Israel Active

(Thanks to NoCamels) Ben Gurion University researchers have discovered that the leaves and roots of the yellow water-lily (nuphar lutea) have an inhibitory effect on a protein that causes inflammation. This could lead to Inflammatory Bowel Disease medication and cancer prevention.

During trials by Israel’s Can-Fite BioPharma of its anti-inflammatory CF101 medication, the company discovered that the active ingredient is suitable for treating impotence. Can-Fite only found this out when they noticed that patients were not returning all the drugs at the end of the trial.

The US Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is funding five Israeli researchers up to $130,000 per year each for up to three years toward investigations into Type 1 diabetes (T1D), which affects an estimated three million individuals in the United States alone.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers have isolated rare replicating cells from the livers of mice. This may eventually help develop treatments to increase the cells that produce insulin for diabetics and reduce cell proliferation in cancerous tumours.

(Thanks to NoCamels) Here again are the details of the stem cell transplants performed by Israeli doctors using PLX stem cells from Israeli biotech Pluristem. Two of the patients were cured completely and one survived for four months until she contracted an infection in her Romanian home.

Last week it was curing bacterial lung infections and preventing implant rejection. Kamada’s latest trial of its Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) protein shows that it can halt the progression of juvenile diabetes. Remember, AAT is the active ingredient in Kamada’s Glassia , used to treat emphysema.

Israel’s Atox Bio announced the success of Phase Iia clinical trials of its AB103 treatment of Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections (NSTI). NSTIs are life-threatening bacterial infections with significant morbidity and high mortality rate.

Israeli Medical Device Innovations on display at Medica 2012 in Dusseldorf included HemaClear's innovative tourniquet technology, which has now been put to use in more than 500,000 operations.

More media publicity (this time in the UK) for Technion’s breakthrough technology that uses stem cells from a patient’s own skin to regenerate damaged heart muscle tissue.

Hebrew University researchers have proved that we are able to solve maths problems and read phrases unconsciously. These results bring us closer to solving one of the biggest scientific mysteries of the 21st century: What are the functions of human consciousness?