Archive for Innovations & Discoveries

| March 5, 2012
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Israeli Scientists make breakthrough in ALS treatment

BGU researcher, colleagues identify compound that may prolong life for Amytotrophic Lateral Sclerosis patients.

ESTHER PRIEL

Prof. Esther Priel - Photo By BGU

 

A Ben-Gurion University researcher and her colleagues have identified a chemical compound that may lead to prolonged lifespans for patients with Amytotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Prof. Esther Priel and her team published an article in the February edition of EMBO Molecular Medicine Journal, in which they demonstrate how their compound can induce an increased production of the enzyme telomerase in the bodies of laboratory mice and in human stem cells. The increased amount of telomerase slows the progression of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

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| March 4, 2012
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Mud-brick builders go from the desert to the Waldorf

A luxury hotel going up in Jerusalem drew on the eco-building talents of the members of a tiny kibbutz in Israel’s Negev Desert.

The Art Center at Kibbutz Neot Semadar.

Take the Waldorf-Astoria — a beacon of luxury — and add a group of environmentally conscious mud-brick builders from the middle of the Negev Desert. Though an unlikely partnership from the outset, together they cooperated on a building that is sure to be designated one of Jerusalem’s most inspired architectural works.

The interior design of the soon-to-be-opened upmarket hotel is the work of acclaimed Turkish architect Sinan Kafadar. Knowing that the Waldorf-Astoria is located on the grounds of the former Palace Hotel, Kafadar painstakingly preserved and restored the 1923 building to its original magnificence. Continue Reading »

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| March 2, 2012
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Israel named world’s 2nd-best cleantech innovator

Cleantech Group, World Wildlife Fund release first-ever global cleantech innovation ranking. Denmark, Israel and Sweden dominate top-three slots

 

Israel is among the top-three nations worldwide that provide the best conditions for clean technology startup companies, a recent ranking by the CleanTech Group stated. Topping the list was Denmark, followed by Israel, Sweden, Finland and the United States.

A leader in cleantech innovations per capita (Illustration)

A leader in cleantech innovations per capita Illustration

“Coming Clean: The Global Cleantech Innovation Index 2012,” is a first-of-its-kind ranking, complied by the CleanTech Group and the World Wildlife Fund. It listed the top 38 countries worldwide to offer clean energy projects the most favorable conditions. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Israel News | Tags: ,
| March 1, 2012
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Teenage girl donates tresses for cancer wig

13-year-old says donating hair a great way to ease suffering of women with cancer

LIRON POLLACK donates hair

LIRON POLLACK donates hair By Courtesy, Kaplan Medical Center

Thirteen-year-old Liron Pollack decided this week that getting her long hair cut short would not only complete a “perfect Purim costume” as a funky teenager with a spiky hairdo, but also ease the suffering of women with cancer.The girl from the Pelech modern Orthodox girls’ school in Kiryat Ekron, who is involved in the Bnei Akiva youth movement, went to Kaplan Medical Center to donate her tresses. For the past two years, the Rehovot hospital has had hairdresser Eli Ben Zikri (a former cancer patient) and Yigal Gott give free haircuts to women and girls (and even long-haired boys) who wanted to donate so that wigs could be made.
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Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Israel News, Jewish News | Tags: ,
| February 29, 2012
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Israeli doctors remove implant in rare procedure, after patient’s heart restarts

Patient’s heart makes miraculous recovery from rare heart disease, allowing doctors to completely remove device that had been keeping him alive for two years.

For the first time in Israel, doctors at the Carmel Hospital in Haifa conducted a rare procedure to remove an artificial heart from a patient. The operation was conducted after Haim Abuhazira’s heart began beating, two years after failing due to disease.

Abuhazira (31), a resident of Netanya, who has been recovering for the surgery that took place two weeks ago, was rushed to the hospital in 2010 after complaining of chest pain. He was operated on and put on a waiting list for a heart transplant.

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| February 28, 2012
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Have Israeli scientists discovered the fountain of youth?

Israeli university researchers unveil their discovery of a gene that increases the lifespan of lab animals, and perhaps of humans too.

 

All the anti-aging potions, lotions and notions on the market and in development add up to a very pretty penny. Maybe some of them actually work. Yet the biology behind aging, and how to slow its effects, has never been well understood.

Now, seven years of Israeli research have revealed that it may all come down to a specific gene called Sirtuin 6, or SIRT6 for short. They described their study in the February 22 online issue of the popular science journal Nature.

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Category: Innovations & Discoveries |
| February 26, 2012
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NASA Astronauts Try Out Israeli-Designed Device

  NASA astronauts are using a GE Healthcare device designed in Israel for monitoring the impact of space travel on the human body.

Astronaut tries out Israel-designed system

Astronaut tries out Israel-designed system Israel news photo: NASA

NASA astronauts are using a General Electric Healthcare device designed in Israel for monitoring the impact of space travel on the human body.

The astronauts blasted off with the “Vivid q” Cardiovascular Ultrasound last July on the final space shuttle flight of the International Space Station (ISS) but it was not put into action until recently, GE Healthcare spokespersons told Arutz Sheva. The space station is planned to operate through 2020. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries |
| February 24, 2012
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New blood test offers early cancer detection

The simple new check shows a 90 percent detection rate in clinical tests for multiple types of cancers.

 

Israeli researchers have developed a simple and cheap blood test that was found to provide early detection for many types of cancer in clinical trials.

The promising new blood test, developed by scientists at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheva, can detect minuscule changes in the blood of a person with a cancerous growth somewhere in the body, even before the disease has spread.

Early diagnosis of cancer could save thousands of lives. Every day in the United States alone, 1,500 people die of cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

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