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/medical-marijuana-born-at-weizmann/
Nov 03, 2022...
Raphael Mechoulam’s research has driven the current medical marijuana boom – and is helping people suffering from a host of conditions.
Following the wave of marijuana legalization across America, THC and CBD products are now everywhere: gummy bears, energy drinks, chocolate, even skincare products. Before laws were changed, scientists in the U.S. were handicapped in their ability to research marijuana, thus giving a decades-long edge to scientists elsewhere. Scientists like Prof. Raphael Mechoulam at Israel’s Weizmann Institute. As a young academic, Mechoulam was able to convince the police to give him hashish for his research (one of his many fascinating stories.) This led to a relationship that continued for over 40 years.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/treating-a-heart-attack-before-it-happens/
Mar 08, 2023...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 8, 2023— Imagine getting treatment for a perfectly healthy young heart that would allow it to recover from an otherwise devastating injury decades later.
If you think this prospect seems farfetched, you are not alone. Until recently, Prof. Eldad Tzahor, whose lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science studies heart tissue regeneration, had also considered it science fiction. After all, cardiovascular diseases, which are humanity’s leading cause of death, aren’t generally perceived as something one can prepare for through preventive treatment. But Tzahor and researchers in his lab have now activated a cellular mechanism in healthy mouse hearts that makes these mice resilient to future heart attacks – even when they occur months later.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/plant-research-reaches-a-new-high/
Apr 30, 2023... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—May 1, 2023—A South African plant called a woolly umbrella is completely unrelated to the cannabis plant, yet it makes a slew of the active compounds found in cannabis – cannabinoids – including some that may have new medical uses. In a study published today in Nature Plants, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers identified more than 40 cannabinoids in the woolly umbrella, and they revealed the series of biochemical steps the plant takes when it makes these compounds. The researchers also showed how these steps can be reproduced in the lab to synthesize or even engineer new cannabinoids.
Aug 02, 2023... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—August 2, 2023—Scientific excellence requires diversity – research conducted by people from different backgrounds and with varied worldviews. The need for diversity extends to scientific experiments themselves, but the vast majority of studies in the life sciences are conducted using male mice only, which could not only bias the findings, but impede our ability to extrapolate from them to humans. A new study by researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science addresses this challenge, revealing in unprecedented detail how the brains of male and female mice respond differently to stress.
Aug 07, 2023...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL — August 8, 2023—Nonsmokers who develop lung cancer can be treated effectively with new drugs, but their tumors refuse to surrender without a fight. The drugs stop working in the long term because the tumors acquire secondary mutations that allow them to evade the medications’ therapeutic effect.
In research published today in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, investigators from the Weizmann Institute of Science report findings that may lead to relapse-free treatment for a sizeable subgroup of lung cancer patients. In a study in mice, scientists identified a biomarker that may help physicians treat select lung cancer patients with a single antibody-based drug that is likely to bring about full remission, without cancer relapse.
Aug 08, 2023...
To protect itself against disease, the human body has immune cells that patrol like police officers, entering disease cells and destroying them. But some dangerous cells, including some solid tumors, operate in stealth and cannot be targeted by the body’s regular immune system.
Edity Therapeutics, an Israeli startup founded in 2019, reprograms a patient’s own immune cells, giving them the ability to hunt down and destroy these cancer cells. It’s like transforming regular beat cops into lethal supersleuths.
Aug 08, 2023... Israeli study finds biological treatment effective for lung cancer
©2023 American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science
