sunday two Filipino UN peacekeepers that were injured in Syria after a mortar
shell exploded next to their vehicle.
One of the peacekeepers sustained a shrapnel injury to his jaw.
Zambia president
receives medical treatment in Israel. (Thanks to Hazel) Zambian President Michael
Sata, 76, was receiving medical treatment in Israel. Sata suffered a heart attack in 2008.
NBA legend Mutombo helps Africa with
Israeli charity.
Israel’s Innovation: Africa is teaming up with Dikembe Mutombo and eight
other NBA All-Stars to bring solar power to Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in
his hometown Kinshasa. It will help
tens of thousands who currently don’t have access to decent medical care.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Israel signs Bio-med research agreement
with California.
Companies from Israel and California will enjoy financial assistance for
joint R&D projects. The agreement was signed at the Bio Conference in San
Diego. An Israeli delegation consisting of 17 Israel bio-med companies took
part in the Israeli pavilion at the conference.
Israeli helps California date farmers. Israel’s Hadiklaim Date
Growers’ Cooperative commissioned veteran Israeli date grower Moshe Kirat to
bring his date growth expertise to the La Quinta Date Farm in California. In
one year, Kirat has reduced water consumption by 43% and boosted productivity,
saving over $2.4 million.
US Patent for “quantum search” app. Israel’s NovoSpeech has
received a patent for its quantum computing search algorithm for speech
recognition. The algorithm will allow a mobile device to translate speech into
text as fast as a desktop or server.
The talking car. Those who remember the TV
series Knight Rider will be pleased to hear that the Israeli-Californian Robin
Labs has designed an intelligent voice recognition and communication system for
the driver. It can provide updates on traffic, routes, parking locations, gas
prices, weather, and more. It can even tell jokes.
Don’t leave baby in a
hot car. (Thanks to
Israel21c) Israeli start-up Bapeep is developing a car alarm that, when you
switch off your car engine, will remind you to take your baby out of the
car. On average, 37 US children die
every year after being forgotten in a hot car.
Bapeep’s Indiegogo Crowdfunding goal is $300,000.
Building a space elevator. Israel Technion’s 2014
TechnoBrain challenge was to build a device that can climb 25 meters at an
80-degree angle without using combustion or open flame energy sources. It must
slide down whilst lifting a space elevator carrying practical cargo. This is how teams solved the problem.
Iron Dome saves lives. Not a recent video, but a
timely one, in view of the current situation in Israel.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Israel’s best quarter for a decade. Israeli high-tech firms
raised $930 million from Apr to Jun 2014, the sector’s strongest three-month
period in more than ten years. Israeli high-tech firms raised $1.6 billion in
the first half of 2014, which is the strongest capital raising period on record
for Israel’s high-tech industry.
Record trade with Turkey. Israel's exports to Turkey
are currently surpassing 2013’s record level.
In the first fiscal quarter of 2014 there was a surge of nearly 25% to
$949.2 million, compared to the same period in 2013.
Israel could become the largest gas exporter
in the Middle East. Another report about the Arab countries that are buying some of
the 19 trillion cubic meters of gas from Israel’s Leviathan field.
And Egypt says Israeli gas is vital for
their economy.
Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Sherif Ismail does
not mind allowing British BG Group to import gas from Israel. “Whatever is in Egypt’s interest must be
implemented immediately as we are dealing with an energy crisis,” the minister
said.
Israel signs
first-of-its-kind R&D agreement with Japan. Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and
Industry, Toshimitsu Motegi has signed an industrial research and development
collaboration agreement with Israel’s Minister of Economy Naftali Bennett.
Israel is the first country with which Japan has signed such an agreement.
Yahoo buys Israeli streaming startup
RayV. (Thanks to Israel21c) Yahoo has bought an
Israel-based startup specializing in streaming high-quality video to computers
and mobile devices. RayV will become
part of the Yahoo’s research and development team in Tel Aviv.
Wilocity exits for $300 million. Multinational Qualcomm has
bought Israeli startup chip designer Wilocity in order to bring a faster,
short-distance wireless technology to mobile devices. Wilocity pioneered Wireless Gigabit chips - known as WiGig, which
transmit data at speeds that can remove the need for physical cables.
Gartner buys Senexx. (Thanks to Israel21c)
Gartner, a leading provider of research and analysis on the global information
technology industry, has acquired Israel’s Senexx, a cloud-based questions and
answers platform that identifies and manages expertise within organizations.
Senexx will enhance Garner’s web search capability.
Another $9 million for joint US-Israeli
projects.
Following its January investment, the Binational Industrial Research and
Development (BIRD) foundation has invested a further $9 million in 11 more
Israeli-American cooperative projects. They cover 3D printing, agro-technology,
information security, and homeland security.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
A day will come. (Thanks to Jacob Richman)
The Ein Prat Fountainheads were top of the entertainment at the recent “Salute
to Olim” Festival in Jerusalem. The
featured video is “Yom Yavo” (a day will come).
Illustrating Israeli culture. (Thanks to Steve of www.IsraelSeen.com) The Migdal Gallery at
the Land of the Israel Museum in Tel Aviv has an exhibit of illustrations in a
wide spectrum of techniques created over the past five years by the best
Israeli illustrators.
Fifteen amazing photos of Tel Aviv. Beautiful - nothing further
necessary to say.
NFL players love Israeli sports shoes. Israel’s AposTherapy
manufactures shoes that change the gait to relieve those suffering from knee
and back pain. Former New York Jets
running back Bruce Harper and former New York Giants players Bart Oates and
Karl Nelson, tried the shoes, and couldn't believe the results.
Israel beat Germany
15-1.
Israel’s national team defeated Germany, 15-1, at the World Lacrosse
Championships in Colorado, USA, and advanced to the quarterfinals. Israel won its three preliminary-round and
two knockout-round games, eventually beating 4th seed Japan to secure world
number 7 ranking.
THE JEWISH STATE
Chabad
“Mitzva Tank” joins IDF troops on the front line. A group of Chabad activists traveled to the border with Gaza in
their "Mitzvah Tank" - a truck loaded not with weapons or ammunition,
but with holy items to provide spiritual and moral support to the soldiers who
at any minute could be called into battle.
400 French Jews
immigrate despite Gaza terrorists. Some 400 French Jews have just made Aliyah,
undeterred by the ongoing rocket fire and conflict with terrorist groups in
Gaza. Most of the immigrants are from
the Paris area. They include 195 minors and 18 babies. 900 Jews made Aliyah in
the past week.
Israeli children sing to counter fear of
rocket attacks.
This song was composed by a local teacher and has been taught to
hundreds of schoolchildren within firing range of Gaza's rockets to help them
deal with the fear and trauma of having 15 seconds to run for cover when the
Color Red siren sounds.
Summer camps and excursions for families
from the south. Guides from the KKL-JNF quit their
regular jobs to assist in activities for the children of Ashkelon in shelters
and protected spaces. KKL-JNF also organized a fun day in the forests of
Jerusalem for families from Gaza border communities.
