The Technion’s story has been intertwined with Israel’s for more than a century, from laying the foundations for a new nation to shaping its future.
The first test flight of Blue Origin’s huge New Glenn rocket could have major implications for long-term economics of the space industry, say experts. The launch marked a major milestone for Blue Origin, which was started by Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos in 2000. While the company’s New Shepard spacecraft has made multiple launches, sending space tourists to the edge of space, New Glenn takes Blue Origin into the new territory of orbital space missions. Taller than the Statue of Liberty at more than 320 feet tall, New Glenn is one of the largest space vehicles ever built. By comparison, NASA’s…
Radio frequency (RF) signals are a cornerstone of modern technology, enabling wireless communication, data transfer and sensing applications across a wide range of fields and tasks. A Cornell Tech-led research group is in the early stages of developing a portable, inexpensive device that uses radio frequency signals and machine learning for another important job: measuring lead contamination levels in soil. The lab of Rajalakshmi Nandakumar, assistant professor at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech, has developed SoilScanner, which sends radio waves of different frequencies from an RF transmitter, through a soil sample to an RF receiver, which reveals the…
Let’s all agree on something: birds are great, but not when they’re pooping on our stuff. Obviously, this is true when it comes to windowsills, windshields and birthday parties at the park. But there are two places where our feathered friends are especially unwelcome: the burgeoning industry of water-based floating solar panel sites, and the many pools that make up the fish-farming industry. Here, birds can cause all kinds of trouble, by decreasing solar panel efficiency due to a hearty layer of poop, and by eating fish farmers’ livestock — which is problematic for both the farmers and the livestock…
With so many accolades across a variety of disciplines, the Technion’s sheer brilliance can sometimes be overwhelming. That’s why, given the current conflict in Israel, I thought it prudent to focus on the vital role the Israel Institute of Technology has always played in the country’s defence systems, ensuring its safe and secure future. Established a quarter of a century before Israel became an independent nation, the Technion has been inexorably linked to the country’s security since its inception. Of course, the most obvious examples are those alumni who continue to lead teams that develop missile defense systems, underground tunnel…
Food recalls due to bacteria contamination reached their highest levels within five years in 2024, driven by a surge of recalls from the germs Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella. There have been 154 recalls filed with federal food regulators due to contamination from the “big three” pathogens—E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella—as of Dec. 30, up from 87 recalls in 2023 and the highest number since 165 recalls in 2019, according to data provided to ConsumerAffairs by law firm Food Industry Counsel. Listeria and Salmonella recalls hit their highest levels since 2019 and 2018, reaching 80 and 61 recalls, respectively. A combination…
While 2024 has challenged the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Israel, and the global Jewish community, I have started to notice a more prominent feeling of hope and excitement for the future. In discussing what this new year holds for Israeli innovation with Technion President Uri Sivan and brilliant professors, it is clear that supporting scientific exploration has never been more urgent to usher in a year of rebuilding and economic progress for Israel. I spoke with American Technion Society president Mark Gaines about the research that we’re excited to follow this year and how the Technion will be…
Last year was a big one for the space sector, marked by SpaceX’s building momentum, Boeing Co.’s Starliner struggles, and a slew of activity from a host of names. So what can we expect in 2025? Ehud Behar, a physics professor at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, said he was not surprised by the success of the likes of AST SpaceMobile Inc. The space-based broadband company launched its first five commercial satellites into space last year and also announced launch-services agreements to provide space-based cellular broadband service coverage for key markets such as the U.S., Europe, Japan, and…
SpaceX’s Starship megarocket may come into its own in 2025. The 400-foot-tall (122 meters) Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket system ever built, and it’s designed to be fully and rapidly reusable. SpaceX believes this combination of brawn and efficiency is the key breakthrough that will allow humanity to achieve a variety of spaceflight feats — including the settlement of Mars, a long-held dream of company founder and CEO Elon Musk. That vision may become clearer over the next 12 months or so, for Starship appears poised to make a big leap in 2025. Starship has launched six…
An international consortium focused on early diagnosis of schizophrenia, headed by Prof. Hossam Haick of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, has received a €8 million ($8.4 million) European Union grant, the Technion announces. The project, labeled VOLABIOS, “aims to develop advanced, cost-effective diagnostic tools that improve patient quality of life, reduce diagnostic errors by 30%, and optimize treatment and monitoring processes,” the press release says. The initiative involves cooperation between 20 research partners from 11 countries around Europe, including Aachen University in Germany, the University of Cambridge in the UK, the Greek Ministry of Health and the French company FIRALIS,…
Even matter ejected by black holes can run into objects in the dark. Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have found an unusual mark from a giant black hole’s powerful jet striking an unidentified object in its path. The discovery was made in a galaxy called Centaurus A (Cen A), located about 12 million light-years from Earth. Astronomers have long studied Cen A because it has a supermassive black hole in its center sending out spectacular jets that stretch out across the entire galaxy. The black hole launches this jet of high-energy particles not from inside the black hole, but…
An Israeli food-tech company, Imagindairy, received approval from the Health Ministry to market its products throughout the country, the company recently announced. Imagindairy, founded in 2020 and headquartered in Haifa, produces sustainable, animal-free dairy proteins that are identical in taste, texture, and nutritional value to cow milk proteins, the statement said. The decision in Israel follows that of the Food and Drug Administration’s approval in the US about one year ago. Dr. Eyal Afergan, the CEO of Imagindairy and a graduate of Israel’s Technion Institute of Technology, said the approval is a significant milestone for the company, and demonstrates the…
Researchers at the Technion Faculty of Biology have identified potential new innovative genetic therapies for cancer and brain diseases. The findings were supported by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF), the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), NSF-BSF Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and were published in the peer-reviewed journal Nucleic Acids Research. The study was conducted in collaboration with the research group of Professor Heather Hundley from Indiana University and was led by Ph.D student Berta Eliad, master’s student Noa Schneider, and their advisor, Associate Professor Ayelet Lamn.