https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from Tel Aviv University Training people to activate a part of the brain linked to reward and positive expectations may be associated with an increase in the body's immune response to a vaccine. The findings from a study involving 85 participants, published in Nature Medicine, suggest that positive thinking might help the brain support the immune system in a noninvasive way. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-brain-boost-immune-response-vaccination.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 19 Jan 2026 14:14:29 EST news688054441 Researchers from Tel Aviv University have discovered a new biological mechanism that enhances the production of myelin—a substance essential for proper brain function and nerve communication. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-biological-mechanism-boosts-myelin-production.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 20 Oct 2025 11:50:04 EDT news680179801 Researchers have found that when we invest in our appearance and feel we look better—whether in reality, online, or even just in our imagination—we behave more kindly and are twice as likely to donate to charity. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-investing-contributors-society.html Social Sciences Mon, 25 Nov 2024 16:39:36 EST news651775174 A technological breakthrough by medical researchers at Tel Aviv University enabled the discovery of a cancer mechanism that prevents the immune system from attacking tumors. The researchers were surprised to find that reversing this mechanism stimulates the immune system to fight the cancer cells, even in types of cancer considered resistant to prevailing forms of immunotherapy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-10-cancer-mechanism-tumors-resistant-immunotherapy.html Oncology & Cancer Wed, 30 Oct 2024 14:48:17 EDT news649518485 Researchers at Tel Aviv University relied on principles of origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, to develop an original and innovative solution for a problem troubling researchers worldwide: positioning sensors inside 3D-bioprinted tissue models. Instead of bioprinting tissue over the sensors (found to be impracticable), they designed and produced an origami-inspired structure that folds around the fabricated tissue, allowing the insertion of sensors into precisely pre-defined locations. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-art-origami-advance-3d-bioprinting.html Biotechnology Mon, 08 Jul 2024 11:22:03 EDT news639656521 A research team from Tel Aviv University and the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer conducted an investigation of seasonal fluctuations in AMH (anti-Müllerian hormone) levels. Their pioneering study revealed that during the summer, women of late reproductive age—between the ages of 30 and 40—experience increased secretion of the hormone from their ovaries. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-02-exposure-sun-uv-positive-effect.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 19 Feb 2024 14:33:25 EST news627575602 We often crumple a scrap piece of paper into a ball before throwing it. This mundane action, however, creates a unique complex system with surprising mechanical properties. Take a thin plastic sheet such as cellophane and try it yourself. While a regular flat sheet will simply bend under the influence of gravity, a crumpled sheet is stiffer and can hold its own weight. It also has shape memory—it has many stable configurations and thus will tend to keep the shape it is deformed to. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-crumpled-sheets-reveal-mechanism-glassy.html General Physics Wed, 08 Nov 2023 10:52:30 EST news618663147 Beachgoers are familiar with the experience of spending hours in the sun, going home, and noticing only hours later that their skin has changed color. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-tans-weve-left-beach.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 02 Aug 2023 08:14:22 EDT news610182853 Researchers at Tel Aviv University have destroyed 90% of multiple myeloma blood cancer cells under laboratory conditions, and 60% in human tissues taken from patients at Rabin Medical Center (Belinson Hospital), using an RNA-based drug delivered to the cells by targeted lipid nanoparticles. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-drug-delivery-rna-therapy-cancer.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 31 Jul 2023 11:00:48 EDT news610020045 For the first time, researchers from Tel Aviv University have developed a genome-scale technology that makes it possible to reveal the role of genes and traits in plants previously hidden by functional redundancy. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-large-scale-genetic-modification-method-reveals.html Biotechnology Mon, 15 May 2023 09:24:05 EDT news603361441 Many parents think that they are protecting their children by smoking on the porch or next to the window in a room. However, a new study by Tel Aviv University finds that, in contrast to such beliefs, restricting smoking to the porch does not protect most children from exposure to tobacco smoke. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04-ten-children-parents-restrict-porch.html Addiction Mon, 03 Apr 2023 12:17:04 EDT news599743021 A new clinical trial conducted at Tel Aviv University has demonstrated an effective technology-driven alternative to psychiatric medications for people with social anxiety. The groundbreaking study found that GC-MART (Gaze-Contingent Music Reward Therapy) is as effective in treating social anxiety disorder as drugs from the SSRI family. The study found that the innovative treatment, developed at TAU, relieved the symptoms of about 50% of the participating patients. The researchers hope that this therapy will soon be available as an effective alternative to psychiatric medications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04-technology-driven-treatment-effective-social-anxiety.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 03 Apr 2023 10:18:04 EDT news599735881 Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a hybrid micro-robot, the size of a single biological cell (about 10 microns across), that can be controlled and navigated using two different mechanisms—electric and magnetic. The micro-robot is able to navigate between different cells in a biological sample, distinguish between different types of cells, identify whether they are healthy or dying, and then transport the desired cell for further study, such as genetic analysis. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-hybrid-micro-robot-physiological-environment-capture.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 27 Mar 2023 08:57:04 EDT news599126221 Researchers from Tel Aviv University compared treatment with a dedicated protocol of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to the pharmacology (drugs) treatment available today for patients suffering from fibromyalgia as a result of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The researchers found that the dedicated hyperbaric oxygen therapy is much more effective in reducing pain than the drug treatment, and it even resulted in the healing of 2 out of 5 patients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-03-dedicated-protocol-hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 Mar 2023 09:05:50 EDT news598781143 Researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute (IOLR) have succeeded in significantly increasing the ability of seaweed to produce healthy natural materials. The current study focused on enhancing the production of bio-active compounds that offer medical benefits to humans, such as antioxidants, the concentration of which in the seaweed was doubled; natural sunscreens concentrations tripled; and unique protective pigments of great medical value that were stimulated substantially by ten-fold. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-super-seaweed-natural-health-compounds.html Biotechnology Mon, 20 Mar 2023 13:47:05 EDT news598538822 For the first time in the world: a team of researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Israel Institute for Biological Research have developed an mRNA-based vaccine that is 100% effective against a type of bacteria that is lethal to humans. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-03-world-mrna-vaccine-deadly-bacteria.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 09 Mar 2023 12:18:30 EST news597586705 Researchers at Tel Aviv University identified a new genetic risk factor for the complex eye disease AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration), a leading cause for loss of eyesight at an advanced age. For the first time, the researchers identified proteins that play a key role in the development and functioning of the tissue affected by the disease, found their exact sites in the genome, and discovered the connection between variations in these genomic regions and the risk for AMD. https://phys.org/news/2023-02-genomic-factors-complex-eye-disease.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 07 Feb 2023 09:41:06 EST news594985261 A new technological development by Tel Aviv University has made it possible for a robot to smell using a biological sensor. The sensor sends electrical signals as a response to the presence of a nearby odor, which the robot can detect and interpret. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-01-robot-biological-sensor.html Hardware Tue, 17 Jan 2023 10:05:04 EST news593172302 A new study by the Tel Aviv and Hebrew Universities found that abnormal processes lead to disruption in the expression of genes essential for brain development in people suffering from Williams syndrome—a rare, multisystem genetic syndrome that causes disorders in brain development. According to the researchers, "Our findings may contribute to the future development of targeted treatments that will enable normal expression of the affected genes we identified in the research." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-01-brain-disorders-williams-syndrome.html Genetics Mon, 16 Jan 2023 11:05:03 EST news593089501 In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at Tel Aviv University equipped close to 5,000 Israelis with smartwatches and monitored their physiological parameters over two years. Of those monitored, 2,038 received the booster dose of the coronavirus vaccine, allowing the researchers to objectively compare measures before and after the participants took the vaccine, and confirm the safety of the vaccine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-heart-smartwatches-covid-booster-vaccine.html Vaccination Wed, 28 Dec 2022 09:45:04 EST news591443101 A new Tel Aviv University study has discovered that the female locust has superpowers. The findings of the study reveal that the female locust's central nervous system has elastic properties, allowing her to stretch up to two or three times her original length when laying her eggs in the ground, without causing any irreparable damage. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-discovery-female-locust-superhero-like-abilities.html Plants & Animals Wed, 07 Dec 2022 10:57:36 EST news589633052 A short, simple and safe drug treatment developed at Tel Aviv University reduced the risk of the spread of cancer metastases after surgery to remove the primary tumor—according to the first clinical study of its kind conducted among 34 colon cancer patients operated on at Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-drugs-anxiety-stress-reactions-inflammation.html Oncology & Cancer Tue, 06 Dec 2022 11:15:04 EST news589547701 A new study at Tel Aviv University found that aerobic exercise can reduce the risk of metastatic cancer by 72%. According to the researchers, intensity aerobic exercise increases the glucose (sugar) consumption of internal organs, thereby reducing the availability of energy to the tumor. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11-aerobic-metastatic-cancer.html Oncology & Cancer Mon, 14 Nov 2022 12:18:04 EST news587650681 A new Tel Aviv University study conducted in collaboration with the Mediterranean Sea Research Center of Israel examined the level of microplastic pollution along Israel's coastline. The researchers collected sand samples from six beaches, from Haifa to Ashkelon. The research findings revealed that the Israeli shoreline is contaminated with more than two million tons of microplastics, with the most polluted beaches being those of Tel Aviv and Hadera. https://phys.org/news/2022-10-israeli-coastline-contaminated-tons-microplastics.html Environment Mon, 31 Oct 2022 09:33:12 EDT news586427588 A new study conducted at Tel Aviv University has determined that use of the Inquiry Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) technique among women with increased risk of breast cancer (carriers of BRCA1/BRCA2 genes) can be very helpful in coping with stressful events, enhance emotional and psychological well-being, improve quality of sleep, and assist in decision making. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-10-emotional-well-being-quality-decision-patients.html Oncology & Cancer Wed, 19 Oct 2022 12:21:03 EDT news585400861 Researchers from Tel Aviv University collected samples of charcoal used as fuel for metallurgical furnaces in the Timna Valley, located in Israel's southern desert region, during the 11th to 9th centuries BCE and examined them under a microscope. They found that the charcoal fuels used changed over time. The earlier samples contained mainly local white broom and acacia thorn trees, excellent fuel available nearby, but the quality of the firewood had deteriorated over time, with later samples consisting of low-quality wood fuel and timber imported from afar. https://phys.org/news/2022-09-years-human-vegetation-irreparably-timna.html Archaeology Thu, 22 Sep 2022 09:05:53 EDT news583056349 A team of researchers from Tel Aviv University has demonstrated that antibodies isolated from the immune system of recovered COVID-19 patients are effective in neutralizing all known strains of the virus, including the delta and the omicron variants. According to the researchers, this discovery may eliminate the need for repeated booster vaccinations and strengthen the immune system of populations at risk. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-antibodies-booster-vaccinations.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 07 Sep 2022 12:50:59 EDT news581773856 A new Tel Aviv University study rejects assertions that the origin of the COVID-19 outbreak lies in bats. According to the study, bats have a highly effective immune system that enables them to deal relatively easily with viruses considered lethal for other mammals. https://phys.org/news/2022-09-evidence-covid-transmitted.html Ecology Mon, 05 Sep 2022 13:53:28 EDT news581604804 A groundbreaking study at Tel Aviv University effectively eradicated glioblastoma, a highly lethal type of brain cancer. The researchers achieved the outcome using a method they developed based on their discovery of two critical mechanisms in the brain that support tumor growth and survival: one protects cancer cells from the immune system, while the other supplies the energy required for rapid tumor growth. The work found that both mechanisms are controlled by brain cells called astrocytes, and in their absence, the tumor cells die and are eliminated. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-method-eradicates-deadly-brain-tumors.html Oncology & Cancer Thu, 01 Sep 2022 11:23:36 EDT news581250211 A scientific development from the Tel Aviv and Haifa Universities may facilitate speedy, objective and accurate diagnosis of people suffering from PTSD using saliva samples. As part of the study, the researchers characterized the psychological, social and medical conditions of about 200 participants, while at the same time collecting saliva samples from them. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-08-presence-bacteria-saliva-ptsd-veteran.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 10 Aug 2022 11:42:03 EDT news579350521