Category: Science and Health

Many people get sick in the winter and blame the cold for all their troubles, from the flu to winter depression.  Winter can take some of the blame, but the cold isn’t really the cause of the illnesses around us. The real culprit for catching viruses is a lack of ventilation. Let’s discuss one significant […]

After the magnitude 9 earthquake that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, many people in the eastern region of the country near the epicenter felt dizzy, precisely at a time when aftershocks didn’t really occur. Japanese researchers Yasuyuki Nomura and Teru Toi called this phenomenon “post-earthquake vertigo syndrome,” according to an article published in the […]

Want to improve your memory? Have some mushrooms. Researchers from Australia’s University of Queensland (UQ) have discovered the active compound from an edible mushroom that boosts nerve growth and enhances memory. Prof. Frederic Meunier from the Queensland Brain Institute said the team had identified new active compounds from the mushroom Hericium erinaceus, which is also […]

Safeguarding national treasures isn’t a new concept for Israelis. But Magen David Adom’s brand-new blood center in Ramle takes security to a new level. The center is an enormous facility with three underground, missile-proof levels and has been hailed as the most secure blood services center in the world. “If you come here on a […]

Representatives of 17 Israeli public health organizations sent a strong letter of protest to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich denouncing his declared intention not to raise the tax on electronic cigarettes (e-cigs). “This will lead to an unprecedented smoking epidemic in Israel, especially among teenagers,” they wrote, with copies to the chairman of the Knesset Finance […]

Situated behind the Jaffa Center light rail station is an unassuming building. The thousands who walk by it have no idea that long-standing problems are being solved on the top floor. The clinic, home to Amudim, is the result of years of work by Zvi Gluck to unpack the Jewish world’s many problems and solve […]

Dina Klatis and Roni Sela like to “do good.” They met as volunteer medics for United Hatzalah, an Israeli volunteer-based emergency medical services organization.  Roni: “Our story actually started a year earlier,” he explains. “In 2016, Dina’s picture popped up on my Facebook page of ‘people you may know.’ I sent her a message asking […]

Sleeping pills are an effective tool for those who have trouble sleeping. New research, however, has shown that commonly-prescribed sleep aids could have negative cognitive effects later in life, which could cause some users to stop taking them.  Scientists have recently discovered that common sleeping pills can significantly increase the risk of dementia. In their […]

It’s accepted knowledge that New York City has great bagels and Los Angeles has great tacos (and celebrity sightings), right? In truth, Los Angeles has long been able to boast great Jewish food. It was with this in mind that I sat down over buttered sourdough toast, scrambled eggs and steaming mugs of hot coffee […]

A genome-study analysis conducted by scientists in China, where the COVID-19 pandemic began more than three years ago, has found that no new variants have appeared since the Chinese lifted their strictest control policies. It suggests that they all were caused by existing strains. The study, published in The Lancet medical journal, suggests two existing […]