‘We Must Learn to Fail’: Germany’s Largest Scientific Research Institute Comes to Israel
The president of the Helmholtz Association tells Haaretz why his people are opening an office in the Startup Nation
Science & Health
Tel Aviv's New Nature Museum Finally Discovers Human Evolution
The new exhibit 'What makes us human?' at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History finally chooses to side with science and address the scientific facts of evolution, but the omission of Darwin's theories as well as public reactions make it evident that it's soon to call this a success
The Five Months That Determine Your Kids' Future Happiness
The experiment was simple: Mothers of preemies were asked to hug them without clothes. The impact on their lives 20 years later was dramatic. A first, wide-ranging media interview with neuroscientist Ruth Feldman, whose research focuses on the biological basis of the creation of social bonds
Could Beer Finally End Climate Change Denial?
How many bottles of beer will be lost from the wall if climate change isn’t checked? 30.3 billion a year at the least, Haaretz calculates based on groundbreaking study on barley yield
Measles Outbreak in Jerusalem Worries Health Officials: 340 Cases in 2018
In September alone, 213 new cases were reported, and experts expect the total number of cases in the current outbreak to be 10 times that number
Eight Percent of Israel's Coastal Groundwater Unfit for Consumption
The largest pollution site is in the northern Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Hasharon, where Israel Military Industries has been the major source of groundwater pollution
How Many People Have Lived on Earth?
Debunking the myth that the living outnumber the dead
Somali Cavefish Reveals That First Mammal Survived Dinosaurs by Hiding in the Dark
A genetic repair system activated by light turns out to exist in everything from germs to animals – except for mammals and eyeless cavefish in Somalia
Meet Zeno, the Tiny Sub Discovering the Secrets of Israel's Coasts
Israeli and Italian experts have recently tested a tiny wireless device that can map buried treasure
Haifa Has Israel’s Highest Cancer Rates, New Report Says
Cancer has been the leading cause of death in Israel since 1999, accounting for 25% of deaths
Obesity Genes Evolved 450 Million Years Ago, Shark Study Reveals
Scientists have finally sequenced the shark genome, revealing that humans and sharks derive genes for reproduction, sleep and obesity from the same early fish
Why Nobel Prize Winner Daniel Kahneman Gave Up on Happiness
The cognitive psychologist spent years studying happiness, yet now he considers satisfaction and life satisfaction of greater importance to people
Israeli Minister Permits Culling Rock Hyraxes to Prevent Leishmania Spreading
Israel's environmental protection minister Zeev Elkin has issued a permit that allows shooting and trapping the animals up to 500 meters from homes
Astronomers Detect Monster Moon in Constellation 8,000 Light Years Away
Neptune-sized exomoon can’t have formed from a primordial cosmic collision because like its home planet, it isn’t rock, it’s made of gas, astronomers say
Nobel Prize Winner George P. Smith Is a Longtime pro-Palestine, BDS Activist
'Anti-Zionist' scientist says he is opposed to ‘Jewish ethnic sovereignty over other peoples’ and is featured on the controversial Canary Mission website
Dead Trees and Dry Springs: Impact of Drought Felt in Israel
Climate change and increased water use is harming Israeli flora and fauna – and making it impossible for nature to survive without some help from humans
Nobel Prize for Medicine Goes to Professors for 'Landmark' Discoveries in Cancer Treatment
James Allison's and Tasuku Honjo's work has led to new approaches in harnessing the immune system to fight cancer, award-giving body says
A Corporation Saved My Life. Now It Watches My Every Move
A wireless pacemaker saved my life, but also got me wondering how easy it would be for hackers or commercial profiteers to 'break into' my heart. I traveled to the medical tech firm's HQ and got less than reassuring answers
Breastfeeding With a Grain of Salt: Study Fails to Link Directly to Infant Health
Breastfeeding does correlate with positive health outcomes, but causality hasn’t been demonstrated: better information and health care could be key, new study says
Dark Matter Chocolate Identified as Vitamin D Source
Of course, you’d have to eat half a kilo of dark chocolate a day for your daily dose, but wait for it: sugar-free cocoa pasta
Breast Cancer Deaths Drop for Israeli Jewish Women 25% Over 10 Years
Mortality rate from the disease declined in 2015 to 15.7 per 100,000 for Jewish women and rose to 13.6 for Arab women
Martian Moons Created by Catastrophic Collision, Says New Theory
Old theory had been that the misshapen, dark-colored moons were captured asteroids, new one is they’re ejected volcanic crust
WATCH: Moth Drinks the Tears of a Sleeping Bird in a Rare Video
Also: Butterflies drink crocodile tears and bees drink the tears of turtles
North Korea Nuke Test Triggered Earthquakes for Eight Months, Scientists Say
The aftershocks were small but were detected by advanced seismic technology all over Eurasia, Columbia U. reports in new paper
French Fries in Belgium Are Shrinking Thanks to Climate Change
European potatoes are shrinking because of declining rainfall in recent years and mounting temperatures: Bad news for fries eaters who will get a shorter version this year
There Are Only Four Personality Types, Psychologists Say
The rough and ready, the bold and beautiful and the teen humanitarian will be appalled to learn that they don’t exist, according to new data
In Defense of Shame
What some contemporary heroes of culture and politics have in common is not contempt for the law, but contempt for guilt
Newly Discovered Extreme Deepwater Fish Get Cotton-candy Names
At some point the sea snails found 7,500 meters beneath Pacific surface will get real nomenclature, but for now science just calls them Pink, Purple and Blue
The ‘Devil’s Teat’: A Brief History of the Clitoris
Physicians once believed its removal helps avert hysteria, and the inventor of corn flakes suggested smearing it with acid. With 8,000 nerve ends – twice as many as the phallus – the clitoris is apparently the only human organ whose purpose is to cause pleasure
Israel’s Groundwater Levels Dropping to Dangerous Lows
As main aquifers near their red line, the amount of water in the streams feeding the Jordan River continues to drop
Extreme Acne Cure for the Daring: Stick Your Face in a Bear’s Mouth
Or buy soap – but meanwhile science has found a staph-killing bacteria in the Siberian brown bear’s saliva
'Patients Say Ayahuasca Is Like a Reboot for the Brain'
The reason psychoactive drugs are banned is strictly cultural, says neurobiologist Dr. Ido Magen from the Weizmann Institute of Science. We need to free ourselves from the dichotomy between drugs and medications
Everything You Need to Know About the West Nile Fever Scaring Israelis
There is no vaccine or cure, but the good news is that the disease, which is spread by mosquitoes, usually goes away without treatment
Israeli Researchers Develop New Leukemia Drug That Selectively Destroys Cells
Researchers are seeking permission to conduct the first clinical trials on humans after the drug dramatically shrank tumors in mice
We Didn't Kill the Neanderthals, Climate Change Did, New Study Says
Analysis of stalagmites in caves shows extreme cold lasting a thousand years froze Europe around 40,000 years ago – just about when Neanderthals went extinct
Lebanese Cannabis, Long Valued by Smokers, May Have Untapped Value
'My impression is that it will have a different medical value because of the climatic conditions in the Bekaa Valley especially if you’re talking about the amount of the rainfall, sunlight and type of soil'
Scientists Find Missing Turtle Link: 230-million-year-old Monster Had Beak but No Shell
And now they’re even more confused, because an even earlier turtle had a shell but no beak
Evolution's Holy Grail: 90,000-year-old Hybrid Teenager Stuns Science World
90,000-year-old bone from teenage daughter of Neanderthal mother, Denisovan father shows not only that they mixed, but that they apparently did so frequently
Israeli Scientist Develops ‘Brain on a Chip’ Allowing for Groundbreaking Research
The Tel Aviv University researcher says the chip system will obviate the need for many types of experiments on animals or human beings
Forget Positive Thinking, Biopsies and Kombucha: Barbara Ehrenreich Wants to Cure the Wellness Epidemic
She refuses to undergo medical tests, assails the popularity of meditation and maintains that the Western world suffers from an obsession with fitness and nutrition. 'You can’t control every aspect of your body. So just relax,' says author Barbara Ehrenreich
Research Led by Israeli Scientist Finds Method to Fix Manufacturing Process for Cancer Meds
Research reveals that lab cultures of cancerous cells that are used to test cancer drugs often go through a mutation process, and are thereby not a faithful representation of the tumors the medicine is meant to treat
Blocking Sunlight to Cool the Planet Could Hurt Key Crops, Scientists Warn
Trying to save ourselves from global warming through geoengineering the stratosphere with reflecting aerosols could boomerang
DNA Study Shows How Cats Used Humans to Take Over the World
Researchers analyzed DNA from 209 ancient cats as old as 9,000 years from Europe, Africa and Asia, including some ancient Egyptian cat mummies
Cannabis Beer: The Latest Variation of a 10,000-year-old Tradition
Brewers are rushing to perfect marijuana-infused beverages, but experiments with beer date back to the dawn of civilization – although vaginal beer is a relative newcomer
This Israeli Wants to Save the World With Big Data - and Still Protect Your Privacy
Israeli data scientist Dr. Kira Radinsky predicted riots in the Middle East and says she could have cured tuberculosis before it was discovered. Now she's been appointed to a new UN panel that wants to go beyond Cambridge Analytica and use data for good
Naked Mole Rats Defy Biology by Living Longer if They Breed
Conventional wisdom is that procreation is physiologically onerous and parents die young, but the naked mole rat breaks this rule too
Sharing Your Stash With Your Rat Will Ease Its Nausea
Link proven between nausea and the brain receptor for cannabinoids, in rats, which could be good news for human chemotherapy patients one day
Worms With Waze: They’re Doing Math to Find Food, Say Hebrew University Researchers
You smell a brownie and follow the scent, finessing your route as you go. So does the nematode, claim Dr. Alon Zaslaver and his neurology team
There's Water on Mars: In First, Huge Underground Lake Discovered
There may not be life on Mars, but there is water: Liquid reservoir 20 kilometers across found beneath the south pole glaciers
Sheer Speed of Global Warming Is Decimating Birds, Say Scientists
Birds turn out to be doubly as affected as mammals from the rate of climate change
