You know that feeling when you realize you've left your smartphone at home? No communication, information or navigation? For the visually- and mobility-impaired this can be a daily occurrence. But two Israeli high-tech start-ups have stepped into the frame to change all that. Boaz Zilberman, Chief Executive of Project Ray, joins host Viva Press in the studio to explain how they developed the world's first smartphone for the blind. Also in the studio is Oded Ben-Dov, Co-founder and CEO of Sesame Enable, to talk about their touch-free smartphone that can be controlled with gestures.

Israel has become a breeding ground for a new kind of start-up: For profit tech companies that use innovation to address social issues. Today's guests tell host Viva Press how their social technology companies manage to address urgent problems at home and abroad - from an aging population, to child obesity, to poverty. Interviewees:Amir Alon - CEO & co-founder of E2CBoaz Gordon - CEO of SparkeeNir Shimony- CEO & co-founder of Tech for Good Song: Naomi Shemer - Anashim Tovim  

From laser technologies to 3D printing, robotics and pneumatics, Israel has been breaking boundaries in advanced manufacturing for over 50 years. Every two years, Industry leaders meet at the Technology Fair in Tel Aviv, attracting over twenty-thousand visitors from Israel and abroad. Host Viva Press went to preview the industrial technology of tomorrow at the 2015 Fair.   Song: Ernie Ford - 16 Tons

Each Spring over half a million birds fly over Israel as they travel north to the cooler climes of Europe. The Israeli Wildlife Hospital, a joint venture of The Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Safari Ramat Gan Zoo, is one of the few places in the Middle East where injured migratory birds can take sanctuary and be rehabilitated. In addition, The Safari Ramat Gan Zoo is also involved in various global conservation schemes, including the preservation of the white rhinoceros. Host Viva Press visits the animal keepers thinking outside the box in order to treat their patients... think a 3D-printed tortoise shell or a rhino fly mask. Interviewees: Shmulik Landau, head animal keeper at the Israel Wildlife HospitalDr Nilli Anglister, veterinarianNeta Guetta, animal keeper at the Ramat Gan SafariBraam Malherbe, international conservationist   Song: Arik Enstein and CBS Orchestra - Dr. Doolittle

What if you could walk into cafe and ask for your latte with grade 10 sweetness? Or your soup grade 5 saltiness? And what if you could offer your kids or elderly parents a meal-in-a-mouthful protein cube that tasted of beef with sweet potato? Host Viva Press meets the Israeli entrepreneurs who made this happen: Yuval Klein, Founder and CEO of Valiber Swizzle [http://www.valiber.com/default.aspx], the sweetness thermometer, David Kliger is the founder of ProtyPlus, the protein snack and Amir Zaidman is Vice President Business Development of the Food Tech Hub [http://www.alphastrauss.com/about/]. Together they answer the question what is the Internet of Food and why is it such a buzzword right now?   music - A Tribe Called Quest - Ham 'n' Eggs

The work of IsraAid includes disaster relief, search and rescue, medical and trauma care and agriculture and educational development.

Imagine being able to move prosthetic limbs using your thoughts alone or using magnetic stimulation to improve brain function. Welcome to the world of Brain Technology. Miri Polachek, Executive Director of Israel Brain Technologies [http://israelbrain.org/] talks to host Viva Press about BrainTech 2015[http://conference.israelbrain.org/], the first international conference she has organized for world-class neuroscientists and engineers to meet and exchange ideas in Tel Aviv.She also talks about Israeli scientists paving the way for brain machine interfacing.

Mobile ad-tech is one of the hottest technology trends of 2015: Interactive video ads and campaigns that transfer from smartphone to desktop to tablet are among some of things we can look forward to. How is Israel leading the mobile ad-tech revolution? ISRAEL21c’s Viva Press asks Daniel Cohen, General Partner at Carmel Ventures; Gilad Hellerman, VP. Strategy at Crossrider and Roi Fainstein, Director of Business Development at Inneractive, whose programmatic platform “Story” is the first to insert native video ads into app content feeds.

Israeli high-tech hit the headlines in January 2015, when it raised over $900 million in acquisitions in just seven days. Will Asian interest in Israeli ingenuity make 2015 a record year for foreign investment?Host Viva Sarah Press meets Ori Bendori, a veteran senior executive in the Israeli high-tech industry and general partner at Carmel Ventures [http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=40669538]; Ryan Dritz, director of business development at the Asian Institute [http://www.tasi.co.il/english/] and Michal Chetrit, managing director of the Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce [http://www.israel-asia.org/] to talk about what China, Japan and South Korea are each looking for in the Israeli mobile, Cloud, mHealth and fintech markets and what Israel is set to gain. They also discuss the pull of Israeli human capital and why Chinese business people often mistake Israel for being a much larger country than it is.

Not many people know that the mobile games for Mission Impossible and Hunger Games and other blockbuster movies are made by Israeli production company Funtactix. Infact, as a whole, the Israeli gaming industry doesn’t make that much noise, given its relative size.Host Viva Press meets Yaron Leifenberg, founder and CTO of Funtactix, Ohad Barzilay, one of the founders of the Israeli Game Industry Association as well as game designer at Side-Kick and Vic Boaron, head of business development at TabTale, to discuss the future of virtual reality games, motion technology and why people are willing to spend money on a movie but not on a mobile game.

Nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter on a molecular level, is one of the fastest growing fields in engineering: The artificial retina, self-cleaning windows and target drug delivery systems are just three examples of applications already under development. Israel boasts six nanoscience centers that are scooping up a sizable share of international research money. Israel also had the honor of being invited to the ImagineNano 2015 conference as their ‘featured country’. One heart-warming repercussion of this international success is that Israel has managed to win back some of the scientists who had previously re-located abroad. Joining us to discuss all this and more are: Nava Swersky Sofer, founder and co-chair of the NanoIsrael conference, Professor Uriel Levy, Head of Nanotechnology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Professor Uri Sivan, one of the leading nanotechnology experts from The Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa.

Since the use of medical marijuana was approved in 1993, Israel has spearheaded research into its diverse applications that include alleviating symptoms of Parkinsons Disease, Crohns, cancer, PTSD, and epilepsy, to name a but a few. Professor Ruth Gallily, is a professor emerita of immunology at The Hebrew University and was part of the team that isolated the medicinal component of cannabis - cannabinoid (CBD). Zohar Koren is the CEO of Cannabis Pharmaceuticals, a company that introduced the oral CBD pill as a solution to dosage inconsistencies. They join host Viva Press to discuss how Israeli Agri-tech and government-sponsored research clinics have enabled Israeli scientist to optimize and expand the use of medical marijuana. They also discuss the red tape and stigmas that they've yet to overcome.

Estimates say that by 2050, 1 in 3 people will suffer from one form of diabetes or another. Israeli biotech has responded to the spread of this chronic disease from a number of different angles. Today, host Viva Press meets Nadav Kidron, CEO of Oramed[www.oramed.com], the company behind the insulin oral pill; Gadi Levin, CFO of Labstyle Innovations, who produce a mobile app for blood glucose testing called myDiario [mydario.com], and Ishai Knoble, co-founder and CEO of Helparound [helparound.co], an app that connects diabetic communities in times of emergency. Music: Matok Matok by Yigal Bashan

Israel, world leader in mHealth First there was eHealth or electronic health and then there was mHealth or mobile health, any health technology that uses a wearable or mobile communications device. This could include a nurse’s hand-sanitizer tracker or a fitness app. For the individual this means having more data to hand over to the clinician on your sugar levels, heart rate and mood. For the masses it means making population healthcare more efficient and less of a burden on the taxpayer. In 1980, Israel became the first country in the world to roll out mandatory digital health record for each of its citizens. Israel21c was at the Mobile Health Israel Conference to ask international experts how Israel has used the data to reach the cutting edge of mHealth technology. We speak to : Jill Seidman, managing director of Healthbox, an accelerator for health care startups Dr Noel Harvey, Vice President of Research and Development at BD Technologies Levi Shapiro, a partner a Veritas Ventures, an Israeli VC firm and organizer of the mHealth conference Music: Getting Better - The Beatles

“Every dollar doesn’t count” and “my network could be more valuable than my net worth” are just two of the controversial mantras that Give2gether stand by. Give2gether is a crowdfunding platform for charities and nonprofits that is here to turn fundraising on its head. Give2gether uses software developed along game theory guidelines to encourage people and their wider social network to make online donations to a good cause. We ask CEO and founder Arnon Shafir, how Give2together is achieving averages of $38,000 per campaign and what is the number one motive for people to make charitable donations? You're in for a surprise..

Gone are the days when you sat at surrounded by glossy magazines at the travel agent office. The travel industry is undergoing a dramatic upheaval that began with money-saving websites for flights and hotel (purchases) and is now headed toward a one-stop shop for personalized travel booking and planning. And “personalized” really is key, explain Boaz Lantsman, CEO of RoutePerfect and Jonathan Meiri, CEO Superfly, a website designed to maximize your air miles. Another interesting change is where travelers research their destinations: Have review sites such as TripAdvisor, replaced the travel writer?   Music : Im leaving on a jet plane by John Denver

At the end of 2013, Forbes magazine highlighted 10 female founders to watch from Israel. so, one year later, we decided to check in with them and see how the early hype helped them on their way. Liat Mordechay Hertanu is the co-founder of 24me, a personal organizer app recently named by Apple as one of the best of 2014. Orit Hashay is the founder and CEO of brayola, a website that helps you find a perfect bra based on the ones you already own.

'No need to reinvent the wheel,' the saying goes. But when Israeli farmer Gilad Wolf found himself wheelchair-bound for six months after breaking his pelvis, he couldn’t bear the shocks and bumps in the ride. Fast-forward a couple of years and SoftWheel was born. SoftWheels have three compressible cylinders as spokes, which incorporate suspension into the wheel itself. Not only does that make the wheel shock absorbent, SoftWheels allow the user to set the level of suspension they need according to the terrain they’re on. Viva Sarah Press talks to CEO Daniel Barel and Product Specialist Neil O’Brien about the inception of SoftWheel as well as its applications.   Music: Shmulik Kraus - Eich Shegalgal Mistovev

Gone are the days when you had to have a stash of cash to turn a bright idea into a business. Crowdfunding, or community fundraising gives entrepreneurs the support they need to get their business off the ground. It is estimated crowdfunding would have injected $65 billion into the global economy by the end of 2014.OurCrowd [www.ourcrowd.com] is an equity-based crowdfunding platform where people all over the world collectively invest in Israeli start ups.Headstart is a donation based crowdfunding site that supports artists and authors in their creative projects. Here donors are rewarded with token gifts like T-shirts and a warm fuzzy feeling of supporting someone you admire.Zach Miller, partner and head of investor community at OurCrowd [www.ourcrowd.com] andDanny Or, projects and support team manager at Headstart [www.headstart.co.il] talk to Viva Sarah Press about the funding model that cannot be stopped.   MUSIC: Ma Im Ha Kesef (What about the money) by Axum

Despite having no history of car manufacture, Israeli engineers have a wealth offerings for the global automotive industry - from malfunction prediction to night vision systems and in-car health checks. However, as the the automobile becomes more “connected” - think V2V (Vehicle to vehicle communication) and V2I (vehicle to infrastructure), the opportunity for hacking also widens: Imagine a hacker remote controlling your car as you were driving. Israel is at the forefront of developing firewalls to ensure vehicle cyber-security. Here to talk about this and other inspiring Israeli innovations are: Uri Pachter, Director of Automotive Industries at the Israel Export Institute, Saar Dickman, CEO of Automotive Cyber Security firm Tower Sec [http://www.tower-sec.com/] and Eyal Zvuluny, partner and business development manager infotainment developers BNS systems [http://www.bnc-il.com/systems/]   music: Mashina - Mechonit

Opened in September 2013, The Advanced Technologies Park in Beer-Sheva is a center for the development of cybertech in broadest sense - robotics, big data, cyber security and remote sensing, to name but a few. The vision is to create an ecosystem where research and business development work hand in hand. One striking feature of the venture is the collaboration between public and private bodies: Led by Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva municipality, KUB International LLC, the project has also secured partnerships with the Israel Defense Force and large international businesses. Prof Rivka Carmi, President of Ben Gurion University of the Negev explains how the ATP is generating thousands of tech jobs, keeping BGU graduates in the region and stemming migration to central Israel. Roni Zehavi, CEO of New Cyberspark Industry Initiative, a coordinating body for joint cyber industry activities between government agencies, the public and academia - describes his vision for collaboration that pools resources and human capital. And Yoav Tzurya, partner at JVP Venture Capital explains what the Beer-Sheva Advanced Technologies Park had to offer his business that tech hubs in Boston, San Francisco and India could not.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we are joined by Professor Hadassa Degani, who changed the face of breast cancer detection by pioneering not one but two non-invasive technologies at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. 3TP (three-time-point) uses MRI scans to map out a tumor and its vascular system, something which greatly assists monitoring treatment after detection. In addition, Degani developed DTI (Diffusion Tensor Imaging), which can be described as MRI without injecting dye into the body. The principle is to detect early-stage cancer by examining the microstructure of the breast tissue, most pertinent to younger patients, whose tumors are harder to detect in traditional mammograms. Music: Hey Woman - Asaf Avidan/Tamar Eisenman

Since the start of the Syrian civil war, over 1200 Syrian casualties have received emergency treatment in Israeli hospitals. Dr. Amram Hadary, Director of the Trauma Unit at Ziv Medical Center, Tsfat and Dr. Samuel Tobias, Senior Neurosurgeon at the Medical Center of the Galilee in Nahariya, recall the twelve year-old amputee who crossed Mount Hermon into Israel on a donkey, and the woman who was shot in the head and walked out the hospital 17 days later. They discuss the doctor-patient relationship and whether one-on-one contact of this kind is capable of changing how Israel is perceived by enemy states.

How has Israel managed to build itself an impressive reputation as a developer of the latest satellite technologies? Host Viva Press talks to Erez Antebi, CEO of Gilat Satellite Networks, based in Petah Tikvah. A major player in satellite networking technology solutions and services, Gilat is currently working on bringing unlimited internet access to airplanes: Imagine the flight attendant telling you to switch your device on when you board the plane... Gilat was the first company to bring phone lines to various remote, rural communities in Latin America and beyond. Antebi recalls the logistical difficulties they faced working in these regions, including teaching the local kids how to use a computer. He also describes Gilat's disaster relief applications, such as rebuilding communication networks after earthquakes and the like, and tracking the mobile phone signals of those trapped under rubble. Music: Lou Reed - Satellite Of Love

The crowned fruit, as it is called, has symbolized fertility since the days of Adam and Eve. Today, alternative ayurvedic doctors still use it to increase fertility as well as improve lactation, alleviate constipation, and reduce cholesterol.Dr. Eran Magon, founder of the Israeli Center for Ayurvedic Traditional Medicine at Broshim College, reveals the powers of the pomegranate, both tapped and untapped, anit-bacterial and anti-carcinogenic... and that’s just the start. Doron Holland, head of fruit tree sciences at the Agricultural Research Organization's Volcani Institute, explains how Israel became a world leader in developing pomegranate cultivars, which maximize color, taste, and shelf-life. Music: The Apples - Fly On It

The current Zaire strain of the Ebola virus has killed 90% of infectants, making it the deadliest outbreak in West Africa and attracting worldwide media attention.Dr Leslie Lobel, a virologist from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, has long been workingwith Ebola survivors to develop neutralizing antibodies that would attack the ebola virus more speedily than a vaccine.Lobel is concerned by the Western world’s preoccupation with chronic diseases at the expense Infectious diseases, which remain the biggest threat to the African continent. Furthermore, global warming is set to accelerate the spread of infectious diseases across continents. Lobel calls for the Ebola outbreak to act as a wake up call : More public funds must be channeled toward immunology research. And Israel is perfectly located to centralize any global research efforts.

The current 'Zaire' strain of the Ebola virus has killed 90% of those infected, making it the deadliest outbreak in West Africa and attracting worldwide media attention. Dr. Leslie Lobel, a virologist from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, has long been working with Ebola survivors to develop neutralizing antibodies that would attack the virus more speedily than a vaccine. Lobel is concerned by the Western world’s preoccupation with chronic diseases at the expense of infectious diseases, which remain the biggest threat to the African continent. Furthermore, global warming is set to accelerate the spread of infectious diseases across continents. Lobel calls for the Ebola outbreak to act as a wake-up call: More public funds must be channeled towards immunology research, and Israel is perfectly located to centralize any global research efforts. Music: Acollective - Simon Says

Israel's computer animation industry is swiftly building an international name for itself, boasting collaborations with Warner Brothers, Pixar, Nickelodeon, Baby TV and and Zodiak Kids. On the one hand the Israel competes well on the international computer animation market, at the same time, the scene is suffering considerable 'brain drain', where young bright things are trying their luck abroad. We also discuss the huge talent pool that came with the wave of Russian immigrants who arrived in the 1990's. Viva Sarah Press meets Gilad Rosenau, executive producer at PitchiPoy Animation and Michelle and Alex Orrelle, co-founders of Tel Aviv 3D animation studio Crew 972.

Nazareth, Israel’s largest Arab city, is fertile ground for the Israeli hi tech scene, as demonstrated by global neuroscience technology firm, AlphaOmega. Two people taking strides to surface the untapped talent in the Israeli-Arab community are Fadi Swidan, director of the Nazareth Business Incubator Center and co-founder of NazTech and Paz Hirschmann director of development at Tsofen, an Arab-Israeli integration non-profit. In this episode, they discuss with host Viva Sarah Press, the scale of available brainpower, as well as their vision for a local ecosystem to help push bright ideas to start up stage right through to exits. Music: hadag nahash: hakol yistader

As our planet heats up, weather is becoming more extreme. Israeli professor, Colin Price, thinks his work tracking weather patterns could save lives.

Viva Sarah Press is joined in the studio by three pioneering Israeli scientists all working in the field of cancer detection and treatment. Boaz Arnon of Real Imaging describes how his award-winning dense-tissue detection system is changing the face of cancer detection. Similarly Galit Yahalom explains the science behind Octava Pink - the world’s first blood test for breast cancer. Finally, Lynn Golumbic details the applications of InSightec’s non-invasive ultrasound technology, that span from curing parkinsonian tremors to treating breast cancer. Music: One Day You Will by LADY ANTEBELLUM

Whether it’s virtual fitting rooms or social shopping games, Israeli experts are creating a redesigning fashion and technology.

What makes someone a mompreneur or a dadpreneur, as opposed to a working mom or dad? Zoe Bermant and Ophir Sharon were thrust into the world of entrepreneurship upon the arrival of their respective children.When faced with the irksome task of measuring out powdermilk, Ophir's invented the Babyspenser, that led to a partnerhship with Holon University. Mom Zoe did for parenting what Waze did for driving: Her crowd-sourcing app for parenting services and products won her an invite to Google's Campus for Moms.ISRAEL21c reporter Viva Sarah Press meets Kiddyup founder and CEO Zoe Bermant and Babyspenser co-founder Ophir Sharon on TLV1 Radio.

Israel's computer animation industry is swiftly building an international name for itself, boasting collaborations with Warner Brothers, Pixar, Nickelodeon, Baby TV and Zodiak Kids. On the one hand, Israel competes well in the international computer animation market. However, the scene is suffering from considerable 'brain drain', where young bright things are trying their luck abroad. We also discuss the huge talent pool that came with the wave of Russian immigrants who arrived in the 1990's. Viva Sarah Press meets Gilad Rosenau, executive producer at PitchiPoy Animation, and Michelle and Alex Orrelle, co-founders of Tel Aviv 3D animation studio Crew 972.   Music: Shlomo Artzi – Tmunat Yelda

What do mud-huts, ancient downdraft cooling towers and Pythagoras' solar windows have to do with cutting edge architecture and design? Everything - at least in Israel where sustainable construction and ecodesign are paving the way for the future: Today architects embrace a wider set of principles to include water conservation, passive cooling and even social equality.     Host Sarah Viva Press talks with Michal Bitterman, chair and founding member of the Israel Green Building Council; Eran Kaftan, director of architectural and consulting firm Research & Ecodesign (RecoD) and Omri Yadin, project manager at Kibbutz Neot Smadar.

Summary: Widely considered Israel's most internationally successful fashion designer, Ronen Chen looks back on twenty years in the business, starting from his initial leap from architecture to textiles. Chen shares his perspective on the design of womenswear, describing his relationship with fabric as bordering addiction. He also describes his Israeli and European clientele and the place where he thinks they overlap.

It was only a question of time before Israelis' passion for pooches resulted in an invention or three. International channel DogTV [http://dogtv.com/] has been proven to keep your furry friend entertained alone at home. Founder Ron Levi, explains how the idea was triggered by his cat of all creatures. What if there was a magic wand that made doggy poop disappear? Ashpoopie [http://www.ashpoopie.com/] is a pooper-scooper that zaps doggy poop into a harmless, odorless powder. inventor Ilan Levy tells how it works. ISRAEL21c's Sarah Viva Press interviews DogTV’s Ron Levi and Paulee CleanTec’s Ilan Levy.

After making their mark in biotech and business, Israeli women are finally taking on the traditionally male-oriented world of high-tech. In this episode of Israel21c, reporter Viva Sarah Press talks to Inbal Arieli, founder and head of 8200 EISP (http://www.eisp.org.il/), Shannon Delany, co-founder of Recardo (http://www.recardo.me/), and Karin Kloosterman, writer for ISRAEL21c and CEO of flux about what has been achieved so far and what lies ahead.

Israel is considered a world leader in the burgeoning field of medical clowning or clown care, as it is also known. Medical clowns interact with the patient and their family in a way that enables them to cope with their experiences. In 2011 Israel hosted the world’s first International Conference on Medical Clowning, in which its potential contribution to modern-day medicine was explored. To date there are some 100 active medical clowns in Israel, working in children's wards, delivery rooms and even IVF clinics. To find out more, Viva Sarah Press talks to Tsour Shriqui, project manager and CEO of Dream Doctors, and medical clown, Dr. Shoshi Ofir from Poriya Hospital near Tiberias.

Tourists generally come to Israel for the culture and food, its fine weather and beaches, not to mention its fascinating history stretching back to biblical times. More recently, a new sector of tourists is coming to Tel Aviv for something else – its vibrant gay scene. Israel is considered one of the most gay friendly countries in the world, while Tel Aviv has been hailed as the ultimate gay city. Just a few days before Tel Aviv’s famous Gay Pride Parade – this year expected to attract 120,000 revelers - journalist Viva Sarah Press talks to Mira Marcus, the international press director at Tel Aviv Municipality and travel consultant Russell Lord about the emerging gay travel market in Israel.

Gourmet restaurants and cafes, internationally celebrated chefs, award-winning wines and chocolates, beers and teas – in the last 20 years Israel has undergone a food revolution. With a population that hails from dozens of countries around the globe, Israel is creating a unique new cuisine that combines fresh, top-quality Mediterranean ingredients with a whole lot of Israeli chutzpah. ISRAEL21c reporters Viva Press and Ruthie Blum talk to Leon Alcalai, a chef, culinary consultant and cookbook author, and Shir Hapern, a chef, journalist and one of the co-founders of the Farmer’s Market at Tel Aviv Port.

This week on ISRAEL21c we leave the atmosphere and head to the galaxies.SpaceIL is a non profit organization participating in the international Google Lunar X Prize competition – a race to launch a robotic spacecraft to the moon.ISRAEL21c's Viva Press meets Kfir Damari, co-founder of SpaceIL, a person busy working on what he describes as the world's smallest unmanned space capsule.Music: "Chalalit" by Gazoz

Forget portable devices; the future is wearable devices. In this episode of ISRAEC21c, host Viva Press talks to two Israelis who can give us a snapshot into the future: Nir Kouris, co-founder of Innovation Israel and one of the organizers of Israel's first Wearable Tech Conference;Enon Landendberg, president of Israeli startup Infinity Augmented Reality. Music: Aya Korem - Computer Engineer

How did Israel become the Start Up nation? Why is entrepreneurship so highly valued? How did ideas become a central Israeli export? Gil Canaani, founder of Start-up Stadium, Israel's largest online start-up community and Amos Avner, Education Director at Start-TAU join Viva Sarah Press to discuss Israelis' talent for thinking outside the box. We will be on air every Tuesday at 2pm IL time, and 3pm EST.