Podcast: Daily Briefing Mar. 18 - The future is now: An Israeli artificial womb

Tune in Sunday through Thursday to hear ToI editors and reporters quickly catch you up on what’s important today

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing: Your 15-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish world, from Sunday through Thursday.

Today’s panel comprises health and science correspondent Nathan Jeffay and economy editor Shoshanna Solomon, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

On today’s show, we open with a look at a groundbreaking Israeli technique that could lead to gestation outside the womb and is already giving new insights into organ formation. What more could we learn?

We then hear about a new Israeli study that shows that babies born to vaccinated mothers have COVID-fighting antibodies, suggesting they are born with at least short-term immunity to the coronavirus.

And as vaccinations kick in and the chance of children infecting elderly Israelis diminishes, Israeli doctors say quarantine for children could come to an end soon, although health officials continue to demur. Jeffay clues us in on the considerations behind the decision.

Looking to the post-COVID economy, Solomon updates us on how Israel’s Finance Ministry is offering grants to encourage furloughed employees to return to work, as former officials warn that tackling unemployment is key to recovery.

And finally, we take a very little look at a trio of tiny Israeli satellites set to orbit the Earth on just 1 gram of fuel a day.