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/in-the-news/can-boosting-immunity-make-you-smarter/
Feb 12, 2013...
T cells, white blood cells that are a key part of the immune system, may also play an important role in cognitive function. NIBSC/Science Source
After spending a few days in bed with the flu, you may have felt a bit stupid. It is a common sensation, that your sickness is slowing down your brain. At first blush, though, it doesn’t make much sense. For one thing, flu viruses infect the lining of the airways, not the neurons in our brains. For another, the brain is walled off from the rest of the body by a series of microscopic defenses collectively known as the blood-brain barrier. It blocks most viruses and bacteria while allowing essential molecules like glucose to slip through. What ails the body, in other words, shouldn’t interfere with our thinking.But over the past decade, Jonathan Kipnis, a neuroimmunologist in the University of Virginia School of Medicine’s department of neuroscience, has discovered a possible link, a modern twist on the age-old notion of the body-mind connection. His research suggests that the immune system engages the brain in an intricate dialogue that can influence our thought processes, coaxing our brains to work at their best.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/profiling-a-killer-in-warm-blood/
Dec 06, 2018...
Tumor heterogeneity, clonal evolution, and therapy resistance are revealed using single-cell profiling of multiple myeloma patients
REHOVOT, ISRAEL —December 6, 2018—Cancer arises when cells lose control. Deciphering the “blueprint” of cancer cells – outlining how cancer cells hijack specific pathways for uncontrolled proliferation – will lead to more efficient ways to fight it. Now, in a joint effort, scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science and clinicians from major hemato-oncology departments in Israel have successfully created detailed profiles of myeloma cancer in both pre-cancer stages, in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients, as well as post-treatment and relapse. These detailed blueprints will help in future precision diagnosis and treatment of this disease.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-october-2015/
Oct 26, 2015... Of the hundreds of genes that can be mutated in a single case of melanoma, only a handful may be true “drivers” of cancer. In research that recently appeared in Nature Genetics, a Weizmann Institute of Science team has now revealed one of the drivers of a particularly deadly subset of melanomas that is seeing a rise in new cases. This gene is a newly identified member of a group of genes called tumor suppressor genes, and is mutated in some 5.4% of melanomas. Furthermore, its expression was found to be lost in over 30% of human melanomas; this loss, according to the research, was associated with reduced patient survival. The discovery might open new doors to understanding how this cancer grows and spreads, and may lead in the future to new directions in treatment.
Jun 10, 2015...
Bifidobacteria, a type of gut bacterium. Researchers believe that the different types of gut microbes found in individuals has a significant impact on how their bodies respond to food. Photograph: Phototake Inc./Alamy
Scientists have created bespoke diets using a computer algorithm that learns how individual bodies respond to different foods.
Researchers believe the tailored diets could help stem the rising tide of diabetes, heart disease and obesity, by personalising people’s daily meals and so helping them to adopt healthy eating habits.
Jan 19, 2017...
White blood cell squeezing through endothelial cells (grey) on its way out of the blood vessel walls. The actin cytoskeleton of both cells is exposed; the white blood cell nucleus is shown in brown and the large actin-rich extension that dismantles the endothelial actin is shown in yellow
One of the mysteries of the living body is the movement of cells – not just in the blood, but through cellular and other barriers. New research at the Weizmann Institute of Science has shed light on the subject, especially on the movement of immune cells that race to the sites of infection and inflammation. The study, published in Cell, revealed that these cells – white blood cells – actively open large gaps in the internal lining of the blood vessels, so they can exit through the vessel walls and rapidly get to areas of infection.
Apr 17, 2019...
For many years, scientists believed that the brain was completely isolated from the immune system because of a shield called the blood-brain barrier.
That dogma has changed, due in no small part to the research of Prof. Michal Schwartz of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Neurobiology.
“My assumption was always that the immune system does help repair the brain, but that it has a very unique way of communicating across the blood-brain barrier,” she says. “This assumption turned out to be correct. However, the work that it took to get there was very difficult.”
Jan 18, 2011... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—January 18, 2011—Antioxidants are sold over the counter everywhere. They’re added to food, drink, and face cream. But according to Prof. Nava Dekel of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Biological Regulation, we still don’t have a complete understanding of how they act in our bodies. New research by Prof. Dekel and her team, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), has revealed an unexpected possible side effect of antioxidants: they might cause fertility problems in females.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-march-2007/
Mar 26, 2007... Breaking down bone is a tough job. Yet, our bones undergo remodeling every day of our lives, as old material is cleared away so that new bone can form. In diseases such as osteoporosis, an imbalance in this process is responsible for the characteristic bone loss. New research at the Weizmann Institute of Science, which recently appeared in the on-line journal PLoS ONE, has revealed, in unprecedented detail, how the roving cells whose job is to digest bone seal off their work area as they get down to business.
Nov 01, 2016... Understanding Immunotherapy: History and Lifesaving Breakthroughs
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/pig-stem-cells-to-be-used-to-grow-human-organs/
Feb 15, 2005...
It might be possible to transplant embryonic stem cells from pigs into humans to grow new organs, a new study shows.
The idea is not new. For more than two decades, scientists have pointed to the potential of embryonic pig tissues as a source for organ transplantation.
Studies in the past, however, have had little success when tissue has been taken relatively late in a pig embryo's development.
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