You probably already know about the most
famous of Israeli “firsts”. Such as Intel’s microchip breakthroughs, SMS
technology, the digestible camera and cherry tomatoes. But every week there is news of exciting
discoveries and innovations from the Jewish State. Last week, there was even
more than usual.
Dr. Itai Amir of Israel’s Maayanei Hayeshua
hospital discovered a new
strain of bacteria when examining a patient’s blood culture. The
microorganism – named Eisenbergiella Tayi - assists in digestion and has
attracted major scientific interest.
And in another discovery, Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers
have identified the cause of the dreadful intestinal inflammation side
effects of chemotherapy. The
scientists isolated the protein Interleukin-1 (IL-1 beta), and are confident
that its effects can be blocked.
Three “first of their kind” Israeli medical
devices were in the news recently.
Israel’s BioControl Medical has developed the first device to treat
chronic heart failure using
neuro-stimulation. It works by
stimulating the vagus nerve on the right side of the neck. Trials are currently
being conducted at 80 medical centers in the US, Europe and Israel. Next, CerOx from Israel’s Ornim is the first
and only non-invasive device on the market monitoring blood
flow to the brain in patients with severe brain trauma. It uses ultrasound and near-infrared light
to measure oxygen saturation and prevent brain damage. But pride of place goes to Israel’s
Brainsway, which has launched
a new era in the treatment of brain disorders such as Parkinson’s and
Schizophrenia. Brainsway’s Deep Brain Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
has also received CE approval to treat depression and its systems have just
been installed at Stockholm's Karolinska University Hospital. Sweden has one of the highest rates of
depression in the world.
Israel is always the first to respond to
international humanitarian disasters such as in Haiti and the Philippines. But it has also become the first State that
countries call on to request all sorts of assistance. For example, a team of Israeli scientists has just gone to
Bhubaneswar in India, to test a
pilot program called “phyto-remediation” that uses plants to
remove pollutants from contaminated wetlands. In another venture, Israel and Germany are launching “The
Africa initiative" - a joint project for humanitarian relief in
those developing countries. And the
Greek charity Bouroume has made its
first visit to Israel to see how Leket Israel organizes 50,000
volunteers to pick, rescue and distribute fresh produce to the needy. No wonder 170 countries nominated Israeli
Ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, for
his first role since Israel joined a UN Human Rights group. Ambassador Prosor was chosen to run the
elections for the UN Human Rights Committee!
When Israeli cleantech company Energy
Industries is called on to implement environmentally friendly energy solutions
for its customers it always looks
first for local natural resources.
So in Ghana it extracts methane from a local landfill site, and in
Georgia, hot springs are used to power greenhouses. Over in California, the 392-megawatt concentrating solar power
(CSP) plant built by Israel’s
BrightSource Energy has
commenced operations. The five-square-mile
Ivanpah solar energy generating system in the Mojave Desert is generating
nearly 30 percent of
all of the US’s solar power. It
has even inspired a pop music album – and that must be a first for a solar
power station.
Three new Israeli innovations provide
“first-contact” alternatives for computer users. You can use the gesture technology from Pointgrab and become one
of the first to operate
your Lenovo computer from up to two meters away, even in low light
conditions. Or obtain a
first-class degree by using the N-trig active pen to
write over electronic lecture notes on your Intel Educational Tablet. But first
prize must go to the UpSense Super Keyboards from Israel’s Inpris. They are the first-ever invisible keyboards
to enable fast typing by either blind or fully sighted
users. You can even help finance their
launch and be the first
to receive one.
Before you answer any accusation that
Israel always puts its Jewish citizens first, first read my weekly newsletter. Every week it contains news stories about
Israel’s minorities, such as the Israel Education Ministry’s national program
to encourage Arab children to read at home.
Maktabat al-Fanoos (“Lantern Library”) will deliver 4 first-stage
books free to over 45,000 children at 1,750 pre-school kindergartens in
Arab communities. Over the border,
Jordan is the first
foreign country to purchase supplies of Israel’s new natural gas
deposits. And one year after Israel first
started treating Syrians wounded in their civil war, Israeli doctors at
Rambam Medical Center discharged a six-year-old Syrian boy who had first
arrived six weeks earlier in a coma. His father was overjoyed, as his son was
the last
surviving member of his family.
Not for the first time, I’ll finish with an
animal story. Achziv is the
first ever beach on Israel’s Northern Mediterranean coast to be
declared an internationally recognized protected dolphin habitat. Achziv offers deep waters for the dolphins
to feed in. I suspect, however, that
these intelligent creatures are not the first to recognize that the Jewish
State is a safe haven from troubled waters.
Please spread the word about Israeli
innovation.
And remember - you read it here first!
Michael Ordman writes a free weekly
newsletter containing positive news stories about Israel.
For a free subscription, email a request to
michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
