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/blog/in-celebration-of-crispr/
Oct 29, 2020...
In February 2017, in Boston for the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS’s) annual conference, The Curiosity Review snagged a chair in a packed ballroom of attendees.
The main attraction was Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier. Then a rock star to scientists, today she is headline news; along with her longtime collaborator, Dr. Jennifer Doudna, Charpentier just received the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of CRISPR. The method, which stands for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats,” enables scientists to edit DNA.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/the-cell-whisperer/
Nov 21, 2020... These are coronavirus days, and very few people can be seen in the narrow corridors of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. We’re in the molecular immunology laboratory, located in one of the institute’s old buildings. It’s a simple place, the instruments are banal and dull. It looks like any lab in the world, one of thousands. But a miracle is occurring between the walls here. In the small details. The smallest.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/uncovering-the-anti-myeloma-resistance-files/
Feb 23, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—February 23, 2021—Multiple myeloma patients live much longer today than in the past, thanks to new targeted anti-myeloma drugs, but ultimately most people develop resistance to the medications, and in some the disease is resistant to therapy from the start. Weizmann Institute of Science researchers, in collaboration with physicians from Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (TASMC), have made use of extremely sensitive genomic technology to reveal genetic pathways that characterize some of the more resistant cases of multiple myeloma. Their study, reported in Nature Medicine, may lead to a more informed, personalized treatment for these patients, and paves the way for using this new technology to discover disease targets in other cancers.
Feb 28, 2021...
Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center have found 30 genes that seem to be responsible for the resistance that multiple myeloma shows to treatment, which may help lead to more informed, personalized treatment for patients.
Malignant myeloma is a cancer of the antibody-producing plasma cells in bone marrow. Most patients develop resistance to medications and in some, the cancer is resistant to therapy from the start.
Apr 14, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—April 14, 2021—Being constantly hungry, no matter how much you eat – that’s the daily struggle of people with genetic defects in the brain’s appetite controls, and it often ends in severe obesity. In a study published in Science, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science, together with colleagues from the Queen Mary University of London and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, have revealed the mechanism of action of the master switch for hunger in the brain: a receptor called melanocortin 4 (MC4). They have also clarified how this switch is activated by setmelanotide (brand name Imcivree), a drug recently approved for the treatment of severe obesity caused by certain genetic changes. The team’s findings shed new light on the way hunger is regulated and may help develop improved anti-obesity medications.
Apr 21, 2021...
Scientists may have discovered how a “switch” in the brain controls appetite, raising hopes for a new class of anti-obesity drugs.
Many people would like to lose a few pounds, with the temptation of favourite dishes and snacks often proving too much for our willpower.
For some, however, genetic defects cause them to feel famished no matter how much food they consume, resulting in severe obesity.
Dec 09, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—December 9, 2021—An exclusive “license” for making insulin in the human body belongs to the beta cells scattered throughout the pancreas. But because beta cells can become scarce or dysfunctional in people with diabetes, scientists have been searching for other cells that might be coaxed into manufacturing the vital glucose-regulating hormone. In a study published today in Nature Medicine, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science and from Yale School of Medicine discovered insulin-making cells in an unexpected place, the fetal intestine. This discovery may open up new directions in the future development of potential treatments for diabetes.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/tracking-multiple-genes-with-flying-colors/
Jan 31, 2022...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—January 31, 2022—Even fans of black-and-white film can’t deny that color brought new life to photography and motion pictures. And when it comes to learning what happens inside the body, there’s no substitute for color.
Were it possible, for example, to map out real-time gene expression in our body’s cells using contrasting colors, scientists would gain a glimpse of vital biological processes that are currently invisible. The problem is that the glowing multicolor proteins used by scientists to illuminate, so to speak, the inner workings of cells are of little help in observing deep-seated processes in the body, because the thickness of tissues obscures the glow.
Mar 31, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 31, 2022—Genetic mutations linked to a disease often spell bad news. Mutations in over 25 genes, for example, are associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, and they all increase the risk of developing this incurable disorder. Now, a research team headed by Prof. Eran Hornstein of the Weizmann Institute of Science has linked a new gene to ALS, but this one contains mutations of a different sort: They seem to play a defensive, rather than an offensive, role in the disease.
May 25, 2022...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL – May 25 2022 – Our family origins tend to shape our future in many ways. A Weizmann Institute of Science study, published today in Nature, found that the same holds true for blood vessels. The researchers discovered blood vessels forming from unexpected progenitors and went on to show that this unusual origin determines the vessels’ future function.
“We found that blood vessels must derive from the right source in order to function properly – it’s as if they remember where they came from,” says team leader Prof. Karina Yaniv.
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