Newsroom – Page 23 – Australian Friends of Tel Aviv University

Munich Philharmonic Names Lahav Shani its Next Chief Conductor

Written by AUFTAU on 27 February 2023. Posted in Alumni News, Newsroom.

Researchers Discover Mechanism that Facilitates Formation of Brain Metastases

Written by AUFTAU on 27 February 2023. Posted in Newsroom.

Findings could help predict metastatic recurrence in the brain and a worse prognosis.

Brain metastases are one of the deadliest forms of cancer metastasis, with grave survival rates of less than one year in many cases. The incidence of brain metastases has been increasing in recent years and developing better therapeutic strategies for brain metastasis is an urgent need. In a new study from Tel Aviv University, researchers identified and characterized a new mechanism that facilitates the formation of brain metastases and found that impairing this mechanism significantly reduced the development of brain metastases in lab models.

“The findings establish LCN2 as a new prognostic marker and a potential therapeutic target.” Prof. Neta Erez

On the Radar: LCN2

The research was led by Prof. Neta Erez, head of the laboratory for the biology of tumors from the Department of Pathology at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, and members of her team: Omer Adler, Yael Zeit, and Noam Cohen, in collaboration with Prof. Shlomit Yust Katz from Rabin Medical Center (Beilinson Hospital) and Prof. Tobias Pukrop from Regensburg Hospital, Germany. The study was supported by the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA), the Cancer Biology Research Center at Tel Aviv University, the Personalized Medicine Program of the Israel Science Foundation (ISF IPMP) and the German Cancer Research Foundation (DFG), and was published in the journal Nature Cancer.

In this new study, the researchers show that Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) [a protein which in humans is encoded by the LCN2 gene] is a key factor in inducing neuroinflammation in the brain. Moreover, the researchers found that high LCN2 levels in patients’ blood and brain metastases from several types of cancer are associated with disease progression and reduced survival.

LCN2 is a secreted protein that functions in the innate immune system and was originally discovered due to its ability to bind iron molecules and as part of the inflammatory process in fighting bacterial infection. LCN2 is produced by a large variety of cells and was shown to be involved in multiple cancer-related processes.

“Our findings reveal a previously unknown mechanism, mediated by LCN2, which reveals a central role for the mutual interactions between immune cells recruited to the brain (granulocytes) and brain glial cells (astrocytes) in promoting inflammation and in the formation of brain metastases. The findings establish LCN2 as a new prognostic marker and a potential therapeutic target,” says Prof. Neta Erez.

“In blood and tissue samples from patients with brain metastases from three types of cancer, blood LCN2 levels were correlated with disease progression and with shorter survival, which positions LCN2 as a potential prognostic marker for brain metastases.” Prof. Neta Erez

LCN2 as a Predictive Marker for Brain Metastases

The researchers used models of melanoma and breast cancer brain metastases to reveal the mechanism by which neuroinflammation is activated in the metastatic niche in the brain.

“We show that signals secreted into the blood from the primary tumor stimulate pro-inflammatory activation of astrocytes in the brain. The astrocytes promote the recruitment of inflammatory cells from the bone marrow (granulocytes) into the brain, and they in turn become a main source of signaling by LCN2,” explains Prof. Erez.

“We demonstrated the importance of LCN2 for the development of metastases by genetically inhibiting its expression in mice, which resulted in a significant decrease in neuroinflammation and reduced brain metastases. Moreover, in blood and tissue samples from patients with brain metastases from three types of cancer, blood LCN2 levels were correlated with disease progression and with shorter survival, which positions LCN2 as a potential prognostic marker for brain metastases.”

Prof. Erez adds: “We analyzed the LCN2 protein levels in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of mice with brain metastases and found that LCN2 levels increased greatly in mice with melanoma and breast cancer metastases compared to healthy mice. Importantly – an increase in blood LCN2 preceded the detection of brain metastases by MRI. Furthermore, the mice in which LCN2 levels were very high developed brain metastases later, further establishing LCN2 as a predictive marker for brain metastases.”

The researchers also examined whether LCN2 is elevated in the blood of melanoma patients at the time of initial diagnosis, and whether it can be a prognostic factor. The findings indicated that patients with melanoma had significantly higher levels of LCN2 in their blood compared to samples from healthy individuals. Strikingly, patients who developed brain metastases displayed significantly higher levels of LCN2 even before the diagnosis of the metastases, and high levels of LCN2 in the blood correlated with worse survival.

“We have identified a new mechanism in which LCN2 mediates the communication between immune cells from the bone marrow and supporting cells in the brain, activates inflammatory mechanisms and thus helps the progression of metastatic disease in the brain, and demonstrated its importance. The functional and prognostic aspects of LCN2 that we have identified in brain metastases in mouse models as well as in cancer patients suggest that targeting LCN2 may be an effective therapeutic strategy to delay or prevent the recurrence of brain metastases,” summarizes Prof. Erez.

Travelling exhibition displayed for the first time in Israel

Written by AUFTAU on 24 February 2023. Posted in Newsroom.

The Rosenberg – The German Federal Ministry of Justice in the Shadow of the Nazi Past.

In 2012, the German Federal Ministry of Justice tasked an independent academic commission with investigating the Ministry’s national-socialist past during the early years of the newly founded Federal Republic of Germany. The commission was given unrestricted access to the Ministry‘s files. In 2016/17, the commission published its concluding report in a book titled “The Rosenburg Files” (following World War II the Ministry’s offices were in the Rosenburg Castle in Bonn), which generated considerable interest among the German public and was widely covered in the media.

The results were also made available to a wider audience through an illuminating and memorable travelling exhibition, now being displayed for the first time in Israel.

Ministry of Justice Faces Up to its Past

The findings of the report cast a dark shadow on the first decades in the history of the Federal Ministry of Justice. Numerous members of the Ministry‘s executive staff had been involved in the power apparatus of the “Third Reich”: Of the 170 lawyers who held senior positions in the Ministry between 1949-1973, 90 had been members of the Nazi Party and 34 of the SA [short for ‘Sturmabteilung’ in German, the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party). This had far-reaching consequences with regard to the Federal Republic’s dealing with the aftermath of Nazism: Nazi laws were corrected only in a superficial manner, there was ongoing discrimination against former victims, and the prosecution of Nazi criminals was thwarted.

From the Rosenburg Exhibition at Tel Aviv University

Today, the German Federal Ministry of Justice is facing up to its history: The report from 2016/17 did not mark the end of the Rosenburg Project – the results have since been made available to a wider audience with an illuminating and memorable travelling exhibition, which seeks to raise awareness among a large audience of the historical injustice that took place post World War II at the hands of the Ministry itself. The exhibition, which seeks to shine light on what was previously in the shadows, has already been displayed in Germany, Poland and the USA and is now being displayed for the first time in Israel, coordinated by Minerva Center for Human Rights at Tel Aviv University.

The exhibition opening for “The Rosenburg – The Federal Ministry of Justice in the Shadow of the Nazi Past” took place at The Buchmann Faculty of Law at Tel Aviv University on February 20, 2023, in the presence of Dr. Marco Buschmann, German Federal Minister of Justice. Greetings were held by Prof. Yishai Blank, Dean, Buchmann Faculty of Law at Tel Aviv University, and Prof. Yoram Danziger, Justice (ret.) of the Supreme Court of Israel. The introductory lecture was held by Prof. Roni Stauber, Director of the Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center at Tel Aviv University.

Visit the Exhibition

Visit the exhibition at the University’s Buchmann Faculty of Law & the David J. Light Law Library in the Trubowicz Building from February 20th, 2023 through May 14th, 2023.

Featured image: From the exhibition opening. Left to right: Steffen Seibert, German Ambassador to Israel, Prof. Yishai Blank, Dean Buchmann Faculty of Law at Tel Aviv University, Prof. Mark Shtaif Rector of Tel Aviv University & Dr. Marco Buschmann, German Federal Minister of Justice (Photo: Yael Zur, Tel Aviv University)(Photo Credit: TAU)

Dan David Prize Announces 2023 Winners

Written by AUFTAU on 23 February 2023. Posted in Newsroom.

The Dan David Prize, the largest history prize in the world, today announced its 2023 winners – nine emerging scholars and practitioners, whose work illuminates the past in bold and creative ways. Each of the winners – who work in Kenya, Ireland, Denmark, Israel, Canada and the United States – will receive $300,000 (USD) in recognition of their achievements and to support their future endeavors.

“Our winners represent the new generation of historians,” said Ariel David, board member of the Prize and son of the founder. “They are changing our understanding of the past by asking new questions, targeting under-researched topics and using innovative methods. Many of the winners we are recognizing today are still in the early stages of their careers, but they have already challenged how we think about history. Understanding the past, in all its complexity, is critical to illuminating the present and confronting the challenges of the future.”

The 2023 winners are listed below:

	Prof. Saheed Aderinto from Florida International University uses unusual lenses such as sexuality, guns, animals and music to reexamine colonial identity and subjecthood in modern Africa, with a particular focus on Nigeria (photo: JC Photography, Miami).
	Prof. Ana Antic from the University of Copenhagen is a social and cultural historian whose research focuses on the relationship between politics, violence and psychiatry in twentieth century Europe, as well as the decolonisation of psychiatric practices and concepts (photo: Zarko Ivetic).
	Karma Ben Johanan, a senior lecturer from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, looks at the relationships between different religious traditions, most recently working on how the Catholic Church responded to Jews after the reconciliation attempts of Vatican II, and how orthodox Jewish thinkers have responded to the same developments (photo: Avigail Piperno-Beer)
	Asst. Prof. Elise Burton from University of Toronto is a historian of science, race and nationalism in the modern Middle East, focusing on the history of genetics, physical anthropology, evolutionary biology and biomedicine (photo: courtesy of Elise Burton).
	Prof. Adam Clulow from University of Texas at Austin is a global historian who reassesses power relations between Europe and East Asia, and uses video games and VR to make history accessible to both students and the wider public (photo: courtesy of Adam Clulow).
	Asst. Prof. Krista Goff from University of Miami uses oral history and everyday sources to understand the experiences of understudied ethnic minorities in the Soviet Union, especially those not recognized as nationalities by the state (photo: Courtesy of Krista Goff).
	Prof. Stephanie Jones-Rogers explores women’s social, economic and legal relationships to enslaved people and to the slave trade in the trans-Atlantic world (photo: Lily Cummings McCubbin).
	Asst. Prof. Anita Radini from University College, Dublin, is an “archaeologist of dirt” who analyzes the tiny remains of dust that collect in dental plaque, and uses them to learn about the work lives and environments of people in the past (photo: courtesty of Anita Radini).
	Chao Tayiana Maina is a public historian who uses digital technologies (she is the founder of African Digital Heritage) to capture and preserve previously hidden or suppressed historical narratives in Kenya, enabling communities to engage with their cultural heritage (photo: Lyra Aoko).

“We all share a past. We all shape the future”

“Insights about the past should circulate through every part of every community,” said Prof. Aviad Kleinberg, historian and Dan David Prize board member. “We all share a past. We all shape the future. Knowledge of the past – historical, not mythological – belongs to everyone. A culture that does not understand its past is like an individual with acute amnesia. Amnesia makes one bear the past’s consequences without awareness of it and without the power to escape it.”

The winners were selected from hundreds of nominations submitted by colleagues, institutions and the general public in an open nomination process. The finalists were chosen by a global committee of experts that changes annually. This year’s committee members were affiliated with a range of institutions including the universities of Cambridge, Paris, Pennsylvania and Seville. A full list of the 2023 committee is available here.

The Dan David Prize, endowed by the Dan David Foundation and headquartered at Tel Aviv University, was first established in 2001 by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Dan David, to reward innovative and interdisciplinary work that contributed to humanity. In 2021, the Prize was relaunched with a focus on historical research, honoring the founder’s passion for history and archaeology. Today, the Prize rewards emerging scholars, aiming to help both academics and public historians fulfill their potential at a time when support for the humanities is dwindling.

The nine 2023 winners will be honored at the Dan David Prize Award Ceremony in Tel Aviv in May.

About the Dan David Prize

The Dan David Prize is the largest history prize in the world. Dan David, the founder of the Prize, believed that knowledge of the past enriches us and helps us grapple with the challenges of the present, and is a foundation for reimagining our collective future. At a time of diminishing support for the humanities, the Prize celebrates the next generation of outstanding historians, archaeologists, curators and digital humanists. Each year, up to nine researchers are awarded $300,000 each in recognition of their achievements and to support their future endeavors.

To learn more about Dan David, the Prize and the 2023 winners, visit www.dandavidprize.org.

Prestigious Grant from the European Innovation Council Awarded to Tel Aviv University’s Research Team

Written by AUFTAU on 19 February 2023. Posted in Newsroom.

The European Innovation Council Pathfinder Challenges program announced a 4.95M Euro funding to an international consortium from six countries. Dr. Iftach Nachman from the School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry & Biophysics at The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University leads the Israeli research team. The funding is given to an international consortium for the development of the Supervised Morphogenesis in Gastruloids (SUMO) project.

As part of the SUMO project, the researchers develop embryo like models (called ‘gastruloids’) based on pluripotent stem cells, to mimic cardiac and gastric tissues. With the help of advanced microscopy and machine learning, the consortium aims to make the gastruloids more robust and reproducible. The researchers hope that those models could be implemented in drug scanning and study of mutations in the future, and thus be a viable substitute to the use of lab animals.

Dr. Iftach Nachman: “In recent years the research field of embryonic models is seeing a huge boost. One of the main problems with growing such in-vitro stem-cell based models (and organoids in general) is the great variability between the different samples. We need to learn how to tame and control this variability to realize the promise of those models to the fields of medicine and basic science. This grant will enable us to deepen the scope of the research in this field.”

The SUMO consortium unites researchers from the University Hospital Oslo, Norway (HTH director: Stefan Krauss, coordinator), Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) (Jesse Veenvliet), Imperial College London, UK (HTH PI: Molly Stevens), University of Glasgow, UK (HTH PI: Nikolaj Gadegaard), Tel Aviv University, Israel (Iftach Nachman), Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP), Germany (Jens von Kries) and University of Oslo (HTH PI: Jan Helge Solbakk).

Prof. Dan Peer Appointed as Member of the Prestigious American National Academy of Engineering

Written by AUFTAU on 19 February 2023. Posted in Newsroom.

First Satellite Observatory for Quantum Optical Communication in Israel

Written by AUFTAU on 16 February 2023. Posted in Newsroom.

Tel Aviv University establishes the first satellite observatory for quantum optical communication

“It is impossible to launch a cyber-attack and copy the information, because in quantum mechanics there is a principle that prevents copying (…) That’s how it works in theory. In practice, there are quite a few research questions that need to be answered.” Prof. Yaron Oz

Tracking Satellites on the Move

The station includes a satellite observatory dome with a diameter of 4.25 meters, a tracking system, a primary high-speed camera and secondary tracking cameras, laser equipment, single-photon detectors, and a tracking robot that can carry two telescopes simultaneously. At this stage, the robot arm holds a 24-inch telescope, and in the next stage, the observatory will be equipped with another telescope designed for photography in the infrared range, as well as thermal and hyperspectral cameras.

“The ground station is designed for observing satellites, which are small bodies 400-500 kilometers high that move at about 30,000 kilometers an hour,” says Prof. Yaron Oz, head of the Center for Quantum Science and Technology at Tel Aviv University. “The ability to track satellites is a very precise skill. The satellite passes by very quickly, and during this time you must photograph it in the center of the image and in several different ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum to learn details about it. This is the first and only satellite observatory in Israel, and it is among the most advanced in the entire world.”

In addition to regular optical communication, which uses lasers or LEDs of different wavelengths, the new ground station will also enable the conduction of experiments in quantum optical communication. Advanced communications use the quantum properties of individual photons to transmit encrypted information.

“Theoretically speaking, quantum communication is completely encrypted,” explains Prof. Oz. “It is impossible to launch a cyber-attack and copy the information, because in quantum mechanics there is a principle that prevents copying. As soon as a third party tries to intercept a message, they destroy the original signal – for example, by changing the polarization of the photons – and both communicating parties will know that someone tried to listen in on them.”

“That’s how it works in theory. In practice, there are quite a few research questions that need to be answered.”

“For example, what do we do with interference in a signal that is not created because of attempted eavesdropping, but rather, for example, from the weather? Should we use qubits or qudits, photons that have more than two states? And more generally, how much information can be transmitted this way within the limited transmission time in which the satellite passes over the ground station? The list of unanswered questions is long. It must be understood that quantum communication is a completely experimental field. There are protocols from experiments conducted in laboratories, but the only country that has successfully demonstrated such communication is China, which did so already in 2016. The Americans also apparently succeeded in this, but they published nothing about it in scientific journals. Apart from these two superpowers, a few countries like Germany, Singapore, and now Israel are preparing to demonstrate this capability.”

Prof. Yaron Oz

“Ultimately, we would also like to launch our own satellite, which will try to establish quantum communication with the ground station and with a similar satellite in Singapore.” Prof. Yaron Oz

The Goal: A Dedicated “Blue and White” Quantum Satellite

In the first phase of the project, the Tel Aviv University researchers will try to establish optical communication followed by quantum communication between ground stations, between ground stations and drones, and then between ground stations and a satellite of one of their international partners. Within two to three years, the researchers hope to raise the funds to build a dedicated “blue and white” quantum satellite.

“We are employing the ‘tower and stockade’ method,” says Prof. Oz. “In the beginning, we will place a transmitter on the roof of the second building of the School of Physics, in an attempt to produce an immune quantum key with a rate of hundreds to thousands of bits per second, with the aim of learning and improving the positioning, switching and synchronization capabilities of the light sources and the single-photon detectors. Later, we would like to reduce the size of the transmission system and integrate it into an airborne system, initially with drones, and establish a network of quantum communications. Ultimately, we would also like to launch our own satellite, which will try to establish quantum communication with the ground station and with a similar satellite in Singapore.”

Prof. Ady Arie of The Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Haim Suchowski and Prof. Erez Etzion of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics & Astronomy, director of the optical ground station Michael Tzukran, and research students Dr. Georgi Gary Rozenman, Yuval Reches and Tomer Nahum are also participating in the groundbreaking project. The project is being funded by the University’s Center for Quantum Science and Technology, led by Prof. Yaron Oz and under the administrative management of Ms. Ronit Ackerman, and by the Israel Space Agency under the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology.

Does a Food Sharing Economy Benefit the Environment?

Written by AUFTAU on 14 February 2023. Posted in Newsroom.

According to researchers it depends on how the saved money is spent.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University and Ben Gurion University explored the true benefit of the so-called “digital food sharing economy”: when people advertise and pass on surplus food items to others instead of throwing them away. Is this indeed an environmentally friendly practice that saves resources and significantly reduces harm to the environment? The researchers focused on the effectiveness of food sharing according to three environmental indicators: water depletion, land use, and global warming. They found that a significant proportion of the benefit to the environment is offset when the money saved is then used for purposes that have a negative environmental impact.

“While there is nothing new about sharing food, digitalization has lowered transaction costs substantially, allowing food to be shared not only within social circles of family and friends but also with absolute strangers.” Dr. Tamar Makov

Sharing Food Got Cheaper

The study was led by Tamar Meshulam, under the guidance of Dr. Vered Blass of the Porter School of Environment and Earth Sciences at the Raymond & Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences of Tel Aviv University and Dr. Tamar Makov of Ben-Gurion University, and in collaboration with Dr. David Font-Vivanco, an expert on “rebound effect.” The article won the award for the “Best Article” at the PLATE (Product Lifetimes and the Environment) conference and was published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology.

“Food waste is a critical environmental problem,” explains Tamar Meshulam: “We all throw away food, from the farmer in the field to the consumer at home. In total, about a third of the food produced in the world is lost or wasted. This wasted food is responsible for roughly 10% of GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions, and the land area used to grow food that is then wasted is equal in size to the vast territory of Canada! That’s why it is so important to look for ways to reduce food waste and examine their potential contribution to mitigating climate change.”

According to Dr. Tamar Makov, “Internet platforms for sharing food are gaining popularity all over the world and are seen as a natural solution that can help tackle both food waste and food insecurity at the same time. While there is nothing new about sharing food, digitalization has lowered transaction costs substantially, allowing food to be shared not only within social circles of family and friends but also with absolute strangers.”

“Is it possible that at least some of the money saved is then spent on carbon intensive products and services that negate the benefit of sharing? (…) In this study, we sought to examine this troubling issue in depth.” Dr. Vered Blass

From left to right: Dr. Vered Blass (Tel Aviv University) and Dr. Tamar Makov (Ben-Gurion University)

Where Does the Money Go?

“At the same time, sharing platforms as well as other digitally enabled food waste reduction platforms (e.g., too good to go) can save users a lot of money, which raises the question of what do people typically do with such savings? Considering what people do with the money they save via sharing platforms is critical for evaluating environmental impacts,” notes Makov.

Dr. Vered Blass adds: “Is it possible that at least some of the money saved is then spent on carbon intensive products and services that negate the benefit of sharing?” She offers an example to illustrate: “Let’s say that for one month a young couple lives only on food they obtained for free through a sharing platform, and then they decide to use the money they saved to fly abroad. In such a case, it’s obvious that the plane they will be flying in creates pollution that harms the environment more than all the benefits of sharing. In this study, we sought to examine this troubling issue in depth.”

“As long as our savings are measured in money, and the money is used for additional expenses, the rebound effect will erode our ability to reduce environmental burdens through greater efficiency.” The research team

“Rebound Effect” Detected

The researchers chose to focus on the app OLIO, an international peer-to-peer food-sharing platform, and specifically on its activity in the United Kingdom between the years 2017 and 2019.

Combining models from the fields of industrial ecology, economics, and data science, they measured the benefits of sharing food using three environmental indicators: global warming, the depletion of water sources, and land use. To understand how OLIO users spend their savings they used statistical data published by the UK Office for National Statistics on household spending by consumption purpose to as COICOP (classification of individual consumption according to purpose).

“The location in which the food-sharing took place allowed us to assign each collecting user to their UK income percentile,” shares Meshulam. “We found that about 60% of the app’s users belong to the bottom five deciles, while about 40% of the shares were carried out by the top five deciles. We also found that the second and tenth deciles made up a relatively large number of shares, so we chose to focus on them, along with data on the general population – what they spend their money on, and what the significance of these consumption habits is regarding the savings made possible by sharing.”

The researchers performed a variety of statistical analyses, which yielded fascinating findings. In many cases, there was a considerable gap, or “rebound effect” between the expected environmental benefit and the benefit that was attained.

This rebound effect changed depending on the population and the environmental impact category. Tamar Meshulam cites several examples: For the general population, 68% of the benefit was offset in the global warming category, about 35% was offset in the water depletion category, and about 40% was offset in the land use category. Furthermore, in households that used half of their savings on food, the rebound effect in all categories increased to 80-95%.

The researchers sum up: “The conclusion from our research is that the actual environmental benefits from efficiency improvements often fall short of expectations. This is because the infrastructures supporting human activities are still carbon intensive. As long as our savings are measured in money, and the money is used for additional expenses, the rebound effect will erode our ability to reduce environmental burdens through greater efficiency.”

The researchers also examined what the results would have been if the sharing had been conducted in 2011 (these results are not included in this article). A comparison with the findings of 2019 shows a significant improvement. The explanation for this is that in recent years, Britain has made great efforts to switch to renewable energies, and the impact of this is evident in the decrease of greenhouse gas emissions. The bottom line? The researchers conclude that “as our findings demonstrate, we need to combine a transition to green infrastructure with green consumerism. Each of these individually will not achieve the desired and critical impact needed for humanity and the planet.”

Featured image: Volunteers receive groceries for the elderly in Bat Yam, Israel during the coronavirus before the feast of Pesach (April 7, 2020) (Photo Credit: TAU)

Love Blossoms at Tel Aviv University

Written by AUFTAU on 14 February 2023. Posted in Newsroom.

Two TAU-made couples share their romantic stories.

Romance can be found on Tel Aviv University campus just as it can be found elsewhere in Tel Aviv, but “TAU couples” stand out from the crowd, with their shared love of science and passionate pursuit of the unknown! This Valentine’s Day, we tracked down two of our academic couples and asked them a few questions:

Karen & Matti

Prof. Karen Avraham, Tel Aviv University’s Dean of Medicine, is married to Prof. Matti Mintz, Emeritus at the School of Psychological Sciences at TAU’s Faculty of Social Sciences:

How did you meet?

An MD [Doctor of Medicine] from the Faculty of Medicine saw a poster of mine at a Research Fair. He suggested Matti contact this “famous scientist” who has a model for balance and hearing. Matti arrived in my office about a month later, when I managed to find the time to meet him. He arrived with a motorcycle helmet under his arm and I thought to myself – I didn’t know there were such cool professors at TAU!

What are the perks of being a “TAU couple”?

We have joint publications, joint supervision of graduate students, and can meet during the day for lunch (if I make time for lunch…).

Funny situations arise as well when you’re a TAU couple: One day a colleague from Medicine was in Matti’s office. After an hour, he said to Matti – why do you have a photograph of Prof. Karen Avraham in your office? Needless to know, he didn’t realize we were married.

The most romantic spot on TAU campus?

The path from Medicine to Psychology […].

Moran & Yoni

Dr. Moran Rubinstein from the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry is married to Dr. Yoni Haitin from the Physiology and Pharmacology Department, both at Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Medicine.

Yoni and Moran

How did you meet?

We met during our B.Sc studies at TAU (The Multidisciplinary Program for Life Science and Medicine). Next, we started our M.Sc. studies together at The Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The Faulty of Medicine, TAU, and proceeded together to the direct Ph.D. program.

What are the perks of being a “TAU couple”?

We have studied and worked together for a long time now. We performed numerous experiments jointly and still like to work together to this day.

The most romantic spot on TAU campus?

In the lab – we recently produced recombinant DNA together in Yoni’s lab for a study performed in my lab.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all, from Tel Aviv University Campus!

Light Pollution is Killing Desert Rodents

Written by AUFTAU on 10 February 2023. Posted in Newsroom.

New study shows that artificial light at night can be harmful to ecosystems, biodiversity, and human health.

A new study from Tel Aviv University’s School of Zoology tested the impact of prolonged low-intensity light pollution on two species of desert rodents: the diurnal golden spiny mouse, and the nocturnal common spiny mouse. The findings were highly disturbing: on two different occasions, entire colonies exposed to ALAN (Artificial Light At Night) died within days, and reproduction also decreased significantly compared to control groups. According to the researchers, the results show clearly for the first time that light pollution can be extremely harmful to these species, and suggest they may be harmful to ecosystems, biodiversity, and even human health.

“According to latest studies, about 80% of the world’s human population is exposed to ALAN, and the area affected by light pollution grows annually by 2-6%. In a small and overcrowded state like Israel, very few places remain free of light pollution.” Hagar Vardi-Naim

Humans Changed the Rules

The study was led by Prof. Noga Kronfeld-Schor, Chief Scientist of Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, and PhD student Hagar Vardi-Naim, both from TAU’s School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History. The paper was published in Scientific Reports.

“We have been studying these closely related rodent species for years. They both live in Israel’s rocky deserts: the golden spiny mouse (Acomys russatus) is diurnal [active during the day], and the common spiny mouse (A. cahirinus) in nocturnal [active during the night],” explains Prof. Kronfeld-Schor. “The two species share the same natural habitat but use it at different times to avoid competition. By comparing closely related species that differ in activity times, we gain new insights into the biological clock and its importance to the health of both animals and humans.”

Hagar Vardi-Naim notes that, “in most species studied to date, including humans, the biological clock is synchronized by light. This mechanism evolved over millions of years in response to the daily and annual cycles of sunlight – day and night and their varying lengths that correspond to the change of seasons. Different species developed activity patterns that correspond to these changes in light intensity and daylength and developed anatomical, physiological and behavioral adaptations suitable for day or night activity and seasonality.”

“However, over the last decades, humans have changed the rules by inventing and extensively using artificial light, which generates light pollution. According to latest studies, about 80% of the world’s human population is exposed to ALAN, and the area affected by light pollution grows annually by 2-6%. In a small and overcrowded state like Israel, very few places remain free of light pollution. In our study, we closely monitored the long-term effects of ALAN on individuals and populations under semi-natural conditions.”

“We had seen no preliminary signs (…) We assume that exposure to ALAN had impaired the animals’ immune response, leaving them with no protection against some unidentified pathogen [organism causing disease to its host].” Prof. Noga Kronfeld-Schor

Prof. Noga Kronfeld-Schor

Dramatic Turn of Events

In the study, the researchers placed 96 spiny mice, males and females in equal numbers, in eight spacious outdoor enclosures at TAU’s Zoological Research Garden. The enclosures simulated living conditions in the wild: all animals were exposed to natural environmental conditions, including the natural light/dark cycle, ambient temperatures, humidity, and precipitation. Each enclosure contained shelters, nesting materials and access to sufficient amounts of food. The experimental enclosures were exposed to low-intensity ALAN (like a streetlamp in urban areas) of different wavelengths (colors) for 10 months: two enclosures were exposed to cold white light, two to warm white (yellowish) light, and two to blue light, while two of the enclosures remained dark at night and served as controls. All animals were marked to enable accurate monitoring of changes in behavior and physical condition. The experiment was conducted twice in two successive years.

“The average life expectancy of spiny mice is 4-5 years, and our original plan was to monitor the effects of ALAN on the same colonies, measuring the effects on reproductive output, wellbeing and longevity,” says Prof. Kronfeld-Schor. “But the dramatic results thwarted our plans: on two unrelated occasions, in two different enclosures exposed to white light, all animals died within several days. We had seen no preliminary signs, and autopsies at TAU’s Faculty of Medicine and the Kimron Veterinary Institute in Beit Dagan revealed no abnormal findings in the dead spiny mice. We assume that exposure to ALAN had impaired the animals’ immune response, leaving them with no protection against some unidentified pathogen. No abnormal mortality was recorded in any of the other enclosures, and as far as we are aware, no similar event has ever been documented by researchers before.”

“Our findings show that light pollution, especially cold white and blue light, increases mortality and disrupts reproduction, and thus may be detrimental to the fitness and survival of species in the wild. This adverse effect can have far-reaching consequences at the current wide distribution of light pollution.” Prof. Noga Kronfeld-Schor

Disrupted Reproduction

Other findings also indicated that exposure to ALAN disrupts the reproductive success of spiny mice: “In the wild both species of spiny mice breed mainly during summer, when temperatures are high, and the newborn pups are most likely to survive,” shares Hagar Vardi-Naim. “Artificial light, however, seemed to confuse the animals. The common spiny mice began to breed year-round but produced a lower number of pups per year. Pups born during winter are not expected to survive in nature, which would further reduce the species’ reproductive success in the wild.”

“The reproduction of golden spiny mice was affected in a different way: colonies exposed to ALAN continued to breed in the summer, but the number of young was reduced by half compared to the control group, which continued to thrive and breed normally. These findings are in accordance with the fact that in seasonal long day breeders the cue for reproduction is day length.”

Additional tests revealed that exposure to ALAN caused physiological and hormonal changes – most significantly in the level of cortisol, an important stress hormone involved in the regulation and operation of many physiological pathways, including the regulation of the immune system. Lab tests indicated that exposure to blue light increased cortisol levels of golden spiny mice, while white light reduced cortisol levels of golden spiny mice males in winter.

“Our findings show that light pollution, especially cold white and blue light, increases mortality and disrupts reproduction, and thus may be detrimental to the fitness and survival of species in the wild. This adverse effect can have far-reaching consequences at the current wide distribution of light pollution. Our clear results are an important step toward understanding the impact of light pollution on biodiversity and will help us promote science-based policies, specifically with regard to the use of artificial light in both built and open areas. In future studies we plan to investigate what caused the extensive deaths in the enclosures exposed to ALAN, focusing on the effect of light pollution exposure on the immune system,” concludes Prof. Kronfeld Schor.

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