Israel Active

Tel Aviv University scientists have developed a new learning method for people with autism that may significantly improve capabilities in terms of visual perception. It uses “memory flashes” to reinforce the duration and repetition of new skills.

Israel’s Identifai Genetics is developing a noninvasive prenatal test for the early detection of severe genetic disorders. A simple blood test of the mother in her first trimester can detect every single-point mutation, insertion-deletion, and structural variation in the entire embryonic genome.

Intel Corporation is working with the ARC Innovation Center at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center to develop an AI-enhanced app to help physicians diagnose Crohn’s disease at an early stage. 12,000 images taken by a “capsule pill” can be analyzed in just two minutes.

The medical condition fibromyalgia is hard to diagnose. Now, researchers at Haifa’s Rambam Health Care Campus and Canada’s McGill University can identify it in blood tests using an algorithm that analyzes the bile acids produced by gut bacteria. The scientists are developing a tool for use in clinics.

Israeli pharmacist Eliana Steinberg realized her medicines were not curing cancer patients and went back to university to get a doctorate. She then developed a transparent chip, which takes a sample of the tumor to test numerous treatments to discover which works best. It was even tested in outer space.

Israel’s Nanovation-GS (see previously) is now undergoing clinical trials in Israel and the EU of its SenseGuard first-of-its-kind nano-sensor for monitoring and managing chronic respiratory conditions. It is also working to obtain CE certification, with FDA approval to be sought later.

Israeli-UK biotech Eleven Therapeutics is developing RNAi therapy that attacks the genetic structure of respiratory viruses such as SARS-COV-2. Eleven has just received a $9 million grant from the Gates Foundation.

A team of Israeli immunologists, epidemiologists and other researchers have successfully used the levels of antibody markers to predict the risk of Covid-19 infection. IGG antibodies for 608 healthy adults were monitored over 90 days. The 239 subsequent infections were then correlated.

Tel Aviv’s Sourasky (Ichilov) Hospital has inaugurated the Sylvan Adams Emergency Hospital (see previously). The 8,000sqm Emergency Room is the largest in the world. Technology includes facial recognition registration, self-triage, alerts for abnormal results, navigation robots and an app.

Scientists from Tel Aviv University were key members of a team led by University of Barcelona scientists, that reverted malignant blood cancer cells back into “normal” cells in the laboratory. They used messenger RNA to convert acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells to macrophages.