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/what-an-alien-can-teach-us-about-ourselves/
Apr 30, 2018...
We want to believe: “Ata,” a mummy found in Chile’s Atacama region, inspired theories and rumors.Credit: Bhattacharya, S. et al., 2018
It started the way some of the best mysteries do: a strange discovery in a remote and otherworldly place; rumors that spread through obscure corners of the world, occasionally flickering into view; and the resolution of the mystery, revealing that the truth is as curious as the rumors. (Well, almost.)
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/are-these-ocean-dwellers-the-future-shape-of-humankind/
Jun 01, 2018...
The life aquatic with the Bajau: The islanders have evolved to remain underwater, at depth, for extended periods – even walking on the sea floor. Credit: BBCone
How long can you hold your breath underwater? If you’re untrained, it’s about 30 seconds. With practice: a minute, maybe two. But you’ll never be a Bajau.
A new study shows that these Southeast Asian ocean-dwelling people have changed genetically, enabling them to easily hold their breath for up to 15 minutes at a time as they drop to the ocean floor to dive, spearfish, or collect shellfish. Quoted in The Atlantic, researcher Dr. Melissa Ilardo says: “Underwater, the Bajau are as comfortable as most people are on land. They walk on the seafloor. They have complete control of their breath and body.”
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/night-owls-are-wired-that-way/
Jun 18, 2019...
Working when your brain does: Dr. Matthew Walker says that night owls, about 30% of the population, “are bound to a delayed schedule by unavoidable DNA hardwiring. It is not their conscious fault, but rather their genetic fate.” Prof. Gad Asher shines a light on why.
Our culture celebrates early risers, valuing them as harder workers more worthy of success. But scientists like Gad Asher are now proving that night owls don’t choose their fates; it’s in their genes. Will research help owls gain respect?
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/science-hope/
Jan 18, 2018...
Even if you feel that things might be a little bleak right now, the start of any new year is a time to be optimistic. And the best, most realistic place to look for hope is science.
After all, science is universal and unifying and knows no boundaries. In every corner of the world, scientists of every stripe are taking on today’s problems. Tomorrow’s, too. Here are just a few rays of sunshine that gave us hope:
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-november-2007/
Nov 26, 2007...
Some people are oblivious to the odor in the locker room after a game, while others wrinkle their noses at the slightest whiff of sweat. Research by Prof. Doron Lancet and research student Idan Menashe of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Molecular Genetics Department, which appeared recently in PLoS Biology, has now shown that this difference is at least partly genetic.
Our sense of smell often takes a back seat to our other senses, but humans can perceive up to 10,000 different odors. Like mice, which boast a highly developed sense of smell, we have about 1,000 different genes for the smell-detecting receptors in our olfactory 'retinas.' In humans, however, over half of these genes have, in the last few million years, become defunct — some in all people, while others in just parts of the population.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/looking-for-the-genes-that-drive-cancer/
Dec 01, 2012... Prof. Yardena Samuels of the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Molecular Cell Biology uses the power of DNA sequencing to identify new groups of genetic mutations involved in the deadliest form of skin cancer, melanoma. One of her discoveries, a mutation found in nearly one-fifth of melanoma cases, was particularly encouraging because it is located in a gene already targeted by a drug approved for certain types of breast cancer, and preliminary clinical trials are underway.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/could-this-be-the-fountain-of-youth/
Jan 01, 2019...
There are certain proteins in the body that can fuel ageing cells, allowing them to thrive. A team in Israel gave mice a drug that blocked that protein, and left them more youthful
A drug that helps the immune system clear away old cells could restore youthfulness, according to a new study.
The research suggests it may be possible to reverse the ageing process and could potentially pave the way for anti-ageing treatments that actually work.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/executive-suite-leemor-joshua-tor/
Mar 30, 2014...
Leemor Joshua-Tor in her Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory facility on March 18, 2014. She is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Credit: Newsday / Audrey C. Tiernan
Leemor Joshua-Tor caught the scientific world's attention in 2004 when her gene-silencing discoveries contributed an important clue in the fight against viruses and diseases such as macular degeneration and cancer. As a principal investigator, she defines research projects and then must figure out how to fund them.
Aug 08, 2007... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—August 8, 2007—Metastasis—when cancer cells dissociate from the original tumor and migrate via the blood stream to colonize distant organs—is the main cause of cancer death. A team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science has now revealed new details about the mechanisms controlling metastasis of breast cancer cells. Their findings, published recently online in Nature Cell Biology, add significantly to the understanding of metastasis and may aid, in the future, in the development of anti-cancer drugs.
Feb 13, 2017...
A cross-section of a mouse liver lobule under a fluorescence microscope. The middle layer reveals an abundance of messenger RNA molecules (white dots) for the gene encoding hepcidin, the iron-regulating hormone
If you get up in the morning feeling energetic and clearheaded, you can thank your liver for manufacturing glucose before breakfast time. Among a host of other vital functions, it also clears our body of toxins and produces most of the carrier proteins in our blood. In a study reported recently in Nature, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers showed that the liver’s amazing multitasking capacity is due at least in part to a clever division of labor among its cells.
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