Yearly Archives: 2012

Technion scientists have developed a biological computer, composed entirely of DNA molecules and enzymes constructed on a gold-coated chip. This new computer represents a significant improvement over the original computer reported three years ago in a joint paper by Prof. Ehud Keinan of the Technion and a group from the Weizmann Institute of Science, which included Yaakov Benenson, Prof. Ehud Shapiro and Prof. Zvi Livneh. The Technion researchers succeeded in increasing the level of complexity of their computer. Whereas the original computer could accept up to 765 different programs, the new computer can accept as many as 1 billion programs. This increase represents a dramatic advance in terms of the potential mathematical operations and complexity of problems that may be solved using a biological computer. The results are published this week in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

“An equally significant breakthrough is the incorporation of chips as an integral part of the computer”, explains Prof. Ehud Keinan, Dean of the Technion’s Faculty of Chemistry, who carried out this research together with graduate students Michal Soreni, Sivan Yogev, Elizaveta Kossoy, and Prof. Yuval Shoham, Dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering. “The chip allows for automatic, real-time readout of the computation results, with no need to employ elaborate techniques of molecular biology, such as gel electrophoresis and the use of radioactively labeled materials. Computation on a chip allows efficient parallel computation with many, geographically labeled input molecules. Such computers could have a variety of practical applications, including encryption of information. For example, it would be possible to encrypt images on a chip, whereby deciphering the images would be possible only by a person with access to a secret key comprised of several short DNA molecules and several enzymes.”

Prof. Keinan explains that a computer is, by definition, a machine made of four components: hardware, software, input and output. All of the currently known computers are electronic computers, namely, machines in which both input and output are electronic signals, the hardware is a complex composition of metallic and plastic components, wires, transistors, etc., and the software is a sequence of instructions given to the machine in the form of electronic signals. “In contrast to electronic computers, there are computing machines in which all four components are nothing but molecules,” says Prof. Keinan. “For example, all biological systems, and even entire living organisms, are such computers. Every one of us is a bio-molecular computer, that is, a machine in which all four components are molecules “talking” to one another in a logical manner. The hardware and software are complex biological molecules that activate one another to carry out some predetermined chemical work. The input is a molecule that undergoes specific, predetermined changes, following a specific set of rules (software) and the outcome of this chemical computation process, the output, is another well defined molecule.”

Over the past decade, bio-molecular computers have aroused much interest in the scientific community due to of their ability to carry out an enormous number of operations in parallel. A tiny drop of solution containing a large number of input molecules contains enormous computational power.

Mathematician Prof. Daoud Bshouty has pioneered geometric function theory of one complex variable, mathematical statistics and analytic probability theory. He has also innovated a Technion vision of multicultural harmony and continuously strives to improve life at Technion City on all levels. Meet Technion’s new Dean of Undergraduate Studies.

Technion’s new Dean of Undergraduate Studies: Prof. Daoud Bshouty.

Q: As Dean of Undergraduate Studies, what is your vision for the evolution of the
Technion student body over the next 10 years?

A: The centennial of the cornerstone of the Technion; The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research professor Dan Shechtman; and the research center with Cornell in New York City; all mark a new era in Technion history, an international recognition of Technion researchers, teachers and students. Our excellent students represent the pioneers in in human knowledge in sciences and Technology and we look forward for more. In ten years from today I expect to see our campus in Haifa serving local and international students alike, and our graduates as embassadors of the technion worldwide.

Q: How would you describe morale among Technion students in 2012?

A: The year just started and our aim is to increase students morale throughout this year.  The Technion is known to impose on its students high load of study which affects students ‘ morale. We aim at making the studies a joyful experience without compromising the standarts of studies, this by rebuilding our curricula  to be less stressful, making the Technion  a village of students, faculty and administration a harmonious environment in which each group support the other.

Q: Can you give some keywords that distinguish Technion students from other students around the globe?

A: Hard workers, ambitious in a stubborn way, always unsatisfied from their lecturers yet they wouldn’t choose another place.

Q: Could you talk a little about Technion as a multicultural and increasingly international place to study?

A: In ten years from now i wont need to talk about that, the world will. But for now, since the 1990’s our society has become more and more  multicultural, yet  we still have a long way to accept it. Haifa itself is different in that respect and so is the Technion as part of the city. The technion also hosts many international students and researchers for long periods and  that is an extra experience that we add to the experience of our students.

Q: Why is recognition of difference an important part of a successful learning environment?

A: Learning is the experience of transferring knowledge and most productive in group discussions. Recognizing the different is simply to benefit from the experiences of other traditions and cultures.

13The stamp was launched during the main event in the Technion’s centennial celebrations, in the presence of Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, Mayor of Haifa Adv. Yona Yahav, Chairman of the Board of Israel Postal Company Sasi Shilo, and Director of Philatelic
Services Yaron Ratzon

Three Nobel Laureates in Chemistry – Professors Avram Hershko, Aaron Ciechanover and Dan Shechtman – received yesterday the special stamp that was issued by Israel Postal Company to commemorate 100 Years to the laying of the cornerstone for the Technion. The stamp was launched in frame of a festive concert commemorating the Technion’s cornerstone centennial, in the presence of Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, Mayor of Haifa Adv. Yona Yahav, Chairman of the Board of Israel Postal Company Sasi Shilo, and Director of Philatelic Services Yaron Ratzon.

The Chairman of the Board of Israel Postal Company Sasi Shilo said that “the stamp we are launching today salutes the first academic educational institute established in Israel, and one of the most prominent institutes in its field worldwide”. He added that the Technion’s praiseworthy activity has had substantial contribution to the development of the State of Israel’s economy.

Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie said that he is as excited on this evening as he was on December 10th, 2004 and on December 10th, 2011 in Stockholm, when the three professors received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He also emphasized the exciting event held in New York on December 19, 2011, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the Technion and Cornell University have won the tender to establish an applied science and engineering campus in his city.

Mayor of Haifa Adv. Yona Yahav said that his city is identified with the distinguished institute that it is honored to have had residing in it for over one hundred years now.

The Shalom Zielony Technion Choir and Orchestra, conducted by Menahem Nebenhaus and Leonti Wolf, performed an especially festive concert. Sasi Shilo and Yaron Ratzon unveiled the stamp and granted it to the Nobel laureates, to the designer of the stamp Naama Tumarkin (Director of the Israel Technion Society), and to Professors Danny Weihs and Eyal Zussman, whose research subject is displayed on the stamp.

Description of the stamp and the First Day Cover

The stamp enfolds within it the past, present and future not only of the Technion, but also of the State of Israel, that has become a science and technology pioneer.

The stamp features a rendering of the building façade, designed by the Jewish-German architect Alexander Baerwald, one of the pioneers of modern Israeli architecture.

Out of the building grows an element developed in the Technion by three professors: Daniel Weihs, Alexander Yarin and Eyal Zussman. It is the prototype of a nano-parachute, whose structure and movement are based on the structure of the dandelion seed and its movement in the air. The nano-parachute is made of nano-fibers, and is in fact a sophisticated detector of airborne toxins. Thousands of nano-parachutes that are dispersed at a site suspected of being contaminated change their color in the presence of toxins, thus allowing to determine the type of toxins and to prevent or mitigate loss of life.

In recent years, the Technion has engaged in nano-technology research in a number of areas: nano-electronics, nano-optics, nano-materials, and their interface with life sciences. This field brings about collaborations between scientists in a variety of disciplines and from different faculties. The element displayed in the stamp is an excellent example of this.

The stamp tab features the invitation to “the cornerstone laying ceremony, on Thursday, 24 Nissan 5672 (April 11, 1912), at 3 pm at the Technikum plot”.

The First Day Cover shows a photo of the Technion building after its completion, along with a rendering of the building. Above them float icosahedrons, bodies taken from the research of Prof. Dan Shechtman of the Technion, the Nobel Laureate in Chemistry in 2011 for his discovery of quasiperiodic crystals.

The photo seen in the stamp is that of a nano-parachute on the palm of a hand – courtesy of Miki Koren.

The stamp was designed by Naama Tumarkin, Director of the Israel Technion Society.

Denomination: NIS 2.60.

Above (right to left): Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, Mayor Yona Yahav, Prof. Aaron Ciechanover, Prof. Avram Hershko, Prof. Dan Shechtman, Sasi Shilo, Prof. Eyal Zussman, Yaron Ratzon, Naama Tumarkin and Prof. Danny Weihs. Photo by Shlomo Shoham, Technion Spokesman

Formation flying mini satellites under development at the Asher Space Research Institute.

Technion researchers are planning to launch three nano-satellites of up to 6kg each into
space. The project was unveiled to global space agency representatives and space
researchers on January 30, 2012 at the Ilan Ramon International Space Conference of the
Israel Ministry of Science and Technology and the Fisher Institute.

“For the first time ever, an attempt will be made to launch three satellites that will fly
together in a controlled formation. To date, such a launch was not possible due to the size
and weight of the satellites, and because of the problems associated with the launch of
satellites in a uniform formation and their prolonged stay in space”, says Prof. Pini Gurfil of
the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering and the Asher Space Research Institute.

The Technion researchers aim the launch the experimental trio in 2015. The satellites will
attempt to receive signals from Earth at given frequencies, and to calculate the location of
the transmission’s origin. The receiving of signals transmitted from Earth to space using
several nano-satellites flying in formation is an experiment that no man has ventured before.
If it succeeds, formation flying nano satellites can be developed further for applications such
as locating survivors in disaster zones.

Another aim of the experiment is to prove that a uniform, controlled formation of satellites
can be held for one year in a 600 km orbit above Earth. For this purpose, researchers are
planning to install on each of the satellites a propulsion system that will assist in maintaining
the formation in space longer.

The satellites are planned to be built based on a CubeSat standard structure, whose parts will
be assembled by the researchers with the assistance of students. The satellite formation
comprises of six cubes, each 10x10x10 cm, such that each satellite will have a 10x20x30 cm
box. These boxes will carry measuring instruments, antennae, computer systems, control
systems, and navigation instruments. The software and the algorithms that will manage the
flight are developed in the Distributed Space Systems Laboratory at the Technion’s Asher
Space Research Institute and the UAV cluster of the Autonomous Systems Program at the
Technion. The nano-satellite formation will be launched as a supplementary payload on an
existing launch, through Europe, Russia or India.

The ambitious project is based on a prototype that was designed by Prof. Gurfil thanks to a
1.5 million euro grant he received from the European Union. The Technion hopes to get
additional support that will enable the actual development of the micro-satellites and their
launch.

“If we manage to prove in the experiment that the formation flight is possible, this will
provide a momentum to the development of small satellites and technologies related to the
miniaturization of electronic components, to efficient processing in space and to space
propulsion systems. These technologies could contribute to a variety of civil applications and
to the advancement of the Israeli space industry”, says Prof. Gurfil and adds: “another goal
of the project is to contribute to the practical training of space engineers, which is why
undergraduate and graduate students will fill practical roles in the examination of various
aspects related to the mission and in the development of the system. The designated training
and practical experience of space engineers are essential to Israel’s future in this field”.

In July 1998, researchers and students of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the
Technion launched the satellite Gurwin TechSAT 2. The satellite, one of the smallest satellites
of its kind in the world, succeeded in remaining in space and completing all its tasks for
about 12 years.


————————.

Hacker Inside Logo


December 20th, 2030. The world has made headway into healing some of its oldest diseases
– cancer, Alzheimer’s, MS. Driven by global communication through social media, the majority
of nations are at peace, as the problem of oil dependency was alleviated by energy pioneers
that created unlimited fuel from an infinite resource the sun.


But on that morning of hope and global stability, it all went wrong. A disparate doomsday
group from a remote rogue nation, managed to hack into the central control system of the US
nuclear missiles program. Nuclear warheads filled the skies like a plague of hornets, without
method in the madness – without a visible enemy to deter – without a whisper of hope for the
survival of the human race.


An extreme and unrealistic scenario, yet with the advancement and popularity of IT, the
recent cyber squabble – apparently between teenage hackers from Saudi Arabia and Israel in
a battle to affirm who could dash the death-blow in a cyber confrontation – brought the issue
of cyber security again to the foreground of the international security agenda.


“This is not serious stuff,” said Prof. Erez Petrank, a Technion encryption expert interviewed
on the recent cyber punch-out by the National Cyber Security website in the US.


“These hackers are being presented as geniuses. Most of them are simply very patient. They
download a number of tools which they don’t even build themselves, and attack and attack
sites until they find one that isn’t secure.”

“Israel is exposed to cyber-attacks which can paralyze entire life systems on which the country runs.”

PM Netanyahu.



In Israel, it turns out, great minds are contemplating possible Day Zero possibilities. Not
the teenage Saudi ‘nightmare’ – as the ambitious hacker called himself – but the real
NIGHTMARE. And at Technion’s world-leading computer science faculty, plans are underway
to bring expert researchers from across the field into one Cyber Security Research and
Teaching Program at the Faculty of Computer Science.


For experts like Petrank, the kind of “Day Zero” scenario such as sabotage of power plants,
flight control systems, or army control networks are far more disturbing. “Al Qaeda are looking
for more spectacular ways to wage war. They are looking for something more dramatic than
9/11, and that can either be the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction or cyber terrorism
— real cyber terror,” an Israel cyber terror expert told reporters. “Events like these of the past
few weeks can pique their interest in true cyber warfare.”


Real cyber terror involves hitting control systems of airports or other infrastructure, power
plants, transportation systems, hospitals, everything that is controlled by computers. The
damage could be catastrophic – far more than a conventional war. “This could involve the
killing of thousands of people. Imagine someone breaking into Logan airport’s systems, and
instead of hijacking planes, now they are programmed to collide into one another or crash.”


Israel’s enemies are probing the vulnerability of these sophisticated systems. Israeli PM
Benjamin Netanyahu recently warned that “Israel is exposed to cyber-attacks which can


paralyze entire life systems on which the country runs.” To face the constant threat of attacks
by terrorists and hostile countries, it is absolutely vital to Israel’s security and economic well-
being to develop the best, most robust systems and take all measures possible to protect
them. Therefore, Prime Minister Netanyahu has recently announced “the establishment of a
national cybernetic initiative to encourage and develop the field of cybernetics and turn the
State of Israel into a global center of [cybernetics] knowledge, in cooperation with academia,
industry, the security establishment and other public bodies.”


Technion is well known for various contributions in computer security and cryptography, such
as assessing the security of cellular phone networks and exposing their vulnerabilities and
weaknesses.


For example, a Technion team studied the protocols of the ubiquitous GSM phone system
and identified several weaknesses that allowed for eavesdropping on a conversation, taking
over a call, and even impersonating a different phone owner. The researchers also examined
the security of other kinds of applications such as car remote controls, analysis of the strength
of cryptographic standards, and the design of new cryptographic systems.


In addition, Technion researchers working in other areas of computing constantly address
security issues such as cloud computing, where security is a critical enabling technology
without which the entire concept is rendered unusable.


Researchers in a variety of Technion faculties study security issues related to operating
systems (OS), the methodologies by which they defend underlying applications, and
requirements from supporting hardware and programming languages.


Technion graduates have become key players in Israel’s thriving computer security industry.
A good example is the startup, Imperva , which recently went public and works in the area
of data protection. One of its founders was also a founder of Checkpoint, a leading Israeli
company that revolutionized computer security in the early 1990s, making it possible for
enterprises to defend entire networks. Its magnitude of success has paved the way and
inspired many other Israeli companies and Technion graduates. In today’s Israeli high-tech
arena, an entire ecosystem of companies exists to seek out solutions for the next possible
cyber flaw. One would be hard-pressed to find such a company without a dominant presence
of Technion graduates.


File:Computer hacking.jpg
When a hacker becomes a WMD terrorist –
Technion Research blocks the way.

“Someone is investing in me, and I will try my hardest to succeed.”


Photo: Atidim.
Growing up in a family with four siblings in Beit Shean, a periphery town on Israel’s northeastern border  with  Jordan, Shir Paska could not take a place in Israel’s top university for granted. She knew she wanted to do something in engineering or 
computers. 
Shir was ecstatic when she was accepted. “There are only 41 people chosen for this program and I  so  much  wanted  to  be  one  of  them. Someone is investing so much in me, and I will try my hardest to do the maximum and succeed.”
This year, Shir becomes a freshman in mechanical engineering at the Technion. She will receive a scholarship, laptop computer and living expenses through Rosman Atidim’s Industry program, and intern in her field at a leading company. 
“I want to get my degree and live and work in the North,” says Shir. “The Galilee has too much wasted potential, and I want to change that. Rosman Atidim is giving me the chance.”
Founded with the support of Dr. Martin and Grace Rosman of Sarasota Florida and Edgewater Maryland, the Rosman Atidim program supports Atidim’s PreAcademic Preparatory and Industry program at the Technion – Israel Institute of Techology. It provides the means to excel to talented young people from Israel’s less privileged neighborhoods. Students from the program often have a stated agenda to take their new skills back home – to advance their native area and inspire others to do the same.

Rosmans with Apeloig
Marty and Grace Rosman with Distinguished Prof. Yitzhak Apeloig.

The Rosman’s have been supporting Atidim students at the Technion for the past four years. All of the 20 students from the first graduating class are working in their respective professions in industry. In 2011/12, the Rosman Atidim Industry program is supporting 53 freshman students, of which 28 are graduates of the Pre-Academic Preparatory Program, and 47 sophomores. An additional 40 students will begin the Pre-Academic Preparatory program in January 2012.  

Atidim students receive assistance in every aspect of university life. From financial scholarships to academic tutoring, personal coaching to integration into the work force and even a laptop computer, these students know that someone believes in them and is willing to invest in their success. 

12The stamp will be launched during the main event in the Technion’s centennial celebrations, in the presence of Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, Mayor of Haifa Adv. Yona Yahav, Chairman of the Board of Israel Postal Company Sasi Shilo, and Director of Philatelic Services Yaron Ratzon

Israel Postal Company has issued a special stamp to commemorate 100 Years to the laying of the cornerstone for the Technion. The stamp will be launched on Tuesday, January 31st, in frame of a festive concert commemorating the Technion’s cornerstone centennial, in the presence of Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, Mayor of Haifa Adv. Yona Yahav, Chairman of the Board of Israel Postal Company Sasi Shilo, and Director of Philatelic Services Yaron Ratzon.

The Chairman of the Board of Israel Postal Company Sasi Shilo said that “the stamp we are launching today salutes the first academic educational institute established in Israel, and one of the most prominent institutes in its field worldwide”. He added that the Technion’s praiseworthy activity has had substantial contribution to the development of the State of Israel’s economy.

Description of the stamp and the First Day Cover

The stamp enfolds within it the past, present and future not only of the Technion, but also of the State of Israel, that has become a science and technology pioneer.

The stamp features a rendering of the building façade, designed by the Jewish-German architect Alexander Baerwald, one of the pioneers of modern Israeli architecture.

Out of the building grows an element developed in the Technion by three professors: Daniel Weihs, Alexander Yarin and Eyal Zussman. It is the prototype of a nano-parachute, whose structure and movement are based on the structure of the dandelion seed and its movement in the air. The nano-parachute is made of nano-fibers, and is in fact a sophisticated detector of airborne toxins. Thousands of nano-parachutes that are dispersed at a site suspected of being contaminated change their color in the presence of toxins, thus allowing to determine the type of toxins and to prevent or mitigate loss of life.

In recent years, the Technion has engaged in nano-technology research in a number of areas: nano-electronics, nano-optics, nano-materials, and their interface with life sciences. This field brings about collaborations between scientists in a variety of disciplines and from different faculties. The element displayed in the stamp is an excellent example of this.

The stamp tab features the invitation to “the cornerstone laying ceremony, on Thursday, 24 Nissan 5672 (April 11, 1912), at 3 pm at the Technikum plot”.

The First Day Cover shows a photo of the Technion building after its completion, along with a rendering of the building. Above them float icosahedrons, bodies taken from the research of Prof. Dan Shechtman of the Technion, the Nobel Laureate in Chemistry in 2011 for his discovery of quasiperiodic crystals.

The photo seen in the stamp is that of a nano-parachute on the palm of a hand – courtesy of Miki Koren.

The stamp was designed by Naama Tumarkin, Director of the Israel Technion Society.
Denomination: NIS 2.60.

11Undergraduate and graduate students will fill practical roles in the examination of various aspects related to the mission and in the development of the system

Technion researchers are planning to launch into space a structure of three nano-satellites weighing up to six kilograms each, in frame of a unique project headed by Prof. Pini Gurfil of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering and the Asher Space Research Institute at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. The project is scheduled to be unveiled on January 30, 2012 at the Ilan Ramon International Space Conference of the Israel Ministry of Science and Technology and the Fisher Institute, and will be presented to space agency representatives and space researchers from all over the world.

“For the first time ever, an attempt will be made to launch three satellites that will fly together in a controlled formation. To date, such a launch was not possible due to the size and weight of the satellites, and because of the problems associated with the launch of satellites in a uniform formation and their prolonged stay in space”, says Prof. Gurfil.

The Technion researchers are hoping to launch the three nano-satellites in 2015. The satellites will attempt to receive signals from Earth at given frequencies, and to calculate the location of the transmission’s origin. The receiving of signals transmitted from Earth to space using several nano-satellites flying in formation is an innovative experiment that has not been attempted to date. If this experiment succeeds, satellites can be developed that fly in formation, which can be used for varied applications, such as the location and identification of people in distress through the satellite system.

Another aim of the experiment is to prove that a uniform, controlled formation of satellites can be held for a year in a 600 km orbit above Earth, something that has not been attempted until now. For this purpose, the researchers are planning, for the first time ever, to install on each of the satellites a propulsion system that will assist in maintaining the formation in space longer.

The satellites are built based on a CubeSat standard structure, whose parts will be assembled by the researchers with the assistance of the students of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the Technion. The satellite formation comprises six cubes, each 10x10x10 cm, such that each satellite will have a 10x20x30 cm box. These boxes will have assembled on them measuring instruments, antennae, computer systems, control systems, and navigation instruments. The software and the algorithms that will manage the flight were developed in the Distributed Space Systems Laboratory at the Technion’s Asher Space Research Institute. The nano-satellite formation will be launched as a supplementary payload on an existing launch, through Europe, Russia or India.

The experiment is based on a prototype that was designed by Prof. Gurfil thanks to a one and a half million euro grant he received several months ago from the European Union. In designing the prototype, Prof. Gurfil and the interdisciplinary research group working with him succeeded in overcoming a variety of problems deriving from the need to maintain the satellites in a uniform formation such that they will not move apart, not come too close to each other, and successfully communicate among themselves and manage themselves in the event of a malfunction, as well as correct their relative position using as little fuel as possible, so that they will remain in space for a prolonged period.

“If we manage to prove in the experiment that the formation flight is possible, this will provide a momentum to the development of small satellites and technologies related to the miniaturization of electronic components, to efficient processing in space and to space propulsion systems. These technologies could contribute to a variety of civil applications and to the advancement of the Israeli space industry”, says Prof. Gurfil and adds: “another goal of the project is to contribute to the practical training of space engineers, which is why undergraduate and graduate students will fill practical roles in the examination of various aspects related to the mission and in the development of the system. The designated training and practical experience of space engineers are essential to Israel’s future in this field”.

In July 1998, researchers and students of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the Technion launched the satellite Gurwin TechSAT 2. The satellite, one of the smallest satellites of its kind in the world, succeeded in remaining in space and completing all its tasks for about 12 years. It was constructed as a cube each side of which was 45 cm long, weighed 48 kg and its power consumption was extremely low.

Nanocapsules developed by Technion researchers from natural materials can also be used by the pharmaceutical industry – in the protection of medicines in the stomach and their release in the intestine, as well as for targeting cancerous tumors

Image Detail
Technion researchers have created nanocapsules that are based on natural food components, and trapped in them vitamins and nutraceuticals (health-enhancing micronutrients) that do not dissolve well in water. The nanocapsules can be added to clear beverages, thus increasing their health benefits without clouding them.
Dr. Yoav Livney and his team in the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering used the Maillard reaction to create nanocapsules based on the protein–polysaccharide conjugates. This natural reaction, which is the cause of the browning of food during baking and cooking, was used in the past in the creation of emulsions and microcapsules for nutrients that do not dissolve in water, but the problem with the existing methods is that the capsules obtained were large, so that they clouded the liquid they were added to.
To overcome this problem, Dr. Livney and his team conjugated maltodextrin, a product of the breakdown of starch into Casein, milk protein, in a controlled process. The conjugated molecules (conjugates) underwent spontaneous self-assembly into capsules of nanometric dimensions. These nanocapsules are so small, that the beverages they were added to remained clear.
In the next stage, the researchers trapped in the nanocapsules vitamin D (large parts of the population suffer from vitamin D deficiency, which could cause rickets in children and many other health disorders in adults). The research team found that the nanocapsules protect the vitamins “packed” in them. “They protected the vitamin D from degrading in an acidic environment, and during its refrigerated shelf-life”, says Dr. Livney.
Another important material called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), that is found in green tea and that is considered to inhibit many diseases, among them are neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, was also significantly protected by the conjugates throughout its shelf-life.
The researchers also followed the release of the nutrients from the nanocapsules under simulated digestion conditions. They discovered that the nanocapsules succeeded in keeping the nutrients trapped in them, and in protecting them under stomach conditions. Livney believes that the enzymes in the small intestine will break the polysaccharide-protein envelope down easily, allowing the absorption of the nutritional nano-cargo at the desired location, in the small intestine.

In the future, Dr. Livney plans to “research the overall release profile of nutraceuticals through simulated digestion, and later to examine their bioavailability in vivo in clinical trials”. He adds that “we also intend to investigate the encapsulation by this method of other bio-active components, such as anti-cancer medicines.
Another team headed by Dr. Livney is currently developing the next generation of polysaccharide-protein conjugate-based nanocapsules, which are aimed at target-oriented delivery of medicines in the body, marking the location of cancerous tumors and destroying them.

Prior to becoming a faculty member in the Technion’s Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Yoav Livney was involved in the development of “Gamadim”, “Ski” and “Symphony”, as part of his work as the product development manager of the cheese business unit at “Strauss”.
Proteologics’ pioneers targeted drug development CEO Joshua Levin discusses the molecules being developed with Teva and GlaxoSmithKline.[Extracted from Globes, Israel]

The award of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Prof. Dan Schechtman, following the 2009 win by Prof. Ada Yonath, put the world of chemistry and Israel’s contributions to science that laypeople can barely understand in the limelight. Schechtman and Yonath have not yet turned their discoveries, of quasi-crystals and the mechanism of the ribosome, respectively, into commercial products, but their two Israeli predecessors, Prof. Aaron Ciechanover and Prof. Avram Hershko, the 2004 Nobel Laureates in Chemistry, have succeeded in doing so (or at least trying). They contributed their know-how and reputations to Proteologics Ltd. (TASE: PRTL).

Ubiquitin – the new buzzword

To understand what Proteologics is doing, it is necessary to go back to high school chemistry and the stubborn teacher who tried to explain what a protein is. The company is developing targeted therapeutics for the ubiquitin system, which regulates almost all aspects of eukaryotic cellular function, including cell cycle regulation, DNA repair, signal transduction, immune response, protein quality control and metabolism. The system comprises about 1,000 protiens.
Hershko and Ciechanover discovered the ubiquitin system in 1978, and jointly won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2004 for the discovery. They are both members of Proteologics’ science advisory board.
Targeted medications are not regular drugs; as their name implies, they have just one specific target, and are consequently more effective, (improving a patient’s quality of life by reducing the side effects of treatment) and are more efficient for health funds by cutting costs. These drugs discover the proteins that play an important role in a disease, neutralizing which leads to improvement, even a cure, for the disease in question.
A ubiquitin is a small regulatory protein that can be attached to proteins and label them for destruction for the proper function of the cell. Ubiquitin tags can also direct proteins to other locations in the cell, where they control other protein and cell mechanisms. Disruption of the ubiquitin system is therefore liable to cause a wide range of diseases, including cancers, diseases of the nervous system such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, muscular dystrophy, and viral diseases.
Drug development is complicated, and the difficulties are compounded in the case of the ubiquitin system. It is a hierarchal cascade system with three levels: The E1 enzyme is a single protein, which can bind with the subordinate level, E2 enzymes (of which there are about 40), which in turn influence the more than 600 E3 enzymes.
This hierarchal cascade and the multiple E2-E3 connections complicates the drug development task. E3 enzymes directly transfer the signal to the protein, and this is where Proteologics finds the proteins that are the basis for its therapeutics. Any intervention higher up in the hierarchy is liable to cause harm rather than help.
Business model: spread the risk
Proteologics’ business model may prove in future to be much more effective than the models of other R&D companies. The drug development and approval process has three main stages. First is identification of the target and development of a suitable molecule, which is followed by preclinical and human clinical trials.
Proteologics only operates at the first and second stages, while the final stage, which requires more time and financial investment, is handled by the company’s big pharma partners – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) and GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE; LSE: GSK).
In this way, Proteologics reduces its financial risk, as the clinical trial and most expensive stage is carried out by big pharma companies which bear the financial risk. Proteologics even receives advances for R&D costs, which are partly covered by its partners. The company also has an option for receiving milestone payments, and will receive generous royalties from sales, assuming that the drug is approved for marketing.
Until that day comes, if it ever does, Proteologics can use the milestone payments to pursue additional projects on the basis of the platform it developed for working with E3 enzymes with different tags. This enables the company to survive, in theory, for a long time as it expands its knowledge and its platform to create a large enough product base that will increase its chances of turning at least one of its drug candidates into a commercial product.
Proteologics CEO Joshua Levin says that it has been able to lower its risk profile by choosing two partners that complements each other, in both character and terms of the agreements signed with them. GlaxoSmithKline, a UK giant with a market cap of $117 billion, is developing with Proteologics six programs for the treatment of various cancers (each program is based on a different E3 enzyme). Teva is jointly developing three programs. Proteologics is also developing two programs independently, and will either continue to do so or find a partner.
“GlaxoSmithKline and Teva complement each other,” says Levin. “Teva is not an innovative company, which is why it chose to invest a little in us now, and give us a larger share of revenue from drug sales. GlaxoSmithKline, in contrast, chose to invest much more in us at the first and second stages, and took a greater share for itself when the drug reaches market.”
In the case of GlaxoSmithKline, which is the more important partner for Levin, each program could generate up to $176 million in royalties, or up to $1 billion altogether, but Levin is realistic about these numbers. “This isn’t a real number. There’s no chance that all six drugs will be commercialized,” he says.

2012 is the critical year

Under Proteologics’ timetable, 2012 will be a critical year. Teva, which has undergone quite a few changes, mainly as a result of its acquisition of Cephalon, is scheduled to receive its first molecule from Proteologics within months, and will have to decide whether it wants to pursue development. If it chooses not to do so, Proteologics can continue development (a Phase I clinical trial) independently, or find another partner, without the need to start the development process from scratch.
Levin is not worried that either Teva or GlaxoSmithKline will return molecules to the company, but he is nonetheless doing everything to make sure that does not happen. In the case of GlaxoSmithKline, each program has a three-year timeframe, which means that in early 2013, Proteologics will have to hand over the first molecule to it and wait for a response.
Read full article at Globes