The accumulation of the amyloid-beta protein in the brain leads to the type of cognitive impairment observed in people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or Down Syndrome. A study conducted by Prof. Eitan Okun’s group at the Paul Feder Alzheimer’s Disease Research Laboratory in BIU’s Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center found that immunity transmitted from the mother to the fetus may lead to a significant reduction in the accumulation of the amyloid-beta protein and less damage. Read More.

BIU’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine will open a Teddy Bear Hospital on Monday, May 3. The event aims to alleviate any pre-existing fears that children might have toward medical treatment. Children aged 3-7 are invited to bring a favorite teddy bear or doll and to ask questions about illness, injuries, or medical care. Azrieli Faculty students and doctors will talk to the children, suggest medical treatment for their dolls and teddy bears, and answer questions. The Teddy Bear Hospital is a popular community event held annually by the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee for children, their parents, and...

The mobile clinic of the School of Optometry and Vision Science in BIU’s Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences recently arrived in Beit Shemesh to perform vision tests at a nursing home as well as for local welfare recipients. The mobile clinic regularly goes out to the field, providing free vision tests mainly for residents of the periphery and underprivileged populations. Read More.

Israel is approaching herd immunity against corona, which has allowed the country to celebrate recent holidays and gradual rounds of openings without experiencing any new outbreaks, according to the head of the immunotherapy laboratory at Bar-Ilan University. “My opinion is that we are nearing the state of herd immunity,” said Prof. Cyrille Cohen. “Why do I say it? Because even after so many openings, and Purim, and Passover, the reproduction rate of the virus in Israel has remained between 0.7 and 0.8.” Read More.

When the Aramean king laid siege to biblical Gath 2,800 years ago, the defenders resorted to desperate measures, including, it seems, making flimsy arrowheads out of bone. An unusual discovery made in the rubble of a house in Gath paints a dramatic picture of the last days in this infamous Philistine city, famed as the hometown of the giant Goliath, Israeli archaeologists say. Read More.

When Bar-Ilan University’s new administration was elected in October 2017, five “Visionary Pillars” – Academic Excellence, Impact-Driven Research, Innovative Teaching, Global University, and Vibrant Judaism – were outlined as the driving forces behind expanding and enhancing the university’s timeless goals of globalization and internationalism. Increasing the university’s competitive edge among institutions of higher education while positioning Bar-Ilan University firmly as a globally-recognized leader in numerous fields were high on the list of priorities. Opening a dedicated International School, a “one-stop-shop” for international students, faculties, and departments, was part of the plan to make sure the university achieved its mission. Prof....

Bar-Ilan University’s central location in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area has put it on the map of the purple line of the new light rail (now under construction), with two stations that will facilitate the commute to campus. Read More.

Israeli professor and historian, Dvora Hacohen, was looking for a comprehensive biography of Hadassah founder, Henrietta Szold. When she couldn’t find one, she decided to write it herself. Ruth Bader Ginsburg penned the foreword to this new biography. Read More.

The astonishing intellectual, literary, artistic, and scientific achievements of the Greeks and Romans were unsurpassed for two millennia, and after reaching renewed prominence in the Renaissance, formed the basis for the flowering of western culture. They are still an inexhaustible source of insight on the human condition and the world we inhabit. Israel has long been a melting pot and meeting point for two great traditions, the Greco-Roman and the Judeo-Christian. As a result, Israel has been directly influenced by the language, culture, government, and religion of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Bar-Ilan University’s Department of Classical Studies in the...

A groundbreaking treatment developed by an Israeli team might offer a cure against multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. “We are reprogramming another type of the immune system’s cells called T-cells in order to teach them to fight the cancer inside the blood of the patient,” said Prof. Cyrille Cohen, head of the Immunotherapy Laboratory at Bar-Ilan University. Read More.