Israel Science and Technology - February

TEDx

Jerusalem played host to its second TEDx conference on Dec. 10 as 500 people listened to "ideas worth spreading" in well-crafted, 18-minute talks or performances. Among the 16 presenters was Dr. Amir Amedi, a brain researcher, who taught the audience how to "see" with their brains, a technique he's developed to benefit the blind. The first TEDx Jerusalem was a small event held at Hebrew University in 2010. ~Jerusalem Judy Lash Balint (jns.org)

Three Israeli universities share major physics prize

The Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation announced that leaders of the ATLAS experiment-one of the two experimental groups at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN to have discovered a particle that appears to be the Higgs boson- will share the Special Fundamental Physics Prize (which totals $3,000,000). Physicists from the Weizmann Institute, Technion, and Tel Aviv University have played prominent roles in the ATLAS experiment. The ATLAS group will share the Special Fundamental Physics Prize with another group and with the head of the LHC accelerator project itself. ~(Weizmann Inst.)

A smarter way to swat mosquitos

More than a million people die each year of malaria, mainly pregnant women and children under five, caused by a parasite transmitted by mosquitos. Dr. Ron Dzikowski and research student Inbar Avraham at Hebrew U. revealed for the first time the genetic mechanism that enables this parasite to selectively express just one protein while hiding other proteins from the immune system. They showed that the parasite's ability to express only one gene while hiding the other 59 depends on a unique DNA sequence. By interfering with this sequence, it might be possible to prevent the parasite from hiding most of its destructive genes, allowing the immune system to attack them. ~(Hebrew U.)  

The wall that defends the net

More than 44 million hacking attempts were made on Israeli government Web sites during Operation Pillar of Defense. Only one was successful, but was reversed after a downtime of only 10 minutes. Israel has been named one of the top three world leaders in the field of cyber-security. Some 25 Israeli information-security firms have been acquired by multinational organizations, and Israeli companies are counted among the world's leading IT security providers. BGU's technology transfer company, BGN Technologies, is a partner in Israel's first ever cyber-security incubator, adjacent to BGU in B'er Sheva. It is expected to begin operations at beginning of 2013, selecting new start-ups each year from hundreds of candidates in cyber-security and enterprise software. ~(Ben-Gurion U.)  

On the wings of eagles, and buzzards 

Guilad Friedemann is TAU Ph.D. student in zoology, deeply concerned about the survival of two of Israel's most elusive bird species, the Short Toed Eagle and the Long Legged Buzzard. Heavily threatened by changes in the environment, this native raptor population is on the decline, with less than 500 of each species surviving in the wild. Friedemann's research focuses on the breeding habits of a raptor species whose numbers have been affected by human interference. He hopes that his research will lead to the preservation of raptor populations and open habitats, as raptors are excellent indicators for the quality of ecosystems. "I dream of saving the species so that our children will be able to enjoy seeing what we can today," he says. ~(Tel Aviv U.)