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.
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.
Mar 17, 2021...
The mouse embryos looked perfectly normal. All their organs were developing as expected, along with their limbs and circulatory and nervous systems. Their tiny hearts were beating at a normal 170 beats per minute.
But these embryos were not growing in a mother mouse. They were developed inside an artificial uterus, the first time such a feat has been accomplished, scientists reported on Wednesday.
Oct 18, 2021... Prof. Jacob Hanna of Weizmann’s Department of Molecular Genetics embodies the creativity, innovation, and outside-the-box thinking that have been hallmarks of the Institute since its inception. In this engaging webinar we hear from Prof. Hanna on the use of his revolutionary methods to study stem cells and how he is making major leaps forward in this field. His groundbreaking work could pave the way to medical applications such as the ability to repair damaged tissue, treat autoimmune diseases, grow transplant organs, cure infertility, and much more. Following the presentation the American Committee's Senior Vice President for Donor Relations and National Programs, Bonnie Diamond, led a dynamic Q&A session.
Dec 20, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—December 20, 2021—Prof. Eldad Tzahor peered into his microscope one day and saw steak. As part of Tzahor’s research into repairing muscle tissue, Dr. Tamar Eigler, a postdoctoral fellow in his lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science, had been experimenting with cultured muscle stem cells. One of these experiments had produced the surprising sight that appeared before Tzahor’s eyes: The cells had started fusing into tiny fibers that thickened rapidly, within hours creating large muscle fibers resembling those in whole cut meat.
Jan 05, 2022...
Scientists have been exploring the idea of growing organs outside the human body for transplantation procedures but nothing concrete has come yet. However, new research by a team from the Weizmann Institute shows that we may be drawing closer to that being possible.
The ability to culture organs in labs would make a whole lot of difference in medicine. It could make it possible to preserve millions of lives each year. Numerous people require transplantation but getting an organ is a problem.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/tracking-multiple-genes-with-flying-colors/
Jan 31, 2022...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—January 31, 2022—Even fans of black-and-white film can’t deny that color brought new life to photography and motion pictures. And when it comes to learning what happens inside the body, there’s no substitute for color.
Were it possible, for example, to map out real-time gene expression in our body’s cells using contrasting colors, scientists would gain a glimpse of vital biological processes that are currently invisible. The problem is that the glowing multicolor proteins used by scientists to illuminate, so to speak, the inner workings of cells are of little help in observing deep-seated processes in the body, because the thickness of tissues obscures the glow.
Aug 01, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—August 1, 2022— An egg meets a sperm – that’s a necessary first step in life’s beginnings, and it’s also a common first step in embryonic development research. But in a Weizmann Institute of Science study published today in Cell, researchers have grown synthetic embryo models of mice outside the womb by starting solely with stem cells cultured in a petri dish – that is, without the use of fertilized eggs. The method opens new horizons for studying how stem cells form various organs in the developing embryo, and may one day make it possible to grow tissues and organs for transplantation using synthetic embryo models.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/2022-breakthroughs-of-the-year/
Dec 08, 2022...
Today, The Atlantic reveals its inaugural 10 Breakthroughs of the Year. The accomplishments span every station of life, from birth to death, and every component, from our cells to the stars. They include a drug that revives the organs of dead animals; an embryo created without sperm or egg; a telescope to see the universe’s first moments; and an AI that conjures award-winning art.
One theme of this year’s list is the principle of “twin ideas”—the tendency for major breakthroughs to have more than one author. The telegraph was invented by Charles Wheatstone and Samuel Morse in the same year, 1837, and patents for the telephone were filed by Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell on the same day in 1876. Accordingly, many of this year’s breakthroughs are group efforts rather than individual awards. We didn’t just get one mind-blowing generative AI app this year; we got several in the span of a few months. We didn’t just get one “unheard-of” cancer breakthrough; we got several in one year. In this golden age of new vaccine technology, many different companies are building off the success of the COVID shots to deliver new antiviral weaponry for humankind.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/treating-a-heart-attack-before-it-happens/
Mar 08, 2023...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 8, 2023— Imagine getting treatment for a perfectly healthy young heart that would allow it to recover from an otherwise devastating injury decades later.
If you think this prospect seems farfetched, you are not alone. Until recently, Prof. Eldad Tzahor, whose lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science studies heart tissue regeneration, had also considered it science fiction. After all, cardiovascular diseases, which are humanity’s leading cause of death, aren’t generally perceived as something one can prepare for through preventive treatment. But Tzahor and researchers in his lab have now activated a cellular mechanism in healthy mouse hearts that makes these mice resilient to future heart attacks – even when they occur months later.
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