Category: Science and Health

Problems with our eyesight are troubling, but most of the time they are neither dangerous nor urgent. Not so for problems with the retina, however, because they can do real damage and even lead to blindness. Dr. Avi Ohayon, senior retina and cataract surgeon in the eye department at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov […]

Why does some poop float and roll around in the toilet, while other poop sinks easily? Here’s an answer, albeit incomplete. IFLScience, a UK-based science website, states that for years, scientists didn’t know why some pieces of stool float while others immediately sink to the bottom of the toilet.  Theories have suggested that increased fat […]

The lead-up to Hanukkah may be my favorite time of year. Mostly because my number one way of celebrating is to spot the awkward decorative efforts to include Hanukkah in Christmas displays.  You know the type: it’s a tiny Star of David decal in shop windows or the special dreidel page in your kid’s coloring […]

Swedish start-up Acorai won the ICI conference for innovation in cardiology in Tel Aviv with its new innovation: A smart stethoscope that can help diagnose heart problems. The firm was one of 64 start-ups to take part in the competition featuring medical innovation start-ups from around the world, though around 40% of them were Israeli. […]

Human sex has long been decided by the X and Y chromosomes – females are born with two X chromosomes, whereas males are born with one X and one Y chromosome. That future might be at risk as Y chromosomes continue to gradually disappear across different mammal species, a new study found. The study, which […]

With a week of upcoming family gatherings for Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s the combination of a cold and rainy winter, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and the flu, the Health Ministry urges the public to take measures to protect themselves and those around them. Prof. Salman Zarka, the coronavirus project manager, said in an […]

I have an ongoing debate with some friends: If someone brings a box of flavored donuts into work and you want to try them all but you don’t want to eat seven whole donuts, it seems reasonable to start dividing the donuts and serving yourself fractional portions. But what’s the smallest fraction you can take […]

The fifth chapter of Nedarim begins on page 45b with the following mishnah: Partners who vowed not to derive benefit from one another are prohibited from entering a courtyard (that they jointly own). Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov says: It is permitted, as this one enters into his own portion and that one enters into his […]

Nerves in the human nervous system can stretch only up to 30 percent without tearing or being permanently damaged. But the female locust, which digs deep into the ground to lay her eggs in a safe place is able to extend her abdomen, including the nervous system, to two to three times its size – […]

Today’s daf continues the Talmud’s discussion of how declaring things ownerless works. We learned yesterday that the rabbis thought one could declare something ownerless and have it legally become ownerless, while Rabbi Yosei insisted that something cannot actually be ownerless. In his view, objects remain legally in the possession of their original owner until claimed […]