Avital Kerner-Torres is a first-prize winner among graduate students in the annual Kaye Innovation Award for her sunscreen made by isolating compounds from several species of ancient organisms.
Kerner-Torres told Israel21c.org that the ancient organisms with which she has experimented - including certain types of fungi, algae and bacteria - have survived for millennia in environments which expose them to high levels of solar radiation, such as bare rock and soil surfaces or deserts. To survive, they have developed defense-mechanisms that provide wide absorption of ultra-violet light.
Working in the laboratory of Prof. Morris Srebnik, Kerner-Torres has developed compounds with high biological anti-UVR activity. This compounds were then isolated from the natural organisms. Experiments have shown these compounds to be more effective than conventional sunscreens in protecting against skin reddening as well as against cell or DNA damage. Patents have been taken out based on these compounds, and further commercialization is being negotiated through the Hebrew University's Yissum Technology Transfer Company and the Hadasit medical research development company of the Hadassah Medical Organization. It is anticipated that a new compound based on Kerner-Torres' work could be available in the market within a year.
Another sunscreen – this one protecting against jellyfish as well – has been developed in Israel and is hitting the US market this summer. The product, called SafeSea, has been deemed "relatively effective" in inhibiting jellyfish stings, including those that commonly occur along the Texas coast of the Gulf of Mexico, according to The Dallas Morning News.
"It prevents stings most of the time," said Dr. Alexa Kimball, who directed the study, which was published in this month's Wilderness and Environmental Medicine Journal.
Israeli researchers developed the cream after noticing that clownfish do not get stung by jellyfish. They then isolated the chemical that seemed to protect the white-and-orange fish made famous by the movie ‘Finding Nemo,’ incorporating the substance to create a sunscreen which would give wearers the same protection.
Kerner-Torres told Israel21c.org that the ancient organisms with which she has experimented - including certain types of fungi, algae and bacteria - have survived for millennia in environments which expose them to high levels of solar radiation, such as bare rock and soil surfaces or deserts. To survive, they have developed defense-mechanisms that provide wide absorption of ultra-violet light.
Working in the laboratory of Prof. Morris Srebnik, Kerner-Torres has developed compounds with high biological anti-UVR activity. This compounds were then isolated from the natural organisms. Experiments have shown these compounds to be more effective than conventional sunscreens in protecting against skin reddening as well as against cell or DNA damage. Patents have been taken out based on these compounds, and further commercialization is being negotiated through the Hebrew University's Yissum Technology Transfer Company and the Hadasit medical research development company of the Hadassah Medical Organization. It is anticipated that a new compound based on Kerner-Torres' work could be available in the market within a year.
Another sunscreen – this one protecting against jellyfish as well – has been developed in Israel and is hitting the US market this summer. The product, called SafeSea, has been deemed "relatively effective" in inhibiting jellyfish stings, including those that commonly occur along the Texas coast of the Gulf of Mexico, according to The Dallas Morning News.
"It prevents stings most of the time," said Dr. Alexa Kimball, who directed the study, which was published in this month's Wilderness and Environmental Medicine Journal.
Israeli researchers developed the cream after noticing that clownfish do not get stung by jellyfish. They then isolated the chemical that seemed to protect the white-and-orange fish made famous by the movie ‘Finding Nemo,’ incorporating the substance to create a sunscreen which would give wearers the same protection.