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.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/ebola-is-still-killing-people-can-new-vaccines-help/
Aug 27, 2019...
Warning, again: While not making global headlines like it used to, Ebola rages on. A sign in the Congo warns that Ebola is in the area and to avoid dead animals, which are a vector for the virus.
The massive 2014-16 outbreak of Ebola in Africa was the first time many of us had heard of the virus. The stories and images of horribly sick and dying people, the selfless doctors and nurses in their too-often-insufficient protective gear, the concern that the virus’s spread could not be stopped: for a while, Ebola was in the global consciousness. Then, thanks to efforts on a number of fronts, the outbreak was quashed. Our attention faded accordingly.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/cloud-spotting/
May 31, 2019... The first time The Curiosity Review saw a picture of the new cloud type asperitas, it looked so much like the definition of “forbidding” that we thought it had to be fake. It was spring 2017, and there was news of a citizen-science group’s success in convincing the World Meteorological Organization to add asperitas to the august International Cloud Atlas. Ten other new cloud types were also added – the first since 1975 – in large part due to the efforts of that group, the Cloud Appreciation Society.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/storm-trackers/
Jul 29, 2019...
The Earth breaks its fever: After a historic heat wave, violent rainstorms flooded New York, including Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on July 22 (Screenshot: Adrienne Zhou)
No matter where in the world you are right now, odds are you’ve recently experienced severe storms. And if you feel like they’re becoming more common, you are correct: more frequent, more severe storms are one of the many devastating effects of global warming. This makes sense, given that storms are how the earth gets rid of heat.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/anxious-who-isn-t-scientists-study-stress-in-the-brain/
Jan 24, 2020... “According to Gallup, in 2018, more Americans were stressed, worried and angry than at any point in the last 12 years. That is extraordinary when you consider that the past dozen years includes the 2008 financial crisis and multiple terrorist attacks. Furthermore, American stress levels are among the highest in the world. Seriously, Americans were as stressed as Iranians and more stressed than citizens of Rwanda, Turkey, and Venezuela,” reports The Washington Post, adding the technically accurate diagnosis: “That’s nuts.”
Mar 09, 2020...
Electrons spin. It's a fundamental part of their existence. Some spin “up” while others spin “down.” Scientists have known this for about a century, thanks to quantum physics.
They've also known that magnetic fields can affect the direction of an electron’s quantum spin, flipping it from up to down and vice versa. And it doesn't take much: Even a bacterial cell can do it.
Researchers at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science have found that protein “wires” connecting a bacterial cell to a solid surface tend to transmit electrons with a particular spin.
Jun 24, 2019... Technology can make our lives easier, but it also leaves us vulnerable to hackers. In the sixth episode of Weizmann in Focus, CEO Dave Doneson explores how Weizmann scientists are leading the way in cybersecurity. In a recent breakthrough, renowned cryptographer Prof. Adi Shamir exposed a major weakness in the “Internet of Things,” the growing world of smart devices that connect online. His groundbreaking work could result in better methods for keeping our private information safe.
Oct 02, 2019... Many expectant mothers are told that breastfeeding will come naturally, but it is often a fraught and confusing experience, especially during the first few weeks after birth. Parents often worry about if their babies are getting enough nutrition or if they are producing enough milk. MyMilk Labs wants to give nursing mothers more information with Mylee, a sensor that scans a few drops of breast milk to get information about its composition and connects to a mobile app. The Israel-based company presented today at Disrupt Battlefield as one of two wild card competitors picked from Startup Alley.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/steady-metal-hands/
Jan 30, 2019...
A robotic-assisted hysterectomy performed in 2014 at miVIP Surgery Center, in Los Angeles, California.
Pharmaceutical and consumer-goods company Johnson & Johnson (J&J) sees a lot of robotic surgery in its future. “We’re taking an outlook that digital surgery will be an important dynamic for the next five, 10 and 15 years,” chairman Alex Gorsky said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Jan. 22. The same day, Bloomberg reported that J&J is looking to buy $2 billion medical robotics company Auris Health, which would add to its already-sizable robotics surgery investment; in 2015, for example, J&J partnered with Alphabet’s Verily Life Sciences to create the startup Verb Surgical, focused on robotic-assisted tools for surgeons.
Feb 04, 2019...
We treasure our hearts: we fill them with love, soothe them when they ache, and keep them powerful with diet and exercise. But sometimes, no matter what, our hearts are affected by illness and disease – and that’s where science can help.
It’s American Heart Month, the perfect time to share with you some of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s remarkable research on the heart. After all, this affects all of us: as the Centers for Disease Control says, heart problems are both common and varied, affect people of all ages, and strike equally across gender and economic borders.
Aug 12, 2019... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—August 12, 2019—Weighing in at just about 160 kg (around 353 lbs), a new type of scientific satellite is planned to be built in Israel over the next four years, with a projected launch date of 2023. The satellite, known as ULTRASAT, will carry a telescope designed to observe the universe as it has never been seen before: it will operate in a range of light that is normally invisible to us – ultraviolet, or UV – and have a very large field of view.
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