About Us
Founded in 1944, the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science develops philanthropic support for the Weizmann Institute in Israel, and advances its mission of science for the benefit of humanity.
New Scientist reports on research showing that the Australian fires “led to record aerosol levels over the southern hemisphere.” Prof. Ilan Koren and Dr. Eitan Hirsch (Israel Institute for Biological Research) conducted the study.
March 18, 2021
A year into Covid-related shutdowns, we are seeing a host of devastating impacts unrelated to the illness itself. One of these is hunger.
Food insecurity – lack of consistent access to sufficient, nutritious food – was a major public-health concern before the pandemic. Climate change’s extended droughts, destructive fires and storms, and rising waters are wiping out resources in many areas, notably India and Africa. Poverty is another contributing factor, particularly in cities with “food deserts” where it is hard to find fresh fruit and vegetables and other healthy options. (Interestingly, the World Bank reports that “children who are properly nourished during the first 1,000 days of their lives are 33% more likely to escape poverty as adults.”)
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 17, 2021—To observe how a tiny ball of identical cells on its way to becoming a mammalian embryo first attaches to an awaiting uterine wall and then develops into the nervous system, heart, stomach, and limbs: This has been a highly sought-after grail in the field of embryonic development for nearly 100 years. Now, Prof. Jacob Hanna of the Weizmann Institute of Science and his group have accomplished this feat. The method they created for growing mouse embryos outside the womb during the initial stages after embryo implantation will give researchers an unprecedented tool for understanding the development program encoded in the genes, and may provide detailed insights into birth and developmental defects as well as those involved in embryo implantation. The results were published in Nature.
March 17, 2021
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 17, 2021—Cancer immunotherapy may get a boost from an unexpected direction: bacteria residing within tumor cells. In a new study published in Nature, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science and their collaborators have discovered that the immune system “sees” these bacteria and shown that they can be harnessed to provoke an immune reaction against the tumor. The study may also help clarify the connection between immunotherapy and the gut microbiome, explaining the findings of previous research showing that the microbiome affects the success of immunotherapy.
March 17, 2021
The New York Times reports on Prof. Jacob Hanna’s recent breakthrough: growing embryonic mice outside a uterus. The work could shed light on birth defects, reduce need for animal research, and more.
March 17, 2021
The Jerusalem Post covers findings by a team under Prof. Yardena Samuels showing that certain peptides alert the immune system to cancer cells, an approach that could improve immunotherapy and help clinicians better target the cancer.
March 17, 2021
Prof. Ido Amit and team found “30 genes that seem to be responsible” for treatment resistance in multiple myeloma. This could “help lead to more informed, personalized treatment for patients,” says The Jerusalem Post.
February 28, 2021
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—February 25, 2021—Around 2.5 billion years ago, our planet experienced what was possibly the greatest change in its history: According to the geological record, molecular oxygen suddenly went from nonexistent to becoming freely available everywhere. Evidence for what is called the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE) is clearly visible – for example, in banded iron formations containing oxidized iron. The GOE is, of course, what allowed oxygen-using organisms – including, eventually, us – to evolve. But was it indeed a “great event” in the sense that the change was radical and sudden, or were organisms that were alive at the time already using free oxygen, just at lower levels?
February 25, 2021
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—February 24, 2021—Following the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) and the United Arab Emirates’ Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in September 2020, the two institutions have announced the establishment of the WIS-MBZUAI Joint Program for Artificial Intelligence Research. The new program will promote collaborative initiatives in fundamental artificial intelligence (AI) research and will explore AI applications in domains such as healthcare, genomics, and more.
February 24, 2021
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