Israel is preparing to conduct the world’s first-ever human spinal cord implant using a patient’s own cells, a groundbreaking advancement that researchers believe could enable paralyzed individuals to stand and walk again, Tel Aviv University announced on Wednesday. The surgery, expected to take place in Israel within the coming months, represents a historic moment in regenerative medicine.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 15 million people worldwide suffer from spinal cord injuries, the majority of which are caused by traumatic incidents such as falls, traffic accidents, or violence.
Currently, there is no complete cure for spinal cord injuries. Most treatment strategies focus on stabilizing the patient, preventing additional harm, and preserving as much function as possible. Emergency responses often include immobilizing the spine, reducing swelling, and occasionally performing surgery to stabilize fractures or relieve built-up pressure on the spinal cord.
Rehabilitation usually involves a combination of physical and occupational therapy, as well as the use of assistive devices such as wheelchairs and supportive braces. While researchers have been exploring experimental treatments—including stem cell therapies, robotic devices, and neurostimulation—there is still no consistently effective solution for restoring full spinal cord function.
Spinal cord injuries are particularly difficult to treat because, unlike many other tissues in the human body, the spinal cord does not naturally repair itself. The structure of the tissue is extremely complex and highly sensitive, making regeneration even more challenging.
“The spinal cord transmits electrical signals from the brain to all parts of the body. When it is severed by trauma—such as a car accident, a fall, or a combat injury—the chain is broken. Think of an electrical cable that has been cut: when the two ends no longer touch, the signal cannot pass, and the patient remains paralyzed below the injury,” explained Professor Tal Dvir, head of the Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology and the Nanotechnology Center at Tel Aviv University, who is leading the project. Dvir is also the chief scientist at Matricelf, the Israeli biotechnology company behind the development.
Unlike other nerve tissues, spinal cord neurons cannot regenerate on their own, and scar tissue that forms after injury further blocks communication between the brain and the body. The upcoming procedure seeks to replace the damaged portion of the spinal cord with a laboratory-grown implant, allowing the engineered tissue to integrate with healthy nerve fibers above and below the injury. In preclinical trials, rats receiving the implants regained their ability to walk normally.
This medical breakthrough was developed over three years ago when Dvir’s team successfully engineered a personalized, three-dimensional human spinal cord in the lab. Findings published in the peer-reviewed journal Advanced Science showed that mice with chronic paralysis regained mobility after receiving the experimental implants.
The procedure begins by collecting blood cells from the patient and reprogramming them into stem-cell-like cells capable of transforming into any tissue type. Additionally, fat tissue is harvested to create a customized hydrogel scaffold, where these reprogrammed cells are grown into a spinal cord structure. Once fully developed, the engineered spinal tissue is implanted to replace the damaged region and reconnect the nervous system.
Several months ago, Dvir and his team received initial approval from Israel’s Ministry of Health to begin “compassionate use” trials on eight patients, making Israel the first country in the world to attempt this groundbreaking procedure. “This is undoubtedly a matter of national pride. The technology was developed here in Israel, at Tel Aviv University and at Matricelf, and from the very beginning it was clear to us that the first-ever surgery would be performed in Israel, with an Israeli patient,” Dvir said.
The technology was commercialized through Matricelf, a biotech company founded in 2019 under a licensing agreement with Ramot, Tel Aviv University’s technology transfer company.
“This milestone marks the shift from pioneering research to patient treatment. Using each patient’s own cells eliminates key safety risks and positions Matricelf at the forefront of regenerative medicine. This first procedure is more than a scientific breakthrough; it is a step toward transforming an area of medicine long considered untreatable,” said Matricelf CEO Gil Hakim.
He continued, “If successful, this therapy could define a new standard of care in spinal cord repair, addressing a multi-billion-dollar market with no effective solutions today. We are proud that Israel is leading this global effort and are fully committed to bringing this innovation to patients worldwide.”
Professor Dvir expressed optimism about the upcoming trials, stating, “Our goal is to help paralyzed patients rise from their wheelchairs. The animal model trials showed extraordinary success, and we are hopeful that the results in humans will be just as promising.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
Two Palestinian terrorists who were freed by Israel during temporary ceasefires with Hamas are expected to speak at a pro-Palestinian conference scheduled for late August in Detroit, Michigan, according to a report from the Jerusalem Post.
The report states that the Detroit People’s Conference for Palestine will feature two controversial speakers: one is a Tanzim operative who was released in February as part of a deal to secure hostages held by Hamas, and the other is a former senior figure in the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).
One of the speakers, Hussam Shaheen, was once a prominent leader and international coordinator for Fatah’s youth movement before shifting his activities to the organization’s militant wings. According to the book The Rise and Fall of Arab Jerusalem: Palestinian Politics and the City since 1967, Shaheen established a cell of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade in Jebl Mukaber and obtained weapons for a planned 2001 attack that was ultimately foiled.
The second speaker, Omar Assaf, has also been tied to terrorism. According to reports from Haaretz and Al Araby, Assaf was an official in the DFLP terrorist organization. The PLO’s own website lists someone by the same name as one of the faction’s original founders. Today, Assaf serves as the coordinator of the executive committees of the Palestinian Popular Conference, a group pushing to restructure the PLO into a far more radical and militant organization.
A campaign in support of Shaheen refers to him as a “political prisoner,” despite his documented ties to violent activity.
Pro-Palestinian gatherings have frequently provided platforms for individuals connected to terrorism. At a 2017 conference in Chicago, Rasmea Odeh, a convicted terrorist, received a standing ovation from attendees. She was later deported from the United States for lying on immigration documents.
Tensions surrounding these events have only deepened since October 7. At a post-attack rally in Dearborn, Michigan, an Arab speaker who mentioned the word “peace” was loudly heckled by the crowd — despite the fact that he was just as openly anti-Israel as the other participants on stage.
{Matzav.com}The Democrat Party is facing a severe collapse in voter support, according to a startling new analysis of national voter registration trends, Breitbart reports.
A report from the New York Times, based on data from L2, a nonpartisan analytics firm, shows that for the first time since 2018, more newly registered voters across the country aligned with the Republican Party than the Democratic Party. The surge has been fueled largely by President Donald Trump’s growing strength among men, younger voters, and Latinos during the 2024 election cycle.
The findings paint a grim picture for Democrats, suggesting that traditional strategies to boost registration and reverse losses are no longer working. Party strategists and political commentators appear increasingly uncertain about how to restore momentum heading into future elections.
“Of the 30 states that track voter registration by political party, Democrats lost ground to Republicans in every single one between the 2020 and 2024 elections — and often by a lot,” the report states. “That four-year swing toward the Republicans adds up to 4.5 million voters, a deep political hole that could take years for Democrats to climb out from.”
The shift spans the entire political map, affecting red, blue, and battleground states alike.
Overall, Republicans gained substantial ground in voter registrations. “All told, Democrats lost about 2.1 million registered voters between the 2020 and 2024 elections in the 30 states, along with Washington, D.C., that allow people to register with a political party,” the report notes. “(In the remaining 20 states, voters do not register with a political party.) Republicans gained 2.4 million.”
The registration imbalance has also significantly reshaped the political landscape. Among the 30 states that register voters by party, Democrats’ advantage over Republicans — once an 11-point lead in 2020 — has dwindled to just over six points in 2024. That steep decline underscores the severity of the situation for the party heading into upcoming contests.
Michael Pruser, director of data science at Decision Desk HQ, summarized the bleak outlook: “I don’t want to say, ‘The death cycle of the Democratic Party,’ but there seems to be no end to this. There is no silver lining or cavalry coming across the hill. This is month after month, year after year.”
Additional figures reinforce the depth of the problem. By 2024, Republicans had overtaken Democrats in the share of new registered voters nationally, improving by nine percentage points since 2018. In the same period, Democrats’ share dropped nearly eight points, further widening the gap between the parties.
This shift is especially pronounced in four key battleground states — North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada — where Republican registration numbers have grown significantly while Democrats have seen sharp declines.
Analysts believe diagnosing the issue will be far easier than solving it. Much of the Democrats’ previous success relied on boosting turnout among racial minorities and young voters, typically through extensive nonprofit registration drives. But as the Times highlights, “For years, the left has relied on a sprawling network of nonprofits — which solicit donations from people whose identities they need not disclose — to register Black, Latino and younger voters. Though the groups are technically nonpartisan, the underlying assumption has been that most new voters registering would vote Democratic.”
Mr. Trump’s growing appeal among working-class minority voters has upended that formula, dismantling Democrats’ assumption that blind registration automatically translates to Democratic votes.
Unlike nonprofit voter registration drives — which are cheap, fast, and tax-advantaged for donors — partisan efforts to locate and recruit specific Democratic voters are significantly more complicated and expensive. Donors who contribute to nonprofits receive tax benefits, but contributions to political action committees or party operations do not qualify for the same write-offs, making sustained funding more difficult.
Even when funding is secured, partisan voter outreach is extremely costly. Locating, contacting, registering, and mobilizing likely Democratic voters requires far more time and money, with estimates showing the cost per additional vote can climb into the hundreds of dollars.
Pouring money into existing infrastructure is unlikely to reverse the trend, and Democrats are struggling without a clear message or unifying leader. Without a significant change in strategy, the party risks falling even further behind.
If President Trump and his allies continue expanding the MAGA coalition across multiple demographic groups, the Democrat Party’s electoral challenges are likely to deepen in the years ahead.
{Matzav.com}
Elon Musk was ordered on Wednesday by a federal judge to defend himself against a lawsuit filed by voters who claim he misled them into signing a petition supporting the U.S. Constitution in exchange for a chance to win his $1 million-per-day giveaway.
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, based in Austin, Texas, ruled that Jacqueline McAferty had provided sufficient claims in her proposed class-action lawsuit, alleging that Musk and his political organization, America PAC, persuaded her to give personal identifying details as part of the promotion during the final stretch of the 2024 election season.
Attorneys representing Musk and America PAC did not immediately issue any statements regarding the case.
Musk created America PAC to assist Donald Trump during his successful 2024 presidential campaign.
McAferty, who resides in Arizona, alleges that Musk and America PAC targeted voters in seven key swing states, encouraging them to sign the petition by advertising that $1 million winners would be chosen “randomly,” resembling a lottery — even though participants had little to no genuine chance of receiving the money.
According to her claims, those who signed the petition were also required to provide full names, mailing addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers.
In an effort to have the lawsuit thrown out, Musk pointed to several “red flags” that he argued proved the promotion was not an illegal lottery.
He said this included the fact that the advertisements stated recipients of the $1 million were “selected to earn” the funds and were expected to act as spokespeople for America PAC, which he claimed contradicted the idea that the payment was a “prize.”
However, Judge Pitman pointed to other promotional language suggesting that the defendants were “awarding” $1 million and that the funds could, in fact, be “won.”
“It is plausible that plaintiff justifiably relied on those statements to believe that defendants were objectively offering her the chance to enter a random lottery — even if that is not what they subjectively intended to do,” Pitman wrote in his ruling.
Pitman was appointed to the federal bench by President Barack Obama in 2014.
Musk also disputed the notion that participants suffered harm simply by sharing their personal contact details. However, the judge noted that an expert specializing in political data brokerage could testify regarding the monetary value of voter information collected from battleground states.
The lawsuit was officially filed on Election Day, November 5, 2024.
Just one day earlier, a Philadelphia judge denied a motion to halt Musk’s giveaway, ruling that the city’s top prosecutor had failed to demonstrate that the promotion constituted an illegal lottery.
Musk resides in Texas, and his electric vehicle company, Tesla, operates its headquarters out of Austin.
{Matzav.com}
