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.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/cone-snail-venom-can-kill-or-heal/
Nov 13, 2019...
Pretty, deadly: toxins from the marine cone snail can kill … and be used for lifesaving medicines. Photo credit: Volker Steger. Photograph taken at the Woods Hole Marine Biology Laboratory, 2002
Armed and ready, the hunter senses that prey is approaching. Once the victim is within striking range, the hunter lets its poisonous harpoon fly, spearing and tethering its victim and pulling it ever closer as the toxins do their paralyzing work. The prey, immobilized, is eaten alive.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/medical-marijuana-born-at-weizmann/
Oct 04, 2019...
Meet the man: Raphael Mechoulam’s research has driven the current medical marijuana boom – and is helping people suffering from a host of conditions
As the wave of marijuana legalization washes across America, THC and CBD products are suddenly everywhere: gummy bears, energy drinks, chocolate, even skin-care products.
Before laws were changed, scientists in the U.S. were handicapped in their ability to research marijuana, thus giving a decades-long edge to scientists elsewhere. Scientists like Prof. Raphael Mechoulam at Israel’s Weizmann Institute. Having obtained drugs for research from the police for over 40 years (one of his many fascinating stories), he says: “Most of the pharmacists working at the Ministry are my ex-students. Working in a small country certainly has its positive aspects.”
Jan 13, 2020...
A non-toxic blue dye commonly used in biology labs helps repair damaged heart tissue in mice, say researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.
As described in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight, a dye molecule called Chicago Sky Blue reduced scar size and improved heart function of adult mice following induced myocardial infarction (heart attack).
Once damaged, heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) can never regenerate. But when research student Oren Yifa and his team injected Chicago Sky Blue into the post-heart attack mice in the molecular cell biology lab of Prof. Eldad Tzahor, the mice’s heart function improved.
Sep 11, 2019...
Three fragments from the Temple Scroll, one the Dead Sea Scrolls, is displayed at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Beachwood, Ohio, March 28, 2006. (AP Photo/Jamie-Andrea Yanak, File)
Among the thousands pieces of parchment found in caves above the Dead Sea, the one known as the Temple Scroll has stood out for its shape, color and fairly unblemished text compared to the rest of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Sep 10, 2019...
JERUSALEM, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) — Israeli and Italian scientists have developed a method which may lead to cost-lowering and streamlining of drug, pesticide and fertilizer production, the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) reported Monday.
In the mid-19th century, Louis Pasteur discovered molecular “handedness,” the existence of left and right handed versions of the same molecule.
He then separated mirror-image crystals manually, and speculated that the differently handed molecules might have been created by Earth's magnetic field.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/the-self-synthesizing-ribosome/
Apr 20, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—April 20, 2020—As the cell’s protein factory, the ribosome is the only natural machine that manufactures its own parts. That’s why understanding how the machine itself is made could unlock the door to everything from understanding how life develops to designing new methods of drug production. An intensive research effort at the Weizmann Institute of Science has now demonstrated the self-synthesis and assembly of the small subunit of a ribosome – 30S – on a surface of a chip. The findings were published in Science Advances.
May 13, 2020...
Israeli researchers have discovered new entities created from interaction between matter and light particles, Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) reported Wednesday.
The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, has several implications in developing quantum applications, fine control of chemical processes and designing new materials.
The difference between light and matter should be a clear and simple division, but there are situations in which the two become so closely connected that the situation becomes blurred.
Jul 16, 2020...
Our mental health is always important, but more so than ever during these challenging times. Between the ongoing COVID pandemic, economic insecurity, social turmoil, and the like, rates of anxiety and depression are skyrocketing. How to cope? And why do we experience mental health issues in the first place?
As with the coronavirus, the answers are found in science.
The Weizmann Institute’s renowned neuroscientists do more than study the brain; they investigate how this most mysterious of organs responds to the world, processes our experiences, plays a role in emotional response, consolidates memories, becomes ill, and more. Our scientists also seek to develop effective medications and treatments. As Prof. Alon Chen – a renowned expert in neuropsychiatry and Weizmann Institute president – says, “I strongly believe that when we identify the mechanisms in the brain, we can use them to develop better ways to treat these conditions.”
Oct 05, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—October 5, 2020—Our ancestors not only knew how to use fire, they also developed sophisticated technologies for making tools. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science recently employed cutting-edge technologies of their own to take a fresh look at a collection of stone tools. Their results suggest that the early humans who made the tools may have had a good understanding of the effects of heating the stone before flaking it into blades, and may even have used different temperatures to create different types of tools. The findings of this research were published in Nature Human Behaviour.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/plastic-is-blowing-in-the-wind/
Dec 23, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—December 23, 2020—As the plastics in our oceans break up into smaller and smaller bits without breaking down chemically, the resulting microplastics are becoming a serious ecological problem. A new study by the Weizmann Institute of Science, published in Nature Communications, reveals another troubling aspect of microplastics (defined as particles smaller than 5 mm across): they are swept up into the atmosphere and carried on the wind to far-flung parts of the ocean, including those that appear to be plastic-free. Analysis reveals that such minuscule fragments can stay airborne for hours or days, spreading the potential to harm the marine environment and, by climbing up the food chain, to affect human health.
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