NoCamels Top 10 Stories Of 2013

By NoCamels Team December 31, 2013 4 minutes

Over the course of 2013, NoCamels traveled across the Startup Nation to cover the most fascinating stories on Israeli innovation. From the rise of the 3D industry to holographic hearts and cancer-preventing treatments, NoCamels’ stories were shared across the globe. But which stories beat out all others in popularity?

Here are our top 10 stories that went viral in 2013.

1. First 3D Printed Car To Hit The Roads In Two Years

Israeli-American 3D printing giant Stratasys is on the forefront of 3D innovation and is showing us why 3D printing is the future of manufacturing. This story, published in March, described how Stratasys is planning to put the first 3D printed car on the road by 2015. Jim Kor, president and senior designer for KOR EcoLogic, which is partnering with Stratasys on the project, said: “As a mechanical engineer, I’ve always believed we could use technology to help us solve some of society’s greatest challenges, like minimizing our dependence on oil and reducing ozone emissions.”

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2. Israeli Company That Turns Tumors Into Ice Balls Now Sets Its Sight On Lung Cancer

IceCure is an Israeli company that developed a minimally invasive procedure that uses extreme cold to kill tumors inside the body. The company’s technology, proven effective on benign and some malignant breast tumors, is now being tested on lung cancer, which claims more lives annually than any other cancer. This story spread around the world, and calls came flooding in for more information on treatment possibilities. This story showed how the best Israeli minds can come together to save lives.

3. Researchers In Israel Announce A Revolutionary Alternative To Fuel

Prof. Moti Herskowitz

With oil supplies around the world fast depleting, researchers around the world have been trying to find an alternative that could sustain the energy needs of mankind. A team at Israel’s Ben Gurion University may have come up with an alternative fuel, made from water and carbon dioxide. The Israeli team, led by Professor Moti Herskowitz, was able to develop a crude-oil substitute from water and CO2. He predicts that this breakthrough technology should be commercially viable within 10 years.

4. Beamr Can Cut Video File Size By Half – Without Losing Quality

While over 100 hours of video are being uploaded on YouTube every minute and video has become the preferred way to consume content online for many, there are still drawbacks to watching content on the internet. One is the tradeoff that needs to be made between file size and quality. That is why this story about Israeli company Beamr, which developed compression technology that can keep videos in their full HD quality, while shrinking the file size in half, made its rounds around the globe.

5. Israeli Startup Develops Wireless Mobile Chargers Using Infrared Light

With smartphones ever expanding capacities, they are also increasingly in need of charging. While carrying a charger with you throughout the day might solve the problem, it makes mobile phones less, well, mobile. Israeli startup Wi-Charge has developed a technology that it claims can charge phones using infrared light. While not yet on the market, the company is hoping its technology will allow users to charge their phone wirelessly, eliminating the need to connect your phone to a physical charger.

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6. Given Imaging’s PillCam May Make Colonoscopies A Thing Of The Past

There are few medical exams that are as dreaded as a colonoscopy. So much so, that people often choose to forego it, which is why colon cancers are on the rise. Israeli company Given Imaging (recently acquired by Covidien for $860 million), developed a swallowable pill that contains a miniature camera, which can can often replace the need for colonoscopies.

7. Israeli Tech Puts 3D Holographic Heart In The Doctor’s Hand To Save Lives

It may sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, but Israeli company Real View has developed holographic technology that can project a real-time image of a patient’s heart floating in mid-air in front of the surgeon. The hologram can serve as an effective tool for doctors to get a better image of their patient’s condition while in the operating room.

8. Carry Your Computer Desktop On A Simple USB Key With Keepod’s Free Operating System

Keepod is credit-card sized device that essentially carries your whole computer’s information, meaning you no longer have to worry about saving information on various computers. The Israeli startup, also named Keepod, promises that strong security means it will be hard to break into the card and will allow users to “carry” their desktops wherever they go. Going even further, the startup now says it can turn any normal USB USB flash drive into a Keepod, making the technology accessible to an even wider audience.

9. Israeli Researchers Stop The Brain From Aging To Prevent Alzheimer’s

Many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, develop later in life. The reason is that some mechanisms in the brain fail over time and toxins that cause the diseases are not inhibited. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, alongside an Israeli startup called TyrNovo, have made a major step towards halting these diseases – by essentially stopping the brain from aging. The researchers found that a novel compound developed by TyrNovo inhibits the brain’s aging mechanism and in the future, may be the basis for a new form of treatment for Alzheimer’s.

10. Israeli Researcher Discovers Cell-Destroying Protein That May Help Eradicate Cancer

Dr. Sarit Larisch of the University of Haifa has spent more than a decade researching a cure for cancer. Larisch found that unlike normal cells, cancerous cells lack a “self-destruct” mechanism, and for that reason, never stop growing and develop into tumors. She then found that a protein called ARTS is in charge of the “self-destruct” button in cancer cells and has started developing treatments based on this discovery.