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Improving Health & Medicine
Turning Down the Brain to Erase Fearful Memories
Science Tips, Issue 90
Dr. Ofer Yizhar, optogenetics pioneer, has used the tools of that field to successfully shut down a neuronal mechanism that helps form fearful memories in the mouse brain. After the procedure, the mice “forgot” that they had been previously frightened. This research, conducted with Prof. Rony Paz, may someday help extinguish traumatic memories in people.
March 15, 2017
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Exploring the Physical World
Explosive Material: The Making of a Supernova
Science Tips, Issue 90
Weizmann scientists lead the team that observed - and measured - the earliest supernova explosion ever, an estimated three hours after it began. Tight coordination between multiple observatories and institutions enabled these unprecedented measurements, which were then analyzed by a global team.
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Protecting Our Planet
First Oceans May Have Been Acidic
Science Tips, Issue 90
Looking back at the very earliest oceans, Dr. Itay Halevy found that they started off acidic and gradually became alkaline. His work sheds light on how levels of ocean acidity in the past were controlled by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, an important process for understanding the effects of climate change, as today the oceans are again becoming acidic.
March 15, 2017
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Improving Health & Medicine
Taking an Innovative Nontoxic Approach to Lice
Israel21c
Lice are a perennial plague upon schoolchildren – and their parents. This is particularly true because the miniscule parasites are very difficult to get rid of. Israel21c reports on two new Israeli methods, including Novokid: developed by Weizmann grads, it's a nontoxic, highly effective treatment system that is on track for approval in Europe and the U.S.
March 12, 2017
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Improving Health & Medicine
NeuroSense to Develop ALS Treatment
Globes
Prof. Eran Hornstein discovered that a small molecule already on the market for a different disease can also be active in treating ALS. As
Globes reports, NeuroSense Therapeutics will develop the technology; since ALS is considered a priority, NeuroSense believes that it will be able to bring the drug to market within five years.March 08, 2017
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Fighting Cancer
Miracle Drug with Israeli Roots Saves Jewish Hockey Player Hit With Cancer
JTA
The Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF), which supports cancer research at Weizmann, shares the story of Jewish hockey player Sam Fields, who was felled by aggressive CML just before turning pro. His life was saved, thanks to Gleevec, for which the Institute’s Prof. Eli Canaani helped lay the foundation.
March 08, 2017
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CEO Conference Call: Science at the Leading Edge
On February 28, 2017, American Committee donors of all giving levels were invited to join a special conference call with CEO Marshall S. Levin. More than 100 donors from across the country participated. Mr. Levin spoke on the topic of “Science at the Leading Edge: Latest Breakthroughs from the Weizmann Institute of Science.” He opened with an overview of the Weizmann Institute and its reputation as a relatively small institution with “an outsized impact” on the world. He then discussed the Institute’s game-changing research on the aging brain, as well as the work of its Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine. Through these and other initiatives, the Institute seeks to improve the quality of life of every person on the planet.
March 07, 2017
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Enriching Education
AJA Safecrackers Going to Israel
Atlanta Jewish Times
As the Atlanta Jewish Times reports, students from the Atlanta Jewish Academy are taking part in the Weizmann Institute’s International Safe-Cracking Tournament for the second consecutive year. In the tournament, teams from all over the world use the principles of physics to build a safe, and try to break into each other's constructions.
March 06, 2017
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Exploring the Physical World
A Black Hole? Where?
The Jerusalem Post
Guy Nir, a doctoral student at the Weizmann Institute, writes in The Jerusalem Post about black holes - e.g., what they are, how they are studied, and the like. This easy-to-read explanation sheds light on some of today’s greatest astrophysics discoveries.
March 02, 2017