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Wearable health monitoring devices are among the most exciting scientific developments. Technology capable of tracking vital signs, activity, fitness, and sleep quality such as in the Apple Watch and Fitbit already have the potential to encourage healthier lifestyles and even save lives. Over the past several years, these devices have been instrumental in alerting a number of users of abnormal heart rates, driving them to seek immediate medical attention, and ultimately saving them from life-threatening conditions. In at least one case, unusual Fitbit data eventually led to the discovery of an early pregnancy.

Amnon Shashua and Ziv Aviram, the founders of Mobileye, one of Israel’s biggest companies acquired by Intel for $15.3 billion for its groundbreaking vision-based driver-assistance system, have also been advancing another vision-based assistive product, which Aviram told Reuters earlier this year “has the potential to be even bigger.”

Prolonged stress, such as that experienced during military conflict, can have an adverse impact on sperm quality, according to a new study by researchers at BGU and Soroka University Medical Center.

US aerospace company and airplane manufacturer Lockheed Martin, the maker of the F-35 stealth fighter jet, is opening a science- and tech-focused preschool in Jerusalem, the Jerusalem municipality announced (Hebrew) last week.

Six “astronauts” have entered a structure designed by Technion students in order to simulate life on Mars. The building was erected near the town of Mitzpeh Ramon as a first step in the establishment of a space simulation center.

Theoretical and experimental results demonstrate a new insight for optimizing rTMS, one of the common non-invasive magnetic brain stimulation therapies used to treatbrain disorders such as depression and neuropathic pain.

The children of mothers exposed to terror attacks during pregnancy are 2.5 times more likely to develop schizophrenia than mothers not to exposed to terror during pregnancy. This was the finding of a comprehensive study undertaken at the University of Haifa. “It is possible that the psychosocial stress of terror attacks in the mothers occurred during a critical period of fetal brain development. Insults during such a critical period of neurodevelopment were so potent that years later the risk of schizophrenia increased.” explained Prof. Stephen Levine, one of the authors of the study.

Over the last 30 years, 50% of the world's coral reefs have suffered significant damage due to climate change and acidification with the last three being the worst in reefs recent history. Major coral bleaching events, which transpire when water temperatures are too high, have occurred in the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean and parts of the Red Sea.

A new Tel Aviv University study identifies a previously unknown mechanism involved in the development of Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The research focuses on a specific microRNA whose levels were found to decrease as a result of ALS-causing muscular mutations. The study highlights, for the first time, the importance of toxic muscle-secreting molecules in the pathology of ALS.

Thirteen miles (20 km) outside Tel Aviv and 49 feet (15 meters) below ground, Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) medical service is quietly building a $100 million facility set to become part of the country’s national defense strategy against war, natural disasters, missile threats, and state emergencies, with the capability to operate normally even under direct threats.

In a country of just 9 million people, Israel has quickly become one of the world’s true scientific powerhouses. The country ranked 10th in this year’s Bloomberg’s Innovation Index, ahead of the United States, and Israeli innovations in fields ranging from water desalination to cybersecurity to clean energy have been hailed as having transformative power around the world.

Israeli students have developed a special system designed to identify wildfires at an early stage before they spread, preventing damage and even saving lives.