Newsroom – Page 40 – Australian Friends of Tel Aviv University

Minor Head Injury Leads to Chronic Post-Concussion Syndrome in 1 of 4 Children

Written by AUFTAU on 29 March 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

A new study by Tel Aviv University, Kaplan Medical Center and Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh) found that one in four children (25.3%) who have been discharged from the emergency room after a mild head injury are misdiagnosed and continue to suffer from persistent post-concussion syndrome for many years. The syndrome includes chronic symptoms such as memory loss, psychological issues and sensitivity to light and noise, which can be misdiagnosed as symptoms of ADHD, depression or sleeping disorders. The misdiagnosis results in the children receiving treatment that is not suited to their condition, which causes them prolonged suffering.

The study was led by Prof. Shai Efrati of the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research at Tel Aviv University and Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh), Dr. Uri Bella and Dr. Eli Fried of Kaplan Medical Center, and Prof. Eran Kotzer of Shamir Medical Center. The results of the study were published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The researchers examined 200 children who suffered from a head injury and who were released from the emergency room after the need for medical intervention was ruled out. They tracked the subjects for a period between six months and three years, and found that about one in four children released from the emergency room suffered from the chronic syndrome.

Long-Term Monitoring Needed

According to the researchers, the alarming findings demonstrate that changes in the approach are needed to be monitoring and treating these children.

“Persistent post-concussion syndrome is a chronic syndrome that results from micro damage to the small blood vessels and nerves, which may appear several months after the head injury. As a result, it often gets misdiagnosed as attention deficit disorders, sleep disorders, depression, and so on,” explains Prof. Shai Efrati.

“The purpose of an emergency room diagnosis is to determine whether the child suffers from a severe brain injury that requires immediate medical intervention,” adds Prof. Eran Kotzer, Director of the Emergency Rooms at the Shamir Medical Center. “Unfortunately, the way most medical systems operate today, we miss long-term effects and do not continue to monitor those children who leave the emergency room without visible motor impairment.”

“Treatment for a wide range of disorders will change if we know that the cause of the new problem is a brain injury,” concludes Prof. Efrati. “Proper diagnosis of the cause is the first and most important step in providing appropriate treatment for the problem.”

Inventive Study to Develop Biological Solutions for Agriculture

Written by AUFTAU on 28 March 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

TAU Technology Could Prevent Repeat Heart Valve Surgery

Written by AUFTAU on 25 March 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Invention may lead to a dramatic improvement in the quality of life of many heart patients.

An international study led by a researcher from Tel Aviv University offers a novel technology that can assist many patients implanted with bioprosthetic heart valve by avoiding additional complicated replacement surgery. Today, many heart patients implanted with such valves are forced to replace it ten years later due to calcification of valve tissue. The researchers have now been able to show that by genetically engineering the biological component in the valve, immunological attack and calcification risk can be avoided – thereby offering next-generation durable bioprosthetic heart valves.

This technological development stems from the EU-funded TRANSLINK consortium consisting of 14 members from Europe, USA and Canada and led by Dr. Vered Padler-Karavani from The Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University. In this study, the researchers investigated close to 1700 patients with ~5000 blood samples covering almost 15 years since implantation. The study was published in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine.

The researchers explain that patients can be implanted with either a mechanical heart valve that last long but requires daily administration of anticoagulants that can lead to life-threatening hemorrhages, or bioprosthetic heart valves (made from bovine, porcine or equine tissue) allowing patients to live a reasonably normal life, but those are commonly destroyed after a decade requiring replacement.

Getting Rid of Foreign Sugars

Dr. Padler-Karavani: “since bioprosthetic heart valves are made of animal tissues, we hypothesized they contain foreign non-human sugars (Neu5Gc and alpha-Gal) that are attacked by the human immune system, which then mediate the calcification that lead to structural valve deterioration. Indeed, in our research we proved that this was the reason and even suggested an implementable solution.

“We discovered that all bioprosthetic heart valve patients developed an immune response against the foreign sugars in the valves. We could clearly see an increase in antibody responses against these sugars in implanted patients, as early as one month after implantation, some lasting even two years later. We also found that some of the patients showed signs of calcification as early as two years post implantation”.

Dr. Vered Padler-Karavani

Anu Paul, a postdoc in the lab, also showed that the foreign sugars and the antibodies attacking them were found on calcified bioprosthetic heart valves explanted from patients some 10 years after implantation. Additionally, the dietary non-human sugar Neu5Gc and the antibodies against it were also found on explanted calcified native valves (the original malfunctioning human valves that needed to be replaced with a bioprosthesis). Since this sugar cannot be produced in the human body, it most likely accumulates on these valves from diet rich in red meat and dairy products where it is abundant. Therefore, it is possible that red meat diet mediates the initial need for valve replacement. The researchers also confirmed in a human-like animal model that antibodies against the foreign sugars indeed mediate calcification of tissues used for production of bioprosthetic heart valves.

Furthermore, the option to employ genetic engineering to resolve the problem was examined. For this purpose, the consortium created genetically modified porcine (pigs) that do not express the sugars foreign to humans. In Dr. Padler-Karavani’s lab the researchers found that in a human-like animal model that engineered tissue lacking the foreign sugars significantly had reduced calcification even in the presence of antibodies against the sugars and can therefore increase the durability of bioprosthetic heart valves made of such tissues.

“This study marks breakthrough technology in the field of bioprosthetic heart valves and provides deep understanding of the mechanisms leading to structural valve deterioration. These findings can lead to a dramatic improvement in the quality of life of many heart patients. Now, it would be interesting to study whether vegetarians or people who consume only small amounts of red meat and dairy have lower probability of heart valve calcification, and if this could perhaps be associated with low levels of antibodies against these foreign sugars. In the future, it may also be possible to devise a modified diet to reduce the risk or to actually produce biological valves from the tissues of engineered animals that do not contain the sugars at all”, Dr. Padler-Karavani summarizes.

Unravelling Recycling Practices from 500,000 Years Ago

Written by AUFTAU on 22 March 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

What drove prehistoric humans to collect and recycle flint tools that had been made, used, and discarded by their predecessors? In a first-of-its-kind study at Tel Aviv University, researchers examined flint tools from one layer at the 500,000-year-old prehistoric site of Revadim in the south of Israel’s Coastal Plain, and propose a novel explanation: prehistoric humans, just like us, were collectors by nature and culture. The study suggests that they had an emotional urge to collect old human-made artefacts, mostly as a means for preserving the memory of their ancestors and maintaining their connectedness with place and time.

The study was led by PhD student Bar Efrati and Prof. Ran Barkai of the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at TAU’s The Lester and Sally Entin Faculty of Humanities, in collaboration with Dr. Flavia Venditti from the University of Tubingen in Germany and Prof. Stella Nunziante Cesaro from the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. The paper appeared in the prestigious scientific journal Scientific Reports, published by Nature.

Prehistoric Vintage Tools

Bar Efrati explains that stone tools with two lifecycles have been found at prehistoric sites all over the world, but the phenomenon has never been thoroughly investigated. In the current study, the researchers focused on a specific layer at Revadim – a large, open-air, multi-layered site in the south of Israel’s Coastal Plain, dated to about 500,000 years ago. The rich findings at Revadim suggest that this was a popular spot in the prehistoric landscape, revisited over and over again by early humans drawn by an abundance of wildlife, including elephants. Moreover, the area is rich with good-quality flint, and most tools found at Revadim were in fact made of fresh flint.

“The big question is: Why did they do it?” says Bar Efrati. “Why did prehistoric humans collect and recycle actual tools originally produced, used, and discarded by their predecessors, many years earlier? Scarcity of raw materials was clearly not the reason at Revadim, where good-quality flint is easy to come by. Nor was the motivation merely functional, since the recycled tools were neither unusual in form nor uniquely suitable for any specific use.”

Scars that Reveal the Past

The key to identifying the recycled tools and understanding their history is the patina – a chemical coating which forms on flint when it is exposed to the elements for a long period of time. Thus, a discarded flint tool that lay on the ground for decades or centuries accumulated an easily identifiable layer of patina, which is different in both color and texture from the scars of a second cycle of processing that exposed the original color and texture of flint.

In the current study, 49 flint tools with two lifecycles were examined. Produced and used in their first lifecycle, these tools were abandoned, and years later, after accumulating a layer of patina, they were collected, reworked, and used again. The individuals who recycled each tool removed the patina, exposing fresh flint, and shaped a new active edge. Both edges, the old and the new, were examined by the researchers under two kinds of microscopes, and via various chemical analyses, in search of use-wear marks and/or organic residues. In the case of 28 tools, use-wear marks were found on the old and/or new edges, and in 13 tools, organic residues were detected, evidence of contact with animal bones or fat.

Surprisingly, the tools had been used for very different purposes in their two lifecycles – the older edges primarily for cutting, and the newer edges for scraping (processing soft materials like leather and bone). Another baffling discovery: in their second lifecycle the tools were reshaped in a very specific and minimal manner, preserving the original form of the tool, including its patina, and only slightly modifying the active edge.

Recycled Tools as Keepsakes

Prof. Ran Barkai: “Based on our findings, we propose that prehistoric humans collected and recycled old tools because they attached significance to items made by their predecessors.”

“Imagine a prehistoric human walking through the landscape 500,000 years ago, when an old stone tool catches his eye. The tool means something to him – it carries the memory of his ancestors or evokes a connection to a certain place. He picks it up and weighs it in his hands. The artifact pleases him, so he decides to take it ‘home’. Understanding that daily use can preserve and even enhance the memory, he retouches the edge for his own use, but takes care not to alter the overall shape – in honor of the first manufacturer. In a modern analogy, the prehistoric human may be likened to a young farmer still plowing his fields with his great-grandfather’s rusty old tractor, replacing parts now and then, but preserving the good old machine as is, because it symbolizes his family’s bond with the land.”

“In fact,” says Barkai, “the more we study early humans, we learn to appreciate them, their intelligence, and their capabilities. Moreover, we discover that they were not so different from us. This study suggests that collectors and the urge to collect may be as old as humankind. Just like us, our early ancestors attached great importance to old artifacts, preserving them as significant memory objects – a bond with older worlds and important places in the landscape.”

Featured image: From Left to Right: Prof. Ran Barkai & Bar Efrati

From War in Ukraine to Studies at TAU

Written by AUFTAU on 21 March 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Tel Aviv University welcomed the first Ukrainian researcher who will spend the coming semester at the University after she was forced to leave her home country due to war. On Thursday night, Maryana Sytar arrived safe and sound in Israel from the escalating war in Ukraine. She was the first graduate research student to arrive as part of TAU’s emergency scholarship program that was launched in response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Maryana was working hard toward her PhD at the Koretsky Institute of State and Law of Ukraine before the war broke out. Over the next six months, she will continue her research at TAU’s Buchmann Faculty of Law. She is expected to be joined at TAU by additional Ukrainian scholars this week.

WATCH: Interview with Maryana Sytar on Ynet, March 20, 2022:

Tuition and Living Expenses Covered

The University established the Emergency Fellowship Fund for Ukrainian Graduate Students alongside a fundraising drive to support dozens of Ukrainian students and researchers with immediate refuge and assistance that will enable them to continue their academic studies and research, which have been halted due to the unfolding crisis.

The Fund will enable Ukrainian students at the graduate and post-doctoral levels to spend a full semester at TAU. Eligible applicants must hold Ukrainian citizenship. Application is open to students currently enrolled at a Ukrainian university, in any discipline. Successful applicants will be awarded full tuition alongside a living stipend and will be welcome to remain on campus for up to six months. TAU will invite them to campus shortly after notification of acceptance, and match the students with a TAU faculty member who will serve as a mentor while at TAU.

Furthermore, TAU is already in contact with the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel and the Israeli Embassy in Ukraine, as well as with their academic counterparts, to facilitate the process and ensure successful applicants are able to reach Israel as soon as possible. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis effective immediately and until further notice.

TAU views the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a red flag requiring all of us to make an all-out effort to help the Ukrainian people, many of whom have lost their homes and become refugees overnight. “The steps we are taking are admittedly modest. However, we hope that other academic institutions, both in Israel and worldwide, will follow our example, and lend a helping hand to the Ukrainian people in this dire situation,” said TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat.

Application for Scholarship

To apply, please send the following materials to: [email protected]

1-page (up to 500 words) statement describing research
Letter of recommendation from advisor
Document showing active status at home university in Ukraine

For more information: https://international.tau.ac.il/scholarship_programs

Featured image: Maryana Sytar photographed with Prof. Ronen Avraham from Tel Aviv University’s Buchmann Faculty of Law

Want Respect in the Workplace? Drop the Smileys

Written by AUFTAU on 21 March 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

If you wish to signal power to your colleagues, your boss, or your subordinates, you should consider reducing your use of pictures and emojis in favor of words – these are the conclusions of a new study at Tel Aviv University’s Coller School of Management.

According to the researchers, “Today we are all accustomed to communicating with pictures, and the social networks make it both easy and fun. Our findings, however, raise a red flag: in some situations, especially in a work or business environment, this practice may be costly, because it signals low power. Our advice: think twice before sending a picture or emoji to people in your organization, or in any other context in which you wish to be perceived as powerful.”

Words are Powerful

The study examined the response of American participants to verbal vs. pictorial messages in different contexts. The results were clear-cut: In all experiments, the respondents attributed more power to the person who chose a verbal vs. a visual representation of the message.

To test their hypothesis, the researchers conducted a series of experiments in which various everyday scenarios were presented to hundreds of American respondents. In one experiment, participants were asked to imagine shopping at a grocery store and seeing another shopper wearing a Red Sox t-shirt. Half of the participants were shown a t-shirt with the verbal logo RED SOX, while the other half saw the pictorial logo. Those who saw the t-shirt with the pictorial logo rated the wearer as less powerful than those who saw the verbal logo.

Pictures Reveal a Desire

Similar results recurred in a range of other contexts. Because of Covid-19, online meetings using platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams have become an essential organizational fixture. The researchers examined the effects of picture versus word use in this important organizational context.

Participants were asked to choose one of two co-participants to represent them in a competitive game that suited people with high social power. Critically, one co-participant had purportedly chosen to represent themselves with a pictorial profile, while the other had purportedly chosen to represent themselves with a verbal profile. Sixty-two percent of the participants selected the co-participant who chose to represent themselves with a verbal profile. Thus, employees who signal power by using words are more likely to be selected to powerful positions, compared to those who signal weakness by using pictures.

Dr. Elinor Amit from TAU’s Coller School of Management summarizes: “Why do pictures signal that a sender has little power? Research shows that visual messages are often interpreted as a signal for desire for social proximity. A separate body of research shows that less powerful people desire social proximity more than powerful people do. Consequently, signaling that you’d like social proximity by using pictures is essentially signaling you’re less powerful.”

Amit notes that such signaling is usually irrelevant in close relationships, as in communications between family members. However, in many arenas of our lives, especially at work or in business, power relations prevail, and we should be aware of the impression our messages make on their recipients. “Our findings raise a red flag: When you want to signal power – think twice before sending an emoji or a picture,” she concludes.

The study was conducted by Dr. Elinor Amit and Prof. Shai Danziger from Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Prof. Pamela K. Smith from the Rady School of Management at UCSD. The paper was published in the prestigious journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.

TAU Special Briefing: Crisis in Ukraine

Written by AUFTAU on 9 March 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters a second week, Tel Aviv University on Sunday hosted an expert briefing on the crisis.

The special panel included: Mr. Boris Lozhkin, President of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, Vice President of the World Jewish Congress, and a TAU benefactor; Dr. Dina Moyal of TAU’s Cummings Center for Russian and East European Studies; and Dr. Tal Sadeh, head of the EU Studies Program at TAU’s School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs.

Implications for Ukrainian Jews

“I’m afraid the war will lead Ukraine to lose a large majority of its Jewish communities,” said Lozhkin.

Already, several cities with significant Jewish populations and historic Jewish sites have endured evacuations and violence. Ukraine was in recent years home to the fourth largest Jewish population in Europe.

“Israel and the US need to increase all possible assistance to Jews in Ukraine, including the elderly, those fleeing the country, and those who fled to overcrowded western Ukraine instead,” said Lozhin, who co-led the establishment of the Ukrainian Jewry Research Initiative, carried out by TAU’s Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center in the Entin Faculty of the Humanities.

Speaking to the TAU crowd, Lozhkin also implored the global academic and scientific community to join efforts in opposing the war in Ukraine.

Furthermore, he urged Israel to allow non-Jewish refugees into the country alongside the tens of thousands of Jewish emigrants expected to make aliyah from Ukraine.

WATCH: Experts Unpack the Ukraine Crisis in a Special TAU Briefing

A Cold War Russia Cannot Win

Turning from the humanitarian implications of the war, Sadeh expanded on the lasting ramifications for Russia.

“In the immediate and long-term, Russia is at a great disadvantage to West,” said Sadeh, an expert on the political economy of the EU.

Western countries like Germany and Italy that until now greatly depended on Russian fuel and crop exports may feel a temporary strain. However, Sadeh indicated that Moscow is poised for dire outcomes as it is currently “under economic siege.”

If the current situation leads to another Cold War between Russian and the West, he emphasized that “Russia cannot win.” In addition to crippling sanctions squeezing the Russian economy toward collapse, he explained that the West holds a technological and political advantage over Russia.

Touching on the potential outcomes of the conflict, Sadeh explained that Putin may achieve his goal of preserving the nature of the Russian regime and preventing it from becoming democratic. Still, the situation may lead to long-awaited shifts in the West’s self-reliance on raw material production; shifts that he says could bolster the West’s strategic stance.

“The media, leaders, and public all see that Putin is not another dictator that can be paid off to be left alone,” he said. Moreso, the current events are catalyzing the West to understand that its economic interactions with Russia can and should change.

Protesters against the war and russian armed aggression in Ukraine, in Los Angeles, California, USA 2022

A Russian Civil War?

While Lozhkin and Sadeh provided insights on the consequences of the war, Moyal took a step back to explore the many questions around Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.

“The conflict is a reflection of Russia’s specific worldview after all it went through in the 20th century,” said Moyal, an expert in Soviet and modern Russian history. “I want to suggest that this is actually a civil war for Russia over its future, identity and regime.”

Moyal pointed to current clashes in Russian public opinion that indicate strife within the country. Examples include protests within Russia against the war in Ukraine and accounts of Russian soldiers pleading with Ukrainians to spare their lives so they can return home to report what state-sponsored propaganda machines are not.

Meanwhile, Putin’s actions signal to Russia that he is unwilling to relinquish his tight authoritarian grip on the country as he struggles to maintain what he sees as Russia’s historic identity in the face of former Soviet republics, such as Ukraine, that more easily moved away from communism toward Western-style democracy.

“Those who used to be quiet in the cultural sphere, such as journalists for example, are starting to speak up and with this hopefully be able to change public opinion,” she said. “Most importantly, and more optimistically, it gives hope that people around Putin will change their stance [on him].”

An End in Sight?

While all three panelists agreed that the conflict is likely to escalate before it ends, they were optimistic that the long-term effects of the war have the potential to change Russia’s power dynamics for the benefit of both internal and international affairs.

“Putin is more of a cynical pragmatist than an ideologue, and he is ultimately after power,” said Sadeh. “The main threat for Putin is his inner circle. As sanctions continue to bite, they will become increasingly inclined to replace him.”

Moyal echoed Sadeh’s views that Russia will not benefit if it continues this path toward economic collapse. “Hopefully, this will bring about a change of regime, which would be a good prospect not just for Ukraine, but the whole world.”

Hundreds of TAU friends from around the world tuned in to listen to the expert panel. European affairs expert Dr. Esther Lopatin of TAU’s Division of Language Studies moderated the event.

TAU graduates are making waves in Israel and beyond

Written by AUFTAU on 8 March 2022. Posted in Alumni News, Newsroom.

Alumni News.

Alumni Advisory Committee: Spotlight

Udy Danino, founder and CEO of SAIPS, an international algorithmic solutions provider, is among leading alumni who devote their time and resources to TAU’s Alumni Advisory Community. Danino is a graduate of the Blavatnik School of Computer Science and Fleischman Faculty of Engineering. In 2016, under Danino’s leadership, SAIPS was acquired by the Ford Motor Company and it now plays a central role in the development of Ford’s autonomous vehicles.

From Retail Digitization to Cancer Eradication

Joel Bar-El is the co-founder and CEO of Trax, a global leader in retail digitization, with projects in 90 countries and close to 1,000 employees in 20 offices worldwide. Bar-El is also an active investor and recently joined forces with Ramot, TAU’s technology transfer company, to establish JaxBio, an initiative aiming to eradicate cancer through early diagnostics. He is an alumnus of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences.

TAU Law Alumni Make Waves in the IDF

In November 2021, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced that Brig.-Gen. Orly Markman, alumna of the Buchmann Faculty of Law, would serve as the next president of the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Court of Appeals. The position is the military equivalent of President of the Supreme Court. With this appointment, Markman will be promoted to Major-General, making her the third woman to receive the rank in IDF history. As a result, two female generals will now serve in the IDF’s General Staff for the first time. The second is Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, another TAU law alumna.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz, a graduate of TAU’s Entin Faculty of Humanities, heads the IDF’s Judge Selection Committee. Other TAU law alumni on the Committee include Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar, also an alumnus of the Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences; Esther Hayut, Chief Justice of Israel’s Supreme Court; and her Deputy, Justice Neal Hendel.

Shaping Israeli Public Health

Prof. Ran Balicer, a graduate of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, is a leading expert and spokesperson for innovation in health and Israel’s response to COVID-19. Balicer serves as Chief Innovation Officer at Clalit Health Services, Israel’s largest health fund; Chairman of Israel’s COVID-19 Expert Advisory Team; and Chairman of the Israeli Society for Quality in Medicine.

Balicer recently spoke to 1,000 TAU alumni about predictive medicine in a webinar hosted by the TAU Alumni Organization. From his talk: “We live in an exciting era, thanks to technology and artificial intelligence. Instead of trying to repair the damage caused by diseases at a late stage, we now intervene early, even in the pre-disease stage, where the likelihood of a full cure is high and the damage from treatment is minimal. Israel is at the forefront of this global revolution.

Another Glass Ceiling Shattered

Former Member of Knesset Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin, a TAU law alumna, was recently appointed chairperson of the Israel Export Institute. She is the first woman to hold this role.

Investment in Social Funds Leads to a Reduction in Charitable Donations

Written by AUFTAU on 7 March 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

A new TAU study, the first of its kind, examined whether there is a connection between the rapid growth of investment in social investment funds and the decrease in donations to charitable organizations. The researchers studied the actual investment behavior of approximately 10,000 clients of an investment app, and found that investors switching to invest in a recently introduced social fund reduced their donations, mainly in charities supporting causes similar to those of the social fund.

However, the researchers also found that most of the investors in the social fund had not previously donated to charities, so, looking at the big picture, social funds entice more people to fund social causes.

The study was conducted by Dr. Shai Levi and Prof. Shai Danziger of Tel Aviv University’s Coller School of Management, in collaboration with Dr. Jake An of the Australian firm Raiz Investing and Prof. Donnel Briley of the University of Sydney. The study was published in the prestigious journal Management Science.

Charities Take a Hit

In recent years, investment firms have been marketing social investments (Environment, Society and Government, or ESG) as a way for investors to achieve financial returns while making a social impact. Such funds will for instance avoid investments in certain industries, like oil, and rather invest in others, like renewable energy.

In 2018, global social investment assets exceeded $30 trillion, an increase of 34% since 2016. During this same period, in the U.S., total donations to nonprofits – the traditional avenue for advancing social goals – dropped 1.1 percent to about $300 billion. Until now, the causal link between the popularity of social investments and the decline in charitable giving had not been examined.

Dr. Levi explains that the study was conducted using the unique database of the Australian digital investment platform Raiz Investment – a phone app aimed primarily at millennials, young investors with relatively small investment portfolios.

According to Dr. Levi, in 2017 Raiz added the option of investing in an ESG social fund, which invests only in companies that meet certain standards of sustainability, social values and governance. Because the app is connected to users’ bank accounts, it was possible to monitor investors’ charitable donations both before and after they joined the fund. The researchers tracked the investments and donations of about 3,300 investors who invested in ESG, about 4,000 investors who invested in another, non-social fund, and another 3,300 investors in a control group, that were matched on investor characteristics to those that had switched to the ESG fund. They found that, on average, investors who contributed to charitable organizations before investing in a social fund tended to donate less afterwards – that is, some investors saw their ESG investment as a kind of donation.

Overall Effect Uncertain

Prof. Danziger points to the complexity of the findings. “On the one hand, investment firms could use social funds as a marketing ploy to attract investors. For example, say you’re told the ESG fund invests only in companies with a low carbon footprint – that doesn’t mean that you’re investing in companies in the field of renewable energy. It can mean that you’re investing in technology giants like Apple, that is, companies that are not necessarily causing damage. Our findings show that after investing in a social fund, investors reduce their traditional contributions to environmental and social nonprofits.”

“On the other hand, since 79% of investors in the ESG fund did not make any charitable contributions before investing, the overall effect must be assessed. Ultimately, the question is whether ESG contributions to society outweigh the decrease in investor donations that result from substitution. In our study, we estimate that overall, funds will have a positive impact on society only if their annual contribution to social causes exceeds 3.2% of the balance invested. In practice, this is difficult to measure, and we don’t know whether the contribution of the social funds crosses this threshold, so it is not clear whether their impact on society is positive.”

In conclusion, the researchers say, “The trend that emerged from the study indicates that investors may replace charities with social funds. This could have a major impact on charities, who will lose a significant source of income and find it difficult to continue to function.”

Standing Up to Climate Change

Written by AUFTAU on 7 March 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

A software programmer, an ecologist and a wildlife photographer enter a room. This is not the preamble to a joke. This is a normal scene in Dr. Ofir Levy’s Tel Aviv University lab, where a diverse group of scientists develop advanced tools to protect wildlife in the face of the accelerating climate crisis.

Levy is among the scores of TAU researchers who are pursuing innovative solutions under TAU’s Climate Crisis Initiative, also known as PlanNet Zero, a new nerve center uniting brainpower from all faculties—along with industry and government partners. Leveraging TAU’s interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial strengths, the Initiative aims to spearhead new technologies, models, regulations and policy recommendations for tackling the climate crisis.

“Climate records are being shattered nearly every year,” explains Levy of the School of Zoology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences. “It is up to us to safeguard the biodiversity critical to the planet’s ecological balance.”

Together with researchers from TAU’s new Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Levy’s lab develops AI and machine learning technologies to simulate future ecosystems. Using these models, the decision-makers with effective recommendation for protecting them.

“AI is taking climate research to new frontiers,” explains Levy. “It offers a window into the future implications of climate change on the need for animals to modify their habitats because of desertification, urbanization and deforestation.”

Additionally, in cooperation with the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development, Levy is developing tools to assess the impact of climate change impact on search and rescue dogs. More frequent extreme weather phenomena may affect the sensory abilities and overall wellbeing of the dogs, he explains. His research could eventually help improve the animals’ ability to find and save people.

Levy recently won competitive grants from National Geographic’s “AI for Earth” and the joint TAU-Google “AI for Social Good” programs.

Going forward, he hopes to apply his innovations to protecting people, such as early-warning systems for mass health events such as heat stroke or forecasting climate-related insect migration to prevent crop disease.

Mobilizing TAU’s Collective Power

Amid the growing global need to meet climate targets, TAU is redoubling efforts to lead transformative change and has made the topic an institutional priority.

“It’s now the era for scientists and academia to help find solutions to the climate situation,” says
Prof. Colin Price, who heads PlanNet Zero together with the Department of Environmental Studies at TAU’s Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences.

Among institutional efforts, TAU rolled out plans to reduce its environmental footprint and eventually reach carbon-neutrality, a benchmark Israel and other nations pledged to meet by 2050 to mitigate global warming.

Furthermore, the University launched several new programs to foster climate leadership. The new undergraduate course “Climate Change and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary View” was the most popular of the 2020-21 academic year, with some 1,000 students enrolled. At a climate conference hosted by the Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences, Israel’s Minister of Environmental Protection and TAU alumna Tamar Zandberg announced a new government-backed scholarship program to support climate research by graduate students at the Faculty.

Moreover, in an effort to disentangle the climate crisis for the public, the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at TAU unveiled the exhibition “Global Warning: The Climate, the Crisis and Us.”

“Climate change is the greatest challenge facing humanity today,” says Prof. Tamar Dayan, Chair of the Steinhardt Museum. “Alongside the exhibition, we aspire to turn our visitors into agents for change, who will carry the message beyond the Museum’s walls.”

Redesigning Trends in Sustainability

To push the needle on the global climate crisis, PhD candidate Meital Peleg Mizrachi, of TAU’s Department of Public Policy, is advocating for a fashion industry makeover.

Peleg Mizrachi, an environmental justice researcher at TAU and social entrepreneur, is a rising authority in Israel on making fashion—the world’s second-most polluting industry—sustainable.

Meital Peleg Mizrahi (center) and friends modeling sustainable fashion

The process of manufacturing clothing emits over 40 billion tons of textile waste and 1.2 billion tons, or 10 percent, of greenhouse gases—the main driver of global warming. At the root of the industry’s environmental footprint, Peleg Mizrahi explains, is the exploding “fast fashion” market of quickly and cheaply mass-produced garments.

Under the supervision of Knesset Member and TAU Prof. Alon Tal, Peleg Mizrachi’s research explores ways to encourage economic regulation and consumer behavior that promote sustainable fashion. Tal is one of several TAU climate experts in prominent government roles, including zoology Prof. Noga Kronfeld-Schor, Chief Scientist at Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry.

In a recent project, Peleg Mizrachi gauged the prices at which consumers are more inclined to shop sustainably. In other studies, she demonstrated how new technologies and market behaviors spurred by COVID-19 can be transformed into climate solutions.

She also applies her research toward grassroots advocacy. She was recently involved in a series of local climate policy conferences and founded ‘Dress Well,’ an organization that seeks to reduce textile waste in Israel.

״When we think of the climate crisis, we think of Australian wildfires, vanishing polar bears and droughts in Syria,” she says. “The connection between these events and the clothes in our closets are usually overlooked; in fact, fashion is one of the most significant factors in dealing with the climate crisis.”

TAU: Hub for Regional Cooperation

TAU’s location in the heart of the Middle East with proximity to Israel’s diverse ecosystems contributes to its edge in leading regional climate initiatives.

For example, to address trans-border water issues in the Middle East, TAU Prof. Hadas Mamane of the Fleischman Faculty of Engineering is eyeing cooperation opportunities with regional partners.

As floods, droughts and extreme weather intensify due to climate change, UNICEF estimates that by 2025, half of the world’s population will live in areas with water scarcity. Meanwhile, Israel’s chronic water shortage has necessitated the development of novel solutions.

Prof. Hadas Mamane

Mamane heads the Water-Energy Laboratory, which develops efficient UV-LED lighting technologies that disinfect water using solar power, among its pursuits. The invention is suitable for use in remote areas with limited access to the chemicals and electricity used in traditional water decontamination.

Additionally, water monitoring tools developed by her lab are already used in India and Tanzania in several projects carried out with Dr. Ram Fishman of the Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences and Boris Mints Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions to Global Challenges.

“We are trying to help some of the world’s most vulnerable populations access resources that should be afforded to them as part of their basic human rights,” says Mamane.

Now, Mamane hopes to launch a project with the Palestinian Authority and the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies to purify and disinfect sewage water for unrestricted agricultural use, including crop cultivation.

In another regional partnership borne through the Abraham Accords, TAU’s Moshe Mirilashvili Institute for Applied Water Studies, headed by Prof. Dror Avisar of the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, is involved in joint Israeli-UAE water research.

Enhancing Cross-Industry Impact

“The fastest way to make an impact on climate change is to apply academic knowledge toward accelerating relevant industry capabilities,” says Prof. Tamir Tuller of the Fleischman Faculty of Engineering and the Edmond J. Safra Center for Bioinformatics.

This is the approach that Tuller, head of TAU’s Computational Systems and Synthetic Biology Laboratory, takes with his start-up Imagindairy where he is co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer. The company uses his genetic engineering techniques to produce affordable dairy products from yeast.

Imagindairy aims to generate milk that is identical in taste, aroma and texture to cow products, Tuller explains, but without the environmental damage or ethical dilemmas associated with animal husbandry.

Cattle alone are responsible for approximately 65 percent of the livestock sector’s greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from methane that cows belch out while feeding.

“This type of technology could one day replace the need for dairy cows,” he says. He adds that widespread adoption of lab-developed milk substitutes has the potential to significantly curb emissions. But how will Tuller’s team get the public on board?

“Our models can eventually lead to products that are cheaper than traditional cow’s milk,” explains Tuller, underlining that economic incentive is key to impactful consumer behavior.

He expects Imagindairy’s products to be commercially viable within a few years. This quest was boosted with a recent $13 million investment, raised with support from Ramot – TAU’s technology transfer company.

Solid Foundations for Leadership

Dozens of TAU alumni have taken leadership roles that address climate issues on the international stage. Two of them, Dr. Ido Sella and the late Dr. Shimrit Perkol-Finkel, who was tragically killed in an accident last year, met as students at TAU.

In 2012, the pair founded sustainable concrete start-up, ECOncrete, which offers a more durable and ecological solution for coastal and marine construction than traditional concrete. The product simultaneously reduces carbon emissions and safeguards marine life. Today, the company is experiencing massive growth, and its eco-friendly solutions are used in more than 40 sites around the world. Similarly, its technology was recently tapped to anchor US offshore wind turbines as part of the White House administration’s aims to increase energy capacity a thousand-fold by 2030.

The late Dr. Shimrit Perkol-Finkel (left) and Dr. Ido Sella

“The concrete industry has a massive environmental footprint responsible for 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions and vast marine damage,” says Sella.

He explains that the demand for sustainable concrete has reached new heights as society—particularly the approximately 50% of population centers on coastlines—braces for a rise in sea levels and increased storminess due to climate change.

“ECOncrete offers a new way to reduce the CO₂ footprint of working waterfronts,” he says.

Sella sees oceans of potential for bringing more applied science to commercial endeavors via academia, thus propelling climate progress.

Prof. Colin Price, too, underlines the need for all industries and sectors to work with academia to prevent catastrophic climate outcomes.

“We have big ambitions at TAU,” Price says. “We aim to have maximum impact and expand local models to regional and global scales.”

Climate Research at TAU:
TAU researchers from across campus are finding ways to mitigate climate change, among them: Prof. Brian Rosen (Engineering) patented a technology that consumes greenhouse gases as a means to generate “clean” synthetic fuels. PhD candidate Hofit Shachar (Exact Sciences) is developing an app that predicts the risk of wildfires through smartphone sensors and weather data. Dr. Eran Tzin (Law) applies his research as head of TAU’s Environmental Justice and Animal Rights Clinic to advance legislation to ensure implementation of Israel’s climate commitments. Prof. Colin Price (Exact Sciences) is building a nanosatellite to monitor global climate conditions from space. Dr. Ram Fishman (Social Sciences) discovered a link between violent crime and rising temperatures. Sophia Igdalov, of Dr. Vered Blass’s team (Exact Sciences), evaluated the carbon footprint of materials used in Israel’s housing industry, suggesting strategies to cut emissions.

Climate Research at TAU:

TAU researchers from across campus are finding ways to mitigate climate change, among them:

Prof. Brian Rosen (Engineering) patented a technology that consumes greenhouse gases as a means to generate “clean” synthetic fuels.
PhD candidate Hofit Shachar (Exact Sciences) is developing an app that predicts the risk of wildfires through smartphone sensors and weather data.
Dr. Eran Tzin (Law) applies his research as head of TAU’s Environmental Justice and Animal Rights Clinic to advance legislation to ensure implementation of Israel’s climate commitments.
Prof. Colin Price (Exact Sciences) is building a nanosatellite to monitor global climate conditions from space. Dr. Ram Fishman (Social Sciences) discovered a link between violent crime and rising temperatures.
Sophia Igdalov, of Dr. Vered Blass’s team (Exact Sciences), evaluated the carbon footprint of materials used in Israel’s housing industry, suggesting strategies to cut emissions.

Tackling Environmental Challenges—in TLV and Monaco

As part of TAU’s practical work in mitigating the effects of air pollution and climate change, the Frenkel Initiative to Combat Pollution supports projects between TAU, Israeli companies and Monaco. Current initiatives include operating an accelerator for startups in clean energy, air purification and replacing plastic; introducing smart transportation solutions to Monaco officials for reducing carbon emissions; and researching critical problems specific to Monaco such as urban heat stress and maritime transport emissions.

Monaco Bay

Although the Initiative attempts to find technological solutions specifically for Monaco, TAU Benefactor and Governor Aaron Frenkel hopes it can make an outsized contribution toward combating climate change and related environmental threats for the entire Mediterranean region and beyond. The Frenkel Initiative is also affiliated with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, which is dedicated to safeguarding the environment.

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