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.
Nov 24, 2015...
Source: Georges Biard/Wikimedia Commons
In a recent interview about her upcoming film, Youth, Jane Fonda describes magical peak experiences she's had during the process of filmmaking. The language Fonda uses to describe her most inspired moments as an actress offer valuable clues for better understanding the highest form of “flow,” which I have coined “superfluidity.”
Last week, I wrote a Psychology Today blog post, “Superfluidity” and “Hot Hands” Are Synonymous,” which was inspired by a New Yorker article that examined a period during Bob Dylan’s career when he had a “hot hand,” as represented by a phenomenal streak of creative output during the 1960s.
May 04, 2014... This three-minute video tells the story of Weizmann Institute researcher Prof. Nachum Ulanovsky, who studies free-flying bats to explore the brain's ability to work in three dimensions. His work with bats has considerable implications for human neuroscience.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/mapping-the-social-landscape/
Jan 11, 2018... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—January 11, 2018— Whether we’re playing a team sport or just strolling through the park, we’re continually aware of the positions of those around us – and where each is heading. Scientists have, in recent decades, pinpointed neurons called “place cells” in our brains that encode our own location in the environment, but how our brains represent the positions of others has been a mystery. Published in Science, new Weizmann Institute of Science research in bats reveals a sub-population of neurons that encode the specific locations of other bats that are flying nearby.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/the-enzyme-that-sharpens-memories/
Apr 22, 2012...
Imagine never forgetting a single detail of your life — what you got for your 14th birthday, or the phone numbers of every one of your romantic interests. New science from Israel shows that this might be in the realm of possibility. The big question is: Would it be good for us?
The breakthrough Israeli-US research project, for the first time anywhere, has found a compound in the brain to enhance memory. Whether the enzyme responsible could ever be made into a "super pill" (like the one imagined in the science-fiction flick Limitless to boost brainpower) is quite speculative, says Reut Shema from Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/past-brain-activation-revealed-in-scans/
Jun 25, 2013... Illustrating the day-after effect of brain activation. The brain image at the back presents spontaneous (resting state) patterns before an fMRI-based neurofeedback training session. The front brain image presents spontaneous (resting state) patterns a day after the training session, illustrating the long-term trace of the training. The two brains are overlaid above scatter plots of individual subjects that demonstrate the “Hebbian-like” learning rule: cortical sites that were co-activated during training increased their resting state connectivity, while those that were de-correlated during training decreased it. For more information, see Harmelech et al., Journal of Neuroscience, 33(22):9488-97 2013. Photo credit: Weizmann Institute of Science. Read more
Jan 13, 2015...
Pluristem workers process placenta for the company's cell-based therapy products
A new study shows that placental cells could potentially treat and repair damaged nerves, leading the way to new treatment for stroke patients.
The findings indicate that PLacental eXpanded (PLX) cells, produced by Israeli biotech start-up Pluristem, protect PC12 cells – rat-derived cells that behave similarly to and are used as stand-ins to study human nerve cells.
Feb 19, 2006...
Approximately 18.8 million American adults suffer from depression, the leading cause of disability in the United States. Yet only about half the patients who take common medical treatments like antidepressant drugs actually see a therapeutic effect. Moreover, they suffer a broad range of undesirable side effects including weight gain, sexual dysfunction and even suicidal behavior.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has a far higher success rate, with some 80% of patients responding positively. ECT, however, is a highly invasive treatment involving general anesthesia, with many serious side effects ranging from dizziness and headaches to temporary or even permanent memory impairment.
Jul 30, 2019...
JERUSALEM, July 29 (Xinhua) – Israeli scientists discovered how oxytocin, known as the “love hormone,” is restocked in the brain, the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) said Monday.
Oxytocin is responsible, for example, for a burst of happiness with parents gazing at their newborn baby or a loving couple exchanging glances.
However, oxytocin is not only a hormone of love but also plays a role in normal social interaction, birth and breastfeeding, control of stress and appetite and more.
Sep 26, 2011... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—September 26, 2011—The fact that certain smells cause us pleasure or disgust would seem to be a matter of personal taste. But new research at the Weizmann Institute of Science shows that odors can be rated on a scale of pleasantness, and this turns out to be an organizing principle for the way we experience smell. The findings, which appeared today in Nature Neuroscience, reveal a correlation between the response of certain nerves to particular scents and the pleasantness of those scents. Based on this correlation, the researchers could tell by measuring the nerve responses whether a subject found a smell pleasant or unpleasant.
Oct 10, 2017...
Dr. Gladys Monroy and Larry Marks visiting the Weizmann Institute along with other Bay Area funders in 2014
Atherton residents Dr. Gladys Monroy and her husband, Larry Marks, have donated more than $6 million to establish a center for brain research at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. The new center will help scientists studying age-related disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
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