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.
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 experimental setup built at the Technion Faculty of Physics demonstrates the transfer of atoms from one place to another through quantum tunneling between optical tweezers. Led by Prof. Yoav Sagi and doctoral student Yanay Florshaim from the Solid State Institute, the research was published in Science Advances. The experiment is based on optical tweezers—an experimental tool for capturing atoms, molecules, and even living cells using an optical potential created by laser beams focused on a micron-sized spot. How is this possible? The interaction of light with matter generates a force proportional to the intensity of the light. This force…
Two AI-based startups in Israel are joining forces to combat the pests and diseases that destroy up to 40 percent of all food grown globally. Fermata uses cameras and artificial intelligence to monitor crops as they grow and automatically detect problems. yieldsApp translates that data into tailored recommendations, crop by crop, field by field, to maximize yields for the grower. The two companies have now announced a partnership that will merge their technologies and, they say, provide a “comprehensive farm management solution,” detecting problems and providing precise solutions. Farmers will receive “personalized, real-time insights that ensure crops get the right…
Dry conditions in the Northeast are worsening, creating a scenario for fire danger in the region to persist, an updated map from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows. The worst of the drought conditions are located in a large swath of West Virginia, several counties in South New Jersey and three counties in southwest Pennsylvania — all of which are in extreme drought, according to the Drought Monitor. Most of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and West Virginia are in severe drought, the map shows. The drought situation the Northeast is currently facing was strongly propelled by the lack of precipitation…
A startup – MOZAICO — that has grown out of research at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in the northern city of Haifa seeks to boost coastal power, and desalination plant efficiency and cost-effectiveness, by removing limescale and other marine debris from cooling systems without harmful chemicals while absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to help fight global warming. MOZAICO is developing a two-stage pilot under the supervision of Prof. Charlotte Vogt and her Vogt Laboratory of Catalysis for Fuels of the Future at the Technion. The Dutch-born Vogt, 32, was included in Forbes’ “30 under 30” list…
The emerging multidisciplinary field of mechanobiology is leading to advancements in constructing engineered tissues and organs, repairing and regenerating damaged tissue, providing therapy for diseases, improving plant growth and agricultural products, and developing new or self-repairing materials. The field studies how cells sense and respond to mechanical signals. New research in this field by Assistant Professor Joshua Grolman and Yifan Liao in the Technion’s Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering and Assistant Professor Charles Diesendruck in the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry demonstrates a strategy for measuring mechanical forces in biological processes. The development is expected to accelerate, streamline, and reduce…
A new Israeli study has determined that processed food is not bad for us – despite its long-standing poor reputation – and with the right addition of proteins can actually give our bodies a boost. Processed food is actually a blanket description for any foods that have been changed in some way during their preparation. This could be drying, preserving (which is what we usually think of when we hear the term) or even cooking itself. And while we imagine processed foods to be ones that have undergone a more drastic treatment like breakfast cereal, ready meals, canned meat or…
“Eggs are natural and economical, so keep enough on hand,” a smiling man cheerfully explains in a 1978 commercial sponsored by the American Egg Board. “Eggs are a natural wonder, for meals, snacks, appetizers, whatever,” he goes on to claim, backed by upbeat music. The advert ends with a tagline well known to Americans: “The incredible edible egg.” “The egg is really a miracle ingredient in terms of its versatility and what it brings to our food,” Jon Rathauser, CEO (chief egg officer) and co-founder of Israeli startup Eggmented Reality, tells NoCamels. And Rathauser and the team at Eggmented Reality…
An experimental physicist from Technion has been awarded the Lem Prize 2023. The statuette was presented at a gala ceremony in the auditorium of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. The Stanisław Lem European Research Prize (Lem Prize) was established in 2021 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the eminent Polish science fiction writer, who received an honorary doctorate from the Wrocław University of Science and Technology in 1981. The prize of PLN 100 000 is awarded to young scientists (under 40 years of age) studying or carrying out research in the European Union and associated…
A food-tech startup in Israel has created a cow-free version of casein, the protein needed to give cheese its ‘real’ dairy texture. NewMoo (originally Imagene Foods) uses plant molecular farming (PMF) to produce a sustainable, cost-effective and vegan-friendly version of the solid dairy product. Non-dairy cheese alternatives have been around for a long time — breakfast cereal inventor John Harvey Kellogg developed a soy-based “cheese” product back in 1937 — but even 21st century non-dairy cheeses haven’t achieved the taste, texture, aroma or melting properties of the real thing; largely because they don’t contain casein.
As the world becomes ever more concerned with the impact of climate change and increasing levels of greenhouse gasses, one company is on a mission to revolutionize the way we heat water – a major strain on energy usage. Sowillo Energy, based in the community town of Mikhmanim in northern Israel, has developed a system to use energy from the hot water wasted when we bathe or even when we wash the dishes or our clothes. When a person takes a shower and the hot water goes down the drain, the Sowillo system catches it before it enters the municipal…
Even before the establishment of the State of Israel, faculty, students, and alumni of the Technion helped develop and manage water resources in a desert land. They contributed to the national water carrier that brought water from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) in the north to the drylands in the south. They improved technologies for water treatment, desalination, and drip irrigation. These efforts have turned Israel from a water-deficient to a water-abundant country. Today, Israel leads the world in water reclamation, recycling more than 90% of its wastewater for use in agriculture and industry. No longer reliant on the Kinneret,…