Israel Active

United Hatzalah celebrated nearly 1,000 ambulance and emergency drivers at a heartfelt night in Airport City, honoring their tireless, life-saving work across Israel.

During 2025, Israeli emergency medical organization Magen David Adom deployed an ambulance every 22 seconds, in response to a total of 1,383,026 calls. MDA’s 39,200 EMTs, paramedics and volunteers treated 71,736 casualties in 2025, up 6% from 2024. Plus MDA training, blood drives, and more. \

From 1st Jan, four Israeli medical centers will consolidate and operate as the Medica network. They are the NARA clinics, Haifa’s Elisha Hospital, Afula’s Rosen Medical Center and Tel Aviv’s Raphael Hospital. The aim is that 75% of its activity will come from the 4 Israeli health funds.

Prof. Itzhak Fried is establishing a new research center at Reichman University in Herzliya. It will explore the “hybrid brain” – the interface between the human brain and AI, plus research into sleep and memory. It will also investigate free will, addictions, OCD, and how the senses can be bypassed.

Researchers at Bar-Ilan University have uncovered how the longevity-linked protein Sirt6 protects the body from age-related decline and disease. It boosts the body’s production of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) that supports wound healing, heart health and brain function.

A breakthrough Tel Aviv University study has discovered that melanoma cells release extracellular vesicles (EVs). These tiny bubble-like structures paralyze the immune cells (lymphocytes) that normally attack tumors. Blocking the EVs will allow the lymphocytes to kill the melanoma.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers have found a tiny RNA molecule called PreS that enables a bacteriophage (a bacteria-eating virus) to take control of a bacterial cell. The harmless phage uses it to grow but destroys the dangerous bacterium in the process.

An Israeli-led international trial of ADHD children shows that a combination of cognitive training and brain stimulation modifies neural efficiency markers to a profile more typical of non-ADHD children.  And some of the changes lasted weeks after treatment ended.

On his visit to Zambia, Israeli President Herzog met Zambian doctors trained by Israeli NGO Save a Child’s Heart (SACH). He also met a teenager whose life was saved when he had heart surgery in Israel – one of nearly 150 Zambian children treated by SACH.

Israel’s YuviTal has won a breast cancer innovation challenge sponsored by Roche Israel, Startup Nation Central and Sheba. YuviTal collects real-world health data from breast cancer patients, including dietary patterns, activity levels and mood indicators. It then uses AI to provide personalized guidance.