Israel Active

The Tel Aviv University MedTech Hackathon attracted 200 students and 120 mentors. The winner OReye utilizes cutting-edge computer vision technology for a safer operating room. Runner up was a wellness app for the early diagnosis and treatment of peripartum depression.

The American Friends of the Hebrew University is hosting an evening with the University’s Dr Haitham Amal on 31 Jan in Florida. Dr Amal will discuss the groundbreaking development of therapies for Autism and Alzheimer’s disease.

Ben Gurion University’s Dr Debra Toiber and her international colleagues have made more discoveries about the role of the protein SIRT6 in the aging process (see previously). They have now found that SIRT6 prevents mitochondrial disfunction that causes brain diseases.

Israel’s CytoReason (see previously) is partnering France’s Sanofi to identify novel therapies to treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Sanofi will pay CytoReason millions of dollars to use the Israeli startup’s computational AI-discovery disease model platform.

Israel’s Sheba Medical Center has developed CurQD – a botanical combination of Curcumin (Tumeric) and QingDai for treating Ulcerative Colitis. Phase 1 and 2 human trials were successful and a spin-off company Evinature is now marketing the product.

Scientists at Israel’s Ben Gurion University have created a new compound by combining copper with a polysaccharide derived from the marine red microalga Porphyridium sp. The long, dense spikes on the surface of the compound kills bacteria and fungus by poking holes in their membranes.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Israel’s Tissue Dynamics used their “sensors on a chip” to bypass animal testing in developing a new treatment. They proved that the diabetic drug empagliflozin blocks the toxicity of aminoglycoside antibiotics in kidney disease patients.

Researchers from Israel’s Bar-Ilan University have developed a peptide (small protein) that prevents the triggering of metastasis – secondary cancer. In the laboratory, it had 90% success on solid cancers and could be used in combination with other therapies.

Israelis liberDI has received clearance from the US FDA for its Digital Dialysis Clinic. The 3kg device allows patients to perform a 90 min dialysis at home or at work, by themselves, monitored by their physician using the advanced telemedicine capabilities of the system. (5 years ago) (4 years ago)

Israeli emergency volunteer organization United Hatzalah has begun a new video series UHTV. In its inaugural video, United Hatzalah volunteer EMT and Ambassador Rachel Holzer spoke to students at Israel’s Reichman University to see what the next generation knows about CPR.