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.
Nov 21, 2019... Dr. Jonathan Coleman, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Research Center, and Prof. Avigdor Scherz, Weizmann Institute of Science, discuss ongoing clinical trials at MSKCC testing vascular targeted photodynamic therapy for prostate cancer. Developed at the Weizmann Institute, this revolutionary treatment uses light emitted by optical fibers that are inserted into the prostate (and possibly other areas), activating a drug that destroys cancer cells—with little side effects.
Dec 22, 2016... BBC News Interviews Prof. Avigdor Scherz About Prostate Cancer Treatment Success
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-november-2015/
Nov 24, 2015...
Capturing a single photon from a pulse of light: Devices based on the Weizmann Institute model may be the backbone of future quantum communications systems
At the Weizmann Institute of Science, researchers have managed to “pluck” a single photon – one particle of light – out of a pulse of light. The findings of this research, which appeared November 24 in Nature Photonics, bear both fundamental and practical significance: Light is the workhorse of today’s communication systems, and single photons are likely to be the backbone of future quantum communication systems. In addition, say the scientists, the apparatus they have devised will spur further research into the fundamental particle nature of light.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-july-2012/
Jul 27, 2012... As sulfur cycles through Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and land, it undergoes chemical changes that are often coupled to changes in other such elements as carbon and oxygen. Although this affects the concentration of free oxygen, sulfur has traditionally been portrayed as a secondary factor in regulating atmospheric oxygen, with most of the heavy lifting done by carbon. However, new findings that appeared this week in Science suggest that sulfur’s role may have been underestimated.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/ultra-personalized-therapy-for-melanoma/
Sep 24, 2018...
Illustrative photo by Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com
A highly personalized approach could help the body’s immune cells better recognize melanoma (the most dangerous type of skin cancer) and kill it, according to an Israeli study published in Cancer Discovery.
Today’s immunotherapies involve administering antibodies to unlock the natural immune T cells that recognize and kill cancer cells; or growing and reactivating these T cells outside the body and returning them in a “weaponized” form.
Jul 16, 2019... Summer is here! But more fun in the sun also increases our risk for skin cancer, including its deadliest form, melanoma. In the seventh episode of Weizmann in Focus, CEO Dave Doneson highlights a melanoma research breakthrough by Prof. Yardena Samuels, which could lead to “the ultimate personalized cancer therapy.”
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/keeping-men-healthy-the-weizmann-way/
Jun 07, 2016... Keeping Men Healthy, the Weizmann Way
Oct 23, 2017...
Israeli-American oncologist Arie Belldegrun, founder of Kite Pharma. (YouTube screenshot)
The US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved Kite Pharma’s drug for a type of lymphoma based on a technology developed in Israel, in which the patient’s own immune cells fight the cancer.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, the Kite biopharmaceutical company was acquired by Gilead Sciences Inc. in August for about $12 billion in an all-cash deal. Kite was founded in 2009 by Israeli-American oncologist Arie Belldegrun, who studied at the Hebrew University and Weizmann Institute of Science. The chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (Car-T) technology that is at the heart of the medication was developed at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/how-bacteria-hinder-chemotherapy/
Sep 14, 2017...
Bacteria (green) inside human pancreatic cancer cells (AsPC-1 cells). The cells’ nuclei are stained blue while their cytoplasm is stained orange
To the list of reasons that chemotherapy sometimes does not work, we can now add one more: bacteria. In a study just published in Science, researchers describe their findings showing that certain bacteria can be found inside human pancreatic tumors. The findings further revealed that some of these bacteria contain an enzyme that inactivates a common drug used to treat various cancers, including pancreatic cancer. Working with mouse models of cancer, the scientists demonstrated how treatment with antibiotics on top of chemotherapy may be significantly superior to treatment with chemotherapy alone.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/lighting-the-way-for-a-new-cancer-treatment/
Jul 01, 2006... Research led by Prof. Avigdor Scherz of the Weizmann Institute of Science Department of Plant Sciences and Prof. Yoram Salomon of the Institute’s Department of Biological Regulation, Israel, is coming to fruition in a potential new treatment for prostate cancer. “This therapy requires knowledge of physics, chemistry and biology, as well as scientific methods of the twenty-first century,” Prof. Scherz said during a recent visit to the offices of the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science (ACWIS) in New York.
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