Israel Active

Researchers at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University have found that older adults use the same exploration-exploitation mechanism that babies use to successfully grasp objects.  And as with babies, making “mistakes” helps improve future task performance.

There were dramatic scenes at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center when a 7-year-old boy arrived with severe stomach bleeding.  They quickly removed a large benign polyp in the boy’s colon – a rare occurrence in one so young.  The boy recovered and has now been discharged.

Doctors at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center cured Mohammed Taluli from Gaza of a rare genetic disorder. Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (tree-man disease) is contagious and cancerous. It causes scaly lesions on the feet and hands that resemble tree bark. (See the astonishing photo.)

Israeli surgeons Omri Emodi and Zach Sharony from Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center have been in Ghana correcting facial deformities (e.g. cleft lips and palates) in local children. The mission was managed by US organization Operation Smile.

A senior Palestinian Arab official has donated tens of thousands of shekels to Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center after he himself underwent cancer treatment at the Israeli hospital. The money will fund a room for children, pre-and-post chemo and radiotherapy treatment.

Researchers at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center have made a breakthrough in non-invasive scanning. Using high-power MRI imaging they illuminate nuclei of Phosphorus atoms in body tissues.  It reveals tissue pH (acidity) levels that can indicate the early formation of tumors.

Medical history was made at Emek Medical Center in Afula when semi-liquid live human bone tissue grown in a lab from a 40-year-old patient’s own fat cells was transplanted into the patient’s arm by injection. The early-stage trial used technology by Israel’s Bonus Bio

Dr Orly Elpeleg of Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center has identified the genetic mutation responsible for a rare and devastating pediatric neurological disease that has baffled doctors for years. Discovery of the DNA flaw can help early diagnosis and treatment development.

Israel’s BiPS Health is developing a medical bracelet that constantly monitors blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), respiration rate and heart rate. The bracelet incorporates two short inflatable finger cuffs with sensors. It will benefit both nurses and patients.

Israel-founded biotech Quark has announced success in a Phase II trial of its treatment for preventing kidney damage during open-heart surgery. 300,000 such operations are performed annually in the US alone. Quark is now in Phase III trials to use the treatment in kidney transplants.