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/going-public-with-parkinson-s-sharing-science-and-knowledge/
Sep 05, 2018...
Alan Alda, center, communicating science at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. Credit: SUNY Stony Brook.
Ardent science-communication advocate Alan Alda recently shared that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. With his willingness to be open about this terribly intimate illness, Alda has made another investment in his work to increase the general public’s level of scientific understanding – as well as raise awareness of the disease.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/what-s-new-in-brain-research-at-weizmann/
Jun 10, 2019...
Weizmann Institute researchers from across the disciplines are pursuing topics in neuroscience, approaching this crucial field from a number of angles. That’s because understanding our brains – in both health and disease – benefits everyone on this planet.
From Alzheimer’s to autism, Parkinson’s to mental health, memory to aging and beyond, here are just some of the Institute’s neuroscience advances over just the past year:
Feb 19, 2006...
Approximately 18.8 million American adults suffer from depression, the leading cause of disability in the United States. Yet only about half the patients who take common medical treatments like antidepressant drugs actually see a therapeutic effect. Moreover, they suffer a broad range of undesirable side effects including weight gain, sexual dysfunction and even suicidal behavior.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has a far higher success rate, with some 80% of patients responding positively. ECT, however, is a highly invasive treatment involving general anesthesia, with many serious side effects ranging from dizziness and headaches to temporary or even permanent memory impairment.
Oct 22, 2015... The human brain is “limitless” – and yet, sometimes things go wrong. In this video, Prof. Noam Sobel, Dr. Assaf Tal, Prof. Michal Schwartz, Prof. Alon Chen, Dr. Tali Kimchi, Dr. Ofer Yizhar, Prof. Daniel Zajfman, and Prof. Yadin Dudai talk about studying the brain in health and disease, always learning “what it means to be human, what it means to think, what it means to remember.”
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/unfolding-the-mysteries-of-proteins/
Feb 06, 2017... The deceptively simple, three-dimensional beauty of origami starts with a single sheet of paper, which must be precisely folded to become a swan or frog or crane. Similarly, the proteins that carry out many of the tasks in cells also must be accurately folded into three-dimensional structures; in their case, in order to perform their specific function and keep the organism – for example, you – in good shape. When origami is misfolded, the result is a pile of crumpled, formless paper. But when proteins don’t fold properly, the result is not so benign. In fact, it can be devastating: the misfolded proteins can clump together into aggregates that are toxic to normal, healthy cells.Dr. Rina Rosenzweig
Jan 09, 2018... Dr. Shimanovich speaks at London’s how to: Academy about her work with silk fibers and how they affect the brain in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Jun 13, 2017...
Thanks to advances in healthcare, sanitation, safety, and nutrition, people today are living longer than ever; in fact, in the West, the fastest-growing demographic is age 85 and up.
Fortunately, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers from across the disciplines have long made it a priority to investigate neurodegenerative and neurological disorders, including those that tend to strike older people; just some of these areas of research include Parkinson’s, glaucoma and advanced macular degeneration (AMD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease), nerve degeneration as a result of trauma or stroke – and, especially, Alzheimer’s disease.
Jan 02, 2006... In 2002 a clinical trial of an experimental Alzheimer's vaccine was halted when a few patients began experiencing brain inflammation, a result of the immune system mounting an attack against the body. Now some researchers claim that inducing a mild autoimmune reaction could actually protect the central nervous system from a spectrum of neurodegenerative conditions, from glaucoma and spinal cord injury to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. "This is a hot-button issue right now," says Howard Gendelman of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/rethinking-the-aging-brain/
Oct 01, 2006...
A vaccination for slowing the brain’s aging process is the goal of Prof. Michal Schwartz of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Neurobiology Department. “At face value, it sounds like an impossible mission,” she says.
However, her research suggests that the immune system plays a critical role in maintaining a healthy brain and the renewal of brain cells. Consequently, boosting the immune system via a vaccination may one day help to prevent aging of the brain and perhaps slow down disease progression in the cases of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Apr 23, 2019...
For years, Israeli neurologist Tamar Flash has had a fascination with the octopus, and the way the invertebrate’s eight arms propel it effortlessly through the water.
She’s convinced this has major implications for diagnosing and treating Parkinson’s disease — and possible other disorders as well.
“My major interest is the brain’s representation of movement, or the principles underlying the organization, control, and perception of movement by humans,” she recently told Parkinson’s News Today. The octopus has no bones. It’s totally soft. It’s just made of muscles.”
©2023 American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science
