The results of a 22-year-long investigation by forensic scientists was revealed in a documentary on Spain’s National Day.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A documentary aired Saturday in Spain revealed that exhaustive DNA testing suggests that explorer Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Spain, and not a native of Italy of non-Jewish ancestry as traditionally believed.

The show, entitled “Columbus DNA: His True Origin,” summarized a 22-year-long investigation by forensic scientists who tested tiny samples of the explorer’s remains, which are buried the Seville Cathedral, as well as samples from his known relatives.

Prof. José Antonio Lorente of Granada University, who co-led the research team, called the conclusion as “almost absolutely reliable.”

“We have DNA from Christopher Columbus, very partial, but sufficient,” he said in the show. “We have DNA from Hernando Colón, his son. And both in the Y chromosome (male) and in the mitochondrial DNA (transmitted by the mother) of Hernando there are traits compatible with Jewish origin.”

The findings refute a belief long held by many historians that Columbus was of non-Jewish ancestry from Genoa, Italy.

Columbus began his explorations for the Spanish monarchy in the 1490’s, a period well known in Jewish history as that of the Expulsion, when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella ordered that all Jews in their realm had to either convert or leave the country.

Over the course of a century of persecution that concluded with what became known as the Alhambra Decree, more than 200,000 Jews – over half of Spain’s Jewish population – became Catholics. In 1492, 40,000-100,000 were expelled.

Also in 1492, in the first of his four sea expeditions, Columbus left Castile in August with three ships and made landfall in the Americas, specifically in the Bahamas, on October 12. In the same trip he also discovered Cuba and Haiti.

In his later trips he discovered South America and Central America. He named the native people he found “Indios,” or Indians, because of his mistaken belief that he had reached the Asian continent.

Columbus himself identified as a Christian, and his personal writings attest not only to his dedication to his faith, but to his desire to bring all others to believe in Christianity as well.

According to the National Christopher Columbus Association, “Columbus saw himself as a man especially chosen by God for a mission – not just to discover a new route to the Indies, or even new lands, but by that to make possible the spread of the Faith to all.”

The documentary was appropriately released on Spain’s National Day, which commemorates Columbus’s arrival in the New World.

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By assessing the degree of immune system activation in individual patients, clinicians can make better-informed decisions.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

In a breakthrough that would revolutionize personalized cancer treatment approaches, Israeli scientists introduced new technology allowing for direct measurement of the interaction between immune cells and cancer cells in a patient’s biopsy.

“Cancer cells possess the ability to manipulate immune cells, evading natural defenses. Through our technology, we’re now able to quantify the molecular changes occurring during this interaction, offering invaluable insights into the immune response,” said Dr. Shahar Alon who led a team of researchers from Bar-Ilan University.

Employing sophisticated scanning techniques, the research team analyzed how immune cells express genes when in proximity to cancerous tissue.

Their investigation unveiled distinct genetic signatures exhibited by specific types of immune cells when encountering cancer cells.

Notably, CD8 T immune cells, renowned for their direct targeting and elimination of cancer cells, demonstrated heightened gene activation compared to CD4 T cells.

“The analysis revealed dozens of genes that are uniquely expressed in immune cells that interact with cancer cells,” Alon said.

The findings were recently published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal RNA.

By assessing the degree of immune system activation in individual patients, clinicians can make better-informed decisions about immunotherapy treatments, Alon explained.

“This analysis identified numerous genes uniquely expressed in immune cells engaging with cancer cells. Such insights provide a deeper understanding of the immune response mechanism, crucial for devising tailored treatment strategies,” he said.

Immunotherapy stands out as a promising avenue in cancer treatment, leveraging the body’s immune system to combat cancer cells with precision.

Unlike conventional chemotherapy, which often induces collateral damage to healthy cells, immunotherapy offers a more targeted approach, minimizing adverse effects.

“Scientific advancements like these transcend borders, holding the potential to benefit patients worldwide. Understanding the immune system’s response to cancer cells opens avenues for more effective treatments and improved recovery rates,” said Moshe Bar Haim, CEO of the Israel Cancer Society, which helped fund the technology’s development.

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