February 23, 2020 by Michael Kuttner

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As we hurtle towards round three in our general elections the frenetic canvassing of voters by desperate political parties is in stark contrast to the switched-off interest shown by those targeted.

Thankfully the same cannot be said for the daily announcements of further advances in good news whether it is scientific, medical or social spheres. Israeli ingenuity continues to be a light unto the nations.

QUICKER RESULTS EQUALS QUICKER DIAGNOSIS

The Israeli innovation can test 100 saliva samples in 15 minutes as opposed to one blood test that takes an hour to confirm coronavirus.

Quick diagnosis can help prevent the spread ofcoronavirus by slashing the timeit takes to decide that patients need to be quarantined and treated.

The technology is already in use for diagnosing the Zika virus and is used at Israels Tel Hashomer Hospital in Ramat Gan by the Ministry of Healths central virology laboratory.

ANOTHER ADVANCE IN CARDIAC CARE

Researchers succeeded in producing 3D engineered cardiac tissues from chamber-specific heart cells derived from human stem cells. This medical development opens the door for creating personalized medications for cardiac patients and advances in new cardiac drug developments.

This research model simulates the most common irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), called atrial fibrillation. It opens the door for testing the success of various drugs on individual patients to prevent or stop arrhythmia.

Because they were able to separate atrial and ventricular tissue models, researchers can discover which drugs improve atrial cell function without damaging ventricular cell function.

DEFEATING CYBER HACKERS

Researchers from Ben-Gurion University (BGU) presented at the Cybertech Global Tel Aviv conference the first all-optical stealth encryption technology. The innovation uses fibre-optic light transmissions to secure cloud computing and data centre network transmission.

The technology uses standard optical equipment to send data in a manner that cannot beintercepted by hackers, unlike conventional digital methods. Another aspect of the system is that data gets destroyed if a hacker tries to decode it.

Because an eavesdropper can neither read the data nor even detect the existence of the transmitted signal, the optical stealth transmission provides thehighest level of privacy and securityfor sensitive data applications.

The patented technology has multiple applications, including high-speed communication and sensitive transmission of financial, medical or social media-related information. According to the Senior Vice President, Exact Sciences & Engineering, BGN Technologies, An eavesdropper will require years to break the encryption key.

TWO THOUSAND YEARS LATER

Long after the Romans departed archeological discoveries continue to be made. Two thousand years later the descendants of the Jews they tried to ethnically cleanse, now restored in their homeland, walk again in the very places they were once exiled from.

RECLAIMING A LOST HERITAGE

One of the miracles one witnesses by living in Israel is meeting Jews long lost to their heritage somehow finding their way back to their Faith and People.

Whether it is the Bnei Menashe from India, tribes from Uganda, individuals from Kaifeng, China or Jews from Ethiopia the common theme is of a return to Zion.

Often overlooked but now becoming a frequent occurrence is the discovery by descendants of Conversos, those driven underground or forcibly converted by the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition five hundred years ago, of their Jewish heritage.

Watch this moving video of one of the latest such personal dramas. We truly are living in amazing times when lost Jews from the four corners of the world are returning.

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