Good news from the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's population.

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Israel making microscopes go faster. Scientists in the US and Israel have demonstrated an atomic force microscope that can take images of periodic processes with a time resolution of microseconds. Higher temporal resolutions can be obtained by using the AFM in a "force-sensing" mode, which can detect movements from a single point on a sample. They improved on the technique by combining a series of individual force-sensing measurements to construct images. The method can resolve features 10 nanometers across with a time resolution of 5 microseconds.

Israeli 'nano-lightbulbs' could help detect drug's efficiency. An Israeli researcher has developed "nano-lighbulbs" -- polymer patches placed on the walls of living cells that change color and fluoresce as a result of events occurring on the cell membrane. The research is intended to clarify how cells communicate with one another, and to investigate whether and how certain drugs and hormones are effective in penetrating cells and others are not.

Israeli Group Biggest Civilian Aid Contributor to Sri Lanka. AnIsraeli group says it has contributed more civilian aid to Sri Lanka than any other country. The Israeli humanitarian aid organization Latet (Hebrew for 'to give') has already shipped 70 tons of supplies to the area, said Latet spokesperson Evia Simon. 'It is the biggest amount of equipment [sent by] a civilian aid organization to Sri Lanka,' said Simon. Latet, the first humanitarian aid agency to be established in Israel, has previously provided aid to Kosovo war victims, Ethiopian famine victims, victims of the two Turkish earthquakes and survivors of the earthquakes in El Salvador and India.

Israeli firm offers free tsunami alert system. An Israeli company said it planned to distribute free to Asian countries hit by last week's tsunami a device it says could save lives by warning holiday-makers directly that a tidal wave is coming. The system developed by Israeli inventor Meir Gitelis uses land and water sensors, smaller than a shoe box and each costing $170, to measure seismic activity and wave motion. Like other systems already in operation, the sensors can send alerts in seconds by satellite to governments anywhere in the world. Unlike others, this system can also relay warnings directly to private subscribers over cellphones, pagers or dedicated receivers, spreading the message more widely. Seaside hotels could install a satellite receiver to pick up warnings broadcast over the system seconds after an earthquake that could cause giant waves. Local cellphone or pager networks could do the same and send SMS messages to their subscribers. "The sensors determine the tremor's intensity as well as the height and speed of the waves above it," said Gitelis, of Avtipus Patents and Inventions Ltd., which specialises in sensors and communications devices.

Israeli-developed Parkinson's drug gets marketing approval. Israeli giant Teva Pharmaceuticals has received its first official stamp of approval to market Azilect as a treatment for Parkinson's disease, and will begin the process in March. Teva is the world's biggest maker of generic drugs.

Israeli Tsunami Aid. When disaster strikes anywhere in the world, Israelis can be counted on to help. So it's no surprise that within hours of the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean, the following humanitarian missions all departed from the tiny Jewish state: 1) IDF rescue team on its way to Sri Lanka 2) The Israeli organization Latet ('To Give') filled a jumbo jet with 18 tons of supplies. 3) A medical team headed by four doctors from Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital arrived in Sri Lanka on Monday night (Dec. 27), carrying medicine and baby food. The doctors specialize in rescue operations, trauma and pediatrics. 4) An IDF rescue team is now on its way to Sri Lanka with 80 tons of aid material, including 10,000 blankets, tents, nylon sheeting and water containers, all contributed by the IDF. 5) A ZAKA rescue-and-recovery team arrived in the disaster areas Monday night, armed with its specialized equipment for identifying bodies. 6) A Health Ministry contingent left for Thailand on Monday night to aid in rescue efforts. The group includes doctors, nurses and four members of the IDF. 7) Israel has also offered its assistance to India ? a search-and-rescue team from the Home Front Command, as well as consignments of food and medicine.

Facts about the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's population.


  • Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.
  • Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.
  • In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews at risk in Ethiopia to safety in Israel.
  • When Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, she became the world's second elected female leader in modern times.
  • When the U. S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya was bombed in 1998, Israeli rescue teams were on the scene within a day - and saved three victims from the rubble.
  • Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship - and the highest rate among women and among people over 55 - in the world.
  • Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. Immigrants come in search of democracy, religious freedom, and economic opportunity.
  • Israel was the first nation in the world to adopt the Kimberly process, an international standard that certifies diamonds as "conflict free."
  • Israel has the world's second highest per capita of new books.
  • Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees, made more remarkable because this was achieved in an area considered mainly desert.
  • Israel has more museums per capita than any other country.
  • Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U.S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With over 25% of its work force employed in technical professions. Israel places first in this category as well.
  • Israel has the highest per capita ratio of scientific publications in the world by a large margin, as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.
  • In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. In absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of startup companies than any other country in the world, except the US (3,500 companies mostly in hi-tech).
  • Israel is ranked #2 in the world for VC funds right behind the US.
  • Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.
  • Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies
  • Israel has the highest average living standards in the Middle East. The per capita income in 2000 is over $17,500, exceeding that of the UK.
  • With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world (apart from the Silicon Valley).
  • With an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16s, Israel has the largest fleet of the aircraft outside of the US.
  • Israel's $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined.
  • The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola-Israel. Motorola built its largest development center worldwide in Israel.
  • Windows NT software was developed by Microsoft-Israel.
  • The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel.
  • Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.
  • AOL's instant message program was designed by an Israeli software company.
  • Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel
  • The city of Beer Sheva in Israel has the highest percentage in the world of Chess Grand Masters per capita – one for every 22,875 residents.
  • On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotech start-ups
  • Israel has the largest raptor migration in the world, with hundreds of thousands of African birds of prey crossing as they fan out into Asia.
  • Twenty-four percent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees -- ranking third in the industrialized world, after the United States and Holland -- and 12 percent hold advanced degrees.