Newsroom – Page 51 – Australian Friends of Tel Aviv University

Study: Women Suffer More from COVID-related Orofacial Pain

Written by AUFTAU on 13 November 2020. Posted in Newsroom.

A new study from the Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine at Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine found that during Israel’s first lockdown the general population exhibited a considerable rise in orofacial pain, as well as jaw-clenching in the daytime and teeth-grinding at night – physical symptoms often caused by stress and anxiety. The study was led by Dr. Alona Emodi-Perlman and Prof. Ilana Eli of TAU’s School of Dental Medicine, in collaboration with Dr. Nir Uziel and Dr. Efrat Gilon of TAU, and researchers from the University of Wroclaw in Poland, who examined the Polish population’s reaction to the pandemic. The paper was published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine in October 2020.

Researchers Dr. Emodi-Perlman and Prof. Eli specialize in facial and jaw pain, with emphasis on TMD (Temporo-Mandibular Disorders) – chronic pain in the facial muscles and jaw joints, as well as Bruxism – excessive teeth-grinding and/or jaw-clenching, which can significantly damage the teeth and jaw joints. These syndromes are known to be greatly impacted by emotional factors such as stress and anxiety.

Accordingly, the researchers decided to conduct a study examining the presence and possible worsening of these symptoms in the general population during the first COVID-19 lockdown, due to the national emergency and rise in anxiety levels. The questionnaire was answered by a total of 1,800 respondents in Israel and Poland.

In Israel, a significant rise was found in all symptoms, compared to data from studies conducted before the pandemic:

In Israel’s general population: The prevalence of TMD symptoms rose from about 35% in the past to 47% (increase of 12%) during the pandemic; the prevalence of jaw-clenching in the daytime rose from about 17% to 32% (increase of 15%); and teeth-grinding at night rose from about 10% to 36% (increase of 25%). Altogether a rise of 10%-25% was recorded in these symptoms, which often reflect emotional stress. People who had suffered from these symptoms before the pandemic exhibited a rise of about 15% in their severity.
The researchers found a high correlation between the symptoms on the one hand and gender and anxiety level on the other: Women suffer from these symptoms much more than men, and people with high levels of anxiety tend to develop them more than those with lower anxiety levels.
Dividing the respondents into age-groups also generated interesting results, with the middle group (35-55) reporting a much greater rise in symptoms compared to the younger (18-34) and older (56 and over) groups. At the bottom line, the group that suffered most from the symptoms during the first lockdown were women aged 35-55: 48% suffered from TMD, 46% clenched their jaws in the daytime, and about 50% ground their teeth at night.

In addition, comparing findings in Israel to results in Poland, the researchers found that probability of TMD and Bruxism was much higher among respondents in Poland.

Dr. Emodi-Perlman and Prof. Eli conclude: “Our study, conducted during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic, found a significant rise in the symptoms of jaw and facial pain, jaw-clenching and teeth-grinding – well-known manifestations of anxiety and emotional distress. We found that women are more likely than men to suffer from these symptoms, and that the 35-55 age group suffered more than the younger (18-34) and older (56 and over) groups. We believe that our findings reflect the distress felt by the middle generation, who were cooped up at home with young children, without the usual help from grandparents, while also worrying about their elderly parents, facing financial problems and often required to work from home under trying conditions.”

Why Do Bats Fly Into Walls?

Written by AUFTAU on 11 November 2020. Posted in Newsroom.

Why do bats fly into walls, even though they can hear them? Researchers at Tel Aviv University conducted an experiment in which they released dozens of bats in a corridor blocked by objects of different sizes, made of different materials. To their surprise, the researchers discovered that the bats collided with large sponge walls (that produce a weak echo) as if they did not exist. The bats’ behavior suggested that they did this even though they had detected the wall with their sonar system, indicating that the collision did not result from a sensory limitation, but rather from an acoustic misperception. The researchers hypothesize that the unnatural combination of a large object (wall) and a weak echo disrupts the bats’ sensory perception and causes them to ignore the obstacle (much like people who bump into transparent walls).

The study was led by Dr. Sasha Danilovich then a PhD student in the lab of Prof. Yossi Yovel, Head of the Sagol School for Neuroscience and faculty member at the School of Zoology at the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences. Other participants included Dr. Arian Bonman and students Gal Shalev and Aya Goldstein of the Sensory Perception and Cognition Laboratory at the School of Zoology and the Sagol School of Neuroscience. The paper was published in PNAS.

At the next stage of the experiment, the researchers methodically changed the features of the echoing objects along the corridor in terms of size, texture and echo intensity. They concluded that the bats’ acoustic perception depends on a coherent, typical correlation of the dimensions with objects in nature. For example: large object- strong echo; small object – weak echo.

“Bats excel in acoustic perception. They are able to detect objects as tiny as mosquitoes, using sound waves,” explains Prof. Yovel. “Using echolocation they can calculate the 3-dimensional location of both small and large objects, perceiving their shape, size and texture. To this end a bat’s brain processes various acoustic dimensions from the echoes returning from the object (such as frequency, spectrum and intensity). This perception is based on several senses that combine many different dimensions, such as color and shape.”

In addition, the researchers at TAU discovered that bats are not born with this ability. Repeating the experiment with young bats they found that they do not fly into walls. The study also found that adult bats can quickly learn the new correlations among the dimensions.

“By presenting the bats with objects whose acoustic dimensions are not coherent, we were able to mislead them, creating a misconception that caused them to repeatedly try to fly through a wall, even though they had identified it with their sonar. The experiment gives us a peek into how the world is perceived by these creatures, whose senses are so unique and different from ours,” says Sasha Danilovich.

Souvenirs of Sand and Sun

Written by AUFTAU on 5 November 2020. Posted in Newsroom.

Sugandh P. Ojha, an international student from India, shares insights from her time at TAU.

It was thrilling to receive my acceptance letter from Tel Aviv University. As an International Relations graduate with an interest in global security, it was a dream-come-true moment. At 25 years old, with two years of work experience under my belt as a journalist in my native India, I saw it as a perfect plan: to explore an often misinterpreted country such as Israel. I already had a great impression of the country through articles I’d read and YouTube videos.

Upon my arrival, I rented an Airbnb for my first few days with a classmate from the U.S. By chance, the owner had cousins from Russia visiting as well. My very first interaction in Israel started with a conversation about the World Wars, the reunification of Jewish families, and how these folks found each other later in life, each assuming the others had died in the War! From that moment, I knew I was going to have an enriching global experience in this country.

Israel hasn’t disappointed me in that regard. After a week, I moved into a beautiful studio apartment in the Millie Phillips Student City complex on the TAU campus. Our welcome session was organized by the TAU International Student Life Team and held at the Sarona Beer Garden —an absolutely breathtaking bar which epitomizes the Tel Aviv lifestyle.

^{The grass is always greener at the Millie Phillips Student City complex at TAU.}

Israel is where the Bible took place. Even if a person is not religious (which I am not), it is a very mystical experience to live in a place that is a holy land for the three Abrahamic faiths. Beyond religion, Israel is a melting pot of cultures where Jews from over 80 countries made aliyah to settle in their homeland, importing their diverse traditions and recipes with them. I see this diversity as I walk Tel Aviv’s streets: I witness food vendors serving different cuisine including Syrian, European and Moroccan; people dressed in different traditional styles wearing kippas and headscarves; and people of different nationalities speaking mostly in Hebrew.

I also often witness Arab and Jewish Israelis eating the same food at the same place, which shows more than anything how they coexist in this tight-knit society. These people of multiple identities are united by the strong emotion that they belong in this country; I know this because of the many conversations I’ve had with different Israelis. Even members of the younger generation feel attached to this land and feel safer here than anywhere else.

^{“People of multiple identities are united by the strong emotion that they belong in this country”: Jerusalem}

Tel Aviv is an amalgamation of old-world culture and next-gen lifestyle. You see traditions such as Shabbat—wherein Orthodox Jews refrain from using electricity and gadgets on weekends—alongside modern nightlife. Clubbing is a favorite Israeli pastime, for example.

My first semester courses included field trips which gave us a comprehensive understanding of Israel’s culture, politics socioeconomic structure and regional threats, as well as people, food and most important, wine from the Golan Heights! From these experiences, I can attest that the best way to learn about a country is to visit places and live like a local.

The most memorable experience I had was a Shabbat dinner at Israel’s first kibbutz, Deganya. The community functions as a family. As I entered the kibbutz’s dining hall, the room felt like a museum, adorned with old pictures showing the community’s establishment and its first inhabitants from more than 100 years ago. Israelis are very close to their history, and it was touching to hear the kibbutzniks share their stories! The way people welcomed me in the community made me feel at home; eating with everyone at the same table full of countless dishes was a heart-melting experience. The dining hall was a huge room with tables seating 20 people each which means around 100 people can eat there at once. Sounds crazy during the COVID-19 era right? I’m glad I could experience it before the virus ruined the beauty of togetherness.

Israel is a very eco-friendly country. Compared to Indian cities such as Mumbai and Delhi, the pollution level is low. Electric scooters and bicycles are very popular. The buses, trains and cabs are also excellent modes of transport, and the country is well-connected by an easy-to-use transportation network.

^{“I’ll miss the amicable people, with whom you can talk in any situation.”}

Living on campus, the Carmel Market and the Jaffa Flea Market are nearby, must-visit places to buy cheap products and beautiful souvenirs; these markets also have the best collection of mamash taim (truly delicious) spices and candies in town! Even if you are not buying anything, visiting these places on Fridays before Shabbat is a fun experience, watching people singing and playing instruments on the streets.

What will I miss most about Israel? Tahini and shawarma; hummus and lip-smacking Arabic desserts—knafeh to name one! Most of all, I’ll miss the amicable people, with whom you can talk in any situation, whether you are stuck in an elevator or enjoying the beach—it doesn’t matter if you know them or not!

The author graduated with a master’s degree from TAU International in 2020.

Featured image: Sugandh P. Ojha. Photography: Moshe Bedarshi

The Sky is Not the Limit

Written by AUFTAU on 3 November 2020. Posted in Newsroom.

The TAU-SAT1 nanosatellite was devised, developed, assembled, and tested at the new Nanosatellite Center, an interdisciplinary endeavor of the Faculties of Engineering and Exact Sciences and the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. TAU-SAT1 is currently undergoing pre-flight testing at the Japanese space agency JAXA. From Japan, the satellite will be sent to the United States, where it will “hitch a ride” on a NASA and Northrop Grumman resupply spacecraft destined for the International Space Station in the first quarter of 2021. Once at the station, a robotic arm will release TAU-SAT1 into a low-earth orbit (LEO) around the Earth, approximately 400km above the Earth.

Small satellite – a big step

“This is a nanosatellite, or miniature satellite, of the ‘CubeSat’ variety,” explains Dr. Ofer Amrani, head of Tel Aviv University’s miniature satellite lab. “The satellite’s dimensions are 10 by 10 by 30 cm, the size of a shoebox, and it weighs less than 2.5 kg. TAU-SAT1 is the first nanosatellite designed, built and tested independently in academia in Israel.”

TAU-SAT1 is a research satellite, and will conduct several experiments while in orbit. Among other things, Tel Aviv University’s satellite will measure cosmic radiation in space.

“We know that that there are high-energy particles moving through space that originate from cosmic radiation,” says Dr. Meir Ariel, director of the university’s Nanosatellite Center. “Our scientific task is to monitor this radiation, and to measure the flux of these particles and their products. It should be understood that space is a hostile environment, not only for humans but also for electronic systems. When these particles hit astronauts or electronic equipment in space, they can cause significant damage. The scientific information collected by our satellite will make it possible to design means of protection for astronauts and space systems. To this end, we incorporated a number of experiments into the satellite, which were developed by the Space Environment Department at the Soreq Nuclear Research Center.”

Satellite station on the roof of the faculty building

A challenge that presented itself was how to extract the data collected by the TAU-SAT1 satellite. At an altitude of 400 km above sea level, the nanosatellite will orbit the earth at a dizzying speed of 27,600 km per hour, or 7.6 km per second. At this speed, the satellite will complete an orbit around the Earth every 90 minutes. “In order to collect data, we built a satellite station on the roof of the engineering building,” says Dr. Amrani. “Our station, which also serves as an amateur radio station, includes a number of antennas and an automated control system. When TAU-SAT1 passes ‘over’ the State of Israel, that is, within a few thousand kilometer radius from the ground station’s receiving range, the antennas will track the satellite’s orbit and a process of data transmission will occur between the satellite and the station. Such transmissions will take place about four times a day, with each one lasting less than 10 minutes. In addition to its scientific mission, the satellite will also serve as a space relay station for amateur radio communities around the world. In total, the satellite is expected to be active for several months. Because it has no engine, its trajectory will fade over time as the result of atmospheric drag – it will burn up in the atmosphere and come back to us as stardust.”

And this is just the beginning

But launching the TAU-SAT1 nanosatellite is only Tel Aviv University’s first step on its way to joining the “new space” revolution. The idea behind the new space revolution is to open space up to civilians as well. Our satellite was built and tested with the help of a team of students and researchers. Moreover, we built the infrastructure on our own – from the cleanrooms, to the various testing facilities such as the thermal vacuum chamber, to the receiving and transmission station we placed on the roof. Now that the infrastructure is ready, we can begin to develop TAU-SAT2. The idea is that any researcher and any student, from any faculty at Tel Aviv University, or outside of it, will be able to plan and launch experiments into space in the future – even without being an expert in the field.

In the last few years Tel Aviv University has been working on establishing a Nanosatellite Center to build small “shoebox” size satellites for launch into space. “We are seeing a revolution in the field of civilian space”, explains Prof. Colin Price, one of the academic heads of the new center. “We call this new space as opposed to the old space where only giant companies with huge budgets and large teams of engineers could build satellites. As a result of miniaturization and modulation of many technologies, today universities are building small satellites that can be developed and launched in less than 2 years, and at a fraction of the budget in the old space”, Price continues. “We have just completed the building of Tel Aviv University’s first nano-satellite, and it is ready for launch.”

It will have been only two years from the moment that we began all of the above-mentioned activities until the satellite is launched – this is an achievement that would not have been possible without the involvement of many people: the university administration, who supported the project and the setting up of the infrastructure on campus, Prof. Yossi Rosenwaks, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Professors Sivan Toledoand Haim Suchowski from the Faculty of Exact Sciences, and, most importantly, the project team that dealt with R&D around the clock: Elad Sagi, Dolev Bashi, Tomer Nahum, Idan Finkelstein, Dr. Diana Laufer, Eitan Shlisel, Eran Levin, David Greenberg, Sharon Mishal, and Orly Blumberg.

TAU-SAT1 Team here on campus, before leaving to the airport

Featured image: Last inspections in the clean room. TAU SAT1

Historic TAU-UAE Partnership Symbolizes Hopeful Future

Written by AUFTAU on 27 October 2020. Posted in Newsroom.

TAU Prof. Wins Schmidt Science Polymath Award

Written by AUFTAU on 27 October 2020. Posted in Newsroom.

A great honor for Israeli science: Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, has decided to establish a new $2.5m award entitled Polymaths, for researchers exhibiting rare interdisciplinarity. Only two scientists have been chosen to receive the first Polymaths Award: Prof. Jeff Gore of MIT and Prof. Oded Rechavi of the Neurobiology Department at the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and the Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University. Each of the two scientists will receive an annual unrestricted grant of $500,000 for five years, to pursue any direction of research. “I am proud to have been chosen and excited about the opportunity to open new fields of research,” says Prof. Rechavi. “Typically scientists receive funds for research projects that are already underway. The Polymaths Award is different. They tell you: ‘Here are the resources. Do something completely new, take risks. Investigate wild ideas you never would have dreamed of proposing to other research foundations.'”

The Schmidt Science Polymath program is an initiative created under Schmidt Futures, which finds exceptional people and helps them achieve more for others by applying advanced science and technology thoughtfully and by working together across fields. The program aims to provide outstandingly interdisciplinary researchers with the means to expand their research even further. In the future, a prestigious network of the award’s laureates will be established. “An experiment in extreme curiosity-driven innovation,” proclaims the program. “Instead of focusing on specific research ideas, the goal for the program is to bet on people, their special talents, and their teams.”

The laboratory of the first Polymath Award laureate, Prof. Oded Rechavi, excels in promoting interdisciplinary research. In recent years Prof. Rechavi has studied a very vast range of topics, achieving scientific breakthroughs in fields that are not necessarily connected to one another. Thus, for example, Rechavi discovered a mechanism enabling transgenerational inheritance of parental responses, showing for the first time that small RNAs are inherited alongside DNA, and deciphering the laws of epigenetic heredity. In another study, Rechavi and his team assisted in decoding the Dead Sea Scrolls through the DNA of the parchments on which they were written, shedding more light on the history of the late Second Temple period. Rechavi also explored the neuronal basis of irrationality, finding a simple law for altering the nervous system of worms so that they become less or more rational. In a completely different area, Rechavi’s group genetically engineered parasites to turn them into protein-secreting machines enabling repair of genetic diseases of the nervous system.

Prof. Oded Rechavi. Photo: Yehonatan Zur.

Global First: Center for Combating Pandemics

Written by AUFTAU on 23 October 2020. Posted in Newsroom.

By Rava Eleasari

Despite tens of millions of cases worldwide and rising, SARS-Cov-2, the new coronavirus also referred to as COVID-19, remains largely misunderstood. The scientific and medical communities still do not know the causes – or long-term effects – of the killer virus’s wide range of symptoms. As more and more countries, including Israel, experience a second wave of COVID-19, with rising death rates and devastating economic consequences, it is more urgent than ever to crack the virus and secure a more certain future for all.

Against this backdrop, Tel Aviv University recently launched the Center for Combating Pandemics, the first of its kind in Israel and possibly the world. Building on TAU’s innovation record, interdisciplinary culture, and strong links with hospitals, industry and government, the Center has three main foci. It will strive to improve frontline containment of infection, bolster biomedical knowledge for developing vaccines and treatments, and strengthen nations’ capacity to ensure social and economic resilience. It will coordinate among the 100 groups researching the coronavirus across campus, as well as provide master’s and doctoral fellowships, upgrade labs and equipment, host visiting professors, run conferences and workshops, and facilitate international collaborations.

Seed funding for the Center has been generously provided by founding donor and TAU Honorary Doctor Frank Lowy, TAU Governors Dr. Kathy Fields-Rayant and Dr. Garry Rayant, the Yuri Milner Foundation, and Yad Hanadiv. The Center was inaugurated in an online ceremony and webinar on October 18.

“In the past 15 years, the world has seen a string of viral pathogens infect large numbers of people, among them SARS, MERS, swine flu and avian flu. Clearly, we are not safe from dangerous emerging diseases,” says Center Head Prof. Itai Benhar of TAU’s Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research. “We must look ahead.”

Professor Itai Ben Har

Pandemics Center Head Prof. Itai Benhar. Photo: Moshe Bedarshi.

Improving frontline performance

To ensure that Israel – and other countries – are better prepared, the Center will establish a Frontline Response Program. To this end, the Center will assemble groups of experts from fields such as preventive and emergency medicine, epidemiology, disaster management, psychology, social work and the health professions, along with data science, environmental studies and engineering. These teams will fine-tune tools and protocols for halting transmission.

Examples include a recent project, funded by Google, at TAU’s AI and Data Science Center for research employing AI techniques and advanced statistical methods to improve COVID-19 public health measures. Using government data, the researchers are building a model of the spread of the pandemic to assist in planning and testing various methods for stopping infection.

In another project, a team led by Prof. Motti Gerlic and Prof. Ariel Munitz, both of TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine, has developed a robotic blood test for antibodies against the coronavirus and is working with the Israel Defense Forces to test the method on soldiers.

Developing vaccine and therapies

Along with improving the emergency response to the pandemic, the Center will establish a Biomedical Solutions Task Force aimed both at deepening understanding of the basic mechanisms underlying the virus and at developing up-to-the-minute, precision drugs and technologies to diagnose, treat and prevent it. Dozens of TAU scientists are already making widely reported breakthroughs, often with colleagues at TAU-affiliated hospitals.

One particularly promising direction is the vaccine research of Prof. Jonathan Gershoni of the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research. His vaccine candidate, which targets a vulnerability in the coronavirus’s well-known “spike” protein, was awarded a U.S. patent along with major funding from the 3M corporation. Other projects include repurposing a melanoma “nano-vaccine” to fight COVID-19 and the development of an antibody cocktail, which is expected to treat and temporarily prevent the virus.

Must History Repeat Itself?

“It was one of the worst outbreaks, killing 100,000 in just seven months. All public entertainment was banned and victims were forcibly shut into their homes to prevent the spread of disease.”

–Account of the bubonic plague epidemic in London, 1665

Supporting fact-based policymaking

The Center will mobilize scholars from non-biomedical fields including economics, law, public policy, management and education in a Social and Economic Resilience Think Tank aimed at informing national policy. Their goal will be to objectively look at what’s happening today, ask hard questions, and recommend solutions.

Questions could include: How do we as a society provide equitable access to medical services and resources to all those in need? How do we care for our elderly, vulnerable and disadvantaged groups? How do we strike the right balance between individual rights and public welfare?

“The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that you can’t separate the medical crisis from the socioeconomic crisis,” says Prof. Sigal Alon of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, who studies employment. “The Center for Combating Pandemics will boost my ability to incorporate different perspectives in my recommendations to decision-makers to improve the job market in the corona era.”

Professor Sigal Alon

Prof. Sigal Alon. Photo: Moshe Bedarshi.

Center Head Prof. Benhar concludes: “Over the longer term, we envision the Center not only contributing to global efforts to combat and contain the current crisis, but also building the scientific and professional foundations to enable us to successfully cope with the next one.”

Rescue Mission: Pioneering TAU Program Preserves Ethiopian Jewish Heritage

Written by AUFTAU on 22 October 2020. Posted in Newsroom.

The Department of Biblical Studies at Tel Aviv University’s Rosenberg School of Jewish Studies and Archaeology is launching a new MA program, the first and only one of its kind in the world: Study and research of the Biblical texts of Ethiopian Jewry.

The Program, named “Orit Guardians” after the Ethiopian Bible, aims to study and safeguard the scriptures and culture of Beta Israel, the Ethiopian Jewish community, thus empowering its members and strengthening their status in Israeli society.

Biblical scholar Prof. Dalit Rom-Shiloni, who leads the initiative, explains: “The Scriptures of Beta Israel are accompanied by oral traditions of translation and interpretation, as well as prayers composed by the Kesim [religious leaders] for their communities through the ages. These cultural treasures are in danger of extinction, if an urgent effort is not made to document and preserve them – and this is our main goal. To our great delight, we found enormous enthusiasm among educated and socially aware Israelis of Ethiopian descent, who wish to safeguard their heritage for future generations.”

The students who have just begun their studies in the 2020-2021 academic year are all Ethiopian Israelis with bachelor’s degrees, highly aware of their heritage and eager to take part in the effort to preserve it. Prof. Rom-Shiloni: “The important point is that they are the only ones who can do the job. Unlike researchers who do not belong to Beta Israel, these students speak Amharic, and have access to the elderly Kesim. This is a novel, pioneering and uniquely inspiring project. The students bring immense motivation and commitment, understanding fully well that if they don’t do it, it simply won’t happen – and this heritage, that is so precious to them, will be lost. We believe that the students’ research projects will contribute to the enhancement of the Jewish identity of Ethiopian Israelis and increase the public’s awareness of their culture, while establishing the heritage of Ethiopian Jews as an academic field of study and research in every aspect – cultural, historical, lingual, religious, spiritual and social – in both Israeli and international academia.”

Support for the Program is provided by the Morris and Rosalind Goodman Family Foundation of Canada.

Prof. Rom-Shiloni: “The volumes of the Hebrew Bible, found in every Israeli household, are all almost absolutely identical, down to the letter. This text, known as the Masoretic Text, was consolidated in Tiberias between the 6^th and 10^th centuries AD. We know, however, that Biblical textual traditions existed hundreds of years before that time. Research on texts from the Second Temple period, especially the Dead Sea Scrolls, has revealed that in the last centuries BC Jewish communities held various versions of the sacred texts – which were essentially similar, but definitely not identical.

The Jews who came to Israel from Ethiopia brought their own Scriptures, written in Ge’ez – an ancient Semitic language known only to their spiritual leaders, the Kesim. Through the ages, a rich oral tradition emerged alongside the written text, including prayers in Ge’ez, as well as translations and interpretations created by the Kesim for their communities, in languages that they could understand – Amharic and Tigrinya. But Beta Israel’s way of life changed completely when they came to Israel – detracting from the Kesim‘s status, undermining their age-old training processes, and bringing these cultural treasures to the brink of extinction. The Orit Guardians program is, in a sense, a rescue mission undertaken to academically study this important heritage.”

The new Program’s lecturers and supervisors will be faculty members at the Department of Biblical Studies as well as Dr. Anbessa Teferra, Head of the Semitic Linguistics Program at the Department of Hebrew and Semitic Linguistics, and Dr. Ran HaCohen of the Department of Literature. The Program is supported by an Academic Committee headed by Dr. Diana Lipton and consisting of TAU faculty members from three departments: Biblical Studies, Semitic Linguistics and Literature. The University envisions that the Orit Guardian Program will be expanded to include BA and PhD studies in the near future.

Featured image:

The ‘Orit Guardians’ Program

TAU’s Cyber Week 2020 Goes Virtual

Written by AUFTAU on 19 October 2020. Posted in Newsroom.

TAU’s Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center, the Israel National Cyber Directorate at the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will hold its annual Cyber Week conference online on October 19-21, 2020. Traditionally, the Cyber Week Conference takes place on the TAU campus and attracts over 10,000 international participants. This year, due to the global pandemic, the Cyber Week Conference will be held online.

Participants in this year’s event will include Yigal Unna, Director General of the National Cyber Directorate and Prof. Isaac Ben-Israel, Head of the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center at TAU, as well as many prominent international figures from the fields of Cyber and Information Security, business, financial and technological sectors, and leading corporations in relevant areas. Speakers include: Gil Shwed, Udi Mokady, Esti Peshin, Omer Tene, Ofer Schreiber, Partner and Head of Israel Office at YL Ventures, Mikko Hypponen, Cyber Fraud Expert at F-Secure, Mark Russinovich, Microsoft VP and CTO, famous hacker Chris Roberts, Cyber Security guru Bruce Schneier, Jaya Baloo, Head of Information Security at Avast, Cyber expert Theresa Payton and others.

The National Cyber Week Conference is Israel’s chief annual event in the fields of Cyber and Information Security and a leading event globally. It serves as a major meeting ground for prominent cyber experts and researchers from around the world, alongside entrepreneurs, policymakers, international security organizations, diplomats and top business professionals. Its aim is to exchange cyber dialogue that focuses on current issues, trends and technological solutions. Topics to be addressed in this year’s event include: cyber trends as a result of the pandemic, challenges of working from afar, life after the pandemic, cyber and health systems, cutting-edge trends in cyber warfare, information privacy in the diplomatic context of terrorism and cybercrime, innovations in cloud security, law and cyber in Israel and worldwide, and more.

Prof. Isaac Ben-Israel, Chairman of the Conference and Head of the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center at TAU: “It is already clear that even if the COVID-19 pandemic is soon eradicated, life afterwards will be different. One aspect of the change will be increased use of online communication – as exemplified by this year’s online Cyber Week. This intensified use will increase our dependence on computer systems and digital communication, generating more opportunities for cyberattacks by malevolent actors.”

The updated program of the event

TAU Researchers Discover Antibody Combo that Fights COVID-19

Written by AUFTAU on 13 October 2020. Posted in Newsroom.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University identified a combination of COVID-19 antibodies that can serve as both medication for patients and preventive treatment for high-risk populations. The antibody cocktail will be tested in clinical trials over the next few months. Similarly, TAU has submitted a patent application for the antibodies discovered by the researchers.

The scientific breakthrough was achieved by Dr. Natalia Freund and PhD student Michael Mor at the Laboratory of Human Antibody Research at TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine. The results of the study are under revision in the PLOS Pathogens journal.

PhD student Michael Mor

Another important find in the study was that asymptomatic COVID-19 sufferers or those who had mild symptoms developed a weaker antibody reaction, and therefore may contract the disease again. By contrast, all severely ill patients analyzed in the study developed neutralizing antibodies that are likely to protect them from reinfection.

Dr. Freund and her team sequenced thousands of antibodies produced in the bodies of Israeli COVID-19 patients. The researchers were able to isolate and characterize six antibodies derived from the blood of two severely ill patients. They then proved that combinations of three antibodies at a time are effective against COVID-19, providing natural immunity. The researchers found that the blood’s capacity for neutralizing the virus comes from several types of antibodies that simultaneously attack the virus, and the mix neutralizes the COVID-19 virus.

“Since the antibodies are natural and remain stable in the blood, one injection can protect against COVID-19 for several weeks, or even several months,” says Freund. “Our vision is that in the future, the cocktail will be used to treat COVID-19 patients – like the experimental cocktail administered to U.S. President Trump, or as a preventive measure for high-risk populations and medical personnel – until the much-awaited vaccine finally arrives. This cocktail was developed naturally by the patients’ immune systems, which means that it is probably safe for use,” say the researchers.

The team

In the second stage of the project, the researchers tried to isolate specific antibodies that stop the virus from binding to the human cell and replicating itself inside the cell. They identified six different antibodies, obtained from two severely ill participants, and proved that these antibodies are effective in both treating and preventing infection in cell cultures.

The research began in April 2020, soon after the pandemic reached Israel. Dr. Freund and her team studied 18 of Israel’s earliest COVID-19 patients. “One question we asked was whether there was any difference between mild and severe cases – with regard to both the quality and quantity of the anti-viral antibodies produced by the immune system. We found a significant statistical difference between the two groups of patients in the ability of their antibodies to neutralize COVID-19: Only a small portion of the mildly ill participants developed neutralizing antibodies, and some developed no antibodies whatsoever. Thus, we may assume that people who were infected but remained asymptomatic or developed very mild symptoms, may possibly contract the disease a second time. The blood of all severely ill patients, on the other hand, contained neutralizing antibodies that will probably protect them from reinfection.”

Many experts took part in the project: participating patients were recruited with the help of Dr. David Hagin, Director of Allergy and Immunology at the Tel Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov) Medical Center and Dr. Oren Zimhony, Head of Infectious Diseases at the Kaplan Medical Center. Genetic sequencing of immune cells was conducted in collaboration with the Israeli startup immunai and sequence analysis was done with the help of Dr. Gur Yaari of Bar-Ilan University. The antibodies were characterized in collaboration with Prof. Jonathan Gershoni and Dr. Oren Kobiler of Tel Aviv University. Pseudo-viral neutralization assays were run with the assistance of Dr. Meital Gal-Tanamy and Dr. Moshe Dessau of Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee. Neutralization tests for the cocktail of antibodies against the live virus were run in collaboration with Dr. Ben Croker of the University of California, San Diego.

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