With less than 10% of the world’s plastic being recycled, Dr. Lianet Noda-Garcia is taking a different approach. Mimicking evolutionary processes in her lab, she’s working to engineer bacteria that are capable of digesting or breaking down plastic. Ultimately, she hopes to clean up decades worth of plastic debris from our planet. Dr. Lianet Noda-Garcia is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology.
Gabriel Mulero came all the way to Hebrew University from Nigeria to study the future of food – specifically wheat. His doctoral research employs advanced remote sensing technology, which he uses to gain a glimpse into the inner workings of plants, gaining valuable insights that will ensure an adequate food supply for a warming planet. Gabriel Mulero is a doctoral student in the Department of Soil and Water Sciences at Hebrew University.
As the world is changing – how are we protecting nature? In this HUJI Bite, Dr. Niv DeMalach from Hebrew University’s Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture finds the answers in a box. Dr. Demalach places different plants in large containers and examines how they interact. Whether the plant communities become increasingly similar or increasingly diverse indicates how they will behave when faced with diversity in nature. Looking at statistics from around the world, using big data we can better understand how plants thrive in different conditions.
Throughout her career, Dr. Maayan Salton, from Hebrew University's Faculty of Medicine, was always fascinated with genetics - and especially how our genes create RNA to later translate to proteins. On this episode of HUJI Bites, Dr. Salton describes how her lab studies RNA and the process of editing, particularly as it relates to individuals with autism spectrum disorder, and how the genetic information that passes from our genes make us who we are.
Spring is in the air! And while, weatherwise, this season can be a bit unpredictable, it’s the perfect time to get outdoors and get moving! But exercise can be particularly difficult if you are suffering with osteoarthritis – the most common form of arthritis that mainly affects joints in your hands, knees, hips and spine. On this episode of HUJI Bites, Prof. Mona Dvir-Ginzberg of the Faculty of Dental Medicine, talks about what she is doing in her lab to combat the degenerative effects of this joint disease and how cartilage plays a prominent role in this process.
