Archive for Innovations & Discoveries

193 Unique Facts About Israel

Israel, the 100th smallest country in the world, with less than 1/1000th of the world’s population, can make claim to the following 193 facts:

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  • Israeli researchers have found that red plums have higher antioxidant levels than pomegranates, red wine, and apples. One plum with your meal counters the oxidizing agents in a seven-ounce portion of red meat.
  • An Israeli teenager has developed a revolutionary device for the car which may cut pollution and save you up to 40% on your gas bills.
  • A new Israeli-Jordanian-Palestinian biofuel project will alleviate thousands of tons of organic waste and produce one million barrels of biofuel.
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Budget cuts make David’s Sling missile shield deployment in 2015 unlikely

Jerusalem temporarily freezes funding to Israel’s missile defense system’s manufacturer Rafael as part of defense dept’s austerity measures.

By Reuters

 

Israel’s US-backed David’s Sling missile shield is unlikely to be deployed by next year as originally scheduled, an Israeli defense official said on Wednesday, citing budget shortfalls.

David’s Sling, which is designed to shoot down various aerial threats using interceptor missiles manufactured by US firm Raytheon Co., is billed by Israel as a future bulwark against foes like Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Syria and Iran.

But with the Finance Ministry trying to reduce the defense budget, the government said it had frozen funding for David’s Sling manufacturer, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. Continue Reading »

Israeli Researchers from Hebrew University Synthesize Cancer-Fighting Molecule

Molecule triggers reaction in crucial enzyme allows cancer-infected cells to become more receptive to accepting treatment & enhances the effectiveness of cancer-treating drugs. 

By Tova Dvorin

 

Hebrew University researchers have pinpointed the process by which tumors become resistant to cancer treatments, according to NoCamels, paving the way for significant changes in cancer-treating drugs.

While Israel has developed several anti-cancer drugs, not every patient will benefit from every drug; the correct cancer treatment for any given person must be individualized. Research has thus focused heavily on determining why certain tumors reject specific treatments – and how to universalize anti-cancer drugs to become more and more accessible. Continue Reading »

Haifa University: Salt helps stave off depression

Feeling blue? New Israeli research shows people may crave salt because it helps avert depression.

By Andrew Tobin

 

 

Humans consume more sodium than any other animal. Scarcely a meal is eaten without salt, anywhere in the world. But unlike the other basic tastes – sweetness, sourness and savoriness – we seek out saltiness at a level that doesn’t come close to being explained by the mineral’s known benefits.

The link between salt and the blues: The hormone system that regulates salt appetite also regulates depression.

The link between salt and the blues: The hormone system that regulates salt appetite also regulates depression. – Photo: Alex Levac

Now, researchers at the University of Haifa’s Department of Psychology say that people may crave salt party because its main component, sodium, helps fight depression. Continue Reading »

Intel Plans Investment of $6 Billion Dollars in Israel

Israeli Ministers welcome Intel’s plan to upgrade its Kiryat Gat plant, which involves a reciprocal investment in the Israeli economy.

By Yishai Karov

 

Major hi-tech and computing company Intel is investing 5-6 billion dollars to upgrade its plant in Kiryat Gat, the company announced Wednesday.

The investment plan includes a deal between the company and the state, by which Intel will receive a 750 million shekel ($216,706,500) construction grant from the government in return for its commitment to invest 5% of the investment money into the Israeli economy.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the investment plan Wednesday night.

“This investment plan is the result of the process we’ve been working on for several years,” the Prime Minister stated. Continue Reading »

40 year debate: Did archaeologists find the last Maccabean king hidden in Jerusalem?

 

For 4 decades, the crucified remains with broken jaw have confused scientists, but maybe the last Hasmonean king has been discovered in an ossuary buried under a private house in Jerusalem.

 

In 1970, a rock-cut tomb was discovered by workers building a private house in Jerusalem’s Givat Hamivtar neighborhood. Inside the two-chambered burial, dating back to the first century BCE, archeologists found a decorated ossuary – a limestone box containing the bones of the deceased – and an enigmatic Aramaic inscription affixed to the wall.

The nails and part of the lower jaw found in the Abba cave ossuary (Ariel David)

The nails and part of the lower jaw found in the Abba cave ossuary.

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Metal Chisel Thought To Build The 2nd Temple Unearthed Under Western Wall

Archaeologist who discovered the ancient metal chisel says ‘For 1st time in 2000 years we have a tool of the builders of the Kotel (Western Wall).’

By Iddo Ben-Porat, Ari Yashar

 

An astonishing archaeological discovery has been made at the feet of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The find is an ancient chisel, which apparently was used by the builders of the Western Wall of the Second Temple.

Chisel found on Temple Mount – Photo: Clara Amit, Courtesy of Antiquities Authority

Archaeologist Eli Shukrun, who managed the excavations and found the rare tool, told Arutz Sheva that the chisel is “a moving discovery.” Continue Reading »

Scientists deemed ‘Jesus’ Wife’ papyrus fragment not forgery

 

Scientists report after carbon dating and examination of ink similar to that of fragments found from Gospel of John, the controversial papyrus fragment of ‘Gospel of Jesus’ Wife’ is not a forgery.

By Associated Press

 

Scientists who examined a controversial fragment of papyrus written in Egyptian Coptic in which Jesus speaks of his wife concluded in papers published on Thursday that the papyrus and ink are probably ancient and not a modern forgery.

The papyrus fragment is owned by an unnamed private collector, with bills of sale going back only to 1999. - Photo: KAREN L. KING

The papyrus fragment is owned by an unnamed private collector, with bills of sale going back only to 1999. – Photo: KAREN L. KING

The existence of the fragment, known as the “Gospel of Jesus’s Wife,” was made public at an academic conference in 2012. Continue Reading »

Israel not worried about its water supply after dry winter

With 4 water desalination plants currently in operation, Israel is meeting much of its water needs by purifying seawater from the Mediterranean.

Some 80% of domestic water use in Israeli cities is desalinated water, according to Israeli officials.

 

Israel has gone through one of the driest winters in its history, but despite the lean rainy season, the government has suspended a longstanding campaign to conserve water.

Illustration: The Israel Project

The familiar public messages during recent years of drought, often showing images of parched earth, have disappeared from television despite weeks of balmy weather with record low rainfalls in some areas.

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Casino tycoon Adelson donates $16.4 million for Israel space project

 

SpaceIL, reports to building the world’s smallest spacecraft, is participating in the prestigious Google Lunar X Prize competition.

 

 

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife have donated $16.4 million to SpaceIL, a nonprofit organization aiming to land the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon.

SpaceIL

SpaceIL is participating in the Google Lunar X Prize competition. – Photo: Screenshot

SpaceIL, a participant in the prestigious Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP) competition, announced the donation in a press release on Wednesday.

“Sheldon and I are very excited to be supporting SpaceIL in an effort to land the first Israeli spacecraft on the Moon,” said Dr.

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An Israeli 1st: Young boy saved by rare robot surgery for congenital defect

 

Robotic surgical procedure successfully performed on 13 yr-old boy with a serious defect in his digestive system at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center.

 

 
A rare and complicated operation has been successfully performed with a robot at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center on a 13-year-old boy born with a serious defect in his digestive system. The hospital promises that the technique will soon be used to perform such surgery on toddlers.
Dr. Ran Steinberg with robot - Photo PIOTR FLITR

Dr. Ran Steinberg with robot – Photo: PIOTR FLITR

The operation, which has rarely been performed in the world and never before in Israel, was carried out at the Haifa hospital last Thursday.

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3,300 yr-old Egyptian clay coffin with gold scarab found in Jezreel Valley

 

Rare gold scarab bearing seal of Pharaoh Seti I was found with late Bronze Age Egyptian coffin, of past ruler of what is now Israel.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

 

A 3,300-year-old coffin was uncovered during excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority near Kibbutz Sarid in the Jezreel Valley.

3,300 year old clay Egyptian coffin found in Jezreel Valley – Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

The coffin dates back to the Late Bronze Age, and contained the personal belongings of a wealthy Canaanite believed to be an Egyptian army official, according to the IAA.The cylindrical clay coffin featured a lid in the shape of a person, and was surrounded by a variety of pottery, including food storage vessels, tableware and animal bones.
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Will rare astrological event TONIGHT herald the ‘End of Days’?

 

IF YOU’RE feeling out of sorts that may have to do with the Sun, Earth & Mars in alignment today but don’t worry, the End isn’t near.

By: Jason Taylor

 

Mars, Earth, and the Sun will all align tonight, a rare ‘opposition of the planets’ that only happens once every 778 days.

nasa, nasa eclipse, nasa moon, nasa blood moon, nasa red moon, nasa blood moons

NASA has confirmed four consecutive total lunar eclipses will occur in 2014 and 2015 – Photo courtesy: NASA

But what makes this so remarkable is that it comes precisely a week before everyone on earth will see the first of FOUR dark red ‘blood moons’, an extraordinary event some Christians believe represents the End of Days and the second coming of Christ. Continue Reading »

Phone app: Take me to the nearest Mikvah

The Israeli GPS app Waze, now provides mikvah (ritual bath) locations. The service also contains a security ‘glitch’ that reveals Orthodox Jews who use a ‘non-Kosher’ smartphone, when they shouldn’t.

By i24news

 

The popular navigation application Waze can now direct you to the nearest mikvah – a Jewish ritual bath, the Israeli daily Maariv reported Monday.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews hold hands during a protest against their young men being called up for military service on February 6, 2014 in Jerusalem ( Gali Tibbon (AFP/File) )

Ultra-Orthodox Jews hold hands during a protest against their young men being called up for military service on February 6, 2014 in Jerusalem – Photo: Gali Tibbon-AFP/File

The service had been developed in coordination with Israel’s Ministry of Religious Services.

Now, if you are in immediate need of ritual immersion, you can type in “mikvah” on your app and be directed to the nearest one. Continue Reading »

Breakthrough by Israeli university researchers may control colon disease

 

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