In the 15th Mar 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· An Israeli-developed Nitric Oxide treatment can treat cystic fibrosis.
· Israel’s Fansino won “Best App of the Year” at the Mobile World Congress.
· An Israeli company is to build North America’s largest automated parking system.
· Israeli technology will connect rural Peru to broadband Internet.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTSTreatment for cystic fibrosis. Israel’s Advanced Inhalation Therapies has been granted Orphan status by the US FDA to complete the development of its nitric oxide (NO) treatment for cystic fibrosis. The NO gas boosts the body’s immune system, improves blood flow and circulation and kills bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi.
Stem cell treatment fights radiation sickness. Stem cells from Israel’s Pluristem have been used in clinical tests to successfully treat bone marrow failure following total body exposure to high doses of radiation.
Treatments in Silicon can target cancer. Scientists at Israel’s Technion together with MIT and Harvard have discovered that chemotherapeutics, delivered in tiny silicon containers with nano-sized holes are able to destroy malignant tumors, whilst avoiding adverse effects on healthy tissue.
Brain neurons study can help fight Alzheimer’s. Tel Aviv University researchers discovered that neural networks in the brain preserve memories better than individual neurons. This new understanding may lead to a breakthrough in treating debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Pill balloon to control your appetite. Israel biomed company Tulip Medical has successfully completed its first clinical trial of its pill that expands in the stomach, inflates like a balloon, and creates a sense of fullness. The pill was safe with no side effects. The next trial will test the pill in an inclusive weight-loss program.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Best App at Mobile World Congress. Israelis Haran Wolfovitz Yaffe and Omri Erez, developers of the app Fansino, won the 2015 Mobile Premier Awards “Best App of the Year” at Spain’s Mobile World Congress, the largest cross-platform app showcase in the mobile industry and attended by around 70, 000 people.
Israeli sensors for Intel 3D system. Intel has chosen Israel’s Tower Semiconductor to provide the infrared sensor for one of its new 3D imaging solutions. Tower’s unique sensor is a 3.5um global shutter very fast pixel that allows high quantum efficiency at near infrared light.
Water technology for Kenya. Kenya’s Governor of Embu County received a delegation of Israelis who will introduce technology to revolutionize agriculture in the arid parts of Embu which have fertile soils.
A radical new catalyst. Technion scientists have developed the alpha hydrogen nitroxyl radical – a new stable class of chemical that encourages other chemicals to react together without being affected itself. This has major implications for chemical and medical industries including plastics, agriculture, biochemistry and antibiotics.
Singapore and Israel do tech together. (TY Israel21c) Since 1997, 140 joint Israeli-Singaporean industrial R&D projects have been supported and facilitated through the Singapore-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (SIIRD) – a product of Israel’s Office of the Chief Scientist and Singapore’s Economic Development Board.
Building the largest automatic parking lot. Israel’s Unitronics Systems has won a $24 million contract to build a robot-operated parking system for one of the world’s leading hotel chains. With 1, 400 parking places, it will be North America’s largest automatic parking system. It can park 3 cars in a single conventional space.
Israeli technology for electric cars. The Advanced Driver Assistance Systems developed by Bar-Ilan’s Professor Eli Kolberg, will be integrated into the US electric cars built by Electric Vehicle Evolution (EVE). The systems will reduce risk of collisions, provide vital data and are a step closer to autonomous vehicles.
BGU research with Arizona Uni. Ben Gurion University and Arizona State University have signed a joint research agreement. The two universities will cooperate in Cyber security, Homeland security, Nanotechnology, Robotics, Community medicine, Space and remote sensing and Sustainability.
PayPal to start Israeli tech hub. (TY Michelle) Internet payments giant PayPal has bought Israel’s CyActive to kick-start a larger cyber security hub in the country, including potentially more acquisitions. CyActive’s “biology-inspired” algorithm predicts and counters cyber-attacks. PayPal bought Israel’s FraudSciences in 2008.
Israeli-Australian sustainability course. Israel’s Ben Gurion University and Australia’s Monash University have established the Monash Ben-Gurion Seed Fund to support joint research and education programs in the areas of Sustainability, Social Inclusion and Entrepreneurship.
Israeli Innovation in San Diego. The Cal-Israel Innovation Expo beginning 8th May in San Diego will showcase Israeli technologies and advance opportunities for students with internships, scholarships and jobs.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Stay at an Israeli hotel – in London. Israel’s Fattal Hotels Ltd. is opening its first UK hotel. The company has leased the Holiday Inn Heathrow Airport in London for 25 years and it will open on March 16 as part of Fattal’s Leonardo hotel chain. Fattal is in talks to open more hotels in the UK.
Connecting rural Peru to broadband. Israel’s Gilat Satellite Networks has won a $286 million contract for telecommunications infrastructure in Peru. Gilat will connect the remote rural regions of Huancavelica, Ayacucho and Apurimac, including about 600 public institutions, to broadband services.
Israeli innovation comes to B.C. The Vancouver Israeli Tech Club (ITC) is connecting British Columbia’s technology sector to its Israeli counterpart. Over 200 entrepreneurs, business leaders, researchers, trade officers, investors and officials from Israel and B.C. attended an ITC conference at Simon Fraser University.
Turning the Internet into a language course. (TY Michelle) I reported about Israel’s Lingua.ly in 2013 when it launched its desktop software that provides students with suitable Internet articles in the language they are studying. Lingua.ly launched its Android smartphone app in April and has now raised $1 million of funding.
Quiet trade with Indonesia. (TY Michelle) Although Indonesia is the largest Muslim country and has no official diplomatic relations, annual trade with Israel is around $400-500 million, almost 88 percent of which is Indonesian exports. Indonesia exports commodities to Israel while Israel sends back mostly high-tech products.
