Defense News: ParaZero Secures Two New DefendAir Counter-Drone Deals in NATO and Global Defense Markets

 

ParaZero Secures Two New DefendAir Counter-Drone Deals in NATO and Global Defense Markets

Israeli aerospace firm expands Western European footprint and receives follow-on order from major defense contractor

By Eyal Bouguslavsky, israeldefense.co.il, 01/02/2026

https://www.israeldefense.co.il/index.php/en/node/67673

ParaZero screenshot - official YouTube video

Israeli ParaZero Technologies, an aerospace defense company pioneering smart, autonomous solutions for the global manned and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) market, has reported two additional deals for the supply of its DefendAir Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS).

The first deal was signed with a customer from a NATO country in Western Europe and includes an initial purchase order for DefendAir training kits. The order follows a strategic distribution agreement with a leading Western European distributor, as well as live demonstrations of the DefendAir platform conducted for senior officers from multiple NATO countries.

ParaZero screenshot - official YouTube video

The second deal is a follow-on order from a major global defense corporation for operational net-pods designed to counter a wide range of aerial drone threats. The system provides reliable kinetic interception capabilities while minimizing collateral damage in complex operational environments.

ParaZero CEO Ariel Alon described the Western European deal as a reflection of growing demand for reliable, mission-proven counter-drone technologies amid evolving security challenges. “The company continues to expand its presence in NATO markets, delivering innovative solutions that support operational readiness and national defense priorities,” Alon said.

According to ParaZero, DefendAir is a multi-layered C-UAS solution featuring patented net-launching technology that enables safe interception of hostile drones with minimal collateral damage. The system has demonstrated a 100% interception success rate in multiple field trials and is designed to protect troops, critical infrastructure, and urban environments from evolving unmanned aerial threats.

DefendAir vs Fast Incoming FPV Attack Drone | Operational C-UAS Interception of High-Speed Threats

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Space News: Habitable worlds may be far more common than thought, Israeli study says

Habitable worlds may be far more common than thought, Israeli study says

Published in the peer-reviewed The Astrophysical Journal, the research focuses on tidally locked planets, worlds that always show the same face to their star.

By Pesach Benson/TPS, January 22, 2026

https://www.jpost.com/science/article-884256

Life beyond Earth may exist in far stranger places than scientists once thought, a new study suggests. January, 22.

                                                  (photo credit: SHALEV SHALOM/TPS)

Life beyond Earth may exist in far stranger places than scientists once thought, a new study suggests. Worlds previously dismissed as too hot, too cold, or permanently dark could still host liquid water, the key ingredient for life.

For decades, astronomers have searched for planets in the “habitable zone,” a narrow ring around a star where temperatures allow water to remain liquid. Within the solar system, the habitable zone extends roughly from Earth's orbit to Mars's orbit. Yet many exoplanets now being discovered do not fit neatly into this framework.

Some orbit stars very different from the sun, while others lie far closer or farther from their star than the traditional habitable zone allows.

A new study by Prof. Amri Wandel, an astrophysicist at the Hebrew University, questions the assumptions behind this classical definition. Published in the peer-reviewed The Astrophysical Journal, the research focuses on tidally locked planets, worlds that always show the same face to their star.

One side experiences permanent daylight, while the other remains in eternal night. Until now, the dark side was assumed to be frozen, making it unlikely to support water or life.

An artist's illustration of the six newly discovered planets circling their star in resonance. Image by Roger Thibaut. (credit: NCCR PlanetS)

Wandel’s analysis suggests otherwise. Using a model that tracks temperatures across a tidally locked planet, the study finds that heat from the day side can flow to the night side, keeping some regions warm enough for liquid water. This could occur even on planets orbiting very close to cooler stars, such as M- and K-dwarfs, previously thought too hot for surface water.

Water can exist on dark side of tidally locked planets

“Our results show that liquid water can exist on the dark side of tidally locked planets,” Wandel said. “This expands the environments where life-friendly conditions may exist, well beyond what the traditional habitable zone predicts.”

The research also extends the habitable zone outward. On planets far from their star, once considered too cold, liquid water could survive beneath thick ice sheets in subglacial or intraglacial lakes.

“Planets that appear frozen on the surface could hide liquid water below,” Wandel explained. “These hidden reservoirs could be potential habitats for life, dramatically widening the number of worlds worth investigating.”

The findings also help make sense of recent observations by the James Webb Space Telescope, which detected water vapor and other gases in the atmospheres of warm, close-in Super-Earths orbiting M-dwarf stars, planets previously thought outside the safe range for water.

By challenging the old rules for where life-friendly conditions can exist, Wandel’s study reframes the search for habitable worlds. “The universe may be far more accommodating to life than we’ve imagined,” he said.

Planets once considered too extreme, too hot, too cold, or facing permanent darkness may now be regarded as promising candidates in the hunt for life beyond the solar system. As astronomers continue exploring distant worlds, the findings suggest the cosmic map of potential habitats could be far larger than previously believed. 

The findings could help astronomers focus their search for life by identifying planets that were previously dismissed as too hot, too cold, or permanently dark. By refining models of planetary climates, the study provides a clearer picture of how heat and water might behave on these unusual worlds, improving predictions of which planets could support life. The study may also shed new light on extreme climate dynamics on Earth.

Scientists Discover Planets More Habitable Than Earth

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Archaeology News: Ancient Roman tombs, shrine to Hercules discovered in Rome suburb dig

Ancient Roman tombs, shrine to Hercules discovered in Rome suburb dig

While the tombs and the shrine were found within the modern city's boundaries, they would have been situated outside the ancient walls of Rome.

By Miriam Sela-Eitam, Jerusalem Post, January 25, 2026

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-884500

The two tombs date from the time of Rome's Republic and were found near that city's northeast Via Pietralata.

(photo credit: Italian Culture Ministry, screenshot)

Two Roman Republic-era tombs were discovered during preventive archaeological excavations ahead of an urban planning program near Via Pietralata on the northeastern side of modern-day Rome, the Italian Culture Ministry announced on January 14. 

One of the tombs contained a stone sarcophagus and three cremation urns, while the second contained a male skeleton, which, according to archaeologist Fabrizio Santi, supports the idea that the area was occupied by a wealthy family.

Alongside the two tombs, a shrine believed to be dedicated to the deified Greek hero Hercules, a prominent symbol of protection to the Romans who had been worshiped in the area, was also discovered. 

A stretch of an ancient road and two large "monumental pools" further indicated to archaeologists that the shrine may have belonged to Hercules, according to the ministry's statement.

A shrine believed to belong to the Greek hero Hercules. (credit: Italian Culture Ministry)

Two tombs discovered in Roman suburb

Santi noted that further scientific study is needed to properly understand the function of the pools, and that the two pools may have been connected to "ritual activities or, less likely, productive or water collection."

While the tombs and the shrine were found within the modern city's boundaries, they would have been situated outside the ancient walls of Rome, highlighting the "narrative of archaeological Rome as a sprawling city," according to Italian Special Superintendent Daniela Porro.

"Modern suburbs thus reveal themselves to be repositories of profound memories, yet to be explored," Porro went on, noting the importance of preventative archaeology in urban development as a tool to further knowledge and "appreciation of our heritage."

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Health & Wellness News: 'Zombie' cells may cause common form of epilepsy - study

 'Zombie' cells may cause common form of epilepsy - study

The researchers found that clearing away damaged but undying brain cells (known as zombie cells) in mouse models of epilepsy reduced the number of seizures and improved the rodents’ memory.

By Esther Davis, Jerusalem Post, January 23, 2026

https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-884311

High-resolution 3D illustration of a human neuron with glowing axons and synaptic signals, symbolizing brain activity, 

neuroscience, and neural communication (photo credit: DRMEK/shutterstock)

In a peer-reviewed study published in the Annals of Neurology, researchers found that “zombie” cells may be responsible for a common form of epilepsy.

The study, “Senescent Cell Clearance Ameliorates Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and Associated Spatial Memory Deficits in Mice” was published in December 2025, and studied temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in mice.

The researchers found that clearing away damaged but undying brain cells (known colloquially as zombie cells) in mouse models of epilepsy reduced the number of seizures and improved the rodents’ memory.

These findings could help researchers develop the first disease-modifying medications for TLE.

TLE is the world’s most common seizure disorder, affecting around 50 million people globally, and has previously been treated with medication to treat symptoms through reducing seizures, rather than targeting the root cause. Many patients require brain surgery or nerve-stimulation devices.

                                                                 Brain scans (credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)

The study researched the role of “zombified” cells in epilepsy. Typically, when cells are damaged, they undergo cell death, causing them to self-destruct.

These cells, however, don’t undergo cell death as normal, instead entering a stage called senescence. In senescence, they stop dividing as healthy cells do but refuse to die, earning them the nickname' zombie cells'.

The team noticed that these zombie cells behaved similarly to brain cells at the start of a seizure, leading to tissue scarring known as fibrosis.

TLE-affected brains possess five times as many zombie cells

The researchers searched for signs of zombified cells in TLE-affected brains, comparing brain tissue samples from patients with autopsied samples from people without TLE. Despite the non-TLE group being significantly older than the TLE group, the epilepsy group had, on average, five times as many senescent cells in their tissue samples, according to lead researcher Patrick Forcelli.

The study found that mice with seizures showed more signs of brain senescence than those without seizures. The team then attempted to remove the zombie cells from the mice using a combination of a leukemia-fighting drug and an anti-inflammatory plant.

The treatment, known as a senolytic, reduced the number of senescent cells in the mice’s brains. Trials will need to be carried out to test this treatment combination as a senolytic in humans. 

Removing senescent cells helped reduce, or even eliminate, symptoms in the mice.

"We were able to normalize the memory function of the mice and significantly reduce their seizures,” Forcelli said.

The researchers also noted that targeting senescent cells could benefit the treatment of other conditions, not just TLE.

Clinical trials suggest that up to 70 conditions could be delayed or prevented entirely with senolytics.

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Archaeology News: Human hand outline may be oldest rock art in the world, researchers say

 Human hand outline may be oldest rock art in the world, researchers say

The 67,800-year-old reddish-colored stenciled image has become faded over time and is barely visible on a cave wall, but nonetheless embodies an early achievement of human creativity.

By Reuters, January 22, 2026

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/archaeology-around-the-world/article-884150

THE FAINT image of a hand stencil, a negative outline of a human hand created by placing a hand against a rock wall surface and spraying pigment paint around it, that has been dated to 67,800 years ago, in a limestone cave called Liang Metanduno on Muna.

(photo credit: Maxime Aubert/Handout via REUTERS)

The painted outline of a human hand inside a cave on the Indonesian island of Muna represents what researchers are calling the oldest example of rock art in the world, created at least 67,800 years ago.

The reddish-colored stenciled image has become faded over time and is barely visible on a cave wall, but nonetheless embodies an early achievement of human creativity as our species spread worldwide after arising in Africa. The people responsible for this rock art, the researchers said, were part of a population that made its way from mainland Asia to the islands of Indonesia, and later may have continued on to Australia.

The hand stencil was discovered in a limestone cave called Liang Metanduno on Muna, a satellite island off the southeastern peninsula of the large island of Sulawesi east of Borneo. The researchers determined the minimum age of the image by analyzing small amounts of the element uranium in mineral layers that gradually formed atop the pigment.

The image and others like it that were discovered were made by blowing pigment over a hand placed against the rock wall, the researchers said.

"The oldest hand stencil described here is distinctive because it belongs to a style found only in Sulawesi. The tips of the fingers were carefully reshaped to make them appear pointed," said Maxime Aubert, a specialist in archaeological science at Griffith University in Australia who helped lead the research published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.

RESEARCHER MAXIME Aubert examines an ancient cave painting in a limestone cave called Liang Metanduno on Muna, a small satellite island off the southeastern peninsula of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, in this photograph released on January 21, 2026. (credit: Ahdi Agus Oktaviana/Handout via REUTERS)

"It was almost as if they were deliberately trying to transform this image of a human hand into something else - an animal claw perhaps. Clearly they had some deeper cultural meaning but we don't know what that was. I suspect it was something to do with these ancient peoples' complex symbolic relationship with the animal world," said Griffith University archaeologist and study co-author Adam Brumm.

The hand stencil is older than a cave painting depicting three human-like figures interacting with a pig dated to at least 51,200 years ago at the Leang Karampuang site in southwestern Sulawesi. It also is older than rock art in the form of a hand stencil at Maltravieso in Spain that dates to around 64,000 years ago and has been attributed to Neanderthals.

While the newly described image was barely discernible, the researchers found nearly identical images in much better shape elsewhere in the area, showing that this design was not a one-time creation. In earlier research in Sulawesi, the researchers also documented images of human figures with animal features, dated to at least 48,000 years ago.

Liang Metanduno hand stencil gives clues on Homo sapiens settlement of Australia

The researchers said the Liang Metanduno cave is a tourist site, usually visited for its large and more recent paintings. Those are attributed to Austronesian-speaking farmers who first appeared in the region around 4,000 years ago.

The scientists said their discovery of the age of the Liang Metanduno hand stencil may provide insight into how and when Australia came to be settled by Homo sapiens. They said it is probable that the people who fashioned this artwork at Liang Metanduno and around Sulawesi were part of a broader population that later would spread through the region and eventually reach Australia.

"For many years, scientists have debated when and how the first people reached Australia. One idea is called the 'short chronology.' This suggests that people arrived in Australia around 50,000 years ago. This view was supported by many archaeological sites across Australia dated to this time. Earlier genetic studies of Aboriginal Australian and Papuans' DNA also appeared to fit this later arrival," Aubert said.

"Another idea is the 'long chronology,' which proposes that people reached Australia much earlier, around 60,000 to 65,000 years ago," Aubert said.

The newly dated rock art provides the oldest direct evidence of modern humans in the region. And recent genetic research lent support to an earlier arrival time in Australia, closer to 60,000 years ago, Aubert said. 

"Together, the archaeological and genetic evidence now strongly supports the 'long chronology' and shows that the ancestors of Indigenous Australians were moving through Southeast Asia and creating symbolic art as they travelled," Aubert said.

Oldest cave painting of red claw hand could rewrite human creativity timeline

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Defense News: U.S. Military Selects Israeli HERO-90 Loitering Munition for Infantry Forces

 U.S. Military Selects Israeli HERO-90 Loitering Munition for Infantry Forces

Lightweight, precision-guided system enables a single soldier to strike armored and fortified targets autonomously, reflecting growing trust in Israeli defense technology

By Dan Arkin, Israeldefense,co.il, 18/01/2026

https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/67495

        UVision's Hero 90 loitering munition, also known as suicide drone (photo credit: UVISION)

The evolution of the modern battlefield and the growing operational need for autonomous, lethal capabilities for infantry units have led the U.S. military to make a strategic decision to select the HERO-90 loitering munition system.

Photo by uvisionuav.com

Developed by the Israeli company UVision, the system was chosen as part of a rapid acquisition program designed to give soldiers on the ground the ability to strike armored and fortified targets with precision. This represents a paradigm shift in which a single soldier becomes a significant firepower asset, capable of neutralizing heavily armored threats without relying on external artillery or air support, while maintaining high mobility and a low signature.

Photo by uvisionuav.com

Following the report at the end of last September regarding the contract award, a recent update from the defense media outlet Defense Industry Europe confirmed that the American company Mistral, UVision’s strategic partner and the lead for technological integration for the U.S. Department of Defense, announced the system’s selection in the procurement competition.

According to the report, the HERO-90 was chosen as the optimal solution for the U.S. military’s requirements for a lightweight, portable, precision “suicide” munition suited for dynamic missions. The choice reflects the high level of trust the U.S. defense establishment places in Israeli technology, which has proven effective in complex combat scenarios requiring both extended range and focused destructive power.

Attendees examine a Uvision Hero-400 loitering munition at the Mistral Group, Inc. booth at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week for defense companies, in Tampa, Florida, US, May 7, 2024. (credit: Reuters/Luke Sharrett)

The system was carefully designed for simple and rapid operation under stress, carried entirely by a single soldier, and ready to launch in under two minutes. Yoav Banai, Senior Vice President at Mistral, emphasized that the selection of the HERO-90 demonstrates the U.S. military’s focus on portability and uncompromising lethality. He added that the collaboration between the companies ensures U.S. infantry soldiers are equipped with cutting-edge technology, enabling engagement of targets beyond line of sight while retaining the ability to abort missions in real time if conditions change.

The technological superiority of the HERO-90 is evident in its integration of electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) sensors with AI-based processing capabilities. This technology allows for autonomous target detection and tracking while maintaining a “man-in-the-loop” principle to ensure human oversight in firing decisions and prevent collateral damage.

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