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In First, Aging Stopped in Humans: TAU Co-Study

Written by AUFTAU on . Posted in Newsroom.

New research finds that high pressure treatments can reverse two processes associated with aging and its illnesses

A first-of-its-kind clinical trial in human subjects: A new study from Tel Aviv University and the Shamir Medical Center indicates that HBOT (treatments with high-pressure oxygen) in healthy aging adults can stop the aging of blood cells.

The researchers found that a unique protocol of treatments in a pressure chamber can reverse two major processes associated with aging and its illnesses: the shortening of telomeres – – protective regions located at both ends of every chromosome (the chromosomes contain the genetic material in the cell’s nucleus), and the accumulation of senescent (old and malfunctioning) cells in the body. Focusing on immune cells containing DNA, obtained from the participants’ blood, the study discovered a significant lengthening – up to 38% – of the telomeres, as well as a decrease of up to 37% in the presence of senescent cells.

The study was led by Prof. Shai Efrati, faculty member of the Sackler School of Medicine and the Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University and Founder and Director of the Sagol Center of Hyperbaric Medicine at the Shamir Medical Center, and Dr. Amir Hadanny, Chief Medical Research Officer of the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research at the Shamir Medical Center. The clinical trial was conducted as part of a comprehensive Israeli research program that targets aging as a reversible disease. The paper was published in the scientific journal Aging in November 2020.

Prof. Efrati explains:  “For many years our team has been engaged in hyperbaric research and therapy – treatments based on protocols of exposure to high-pressure oxygen at various concentrations inside a pressure chamber. Our achievements over the years included the improvement of brain functions damaged by age, stroke or brain injury. In the current study we wished to examine the impact of HBOT on healthy and independent aging adults, and to discover whether such treatments can slow down, stop or even reverse the normal aging process at the cellular level.”

The researchers exposed 35 healthy individuals aged 64 or over to a series of 60 hyperbaric sessions over a period of 90 days. Each participant provided blood samples at four different points in time – before, during, at the end and after the series of treatments, and the researchers analyzed various immune cells (cells containing DNA) in the blood and compared the results.

The findings indicated that the treatments actually reversed the aging process in two of its major aspects: The telomeres at the ends of the chromosomes grew longer instead of shorter, at a rate of 20%-38% for the different cell types; and the percentage of senescent cells in the overall cell population was reduced significantly – by 11%-37% depending on cell type.

Prof. Efrati: “Today telomere shortening is considered the ‘Holy Grail’ of the biology of aging. Researchers around the world are trying to develop pharmacological and environmental interventions that enable telomere elongation.  Our HBOT protocol was able to achieve this, proving that the aging process can in fact be reversed at the basic cellular-molecular level.”

Dr. Hadanny: “Until now, interventions such as lifestyle modifications and intense exercise were shown to have some inhibiting effect on telomere shortening. But in our study, only three months of HBOT were able to elongate telomeres at rates far beyond any currently available interventions or lifestyle modifications. With this pioneering study, we have opened a door for further research on the cellular impact of HBOT and its potential for reversing the aging process.”

TAU developed genome editing system destroys cancer cells

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Breakthrough treatment, with no side effects, may increase life expectancy in brain and ovarian cancer patients.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University have demonstrated that the CRISPR/Cas9 system is very effective in treating metastatic cancers, a significant step on the way to finding a cure for cancer. The researchers developed a novel lipid nanoparticle-based delivery system that specifically targets cancer cells and destroys them by genetic manipulation. The system, called CRISPR-LNPs, carries a genetic messenger (messenger RNA), which encodes for the CRISPR enzyme Cas9 that acts as molecular scissors that cut the cells’ DNA.

The revolutionary work was conducted in the laboratory of Prof. Dan Peer, VP for R&D and Head of the Laboratory of Precision Nanomedicine at the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research at TAU. The research was conducted by Dr. Daniel Rosenblum together with Ph.D. student Anna Gutkin and colleagues at Prof. Peer’s laboratory, in collaboration with Dr. Dinorah Friedmann-Morvinski from the School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry & Biophysics at TAU; Dr. Zvi R. Cohen, Director of the Neurosurgical Oncology Unit and Vice-Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Sheba Medical Center; Dr. Mark A. Behlke, Chief Scientific Officer at IDT Inc. and his team; and Prof. Judy Lieberman of Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.  

The results of the groundbreaking study, which was funded by ICRF (Israel Cancer Research Fund), were published in November 2020 in Science Advances.

“This is the first study in the world to prove that the CRISPR genome editing system can be used to treat cancer effectively in a living animal,” said Prof. Peer. “It must be emphasized that this is not chemotherapy. There are no side effects, and a cancer cell treated in this way will never become active again. The molecular scissors of Cas9 cut the cancer cell’s DNA, thereby neutralizing it and permanently preventing replication.”

To examine the feasibility of using the technology to treat cancer, Prof. Peer and his team chose two of the deadliest cancers: glioblastoma and metastatic ovarian cancer. Glioblastoma is the most aggressive type of brain cancer, with a life expectancy of 15 months after diagnosis and a five-year survival rate of only 3%. The researchers demonstrated that a single treatment with CRISPR-LNPs doubled the average life expectancy of mice with glioblastoma tumors, improving their overall survival rate by about 30%. Ovarian cancer is a major cause of death among women and the most lethal cancer of the female reproductive system. Most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease when metastases have already spread throughout the body.  Despite progress in recent years, only a third of the patients survive this disease. Treatment with CRISPR-LNPs in a metastatic ovarian cancer mice model increased their overall survival rate by 80%.

“The CRISPR genome editing technology, capable of identifying and altering any genetic segment, has revolutionized our ability to disrupt, repair or even replace genes in a personalized manner,” said Prof. Peer. “Despite its extensive use in research, clinical implementation is still in its infancy because an effective delivery system is needed to safely and accurately deliver the CRISPR to its target cells. The delivery system we developed targets the DNA responsible for the cancer cells’ survival. This is an innovative treatment for aggressive cancers that have no effective treatments today.”

The researchers note that by demonstrating its potential in treating two aggressive cancers, the technology opens numerous new possibilities for treating other types of cancer as well as rare genetic diseases and chronic viral diseases such as AIDS.

“We now intend to go on to experiments with blood cancers that are very interesting genetically, as well as genetic diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy,” says Prof. Peer. “It will probably take some time before the new treatment can be used in humans, but we are optimistic. The whole scene of molecular drugs that utilize messenger RNA (genetic messengers) is thriving – in fact, most COVID-19 vaccines currently under development are based on this principle. When we first spoke of treatments with mRNA twelve years ago, people thought it was science fiction. I believe that in the near future, we will see many personalized treatments based on genetic messengers – for both cancer and genetic diseases. Through Ramot, the Technology Transfer Company of TAU, we are already negotiating with international corporations and foundations, aiming to bring the benefits of genetic editing to human patients.”

Featured image: Prof. Dan Peer

Attracting Students with “Fire in Their Hearts”

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TAU’s DAN Department of Communication trains young Israelis in digital literacy, unbiased reporting and media professionalism

By Lindsey Zemler

Since Aubrey and Marla Dan, Toronto, Canada based philanthropists, dedicated the Department in 2017, their support has transformed its academic program into one that offers significant hands-on professional training alongside theoretical studies.

“We are investing in students’ futures to help them become leaders in journalism, public relations and research, thus improving the field of communications in Israel, both internally and externally,” says Aubrey Dan.

“The Aubrey & Marla Dan Foundation rejuvenated the Department of Communication at a time when the communication field in Israel needed to adapt to global trends,” says outgoing Department Head Prof. Shira Dvir-Gvirsman. She worked together with Aubrey and Marla to develop new programs and revamp the curriculum, which in turn brought in new students and faculty, expanded research, and extended international connections. In the last four years, enrolment has doubled.

From left: Executive Director for Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University (CFTAU) Ontario and Western Canada, Stephen Adler; DAN Foundation’s Aubrey and Marla Dan; former TAU President, Joseph Klafter; CFTAU National Chair, Jeff Wagman. Photo: Israel Hadari.


 “Aubrey and Marla have supported us throughout the entire journey, guiding us with their knowledge and vision, but also enabling us to develop independently,” Dvir-Gvirsman says. The progress they achieved puts the Department on track to meet a long-term goal: to offer a full degree program. Currently, students can study communication only as a double major with another field to complete their degree.

“Students come to the Department with fire in their hearts to change the world,” says Prof. Elad Segev, the newly appointed Department Head, who assumed the role in the fall of 2020. “We help them channel their energy and find their career paths, develop a unique voice, and resist giving in to external commercial and political interests. We examine how communication affects our lives, and work to instill students with values to become more responsible citizens and protect our democracy.”

According to Segev, who is carrying on the vision of the Dans and Dvir-Gvirsman, the DAN Department is a top choice for communication studies in Israel. Faculty members continuously seek to stay two steps ahead of current trends in the communication field, strive to maintain excellence in research, and provide students with the most up-to-date tools and technologies used in the digital world. Aubrey Dan believes that boosting Israel’s media landscape with the latest technology will augment Israel’s ability to evolve as a nation and contribute to the world.

In 2016, the inaugural year, successes included the launch of the flagship year-long workshop about producing media content in the news and marketing industries; the establishment of a department news website; the hosting of two international conferences; and the purchase of new equipment. The following year saw even more growth, with the launch of the Digital Society program, the establishment of BA specializations, the addition of new courses encompassing practical community work, and the introduction of many new workshops taught by leading practitioners in media professions.

Embracing complexity

According to Ph.D. student Noa Hatzir, studying communication in Israel is critical. “Israeli media cover diverse topics, but don’t always represent multiple angles and perspectives, which is important when portraying the complexity of life here, and especially when misinformation is spread,” Hatzir says. For her master’s thesis, Hatzir studied how international news coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict affects Israeli art and culture perceptions.  She also participated in the Department’s German-Israeli student exchange program, an annual tradition that allows students to practice looking at Israeli and foreign media through their international peers’ eyes.

TAU Dan Department of Communication student Noa Hatzir. 

​Photo: Courtesy of Noa Hatzir.

Both a master’s and doctoral fellowship recipient, Hatzir, says the support she receives from the Aubrey & Marla DAN Foundation has enabled her to delve deeper into academia. Another recent MA graduate enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Harvard University. Since the Department’s inauguration, the Dan family has created several new scholarship opportunities to be awarded for individual achievement. Over the years, Marla and Aubrey Dan traveled to Israel on several occasions to award the DAN Prize for Best Paper in the field of communication.

​Today, the Department’s curriculum continues to reflect quickly-changing industry trends, offering courses and workshops in topics such as data privacy, social marketing, advanced public relations, Adobe Photoshop and video-editing, social and mobile storytelling, and visualization. For example, Dr. Ronit Kampf’s course about “digital natives,” or young people born into the digital revolution, draws from the virtual world of games, apps and social media platforms. Students learn to appreciate the influence of technology on almost every aspect of life and how to make choices about using technology in different contexts. In the course “Digital Society,” students turn off their smartphones for 2-3 days and write about the experience of living without constant access to media.

Tel Aviv, the heart of Israel’s media landscape, provides a prime location for students to gain real-world experience. The DAN Department maintains strong ties with industry partners to keep abreast of developments in the field and connect students to internships and jobs. In the spring semester of 2020, one-third of internship program students received job offers from the companies where they interned, says Kampf.

The Department strives to effect social change through research and course projects. In the course “Social Marketing: How to Harness a Marketing Approach for the Good of the Public,” students create marketing material for organizations. This past year included programs to encourage women to be active in politics and a summer camp for religious and non-religious children. In 2017, Dr. Nurit Guttman, with the Israeli Ministry of Health’s support, launched a project to help Ethiopian immigrants gain better access to health services by setting up a website in their native language, Amharic.

During the spring semester of 2020, the Department pivoted within days to adjust to the new realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, transferring classes online and hosting a virtual colloquium series. Students continue to study online through the virtual classroom, and the Department remains committed toward their goal of expansion while adapting to the new reality.  

According to Segev, communication studies have increased in popularity due to a growing understanding of digital media’s importance in daily life and digital literacy’s critical role in bettering society. Aubrey Dan and Segev agree that training young media professionals in critical thinking is of the utmost importance, especially with the prevalence of fake news.

To this end, the Dan Family is investing in the TAU Department, says Segev. “Marla and Aubrey understand the importance of communication for society and for Israel.” Their daughter, Alyse Dan, is the Executive Director of the Aubrey & Marla Dan Foundation, and visited the Department with her parents in 2019, meeting students and faculty.

Marla Dan, a volunteer leader and philanthropist, was expected to receive an Honorary Doctorate from TAU in 2020. The ceremony has been rescheduled to 2021 due to COVID-19.

European Association of Law and Economics recognizes TAU President

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Professor Ariel Porat, President of Tel Aviv University and former Dean of its Buchmann Faculty of Law, has been named the winner of the 2020 European Association of Law and Economics (EALE) Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the first Israeli scholar to win the award.

The Association grants the EALE Award and honorary membership in the Association for significant contributions to the field of Law and Economics, in particular to the development of this movement in Europe. The decision is made by the Management Board of the Association.

Professor Porat will deliver the Award Lecture at the next EALE conference in Barcelona in September 2021.

ABOUT THE EALE

The European Association of Law and Economics (EALE) is an institutional response to the increasing importance of economic analysis of law in Europe. Founded in 1984, the Association stimulates the development of Law and Economics in Europe, providing assistance to law-and-economics scholars and bringing their scholarship to a wider audience, including policy makers, legislators and judges. The EALE annual conference has become an important forum for the exchange of research findings and ideas. The Association also arranges seminars jointly with other international organizations, as well as local activities in different countries. For more information, visit the EALE website.

Unique Collaboration Between Tel Aviv University And Local Fashion Designers

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What do you do when the academic year begins but the students can’t come to campus?

When the 2020/21 academic year began on October 18, TAU found itself in an unprecedented situation. The restrictions dictated by the pandemic meant that students couldn’t come to campus. New students began their studies without ever sitting in a lecture hall, having coffee with friends in the cafeteria or talking to a lecturer in the hallway.

To give new students a feel of TAU’s atmosphere, and begin the new year in a slightly different way, the university joined forces with the Gelada studio – creating a special minicollection of T-shirts inspired by TAU’s slogan ‘Pursuing the Unknown’. The idea behind the designs: If you can’t come to the university, why not let the whole city be your campus? Every design in the collection pays homage to a different iconic site in the city of Tel Aviv.

Every student in the first year of undergraduate studies at TAU chose her/his favorite T-shirt. Enthusiasm ran high, and now the T-shirts are being delivered, by mail, directly to the students’ homes.

Photo: Yanai Yechiel

“TAU is proud to be an integral part of the city of Tel Aviv,” says Alon Weinpress, TAU’s Marketing Director. “A city which, like the university, constantly renews itself, innovates, looks for the next big thing and invents the things that everyone will talk about tomorrow. We looked for a way to connect our new students, who have never met us, to these values, and give them a small taste of Tel Aviv. Our collaboration with Gelada has bred something that totally reflects Tel Aviv but is also cosmopolitan. We are very happy to support local industry.”

Yaron Mendelovich, owner of Gelada, says: “Gelada Tours is an illustration, design and production studio. We like to think of ourselves as a fictional travel agency, in which every collection, series or project is a unique journey. We form collaborations and create products related to many destinations in Israel, around the world and beyond the planet. This collection, inspired by Tel Aviv University, emphasizes the values it represents: innovation, freedom and creativity. Together with illustrator/architect Kiril Cherikover, graduate of the Architecture Department at the Bezalel Academy, we created a series that combines urban nature, beaches and culture. We tried to connect the graphic language with unique icons of Tel Aviv and the spirit of the city as we see it: a city of initiative, knowledge, pluralism and freedom. A festival that never stops coupled with a lot of hard work.”

Featured images:  Yanai Yechiel

TAU Co-Study: “Green Revolution” Decreased Infant Mortality

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“Israel, as a global leader in agriculture R&D, has much to offer to the developing world.”

In the first global-scale study of its kind, researchers used wide-scale data to correlate between the “Green Revolution” in agriculture and the dramatic reduction in infant mortality in the developing world. The Green Revolution was a global effort to increase the global crop yield during the second half of the twentieth century.

“In our study, we sought to use empirical methods based on our hypothesis that larger crop larger yields could improve the level of nutrition of pregnant women and young children, and also increase household income, thus contributing indirectly to improved health,” explained Dr. Fishman, of the TAU Department of Public Policy and the Boris Mints Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions to Global Challenges, who contributed to the research. “During the Green Revolution, there was support for international public agricultural R&D with a focus on developing higher-yielding strains of common staple crops, such as wheat, rice, and corn. By the end of the 20th century, approximately 60% of the developing world’s agricultural lands were using these varieties.”

At the same time, between 1960 and 2000, there was a dramatic improvement in health in the developing world- the percentage of children who died before the age of one was reduced from 20% to 10%. The cause of this improvement has been long-contested and attributed to various public health improvements but the contribution of individual factors, including the impacts of the Green Revolution, has been poorly quantified until now.

The correlation in the study suggests that the Green Revolution was responsible for a decline of some 2.5- 5% in the rate of infant mortality. This represents between 25% to 50% of the overall reduction of infant mortality during that time period.

To conduct the study, the researchers collected detailed data about the mortality rates of 600,000 infants born in 37 developing countries between 1961 and 2000, and cross-referenced them with information about the diffusion of the improved Green Revolution seeds in the place and year of birth of each of these infants. Using sophisticated statistical methods, they estimated the association between these two variables. The analysis found a statistically significant causal link between the two data sets. In locations where improved varieties diffused earlier – in part because of the types of crops grown, there was also a more rapid decrease in mortality rates.

“Our study proves the historical importance of agricultural R&D for the health of the rural populations in the developing world. We showed that improved crop varieties, which thus improved nutrition and income and reduced hunger, saved the lives of tens of millions of children in the second half of the twentieth century, and have most likely also brought about improved health for tens of millions of other individuals not directly visible in the data,” said Dr. Fishman.

According to Dr. Fishman, these findings highlight the continued need to address public health. “Israel, as a global leader in agriculture R&D, has much to offer to the developing world,” he says.

The study was conducted by an international team of researchers from Tel Aviv University, the Indian School of Business, the World Bank, the University of California San Diego, Michigan State University, and Colorado State University. The paper was published in the Journal of Health Economics.

Featured images: TAU Prof. Ram Fishman and agricultural expert Omar Zaidan explain seedling use to farmers in India. Credit: the Nitzan Lab

Online With Students From Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq

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The Israeli course on Islam has been ranked as one of the 50 best online courses in the world.

A coup for the Innovative Learning Center and the Zvi Yavetz School of Historical studies at Tel Aviv University: The online course “Arab-Islamic History: From Tribes to Empires” has made the list of the world’s top 50 online courses. The course, launched only two years ago, has gained immense popularity among young people from all over the world who are interested in the history of Islam. So far, over 20,000 students from 155 countries around the world have enrolled in the course.

There has been a record level of interest among residents of Muslim countries, including those with whom Israel has no diplomatic relations. 318 students from Pakistan, 301 from Turkey, 205 from Indonesia, 109 from the United Arab Emirates, and 86 from Egypt are enrolled in the course.

The course also includes students from Iran (31), Lebanon (8), Saudi Arabia (52), Qatar (30), Kuwait (23), Jordan (39), Syria (4), Iraq (21), Yemen (1), Afghanistan (8), Sudan (5), Oman (14), Malaysia (51), Bahrain (6) and the Palestinian Authority (12).

The ranking of the top 50 courses is carried out by the website “Class Central,” the most widely-recognized body listing online courses from a variety of platforms and leading academic institutions from around the world. The course was developed in collaboration with The Council for Higher Education and Digital Israel.

The course lecturer, Prof. Miri Shefer-Mossensohn of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Middle Eastern and African History, who heads the Zvi Yavetz School of Historical Studies, points out that since the outbreak of COVID-19, enrollment in the course has significantly increased as many young people are taking advantage of the time at home to enrich their knowledge. “Lots of students from the Muslim world have signed up for the course because it makes the history of the Muslim people accessible to them from an academic point of view, without a religious tone,” explains Prof. Shefer-Mossensohn. “The course has resonated so much that our students in Pakistan say that it is considered to be the best course on Islamic history in their country.”

Prof. Shefer-Mossensohn adds: “I taught this course for many years in the classroom and usually, several dozen students enrolled each year, all of whom, naturally, were Israelis. The digital space opened up new avenues to us, and to our delight the course quickly aroused great interest among Muslims from around the world. We receive very positive responses to the course, and many students have told us that they were very surprised that it was a Jewish and Israeli woman who succeeded in captivating them and teaching them about the history of their people.”

One of the students from Syria thanked the lecturer at the end of the course, writing: “Thanks to this course I went back to my roots. I am a Muslim Syrian and wanted to learn more about our history, which made us who we are today. Tribes to Empires – what a thoughtful title for the beautiful journey we have been through.”

Yuval Schreibman, CEO of TAU Online, Tel Aviv University’s Innovative Learning Center: “This is a major achievement that proves that even in the age of high-tech, the humanities are flourishing. Young people all over the world are seeking to learn good, quality content. Thanks to the digital tools at our disposal, we are creating a relevant and innovative learning experience that opens a door to Israel for various audiences around the world, including from Arab countries.”

Study: Women Suffer More from COVID-related Orofacial Pain

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New TAU dental research finds that pandemic stress results in excessive teeth grinding and facial pain.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why Do Bats Fly Into Walls?

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A sensory misperception – like people bumping into a glass wall

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

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

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

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

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

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

Souvenirs of Sand and Sun

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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