Saturday, May 05, 2012

Amazing discoveries in Israel-helping humankind

American Friends of Tel Aviv University

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/afot-fpi050212.php

Freezing Parkinson's in its tracks

Tel Aviv University researcher developing therapy to halt symptoms in Parkinson's patients

Parkinson's disease, a disorder which affects movement and cognition, affects over a million Americans, including actor Michael J. Fox, who first brought it to the attention of many TV-watching Americans. It's characterized by a gradual loss of neurons that produce dopamine. Mutations in the gene known as DJ-1 lead to accelerated loss of dopaminergic neurons and result in the onset of Parkinson's symptoms at a young age.

The ability to modify the activity of DJ-1 could change the progress of the disease, says Dr. Nirit Lev, a researcher at Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and a movement disorders specialist at Rabin Medical Center. Working in collaboration with Profs. Dani Offen and Eldad Melamed, Dr. Lev has now developed a peptide which mimics DJ-1's normal function, thereby protecting dopamine- producing neurons. What's more, the peptide can be easily delivered by daily injections or absorbed into the skin through an adhesive patch.Based on a short protein derived from DJ-1 itself, the peptide has been shown to freeze neurodegeneration in its tracks, reducing problems with mobility and leading to greater protection of neurons and higher dopamine levels in the brain. Dr. Lev says that this method, which has been published in a number of journals including the Journal of Neural Transmission, could be developed as a preventative therapy.

Guarding dopamine levels
As we age, we naturally lose dopamine-producing neurons. Parkinson's patients experience a rapid loss of these neurons from the onset of the disease, leading to much more drastic deficiencies in dopamine than the average person. Preserving dopamine-producing neurons can mean the difference between living life as a Parkinson's patient or aging normally, says Dr. Lev.

The researchers set out to develop a therapy based on the protective effects of DJ-1, using a short peptide based on the healthy version of DJ-1 itself as a vehicle. "We attached the DJ-1-related peptide to another peptide that would allow it to enter the cells, and be carried to the brain," explains Dr. Lev.

In pre-clinical trials, the treatment was tested on mice utilizing well-established toxic and genetic models for Parkinson's disease. From both a behavioral and biochemical standpoint, the mice that received the peptide treatment showed remarkable improvement. Symptoms such as mobility dysfunctions were reduced significantly, and researchers noted the preservation of dopamine-producing neurons and higher dopamine levels in the brain.

Preliminary tests indicate that the peptide is a viable treatment option. Though many peptides have a short life span and degrade quickly, this peptide does not. Additionally, it provides a safe treatment option because peptides are organic to the body itself.

Filling an urgent need
According to Dr. Lev, this peptide could fill a gap in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. "Current treatments are lacking because they can only address symptoms there is nothing that can change or halt the disease," she says. "Until now, we have lacked tools for neuroprotection."

The researchers also note the potential for the peptides to be used preventatively. In some cases, Parkinson's can be diagnosed before motor symptoms begin with the help of brain scans, explains Dr. Lev, and patients who have a genetic link to the disease might opt for early testing. A preventative therapy could help many potential Parkinson's patients live a normal life.

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American Friends of Tel Aviv University (www.aftau.org) supports Israel's leading, most comprehensive and most sought-after center of higher learning. Independently ranked 94th among the world's top universities for the impact of its research, TAU's innovations and discoveries are cited more often by the global scientific community than all but 10 other universities.

Internationally recognized for the scope and groundbreaking nature of its research and scholarship, Tel Aviv University consistently produces work with profound implications for the future.
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http://israel21c.org/environment/the-super-israeli-superabsorbent/?utm_sourc
e=Newsletter+5%2F2%2F2012&utm_campaign=May+2+2012+&utm_medium=email

The super Israeli superabsorbent
Companies on three continents are taking note of a safe, biodegradable Israeli material for everything from diapers to diet pills.

By Abigail Klein Leichman May 2, 2012,

How can one product help people lose weight safely, grow crops with less water and dispose of diapers without harming the earth?

Two years ago, ISRAEL21c reported on an all-natural superabsorbent polymer (SAP) invented in Israel that can do all this and more.

Until our story appeared, the maker of this novel material, the Kiryat Gat-based Exotech Bio Solutions, had been unable to raise enough capital to make sufficient SAP for interested manufacturers.“We needed help being discovered,” co-CEO Mendy Axlerad tells ISRAEL21c.

As a result of our article, entrepreneurs in Europe and South America contacted Exotech and now are building factories to produce the unique Israeli product.

“A company from northern Portugal contacted us asking for a sample, and after we sent it, they said, ‘If you had a partner, would you build a factory?’ They came to visit us and we signed an agreement to build the first factory in the world to produce our SAP,” says Axlerad, who sees this as a stepping stone to all of environmentally conscious Europe.

“We expect to start production in seven to nine months from now, making 5,000 tons per year.”

And that’s not all. About half a year after that, a new German facility will start producing Exotech’s SAP and transfer it via pipeline to a new diaper factory next door. “Nothing like this exists anywhere else,” says Axlerad. “The raw material will move in a fully ecological way to produce the finished product.”

He adds that Exotech is selling only the rights to use the material. “It remains an Israeli technology. For me, this is important from a business and personal point of view.”

Bye-bye to petroleum-based products

Most super-absorbent materials are acrylic byproducts of oil, Axlerad explains. “This presents many disadvantages, from high costs to environmental harm. We developed a new way to make superabsorbents from natural materials and chemicals, using a technology based on water.”

Exotech’s SAP swells when wet and forms a gel to trap fluid. Unaffected by the fluctuations of oil prices, this technology is considerably cheaper,takes less energy to produce and results in a fully biodegradable material with many potential applications.

“We have a client in the United States looking to buy the product and start producing biodegradable diapers in small quantities to test out the market,” relates Axlerad. “They have good contacts with other US market suppliers. For us, this is very big progress.”

There is also news in SAP’s potential for farming. Exotech just signed an agreement with a South American company to develop the product into absorbent underground reservoirs for crops.

“One of the bigger problems with watering is that you don’t know when you’ll have enough rainfall,” Axlerad says. “So you must irrigate, but plants do not retain water in a consistent way. Our material permits a new concept in irrigation to manage the water when you have too much and release water when you have too little. The plants make their decision to take water from the reservoir created with our material, depending on their needs.”

Israel’s Volcani Institute-Agricultural Research Organization found this product reduces water consumption by 60-80 percent, “which is of interest not only in Israel but all over the world,” Axlerad points out.

An added benefit is that the SAP material degrades at the end of the season into ammonia, a natural fertilizer.

A European university recently released results of its study on the material, showing the Israeli SAP meets European Union standards for biodegradability, with no toxic residuals.

No need to forgo that cookie

Several years ago, the six-employee Exotech partnered with Boston-based PureTech Ventures to form Gelesis, a corporation that developed a pill to treat obesity using the SAP. The pill expands in the stomach, causing a feeling of fullness, and is eliminated after several hours.

“Now they are working to get financing,” Axlerad says. “We tested the pill in vitro, in vivo and then in small animals and big animals, and all results were positive. We finished the protocols to start clinical studies in human beings, which is a little complicated and very expensive. I am feeling very positive about obtaining enough financing to start the project.”

This market is worth billions, considering that in United States, 30 percent of the population is considered obese.

Meanwhile, Exotech Israel is developing SAP as a food additive to give the body-conscious age group from 15 to 25 the ability to eatcommercially baked goodies without gaining pounds. Putting a bit of the plant-based SAP in the standard recipe means that when it mixes with liquids in the stomach, one serving expands in volume four or five times over.

“I presented this idea to a big producer of biscuits and cookies overseas, and they were very excited,” says Axlerad. “It’s a green card to the world of dietary pleasure. It’s a way down the road, but not as long as a medical device because it’s not a pharmaceutical; it’s food.”

The company is open to investors but mainly seeks collaborators. “If someone can give us new horizons, we are ready to talk,” says Axlerad.

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk