Category Archives: Israel & Zionism
Happy Tel Aviv-Yafo
18 Israeli Inventions that could save your life !
Early Israeli Air Force
Israel Brain Treatment
Israel’s New 24-hour English News Television Station
http://www.i24news.tv/en/tv/live – Please spread the word. Israel has a new 24 hour internet news channel broadcasting in English(also French and Arabic) from Tel Aviv. This is the link: http://www.i24news.tv/en/tv/live It is a 24 hour news feed (from the Israeli perspective) and is intended to rival CNN, Al-Jazeera, BBC, etc. and it covers world news but also has a specific Israel news section. So many people don’t know about it, but let’s not keep it a secret! Many hits from across the Arab world, they are also watching. Endorsed by Israel and Zionism Committee of the UMJCA. Submitted by Mehran Bassali.
HAPPY HANUKKAH – ISRAEL21C
Promise of psoriasis cure on the horizon
Promise of psoriasis cure on the horizon
Lead Israeli researcher seeks a partner for further research, and investigates how the new pre-clinical trials approach could heal other autoimmune diseases.
By Abigail Klein Leichman August 26, 2013,
Prof. Amir Aharoni at work in his lab. Photo by Dani Machlis/BGU
About four million Americans suffer from psoriasis, a chronic autoimmune skin disease that causes patches of inflamed, silvery-white scabs. There is no cure for the condition, but Israeli researchers believe they may be on the road to formulating a groundbreaking drug candidate that could finally do the job.
As described in the journal Chemistry and Biology by the team from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), their study in collaboration with Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries showed that inhibiting the immune system protein Interleukin 17 (IL-17) could be the key to controlling the skin disease.
“Psoriasis is mediated by pro-inflammatory cytokines,” explains lead researcher Prof. Amir Aharoni. “One of the main cytokines that plays a role in this and other autoimmune diseases is IL-17. Our goal was to inhibit IL-17’s action and slow the progression of several of these diseases.”
Once they mastered the methodology using animal models, they looked for the best indication on which to test it. They zeroed in on psoriasis because previous studies showed IL-17 to be particularly important in its progression.Two and a half years of work proved that their engineered receptor, IL-17RA, is highly effective in eliminating acute human psoriasis introduced to mice. No human trials have taken place yet.
“Now we are working in two directions: finding a suitable partner for research, and using a similar approach to target other diseases,” Aharoni tells ISRAEL21c.
Promise for Crohn’s and colitis, too
No longer financed by Teva, his lab team is successfully inhibiting other cytokines that play a major role in Crohn’s disease and colitis, two common auto-immune disorders affecting the digestive tract.
“We’re searching for other big pharma investors to promote the project, because now it requires quite a substantial investment,” Aharoni says.
The Israelis’ application of “directed evolution,” or protein engineering for the development of better therapeutics, is relatively rare and used mainly for antibodies.
“Some of the features of the system are unique to us. No competitors are doing exactly the same thing,” claims Aharoni, whose collaborators included Marianna Zaretsky and Itay Levin of BGU.
“Since the directed evolution method can be applied to other receptors involved in autoimmune diseases and cancer, I believe that we are just starting to unravel the potential of this approach,” he adds.
In 2009, the global market for psoriasis therapies alone was valued at $3.5 billion, with systemic therapies such as the BGU approach accounting for $2.6 billion of the total. In the future, the engineered IL-17RA may serve as an alternative or complementary treatment to IL-17A antibodies and other biological treatments.
Accordingly, interest in this unique psoriasis drug candidate is high. However, Aharoni stresses that it is only in the first and essential stage of development.
“We are proud to have a drug candidate that can be tested in mice and humans, but phases of clinical trials are very long,” he cautions.
New Fields of Gold: Israel’s Quest for Energy Independence
Israel long existed as an energy-less island — a country wholly dependent on energy imports to power its grid, move its vehicles and underwrite its economy. The Jewish state is completely isolated from its energy-rich neighbors who continuously use energy as a weapon and a foreign policy tool to promote anti-Israeli campaigns throughout the world.
Today, however, Israel is swiftly shaking off its foreign dependencies and charting a course toward energy independence. This mission runs parallel to American efforts to ratchet up domestic production of oil and gas . Both countries’ shared interest in strengthening energy security and enhancing energy independence can manifest itself in a new strategic energy partnership—including joint research-and-development initiatives to unlock new resources , industrial and commercial cooperation , academic partnerships , strategic dialogue and more.
In December 2010 , exploratory drilling off Israel’s northern coast uncovered a major natural gas field named ‘Leviathan,’ containing at least 18 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to power Israel for over 100 years . This find came on the heels of discovering the ‘Tamar’ field, which is already providing the Jewish state with much-needed energy relief . In addition to holding tremendous market value , these finds also offer the potential for Israel to become a net energy exporter to a region starved for gas, where alternate sources are Iran, Iraq, Qatar and Russia.
Top 10 great reasons to love the pomegranat
Pomegranates (rimonim in Hebrew) add color and symbolism to Rosh Hashana tables worldwide. Here’s why you should try one.
By Viva Sarah Press August 29, 2013