Comprehensive coverage

Evolution and nature

Lung macrophages infected with human cytomegalovirus. In bright green - the cells where there is an active infection

On dormant viruses and protective proteins

New discoveries about how the result of infection with a virus from the herpes family is determined and where dormant viruses may hide in the body
The ornate spiny-tailed lizard, Uromastyx ornata, also known as the ornate lizard, is a species of lizard in the agamidae family. The species is endemic to the Middle East. Illustration: depositphotos.com

How is the climate crisis expected to harm the lizard population in Israel?

Climate change may lead to the collapse of the population of lizards that are common in the deserts of the Land of Israel
Daphnias or not to be... a sick Daphnia (the red one) and a healthy Daphnia. Photo: Einav Marcus

Despite the negative connotation: parasites have a positive effect on biodiversity and play a crucial role in maintaining it

New research shines a positive light on biological stigma
Flint vessels from periods that go back to the settlement of Homo erectus at the site of the Bnot Ya'akov Bridge over 600 thousand years ago. Courtesy of the researchers

Time travel following the travels of early man

The people who lived in the Hula valley hundreds of thousands of years ago made long journeys to obtain quality raw material for the production of hand stones
From the right: Dr. Yara Oppenheimer-Shanan and Dr. Tamir Klein. The race to the top

The bacteria that climbed a tall tree

Using artificial intelligence to crack the genome of the corona virus. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Artificial intelligence offers drugs against the corona virus from the protein sequence only

  • No comments
IBM's artificial intelligence model was able to find compounds that bind to different sites on target proteins against the corona disease caused by the covid virus and this without knowing the mechanism of the attachment of the virus to the cell
A flying meteorologist in action. Tel Aviv bat. Photo: Tel Aviv University

Meteorologists with wings

Bats, urban heat islands, Tel Aviv University, zoology, geography, interdisciplinary research, biologically assisted sampling, smart cities, the Internet of Things, air pollution,

חולטה-השולל בהישולל בהישורים, the true reason for ליירירי הדיור ושיטה הגאוניט ההופקת את מעציעה השולל לעבדים מודריםים

  • 18 תגובות
Chapter nine from the book: "The Free Man - Evolutionary Psychology, Brain Research and Understanding the Mind"
We have something to do about it - at the national, research and personal level as well. Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash

All streams go to the sea - and the sea is full of (bacteria)

Wheat and rice are the most common food plants in the world. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Researchers have succeeded in deciphering the movement mechanism of the plant hormone gibberellin, which is of great importance to humanity

According to the researchers, it is a hormone, a small signal molecule, which controls the growth of plants. The decoding may help a lot in expanding agricultural crops and dealing with the global food crisis
Different species of foraminifera. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The marine microorganisms that indicate climate change

What makes foraminifera species sensitive to heat?
The nightshade uses a complex defense mechanism to ward off unwanted eaters - but gives the bulbul a "secret trick" that allows it to enjoy its fruits and spread it further. Photo: Gil Kopilevitz

Protection from the plant

A new Israeli study reveals that the desert gorse, a common plant in the country, releases a pungency that prevents many animals from eating it - but gives the bulbul birds a "medicine" that helps them digest its fruits. And: how is all this related to cancer prevention?
Ancient sturgeon fish. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Why do some species survive mass extinctions? The secret is perhaps a hidden "whole genome duplication".

  • One response
Geneticists have discovered a whole genome duplication event that occurred in the past in the common ancestor of sturgeons and paddlefish that may have helped them during the mass extinction 200 million years ago
Tristram butterfly box. Photography - Ofir Tomer

Butterflies collected in the 19th century were donated by the Oxford Natural History Museum to the Tel Aviv University Natural History Museum

  • One response
The box contains dried butterflies that were collected in the Land of Israel between the years 1863-1865 by delegations of the Anglican Church and have now been donated to the Steinhart Museum of Nature at Tel Aviv University
One of the sons of the Nama. Photo from Wikipedia

New DNA research changes the origin of the human race

  • One response
A new model of human evolution suggests that Homo sapiens arose from many closely related populations rather than from a single group
The white cells in the shrimp tail. Photo: Ben Gurion University

The shrimp redefines the laws of optics

  • No comments
The shrimp has a particularly bright white color on its back and limbs that are intended to attract fish, which it 'cleanses' of pests it feeds on. An in-depth examination of the white substance using special electron microscopes revealed that the substance consists of an incredibly thin layer of very dense nanospheres (spheres of very tiny diameter)
"Within two days a healthy hedgehog turns into a tissueless skeleton." Black sea urchin dying

The coral reef in Eilat is in real danger

A deadly plague wiped out all the black sea urchins in the Gulf of Eilat within a few months and threatens to collapse the coral reef
Reconstruction of the Ethiopian wolf from Melaka Wakana. Credit: Saverio Bartolini-Lucenti

The Hebrew University: The first and unique fossil of the Ethiopian wolf was found

  • 3 תגובות
The unique finding provides insights into understanding the species' resistance to environmental changes that took place during its existence in Ethiopia and emphasizes the urgency of the need for a conservation policy of its ecological environment in light of climate change in the near future and its being in danger of extinction
The resulting finished image of a virus

Viewing viruses in detail

  • No comments
Researchers demonstrated the benefits of a natural, non-radioactive dye by observing viruses at the nanometer level. The innovative substance is a structurally stable substance and is a natural molecule with a longer shelf life than the radioactive substance most often used for this purpose, uranyl acetate
Urban bat (photo: Yuval Barkai)

Bats also lose their hearing but the process happens in a moderate way in relation to their noisy living environment

Two surprising discoveries: contrary to the popular hypothesis, bats do suffer from hearing loss with age, but they apparently have surprising mechanisms that help them slow down the rate of hearing loss
What is the connection between orchardists and forest fires? Orchard in Kfar Saba Park. Photo: Bonnie Sheinman, KKL-Junk Archives

Wood against the fire

Did you know that trees can be very effective in preventing fires? Yes, this is not a contradiction: in a new Israeli article it is suggested to use orchards as a tool against the spreading fire. How is this move possible and will we soon see more and more orchards "fighting" fires across the country?
Using meticulous and detailed collection methods, a research team led by the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities was able to place the remains of fossilized apes, such as Morotopithecus, within detailed reconstructions of habitats. Credit: Corbin Rainbolt

Rewriting human evolution: Great apes lived in open habitats 10 million years earlier than expected

  • 4 תגובות
Using rigorous and detailed collection methods, the researchers were able to place the remains of fossilized apes, such as Morotopithecus, in detailed reconstructions of habitats. Credit: Corbin Rainbolt
Corals in the Red Sea. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Mushrooms and corals - lovers or enemies?

On relationships in the depths of the sea, and their effect on climate change
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0045682

Chinese researchers are proposing to create tardigrade super-soldiers

Chinese researchers propose combining genes from tardigrades (water bears) to improve the ability of human cells to deal with radioactive radiation
Tilapia fish that were affected by the virus and died. Courtesy of the researchers

Between viruses and fish

The genetic sequence of a virus that caused the morbidity and mortality of tilapia fish is not similar to any known genetic sequence
Science website logo
Skip to content