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/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-june-2014/
Jun 13, 2014...
Convective clouds forming over the Amazon in a blanket of smoke. Photo credit: Prof. Ilan Koren, Weizmann Institute of Science.
Understanding how clouds affect the climate has been a difficult proposition. What controls the makeup of the low clouds that cool the atmosphere or the high ones that trap heat underneath? How does human activity change patterns of cloud formation? The research of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Prof. Ilan Koren suggests we may be nudging cloud formation in the direction of added area and height. He and his team have analyzed a unique type of cloud formation; their findings, which appeared recently in Science, indicate that in pre-industrial times, there was less cloud cover over areas of pristine ocean than today.
Nov 09, 2014...
Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—November 9, 2014—Vice chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve System’s Board of Governors and former governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Stanley Fischer, renowned diabetes researcher Prof. Jesse Roth, and veteran actress Lia Koenig will be receiving honorary doctorates from the Weizmann Institute of Science on Monday evening, November 10. Also receiving honorary doctorates are another three esteemed researchers and financial leaders. The recipients are:
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/video-gallery/simple-dreams/
Sep 22, 2009... In this moving video, four Weizmann scientists encounter people who could benefit from their research, whether it's solving the mystery of invisible dark matter, understanding the molecular basis of Alzheimer's disease, developing a novel treatment for spinal cord injuries, or investigating pediatric cancer.
Apr 12, 2011... Below the Earth’s surface, water—perhaps our most precious resource—is stored in geological formations called aquifers. “It’s important to know that more than 95 percent of the Earth’s accessible freshwater is in these underground reserves. That’s water we pump from the ground and drink and use for irrigation and for industry,” says hydrologist Prof. Brian Berkowitz, Head of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Energy Research at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Mar 19, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 17, 2020—In light of the severe constraints in performing a sufficient amount of coronavirus tests in Israel, the Weizmann Institute of Science has decided to contribute significantly to the national mission and use its advanced laboratories to perform coronavirus tests. In parallel, Weizmann Institute scientists are developing an advanced and very efficient testing approach that has a significantly reduced risk.
Jan 08, 2014...
Evidence of ancient habitation at Mashabei Sadeh, 4,500 years ago, but what did they live on? Photo by Zach Dunseth
The Negev has been inhabited for thousands of years, sometimes quite thickly. Archaeological evidence has shown there were sudden population explosions in the desert highlands. Some lasted longer than others, but all receded back into the desert sand — but just how did any of them survive in the deep desert?
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-march-2015/
Mar 02, 2015...
Manot Cave cranium
A partial human skull unearthed in 2008 in northern Israel may hold some clues as to when and where humans and Neanderthals might have interbred. The key to addressing this, as well as other important issues, is precisely determining the age of the skull. A combination of dating methods, one of them performed by Dr. Elisabetta Boaretto, head of the Weizmann Institute’s D-REAMS (DANGOOR Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) laboratory, has made it possible to define the period of time that the cave was occupied and, thus, the skull’s age. The combined dating provides evidence that Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis could have lived side by side in the area.
Dec 01, 2008...
The technologists and engineers of today are being asked to do something that is “close to mission impossible,” says Prof. David Cahen of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Materials and Interfaces. “We’re asking them to come up with better solutions to our energy problems based on fundamental science that essentially stopped in the mid-1980s.”
Prof. Cahen explains that after the global crash in oil prices during the early- to mid-1980s, support for research in alternative energy decreased drastically as well, resulting in what is now an extremely poor base on which to build new technologies. Meanwhile, the demand for energy is increasing worldwide, oil prices are unpredictable, and the burning of fossil fuels is causing pollution and releasing greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. “We cannot afford another period of not-so-benign neglect,” he states.
Oct 11, 2011...
“What I find most amazing about plants is that they’re a great source for thousands and thousands of chemicals,” says Dr. Asaph Aharoni of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Plant Sciences. “A single plant can produce 10,000 to 20,000 metabolites, or active compounds, which we can use for nutrition and in products like drugs and cosmetics.”
Dr. Aharoni studies how plants regulate the production of metabolites during development and under conditions of stress, such as insect attack or exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. His goal is to identify novel genes that are associated with, for example, better nutritional quality and enhanced resistance to insect pests. In the future, his findings could help scientists develop better crops. “We’re interested in how we can help address a major challenge: improving the nutritional quality of plants and solving problems of malnutrition around the world,” he says.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/intermittent-lockdown/
Mar 31, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 31, 2020—Think of dieting. You can fast for two months and lose weight, but you will probably die. Even if you survive, you will quickly gain weight again. Similarly, a two-month lockdown will suppress the coronavirus, but it will kill the economy. Lockdown will push hundreds of millions of people globally into unemployment and poverty. Many sectors of the economy will collapse. At the end of each lockdown, remaining patients will cause a resurge in the epidemic, forcing another lockdown.
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