Israel Competes in a Fast Moving World

I had to laugh when the UN General Secretary blamed Israel for the stagnation of the Arab nations [2]. The Jewish State hasn’t been able to sit still for a moment in its 64 years of existence due to continual physical and political attacks from its neighbors. Maybe it is all this pressure that has put Israel at the front of the technological race to build a better world.

Runners know the importance of oxygen both in training and in competition. Dr. Shai Efrati, of Tel Aviv University [3] is at the forefront of research into its use for the treatment of stroke victims. His studies showed that even those treated 3 years after their strokes showed significantly increased neuronal activity [4] following a two-month course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).

A 47-year-old Slovenian former athlete was immobilized when his knee cartilage was damaged due to a volleyball injury over seven years ago. Thanks to the Agili-C implant from Israel’s CartiHeal his cartilage has been regenerated [5]. A year after his surgery, he completed a 180 km cycling marathon.

Stem cells have unique reproductive, renewal, and regenerative capabilities [6] for organs. So it was good to hear that the British Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership (BIRAX) will grant NIS 25 million over five years for seven joint Israel-UK stem cell research programs.

Good news for US doctors who want a fast track entrance [7] to the Israeli profession. Now physicians who have passed American MD exams (USMLE) in the past ten years, and who want to settle and work in Israel, will receive exemption from the local licensing exam. This is the first time that Israeli health authorities have accepted foreign test results for an MD license. There are plenty of fertile prospects for those making a new life in the Jewish State. Britain’s “father of fertility” [8] Lord Professor Robert Winston gave a keynote lecture at Haifa University’s January conference on regenerative medicine [9]. The conference coincided with news that the IMSI fertility treatment [10] developed by Benjamin Bartoov of Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, is bringing a hope to childless couples in India’s capital city.

When children suffer from the genetic brain disease Peripheral neuropathy they do not move at all [11]. Now, following a breakthrough by Doctors at Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem, three infants previously paralyzed by the disease are already showing signs of improvement. Meanwhile, researchers at Israel’s Schneider Children's hospital and in Germany have identified mutations in genes EIF2S3 and UBE3B as responsible for the development of genetic mental retardation [12]. The discovery may not help existing sufferers, but it certainly improves pre-natal diagnostics tools for prevention of genetic diseases.

When humans want to really travel at speed, they use vehicles such as the Chevy Corvette C7 Stingray [13] with Israeli-built body panels as featured in last week’s blog. But some of us would be quite happy to nip in and out of town [14] in the all-electric Renault Twizy [15] that the Israeli city of Kfar Saba is about to trial.

Top of the range automobiles built by China’s car-giant BYD will be equipped with entertainment systems [16] powered by Multimedia Broadcasting receiver chipsets from Israel’s Siano. And if any of these aforementioned vehicles should get stuck in this winter’s snow and ice, they can install Israel Zahavi’s “Power Wheel” [17] – a removable disc that fits on the hub of the vehicle’s tires. Inside are twenty metal bars that can be manually or automatically telescoped out beyond the circumference of the tire to raise the vehicle slightly and grip the road.

Sometimes events happen so fast that you can only see what has happened on camera. Fortunately, Israeli technology leads the way [18] in this arena. Project “Safe City Surat” will install over 5000 security cameras plus software from Israel’s Verint [19], to monitor traffic and crime in India’s eighth largest city. You can even fit Israeli security systems inside your own home. Israeli WiFi chip manufacturer Celeno [20] has teamed up with Quanto – the world’s largest notebook manufacturer – to build a wireless IP camera network [21] for security and home monitoring. But just take a look at the future for 3D movement sensing technology as demonstrated by Israel’s PrimeSense, responsible for the success of Microsoft’s Kinetic.

There are still some opportunities to take a few moments rest in these high-speed times. The "Lonely Planet" travel guide ranks Tel Aviv's beach [22] as the seventh best in the world. Or you could explore the upcoming Herod exhibition [23] at the Israel museum [24]. But if you want the ultimate in relaxation devices, Israel’s Silentium can eliminate noise and create a “bubble” of silence [25] at home, office or in public places.

Finally, they may have thought that the world had passed them by, but sixty years after Operation “Magic Carpet” the last remnants of the Jewish community of Yemen [26] are making their way home to the Jewish State. They sure have some catching up to do.

For all those who want to progress, Israel has arrived just in time.

Michael Ordman writes a free weekly newsletter containing Good News stories about Israel.

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com [27]

For a free subscription, email a request to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com [28]

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