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Biology and Medicine

wasp Illustration: depositphotos.com

An ecological tragedy

A wasp gathers as food for its future offspring larvae that contain maggots of another wasp in their bodies, thus harming their survival
Be old, feel young. Illustration: Sally Neve

Be old, feel young

Perceptions of aging by elderly patients affect their health after hospitalization
Prof. Martin Kopik. Photo: Tel Aviv University spokesperson

A new discovery in the mechanism of DNA duplication in yeast

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The researchers believe that they have succeeded in finding all the roles played by the ELG1 gene. The gene in question is also evolutionarily conserved in humans and mutations in it cause cancer, understanding its meaning in yeast can help fight the disease.
Checking the fit of glasses for an elderly woman. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Researchers from Tel Aviv University mapped risk factors for the complex eye disease AMD in the genome

As part of the study, the Ashona researchers were able to identify proteins whose role is essential for the development and activity of the tissue affected by the disease, to precisely locate their location in genomic regions outside of the genes, and to identify the relationship between the changes in these regions and the risk of developing AMD
Microscope image of the fibers produced by the fibroblasts in the cancerous tumor environment. Above: orderly fibers in samples taken from pancreatic cancer patients with a normal BRCA gene, below: branched fibers in samples from patients carrying a mutation in the gene

Thugs in the Hait neighborhood

Not only breast cancer: mutations in the BRCA gene, which are especially common among Ashkenazim, increase the risk of various types of cancer - also in men. The institute's scientists reveal how they turn healthy cells in their environment into collaborators
Chuan Ha, 2023 Wolf Prize Winners in Chemistry, photo courtesy of the Prize Committee

Wolf Prize in Chemistry for 2023 to three researchers who studied RNA

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The winners are: Chuan Ha, University of Chicago, USA, Jeffrey Kelly, Scripps Research Institute, USA, Hiroaki Shuga, University of Tokyo, Japan
A genetically improved bean plant. Photo courtesy of Betterseeds

For the first time: success in genetic editing of the bean

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The Israeli genetics and seed company BetterSeeds has genetically redesigned the architecture of the Luvia plant and the uniformity of the appearance of its pods in a way that is suitable for mechanized harvesting * The improved Luvia will be tested in the United States during the spring of 2023
sugary drinks. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Global public health experts: Abolishing the tax on sugary drinks will harm scientific research

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In an official letter, published on Thursday 02.02 in the leading medical journal The Lancet, a list of senior researchers and experts in the world in the fields of public health, health economics and nutritional sciences, express deep concern in view of the decision to cancel the tax on sugary drinks
Different types of insects. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The Arthropod Census: A Weighty Environmental Issue

In a first calculation of its kind, the weight of all the insects, spiders and their terrestrial relatives in the world was found
Like Lego figures, proteins can don a variety of costumes - chemical tags that change them beyond recognition. The new method makes it possible to identify about 30 tags within six hours, compared to only three tags within two weeks with the existing methods

The protein wears Prada

In response to environmental and intracellular changes, the proteins in our body don a variety of costumes that change their properties and make their identification difficult. The institute's scientists have developed a ground-breaking search engine capable of identifying these proteins with unprecedented efficiency
Arganite crystal. Illustration: depositphotos.com

What happens when failures have a fever?

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Bad surprise: Israeli research has found large amounts of mineral matter in the eastern Mediterranean whose formation process releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. What it means? That our ocean emits more greenhouse gases than we thought until now
Cloudiness on Earth as captured over more than a decade (2015-2002) by the Aqua research satellite. The distribution of clouds is not equal between the two hemispheres. Source: NASA

Why do both halves of the Earth appear equally bright when viewed from space?

Weizmann Institute scientists offer a solution to a 50-year-old mystery
Mitochondrial structure. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The DNA is decreasing

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For 1.5 billion years, the mitochondria - the powerhouse of the cell - have been sending DNA segments to the cell nucleus, and they merge with the DNA in the nucleus. A new study found that the contribution of the mitochondria to the DNA in the cell nucleus gradually decreases. This process is expected to reduce the incidence of some hereditary diseases
soldiers. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Relaxed from birth

Weizmann Institute scientists have discovered that certain fish are born with immunity to stressful situations, which accompanies them throughout their lives and is even inherited. The findings may pave new directions for the treatment of post-trauma
Cartoon visualization of the process of releasing insulin and pushing it towards the intestinal walls with the help of hydrogen bubbles. From the research at ACS NANO

Advances in the development of an insulin pill will eliminate the need for an injection or the use of a pump

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However, the harsh and acidic conditions of the stomach cause the breakdown and neutralization of this important hormone even before it reaches the intestines and from there into the bloodstream. To overcome this, the researchers remove the insulin molecules through the walls of the stomach using a kind of robot
Flying during pregnancy. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Flying pregnant? An increased risk of blood clots was found on long flights

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The Hebrew University and Ichilov Hospital researchers found that pregnant women have a 40% increased chance of developing a blood clot in the deep veins of the legs and lungs following a flight. This risk is found in a period of time of up to two months from the flight
The macrocyclic compound P6AS can trap a variety of drugs that can cause overdose, including opioids, hallucinogens and stimulants, thanks to a hydrophobic internal niche. [Courtesy: © Brockett et al., Chem 9, 1–20 April 13, 2022 Elsevier Inc]

A molecular trap capable of trapping drugs after overdoses

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An innovative macroring material can trap a variety of drugs in overdose cases, including opioids, hallucinogens and stimulants, thanks to its hydrophobic niche
John McCarthy, Head of Life Sciences and Health at Dassault Systèmes. Photo: Avi Blizovsky

The target is the brain

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The living brain project of Dassault Systèmes makes it possible to develop treatments for epilepsy patients who do not respond to drugs, says John McCarthy, head of life sciences and health at Dassault Systèmes in an interview with the science website at the CES conference
The DNA molecule. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Why is the "junk folder" in our DNA not deleted even after millions of years of evolution?

A new model offers an explanation for the huge variety of sizes of DNA in nature
A robot with a sense of smell. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Robot, do you smell it?

For the first time in the world of science, a robot was able to "smell" using a biological sensor
The method developed by Weizmann Institute of Science scientists makes it possible to connect modular protein segments (the illuminated parts) and produce active enzymes from them with unprecedented efficiency

A leap forward in protein engineering

Unprecedented abilities to produce thousands of enzymes pave the way for a green industrial revolution
Technion researchers with Pfizer Chairman and CEO Dr. Albert Borla. From right to left: Dr. Uri Shalit, Dr. Dvir Aran, Prof. Shai Shen-Or, Dr. Albert Borla, Prof. Tomer Shlomi and Dr. R. Nega Ron-Harel Photo credit: Nitzan Zohar, Technion spokespeople

The Technion and Pfizer signed a cooperation agreement to accelerate scientific breakthroughs through artificial intelligence

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The Technion recently launched Tech.AI, a center that brings together the Technion's biomed activity in the field of AI and makes research and application at the forefront of AI accessible to researchers from all units at the Technion
The different types of cells in the brain. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Trying to penetrate the brain - the National Science Foundation

Breast tumors that were treated with the drug cisplatin (second and fourth row) compared to tumors that were not treated this way (top and third row)

Repairing the cancerous growth

The creation of double-strand breaks in the DNA of certain cancer cells may help inhibit the growth
pains Illustration: depositphotos.com

Pain threshold: People with autism experience pain at a higher intensity

The new study contradicts the popular opinion that people with autism are apparently "indifferent to pain"
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