YEDA Research and Development Company LTD., the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science, today announced it has entered into a license agreement with Adobe Systems Incorporated related to a bidirectional similarity measure to summarize visual data. The bidirectional similarity method developed by Prof. Michal Irani and Drs. Denis Simakov, Yaron Caspi and Eli Shechtman of the Institute’s Computer Science and Applied Mathematics Department is a technique for summarizing visual data – both still images and video. Rather than cropping or scaling down an image to obtain a smaller thumbnail, or clipping a video segment, the method produces a complete and coherent visual summary: a smaller or shorter version of the original that retains the most relevant information. The bi-directionality of the method ensures that the resulting image is visually coherent: In addition to telling the same “story,” it is as visually pleasing as the original. As opposed to cropping or clipping, in which important information can be lost; or scaling down, in which resolution is lost, summarizing manages to maintain both relevant information and resolution details, despite the decrease in size. The method is based on eliminating redundant information from the image/video. Video summarization works in a similar way, only the program exploits redundancy in space-time. Gradual resizing and rechecking ensures that the final result is seamless and coherent. In addition to summarizing images and videos, the method may have a number of other applications, including completing missing parts in images/videos; creating montages out of separate images; photo reshuffling (in which elements may be moved around the image/video); automatic cropping; image synthesis (in which an image might be expanded, rather than summarized); and image morphing (generating a video sequence displaying a smooth transition from one image to another, possibly unrelated, image). Prof. Michal Irani’s research is supported by the Citi Foundation. Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd. is the Technology Transfer Company of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Yeda markets and commercializes intellectual property created in the Weizmann Institute laboratories.

TEL AVIV, Israel, June XX, 2011 – Abbott and Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd., the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS), have signed a three-year agreement in which Abbott will fund research programs at the Weizmann Institute of Science in selected health care fields. The collaboration will explore scientific opportunities in pharmaceutical discovery, biomarker identification for targeted drug therapies, and advances in diagnostic technologies. “The Weizmann Institute and Abbott combined have dedicated nearly 200 years to improving lives through innovations in science and technology, and this collaboration is intended to further advance our shared goal,” said Edward L. Michael, executive vice president, diagnostics products, Abbott. Yeda is actively seeking commercial partners to bring technologies of the Weizmann Institute of Science to the marketplace, according to Dr. Ruth Ben Yakar, Chief Business Officer of Yeda. Such partnerships have already yielded dozens of products currently on the market. "Appreciating the synergism that can rise from strategic collaborations between WIS scientists and global science-based companies such as Abbott, we welcome Abbott to join forces and promote the development of novel pharmaceuticals and advanced diagnostic tools," Dr. Ben Yakar said.

Celebrate With Us The 10th Anniversary of The ILSI-BioMed Conference It is our honor and pleasure to invite you to participate in ILSI-Biomed 2011 Conference to be held May 23-25, 2010 in Tel-Aviv. The conference is a meeting place for industry and academia from Israel and abroad. Exuberance is felt everywhere: lectures and exhibition halls and partnership meetings. International visitors come to hear about and witness the various innovations, and experience first hand the entrepreneurial spirit so strongly exhibited within the vibrant Israeli life science community

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and France Telecom (Orange Labs R&D) have agreed to collaborate on research applying "location theory" to determine the optimal placement of their Internet routers, which will enhance services like video streaming. Location theory uses complex algorithms and reams of statistical data to reach an optimal resolution of a problem. Prof. Michael Segal, of the BGU Department of Communication Systems Engineering is one of only a few researchers worldwide who have attempted to apply this theory to communications networks. The placement of routers is critical for customer satisfaction. For example, if a router is placed too far from a customers' homes then service might not be adequate. According to Prof. Michael Segal, "We will look at factors such as user demand, historical use in particular neighborhoods - whether there was heavier use in the morning or evening. The question is: where is the best place to position the routers to improve the performance of the network?" France Telecom and BGU signed a general cooperation agreement last year. The location theory contract is the first specific project to emerge from that agreement.

The Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy International Conference and Exhibition is among the world’s leading platforms for presenting technological innovation, business opportunities, policies and implementation in the renewable energy field. The conference brings together thousands of participants from all over Israel and abroad. During the conference, engaging meetings take place that lead to tangible results in the field. The previous conferences have established this event as the leading Renewable Energy conference in Israel, as well as a conference of global significance. Come and see how Israel is becoming serious about Renewable Energy! To be launched and announced at the conference: * Israeli government comprehensive 10 year initiative to boost alternative fuels and mobile power R&D in Israel * NIS 2.2 billion national plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. * Capital Nature, Israel’s renewable energy technology center, a government backed investment power house. * Utility scale solar power feed-in tariff and regulation, opening the door to the 150MWp Timna solar park. * EUREKA Israeli Chairmanship Clean Tech Action plan. * Israel’s first 5MWp solar farm in the Arava region. Be there to witness a universe of opportunities that is opening for you! Keynote speaker Dan Arvizu, the Director and Chief Executive of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) February 22-24, 2011 • Save the date!

BEER-SHEVA, Israel; October 7, 2010 — The Arava group, initiated by the Eilat-Elot municipality and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), recently won a tender from the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor to establish and operate a technology center for renewable energy in the south of the country. The government of Israel and the group will each invest half of $30 million (114 million Shekels) over a five-year period. BGU, represented by BGN Technologies, the University's technology transfer company, has joined the group commitment to invest in the long-term development of industry in the region.

Hadasit offers comprehensive customized preclinical professional services to the domestic and international biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device industries at Hadassah.