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.
“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.
June 19, 2019
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.
June 04, 2019
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.
April 29, 2019
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.
April 08, 2019
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?”
March 27, 2019
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.
March 20, 2019
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.
March 19, 2019
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.
March 17, 2019
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.
March 14, 2019
©2020 American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science