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.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/repairing-dna-fighting-cancer/
Sep 17, 2018...
Prof. Zvi Livneh
Our genetic material – DNA – is under constant assault. It is damaged every day by external forces like sunlight, radiation, tobacco smoke, air pollution, and food additives, and internal ones like waste products left over from the body’s metabolic processes.
“The DNA of each cell in your body is damaged about 50,000 times each day,” says Prof. Zvi Livneh. “That’s a massive attack.”
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/gene-editing-takes-on-new-roles/
Dec 15, 2016...
Combing CRISPR with the fine resolution of single-cell RNA sequencing gives researchers new means of controlling cell activities
What combinations of mutations help cancer cells survive? Which cells in the brain are involved in the onset of Alzheimer’s? How do immune cells conduct their convoluted decision-making processes? Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have now combined two powerful research tools – CRISPR gene editing and single-cell genomic profiling – in a method that may finally help provide answers to these questions and many more.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/the-next-agricultural-revolution-is-here/
Sep 19, 2019...
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Uplands Farm has a history of ground-breaking plant research and environmental activism.
As a growing population and climate change threaten food security, researchers around the world are working to overcome the challenges that threaten the dietary needs of humans and livestock. A pair of scientists is now making the case that the knowledge and tools exist to facilitate the next agricultural revolution we so desperately need.
Dec 27, 2010...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—December 27, 2010— In a collaborative effort involving 74 researchers from 38 research institutes, scientists have produced the full genome of a wild strawberry plant. The research appeared on December 26 in Nature Genetics online.
Drs. Asaph Aharoni and Avital Adato of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Plant Sciences were the sole Israeli scientists participating in the project, but they made a major contribution in mapping the genes and gene families responsible for the strawberry’s flavor and aroma.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/an-immune-system-trained-to-kill-cancer/
Sep 13, 2011...
CLOSE-UP Dr. Carl June examined re-engineered T-cells last week in his Philadelphia lab. Jessica Kourkounis for The New York Times
PHILADELPHIA — A year ago, when chemotherapy stopped working against his leukemia, William Ludwig signed up to be the first patient treated in a bold experiment at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Ludwig, then 65, a retired corrections officer from Bridgeton, N.J., felt his life draining away and thought he had nothing to lose.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-january-2007/
Jan 24, 2007...
Weizmann Institute Scientists Discover a Genetic Risk Factor for Smoking-linked Head and Neck Cancer
A simple blood test may be able to identify those most at risk for developing head and neck cancer as a result of smoking. This was the finding of a recent study by Prof. Zvi Livneh, Head of the Weizmann Institute’s Biological Chemistry Department, Dr. Tamar Paz-Elizur of the same department, and their research team that worked in collaboration with Dr. Rami Ben-Yosef of Tel Aviv-Sourasky Medical Center, Prof. Laurence Freedman of Sheba Medical Center and Prof. Edna Schechtman of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-january-2010/
Jan 14, 2010...
How do the visual images we experience, which have no tangible existence, arise out of physical processes in the brain? New research at the Weizmann Institute of Science provides evidence, for the first time, that an “ignition” of intense neural activity underlies the experience of seeing.
In research recently published in the journal Neuron, Prof. Rafael Malach and research student Lior Fisch of the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Neurobiology worked with a neurosurgeon, Dr. Itzhak Fried of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, a distinguished team of medical doctors from the Center, and Weizmann Institute students. They asked a group of epileptic patients who had had electrodes clinically implanted into their brains in preparation for surgery to volunteer for some perceptual awareness tasks. The subjects looked at a computer screen, which briefly presented a “target” image—a face, house, or man-made object. This image was followed by a “mask”—a meaningless picture for distraction—at different time intervals after the target image had been presented. This allowed the experimenter to control the visibility of the images—the patients sometimes recognized the targets and sometimes failed to do so. By comparing the electrode recordings to the patients’ reports of whether they had correctly recognized the image or not, the scientists were able to pinpoint what was happening—and when and where—in the brain as transitions in perceptual awareness took place.
Sep 01, 2012... Lipids are fatty substances found in every cell in our bodies. They make up the membranes that separate the cell from its surroundings and are responsible for regulating the passage of nutrients to and from the cell. One particular family of lipids — sphingolipids — fascinates Prof. Anthony (Tony) Futerman of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Biological Chemistry. “Sphingolipids were discovered in the 19th century by the German biochemist Johann Thudichum, who named them after the sphinx because they were enigmatic,” says Prof. Futerman.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/making-personalized-medicine-a-reality/
Nov 24, 2014...
The Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine is the Weizmann Institute of Science’s first comprehensive initiative to translate genetic and molecular data into information that may one day be used for more precise, more individualized patient care.
“Personalized medicine – or ‘precision medicine,’ as it has been termed by the NIH – is a form of medicine that uses information about a person’s genes, proteins, and environment to prevent, diagnose, and treat patients,” says Dr. Berta Strulovici, the new center’s director. “In the future, this knowledge will give doctors the ability to assess medical risks and monitor and treat patients according to their specific genetic makeup and molecular phenotype.”
Aug 23, 2017...
Image via Shutterstock.com
Are you ready for violet-colored potatoes? How about orange tobacco? Researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science have figured out how produce betalain pigments in plants and flowers that don’t normally have them.
If you’re thinking, “Who needs violet tomatoes?” you should know that red-violet and yellow betalain pigments contain healthful antioxidant properties. They’re also the basis for natural food dyes for products such as strawberry yogurt.
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