🌍 Turning captured CO₂ into valuable chemicals Current CO₂ utilization technologies often require separate capture, purification, and conversion steps, increasing energy use, cost, and complexity. A technology developed by Prof. Eran Edri from the Department of Chemical Engineering at @bengurionu offers a more integrated path. The dual-functional eCatMem platform combines CO₂ capture and electrochemical conversion in a single membrane-based unit, enabling dilute CO₂ streams to be converted directly into formate/formic acid, a valuable industrial feedstock. Experimentally validated results include operation with 10:90 CO₂:N₂ mixtures, approximately 70% Faradaic efficiency for formate production, and direct liquid product generation from captured CO₂. The technology may support future applications in carbon capture and utilization, formic acid production, energy storage, and industrial decarbonization. For more information, review the full technology overview attached in the comments, or contact: bgn@bgu.ac.il #ClimateTech #CarbonCapture #CCUS #CO2Utilization #Electrochemistry #CleanEnergy #Decarbonization #ChemicalEngineering #BenGurionUniversity

🛌 More than snoring: new research links obstructive sleep apnea with changes in skeletal muscle quality. A new study from @bengurionu and @SorokaMed, published in Sleep and Breathing by @SpringerNature, shows a significant association between obstructive sleep apnea and changes in skeletal muscle quality. 🫁 Obstructive sleep apnea affects about 30% of adults. During sleep, the upper airways repeatedly collapse, causing breathing pauses, drops in oxygen levels, and disrupted sleep. While the condition is often associated with snoring, fatigue, concentration difficulties, and cardiovascular or respiratory risks, this study points to another important dimension: its association with skeletal muscle quality, alongside earlier findings linking the condition with reduced bone density. 🩻 The research team analyzed CT scans performed for various medical reasons, allowing them to assess bone density and muscle composition without additional tests or unnecessary radiation exposure. The findings showed that people with obstructive sleep apnea had lower skeletal muscle density and a higher skeletal muscle index than those without sleep apnea. Together, this pattern may reflect changes in muscle composition and quality, rather than simply muscle mass. The study was led by Prof. Ariel Tarasiuk, Director of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Unit at Soroka University Medical Center and a researcher in the Department of Physiology at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, together with Prof. Ilan Shelef, Director of the Imaging Institute at Soroka University Medical Center. The research team included Dr. Sharon Daniel from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Pediatric Division at Soroka University Medical Center, and medical student Samuel Francis. 🦴 The findings build on an earlier study by the same research group, published in Scientific Reports, which found a link between obstructive sleep apnea and decreased bone density. The researchers call for routine integration of bone density and muscle quality assessment into the analysis of existing CT scans, as well as dedicated follow-up and treatment pathways for patients with obstructive sleep apnea. 📰 The study was also covered by @FoxNews (@foxnewshealth) , highlighting the broader public relevance of this research. 🔗Links in the comments. #SleepApnea #MedicalImaging #SkeletalMuscle #PreventiveMedicine #ClinicalResearch #HealthInnovation

💓 Can approved drugs help prevent one of the world's most common heart rhythm disorders? A new study led by Prof. @EtzionYoram and MD-PhD student Or Levi from @bengurionu, published in @escardio, suggests that two widely used drugs, semaglutide and colchicine, may reduce susceptibility to atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common cardiac arrhythmia worldwide. Preventing AF remains a major challenge. The condition develops through a complex process of atrial remodeling, involving inflammation, fibrosis, and electrical changes in the heart. Most current treatments address AF after it develops, while effective preventive approaches are still limited. Using a unique long-term cardiac monitoring platform developed in Prof. Etzion’s laboratory, the team demonstrated that both drugs significantly reduced AF susceptibility in a preclinical model. Notably, semaglutide reduced atrial fibrosis to nearly healthy levels, even in the absence of diabetes or obesity. The study highlights a promising direction: targeting the early biological mechanisms that drive AF, while using advanced monitoring technology to track disease progression over time. This approach could open new opportunities for preventing AF using drugs approved for other indications. Congratulations to Prof. Yoram Etzion, Or Levi, Dr. Gal Tsaban from @soroka_mc, Prof. Avishag Laish-Farkash and Dr. Yana Kakzanov from @AssutaAshdod, Dr. Gideon Gradwohl from @JCT_Lev, Prof. Bernard Attali from @TelAvivUni, and all co-authors and collaborators on this important achievement. The work was supported by the Israel Science Foundation, the @IsraelHeartS, and @bengurionu. This is another example of how academic research can open new paths toward future therapeutic strategies for major unmet medical needs. Link to more technologies in Health & Medical Devices in the comments. #Cardiology #AtrialFibrillation #HeartFailure #DrugRepurposing #MedicalResearch #TranslationalResearch #HealthTech #BenGurionUniversity @

When one peptide can speak to many immune systems. A new computational approach developed by Prof. @TomerHertz of @bengurionu may help address one of the major challenges in T-cell-based vaccine design: creating immune responses that work across genetically diverse populations. T cells do not recognize infected or cancerous cells directly. They recognize peptides presented on the cell surface by HLA molecules, one of the most diverse regions of the human genome, with more than 22,000 known genetic variants. As a result, a peptide that triggers a strong immune response in one person may be invisible to another. Prof. Hertz, together with students Elinor Paar and Liel Cohen-Lavi, and additional researchers from @ljiresearch, developed a computational method known as “Super HLA” to identify 9-amino-acid peptides capable of binding across multiple HLA supertypes. The team began with more than 190,000 candidate peptides, selected 100 for synthesis and laboratory testing in the lab of @SetteLab, and experimentally validated 24 as true “super-binders.” Of these, 21 bound to four or more HLA supertypes, and one bound to 9 out of 12. Published in @PNASNews, the findings open a path toward designing peptides with broad immunological coverage across genetically diverse populations, with potential relevance for cancer vaccines, vaccines against global infectious diseases, and populations that are underrepresented in existing reference datasets. The roots of the idea go back nearly 15 years, to a conversation between Prof. Hertz and Dr. @ChenYanover, then both postdoctoral fellows at @fredhutch in Seattle. As Prof. Hertz notes, good ideas are worth continuing to dig into, even long after the first sketch was written on a whiteboard. This is another example of how computational biology and immunology research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev can open new directions for real-world biomedical innovation. Additional Biotechnology & Bio-Convergence technologies from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the comments. #Immunology #ComputationalBiology #Vaccines #CancerVaccines #TCells #HLA #Bioinformatics #BiomedicalInnovation #PersonalizedMedicine #InfectiousDiseases #Biotechnology #BioConvergence

🌾 This Shavuot, we celebrate the roots of innovation 🌾 From ancient harvest traditions to breakthrough technologies shaping the future of food, agriculture has always been about growth, resilience, and imagination. At @BGN_Tech, we are proud to represent innovations born at @bengurionu that are advancing Agri-food, sustainability, water technologies, AI-driven agriculture, and climate resilience- helping grow more with less, even in some of the world’s most challenging environments. Because today’s “first fruits” are not only grown in the field- they’re also developed in labs, powered by data, and built for a more sustainable future. 🌱 Curious to explore BGN innovations in Agri-food & Water Technologies? Link in the comments 👇 Wishing everyone a happy, innovative, and green Shavuot! 💚 #Shavuot #BGNTechnologies #AgriFood #WaterTech #Sustainability #FoodTech #ClimateTech #Innovation #AgriTech #BenGurionUniversity #FutureOfFood

🦠 Tell me who your microbial neighbours are, and I’ll tell you what role you may play. New research from @bengurionu, recently published in Nature Microbiology by @SpringerNature, reveals that microbes living in communities can sense who is around them and adjust their activity accordingly. Instead of all competing for the same resources, neighbouring microbes may shift toward different functional roles, reducing competition and supporting coexistence within the community. The study, led by Dr. Sarah Moraïs under the supervision of Prof. Itzhak Mizrahi, offers new insight into one of the fundamental questions in microbial ecology: how diverse microorganisms manage to live together in complex environments. This deeper understanding could have important implications for how microbial communities are studied, managed, and eventually engineered across fields such as health, agriculture, food systems, and environmental applications. At @BGN_Tech, we connect breakthrough research from @bengurionu with industry partners looking to explore real-world applications. 🔗 Related Biotechnology & Bio-Convergence technologies from BGU in the comments. #Microbiome #MicrobialEcology #Biotechnology #LifeSciences #AppliedResearch #TechnologyTransfer

🔦 4 things you can do with light and technologies from @bengurionu: 🔹 Improve high-speed optical communication 🔹 Make on-chip optical devices more efficient 🔹 Enhance sensing and imaging systems 🔹 Help secure AI through optical encryption 1 thing you still can’t do: 🤺 Build a lightsaber. 🚀Have an innovative day, and May the 4th be with you. 🔗 Light-, photonics-, and optics-based BGU technologies: links in the comments. @ranmelamed #MayThe4th #StarWars #Photonics #Optics #TechTransfer