Israel Active

Israeli startup ITsMine has developed technology to protect companies against internal and external data theft. CEO Kfir Kimhi explained his product on ILTV News. Hackers trying to encrypt, copy, change or delete data are immediately blocked.

Israeli-managed Armis has launched its unique security platform that lets enterprises eliminate their IoT (Internet of Things) security blind spots. Armis’s team includes Technion graduates and former members of Israeli Cyber Intelligence Unit 8200.

The Weizmann Institute held its annual “Science on Tap” night where about 60 leading scientists and outstanding PhD students gave informal science talks on the same day, same hour - in bars and cafes around Tel Aviv.

Israeli startup Icebow seeks to revolutionize chunks of frozen water by branding them with company logos and images. The technology provides a cool, new way for brands to engage with customers, embossing ads and designs at the center of the ice cubes, using only water, with no additives.

The Nature Index of Innovation 2017 ranked Israel’s Weizmann Institute sixth in its international ranking of the world’s top 200 research institutions and the only non-US institution in the top ten.  Weizmann also ranks fifth in applications for patents.

Now that the human genome has been mapped, the problem is how to store each terabyte of an analyzed genome. Israeli startup Geneformics has developed technology to reduce the size of the data footprint by 90 per cent, helping those working on customized medicines for patients.

The Middle East is drying up.  But Israel’s Zuckerberg Institute is developing solutions that can help its parched neighbors and in the process, bring together old enemies in common cause. They see water as a bridge, through joint ventures. And one of those ventures is desalination.  

See the latest exhibits at the Design Museum of Holon – 6th on the UK Telegraph’s list of coolest museums.  The video shows a recent exhibit of cool eyewear, featuring intriguing optometry pieces from the 19th century, curious contemporary glasses, and futuristic VR shades.

I reported previously that the Hebrew University of Jerusalem had founded the Quantum Information Science Center. The center has just won a NIS 7.5 million Israel Government tender to lead the construction of a national demonstrator for quantum communications technologies.  

I reported previously on olive trees planted at Ben Gurion University’s Wadi Mashash experimental agricultural desert research farm. Students from 30 countries now study how to grow crops in the minimal rainfall climate where planting can only occur after a winter flood.