Tag: Life Sciences

A Rare Discovery Sheds New Light on the Evolution of Flight

A new study led by a researcher from the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University examined dinosaur fossils preserved with their feathers and found that these dinosaurs had lost the ability to fly. According to the researchers, this is an extremely rare finding that offers a glimpse into the functioning of creatures that lived 160 million years ago, and their impact on the evolution of flight in dinosaurs and birds.

The research team: “This finding has broad significance, as it suggests that the development of flight throughout the evolution of dinosaurs and birds was far more complex than previously believed. In fact, certain species may have developed basic flight abilities — and then lost them later in their evolution.”

The study was led by Dr. Yosef Kiat of the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with researchers from China and the United States. The article was published in Communications Biology, published by Nature Portfolio.

Feathers, Dinosaurs, and the Origins of Birds

Dr. Kiat, an ornithologist specializing in feather research, explains: “The dinosaur lineage split from other reptiles 240 million years ago. Soon afterwards (on an evolutionary timescale) many dinosaurs developed feathers — a unique lightweight and strong organic structure, made of protein and used mainly for flight and for preserving body temperature. Around 175 million years ago, a lineage of feathered dinosaurs called Pennaraptora emerged – the distant ancestors of modern birds and the only lineage of dinosaurs to survive the mass extinction that marked the end of the Mesozoic era 66 million years ago. As far as we know, the Pennaraptora group developed feathers for flight, but it is possible that when environmental conditions changed, some of these dinosaurs lost their flight ability — just like the ostriches and penguins of today.”

160-million-year-old Anchiornis fossils

In the study, nine fossils from eastern China were examined, all belonging to a feathered Pennaraptoran dinosaur taxon called Anchiornis. A rare paleontological finding, these fossils (and several hundred similar ones) were preserved with their feathers intact, thanks to the special conditions prevailing in the region during fossilization. Specifically, the nine fossils examined in the study were chosen because they had retained the color of the wing feathers — white with a black spot at the tip.

What Feather Molting Can Tell Us

Here is where feather researcher Dr. Kiat enters the picture, explaining: “Feathers grow for two to three weeks. Reaching their final size, they detach from the blood vessels that fed them during growth and become dead material. Worn over time, they are shed and replaced by new feathers – in a process called molting, which tells an important story: birds that depend on flight, and thus on the feathers enabling them to fly, molt in an orderly, gradual process that maintains symmetry between the wings and allows them to keep flying during molting. In birds without flight ability, on the other hand, molting is more random and irregular. Consequently, the molting pattern tells us whether a certain winged creature was capable of flight.”

Evidence of a Flightless Dinosaur

The preserved feather coloration in the dinosaur fossils from China allowed the researchers to identify the wing structure, with the edge featuring a continual line of black spots. Moreover, they were able to distinguish new feathers that had not yet completed their growth — since their black spots deviated from the black line. A thorough inspection of the new feathers in the nine fossils revealed that molting had not occurred in an orderly process.

Dr. Yosef Kiat of the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History

Dr. Kiat: “Based on my familiarity with modern birds, I identified a molting pattern indicating that these dinosaurs were probably flightless. This is a rare and especially exciting finding: the preserved coloration of the feathers gave us a unique opportunity to identify a functional trait of these ancient creatures – not only the body structure preserved in fossils of skeletons and bones.”

Rethinking the Evolution of Flight

Dr. Kiat concludes: “Feather molting seems like a small technical detail — but when examined in fossils, it can change everything we thought about the origins of flight. Anchiornis now joins the list of dinosaurs that were covered in feathers but not capable of flight, highlighting how complex and diverse wing evolution truly was.”

TAU researchers reveal how fruit bats adjust their behavior, from caution to confrontation, in the competition for food.

A new study from the School of Zoology at Tel Aviv University reveals that fruit bats employ a variety of strategies in their competition with other animals for food. The research team examined bat behavior in the presence of black rats, which vie for the same food sources. They found that the bats’ behavior changes with the seasons and food availability: in winter, bats tend to avoid and act cautiously toward rats, while in summer, when competition is more intense, the bats are sometimes not afraid to engage in conflict — even at the risk of injury. The researchers note that the study, conducted over seven months and documented in a semi-natural bat colony, provides a rare glimpse into the way animals balance the dangers of predation with the need to compete for resources.

A Rare Glimpse into Animal Competition

The research was conducted by the laboratory team of Prof. Yossi Yovel at Tel Aviv University’s School of Zoology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, author of The Genius Bat. It was led by PhD students Xing Chen and Adi Rachum, with the assistance of Liraz Attia and Dr. Lee Harten. The findings were published in the journal BMC Biology.

Prof. Yovel explains that over the course of hundreds of hours of video documentation, more than 150,000 bat landings near a food source were analyzed. The researchers found that when rats were present, the number of bats’ landings dropped dramatically due to fear of confrontation and rat attacks. In addition to competing for food, rats are known to prey on bats, especially on young bats. The bats that did land near food sources displayed heightened vigilance — pausing to scan their surroundings for long periods before approaching the food. This reduced their success in obtaining food by about 20%. Moreover, in some cases rats were observed attacking landing bats, underscoring the real threat they pose.

Prof. Yossi Yovel

From Fear to Boldness

“We learned that the interactions between bats and rats are diverse and vary with the seasons, depending on food availability,” says Prof. Yovel. “In winter, when rats were relatively scarce, the bats behaved more cautiously — they avoided landings and showed constant vigilance. In contrast, in spring, with the sharp increase in food abundance (which also meant more encounters with rats), the situation changed, and the bats sometimes even attacked the rats. This behavior apparently improved their foraging success rate, which rose to 60% in summer compared to only 35% in winter.”

Prof. Yovel concludes: “We tend to describe relationships between different species in simplistic terms — either as competition or predation. This study shows how complex such relationships can be and how animals are able to adapt their response strategies to changing circumstances. Because observations in nature are scarce, this complexity is usually difficult to quantify. What we achieved in this study therefore provides another example of the adaptability and intricate lives of wild animals in urban environments.”

TAU researchers conduct Israel’s first ecological–biotechnological seaweed survey, revealing a natural hotspot of resilient, nutrient-rich species.

A team of researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute (IOLR) has conducted the first comprehensive ecological–biotechnological seaweed survey in Israel. Their findings suggest that the unique ecological conditions along the Israeli Mediterranean coast—warm, sunny, and dynamic—create a natural habitat that supports the growth of distinctive and resilient seaweeds (macroalgae) rich in nutritional and health-promoting compounds. The researchers believe these properties could serve as a foundation for groundbreaking innovations in food, health, and biotechnology.

Tel Aviv University researchers have completed Israel’s first ecological–biotechnological seaweed survey, uncovering a natural “green treasure” growing along the country’s Mediterranean coast. Their findings reveal that the region’s warm, sunny, and dynamic conditions nurture exceptional seaweeds rich in nutritional, medicinal, and biotechnological potential — from sustainable superfoods to eco-friendly cosmetics and pharmaceutical innovations.

Mapping Israel’s Underwater Laboratory

The pioneering study, led by Dr. Doron Yehoshua Ashkenazi of Tel Aviv University and the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute (IOLR), was conducted under the supervision of Prof. Avigdor Abelson from TAU’s School of Zoology and Prof. Álvaro Israel from IOLR Haifa, in collaboration with Dr. Eitan Salomon of the National Center for Mariculture in Eilat.
Additional contributors included Prof. Félix L. Figueroa and Dr. Julia Vega of the University of Málaga, Spain, Guy Paz, head of the laboratory at IOLR, and Dr. Shoshana Ben-Valid. The study was published in Marine Drugs.

Over several years, the researchers collected nearly 400 specimens, identifying 55 seaweed species—predominantly red, alongside brown and green seaweeds. In contrast to earlier reports suggesting two annual peaks in seaweed productivity, this study indicates a single productive period in springtime, strongly suggesting an ecosystem shift likely driven by global warming.

A New Source of Sustainable Nutrition

Seasonal analysis revealed dramatic biochemical differences. During winter, local seaweeds reached exceptionally high protein levels — several tens of percent of their dry weight — making them a promising alternative protein source for both human and animal consumption.
In spring, antioxidant compounds surged by nearly 300% in some species, positioning these seaweeds as a potent source of health-promoting and anti-aging compounds.
High concentrations of phenolic compounds and natural UV filters also highlight their potential for eco-friendly cosmetics and therapeutic uses.

Nature’s Own Biotech Factory

“Israel, located at the easternmost edge of the Mediterranean Sea, offers unique environmental conditions,” Dr. Doron Ashkenazi explains. “a subtropical climate with year-round sunlight, rocky shores with small tidal fluctuations, and relatively high salinity and irradiance. Together, these factors stimulate the development of seaweeds with unique chemical traits that act as natural ‘biological factories,’ producing bioactive compounds in remarkable concentrations.”

He adds: “We believe that this study, together with the growing seaweed research field, can place Israel at the forefront of global marine biotechnology. In addition to being ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ Israel has also been blessed with a unique and life-giving sea — the Israeli Mediterranean.”

From Ecology to Economy

Prof. Álvaro Israel emphasizes:  “This study provides valuable insights into the environmental factors that influence seaweed growth and quality, allowing us to translate this knowledge into practical aquaculture methods. Seaweed offers immense environmental benefits—they require no arable land, generate oxygen, capture carbon, and purify water from pollutants. They stand at the forefront of sustainable aquaculture, merging environmental advantages with economic opportunities.

Dr. Eitan Salomon adds: “Our findings illustrate the untapped biotechnological potential of seaweeds for the future of humanity – from functional foods and pharmaceuticals to a variety of advanced health applications.”

A Model for Climate Resilience

Prof. Avigdor Abelson concludes: “The Israeli Mediterranean Sea is a unique natural laboratory. It can serve as a model for understanding the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems and help predict which species may thrive in a warming world. Beyond its scientific value, seaweeds represent a strategic national and global resource that can help address future challenges in food security, health, and the environment.”

Groundbreaking collaborative research leads to a novel mRNA-based vaccine targeting a lethal bacterial infection

Researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Israel Institute for Biological Research in Ness Ziona have used the platform developed for COVID-19 vaccines to create the world’s first mRNA-based vaccine against a deadly, antibiotic-resistant bacterium. In this groundbreaking study, the researchers tested the vaccine’s resistance to the virulent pathogen that causes the disease and were able to demonstrate 100% protection against infection in animal models. The researchers now hope that this technology can be used to combat other lethal bacteria as well. 

The study was led by Tel Aviv University’s Vice President for Research and Development Prof. Dan Peer, a global pioneer in mRNA drug development and director of the Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine at the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research. He worked alongside researchers from the Israel Institute for Biological Research — Dr. Uri Elia, Dr. Yinon Levy, Dr. Emmy Mamroud, and Dr. Ofer Cohen — as well as members of his own laboratory team: Dr. Edo Kon, Dr. Inbal Hazan-Halevy, and doctoral student Shani Benarroch. The study was featured on the cover of the prestigious journal Advanced Science. 

The vaccine developed by the team from the Institute for Biological Research and Tel Aviv University is an mRNA-based vaccine delivered via lipid nanoparticles, similar to the COVID-19 vaccine. However, mRNA vaccines are typically effective against viruses like COVID-19 — not against bacteria like the plague.  

Dr. Uri Elia explains: “Viruses rely on a host cell to survive and replicate. They infect the cell with an RNA molecule (mRNA) that contains instructions for making viral proteins. The virus uses the cell as a factory to replicate itself. In an mRNA vaccine, this molecule is synthesized and encased in a lipid nanoparticle that resembles human cell membranes. The nanoparticle fuses with the cell, the cell produces the viral proteins, and the immune system learns to recognize and defend against the actual virus upon exposure. Bacteria, however, are a different story: they produce their own proteins and do not rely on human cells. Moreover, due to the different evolutionary paths of humans and bacteria, their proteins are very different from ours.” 

In 2023, the researchers developed a unique method for producing the bacterial protein within a human cell in a way that prompts the immune system to recognize it as a genuine bacterial protein and thus learn to defend against it. The researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Institute for Biological Research proved, for the first time, that it is possible to develop an effective mRNA vaccine against bacteria. They chose Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes bubonic plague — a disease responsible for deadly pandemics throughout human history. In animal models, the researchers demonstrated that it is possible to effectively vaccinate against the disease with a single dose. 

Prof. Dan Peer: “In the previous study, we developed a vaccine for a form of plague transmitted through the skin — for example, via flea bites. In the current study, we chose a much more ambitious target: pneumonic plague, which spreads from person to person and causes respiratory illness — making it particularly difficult to develop a vaccine against. For this reason, we used two proteins — two antigens — to create the vaccine. We tested it on several animal model strains and found that, after two vaccine doses, we achieved 100% protection against pneumonic plague: the animals infected with the plague did not get sick at all. The success of the current study paves the way for a whole world of mRNA-based vaccines against other deadly bacteria.” 

“The plague — a disease that killed about two-thirds of Europe’s population in the Middle Ages (‘The Black Death’) still resurfaces occasionally today, for example in Madagascar. So the potential for a pandemic still exists,” says Dr Uri Elia. “The disease is caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis, for which there is no approved vaccine in Western countries. This bacterium is highly contagious and extremely lethal, making it a serious threat. Moreover, this bacterium concerns us as a potential agent of bioterrorism. If one of our enemies tries to use it against us, we want to be prepared with a vaccine.” 

Researchers from Tel Aviv University used CRISPR to edit thousands of genes in tomato plants.

Researchers from the School of Plant Sciences and Food Security at the Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University have developed a genetic editing method tailored to crop plants, which has influenced various traits in tomato plants, including the taste and shape of the fruit. The researchers believe this innovative technology can be applied to various crop species and may eventually be used to cultivate new and improved plant varieties. “We demonstrated that with our technology, it is possible to select specific traits and influence them, a capability that is essential for advancing agriculture and achieving food security,” the researchers stated.

The study was led by Prof. Eilon Shani, Prof. Itay Mayrose and PhD student Amichai Berman (School of Plant Sciences and Food Security at Tel Aviv University) together with PhD student Ning Su and Dr. Yuqin Zhang (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing), and Dr. Osnat Yanai from the Israeli Agri-Tech company NetaGenomiX. The article was published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications.

Prof. Shani explains: “Researchers around the world are engaged in advancing agriculture in order to address accelerated global changes and feed the global population in the coming decades. Among other things, genetic editing technologies are being advanced to develop new plant varieties with desirable traits such as resistance to drought, heat, and disease, improved flavor, optimized nutrient usage, and more. One such method is CRISPR-Cas9, which has revolutionized the field of genetic editing by enabling the precise modification of specific genes in the genome.

However, in the realm of agricultural development, this method has encountered several fundamental challenges: Firstly, while CRISPR technology allows for targeted gene editing, until now, this capability was limited in scale – the number of genes that could be edited and studied was very small. In the current study, we significantly improved the method’s efficiency, enabling us to examine the roles of thousands of genes. Secondly, many plants exhibit ‘genetic redundancy’: different genes from the same family, composed of similar amino acid sequences, compensate for one another and preserve the trait even if one gene is deactivated or edited”.

PhD student Amichai Berman.

Amichai Berman: “To overcome genetic redundancy, we aimed to alter entire families of similar genes simultaneously. In a previous study, we developed a breakthrough solution to overcome the issue of genetic redundancy, a dedicated algorithm, and fed it a list of thousands of genes we wanted to edit. The algorithm identified a suitable CRISPR unit for each gene (or gene group) on the list that would induce the desired modification, thereby constructing CRISPR libraries. The first study achieved good results in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, and this time we sought to test the method in a crop plant for the first time. We chose the tomato.”

In the current study, the researchers built 10 libraries comprising approximately 15,000 unique CRISPR units targeting the tomato genome – each unit designed to affect a specific gene group from the same family. They then used the CRISPR units to induce mutations in around 1,300 tomato plants, each plant with an alteration in a different gene group. The researchers then tracked the development of each plant to examine whether the selected changes appeared in fruit size, shape, taste, nutrient utilization, or pest resistance. Indeed, the researchers identified several lines with sweetness levels either lower or higher than the control plants.

Prof. Shani concludes: “In this study, using our innovative method, we successfully made targeted genetic changes to gene families in the tomato plant, and identified precisely which genetic edits produced the desired result.” The Israeli Agri-Tech company NetaGenomiX has received a license to commercialize the new technology, with the goal of advancing food security by developing non-GMO crops adapted to the changing climate, providing benefits for both farmers and consumers.

Amichai Berman adds: “We believe our research opens the door to breeding improved varieties for a wide range of crops and also advances the field of plant science as a whole. In follow-up studies, we are working on developing additional selected traits in tomatoes and in rice.”

Large-Scale Functional Genomics in Tomato Using a High-Throughput Multi-targeted CRISPR Screening Approach. The tomato plant genome is divided into gene families. For each group of similar genes, a unique CRISPR unit is designed to alter their function (in total, over 15,000 CRISPR units were designed). These CRISPR units are delivered into tomato plants, which are then monitored for growth and development. In the final stage, plants exhibiting changes in selected traits are identified and genetically and physiologically characterized. This new approach enables the large-scale targeting of genetic redundancy within gene families, on the scale of hundreds of genes.

Pendulum Experiment Sheds Light on Quantum Mysteries in Topological Materials, Revealing Insights Unreachable by Traditional Methods

A recent study conducted at Tel Aviv University has devised a large mechanical system that operates under dynamical rules akin to those found in quantum systems. The dynamics of quantum systems, composed of microscopic particles like atoms or electrons, are notoriously difficult, if not impossible, to observe directly. However, this new system allows researchers to visualize phenomena occurring in specialized “topological” materials through the movement of a system of coupled pendula.

The research is a collaboration between Dr. Izhar Neder of the Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Chaviva Sirote-Katz of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Meital Geva and Prof. Yair Shokef of the School of Mechanical Engineering, and Prof. Yoav Lahini and Prof. Roni Ilan of the School of Physics and Astronomy at Tel Aviv University and was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS)

Exploring Quantum Wave Phenomena

Quantum mechanics governs the microscopic world of electrons, atoms and molecules. An electron, which is a particle that moves in an atom or in a solid, may have properties that give rise to wave-like phenomena. For instance, it may demonstrate a probability of dispersing in space similar to waves spreading out in a pool after a stone is thrown in, or the capability to exist simultaneously in more than one place.

Such wave-like properties lead to a unique phenomenon that appears in some solid isolators, where even though there is no electric current through them, and the electrons do not move due to an external electric voltage, the internal arrangement of the material shows up in a state referred to as “topological”. This means that the wave of electrons possesses a quantity that can “close on itself” in different ways, somewhat like the difference between a cylinder and a Möbius strip. This “topological” state of the electrons, for which the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded, is considered a new state of matter and attracts much current research.

Chaviva Sirote-Katz

Despite the theoretical interest, there is a limitation in measuring these phenomena in quantum systems. Due to the nature of quantum mechanics, one cannot directly measure the electron’s wave function and its dynamical evolution. Instead, researchers indirectly measure the wave-like and topological properties of electrons in materials, for instance by measuring the electrical conductivity at the edges of solids.

In the current study, the researchers considered the possibility of constructing a sufficiently large mechanical system that would adhere to dynamical rules akin to those found in quantum systems, and in which they could directly measure everything. To this end, they built an array of 50 pendula, with string lengths that slightly varied from one pendulum to the other. The strings of each neighboring pair of pendula were connected at a controlled height, such that each one’s motion would affect its neighbors’ motion.

Quantum Pendulum Insights

On one hand, the system obeyed Newton’s laws of motion, which govern the physics of our everyday lives, but the precise lengths of the pendula and the connections between them created a magical phenomenon: Newton’s laws caused the wave of the pendulum’s motion to approximately obey Schrödinger’s equation – the fundamental equation of quantum mechanics, which governs the motion of electrons in atoms and in solids. Therefore, the motion of the pendula, which is visible in the macroscopic world, reproduced the behaviors of electrons in periodic systems such as crystals.

The researchers pushed a few pendula and then released them. This generated a wave that propagated freely along the chain of pendula, and the researchers could directly measure the evolution of this wave – an impossible mission for the motion of electrons. This enabled the direct measurement of three phenomena. The first phenomenon, known as Bloch oscillations, occurs when electrons within a crystal are influenced by an electric voltage, pulling them in a specific direction. In contrast to what one would expect, the electrons do not simply move along the direction of the field, but they oscillate back and forth due to the periodic structure of the crystal. This phenomenon is predicted to appear in ultra-clean solids, which are very hard to find in nature. In the pendula system, the wave periodically moved back and forth, exactly according to Bloch’s prediction.

The second phenomenon that was directly measured in the pendula system is called Zener tunneling. Tunneling is a unique quantum phenomenon, which allows particles to pass through barriers, in contrast to classical intuition. For Zener tunneling, this appears as the splitting of a wave, the two parts of which then move in opposite directions. One part of the wave returns as in Bloch oscillations, while the other part “tunnels” through a forbidden state and proceeds in its propagation. This splitting, and specifically its connection to the motion of the wave in either direction, is a clear characteristic of the Schrödinger equation.

In fact, such a phenomenon is what disturbed Schrödinger, and is the main reason for the suggestion of his famous paradox; according to Schrödinger’s equation, the wave of an entire cat can split between a live-cat state and a dead-cat state. The researchers analyzed the pendula motion and extracted the parameters of the dynamics, for instance, the ratio between the amplitudes of the two parts of the split wave, which is equivalent to the quantum Zener tunneling probability. The experimental results showed fantastic agreement with the predictions of Schrödinger’s equation.

The pendula system is governed by classical physics. Therefore, it cannot mimic the full richness of quantum systems. For instance, in quantum systems, the measurement can influence the system’s behavior (and cause Schrödinger’s cat to eventually be dead or alive when it is viewed). In the classical system of macroscopic pendulum, there is no counterpart to this phenomenon. However, even with these limitations, the pendula array allows the observation of interesting and non-trivial properties of quantum systems, which may not be directly measured in the latter.

The third phenomenon that was directly observed in the pendula experiment was the wave evolution in a topological medium. Here, the researchers found a way to directly measure the topological characteristic from the wave dynamics in the system – a task that is almost impossible in quantum materials. To this end, the pendula array was tuned twice, so that they would mimic Schrödinger’s equation of the electrons, once in a topological state and once in a trivial (i.e. standard) state. By comparing small differences in the pendulum motion between the two experiments, the researchers could classify the two states. The classification required a very delicate measurement of a difference between the two experiments of exactly half a period of oscillation of a single pendulum after 400 full oscillations that lasted 12 minutes. This small difference was found to be consistent with the theoretical prediction.

The experiment opens the door to realizing further situations that are even more interesting and complex, like the effects of noise and impurities, or how energy leakage affects wave dynamics in Schrödinger’s equation. These are effects that can be easily realized and seen in this system, by deliberately perturbing the pendula motion in a controlled manner.

New research highlights a unique evolutionary adaptation: a bat’s tail acting as a reverse walking cane.

Research reveals the city’s surprising effect on birth timing.

A groundbreaking study from Tel Aviv University, the first of its kind on mammals, has found that bats living in urban environments give birth, on average, about 2.5 weeks earlier than bats living in rural areas. The researchers attribute this difference in birthing times between the city and the countryside to more favorable temperatures and greater food abundance in urban areas. Bats are mammals, making this the first study to link the urban living environment to the timing of birth in mammals.

The research was led by the lab team of Prof. Yossi Yovel from the School of Zoology in the Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University. The study included contributions from Dr. Maya Weinberg, Dean Zigdon, and Mor Taub, and was published in the scientific journal BMC Biology.

Prof. Yossi Yovel.

Over three years, the researchers monitored ten bat colonies in urban and rural areas, sampling hundreds of female bats and approximately 120 pups from these colonies. The findings revealed that pups born in urban colonies were, on average, 2.5 weeks older, as evidenced by their longer forearms and higher body weights compared to pups from rural colonies.

Prof. Yovel explains: “Fruit bats living in cities benefit from favorable environmental conditions, including higher temperatures due to the ‘urban heat island’ effect and greater food availability, primarily from ornamental fruit trees irrigated year-round. These conditions allow urban bats to cope better with harsh winters and start their reproductive cycles earlier. This enables females to give birth earlier in the season, increasing their chances of becoming pregnant again within the same year.”

However, the researchers emphasize that it remains unclear whether the bats are shortening their pregnancies (a capability known in some bat species) or becoming pregnant earlier. They add that the study opens the door to further research on how urbanization affects mammalian reproductive patterns in general and bats in particular, and how these findings can be used to protect other species in changing ecosystems. “This study highlights the importance of understanding the connection between animals and their environments, especially in an era when urbanization is reshaping the planet,” concludes Prof. Yovel.

A mother bat in flight, carrying her pup beneath her in the city and countryside (Photo credit: Yuval Barkai).