menu_open Columnists
Diana Bletter

Diana Bletter

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Breast milk protein’s superpowers lead to breakthrough for new class of oral drugs

Breast milk protein’s superpowers lead to breakthrough for new class of oral drugs

Technion researcher Dr. Assaf Zinger says his team’s work shows that the proteins cover and protect nanoparticles as they pass through intestinal...

yesterday 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Bedouin and Jewish residents who evacuated from north return home to mourn and rebuild

Bedouin and Jewish residents who evacuated from north return home to mourn and rebuild

With schools now open, the communities of Arab al-Aramshe and neighboring Kibbutz Adamit in the Western Galilee rethink their ‘naivete’ about...

previous day 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

The sky is no limit: Reserve soldier with cerebral palsy summits Mt. Kilimanjaro

The sky is no limit: Reserve soldier with cerebral palsy summits Mt. Kilimanjaro

Walking with crutches through the ice and snow, Maayan Gabai ascends Africa’s tallest mountain with a group of 30 Israelis, helps raise NIS 1...

28.02.2025 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

As northerners sent home, hard-hit Metula says more time needed to heal war wounds

As northerners sent home, hard-hit Metula says more time needed to heal war wounds

With main street a construction site, the school in ruins and most residents still reticent to return, Mayor David Azoulay wants the government to...

24.02.2025 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

With his brother still captive, freed hostage Iair Horn sent home from hospital

With his brother still captive, freed hostage Iair Horn sent home from hospital

Five days after he was released from Gaza, family says ‘the journey to recovery for Iair and our family will be long, and will not end until...

20.02.2025 7

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Researcher names potent lifesaving virus after soldier boyfriend killed in Gaza War

Researcher names potent lifesaving virus after soldier boyfriend killed in Gaza War

As antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose growing health risk, Hebrew University scientists search for ‘good’ viruses and name them after...

19.02.2025 9

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Traumatized and tortured: Freed hostages face arduous road to recovery

Traumatized and tortured: Freed hostages face arduous road to recovery

While many trauma experts say humans have a remarkable capacity for resilience, studies show that the psychological damage of captivity endures a...

15.02.2025 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Groundbreaking study: People with intellectual disabilities can get smarter as they age

Groundbreaking study: People with intellectual disabilities can get smarter as they age

Debunking a myth, Bar-Ilan researcher says adults with Down syndrome and nonspecific intellectual disabilities improve their cognitive functioning...

14.02.2025 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

With physician shortage ‘urgent,’ 2 new medical schools to open in Israel

With physician shortage ‘urgent,’ 2 new medical schools to open in Israel

University of Haifa’s medical school aims to strengthen healthcare in the north; Weizmann Institute’s school is tuition-free, combining scientific...

13.02.2025 40

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Trump, envoy Witkoff secure release from Russia of detained US citizen Marc Fogel

Trump, envoy Witkoff secure release from Russia of detained US citizen Marc Fogel

Teacher, deemed wrongfully detained, had been held since 2021; White House says development ‘sign’ of heading in right direction to end war in Ukraine

12.02.2025 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

State Comptroller says 3 million Israelis suffering from trauma since October 7

State Comptroller says 3 million Israelis suffering from trauma since October 7

Engelman faults Health Ministry for ‘collapsed’ health care system; Health Minister Uriel Buso set to double the scope of mental health services

12.02.2025 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

‘Fear is now in our DNA’: With pause in Hezbollah attacks, two border towns regroup

The 15-month war took its toll ‘not only physically but also emotionally’ on residents evacuated from Mattat, and those who stayed put in the...

05.02.2025 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

As Alawite village on Israel-Lebanon border reopens, locals fear for relatives in Syria

After enduring decades of isolation amid border disputes, residents of Ghajar are focused on their Syrian kin, who face retribution for belonging to...

03.02.2025 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

For second time, Shamir hospital readies to treat Thai hostages ‘like family’

Armed with hard-won experience from first release, central Israel medical center preps rooms and staff amid speculation that 10 foreign nationals...

28.01.2025 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Guidelines for hospitals set to receive hostages include STD checks, pregnancy tests

Ministry official says new protocols differ ‘significantly’ from November 2023 hostage release, as captives return from over 15 months in...

17.01.2025 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israeli scientist in peer-reviewed study: Immunotherapy treatment could slow aging process

Israel Prize winner Prof. Michal Schwartz says her team’s work fighting Alzheimer’s can lead to treatments that boost immune system to slow down...

14.01.2025 70

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Ants have more ‘group smarts’ than humans, Israeli study finds

A Weizmann Institute of Science team has found that ants have better group smarts than people when maneuvering a large load through a maze. Prof....

06.01.2025 70

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Fish embryos decide when they want to be born, Israeli researchers find

Hebrew University researchers say they have discovered that fish embryos are able to decide when they want to be born. Dr. Matan Golan from the...

15.12.2024 5

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

‘History repeats itself’ as South Lebanon Army veteran, Israeli killed side-by-side

Friends Shamoun Najm, 54, and Ziv Belfer, 52, didn’t have time to reach a nearby shelter before impact of lethal Hezbollah rockets, say Nahariya...

14.11.2024 6

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israeli researchers identify protein that stops immune cells from attacking tumors

Tel Aviv University team finds Ly6a protein ‘puts the brake’ on the immune system, in discovery that points to a cure for cancers, including those...

05.11.2024 50

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Resolutely rooted war-time farmers work together to douse Hezbollah rocket flames

At an agricultural village 15km from the Lebanon border, after a Soviet Grad directly hits a Western Galilee house, residents race to put out fires...

26.10.2024 3

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

‘Overlooked’ grief: October 7 massacre left 2,185 bereft siblings, first study shows

Hebrew University researcher says there’s a ‘hierarchy of grief’; urges government to give mourning siblings the same benefits as widows,...

15.10.2024 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

In first, doctoral candidate enlists foragers across Israel to help map mushroom DNA

There are over 1,000 species of fungi in the Holy Land; what started as one scientist’s hobby has mushroomed into a collective effort on a scale...

15.10.2024 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Toronto Jewish school targeted by gunfire during Yom Kippur, in 2nd attack in months

Trudeau says he’s ‘very disturbed’ by incident, which comes amid dramatic rise in antisemitic attacks in the country as war rages in Middle East

13.10.2024 5

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

For the Southern Lebanese Army’s second generation, Nasrallah’s death is a ‘breakthrough’

Former SLA members refuse to speak in the face of reprisals, but these young Lebanese-Israelis believe it’s their mission to raise the curtain on...

13.10.2024 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Fortitude under fire: Farmers along the northern border stay planted despite the war

Undaunted by Hezbollah’s rockets and drones, a group of war-hardened farmers refuses to evacuate from Moshav Liman, a long-standing cooperative...

01.10.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Young kids, parents still face heightened stress a year into the war, think tank says

Taub Center for Social Policy Studies urges more support for spouses and kids of reservists, displaced families and Arab parents of young kids,...

30.09.2024 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

On World Lung Day, Israeli groups highlight plight of hostages who ‘lack even air’

Medical assocations seek to bring attention to captives held in Hamas tunnels under Gaza, where a freed hostage recalled ‘we didn’t have oxygen… we...

26.09.2024 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Fear and uncertainty: As war escalates, northern residents feel there’s nowhere to go

Mateh Asher Regional Council head says he is worried about the war’s emotional toll on residents; ‘This isn’t normal life,’ says one evacuated...

23.09.2024 6

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

North under siege: Rockets cause hospitals to nix procedures, schools and beaches to close

‘Most people live in stress and worry,’ one Safed resident says with cities on war footing; ‘My blood pressure goes up every time I hear a siren...

23.09.2024 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

UN chief calls death and destruction in Gaza the worst he’s seen during tenure

Guterres says global body ready to monitor potential ceasefire but doubts Israel would agree, urges two-state solution to end Israeli-Palestinian...

10.09.2024 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

After Hezbollah strike on Nahariya, residents say government abandoned them

Drone hits apartment of members of urban kibbutz who moved to the city out of idealism; now they say they have to deal with their own shock before...

10.09.2024 3

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Sunflowers dance together to balance sunlight and shade, Israeli researchers say

Tel Aviv University team explains how the plants grow close together and move in zigzag patterns for optimal growth in a collective ‘dance party’

23.08.2024 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Doubling down on unlikely success story, Arab-Israeli couple take med-tech giant to Jenin

Short on cash but long on grit, Reem and Imad Younis co-founded their company Alpha Omega in 1993 to make a ‘brain Waze.’ Now they’re taking a...

19.08.2024 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

In northern Israel, midwives prepare expectant mothers for birth during war

With ‘First Contractions,’ expectant mothers get ready for worst-case scenarios: delivering their babies safely at home if they can’t get to a...

18.08.2024 10

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Weeklong retreat in Montana ranch aims to heal IDF vets from war traumas

Israeli nonprofit formed after Oct. 7 takes combat soldiers far off the grid to a homestead where Tel Aviv and Harvard researchers offer techniques...

16.08.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Researcher warns of whooping cough spike as disease spreads throughout Israel

Infectious disease expert says Israel is in the middle of an outbreak that occurs every four years; Health Ministry urges vaccination for pregnant...

06.08.2024 1

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Khamenei endorses Iran’s president-elect Pezeshkian ahead of Tuesday’s swearing-in

Reformist thanks supreme leader and voters for ‘heavy burden’ of presidency, though ultimate authority remains with Khamenei

28.07.2024 3

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Northern hospitals model coexistence as they prepare for a third Lebanon War

Directors at Ziv Hospital in Safed and Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya stockpile for worst-case scenarios while coordinating responses with...

28.07.2024 30

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Study finds eating Israeli Bamba drastically cuts peanut allergy risk in young kids

Confirming a hunch, researchers prove kids who eat Israel’s popular peanut snack develop resistance to peanut allergy, according to study in The...

24.07.2024 1

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Disease expert warns polio outbreak in Gaza could spread to Israel

Dr. Lior Nesher says that it is ‘almost impossible’ to stop the spread of the virus in aquifers; unvaccinated children most at risk

23.07.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israel LGBTQ+ Medical Society launches course on transgender-friendly protocols

25 family physicians learn how to help trans patients at the first-ever workshop in Israel; endocrinologist expert says wait for hormone treatments...

23.07.2024 3

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

IDF to give booster vaccinations to soldiers after polio virus found in Gaza sewage

Health Ministry says it will monitor situation in Israel; no cases of polio have been detected so far in the Gaza Strip, according to the World...

21.07.2024 1

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Evidence of polio found in Gaza sewage samples

Health Ministry says findings ‘raise concerns about the presence of the virus’; professor urges ‘regional collaboration to stop the spread of the...

19.07.2024 1

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Israeli college student compiles unblinking guide to dark trail of Hamas massacre

Foreign Ministry to distribute to embassies and visiting delegations 23-year-old’s English-language book of uncensored testimonies from October 7...

19.07.2024 1

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

Health Ministry says 440 people diagnosed with West Nile fever, 32 dead

Virus can be deadly to the elderly and those with weakened immune systems; 80% of infected show no symptoms; ministry urges vigilance

15.07.2024 2

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter

‘An insatiable curiosity’: Reservist killed in Gaza fighting gets posthumous PhD

Widow, parents of Zechariah Haber, 32, collect Tel Aviv University diploma; biologist sought to improve crop productivity in harsh climatic...

13.07.2024 20

The Times of Israel

Diana Bletter