Hail hail to the genius who decided it was time to cut the greenwash from the eco marketplace in Israel. Every product and its neighbor on the supermarket shelf is calling itself green. A new Israeli-made guide is calling out cheats.
Red Tide in Sinai Lagoon Leads to Algae Pill that Treats Child Blindness
A condition of child blindness called retinitis pigmentosis afflicts about one in every 3000 births. A new treatment pulled out of a Sinai lake is now an orange algae powder pill: it can quadruple the vision improvement in some people, finds new research from Israel.
Algae in its various forms and colors is not only a superfood (read here about a DIY kit for spirulina), it is also lauded as a great potential for algae-based biofuel.
Now researchers at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer Hospital in Israel have found that orange algae, fed to people with retinitis pigmentosis, can improve vision loss, according to Haaretz.
Retinitis pigmentosa is a hereditary disease which leads to a breakdown of photoreceptor cells in the eye’s retina. Over time the sufferer faces a narrowing field of vision, then eventual loss of night vision and colors. Sight may be totally lost. It is considered incurable but treated with vitamins.
Prof. Ami Ben Amotz from Sheba discovered the orange algae dunaliella bardawil when he was on reserve military duty on Lake Bardawil on the northern coast of the Sinai Peninsula at about 50 Km, near El-Arish City, when it was under Israel control. The lake is actually a shallow lagoon. He noticed a strange orange hue covering the lake, and brought some samples back to the lab. The single-celled plants he found were very rich in the anti-oxidant 9-cis beta-carotene. Over the years it has been studied for its high lipid content.
Eventually the idea was raised to use it to treat the eye disorder.
Sheba’s Dr. Yigal Rotenstreich turned the slimy orange algae into a powdered-based pill and gave it to seven people suffering from night blindness. Their vision improved.
“A test known as ERG checks the electrical function of retinal cells that are stimulated by light, and serve as an objective measure of improvement,” Rotenstreich said to Haaretz.
Recently the study was expanded to 30 people who took the pills over 90 days using the algae pill and a placebo. Thirty-four percent of the patients significantly improved their vision with the pill, and in some there was as much as a quadrupling effect in their field of vision.
No effects were found in the placebo group. A placebo looks like the drug but in fact contains no active ingredient.
Algae is full of fats, so intake of the pills may cause loose stools. There are no other side-effects, and it is likely that no big drug company can seize this research for its own, since it is based on something that can be grown in algae ponds. Companies could invest money in refining the algae and improving its lipid content.
For those interested to replicate the research, the results were published in the May issue of JAMA Ophthalmology, by the American Medical Association.
“The results of the study are encouraging, because until now there was no known treatment that improved the vision of those suffering from retinitis pigmentosa,” said Rotenstreich.
Dunaliella bardawil is applied in other directions at Sheba: for psoriasis, diabetes, and in helping to raise the HDL (good) cholesterol in the blood.
A Japanese firm is growing the specific strain of algae in Eilat, Israel to increase fat content, but perhaps a trip to Sinai is in order for scientists around the world to collect orange algae samples to start their own grow ponds.
How to get there? Lake Bardawil (Arabic: بحيرة البردويل Buhayrat al Bardawil or سبخة البردويل Sabkhat al Bardawil) is a large, very saline lake in Egypt on the north coast of the Sinai Peninsula. The lagoon is shallow (reaching a depth of about 3 metres) and is separated from the Mediterranean Sea by a narrow sandbar.
There have been other papers published on the fatty content of this algae, as well of reports on the diversity of species including algae in this highly-saline lagoon.
No one company can own the rights to develop this algae into a neutraceutical, so come on Egyptians – now is the right time to get your acts together and start cultivating a home grown algae-based product! If you look to your neighbours in the north, this can easily be done in otherwise “useless” desert land.
Urbin Beirut Crushes Stinky Cigarette Butts in Style
Cigarette butts are gross – whether they drift onto beaches, pollute our waterways, or endanger wildlife. But many cities in the Middle East, where smoking remains common, neglect to provide outlets for residents to discard their stinky stubs. That’s why three Lebanese electrical engineering students designed Urbin – a sleek disposal unit.
Dubai Cheetah Owners Can Save the Species, Says Expert
We have often lamented that people from Dubai and other Arabian Gulf countries walk around with wild cats the way Hollywood stars carry Chihuahuas. But now one of the world’s leading Cheetah experts says these people can actually help to save the species from extinction.
Can Tesla Take Over Israel’s Better Place Charging Stations?
Tesla Motors, the California maker of prestigious and high priced total electric sports cars is still to become a true reality in most countries of the Middle East where men prefer big, gas guzzling cars. But it might fill the gap after the failure of Better Place.
Better Place Bankruptcy is a Sad Day for Electric Car Industry
It is a sad day. Better Place’s battery swap technology is an obvious and practical technological solution to a basic problem of physics and electrochemistry, it is both dangerous and difficult to rapidly charge a chemical battery.
Middle East Climate Change Caused by Emirati Hottie Omar Borkan Al Gala
Three Emirati men were booted from Saudi Arabia because of their smoldering good looks. If you swallow that, then you’ll also believe top scientists are scrambling to determine if heat emanating from the handsome trio may be at the center of global warming.
AirBnB Rental Ruled Illegal – What it Means for the Middle East
From a €17 pad in Sharm Sheikh to a €61 room on Gaza Beach and a cave home in Israel, AirBnB is used widely across the Middle East, but the San Francisco-based startup ran into a glitch recently which could mean trouble for the rest of the world.
Muslims in Myanmar Forced to Two Child Limit
While limiting children, or not having them at all, is a good way to fight global warming and the demise of our poor planet, there is nothing more inhumane in being told how many children you can have.
Israel’s Better Place EV Company Dies and Files for Bankruptcy
It seemed like a sure thing five years ago, but today Israel’s Better Place electric car company has pulled the plug on its electric car network in Israel as it files for bankruptcy today.
Israel’s Earthquake Proof Table Added to MoMA’s Permanent Collection
Students are typically advised to crawl under their desks when an earthquake strikes, but then they often become trapped when the table collapses. Israeli designers Arthur Brutter and Ido Bruno designed a solution to this problem called “the Earthquake Proof Table”. It’s able to withstand one tonne of weight, and meets the needs in developing nations.
Jordan’s Wadi Rum in Pictures, a Green Prophet Journey
Jordan’s magical red dessert is short on plastic bags, throwaway bottles, and paper litter. Begs the question, does raw nature shame us into better environmental behavior? If so, a stay in Wadi Rum nature reserve should be a national obligation.
Following Oman Success, GlassPoint Wants to be the IKEA of Solar
New life for old oil fields? Last year Oman inaugurated a 7MW solar pilot plant that produces steam to loosen thick, stubborn oil. Petroleum Development Oman has since hailed the four acre complex of glass houses a scorching success, and the supplier GlassPoint is preparing to become the “Ikea of solar,” Forbes reports.