Happy Independence Day

ISRAEL AT 59!

7,150,000 RESIDENTS IN ISRAEL—(Tel Aviv) As Israel’s 59th Independence Day
approaches,
the country’s population stands at 7,150,000 residents, almost nine times its
population
of 806,000 at the time of the state’s creation in 1948. According to the
Central
Statistics Bureau, 76 per cent are Jewish, 20 per cent are Arab and 4 per cent
are
other. In 1948, Tel Aviv—with 248,500 residents—was the only city in Israel
with over
100,000 residents. Today, 44 per cent of Israelis live in a city with a
population
greater than 100,000. (Ynet News, April 22)?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /



DEVICE MAKES WALKING EASIER FOR MS PATIENTS—(Haifa) A Technion Institute
computer
science researcher has devised an auditory feedback system which enables
patients with
multiple sclerosis to improve their gait. Professor Yoram Baram said that the
apparatus,
which is an updated version of a virtual reality visual feedback device he
developed a
decade ago, can also help Parkinson’s disease patients walk better. The visual
feedback
apparatus developed ten years ago influences more stride length while the
auditory
apparatus influences walking speed. Now that both devices have been integrated,
the
patient wears the visual feedback apparatus on his eyes and the earphones are
connected
to it. The results of Baram’s work were recently published in the Journal of
Neurological Sciences. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Apr.10)



ISRAELI BREAKTHROUGH PROMISES TO SAVE LIVES—(Haifa) Cardiologists from Rambam
Medical
Center have proven for the first time that a prototype hybrid device combining
a
computerized tomography coronary angriography with an advanced nuclear camera
can be
much safer and more accurate in determining whether patients with chest pains
need
invasive treatment to prevent a heart attack. The innovative technology
provides an
accurate diagnosis of clogged coronary arteries—the same level as that in
invasive
catheterization but much more accurate than that from ordinary CT imaging of
the heart
alone. This will make many diagnostic catheterizations—which pose risks to the
patient—unnecessary. Articles on the research were published in the Journal of
the
American College of Cardiology. (Jerusalem Post, March 1)



ISRAEL DEVELOPS BIOLOGICAL CLEANING PROCESS—(Tel Aviv) Professor Eugene
Rosenberg, an
Israeli professor from Tel Aviv University, has discovered “good” variety of
bacteria
called arthrobactor which is present at sites of crude oil contamination. The
single-celled microorganisms enjoy feasting on oil and therefore play a major
role in
cleaning up oil spills. Based on Rosenberg’s research, the newly formed Israeli
company
BioPetroClean is helping oil companies clean up accidental and purposeful oil
contamination. The company has reared Rosenberg’s strains of bacteria on a
large scale
and is building custom-made reactors to provide a green, clean, and
cost-effective
solution to many forms of oil contamination. (Israel Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, April
8)



FIRST ISRAELI SAVED FROM ACUTE LEUKEMIA—(Tel Hashomer, Israel) For the first
time in
Israel, the life of a woman suffering from secondary acute leukemia was saved
by
umbilical cord blood donated by two mothers after they gave birth. Stem cells
from cord
blood do not have to be the exact tissue type of the recipient, unlike bone
marrow from
adults. Sheba Hospital said the graft took in two weeks rather than the month
it usually
takes for bone marrow. The hospital’s cord blood bank recently became the first
in
Israel to be accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks, which is
the biggest
regulatory body for the accreditation of blood banks, including that of the
American Red
Cross. (Jerusalem Post, February 2)



COMPUTERIZED LEGS HELP IDF AMPUTEES—(Tel Aviv) In March 2006 Dr. Ido Katz was
one of 25
Israel Defense Forces veteran amputees whose mechanical, prosthetic legs were
replaced
with computerized models. Katz, deputy director of Assaf Harofeh Hospital, had
one of
his legs amputated above the knee after he was wounded in the first war with
Lebanon. He
explains that the main advantage of a microprocessor knee prosthesis is the
confidence
that it instills in its users. The mechanical prosthesis currently used by most
amputees
may collapse when it hits an obstacle—causing the user to fall—while the
computerized
prosthesis allows users to descend stairs and hills smoothly, Katz said. About
15,000
amputees around the world use mircroprocessor knees, which were developed in
Canada and
produced by the German Otto Bock company, an expert in prosthesis
manufacturing.
(Ha’aretz, May 31, 2006)



ENZYME COMPUTER COULD LIVE INSIDE BODY—(Jerusalem) A molecular computer that
uses
enzymes to perform calculations has been built by researchers in Israel. Itamar
Willner,
who constructed the molecular calculator with colleagues at the Hebrew
University,
believes enzyme-powered computers could eventually be implanted into the human
body and
used for various purposes. One use could be tailoring the release of drugs to a
specific
person’s metabolism. Martyn Amos from University of Exeter in the UK, also sees
great
potential for such devices. “If such counters could be engineered inside living
cells,
then we can imagine them playing a role in applications such as intelligent
drug
delivery, where a therapeutic agent is generated at the site of a problem.”
(New
Scientist, February 23, 2006)

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PM

Happy Independence Day to you and your nation, too, Mirjam. It seems
strange seeing a country that is younger than I , but when I look at the
current World map, there are so many new nations. Time rolls onwards,
and the world is always in a state of change!

Gillian

Happy Independence Day - to you and the state of Isreal. Hoping for a
happier and healthier, and peaceful upcoming year.

Ellice

Thank you Gillian .

Ah we are a really a Renewed country in our ancient Homeland ,,,
many of my coleagues live here for generations /
mirjam

Happy Independence Day to you and your nation, too, Mirjam. It seems
strange seeing a country that is younger than I , but when I look at the
current World map, there are so many new nations. Time rolls onwards,
and the world is always in a state of change!

Gillian