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.
Oct 24, 2019... Evogene Ltd. (Nasdaq: EVGN; TASE:EVGN) biopharmaceutical unit Biomica, which is developing innovative microbiome-based therapeutics, has announced a collaboration with the Weizmann Institute of Science to develop a selective treatment against antibiotic resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus infection. This microbiome focused approach aims to target a specific microbe while maintaining the microbiome of the patients’ gut. The company has in-licensed Prof. Ada Yonath’s, Nobel Prize laureate, work and discoveries in high-resolution crystal structure of the large ribosomal subunit of the pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus. The crystal structure originates from pathogenic species, allowing a high degree of specificity, and together with Biomica’s unique computational technology, will enable the design and development of new types of selective, narrow spectrum antibiotics agents. Prof. Yonath’s group will scientifically support Biomica in the development of the technology.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-may-2009/
May 05, 2009...
One can have a dream, two can make that dream so real, goes a popular song. Now a Weizmann Institute study has revealed that it takes two to perform an essential form of DNA repair.
Prof. Zvi Livneh of the Weizmann Institute’s Biological Chemistry Department has been studying DNA repair for some two decades: “Considering that the DNA of each cell is damaged about 20,000 times a day by radiation, pollutants, and harmful chemicals produced within the body, it’s obvious that without effective DNA repair, life as we know it could not exist. Most types of damage result in individual mutations – genetic ‘spelling mistakes’ – that are corrected by precise, error-free repair enzymes. Sometimes, however, damage results in more than a mere spelling mistake; it can cause gaps in the DNA, which prevent the DNA molecule from being copied when the cell divides, much like an ink blot or a hole on a book page interferes with reading. So dangerous are these gaps that the cell resorts to a sloppy but efficient repair technique to avoid them: it fills in the missing DNA in an inaccurate fashion. Such repair can save the cell from dying, but it comes at a price: this error-prone mechanism, discovered at the Weizmann Institute and elsewhere about a decade ago, is a major source of mutations.”
Apr 16, 2019... The Weizmann Institute brings together scientists from a variety of disciplines to tackle cancer head-on. In the fourth episode of Weizmann in Focus, CEO Dave Doneson highlights a recent headline-making breakthrough from the labs of Profs. Ido Amit and Amos Tanay. Working with hospitals across Israel, the scientists identified a very small number of malignant cells in what is considered a pre-malignant stage of multiple myeloma—the second-most common type of blood cancer. Their discovery holds the promise of earlier, more precise treatment.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-february-2012/
Feb 24, 2012...
The Weizmann Institute is One of Seven “Instruct” Core Centres
Major transformations in biomedical science are on the horizon with the establishment of the world-class Integrated Structural Biology Infrastructure (Instruct) in support of European biomedical research.
The European Strategy Forum of Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) is involved in establishing about 40 such infrastructures, seven of them in biomedical sciences. Instruct is one such biomedical project, whose aim is to provide pan-European user access to state-of-the-art equipment, technologies, and manpower in cellular structural biology. This will allow Europe to maintain a competitive edge and play a leading role in this vital research area.
Feb 08, 2012...
Magisto's founders Oren Boiman, left, and Alex Rav-Acha.
Most video is boring: Cats doing flips, babies taking their first steps, your second-cousin-once-removed’s bar mitzvah party. Yet we can’t help ourselves from churning it out. Some 48 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. And it’s just getting worse with the proliferation of smart phones, which can take high-quality video (Apple’s new iPhone 4S even offers HD).
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/abbott-steps-up-presence-in-israeli-market/
Feb 07, 2012... Since buying Israeli company Starlims in 2010, Abbott Laboratories, which has a finger in just about every biomed pie, has shown heightened interest in the Israeli market. The company is a leader in drugs and diagnostics, and has a thriving medical devices division, and a nutrition division (Similac, for example). It is even active in animal health, and it has launched a new venture capital fund that seeks technologies in Israel.
Nov 07, 2014...
Artist's rendering of the SpaceIL Google Lunar XPrize spacecraft conducting its mission. Credit: SpaceIL
Eran Privman, CEO of SpaceIL, authored this article with contributions from mission scientist Oded Aharonson and SpaceIL science team investigator Avi Barliya. The authors contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
With the goal of landing the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon, nonprofit SpaceIL is competing for the Google Lunar XPrize: a modern race to the moon. The competition promises a $20-million grand prize to the first nongovernmental team to soft-land an unmanned spacecraft on the moon, travel 500 meters (1640 feet) across the surface, and send high-resolution images and video back to Earth.
Sep 02, 2010... On her first tour of her freshman dorm at the University of California, Davis in the fall of 1992, neurophysiologist and science journalist Kirsten Sanford met an engineering student who talked to her about signing up for an electronic mail account—a term she had never heard before. At the time, the Internet was little more than green text on a black screen, and hardly anyone she knew used it. But Sanford was intrigued. “The idea that I could send messages immediately to people without having to stamp a letter was fascinating.”
Mar 25, 2013...
The computer under construction. Photo courtesy of Weizmann Institute
In a glass case in the computer sciences building at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, stands a somewhat nondescript item. It’s an old-fashioned machine with lots of wires emerging from it, connecting it to receivers and other electronic components. Only a small sign in the corner reveals its significance.
This is WEIZAC — an acronym for “Weizmann Automated Computer,” the first electronic computer built in the country, in 1954-5 and operational until 1964. It was, the sign tells us, developed in the institute’s applied mathematics department.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/thin-films-on-a-scale/
Jun 01, 2008...
Time equals money. But so does weight—when it comes to the films used in computers and optical telecommunications. Shaving off pounds from these devices could mean huge benefits for microelectronics as well as for satellites or spacecraft, where launching costs around $50,000 per kilogram (2.2 pounds).
A new recruit to the Institute, Dr. Milko van der Boom of the Department of Organic Chemistry, is working to create thin films with such desirable qualities as low weight and long-term thermostability. He is targeting an “all-organic” product, which he hopes will replace today’s inorganic materials. The rationale is simple. Organic films would be much easier to modify, offering far better, cheaper devices that could even be introduced into home appliances, revolutionizing the electronics industry.
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