In the 27th Sep 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· A unique Israeli search engine helps find the best hospital for a procedure.
· An Israeli brain device is to be used to treat ailing US Navy personnel.
· A United Nations exhibit publicizes child-education in Israeli hospitals.
· An Israeli company has developed a low-cost virtual reality system.
· More direct flights connect Tel Aviv to New York and Beijing.
· A 3000-year-old stone seal was found in rubble from Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTSOral proteins get US patent. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has approved a patent from Israel’s Oramed for its invention, titled “Methods and Compositions for Oral Administrations of Proteins.” The patent is the basis for Oramed’s ORMD-0801 oral insulin for the early treatment of types 1 and 2 diabetes.
Find the best hospital for your procedure. Israeli entrepreneur Moni Milchman has developed ArchimedicX, the world’s first search engine that rates hospitals by procedure. Its criteria includes results and repeat treatment statistics, budget, staff quality, reputation, beds per room, waiting time, language, food quality and much more.
Groundbreaking fetal test. Genetics experts at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center have devised a patent-pending process to screen a fetus for genetic diseases using a blood sample from the mother. It is the first that can detect genetic mutations from both the father and mother’s DNA.
Monitoring for heart failure. Israel’s Kyma Medical Technologies has developed a radio frequency-based technology device to monitor fluids in the lungs – an early sign of congestive heart failure. Kyma has just been acquired by US medical device company ZOLL for a minimum of $35 million.
US launch of stress-management supplement. US-based Jarrow Formulas has launched its supplement PS-PA Synergy, which is based on Lipogen PSPA, developed by Israel’s Lipogen. Lipogen PSPA has been clinically shown to alleviate stress response and improve cognition.
New Jersey-Israel health foods alliance. Rutgers University in New Jersey, Tel Hai College in Upper Galilee, and the Israeli Knesset signed a memorandum of understanding to launch the New Jersey-Israel Healthy, Functional and Medical Foods Alliance. It will research and commercialize disease-preventing foods.
US Navy buys Israeli brain therapy system. The UN Navy has ordered several Deep TMS therapy helmets made by Israel’s Brainsway. Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation will treat service personnel with a range of psychological conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Why was DLD Tel Aviv so popular? (TY Michelle) Thousands of international visitors at Digital Life Design (DLD) week in Tel Aviv gave their reasons for attending the festival. Plus a longer video on what they saw.
New Negev Railway line opens. Israel Railways has inaugurated its new Negev line, taking passengers from Ashkelon to Beersheba in just 50 minutes. The service will help drive the expansion plans for the desert city.
Los Angeles signs water agreement. In the latest of a series of deals in California, Los Angeles County has signed an agreement to work with Israel and use its know-how and experience to solve the state’s ongoing water problems. http://www.timesofisrael.com/
The desalination fix. (TY Michelle) Israel’s desalination is described here as a “water revolution”.
Annual Researchers Night. Israel’s Bar Ilan University hosted the annual Researchers’ Night, this year dealing with topics related to science of the brain. The event, co-sponsored by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space and the European Union, includes fun science-related activities for the entire family.
The kibbutz has gone hi-tech. (TY Michelle) Long gone are the days where kibbutzim relied on selling their agricultural products. Now they include businesses from cyber-security to satellite agronomy analysis.
Reversing combustion. More about Israel’s NewCO2Fuels which can produce fuel from carbon dioxide gas. Weizmann Institute Earth Sciences Professor Jacob Karni’s research has resulted in a profitable process that can reduce the CO2 content of the atmosphere. It extracts oxygen, leaving carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas.
The secret of fast battery charging. (TY Michelle) Dr Doron Myersdorf, CEO of Israel’s StoreDot, reveals that the low resistance of his company’s organic “nanodots” allow 100 times more current than can be provided to traditional batteries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Virtual Reality on a chip. Israel’s GemSense has developed an instant Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality (VR/AR) environment on a microchip. GemSense is working with Samsung and Google to turn ordinary items into a 3D experience. GemSense’s Cave Driver 3D game was a huge hit at Tel Aviv’s DLD Innovation Conference. The innovation also opens up major possibilities for medical treatments.
Teen invents GPS ID tag to prevent kidnapping. 16-year-old Israeli Amit Saban, a member of the gifted students’ program at Tel Aviv University, has launched a startup that makes “smart” ID tags with built-in GPS technology that can help soldiers and civilians in distress, and even prevent abductions.
Israeli robots to protect USAF troops. (TY Michelle) Israel’s Roboteam is to supply the US Air Force with 250 anti-IED Micro Tactical Ground Robots (MTGRs). Each robot weighs less than 20 pounds, has 5 cameras, a microphone, infrared laser pointers, travels at 2 mph, climbs stairs, and has a range of more than 500 meters.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Average salary rises 7.9% in June. (TY Atid-EDI) The average Israeli wage rose by a massive 7.9% in June to NIS 10, 078 ($2562). 82, 000 people joined the workforce in the first quarter, making a total of 3.41 million.
The best governor – again. Bank of Israel Governor Karnit Flug has made the Global Finance’s list of best central bank governers for the second year in a row. Flug was one of eight to receive an A ranking. Full list.
Direct flights to China start in April. I reported in a previous newsletter (Feb 1 2015) that China’s largest private airline Hainan was to commence direct flights between Tel Aviv and Beijing. A 3-flights-a-week service commences on 28th April. By Aug, 2015 tourist numbers exceeded the 33, 000 for the whole of 2014.
Delta adds 4 weekly Tel Aviv flights. Delta Air Lines is picking up traffic American Airlines will lose when it halts its Philadelphia-Tel Aviv route in January. In May, Delta is adding four flights a week to its JFK-Tel Aviv route in addition to the current daily round-trip service, making it one of Delta’s largest trans-Atlantic services.
$50 million to invest in TV shows. (TY Michelle and others) Tel Aviv-based TV Format Fund has about $50 million to invest in companies developing new TV shows over the next five to seven years. It has spent $3 million so far and will eventually sell shares in the fund. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/
Inno-Negev accelerator launched. | Israel’s Ben-Gurion University has officially opened Inno-Negev – the first technology accelerator in the Negev region. Inno-Negev provides a free program for early-stage startups matching one of its 6-month cycles (Cyber, Homeland Security, ICT, Medical Devices, and more).
Funding university innovation. (TY Michelle) The President of Tel Aviv University writes about how TAU raises funds to commercialize innovations that arise from the 3, 500 projects that students are working on.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Sobar Jerusalem’s future site. (TY Tracey) The Sobar Music Center Project has just announced that its no-alcohol music center for Jerusalem youth will be based in Shoshan Street. Sobar’s partners are the Jerusalem Municipality and the Musrara Community Center. See facebook for exciting events and fundraising activities.
Migrants’ first contact is with Israelis. When many Syrian, Iraqi, Afghan and Pakistani migrants arrive at the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos they first meet IsraAID Doctor Tali Shaltiel from Jerusalem and Nurse Majeda Kardosh from Nazareth. They treat them for hypothermia, dehydration, wounds, illnesses and trauma.
Fighters for Life. (TY Hazel) Three ex-IDF commanders decided to show the world the humanity of Israel’s soldiers. Their organization, Fighters for Life, encourages young post-army Israelis to volunteer in poverty-stricken areas worldwide. Some 7, 000 Israelis have now signed up and the first 30 have just left for Mumbai.
UN exhibit of Israeli education of hospitalized children. The United Nations in Geneva is displaying the photo exhibition “Education Without Borders” about children’s education in Israeli hospitals. Israel is the only Middle East country to provide education for all hospitalized Israeli children, including Arabs and minorities.
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-
Gas pipeline to Jordan approved. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel is to lay a 15.5km underground pipeline to transport natural gas from its Sdom 2 gas station to the Jordanian border. The pipeline is designed to make it possible to transport gas to Jordan within a year, in accordance with the agreement signed between the two countries.
US delegation learns Israeli counterterrorism. (TY Hazel) America’s Anti-Defamation League has brought 15 officials from US security agencies and police departments to Israel to study counterterrorism strategies and compare tactics. It is the 13th such trip that the ADL has organized. http://www.jpost.com/Israel-
Wheels for US veterans. Wheelchair-bound US army veterans will be among the first to use the revolutionary Acrobat Wheel created by Israel’s SoftWheel. Selective suspension mechanism kicks in when going over uneven terrain, stairs etc. Veterans can apply to the US Independence Fund or (soon) the Veterans Association.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
International guitar festival in Netanya. The festival of Tabernacles (Sukkot) means it is also time for Netanya’s tenth annual International guitar festival and competition.
Other things to do during Sukkot. Activities include a concert by Dudu Tassa, the Jerusalem Biennale, the fourth International Circus Festival, the largest artisan fair in Israel and much more.
Sabra humus stars on Late Show. The BDS thugs were not happy with Stephen Colbert’s debut hosting of the Late Show on CBS. Nearly seven million viewers watched as he performed a highly entertaining skit to advertise its sponsor Sabra humus. Sabra is 50% owned by Israel’s Strauss and 50% by PepsiCo.
THE JEWISH STATE
Start-up Aliya. New video from Nefesh b’Nefesh showing how Jews are coming back to the Land to fulfil the promise of being a Light unto the Nations. Jon Medved describes these amazing times.
Israeli hotels fill up for the holidays. The 5776 High Holiday Israeli vacation season is one of the best ever, according to travel officials. Major hotels in Israel are filled to capacity, and thousands of apartments have been rented to tourists who will be spending the holidays in Israel. http://www.jewishpress.com/
Seal unearthed from time of King David. A 10-year-old Russian volunteer at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount Sifting Project discovered a 3000-year-old stone seal. The dating of the seal corresponds to the historical period of the conquest of Jerusalem by King David and the construction of the Temple by his son, King Solomon.
Injured soldiers out of danger. Yuval Appel and Yarin Ashkenazi were critically injured in an Arab terrorist attack in August and placed on ventilators. Ashkenazi gained consciousness within a few days and Appel has just woken up after being over a month in a coma. Both will require a long rehabilitation program.
Respect for the Land. When a cyclist spotted the trash dumped after a party in the Ben Shemen forest, he was so angry that he posted photos on Facebook. His friends then used Instagram and other networks to locate those responsible, and the family was so embarrassed that they returned to clean up the mess.
