Israel Active

Doctors at Haifa’s Rambam hospital performed three almost simultaneous operations to save Madchat Tapash - a 7-year-old boy from Gaza. They reconstructed his bladder, transferred a kidney donated by his mother and connected it all together in an 11-hour operation.

Scientists at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University and Hadassah-University Medical Center, have developed a treatment for multiple myeloma. The patient’s T-cells are combined with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) molecule. In Phase 1 human trials at Hadassah.

Researchers at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University have identified new candidate treatments for Covid and inflammatory bowel disease based on molecules isolated from fermented probiotic yogurt (Kefir). These have anti-inflammatory properties that can heal cytokine storms caused by Covid-19.

Researchers at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University have identified the molecular mechanisms responsible for the deadly cytokine storms in Covid-19 patients. The source are long non-coding RNA molecules (lncRNAs) which in the past were thought part of “junk” DNA – having no function!

It was the diversity of Israel’s citizens that clinched the Start-up Nation as Pfizer’s preferred choice for the first rollout of its vaccine. Israel’s population includes immigrants from over 100 different countries. Any rare vaccine side effects would soon show up in Israel’s ethnic mix.

New Israeli Covid-19 cases have dropped to under 200 a day, allowing the re-opening of all schools, bars, restaurants and indoor gatherings. Israelis no longer need wear masks outdoors in the open air. And UK Minister Michael Gove arrived to explore opening a “green corridor” between the UK and Israel.

Ben Gurion University scientist Dr Debra Toiber and her team have identified several genes involved in the aging process. Whereas SIRT6 helps repair DNA to promote healthy aging, other genes cause damage. Longevity can be extended, and damage reversed with targeted gene therapy and interventions.

Israeli charity Matnat Chaim (Gift of Life) has facilitated 1,003 live kidney transplants since 2009 from altruistic donors - people who are not related to their recipients. Israel has the highest per capita rate of people donating kidneys to strangers. (See also for previous news.)

When a disabled woman suffered a heart attack at a care facility, three EMTs from United Hatzalah’s Mevaseret region worked together to save her life. They included Murad Barhom - a Muslim Arab who has had a home in the Jewish Kibbutz of Kiryat Anavim for nearly 40 years.

Volunteers at the Shevet Achim aid organization brought baby Hena from the minority Yazidis of Iraq, for life-saving heart treatment at Israel’s Sheba hospital. From a refugee camp in Iraq, Hena’s father said, “We are grateful to the State of Israel for helping us in these difficult circumstances.”