“When I return from reserve duty, I need to rest but usually cannot, as there is work, studies, exams, and family life to catch up on. But I am proud and happy to serve, like all us reservists.”

Meet Amotz , an IDF combat reservist now serving another long stretch, warrior, Technion student and teaching assistant, spouse, father.

The name is a pseudonym. IDF reserve soldiers have been threatened with arrest when abroad by pro-Palestinian activists employing the International Court of Justice genocide calumny. I choose not to give them ammunition.Amotz is a student of electrical engineering at the Technion. He works as a teaching assistant as well, and, in my opinion, excels at it, as he does in everything he tackles.

Amotz is married to Chava, an architect, and is father of their daughter, Bruriah, age three. (Those are pseudonyms as well.) Chava is expecting another child. The couple live in Technion student dorms.
Amotz serves in a renowned special forces commando unit. As I write this, he has begun another long stint as an IDF combat reserve soldier. Reports indicate there are 169,000 IDF soldiers on active duty, and some 465,000 in the reserves. In the ongoing October 7 war, some 350,000 reserve soldiers were reported to have been called up to defend their country. Many returned home hastily from abroad to join their units.

Student, instructor, spouse, parent, warrior. This is the reality many Israeli men and women grapple with, playing multiple roles and juggling them now for 453 days, as I write this.

I choose to tell Amotz’s story in his own words. In my view, Amotz is an outstanding teaching assistant, a diligent student, loving spouse, dedicated father, and brave warrior. I salute him and many thousands like him, who defend their country with courage and sacrifice. More than 800 Israeli soldiers have died in battle, which includes 43 women.


Here is Amotz’s story, in his own words:

“I was a yeshiva student, studying Talmud mostly and learning secular subjects for no more than two hours daily. I did not do the full high school matriculation exams. As a yeshiva student, I initially planned to do abbreviated IDF service. But after Operation Pillar of Defense, the eight-day campaign in Gaza in November 2012, I decided to do full IDF service.
I studied at yeshiva in Hebron, then in Yeruham. My leg was injured in an accident, causing severe infection, and for a time it was not clear if I would walk again. I was determined to recover, worked out hard, and eventually I did recover fully. I volunteered for an elite commando unit, even though I was less physically fit than most of the other recruits. [Candidates for special forces units go through a rigorous week-long ordeal during which, among other things, they carry a heavy sandbag up a high sand dune, come down, and repeat this up to 30 times or more.]

IDF soldiers conduct training exercises near the northern border and at command headquarters, September 30, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)

I think I made it because of willpower rather than fitness. Soldiers in the unit did strenuous exercises to raise their heart rates to 200 beats a minute – not an easy goal to reach for a fit person. For me it was easy, as I was less fit.Eventually I was released from this unit and joined another commando unit, serving as a team leader. In this unit, I managed to come up with a number of innovative ideas related to the use of specific equipment; these ideas were tested and adopted widely.

After my IDF service, I began studies at the Open University. Later, despite having only a partial matriculation diploma, I was accepted to the Technion because of my high grades.

Well before the October 7 war, I did long stretches of reserve duty. In Operation Swords of Iron, I was called up and served in Gaza. Several times I was called up, then told that the call-up was deferred. This was disruptive to my studies and married life.

I have been trying hard to catch up with my studies and complete the semester exams. My goal is to add an undergraduate degree in physics to an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering. The Technion’s combined electrical engineering/physics program is difficult and challenging, but knowing physics is important because it explains the theory underlying engineering principles.

My wife is a talented architect who has put her profession on hold. She had to quit her full-time job and can do only temporary work. This has caused us some economic hardship. When I return from reserve duty, I need to rest but usually cannot, as there is work, studies, exams, and family life to catch up on. But I am proud and happy to serve, like all us reservists.

My wife is incredible. She has enormous strength and sends me off to serve in the IDF with pride. Our little daughter has become frightened of loud noises. I am an optimist. I see many good things happening and meet many good people. I think today, after October 7, people are far less judgmental. Most people have moved on, moved forward from the bitter dissension we had before October 7. In the reserves, leftists and rightists fight as a unit and are brothers.

In my opinion, our political system is outdated. Social media rewards negative statements and very short-term goals. We need more long-term thinking.”

Life after October 7

ACCORDING TO the Bank of Israel, Israel’s war-related costs from 2023 to 2025 could end up amounting to $55.6 billion, costing Israel 10% of its economy. And the war is far from over. Long term, that figure may well double.The human toll of October 7 is, of course, immense. Some 1,139 people were killed, among them 695 Israeli civilians (including 38 children), 71 foreign nationals, and 373 IDF soldiers. Some 364 civilians were killed and many more wounded while attending the Supernova music festival. About 250 Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip, alive or dead, including 30 children. Almost 100, alive and dead, remain in Gaza.

There is immense suffering among the Palestinians in Gaza. Hamas claims that the Gaza war has killed at least 45,553 Palestinians and wounded 108,379 since October 7, 2023.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, no friend of Israel, reportedly commented to Israel, “What did you expect?” when he was informed of the Hamas atrocities. That comment applies far more accurately to Hamas.

I ask the terrorists: “When you attacked, murdered, pillaged, raped, and burned – what did you expect in response? Does your death-is-salvation ideology welcome the enormous suffering you brought on your people? Really?”

As the shaky Netanyahu coalition slaps together a new draft law for the ultra-Orthodox, exempting a majority of them, injustice screams to the heavens. Amotz, from a strong yeshiva background, became a disciplined courageous warrior. This is proof of concept. Proof of need? It’s obvious.
Let us direct resources to IDF reservists like Amotz who are struggling, and not to able-bodied yeshiva students who dodge the draft. The Hassidic rabbis who fanatically oppose army service for their young men and leverage their political power will not be forgiven.

Proteins, the pillars of cellular function, often assemble into “complexes” to fulfill their functions. A study by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Weizmann Institute, in collaboration with the Technion, reveals why this assembly often begins during the very process of protein synthesis or “birth.”

These early interactions involve proteins whose stability depends on their association. They can be compared to a couple in which each partner supports the other. This model paves the way for new strategies to understand and correct assembly errors, which are often associated with pathologies, including neurodegenerative disorders and certain cancers. The findings are published in the journal Cell.

Proteins are large molecules composed of a chain of amino acids. They are produced by the ribosome, a cellular “machine” that reads the instructions contained in messenger RNAs. Once the protein is formed, interactions between the amino acids induce the chain to fold onto itself and adopt a specific structure. While some proteins function independently, many must assemble with specific partners into complexes to fulfill their roles.

The formation of these complexes is a delicate process. If proteins fail to find their partners or fold incorrectly, this can lead to cellular dysfunction and pathologies such as Alzheimer’s disease or certain cancers. Until very recently, scientists believed that proteins only formed complexes after being fully synthesized (post-translational assembly).

However, the recent study revealed that assembly between nascent proteins—co-translational assembly—is widespread. This study identified thousands of proteins involved but did not determine the specific pairs of proteins formed or the molecular signatures underlying this early recognition.

Thousands of protein structures analysed

The group led by Emmanuel Levy, a full professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the UNIGE Faculty of Science—previously a professor at the Weizmann Institute—in collaboration with the group of Ayala Shiber, a professor at the Technion, focuses on the fundamental principles governing protein self-organization. In other words, these scientists aim to identify the general rules of protein assembly.

For this study, the team analyzed a list of proteins involved in co-translational assembly. By comparing their structures to those of proteins that assemble after translation, they were able to establish fundamental differences between these two mechanisms

“Our bioinformatics analyses revealed that proteins interacting with their partners while still being synthesized tend to be unstable when isolated. These proteins depend on their partners and if they do not find it, they adopt a wrong shape and get degraded,” explains Saurav Mallik, a researcher at the Weizmann Institute and co-first author of the study.

A predictive model

“Using this approach, we developed a model based on a large corpus of structural data, using both experimentally determined structures and those predicted by the artificial intelligence software AlphaFold. Our model leveraged structural properties of a complex to predict whether it associated co- or post-translationally,” add Johannes Venezian and Arseniy Lobov, co-first authors of the study. The scientists notably discovered that binding sites are exposed early in these proteins, enabling them to interact with their partner shortly after emerging from the ribosome.

These predictions were validated using experimental data focused on several proteins. “These findings pave the way for a better understanding of protein assembly within cells and highlight the global impact of protein structure on the regulation of their synthesis,” says Levy.

Many diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders and certain cancers, are linked to misfolded proteins or defective complexes. By understanding the rules of co-translational assembly, scientists could develop strategies to prevent these errors and design new therapeutic approaches to correct them.

Business Intelligence Group Innovation Awards recognize ideas, organizations and people that are positioned to change how we experience the world.

The Philadelphia-based Business Intelligence Group honored three Israeli companies at its 2025 BIG Innovation Awards, which “recognize all ideas, organizations and people – no matter how big or small – that are positioned to change how we interact and experience the world around us.”

ICL Group of Tel Aviv won in the agriculture category.

This global specialty minerals company focuses on sustainable solutions for the food, agriculture, and industrial markets. Its agricultural products include fertilizers using minerals mined from the Dead Sea, and advanced ag-tech products to increase yield, growth, quality, and harvesting of crops.

Dr. Ofer Sharon, CEO of OncoHost. Photo courtesy of OncoHost

OncoHost of Binyamina (Israel) and North Carolina won in the healthcare category.

The precision oncology company’s PROphet platform provides reliable biomarkers to optimize immunotherapy treatment decisions and improve patient outcomes. The platform’s initial commercialized test is the first and only liquid biopsy standalone proteomics test on the market and the first AI-based blood test to guide first-line immunotherapy decisions in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. In addition, OncoHost is developing PROphetirAE, a test designed to predict immune-related adverse events prior to the start of treatment.

Trax Retail of Singapore and Tel Aviv won in the retail category.

Founded in 2010 by Israeli entrepreneurs Joel Bar-El and Dror Feldheim, Trax developed a first-in-market image-capture solution that sees every product on a store’s shelves, coolers, displays, bar taps and back rooms. The BIG award is specifically for Trax’s signal-based merchandising system that provides brands and retailers with ongoing access to critical insights for addressing out-of-stocks, phantom inventory and pricing disparities. Trax is active in more than 90 countries.

The BIG Innovation Awards program receives nominations from across the globe. Nominees are judged by a panel of experienced business executives. They use a proprietary unique scoring system that “selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and rewards those companies whose achievements stand above those of their peers.”

What if we could provide groundbreaking accessibility solutions to people with disabilities?

How can technology be harnessed to offer unique solutions to people with disabilities? The Technion has designed a new course to empower students to do just that through social-technological entrepreneurship. Open to all Technion students as well as University of Haifa physiotherapy students, the course fosters interdisciplinary collaboration to address real-world challenges.

Students will explore topics such as accessibility, the psychology of people with disabilities, and principles from biomedical engineering, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy. Visits to Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital and Sheba Medical Center will provide firsthand insights into rehabilitation needs, enriching the learning experience.

Dr. Yacov Malinovich, the course leader, highlighted its timely significance: “Awareness of the needs of disabled people has increased, and this has become even more important in light of the ongoing war. Developing suitable technologies for rehabilitation offers students and engineers an opportunity to directly improve people’s well-being. Israel has extensive knowledge in this field, with examples like unique wheelchairs, emergency bracelets, and special surfboards.”

Dr. Malinovich, a founder of Haifa3D, brings expertise in designing assistive devices for individuals with upper limb disabilities. Haifa3D’s impactful work includes creating robotic hands for children and collaborating with the Technion’s Biorobotics and Biomechanics Lab to develop customized solutions.

“The new course will feature guests from various academic and rehabilitation institutions,” explained Dr. Malinovich. “By connecting with rehabilitation centers and individuals with disabilities, we aim to create technological solutions that truly assist those in need. Each student team will submit a product as their final project.”

Held in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the course is a collaboration between t:hub – the Technion Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub, the University of Haifa’s Physiotherapy Department, and the Technion Social Incubator. Offering six academic credits, it provides students with hands-on experience to develop innovative solutions that can transform lives.

“I’m part of the division that protects civilians in Israel and that makes me very proud,” said Technion alumna Maya Shnur. “Every morning when I go to work, I feel like I’m on a mission.” Shnur works at the vaunted Israeli defense company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems as the deputy general manager of Mergers, Acquisitions, and Subsidiaries in the Air Defense Division, which produces Iron Dome and David’s Sling.

Almost every day since October 7, bombs have fallen on her village just south of Lebanon, said Shnur at the time of this interview. “When you’re living in the line of fire, it becomes personal.” Her older daughter is in the Israel Defense Forces and the younger will join soon. On October 7, one of Shnur’s sisters hid with her children for 10 hours after terrorists entered her kibbutz. A resident of Shnur’s village was kidnapped. Shnur and her Rafael colleagues worked 24/7, some going into the battlefield to help with the equipment.

“When the sirens start and I take my little boy down into the bomb shelter, I say ‘thank you Rafael for saving our lives.’ I’m grateful that I can explain how Israel is protecting him. But we are eight months into a non-stop war. As a human, I am very sad.”

Shnur lost both parents as a teenager — her mother from cancer and her father from heart disease. The losses, coupled with the responsibility of caring for her little sister, made her more driven. “I remember looking outside the window and saying to myself, ‘I can be a success even though I don’t have parents.’” On the day she completed her military service, “I gave back my army uniform at noon, then started working.” She woke up at 4 a.m. each day to catch a bus to her job making salt at the Dead Sea Works, while studying for her undergraduate degree at night.

In 2010, she joined Rafael, where her husband was already working. One day her husband came home with a half-smile and said, “How do you do it? I’ve been at Rafael for years before you and people ask me, ‘are you Maya’s husband?’”

Shnur started in Rafael’s Human Resources group before moving into business management, a field long dominated by men in the industry. Such a move was not often granted and rarely to a woman. “But my manager believed in me,” she said, and in the value of a Technion education. “If you want my permission,” he told her, “Get an MBA at the Technion. They will teach you how to look at financial issues, deal with conflicts, and allow you to continue progressing in your career.”

In 2017, Shnur earned her Technion MBA in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship track. As the number two person in the Mergers, Acquisitions, and Subsidiaries group of Rafael’s Air Defense Division, she is responsible for growing six subsidiaries, including a collaboration with Raytheon to build an Iron Dome system in the U.S. She also scouts for new companies with technologies that can enhance Rafael. “My MBA from the Technion helped me arrive at the next level. It took me to a place where I feel I’m contributing more than ever.”

Shnur’s calling is twofold: contributing to Israel’s security and to women’s rise in the workplace. “It’s no secret that the defense industry is not dominated by women, far from it, so getting to my current position was breaking the glass ceiling,” she said. “Sometimes I’m the only woman in the room. My message to women in similar situations: bring your potential and be yourself. It matters less who is in the room or their gender.” Through the Director’s Association, she mentors female managers with inspiring advice. “Don’t be afraid to express your desire to reach the top,” she says. “In my life, there have been times when people disliked my ambition and even tried to stop me. I taught myself to persevere and move through these challenges.”

Despite the ongoing war and its effects on Israel’s younger population, an Israeli team won first place at the international robotics competition in Houston, Texas, at the end of April, for the first time in twenty years.

This competition is run by a non-profit organization called FIRST which strives to expose students to STEM-related subjects through different robotics competitions. With the support and sponsorship of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, FIRST Israel offers children programming from when they are in primary school to when they attend high school through which they can learn about robotics as part of a team and community.

These programs – FIRST LEGO League Challenge for primary school students and FIRST Robotics Competition for high school students – also provide a platform for kids to learn about core values such as teamwork, the importance of the process of learning, and inclusion.

In the time it takes to read this article, several people in the United States will likely experience a heart attack — according to the CDC, someone in the US suffers from one every 40 seconds.

That morbid statistic highlights the importance of coronary artery disease detection methods, and companies developing them.

One such company is Israeli startup AccuLine, which recently secured $4.2 million in seed funding for the development and commercialisation of its CORA (Coronary Artery Risk Assessment) system, designed to improve the early detection of coronary artery disease (CAD), a leading cause of heart attacks.

CORA detects two bio-signals in the heart’s electrical activity, providing insights into coronary artery health. The system uses artificial intelligence and machine-learning algorithms to analyse this data, identifying patterns that may indicate CAD.

The CORA assessment improves upon current CAD diagnostic tools by means of a noninvasive, radiation-free test that evaluates three vital signs — the heart’s electrical activity, oxygen saturation levels and respiratory phase — in four minutes.

The system is designed to be operated by medical staff in various healthcare settings, with immediate results. By potentially replacing some existing stress test examinations, CORA could reduce medical expenses while maintaining diagnostic accuracy.

AccuLine, based in Petah Tikva, estimates the market potential for the technology at $7 billion annually in the United States.

The company has conducted two clinical studies in Israel to validate CORA’s diagnostic capabilities. The first involved 100 participants, while the second, larger study included 300 participants across seven medical centers. A third study is planned for next year in the US to seek US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

“Diagnosing patients at very early stages of risk for CAD without invasive testing will add value to patients, healthcare systems, doctors and insurance organisations,” said AccuLine cofounder and CEO Moshe Barel.

“This test has the potential to save millions of lives a year and save hundreds of millions of dollars for healthcare systems on unnecessary tests or expensive treatments for patients after a heart attack, including rehabilitation and medication.”

“Stay positive,” we’re told when suffering from an illness. It’s easy to dismiss such comments as platitudes from well-meaning friends. But Technion scientists have demonstrated that activation of the brain’s reward system can boost recovery from a heart attack. Establishing the connection between the two can potentially lead to therapeutic avenues for intervention.

“It’s time that both researchers and clinicians take the link between psychology and physiology seriously,” said Technion Associate Professor Asya Rolls, a psychoneuroimmunologist and pioneer in mind-body interactions.

Scientists have previously shown that the emotional state can influence the course of disease following a heart attack. But until now, the underlying physiological mechanisms were not well understood.

Prof. Rolls worked with renowned cardiac researcher Professor Lior Gepstein and Hedva Haykin, Ph.D. ’23, in the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine to manipulate the area of the brain responsible for inducing positive emotion and motivation in heart-diseased mice. The stimulation resulted in a favorable immune response that helped heal cardiac scarring, increased blood vessel formation, and improved cardiac performance. Their work, published in Nature Cardiovascular Research, found that these beneficial effects on the heart are mediated in part by the secretion of C3, a protein of the body’s “complement system,” which is the front line of defense for the immune system.

Since there are many non-invasive methods for stimulating the reward system in humans, such as drugs, biofeedback, and focused ultrasound, the team’s discovery could have meaningful future implications for the treatment of heart attacks.

“You can call something psychosomatic, but in the end, it’s somatic,” said Prof. Rolls. “How long can we ignore what is there?”

Prof. Asya Rolls is part of a growing group of scientists who are mapping out the brain’s control over the body’s immune system responses. Her earlier research has made inroads into understanding and treating autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s disease, and has even shown that triggering the brain’s reward system can stop tumor growth in mice.

Prof. Lior Gepstein is the director of the Cardiology Department at Rambam Health Care Campus and an academic staff member in the Technion’s Faculty of Medicine. His diverse research has explored the generation of heart tissue from human embryonic stem cells, treatment for cardiac arrythmias, and the development of a biological pacemaker.

Dr. Hevda Haykin recently completed her doctoral studies under the supervision of Profs. Rolls and Gepstein, and was awarded the Israel Heart Society’s J.J. Kellerman Young Investigator Award for 2024.

Maayan Kinsbursky, a graduate of the advanced degree program in industrial design at the Technion, has won the international Red Dot Design Award for her master’s project. The award ceremony will take place in Singapore on October 10, and the project will subsequently be exhibited at the Red Dot Design Museum, also in Singapore. The project was supervised by Assistant Professor Yoav Sterman, former innovation manager at Nike, and a faculty member in the industrial design program headed by Prof. Ezri Tarazi, in the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning.

Kinsbursky’s project, U·Bra, is an innovative bra designed for women who have undergone a mastectomy and cannot have reconstruction surgery. These women often opt for a silicone prosthesis inserted into a special bra, which can cause excessive sweating, rashes, pressure, and shoulder pain. Additionally, the prosthesis can create an asymmetrical appearance and may cause discomfort and embarrassment due to the fear of it shifting or falling out.

The U·Bra

In Kinsbursky’s research, the bra and prosthesis were designed as an integrated unit, customized for women who have had a mastectomy. The customization is based on 3D scanning, design processing, and 3D printing using a unique method developed at the Technion. The resulting product is a soft, airy, lightweight textile item that is tailored to the specific user.

Kinsbursky, who grew up in the Golan Heights, completed her bachelor’s degree in industrial design at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and pursued her master’s degree at the Technion. The award-winning project was realized at the Technion using innovative printing technology developed in the CodedMatter Laboratory led by Asst. Prof. Sterman. As she is currently on maternity leave, Kinsbursky’s lab team is continuing the pilot program, fitting bras for twenty women who have undergone mastectomies.

The Red Dot Design Awards, considered to be the “Oscars of the design world,” aim to promote excellence in design. The awards are given in three categories and Kinsbursky won in the Design Concept category. The project was selected to participate in the Technion’s “Science Accelerators” program, generously supported by the Hitman Foundation and the Bernstein Foundation.

Photo credits: Haim Zinger, Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning Photography Lab (Maayan and Yoav). Reut Degani (Bra).

Maayan Kinsbursky, a graduate of the advanced degree program in industrial design at the Technion, has won the international Red Dot Design Award for her master’s project. The award ceremony will take place in Singapore on October 10, and the project will subsequently be exhibited at the Red Dot Design Museum, also in Singapore. The project was supervised by Assistant Professor Yoav Sterman, former innovation manager at Nike, and a faculty member in the industrial design program headed by Prof. Ezri Tarazi, in the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning.

Proteins are important biological compounds that can form amyloid structures, which have been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, where the accumulation of abnormal amyloid aggregates (plaques) disrupts brain function. Our current research examined whether we should be concerned over the formation of amyloids in processed food, and it reveals positive aspects to this question in the context of their digestive fate.

From L to R: Prof. Meytal Landau, Alon Romano, Gil Rafael

Amyloid structures, it turns out, lead to a slow breakdown of the protein progenitors in the digestive system and promote positive changes in the colon. In fact, these changes resemble those of “regular” dietary fibers found in fruits and whole grains. Moreover, the bacteria in our gut prefer amyloids over “naked” undigested proteins, which may lead to negative effects such as adverse fermentation in the intestines.

Graphical abstract: Left – Amyloid consumption in food, and their journey through the digestive system. Right – Creation of amyloids from eggs and whey protein

Proteins are essential components in body structure and function, and it is now clear that proper protein consumption is important for human health and can even affect various behaviors such as appetite, hunger, and fatigue. Against this background, extensive efforts are being made to develop diverse protein-rich nutritional solutions for those who seek to tone down consumption of animal products. This is the backdrop for the positive findings emerging from the research published in Food Hydrocolloids.

The researchers focused on proteins from eggs and dairy to show case that protein-amyloids formed in processed foods may:

  1. Gradually break down in the upper digestive system, potentially promoting slower and more controlled absorption of proteins into the body.
  1. Assist in preserving the microbial diversity in the intestines; in particular, it was found that they maintain a low ratio between two important bacterial communities (Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes). This ratio indicates the health of the gur microbiota, whereas an unbalanced diet encourages an increase in this ratio which has been correlated with increased risk of disease (obesity, diabetes, and cancer).

From a wider viewpoint, the research demonstrates the inherent potential in food processing to enhance potential to promote health. According to Prof. Lesmes: “Today, we know how to precisely control and formulate foods and to estimate through models developed in my lab, how different food components will be digested in the body of different consumers. Together with innovative research tools, this scientific approach will help us understand the fate of proteins and innovative food components in the bodies of different consumers and may even facilitate development of personalized dietary choices. I believe that this research opens up new avenues for understanding the potential of “smartly” processed food to expand human nutrition sources and improve health.”

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute at the Technion. The authors also thank the Smoler Proteomics Center at the Technion and Dana Benjamin from the Koren Lab at Bar Ilan University.