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 28, 2020...
California's giant Sequoias can live for more than 3,000 years, their trunks stretching two car lengths in diameter, their branches reaching nearly 300 feet toward the clouds. But a few years ago, amid a record drought, scientists noticed something odd. A few of these arboreal behemoths inside Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks were dying in ways no one had ever documented—from the top down.
When researchers climbed into the canopies, they discovered that cedar bark beetles had bored into a few branches. By 2019, at least 38 of the trees had died—not a large number, but “concerning because we’ve never observed this before,” says Christy Brigham, the park’s chief of resource management.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/the-magnetic-history-of-ice/
Jun 29, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 29, 2020—The history of our planet has been written, among other things, in the periodic reversal of its magnetic poles. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science propose a new means of reading this historic record: in ice. Their findings, which were recently reported in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, could lead to a refined method of probing ice cores and, in the future, might be applied to understanding the magnetic history of other bodies in our solar system, including Mars and Jupiter’s moon Europa.
Jul 01, 2020...
Israeli researchers have discovered collaboration between trees deep in the ground, Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) in central Israel said Wednesday.
In their study, WIS researchers found underground intricate networks of fungi connecting the roots of different tree species with one another.
These networks enable the trees to exchange of minerals, nutrients, water and carbon, while funneling carbon to the fungi in return.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/a-damaging-storm-s-nourishing-side/
Jul 13, 2020...
Godzilla. Biblical. Historic. Muy malo. Even “new” (although it’s not; most people just haven’t heard of it).
This is the Saharan Air Layer – often given noms de guerre such as “African dust storm” – an approximately 5,000-mile-long, 2-mile-high plume of dust. It is a “phenomenon that develops every year off the coast of Africa,” writes Slate, “where powerful winds from thunderstorms over the Sahel can push the dust many thousands of feet up into the atmosphere.”
Oct 07, 2020...
Finally, some positive news about climate change: Even small groves in your backyard or city park help fight the effects of rising temperatures, drought and greenhouse gases.
“Urban orchards and green spaces can contribute to a range of ecosystem services,” writes Weizmann Institute of Science postdoctoral researcher Rafat Qubaja in a soon-to-be-published paper.
Those “services” include storing carbon, reducing air pollution, regulating the urban microclimate, cooling and shading, retaining rainwater and soil moisture, recharging groundwater and more.
Dec 09, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—December 9, 2020—The mass of all human-produced materials – concrete, steel, plastics, asphalt, etc. – has now grown to equal the mass of all life on the planet, its biomass. According to a new study from the Weizmann Institute of Science, we are exactly at the crossover point, and humans are currently adding buildings, roads, vehicles, and products at a rate that is doubling every 20 years, leading to a “concrete jungle” that is predicted to reach over 2 teratonnes (2 million million) – or more than double the mass of living things – by 2040.
Dec 09, 2020...
In a startling sign of the impact that humans are having on our planet, a study published Dec. 9 estimates that 2020 marks the point when human-made materials outweigh the total mass of Earth’s living biomass.
Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science found that the total mass of human-made materials—such as concrete, steel and asphalt—has increased rapidly since 1900, when it made up the equivalent of just 3% of the mass of living biomass—plants, animals and microorganisms. As humans have constructed more buildings, roads, structures and objects over the last 120 years, the mass of human-produced materials has grown from less than 0.1 teratonnes to roughly 1 teratonne (1 trillion tonnes), the study, published in the journal Nature estimates.
Dec 09, 2020...
From roads and buildings to cars and plastic, human civilization is built on lots of stuff.
But roughly how much stuff have we actually created? And in the process, how much of the natural world have we consumed or destroyed?
A new analysis finds that on both counts, it's a lot ... so much, in fact, that these materials may now outweigh all of the living things left on Earth.
The year 2020 could be the year when human-made mass surpasses the overall weight of biomass - estimated to be roughly 1,100,000,000,000 tons, or 1.1 teratons - a milestone scientists say speaks to the enormous impact that humans have had on the planet.
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.
Jan 13, 2021...
When the volcano on the Mediterranean island of Santorini erupted over three thousand years ago – give or take a few hundred – it spewed lava, rocks and ash over a huge region. The ash from that eruption is so prevalent in the archaeological record that it is used to date the strata above and below.
But few agree on the chronological date of the eruption itself. That is why a single olive branch discovered in the ashes on Santorini has become the center of a recent controversy between archaeologists and chronologists.
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