In the high-stakes world of drug discovery, building a new medicine is a lot like microscopic architecture. To create the next breakthrough antibiotic or brain-targeting therapy, chemists must snap together fragile molecular building blocks. But for decades, one of the most useful chemical pieces has been notoriously stubborn, requiring conditions so harsh they often destroy the very medicine being built. Now, researchers have found a way to pick the lock.

A team has uncovered how a common bacterial pathogen uses a single protein to quietly undermine the human immune system, by both shutting down key warning signals and blocking the cell’s ability to restore them. Published in Advanced Science, the study reveals a surprisingly precise, two-pronged strategy that helps bacteria gain the upper hand during infection, and points toward new ways of thinking about treatment in an era of rising antibiotic resistance.

A new international study reveals that adults who use disposable and non-disposable e-cigarettes differ in meaningful ways, and that those differences vary between countries. Comparing users in the United States and Israel, researchers found that flavor preferences, perceptions of harm, and purchasing habits strongly influence device choice. The findings suggest that effective e-cigarette regulation must be tailored to local patterns of use rather than relying on a single global approach.

A new study reveals that the human brain processes spoken language in a sequence that closely mirrors the layered architecture of advanced AI language models. Using electrocorticography data from participants listening to a narrative, the research shows that deeper AI layers align with later brain responses in key language regions such as Broca’s area. The findings challenge traditional rule-based theories of language comprehension and introduce a publicly available neural dataset that sets a new benchmark for studying how the brain constructs meaning.

New study suggests that an experimental peptide developed at the Hebrew University may reduce recurring seizures and support brain function by targeting underlying oxidative stress and inflammation processes linked to epilepsy. Unlike current treatments that focus mainly on suppressing seizures, this approach could influence how the disease develops over time, with the greatest benefits appearing when treatment begins early. The findings point to a promising direction for future therapies aimed at improving long-term outcomes for people living with epilepsy.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is proud to congratulate Prof. Benjamin Weiss of the Einstein Institute for Mathematics on being awarded the Israel Prize in the field of mathematics, computer science, and computer engineering research.

A new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem examined how thought-patterns associated with unfairness, known as perceived injustice, shape people’s psychological responses to trauma. Conducted following the October 7th attack and during the subsequent war, the study revealed that as individuals viewed their suffering as more unjust and irreparable, they experienced more severe and persistent traumatic stress symptoms, even months later. The research highlights perceived injustice as a key factor influencing recovery and resilience in the aftermath of trauma.