Israel Active

Israel’s SCIO (see previously) has launched the Mini 2 - the 2nd generation of the world’s first pocket spectrometer. It analyses the content of corn (ear, shelled or sweet corn). It is vital for US agriculture, to aid harvest, storage, and field management decisions. It also scans cheese.

Israel and the US are to create a joint science center for artificial intelligence and quantum innovation at an investment of $200 million. The center will serve as a hub to promote technology-driven cooperation and diplomacy with Gulf countries in AI and quantum science.  

Israeli scientists previously proved that plants emit sounds and listen to bees (see ). Further studies show that female moths decide whether to lay their eggs on specific plants depending on the sounds that they emit.

Israel’s PoLoPo (see previously) has tripled the protein content of potatoes. But the taste is just as good – as this video test shows.

Israeli preschoolers who start early outperform peers, especially in religious schools. The researchers suggest that these differences might stem from Israel’s larger socio-economic and cultural-linguistic gaps compared to the leading nations.

The 8th annual Hack.Her.It competition, organized by the Schreiber LevTech Entrepreneurship Center at JCT, brought together 136 Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jewish women to create Tech solutions to challenges.

Tel Aviv University Professor Michael Belkin, at 83, received the "Visionary Award" from the American Glaucoma Research Foundation and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the MIXiii conference. He invented the Belkin Eagle (glaucoma treatment) and sold Belkin Vision for $330 million.

Technion graduate Dr Dean Leitersdorf is CEO of Israeli startup Decart (see previously). He is now helping advance AI in Israel by funding millions of shekels for a joint Technion–Decart Excellence Program. They will also establish a joint AI research center.

Israeli researchers have harvested 20kg of Byzantine-era grape varieties, two years after ancient 1,500-year-old grape seeds were planted at a restored vineyard at Avdat National Park in the Negev Desert. They aim to recreate an renowned ancient wine that was once massively exported throughout Europe.

Thanks to the Maimonides Fund’s Future Scientists Center and its partnership with Israel’s Education Ministry, Israeli students soared into the world top ten of the Olympiads in 2025 for Math and Chemistry. Israel came 6th in Math (4 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) and 10th in Chemistry (2 gold, 2 silver).