Why females are more motherly and males more aggressive. Researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have discovered the triggers in the brain that influences motherly instincts and aggressiveness. Nurturing and hostility are instinctively gender-based behaviors controlled by cells, proteins and neurons in the hypothalamus.
Robots for China. As anticipated in a previous (Feb 2013) newsletter, China is working with Israel to develop smarter and better robots. It has just established a Sino-Israeli Robotics Institute at its $2 billion industrial park in the Guangzhou region of China.
Israel’s lunar module. Israel’s SpaceIL unveiled its prototype lunar lander at a ceremony in Jerusalem. The 50 guests included Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Science and Technology minister Ofir Akunis, plus Chanda Gonzales and Bob Weiss, who head up the $20 million Google Lunar XPrize competition.
NASA and Israel sign space cooperation agreement. (TY Michelle) NASA and the Israel Space Agency have signed an agreement to expand cooperation in civil space activities. NASA administrator Charles Bolden said the agreement would enable the US space agency to tap Israeli innovation and technology.
Israel-California Green-Tech Partnership. 170 Israeli and Californian business executives, investors and policymakers gathered at Google Israel’s Tel Aviv headquarters to launch the Israel-California Green-Tech Partnership, a new initiative using Israeli and American expertise to combat California’s drought crisis.
A geothermal partnership. Israeli geothermal energy developer Ormat Technologies is teaming up with Toshiba Power Systems to build geothermal power plants. Ormat’s generators combined with Toshiba’s steam turbines will help launch many new ventures, beginning with the Menengai geothermal project in Kenya.
The best place to surf. Roni Eshel, winner of the 2011 Israeli Women’s Surfing Championships, has designed goFlow – a crowdsourcing app to identify the best surfing locations. Users report beach conditions and the app automatically updates the goFlow server to inform friends or the whole surfing community.
What’s new at WATEC. Israel’s international water conference and exhibition kicked off by focusing on new technologies from Israeli startups. These included Emefcy’s unique SABRE (Spiral Aerobic Biofilm Reactor) solution for wastewater treatment and the leak detection innovations from both Aqua-Rimat and Triple+.
New center for agriculture research. The Israeli Agriculture Ministry’s Volcani Institute has inaugurated the Center for Arid Area Agriculture for the study of desert agriculture and the impact of desertification. The NIS 13 million center will host 14 teams, researching crop protection, plant pests, irrigation and fertilization.
