From addiction to everyday decision-making, impulsivity shapes much of our behavior. A new study reveals how dopamine, reward size, and learned expectations combine to push us toward premature actions—even when we know better. By showing that impulsivity rises with the value of anticipated rewards, the research offers a new framework for understanding why we sometimes sabotage our own best interests.

Prof. Elisheva Baumgarten, a leading scholar in the social and religious history of the Jews of medieval northern Europe (1000–1350), has been elected Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the Hebrew University. Her work focuses on the social history of Jewish communities in medieval urban centers, with particular attention to the daily interactions between Jews and Christians. She is especially committed to uncovering the lives of those absent from written sources, with a special interest in women and gender hierarchies.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is proud to announce its participation in RobustifAI, a groundbreaking Horizon Europe research consortium dedicated to strengthening the reliability and robustness of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) technologies. The project officially commenced on June 1, 2025, with a total budget of €9.3 million and a projected duration of 36 months.

A new study finds extreme heat reduces milk production by up to 10 percent and adding cooling technologies only offsets about half of the loss. 

Despite these challenging times, two universities remain steadfast in the commitment to curing one of the world’s most deadly diseases.

A new study finds that people value empathy more when they believe it comes from a human—even if the actual response was generated by AI. Across nine studies involving over 6,000 participants, the research reveals that human-attributed responses are perceived as more supportive, more emotionally resonant, and more caring than identical AI-generated responses.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is proud to announce that Prof. Eran Meshorer has been elected as a member of EMBO, a prestigious European organization recognizing exceptional research leaders in life sciences across Europe and beyond.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced today (Monday) that Prof. Tamir Sheafer has been elected as its next president. The decision was approved by the University's Executive Committee and Board of Governors. Prof. Sheafer, who currently serves as the university’s rector, will assume the presidency in October 2025, succeeding Prof. Asher Cohen, who will complete two four-year terms in the role.

In the windswept steppe of northeastern Mongolia, archaeologists have unearthed a rare window into daily life along the medieval frontier of the Liao Empire. Excavations at a remote garrison site revealed thousands of animal bones—evidence of herding, hunting, fishing, and a harsh environment—offering a ground-level view of survival far from the imperial centers recorded in history books. The findings challenge traditional accounts by illuminating the lives of soldiers and civilians who lived not in palaces, but along the empire’s long and lonely wall.