An Israeli flag has been added to the line of flags fluttering outside the CERN Globe of Science and Innovation in Geneva, following Israel’s official welcoming as the 21st member state of the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
Israel is the first new member of the organization since 1999. Israel has been an observer at CERN since 1991.
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An Israeli agro-hydrology researcher and a winemaker are the winners of the National Order of Agricultural Merit, awarded by the French Ministry of Agriculture. Prof. Pedro Berliner, director of the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research on BGU’s Sede-Boqer campus, and Eli Ben-Zaken, maker of Domaine du Castel wines, will be awarded at an official ceremony on November 27 at the French Embassy.
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Two Israeli physicians, who set out to masculinize a patient with testosterone therapy, ended up discovering a new genetic mutation and pushing the limits of male fertility.
It all started eight years ago, when a young Israeli man walked into the office of Dr. Karen Tordjman, a senior lecturer at Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine. His girlfriend (now his wife) convinced him to find out why his genitals were small and heavily scarred.
Tordjman and her Sackler colleague, Dr. Amnon Botchan, discovered in medical records that two of the patient’s uncles had been diagnosed with androgen receptor insensitivity — a rare condition that results in the body under-responding to the androgen hormones that drive male sexual development.
“There are hundreds of mutations that have been reported in the androgen receptor gene,” Tordjman tells ISRAEL21c. The young Israeli, who had served in a Navy commando unit despite his slight build, had a mutation that had not previously been reported.
Instead of following standard protocol, Tordjman set out on a groundbreaking medical journey that today could change the course of treatment for men with the same condition.
“The treatment was counterintuitive,” she says. “We offered treatment not for his future reproductive capabilities but for his appearance. We didn’t guarantee him anything, but we said we’d try.”
Her research, recently published in the journal Andrologia, may, in coming generations, lead to genetic screening for the newly found mutation of the androgen receptor to identify carriers.
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A team of Tel Aviv University researchers have identified a specific set of molecules called microRNAs that detrimentally regulate protein levels in the brains of mice with Alzheimer’s disease and beneficially regulate protein levels in the brains of other mice living in a stimulating environment.
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Israel’s first-ever live broadcast with astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will take place today (October 24). The live video linkup will connect high school and university students gathered at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano.
Parmitano has been aboard the space station for 166 days and has conducted numerous experiments on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). The in-flight call with the International Space Station (ISS) was initiated by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Space Agency.
Students will hear about life in space and will be able to ask questions.
Israel is widely recognized for the academic space research performed here. The International Astronautical Federation’s Space Conference will be held in Jerusalem in 2015 and will bring more than 3,000 researchers and scientists to Israel’s capital city.
Israeli mobile analytics company Onavo has announced its sale to Facebook. The deal is being reported to be worth between $100 million-$200 million.
Onavo is one of Tel Aviv’s hottest startups. It developed the award-winning Onavo mobile utility app and Onavo Insights, the first mobile market intelligence service based on real engagement data.
Even bigger news than the acquisition is that Facebook is planning to open its first R&D center in Israel, at Onavo’s headquarters. Under the deal, Facebook has agreed that Onavo will keep its Israeli offices and its 30 employees.
Last night, the Ministry of Science, Technology & Space in conjunction with the the European Union, held its annual Night of Scientists, an event celebrating Israel’s advanced research and technology. This year’s theme – “Touching the Stars” — is very much in keeping with Yom Kippur and the notion of purity. Is there anything more pure than light?
On Night of Scientists, research institutions and science museums around Israel — from Kiryat Shmona to Eilat — open their doors to the public and offer eye-level meetings with scientists and scientists, lab tours, lectures, concerts, experiments, workshops and experiential science activities for children and adults alike.