Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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ISRAEL21c-In the wake of deadly terrorist attacks at Zaventem Airport and Maelbeek metro station in Brussels yesterday that killed 34 people and injured about 200 others, law-enforcement agencies in Europe's major cities are scrambling to beef up security at airports and transport hubs. This latest horrific incident-and the revelation that the Islamist suicide bombers were known to police and yet still managed to access the airport's departure hall-has intensified speculation that European...
The trending blog Awesome Jelly predicts a new Israeli product "will forever change the way we drink water." AOL has called it "ingenious," and Entrepreneur calls it "clever." Six years of research and patented technology went into The Right Cup, a BPA-free recyclable plastic drinking cup infused with FDA-approved aromatic fruit flavors to trick your senses into thinking plain water has a fruity taste. CEO and founder Isaac Lavy was diagnosed with diabetes at age 30 and was advised by his doctor...
ISRAELI21c-They may not look like lunch to you, but to many people around the world, grasshoppers add a high-protein, low-fat crunch to their diet. And in true Israeli startup tradition, the Israeli company Steak TzarTzar has innovated a way to lengthen the normally short breeding season of edible grasshoppers by leaps and bounds. As a result, this costly and scarce source of nutrition will be more widely available, all year long. It's no joke: Chockfull of whole protein, vitamins and healthful...
ISRAEL21c-Plenty of apps are available for helping people remember to take their meds. But when Rotem and Omri Shor's diabetic father accidentally took a double dose of insulin, the Israeli brothers created Medisafe, a cloud-synced mobile medication-management platform that could do much more. "Going way beyond apps that are really just glorified alarm clocks, we provide additional tools to keep patients on their medications. We do this by bringing in content and data from third parties to...
ISRAEL21c-On June 1, more than 1500 Jewish, Christian and Muslim schoolchildren from across Haifa helped set the world record for the largest magic lesson. The students, representing every school in the city, participated in "Haifa Magic for Peace," led by Israeli magician Cagliostro. Beating the previous world record held by Scottish magician Kevin McMahon from 2012, Haifa Magic for Peace was extensively covered in the Israeli media and helped put the sponsoring organization, theBeit HaGefen Je...
(ISRAEL21c)While medical cannabis is often used to ease pain or nausea, an Israeli-American biopharmaceutical company is developing medicines containing cannabinoids—chemical compounds from cannabis plants—to treat conditions including diabetes, inflammatory diseases (like arthritis, atherosclerosis and ulcerative colitis) and cardiovascular disorders. ISA Scientific recently signed an exclusive worldwide licensing and collaboration agreement to establish therapies containing a specific cannabinoid called cannabidiol (CBD), with Yissum, the...
(ISRAEL21c)—A water well that may be the oldest wooden structure ever found, and the oldest evidence of an ancient olive-oil industry, are among the preserved remains of a prehistoric village discovered underwater by Israeli researchers off the coast of Dado Zamir Beach in Haifa. These and other fascinating clues into New Stone Age (Neolithic) culture from about 7,700 years ago were uncovered beneath 100 cubic meters of sand. “The State of Israel is a pioneer in the study of prehistoric underwater villages flooded by the sea, and is at the cut...
ISRAEL21c-In response to urgent pleas from the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the U.S. government and other countries, Israel is sending more than a million shekels' worth of medical equipment, as well as expert personnel to fight the spread of the African Ebola epidemic that has claimed 3,400 lives since March and has infected almost 7,200 people. Gil Haskel, deputy director general of MASHAV-Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation of the Foreign Ministry,...
(ISRAEL21c)-As the Ice Bucket Challenge raises millions for research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an Israeli treatment to ease symptoms and slow the progression of ALS and other incurable neuromuscular diseases is going into Phase 2 clinical trials in three major US medical centers. Petah Tikva-based BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics' NurOwn platform is based on a technique developed by Profs. Daniel Offen and Eldad Melamed at Tel Aviv University for growing and enhancing stem cells...
(Israel21c)-An Israeli plastic surgeon and his brother, a biomedical engineer, have invented what they claim is the world's first lightweight breast implant called B-Lite. It is heading to the European market and Israel is to follow soon. Breast augmentation and reconstruction are the most common procedures in plastic surgery, with more than 1.5 million implant operations performed worldwide every year. Dr. Jacky Govrin was addressing a problem that hadn't been solved since implants were first...
Alpha-1, a natural blood protein that fights inflammation, protects transplanted animal pancreatic islets—where insulin is produced—from rejection by the human body when used in combination with another anti-rejection therapy, according to an Israeli study financed by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. This discovery, reported in the journal PLoS ONE in May, could open the door to successful islet transplants from mammals, such as pigs, for Type 1 diabetes patients. Type 1 diabetes affects an estimated three million people in the Uni...
Whether it’s a navigation aid you’re seeking, or a city bus or parking, these apps have you covered. One will check your tire pressure and another checks your breath to gauge if you’re too tipsy to drive—and it’ll even hail you a cab if you are. 1. Waze Waze was a global household name even before it was judged the world’s best mobile app and Google plunked down $1.03 billion to buy it in June. The free crowdsourced navigation app allows users to share traffic information automatically in real time simply by following their GPS tracks. Waz...
When Jerusalem resident Eli Beer implemented a neighborhood-based volunteer emergency response system to Israel in 2006, he wasn’t dreaming of prizes, only of saving lives. But in recognition of the fact that United Hatzalah of Israel has brought together some 2,100 trained volunteers from every sector of Israeli society to respond to medical emergencies in Arab and Jewish neighborhoods without discrimination, Beer and Arab-Israeli United Hatzalah-East Jerusalem leader Murad Alyan were chosen to receive the 2013 Victor J. Goldberg IIE Prize f...
A new study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology shows that rates of preventable blindness in Israel have been cut by more than half over the last decade, from 33.8 cases of blindness per 100,000 residents in 1999 to 14.8 in 2010. Israel’s success in preventing and treating all four main causes of avoidable blindness—age-related deterioration, glaucoma, diabetes and cataract—is unmatched anywhere else in the world, says the study’s lead author, Dr. Michael Belkin of the Goldsch...
Snapping pictures of people practicing centuries-old faith traditions in her native Jerusalem makes award-winning Israeli photojournalist Gali Tibbon feel like a time traveler. “Every stone you step on has so much history, and if you have imagination your brain can fly,” Tibbon tells ISRAEL21c after returning from London with the title of Sony World Photography Awards Travel Photographer of the Year. Her winning series, “Journey to Jerusalem of Africa—Lalibela, Ethiopia,” resulted from conv...
Most of us have moments when we could really use a hug—when we’re sad, lonely, scared or stressed. The therapeutic value of a good squeeze for emotional wellbeing is well documented. For people affected by autism, post-traumatic stress and anxiety or attention disorders, research has shown that hugging is an especially effective soother. That is the scientific fact behind the development of the BioHug Vest by Haifa-based BioHug Technologies. Already in use and soon to roll out to a wider mar...
What’s the best way to find the right person for a job opening: placing a want ad, contacting a headhunter, posting within the company, or asking current employees to recommend a friend? In the social networking era, the last option increasingly makes sense, says Tal Moran, CEO of Tomigo, an Israeli startup offering a customized recruitment platform to leverage the social-media connections of employees. Moran points out that leading companies realize every staff member has access to a database of personal connections, and many offer rewards f...
Many older people already take the compound phosphatidylserine to improve cognition and slow memory loss. There is more good news about this natural food supplement, coming out of an Israeli university: phosphatidylserine appears to improve the functioning of genes involved in degenerative brain disorders, including Parkinson’s disease (PD) and familial dysautonomia (FD). Produced from beef, oysters or soy, and already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, phosphatidylserine c...
FunkKit, an Israeli product for adding temporary customized artwork to footwear, was conceived on a shopping trip. It was 2006, and Israeli college student Moran Nir was in England on a Jewish Agency summer program. “I went shopping with a friend who loves hats—he has one for each outfit,” Nir tells ISRAEL21c. “We went to a shoe store and he bought six pairs of the same shoes in different colors, in order to match his hats. That was my eureka moment.” Nir got on the phone to classmate...
By Abigail Klein Leichman ISRAEL21c Anybody can go to a show or take a walking tour while visiting Israel. But if you join ISRAEL21c’s exclusive Journey to Israel from Oct. 20-27, you will discover more exciting ways to take in the culture of the country. Our itinerary, planned especially for our readers by ISRAEL21c and Keshet: The Center for Educational Tourism in Israel, places an emphasis on experiential opportunities you’ve read about on our website. Have you seen our video showing a Seg...
Women giving birth by Caesarean section could be the first to benefit from a revolutionary Israeli invention for closing surgical incisions without stitches or staples. The technique also promises to leave patients less prone to infection and scarring. BioWeld1, a unique trademarked product from Israeli startup IonMed, welds surgical incisions using cold plasma. Plasma is a gas in which a certain proportion of the particles are ionized. It has been shown to offer manifold benefits including tiss...
Thirty years ago, Israeli hiker Amos Ziv observed a group of visually impaired teens out on a nature trail. They were having a rough time of it, and Ziv decided the only solution was for him to find a way for people with disabilities to experience the great outdoors safely and enjoyably. That’s the story behind LOTEM, a nonprofit organization that now serves about 30,000 Israelis every year through a range of nature clubs and outdoor programs geared to children and adults with physical, c...
The bountiful buffets that have made “Israeli breakfast” famous among tourists usually include shakshouka, a spicy North African concoction of eggs poached in a tomato-pepper-onion sauce. So it was no surprise that Lonely Planet included the shakshouka at Jerusalem’s Tmol Shilshom café on its recent Top 10 list of the world’s best breakfasts. But Jewish food writer and historian Gil Marks tells ISRAEL21c that this signature dish is actually a latecomer to the already laden Israeli breakfas...
