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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 27, 2019... Fall is here and school is back in session. In the ninth episode of Weizmann in Focus, CEO Dave Doneson shares a simple tip to help prepare for success this academic year. Weizmann Prof. Noam Sobel, who studies the olfactory system, found that people who inhaled when presented with a problem-solving task performed better than those who exhaled. So, the next time you’re faced with a difficult task, take a deep breath!
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/a-3d-compass-in-the-brain/
Dec 03, 2014... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—December 3, 2014—Pilots are trained to guard against vertigo: a sudden loss of the sense of vertical direction that renders them unable to tell up from down, and sometimes even leads to crashes. Coming up out of a subway station can produce similar confusion, as for a few moments, you are unsure which way to go – until regaining your sense of direction. In both cases, the disorientation is thought to be caused by a temporary malfunction of a brain circuit that operates as a three-dimensional (3D) compass.
Dec 05, 2019...
Distinct stink: Mice missing a key autism gene respond similarly to nonsocial and social smells. (Shutterstock)
Neurons in mice that lack an autism gene called CNTNAP2 do not differentiate well between social and nonsocial smells, according to a new study1. These neurons are located in the prefrontal cortex — a brain region that controls social behavior — and fire haphazardly.
The findings suggest that these differences drive the social problems in the mice and perhaps in autistic people with mutations in the gene. The results appeared 25 November in Nature Neuroscience.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/what-s-new-in-brain-research-at-weizmann/
Jun 10, 2019...
Weizmann Institute researchers from across the disciplines are pursuing topics in neuroscience, approaching this crucial field from a number of angles. That’s because understanding our brains – in both health and disease – benefits everyone on this planet.
From Alzheimer’s to autism, Parkinson’s to mental health, memory to aging and beyond, here are just some of the Institute’s neuroscience advances over just the past year:
Nov 29, 2017...
The smell of skydiver sweat was used in a new study to determine the response to the ‘smell of fear’ in people with autism. AFP/Stringer
The lack of ability to “smell fear” may reveal clues about behaviour and brain development in people with autism, according to a new study.
We may not be aware of it, but research suggests many people are able to smell fear.
In fact, the ability to subliminally detect and respond to odours may relate to a variety of emotions we feel, ranging from happiness to aggression.
May 20, 2019... Prof. Noam Sobel is interviewed for the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research’s series “Spotlight on Basic Research” about his investigations of the sense of smell. Among other breakthroughs, he has found a way to manipulate smell to increase our trust in robots.
May 04, 2018...
Source: Unsplash
Anxiety is the voice in the back of your head that says, “something bad is going to happen.” It’s what keeps you awake at 2 a.m. thinking about something embarrassing you did — five years ago.
Not all introverts have anxiety, and extroverts and ambiverts can struggle with it, too. To be clear, introversion and anxiety aren’t the same thing. Introversion is a preference for calm, minimally stimulating environments, whereas anxiety is a general term for disorders that cause excessive fear, worrying, and nervousness.
Mar 05, 2014...
Left to right: Prof. Dr. Peter Gruss, Prof. Alon Chen, and Prof. Daniel Zajfman.
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 5, 2014—On Tuesday, March 4, 2014, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Max Planck Society and the Weizmann Institute of Science to inaugurate the Max Planck – Weizmann Laboratory for Experimental Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neurogenetics. The agreement was officially signed at the Weizmann Institute by Prof. Dr. Peter Gruss, President of the Max Planck Society, Prof. Daniel Zajfman, President of the Weizmann Institute, Dr. Ludwig Kronthaler, General Secretary of the Max Planck Society, and Prof. Haim Garty, Vice President of the Weizmann Institute.
Mar 16, 2016...
Will we ever be able to understand the cacophonous chatter taking place between the 80 million neurons in our brains? Dr. Ofer Yizhar and his group in the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Neurobiology have taken a large step in that direction with a new research method that can provide scientists with targeted control over vital parts of the brain’s communications.
Dr. Yizhar works in the relatively new field of optogenetics, in which scientists use genetic engineering and laser light in thin optical fibers to investigate the living brain. With these tools, scientists can modulate and control the activities of nerve circuits in the brain, and thus begin to unravel the networks of links and nodes in the brain’s communications systems.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/immune-system-maintains-brain-health/
Nov 01, 2016...
©ROY SCOTT/GETTY IMAGES
In a dark room in Charlottesville, Virginia, a mouse swims in a small pool, searching for a place to rest. In 12 previous swims, with the help of visual cues and training from an experimenter, the mouse eventually tracked down a platform near the center of the pool. But just a day after its last swim, the animal is spending nearly as much time searching for the platform as it did on its first swim. The discombobulated mouse’s problem? It has no T cells.
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