The New York Times Sunday Review’s cover story was about Profs. Eran Elinav and Eran Segal and their algorithm-based method of analyzing the gut microbiome to create a custom diet. Author and cardiologist Eric Topol, who was tested by the scientists, discusses what AI means for nutrition.
March 02, 2019
In the second episode of Weizmann in Focus, CEO Dave Doneson discusses how the Institute’s plant scientists are tackling the challenge of global food security. These innovative researchers are figuring out how plants can better resist drought, provide higher-quality nutrition, and more. Dave spotlights a breakthrough by Prof. Jonathan Gressel, who discovered a method of killing a parasitic weed that was destroying corn crops in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal reports on a new finding from Prof. Ron Milo and team, who have revealed that rubisco, the most abundant protein on Earth, is even more abundant than expected. This is important because rubisco fixes carbon, thus playing a role in climate change.
February 25, 2019
“The techniques coming out of AI — and, more broadly, machine learning — are becoming important in almost all disciplines,” Ullman said. “They can really help scientists deal with huge sets of data in chemistry, in physics and in biology. This will also be very helpful for Israel’s high-tech industry.”
February 25, 2019
Israel21C reports on Kadimastem, a company that is developing a stem-cell-based method for producing insulin. The technique, developed by Weizmann’s Prof. Michel Revel (Kadimastem co-founder), could make needles a thing of the past for diabetics.
February 24, 2019
Phys.org reports on the research of Dr. Ofer Feinerman, who studies the collective behavior of ants to understand collective problem-solving.
February 20, 2019
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.
February 19, 2019
“You’ve built me a modern, beautiful house, but I cannot live with your design... I must remind you that it is I who have to live in the house, not you”. Vera Weizmann, in a letter to architect Erich Mendelsohn. The patron/artist relationship touches on one of the most complex issues in the architectural profession. In contrast to any other art work where the creative aspirations of the artist constitute the main functional medium, architecture focuses on the client’s ambition, particularly in relation to private houses, where a list of requests express his taste, dreams, social status and lifestyle.
February 15, 2019
As Israel21C reports, Weizmann scientists and colleagues are using tiny satellites to conduct CT scans – like those used on human bodies – to obtain detailed images of clouds’ structures and properties. This can improve climate modeling and prediction.
February 13, 2019
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