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 future of humanity.
Sep 24, 2020... Our sense of time may be the scaffolding for all of our experience and behavior, but it is an unsteady and subjective one, expanding and contracting like an accordion. Emotions, music, events in our surroundings and shifts in our attention all have the power to speed time up for us or slow it down. When presented with images on a screen, we perceive angry faces as lasting longer than neutral ones, spiders as lasting longer than butterflies, and the color red as lasting longer than blue. The watched pot never boils, and time flies when we’re having fun.
Oct 24, 2020...
Most marathoners follow up long training runs with an ice bath and a nap. Gamini Sugathadasa, a bellman at the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas, runs 20 miles and then spends eight more hours on his feet. According to his fitness tracker, he averages 14,000 steps during a typical shift.
When the hotel closed in mid-March due to the coronavirus, he made up for the steps by pounding out more miles on his treadmill. The concept of a marathon was foreign to Mr. Sugathadasa until 2009, when he was greeting guests who had finished the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon. “I just remember everyone looked so happy,” he says. Intrigued, he left work that day and ran 11 miles. Despite some stiffness, he went out and ran the same distance the following three days. He was a natural.
Apr 14, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—April 14, 2021—Being constantly hungry, no matter how much you eat – that’s the daily struggle of people with genetic defects in the brain’s appetite controls, and it often ends in severe obesity. In a study published in Science, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science, together with colleagues from the Queen Mary University of London and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, have revealed the mechanism of action of the master switch for hunger in the brain: a receptor called melanocortin 4 (MC4). They have also clarified how this switch is activated by setmelanotide (brand name Imcivree), a drug recently approved for the treatment of severe obesity caused by certain genetic changes. The team’s findings shed new light on the way hunger is regulated and may help develop improved anti-obesity medications.
Apr 21, 2021...
Scientists may have discovered how a “switch” in the brain controls appetite, raising hopes for a new class of anti-obesity drugs.
Many people would like to lose a few pounds, with the temptation of favourite dishes and snacks often proving too much for our willpower.
For some, however, genetic defects cause them to feel famished no matter how much food they consume, resulting in severe obesity.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/remembering-prof-michael-sela/
May 31, 2022...
The worldwide community of the Weizmann Institute of Science deeply mourns the passing of our beloved longtime leader, preeminent scientist, and dear friend, Prof. Michael Sela.
Throughout his illustrious career, Michael made numerous discoveries that forever changed immunological research, shedding light on the genetic control of the immune response.
He co-invented the blockbuster drug Copaxone® for the treatment of multiple sclerosis as well as three cancer treatment drugs – Erbitux®, Vectibix®, and Portrazza® – which have improved the lives of millions worldwide.
Jun 24, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 23, 2022—Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have found that people may have a tendency to form friendships with individuals who have a similar body odor. The researchers were even able to predict the quality of social interactions between complete strangers by first “smelling” them with a device known as an electronic nose, or eNose. These findings, published today in Science Advances, suggest that the sense of smell may play a larger role in human social interactions than previously thought.
Aug 01, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—August 1, 2022— An egg meets a sperm – that’s a necessary first step in life’s beginnings, and it’s also a common first step in embryonic development research. But in a Weizmann Institute of Science study published today in Cell, researchers have grown synthetic embryo models of mice outside the womb by starting solely with stem cells cultured in a petri dish – that is, without the use of fertilized eggs. The method opens new horizons for studying how stem cells form various organs in the developing embryo, and may one day make it possible to grow tissues and organs for transplantation using synthetic embryo models.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/chaim-weizmann-s-acetone-discovery-was-key-to-british-wwi-effort/
Nov 10, 2022...
More than a century ago, in 1915, a senior lecturer in biochemistry at the University of Manchester named Dr. Chaim Weizmann invented a fermentation process that converted starch — a poly-sugar readily available from corn and potatoes — into acetone and butyl alcohol, facilitated by a bacteria, Clostridium acetobutylicum, that Dr. Weizmann had previously isolated.
This novel method of acetone production became known as “the Weizmann process.” As serendipity would have it, acetone was a key component in the production of the smokeless gunpowder (cordite) used by the Allies in World War I. Acetone had previously been made from calcium acetate imported from Germany, but since the Allies were at war with Germany, this was no longer possible, and the U.S. had a sparse supply. So, Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, requested that the “Weizmann process” be used to mass produce acetone in England, Canada, and the U.S.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/treating-a-heart-attack-before-it-happens/
Mar 08, 2023...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 8, 2023— Imagine getting treatment for a perfectly healthy young heart that would allow it to recover from an otherwise devastating injury decades later.
If you think this prospect seems farfetched, you are not alone. Until recently, Prof. Eldad Tzahor, whose lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science studies heart tissue regeneration, had also considered it science fiction. After all, cardiovascular diseases, which are humanity’s leading cause of death, aren’t generally perceived as something one can prepare for through preventive treatment. But Tzahor and researchers in his lab have now activated a cellular mechanism in healthy mouse hearts that makes these mice resilient to future heart attacks – even when they occur months later.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/plant-research-reaches-a-new-high/
Apr 30, 2023... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—May 1, 2023—A South African plant called a woolly umbrella is completely unrelated to the cannabis plant, yet it makes a slew of the active compounds found in cannabis – cannabinoids – including some that may have new medical uses. In a study published today in Nature Plants, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers identified more than 40 cannabinoids in the woolly umbrella, and they revealed the series of biochemical steps the plant takes when it makes these compounds. The researchers also showed how these steps can be reproduced in the lab to synthesize or even engineer new cannabinoids.
©2023 American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science
