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 23, 2018...
Breast cancer cells in culture form tubelike interconnections. In this image, payloads of molecules (inside blue circles) can be seen moving along these membranous nanotubes and microtubes, illustrating how they might be transmitted to a cell in need of them. Such connections may help cancer cells share their resistance to therapeutic drugs. Ian Smith
When the physician and scientist Emil Lou was an oncology fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center about a decade ago, he was regularly troubled by the sight of something small but unidentifiable in his cancer-cell cultures. Looking through the microscope, he said, he “kept finding these long, thin translucent lines,” about 50 nanometers wide and 150 to 200 microns long, extending between cells in the culture. He called on the world-class cell biologists in his building to explain these observations, but nobody was sure what they were looking at. Finally, after delving into the literature, Lou realized that the lines matched what Hans-Hermann Gerdes’ group at the University of Heidelberg had described as “nanotubular highways” or “tunneling nanotubes” (TNTs) in a 2004 paper in Science.
May 30, 2015...
Weizmann Institute of Science. (photo credit:MICHAEL JACOBSON/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science and Tel Aviv University have discovered for the first time how the immune system in bacteria manages to recognize the difference between “foreign” and “self” and fight off invasive viruses called phages.
From single cells to humans, the first challenge of any immune system is to detect this key difference, but it’s far from simple – as viruses, bacteria and all other living things are made of DNA and proteins. Their findings were published online recently in the prestigious journal Nature.
Mar 04, 2019...
Lymphoid organs in the small intestines. Red: B cells aggregated in the “training centers.” Green: cells with the ability to secrete effective antibodies exiting the centers for the intestinal tissue
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 4, 2019—Only a few vaccines – for example, polio and rotavirus – can be given orally. Most must be delivered by injection. Weizmann Institute of Science researchers suggest this may be, in part, because the “training program” of the immune cells in the gut takes place under harsh conditions. Using a novel imaging method that captures all of the immune cells’ niches within a single organ, Dr. Ziv Shulman and research student Adi Biram investigated the training process for the gut-based cells involved in long-term immunity. Their findings, published in Nature Immunology, provide new insights that may, in the future, lead to the design of more effective oral vaccines.
Jul 23, 2019...
Image by Tashatuvango via Shutterstock.com
A trailblazing study by Israeli researchers suggests that intestinal microbes may have a direct effect on the course of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the incurable, fatal neurodegenerative disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease that affected physicist Stephen Hawking.
Published today in Nature, the study by researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science revealed that the progression of an ALS-like disease in lab mice was slowed after the mice received certain strains of gut microbes or substances known to be secreted by these microbes.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/gut-microbes-may-affect-the-course-of-als/
Jul 22, 2019...
Gut microbes such as these were found to have altered levels in ALS patients
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—July 22, 2019—Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have shown in mice that intestinal microbes, collectively termed the gut microbiome, may affect the course of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. As reported in Nature, progression of an ALS-like disease was slowed after the mice received certain strains of gut microbes or substances known to be secreted by these microbes. Preliminary results suggest that the findings on the regulatory function of the microbiome may be applicable to human patients with ALS.
Jan 18, 2017...
When it infiltrates a blood vessel wall, a T cell pushes thin filaments out of the way – but these quickly reassemble. Credit: BARZILAI ET AL / CELL REPORTS 2016
When immune cells need to attack an invader or simply patrol your organs, they must slip in and out of the bloodstream. But how they do this hasn’t been fully understood – until now.
A team from Israel and the UK watched different types of immune cell shimmy through a blood vessel wall. And instead of the blood vessel cells contracting to let them through, it appears immune cells squeeze their way through, breaking a few cell structures which are rapidly replaced.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/healing-a-battle-scarred-mind/
Apr 20, 2015...
Some soldiers are destined to relive the horrors of the battlefield for the rest of their lives. YURI KOZYREV / NOOR IMAGES
Daniel* deployed to Iraq aged 24. He thought he was invincible. His first firefight was intoxicating and Daniel quickly became the sort of squad leader everyone looked up to – unshakeable, the first into the line of fire. The problems began after one of Daniel’s squad took a bullet to the face.
Sep 17, 2014...
The artificial sweeteners in diet sodas, yogurt and other foods can raise blood-sugar levels, according to a new study. WSJ's Gautam Naik reports. Photo: iStock
The artificial sweeteners in diet soda, yogurt and other foods consumed by millions can raise the blood sugar level instead of reducing it, according to new experiments in mice and people.
The provocative finding—made possible through a new avenue of research—is likely to stoke the simmering controversy over whether artificial sweeteners help or hinder people's ability to lose weight and lower their risk of diabetes.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/the-dust-storm-microbiome/
Jun 27, 2017...
Dust storm in Timna Park, Israel
Israel is subjected to sand and dust storms from several directions: northeast from the Sahara, northwest from Saudi Arabia, and southwest from the desert regions of Syria. The airborne dust carried in these storms affects the health of people and ecosystems alike. New research at the Weizmann Institute of Science suggests that part of the effect might not be in the particles of dust but rather in bacteria that cling to them, traveling many kilometers in the air with the storms.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/bacterial-immune-systems-take-the-stage/
Apr 08, 2018...
Bacteria (illustrative). (photo credit: REUTERS)
Until a decade ago, scientists were not aware that bacteria had complex immune systems that could keep up with the pace of evolution in viruses called phages that infect bacteria. That changed with the discovery of what is now the most famous bacterial immune mechanism: CRISPR. This is a natural gene editor that has revolutionized the world of biological research in thousands of labs around the world. Researchers now understand that most microorganisms have sophisticated immune systems of which CRISPR is just one element; but there has been no good way to identify these systems.
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