Inshirah Sgayar Shannan is a senior obstetrician in the fetal-maternal medicine unit and delivery room of Galilee Medical Center, treating Muslim, Bedouin, Druze, Christian, and Jewish women. In addition, she teaches at Bar-Ilan University’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in Tzfat, does medical research, and is active in a clinic that her unit offers for women with poor obstetric histories. Read More.

Healthy people taking aspirin regularly to prevent cardiovascular disease had a 29 percent lower likelihood of Covid-19 infection compared to aspirin non-users, according to an observational epidemiological study from Israel published in The FEBS Journal. Researchers from Leumit Health Services, Bar-Ilan University, and Barzilai Medical Center analyzed data of 10,477 members of the Leumit HMO who had been tested for Covid-19 from February 1, 2020, to June 30, 2020. Read More.

Groundbreaking research conducted by Israeli archaeologists enabled them to recover scraps of fabric dyed in royal purple from the time of King David and King Solomon, some 3,000 years ago, the first time that purple-dyed Iron Age textiles have been found in Israel, or indeed throughout the Southern Levant. The research was carried out by Dr. Naama Sukenik from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Prof. Erez Ben-Yosef, from the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Prof. Zohar Amar, Dr. David Iluz and Dr. Alexander Varvak from Bar-Ilan...

Healthcare workers previously infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus had a strong immune response to one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid19 vaccine, according to research from Israel’s Bar-Ilan University medical school and its affiliated Ziv Medical Center in Safed (Tzfat). Read More

Researchers from Bar-Ilan University and Ziv Medical Center now report preliminary evidence that people previously infected with the virus responded very strongly to one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, regardless of when they were infected and whether or not they had detectable antibodies against COVID-19 prior to receiving the vaccine. Read More

World-renowned experts in virology, immunology, and epidemiology delivered a virtual briefing on the coronavirus pandemic and Israel’s ongoing vaccination campaign to an audience that included hundreds of health ministry representatives and members of the Jewish community from around the world. The event was hosted by the Center for Jewish Impact and Bar-Ilan University. Read More

Prof. Michael Edelstein who teaches Public Health and Epidemiology at Bar-Ilan University’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, said that while it is true that Israel is one of the countries where vaccinating the population is the fastest, “the pace is slowing as some challenges emerge. Some populations are getting vaccinated faster than others and it is urgent to understand why”. Read More

A group of Israeli researchers has launched a Phase II study of a drug that they believe could keep patients off mechanical ventilation and speed their recovery. The trial, which is being collectively run by Ziv and Rambam medical centers with researchers from Bar-Ilan University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, is examining the use of a drug based on a naturally occurring peptide called angiotensin 1-7 to help counter the impact of COVID-19 on the lungs. Read More

A complex algorithm, maintained in part by Bar-Ilan University epidemiologist, uses popular Google searches to predict which English towns are headed for outbreaks — 17 days ahead. According to Bar-Ilan University’s Prof. Michael Edelstein, who co-authored the research, the best chance of tackling health emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic is to detect them early in order to act early. “Using innovative approaches to disease detection such as analyzing internet search activity to complement established approaches is the best way to identify outbreaks early,” he said. Read More

Israeli startup, Sonovia, has developed a technology to impregnate the fabric used in masks and other applications to protect the wearer from COVID-19 and other viruses. Sonovia was founded in 2013 following over 10 years of research by Bar-Ilan University and a four-year, EU-funded research project looking into fighting hospital-acquired infections. Its patented technology uses ultrasonic soundwaves to physically infuse zinc oxide nanoparticles onto the fabric. Read More