The Robert H. Smith

JUST LOOK UP!  How Plants Make Aerial Roots

(Jerusalem, March 3, 2022)—Sometimes, to see the roots, you have to look up.  Roots are normally associated with things that live underground, in the damp and the dark. Think of turnips, radishes and yams. However, many plants make their roots above ground.  Ivy uses its roots to climb on buildings and the mighty ficus tree uses them to support their large branches.  What makes plants form roots in the “wrong place,” so to speak? That would be like us humans sprouting legs from our shoulders.  In a study published this week in the prestigious journal Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) Professor Idan Efroni and his team found the hidden mechanism that enables aerial roots to happen. By decomposing the stem to individual cells, the team identified the extremely rare cells that, when conditions are ripe, cause roots to grow in the air.  “Superficially, these look like other plant cells which is why they evaded detection for so long,” Efroni explained. “We used new techniques to closely screen thousands of cells, one-by-one. We knew that by finding the cells that can make roots, we would be able to look for the ‘switch’ that turns them on.”  Read More -->

Out of the Lab Podcast

Saving Our Planet is Not a Cliche

For this Researcher it’s the Center of What Matters: In this episode, host Molly Livingstone speaks with Prof. Yael Mishael. After following her heart into environmental studies, she quickly became the black sheep of her family…of artists. However, her passion gave her the drive to not only take on research, but become a leader in green tech as the Hebrew University’s Director of the Center for Sustainability. In this episode we discuss it all, from tips on how you can live a more sustainable lifestyle, to how waste can even effect good wine, and why yes the cliche: “saving our planet,” is still relevant and more important than ever. 

The Superwomen Behind the New SuperFood?

In this episode, host Molly Livingstone speaks with the young co-founders CEO Dr. Jasmin Ravid and CTO Dr. Daria Feldman behind Kinoko-Tech, a startup harnessing the power of fungi and deep-tech fermentation to produce the next generation of superfood – sustainable, delicious and highly nutritious. In this candid conversation, you’ll learn about how the three women founders went from a group full of strangers in a Hebrew University accelerator to a winning team and eventually how they left academia for industry. They share their experiences as they head into another funding round, scaling up, and why they are as passionate about their product, as they are knowledgeable.

Can You Smell That?

In this episode, Host Molly Livingstone of Yissum, the Hebrew University’s Tech Transfer Division, speaks with Prof. Masha Niv about her childhood move from Russia to Israel, her love for food, sociology and science and how she ended up researching taste and smell. Prof. Niv shares her new diagnostic approaches and drug development, what it’s like to be a woman in science today and her research on the loss of taste on the road to recovery from Corona.
 

Sable’s Promethion Metabolic System

The Institute of Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition has purchased a state-of-the-art metabolic system. The system consists of two 8-cage modules for mice and to measure calorimetry and activity. Potential users should contact: Prof. Oren Froy oren.froy@mail.huji.ac.il