In the 15th Feb 2015 week’s edition of Israel’s good news:
· Israeli textiles impregnated with nano-particles kill bacteria in hospitals.
· An Israeli startup has launched a personal system to grow crops without soil.
· A new Israeli solar energy plant will generate solar power 20 hours a day.
· Israel’s NICE Systems and Intel Israel exceeded billion-dollar earnings in 2014.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTSNew devices to diagnose pneumonia. (Thanks to Israel21c) Two Israeli startups have received Israeli Government grants to develop their products for diagnosing pneumonia. RespiDX’s Respimometer has sensors to measure breathing. NanoVation-GS’s stick-on patch has a film with a nano-sensor to measure respiration.
Accurate injections. Israeli biotech SteadyMed has developed a disposable patch pump delivery system to administer medicines safely and accurately into the body. SteadyMed plans to raise $55 million on NASDAQ.
Crowdfunding helps solve rare disease mystery. Crowdfunding – funds from a large number of individuals over the Internet – have enabled researchers at Tel Aviv University to conduct Whole Exome Sequencing and identify the genetic mutation responsible for mental retardation and severe developmental delays in children.
Preventing hospital infections. Another Israeli company is countering the risk of contracting infections in hospital. Nano-Textiles coats hospital textiles (bed linen and clothing) with nano-particles of Zinc and Copper oxides that kill even antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Nano-Textiles plans to raise $3 million on Wall Street.
Joint medical research with UK. The Britain Israel Research and Academic Exchange partnership (BIRAX) has pledged £3.2 million of funding for eight joint stem cell research projects to develop therapies for diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, liver disease and Multiple Sclerosis. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the research “has the potential to change the lives of hundreds of millions of people.”
More good news for brain tumor patients. (Thanks to Israel21c) Here is a new report about the TTFields scalp device from Israel’s Novocure that slows the growth of brain tumors. (Previously reported in Nov 2014).
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Personal hydroponics. Growing crops on water used to be only available to big industry. Now Israel’s Flux has developed a device that lets individuals and small businesses install hydroponics on rooftops, in school gardens, basements and even in restaurants. Flux’s product was demo’d at Israel’s Cann Tech conference.
5 research projects for joint US-Israeli funding. The MIT-Israel-BGU Seed Fund recently approved five joint research proposals involving scientists at MIT and at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. They cover water technology, spinal cord treatment, tomato seeds, online student training and photocurrent spectroscopy.
A new kind of security. (Thanks to Michelle) Israel’s Team8 is developing novel solutions for the cyber security industry. Once it generates an idea, it helps launch a startup to build the solution and then moves on.
A truly Green Ride. Israel’s Green Ride has launched the INU – an electric scooter that makes commuting much easier. It folds automatically, recognizes its owner and has a range of 40km at speeds up to 25km/hour.
Solar power both day and night. Tel Aviv-based Brenmiller Energy will establish a 10-megawatt solar power station in Dimona, capable of generating electricity from solar energy for an average of 20 hours a day on a typical summer’s day. This is four times as many hours than any previous Israeli solar field.
Goggles that enhance reality. Israeli start-up RideOn has developed augmented reality goggles that superimpose a computer-generated image into the user’s view. Direct-to-eye display technology positions the transparent display directly over the eye, eliminating the need to look away or refocus in order to read the data.
Speeding up the mobile Internet. The CODS Mobile Edge Computing platform from Israel’s Saguna Networks increases mobile network speeds while reducing network congestion. Saguna has just received funds from Akamai Technologies and SoftBank Ventures Korea to help it expand in Asia, North America and Europe.
Developing alternate fuels with Italy. Through the Israel Fuel Choices Initiative (IFCI), Israel has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Iveco (a Brand of CNH Industrial) and Magneti Marelli (FCA Group) for co-operation in the development of natural gas based technologies.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Budget surplus. Israel’s Ministry of Finance announced a 5.3 billion-shekel budget surplus for Jan 2015. Tax revenues were 2.3% higher than for Jan 2014 and have been growing by 4-5% each month.
Reinforcing the rain in Spain. A delegation of 11 Israeli water companies visited Spain, presenting technology such as filtering and purification to infrastructure companies. They impressed one Spanish multinational, Abengoa, which employs 26, 000 employees in 80 countries.
Huge demand for Israeli hi-tech jobs. Impressive success in Israel’s high-tech industry boosted demand for employees by 12% in 2014, compared with 2013. Salaries of mobile developers rose by 10-30%.
A billion-dollar Israeli company. 2014 earnings for Israel’s NICE Systems reached $1.0124 billion, up from $950 million for the previous year. NICE specializes in data and voice security and analysis.
Intel Israel exports $4.3b. Intel Israel‘s exports totaled $4.25 billion in 2014 (up 10% on 2013) accounting for about 4% of Israel’s total exports of goods and services in 2014. Intel is spending around $800 million upgrading its factories in Kiryat Gat and $1.87 billion per annum in purchases from Israeli suppliers.
Israel Aerospace wins cyber security contracts. (Thanks to Atid-EDI) Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) has won two cyber-security contracts worth tens of millions of dollars. IAI develops advanced cyber solutions for intelligence, protection, monitoring identification and accessibility.
Innovators meet Dealmakers. The Israel Dealmakers Summit 24-25 Mar 2015 in New York City promises thousands of global entrepreneurs, innovators, dealmakers and investors. It features world-class speakers and networking in the areas of Digital Media, Mobile & Wireless, CyberSecurity, Life Sciences and much more.
Tel Aviv encourages start-ups from abroad. Tel Aviv has 1, 515 high tech companies that employ 43, 000 workers. Now, Tel Aviv municipality subsidiary Global City is giving incentive packages to entrepreneurs from abroad in order to add knowledge, diversity, and become global – thus strengthening the economy.
Microsoft buys Israeli digital pen company. Multinational software giant Microsoft has bought Israel’s N-trig for an estimated $200 million. N-trig has developed a chip for a digital pen and computer screen interface.
Use an Israeli app to hail a UK taxi. UK readers will soon be able to use Israeli taxi app GetTaxi in seven UK cities. GetTaxi has been operating in London for 3 years and is expanding to Edinburgh, Liverpool and Manchester immediately. It will also launch in Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow in the next few months. GetTaxi has also launched an app for smart-watches running the Android Wear operating system.
Apple CEO to inaugurate new Israeli HQ. Apple boss Tim Cook is coming to Israel to formally open Apple Israel’s new headquarters in Herzliya Pituach. Apple’s Israeli development center will house 800 Israeli employees, mainly from Apple’s purchases of Anobit, PrimeSense and from hiring ex-Texas Instruments staff.
Sodastream announces healthier beverages. Israel’s Sodastream is launching new lines of products made of all natural flavors and ingredients, less sugar and no preservatives. The reduced calorie, zero calories, nutritional supplements and lightly sweetened water series will be launched this spring, initially in Israel.
