Nathan Jeffay

Nathan Jeffay is The Times of Israel's health and science correspondent

Illustrative image: A human brain with degeneration, which is denoted in green. (Naeblys via iStock by Getty Images)

February 21, 2023, 10:14 pm

Israeli scientists say they cured mice of Alzheimer’s using newly developed molecule

Effectiveness shown via behavior tests and brain analysis, say authors of research; they stress it’s a small sample and progress to human drug, if successful, will take time

By Nathan Jeffay

Gila Hammer, center, with mother Gabi on the left and father Shalom on the right (courtesy of Shalom Hammer)

February 20, 2023, 2:37 am

Anguished by loss of daughter, a rabbi brings suicide prevention out of the shadows

After Gila, 18, took her own life following an attack, Shalom Hammer began a push for more awareness; on Tuesday in the Knesset he will suggest steps to prevent similar tragedies

By Nathan Jeffay

A doctor uses the Beyeonics One headset to assist with eye surgery. (Courtesy of Beyeonics)

February 14, 2023, 10:19 pm

From cockpit to cataract ops: Israeli flight headsets adapted, approved for surgery

Augmented reality system now being rolled out in Europe after receiving CE mark; doctor says it ‘feels like being inside the eye during surgery’

By Nathan Jeffay

A rat at the lab of Early, where the rodents detect lung cancer (courtesy of Early)

February 14, 2023, 12:09 pm

Lab claims it teaches rats to detect lung cancer with 93% accuracy by sniffing urine

Making practical use of the fact that cancers have odors, rat-powered testing could be available within about 14 months, says the team at Israeli startup Early

By Nathan Jeffay

Illustrative: An artificial intelligence tool identifies elements of a human face for analysis (vchal via iStock by Getty Images)

February 12, 2023, 10:03 pm

How old do you look? Israeli experts find humans still outguess AI, and suggest why

‘Rather than overcoming our biases for assessing ages, AI is actually exaggerating the same biases,’ says author of peer-reviewed research

By Nathan Jeffay

Illustrative: A hair stylist combs through hair after using a treatment for long-term straightening. (Andrii Borodai via iStock by Getty Images)

February 10, 2023, 10:36 am

Some hair-straightening products can cause kidney failure – pioneering Israeli study

Israel 1st country to ban treatments with glyoxylic acid which gets absorbed in skin, causing pain, vomiting, and harm to kidneys; researchers anticipate global awareness

By Nathan Jeffay

Illustrative: Students study at a yeshiva in Jerusalem, September 2, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

February 8, 2023, 12:24 pm

Haredi men three times as likely to be nearsighted, probably due to Talmud study

Experts at Hadassah Academic College find that ultra-Orthodox men tend to position themselves closer to text than others, which scholars believe explains huge prevalence of myopia

By Nathan Jeffay

Illustrative image of a person undergoing a CT scan. (peakSTOCK via iStock by Getty Images)

February 5, 2023, 6:38 am

Israel’s richest locales show 20% lower cancer death rate than middle-income areas

As possible explanations for its findings, Taub Center analysis suggests ‘health inequality’ based on socioeconomic status and unequal health provision outside central Israel

By Nathan Jeffay

Illustration (Evgeny Gromov; iStock by Getty Images)

February 2, 2023, 10:45 pm

Scientists ‘can tell from a brain’s response’ whether owner is left- or right-wing

Israeli study says political differences don’t just emerge when it comes to how we interpret reality around us; our brains actually ‘see’ different things depending on our politics

By Nathan Jeffay

Illustrative: An elderly man sits next to a soda-vending machine selling Coca-Cola in the Old City of Jerusalem. (Yossi Zamir/Flash 90)

February 2, 2023, 4:30 pm

Nixing sugar tax, Israeli government dealt ‘grievous blow to health’ – world experts

Responding to abolition of tariff on sweetened soft drinks, global scholars also argue move ‘seriously tarnishes Israel’s international standing’ in medical community

By Nathan Jeffay

Yoav Ben-Tzur, acting health minister (right), with Aryeh Deri at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Jerusalem, on January 1, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

January 31, 2023, 3:25 pm

Week after his appointment, acting health minister hasn’t shown up for work – report

Yoav Ben-Tzur, a temporary appointment after Shas head Aryeh Deri was fired on High Court orders, hasn’t even been briefed by ministry officials

By Nathan Jeffay

Illustrative: A nurse cleaning a wound on a patient (Serhii Hryshchyshen via iStock by Getty Images)

January 31, 2023, 12:45 pm

Autism intensifies experience of pain, Israeli study finds, challenging assumptions

Largest study on pain responses may affect medical treatment by making doctors and nurses aware that patients with autism may be hurting more than others, but don’t communicate it

By Nathan Jeffay

A magnified image of the new 'nano needles' invented by scientists at Ben Gurion University in a bid to overcome antibotic resistance. (Courtesy/Ariel Kushmaro)

January 27, 2023, 11:18 am

Israeli find shown to combat antibiotic resistance by ‘pricking bacteria to death’

Ben Gurion University scientists develop substance containing ‘nano needles’ that lab tests indicate can overpower 90% of superbugs by physically destroying the pathogen

By Nathan Jeffay

File: A nurse prepares a vaccine at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, December 31, 2020. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

January 27, 2023, 1:39 am

FDA adviser: Israel’s fast actions, big data, gave US a ‘window to future of COVID’

Acting chair of FDA vaccine advisory committee hopes Israel’s stellar performance in COVID research will persist in other topics and have ‘continuing effect’ on US health policy

By Nathan Jeffay

IsraAid CEO Yotam Polizer aids a Syrian refugee in Lesbos, Greece, in 2015 (courtesy of IsraAid)

January 25, 2023, 7:42 pm

Activist who took Israeli disaster aid global wins humanitarian prize

Yotam Polizer heads IsraAid, NGO with 320 staff that provides help at disasters worldwide, will receive prestigious Charles Bronfman Prize

By Nathan Jeffay