Science Professors participate in International Conference on Human and Natural Sciences

Birzeit University Professors from the Faculty of Science, represented by its Dean Khalid Swaileh, Chair of the Chemistry Department Hijazi Abu Ali, and professor of biology and biochemistry Ademar Ezzughayyar, participated in the ninth International Academic Scientific Conference, held recently in Istanbul, Turkey.

The conference, organized by the Arab Middle East Open Access Initiative, talked about the contemporary trends in social, human, and natural sciences, and hosted approximately 167 scholars from the Arab region. It aimed at presenting the views and recent outcomes of high-quality research papers that contribute to the fields of social and natural sciences.

In his paper “Health Risks Associated with the Reuse of Treated Wastewater in Agriculture”, Dr. Swaileh showed how treated wastewater can still contain genotoxins that can affect DNA integrity and cause mutations, calling for genotoxic testing before using treated wastewater in irrigation.

In Dr. Ezzughayyar and Swaileh other presentation on “Archaemoalacology in Palestine: Molluscan Fauna from 2 Archeological Sites (Tell Jenin and Tell Ta’annek)”, they revealed the paleoclimatic during the Bronze age which reflected different patterns of trade exchange, food source, and the use of molluscan shells as artifacts, including their use as ornaments, traditional and ritual activities by the inhabitants of the studies archeological sites.