In the high-stakes world of drug discovery, building a new medicine is a lot like microscopic architecture. To create the next breakthrough antibiotic or brain-targeting therapy, chemists must snap together fragile molecular building blocks. But for decades, one of the most useful chemical pieces has been notoriously stubborn, requiring conditions so harsh they often destroy the very medicine being built. Now, researchers have found a way to pick the lock.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and its Faculty of Medicine proudly congratulate Prof. Avraham (Avi) Rivkind on being awarded the Israel Prize in the category of Lifetime Achievement – Special Contribution to Society and the State.

Researchers have discovered that non-psychoactive cannabis compounds, CBD and CBG, can significantly reduce liver fat and improve metabolic health. The study reveals that these compounds work by creating a backup energy reserve in the liver and restoring the activity of cellular "cleaning crews" to break down harmful waste. These findings highlight a new, plant-based path for treating the world’s most common chronic liver disorder.