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.
Oct 15, 2020...
If one were to objectively examine the topics being discussed in their social media feeds, that person might reach he conclusion that COVID-19 is all that’s going on in this world. It’s all anyone is talking about, and rightfully so. The effects of this pandemic on the human species will be discussed and analyzed for many years to come.
What is not being discussed enough, however, are the effects COVID is having on our mental health. Loneliness, anxiety, depression, hopelessness; these are just some of the emotions a global pandemic can, and are causing – and it’s important that we acknowledge it.
Jan 19, 2021... Prof. Rony Paz, Head of the Department of Neurobiology, speaks about our still-mysterious brains. While they can do remarkable things, they also produce conditions such as PTSD, anxiety, autism, and the like – all of which are on the rise worldwide.
Jan 27, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—January 27, 2021—Chronic stress could be the prevailing condition of our time. In the short term, our jaws or stomachs may clench; in the long term, stress can lead to metabolic disease and speed up diseases of aging, as well as leading to more serious psychological disorders. The physical manifestations of stress originate in the brain, and they move along a so-called “stress axis” that ends in the adrenal glands. These glands then produce the hormone cortisol. When the stress axis is continually activated, changes occur in the cells and organs along the way, and the continual production of cortisol then substantially contributes to the symptoms of chronic stress.
Jan 29, 2021...
A new study found a secret gene deep in our kidneys that aids with stress removal from cells.
Scientists at the joint neurobiology lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science with the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Germany mapped out gene sequences for cells traveling from the brain, when stress is activated, down to the adrenal glands in the kidneys, to track how and where stress develops, to get a better idea of how to treat stress-related health problems.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/a-natural-food-supplement-may-relieve-anxiety/
May 18, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—May 18, 2021—A natural food supplement reduces anxiety in mice, according to a new Weizmann Institute of Science study. The plant-derived substance, beta-sitosterol, was found to produce the calming effect both on its own and in synergic combination with a common antidepressant, fluoxetine (brand name Prozac). If these findings, published in Cell Reports Medicine, are confirmed in clinical trials, they could point the way toward the use of beta-sitosterol as a treatment for relieving anxiety in humans.
Aug 09, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—August 9, 2021—During the six weeks between the end of the first Covid-19 outbreak in Israel and the beginning of the second one (late April to early June of 2020), researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science initiated a study that sought to assess and understand the mental toll of the pandemic on the country’s adult population. The study included more than 12,000 responses from nearly 5,000 respondents to digital questionnaires.
Nov 30, 2021... Like every Israeli, Alon Chen had to do three years of military service, and was posted with the paratroopers to the middle of the war in Lebanon. “I lost a friend. When you go and you treat the person that is injured and is dying, and you cannot help him, it leaves its mark,” he recalls. From then on, he knew he wanted to dedicate the rest of his life to understanding what happens to a brain that suffers a traumatic experience.
May 31, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—May 31, 2022—Ketamine, a well-known anesthetic used in smaller doses as a party drug, was hailed as a “new hope for depression” in a Time magazine cover story in 2017. Two years later, the arrival of the first ketamine-based antidepressant – the nasal spray esketamine, made by Johnson & Johnson – was applauded as the most exciting development in the treatment of mood disorders in decades. Yet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration still limits the spray’s use. It is mainly given to depressed patients who have not been helped by other therapies – in part, because the new drug’s mechanism of action is insufficiently understood, leading to concerns over its safety.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/new-hope-for-depression/
Jul 15, 2022...
According to the World Health Organization, depression afflicts nearly 300 million people worldwide. Yet despite decades of research, there are very few new treatments, and we still have so much to learn about how depression itself works.
A new study published in Neuron – conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science and at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, Germany, in collaboration with the Helmholtz Zentrum, Munich – might lead to a better understanding of depression itself and increase the treatment options. These developments could help address two challenges that many people, and especially underrepresented groups, face when it comes to depression: stigma and lack of options for care. In honor of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, we want to acknowledge those unique challenges and share Weizmann research that provides new hope for depression.
Dec 29, 2022... Prof. Alon Chen, President of the Weizmann Institute of Science, has been awarded the 2022 Bennett Family Award for Collaboration in the Science of Wellness, along with Juan de Pablo, the Executive Vice President for Science, Innovation, National Laboratories, and Global Initiatives, and the Liew Family Professor in Molecular Engineering at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. Each year, the Bennett Family Award will recognize individuals engaged in collaborative research, merging science and wellness for the advancement of human health.
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