More Israeli adolescents are experiencing mental distress daily, fewer are experimenting with cannabis, while tobacco use and binge drinking are on the rise, reveals a new World Health Organization (WHO) Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study conducted by Prof. Yossi Harel-Fisch and his research team at the Faculty of Education at Bar-Ilan University, in collaboration with the Israeli ministries of health and education. The study also finds that social media use and screen addiction have increased, which may impact adolescent well-being.

From Hong Kong to Montreal and Toronto, Canada, and from New York to Tennessee, 28 college undergraduates are participating in the 12th annual Summer Science Research Internship Program. A joint Bar-Ilan University-Yeshiva University initiative, the Program enables students to gain hands-on experience in emerging scientific fields while being mentored by Israel's finest scientists.

Congratulations to Prof. Jonathan Ruhman of the Department of Physics at Bar-Ilan University for winning the prestigious “Frontiers of Science” award for 2018-2022. The award, granted at the International Congress for Basic Science in China, ranks the best research papers published in the last five years in the fields of theoretical physics, computer science and mathematics.

Prof. Omry Koren, one of the world's most highly cited microbiology researchers, is the recipient of a European Research Council (ERC) Proof of Concept Grant. Prof. Koren, from Bar-Ilan's Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, is being awarded the Grant for his research into the effects of maternal antibiotic use on offspring behavior.

Congratulations to Prof. Shmuel Feiner, of the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at Bar-Ilan University, on his appointment to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

In a stunning archaeological discovery, a team of researchers from Bar-Ilan University, the Israel Antiquities Authority, and the Israel Cave Research Center have unveiled evidence of long-lost necromancy rituals that might have taken place some 1,700 years ago in the Teomim Cave, nestled in the Jerusalem Mountains. The findings, published in the esteemed Harvard Theological Review, offer a rare glimpse into the mysterious customs of ancient times.

During his visit to Washington, President of the State of Israel Isaac Herzog presented US Vice President Kamala Harris with a solar panel developed by researchers at Bar-Ilan University, in recognition of her advocacy for environmental policy and support of green energy and reducing emissions.