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/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-august-2014/
Aug 11, 2014... Blood stem cells have the potential to turn into any type of blood cell, whether it be the oxygen-carrying red blood cells, or the immune system’s many types of white blood cells that help fight infection. How exactly is the fate of these stem cells regulated? Preliminary findings from research conducted by scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Hebrew University are starting to reshape the conventional understanding of the way blood stem cell fate decisions are controlled, thanks to a new technique for epigenetic analysis they have developed. Understanding epigenetic mechanisms (environmental influences other than genetics) of cell fate could lead to the deciphering of the molecular mechanisms of many diseases, including immunological disorders, anemia, leukemia, and many more. It also lends strong support to findings that environmental factors and lifestyle play a more prominent role in shaping our destiny than previously realized.
Sep 11, 2019...
JERUSALEM, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) – Israeli scientists have developed a method that allows unprecedented observation of embryonic stem cell differentiation, the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) reported Tuesday.
The study, published in the journal Molecular Cell, is another step in solving one of the great mysteries of life – a tiny ball of identical cells implants itself in the uterus, and somehow, these cells begin to differentiate – each heading for a different fate.
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/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.
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.
Nov 11, 2015... NEW YORK, NY — (Marketwired - November 11, 2015) – Cell Source, Inc. (OTCQB: CLCS) a biotechnology company focused on developing cell therapy treatments based on immunotherapy and regenerative medicine, announced today initial indications that its Megadose Drug Combination has been used to successfully treat a cancer patient in Italy. Cell Source's proprietary Megadose Drug Combination (licensed exclusively from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel) is expected to increase bone marrow transplantation (BMT) success and survival.
Mar 22, 2012... Procognia (TASE:PRCG) is pleased to announce that the feasibility stage of the research, which focused on the glycosylation structures of stem cells, has been successfully completed. The research, directed by Prof. Dov Zipori from the Weizmann Institute of Science, was designed to develop a platform that will significantly improve the ability to identify and develop unique stem cells for transplant and treatment. Today, stem cell treatment faces a number of challenges, which both parties aim to handle successfully and therefore make a significant contribution to this field.
Jul 27, 2012...
Researchers conduct a study at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Photo credit: Doron Horowitz/Flash90
Scientists have long been aware of the mechanics of epigenetics in the body, in which environmental and other factors affect cells, in a sort of non-genetic “mutation.” As cells divide, they “activate” only the genes that are necessary for their own use, even if they carry the entire gene sequence of a person. But sometimes, proper differentiation of the cells into different types with different functions fails, possibly because of improper molecular “labeling” in a cell. And following this line of research, a team led scientists at the Weizmann Institute have discovered a link between cancer and epigenetic changes.
Apr 27, 2020... On May 2, 1986, while visiting my long-term colleague and friend Richard O’Reilly, the head of bone marrow transplantation at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, I received a strange phone call. It was from Richard Champlin, who worked at the Bone Marrow Transplant Center at UCLA. He tended to speak very fast, so it took me some time to understand from his over-excited voice that he was about to leave the next day for Moscow.
Mar 17, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 17, 2021—To observe how a tiny ball of identical cells on its way to becoming a mammalian embryo first attaches to an awaiting uterine wall and then develops into the nervous system, heart, stomach, and limbs: This has been a highly sought-after grail in the field of embryonic development for nearly 100 years. Now, Prof. Jacob Hanna of the Weizmann Institute of Science and his group have accomplished this feat. The method they created for growing mouse embryos outside the womb during the initial stages after embryo implantation will give researchers an unprecedented tool for understanding the development program encoded in the genes, and may provide detailed insights into birth and developmental defects as well as those involved in embryo implantation. The results were published in Nature.
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