An Israeli company named Tipa is developing biodegradable packages that automatically “perish” within 180 days, just like your average orange or banana. Now you can finally throw your junk out the window without feeling too guilty about it.

Most food and beverages we consume daily are packaged in plastic, which can take up to a thousand years to degrade.

Tipa Co-founder and CEO, Daphna Nissenbaum, tells NoCamels that “today recyclable materials are used for disposable dishes, bags and travel packages but not for food, mainly because these materials lack the required qualities: they are too fragile, lack elasticity, are not sealed or contain dangerous ingredients. As a result, most of the food packing industry still relies on plastic.”

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Degradable Tipa Packs

The formula of materials used by Tipa contains a mixture of polymers, used to produce elastic and hard packages, with the qualities of standard plastic. These polymers are derivatives, or by-products, of several food kinds. The final material possesses all the qualities required for packaging, says Nissenbaum: ”It is elastic, soundless, oxygen resistant and heat resistant. Therefore the materials can be used for all kinds of food and beverages.”

Tipa is still in the stages of developing and testing its new materials. The company completed the first stage of research and development on packaging for soft foods, such as peanut butter, butter and jam. “For now, all the materials are suitable for liquid types of food,” says Nissenbaum and adds that they have already started working with several potential clients on pilot products for soft foods.

“The oxygen resistance quality and water-vapor permeation resistance is a result of two years of research and experimenting,” says Nissenbaum.

Tipa is currently going through its second R&D phase, which focuses on packaging for beverages.Nissenbaum says creating biodegradable packages for liquids is their main challenge, since liquids are extremely difficult to package and the material almost always used for this purpose is plastic.

Tipa’s R&D is divided into two departments: One develops the materials and the other experiments on real manufacturing machines, to make sure they can withstand the industrial processes of turning them into packages.

Nissenbaum says Tipa’s aim is to have two to three pilot products on supermarket shelves by the end of this year.

So far, Tipa founders have raised $500,000 from private investors and Israel’s Chief Scientist Office.

Photos by Tipa

Project managing is something we all do one way or another, either in our personal life or in our business. Each assignment we have to perform can be divided into several sub tasks and broken down into simple and easy steps to carry out.

Mike Morhaime, CEO of global video game company Blizzard, recently said at a conference in Israel that it was the ability to break apart general and complex assignments into smaller and do-able tasks that enabled him to achieve what seemed to him otherwise daunting.

A new tool to help you manage your projects, divide them into sub tasks, and track their progress, comes from a young start-up company called ‘Gigantt‘. The company developed a task managing application that is now available as a beta service and includes a number of features that makes task managing modular and easy to control. This application is collaborative; it allows different people to edit and add details to the work graph at the same time.

Assaf Lavie, founder and CEO of the company, is a methodology and software person. During the course of different jobs he had to carry out in the past, he found himself needing to manage many projects and looking for a tool to help him do so. He looked for something that he can do on the go, can handle a number of details on high resolution and be cooperative.

While there are many applications out there that offer this kind of service, none of them answers these three criteria, according to Lavie. The graphical interface Lavie uses is a zoom-based interface (ZUI) which is the same interface used by Google Maps.

Through collaborative planning, managers can work on the high level stages while employees working on the lower stages can add details and information simultaneously. At any point you can zoom in to see specific details of a sub assignment or zoom out to see the bigger picture.

Recently the company finished her preliminary funding round wth $500,000 investment led by Zohar Gilon. Gigantt is planning to use the funding for development of the final project and marketing around worldwide.
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Photo by christmaswithak

In the days before the instantly pinged “OMG Where R U?,” the first words many teenagers composed during their fretful moments were “Dear Diary.” After several paragraphs of spewing onto paper adolescent angst about cafeteria slights, unreciprocated crushes and oversize thighs, the diarist often felt better.

Research has long backed the therapeutic value of diary-keeping for teenage girls and boys. But according to a new study, when teenagers detail their woes onto a blog, the therapeutic value is even greater. Blogging, it seems, can be good for you.

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The study, published in the journal Psychological Services and conducted by Meyran Boniel-Nissim and Azy Barak, psychology professors at the University of Haifa, Israel, found the engagement with an online community allowed by the blog format made it more effective in relieving the writer’s social distress than a private diary would be.

To track teenagers’ experiences with blogging, the researchers randomly surveyed high school students in Israel and selected 161 of them (124 girls and 37 boys, a significant gender skew) who exhibited some level of social anxiety or stress. The teenagers, who averaged 15 years old, said they had difficulty making new friends or relating to their existing friends.

And so to the Internet. The teenagers were divided into six groups. The first two groups were asked to blog about their social difficulties, with one group asked to open their posts to comments. The second two groups were asked to blog about whatever struck their adolescent fancy; again, with one group allowing comments. All four groups were told to write in their blogs at least twice a week. As a control, two more groups were told to keep either an old-fashioned print diary or to do nothing at all.

All of their blog entries were then poured over by four psychologists to determine the authors’ relative social and emotional state. In all the groups, the greatest improvement in mood occurred among those bloggers who wrote about their problems and allowed commenters to respond.

Interestingly, the commenters on the blogs were overwhelmingly supportive. “The only kind of surprise we had was that almost all comments made by readers were very positive and constructive in trying to offer support for distressed bloggers,” Dr. Barak wrote in an e-mail.
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Via The New York Times
Photo by Geir Halvorsen

Scientists in Israel have developed a way of using satellite images to help farmers detect small-scale changes in climate and improve their harvests, a method that could bolster food supplies for an increasingly hungry world population.

Rather than analyze the weather and topography of large swathes of land, the new system divides fields into smaller microclimates that guide farmers on the best way to work each individual plot.

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It tells them when it is best to plant seeds, when to spray pesticides and even which crop is most suitable for each square-kilometer field, said Uri Dayan, a climatologist from Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Since the method was published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society in September, Dayan and co-developer Itamar Lensky have been working to develop it into a global interface that will help farmers on any continent.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said that global food output must increase by 70 percent by 2050 to meet the needs of an expected 9.1 billion people.

Crops are very sensitive to their environment and even the slightest changes can ruin a harvest. Factors like pests, pathogens and weeds cause the loss of more than 40 percent of the world’s food supply, the FAO says.

Even two adjacent fields that appear identical could contain individual microclimates which require separate attention to maximize production, Dayan said.

Lensky, who heads the remote sensing laboratory at Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv, said their system uses real-time thermal images made available from NASA and then analyses the surface temperature of each plot at a fine scale.
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Via Reuters
Photo by violet monde

Israel is often referred to as “Startup Nation,” thanks to its long history of high-tech breakthroughs produced by scrappy little companies. But in one critical area, the speed of Internet connections, Israel has fallen behind other tech-savvy countries.

In the coming months, Israel’s state-owned electric company hopes to change this by rolling out a nationwide, high-speed broadband network. Exploiting the small size of the densely populated country, the effort aims to put Israel at the forefront of the next generation of Internet technology.

Experts say the fiber-optic lines can provide connections of 10 to 100 times current speeds, transforming the way the Internet is used in such areas as entertainment, business and health care.

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“All the developing countries that have a vision for 10 years ahead, or 20 years ahead, understand that the name of the game will be communications, broadband communications, very fast communications,” said Tzvi Harpak, the electric company’s senior vice president for logistics.

The technology is known as “fiber to the home,” or FTTH. Using fiber optic lines, it can provide connection speeds of 100 megabits to a blazing 1 gigabit per second. Today, the typical broadband user in the developed world connects at five to 10 megabits using older cable and DSL connections.

Oliver Johnson, chief executive of British research firm Point Topic, said FTTH technology is the “gold standard” of the next generation of broadband service. Although cable and DSL lines can be upgraded to higher speeds, FTTH has smoother transmission of data and a much higher upside in terms of speed, he said.

“It’s easier to go higher. It’s future-proofed,” he said.

The added bandwidth could transform the way the Internet is used. Massive video files will be downloaded instantly, opening the door for high-definition and 3D movies to be delivered more easily.
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Via Washington Post and Associated Press
Image by roland

Evolution is relative, some might say. We might live longer, in better health and wear more fashionable outfits than our Stone Age counterparts, but we are no better at finding what we all look for: Love.

So it’s no wonder that new dating sites or apps seem to pops up nearly every week and that many of them are oversubscribed.

The latest one is called 4Singles and is an iPhone app that allows you to locate singles in your radius with things in common and an interest in “meeting” people as well. The app says it knows how to match you with potential dates not only by the preferences you enter but also by their current location (showing them on a map). The app can send you updates about potential dates in your area – you decide the relevant boundaries.

When you find out that there is someone nearby who is potentially interested in a relationship like yourself, the chance for something to happen is greater than with someone at the other end of the world, CEO Liran Moreno told Israeli website Newsgeek.

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4Singles‘ technology is based on an algorithm that tries to match you with someone using forty different preferences, so that users get as close a match as possible. The search system knows how to combine the preferences with your location – meaning you can see the candidates by scale of distance with the closest at the top of the list.

The app was created by the startup Appliz – founded by Liran Moreno (CEO) and Ziv Chen (CTO). Moreno told Newsgeek that the three of them tried to come up with ideas for a dating tool, using the existing GPS capabilities already embedded in most smartphones.

The company is currently undergoing its first financing round. The app is free and a premium version will be released soon, as well as an Android version and a Facebook application. The app has over 30,000 registered users – about half Israeli and the rest from the United States and Europe.

The app is focused on finding its users the perfect match based on their preferences – not only their location – but it is left to see how 4Singles will manage its competition, as location-based applications are the latest trend in the dating scene.

Several startups around the world are competing for the hearts (and wallets) of online daters, including the successful gay-app Grindr, with over 2 million registered users, as well asGrindr’s recentl- launched application targeting straight users.

Are some children more inclined than others to become adults who suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? According to a research conducted at Tel Aviv University, Israel, some sensitivities found in children may prove so.

Most children are introduced to routine schedules at an early age by their parents, such as sitting down for a meal, bathing and going to bed.  Although these activities are considered beneficial for a child’s healthy development, researchers believe that when combined with oral and tactile sensitivities such as being irritated by specific fabrics, they may be an early indicator of OCD in adulthood.

Professor Reuven Dar of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Psychology, tells NoCamels that “hypersensitivity and excessive adherence to childhood rituals could be a precursor to the disorder.” According to Dar, “children who are hypersensitive often report a dislike to certain surfaces and can act aggressively to touch.”

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Dar first suspected such correlation while he was working with adult patients suffering from OCD, who reported sensitivity to touch and taste during childhood. Dar and his research team established a direct link between sensory processing, which is the way the nervous system organises and makes sense of the various sensations entering the brain, with ritualistic and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

In their latest study, which was published in the Journal of Behaviour Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, the researchers found that when children experience high levels of sensitivity they may develop ritualistic behaviours that help them to cope with their environment. Professor Dar believes that the long-term implications can result in adult OCD.

The research team conducted two studies to establish the potential connection between sensory processing, rituals and OCD. In the first study, parents of five-year-old children were requested to complete three questionnaires regarding their child’s behaviour. For example, they were asked to indicate their child’s level of ritualism, which included whether they repeated certain acts, or if they arranged objects in an orderly fashion. Other questions required parents to rank their child’s level of anxiety with reference to how they reacted to strangers, worrying about outcomes of events, and patterns of attachment to family members. Parents were also asked to assess how their children reacted to unusual tastes or smells, along with their response to being touched.

The second study consisted of 314 adult participants, who were recruited to answer online surveys regarding their OCD traits, their anxiety levels and their past and current sensitivity to oral and tactile stimulation.

Results from both studies suggested a link between compulsive tendencies and hypersensitivity. In children, hypersensitivity was an indicator of ritualism; however, in adults it was related to OCD symptoms. These findings provide preliminary support for the notion that these sensitivities are a precursor to OCD.  Professor Dar believes that children who are extremely sensitive to touch or smell often feel as though they are being attacked or threatened by their environment. To help deal with these feelings of anxiety, they may adopt ritualistic behaviours as a mechanism to regain their sense of control, which is symptomatic of adults who suffer from the disorder.

While Professor Dar admits that all children have particular habits and preferences, he stresses that not all of them are necessarily early indicators of OCD. “If a child is very rigid with rituals, becoming anxious if unable to engage in this behaviour, it is more alarming,” said Dar. He explained that age is another factor to be taken into account: a habit adopted by a five or six year old, isn’t necessarily a predictor of OCD. However, if the same behaviour continues at the age of eight or above, it could be an indicator. Dar recommends that parents with a hypersensitive child should “gradually expose him to the various tastes and textures that are bothersome.”

In the future, Professor Dar plans to conduct a longitudinal study to better understand the connection between child hypersensitivity and adult OCD by following a large group of children who experience oral and tactile sensitivities – from childhood through adulthood.

Illustrtation photo courtesy of rolands.lakis

Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology – for years experts in the miniaturization of satellites – plan to build and dispatch into space a fixed formation of three nano-satellites weighing up to six kilograms each, the first time scientists will attempt this feat.

The project, headed by Prof. Pini Gurfil of the aeronautics and space engineering faculty, is due to be unveiled officially next Monday at the Science and Technology Ministry’s International Ilan Ramon Memorial Space Conference at the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies in Herzliya. Representatives of space agencies and space researchers from around the world are due to attend.

“This is the first time in the world that scientists will attempt sending three satellites together in a controlled formation,” Gurfil said. “Until now, this has not been possible because of their size and weight and the problems of dispatching multiple satellites in a uniform formation and their r emaining in space for a log timne.”

The communications satellite construction will be launched in 2015. The Technion in Haifa has had much success in building satellites that are smaller than a refrigerator and thus more efficient and cheaper than devices built in the US and Europe.

The nano-satellites will try to receive signals at various frequencies from Earth and calculate the location of the transmission facility. Receiving signals in space from Earth with the help of a number of nano-satellites flying in a fixed arrangement is a new concept that has never been performed anywhere. If the experiment succeeds, said Gurfil, such satellites could be applied to locating missing persons or individuals in distress.

The project is aimed at proving that it is possible to hold tiny satellites in formation for a year as they pass 600 kilometers above the Earth. Each of the satellites will be built with a movement system that will help keep it together for a long period in space.
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Via Jerusalem Post
Photo Courtesy of the Technion

Israeli company Stagee recently launched a social network by the same name that is built around talent – where musicians, actors and other artists can socialize with agents and producers and increase their fan base.

Any artist can create a profile and share his or her work through photos, videos and blogs. Stagee allows its users to choose between three options: “Just Looking,” “Talent,” or “Agent.” Each selection leads the user to experience the site in a different way.

For those who are “Just Looking,” the site encourages them to find their new favorite unknown musicians, actors or dancers. Those who select “Agent,” such as scouts, producers or casting agents, will be able to contact any of the artists for professional opportunities.  

While there are other similar websites out there, CEO and co-founder Lior Maimon thinks that taking the model of a social network and designing it exclusively for the needs of entertainers and the people who want to hire them is an innovative idea. “We give the tools that fit the needs of the talent or the agent. It works just like in the real world,” he tells NoCamels.  Stagee works in conjunction with Twitter and Facebook to create buzz for the talent.

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Stagee’s agent feature will be launched within the next three months and will allow agents to search for talent based on their hair or eye color, measurements, or other characteristics.

Maimon says his team created an algorithm to measure the artists’ ratings. Each profile needs to be maintained and updated in order for the rating to rise or stay the same. This resembles the real world, in which stars needs to maintain their public profile in order to relevant, Maimon explains.

The Stagee team

People visiting the site can vote for an artist they like and either stay anonymous or add themselves as a friend or fan. A user can also post in the artist’s fan club.

Stagee’s main features will be free for all users, Maimon says. “We will include added-value features with a selection of price levels.”

Last month Stagee raised $330,000 from private investors.

Now, Maimon and the Stagee team hope to transform the entertainment industry by allowing talents and agents to socialize on the web. “You can promote yourself from behind your keyboard, day and night,” Maimon says. 

Photo courtesy of Oren Shalev

The Israeli biotechnology company BrainStorm announced successful results in its clinical trial for a drug against  ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) – a fatal neurodegenerative disease also known as  Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The stem cell therapy with the drug NurOwn did not show significant side effects and the treatment has so far proven to be safe, the company said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year granted orphan drug designation to NurOwn.

Patients in the trial are transplanted with stem cells derived from their own bone marrow and treated with the NurOwn stem cell technology.

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The initial phase of the study is designed to establish the safety of NurOwn and will later be expanded to assess efficacy.

However, the patients in the trial have already shown positive results. Among the six first patients, four  have shown signs of improvement and the other two have experienced stabilization, meaning their medical condition stopped deteriorating.

“Even though we are conducting a safety trial, the early clinical follow-up of the patients treated with the stem cells shows indications of beneficial clinical effects, such as an improvement in breathing and swallowing ability as well as in muscular power,” Dimitrios Karussis, head of Israel’s Hadassah Medical Center‘s Multiple Sclerosis unit, who is leading the clinical trial, said in a press release.

“Patients treated with the Company’s NurOwn therapeutic cells are expected to enjoy a rapid recovery and much enhanced quality of life. BrainStorm‘s therapy has the potential to cure underlying pathology, rather than simply treat symptoms,” the company says.

ALS tends to affect people over the age of forty with most affected patients dying of respiratory compromise and pneumonia after 2 to 3 years. The world renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has a motor neurone disease that is related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and has left him completely paralyzed.

During BrainStorm’s trial researchers multiplied the stem cells and added growth hormones to them. They were then injected into the patient’s muscles or spine.

The final results of the research will only be known in five months’ time and there are currently eight more patients who are starting the trial.

Dr. Adrian Harel, acting CEO and director of R&D at BrainStorm, tells NoCamels that in the future “it will hopefully be possible to treat Parkinson’s disease as well as Huntington’s and other nerve diseases.”

Phase two of the trial will take place in Boston in the United States, says Harel.

Photo courtesy of BrainStorm