News Releases
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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.
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Exploring the Physical World
Israel’s First Moon Mission Will Conduct Scientific Measurements
After an enterprise lasting nearly a decade, the Israeli unmanned Moon mission “Beresheet” (“Genesis” in Hebrew) will soon take off from Earth, bound for the Moon’s rocky surface. Prof. Oded Aharonson of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences is head of the international science team, and will be watching closely as the craft approaches the Moon and initiates the scientific part of the mission, which will start well before touchdown.
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Improving Health & Medicine
All Too Human
Prof. Rony Paz of the Weizmann Institute of Science suggests that our brains are like modern washing machines – evolved to have the latest sophisticated programming, but more vulnerable to breakdown and prone to develop costly disorders. He and a group of researchers recently conducted experiments comparing the efficiency of the neural code in non-human and human primates and found that, as the neural code gets more efficient, the robustness that prevents errors is reduced. Their findings, which appeared in Cell, may help to explain why disorders as ADHD, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and even autism are common in humans.
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Protecting Our Planet
Plants Blink: Proceeding with Caution in Sunlight
Plants have control mechanisms that resemble those in human senses. According to a new Weizmann Institute of Science study, plants adjust their photosynthesis to rapid light changes using a sophisticated sensing system, much in the way that the human eye responds to variations in light intensity. This sensory-like regulation operates at low light intensities, when the photosynthesis machinery is most efficient but also most vulnerable to sudden light increases.
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Enriching Education
Israeli and Czech Scientists Join Forces in Advancing Drug Discovery
To expand the ties between the Israeli and Czech scientific communities, their countries are developing new forms of collaboration among talented young scientists. One such project is the “Joint Prague-Weizmann Winter School on Drug Discovery.” This intensive week of professional lectures is attended by more than 120 scientists and students from around the world. The project provides a unique opportunity for young Israeli and Czech researchers to meet and discuss the latest trends and challenges in drug development, as well as to meet with world leaders in academia and experts from such multinational pharmaceutical giants as MSD, Roche, and Astra Zeneca.
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Exploring the Physical World
Saturn’s Atmosphere Proves Deep, Its Rings Young
Grand Finale was the official name of Cassini’s last act: a risky orbit between Saturn’s rings and atmosphere in a daring attempt to view the planet up close, just before going down in flames. Prof. Yohai Kaspi and Dr. Eli Galanti of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences led one of the studies on Cassini’s final mission: revealing the depth of Saturn’s jet streams ‒ the strongest measured in the Solar System, with winds of up to 1,500 km (about 932 mi) per hour ‒ and found them to reach a depth of around 9,000 km (about 5,600 mi). Teaming up with research partners in Italy and the U.S., their study also helped reveal the age of the planet’s iconic rings. The findings of these studies were published in Science.
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Improving Health & Medicine
The Immune System’s Fountain of Youth
Drug treatment eliminates senescent cells from tissues of old mice. The blue staining shows senescent cells in lung and liver tissue. The amount of the staining is significantly reduced following the drug treatment
If only we could keep our bodies young, healthy, and energetic, even as we attain the wisdom of our years. New research at the Weizmann Institute of Science suggests this dream could be at least partly obtainable in the future. The results of this research, led by Prof. Valery Krizhanovsky and Dr. Yossi Ovadya in the Department of Molecular Cell Biology, were recently published in Nature Communications. -
Protecting Our Planet
CT for Clouds: A Fleet of Micro-Satellites Will See Into the Smallest Clouds
Ten satellites, each around the size of a shoebox, are slated in a few years to enter orbit and begin filling in some gaping holes in our understanding of clouds and their role in climate. Inspired by medical CT (computed tomography), which observes and maps patients’ interiors, the designers are creating a system that will reveal detailed images of clouds’ external and internal 3D structures and properties. By probing small cloud fields that are generally missed by today’s remote-sensing technologies, the mission may resolve some major uncertainties that limit current atmospheric modelling and climate prediction.
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Improving Health & Medicine
The Importins of Anxiety
According to some estimates, up to one in three people around the world may experience severe anxiety in their lifetime. In a study published in Cell Reports, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have revealed a previously unknown mechanism underlying anxiety. Targeting this biochemical pathway may help develop new therapies to alleviate the symptoms of anxiety disorders.
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Improving Health & Medicine
The Weizmann Institute of Science Establishes the Dr. Barry Sherman Institute for Medicinal Chemistry
In an effort to advance basic research insights for the benefit of therapeutic discoveries, the Weizmann Institute of Science is establishing the Dr. Barry Sherman Institute for Medicinal Chemistry, thanks to a major gift from the Sherman family.
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Fighting Cancer
Profiling a Killer in Warm Blood
Cancer arises when cells lose control. Deciphering the “blueprint” of cancer cells – outlining how cancer cells hijack specific pathways for uncontrolled proliferation – will lead to more efficient ways to fight it. Now, in a joint effort, scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science and clinicians from major hemato-oncology departments in Israel have successfully created detailed profiles of myeloma cancer in both pre-cancer stages, in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients, as well as post-treatment and relapse. These detailed blueprints will help in future precision diagnosis and treatment of this disease.
