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Archive | 2011 | August | 03

Israeli Scientists Develop Date-Rape Drug Detector

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August 3, 2011
Category:
Innovation
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It’s rule number one for any woman heading to the bar: Don’t leave your drink unattended, no matter what.

But that guideline may soon prove less necessary, if two Israeli scientists aren’t overstating their claims.

Professor Fernando Patolsky and Doctor Michael Ioffe of Tel Aviv University’s School of Chemistry say they’ve created the world’s first 100 percent effective date-rape drug detector. According to the two researchers, their sensor can tell a woman, in real-time, whether her drink’s been tampered with.

The sensor detects the two most common date-rape drugs, GHB (gamma-hydrobuxybutyric acid) and ketamine, Ioffe told AFP.

“The drug itself is reacting with this chemical formulation and the previously clear formula becomes dirty…you don’t have to do anything but dip [the sensor] in your drink,” Ioffe said.

According to AFP, there have been no false positives for the detector yet.

Provided Patolsky and Ioffe get funding to produce the date-rape detector, the first batch of sensors could be on the market in less than a year and a half.

However, the new science isn’t perfect: The sensor can’t yet detect Rohypnol (the drug the term ‘roofie’ actually derives from), nor does it detect other prescription medications which are often used as date-rape drugs, including Xanax and Klonopin.

Ioffe and Patolsky aren’t the first to claim they’ve invented a sensor for date rape drugs. Magnolia Marketing Group offers an “As Seen on TV” Date Rape Drug personal test kit that supposedly changes colors when exposed to a few drops of a roofie-spiked beverage. According to the New Scientist, British company SureScreen Diagnostics in 2001 introduced the Dipitin, a strip that could be dipped into a drink to detect the presence of Rohypnol but not GHB. Then in 2004, another British company introduced the Drink Detector, which also supposedly revealed the presence of roofies in a beverage, and in 2006, Nebraska chemist Andrea Holms was also reportedly working on developing a roofie detector.

But commercially available date rape drug detectors shouldn’t be trusted, a Drug Enforcement Administration spokesperson told AP in 2002, explaining that those spiking drinks can usually figure out how to get around the tests. “In cases where there are scientific advances, the bad guys get around it faster than the good guys can,” she said.

The one proven way to accurately detect whether a woman has been exposed to a date rape drug is to test a urine sample after she has ingested it — which isn’t terribly helpful to the woman standing at the bar, feeling uneasy, and wondering if maybe — just maybe — her drink isn’t so safe, after all.

Source: Huffingtonpost.com

VIDEO: Shoes… Shoes… Let’s get some shoes… These shoes rule

Posted on:
August 3, 2011
Category:
Fashion, Video
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Israeli designer creates five pairs of shoes from one

Hot on the heels of our post about Malaysian fashion label Ultra and their minimalist ten-piece wardrobe, the next innovation in budget and eco-conscious fashion is ze o ze, the versatile shoe that transforms into five different styles.The creation of Israeli industrial designer Daniela Bekerman, ze o ze, which translates as ‘this or that’ in Hebrew, is a plain flat shoe that comes with a range of components that connect at the sole. Modular attachments in varying heel sizes take the ballet slipper to a brogue-inspired lace-up or a Mary Jane kitten-heel pump, meaning shoe lovers get more for their money while also offering a practical solution for travelers who need to pack light but still want a selection of looks. ze o ze is currently a prototype and Bekerman is looking for investors to develop and manufacture them.Giving one product the ability to morph into multiple styles uses less material, produces less waste and makes it attractive to the growing market of environmentally-aware consumers. One to partner with to help ze o ze take their first steps?

Website: www.cargocollective.com/danielabekerman#1699549/ze-o-ze

Contact: danielabekerman@hotmail.com

REMINDS ME OF….

 

Coexistence through Music: Israelis, Iranians to sing together… Online

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August 3, 2011
Category:
Coexistence, Music
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Special musical collaboration planned for August 17: Israelis singers to sing in Persian, Iranian singers – in Hebrew. Websites in both countries slated to broadcast performance live, if no one gets cold feet

Diplomatic relations between Israel and Iran seem like an imaginary scenario, but singers from both countries are about to take part in a special musical collaboration – courtesy of technology. An internet meeting will be held on August 17 between Israeli singers, who will perform songs in Persian, and famous singers from Iran, who will sing in Hebrew.

The Israeli performance will take place at the Gallery Palace, opposite the Edith Wolfson Medical Center in Holon. It will be broadcast live on Iranian websites and maybe even on Iranian television. The Iranian performance will be broadcast in Israel through the Internet.”I have regular contact with the Iranians, including government officials,” Liberman claims. “We decided to join forces between artists. Talking is not enough, we have to do things too.

The Israeli singers who plan to take part in the event, which will be hosted by dancer Ido Tadmor, include Idan Raichel, Arik Sinai, Ohad Hitman, Yarona Caspi and Shahnaz Tehrani. Actress Gila Almagor has been invited to attend as well.

The Iranian side, at least according to the organizers, will be represented by singers Hamid Hami, considered a supporter of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Ali Lohrasbi, Mohammad Esfahani and two others.

The event was initiated by Adi Liberman, who took oriental studies and learned Persian, became an expert on Iran and now engages in Israeli PR on different media outlets, and Lital Cohen, who engages in Israeli PR on social networks. “There is a vacuum in Israeli diplomacy, and we decided to fill it ahead of September and a possible declaration of a Palestinian state, and soften the hostility between the sides. The Iranian singers are supposed to perform Hebrew songs we sent to them.”Liberman believes Iranian television will broadcast the rare meeting. “I gave a live interview to Iranian TV a year and a half ago about the situation in Gaza, and have been in touch with them ever since. They promised to air the show. All our proceeds will go to help feed hungry children.”

Source: Ynetnews.com

Velvet Underground’s John Cale rocks Tel Aviv. TONIGHT!

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August 3, 2011
Category:
Music, Video
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John Cale, the Welsh musician who founded The Velvet Underground will tonight, August 3, 2011 be performing in Tel Aviv. Cale last performed in Israel back in 2006, when his two concerts were deemed must-see events. This time, he will be at the Barbi Club in Tel Aviv.