The University will be closed tomorrow, Friday, February 20th 2015, due to the expected extreme weather conditions, as roads may be blocked or icy.   All exams and classes are cancelled tomorrow.…

For the first time, grape seeds from the Byzantine era have been found. These grapes were used to produce “the Wine of the Negev” - one of the finest and most renowned wines in the whole of the Byzantine Empire. The charred seeds, over 1,500 years-old, were found at the Halutza excavation site in the Negev during a joint dig by the University of Haifa and the Israel Antiquities Authority. “The vines growing in the Negev today are European varieties, whereas the Negev vine was lost to the world. Our next job is to recreate the ancient wine, and perhaps in that way we will be able to reproduce its taste and understand what made the Negev wine so fine,” said Prof. Guy Bar-Oz of the University of Haifa, director of the excavation.

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A first of its kind genetic study confirms the history of the Druze community: The community began to form genetically in the 11^th century AD, and there has since been no genetic impact of other ethnic groups on the community. This is according to a new study conducted by a team of researchers led by Prof. Gil Atzmon of the Department of Human Biology at the university, Prof. Jamal Zidan of the Ziv Medical Center, Zefat, and Prof. Eitan Friedman of the Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer. “This is the first genetic study to discover that the Druze community has genetic origins in the 11^th century AD,” said Professor Atzmon. This genetic finding correlates with the Druze community’s beliefs regarding their origin.

University news and updates at a glance