Science, Medicine, & Education

Tel Aviv Study Indicates Medical Cannabis Oil May Ease Autism Symptoms

Researchers at Tel Aviv University, led by PhD student Shani Poleg and Prof. Daniel Offen of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Felsenstein Medical Research Center and Sagol School of Neuroscience, have successfully treated autism in animal models with medical cannabis oil. The researchers found that this treatment improves both behavioral and biochemical parameters of autism. The results of the surprising study were published in Translational Psychology published by Nature. [Tel Aviv University]

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Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

Autism is Frequently Misdiagnosed, Israeli Psychologist Asserts

Dr. Shoshana Levin Fox has authored a book that will hold you spellbound. Section I is titled “Children.” These first eight chapters are the stories of Jack, Sasha, Annie and others (all the children’s names used are pseudonyms) – children who came into the Feuerstein Institute after having been diagnosed as autistic. They exited with new hope, not only for themselves, but for their parents, who were usually devastated by their children’s diagnoses and needed their own emotional propping up. [Toby Klein Greenwald]

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Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Toby Klein Greenwald

Autonomy and the Moral Obligation to Get Vaccinated

To date, nearly two hundred million Americans – just over 60 percent of the population – have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Recent reports indicate that unvaccinated adults are more than three times as likely to lean Republican. In other words, for every unvaccinated Democrat there are roughly three unvaccinated Republicans. An important question then not only for bioethicists but for all of us is whether there exists a moral obligation to vaccinate. [Sam Ben-Meir, Ph.D]

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Lifestyles, Sam Ben-Meir, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Debunking the Jewish Faculty Network

The Jewish Faculty Network (JFN), is comprised of some 140 Canadian academics who last March published a statement in which they decried the IRHA definition, suggesting at that time that, “as Jews,” they wished to “add our voices to a growing international movement of Jewish scholars to insist that university policies to combat antisemitism are not used to stifle legitimate criticisms of the Israeli state, or the right to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.” [Richard L. Cravatts, Ph.D]

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Middle East, Richard L. Cravatts, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Biden administration asks U.S. Supreme Court to reject Harvard affirmative action case

Published by Reuters By Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to decline to hear a case against Harvard University challenging the ability of it and other schools to consider race as a factor in student admissions to boost diversity. The justices in June asked

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Science, Medicine, & Education

Chula Vista Eye Doctor Invents App for the Color Blind

Dr. Robert Penner, 91, has done a lot of things in his life. He was an ophthalmologist with a private practice in Chula Vista; a colonel in the Army Reserve; president of the San Diego County Medical Society and of the San Diego County Eye Bank; and chairman of the San Diego Port Commission, among other distinctions. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

ADL: Anti-Israel Groups on College Campuses Harassing Jewish Students

During the 2020-21 academic year, a vocal segment of the anti-Israel groups and activists on campus continued to engage in rhetoric that often demeaned or ostracized many pro-Israel Jewish students. At times, antisemitic tropes were invoked. This became a flashpoint during the conflict between Israel and Hamas in May 2021, according to ADL’s (Anti-Defamation League) annual assessment of anti-Israel actions on campus. {Anti-Defamation League]

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Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Richard Lerner, who led Scripps Research to greatness, dies at 83

Richard Lerner, the masterful biochemist who guided Scripps Research on its way to becoming an elite center for biomedical science and helped develop Humira, the highest-selling therapeutic drug in the world last year, died on Dec. 2. He was 83. The private, nonprofit institute told the San Diego Union-Tribune that Lerner died of cancer at his home in La Jolla. [San Diego Union-Tribne]

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Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

OpEd: Middle East Studies Association’s Betrayal of Academic Freedom

Unsurprisingly for an organization whose membership has been perennially hostile to Israel, members of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) voted at their recent annual meeting to advance a resolution endorsing an academic boycott of Israeli academics to a full membership vote in 2022. [Richard L. Cravatts, Ph.D]

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Middle East, Richard L. Cravatts, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Urgent Surgery for Holocaust Survivor, Psychologist and Educator Levy Van Leeuwen

Levy Van Leeuwen was one of those people at Camp Moshava, who influenced our lives for the better. As a counselor, Levy walked back and forth in the dining hall, leading us in song. In the rustic synagogue, Levy led us in prayer. In our classes on Jewish and Zionist topics, Levy led us in acquiring knowledge. Now it is Levy who is fighting for his life. [Toby Klein Greenwald]

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Lifestyles, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Toby Klein Greenwald, USA

Shana Hazan Rolling Up Democratic Endorsements for School Board

Shana Hazan, former public school teacher, parent of an SDUSD student, and candidate for the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) Board of Education District B, announced on Thursday that she has received the endorsement of District 9 San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera. [Shana Hazan for School Board press release]

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San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Satire: A Covid Variant By Any Other Name

The World Health Organization employs Greek letters instead of people’s names or places to label new variants of Covid-19. It does so to avoid derogatory terms like the ones coined by Donald Trump who called Covid the China virus and the Kung Flu. Frankly, I wish the WHO had retaliated against him and dubbed Covid Donald’s Disease [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]

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Lawrence Baron, Science, Medicine, & Education, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Good News from Israel (November 28, 2021)

In the November 28, 2021 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
–Two Israeli breakthroughs in cancer research.
–Two Israeli women “break the glass ceiling” – in innovation and IDF leadership.
–Two historic events uniting Israel and the UAE.
–Two more cool Israeli energy-saving innovations.
–Boost in Israel’s economic ties with Serbia and Morocco.
–Four more billion-dollar Israeli companies.
–Israeli wins at the Emmy awards and in the World jiu-jitsu championships.
–Two major Temple-era archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem [Michael Ordman]

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Business & Finance, International, Jewish History, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share, Travel and Food, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA