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/same-microbe-different-effect/
Mar 27, 2019...
Seemingly identical bacteria may harbor genetic differences that affect the host-microbiome relationship
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 27, 2019—Our gut microbiome – the complement of bacteria we carry around in our intestines – has been linked to everything from obesity and diabetes to heart disease and even neurological disorders and cancer. In recent years, researchers have been sorting through the multiple bacterial species that populate the microbiome, asking which of them can be implicated in specific disorders. But a paper recently published in Nature addressed a new question: “What if the same microbe is different in different people?”
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/the-secret-social-lives-of-viruses/
Jun 18, 2019...
Illustration by Karol Banach
Geneticist Rotem Sorek could see that his bacteria were sick — so far, so good. He had deliberately infected them with a virus to test whether each ailing microbe soldiered on alone or communicated with its allies to fight the attack.
But when he and his team at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, looked into the contents of their flasks, they saw something completely unexpected: the bacteria were silent, and it was the viruses that were chattering away, passing notes to each other in a molecular language only they could understand. They were deciding together when to lie low in the host cell and when to replicate and burst out, in search of new victims.
Nov 24, 2016... Following a successful diet, many people are dismayed to find their weight rebounding – an all-too-common phenomenon termed “recurrent” or “yo-yo” obesity. Worse still, the vast majority of recurrently obese individuals not only rebound to their pre-dieting weight but also gain more weight with each dieting cycle. During each round of dieting-and-weight-regain, their proportion of body fat increases, and so does the risk of developing the manifestations of metabolic syndrome, including adult-onset diabetes, fatty liver, and other obesity-related diseases.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/new-hope-for-kidney-patients/
Sep 21, 2003...
For people suffering from fatal diseases, such as leukemia or kidney failure, the scarcity of available transplants is often the cause of feelings of hopelessness. Thousands of people in the U.S. alone languish on waiting lists, tied to dialysis tubing, hoping for the transplant that may save their lives.
But if there were a way to make transplants immediately and widely available to all who need them, suddenly, it would be something everyone could afford, and something that would be accessible to all.
Aug 27, 2019...
Xray of a patient with active pulmonary tuberculosis. Image by Shutterstock
Just as first impressions set the stage for the entire course of a relationship, first impressions set the stage for how the cells of our immune system react when meeting a new microbe, according to Israeli researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
This new insight led the researchers to develop an algorithm that may predict the onset of such diseases as tuberculosis. Their findings were published July 22 in Nature Communications.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/on-the-probiotic-trail/
May 08, 2012...
Naama Geva-Zatorsky in the lab. JTA
Jerusalem — She’s young, smart and aims to help treat life-threatening diseases. Naama Geva-Zatorsky, 34, is among a growing number of Israeli women scientists who are gaining recognition for their contributions to scientific research.
The Weizmann Institute biologist was in Paris last month to accept the International UNESCO L’Oreal Prize for Women in Science. Dubbed “Europe’s top young researcher” by the prize committee, she received a two-year, $40,000 fellowship for her postdoctoral work at Harvard University.
Dec 19, 2018...
Image via Shutterstock.com
Worldwide, about 3 million people are afflicted by multiple sclerosis (MS), an incurable autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the fatty membrane (myelin sheath) that insulates the long extensions of nerve cells.
Damaged myelin prevents nerves from communicating with the brain properly, causing symptoms such as blurred vision, difficulty in walking, dizziness and muscular weakness.
Jul 23, 2019...
Gut bacteria may play a role in motor neurone disease ALS by speeding up progression, early studies reveal. The cruel condition that killed Professor Stephen Hawking, pictured
Gut bacteria could play a role in the development of motor neurone disease - also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, early studies suggest.
Tests on mice showed a change in their gut microbe levels before symptoms of the crippling disorder appeared.
Mar 30, 2014...
Prof. Edna Mozes. Photo: WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE
There are a number of potentially devastating disorders much more common to one gender than the other. Males are much more likely to develop autism, while females are nine times more likely than men to contract systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and are also at higher risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune disorders. Both autism and SLE have a definite genetic component, but there are other factors that contribute even more to the appearance of these diseases.
Jan 07, 2016... When you have a fever, your nose is stuffed and your headache is spreading to your toes, your body is telling you to stay home in bed. Feeling sick is an evolutionary adaptation, according to a hypothesis put forward by Prof. Guy Shakhar of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Immunology and Dr. Keren Shakhar of the Psychology Department of the College of Management Academic Studies, in a recent paper published in PLoS Biology.
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