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.
Apr 19, 2010... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—April 19, 2010—The constant stress that many are exposed to in our modern society may be taking aheavy toll: Anxiety disorders and depression, as well as metabolic(substance exchange) disorders, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, andarteriosclerosis, have all been linked to stress. These problems are reaching epidemic proportions: Diabetes alone is expected to affect some 360 million people worldwide by the year 2030. While anyone who has ever gorged on chocolate before an important exam recognizes the tie between stress, changes in appetite, and anxiety-related behavior, the connection has lately been borne out by science, although the exactreasons for the connection aren't crystal clear. Dr. Alon Chen of the Weizmann Institute's Department of Neurobiology and his research team have now discovered that changes in the activity of a single gene in the brain not only cause mice to exhibit anxious behavior, but also lead to metabolic changes that cause them to develop symptoms associated with type 2 diabetes. These findings were published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Feb 24, 2020... Think about the last time you had a cold. Think how weird it felt to not be able to smell or taste anything just because your nose was clogged up. That is, to an extent, the life of people with anosmia: the term for not being able to smell. Some patients are born with it. For others, it is the result of a neurological diseases, and for others still, it comes from a surgery that removed or damaged the olfactory bulb (OB). For a long time, it was believed that without an OB, a person would not be able to smell, but a team of researchers in Israel found patients who might prove that notion wrong.
Aug 10, 2012...
An archaeological dig in Tel Tzafit, the hometown of biblical giant Goliath. Photo by Richard Whiskin
Gath, the capital city of the Bible's bad guys as well as the hometown of Goliath, is known today as Tel Tzafit. Not far from Kiryat Gat, Tel Tzafit has been excavated for 16 years now by Prof. Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University.
But while thousands of artifacts and vessels have been unearthed, including a four-horned altar, as well as just this year, huge fortifications, doctoral candidate Yotam Asher of the Weizmann Institute is concentrating on a few faded white patches of rock.
May 21, 2018...
A cattle farm in Mato Grosso, Brazil. 60% of all mammals on Earth are livestock. Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Greenpeace
Humankind is revealed as simultaneously insignificant and utterly dominant in the grand scheme of life on Earth by a groundbreaking new assessment of all life on the planet.
The world’s 7.6 billion people represent just 0.01% of all living things, according to the study. Yet since the dawn of civilisation, humanity has caused the loss of 83% of all wild mammals and half of plants, while livestock kept by humans abounds.
Mar 19, 2020... “This is the most important thing I can do,” says the Weizmann Institute’s Prof. Sarel Fleishman. His lab in the Department of Biomolecular Sciences was already studying SARS, which is, like COVID-19, a coronavirus. He is able to quickly apply his knowledge to developing computer models that allow him to design coronavirus antibodies – work that could lead to a vaccine.
Jun 06, 2016...
Last month a new treatment was revealed - invented in Israel at the Weizmann Institute - which is making its way to the public. The company leading the commercialization of the technology is Steba Biotech, led by a Jewish father-son team from France who previously owned one of the largest private pharmaceutical companies in the country.
Raphael and Fabrice Harari sold a significant portion of their previous business ventures to fund their vision for Steba; they even rejected, they say, an investment based on a valuation of more than a billion dollars - because of their Zionism.
Jan 28, 2014...
An arrow points to the Qesem Cave hearth, where hominins may have tended to fires as early as 300,000 years ago. WEIZMANN INSTITUTE
A newly discovered hearth full of ash and charred bone in a cave in modern-day Israel hints that early humans sat around fires as early as 300,000 years ago — before Homo sapiens arose in Africa.
In and around the hearth, archaeologists say they also found bits of stone tools that were likely used for butchering and cutting animals.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/dancing-all-the-way-to-her-doctorate/
Feb 19, 2019...
Dr. Roni Zohar’s video, “Movements as a Door for Learning Physics Concepts – Integrating Embodied Pedagogy in Teaching,” won the Social Science category of Science’s 2018/19 “Dance Your PhD” competition
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—February 18, 2019—Scientists are not generally required to display prowess in modern dance, but Dr. Roni Zohar of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Science Teaching recently showed her moves in an award-winning science/dance video. Her video placed first in the social sciences category of the “Dance Your PhD” contest held by the prestigious journal Science. The competition, now in its 11th year, selects its winners from entries in which PhD students and those who have received their doctorates describe their PhD subjects through dance. It comprises four categories – biology, physics, chemistry, and social sciences – and the winner are selected by a panel of judges that includes scientists and figures from the arts world.
Jan 15, 2017...
Credit: akindo via iStock
How do humans and other animals find their way from A to B? This apparently simple question has no easy answer. But after decades of extensive research, a picture of how the brain encodes space and enables us to navigate through it is beginning to emerge. Earlier, neuroscientists had found that the mammalian brain contains at least three different cell types, which cooperate to encode neural representations of an animal’s location and movements.
Nov 09, 2017...
Image via Shutterstock.com
November 14 is World Diabetes Day and the month of November is National Diabetes Month in the United States. While there is not yet a cure for diabetes, many Israeli researchers and companies offer improved approaches for avoiding, managing and treating the condition.
Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas cannot make insulin – the hormone that regulates blood sugar — or when the body cannot make good use of the insulin it makes.
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