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.
Sep 14, 2017...
Bacteria, in green, inside a pancreatic cancer cell
Cancers have unwitting allies: the healthy cells that surround them. Several groups of scientists have now found that normal cells can inadvertently release substances that shield their malignant neighbors from anticancer drugs. That would explain why even targeted therapies—smart drugs that are meant to hit the specific genetic faults behind various cancers—sometimes stumble right out of the gate. When pitted against isolated cancer cells in laboratory tests, they perform as expected. But when pitted against actual tumors, which enjoy a kind of innate resistance because of the healthy cells around them, the drugs can fail.
Aug 21, 2007... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—August 21, 2007—Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a type of blood cancer in which specific white blood cells, called B lymphocytes or B cells, build up in the blood, bone marrow, and lymph nodes. The lifespan of a normal B cell is limited by an internal self-destruct program but, in cancer cells, this mechanism breaks down. B cells that don’t self-destruct can live on to multiply and eventually accumulate in dangerous amounts.
Oct 20, 2015... Before breakthroughs in breast cancer research ever appear in the news or on the market, there are cadres of researchers working tirelessly, largely unseen, to develop these improvements. At the Weizmann Institute, these scientists are coming together from across the fields – biologists and mathematicians, geneticists and chemists, plants scientists and physicists – in the interest of defeating breast cancer.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/predicting-who-will-get-leukemia/
Jan 28, 2020...
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, is usually only diagnosed at an advanced stage, at which point it requires aggressive treatment. Although AML is a relatively rare disease, accounting for just 1.8 percent of cancer deaths in the U.S., its incidence is expected to increase as the population ages. The average age of diagnosis is 68.
“What’s horrible about AML is that often there are no symptoms or very mild symptoms, and it’s discovered during a routine blood test, meaning it’s identified when it is at a very late stage,” says Dr. Liran Shlush of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Immunology.
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.
Apr 03, 2016...
Cancer cells (Pixabay)
Scientists at the Weizmann Institute may have found the cure for prostate cancer, at least if it is caught in its early stages – via a drug that doctors inject into cancerous cells and treat with infrared laser illumination.
Using a therapy lasting 90 minutes, the drug, called Tookad Soluble, targets and destroys cancerous prostate cells, studies show, allowing patients to check out of the hospital the same day without the debilitating effects of chemical or radiation therapy or the invasive surgery that is usually used to treat this disease.
Sep 27, 2019...
JERUSALEM, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) – New discovery of bacteria immune system brought insight into treating autoimmune disease and even cancer, the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel reported Thursday.
Israeli researchers found that humans and bacteria have the same defense mechanism in the immune system, and bacteria must continually protect themselves from viruses called phages that infect them, the report said.
May 14, 2020...
May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. And one important fact to be aware of is that the most common skin cancers, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, aren’t the ones that kill.
The least common variety, melanoma, causes most skin-cancer deaths because it quickly spreads (metastasizes) to other parts of the body.
That’s why many researchers around the world focus on melanoma, so-called because it starts in melanocyte cells that give skin its color.
Jun 02, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 2, 2020—Cancer cells are comfy havens for bacteria. That conclusion arises from a rigorous study of over 1,000 tumor samples of different human cancers. The study, headed by researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science, found bacteria living inside the cells of all the cancer types – from brain to bone to breast cancer – and even identified unique populations of bacteria residing in each type of cancer. The research suggests that understanding the relationship between a cancer cell and its “mini-microbiome” may help predict the potential effectiveness of certain treatments or may point, in the future, to ways of manipulating those bacteria to enhance the actions of anticancer treatments. The findings of this study were published in Science and featured on the cover.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/from-israel-to-chernobyl-treating-victims-of-the-nuclear-disaster/
Jun 16, 2020...
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant catastrophe on April 26, 1986 has always loomed large in our imaginations, particularly for those of us living through the Cold War.
Last year, the event was front and center yet again – and new generations learned about it – when HBO’s limited series, “Chernobyl,” took us through the disaster, step by harrowing misstep. The show also reminded us of the heroes, from the scientists trying to reach the truth to the workers who sacrificed themselves.
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