What governments and militaries have failed to do, scientists are hoping to achieve: Peace in the Middle East.

At the new SESAME International Research Center in Jordan, scientists from nations that have been mired in conflict and hostilities plan to work together on projects that could benefit all societies.

SESAME stands for Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East. The word also refers to the famous phrase "open sesame" (iftaḥ ya simsim in Arabic), the secret command for opening up treasures, made famous in the story Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

But in this case, it is not wealth that SESAME may bring, but common understanding.

The project is backed by several Arab nations, as well as Turkey, Pakistan, Cyprus, Iran and even Israel. The latter two participants stand out, due to Iran’s vow to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, and Israel’s desire to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities. The collaboration among the scientists of these feuding nations even comes against a backdrop of jailing and assassinations of Iranian scientists, two of whom had been participants in SESAME.

Around 2015, SESAME’s synchrotron light source—using energy from the accelerated electrons that it generates—will be used like a giant microscope by researchers to study everything from viruses to new drugs to novel materials. This synchrotron is one of only 60 that exist in the world, and the first to be used in the Middle East.

Professor Eliezer Rabinovici, a physicist from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told the BBC News that the project is “a beacon of hope for many people in the area who dare to believe” that life in the region can be improved.

“We are having a rough period now—a very rough period—and it may become even rougher,” he added. “But I think that as scientists, we have to look at the long range, and in the long range we see no conflict of interest between the people of Iran and the people of Israel.”

Remarked Palestinian scientist Dr. Jamal Ghabboun, "What we hope is that science will open the door to further understandings concerning other issues…doors that [have been] closed for years or centuries."

-Noel Brinkerhoff, Danny Biederman

To Learn More:

Inside the world’s most ‘impossible’ science project (by David Shukman, BBC News)

Sesame synchrotron is a flash of unity in Middle East (by David Shukman, BBC News)

SESAME Website