http://blogs.jpost.com/print/3609
While Israel’s enemies have again been demonstrating that they love death, Israel has been proving that it loves life. My latest newsletter summary on the Jerusalem Post on-line (written before yesterday’s terrorist attack in Bulgaria) highlights this clearly. If you sometimes feel that you don’t have control over events, then don’t despair. Read through the dozens of articles in the JPost “Just look at us now” archives and you will come across thousands of innovative solutions that Israel is developing to put you firmly back in the driving seat.
A serious medical condition can turn your life upside down, but thankfully Israeli devices, drugs and therapies frequently are the first choice of physicians treating these ailments. Some that I describe may not be available on prescription yet, but clinical trials are already showing positive results. For example, OrSense’s new non-invasive blood monitor for anaemia screening and haemorrhage detection in pregnant women. Another medical device from Israeli-Arab owned Alpha Omega has just won a US award for its ability to control neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease.
Medical news comes in constantly. Recently, a diabetic friend refuted my assertion that Israeli biotechs were developing relevant solutions for her condition. Two minutes later I received an email stating that Israeli biotech Orgenesis had announced a therapy called autologous cell replacement which transplants a patient’s own cells into their liver where they secrete insulin. To stay really in control, however, you must get hold of one of the first of its kind medical smartphones. Israel’s LifeWatch Technologies has unveiled the LifeWatch V, which measures ECG, heart rate, body temperature, blood sugar levels, body fat percentages, blood oxygen saturation and an index for measuring stress. It’s mainly for people who are at risk – and for those who may think that they are.
These next two news items are almost in the realm of science fiction. Firstly, Israeli scientists have learnt how to control insects. A robotics professor and an aerospace engineering scientist at Israel’s Technion have decoded the movement of insects. Replaying the electronic signals makes the insects move. Whereas I would like them now to program all mosquitoes to drown in the Mediterranean, the scientists aim to use this “biomimicry” to help produce small controlled vehicles. And the other fantasy that has become reality is straight out of the movie “Avatar”. Israeli student Tirosh Shapira has become the first person to meld his mind and movements with a robot surrogate. Situated inside an fMRI scanner in Israel, Tirosh controlled a humanoid robot 2000 kilometers away, in France, just by using his mind.