| Diamonds are Forever |
| Doctoral student Ze’ev Shpilman, who is completing his PhD at Technion under the co-supervision of Prof. Alon Hoffman in the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and Dr Joan Adler of the Faculty of Physics, says, “Diamond has many potential applications in space, such as protective coating for optical devices or radiation detectors. But in order to facilitate this, scientists must understand the interactions that take place between materials and the space environment.” Read more |
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| Dr Cell |
| Introducing the medicine of tomorrow, Prof. Marcelle Machluf of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering and the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, has developed a platform for encapsulating engineered stem cells that can reduce the volume of a malignant tumor by 87 percent and decrease its weight by 83 percent. These are special cells: engineered from human mesenchymal stem cells, they can be injected into the body, target a cancerous tumor, and release an anti-cancer drug. Until now, similar methods failed to meet clinical requirements: the cells triggered immune reactions in the host body that prevented system operation. Read more |
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| Sandman |
| Breakthrough research with silicon results in efficient, environmentally friendly battery with infinite shelf life Prof. Yair Ein-Eli from Technion’s Faculty of Materials Engineering has developed an important revolutionary approach to batteries based on silicon-air. There is plenty of silicon available: it is the eighth most abundant element in the universe and the second most plentiful in the earth’s crust. The reaction product silicon oxide can even be reduced back to sand. Thermodynamically, silicon is an attractive fuel for batteries. Furthermore, it is non-toxic and the reaction product silicon oxide can be disposed of safely or used, for example, in building materials. Read more |
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