A joint study by Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the University of Haifa set out to solve a scientific mystery: how a soft coral is able to perform the rhythmic, pulsating movements of its tentacles without a central nervous system. The study’s findings may change the way we understand movement in the animal kingdom in… Read More
Two pioneering studies led by Dr. Omri Bronstein and other researchers of the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University (TAU), have identified the primary drivers of sea urchin mass mortality events over recent decades: pathogens, storms, and extreme temperatures. In addition, Dr. Bronstein and his team have… Read More
A new study from Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at the university detected traces of ten common medications in coral samples collected from both shallow and deep sites in the Gulf of Eilat. Sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic used for respiratory and urinary tract infections, was found in as many as… Read More
A new study from Tel Aviv University (TAU) found that sponges in the Gulf of Eilat have developed an original way to keep predators away. The researchers found that the sponges contain an unprecedented concentration of the highly toxic mineral molybdenum. In addition, they identified the bacterium that enables sponges to store such high concentrations… Read More
An innovative development by a team of Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers allows for the conversion of the wet raw waste that we throw in the trash into liquid and solid biofuels, without the need to dry the waste. The researchers assess that fuels produced from organic waste can meet about a third of Israel’s… Read More
A continuing study from Tel Aviv University (TAU) has found that a deadly epidemic affecting sea urchins discovered last year has spread across the Red Sea and into the Indian Ocean, which has essentially wiped out Eilat’s most abundant and ecologically significant urchins. The researchers say that what appeared at first to be a severe… Read More
Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers participated in a new international study finding that, as a result of global warming, lightning storms have been directly hastening the ongoing process of sea ice retreat covering the Arctic Ocean. Until recently, lightning as a phenomenon was extremely rare in the Arctic region of the North Pole due to… Read More
A new study by Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the University of Colorado (CU) finds that the combination of global warming and extreme heat events, alongside the continued expansion of deforestation in the world, may be devastating for many species of animals, especially those that know how to climb trees. The researchers focused on lizards… Read More