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The Hebrew University

Social polarization - Black Lives Matters. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The anxiety as a result of the corona has exacerbated the socio-political polarization in Israel and the United States

Dr. Mittal Balmes, the leader of the study: "The plague has implications beyond health and economics. The levels of anxiety in the population and mental morbidity also affect social morbidity"
Static visualization of part of the skull and jaw of the human type from Nesher Ramla. Credit: Tel Aviv University

In the Nesher quarries in Ramla, a species of pre-Neanderthal man was discovered that was unknown to science

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The bones of an ancient human type unknown to science who lived in our region until about 130 thousand years ago were discovered in excavations conducted at the prehistoric site "Nesher Ramla", near the city of Ramla. As usual, the new man was named based on the place of his discovery - "Eagle Man Ramla type". Apparently a remnant of a unique population from the Middle Pleistocene that has not been identified until now
Quiet birth. Illustration: : depositphotos.com

A significant increase in the number of quiet births and the number of cesarean sections performed in delivery rooms

Clay lumps discovered in Tel Tsef. Photography - Tal Rogovski

How were buildings and shipments sealed 7,000 years ago?

The rare seal impression that was found is the earliest evidence in Israel of the use of a seal for signing shipments or locking doors. The seal dates to the Middle Chalcolithic period, about two thousand years before the appearance of writing
Sumit Ayalon. Photographed by Sasson Thirim. Courtesy of the spokeswoman of the Hebrew University.

Prof. Amos Frumkin's article: The next disaster in Israel is just around the corner, who cares?

Prof. Shimshon Belkin, Hebrew University. Photo by Yoav Dudkevich

A biological database named Sewage

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Researchers from the Hebrew University have developed a method for quick and efficient monitoring of substances harmful to humans in sewage water and other environmental examples * Prof. Shimshon Belkin and his group have genetically engineered a series of cellular sensors that become luminous in the presence of substances that disrupt hormonal activity or substances that damage the genetic material of the cell
Illustration of a eukaryotic cell containing a nucleus, organelles and a membrane. Photo: depositphotos.com

New research: Why did sexual reproduction develop, and indeed it did?

It is the fusion between the genetic load of the mitochondrion and the host cell that allowed the development of eukaryotes and the sophisticated multicellular organisms we know today," states the researcher
Eitan Stiva visiting the Faculty of Medicine in Rehovot, May 27, 2021. Photo: Hebrew University spokesperson

Eitan Stiva came to the Faculty of Agriculture to examine plants that could be grown on Mars

Galaxies shaped like jellyfish. Photo courtesy of Dr. Elad Singer and Kiyun Yun - PhD student in the research group in Germany

The cosmic jellyfish project is underway, come help

Brain deletion in Parkinson's patients. Photo: depositphotos.com

A new direction for drugs that will slow down the development of Parkinson's

Researchers from the Hebrew University and Penn State University revealed for the first time the structures of the central protein in the early stages of Parkinson's disease. Dr. Eitan Lerner: "The findings may help in the development of drugs that will help slow the pace of the disease and possibly even prevent it"
The striped catfish (Plotosus lineatus). Photo: depositphotos.com

Population explosion of fish species in the Mediterranean as a result of a massive invasion of Red Sea fish

A new study carried out by marine biologist Dr. Danny Golani of the Hebrew University states that 469 species of fish are wading in Israel's Mediterranean waters today, with a record number of 32 new species having migrated to them from the Red Sea in the last 15 years. Migration due to climate change? Don't count on it. The result, among other things: poisonous fish and poisonous fish are multiplying and establishing themselves these days near the shores of Israel
Potatoes. Image: depositphotos.com

How does a potato feel?

Researchers from the Faculty of Agriculture developed biological sensors in potatoes through genetic engineering, which warn in real time about the distress of the plant
The device that Kotler and his colleagues built to create an interlacing between two tiny drums, thin membranes made of aluminum, and measure it. Photo courtesy of Florent LeCoq and Shlomi Kotler - US National Institute of Standards and Technology

A shadow of truth: thanks to a groundbreaking study published in Science - quantum entanglement emerges from the shadows

The researchers were able to directly observe the entangled quantum state of two mechanical drums, each with a size close to the diameter of a human hair.
Aerial photograph of Lake Eyre in Australia. Photograph from the study

A new method makes it possible to map desert lakes around the world from space

Prof. Moshe Armon: "The method we developed can be used to map the bottom of desert lakes around the world, and help us understand what the climate was like in those regions of the world in the past and maybe even in the future."
Taking blood from a horse. Photo courtesy of Dr. Gili Schwartz, Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University

A virus from the corona family that affects horses was diagnosed for the first time in Israel

The equine corona virus is a close relative of the corona virus which has caused widespread morbidity in the world in the last year (COVID-19). In this family, called beta-coronavirus, there are also other animal and human corona viruses, among them the bovine corona, which is also found in cattle in Israel
Dr. Gili Greenbaum. Photo: The Hebrew University

gene drive makes it possible to quickly change traits of different species. Now they are looking for a way to control the process

New technologies in the field of genetic engineering today allow us to change the properties of different species quickly and with great flexibility, for example controlling the reproductive capacity of pests, but are they safe?
Anchor at Kedem beach. Photography - Gideon Hadas

An anchor from the time of King Herod initiated the study of the activity of ancient springs and the restoration of the Dead Sea levels over the past thousands of years

The effect of the types of lighting on the reproductive systems of chickens. The image was prepared by DALEE and is not a scientific image

The reproductive performance of roosters improves according to the changes in the lighting color

It turns out that artificial lighting plays a central role in the reproductive processes of poultry. Prolonged exposure to light in a red wave absorbed through the extraretinal receptors while suppressing the activation of retinal photoreceptors has a positive effect on the reproductive capacity of chickens. The study was published in the journal Poultry Science.
Works at Wonderwork Cave. Photo courtesy of Prof. Michael, Hebrew University

The intentional settlement in the oldest caves in the world has been found

Researchers from the Hebrew University and the University of Toronto found that the ancient hominids settled in caves and began making tools as early as 1.8 million years ago in South Africa: "The study reliably confirms and establishes our previous estimates regarding the ages of the first settlement in the cave, the changes in stone tool production technologies and the first deliberate use of fire "
A smiling chimpanzee. Image: depositphotos.com

Monkeys also have consciousness (and subconscious)

A joint study by researchers from the Hebrew University and Yale University makes it possible for the first time to examine whether awareness and unconscious processes should be lived.
Akbar Israchanani photographed by Fromkin

Ayalon Cave, where very rare species of beavers live, is on the brink of an ecological disaster

Prof. Frumkin: "In a proper step, albeit a bit late, some of the animal species from the cave were also included in it (only the species living in the cave's aquatic environment). This helps in preserving the cave, but without declaring the cave and its surroundings as an official nature reserve, it will be difficult to enforce the law."
Identical twin astronauts Scott (right) and Mark Kelly. Scott spent a year in space, his brother on Earth and both went through the same experiments at the same time. Photo: NASA

Rethinking Jacob and Esau: a new study proves that fights between twins do not affect the degree of sacrifice between them

A new study in the Department of Psychology at the Hebrew University sheds light on the complexity of the relationship between twins, and also examines how parenting affects these relationships. This is the most comprehensive study done regarding the relationship between twins throughout childhood
Is heavy water also sweet? Illustration courtesy of the Hebrew University.

New research resolves a long-standing controversy regarding the taste of heavy water

A unique study at the Hebrew University found that heavy water is distinctly sweeter than regular water, and may even mask a slight bitterness.
The order of priorities - reduction at the source, reuse and only if there is no other option - recycling. Image: depositphotos.com

Following the corona crisis, many want to recycle more and consume less

Researchers conducted a survey among 400 respondents who are residents of Israel, which examined patterns of sustainable behavior - such as frequency of recycling, reducing consumption and a consumer strategy that leads to reducing environmental effects - before the outbreak of the Corona crisis, during the first lockdown, and the respondents' intentions for the future. In addition, the extent to which the respondents link the outbreak of the epidemic with the state of the environment and climate change was examined
A red octopus burrows in the sand on a coral reef in the Red Sea. Image: depositphotos.com

What is the mysterious vision problem that blinds octopuses?

"Examining the eyes of octopuses requires complete anesthesia by adding anesthetics to the water and adapting the test instruments intended for testing on land to testing in a marine environment. Add to this the structure of the eyes of octopuses which is significantly different from the eyes of mammals and testing them is a difficult procedural procedure."
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