News Briefs

A new groundbreaking study at Tel Aviv University shows that like humans, vultures prefer to “stay home” as they age, reducing the amount of social interaction they had experienced as younger birds. 

While young vultures are far more social, frequently moving between roosting sites and spending time with their contemporaries, this changes as they age, when they prefer to remain in the same roosting site.  

The research focused on 142 Eurasian Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) in Israel, and according to TAU is one of the few studies to shed light on the behavioral changes in aging animals in the wild.

The study cross-referenced the birds’ activity over a 15-year period through GPS devices attached to their bodies. 

It was led by Dr. Marta Acácio of Dr. Orr Spiegel’s laboratory at the TAU School of Zoology, in collaboration with Prof. Noa Pinter-Wollman of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and several other researchers.   

 “Vultures are a locally endangered species in Israel, with only about 200 individual vultures remaining. They are closely monitored to determine the best possible conservation methods. We thought about what else could be gleaned from the extensive database we have accumulated over the years and agreed it would be interesting to explore how vultures age,” said Spiegel. 

“Tracking the same individuals in the wild over many years is often very challenging, but the transmitters we use to monitor the population provided us with a rare opportunity to observe the aging process in vultures specifically and in animals generally,” he said.

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 The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology has entered into a collaboration with global computational intelligence firm Altair. 

The new partnership will grant the Haifa-based university’s faculty, researchers, and students training and unlimited access to Altair’s data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) platform, RapidMiner. 

Headquartered in Michigan, Altair has an Israel office is at the high-tech park in Yokneam Illit, in the north of the country.

“Altair enables students to expand their skills and be real-world-ready with our best-in-class technologies and support,” said Altair Israel Managing Director Ariel Hadar. 

“Collaborating with Technion’s faculty will foster greater synergies between academia and industry in Israel, combining the best skill sets from each respective domain to expand global AI knowledge,” he said. 

“The Faculty of Data and Decision Science looks forward to advancing the joint academic-industrial collaboration with Altair, a global leader in data analytics and AI,” said Gila Molcho, vice dean of strategic projects at the Technion’s Faculty of Data and Decisions Science. 

“Such collaborations advance innovation and ensure industrial relevance in academic research and study programs,” she said. 

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Israeli company SuperCom, which provides security solutions for digital operations at public and private organizations, has secured a new contract with what it says is a leading Baltimore-based service provider in Maryland.

The contract is expected to generate an annual recurring revenue of approximately $250,000 and will include the deployment of SuperCom’s advanced GPS technology and round-the-clock monitoring center services.

These solutions, SuperCom says, are designed to significantly enhance the service provider’s ability to effectively monitor and manage offenders at a correctional facility, ensuring continuous and reliable oversight.

“We are thrilled to expand our presence into Maryland through this partnership with a prominent Baltimore-based service provider,” said SuperCom CEO and President Ordan Trabelsi.

“Our GPS technology and 24/7 monitoring center services are perfectly aligned to meet the needs of their clients and operations, providing robust and reliable solutions to support their mission. This contract not only strengthens our footprint in the US market but also reaffirms our commitment to delivering top-tier technology and services that empower our partners and clients to achieve their goals.”

Last month, the company reported new commissions worth $2.9 million from unnamed European governments.

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An Israeli clinical trial has shown that consuming a cultivated aquatic plant called Mankai after meals can significantly reduce blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. 

The study was carried out by Prof. Amir Tirosh at Sheba Medical Center, Israel’s largest and internationally ranked hospital, and Dr. Gal Tsaban and Prof. Iris Shai from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.  

The month-long trial showed that in about two-thirds of the 45 participants, drinking a beverage containing Mankai after dinner led to a drop of roughly 20 percent in post-meal blood sugar levels, a lower peak in sugar levels and a faster return to baseline levels. 

According to the study, the reduction in blood sugar is comparable to the effect of some medications. Early studies also suggest that it may help reduce post-meal blood sugar levels in people who do not have diabetes. 

Mankai, also known as duckweed or watermeal, grows naturally in water and is now being cultivated under controlled conditions. The plant has previously shown promise in improving vascular and brain health and reducing abdominal and liver fat. 

“The study demonstrates that consuming Mankai after meals can lead to significant reductions in blood sugar levels,” said Tsaban. 

“This finding introduces a promising new option for managing diabetes and reducing associated complications.”

This trial was supported by grants from Israel’s Ministry of Health and Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, as well as the German Research Foundation (DFG).

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The Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) is investing 35 million shekels (approx. $10 million) to develop the high-sector in the Negev region in the south and the Galilee in the north, both of which have sustained significant damage during the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

The IIA, the branch of government devoted to advancing the national high-tech ecosystem, launched the fund in collaboration with the Ministry for the Development of the Negev, Galilee and National Resilience; the Tekuma Authority to rebuild the Negev region; and the Ministry for Social Equality. 

The program provides high-tech companies with financial support for practical training for newer employees and funding for experienced employees who will mentor new hires during on-the-job training. 

Companies that are part of the initiative will be eligible for up to 70 percent of an approved budget of no more than one million shekels; up to 50 percent of an approved budget of no more than five million shekels; or up to 30 percent of an approved budget of no more than 15 million shekels.

The chosen companies will be expected to launch their programs within six months of receiving the IIA grant, and last for a period of one to two years.

“Especially during these complex times, we see great importance in developing human capital in the Negev and Galilee as a significant anchor for the growth of high-tech companies,” said Yohanan Mali, Director-General of the Ministry for the Development of the Negev, Galilee and National Resilience. 

“This program marks a turning point in the development of the Negev and Galilee, strengthening economic and employment resilience. It is another step we are taking in partnership with other entities to promote economic development and demographic growth in these regions,” he said.

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Israeli agritech startup PoLoPo, which uses potatoes to cultivate egg white protein, says it will also begin to commercially supply patatin, the native protein in the tubers, following regulatory approval.

PoLoPo uses molecular farming (creating useful proteins inside plants) to get potatoes to cultivate the protein – planting, growing and harvesting the modified vegetables as usual, before extracting it and turning it into powder for use in commercial food production. 

The molecular farming process automatically increases the amount of patatin in the potato, and the company anticipates the affordable production of large amounts of the protein. 

PoLoPo says patatin is a versatile, allergy-friendly, high-quality protein with all essential amino acids valued in the food and beverage and nutraceutical industries. It is used in plant-based meat and dairy products for emulsifying, gelling and texturizing, as well as in baked goods and protein drinks.

“We are keeping our eyes on the prize, which is bringing molecular-farmed egg protein to market, but conversations with clients revealed an additional demand for patatin in large quantities at a fair price,” said PoLoPo CEO Maya Sapir-Mir. 

“Because patatin is the potato’s native protein, we expect it will be a relatively easy regulatory process and a fast time-to-market.”

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An international team of scientists led by a University of Haifa researcher has documented the longest journey of a sperm whale to date, as it traveled some 2,800 kilometers (1,740 miles) through the Mediterranean Sea. 

The scientists say that to their knowledge, it is the first-ever documented case of a long-range eastward movement by an immature male sperm whale, which traveled from the Ligurian Sea to the easternmost area of the Levantine Basin.

The sea is approximately 4,000 km (2,500 miles) long from west to east. 

Dr. Aviad Scheinin of the university’s Morris Kahn Marine Research Station worked with Kirsten F. Thompson from the University of Exeter and Greenpeace Research Laboratories and Jonathan Gordon of the University of St. Andrews. 

The objective of the study was to use passive acoustic monitoring and a non-systematic visual survey to generate data on the presence and ecology of cetaceans – a group of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises – within Israel’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The team carried out two passive acoustic surveys in April and May 2022, onboard a Greenpeace sailing vessel, and detected some eight sperm whales. 

One of the whales was deemed to be an immature male based on size and characteristic head shape, and the team discovered that it has been previously spotted 12 other times, with the greatest distance between sightings being 2,800 kilometers. 

“The gap of knowledge of marine life in offshore waters in the Mediterranean is tremendous,” said Scheinin. 

“Spotting these sperm whales is important to our knowledge about biodiversity because if a whale is willing to travel such great distances at considerable risk, then it means it must have found a diverse and lush source of food. Being apex predators of the deep sea makes them important bioindicators.”

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Israeli leak management firm AQS (Aquarius Spectrum) has entered into a partnership with top American plumbing company Ferguson Waterworks, which will see the latter become the US distributor and service provider for AQS in all 50 states.

The agreement means Ferguson will distribute and service AQS leak management solutions to water supply networks, with the aim of supporting American water utilities by reducing water loss, saving energy and lowering operational costs.

The solution by Yakum-based AQS helps water utilities around the world to reduce water loss and maximize resource management. Today the firm is part of the international water company Aliaxis. 

“This partnership with Ferguson Waterworks marks a significant milestone for AQS,” said AQS CEO Koen Verweyen. 

“Ferguson’s extensive distribution network and exceptional service capabilities make them the ideal partner to bring our innovative solutions to a broader market. Together, we will help US water utilities to reduce their unaccounted water losses, and to let them achieve their sustainability targets,” he said. 

“We are excited to partner with AQS to offer their state-of-the-art leak management solutions,” said Darren Campbell, Senior Director at Ferguson Waterworks. 

“This partnership aligns with our goal to provide our customers with advanced, reliable solutions that promote water conservation and cost efficiency.”

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Israel ranks third in the world for companies using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), according to a new report by the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), the branch of government dedicated to advancing the national high-tech sector. 

GenAI is a subset of artificial intelligence focused on creating content, analysis and solutions beyond its explicit programming. GenAI can also understand, learn and generate actions based on complex patterns and data. 

According to the IIA report, 4 percent of global GenAI companies are Israeli, coming behind just the United States (886 companies) and the United Kingdom (93 companies). In real terms, this translates to 73 Israeli companies. 

The findings were presented by Israel Innovation Authority CEO Dror Bin at this summer’s AI Week at Tel Aviv University. 

The IIA used US data firm PitchBook to determine what constitutes a GenAI company and to create a list of the firms currently operating in this field.  

To ensure that it had included every relevant company, the IIA cross-referenced the PitchBook data with information from business research and analysis platform Crunchbase. 

Presenting the findings, Bin also highlighted the challenges of growing global competition in this field, and stressed the importance of continued investment in Israel in R&D, human capital and international collaborations.  

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An Israeli startup whose AI platform helps manage treatment for diabetics has announced a number of new deals with health systems and companies in the United States, and is preparing to cement its presence in the country. 

DreaMed Diabetes’ endo.digital platform is designed to provide treatment recommendations to millions of people with diabetes who do not have access to endocrinologists.

Among the newly signed deals is a data integration agreement with medical device giant Abbott, which is one of the leading companies in the field of diabetes devices. 

The agreement means that diabetes patients using the Abbott FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitor can now send data via the endo.digital platform to their physicians for remote supervision.  

DreaMed has also signed agreements with leading US health systems, including Yale New Haven Health, and a development and license agreement with an international company that will accelerate its expansion in the global market.  

It has also closed a financing round of $3 million led by eHealth Ventures, a VC specializing in early-stage digital health investments, in addition to approximately $30 million it has also received in grants, other sources of non-diluted money and equity financing.

“The last two years have been very challenging for the Israeli high-tech industry as a whole, and for the field of digital health in particular,” said DreaMed CEO and co-founder Eran Atlas, who was called up for emergency reserve duty by the IDF on October 8, and spent six months in uniform.  

“We managed to overcome the difficulties of the coronavirus, the economic crisis and the war, and we are preparing for a large-scale deployment in the US and then to other countries, with a significant revenue stream and the raising of new capital,” he said. 

“We have the backing of the two leading Israeli health maintenance organizations: Clalit Health Service, which supported the technological development, and Maccabi Health Fund, which is one of the partners of the eHealth Ventures fund. The partnerships and commercial agreements are a jumping off point for the company’s next stages of growth.”

In November, DreaMed received a fifth clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which allows the company to expand the scope of its recommended care plans for diabetics on a fixed regimen of insulin administered via pump or injection. 

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Medtech startup AISAP has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its unique CARDIO point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) platform, which automatically generates analyses, interpretations and reports on a patient suffering from heart disease. 

The software platform allows clinicians to accurately diagnose up to 90 percent of the most common cardiac parameters within minutes, both early in the evaluation process and at any stage necessary during the course of treatment.

The platform was trained on hundreds of thousands of studies and its novel algorithms were validated in wide-ranging clinical trials, including at Mass General Brigham, the leading US institution for hospital-based research, and the Mayo Clinic, the top ranked medical center in the United States.

“AISAP CARDIO was developed by top-notch technologists and cardiologists to close critical gaps in patient care. Our ‘anywhere, anytime AI’ approach is aimed at transforming healthcare by bringing cutting-edge diagnostic tools to the point of care,” said AISAP CEO Adiel Am-Shalom. 

“This milestone makes AISAP the first company in the world to secure FDA clearance in the CADx pathway for the comprehensive diagnosis of structural heart diseases using POCUS,” said AISAP co-founder Ehud Raanani MD, the director of the Leviev Cardiovascular and Thoracic Center at Sheba Medical Center. 

“It marks a big step in our goal of delivering point-of-care assisted diagnosis, or POCAD, with unparalleled scalability and accessibility – from the largest academic centers to the most remote rural locations,” he said.

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A new study by Sheba Medical Center, Israel’s largest and internationally ranked hospital, found that remote hospital care at home, supervised by a physician, yields better outcomes for acutely ill patients than an actual stay in hospital.  

 The first-of-its-kind, peer-reviewed study was carried out at Beyond, Sheba’s virtual hospital. It was led by Prof. Gad Segal, the head of Sheba Education Authority, in collaboration with Sheba physicians and Noa Zychlinski, Professor of Data and Decision Science at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. 

The study involved a total of 636 patients – 159 who received hospital-at-home (HAH) care and 477 patients who received hospital care. 

It included both COVID and non-COVID patients, Sheba said. Patients in the latter group had one of three acute infectious diseases: urinary tract infection, pneumonia or cellulitis.

The study found that the median length of hospital stay was two days shorter for the HAH patients, in both the COVID and non-COVID groups. The risk of death within 30 days was also significantly lower for the HAH patients, in both the COVID and non-COVID groups.

“The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated two long-term challenges for acute care – insufficient beds and space in hospitals to treat all of the acute patients, and a shortage of internal medicine specialists to treat patients. When confronted with these challenges we decided to seek out a viable alternative to in-hospital stay,” said Segal. 

“This is the first study to show that telemedicine-managed, physician-supervised, hospital-at-home care is not inferior but even superior to in-hospital stays, presenting a major step forward for the hospitals and health systems across the world,” he said. The results of the study were recently published in the PLOS One Journal.

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A species of immobile invertebrate organisms called sponges living in the Gulf of Eilat have devised a unique way to ward off predators – an extremely toxic metal called molybdenum.  

Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) found that the Theonella conica sponges contain an unprecedented concentration of the metal as well as a bacterium called Entotheonella that lets them store it safely. 

According to the researchers, sponges are the earliest multicellular organisms known to science. They live in marine environments, where they filter 50,000 times their body weight in seawater every single day. 

PhD student Shani Shoham, who led the study along with Prof. Micha Ilan from TAU’s School of Zoology, said that several decades ago, researchers from the lab found a high concentration of molybdenum in samples of a sponge collected in a coral reef in the Indian Ocean. 

She decided to test whether such high concentrations were also found in the same sponge species in the Gulf of Eilat, where it grows at depths of more than 27 meters. 

Having located the sponge and analyzed its composition, Shoham discovered that it contained 46,793 micrograms of molybdenum per gram of dry weight,  more than any other organism on earth. 

And while molybdenum is in high demand, mostly for alloys such as high-strength steel, Shoham explained that the sponges are an impracticable source of the metal. 

“The concentration is very high, but when translated into weight we could only get a few grams from every sponge, and the sponge itself is relatively rare,” she said. 

Shoham recommended that research should instead focus on how the Entotheonella bacteria allows organisms to accumulate toxic metals, adding that several years ago, TAU researchers discovered massive concentrations of the toxic metals arsenic and barium in the Theonella swinhoei sponge, a close relative of Theonella conica that is common in the Gulf of Eilat.  

“Entotheonella was found to be largely responsible for hoarding the metals and turning them into minerals, thereby neutralizing their toxicity,” she said. 

“Continued research on the bacteria can prove useful for treating water sources polluted with arsenic, a serious hazard which directly affects the health of 200 million people worldwide.”

The findings of the study recently appeared in the Science Advances journal, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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Leading Israeli agritech company CropX, which specializes in digital agronomic agriculture, and leading agricultural machinery and technology manufacturer CNH have announced a new API that will automate the transfer of data from CNH machinery to CropX for data visualization, record-keeping, planning and variable-rate applications.

The information is displayed on tables or maps that can be overlayed with other data layers, allowing farmers and agronomic advisors to easily extract valuable insights. 

The collaboration will also see the creation of maps for fertilization and seeding using advanced agronomic tools within the CropX platform.

The new partnership means CropX is now working with the two largest manufacturers of farm machinery – CNH and John Deere.

“This API between CNH and CropX leverages the strengths of both companies to significantly benefit farmers,” said CropX CEO Tomer Tzach. 

“Data connections are crucial for digital farming solutions. At CropX, we prioritize integrations with data sources that strengthen our system and greatly benefit farm operations,” he said. 

“Enhancing data connectivity allows our customers to get more value from the data that CNH machinery collects,” said CNH Precision Technology Partner Manager Dan Danford. 

“Making it easy for our customers to utilize their farm data in the CropX agronomic farm management system also creates a more intuitive precision agriculture user experience. This empowers operators to expand their productivity with more confident data-driven decisions.”

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American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has announced it is buying Israeli medtech company V-Wave, which makes a device to treat heart failure, for up to $1.7 billion. 

V-Wave’s proprietary, minimally invasive Ventura Interatrial Shunt (IAS) is designed to treat patients with heart failure. The shunt between the left and right atria in the heart aims to reduce elevated pressure in the left atrium. 

It received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in 2019 and CE mark in 2020, and, Johnson & Johnson says, has the potential to be the first device of its kind to market.

The American multinational says it will pay a sum of $600 million upfront, followed by further payments totalling some $1.1 billion should V-Wave hit certain regulatory and commercial milestones. 

Upon purchase, V-Wave will become part of Johnson & Johnson MedTech.  

“We are excited to welcome V-Wave to Johnson & Johnson MedTech and to take another meaningful step toward transforming the standard of care for cardiovascular disease,” said Tim Schmid, Executive Vice President and Worldwide Chairman of Johnson & Johnson MedTech. 

“We look forward to working with the V-Wave team at this pivotal stage of its evolution to bring the Ventura Interatrial Shunt technology to patients,” he said. 

“At V-Wave, we are dedicated to achieving our vision to help patients around the world – and we know Johnson & Johnson MedTech shares this mission,” said Dr. Neal Eigler, Chief Executive Officer of V-Wave. 

“We are confident that Johnson & Johnson MedTech is well-positioned to ensure V-Wave’s breakthrough ideas and technology reach patients in need as quickly and effectively as possible. I couldn’t be prouder of the V-Wave team, and the commitment it has taken to achieve this milestone. We look forward to continuing to build a world where cardiovascular disease is prevented, treated, and cured.”

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