Israel Active

Professor Michael Sela, formerly the sixth president of Israel’s Weizmann Institute, has passed away at the age of 98. Prof Sela co-invented Copaxone to treat MS, Erbitux for cancer, and other treatments. He helped create the field of immunology, won numerous awards, and spoke nine languages.

Identical twin sisters, Yael and Avital gave birth at Shaare Zedek Medical Center to their fourth babies (both boys) on the same day. Each already had two girls and a boy. And previously, a set of twins were born at Hadassah Medical Center, at 2:22am on the 22nd of February 2022.

Israel has selected 19 programs for a new digital health initiative. They include test sharing, endoscopy videos for R&D, and making data on mental health and midwifery more accessible. The databases used are anonymized and better access should contribute to more breakthroughs in Israeli health tech.

Report and fascinating new video showing the features of the X100 Microscope and Decision Support System from Israel’s Scopio Labs (see previously).

Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute and in Germany, have clarified the molecular cascade triggered by ketamine, that leads to its sustained antidepressant effects. They found that the gene Kcnq2 enables potassium ions to pass through the brain, maintaining the activity and stability of neurons.

Excellent article about Israel’s DecideVR (see previously) - the most advanced Virtual Reality simulator for reducing errors and saving lives in Intensive Care Units. It was developed by Prof Alex Mintz, Director of the Computerized Decision-Making Lab at Reichman University.

Since March, volunteer doctors (Jews & Arabs) from the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem, have been running the medical clinic at the Przemyśl Humanitarian Aid Center, near the Medyka border crossing in southeastern Poland. Also, at a refugee center in nearby Korczowa.

Surgeons at Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital performed a “first time in Israel” aortic valve transplant to save a patient unsuitable for open-heart surgery. The hybrid team of catheterization specialists and cardiac surgeons used the carotid artery as the point of entry.

Israel’s MEDX Xelerator (see previously) has partnered with the Portland Trust to launch an incubator branch in the Sakhnin Valley region in northern Israel. It will support health and medical startups in the Galilee and northern Arab and Jewish regions.

Some 1,000 people registered to attend Israel’s first mental health expo. It was conducted entirely in English and tailored to the needs of English-speaking immigrants. Its aim was to give a sense of what’s available in Israel to help and treat people facing mental health challenges.