Among the projects that will be presented at the Hebrew University in the symposium on Israeli-Palestinian-German studies
Despite the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, trilateral research is taking place in collaboration with Israeli, Palestinian/Jordanian and German scientists in a number of fields designed to improve the quality of life of the residents of the Middle East and other places.
The Authority for Research and Development at the Hebrew University will host a symposium on trilateral cooperation on September 4, 2006, with the participation of scientists and a high-level delegation from the German Research Foundation DFG. The symposium will be held at the Belgia House Library on the Edmond Y. Campus in Givat Ram (14:00-09:00).
Sex reversal for breeding tilapia fish
Scientists from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem and Hohenheim University in Germany are collaborating on a project that aims to introduce awareness to the cultivation of aquaculture in the Palestinian Authority.
The group has developed environmentally friendly methods to increase the tilapia fish population. The success of the project, the researchers hope, will lead to the farming of fish ponds in the Palestinian economy, an occupation that is not profitable by the hour.
The project includes introducing a compound produced from the fenugreek plant (known to the Arab and Yemeni population as an edible spice) into ponds containing young fry. The compound has the effect of the male hormone androgen on turning female fry into males. Since in tilapia the males grow at a rate twenty times faster than the females, the sex reversal increases the breeding efficiency and reduces the costs. A limited number of young females are separated before the process begins and kept in a separate pond for future breeding purposes.
Although the process is already underway, the androgenic substance currently used for this purpose is considered harmful to humans and the environment. Experimental work, the researchers say, will show that the organic compound produced by the Israeli-Palestinian-German team from the milkweed plant can have the same "sex-reversal" effect on tilapia without interfering with their consumption by humans. These days, a water recycling system is being built at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem for additional work in this project that has been going on for a year.
The scientists involved in the project are: Dr. Berta Sivan and Dr. Zohar Keren from the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences of the Hebrew University in Rehovot; Professor Dr. Klaus Becker from Hohenheim University in Germany; and Prof. Hassan Dweek, Dr. Saleh Abu Lafi and Dr. Mutaz Qutb from Al-Quds University.
Prof. Hillel Berkoviar, Vice President for Research and Development at the Hebrew University, said that "the tripartite cooperation program funded by the DFG Foundation is a unique success story that has allowed serious and genuine collaborative scientific research to progress under difficult conditions. The program built and consolidated scientific infrastructures in institutions that needed it and helped keep scientists in the region and establish friendships and leadership that will work together for a better future and for peace."
The German delegation will be headed by Professor Dr. Helmut Schwartz, DFG Vice President, and Professor Dr. Matthias Kleiner, President Elect. Members of the DFG Foundation and representatives from the German Embassy in Israel will also participate.
Gene therapy for the treatment of bladder cancer
An ongoing research project aimed at gene therapy for the treatment of bladder cancer was conducted with the participation of researchers from the Hebrew University and East Jerusalem and scientists from Germany. The project is known as "a unique DNA cure for the treatment of bladder cancer", and patients have already begun to be treated with this method.
Bladder cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the world, including Germany and the Middle East countries. It manifests itself in great biological and clinical heterogeneity.
Available treatments include surgery and chemotherapy, which are limited in their effectiveness due to tumor recurrence and systemic spread of invasive cancer. Therefore, molecular markers are necessary to enable early diagnosis and improve treatment and are ideal for assisting in the selection of individual therapy.
The joint venture aims not only to enable DNA-based healing that will lead to early detection of bladder cancer and improve the chances of treatment success, but also to deal better with this type of cancer and with other types of cancer depending on the characteristics of each tumor.
This project is a joint effort of Prof. Avraham Hochberg from the Institute of Life Sciences at the Hebrew University; Prof. Sohail Ayesh and Dr. Muhammad Othman from Maksad Hospital in East Jerusalem; Prof. Wolfgang A. Schulz and Dr. Mark-Oliver Grimmoff from Heinrich-Heine University in Dusseldorf, Germany; and Dr. Ofer N. Gofrit from the School of Medicine of the Hebrew University of Hadassah.
Tiny Lego-like structures for better memory components
Scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem and the University of Regensburg in Germany are collaborating on a project to produce a new memory for nanoelectronics, where the distance between the various elements in the memory is extremely small.
The project includes SP1's hendus, a highly stable ring-like protein structure, 10 nanometers in diameter, designed to bind gold nanoparticles, and arrange them in a large network or array of molecular memory elements that are very close to each other. The nanoparticles, hybridized with gold and SP1, can also be used as building blocks in Lego-like nanostructures. It is possible to create long threads in which SP1 protein rings and nanoparticles appear alternately. The electrical properties of the wires can be manipulated by genetic engineering.
The nanowires and arrays, at their best, can be used for advanced nanoelectronics and memory applications. The researchers - the physical chemist Dr. Danny Porat and the molecular biologist Prof. Oded Shusiov from the Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture at the Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences at the Hebrew University; Materials engineer Prof. Mochals Swan from Al-Quds University in collaboration with Dr. Gianorlio Coniberti from the University of Regensburg - hope that the project will contribute to the construction of the first Palestinian laboratory of nanoscience and nanotechnology in the Middle East and help train its employees.
This collaboration, funded by the DFG, was presented at the UNESCO World Scientific Forum meeting in Budapest in November 2005.
