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A study integrating biological ideas and new computer science tools has uncovered novel associations between genetic coding and protein structure, which could potentially change the way we think about protein production in the ribosome – the cell’s “protein assembly line.” The research, authored by Professor Alex Bronstein, Dr. Ailie Marx, and Ph.D. student Aviv Rosenberg, was published in Nature Communications.

L-R: PhD student Aviv Rosenberg, Dr. Ailie Marx, and Prof. Alex Bronstein

L-R: Prof. Alex Bronstein, Dr. Ailie Marx, PhD student Aviv Rosenberg

Proteins, the complex molecules that play critical roles in virtually every biological mechanism, are produced by ribosomes in a process called translation. The ribosome decodes incoming “genetic instructions” to synthesize chains of amino acids – the building blocks of proteins. When amino acids are sequentially bound together into a long chain, they fold into a unique three-dimensional structure that grants the protein its biological properties and functionality. Errors in translation can lead to misfolding and subsequently physiological disorders, both mild and major.

Protein production instructions are delivered to the ribosome as codons, sequences of three “letters” from the genetic nucleotide code, which specify the identity and order of amino acids to be added by the ribosome to protein chain. For example, the codon UUU signals for addition of the amino acid phenylalanine, whereas codon UAC instructs for the addition of tyrosine. In this way, the codon sequence encodes for the unique sequence of amino acids characteristic to each protein. This mapping of genetic codons to amino acids used in translation is common to all living creatures on the planet, and is considered a primeval mechanism.

As if all of this were not complicated enough, it is important to point out that there are 61 codons that are decoded into just 20 amino acids. In other words, all but two amino acids are encoded by multiple codons.

This is where the present research comes into the picture. Based on experiments carried out in the 1960s and 1970s, the accepted dogma states that proteins carry no “memory” of the specific codon from which each amino acid was translated as long as the amino acid identity remains unchanged. These early experiments into protein folding used chemical denaturants to unfold fully formed proteins and then demonstrated that upon removal of these chemicals the protein chain could refold spontaneously to regain its original structure and function. These experiments suggested that only the amino acid sequence, and not the specific codon sequence, determines a protein’s structure. In view of this dogma, mutations that change the genetic coding without changing the amino acid are widely termed as “silent” and considered inconsequential for protein structure and function.

The Technion research team has uncovered an association between the identity of the codon and the local structure of the translated protein, which suggests that this may not be the general case and that proteins may indeed “remember” the specific instructions from which they were synthesized. The research team analyzed thousands of three-dimensional protein structures using dedicated tools they developed, which integrate advanced computer science methods, machine learning and statistics. In this way, they accurately compared the distributions of angles formed in these structures under different synonymous genetic codes. Their findings show that for certain codons, there is a significant statistical dependence between the identity of the codon and the local structure of the protein at the position of the amino acid encoded by that codon.

The researchers emphasize that the findings are still unable to shed light on the direction of the causal relationship, meaning that it is not yet possible to say whether a change in genetic coding can cause a change in the local protein structure or whether structural changes may cause different coding, for example through evolutionary processes. This question is the foundation for a subsequent research study now being carried out by the group. According to Dr. Marx, a biologist by training and education, “If we find in subsequent research that the codon indeed has a causal effect on protein folding, this is likely to have a huge impact on our understanding of protein folding, as well as on future applications, such as engineering new proteins.”

The central dogma of biology asserts that the genetic sequence defines the amino acid sequence which defines the protein structure. The recent results of the Technion team raises the possibility that identical amino acid sequences in identical spatial contexts might adopt different conformations if they are coded differently.

The Technion team’s research raises the possibility that identical amino acid sequences in identical spatial contexts might adopt different conformations if they are coded differently.

Dr. Marx emphasizes that the discovery presented in the article would not have been possible without Prof. Bronstein’s computer and analysis skills. “This research is truly interdisciplinary, because biology alone cannot cope with such vast quantities of data without the help of data science, and computer scientists cannot themselves perform research of this kind, since they lack familiarity with the complex biological processes being probed. Therefore, our research highlights the huge advantage of interdisciplinary research that integrates skills from different fields to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Prof. Bronstein completed all his academic degrees at the Technion and holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Ph.D. from the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science, where he holds the Dan Broida academic chair and heads the Center for Intelligent Systems. While studying for his B.Sc., which he completed in the Technion Excellence Program, he had already built a facial recognition system that was able to distinguish between him and his identical twin, Michael (presently a professor of computer science at Oxford University). This research ultimately evolved into a Ph.D. thesis under the supervision of Prof. Ron Kimmel and the startup, Invision, which was acquired by Intel in 2012.

Dr. Ailie Marx completed her B.Sc. in her native country, Australia, her M.Sc. and Ph.D. at the Technion under the supervision of Professor Noam Adir, and a postdoc in structural biology. She is currently a researcher in Prof. Bronstein’s lab.

Aviv Rosenberg completed his bachelor’s degree at the Technion’s Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering and his master’s at the Technion Faculty of Biomedical Engineering. He is currently a Ph.D. student in Prof. Bronstein’s lab. His research focuses on implementing machine learning tools for practical use in medicine and biology, including modeling and analysis of heart rate variability, detection of abnormalities in ECG signals, statistical methods, and quantification of uncertainty and reliability in deep learning systems in medical applications.

For the scientific article in Nature Communications click here

Calcium is an element that is vital to our health. While its effects on bone strength are particularly well known, it has a far broader function in the human body. Calcium is a “messenger” that transmits signals between cells and plays an important part in processes that control gene expression in immune cells, muscle contraction, electrical transmission in the nervous system, and many other body functions. Abnormal changes in calcium levels in cells are liable to lead to various illnesses, and as a result, a complex control system that regulates the levels of calcium in cells has developed throughout the course of evolution.

Professor Raz Palty of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine has spent many years studying a central cellular process called store-operated calcium entry that nearly all types of cells use in order to control the levels of their internal calcium stores. Previous research studies have shown that two different proteins called STIM and Orai play a key role in this machinery. The STIM protein senses the levels of calcium in the cell’s internal stores. When the stores empty, STIM communicates this information to Orai, which is a calcium entry channel in the plasma (cell) membrane. Opening of the Orai channel by STIM allows for calcium entry into the cell and replenishment of the cell’s stores.

L-R: Dr. Elia Zomot, Hadas Achildiev Cohen, Ruslana Kotsofruk and Professor Raz Palty

L-R: Dr. Elia Zomot, Hadas Achildiev Cohen, Ruslana Kotsofruk and Prof. Raz Palty

That is how the function of the Orai-STIM store-operated calcium entry system works under normal conditions. However, when this regulation system stops working (for example due to loss of function mutation to one of the two essential proteins), the clinical consequences can be catastrophic, including serious harm to the function of T cells, which are an essential part of the immune system.

“The store-operated calcium shuttling system in the cell has been studied for many years,” explained Prof. Palty, who conducted the research together with Dr. Ronald Udasin and Dr. Elia Zomot. “But since this is a highly complex system that generates different calcium signals in different types of cells and also works alongside other calcium entry mechanisms, in a ‘noisy’ environment, it is often very hard to study the role of this cellular machinery under normal physiological settings in which cells are exposed to their native agonists.”

Over the past few years, Prof. Palty’s research group has worked on this challenge, using a variety of techniques from chemistry, biology, and physics, in collaboration with the research groups headed by Professor Yuval Shaked of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Professor Michael Kienzler of the University of Connecticut. The researchers’ article in PNAS describes the present breakthrough in establishing a technology that allows for a precise spatial and temporal control of calcium entry via STIM and Orai.

The technology presented in the article is based on a novel approach called photopharmacology – the activation of drugs that block calcium entry through Orai channels in the target tissue using light. The researchers built a form of optical switch that grants them control of when and where drugs introduced to the body are active, and in a reversible manner. In this way, they are able to control the level of calcium influx via the Orai channel into the cell and to do it in the desired location and time. Using this technology, the research group succeeded in modulating calcium entry in T lymphocytes and in regulating the production of cytokines that are crucial to the functioning of the immune system.

Furthermore, in a series of experiments in collaboration with a research group led by Professor Alex Binshtok of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the researchers found that the Orai-STIM store-operated calcium shuttling machinery is also active in the sensation of pain, meaning that its manipulation may facilitate a more accurate understanding of pain transmission mechanisms. The follow-up study with research groups of Professor Michael Kienzler and Prof. Binshtok is designed to provide the researchers with a deeper understanding of these regulation mechanisms and to broaden the clinical applications of the technology they have developed.

Calcium cell level. On the left – intervention-free; on the right – after using the technology developed by the Technion research group. The white circle marks the illuminated area in which the light activates the molecule that triggers calcium influx into the cell.

The research was sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Israel Science Foundation, the Cecile and Seymour Alpert Chair in Pain Research at the Hebrew University, the US – Israel Binational Science Foundation, and the Rappaport Family Institute for Research in the Medical Sciences at the Technion.

For the full article in PNAS click here.

Researchers in the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology have developed “bionic bacteria.” The innovative technology has many potential applications in industry (e.g. improved production of chiral compounds and fuels), in the environment (e.g. sensing hazardous substances using bacteria), and in precise medicine (e.g. targeted release of biological drugs in the body using external light).

The study was led by Assistant Professor Omer Yehezkeli and Ph.D. student Oren Bachar, and co-authored by doctoral student Matan Meirovich and master’s student Yara Zeibaq. The journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, which published the study, chose it as a “hot paper”.

Asst Prof. Omer Yehezkeli

“My research group deals with the interface between engineering and biotechnology at the nanoscale level,” explained Prof. Yehezkeli. “Our goal is to blur the current boundaries between the different disciplines and mostly between nanometer materials and biological systems such as bacteria. In our research, we use the unique properties of nanoscale particles on the one hand, and the tremendous selectivity of biological systems on the other, to create bionic systems that perform synergistically.”

Nanoscale semiconductor particles are usually produced in chemical processes that require high temperatures and organic solvents. In the current study, the researchers were able to create, using engineered proteins, an environment that enables the growth of nanometer particles under biological conditions and at room temperature. In turn, the grown nanoparticles can lead to light-induced processes of biological components.

“The use of engineered proteins for the self-growth of nanomaterials is a promising strategy that opens up new scientific horizons for combining inanimate and living matter,” said Prof. Yehezkeli. “In the current study, we demonstrated the use of engineered proteins to grow CdS nanoparticles capable of recycling NADPH through light radiation. NADPH is crucial in many enzymatic processes and therefore its generation is desired.”

Enzymes are a common biological component involved in all living cell functions. These are proteinaceous structures that drive desirable actions by creating a suitable biochemical environment. Billions of years of evolution have led to the development of a broad spectrum of enzymes responsible for the many and varied functions in the cell.

Ph.D. student Oren Bachar

In their study, the researchers showed that NADPH could be produced (recycled) using the genetically modified SP1 protein. This protein is made up of 12 repeating subunits that form a “donut-like” structure with a 3 nanometers “hole” (3 billion meters in diameter). Using biotechnology engineering tools, the researchers made changes in the sub-units so that it would allow the growth of a nanometer particle to grow in the protein cavity. The resulting particle can be triggered by light to induce electron flux. These electrons are then utilized for redox enzyme activation toward the production of chiral products. Chiral substances are molecules that have a “mirror” molecule – the same molecule, but in the opposite direction. Many natural processes, both in the human body and other life forms, for example in bacteria, are chiral; only one form will be catalyzed by the desired biological process, while the “mirror” molecule will not. In some cases, the mirror molecules can harm the host or even be lethal. The pharmaceutical industry usually requires a pure enantiomer (the molecule without the conjugated “mirror”). Enzymes are great catalysts for this because they are also mostly chiral and produce pure chiral substances. The developed nano-bio hybrid system that consists of enzymes and nanoparticles operates under visible light for at least 22 hours to produce a clean chiral product (over 99%), and with a conversion efficiency of the substrate reaching 82%.

“This is a preliminary demonstration of the direct connection of inanimate matter (abiotic) with living matter (biotic) and a platform for its operation in a way that does not exist in nature,” said Prof. Yehezkeli. “The technology we have developed enables the creation of hybrid components that connect these two types of materials into one unit, and we are already working on fully integrated living cells with promising initial results. We believe that beyond the specific technological success in the production of NADPH and the production of chiral materials, there is evidence of the feasibility of a new paradigm that may contribute greatly to improving performance in many areas including energy, medicine, and the environment.”

Figure depicting how the nanoparticle forms in the protein cavity and is subsequently activated by a light-induced reaction to enable the enzymes NADPH reductase (FNR) and imine reductase that leads to the formation of chiral cyclic amines. (Illustration: Neta Kasher)

Assistant Professor Omer Yehezkeli is a faculty member in the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering and a member of the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute (RBNI) and the Nancy and Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP). The article was supported by the Ministry of Energy, the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, and the Grand Technion Energy Program.

For the full article in Angewandte Chemie International Edition click here

Scientists in the Technion Faculty of Biology have discovered a new mechanism that regulates DNA damage repair. The study, published in Molecular Cell, was conducted by Professor Nabieh Ayoub and members of his research group, Enas Abu-Zhaiya, Laila Bishara, Feras Machour, Alma Barisaac, and Bella Ben-Oz.

The genetic material (DNA) is a double-stranded molecule located at the nucleus of each cell of our body. DNA molecules can experience hundreds of thousands of lesions (mutations) each day. One of the most dangerous DNA lesions is a double-stranded break (DSB) that affects both strands of DNA. Fortunately, our cells contain hundreds of proteins that are involved in repairing these mutations and keeping our DNA intact.

Defective DSB repair could lead to accumulation of mutations compromising the stability of our genome, which contributes to premature aging, developmental disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. For example, loss of BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene (two critical genes for proper repair of DSBs) might lead to the development of breast and ovarian cancer. Prof. Ayoub’s lab is interested in understanding how cells repair DSBs and is focused on identifying new repair proteins and characterizing their role in DNA damage repair and cancer development. Their ultimate goal is to translate these discoveries into diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to selectively eradicate cancer cells.

Transcription refers to the process of copying the information in DNA to a new molecule of messenger RNA that can encode proteins. DSB induction that happens in close proximity to active genes inhibits transcriptional activity to avoid transcribing broken genes (known as DSB-induced transcriptional silencing). Importantly, failure to silence broken genes can cause cancer. While it is widely accepted today that DSB-induced transcriptional silencing is necessary for effective DSB repair, the mechanisms that ensure DSB-induced transcriptional silencing remain largely unknown.

The authors of the article hold a double-stranded DNA-molecule containing histones with crotonyl (Kcr) modification on them, in a routine state where gene expression is possible (marked with a green light). R-L: Feras Machour, Prof. Nabieh Ayoub, Enas Abu Zhahyia, Bella Ben-Oz, Alma Barisaac and Laila Bishara

Recently, scientists from Prof. Ayoub’s lab discovered a dual role of CDYL1 protein in DSB repair and in DSB-induced transcriptional silencing. The researchers showed that CDYL1 protein is rapidly recruited to DSB sites and contributes to their repair. In addition, they discovered that CDYL1 protein participates in DSB-induced transcriptional silencing. Mechanistically, CDYL1 promotes DSB-induced silencing by removing a chemical modification called crotonyl (Kcr) from histones (proteins that wrap the DNA and control its activity) at DSB sites. The researchers found that contrary to the current dogma, DSB-induced transcriptional silencing is not required for intact DSB repair. Broadly speaking, these findings expand our understanding of the mechanism that regulates gene expression after DNA damage, and shed new insights into the crosstalk between DNA repair and transcription regulation.

Click here for the paper in Molecular Cell

Technion scientists have developed a unique water pump powered solely by solar energy to improve agricultural yield in remote areas. This solar energy-powered water pump does not require an electrical power supply. The pump, built from simple and inexpensive components, does not contain moving parts, therefore it is cost-effective to manufacture and maintain. The prototype, built at the Technion, demonstrates the efficiency of this technology to pump water from wells in arid and remote areas.

From Haifa to Mek’ele Kristos

Ethiopia is a country in East Africa, with an agriculture-based economy. Many regions in the country suffer from an ongoing drought and lack of available sources of water. In 2013, the first connection was established between the Technion and the village of Mek’ele Kristos in northern Ethiopia, as part of the activities of the Technion branch of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), headed by Prof. Mark Talesnick. Their first project in the village, with the participation of 15 Technion students and many members of the local community, was a system for storing rainwater at the local school. The system provides drinking water to the school and eliminates the need to transport water in buckets from the nearest well. This development freed village children to study, rather than prioritize bringing water.

For Africa

The current project, a thermoacoustic pump, was born following the establishment of the Mauerberger Foundation Fund (MFF) Research Award for Transformative Technologies for Africa in 2019, with a large prize of half a million dollars. Two groups were selected in the first round of finalists for the award: the first was a group of researchers from the Technion and South Africa – Prof. Guy Ramon, Prof. Mark Talesnick and Prof. Yehuda Agnon of the Technion Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Lesley Petrick of the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. The other finalists were a group of researchers from Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

Prof. Ramon says, “The study granted us the unique opportunity to harness technology that we developed in the laboratory for the benefit of the village. It led to thoughts in several different directions, beginning with extraction of water from the air and then also considerations of water purification, but it was important for us to understand which technology would generate the greatest positive change – where we would find the maximum potential impact. Here the EWB Technion people came to our aid. They conducted an in-depth survey of the target community and came back to us with a clear answer – the most urgent need of the community and the solution that will make the greatest contribution to the villagers’ quality of life is pumping water from the wells. We learned that most of the wells in Ethiopia are not usable for agriculture because they do not have pumps, or the pumps are damaged, and a solution to that will bring dramatic change for the better.”

The solar water pump

The challenge

The most popular crop in Ethiopia is teff – a plant from the grain family used to prepare various foods, among them injera. Ethiopia is responsible for 90% of the world’s teff production.

“One of the problems in growing teff in the Mek’ele Kristos region,” explains Prof. Talesnick, “is that due to the lack of availability of water for agriculture, the crop grows solely on rainwater, which leads to only one annual growing season. Irrigation water from wells could add at least one more growing cycle per year.”

The challenge was to develop a simple, inexpensive and durable pump that does not require an electrical power source (which is unavailable in many parts of Ethiopia), or fuel (which is very expensive).

The technology

The system developed by the Technion is based on a thermoacoustic engine – an engine that does not have pistons or other moving parts. Such engines have interested Prof. Guy Ramon since his doctorate at the Technion, which he completed under the supervision of Prof. Yehuda Agnon in the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Heat engines, such as gasoline engines in cars, operate on compression and expansion of gas. A piston compresses a mixture of fuel and air, a spark ignites it, and the rapid expansion of the gas pushes the piston back and propels the vehicle wheels. These engines contain many moving parts, which increases the cost of manufacturing and maintenance.

A thermoacoustic engine does not have moving parts. The engine built in the Technion looks like a conical pipe, which is used as an acoustic resonator. The wide end absorbs sunlight and heats the gas in that area. The hot gas expands along the pipe, where it cools and contracts. According to Prof. Agnon, “This intermittent action causes thermoacoustic instability, to put it simply, sound waves. Thermoacoustic instability is a disturbing phenomenon in many contexts, such as jet and rocket engines, where instability can cause structural damage. However, here, this phenomenon is harnessed to operate the engine. The sound wave acts as a kind of moving piston that generates pumping in pulses – the water is pumped and streamed in pulses, not continuously.”

מימין לשמאל: עידו בן-הרצל, אבישי מאיר, ג׳ואי קאסל, נתן בלנק, פרופ’ גיא רמון, ענבל שגב, פרופ’ יהודה עגנון, פרופ’ מרק טלסניק

The research team

Lab engineer Avishai Meir says that the planning and building process to complete the current prototype took around a year and a half. “We hope that soon we will be able to demonstrate the system in the sun outside the lab. The idea is that this device is composed of inexpensive and available parts – radiator parts, recycled plastic, the main metal pipe, and more. This will make it possible to construct it anywhere in the world, no matter how remote. Our thoughts are currently directed toward Ethiopia, but this concept can be implemented anywhere, certainly in remote areas that do not have a regular power supply, but also in the Western world.”

“Moreover”, says Prof. Ramon, “the technology we’re developing has other uses besides pumping – cooling (refrigerators and air conditioners, in which the sound wave replaces the compressor), ventilation, power generation, water purification, and more. That’s why we hope and believe that this development will bring change not only in Mek’ele Kristos, but in many places that suffer from inadequate water and power availability, as well as reduction of our dependence on electricity for space cooling.”

How do marine organisms produce hard tissues from the materials available to them, and under the hostile conditions that prevail under the waves? That question is the basis of a study by an international group led by Professor Boaz Pokroy, doctoral student Nuphar Bianco-Stein (as part of her Ph.D. thesis), and researcher Dr. Alex Kartsman from the Technion Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, with the assistance of Dr. Catherine Dejoie from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France.

The study, published in PNAS, focused on the involvement of magnesium-containing calcite in the aforementioned processes. Magnesium is a strong and light metallic element that plays many roles in the animal world, including in the human body. Calcite is a very common mineral that constitutes about 4% of the mass of the Earth’s crust. This material is an essential component in biomineralization, the process by which organisms form various structures – pearls, bones, shells, etc. – from the materials available to them.

“Biomineralization processes,” explained Prof. Pokroy, “build structures that surpass artificial products of engineering processes in many aspects, such as strength and resistance to fractures. So, there is no doubt that we have a lot to learn from these biological processes, and that our findings may lead to improved engineering processes in a variety of areas.”

Prof. Boaz Pokroy

In the biomineralization process, organisms use various strategies to produce strong structures such as an external skeleton. The team from the Technion and ESRF showed in their study that one of the common strategies in this regard is the sedimentation of magnesium-rich nanoscale calcite particles within a magnesium deficient substance. According to Prof. Pokroy, “We have discovered that this phenomenon occurs in a huge variety of creatures, even creatures from different kingdoms in the animal world, and we estimate that it is even broader than what we have discovered. Therefore, it is likely to be a very general phenomenon.”

Nuphar Bianco-Stein

In the current study, the researchers focused on nine different organisms belonging to different kingdoms and phyla including brittle stars, red algae, starfish, coral, and sea urchins. The two main players in the process are, as mentioned, magnesium and calcite. The researchers found that the sedimentation of the calcite particles in the magnesium-poor substance creates compressive stress in the skeletons that increase their rigidity – without the need for mechanical compression used in the production of similar materials in classical engineering processes.

The nine organisms studied and their structure

In brittle stars, the unique crystallization process takes place in the calcite lenses scattered on their arms; these lenses function as a kind of primitive but effective set of eyes. These lenses, which are similar in nature to tempered glass, focus sunlight on nerve centers that transmit information to the rest of the body through the nervous system. In contrast to man-made tempered glass which is produced at high heat and under pressure, the brittle star lenses are created at the water temperature in their natural habitat and without external mechanical pressure other than the water pressure. An important step in this process is the transition of the calcite from an amorphous (disordered) phase – to the ordered crystalline phase.

The red algae that the international research team studied are the common algae found in shallow water, where they are subjected to external pressures of the sea waves and therefore must be resistant to tearing and fracture. Therefore, their cells are coated with the same strong nanoscale crystals of magnesium-calcite. These crystals form hollow micro-structures that increase their strength and durability.

Although brittle stars and red algae are very different creatures, they exhibit common structural aspects including the crystallization of strong structures in the process of sedimentation of magnesium-rich nanometer crystals in a substance characterized by low magnesium levels.

The researchers found that this crystallization process improves both the hardness of the material and the resistance to fractures. Moreover, they show in the study that even a slight reduction of the magnesium content in the substance doubles the hardness of the material by some 100%.

The precipitation of magnesium-rich nanometer calcite particles in different orgasms depends on the magnesium content in their skeleton

The study was supported by an EU grant from the ERC and was conducted in collaboration with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France and the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, USA.

Click here for the paper in PNAS

On March 31, the Technion – Institute of Technology received a historic visit from a Moroccan delegation headed by Mr. Hicham El Habti, President of Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) – one of Morocco’s leading technical universities. UM6P focuses on applied research and innovation with an emphasis on African development and maintains international relations with other leading institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), McGill University, and the Max Planck Institute.

At a ceremony held at the Technion, a document of academic cooperation between the two universities was signed by UM6P President Mr. Hicham El Habti, Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan, Senior Vice President of the Technion Prof. Oded Rabinovitch, and Vice President of Research Prof. Koby Rubinstein. This document was the first of its kind to be signed between these two institutions. The ceremony was chaired by Technion Vice President for External Relations and Resource Development Prof. Alon Wolf.

From right to left: Amal el Fallah Seghrouchni, Prof. Koby Rubinstein, Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan, President of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Morocco, Mr. Hicham El Habti, Prof. Gabriel Malka and Prof. Oded Rabinovich

The high-level delegation from Morocco, together with Technion representatives

Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan addressed the delegation and said that their visit to the Technion “reflects a rapid and dramatic historical change in the region. We at the Technion are determined to participate in leading this process and building bridges through education and research. Since the Abraham Accords, we have received delegations from the UAE and Bahrain, countries that none of us ever imagined would come to visit. Both of our institutions – the Technion and UM6P – educate young people and equip them for the future. The cooperation we are establishing here today goes beyond its academic value; it is our duty to the region and to the future of the next generation.”

The President of Morocco’s Mohammed VI University, Mr. Hicham El Habti, studied applied mathematics, economics, and engineering in France and worked for many years at the phosphate company OCP, where he served in a series of senior managerial positions. “Today we are signing a piece of paper,” he said at the ceremony, “but what is more important is what stands behind it – the mutual desire for cooperation, which will lead to student and faculty exchange from both institutions. It is an honor to be here at the Technion – and a great responsibility. We are part of an historic era, and we must continue to strengthen ties between Morocco and Israel. As a very young university, we are open to international cooperation and are delighted to establish this relationship with you.”

Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan and President of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Morocco, Mr. Hicham El Habti sign the agreement

After the signing, both presidents exchanged gifts; Mr. Hicham El Habti gave the Technion President a book on the history of Moroccan Jewry, and Prof. Sivan gave the UM6P President a glass engraving bearing the symbol of the Technion.

“There are many similarities between Morocco and Israel,” said Prof. Koby Rubinstein, Executive Vice President for Research of the Technion, “both in the physical terrain and climatic conditions, as well as in our people and interests. This cooperation is important to us and has every reason to be successful.”

President of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Morocco Mr. Hicham El Habti presents a gift to the President of the Technion Prof. Uri Sivan

After the agreement was signed, the delegation visited the David and Janet Polak Visitors Center, where they were impressed by the research and technology discoveries and breakthroughs of Technion researchers, including those of Nobel Prize laureates from the Technion. Many of the discoveries showcased led to the establishment of groundbreaking technology companies. They also visited the Electron Microscopy Center at the Technion headed by Dr. Yaron Kauffmann. Afterwards, individual meetings took place between delegation members and Technion faculty with the aim of furthering specific collaborations in various fields of research relevant to the two countries. Topics of those discussions include water engineering, energy, biotechnology and food engineering, biomedical engineering, entrepreneurship, and artificial intelligence.

When do waves break? Researchers from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the University of Melbourne respond to this question in an article in Physics Fluids. They predict that the study’s findings will help improve our understanding of the dynamics of waves breaking, significantly improve wave prediction capabilities and enable advances in applications including safety and efficiency of maritime navigation and structures, harvesting of renewable energy, climate research, and more.

The study was conducted by Technion Professor Dan Liberzon, Ph.D. student (in the Inter-Faculty Program for Marine Engineering) Sagi Knoblerand, and Ph.D. student Ewelina Winiarska, in collaboration with Professor Alexander Babaninof the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Prof. Dan Liberzon

Ph.D. student Sagi Knobler

One of the currently accepted paradigms of waves study is that a wave breaks when it reaches a threshold steepness – a steepness at which the wave can no longer maintain its form and collapses. But the findings by the Technion and the University of Melbourne researchers show that this approach is wrong, and that there is no absolute threshold steepness beyond which any wave is doomed to break. The team’s findings were made possible by the development of a new method for accurate detection of breaking waves, developed in recent years in Prof. Liberzon’s laboratory. The study is based on data collected in a series of observations and experiments in the Black Sea and in laboratory conditions in the 17.4-meter-long wind-wave flume at the Technion Sea-Air Interactions Research Laboratory (T-SAIL) headed by Prof. Liberzon.

Ph.D. student Ewelina Winiarska

“Breaking of sea waves is one of the most intricate scientific problems in fluid mechanics,” explains Prof. Dan Liberzon. “No-one doubts there is a connection between the steepness of the wave and the inception of breaking, but we show that the picture is more complex, making it impossible to predict the breaking of the wave based on its steepness alone. The breaking depends on many complex parameters – the intensity of the wind blowing over the waves, the speed of the wave peak propagation, and so on. During this complex evolution of the wave, it becomes highly asymmetric both horizontally and vertically. The collapse of the wave begins with the formation of a ‘bump’ at the frontside of the wave, from which, depending on the combination of many of the factors previously mentioned, the wave breaks either intensely or gently. In the current study, we were able to produce detailed statistics of many features for breaking and non-breaking waves, using combined experimental data both from the laboratory wind-wave flume at the Technion and waves data from the Black Sea. These detailed statistics will serve as the basis for forecasting which waves will break and when.”

Wave-breaking experiments in the wind-wave flume at the Technion

Prof. Dan Liberzon is a faculty member in the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Technion, a member of the Interfaculty Program for Marine Engineering at the Technion and head of the Technion Sea-Air Interactions Research Laboratory (T-SAIL) which is focused on various aspects of waves evolution under wind, sea-currents, and atmosphere-sea interactions.

Prof. Alexander Babanin is a member of the Department of Infrastructure Engineering at the University of Melbourne, Australia. He is a researcher of sea waves and currents and an expert in marine engineering.

Click here for the paper in Physics Fluids

The spring semester recently opened, and our classrooms, laboratories — and lawns — are bustling with activity. The April edition of our e-newsletter, ‘Technion LIVE,’ features a Passover greeting from Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan, adventures in space, a record number of Israel Prize winners, and more exciting news.

The April edition of our e-newsletter, Technion LIVE

To read the April edition of Technion LIVE, click here. To receive our newsletter by email, sign up here.

Past issues can be found here.

A historic moment: a lens was fabricated in space for the first time earlier this week, using innovative technology developed at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The fluidic shaping method, developed by Prof. Moran Bercovici’s research team, in collaboration with NASA, could revolutionize space optics by overcoming the current limitations due to the size of the launcher and enabling fabrication of giant lenses for space telescopes.

איתן סטיבה עם העדשה במעבדתו של פרופ' ברקוביץ' בטכניון

Israeli astronaut Eytan Stibbe at the Technion, last year

“No dream is beyond reach,” Prof. Bercovici says, and adds about the success of the experiment, that it was “out of this world to see our experimental setup in space.”

Read Prof. Moran Bercovici’s full statement, made moments after the success of the experiment:

Watch the excitement in the NASA control center in Florida, as lab members watch the progress of the successful experiment, conducted by Israeli astronaut Eytan Stibbe (Hebrew):

Watch our video explaining this experiment, and more (English):