In Israel and in many other countries, the
age of 67 is when adults usually leave employment and start receiving their
old-age pension. But as the State of
Israel celebrates its own 67th birthday it shows no sign of stopping its work to
benefit humanity, and is even increasing its tremendous pace of
innovation.
There have been many recent Israeli medical
advances to combat that scourge of aging – cancer. They include Rosetta Genomics’s microRNA-based test helps
physicians select the best treatment options for patients with secondary
cancers. Another is the joint project
that 68-year-old Israel Technion Professor and Nobel Prize Winner Aaron
Ciechanover has initiated with India’s Sun Pharma to develop new cancer
treatments. Also at the Technion,
Israeli-Arab Professor Hossam Haick has
proved that his NaNose breath-test cancer detector was just as
effective as older,
slower, costlier and more invasive alternatives. And you should hear Tel Aviv
University Professor Dan Peer describe the nano-technology that promises
one-day to retire
cancer completely, from the list of killer diseases.
It is true that younger animals and humans
recover from operations faster than older ones. Researchers at Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem have even
shown that being
pregnant also improves recovery time.
But was it youth, motivation, physiotherapy or the use of a Wii console
that helped Captain Shir Klevner return to his unit, only 8 months after a
Hamas sniper’s bullet shattered his leg and threatened to
retire him from the IDF?
67-year-old Israel is launching
startups at rocket speed – enabled, in part, by a new accelerator for
young companies developing satellite information-based applications. Meanwhile,
an older Israeli satellite-focused company, RR Media, has invested
in its future by purchasing Romania’s Eastern Space Systems. It extends RR Media’s Intelsat coverage to
more than 17 million TV households in Central, Eastern and Nordic Europe.
Israel’s Checkpoint may be an old-timer in
the cyber-security business, but it can spot a promising upstart. Which is
probably why it purchased Israel’s Lacoon
- developers of cyber security software that prevents the spread of computer
viruses by recognizing their behavior.
Another relative newcomer - Israeli kids’ games publisher TabTable - is growing
up fast, having just made its 4th acquisition (and its first in the
USA) with the purchase of rival Sunstorm Games.
Israel’s non-stop desire to innovate has
definitely taken root in the field of agricultural technology. Researchers in the south of Israel have
developed a variety of seedless grape that can be harvested throughout
the year. And Israel’s Danziger
Innovations together with the Hebrew University’s Yissum tech-transfer company
have developed a patented technology that extends the
shelf life of popular flowers.
More and more Israeli companies are
looking to grow bigger these days, as highlighted by the massive $1.5
billion that 11 of them raised on Wall Street in the first 3 months of this
year. Analysts were certainly ramping
up the sentiment about one of them - Kornit and its digital inkjet garment
printing, using non-toxic water-based inks.
It is appropriate that on Israel’s
Independence Day, veteran
Israeli actor Chaim Topol, best known for playing Tevye the milkman in
"Fiddler on the Roof," will receive the Israel Prize for lifetime
achievement. And just recently, at
the grand old age of 30, Israel’s long-serving tennis player Dudi Sela
won his 17th ATP Challenger Tour title.
Finally, six Israeli men from the Shomron
wanted to increase the chances that six complete strangers would live to
reach their 67th birthdays.
They each donated one of their kidneys to transplant patients.
Israel ….. forever and ever ….
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
