Comprehensive coverage

the senses

Apple Vision glasses model 2024. Photo: Zvi Shahar, Copterdale

Reading while walking with smart glasses is more difficult compared to reading from a mobile phone

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Our research shows that when walking, the smart glasses reduce the ability to perform both walking and reading texts, and this can also have an impact on the safety of the users," said Dr. Tal Krasovsky from the University of Haifa, the author of the study
Reading thoughts before they become words. The figure was prepared using DALEE software after reading the article.

mind reading? Researchers have developed a method that will allow us to know what we are going to say before we speak

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Individual neurons could recognize, for example, when we are about to touch our tongue to our palate to say the letter D * This will enable the development of prostheses for those suffering from speech problems
On the right: the brain's response to speech that is listened to (above) and speech that is tried to be ignored. It can be seen that the brain's response is stronger to attentive speech and that this response involves more brain areas, with an emphasis on hearing and language areas.

The biology of listening

The human attention system can be dynamic, efficiently jumping between stimuli and taking in a lot of information, so it is not static as is commonly thought.
Immunofluorescence of the mouse inner ear. The spiral structure of the inner ear consists of hair cells and supporting cells, which together allow us to hear. Each cell type is shown in a different color. Image: Dr. Shahar Tiber

The long and winding route of sound

Researchers examined DNA samples of 1,200 deaf Israeli-Jews, in order to understand the damage caused to the structure of the proteins in the hearing system
Capsule secret. Illustration: depositphotos.com

What does our voice say?

On the way in which vocal expressions can convey emotional information, especially in powerful experiences, and on the importance of the visual context
On the right: sperm cell of a healthy mouse. On the left: the product (protein) of the SCAPER gene (colored in red). The photograph shows that SCAPER is located at the head of the sperm cell, including in the nucleus

Between the retina, brain and fertility

On the spectrum of disorders caused by a defect in one gene
Protein G. Courtesy of Dr. Moshe Ferns, Tel Aviv University

get used to the smell

A story about a protein that doesn't feel electric voltage
Young crabs from the laboratory of Prof. Amir Sagi at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. The yellow-green eye shine characteristic of young crabs whose natural environment is yellow-green river water. Credit - Comet rainbow using a stereomicroscope:

The mechanism of light reflection in the eyes of young crabs was discovered

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An international research group led by scientists from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev discovered among a species of crabs a mechanism that produces a unique eye shine that reflects light in a color adapted to the color of the water in their natural environment and thus enables camouflage in different habitats. The research findings were published in the journal Science
Checking the fit of glasses for an elderly woman. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Researchers from Tel Aviv University mapped risk factors for the complex eye disease AMD in the genome

As part of the study, the Ashona researchers were able to identify proteins whose role is essential for the development and activity of the tissue affected by the disease, to precisely locate their location in genomic regions outside of the genes, and to identify the relationship between the changes in these regions and the risk of developing AMD
A robot with a sense of smell. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Robot, do you smell it?

For the first time in the world of science, a robot was able to "smell" using a biological sensor

A one-time look

The institute's scientists created a simulation of the activity of nerve cells in the retina based on eye movements of subjects while trying to identify a whole based on its parts. The recognition of the whole or its non-recognition was characterized by distinct activity patterns in the retina
board and a chalk. Image: depositphotos.com

Things that people know: why do scratching and squeaking sounds hurt us?

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A. Questioner: Why does it hurt us to hear a scratch on a board?
hunger. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The Hunger Games

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The ability to survive without food is one of the great achievements of our biology - but how does it work?
Fruit bat. Photo: depositphotos.com

The unique combination of senses that makes fruit bats excellent navigators even during the day

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Researchers found for the first time that bats navigate during the day using a combination of excellent vision and locating the echoes in their environment
Interaction and contact with the outside world. Illustration: depositphotos.com 2011.

sense of touch

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A powerful combination of engineering, artificial intelligence and brain research may lead to a new era in medicine
In the photo: from the right, Prof. Uri Folat, Dr. Eran Shankar, and Prof. Yossi Mendel. Photo courtesy of those photographed

Eitan Stiva completed the first Israeli biomedical research on the International Space Station

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The experiment tested the changes that occur in the ability to see during space flight. The researchers are Dr. Eran Shanker, Prof. Uri Polat and Prof. Yossi Mendel.
tickling. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Things that people know: why is tickling funny and why can't a person tickle himself?

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Dana asks: Why does tickling make us laugh and why can't we tickle ourselves? Evolution gives an answer to this question as well
A fish drives out of water on the paths of Ben Gurion University. Photo: Shahar Givon and Mattan Semina, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Researchers managed to prove: a goldfish can drive on land

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A research group from the field of life sciences and computer science challenged goldfish to navigate in a terrestrial environment. The results change everything we thought about fish
A lion yawns. Filmed in South Africa. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Things Yorami know: Why is yawning contagious?

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Not only do each of us yawn at least 5 times a day, but almost every vertebrate: mammal, bird and even reptile yawns sometimes. It is likely that a behavior that is zealously guarded throughout the animal world will have a role
A book and equipment used by Arab doctors in the Middle Ages. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Lying with a determined forehead? This technology will expose you

A new development will make it possible to reveal "liars" by movements of the facial muscles
(In the picture: on the left, before illumination with white light, the pupil is clearly visible as a bright circle against the background of the closed eyelid. On the right, after illumination with white light, the pupil has shrunk and the spot of light is correspondingly smaller. During the research, a method for image processing was also developed in order to reconstruct the diameter of the pupil from the two images).

A new technology will allow for the first time the early detection of life-threatening conditions in patients who are in a coma

With the help of an innovative development by university researchers, doctors will for the first time be able to measure the size of the pupil and its response to light even when the eyes are closed: "The development will enable early detection of abnormal parameters and will contribute to saving the lives of patients with severe brain injuries"
A woman and an air conditioner. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The evolutionary reasons why women are colder than men

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The researchers: "The phenomenon is not unique to humans. In many species of mammals and birds, the females prefer warm places, while the males prefer a cooler temperature." The researchers suggest that this is an inherent difference between the temperature sensing systems of the two species, which developed during evolution. The gap creates a spatial separation between males and females, which reduces competition and aggressiveness between couples
Illustration on behalf of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, describing the discovery of the 2021 prize winners. © The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Matthias Karlén

The 2021 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to the discoverers of temperature and touch receptors in the skin

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David Julius and Erdem Patapotian (born in Beirut, Lebanon) discovered the receptors TRPV1, TRPM8 made it possible to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate nerve impulses that allow us to sense and adapt to the world around us
Loss of sense of smell due to corona. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Long, Long Covid: the lack of sense of taste and smell continues in many cases long after recovery from Corona

People look around at a market in Hong Kong. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Researchers who examined the gaze direction of dozens of subjects revealed our amazing ability to search effectively

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A study by researchers from the Hebrew University and the German University of Würzburg, led by Prof. Yoni Pertsov and Uriah Lanker-Dine, found that the human ability to process large parts of the field of vision optimizes the search operation he performs. As a result, the researchers suggest that inter-individual differences in the processing ability of the visual field can explain inter-individual differences in performance in a search task
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