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.
Feb 28, 2018... In just the past few years, understanding of the microbiome has transformed how we perceive diet and nutrition, and is already altering how we take care of ourselves. Weizmann Institute scientists from a range of disciplines – just some of which are immunology, neuroscience, biology, genetics, chemistry, machine learning, mathematics, and computer science – have led the way in microbiome research, regularly producing headline-making discoveries. Several of these researchers are also medical doctors, and their experience in working with patients helps move therapies more quickly from the lab to you.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/the-diabetes-and-obesity-connection/
Mar 15, 2011... More than 220 million people around the world suffer from diabetes, a chronic condition in which abnormally high levels of glucose (sugar) circulate in the blood. Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, develops when the body cannot adequately produce, or improperly uses, insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. People with type 2 diabetes are at an increased risk for many serious health problems, including heart disease, blindness, and kidney damage. Notably, according to the National Institutes of Health, more than 85 percent of those with type 2 diabetes are overweight.
Sep 17, 2014...
Sugary sodas have come under fire for contributing to obesity and diabetes, but new research suggests artificial sweeteners may also raise blood sugar levels. Photograph by Sam Hodgson, Reuters
There's no such thing as a free lunch, or at least a free artificially sweetened one, a new study suggests. Saccharin and other artificial sweeteners may raise blood sugar levels – a condition the sugar substitutes aim to help prevent – by altering digestive bacteria, Israeli researchers reported on Wednesday. (Related: "What Lives in Your Gut?")
Nov 30, 2017... Unlocking the Potential of Metabolites: The Schwartz Family Center for Metabolic Biology
Apr 06, 2020...
A comprehensive review of published studies on gut microbiota, immunity and arthritis suggests that having a microbial imbalance may precede the development of spondyloarthritides and osteoarthritis.
The review, which was published in Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, suggests a close connection between an impaired microbiota, the immune system and inflammatory arthritis.
“In this review, we presented data supporting the idea that dysbiosis via a close, dynamic and tightly regulated cross talk with gut-associated lymphoid tissue, governs the development of inflammatory arthropathies, such as rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis and osteoarthritis. It became clear that unfavorable dysbiosis-mediated immune alterations precede the development of these disorders suggesting causal relationships in this link,” wrote authors Alexander Kalinkovich of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and Gregory Livshits of Tel Aviv University.
Jun 02, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 2, 2020—Cancer cells are comfy havens for bacteria. That conclusion arises from a rigorous study of over 1,000 tumor samples of different human cancers. The study, headed by researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science, found bacteria living inside the cells of all the cancer types – from brain to bone to breast cancer – and even identified unique populations of bacteria residing in each type of cancer. The research suggests that understanding the relationship between a cancer cell and its “mini-microbiome” may help predict the potential effectiveness of certain treatments or may point, in the future, to ways of manipulating those bacteria to enhance the actions of anticancer treatments. The findings of this study were published in Science and featured on the cover.
May 28, 2020...
The first comprehensive survey of the microorganisms that live inside tumours has found that bacteria reside in those from many different cancer types, but it is unclear whether they contribute to tumour growth.
These bacteria make up part of a tumour’s microbiome – the complex community of bacteria, fungi and other microbes that live inside it.
Bacteria have previously been found in tumours in the bowel and other tissues in the body that are routinely exposed to microbes. However, less is known about their presence in tumours from other cancers, like those of the bone, brain and ovary.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/do-probiotics-actually-do-anything/
Jun 28, 2020...
There is an invisible universe hidden inside your body, it’s called the gut microbiome - a vast array of trillions of intestinal bacteria, hundreds of different species. They help digest your food in exchange for a warm, safe place to live. And we are only now starting to discover the gut microbiome plays a much larger role in our lives than we ever imagined.
Some of those bacteria found inside us are replicated in commercially manufactured mixtures called “probiotics.” You see them on grocery and pharmacy shelves, and they're recommended by your friends and often, by doctors like me.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/seasons-of-our-hormones/
Feb 02, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—February 2, 2021—Our minds may be affected by winter’s long nights or spring and its flowers, but what about our bodies? A new study at the Weizmann Institute of Science reveals that our hormones also follow a seasonal pattern. By analyzing data on several types of hormones from millions of blood tests, the researchers discovered that some hormones peak in winter or spring and others in summer. This research, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), provides a broad, dynamic picture of hormone production – covering those connected to fertility, for example, but also hormones such as cortisol, which are mostly short-lived and not thought to be seasonal.
May 19, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—May 19, 2021—Our livers work hard to perform a significant range of activities: helping us digest food, maintaining body temperature, and serving as an important checkpoint of the immune system for everything that we eat. It is inside the liver that the unique, rich, and complex network of immune cells and pathways is set up to decide whether a food particle is harmless or a dangerous pathogen that should be neutralized and removed. The liver is, therefore, very sensitive to the food we consume, and sometimes a poor diet can induce a serious dysregulation of the immune activities within it.
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