By Michael Ordman, VGNI
I may have taken an extended holiday recently, but Israel’s innovators and high achievers certainly haven’t. The 50 positive articles in my latest newsletter are some of the best, but only a small portion of the great news stories from Israel that were published in the last month. My apologies if you sent me articles recently – I will try to catch up and include them in a future newsletter. Meanwhile, I hope that you enjoy reading this selection.
The photo is of another section of the “Am Yisrael Chai” mural at Ben Gurion Airport, featuring 4,000 years of Jewish history. In a previous email, I included the section featuring early Jewish history. This week’s photo shows the section featuring more recent history, and especially personalities connected with the Modern Jewish State.
In the 20th Aug 23 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
- Three Israeli medical breakthroughs to combat diseases in the heart, lungs, and brain.
- Israeli firefighters helped extinguish forest fires in Greece and Cyprus.
- An Israeli innovation boosts production of hydrogen from water.
- Israeli robots can protect fish stocks or teach English.
- New Israeli trade agreements with Vietnam and Ivory Coast.
- “Beautiful” debut Israeli concert by Christina
- Record number of twins born in 24 hours at Jerusalem hospital.
- ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTSA miniature human heart, grown from stem cells. (TY WIN) Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Israel’s Technion Institute have created a tiny functioning human heart, smaller than a grain of rice. It will help scientists study the heart and develop new treatments for cardio-vascular diseases.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-researchers-grow- miniature-beating-model-of-a- human-heart/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-eKR6AQPZQ https://www.nature.com/ articles/s41551-023-01071-9 Short-circuiting the lung cancer gene. (TY JNS & Israel21c) Researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have found that Erbitux – a therapy for colon and neck / head cancer – can also cure lung cancer in non-smokers with a mutated EGFR gene. They have also identified a biomarker to identify those patients.
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/select- group-study-may-bring- improved-therapy-preselected- lung-cancer-patients https://www.cell.com/cell- reports-medicine/pdf/S2666- 3791(23)00295-1.pdf Busting the protein link to Alzheimer’s. Israeli biotech MemoryPlus has developed a peptide to block the interaction of proteins PTEN & PSD-95, that causes memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients. The disease makes excessive PTEN, which attacks PSD-95, weakening the brain’s synapses. The peptide also lowers PTEN levels.
https://nocamels.com/2023/08/protein-busting-drug-could-be- new-era-for-alzheimers- therapy/
https://shiraknafo.com/ https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/memoryplus The power of enzymes. (TY Yehoshua) Israel’s Enzymit is developing enzymes to enable some life-changing chemical reactions (see videos). First, though, it has synthesized hyaluronic acid – a natural biopolymer used to heal eyes, wounds, inflammation, and more. This avoids the use of animal tissue or costly alternate processes.
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/technology- science/1690889148-israeli- startup-enzymit-achieves- breakthrough-in-hyaluronic- acid-production https://enzymit.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94pdvpoyaaw https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=GnPgbJu_sG4 Making science fiction a reality. Israeli-founded Bionaut Labs (see here previously) has safety-tested its micro robot containing a magnet, that can travel via spinal fluid, directly to the brain, to deliver therapy or perform surgery. It can also navigate to any part of the body. Bionaut plans to begin human trials in late 2024.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/spotlight/400m-apple-face-id- inventors-create-tiny-robot- to-treat-brain-disease/
https://www.ourcrowd.com/companies/bionaut-labs https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=8PrPbevTDqE Heart diagnosis AI that any doctor can use. Doctors at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center have developed AISAP POCAD (AI Point of Care Assisted Diagnosis) to diagnose a patient’s cardiac problem As Soon As Possible. The AI system uses any manufacturer’s supplied combination of handheld ultrasound probe and digital tablet.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/sheba-startup-uses-ai-to-help- doctors-image-and-diagnose- cardiac-issues-in-minutes/ https://www.aisap.ai/ https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=6JdoIQXNPz8 European grant for preemie formula. Israel’s ELGAN (see here previously) has been awarded a $2.5 million grant by the European Innovation Council (EIC). It will help ELGAN clinically test its ELGN-GI oral formula for the treatment of intestinal malabsorption that prevents preterm infants from absorbing nutrients.
https://nocamels.com/2023/07/startup-treating-newborns-in- serious-condition-raises-2-5m/ World-first newborn surgery saves baby’s ovaries. (TY Israel21c & JNS) Surgeons at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem detected twisted fallopian tubes in a fetus during a routine ultrasound of the mother. They immediately delivered the baby and performed a complex operation to save her ovaries.
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-753159 More heart ops for children from South Sudan. Israeli NGOs IsraAID and Save A Child’s heart returned to South Sudan to assess children who needed heart surgery (see here previously). They screened 74 children including 4-year-old Gladys who was in urgent need. Gladys was rushed to Israel for surgery.
https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-ngos-screen-south- sudan-kids-for-lifesaving- surgery/
https://saveachildsheart.org/children-in-israel ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Donating to good causes. Israel’s Capitolis (see here previously) donated part of its June revenue to social projects in each of the company’s locations. In Tel Aviv, it was Notnim BeAhavah, helping families at risk. In New York, Coalition for the Homeless; in London, food redistribution charity Compliments of the House.
https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-unicorn-dedicated- june-to-community-service- projects/
https://www.notnim.org/en/Six ID graduates. Only three profound Intellectually Disabled (ID) students in the world have previously graduated with university bachelor’s degrees. Now, thanks to a unique Empowerment Project by Prof. Hefziba Lifshitz of Bar-Ilan University, six “special” Israelis have just obtained their BA qualifications.
https://www.israel21c.org/a-university-boosts-iqs-of- intellectually-disabled- adults/ RightHear wins social impact contest. Israeli accessibility startup RightHear (see here previously) won the Connect AI: Social Impact award for its guidance system for the visually impaired. RightHear is deployed at McDonald’s, Aroma coffee shops, Azrieli Group malls, the Open University campus, and Ramat Gan Safari.
https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-accessibility-startup- wins-social-impact-contest/ A hi-tech park for Jerusalem Arabs. (TY Hazel) Israel has inaugurated The EasTech high-tech campus on Saleh al-Din Street in eastern Jerusalem (see here previously). It is part of the Israeli government’s effort to create jobs for Arab hi-tech professionals. Twenty local programmers are already working there.
https://www.jns.org/startup-nation/eastern-jerusalem/23/7/ 18/303470/ Training rescue dogs. Project Locate at Kibbutz Ashdot Yakov trains domestic dogs to locate individuals amid the rubble left behind by natural disasters – particularly earthquakes. Head dog trainer Nitzan Tal has experience from building collapses in Israel to the aftermath of the 2019 Brumadinho dam disaster in Brazil.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-k9-search-and-rescue- training-program-turns-pets- into-protectors/ Israeli doctors mend Jordanian girl. A 7-year-old girl from Amman, Jordan, born with a congenital deformed dislocated hip, was in constant pain following multiple unsuccessful surgeries in Jordan. Pediatric orthopedic surgeons at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center lengthened her femur (thigh bone) and she can now walk.
https://www.jns.org/israel-news/israel-jordan-relations/ 23/7/13/302321/ Water from air for Ukraine following dam collapse. Israel’s Watergen provided five water generators to the Ukrainian city of Kherson after a dam in nearby Nova Kakhovka collapsed, leaving some 700,000 without clean drinking water. Each generator can provide 900 liters of drinkable water per day.
https://www.jns.org/israel-news/innovation/23/7/13/ 302130/ Firefighting planes for Greece and Cyprus. (TY JNS) Israel sent two ‘Elad’ firefighting aircraft from its aerial firefighting squadron to help Greece and Cyprus extinguish their raging forest fires. They included four pilots, forest fire experts, and essential equipment. Logistic support was provided by an IAF transport plane.
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-751618 https://www.jpost.com/ israel-news/article-753960 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
More green hydrogen. Tel Aviv University scientists have boosted the efficiency of producing hydrogen (a vital fuel) using electrolysis. They used a hydrogel to attach the enzyme hydrogenase to the electrode. It made the process 90% efficient and avoided the current need to employ expensive catalysts such as Platinum.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/science-and-tech/in- critical-breakthrough-tau- researchers-produce-efficient- low-cost-green-hydrogen/2023/ 07/17/ https://onlinelibrary.wiley. com/doi/full/10.1002/cey2.411 Energy costs go (down) through the roof. Israel’s EDI Energy rents roofs for solar power, providing the owners with cheap rate electricity and selling excess power to Israel’s grid. EDI operates in more than 100 locations in Israel. It also has several solar farms in the US, that sell electricity to the local power companies.
https://nocamels.com/2023/07/startup-rents-roofs-for-solar- panels-sells-owners-cheap- power/
https://www.edi-energy.com/enLess is more. The MAOZ alternative bio-fertilizer from Israel’s Grace Breeding (see here previously) increased corn plant yields by 10%, using 50% less nitrogen in Brazilian field and greenhouse tests. Also, its ClimAid™ Wide Defense System (WDS) formula for tomatoes has been approved by Germany’s regulators.
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/294913/20230810/ grace-breeding-secures-first- e-u-block-regulatory-approval- wds.htm https://www.jpost.com/ business-and-innovation/ opinion/article-753086 Detect and stop water leaks at source. Israel’s WINT Water Intelligence develops water management and leak-prevention solutions for construction, commercial, residential, and industrial applications. Its AI-based solutions help companies eliminate water waste and its associated carbon emissions and prevent water damage.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/rkmkwhfn2 https://wint.ai/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQziQ7QsZks Digitizing taste, scent & flavor. (TY Arlene) The Israeli development team of Brussels-based Ajinomatrix has merged technology with the art of gastronomy. Using digitized taste, scent and flavor measures, its Sensory OS software provides the food industry with the ability to finely tailor dishes and products for its customers.
https://www.israelstartupnetwork.com/blog/ ajinomatrix-digitizing-taste- flavor-and-aroma-for-the-food- industry-with-ai-based- software https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=-oty-JSAysQ Pillowcases that are good for the skin. Israel’s ONYX Radiance has developed a silver ion-laced pillowcase to rejuvenate the skin, and another containing a zinc compound that combats bacterial and fungal infections. Together, they treat conditions such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema while you sleep.
https://nocamels.com/2023/07/metal-laced-pillowcases-that- care-for-your-skin-as-you- sleep/
https://onyxradiance.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YCToI4YIHw Improving traffic flow in 13 states. Israel’s NoTraffic (see here previously) is now operating in 13 US states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas, and California, and has just signed up its 100th local Department of Transportation in North America. NoTraffic was one of TIME100s Most Influential Companies in 2022.
https://nocamels.com/2023/07/israeli-ai-system-saving-us- drivers-from-endless-traffic- jams/ Underwater robots to help prevent overfishing. Scientists at the University of Haifa have won a share of a $3.5 million prize from the Schmidt Family Foundation. It rewards their development of a swarm of low-cost, underwater autonomous robots that coordinate better acoustic detection and estimation of fish populations.
https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-underwater-robots-win- sustainable-fishing-contest/ Happy robot teaches English in kindergarten. Curiosity Robotics has created Aico – a friendly, chatty little robot to teach English as a foreign language to preschoolers. Aico uses the teaching method of UK-Israeli Helen Doron, which advocates for children starting to learn a second language as early as three months of age.
https://nocamels.com/2023/07/happy-robot-helps- preschoolers-learn-second- language/
https://www.curiosity-robotics.com/ https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=k5yTzj1LJlM Battery-power for nanosatellite. The Tel Aviv University nanosatellite Israel’s first quantum communications satellite – TAU-SAT3) launched earlier this year (see here previously) is powered by a tiny Lithium-ion battery developed by Israel’s Epsilor. The battery is designed to last at least 10 years, ample time for the mission.
https://www.epsilor.com/pr10012023/ More high-powered Israeli computer chips. Israel’s NeoLogic has developed a chip technology for higher computing power. Its Quasi-CMOS design reduces the transistor count of a microprocessor by up to a third, increasing its power and energy-efficiency, while reducing its price.
https://www.neologicvlsi.com/https://www.calcalistech.com/ ctechnews/article/hjdjaeaq2 MassChallenge Israel winners. The 7 Israeli startups (out of 49) that won the 4-month 2023 MassChallenge Israel accelerator program are: H2OLL; McFly (heavy lifting drone); Origametria (teaching geometry); PregnanTech; RealizeMD (anonymizing faces in medical data); TextRe; and Coda (speech to sign language).
https://nocamels.com/2023/07/drone-sustainability-startups- among-israel-accelerator- winners/
https://www.mcflyhigh.com/ https://origametria.com/
https://finder.startupnationcentral.org/ company_page/realizemd
https://nocamels.com/2023/08/ai-avatar-turns-speech-into- sign-language-in-real-time/ 11 medals at student Olympiads in Japan. (TY UWI) At the International Mathematics Olympiad in Chiba, Japan, Israel’s Itamar Nir won a gold medal. Israelis won five other medals, taking Israel to 14th place of the 112 countries. Israeli students also won five silver medals at the International Physics Olympiad in Tokyo.
https://www.israel21c.org/israel-wins-11-medals-at-math- physics-olympiads-in-japan/ ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Trade Agreements with Vietnam & Ivory Coast. (TY WIN) Israel and Vietnam have signed a Free Trade Agreement, Israel’s first with an Association of Southeast Asian Nations member. Direct flights to Hanoi are planned to start in Oct. Israel has also signed an agreement with Ivory Coast in agriculture, water, and tech.
https://www.jns.org/israel-news/israel-vietnam-relations/ 23/7/27/305943/
https://www.jns.org/israel-news/israel-vietnam-relations/ 23/7/25/305476/
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/ 375652
https://www.jns.org/israel-news/israel-africa-relations/ 23/7/27/305989/ Strong growth in Israeli hi-tech. Israel’s high-tech exports increased by 6.9% during the first five months of 2023. Over the same period, industrial production in Israel’s high-tech sector expanded by 5.6% more than in the first five months of 2022 and the number of Israeli high-tech workers grew 3% over the same period.
https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/08/02/the-miracle-of- israels-economic-growth- despite-grave-odds-and-recent- challenges/ https://theettingerreport. com/israels-economic-growth- in-defiance-of-grave-odds/ NIS 113 million for biodevices R&D. Israel’s Innovation Authority is allocating NIS 113 million for a new research and development center for startups to build biodevices based on biochips. This area is known as bio-convergence and is expected to be a growth engine and source of diversification for Israeli industry.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-earmarks-nis-113- million-to-build-rd-center- for-chip-based-biodevices/ The UK’s deepest mine. (TY Hazel) Israel Chemicals Ltd (ICL) owns Boulby Mine in North Yorkshire, the UK’s deepest mine, and currently the world’s only polyhalite mine. Polyhalite, a naturally occurring crystal, is marketed as PolySulphate, a new eco-friendly fertilizer, used on the Wimbledon turf and exported worldwide.
https://www.icl-uk.uk/history-2/ https://www.icl-uk.uk/ product/polysulphate/ Electric bus Blue Line for Tel Aviv. Work has begun on Tel Aviv’s new Bus Rapid Transit system. Advanced electric buses will connect 44 stations along the 14 miles from Tel Aviv to Rehovot via Rishon LeZion and Nes Ziona. The line is estimated to cost nearly NIS 3 billion and expected to open in 2028.
https://www.jns.org/israel-news/light-rail/23/8/10/ 309493/ Electric road for France. Israel’s Electreon (see here previously) has won a French public tender to install a 2km wireless Electric Road System (ERS) to charge passing electric vehicles. It will be built into a section of the A10 highway, Southwest of Paris. It will also include a stationary wireless charging station for all EVs.
https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/ article-749781 Knee implant makes US debut. The Agili-C knee implant from Israel’s Cartiheal has just been used for the first time in the United States. Dr. Ken Zaslav, a specialist in Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at Northwell Health in New York, was the first physician in the US to implant Agili-C in a patient.
https://nocamels.com/2023/07/israel-made-healing-knee- implant-used-for-first-time- in-us/ Israeli security for Microsoft. Israel’s Appdome (see here previously) is partnering with the U.S.-based Microsoft Azure DevOps to advance its Cyber Defense Automation Platform. It allows mobile app developers to rapidly detect potential cybersecurity threats and build secure Android and iOS applications.
https://nocamels.com/2023/07/microsoft-recruits-israeli- firm-providing-app-security/
https://www.appdome.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBaSc5omPb4 Another quarter of a billion for Israeli startups. TLV Partners (see here previously) has raised $250 million in new funds to invest in innovative Israeli-founded early-stage startups. Its fifth fund will back up to 25 Israeli-founded startups engaged in AI, cybersecurity, fintech, biotech, and other fields.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/tlv-partners-pulls-in-250- million-for-early-stage- startup-investment-fund/ Exits, takeovers & mergers to 20/8/23:.General Motors has acquired Israel’s ORGOLiON (now renamed AIONZ). Israeli energy conglomerate Delek Group is buying control of Israeli citrus fruit supplier and real estate investor Mehadrin Ltd. in a deal worth NIS 249 million. Israel’s ReWalk bought US-based AlterG for $19 million. Multinational Philip Morris is acquiring Israel’s Syqe Medical for up to $650 million. France’s Thales is acquiring Israeli-founded Imperva for $3.6 billion. EssilorLuxottica (makers of Ray-Ban sunglasses) acquired Israel’s Nuancehear. Israel’s Rapyd is acquiring PayU GPO for $610 million.
Investment in Israeli startups to 20/8/23: K Health raised $59 million; TytoCare raised $49 million; WINT Water Intelligence raised $35 million; Wing Cloud raised $20 million;
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