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.
May 29, 2008...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—May 29, 2008—A Weizmann Institute study provides important new insights into the process of viral infection. The study, reported in the online journal PLoS Biology, reveals certain mechanisms by which mimivirus—a virus so called because it was originally thought to mimic bacteria in various aspects of their behavior—invades amoeba cells.
Living cells become infected by viruses in two steps. First, the virus penetrates the cell. Next, in the second and crucial step, the cell starts producing new viruses, which spread and infect additional cells. At the beginning of this production process, the cell makes the outer wall of the virus, which is a container of sorts composed of proteins and known as the capsid. The cell then makes copies of viral DNA and inserts it into the capsid. The result is a new, functioning virus that is ready to leave the host cell and infect more cells.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/the-man-who-studies-deadly-diseases/
Dec 01, 2013...
Diskin’s specialty is using X-ray crystallography to image the proteins in viruses.
Ron Diskin, 37, is a world expert on the structural biology of deadly viruses. His critical contribution to the field points the way to unprecedented treatment approaches.
And he is living proof that the supposed “brain drain” from Israel is perhaps better described as a back-and-forth flow of the best and brightest minds.
Mar 25, 2020... In this videoconference hosted by Weizmann Canada, Prof. Sarel Fleishman of the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Biomolecular Sciences gives a progress report on his lab’s coronavirus research. The coronavirus is so named because it is covered in “spikes” that look like the sun’s corona; Prof. Fleishman seeks to bind and neutralize the spike proteins, thus stopping the virus.
Oct 29, 2014...
Receiving a vaccine (illustrative photo: Miriam Alster/Flash90)
A universal flu vaccine developed by Israel’s BiondVax has been granted patents by both the European Union and Japan, the company announced Wednesday. BiondVax’s technology had previously received patents in the United States, Hong Kong, Australia, China, Russia and Mexico, and the two new approvals extend its reach dramatically.
With the newest patent approvals, the company said that it can now enter into wide-scale development programs with pharmaceutical companies and governments that will license its technology to develop a one-stop-shop vaccine for influenza.
Mar 16, 2020... Prof. Gabi Barbash, Former Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Health and Director of the Weizmann Institute Bench-to-Bedside Program, which brings together scientists and physicians to fight disease, explains coronavirus from the perspective of public health. He also speaks to how it spreads and how it is different from other contagions.
Mar 19, 2019...
BiondVax CEO Dr. Ron Babecoff (upper row, center) and employees at the company’s new Jerusalem production facility. (photo credit: Courtesy)
New vaccines are developed every year, based on three strains of the influenza virus that experts believe to be most likely in the upcoming season. Frequent and unpredictable mutations of the virus, however, mean that vaccine effectiveness significantly varies from year to year.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/study-scientists-revive-old-fading-memories/
Mar 03, 2011... What would it be like if you never forgot — if your brain were able to access your haziest long-term memories as though they had just been freshly made? For the first time, working in rats, researchers have enhanced weak, old memories by tweaking an enzyme in the brain. The findings not only deepen understanding of how memory works, but offer new hope for the development of treatments for Alzheimer’s and other memory-destroying diseases.
Mar 25, 2020... In just one week, Profs. Ido Amit and Eran Elinav, both of the Department of Immunology, have built one of the highest-tech labs in the world. They developed a new type of PCR testing that is tremendously fast: if current capabilities test one patient at a time, the new method can test all of Israel simultaneously. The scientists intend to make their method available to anyone who needs it.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/viruses-overheard-talking-to-one-another/
Jan 18, 2017...
Prof. Rotem Sorek uncovered a virus code
Viruses may be stealthy invaders, but a study at the Weizmann Institute of Science reveals a new, chatty side of some: for the first time, viruses have been found communicating with one another. This communication – short “posts” left for kin and descendants – helps the viruses reading them to decide how to proceed with the process of infection. The research was reported in Nature.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-july-2014/
Jul 28, 2014... Using the body’s natural virus killers to prevent and treat HIV infection has been problematic until now because of the strong inflammatory response these molecules can stimulate as they get rid of the invaders. Now, collaborative research conducted by scientists at the Weizmann Institute and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have demonstrated how suppressing the activity of these molecules – interferons – around the time of infection could have long-term implications for the course of the disease. Their research appeared in Nature.
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