News Releases
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Fighting Cancer
Cancer Protocols: A New Approach to Predicting Treatment Outcomes
Diversity – at least among cancer cells – is not a good thing. Now, research from the Weizmann Institute of Science shows that in melanoma, tumors with cells that have differentiated into more diverse subtypes are less likely to be affected by the immune system, thus reducing the chance that immunotherapy will be effective. The findings of this research, which were published in Cell, may provide better tools for designing personalized protocols for cancer patients, as well as pointing toward new avenues of research into anti-cancer vaccines.
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Improving Health & Medicine
Firework Memories
Extraterrestrial scientists landing in a football stadium would be struck by the sight of the crowd suddenly standing up and shouting in unison. In a similar manner, since the 1990s, researchers have observed a special pattern of neuronal activity in rodents: tens of thousands of nerve cells firing in unison in a part of the brain called the hippocampus. But, like alien scientists, the researchers have not been able to understand the “language” of the rodents’ minds when these mysterious synchronous bursts occurred. Recently, however, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers succeeded in recording these rapid bursts of activity – called “hippocampal ripples” – in the human brain, and were able to demonstrate their importance as a neuronal mechanism underlying the engraving of new memories and their subsequent recall. These findings appeared in Science.
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Exploring the Physical World
Next-Gen Israeli Satellite to Seek Out Cosmic Explosions and Black Holes
Weighing in at just about 160 kg (around 353 lbs), a new type of scientific satellite is planned to be built in Israel over the next four years, with a projected launch date of 2023. The satellite, known as ULTRASAT, will carry a telescope designed to observe the universe as it has never been seen before. The satellite will operate in a range of light that is normally invisible to us – ultraviolet, or UV – and have a very large field of view.
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Improving Health & Medicine
Gut Microbes May Affect the Course of ALS
Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have shown in mice that intestinal microbes, collectively termed the gut microbiome, may affect the course of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. As reported in Nature, progression of an ALS-like disease was slowed after the mice received certain strains of gut microbes or substances known to be secreted by these microbes. Preliminary results suggest that the findings on the regulatory function of the microbiome may be applicable to human patients with ALS.
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Improving Health & Medicine
First Impressions Go a Long Way in the Immune System
First impressions are important – they can set the stage for the entire course of a relationship. The same is true for the impressions the cells of our immune system form when they first meet a new bacterium. Using this insight, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have developed an algorithm that may predict the onset of diseases such as tuberculosis. The findings of this research were published in Nature Communications.
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Culture & Community
Small Institute, Outsized Impact
“Size is not everything,” proclaims a Nature press release today. “Some smaller institutes are punching above their weight.” This statement arises from a new ranking conducted within the framework of the Nature Index 2019 – a normalized ranking that adds a new perspective to the relative contributions of each institute, and has placed the Weizmann Institute of Science in the top three, globally.
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Culture & Community
Weizmann Institute of Science Ranked in Top 25
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 4, 2019— The Weizmann Institute of Science has been ranked among the top 25 research institutes/universities in the world in two main categories by U-Multirank, 2019. This organization named the Institute a Global Top 25 performer in two areas: Top-Cited Publications and Patents Awarded.
This ranking, an initiative of the European Commission since 2014, uses all the information available about hundreds of institutes worldwide and analyses it according to numerous variables to show which leads in five main categories. Each category is assessed independently, according to parameters unique to that category, and they are weighted so as to add a qualitative – rather than just quantitative – dimension to the ranking. The ranking is intended to promote transparency and to aid students in applying to universities for studies and research. -
Fighting Cancer
TOOKAD®, Invented at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Gains European Approval for Prostate Cancer
Steba Biotech, a privately owned company, has, in collaboration with scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science, conducted extensive research and development on the prostate cancer treatment TOOKAD® – and now has received marketing authorization to make it available in 31 European countries. Following this regulatory approval, the first patients are currently being treated in top Israeli, German, English, and Italian medical centers.
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Improving Health & Medicine
New Clinical Study Being Launched at the Weizmann Institute of Science
The project, led by Prof. Eran Segal and his team in the Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics and Department of Molecular Cell Biology, aims to use state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technologies to generate personalized predictions for disease risk factors. The 10K project is a longitudinal study designed to collect lifestyle and clinical data from 10,000 individuals who will be recruited from the Israeli population, and is suitable for Hebrew speakers only.
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Improving Health & Medicine
Same Microbe, Different Effect
Our gut microbiome – the complement of bacteria we carry around in our intestines – has been linked to everything from obesity and diabetes to heart disease and even neurological disorders and cancer. In recent years, researchers have been sorting through the multiple bacterial species that populate the microbiome, asking which of them can be implicated in specific disorders. But a paper recently published in Nature addressed a new question: “What if the same microbe is different in different people?”
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Improving Health & Medicine
Breathe in Before Answering: Cognitive Function Tied to Inhalation
A shot of espresso, a piece of chocolate, or a headstand – all of these have been recommended before taking a big test. The best advice, however, could be to take a deep breath. According to research conducted in the lab of Prof. Noam Sobel of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Neurobiology, people who inhaled when presented with a visuospatial task were better at completing it than those who exhaled in the same situation. The results of the study, which were published in Nature Human Behavior, suggest that the olfactory system may have shaped the evolution of brain function far beyond the basic function of smelling.
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Improving Health & Medicine
South Korea Invests in Weizmann Institute of Science Biomed
Two South Korean concerns have committed to investing a total of $12 million in spinout companies incorporated by Yeda Research and Development Co. Ltd., the technology transfer arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science. The first investment – $2 million by Yozma Group Asia – is in On-Sight Medical Inc., jointly owned by Yeda, New York University (NYU), and related parties. For the second, the Korean group BioLeaders Corporation – in which Yozma Group Asia is an investor – has committed to investing $10 million in a new spinout firm that will develop an anti-cancer therapy developed by Weizmann Institute scientists.
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Exploring the Physical World
Beresheet Lunar Landing Site Revealed
The main scientific instrument on board the Israeli Beresheet spacecraft, the SpaceIL Magnetometer (SILMAG), has now been successfully turned on in space and data returned to Earth. After its successful launch, Beresheet is circling Earth on its journey to the Moon. Prof. Oded Aharonson of the Weizmann Institute of Science is heading the team that is currently analyzing the SILMAG information to evaluate the health and accuracy of the instrument in space, as well as recording the magnetic signature of the spacecraft itself, which will then be subtracted from the measurements made on the Moon.
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Exploring the Physical World
Can an Antifreeze Protein Also Promote Ice Formation?
Antifreeze is life’s means of surviving in cold winters: natural antifreeze proteins help fish, insects, plants, and even bacteria live through low temperatures that should turn their liquid parts into deadly shards of ice. Strangely enough, in very cold conditions, the same proteins can also promote the growth of ice crystals. This was the finding of experiments carried out in Israel and Germany using proteins taken from fish and beetles. The results of this study, recently published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, could have implications for understanding the basic processes of ice formation.
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Improving Health & Medicine
Revealing the Gut’s B-Cell Training Program May Point to New Means of Developing Oral Vaccines
Lymphoid organs in the small intestines. Red: B cells aggregated in the “training centers.” Green: cells with the ability to secrete effective antibodies exiting the centers for the intestinal tissue
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 4, 2019—Only a few vaccines – for example, polio and rotavirus – can be given orally. Most must be delivered by injection. Weizmann Institute of Science researchers suggest this may be, in part, because the “training program” of the immune cells in the gut takes place under harsh conditions. Using a novel imaging method that captures all of the immune cells’ niches within a single organ, Dr. Ziv Shulman and research student Adi Biram investigated the training process for the gut-based cells involved in long-term immunity. Their findings, published in Nature Immunology, provide new insights that may, in the future, lead to the design of more effective oral vaccines. -
Culture & Community
Dancing All the Way to Her Doctorate
Scientists are not generally required to display prowess in modern dance, but Dr. Roni Zohar of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Science Teaching recently showed her moves in an award-winning science/dance video. Her video placed first in the social sciences category of the “Dance Your PhD” contest held by the prestigious journal Science. The competition, now in its 11th year, selects its winners from entries in which PhD students and those who have received their doctorates describe their PhD subjects through dance. It comprises four categories – biology, physics, chemistry, and social sciences – and the winner are selected by a panel of judges that includes scientists and figures from the arts world.
