Sciences

Israeli and Palestinian engineers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem develop novel metamaterials for the cost-effective injection molding of whole cuts of meat. 

A new study reveals how repeated fasting enhances the liver’s ability to adapt through a cellular memory mechanism. The research shows that alternate-day fasting “sensitizes” key genes and liver enhancers, boosting ketogenesis during subsequent fasting bouts. This process, driven by the transcription factor PPARα, highlights how the body adjusts to recurring nutritional challenges. These findings provide fresh insights into the metabolic benefits of fasting and its potential applications in health and dietary science.

New research has revealed that fish embryos actively control their hatching timing through a neurohormone, Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone (TRH), which triggers the release of enzymes that dissolve the egg wall. This groundbreaking discovery uncovers a previously unknown neural mechanism that governs a critical life-stage transition, showing that embryos are not passive but instead actively make life-or-death decisions. The finding has significant evolutionary implications, offering new insights into neurobiology, survival strategies, and environmental adaptation in vertebrates.

A recent study from Hebrew University has achieved a significant advancement in integrating single-photon sources onto tiny chips at room temperature, representing an important step forward in quantum photonics with potential for applications such as quantum computing and cryptography. This achievement signifies a milestone in the development of practical quantum photonic devices, heralding a promising future where quantum technologies, encompassing computing, communication, and sensing, can be fully realized.

A new study by the Hebrew University has unveiled a significant advancement in chaos theory, introducing a flux-based statistical theory that predicts chaotic outcomes in non-hierarchical three-body systems. This breakthrough holds practical implications for fields such as celestial mechanics, astrophysics, and molecular dynamics, offering a more efficient and precise approach to analyzing complex systems and enabling deeper exploration and understanding of chaotic phenomena.

A new study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem unveils critical insights into bacterial fruit blotch, a severe disease affecting melon and watermelon crops. The research focuses on the role of the effector AopW1, shedding light on its significance in host adaptation and providing new perspectives on the HopW1 family of bacterial effectors.

Researchers from the National Natural History Collections at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa documented the first-ever observation of phoresy of pseudoscorpions on a scorpion host. This unique behavior sheds light on the intricate relationships of myrmecophile arachnids, particularly between the pseudoscorpion genus Nannowithius and the scorpion species Birulatus israelensis.

In a new study, a group of researchers, led by Dr. Joshua Goldberg from the Hebrew University, describe a new kind of neurochemical wave in the brain. Their research, published in Nature Communications, unveils the existence of traveling waves of the neurochemical acetylcholine in the striatum, a region of the brain responsible for motivating actions and habitual behaviors.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health concern with global implications. Antibiotic-resistant infection affects over 2.8 million individuals each year in the United States alone, resulting in more than 35,000 annual deaths. New resistance mechanisms constantly emerge and spread globally, threatening our ability to treat common infectious diseases, such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, and sepsis.

An international team led by Professor Hagai Levine of Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Hadassah Braun School of Public Health, with Prof. Shanna Swan at the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, along with researchers in Denmark, Brazil, Spain, Israel and the USA, published the first meta-analysis to demonstrate declining sperm counts among men from South and Central America, Asia and Africa.