Astounding Discovery at Tel Aviv University: Female moths decide where to lay their eggs based on sounds emitted by nearby plants
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Research
Jul 15th, 2025
First Scientific Evidence of Auditory Interaction Between Plants and Animals
- Life Sciences
A scientific breakthrough at Tel Aviv University: A world-first study shows an acoustic interaction between plants and insects. In this study, the team focused on female moths and found that they make a critical decision—where to lay their eggs—based on sounds emitted by nearby plants. When plants emitted distress sounds, the female moths preferred healthy plants that were not emitting such sounds. These sounds are ultrasonic, beyond the hearing range of the human ear, but moths can hear them.
The study was conducted in the laboratories of Prof. Yossi Yovel from the School of Zoology and Prof. Lilach Hadany from the School of Plant Sciences and Food Security at TAU's Wise Faculty of Life Sciences. It was led by students Dr. Rya Seltzer and Guy Zer Eshel, in collaboration with scientists from the Plant Protection Institute at the Volcani Institute. The paper was published in the journal eLife.
This study follows the dramatic discovery published by the same researchers about two years ago, which generated worldwide interest: plants under stress emit sounds—at ultrasonic frequencies, above the range of human hearing, but detectable by many animals. The researchers state: “That discovery opened the door to extensive research on acoustic communication between plants and animals. In the present study, we began to explore this subject.”
Prof. Yovel explains: “After proving in the previous study that plants produce sounds, we hypothesized that animals capable of hearing these high-frequency sounds may respond to them and make decisions accordingly. Specifically, we know that many insects, which have diverse interactions with the plant world, can perceive plant sounds. We wanted to investigate whether such insects actually detect and respond to these sounds.”
Prof. Hadany adds: “We chose to focus on female moths, which typically lay their eggs on plants so that the larvae can feed on them once hatched. We assumed the females seek an optimal site to lay their eggs — a healthy plant that can properly nourish the larvae. Thus, when the plant signals that it is dehydrated and under stress would the moths heed the warning and avoid laying eggs on it? To explore this question, we conducted several experiments would the moths heed the warning and avoid laying eggs on it? To explore this question, we conducted several experiments.”
Prof. Yossi Yovel and Prof. Lilach Hadany
In the first experiment, aiming to isolate the auditory component from other plant features like color and scent, the researchers presented the female moths with two boxes: one contained a speaker playing recordings of tomato plants in a state of dehydration, while the other was silent. The moths showed a clear preference for the ‘noisy’ box, which they likely interpreted as a living plant (even if under stress). Conclusion: the moths do indeed perceive and respond to a playback of plant-emitted sounds. When the researchers neutralized the moths’ hearing organs, this preference disappeared and they chose both boxes equally — clear evidence that the preference was specifically based on listening to sounds, and not on other stimuli.
In the second experiment, the female moths were presented with two healthy tomato plants – one with a speaker playing sounds of a drying plant, and one that was silent. Again, they showed a clear preference – but this time for the silent plant, from which no distress sounds were heard, and therefore probably serves as a better site for laying eggs.
In another experiment, the moths again faced two boxes—one silent and the other containing male moths, which also emit ultrasonic sounds at a frequency similar to plant sounds. This time, the females showed no preference and laid their eggs equally on both boxes. The researchers concluded that when deciding where to lay their eggs, the females specifically respond to plant-emitted sounds — and not, for example, to sounds made by males.
The researchers conclude: “In this study, we revealed the first evidence for acoustic interaction between a plant and an insect. We are convinced, however, that this is just the beginning. Acoustic interaction between plants and animals doubtlessly has many more forms and a wide range of roles. This is a vast, unexplored field — an entire world waiting to be discovered.”
Research
Jul 10th, 2025
World’s First mRNA Vaccine Against a Deadly Bacterium
Groundbreaking collaborative research leads to a novel mRNA-based vaccine targeting a lethal bacterial infection
- Life Sciences
Researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Israel Institute for Biological Research in Ness Ziona have used the platform developed for COVID-19 vaccines to create the world’s first mRNA-based vaccine against a deadly, antibiotic-resistant bacterium. In this groundbreaking study, the researchers tested the vaccine’s resistance to the virulent pathogen that causes the disease and were able to demonstrate 100% protection against infection in animal models. The researchers now hope that this technology can be used to combat other lethal bacteria as well.
The study was led by Tel Aviv University’s Vice President for Research and Development Prof. Dan Peer, a global pioneer in mRNA drug development and director of the Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine at the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research. He worked alongside researchers from the Israel Institute for Biological Research — Dr. Uri Elia, Dr. Yinon Levy, Dr. Emmy Mamroud, and Dr. Ofer Cohen — as well as members of his own laboratory team: Dr. Edo Kon, Dr. Inbal Hazan-Halevy, and doctoral student Shani Benarroch. The study was featured on the cover of the prestigious journal Advanced Science.
The vaccine developed by the team from the Institute for Biological Research and Tel Aviv University is an mRNA-based vaccine delivered via lipid nanoparticles, similar to the COVID-19 vaccine. However, mRNA vaccines are typically effective against viruses like COVID-19 — not against bacteria like the plague.
Dr. Uri Elia explains: “Viruses rely on a host cell to survive and replicate. They infect the cell with an RNA molecule (mRNA) that contains instructions for making viral proteins. The virus uses the cell as a factory to replicate itself. In an mRNA vaccine, this molecule is synthesized and encased in a lipid nanoparticle that resembles human cell membranes. The nanoparticle fuses with the cell, the cell produces the viral proteins, and the immune system learns to recognize and defend against the actual virus upon exposure. Bacteria, however, are a different story: they produce their own proteins and do not rely on human cells. Moreover, due to the different evolutionary paths of humans and bacteria, their proteins are very different from ours.”
In 2023, the researchers developed a unique method for producing the bacterial protein within a human cell in a way that prompts the immune system to recognize it as a genuine bacterial protein and thus learn to defend against it. The researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Institute for Biological Research proved, for the first time, that it is possible to develop an effective mRNA vaccine against bacteria. They chose Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes bubonic plague — a disease responsible for deadly pandemics throughout human history. In animal models, the researchers demonstrated that it is possible to effectively vaccinate against the disease with a single dose.
Prof. Dan Peer: “In the previous study, we developed a vaccine for a form of plague transmitted through the skin — for example, via flea bites. In the current study, we chose a much more ambitious target: pneumonic plague, which spreads from person to person and causes respiratory illness — making it particularly difficult to develop a vaccine against. For this reason, we used two proteins — two antigens — to create the vaccine. We tested it on several animal model strains and found that, after two vaccine doses, we achieved 100% protection against pneumonic plague: the animals infected with the plague did not get sick at all. The success of the current study paves the way for a whole world of mRNA-based vaccines against other deadly bacteria.”
“The plague — a disease that killed about two-thirds of Europe’s population in the Middle Ages (‘The Black Death’) still resurfaces occasionally today, for example in Madagascar. So the potential for a pandemic still exists,” says Dr Uri Elia. “The disease is caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis, for which there is no approved vaccine in Western countries. This bacterium is highly contagious and extremely lethal, making it a serious threat. Moreover, this bacterium concerns us as a potential agent of bioterrorism. If one of our enemies tries to use it against us, we want to be prepared with a vaccine.”
Research
Jul 9th, 2025
Dramatic Discovery at Tel Aviv University: 15th-Century Holy Books of Ethiopian
Two Orit books (the Torah of Beta Israel – Ethiopian Jewry) from the 15th century were discovered by the Orit Guardians program of TAU's Department of Biblical Studies.
- Humanities
- Archeology
A Rare Discovery: A traveling workshop of TAU's Orit Guardians program discovered two 15th-century Orit books – the oldest found to date in the possession of Beta Israel. The Orit Guardians Master's program was established about five years ago, with the primary goal of studying, preserving, and carrying on the Biblical heritage of Ethiopian Jewry. The workshop was held in collaboration with the Ethiopian Jewry Heritage Center and the National Library of Israel, which documented the books and established the Digital Archive of Beta Israel's Scriptures. Recently, these books were exposed at a special event held at ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, led by the Koret Center for Jewish Civilization (a collaboration between ANU and TAU), which supports and advances the Orit Guardians program.
The program's initiator, Prof. Dalit Rom-Shiloni from the Department of Biblical Studies, Chaim Rosenberg School of Jewish Studies and Archaeology, explains: "The Orit of Beta Israel includes the Five Books of the Torah, as well as the Books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. So far, we have documented four Orit books, including the two from the 15th century, as well as 13 other sacred books. All the sacred books of Ethiopian Jewry are written in Ge'ez, a language known only to the Kessim, and each manuscript has its own fascinating story. They have been passed down through generations from father to son, and some were given to Kessim by their teachers — Jewish monks who taught the sacred traditions in Ethiopia. The books were carefully guarded and preserved, with some of their owners even risking their lives to bring them to Israel. Today, most of these books are privately owned by Kessim and their families and used as “living books” in the prayer houses of Ethiopian Jewish communities across Israel. Until now, they were inaccessible to interested individuals of the general public, nor to the research world, and we intend to locate as many books as possible for preservation, digitization, and academic study."
To this end, a unique traveling workshop was held in June 2024, with participants including: Prof. Rom-Shiloni, anthropologist Prof. Erica Weiss, linguist Dr. Anbessa Teferra, and students from the Orit Guardians program — all from Tel Aviv University, alongside representatives of the Ethiopian Jewry Heritage Center and the National Library, as well as three international experts in ancient Ethiopian sacred texts: Prof. Loren Stuckenbruck (Ludwig Maximilian University of Münich), Dr. Sophia Dege-Müller and Ted Erho (University of Hamburg). The international experts examined and dated the books using palaeography — based on script forms. To their astonishment, they found that two of the Orit books were written as early as the 15th century — the oldest discovered so far in the hands of Beta Israel. Prof. Rom-Shiloni explains: "Our discovery is causing a stir among experts in the field worldwide. While we are familiar with similar Ethiopian texts from this period or even earlier, all of those are Christian texts, not Jewish. Now, for the first time, it has been revealed that Kessim from Beta Israel possess Orit books that are over 600 years old."
In total, the workshop yielded four Orit books — two from the 15th century and two from the 18th century, as well as 13 other sacred books from the 17th to 20th centuries. All the discovered books were documented with their owners’ consent and remain in their possession — so they can continue to serve as “living books” in their communities. The documentation now enables academic research and the establishment of a digital archive at the National Library.
Prof. Youval Rotman, Academic Director of the Koret Center and faculty member in the Department of Jewish History at Tel Aviv University, added: "This is an extraordinary finding. Discovering ancient manuscripts is rare, and when they are the oldest of their kind in existence, the find is all the more exceptional. This discovery was made thanks to the Orit Guardians' emphasis on studying the textual knowledge and interpretive tradition preserved and orally transmitted over centuries within the various Beta Israel communities. The uniqueness of the program lies not only in mapping manuscripts and training students for their research but also in doing so as an integral part of the knowledge preserved within the community — thereby continuing and expanding it. The young researchers form personal connections and earn the trust of the Kessim as successors to the tradition and oral interpretation. In doing so, they connect communal-social knowledge to academic knowledge — and this is our great pride. The program unearths hidden treasures that have so far dwelt within the four walls of local synagogues, then documents and studies them and makes them accessible. Imagine a situation in which the great Bible commentaries were passed down orally through generations."
Prof. Rom-Shiloni concludes: "Through the traveling workshop of the Orit Guardians program we discovered 17 sacred books of Beta Israel held by Kessim across Israel and still used as “living books” in the prayer houses of Ethiopian Jewry. Among them, we discovered two Orit books — the Torah of Beta Israel — written in the 15th century, the earliest found so far in the hands of Jewish Kessim.
Alongside the excitement, we believe our discovery is only the tip of the iceberg. It is likely that many more sacred books of Beta Israel are held by families and Kessim around the country, and we will continue searching for them. It is important to emphasize that all manuscripts located (like those found through the workshop) will remain in the possession of their owners, while being photographed and documented to make them accessible to interested members of the community, the broader public, and researchers in Israel and around the world. Another, especially urgent task of the Orit Guardians is documenting the scholarly oral traditions of the Kessim in Ethiopia, which includes translation from Ge’ez to Amharic and interpretation of the Orit and other holy books. This heritage, transmitted only orally from generation to generation, has never been set down in writing. Today, only 18 senior Kessim, who were trained in Ethiopia and hold this knowledge, remain active in Israel, and they are aging. If we do not act quickly, we might lose this precious cultural treasure."
Research
Jul 6th, 2025
Two Out of Every Three Arab Citizens Support Political Partnership Between
New study by the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University examines the views of Arab citizens in Israel – after the war with Iran
- Humanities
A new study by the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation at TAU's Moshe Dayan Center finds that a large majority (73.2%) of Israel's Arab citizens support the inclusion of an Arab party in the government that will be formed after the next elections. In addition, the turnout of Arab voters is expected to increase.
The study's main findings:
A large majority (73.2%) support the participation of an Arab party in the next government: 41.8% support joining any government formed, and 31.4% support joining a center-left government. If elections for the Knesset were held today, the expected voter turnout in Arab society would be 57%, slightly higher than the 53.2% turnout in the 25th Knesset elections held in November 2022.
The war between Israel and Iran did not change the priorities of Arab citizens regarding fundamental political issues such as joining the government or support for Arab-Jewish political partnership. However, some impact is evident in the definition of personal identity.
Most of the Arab public (66% of respondents) believe in political cooperation between Arabs and Jews in Israel, but only 40.2% believe that the Jewish public actually supports such cooperation.
A large majority of the Arab public (75.4%) report a low sense of personal security. The two main factors negatively affecting their mood are the high incidence of violence in Arab communities (41.9%) and the ongoing war in Gaza (37.6%). At the same time, 64% of survey participants report that their financial situation is relatively good.
54% of survey respondents stated that the most important issue for the Arab public today is addressing the problem of violence and crime. A significant portion (23.2%) said that ending the war in Gaza is the most important issue.
The personal identity of Israel's Arab citizens includes three main components: Arab identity (36.2%), Israeli citizenship (30.3%), and religious affiliation (21.4%). For a relatively small portion of this public (9.7%), their Palestinian identity is the most important.
The study was initiated by the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation, operating under the German Konrad Adenauer Stiftung at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University.
Dr. Arik Rudnitzky, Director of the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation at the Moshe Dayan Center: “A large, solid majority of Israel's Arab citizens support political partnership between Arabs and Jews, as well as the inclusion of an Arab party in the government that will be formed after the next elections. The importance of this political standpoint cannot be overstated".
"It should be understood against the backdrop of a harsh reality in which the mood in the Arab public is low due to the rampant violence in Arab communities, the negative effects of the war in Gaza, and also the recent brief war with Iran, which starkly exposed the severe lack of protective facilities in Arab communities. Nevertheless, and contrary to expectations, Israel's Arab citizens refuse to despair and look soberly at the day after the war. According to this survey, voter turnout of Arab citizens in the next Knesset elections will be slightly higher than in the elections of November 2022. Opinions are divided on whether the precedent of the inclusion of Arab party Ra’am in the Bennett-Lapid government (2021-22) was successful, but even those who criticize MK Mansour Abbas (Head of Ra'am) for this move do not necessarily oppose the attempt itself — rather, they believe Ra’am could have achieved more. Thus, precisely in the context of the longest and harshest war in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the survey points to the hope residing in the hearts of Arab citizens for establishing a political partnership between Arabs and Jews in the day after the war".
Dr Arik Rudnitzky
Research
Jun 12th, 2025
Is This the Future of Burn Care?
TAU researchers and Sheba Medical Center developed bioengineered skin that accelerates healing time.
- Medicine
Researchers from Tel Aviv University and Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center have developed an innovative bioengineered skin equivalent for grafting in burn victims. The bioengineered skin produced from the patient’s cells is more stable, robust, and flexible than current treatments, making it easier to handle. A full-thickness wound model, it achieved wound closure in half the time of standard therapies. This pioneering study was driven by the ongoing war and the surge in severe burn injuries, which underscored the urgent need for better treatment solutions.
The groundbreaking study was led by Prof. Lihi Adler-Abramovich and PhD student Dana Cohen-Gerassi from the Laboratory for Bio-Inspired Materials and Nanotechnology at the Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, at TAU's Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, in collaboration with: Dr. Ayelet Di Segni, Director of the Sheba Tissue Bank and the Green Skin Engineering Laboratory at Sheba; Dr. Amit Sitt from TAU's School of Chemistry, Faculty of Exact Sciences, Prof. Josef Haik, Head of the Plastic Surgery Division and National Burn Center at Sheba; Dr. Moti Harats, Head of the Israeli National Intensive Care Burn Center at Sheba; Dr. Marina Ben-Shoshan and Dr. Adi Liiani scientists from the Green Skin Engineering Laboratory at Sheba; Prof. Itzhak Binderman from TAU's Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine and Prof. Yosi Shacham-Diamand from TAU's Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, as well as PhD candidate Tomer Reuveni and Offir Loboda from TAU. The paper was published in the prestigious scientific journal Advanced Functional Materials.
The research team from Tel Aviv University and Sheba Medical Center (From left to right): Dr. Amit Sitt, Dr. Marina Ben-Shoshan, Dr. Ayelet Di Segni, Prof. Lihi Adler-Abramovich & Dana Cohen-Gerassi.
“Surgical intervention is often essential for second-degree burns and above to restore skin, prevent infection, and save lives,” explains Prof. Lihi Adler-Abramovich. “The current gold-standard treatment is ‘autologous skin grafting’, in which healthy skin is harvested from another area of the patient’s body and transplanted onto the burn site. However, this approach has significant disadvantages, particularly the need to damage healthy tissue to treat the injury. This becomes especially problematic in cases of extensive burns, where the availability of intact skin is limited.”
Smart Skin That Heals You Faster
“One of the most advanced alternatives, currently offered in Israel only at Sheba Medical Center, is ‘cultured epidermal autograft’ (CEA). Instead of removing a large skin section, a small biopsy is taken, and cells extracted from that sample are cultured in the lab to produce skin grafts for transplantation. While this method avoids donor-site damage, it comes with several challenges: First, the skin cells are grown on a layer of mouse-derived feeder cells, requiring strict regulation to ensure no mouse cells remain in the graft; Second, once removed from the culture dish, the CEA shrinks by over 50%, significantly reducing yield up to 30 grafts may be needed to cover a single area, such as an arm or leg. Finally, the lab-grown skin consists of only the upper epidermal layer, making it extremely thin, fragile, and prone to curling at the edges.”
The need for advanced solutions is particularly urgent in wartime, with many soldiers suffering from burns. For both soldiers and civilians, a durable bioengineered graft could significantly improve chances for recovery and a good quality of life. “Since October 2023, Sheba has treated many young people with burn injuries,” says Dr. Ayelet Di Segni. “At such a time, bringing knowledge accumulated in the lab directly to the patient's bedside becomes an urgent and tangible goal. We aim to develop a graft that can truly transform the process of recovery.”
Made from Your Own Cells
To address this challenge, researchers from Tel Aviv University and Sheba Medical Center collaborated to develop multi-cellular, multi-layered bioengineered skin grafts designed to mimic the properties and function of natural skin, without shrinking, tearing upon contact, or relying on animal-derived additives.
“We designed a nanofiber scaffold made of a polymer called PCL, which is already FDA-approved, and combined it with a bioactive peptide - a short amino acid sequence that promotes cell adhesion, growth, and proliferation,” explains PhD student Dana Cohen-Gerassi. “We then seeded this scaffold with skin cells derived from a patient's biopsy. Remarkably, the cells organized themselves naturally: fibroblasts populated one side of the scaffold, while keratinocytes grew on the other - mimicking the structure of real human skin.”
Dr. Marina Ben-Shoshan, senior researcher at Sheba's Green Center for Skin Graft Engineering, adds: “Our graft is unique in that it does not shrink, and is durable, flexible, and easy to handle. Implantation in model animals has yielded impressive results, accelerating the healing process. While the standard treatment closes half of the burn wound in eight days, with our method, this took only four days. Moreover, we observed that essential skin structures, such as hair follicles, began to grow.”
Dr. Amit Sitt from TAU's School of Chemistry adds: “The nanofiber scaffolds are made from easily available biocompatible materials and produced via a scalable spinning process. In the future, this will enable large-scale production of fiber sheets, as well as incorporation of additional substances to facilitate the healing process.”
Prof. Yossi Haik of Sheba Medical Center concludes: “The bioengineered skin we’ve developed represents a true breakthrough in burn care. Made entirely from the patient’s cells, it is strong, flexible, easy to handle, and significantly accelerates healing. This is a major step towards personalized therapies that can greatly improve the recovery and quality of life of severe burn victims, both soldiers and civilians. In the next phase, we plan to conduct trials in additional models and advance the necessary regulatory processes to bring this innovative technology closer to clinical application.”
