A group of Israeli smart mobility companies – at least a quarter of which have come from Technion – has collaborated with a consortium of other bodies to overhaul road transport

Twenty firms have joined up with government-transport bodies, local authorities, municipalities and universities to form a private-public consortium that will tackle traffic congestion, road accidents, infrastructure and air pollution across Israel, and at least five of them are the products of Technion alumni.

Nexar, Moovit, Waycare, NoTraffic, Cognata and Blue White Robotics are all part of the ISMLL consortium (Israel Smart Mobility Living Lab), which hopes to share anonymous data via third-party apps, traffic cameras, drones and road sensors to accelerate transport innovation. The world’s first autonomous traffic management platform also plans to install thermal road cameras that will help with poor vision and Bluetooth sensors that will help monitor public transport usage.

The aggregated data will both process and provide insights to make other changes, such as altering the timing of traffic lights and adding more buses and/or bus routes.

ISMLL – which is backed by a group of 10 government ministries and received a $1 million investment – was co-founded by Eran Shir, the co-founder and CEO of AI road safety company, Nexar – and also a Technion alumnus. 

Traffic congestion is a major problem in Israel – both in terms of rate and cost – and was predicted to get much worse in a 2019 OECD report. According to the World Health Organization, road traffic injuries cause an estimated 1.35 million deaths annually – about one person every 25 seconds.

Between cell-grown steaks and cow-free milk, professors and graduates from the Israeli Institute of Technology are cooking up a new way forward

A whole host of innovative food companies changing the way we treat animals are the products of leading Technion minds.

Aleph Farms – the first company to grow steaks directly from the cells of cows – was co-founded by Technion Professor, Shulamit Levenberg, SavorEat, a company that produces 3D-printed burger patties via a robot chef using ingredient cartridges has as its VP a Technion alumnus and Itay Dana, another Technion alumnus, works as Head of Product Innovation at SuperMeat.

A recent investment round of $105 million went to Aleph Farms, which they say will help execute large-scale global commercialization and portfolio expansion into new types of animal protein and product lines.

Cell-based meat involves growing actual meat from cell cultures taken from a live animal and SuperMeat uses the same process to apply to chicken.

Meanwhile, food-tech innovator – Imagindairy – which develops real milk in the lab without harming animals, is making huge strides in a market that wants something better than plant-based milks. 

Co-founded by Technion alumnus, Dr. Eyal Afergan, it cultivates milk proteins from animal cells, meaning the nutritional value, taste, smell and texture is the same as cow’s milk but without causing any suffering to the animal. This startup has also raised $1.5 million in funding.

Several Technion professors and graduates are responsible for oncological developments that are on course to transform the way cancer is caught, diagnosed and treated

A startup that has developed a blood test to predict how well cancer patients will react to treatment is planning to collaborate with the NHS in setting up clinical trials, while a technology to help pathologists detect cancer has been given an FDA ‘breakthrough’ nod.

OncoHost – the company behind the blood test that Prof. Yuval Shaked of the Technion Israel Institute of Technology has created – is the result of a decade’s research. The trials will focus on patients diagnosed with advanced stages of melanoma or non-small cell lung cancer and will join the company’s existing trials using diagnostic platform PROphet, which uses AI to predict patient response to immunotherapy. The result is a personalised treatment plan that will help provide clinicians with potential combination strategies to overcome treatment resistance.The Israeli startup also plans to open additional clinical trial sites around the world to expand its research to other cancers.

Changing the way cancer is detected is also being revolutionised, thanks to Ibex Medical Analytics – the maker of an AI-based cancer diagnostic software. Its Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Daphna Laifenfeld, spent time researching personalised medicine during her tenure at the Technion. 

The startup has received a breakthrough device designation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which will help expedite the clinical review and regulatory approval of its technology. In receiving this, its potential to help pathologists both detect and diagnose cancer has been formally acknowledged.

The software is already used in labs worldwide as part of everyday clinical practice, as well as continually demonstrating its positive outcomes in clinical studies. 

Meanwhile, Prof. Marcelle Machluf – yet another Technion professor – has made it her life’s work to create a medicine delivery system that can defeat cancer. The co-founder and inventor of NanoGhost – a technology that targets cancer cells with modified adult stem cells loaded with medicine – is also the faculty dean of Biotechnology & Food Engineering at the Technion, and it was here that she started the research that led to NanoGhost in 2010.

NanoGhost – which has already raised $5 million – is showing promising progress, with clinical trials aimed by 2023.

An artificial molecule that could slow down the development of Alzheimer’s disease has been developed

A team of Israeli scientists from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology has paved the way for better treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Professor Galia Maayan, along with doctoral student Anastasia Behar from the Faculty of Chemistry at the university, collaborated with Professor Christelle Hureau of The French National Centre for Scientific Research in discovering a molecule that can break down the build-up of copper in the brain that can cause disease.

An accumulation of copper has long been known to cause degenerative illnesses, like Alzheimer’s, due to its ability in preventing toxic proteins from leaving the brain.

The molecule – named P3 – that they have created works to bind the copper ions together and extract them. Vitally, it manages to do this without simultaneously binding zinc ions, which are needed for normal brain functioning.

Despite early promising results, the team have made it clear that they plan to take “the base” and ‘further develop’ it into something even better.

Their findings were published in the weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal, Andewandte Chemie.

The innovative breakthrough coincided with Breast Cancer Awareness Month and is the result of years of research

A groundbreaking treatment for breast cancer has been developed by researchers at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology.

The study – led by Professor Avi Schroeder and Maya Kaduri, a PhD student at the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering – is based on the finding that cancer cells recruit the nerve cells around them to both stimulate and spread the disease. As a result, they have developed a treatment that targets the tumour through the nerve cells by injecting anaesthetic into the bloodstream to paralyse the communication between the nerve and cancer cells. 

Early results – tested on mice – have proven a significant inhibition of tumour development and mastitis to the lungs, brain and bone marrow, and the researchers believe it could have real-world implications for the treatment of breast cancer in humans.

Prof. Schroeder has years of experience developing innovative cancer treatments, using technologies that transport drugs to tumours without damaging healthy tissue.

“We know how to create the exact size of particles needed, and that is critical because it’s the key to penetrating the tumour,” Kaduri said. “The anesthetising particles we developed move through the bloodstream without penetrating healthy tissue.” 

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women, with approximately 11,500 women and 85 men in the UK dying from the disease each year.

Aleph Farms, co-founded by a Technion professor, has been given the seal of approval by the actor

A-List actor and environmental activist, Leonardo DiCaprio, has invested in a cruelty-free meat startup that was the brainchild of a Technion professor. His investment was made as part of the $105 million funding round raised by Aleph Farms back in July, which was co-founded by Professor Shulamit Levenberg from the Biomedical Engineering Faculty at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology.

DiCaprio – who has long championed environmentalism – will be joining the startup – as well as Dutch alternative meat company Mosa Meat, as an advisor, amid a growing global movement to support sustainable technologies.

“One of the most impactful ways to combat the climate crisis is to transform our food system,” he said in a statement, adding that he was “very pleased” to join “as an advisor and investor as they prepare to introduce cultivated beef to consumers.”

Aleph Farms was founded in 2017 and rolled out the first-ever cultivated steak in 2018 and ribeye this year, leveraging the ability to isolate animal cells in a lab and reproduce the optimal conditions for them to grow into tissue.

The company – a leading player in a growing Israeli food-tech sector – plans to go to market in 2022.

With global meat consumption projected to grow between 40%-70% by 2050, analysts estimate the cultivated meat industry could reach $25 billion by 2030. It offers a solution to reduce the negative impacts of industrial beef production, such as using up precious resources, increasing carbon and nitrogen emissions and causing harm to animals.

Director of Technion UK, Alan Aziz, says: “It’s not every day that an Academy Award-winning actor champions what you do, but with such a heavyweight – both in the movie and environmental industry – investing in Aleph Farms, it’s a huge stamp of approval in the bid towards a more sustainable way to consume meat. “As ever, I am incredibly proud to be associated with the Technion Israel Institute of Technology and the world-changing developments they are creating.”

The Israeli Institute of Technology will honour the outgoing German Chancellor for her ongoing commitment to Israel

Outgoing German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is to receive an honorary doctorate from Technion when she visits Israel this weekend. 

Citing her strong and continued support for the state of Israel and her unrelenting fight against anti-Semitism and racism, the Israeli Institute of Technology will give the award during a ceremony at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

She will also meet with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, participate in a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, visit Yad Vashem and join a roundtable at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv as part of her farewell visit before she retires from politics.

Throughout her 16 years in power, she has visited Israel several times and called its security one of Germany’s core national interests and of crucial priority in foreign policy.

Congratulating the new government in June, she is reported to have said that Germany and Israel were “connected by a unique friendship that we want to strengthen further.”

Director of Technion UK, Alan Aziz, says: “The honorary doctorate in recognition of Angela Merkel’s leadership which is grounded in principles of equality, freedom and human rights could not be more warranted, and I am proud that our Israeli Institute of Technology has the honour of awarding it to her. “Anyone who works to strengthen ties with Israel – especially pertinent in this case – deserves to be applauded, and I’m delighted that we will now forever be associated with her in this positive way.”

A number of different initiatives are seeing the Israel Institute of Technology – and its alumni – head to space

The Technion Israel Institute of Technology is partnering with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Space Division to develop and launch a nano-satellite to orbit the moon.

The project, which will see Technion students utilise the help of IAI space engineers and facilities, is set to start in October and is scheduled to take a few years.

Meanwhile, another technology created by a Technion alumnus is part of 44 experiments to be conducted in outer space.

The mission, led by Eytan Stibbe, who will become the second Israeli to leave Earth, is scheduled to travel to the International Space Station in 2022.

Among many other tests (including one called Space Hummus!) is the brainchild of Ziv Yekutielu – a Technion alumnus who founded Mon4t – an FDA-approved app for patients with motor and cognitive impairments which has moved into the psychiatric domain.

The technology will aim to monitor Stibbe’s brain activity for 10 minutes twice a day, using a multi-sensor headset that incorporates AI algorithms.

It is hoped that data collected could then be used to help assess cognitive wellness in astronauts in the future.

Another Technion experiment – joint with NASA – will try to show that liquids in space can be successfully shaped into high-quality optical elements, paving the way for things like space telescopes.

“While in the past only about 10% of the faculty syllabus was dedicated to space, in the past few years there has been an effort to change this and reach a more equal balance between the two fields,” Faculty Dean Professor Tal Shima said in a statement. 

“As an alumnus of the Technion, accompanying projects and different mentoring programs over the years, I am excited by the existing and future cooperation between IAI and the Technion,” IAI president and CEO Boaz Levy is reported as saying. 

Director of Technion UK, Alan Aziz, says: “We’ve always known that the endless talent and capabilities coming out of the Technion is unparalleled, but with these latest developments, it is clear to anyone that the calibre of the institute is second to none. When it comes to the Technion, anything is possible, and we are excited to witness these journeys into space over the coming months and years.”

A leading metrics-based classification of computer-science institutions has ranked the Israeli Institute of Technology number one in the field of AI

The efforts of Israel’s leading technological institute, The Technion, in advancing the field of artificial intelligence have positioned it number one in Europe, according to a rating by CSRankings, which compared top computer science institutions globally.

It placed 15th worldwide for the AI ranking and 11th worldwide in the subfield of machine learning, according to the data which was compiled from 2016 to 2021 and included metrics such as computer vision and natural web processing. 

There are currently 46 Technion researchers engaged in core AI research areas, with more than 100 others in related fields such as smart vehicles, industrial robotics and cybersecurity. According to the rankings, which measure how many times a department has been published at a prestigious computer science conference, 42 of these researchers would have been published between one and 30+ times.

One of its flagship enterprises is the Machine Learning and Intelligent Systems (MLIS) research center, which works to establish The Technion as a leading contender in the AI world, recruit from other departments to conduct joint research, connect researchers with relevant parties in the industry and establish close collaborative efforts with other prominent AI institutes – both in Israel and throughout the world.

The Technion has already collaborated with many leading organizations, such as Carnegie Mellon University, which operates the largest centre for AI and robotics in America and – most recently – the American software giant, PTC.

Director of Technion UK, Alan Aziz, says: “We are very proud of the recognition The Technion has received in its contribution to artificial intelligence – especially as it continues to make deep and personal connections with others in the field and a significant impact on what we can hope to expect from it in the future.”

More than 13,000 students currently attend The Technion, which is located in Haifa.

The single biggest global cause of death is heart disease. Changes in the electrical signals associated with the heartbeat can provide doctors with an early warning for potentially lethal conditions, but any single person assessing these signals is fallible and could miss something vital. This could be about to change, however, thanks to Israeli scientists who are looking to get a second opinion – from Artificial Intelligence. 

Across the world, the leading cause of death is cardiovascular disease, with nearly 18 million people a year dying from heart attacks, strokes and other associated conditions (World Health Organisation). All of these diseases relate to how well the heart can fulfil its primary function: pumping blood around our bodies. 

For over a hundred years, the simplest and most effective way to assess the health of the human heart has been the electrocardiogram (ECG). Every heart uses electrical energy to work; by painlessly attaching sensors to the patient, the resulting electrical signals can then be displayed in graph form.

It is this graph that allows a trained doctor to gauge the health of the patient. An ECG can reveal a multitude of conditions. Most obviously, it shows the rhythm of the heartbeat, which might be too quick, slow or simply irregular. An ECG can also reveal issues such as a build-up of fatty substances or where the heart walls have become thickened.

Any doctor looking at the chart could easily make a mistake or miss something vital however, due to factors such as time pressure or lack of specialised knowledge. This is where a new proposal from Israeli scientists could make a huge difference – by harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence. 

When a doctor assesses an ECG, they are comparing the chart against an expected result. This result is based on population studies that define what is regarded as normal. The Israeli scientists propose an updated version of this model. They fed more than 1.5 million ECG tests from hundreds of patients from around the world into a neural network, which can then identify patterns in any new graph. 

Instead of a single, fallible individual assessing an ECG, an Artificial Intelligence programme uses cutting edge-technology to compare the graph against the thousands of data samples it has access to.

Since the researchers worked in tandem with cardiologists, they made sure that the new programme expresses the results in a way that doctors will find most helpful. Not only does the new system eliminate the chance for individual error, but it can also estimate the possibility of health risks that aren’t shown in the ECG itself.

This project was a collaboration between several Israeli scientists, including Professor Yael Yaniv, director of the Bio-electric and Bio-energetic Systems Laboratory at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion – the Israel Institute of Technology. 

If this new AI programme is a success, it will be the latest venture to have benefitted from an association with the Technion. Since 1912, the academic institution has been at the forefront of spearheading Israel’s scientific endeavours. Israel today is the country with the highest percentage of scientists and engineers – and the majority of them studied at the Technion, home to three of Israel’s five science Nobel Laureates.

Alan Aziz, CEO of Technion UK, commented: “Your cardiovascular system is literally at the heart of your health, so having the most accurate ECG possible is a must. Thanks to Technion expertise, Dr AI will now be able to give you a second opinion on the tell-tale heart.”

About The Technion:

The Technion has earned a global reputation for its pioneering work in nanotechnology, life sciences, stem-cell technology, water management, sustainable energy, information technology, biotechnology, materials engineering and aerospace. It is also one of only five similar institutes worldwide that include a medical school, encouraging rapid progress in biotechnology, drug development, and stem-cell technology. As Israel’s centre for high-tech education and research, the Technion is central to the nation’s economic progress. As the premier institute of its kind in the region, Technion breakthroughs can benefit all the nations of the Middle East. As a worldclass research university, the Technion helps advance the frontiers of science and technology to benefit people around the world.