Good News Israel presents Israel’s Eilat coral can help cancer research; a sniff test for autism and much more.

By: Michael Ordman

 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

No-stitch corneal transplants

Scientists from Tel Aviv University and Israeli medical centers have developed a groundbreaking method for sealing the incisions in the eye following cornea transplant surgery. They used silver halide optical fibers to deliver an infrared laser beam at the precise temperature needed to bond the tissue.
http://www.israel21c.org/headlines/no-stitch-corneal-transplants/

Eilat coral can help cancer research

A team of international scientists, including researchers from Tel Aviv University and Israel’s Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences (IUI), have discovered that fluorescent pigments in Eilat’s rainbow coral are ideal for use as biomedical markers for tracking cancer cells.
http://www.jspacenews.com/rainbow-coral-found-deep-red-sea-may-key-fighting-cancer/

4th lowest deaths from heart disease in OECD

A report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ranked Israel’s mortality rate for cardiovascular disease (less than 200 per 100,000 population) the fourth-lowest among OECD nations. Japan was the lowest, followed by France and South Korea.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=26347

MyMDBand in action

I reported previously on Israel’s MyMDBand – a wristband with a QR code that gives paramedics access to vital patient data. Here now are two latest videos about the exciting product.

Fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Tel Aviv University Professor Udi Qimron has published in PNAS his research about bacterial viruses (phages) that attack bacteria. The phages transfer “edited” DNA into resistant bacteria to kill off resistant strains and make others more sensitive to antibiotics. Clinical tests will begin soon.
http://nocamels.com/2015/06/breakthrough-in-antibiotic-resistance/
https://www.aftau.org/weblog-medicine–health?=&storyid4704=2202&ncs4704=3

A sniff test for autism

A rare positive report on Israel by the BBC (and in The Independent). Weizmann scientists have discovered that whereas normal children spend a longer amount of time inhaling the aroma of roses than that of rotten fish, autistic children don’t differentiate between pleasant and unpleasant odors.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-33362472
http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822%2815%2900651-X

 

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