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 future of humanity.
Mar 19, 2020... In this videoconference, the Weizmann Institute’s Dr. Ron Diskin of the Department of Structural Biology, an expert in animal-borne viruses such as coronavirus, shares his insights on the current pandemic. A Q&A session with participants follows.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-october-2015/
Oct 26, 2015... Of the hundreds of genes that can be mutated in a single case of melanoma, only a handful may be true “drivers” of cancer. In research that recently appeared in Nature Genetics, a Weizmann Institute of Science team has now revealed one of the drivers of a particularly deadly subset of melanomas that is seeing a rise in new cases. This gene is a newly identified member of a group of genes called tumor suppressor genes, and is mutated in some 5.4% of melanomas. Furthermore, its expression was found to be lost in over 30% of human melanomas; this loss, according to the research, was associated with reduced patient survival. The discovery might open new doors to understanding how this cancer grows and spreads, and may lead in the future to new directions in treatment.
Apr 12, 2007... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—April 11, 2007—Muscle fibers are large cells that contain many nuclei. They begin, like all animal cells, as naive embryonic cells. These cells differentiate, producing intermediate cells called myoblasts that are now destined to become muscle. New myoblasts then seek out other myoblasts, and when they find each other, they stick together like best friends. In the final stage of muscle fiber development, the cell membranes of attached myoblasts open up and fuse together, forming one large, unified cell.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/unfolding-the-mysteries-of-proteins/
Feb 06, 2017... The deceptively simple, three-dimensional beauty of origami starts with a single sheet of paper, which must be precisely folded to become a swan or frog or crane. Similarly, the proteins that carry out many of the tasks in cells also must be accurately folded into three-dimensional structures; in their case, in order to perform their specific function and keep the organism – for example, you – in good shape. When origami is misfolded, the result is a pile of crumpled, formless paper. But when proteins don’t fold properly, the result is not so benign. In fact, it can be devastating: the misfolded proteins can clump together into aggregates that are toxic to normal, healthy cells.Dr. Rina Rosenzweig
Mar 11, 2019...
Illustration by Serge Bloch
Nobody paid much attention to Jean Vance 30 years ago, when she discovered something fundamental about the building blocks inside cells. She even doubted herself, at first.
The revelation came after a series of roadblocks. The cell biologist had just set up her laboratory at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and was working alone. She thought she had isolated a pure batch of structures called mitochondria — the power plants of cells — from rat livers. But tests revealed that her sample contained something that wasn’t supposed to be there. “I thought I’d made a big mistake,” Vance recalls.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/artificial-cells-act-like-the-real-thing/
Aug 18, 2014...
(l-r) Eyal Karzbrun, Alexandra Tayar, and Prof. Roy Bar-Ziv.
Imitation, they say, is the sincerest form of flattery, but mimicking the intricate networks and dynamic interactions that are inherent to living cells is difficult to achieve outside the cell. Now, as published in Science, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have created an artificial, network-like cell system that is capable of reproducing the dynamic behavior of protein synthesis. This achievement is not only likely to help us gain a deeper understanding of basic biological processes, but it may, in the future, pave the way toward controlling the synthesis of both naturally occurring and synthetic proteins for a host of uses.
Mar 27, 2017...
Medical treatment must take into account each patient’s individuality. Image via Shutterstock.com
Why is a certain type of cancer more often fatal in obese patients, and another type more fatal in the elderly? Why does a serious eye disease develop in many Bedouin children?
Doctors and researchers in Israel search for answers to medical mysteries like these at the Nancy & Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine (G-INCPM) at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/nobel-for-antibiotics-tool/
Oct 08, 2009...
Trio win chemistry prize for work that has led to cures for diseases.
STOCKHOLM—Americans Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz and Israeli Ada Yonath on Wednesday won the 2009 Nobel Prize in chemistry for the atom-by-atom mapping of protein-making factories within cells.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said their work on ribosomes has been fundamental to the scientific understanding of life and has helped researchers develop antibiotic cures for various diseases.
Oct 29, 2014... Prof. Deborah Fass speaks at the Partners in Innovation session of the Weizmann Institute's 2014 Global Gathering about her work with proteins. There are so many types of proteins that the total number is about the number of observable stars in the universe. ""Each of us,"" says Prof. Fass, ""is an entire protein universe."" Prof. Haim Garty introduces her.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/shipping-and-packing-proteins/
Dec 08, 2010... The billions of cells in our bodies have to work together and be in constant communication in order to sense and react to changes in their environment. They receive signals from other cells that tell them, for example, how much they need to grow, when to divide, and when to produce the proteins that carry out many of the tasks in the cell. “For all this to work, you need a specialized compartment in the cell where you can control the quality of every single protein the cell produces, package it correctly, and then send it on to its destination outside of the cell,” says Dr. Maya Schuldiner of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Molecular Genetics. She studies this specialized compartment, which is a structure known as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). “I call it the cell’s shipping and packing department,” she says.
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