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.
May 27, 2021...
The Bat-Tunnel: A Unique Setup for the Study of the Neural Basis of Navigation
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—May 27, 2021—The brain is often likened to a computer: neurons organized in complex circuits serving as its hardware; its software a plethora of codes that govern the neurons’ behavior. But sometimes the brain performs exceptionally well even when its hardware seems inadequate for the task; for example, the puzzle of how we and other mammals manage to navigate large-scale environments even though the brain’s spatial perception circuits are seemingly suited to representing much smaller areas. A team of researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science, led by Prof. Nachum Ulanovsky of the Department of Neurobiology, tackled this riddle by thinking outside the experimental box. By combining an unusual research model – fruit bats – with an unusual setting – a 200-meter-long (about one-eighth of a mile) Bat-Tunnel – the team successfully revealed a novel neuronal code for spatial perception. The finding was reported in Science.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/june-is-alzheimer-s-brain-awareness-month/
Jun 07, 2021...
Despite decades of research, we don’t know much about the brain. It is as strange as the deep sea, as complex as a computer, as mysterious as the universe – and it makes us who we are, as humans and individuals.
Understanding this most complex of organs is more important now than ever: lifespans are increasing and, thus, so are age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s; awareness of mental illness is rising, as is the need for effective treatments; rates of autism are still going up. Fortunately, technological advances over the past several years are, for the first time, allowing scientists to study the brain at a level of detail never before possible.
Nov 09, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—November 9, 2021—The Weizmann Institute of Science is thrilled to announce a lead philanthropic donation of $50 million (USD) from the Azrieli Foundation. The historic gift will enable catalytic brain research with the establishment of The Azrieli Institute for Brain and Neural Sciences. The donation is among the largest of its kind for the Foundation. The Azrieli Foundation is a longstanding supporter of research at the Weizmann Institute, and this generous donation adds to its past philanthropic investments of nearly $30 million in Weizmann research facilities and faculty and student fellowships.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/a-new-way-to-measure-creativity/
Apr 07, 2022... Creativity is crucial—at the heart of human endeavors ranging from art to entrepreneurship. It’s also notoriously hard to study. Usually in psychological tests we see whether people produce a particular predetermined response to a particular question. The essence of creativity, however, is to spontaneously make something new, something no one could predict beforehand. The few measures of creativity we have are more than 50 years old, and they are hard to score and often unreliable.
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