So many Israeli innovations and activities
are outstanding - not because they are created out of thin air, but because
they take an existing concept to a whole new practical level.
Here are some medical examples. Artificial skin has already been
invented. Some types, known as electronic
skin (e-skins), are even sensitive to pressure (i.e. touch). But only
scientists at Israel’s Technion have fused resin and gold particles to make a
sensor that can detect pressure,
temperature and humidity.
Integrated with the current e-skins it can be applied to a prosthetic
limb to give the wearer more life-like sensations. In the same vein, Israelis may not have invented the heart
stent, but Israeli biotechs have completely redesigned the original crude
devices and extended
them for brain and other blockages. Israel’s Allium Medical recently
announced that its urinary tract stents are to be distributed in Brazil and now
China.
Israeli
scientists’ extensive exploration of the body’s immune system has certainly
paid off. The healthcare giant Bayer is funding Israeli biotech Compugen’s
development of antibody-based
therapeutics for cancer immuno-therapy. And immunology skills helped surgeons at Tel Aviv Sourasky
Medical Center to conduct the world’s
first ever transplant between two living HIV carriers. They prevented the rejection of a wife’s
(donor) kidney by the husband’s (recipient) compromised immune system. Then, when Israelis do produce a unique
innovation, they continue to work to improve it. The latest
version of Given Imaging’s internal intestine camera, Pillcam SB 3, has
so much better resolution,
efficiency and coverage, that 62 percent of the Crohn’s patients using
it have had their treatment changed as a direct result.
Israel’s Save A Child’s Heart charity is
definitely unique and has been going the extra mile for many years. Surgeons at SACH are currently repairing the
hearts of 22
international children, including three Iraqis and seven from the
Palestinian Authority. Israel also goes
miles out of its way to deliver goods to Gaza.
In July, 6,639 trucks
laden with over 150,000 tons of food, humanitarian products, electrical goods,
construction materials etc. entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing. In return, Gaza terrorists fired six rockets
into Israel. Meanwhile, approximately one
million Palestinian Arabs received permits to
enter Israel as tourists during Ramadan and its concluding holiday Eid
al-Fitr – 200,000
more than last year.
Israel is making great strides in creating
new possibilities for people with disabilities. In September, Israel is hosting
the International Symposium on Quality of Life and
Well-being of People with Disabilities. And the Reut Institute has
opened up a whole new dimension by launching a project / competition in which
students use three-dimensional
printers to manufacture inexpensive helpful devices for people with
special needs.
Weizmann Institute scientists are extending
the boundaries in another dimension.
They have managed to control the production of microscopic
nano-wires. Using gallium nitride (GaN) Professor Ernesto Joselevich
and his team have built a tiny microprocessor component, which makes possible a
whole new world of powerful microchips.
And we should be very quiet when talk about the special product
manufactured by Huliot of Kibbutz Sde Nehemia.
Acoustic
insulated pipes shield apartment residents from the somewhat
embarrassing sound of flowing sewage. The unique plastic compound is
environmentally friendly and Huliot has received orders from six European
countries.
I was totally blown away by two news
stories last week. Israeli outdoor
events planner Ilan Elmaliach went the extra mile when his colleagues failed in
their attempts to erect a tent in a strong wind. His experience as a skydiver
inspired him to design a
portable aerodynamic sunshade that flows with the wind rather than
fights against it. Then the Indo Asian
News Service gave Israel’s Technion full-blown credit for “solving the world
food crisis”. Israeli scientists have
modified a longevity hormone in the genes known as zytokinin to produce “super
plants” that grow
more crops on less water. The fruit and vegetables produced also have a
much longer shelf life.
There are two extra-special stories to
conclude this week’s blog. Firstly, in 2011 six children from one Yemenite
Jewish family and four from a second family were spirited out of Yemen and
flown to Argentina. Last week the ten
children were flown to Israel, to be reunited with
their parents who were simultaneously brought to Israel from Yemen in a
secret operation.
Finally, thirty Israeli children suffering
with cancer were about to depart Ben Gurion airport for a fun holiday at Camp
Simcha in the USA. But 11-year-old Imbar had to disembark in tears as she had
lost her passport. Just as the jet
taxied along the runway, someone on board found Imbar’s passport. El Al’s
management made an unprecedented decision and authorized the plane to return to pick
her up.
Israel – where “ordinary” just isn’t
enough.
Michael Ordman writes a free weekly newsletter containing Good
News stories about Israel.
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michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
