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While You Were Sleeping

Written by AUFTAU on . Posted in Newsroom.

Could we be one step closer to verifying whether a seemingly unconscious person is truly unaware of his or her surroundings?

A new TAU discovery may provide a key to a great scientific enigma: How does the awake brain transform sensory input into a conscious experience? The researchers were surprised to discover that the brain’s response to sound remains powerful during sleep in all parameters but one: the level of alpha-beta waves associated with attention to the auditory input and related expectations. This means that during sleep, the brain analyzes the auditory input but is unable to focus on the sound or identify it, and therefore no conscious awareness ensues.

The study was led by Dr. Hanna Hayat and with major contribution from Dr. Amit Marmelshtein, at the lab of Prof. Yuval Nir from the School of Medicine of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, the Sagol School of Neuroscience, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and co-supervised by Prof. Itzhak Fried from the UCLA Medical Center. Other participants included: Dr. Aaron Krom and Dr. Yaniv Sela from Prof. Nir’s group, and Dr. Ido Strauss and Dr. Firas Fahoum from the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov). The paper was published in the prestigious journal Nature Neuroscience.

A Deep Dive into the Human Brain

Prof. Nir explains that this study is unique in that it builds upon rare data from electrodes implanted deep inside the human brain, enabling high-resolution monitoring, down to the level of individual neurons, of the brain’s electrical activity.

While electrodes cannot be implanted in the brain of living humans just for the sake of scientific research, in this case the researchers were able to utilize a special medical procedure in which electrodes were implanted in the brains of epilepsy patients, monitoring activity in different parts of their brain for purposes of diagnosis and treatment. The patients volunteered to help examine the brain’s response to auditory stimulation in wakefulness versus sleep.

The researchers placed speakers emitting various sounds at the patients’ bedside and compared data from the implanted electrodes – neural activity and electrical waves in different areas of the brain – during wakefulness and during various stages of sleep. Altogether, the team collected data from over 700 neurons (about 50 neurons in each patient) over the course of 8 years.

 

Dr. Hanna Hayat

Measuring the Strength of Alpha-beta Waves

“After sounds are received in the ear, the signals are relayed from one station to the next within the brain,” explains Dr. Hayat. “Until recently it was believed that during sleep these signals decay rapidly once they reach the cerebral cortex.  But looking at the data from the electrodes, we were surprised to discover that the brain’s response during sleep was much stronger and richer than we had expected. Moreover, this powerful response spread to many regions of the cerebral cortex. The strength of brain response during sleep was similar to the response observed during wakefulness, in all but one specific feature: the level of activity of alpha-beta waves.”

The researchers explain that alpha-beta waves (10-30Hz) are linked to processes of attention and expectation that are controlled by feedback from higher regions in the brain. As signals travel ‘bottom-up’ from the sensory organs to higher regions, a ‘top-down’ motion also occurs: the higher regions, relying on prior information that had accumulated in the brain, act as a guide, sending down signals to instruct the sensory regions as to which input to focus on, which should be ignored, etc. Thus, for example, when a certain sound is received in the ear, the higher regions can tell whether it is new or familiar, and whether it deserves attention or not.

“We hope that our findings will serve as a basis for developing effective new methods for measuring the level of awareness of individuals who are supposedly in various states of unconsciousness.”

This kind of brain activity is manifested in the suppression of alpha-beta waves, and indeed, previous studies have shown a high level of these waves in states of rest and anesthesia. According to the current study, the strength of alpha-beta waves is the main difference between the brain’s response to auditory inputs in states of wakefulness vs. sleep.

Decoding Consciousness

Prof Nir summarizes: “Our findings have wide implications beyond this specific experiment. First, they provide an important key to an ancient, fascinating enigma: What is the secret of consciousness? What is the ‘X-factor’, the brain activity that is unique to consciousness, allowing us to be aware of things happening around us when we are awake, and disappearing when we sleep? In this study we discovered a new lead, and in future research we intend to further explore the mechanisms responsible for this difference. 

“In addition, having identified a specific brain feature that is different between states of consciousness and unconsciousness, we now have a distinct quantitative measure – the first of its kind – for assessing an individual’s awareness of incoming sounds. We hope that in the future, with improved techniques for measuring alpha-beta brain waves, and non-invasive monitoring methods such as EEG, it will be possible to accurately assess a person’s state of consciousness in various situations: verifying that patients remain unconscious throughout a surgical procedure, monitoring the awareness of people with dementia, or determining whether an allegedly comatose individual, unable to communicate, is truly unaware of his/her surroundings. In such cases, low levels of alpha-beta waves in response to sound could suggest that a person considered unconscious may in fact perceive and understand the words being said around him. We hope that our findings will serve as a basis for developing effective new methods for measuring the level of awareness of individuals who are supposedly in various states of unconsciousness. “

 

Two New Planets Found in Milky Way

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TAU team leads discovery of giant planets, similar in size to Jupiter, in remote corner of the galaxy.

Tel Aviv University researchers led the recent discovery of two new planets in remote solar systems within the Milky Way galaxy. They identified the giant planets, named Gaia-1b and Gaia-2b, as part of a study in collaboration with teams from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the body’s Gaia spacecraft.

The development marks the first time that the Gaia spacecraft successfully detected new planets. Gaia is a star-surveying satellite on a mission to chart a 3D map of the Milky Way with unprecedented accuracy comparable to standing on Earth and identifying a 10-shekel coin (roughly the size of a U.S. nickel) on the Moon.  

TAU’s Prof. Shay Zucker, Head of the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, and doctoral student Aviad Panhi from the Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics & Astronomy led the initiative. The findings were published in the scientific journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. 

More Discoveries on the Horizon

“The discovery of the two new planets was made in the wake of precise searches, using methods of artificial intelligence,” said Prof. Zucker. “We have also published 40 more candidates we detected by Gaia. The astronomical community will now have to try to corroborate their planetary nature, like we did for the first two candidates.”

The two new planets are referred to as “Hot Jupiters” due to their size and proximity to their host star: “The measurements we made with the telescope in the U.S. confirmed that these were in fact two giant planets, similar in size to the planet Jupiter in our solar system, and located so close to their suns that they complete an orbit in less than four days, meaning that each Earth year is comparable to 90 years of that planet,” he adds.  

Giant Leaps for Astronomy 

There are eight planets in our solar system. Less known are the hundreds of thousands of other planets in the Milky Way, which contains an untold number of solar systems. Planets in remote solar systems were first discovered in 1995 and have been an ongoing subject of astronomers’ research ever since, in hopes of using them to learn more about our own solar system.  

To fulfill its mission, Gaia scans the skies while rotating around an axis, tracking the locations of about 2 billion suns, stars at the center of a solar system, in our galaxy with precision of up to a millionth of a degree. While tracking the location of the stars, Gaia also measures their brightness — an incomparably important feature in observational astronomy, since it relays significant information about the physical characteristics of celestial bodies around them. Changes documented in the brightness of the two remote stars were what led to the discovery. Aviad Panhi explains: “The planets were discovered thanks to the fact that they partially hide their suns every time they complete an orbit, and thus cause a cyclical drop in the intensity of the light reaching us from that distant sun.”

To confirm that the celestial bodies were in fact planets, the researchers performed tracking measurements with the Large Binocular Telescope, in Arizona, one of the largest telescopes in the world today. The telescope makes it possible to track small fluctuations in a star’s movement which are caused by the presence of an orbiting planet.

The discovery marks another milestone in the scientific contribution of the Gaia spacecraft’s mission, which has already been credited with a true revolution in the world of astronomy. Gaia’s ability to discover planets via the partial occultation method, which generally requires continuous monitoring over a long period of time, has been doubted up to now. The research team charged with this mission developed an algorithm specially adapted to Gaia’s characteristics, and searched for years for these signals in the cumulative databases from the spaceship.  

Signs of Life?

What about the possibility of life on the surface of those remote new planets? “The new planets are very close to their suns, and therefore the temperature there is extremely high, about 1,000 degrees Celsius, so there is zero chance of life developing there,” explains Panhi. Still, he says, “I’m convinced that there are countless others that do have life on them, and it’s reasonable to assume that in the next few years we will discover signs of organic molecules in the atmospheres of remote planets. Most likely we will not get to visit those distant worlds any time soon, but we’re just starting the journey, and it’s very exciting to be part of the search.” 

Startups On the Right Track

Written by AUFTAU on . Posted in Newsroom.

These teams wowed the judges with their innovative ideas at this year’s Coller Startup Competition.

The sixth annual Coller Startup Competition final took place recently on TAU campus, as the final teams of TAU students and alumni pitched their startups for an investment of $100 000 on each track.

Encouraging Entrepreneurial Venturing

The goal of the competition is to encourage TAU students and alumni to engage in entrepreneurial venturing and launch successful startups, and previous winners have gained recognition, support, and millions of dollars in follow-on investments. Diverse team are welcome to join, hailing from different faculties and disciplines.

Dr. Eyal Benjamin, Head of Entrepreneurial Projects, Coller Institute of Venture, and Director of the Coller Startup Competition, opened the event stating that “Being a unicorn should not be perceived as the ‘holy grail’. Being successful and achieving what you set out to achieve with your venture – that is the ‘holy grail’. First, it is important to articulate what you wish to achieve and your desired reach. That’s what we’re doing here. We help [TAU students and alumni] move forward and grow their ventures. This is the reason why the competition was established in the first place.” 

The Coller $100,000 Startup Competition was established five years ago, by Mr. Jeremy Coller, Chief Investment Officer at Coller Capita and Co-Founder of the Competition and Chief Entrepreneurship and Innovation Officer at the Coller School of ManagementProf. Moshe Zviran. It is a multi-staged process, offering mentoring and enhancement process for participating startups, as investors and innovation experts give valuable feedback on the ventures, serving the startups for the long run. At the final event, the teams gain exposure to additional investors who come to watch the ventures’ presentation.  

Multiple Tracks

We did not envy the 52 judges (among them were VCs, angel investors, academics and entrepreneurs), as we listened to 13 hopeful teams (out of the 110 startups that applied) who took turns pitching their ideas. Each team got five minutes to wow the judges.

The ideas presented were diverse – covering tools to help children with special needs, personalized real time makeup assistance, production of egg proteins, solutions for the freight forwarding industry, and more.

Whereas last year’s competition featured only two tracks, Prof. Zviran explains, “We started with the Technology track. We then proceeded to add the food tech track – and this year, we’ve chosen to distinguish between Deep Tech and Online, which means that this year we offer three separate competition tracks.” The plan is to expand to include additional tracks, covering additional fields with new partners.   

 

The judges of the Coller Startup Competition 2022 had to make some tough decisions (photo: Nimrod Glickman)

Taking the Chicken out of the Equation

This year’s winner of the FoodTech track (the only track that is not preconditioned by TAU affiliation) was PoLoPo, a biotech startup developing a plant platform for high-scale, economical custom-made production of proteins. PoLoPo exploits the full potential of plants as diverse metabolite and green protein factories, and have successfully engineered egg proteins (= animal proteins), without chickens. Eliminating the need for chickens is good news for those of us who do not eat regular eggs, as well as for the climate and the environment, and in particular given the context of recent bird flu viruses. The founders of the startup are Dr. Raya Liberman- Aloni and Dr. Maya Sapir-Mir.

 

PoLoPo share celebrate their victory on their LinkedIn page

In a Heartbeat

Symbiosis won the DeepTech Track. The Symbiosis team are developing a novel personalized platform for anchoring and sealing of irregular anatomical structures in real time, with emphasis on the mitral valve apparatus for moderate to severe MR patients. Or, in simpler terms, the project is developing a solution to the problem of heart failure.

The project’s Co-Founder, Shira Burg, got the idea after witnessing many dogs suffer from the problem as a veterinarian. Today, she is a doctoral student in the field of electrophysiology of the heart at TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine, and symbiosis C.M. offers a solution to the problem for humans (and in the future also in dogs). Burg and second Co-Founder, Varda Badet, also a TAU alumni, were awarded a $100,000 investment from Coller Capital.

Insert a Good Shipping Quote Here

Due to the significant changes Covid-19 brought to the freight forwarding industry, companies are looking for solutions to stay competitive. According to Pierate.io, winner of this year’s Online track, the global shipping industry is “inefficient, outdated, and manual,” and the company argues that “one quote should not take so long to generate.” Pierate.io offers a SaaS platform which collects data from all sources to allow the freight forwarders’ sales teams to generate highly accurate price quotes in just a few clicks.”  

Pierate.io won the online track at a $100,000 investment by PALSAR Ventures (specializing in early-stage investments in the online field)), which was surprisingly joined by Jeremy Coller, who pitched in with an additional $100,000 investment while the team was still on stage.

 

A happy post on Pierate’s LinkedIn page

The company’s founders, Eyal Daniel, TAU alumnus Sidney Feiner and Maayan Weinheber, also a TAU alumnus, went home (or perhaps to the nearest bar to celebrate?) with a check totaling $200,000.

 

The Pierate team left the competition $200,000 richer. From left: Prof. Moshe Zviran, Chief Entrepreneurship and Innovation Officer at the Coller School of Management; Adv. Eyal Bar-Zvi, Partner in PALSAR Ventures Fund; Pierate CEO Eyal Daniel; CTO Sidney Feiner; CEO Maayan Weinheber and Dr. Eyal Benjamin, Director of the Coller Startup Competition (photo: Shlomi Mizrahi)

Congratulations to the winning teams and good luck with your new ventures!

Featured image: Dr. Eyal Benjamin (far left) and Prof. Moshe Zviran (far right) with the competition’s winning teams

Diagnosing Diseases in Space

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TAU researchers successfully test genetic diagnosis under microgravity conditions.

If pursuing the unknown in space is on your bucket list, you can take comfort in knowing that TAU researchers recently conducted a unique experiment at the International Space Station to test genetic diagnosis under microgravity conditions. The researchers launched a kit together with Israeli astronaut Eytan Stibbe to space and proved that an existing technology based on a bacterial immune system against viruses, ‘CRISPR’, can be used to identify viruses and bacteria infecting crew members during space missions.

The study was led by Dr. Dudu Burstein from the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, Tel Aviv University and Dr. Gur Pines from the Volcani Institute. The experiment was conducted by Stibbe as part of the “Rakia” mission in April, under the leadership of the Ramon Foundation and the Israel Space Agency.

Suited for Astronauts

CRISPR systems are the immune systems of bacteria from viruses. Bacteria use the CRISPR-Cas systems as a sort of molecular ‘search engine’ to locate viral sequences and cleave them to disable viruses.

As part of their scientific vision, the researchers hypothesized that genetic diagnostics using this method, which requires minimal and easily operated equipment, could be suitable for long space missions: “Conditions in space are extremely problematic,” explains Burstein. “Treatment methods are limited, so it is essential to identify pathogens [= a microorganism that can cause disease] in a rapid, reliable, and straightforward method.” The method stands in contrast to tests like PCR (which we are now all familiar with due to Covid-19), which Burstein notes require trained personnel and relatively complex equipment.”

 

Researchers discussing the experimental design. From left to right: Dan Alon, Dr. David Burstein, Dr. Gur Pines (Photo: Ella Rannon)

Burstein outlines the process: “First, the DNA is amplified: each targeted DNA molecule is repeatedly duplicated many times. Then the CRISPR-Cas goes into action: If it identifies the target DNA, it activates a fluorescent molecular marker. The fluorescence lets us know whether the bacteria or viruses of interest are indeed present in the sample. This whole process can be conducted in one tiny test tube, so it is well suited for the astronauts’ needs.”

Zero Gravity? No problem!

Dr. Burstein describes the preparation for the space experiment: “Doctoral student Dan Alon and Dr. Karin Mittelman planned the experiment in detail and conducted it countless times in the lab under various conditions. After reaching the desired result, they prepared a kit, including the CRISPR-Cas system and the other components required for detection. Eventually, the kit was launched with Eytan Stibbe to the International Space Station.”

The experiments conducted by Stibbe were very successful, and proved that it is indeed possible to perform precise and sensitive CRISPR-based diagnosis – even in an environment with virtually no gravity.

What now? “This is the first step towards the simple and rapid diagnosis of diseases and pathogens on space missions,” says Burstein, adding that there is still some work to do on the next stages, including, “simple extraction of DNA from samples, making the system more efficient, so that it will be able to test a variety of organisms in one test tube, and diagnosis of more complex samples.”

“It was inspiring to see our test kit in Eytan’s hands at the Space Station, and we’re even more excited by the possibility that such kits will help future astronauts on their extraterrestrial missions,” he concludes.

 

Eytan Stibbe executing the experiment on the International Space Station (Photo: the Ramon Foundation and the Israel Space Agency)

Featured image: International space station on orbit of planet Earth 

Tackling a Worrying Rise in Cyber Crimes and Warfare

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Israel’s 12th annual Cyber Week highlights critical need for coordinated response.

Israel’s 12th Annual Cyber Week Conference was attended last week by 300 speakers, 7000 in person and 2000 online attendees from 80 countries. The speakers included top Israeli government figures such as then Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz; leading American and British cyber figures, including Chris Inglis, the National Cyber Director at the Executive Office of the President at the White House and Lindy Cameron CEO of the British National Cyber Security Centre, and security executives from large companies, such as Walmart, SolarWinds,Apple and Netflix.

TAU researchers presented different academic perspectives on cybersecurity challenges, demonstrating the broad interdisciplinary scientific research on cybersecurity at TAU: Prof. Eran Toch from the Department of Industrial Engineering on “The Science of Cybersecurity in Organizations: Why is it so hard and what it takes to do it right”; Prof. Niva Elkin-Koren from The Buchmann Faculty of Law on “Digital Surveillance: Rethinking the Design Approach” and Prof. Yehuda Afek from the Blavatnik School of Computer Science on “Securing the DNS System.” 

This year’s gathering took place against the backdrop of unprecedented cyber challenges and events including Russia’s war on Ukraine. Speakers described a dramatic and concerning rise in cyber warfare as well as cybercrime – cyber-related damage is predicted to hit $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, while cybersecurity spending on data protection and risk management could reach $172 billion globally in 2022. Yet they also expressed hope in the effectiveness of properly implemented defenses and evolution in defensive cyber techniques to meet the challenge.

The Human Aspect of Cyber

Ira Winkler, CISSP, Chief Security Architect of Walmart, outlined the important role government plays saying, “at a high level, governance tells people how to do things correctly with cyber security at the forefront.” He also recognized the need to account for the human aspect of cyber and to be realistic when devising and implementing strategy, “A user is as much as part of the system as a computer. Stop expecting people not to click on suspicious content, but rather have a strong network protecting them.”

The human face of fraud victims was highlighted through Norwegian Netflix star, Cecilie Fjellhøy, from  “Tinder Swindler,” who was scammed of hundreds of thousands of US dollars by a man she knew as Simon Leviev. Fjellhøy uses her own experience to fight for justice for fraud victims around the world, and discussed the subject of “the day after” for those affected and what we as a society can learn from it.

 

Cecilie Fjellhøy from “Tinder Swindler used her own experience to speak up for fraud victims (Photo: Chen Galili)

In contrast, self-professed “Hacker, Helper and Human,” Jason E. Street, VP Infosec, Sphere NY, USA, illustrated weak points – human factors were highlighted – of companies and institutions with regard to security breaches. Street showed video footage of himself strolling into banks and compromising their security on the highest level in next to no time. He reminded those in the audience who were shaking their heads and laughing that their companies could be next in line, and urged them to prepare for such a scenario. 

Terrorists with Keyboards

Israel’s former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett pointed out how “inevitably cyber is going to become one, if not the most, prominent dimensions of future warfare,” while drawing attention to the vital need for global collaboration in the cyber sphere. In cyber, he reasoned, the same actors who attack one company or country are often attacking others at the same time. Information sharing can help all vulnerable parties defend themselves.

Israel’s Minister of Defense, Benny Gantz, outlined the increasing shift of conflicts to the cybersphere, noting that bad actors are already carrying out cyberattacks, particularly Iran. The country uses new [cyber] proxies, who Gantz referred to as “terrorists with keyboards,” in addition to their direct actions. He stressed the need for private companies to follow government guidelines and cooperate on a response, stressing that “Iran is first a global challenge, then it is a regional challenge, and only finally is it a threat to the State of Israel. The same goes for the cyber dimensions – the same framework of cooperation vis-a-vis Iran is expanding to cyber.”

 

Then Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaks at Cyber Week 2022 conference at Tel Aviv University (Photo: Chen Galili)

About Cyber Week

Cyber Week is a leading international cybersecurity event that provides a unique opportunity for experts from industry, government, military and academia to share their knowledge about the challenges and opportunities in the field. Cyber Week is jointly held by the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center (ICRC); The Yuval Ne’eman Workshop for Science, Technology and Security at Tel Aviv University; and the Israeli National Cyber Directorate under the Prime Minister’s Office. 

Prof. Karen Avraham Elected Dean of TAU’s Medical Faculty

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Israeli-American geneticist is the first woman appointed to the position.

Prof. Karen Avraham was selected as the next Dean of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University. She is the first woman appointed to the position.

She will replace Prof. Ehud Grossman, and her tenure will begin on September 1. Prior to this appointment, Prof. Avraham served as Vice Dean for Pre-Clinical Affairs at the Faculty of Medicine.

“Medicine is undergoing a transformation, both in terms of research and education. We will continue to be at the forefront of medical research, and I am very much looking forward to leading our Faculty to new breakthroughs,” she said.

Prof. Avraham is recognized as one of Israel’s top scientists for her research that centers on disease genomics with an emphasis on hearing disorders. To that effect, her team explores the genes responsible for hereditary hearing loss and implements new gene therapies to reverse deafness. Recently, she has expanded her research to study rare genetic diseases, including developmental delay, epilepsy and breathing disorders in children. She is a member of the Department of Human Molecular Genetics & Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine and the Sagol School of Neuroscience.

For her scientific achievements, she has won numerous awards, including: the Sir Bernard Katz Prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany, the Michael Bruno Memorial Prize from the Rothschild Foundation (Yad Hanadiv), the TEVA Prize for Groundbreaking Research in the Field of Rare Diseases, and the Teva Founders Prize on Breakthroughs. Prof. Avraham’s work was also featured among the top pioneering Israeli discoveries and developments that affected the world, at a 2016 exhibit at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport.

Prof. Avraham has advised 135 graduate, MD-PhD students and post-docs in her lab and recruited 65 junior faculty to the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University. She serves as director of The Healthy Longevity Research Center and is co-director of The Aufzien Family Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease and of the Taube-Koret Global Collaboration in Neurodegenerative Diseases. She founded and directs the Biomed@TAU Research Hubs, whose mission is to bring together scientists and foster collaboration from across Tel Aviv University and affiliated hospitals who share overlapping research interests.

Born in Canada, Prof. Avraham moved to the US at a young age before coming to Israel, where she earned her PhD from the Weizmann Institute of Science. She conducted post-doctoral training at the United States’ National Cancer Institute in Maryl

Cyber Week 2022 at TAU: Combating ‘Real and Growing’ Threats

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Thousands due to attend mega event returning to its full in-person format.

Cyber Week, one of the top cybersecurity events in the world, is making a full return to Tel Aviv University campus in its usual in-person format on June 27th – 30th.

With thousands of attendees from more than 80 countries, including top CISOs and government decision makers from around the globe, this year’s conference offers a thought-provoking exchange of knowledge, methods, and ideas on burning topics like fraud, crypto, cloud, the supply chain, cybersecurity for aviation, maritime, automotive, data protection, capacity building and the future cyber landscape.

The events will run for a full week and include over 40 roundtables, panels, workshops, forums, competitions, and more.

 

Pressing Need for Cyber Security Solutions

Cybercrime has never been a bigger threat than it is now, with a 600% increase in malicious emails since the beginning of the pandemic and related damage predicted to hit $10.5 trillion annually by 2025.

Furthermore, since the outbreak of Russia’s war on Ukraine, cyber experts have seen a dramatic and concerning rise in cyber warfare activity, with a sustained and ongoing conflict which still threatens to escalate dramatically.

It has become increasingly important as a result, to inspire innovation and effective cyber security solutions in the industry. Major Gen (Ret) Prof. Isaac Ben Israel Head of the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center and Chairman of the Conference stresses, “Cyber is an increasingly vulnerable space that is affecting everyone. Businesses must wise up to the real and growing threat of cyber-attacks, and cybersecurity experts must be ready to respond to the escalating demand for cyber security with novel solutions. We must prepare now to be ready for what we know tomorrow will inevitably hold.”

Cyber Week’s events span a wide variety of topics dealing with all aspects of the issue, including regulation and law, startup innovation, artificial intelligence, financial technologies, healthcare and cyber defense, and aim to inspire innovation, drive solutions and encourage collaboration. 

 

Israeli outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke at last year’s Cyber Week conference at Tel Aviv University

Experts from Near and Far

The Conference is now in its 12th year, and its Main Plenary Event (held from June 28th to June 29th) is the largest and most anticipated event of Cyber Week each year, during which some of the most renowned names in the cyber world will discuss crucial dilemmas and issues facing the public and private sectors of every company, city, and country in the world today. 

This year’s speakers include: Outgoing Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett; Benjamin Gantz, Israel Minister of  Defense; Anne Neuberger, Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber & Emerging Technologies, White House, USA; Chris Inglis, National Cyber Director of the Executive Office of the US President; Gaby Portnoy, the Director General of the Israel National Cyber Directorate; Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Prof. Isaac Ben-Israel, Conference Chairman of Cyber Week and Director of Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center at the Tel Aviv University; Jane Horvath, Chief Privacy Officer of Apple, Inc.; Lindy Cameron, CEO of the National Cyber Security Center; Tim Brown, CISO of SolarWinds; Cecilie Fjellhøy, Founder of action:reaction, Netflix-star Tinder Swindler; Jason Chan; Former VP, Information Security of Netflix and many more.

 

Want to Join?

Register here, free of charge: https://cyberweek.tau.ac.il/2022/

Cyber Week is hosted by the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center and the Yuval Ne’eman Workshop for Science, Technology and Security, at Tel Aviv University, headed by Major Gen. (Ret.) Prof. Isaac Ben-Israel, together with the National Cyber Directorate at the Prime Minister’s Office, The Ministry of Economy and Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Olive Trees Were First Domesticated 7,000 Years Ago

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Earliest evidence for cultivation of a fruit tree, according to researchers.

A joint study by researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University unraveled the earliest evidence for domestication of a fruit tree. The researchers analyzed remnants of charcoal from the Chalcolithic site of Tel Zaf in the Jordan Valley and determined that they came from olive trees. Since the olive did not grow naturally in the Jordan Valley, this means that the inhabitants planted the tree intentionally about 7,000 years ago. Some of the earliest stamps were also found at the site, and as a whole, the researchers say the findings indicate wealth, and early steps toward the formation of a complex multilevel society.

The groundbreaking study was led by Dr. Dafna Langgut of the The Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology & Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, The Sonia & Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University. The charcoal remnants were found in the archaeological excavation directed by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University. The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports from the publishers of Nature.

‘Indisputable Proof of Domestication’

According to Dr. Langgut, Head of the Laboratory of Archaeobotany & Ancient Environments which specializes in microscopic identification of plant remains, “trees, even when burned down to charcoal, can be identified by their anatomic structure. Wood was the ‘plastic’ of the ancient world. It was used for construction, for making tools and furniture, and as a source of energy. That’s why identifying tree remnants found at archaeological sites, such as charcoal from hearths, is a key to understanding what kinds of trees grew in the natural environment at the time, and when humans began to cultivate fruit trees.”

In her lab, Dr. Langgut identified the charcoal from Tel Zaf as belonging to olive and fig trees. “Olive trees grow in the wild in the land of Israel, but they do not grow in the Jordan Valley,” she says. “This means that someone brought them there intentionally – took the knowledge and the plant itself to a place that is outside its natural habitat. In archaeobotany, this is considered indisputable proof of domestication, which means that we have here the earliest evidence of the olive’s domestication anywhere in the world.”

 

7,000 years-old microscopic remains of charred olive wood (Olea) recovered from Tel Tsaf (Photo: Dr. Dafna Langgut)

“I also identified many remnants of young fig branches. The fig tree did grow naturally in the Jordan Valley, but its branches had little value as either firewood or raw materials for tools or furniture, so people had no reason to gather large quantities and bring them to the village. Apparently, these fig branches resulted from pruning, a method still used today to increase the yield of fruit trees.”

Evidence of Luxury

The tree remnants examined by Dr. Langgut were collected by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University, who headed the dig at Tel Zaf. Prof. Garfinkel: “Tel Zaf was a large prehistoric village in the middle Jordan Valley south of Beit She’an, inhabited between 7,200 and 6,700 years ago. Large houses with courtyards were discovered at the site, each with several granaries for storing crops. Storage capacities were up to 20 times greater than any single family’s calorie consumption, so clearly these were caches for storing great wealth. The wealth of the village was manifested in the production of elaborate pottery, painted with remarkable skill. In addition, we found articles brought from afar: pottery of the Ubaid culture from Mesopotamia, obsidian from Anatolia, a copper awl from the Caucasus, and more.”

Dr. Langgut and Prof. Garfinkel were not surprised to discover that the inhabitants of Tel Zaf were the first in the world to intentionally grow olive and fig groves, since growing fruit trees is evidence of luxury, and this site is known to have been exceptionally wealthy.

Dr. Langgut: “The domestication of fruit trees is a process that takes many years, and therefore befits a society of plenty, rather than one that struggles to survive. Trees give fruit only 3-4 years after being planted. Since groves of fruit trees require a substantial initial investment, and then live on for a long time, they have great economic and social significance in terms of owning land and bequeathing it to future generations – procedures suggesting the beginnings of a complex society. Moreover, it’s quite possible that the residents of Tel Zaf traded in products derived from the fruit trees, such as olives, olive oil, and dried figs, which have a long shelf life. Such products may have enabled long-distance trade that led to the accumulation of material wealth, and possibly even taxation – initial steps in turning the locals into a society with a socio-economic hierarchy supported by an administrative system.”

Dr. Langgut concludes: “At the Tel Zaf archaeological site we found the first evidence in the world for the domestication of fruit trees, alongside some of the earliest stamps – suggesting the beginnings of administrative procedures. As a whole, the findings indicate wealth, and early steps toward the formation of a complex multilevel society, with the class of farmers supplemented by classes of clerks and merchants.”

Asper Foundation, TAU Launch Innovative Clean Water Project

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Gift enhances partnership between Tel Aviv University and one of Canada’s largest foundation.

Tel Aviv University together with the Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University (CFTAU) on June 14 inaugurated the Asper Clean Water Fund, established with a $407,000 gift from The Asper Foundation, one of Canada’s largest private foundations. The funds will bolster the work of TAU’s Water Energy (WE) Lab to further develop technology that produces safe drinking water in the developing world. 

Headed by Prof. Hadas Mamane of TAU’s Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, the Lab is among numerous research teams devising solutions to address global water scarcity. Her Lab has developed a patented technology that uses LED lighting and solar energy to disinfect water. The laptop-sized device—called SoLED—operates without any chemicals or electricity to kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses from water, making it cheaper and easier to use than existing solutions in remote areas. 

At least 2 billion people around the world use water from contaminated sources. Furthermore, unsafe water is linked to the deaths of an estimated 800 children each day. The issue predominantly affects people in the developing world, where access to clean water resources is often unaffordable or inaccessible. More so, as the impact of climate change increases, water scarcity will affect nearly half the world’s population by 2025, according to expert estimates. 

Among attendees at the inauguration ceremony at TAU were Gail Asper, President and Trustee of The Asper Foundation; Moses Levy, Executive Director of The Asper Foundation; TAU Vice President for Resource Development Amos Elad; Dean of the Engineering Faculty Prof. Noam Eliaz; and Prof. Mamane together with researchers from her lab. 

“My late parents, Israel and Babs, would be incredibly proud of this endeavor which will make such a positive impact on people’s lives,” said Gail Asper. “The research at Prof. Mamane’s Water-Energy Lab and at Tel Aviv University aligns with our Foundation’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurial spirit and to creating a better world. We are excited to embark on this journey to advance innovative ideas and change lives.” 

The support of The Asper Foundation, a leading force in Jewish and general philanthropy in Israel and Canada, will enable Prof. Mamane and her team to further expand the capabilities of the technology and field-test the device. Their ultimate goal is to produce a scalable version that could be manufactured for mass distribution.  

 

Prof. Hadas Mamane, head of Tel Aviv University’s Water Energy (WE) Lab, with the SoLED device. (Credit: Rafael Ben-Menashe/TAU)

The gift enhances the existing partnership of philanthropic support and collaboration between the Asper Family, based in Winnipeg, and the University. 

Tel Aviv University President Prof. Ariel Porat said: “As Israel’s largest research university, TAU places great importance on creating solutions to global challenges to the environment and society. We are thrilled to welcome The Asper Foundation as a partner and look forward to working with its team.” 

Prof. Mamane, Head of the Water-Energy Lab and Environmental Engineering Program at TAU, explained that her passion for the project stems from her deep-seated desire to help bridge the disparities in affordable clean water access, particularly for vulnerable peoples in rural and low-income communities. Her lab works with interdisciplinary teams from disciplines including Social Sciences, Psychology and Public Policy to determine the most effective ways to incorporate her technology into broader safe water delivery processes. 

“My team and I are delighted and honored by The Asper Foundation’s support,” she said. “This gift will accelerate our efforts to provide underserved populations with access to clean water—a basic human right and an endeavor that stands to save thousands of lives.” 

Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University Chief Executive Officer (Ontario & Western Canada) Stephen Adler added: “CFTAU is proud to be a link between the great Canadian family and Israel’s leading research university. We look forward to seeing the fruits of this research and identifying ways to maximize its impact in Israel, Canada and around the world. We thank The Asper Family Foundation and the Asper Family for their continued support and friendship.” 

Breakthrough Technology Could Lead to One-Time HIV Treatment

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TAU researchers demonstrate initial success in neutralizing the virus with a single vaccine.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University demonstrated success of a novel technology that may be developed into a one-time vaccine to treat people with HIV and AIDS. The team used CRISP systems, best known as a gene-editing technique, to engineer type B white blood cells that activate the immune system to produce HIV-neutralizing antibodies.

The study was led by Dr. Adi Barzel and PhD student Alessio Nehmad, both from the School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics at The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and the Dotan Center for Advanced Therapies at TAU in collaboration with the Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov). The study was conducted in collaboration with additional researchers from Israel and the US. The study was published in the prestigious journal Nature.

An Inside Operation

There is currently no permanent cure for AIDS. There is also no genetic treatment for AIDS, so the research opportunities are vast. “Based on this study,” says Dr. Barzel, “we can expect that over the coming years we will be able to produce a medication for AIDS, additional infectious diseases and certain types of cancer caused by a virus, such as cervical cancer, head and neck cancer and more.” 

Dr. Barzel explains: “We developed an innovative treatment that may defeat the virus with a one-time injection, with the potential of bringing about tremendous improvement in the patients’ condition. When the engineered B cells encounter the virus, the virus stimulates and encourages them to divide, so we are utilizing the very cause of the disease to combat it. Furthermore, if the virus changes, the B cells will also change accordingly in order to combat it, so we have created the first medication ever that can evolve in the body and defeat viruses in the ‘arms race’.”

Over the last two decades, the lives of many AIDS patients have improved as a result of game-changing treatments. These treatments control the virus to convert the disease from what was once a universally lethal to a chronic illness. However, the researchers underline that there is still a long way to go before a treatment is found that would provide patients with a permanent cure. The development from Dr. Barzel’s laboratory offers one possible route for the endeavor. HIV destroys certain white blood cells that are critical for immune health, weakening the body’s defenses against serious infections. The technique developed in his lab involves the injection of genetically-engineered type B white blood cells into a patient’s body, catalyzing the immune system to secrete antibodies that neutralize the HIV.

B cells are a type of white blood cells responsible for generating antibodies against viruses, bacteria and more formed in bone marrow. When they mature, B cells move into the blood and lymphatic system and from there to the different body parts.

Dr Barzel explains: “Until now, only a few scientists, and we among them, had been able to engineer B cells outside of the body. In this study, we were the first to do this within body and then make those cells generate the desired antibodies. The genetic engineering is conducted with viral carriers derived from viruses that were also engineered. We did this to avoid causing any damage, and solely bring the gene coded for the antibody into the B cells in the body.”

“Additionally, in this case we have been able to accurately introduce the antibodies into a desired site in the B cell genome. All lab models that had been administered the treatment responded, and had high quantities of the desired antibody in their blood. We produced the antibody from the blood and made sure it was actually effective in neutralizing the HIV virus in the lab dish.”

Modifying B Cells Inside the Body

The genetic editing was done with a CRISPR, a technology based on a bacterial immune system against viruses. The bacteria use the CRISPR systems as a sort of molecular “search engine” to locate viral sequences and cut them in order to disable them.

PhD student Alessio Nehmad elaborates on the use of CRISPR: “We incorporate the capability of a CRISPR to direct the introduction of genes into desired sites along with the capabilities of viral carriers to bring desired genes to desired cells. Thus, we are able to engineer the B cells inside a patient’s body. We use two viral carriers of the AAV family, one carrier codes for the desired antibody and the second carrier codes the CRISPR system. When the CRISPR cuts in the desired site in the genome of the B cells it directs the introduction of the desired gene: the gene coding for the antibody against the HIV virus, which causes AIDS.”

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