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.
Jul 21, 2019...
Some people are morning exercisers. For them, an early run or swim is as much a part of their wake-up ritual as that first cup of coffee. Others can’t abide the idea. They need a nighttime workout to rid themselves of the day’s stresses.
Does it make a difference? Several recent studies suggest that it does. But it’s complicated.
One recent paper indicates that morning exercise may activate certain genes in the muscle cells, boosting their ability to metabolize sugar and fat. While scientists say this finding requires further study, they think it ultimately might help those who are overweight or suffering from Type 2 diabetes.
Feb 24, 2019...
Embryonic stem cells. (Credit: Giovanni Cancemi via shutterstock.com)
Modern medicine sometimes really is a miracle, with many illnesses and conditions that in the past spelled sure death now treatable and curable. Not only is medicine effective, but in recent years it’s becoming more convenient, futuristic and innovative.
So why is it that many people still need to inject themselves every day to stay alive?
Apr 18, 2019...
New studies, from the Weizmann Institute of Science and the University of California, Irvine, found mice that exercised in the evening were 50% more efficient than in the morning (file image)
Taking an evening jog may be better for you than going on a morning run, two new studies find.
In research conducted on mice, scientists said that exercise performance was about 50 percent better during the evening hours.
Mar 25, 2019...
Illustration by Kanyanat Wongsa/Shutterstock.com
Far more than your alarm clock, what governs your wake-sleep cycle is the internal circadian clock regulating your whole body. This biological timekeeper also affects hunger, thirst, body temperature, mood, hormone fluctuations and more.
Disturbances to the circadian rhythm, or to the genes that produce the rhythm, can cause problems from low productivity and insomnia to depression and diabetes. Some of the most common disturbances are night-shift work, artificial light and travel across time zones.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/the-a-i-diet/
Mar 02, 2019...
Eric Blad
Some months ago, I participated in a two-week experiment that involved using a smartphone app to track every morsel of food I ate, every beverage I drank and every medication I took, as well as how much I slept and exercised. I wore a sensor that monitored my blood-glucose levels, and I sent in a sample of my stool for an assessment of my gut microbiome. All of my data, amassed with similar input from more than a thousand other people, was analyzed by artificial intelligence to create a personalized diet algorithm. The point was to find out what kind of food I should be eating to live a longer and healthier life.
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/video-gallery/weizmann-in-focus-episode-11-time-to-get-fit/
Feb 07, 2020...
We’re well into the New Year and many of us have resolved to get fit in 2020 … but does the time we work out make a difference? In the latest episode of Weizmann in Focus, Dave Doneson discusses the research of Dr. Gad Asher, who studies the effects of our biological clocks on everything from fitness to jetlag to liver disease.
Find out Dr. Asher’s take on whether mornings or evenings are the best time to hit the gym. Please share the video with friends via email or social media.
Oct 15, 2019...
Your body is composed of about 10 million human cells. It’s also home to about 100 trillion tiny microbes, mainly bacteria, that wield astonishing power over your health.
Many influences, from genetics, to diet and stress, contribute to the makeup of your microbiome — the collective community of microbes as personal as a fingerprint.
Understanding, manipulating and balancing the microbiome could play an increasing role in preventing and curing diseases.
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.
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