Modern life presents us with ample opportunities to feel tense. When we feel tension and experience stress it is usually a normal reaction of our body that fades out when the cause of stress is eliminated. But sometimes the stress persists and become anxiety. According to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, anxiety disorders (such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.) are the most common mental illnesses in the U.S. with 19.1 million (13.3%) of the adult U.S. population (ages 18-54) affected.

For centuries people suffering from one form or another of anxiety disorder were either ignored or treated as mad by the medical establishment. Modern medicine helped by developing drugs that can treat various forms of anxiety disorders fairly well. The problem was that until now the only way to diagnose anxiety disorders was through an examination by a trained psychiatrist. Many people who are reluctant to undergo this examination are left untreated and can continue to suffer for many years. Research conducted by a team of scientists from the Hebrew University hopes to change all that. Professor Hermona Soreq, Dean of the Faculty of Science, who led the Hebrew University team, took it upon herself to find the biological basis of anxiety.

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