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Cell phones may be medical imaging tools Israeli scientists say they've found a way to transmit medical images via cellular phones that might open such technology to most of Earth's peoples, providing sophisticated radiological diagnoses and treatment to people lacking access to such technology. IBM to set up new lab in Israel IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) is setting up a new Systems and Technology Group Lab in Israel to be headed by Alain Azagury. The lab will leverage the deep technology skills and the creativity of the Israeli industry to create a unique organization that will attract top talent to IBM’s System & Technology Group. Since January 2008, IBM has acquired three Israeli IT storage solutions start-ups: XIV, FilesX Ltd., and Diligent Technologies Corporation. Israel develops solarpower 100x cheaper NETANYA, Israel — Scientists at the University of Tel Aviv in Israel have found a way to construct efficient photovoltaic cells costing at least a hundred times less than conventional silicon based devices, and with similar or better energy conversion efficiency. The reactive element in the researchers' patent pending device is genetically engineered proteins using photosynthesis for production of electrical energy. HBO orders 40 episodes of Israeli series. HBO has decided to order 40 new episodes of the series "Treatment," based on the critically-acclaimed Israeli television series "Betipul." The series portrays a psychologist who treats patients at his clinic five days a week and then seeks psychological treatment for himself. The original Israeli series was aired on the Israeli HOT cable network and starred actor Assi Dayan. HBO will cast actor Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects) in the leading role as the psychologist. The 45 episodes will be the same number of episodes originally aired in Israel. Israeli Scientists Develop Heart Muscle With Embryonic Stem Cells In a breakthrough development, Israeli researchers have successfully created new heart muscle with a built-in blood supply by using human embryonic stem cells. The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology scientists say they new development could now make possible the replacement of tissue damaged in heart attacks. It is the first time the researchers have created a three-dimensional cardiac tissue with blood vessels. Israeli male lifespan among highest in developed countries. Men in only five countries have longer lifespans than Israeli males, who live an average of 78 years: Iceland (79.2), Japan (78.6), Switzerland (78.6), Sweden (78.4), and Australia (78.1). The average lifespan is one measure for defining quality of life and differentiating between developed and undeveloped countries. Israel Startups Raise $1.62B. Israeli high-tech startups raised $1.62 billion in 2006, the highest amount in five years. The figure represented a 21 percent rise over the previous year. An Israel Venture Capital (IVC) Research Center survey noted that 402 companies raised funds from foreign and local venture investors. Life science startups raised $369 million last year, a record since the survey began in 1999. In the fourth quarter of 2006, local high-tech firms raised $477 million, a 25 percent increase over the previous quarter. The rise was particularly noteworthy as it followed this summer’s war along Israel’s northern border. Israeli piano duo to perform in Hanoi. The acclaimed Israeli piano duo Sivan Silver and Gil Garburg will give a performance tonight at the Hanoi Opera House. Silver and Garburg, two of the most brilliant Israeli pianists, will play pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Franz Schubert and Franz Liszt. The two artists gave a lecture to students of the Hanoi Conservatory this morning. Praised for their lyric sensitivity, extraordinary inner perception and overwhelming technical mastering, the artists’ performances have been successful in 40 countries around the world. Silver and Garburg founded their duo in 1997 and within a few years became one of the most remarkable piano-duos on international stages, gaining enthusiastic acclaim by music audiences and critics. They have been the first prize winners of numerous national and international competitions both as soloists and as a duo. Israeli Electronics Teaming with Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems. RADA Electronic Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: RADI), of Israel, announced today that it has signed a Teaming Agreement with Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems Corporation to cooperate in the construction and installation of the Skyguard(TM) High Energy Laser Defensive System aimed at hostile rockets and missiles interception for use by the State Of Israel. Skyguard(TM) is the end product of over thirty years of development of laser weapon systems by NGST. Skyguard(TM) has higher power and a larger beam than previous designs, making it a much more capable system. A single Skyguard(TM) system can defend a large civilian population or industrial area, large military installation and/or deployed forces. The first Skyguard(TM) system could be deployed in Israel within 18 months of date of order. India to buy Israeli air defence system. India has agreed to buy the Spyder system in the deal worth about $240 million. The truck-mounted system is made by Israel's Rafael armaments company. The Spyder is designed to counter attacks by aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and precision guided munitions. Israeli Bomb-Sniffing Breakthrough for BagsIsraeli startup TraceGuard aims to thwart terrorists with technology it claims can detect solid and liquid explosives with greater accuracy. Busy week for Israeli Hi-Tech Amdocs ended a busy week of deals for Israeli hi-tech companies, expanding its presence in the Chinese telecommunications market. That deal followed Tower Semiconductor winning a contract with California-based Ikanos Communications to manufacture its Vx160 high-performance DSL network processor. Earlier in the week, Netanya-based Saifun Semiconductor extended the license of the Saifun NROM(R) technology to Tower for the manufacture of Embedded Flash and Embedded EEPROM products. Ceragon Networks, a provider of high-capacity wireless backhaul solutions, said that Ukraine's largest mobile operator, Kyivstar GSM, has been deploying its new FibeAir 1500HP since the product's release in late 2005. HP Israel won a tender to establish the new computer environment for the Strauss Elite Group resulting from the new organizational needs arising after the merger of food companies Elite Industries and Strauss in 2004. Israeli Company Develops Bananas That Defend Themselves. An Israeli biotech company has developed banana plants that are completely resistant to pathogenic nematodes, which are parasitic organisms that normally damage the plants and their fruit. Israeli-Made Tank Force Field Could Be Deployed Soon An Israeli-made missile defense system that creates a virtual force field around armored vehicles could be ready to deploy within months. A recent report on NBC criticized the Pentagon for failing to buy in to the Israeli protection system earlier, and instead preferring to wait another five years for a similar system being developed by US defense contractor Raytheon. That expose was followed by a Senate order to US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to assess the need for and viability of purchasing and deploying the Israeli system. Israeli/US students design for light helicopter wins international competition. Thirteen engineering and aeronautics students at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, in cooperation with students at the Pennsylvania State University, have won first prize in an international competition for helicopter design run by Bell Helicopters and the American Helicopter Society. Dubbed "GrassChopper," the judges panel found the winning model much superior to the other designs in altitude and speed. It met the demands of the competition in having space for two pilots and cargo, and being able to remain static in the air for two hours. For the first time, students from two different universities in two countries collaborated on the final project for their Bachelor's degree. Israelis invent hydrogen car that uses just a tank of water. Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, have devised a scheme that gets round the problem of dangerous and expensive hydrogen infrastructure, and makes possible 100% green cars that emit only water from their tailpipe. By reacting water with the element boron, their system produces hydrogen that can be burnt in an internal combustion engine or fed to a fuel cell to generate electricity. The only by-product is boron oxide, which can be removed from the car, turned back into boron, and used again. What's more, they plan to do this in a solar-powered plant that is completely emission-free. Israeli uses Einstein to help you board your plane faster. Eitan Bachmat and his colleagues at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, were studying the performance of digital storage systems such as PC hard drives, looking at how to read and write data most efficiently. Say you send your hard drive a big bunch of read/write requests. What you want to know is the quickest way to carry out those tasks. How do you find the fewest drive rotations needed to do the job? That looked a lot like airplane boarding, and Bachmat and his colleagues decided to explore this parallel route. Having called their virtual passengers to this mathematical boarding gate, Bachmat and his colleagues can calculate the overall boarding time by finding the equivalent of a free-fall trajectory through that passenger "space-time". The maths isn't simple but it gives you formulae for calculating boarding time under different boarding policies. Crucially, it also lets you see the effect of varying parameters such as legroom and luggage-stowing time. Mercury acquisition by HP for $4.5 billion proves Israel’s software leadership. Mercury is an Israeli company that started out as an Israeli start-up, based in Israel and founded on Israeli know-how is significant. The know-how of the company and its people is what is being bought. Israeli chance discovery can stop cancer in its tracks. Work carried out at The Hebrew University has produced a new drug treatment for halting the growth and spread of cancer cells. New Intel chips based on technology developed in Israel. Intel has replaced its basic series of processors with the new Core 2 Duo series, which has doubled the computing core, and was designed at Intel’s Haifa R&D center in Israel. Red Herring spotlights Israel. Israel is one of the hottest places for venture capitalist nowadays and a global player in innovation declared Red Herring, the leading internet technology and financial news magazine in the Silicon Valley. Israeli Network takes France by storm. The Israeli Network, the television channel that broadcasts Israeli programming to Jewish and Israeli communities abroad, signed a broadcast agreement with the French media giant, FREE. The broadcast agreement opens a channel to largest Jewish community in Europe. Israeli invention gives paralyzed a chance to walk. An Israeli-developed and manufactured wireless, computer-controlled device that enables safe walking for people with a foot paralyzed due to stroke, brain injury, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. Israeli Company make Fish Farming more Environmentally Safe. Israeli-based Atlantium has developed a UV filter system already in use in Turkey to decrease the need for nasty fish antibiotics by about 90 percent. The largest food conglomerate in Turkey increased production of the two types of fish they grow by 50 and 100 percent, while reducing antibiotic use by 90 percent. Maintenance was reduced from 30 hours to less than one hour per month with hardly any downtime, all of which lead to significantly increased profits. Atlantium's UV-filter is also ideal for cleaning up the aftermath left by natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. Israeli Study Ties Moderate Beer Drinking To Lower Heart Attack Risk. A beer a day may help keep heart attacks away, according to a group of Israeli researchers. In preliminary clinical studies of a group of men with coronary artery disease, the researchers showed that drinking one beer (12 ounces) a day for a month produced changes in blood chemistry that are associated with a reduced risk of heart attack. Israel Designs "Rotorless" Helicopter for US Military. Israel's Urban Aeronautics is to sign a cooperation agreement with Bell Helicopter for the delivery of helicopters to all branches of the US armed forces. At this stage, the company has obtained financing to develop its vertical-take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, a "rotorless" helicopter, for the US Navy. This week, the company unveiled a model of its helicopter at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK. Thanks to its special structure, the aircraft can approach close to the window of an office building at any floor to rescue people. Israeli Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) Deal. Israeli Jungo is to provide an American telephony company with platform enabling providers to offer customer rich digital entertainment content over residential networks while minimizing network resources. Israel Tests New Drugs for Emphysema Breakthrough. Israeli Kamada, a bio-pharmaceutical developer and manufacturer of prescription drugs, has been granted by the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (the EMEA), approval of its plan to begin phase 1 clinical trials on a respiratory form of its API drug product. Successful results of the clinical trials of the respiratory form will mark a breakthrough in the treatment of Congenital Emphysema, as well as other lung disease indications. Israeli Scientists Decode Global Warming Puzzle. The formation of clouds is affected by the lightness or darkness of air pollution particles, U.S. and Israeli scientists have determined, solving one puzzing question about the role of clouds in global warming. The capacity of air pollution to absorb energy from the Sun is the key to the puzzle. In a breakthrough study published today in the online edition of the journal "Science," scientists explain why aerosols - tiny particles suspended in air pollution and smoke - sometimes stop clouds from forming and in other cases increase cloud cover. VCs Name Hot Israeli Startups. Three Israeli startups —Amimon, BrainsGate, and Zend — received first prizes Tuesday as the best young companies in their respective sectors at the Israel Venture Association’s annual meeting in Tel Aviv. The competition, co-sponsored by Red Herring and the Israel Venture Association, was limited to early-stage companies with revenue of up to $10 million in 2005 supported by venture funds associated with the IVA. The companies were chosen because of their vision, technological innovation, and potential impact. Israeli Researchers Regenerate Tendons, Ligaments With Stem Cells. Israeli researchers are using adult stem cells to regenerate torn tendon and ligament tissue at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Israel Sends Aid to Flooded Romania. Israeli aid workers are helping Romania deal with the flooding of the Danube River and the loss of thousands of homes. Google buys search algorithm invented by Israeli student. Search engine giant Google recently acquired an advanced text search algorithm invented by Ori Alon, an Israeli student. Israel Researchers Regenerate Tendons, Ligaments With Stem Cells. Israeli researchers are using adult stem cells to regenerate torn tendon and ligament tissue at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Adult stem cells are being used by an Israeli research team to create a new orthopedic solution to a difficult and common problem: how to heal torn ligaments and tendons. Israeli hip-hop violinist blazes her own trail — and makes it big. She played at the Super Bowl in Detroit in early February, she was the featured performer at a Hillary Clinton campaign event in New York just three weeks later, she’s the poster child for Reebok’s “I Am What I Am” campaign, and she’s got her own television show in the works. After several years playing violin behind hip-hop and pop stars like Kanye West and Jay-Z, Britney Spears and Mariah Carey, Grammy award winner Miri Ben-Ari — a nice Jewish girl from Israel turned gangsta violinist from New York — is stepping into the limelight, determined to become a household name. Israeli researchers close in on vaccine for autoimmune diseases. A revolutionary approach developed in Israel which uses the body's own cells as a vaccine for treating autoimmune diseases is showing tremendous potential in human trials. Israeli Counter-Terrorism Expert Trains U.S. Police. A counterterrorism expert who was once an Israeli police officer is in South Florida this week to train police in antiterrorism and crime-fighting techniques. In addition he now lectures and teaches methods of counter-terrorism to international police agencies, the U.S. Counter Terrorism Bureau, and U.S. congressmen and their advisers. Israeli Researchers: Trials Are On for New MS Treatment. Researchers in Israel are working on a new treatment they hope will slow down the progressive deterioration suffered by patients with multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. The new treatment uses the body’s own cells as a vaccine against autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Intel Core Duo Changing the Face of Mobile and Desktop Computing. Intel's Israeli labs produced the Pentium M, which solved the heat problems that plagued its Pentium III and Pentium 4M chips. Combined with a marketing effort around the Centrino mobile platform, the Pentium M was a huge hit and now powers most mobile computers. Healthy Heart. Israeli researchers have found that eating just one pink grapefruit a day can can keep heart disease at bay. They discovered that eating the fruit drastically cut levels of cholesterol. Israeli doctors to assist Viet Nam in heart surgery for children. A group of Israeli heart doctors from the Save a Child's Heart (SACH) organisation arrived in Viet Nam on March 22 to accelerate cooperation in children's heart surgery. The Israel-based humanitarian organisation has since 1996 conducted heart operations for 1,400 children in 24 countries. Israeli light surgeryA group of Israeli researchers have shown how to carry out surgery using focused sun light. The device could provide a cheaper and safer alternative to conventional laser surgery. The device has a number of advantages over lasers -- one is that its output contains visible wavelengths, which can penetrate more deeply into tissue than the infrared or ultraviolet radiation from lasers. Another bonus is cost: Gordon says that the system can destroy as much tissue per unit of energy as a laser, but is at least ten times cheaper. The device is also safer than conventional laser systems because the light can be seen, in contrast to lasers that operate outside visible wavelengths. The team has used its new device to carry out surgery on ex-vivo chicken livers and kidneys (figures 2 & 3) and has also begun clinical trials on live animals. 'The trials have so far yielded excellent preliminary indications and will be followed by trials on animals with cancer,' says Gordon." Israeli venture capital funds raise $1.2bn in 2005Israeli venture capital funds raised $1.2bn in 2005, which represents an increase of 40 per cent from the $724m raised in 2004, according to the Annual Survey of Israeli Venture Capital Fund Raising. U.S. Military Relies on Israeli Ammo. WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The U.S. military, saddled with two major military operations, has been depending on ammunition from Israel. The General Accountability Office said Israel has been supplying the U.S. military with ammunition amid rising demand. Israeli Gene 'credit card' to aid doctors in drug choice. A genetic "credit card" holding a patient's personalised details could one day revolutionise the way doctors decide on which treatment to give, according to researchers. A team in Israel is looking at how a patient's genome - their entire genetic make-up - could be stored on a card that a doctor can swipe on to a computer to help choose the appropriate medication and the right dose. Eventually it is hoped new personalised drugs can be developed according to the patient's genome. Israeli biotech could save millions of lives, develops alternative to bone marrow transplant. Israeli biotech Pluristem Life Systems has formulated a cell graft, currently in preclinical development, to provide an alternative to the standard procedure of bone marrow transplantation. The development of this new advanced engineered graft that replenishes the bone marrow of blood cancer patients has the potential to save the lives of millions of people. Israeli scientist develops natural alternative for Ritalin. Researchers at Tel Aviv's Sourasky Medical Center have successfully tested a natural oil-based alternative to the widely used Ritalin to treat ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) behavioral symptoms such as short attention span and inability to focus. If the promising results of initial testing of the substance proves successful, it will represent a natural alternative to Ritalin. In the initial testing, 60% of the children ended up in the normal range after 3 months of treatment. Israel's economic growth in 2005 fastest in West. The year 2005 was a rosy one for Israel's economy, at least judging by the preliminary estimates that the Central Bureau of Statistics released on Sunday. The statistics bureau estimates that Israel's gross domestic product increased by 5.2 percent in 2005, compared with 4.4 percent in the preceding year. That makes Israel's economic growth the fastest in the West. Israeli researchers help stem mental retardation in Arab village. A team of Israeli scientists is helping to turn around the high rate of mentally retarded babies born in an Israeli Arab village. The team has developed a blood test they bring to the village to determine if adults are carriers of the gene that causes the defect. Israeli Police to advise French on riot control. Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra and Police Insp.-Gen. Moshe Karadi traveled to Paris on Sunday for three days of "classified meetings" with senior government and law enforcement officials including French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. Per France's request, Karadi brought along with him Asst.-Cmdr. Ya'acov Nehemia, head of the police's Special Forces, who police said would advise and train the French police in riot-control techniques. New terminally ill law provides breakthrough for synagogue-state relations. Wednesday the Knesset completed legislation on the issue, based on a proposal by a committee of dozens of experts, doctors, rabbis, philosophers, and theologians representing a wide swath of Israeli society. Orthodox and Reform, atheists and religious Jews, doctors and nurses worked together in unprecedented fashion, under the guidance of Committee Chairman Rabbi Dr. Steinberg to create a proposal text for a revolutionary law on a sensitive and painful issue. Israel is the first country in which "religious" and "secular" elements managed to produce a document agreeable to virtually all sides about treatment of the terminally ill. How an Israeli scientist changed the piscine world. In the late 1950s, however, Tel Aviv University zoologist Prof. Lev Fishelson developed a hybrid of Saint Peter’s fish that was highly tolerant to salt water as well as high temperatures. This made it ideally adaptable to growing in ponds in arid desert areas where the available underground water is usually unuseable because of its high salinity. Israel signs South American trade agreement. Israel signed an agreement to expand trade with a South American free-trade alliance. The deal is aimed at eventually creating a free-trade area between Israel and MERCOSUR, which encompasses Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. “MERCOSUR countries will benefit from Israel’s sophisticated technology, and Israel will be able to introduce its goods to a market of hundreds of millions people,” said Dr. Eduardo Kohn, director of Latin American Affairs for B’nai B’rith International, which had lobbied for the accord. Israeli Professor Wins 2005 Nobel Prize in Economics. After dashing to Stockholm's Concert Hall with 27 members of his immediate family from the hotel where they stayed over Shabbat, Hebrew University mathematics Prof. Robert J. (Yisrael) Aumann accepted the 2005 Nobel Prize in Economics.  New Israeli mobile phone to detect breast cancer. An Israeli psychologist has reportedly developed a radical new technology which would enable an ordinary mobile phone to diagnose breast cancer and various type of heart disease. By installing new software and adding a basic infrared camera, a mobile phone could be transformed into a highly-effective diagnostic tool, offering far more accurate results than the self-checks many women do themselves. New Israelis invent world's toughest material. Israeli scientists have have discovered a material 40 times harder than diamonds. The team broke the world hardness record by combining quantum mechanics, chemistry and mechanical engineering. Israel's Scud buster test a success, as Israel becomes the first nation to have a national missile defense shield. The Air Force held the 14th test of the Israeli-designed Arrow 2 anti-ballistic missile on Friday, successfully intercepting an incoming rocket at a higher altitude than ever before. An F-15 fighter jet flying over the Mediterranean dropped a Black Sparrow test missile specially designed to simulate an incoming Iranian Shihab 3 missile headed toward the Israeli shore. The radar detected the Black Sparrow missile and relayed its data to a battle management center, which issued the command to launch the Arrow 2 interceptor. "The interceptor performed successfully and intercepted the target," a Defense Ministry statement said. "The test's success is a major step in the system's operational improvements to deal with future ballistic missile threats.' Air Force Patriot batteries also participated passively in the test, following the incoming missile with their radars and simulating interceptions. This tested the entire missile defense screen of the country, the only nation in the world to have a national missile defense shield. Israeli/Arab Particle Accelerator. The Finance Committee for the Joint Construction of a Particle Accelerator for Israel and the Arab Countries Met Last Week in Amman. The member countries are Iran, Pakistan, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Additional countries that are in contact with SESAME representatives and who may become a part of the joint initiative during 2006 include Morocco, Oman, Libya, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus. The accelerator building, which is in the stages of final construction, was built at Al-Balqa University, approximately 30 kilometers from Amman. After its expected completion at the beginning of 2006, the accelerator will be placed inside it. The project is expected to be completed in 2009. Israeli-developed DeIcer set to be car standard. Microheat has not only developed HotShot, an intelligent heated washer fluid system for clearing and de-icing windshields, but has signed agreements with General Motors, and virtually every other auto manufacturer in the world. Israelis capture Silver Medal. On Sunday, Israel's top ice dancing team captured the silver medal at the Cup of Russia, their second International Skating Union Grand Prix event of the season. Their combined score was second only to reigning world champions of Russia. Pakistan willing to accept quake aid from Israel. Pakistan has signaled its willingness to accept aid from both Israel and American Jewish groups, days after a massive earthquake in Kashmir killed at least 30,000 people. Israel had offered its assistance shortly after the earthquake struck. Israel - which has sent rescue teams to Turkey and Mexico to assist in evacuation efforts after earthquakes struck those countries - sent a message to Pakistan through "official channels" and the United Nations, said a senior government official. Allowing Israelis into Pakistan to assist in the rescue efforts would be the latest sign that relations between the two countries are warming. Israel and Pakistan - the second-largest Muslim country - have no official relations, but the two countries' foreign ministers met last month for the first time. Israeli, American Share Economics Nobel. Israeli Robert J. Aumann won the 2005 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Monday for their work in game theory that explains political and economic conflicts, arms races and even preventing warfare. Aumann has helped to "explain economic conflicts such as price wars and trade wars, as well as why some communities are more successful than others in managing common-pool resources," the academy said in its citation. "I feel great," said Aumann (OW-man) when reached by telephone in Israel. Aumann was born in Frankfurt, Germany, but holds U.S. and Israeli citizenship. He is not the first Israeli to win the economics prize. In 2002, Daniel Kahneman, who also has U.S. and Israeli citizenship, shared the award. Israel sends 80 tons of goods to New Orleans. Israel is sending 80 tons of tents, folding beds, bottled water, bed linen, blankets, dried food, formula, diapers and other equipment are being sent to the disaster area. Meanwhile, Magen David Adom has launched a campaign called "Brit Ahim" (Brotherly Covenant) to raise funds and equipment to aid homeless victims of Hurricane Katrina. Israeli divers volunteer. Israeli volunteer divers are heading to New Orleans to help look for bodies in flooded homes. The divers are expected to sift through the murky waters with powerful underwater flashlights. US officials believe there may be hundreds or even thousands of dead bodies still trapped in houses. There is fear that the remains will also be found in the streets as the waters recede. They are part of a private delegation of Israeli volunteers who have extensive experience in rescues and complex emergencies garnered from work around the world. The delegation is being coordinated by IsraAID (the Israel Forum for International Aid), a non-governmental group funded by donations mainly from American Jews. Gal Lousky, the head of the delegation, said it expects to depart Tuesday and has all the permits necessary. The IsraAID delegation helped in rescue operations after the Southeast Asian tsunami, as well as in Turkey, Georgia and Romania. They are seeking donations, particularly to purchase supplies in the US. Anyone interested can telephone (057) 733-3400 or (050) 535-3453, or visit www.israaid.org.il on the Web. Meeting Of Pakistani And Israeli F.M.S In Istanbul ''An important step has been taken regarding the Middle East peace process,'' Turkish State Minister Mehmet Aydin said on Thursday about the meeting between Pakistani and Israeli foreign ministers in Istanbul. Pakistani FM Khursheed Kasuri and Israeli FM Silvan Shalom met in Istanbul upon initiatives of President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan. Israel Produces Hydrogen Fuel Through Solar Technology. Innovative solar technology that may offer a 'green' solution to the production of hydrogen fuel has been successfully tested on a large scale at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rechovot. The technology also promises to facilitate the storage and transportation of hydrogen. The chemical process behind the technology was originally developed at Weizmann, and it has been scaled up in collaboration with European scientists. The process generates no pollution, and the resultant zinc can be easily stored and transported, and converted to hydrogen on demand. In addition, the zinc can be used directly, for example, in zinc-air batteries, which serve as efficient converters of chemical to electrical energy. Thus, the method offers a way of storing solar energy in chemical form and releasing it as needed. Results of the experiments will be reported in August at the 2005 Solar World Congress of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) in Orlando, Florida. The new solar technology produces an easily storable intermediate energy source form from metal ore, such as zinc oxide. With the help of concentrated sunlight, the ore is heated to about 1,200°C in a solar reactor in the presence of wood charcoal. The process splits the ore, releasing oxygen and creating gaseous zinc, which is then condensed to a powder. Zinc powder can later be reacted with water, yielding hydrogen, to be used as fuel, and zinc oxide, which is recycled back to zinc in the solar plant. In recent experiments, the 300-kilowatt installation produced 45 kilograms of zinc powder from zinc oxide in one hour, exceeding projected goals. Israeli Doctor’s Revolutionary New Bandage Will Save Lives. Dr. Sody Naimer, an Israeli doctor, has developed a remarkable new bandage called ELastic ADhesive Bandage (ELAD) that appears to be superior to standard bandages and tourniquets in stopping hemorrhaging. As a family doctor in the Gush Katif region, Naimer became an expert in dealing with many types of serious injuries suffered by victims of car accidents as well as by soldiers who have been injured by gunfire or shrapnel. Research shows that almost 50% of battlefield fatalities are due to hemorrhaging and that almost 20% of those victims could have been saved with better methods of hemorrhage control. The ELAD bandage addresses some of the current limitations in methods for controlling bleeding. Direct compression, while effective, prevents rescuers from providing the patient with other lifesaving care because the pressure needs to be constant. The ELAD bandage is currently saving lives in Israel and South Africa. The bandage is under consideration by the Israeli military and the Red Cross. If it enters mass production, its low price and superior performance may make its impact even more far reaching." 50 year-old Israeli marathoner . Fifty-year-old Haile Satayin continued to turn heads as he finished 21st overall in the marathon at the athletics world championships in Finland. Satayin, the Israeli-record holder, burst onto the world scene last year when he crossed the finish line 20th at the Olympics in Athens. His impressive time of two hours, 17 minutes, and 26 seconds was amazingly just one second slower than his Olympic result. Israeli film wins top prize at Copenhagen festival. 'Live and Become', the story of an Ethiopian child who is sent to Israel passing as a Jew to save him from famine, won the best film award at the Copenhagen International Film Festival on Saturday. The film, a French-Israeli production and one of 10 European works in competition, also won the festival's Golden Swan award for best screenplay. 'Live and Become' is based on an Israeli operation named 'Moses', under which thousands of Jewish children were evacuated from Ethiopia during that country's 1984 famine and resettled in Israel. Israeli author Amos Oz receives Goethe Prize . The highest honour bestowed by the central German city of Frankfurt, the Goethe Prize has been in existence since 1927. Previous recipients included Sigmund Freund (1930) and Ingmar Bergman (1976). More Ethiopians Israel Bound. Ariel Sharon’s announcement that the Israeli government will double the rate of Ethiopian Jewish immigration to Israel is being called a breakthrough by those who long have lobbied to help the Falash Mura. The bill is projected at close to $2 billion — an estimated $100,000 for each of the 20,000 Ethiopians eligible to immigrate. Israel, Egypt look to sign $2.5B gas deal. Israel's Eastern Mediterranean Gas expects to sign a deal with Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. to import Egyptian gas. Israeli study: genes key to late motherhood. Why can some 45-year-olds easily have a baby while much younger women have difficulty becoming pregnant? The answer, say Israeli researchers, could lie in their genes. Israeli researchers growing date palm from 2,000-year-old seed. Israeli researchers have germinated a sapling date palm from seeds 2,000 years old, in a bid to find new medicines that will benefit future generations. Israeli researchers coax liver cells to produce insulin. Adult liver cells can be redirected to produce insulin in response to glucose levels, according to the results of an Israeli study released last week. The scientists at Tel Aviv's Sheba Medical Center have successfully modified liver cells to produce insulin that, when transplanted into mice, brought diabetes under control. The researchers hope that one day the method will allow the use of a diabetes patient's own liver cells to treat their condition. Israeli researchers discover natural reservoir for cholera bacteria. In a "breakthrough" in the understanding of cholera that would make it possible to predict when epidemics will strike, Israeli researchers have discovered that the natural reservoir for cholera bacteria is in bodies of water with gelatin coverings of the eggs of a certain kind of insect. New Israeli treatment improves blood flow. Israeli doctors performed the first operation of its kind, injecting genes which stimulated the growth of new blood vessels into a cardiac patient, said a spokesman for Rabin Medical Center in Tel Aviv. This experiment marks a major breakthrough in the field of genetics and catheterization. Turkey to buy $200m. of Israeli UAVs. Turkey’s Defense Ministry chose the Israel Aircraft Industries’ Heron drone and Elbit System’s ground stations over the US General Atomics Aeronautical System’s Predator. The Heron is a multi-role drone used for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The deal involves some 10 ground stations, each one with three or four UAVs. TheTurkish army, navy and air forces are all to use them. The Heron is manufactured by IAI’s Malat Division, which says it has a range of 1,000 kilometers and can carry a 250-kilogram payload. With a 16-meter wingspan, the Heron can fly for up to 52 hours of continuous flight and reach an altitude of 30,000 feet, according to IAI. The Heron is a long-endurance system meant to provide real-time strategic intelligence. The fourth-generation platform, with new fully automatic take-off and landing features, provides deep-penetration, wide-area, real-time intelligence. Among other international customers for the Heron is India. IAI has in the past sold Turkey Harpy killer drones. Elbit and IAI have also cooperated in the past on a number of defense deals including the upgrade of Turkey’s F-4 fighter jets." Putin's Residence to Get Israeli Defenses. Security officers for Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered $10,000 worth of sophisticated locking devices from the Israel-based MultiLock company, for installation in Mr. Putin's Moscow residence. The Russian president's house is to be secured with 60 MultiLock devices, after Russian security officials examined many competing proposals for the operation. Sources at MultiLock, based in Yavneh, explained that the system sold to Russia includes a lock integrated with a sophisticated electromechanical safety-catch mechanism which includes an electronic combination secured with cutting-edge encoding. Young Israeli robot builders. Once again the Israelis took home top prizes at the 12th annual Fire Fighting Home Robot Contest at Trinity College in Hartford. Forty Israeli high school seniors competed in the April 9-10 contest, which featured hundreds of participants of all ages and from several countries. The goal of the contest is to build a robot that can find its way through a maze of four rooms, locate a room with a lighted candle and extinguish the flame. Israeli teams took home the top four prizes in the High School Entry Division for first time entrants. 'Building these robots combines the use of mechanical engineering and electronic and computer science. It is very complicated to build a robot which will do all the tasks required in the competition,' said Eli Kolberg, robotics teacher and member of the Robotics Steering Committee of the Minister of Education in Israel. Israeli Geniuses . A Jerusalem high school pupil who "improved on" an algorithm formulated by a 19th-century British mathematician to study black holes has won first prize in the eighth annual Intel-Israel Young Scientists Competition. Elad Oster of the Jerusalem High School for the Sciences and Arts was awarded a scholarship from Intel for his achievement, which was hailed by President Moshe Katsav at Beit Hanassi on Tuesday. Oster looked at the Newton-Raphson algorithm, which is a dynamic system to solve concrete numerical equations but is not effective on complex equations. Over a century ago, a British mathematician published a short article in which he asked whether the algorithm can solve complex equations, but there has been no answer until now. Oster took the problem to the three-dimensional sphere and suggested ways of improving the algorithm and finding solutions in a way that has practical applications for raising the level of accuracy in calculations. The team of judges, headed by Hebrew University physicist Prof. Hanoch Guttfreund, said the teenager had contributed to a real breakthrough in solving the mathematician's problem. Other winners also included: developing algorithmic solar sensors to support a project for sending nano-satellites to revolve around Earth, and investigating the influence of replication conditions of DNA in on the frequency and type of mutations in Im7 genes. High-Tech Wealth Shows Israel Is More Than Politics. After the success of Silicon Valley in the 1990s, few countries have managed to repeat the mix of education, innovation and investment to create new wealth, and Israel is one of them, a new book said on Tuesday. Israeli researchers in recent years have developed instant messaging on the Internet, wireless computing chips for Intel, miniature video camera capsules to examine internal organs, filters and tubes for veins to prevent heart attacks and strokes, security software and new cancer treatments. High-tech exports from Israel amounted to $26 billion in 2000, making up 57 percent of total exports, up from 23 percent in the early 1990s. Risk capital available to new companies is the highest in the world, with a whopping 5 percent of gross domestic product devoted to research and development. Research is done by graduates from universities heavily geared toward sciences and medicine, producing 135 engineers per 1,000 citizens, compared with 85 in the United States. Scientists also publish more in journals than anywhere else. There are more university students, proportionally, than anywhere else. Mutant Protein Holds Promise For Cell Growth Control. A unique technique for neutralizing the action of the leptin protein in humans and animals – thereby providing a means for controlling and better understanding of leptin function, including its role in unwanted cell growth -- has been developed by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Leptin was discovered ten years ago and has attracted attention first because of its involvement in control of appetite and later by its effect on growth, puberty, digestion and immunological processes. Leptin can also have negative consequences, such as, for example, enhancing the spread of tumorous growths. Israeli Export Institute Announces Recent Advances in Agrotechnology. Farming isn't what it used to be. And in Israel, whose agrotechnology industry leads the world in pioneering new technologies to improve the growing and harvesting processes, farming is downright high-tech. Newly introduced agrotech solutions include vacuum removal pest control, computerized phyto-monitoring sensors, and a cooling system for cows that has boosted milk production by 10% during the region's hottest months. And those are just the tip of the agrotech iceberg, says the Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute's (IEICI) Agrotechnology Department Organic Semiconductors Bring Foldable Computer Screens Closer. An Israeli research team has manufactured new organic semiconductors using proteins designed from scratch in the lab and linking them together in precise chains to create electronic-grade material. The new semiconductors, called electronic peptides, could lead to lighter, cheaper and more flexible electronic devices within the next two years, the researchers say. The electronic peptides created by Professor Nir Tessler and colleagues at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology could be used in full color, foldable LED displays with a sharper resolution than today’s computer screens, and large, flexible solar cells that spread flat and roll up like a blanket. The peptides could also be used in sensor devices that detect tiny amounts of disease molecules in the body or toxins in the environment. Israel making microscopes go faster. Scientists in the US and Israel have demonstrated an atomic force microscope that can take images of periodic processes with a time resolution of microseconds. Higher temporal resolutions can be obtained by using the AFM in a "force-sensing" mode, which can detect movements from a single point on a sample. They improved on the technique by combining a series of individual force-sensing measurements to construct images. The method can resolve features 10 nanometers across with a time resolution of 5 microseconds. Israeli 'nano-lightbulbs' could help detect drug's efficiency. An Israeli researcher has developed "nano-lighbulbs" -- polymer patches placed on the walls of living cells that change color and fluoresce as a result of events occurring on the cell membrane. The research is intended to clarify how cells communicate with one another, and to investigate whether and how certain drugs and hormones are effective in penetrating cells and others are not. Israeli Group Biggest Civilian Aid Contributor to Sri Lanka. AnIsraeli group says it has contributed more civilian aid to Sri Lanka than any other country. The Israeli humanitarian aid organization Latet (Hebrew for 'to give') has already shipped 70 tons of supplies to the area, said Latet spokesperson Evia Simon. 'It is the biggest amount of equipment [sent by] a civilian aid organization to Sri Lanka,' said Simon. Latet, the first humanitarian aid agency to be established in Israel, has previously provided aid to Kosovo war victims, Ethiopian famine victims, victims of the two Turkish earthquakes and survivors of the earthquakes in El Salvador and India. Israeli firm offers free tsunami alert system. An Israeli company said it planned to distribute free to Asian countries hit by last week's tsunami a device it says could save lives by warning holiday-makers directly that a tidal wave is coming. The system developed by Israeli inventor Meir Gitelis uses land and water sensors, smaller than a shoe box and each costing $170, to measure seismic activity and wave motion. Like other systems already in operation, the sensors can send alerts in seconds by satellite to governments anywhere in the world. Unlike others, this system can also relay warnings directly to private subscribers over cellphones, pagers or dedicated receivers, spreading the message more widely. Seaside hotels could install a satellite receiver to pick up warnings broadcast over the system seconds after an earthquake that could cause giant waves. Local cellphone or pager networks could do the same and send SMS messages to their subscribers. "The sensors determine the tremor's intensity as well as the height and speed of the waves above it," said Gitelis, of Avtipus Patents and Inventions Ltd., which specialises in sensors and communications devices. Israeli-developed Parkinson's drug gets marketing approval. Israeli giant Teva Pharmaceuticals has received its first official stamp of approval to market Azilect as a treatment for Parkinson's disease, and will begin the process in March. Teva is the world's biggest maker of generic drugs. Israeli Tsunami Aid. When disaster strikes anywhere in the world, Israelis can be counted on to help. So it's no surprise that within hours of the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean, the following humanitarian missions all departed from the tiny Jewish state: 1) IDF rescue team on its way to Sri Lanka 2) The Israeli organization Latet ('To Give') filled a jumbo jet with 18 tons of supplies. 3) A medical team headed by four doctors from Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital arrived in Sri Lanka on Monday night (Dec. 27), carrying medicine and baby food. The doctors specialize in rescue operations, trauma and pediatrics. 4) An IDF rescue team is now on its way to Sri Lanka with 80 tons of aid material, including 10,000 blankets, tents, nylon sheeting and water containers, all contributed by the IDF. 5) A ZAKA rescue-and-recovery team arrived in the disaster areas Monday night, armed with its specialized equipment for identifying bodies. 6) A Health Ministry contingent left for Thailand on Monday night to aid in rescue efforts. The group includes doctors, nurses and four members of the IDF. 7) Israel has also offered its assistance to India ? a search-and-rescue team from the Home Front Command, as well as consignments of food and medicine. Israel to fly supplies only to Sri Lanka. Israeli plane with 82 tons of supplies is scheduled to fly to Sri Lanka. The plane would carry 10,000 blankets, mineral water, 12 tons of food, cans of baby food, over nine tons of medicine, generators, tents, beds and mattresses. Israel: Blooms In The Desert. After the worst recession in the country's history, Israel is staging an economic comeback. A rise in global demand and dramatic improvement in the security situation helped real gross domestic product to grow by about 4% in 2004. And prospects for 2005 look equally good. A 20% jump in exports led the 2004 recovery. Gains were especially strong in high-tech gear, such as software and semi-conductors, which account for half of Israel's industrial exports. Tourism, private consumption, and construction also added to growth. The venture-capital industry, which closely tracks the high-tech industry, saw its own strong recovery. Investments in startup companies rose by nearly 50% in 2004, to $1.5 billion. The renewed interest in local startups has led Israeli venture firms to raise over $1.2 billion in new investment funds. Israeli Companies Increasingly Taking World Stage. Israel has more companies listed on NASDAQ than any country outside North America. Given Imaging, just won recognition from The Wall Street Journal as the Biotech-Medical winner and overall winner of the Silver Medal for technology innovation in 2004 for its video camera contained in a swallowable, pill-shaped capsule. Other Israeli-related deals on which the Firm advised include representing Merrill Lynch on a $150 million convertible bond offering by Makhteshim-Agan, the world's largest manufacturer of generic crop protection products. Israeli FM China visit heralds closer ties with China. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom will arrive in Beijing on Friday for a four-day visit to China, stressingg the importance of strategic relations between Israel and China ahead of his arrival in Beijing on Friday. Shalom, who will sign an agricultural cooperative agreement with China during his trip, noted China has become Israel's largest trade partner in Asia, with the total volume of trade reaching 1.6 billion US dollars in 2003. Israeli experts in Cyprus to help battle against the locusts. Experts from Tel Aviv visited villages near Paphos and Limassol yesterday morning to examine the locusts, which are a pinky-red colour. Confidence in Israel. The American state of New York is to buy $50 million worth of Israel Bonds, one of the largest such purchases ever. Israel Bonds are "secure and good investments that will bear fruit," New York State comptroller Alan Hevesi said, expressing confidence in the Israeli economy. In another example of foreign confidence in Israel, Finland and Israel last month signed a communications and information technology research and development agreement. Israeli make molecules form nano containers. Researchers from Israel's Technion Institute of Technology (and the University of Minnesota) have found a way to coax the self-assembly of minuscule multicompartment structures. The structures could eventually be used in drug delivery systems, according to the researchers. They would be especially appropriate The nanostructures could be used in practical applications in two to five years, according to the researchers. The work appeared in the October 1, 2004 issue of Science. Israeli high-tech companies raised $438 million in Q3. The positive trend in the Israeli venture market continued in 2004's third quarter. 113 Israeli high-tech companies raised $438 million from venture investors both local and foreign. The amount was up 30 percent from the $338 million raised by 91 companies in the previous quarter and was 55 percent higher than the $283 million raised by 103 companies in the third quarter of 2003. The amount raised in the first three quarters of 2004 reflects an increase of 43 percent from the same period in 2003. Third quarter capital raising was at its highest level in three years. In fact, in Q3 Israeli high-tech companies raised more than twice the amount raised in Q4/2002. The current figures reflect the continuous recovery of the Israeli high-tech sector, as well as an increase in levels of capital invested by both Israeli and foreign investors. A Decade of Peace between Israel and Jordan. October 26, 2004 marked a decade since the signing of the peace agreement between Israel and Jordan. Israel views Jordan as an island of stability in the region and a significant partner in the efforts to achieve peace with its Middle East neighbors. Israeli Researchers Identify Parkinson's Gene. Israeli researchers have added another gene to the list of those possibly linked to Parkinson's disease, saying their finding could one day 'affect the treatment options available to patients.' Researchers at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa said their study of 99 Ashkenazi Jews with Parkinson's disease found that 31 of them had mutations of the glucocerebrosidase (GBA) gene, which produces a protein that metabolizes fats. The research appears in the Nov. 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The finding 'holds a lot of promise for therapy,' said Dr. Mel B. Feany, an associate professor of pathology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal. Israel close to $230m drone deal with India. Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) is about to close a $230 million deal with the Indian Army to sell it around 50 Heron/Eagle drones. Heron/Eagle is a Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance type unmanned aerial vehicle that can operate at a distance of more than 1,000 kilometres and at altitudes above 25,000 feet for more than 24 hours, providing real-time intelligence, according to IAI. The system also features automatic take-off and landing, integrated mission planning and sensor technology, and can simultaneously carry a wide range of payloads. Israeli Basketball team sweeps Russians. Israeli teams recorded a clean sweep over their Russian opponents in Europe League competition last night. Ironi Nahariya scored an away win at Ural Great, Beni Hasharon snatched a dramatic victory over Khimki, and Oded Katash's Galil Elyon downed defending champion UNICS Kazan. Israeli scientists teach Indians greenhouse technology. Israeli scientists are teaching Indian researchers techniques in greenhouse cultivation to help increase agricultural production by over 50 percent. The scientists have been sent by Mashav, a branch of the Israeli foreign affairs ministry, as part of the Indo-Israel project in agriculture that was set up in September 1998. At the Indian Agriculture Research Institute, 10 hectares of land has been dedicated for the Indo-Israel project, where Indian scientists would learn the latest scientific developments in agriculture in Israel. Israeli writer win top French prizes. Israeli author Aharon Appelfeld was awarded France's most prestigious literature prizes for best foreign book. Seventy-two-year-old Appelfeld's 'The Story of A Life' won the Medicis prize for his account of a childhood in Eastern Europe, World War II and after the war. Israeli qualifier defeats No. 1 at U.S. Open With top-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne on the other side of the net, serving for the match, Tzipi Obziler pulled a stunner at the U.S. Open on Thursday. The 31-year-old qualifier, making her Open debut, broke the No. 1 player in the world and then did it again to steal a set. But then, Obziler is not an ordinary player. She was the only veteran of the Israeli Army in this tournament. Israeli Innovation Improves Underwater Photography. The quality of underwater photographs is on the verge of improving drastically due to an algorithm developed by Israeli researchers. The innovative new method used radically improves underwater photography by combining the Israeli algorithm with a filter normally used in land photography. Big Night For Israeli Film. 'The Syrian Bride', an Israeli film, had a big night at the Montreal World Film Festival. The film took home four awards including the Grand Prix of the Americas, the top prize. Israeli drones used by Arizona border police. Authorities in the southwestern state of Arizona have begun employing Israeli-built Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in border security, rescue and drug interdiction missions along the border with Mexico. The aircraft are being used by the state of Arizona in a special operation aimed at tightening security along the 2,000-mile Mexican border. Two Hermes 450 UAVs, developed and manufactured by Elbit Systems, have logged over 477 flight hours in missions along the U.S.-Mexico border, including several rescue missions. Israeli IPOs gathering momentum. This is looking to be a hot month for Israeli IPOs in the United States. Following on the heels of Ness Technologies' $140 million initial public offering last week, at least two companies -- Shopping.com and GuruNet Corp. -- are expected to go public in the coming weeks. Shopping.com, whose Web site provides comparison shopping for consumer merchandise, is slated to hold the pricing stage of its share issue next Wednesday, with trading on the Nasdaq beginning the next day under the ticker symbol SHOP. The company, which was created when DealTime bought consumer-review site Epinions.com in April 2003, hopes to sell 5 million shares for $14-$16 apiece, raising $70m.-$80m. Its shareholders are expected to piggyback with another 1.9m. shares, raising an additional $26m.-$30m. Israeli film wins at Hamburg festival Yet another Israeli movie has won a prize at an international festival, this time To Take A Wife, which won the critics' prize at the Hamburg Film Festival. The film, directed by the brother-sister directing team of Shlomi and Ronit Elkabetz, stars Ronit as a discontented wife in a Sephardi family. Last month, the film won a critics' prize and an audience award at the Venice International Film Festival. This has been a banner year for Israeli movies abroad; they have taken home 18 awards at several international festivals. The biggest winners have been Keren Yedaya's Or at Cannes, which won five awards, including the Camera d'Or Award, and Eran Riklis's The Syrian Bride, which won four at the Montreal World Film Festival, including that festival's top honor, the Grande Prix des Ameriques. Israeli Researchers Slows Down Multiple Sclerosis Israeli researchers found that intravenous immunoglobulin therapy applied after the first signs of MS significantly reduced the probability of developing clinically definite multiple sclerosis. Patients receiving the therapy also suffered fewer brain lesions. The research was conducted by doctors at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel-Hoshomer. Israeli judoka claims bronze in under-20 world championships. Israeli judoka Alice Schlesinger, 16, won a bronze medal at the junior world championships in Budapest on Saturday. She defeated a Chinese opponent to claim the medal. Schlesinger, who fights in the up to 57 kilogram category, defeated two opponents on Thursday and then lost on a technicality in her third fight, before winning her repechage bout and earning a place in the bronze medal clash. Schlesinger was the youngest competitor who participated in the championships." Israelis Win Nobel for Chemistry!. Israelis Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko won the 2004 Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for discovering a key way cells destroy unwanted proteins starting with a chemical "kiss of death." Their work provides the basis for developing new therapies for diseases such as cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis. It's the first time an Israeli has won a Nobel science prize, although Israelis have won peace and literature Nobels. "I am as proud for myself as I am for my country," Ciechanover said. Israeli team returns victorious from Paralympics. The Israeli Paralympic team returned Wednesday from Athens sporting 13 medals -- 4 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze. Israeli Innovators Honored. Two Israelis were named among the world's 100 top innovators. Kinneret Keren and Yaakov Benenson were both commended by Technology Review's innovation round-up this month. Keren was honored for her research at Israel's Technion - Israel Institute of Technology that used DNA to create the world's first self-assembling nanotransistor. Benenson was named for his research on miniaturizing medical techniques. Benenson is a doctoral student at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. His machines 'represent a quantum leap not only in medicine but also in DNA computing,' said George Church, director of the Center for Computational Genetics at Harvard Medical School. " Israeli researchers build first stem cell pacemaker. Imagine a day when doctors can repair the damaged parts of a heart which has suffered a heart attack with regenerated tissue that will contain a built-in natural pacemaker. The prospect of using human embryonic stem cells to treat heart attacks and other diseases appears a step closer as the result of a successful Israeli experiment that showed that the versatile cells can serve as 'biological pacemakers', correcting faulty heart rhythms when injected into the failing hearts of pigs. The Israeli breakthrough could result in developments that would offer relief for hundreds of thousands of people around the world who now use artificial pacemakers to regulate the beating of their heart because the normal cells that generate the rhythm work irregularly, or because they have a break in the cell system of the heart used to spread the natural pacemaking nerve signal. " Israeli Pen Enables E-Handwriting. A new Israeli-developed electronic pen enables writing on ordinary paper to be saved to computer instantly. The pen enables handwriting to be entered directly into a computer, cell phone or personal digital assistant (PDA), enabling handwritten data to be sent via e-mail. Russia makes first defense purchase from Israel. Russia has made its first defense procurement from Israe, signing a contract to sell unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to Russia's Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergencies, & Natural Disasters. Israeli breakthrough in food allergies. For the more than 11 million Americans who suffer from food allergies, some news with a tantalizing aroma is emanating from Israel. Scientists from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology have found a way to neutralize a sesame seed protein that causes allergies and they believe the technique can also be used to eliminate allergens in milk, peanuts and other common foods. High-frequency sound waves were used by the scientists to pulverize the sesame seed molecules to create an allergy-free product. After identifying the allergenic part of the protein, known as an epitope, the Technion scientists targeted it with sound waves, using extremely high frequencies over very short periods. In 95 percent of the cases, the allergic qualities were completely neutralized. Israeli embassy sends food to Kenyan village. Staff at the Israeli Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya departed Wednesday for the southern village of Mingini to distribute food to famine-struck inhabitants. The Israeli embassy is sending there 15 tons of food, including rice and beans. In addition, 2,310 children's lunches are being distributed in answer to a call by Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki upon all foreign delegations to assist in the region. Israeli wins bronze in judo. Arik Ze'evi brought home the first medal of the Athens Olympics, winning a bronze in the 100 kilo weight class. The 27-year-old Ze'evi won five matches by ippon, judo's equivalent of a knockout. "I've never competed in such an atmosphere, it was like a basketball arena," Ze'evi said of the local fans who had traveled to Athens to cheer him on. "The Israelis with the singing and the flags drowned out all the other fans in the hall." On the winner's stand, as the Hatikvah played and with the Israeli flag in the background, emotion overcame him, and tears streamed down Ze'evi's cheeks. New Israeli Technology Detects Bombs and Deflects Rockets. International Technologies Lasers (ITL), has received an initial order from Israel's Ministry of Public Security for a system that can detect the explosives favored by suicide bombers. The technology, which makes the detection of explosives possible, is called laser spectroscopy and is based on the fact that each material in nature reflects light in a unique way. The system's computers sense the reflected light of various materials and match it with that of various substances, issuing a warning when a match with a dangerous material is identified. Another Israeli breakthrough in security technology was developed by Achidatex, a company in Upper Nazareth that manufactures bulletproof vests and car armor. It is a wall-covering that can shield a room from rockets and missiles, such as the Hamas-made Qassam rockets being fired from Gaza and Hizbullah's long-range missiles deployed on Israel's northern border. Israeli HumanEyes Lite 3D Now Supported on Sharp 3D Monitors. HumanEyes Technologies Ltd., of Jerusalem, a leading innovator and provider of advanced and affordable 3D software solutions for easy 3D image creation and output, has entered into a partnership agreement with Sharp Systems of America. The HumanEyes Lite 3D software application, today optimized for Sharp, is now supported on Sharp's revolutionary 3D desktop displays and 3D laptops allowing true 3D viewing without the use of special glasses. HumanEyes Lite 3D software allows users to easily create consumer and production-quality, 3D images -- using ordinary digital cameras -- for display on the forthcoming Sharp 3D LCD Color Monitor, and existing Actius RD3D Laptops. Israeli youngsters on a humanitarian mission to India. A select group of 12 Israeli youngsters, aged 16-18, will be leaving for Delhi this week on a unique humanitarian mission - to impart knowledge on maintaining personal hygiene, the use of first aid and the importance of health awareness among their Indian peers. The trip will be the third such journey to India under the auspices of Pirkei Refuah (the Israeli Medical Cadet organisation). The week-long visit starts this Friday. "The first two trips were a success in every aspect. The participants from all over Israel taught first aid courses to Indian children at various schools in New Delhi and surrounding villages, and there was great cooperation between the two cultures," said Pirkei Refuah director Koby Monovich. Udi Reich, who will be heading the group, said, "this will be the first visit when the participants will be staying with Indian families and I am looking forward to the wonderful experience where we will combine cultural exchange with learning". Israeli Anti-Missile System Successfully Downs ‘Threat’ Over California Coastline. The skies over the California coastline witnessed history last week, as the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Israeli Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) successfully conducted the first “real-world” test of the Arrow Weapons System (AWS) interceptor, a joint program between the U.S. and Israel to develop a regional ballistic missile defense system. An Israeli Arrow 2 anti-ballistic interceptor lifts-off from San Nicolas Island, Calif. during a test conducted by the Israeli MDO and the U.S. MDA on July 29, 2004. The test, designed to reflect an operational missile defense system as closely as possible, was operated entirely by the same Israeli Air Force personnel who normally operate Israel’s two operational Arrow batteries. Given little information about the threat, the IDF/AF crew, operating within the BMC2 complex on the oceanfront, tracked an incoming SCUD ballistic missile surrogate and launched a single Arrow 2 interceptor missile from the launcher located 60 miles off the coast on San Nicolas Island. The Arrow missile arced into the sky, guided by telemetry from the ‘Green Pine’ radar and computer guidance from the ‘Citron Tree’ BMC2 facility until the interceptor kill vehicle (IKV) separated from the booster stage, at which time the on-board electro-optical guidance sensor acquired the inbound missile. The IKV continued towards the target missile, successfully destroying the incoming missile with the Arrow’s fragmentation warhead, followed milliseconds later by a body-to-body impact of the Arrow kill vehicle and the remnants of the simulated SCUD surrogate missile. This marks the sixth successful test of the complete Arrow system, but the first test conducted outside of Israel in order to capitalize upon the larger test ranges afforded by the geography of the United States. Israel Saves the Environment, Produces Oil. Is it possible to both produce oil and save the environment at the same time? Israeli start-up BioPetrol Ltd. has developed a system to do just that. The company's breakthrough process produces usable synthetic crude oil from sewage sludge - reducing the garbage to only 5% of its original volume. Furthermore, ingredients in the biopetrol can be used in the production of petrochemicals. BioPetrol Ltd. thus offers wastewater treatment plants, for the first time, environmentally sound and cost-effective sludge conversion and a lucrative oil production system. Israel Develops World's First Self-Flying Helicopter. Called the Steadicopter, company officials said it has both security and civilian uses. What is unique about this design is its total fully autonomous operational system and does not require piloting skills or experience. Anyone can take it out and use it. Israel Creates Super-Tomato. An Israeli company has genetically created a super-tomato that can withstand a virus that devastates tomato crops every year the world over. Israeli Drip Irrigation Firm To Set Up University In India. Israel-based Netafirm is among the biggest manufacturer of drip irrigation systems and the parent company runs a similar university in Israel. Netafim created drip irrigation in Israel 39 years ago and has since then been training people in this discipline. So far thousands of farmers all over India have been trained. Israeli sunscreen protects against jellyfish stings. A new kind of Israeli sunscreen hitting the U.S. market promises not only to fend off sunburns but also to protect against jellyfish stings. Israeli researchers developed the cream after noticing that clownfish - of "Finding Nemo" fame - do not get stung by jellyfish. They isolated the chemical that seemed to protect the little orange and white fish and incorporated the substance into a sunscreen solution. Israeli team touts stem cell breakthrough for Parkinson's sufferers. The prospect of using stem cells to treat Parkinson's disease is one step closer after Israeli scientists announced that implanting human stem cells into the brains of rats has alleviated Parkinson's-like symptoms. Israeli innovation turns junk food into health food. Israeli researchers have developed a new technology that can deliver vitamins and medications through the food we eat. Until now, most deliveries were not soluble in water, and therefore simply pass through our bodies. Israeli start-up develops technology to see through walls. An Israeli start-up has developed a revolutionary technology that allows the user to see through walls. If commercialized, it could benefit both the military and the rescue services. " Israeli Programmable DNA Computer could diagnose and treat cancer. Israeli scientists have created a miniature medical computer out of DNA that can detect cancer genes in a test tube and respond by releasing a drug. Proving what had been only a concept, the feat offers a vision of how medicine might look in the future. A few years ago, Ehud Shapiro and his colleagues at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, developed a molecular computer out of DNA. It was capable of performing simple computations. In this biological nanocomputer, strands of DNA serve as software that control the activity of enzymes. The tiny device is listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the smallest biological computing device. Trillions of these DNA-based computers could fit into a single drop of water. In their latest advance, the researchers programmed their computer for two types of cancer, prostate cancer and a form of lung cancer. For each cancer, the team targeted four genes that become either overactive or underactive in people with the disease. Israeli Tech Breakthrough To Increase Speed Of Computers 10-fold. Israeli researchers at Intel have achieved a breakthrough in chip development that will enable computers to operate at 10 times the current speed. In a development that promises to change the world of computing and telecommunications within five to 10 years, the electro-optic chips developed during the past year and a half at Intel's Jerusalem facility will replace the standard electronic chips used for communications between computer components. This will allow this communication to be conducted at the speed of light - 10 times the current speed. Intel, the world's largest chip maker, has been operating in Israel since 1974, and has 5,200 employees at its four main development centers in Jerusalem, Haifa, Kiryat Gat and Petah Tikva. According to a report in Ha'aretz, the Israeli team for the first time succeeded in developing electro-optical chipsets based on silicon wafers capable of converting electronic signals to optic signals within the chip. They have the potential to be mass-produced at the same cost as standard electronic chips. Intel to shift all chips to Israeli design. By 2006, Intel plans to shift its desktop processor architecture away from the power-hungry design that fuels the existing Pentium 4 processor to a more power-efficient design which builds on the success of the Pentium M chip. The Banias architecture designed by Intel researchers in Israel will become the future platform for Intel's desktop and mobile processors as the company shifts to dualcore designs, sources said. The Israeli design team which developed the Pentium M took power consumption into account with every design decision, said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst with Insight 64.h Israeli Researchers: Immune System May Protect Against Cognitive Disorders. Israeli researchers have demonstrated a link between immune system functioning and cognitive impairment, at least in mice. Israeli experts to train Ethiopians on cotton production. To conduct training of trainers on Cotton Crop Production and Management at Arbaminch Water Technologies Institute Israeli experts have arrived in Ethiopia. the two-week program, coordinated by the Embassy of Israel in Addis Ababa and financially supported by MASHAV, Israeli Center for International Cooperation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, was officially launched last week. The program is hoped to assist the trainees to strengthen their knowledge of providing agricultural extension services to a large number of farmers engaged in producing cotton products. Israeli venture capital investment rises 31. In the first quarter of 2004, 111 Israeli high-tech companies raised $323m from venture investors, a 31 per cent increase. Capital raised in Q1 was the highest in eight quarters. Israeli wins Euro basketball championship!!! Host Israel beat Italy 118-74 to win the Euroleague basketball championship. Israel won by a best-ever margin in the final after a record 55-point first half for its fourth title. Israeli-U.S. Laser Downs Long-Range Missile in Test. A laser beam under joint Israeli-U.S. development destroyed a long-range rocket for the first time in a test in the skies over the American Southwest, Israel's Defense Ministry said on Friday. Israel has sought an effective defense against ballistic missiles since 1991 when Iraq launched Scuds into the Jewish state during the first Gulf War. It has since developed the Arrow anti-ballistic missile with U.S. funding. "This is a significant step forward," a ministry spokesman said of the test on May 4 of the "Nautilus" Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL) held at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Israeli Ambassador Donates Medical Equipment to Ethiopian Hospital. The Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia, Doron M. Grossman, handed over to Dr Zeru Gebre-Mariam Medical Director of Black Lion Hospital, medical equipment worth 50 thousand dollars. The donation is the gift offered to the hospital last January by the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Silvan Shalom, during his visit here. The equipment is useful for treating patients in coma, heart attack and breathing problem. Israeli cooperation with the Black Lion Hospital, one of the oldest state hospitals in Ethiopia, started nearly a decade ago when Israel provided the hospital with surgical intensive care monitoring equipment. Israel's Shopping.com to hold IPO at $400m value. Shopping.com, an Israeli Internet price comparison company that operates the world's fourth-largest price comparison website, is trying to hold an IPO on Wall Street. The IPO, expected within two months, will be led by Goldman Sachs, with Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, and Piper Jaffray as secondary underwriters. Israel to jointly build Galileo radio program with EU. The European Union announced an agreement with Israel to join it in building a rival to the US-run satellite-based navigation system known as GPS. India To Adopt Israeli Cotton Growing Methods. Indian cotton cultivation will witness a miracle of sorts if the farmers adopt a state-of-the-art Israeli technique that would propel the yield per hectare to as high as 97 per cent, according to industry experts. The textile commissioner has asked cotton advisory board to prepare a report on this technique to take necessary steps towards its implementation. At present, India?9s cotton yield stands at just 45 per cent per hectare, which is far below the international standard whereas Israel has seen per hectare yield jump to the highest in the world at 97 per cent, thanks to the novel technique. Israeli surgeons perform feat, replace human hip successfully. ISRAELI Orthopaedic Surgeons at Hadassah University hospital MT Scopus made a major medical breakthrough by successfully performing a hip replacement surgery with the assistance of a computer navigation system. The new sophisticated computer navigation system provides surgeons with an accurate three dimensional virtual picture of the surgical area on a computer screen in front of them as they proceed with the operation. Israeli Researchers hint that we watch movies alike. Do we all see the natural world in the same way? Israeli researchers monitored the brain activity of volunteers as they watched a movie. The research showed the brain-activity patterns of people watching the same movie look very similar, regardless of their gender and age. Viewers tend to focus on the same faces and objects, even when they are looking at complex scenes. "This similarity was so strong that you could take a small part of one subject's brain and predict what will be the activity in the corresponding part of the brain of another person watching the same movie," said Rafael Malach, of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, who co-authored the study. The experiment also showed that different brain areas actually pick up different types of scenes, from a close-up of an actor to an outdoor scene. The research is published in this week's issue of the journal Science. Optimism soars among Israeli VCs. The current level of optimism is the strongest seen since the launch of the survey two and half year ago, it said. Eight-two percent expect the overall economic climate to improve over the next six months, compared to 72% in the previous quarter and only 8% in the first quarter of 2003. 58% expect raising new funds by companies from VCs to be less difficult, compared with 41% in the previous survey. 61% anticipate that five to 10 Israeli hi-tech companies will go public this year. Israeli college developing Mars vehicle. Israel’s Space Agency has begun to develop an innovative project – building a space vehicle that would roam the surface of Mars. Eventually, the vehicle is to join the NASA fleet. NASA’s current robots are operated by remote control from earth, while the Israeli robots would be completely independent while navigating on Mars. Israeli orchestra brings crowd to its feet. A tour by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is no ordinary event. The group hasn't played in Cleveland since 1967, and a large, enthusiastic crowd turned out to greet it Sunday night at Severance Hall. The audience that sprang to its feet at the end of a performance of Prokofiev, Beethoven and Shostakovich wasn't satisfied by just one encore, a full-out performance of the ``Death of Tybalt'' movement from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. After enthusiastic rhythmic clapping, the kind you're more likely to hear in a European house than an American one, the orchestra played another encore, the ``Hungarian Dance'' from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Israel gives India 'eyes in the sky'. The Indian Air Force will now have effective 'eyes in the sky' to detect hostile missiles and aircraft much before ground-based radars. India and Israel on Friday signed the $1.1-billion deal for the supply of three airborne 'Phalcon' early-warning radar and communication systems to the IAF. As per this long-awaited deal, the largest-ever between the two rapidly emerging strategic partners, Israel will supply all the three 'Phalcons' to India within five years. Apart from tracking cruise missiles, low-flying aircraft and other air intrusions from hundreds of kilometres away in all-weather conditions, AWACS can also position air defence fighters during combat operations. With AWACS, India has purchased a spectrum of air defence and surveillance systems from Israel, which includes Aerostat radars, 'Searcher-II" and "Heron" UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and the advanced "Green Pine" fire-control radar (which can detect and track incoming missiles from around 500 km away). Korea and Europe Scrambling for Israeli Technology. Leading Korean manufacturer LG Electronics is planning to open a branch in Israel in order to coordinate multi-million dollar investments in local hi-tech companies. This would allow LG to purchase new advanced technologies for its product development efforts. Furthermore, the company hopes to expand its presence on the Israeli technological market. LG discovered the Israeli “Silicon Wadi” after realizing that its European competitors invest in Israeli start-ups and purchase the most advanced technologies here. Israeli researchers see a possible link between the blood pressure problem during pregnancy and some types of tumors. Women with a history of preeclampsia may have a higher risk of developing cancer, especially cancers of the stomach, breast, ovary, lung and larynx, a new study says. Israeli Satellite to Aid Europe. Israel's leading satellite company has signed a contract to provide remote-sensing images to the European Union for both civilian and military applications. ImageSat International has signed a contract with the European Union Satellite Center to provide images from the Israeli firm's Eros-A reconnaissance satellite, based on Israel's Ofeq-3 military satellite. The imagery will be provided during 2004 and represents a continuation of a deal begun last year. Eros-A, which orbits the earth at an altitude of 480 kilometers, has a images with a resolution of 1.8 meters. Israeli Power Paper among Business 2.0's hottest start-ups. Ultra-thin battery company Power Paper, based in Petah Tikva, has been named to Business 2.0's "12 Hot Startups" list for 2004. Business 2.0 compiled the list of 12 companies to watch from assessments by venture capitalists of startups that will be on everyone's lips years from now. Power Paper's technology is used in consumer and technology applications such as micro-electronic cosmetic and therapeutic patches, smart labels based on radio frequency identification (RFID), and empowered notebooks and toys. Israeli firm to construct desalination facility in India. Israel Desalination Engineering (IDE) technologies have announced winning a 11.5 million Dollar international contract to construct a desalination facility for one of the largest oil refineries in Gujarat. IDE will build a thermal desalination plant capable of treating 15,000 cubic metres of water per day. Since its inception in 1965, the company has installed more than 320 desalination and water treatment plants in nearly 40 countries." Europeans Saying 'I Love You' With Israeli Flowers. The past ten days have seen 50 million flowers exported to Europe for sale on February 14 – Valentine’s Day. Twenty airplanes filled with1,800 tons of flowers were flown to Europe in recent days. Israeli experts train Greek Olympic police. Greek police have been training with Israeli experts to deal with possible suicide bombings during the Olympics. Israeli Technology Improving Quality of Life for the Disabled. An Israeli company has developed a wheelchair which could offer millions of people with severe physical disabilities new levels of freedom and independent movement. The new wheelchair, created by Galileo Mobility Instruments, will allow for quadriplegics and others with severe disabilities to go for walks in the country, have picnics on the beach, enter and exit the car alone, reach high shelves, climb and descend stairs unassisted, and even to lower themselves to the floor to play with their children. The track and tire which make up the wheel can transform from a wheel to a track to a stair climber as the need arises. Israeli vaccine on trial that might foil the flu . If clinical trials on an Israeli-developed nose drop vaccine for influenza prove as successful as those that are nearing completion on mice, people of all ages will be protected for five years against all present and future strains of the flu. The patented vaccine, due to be tested on humans in 2006, is based on 20 years of research by Weizmann Institute of Science Prof. Ruth Arnon, who was a senior member of the team that developed Copaxone for multiple sclerosis. UN praises Israeli breast cancer exhibit. A Tel Aviv Museum of Art exhibit aimed at raising breast cancer awareness received an honorable mention for its use of public relations to address issues of priority to the United Nations. Israel turns out computer commandos. Nestled in a nondescript concrete building on this sprawling military base near Tel Aviv, soldiers have been working on a top-secret project the past few years: a cell phone. The Mountain Rose system is a bit more than that, of course: developed with Motorola, it uses upgraded commercial technology to provide highly secure communications among combat forces, commanders and headquarters. More secure. More reliable. Those are the key words at Lotem, one of a handful of shadowy units that have turned Israel's military into an electronics-warfare powerhouse. Israeli start-ups, meanwhile, are a leading destination for global venture investors. Some Israeli companies have grown into market leaders, such as firewall giant Check Point Software Technologies Ltd and voice-mail company Comverse Technology Inc. According to the government almost half the country's exports are in technology. Israeli coprocesor for phones ups crypto, cuts gates. Discretix Technologies Ltd. (Netanya, Israel), a provi |