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.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/the-importins-of-anxiety/
Dec 11, 2018...
In genetically engineered mice lacking the protein importin alpha-5 (right), a molecule called MeCP2 (red), known to affect anxiety behaviors, stayed on the outside of the nuclei (blue) of brain neurons, instead of getting inside the nuclei as it does in regular mice (left). Images were obtained with a confocal microscope and displayed using computational reconstruction.
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—December 11, 2018—According to some estimates, up to one in three people around the world may experience severe anxiety in their lifetime. In a study published in Cell Reports, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have revealed a previously unknown mechanism underlying anxiety. Targeting this biochemical pathway may help develop new therapies to alleviate the symptoms of anxiety disorders.
Feb 11, 2020...
Even in 2020, with all we know about health and nutrition, heart disease is still the leading cause of death in America, accounting for one in four mortalities. Fortunately, the Weizmann Institute of Science is taking multiple approaches to understanding and treating this too-common killer. February is American Heart Month – and we’d love to share our very latest research with you.
While there are several vital heart-related projects underway at the Institute, the lab of leading researcher Prof. Eldad Tzahor recently made a significant breakthrough: discovering that a non-toxic dye actually helps repair damaged heart tissue, such as the scarring that occurs after a heart attack.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/time-is-of-the-essence/
Feb 05, 2014...
Shutterstock Image
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—February 5, 2014—New findings in mice suggest that merely changing meal times could have a significant effect on the levels of triglycerides in the liver. The results of this Weizmann Institute of Science study, recently published in Cell Metabolism, not only have important implications for the potential treatment of metabolic diseases, they may also have broader implications for most research areas in the life sciences.
Oct 09, 2014...
It’s news to no one that your body works differently when you’re awake and when you’re sleeping. But could the different states also affect how your body processes certain life-saving drugs? Researchers, reporting Friday in the journal Nature Communications, found that when it comes to cancer drugs, the answer may be yes.
Researchers at the Weizmann Institute discovered – by happy accident – that some of the body’s molecular functions during the day may interfere with the effectiveness of certain cancer medication. Specifically, they found that the normal day-time production of some steroid hormones in the body actually inhibited the work of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors – which are the proteins targeted by a class of anti-cancer drugs. Tumor cells plant these receptors on their surfaces to attract nutrients that help them survive and grow. Drugs, including the breast cancer agent lapatinib, can block these receptors on tumors, and such medications are a popular way to treat breast cancers expressing epidermal growth factor.
Jul 25, 2018...
A “walk” in composition space for a “Lipid World” molecular assembly, shown in simplified 3D. A point on the line signifies a specific composition along the time axis, whereby the three coordinates are amounts of the three different molecule types. A “composome” (pink background) is a time interval when the composition stays almost unchanged, signifying compositional replication.
In 1924, Russian biochemist Alexander Oparin claimed that life on Earth developed through gradual chemical changes of organic molecules in the “primordial soup” that likely existed here four billion years ago. In his view, the complex combination of lifeless molecules, joining forces within small oily droplets, could assume life faculties – self-replication, selection, and evolution. These ideas were received with considerable doubt, which remains today.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/bread-and-health-a-personal-matter/
Jun 08, 2017... Bread occupies a unique place in our diet: it accounts for about one-tenth of the calories many people in the West consume and up to 40 percent of the caloric consumption in some non-Western countries – more than any other food product. In the past few decades, since white bread has acquired a bad name, bakeries have been going out of their way to produce high-quality whole grain breads. But a new study conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science and published recently in Cell Metabolism reveals that these “wholesome” choices are not necessarily the healthiest for everyone.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-march-2013/
Mar 18, 2013... For years, scientists around the world have dreamed of building a complete, functional, artificial cell. Though this vision is still a distant blur on the horizon, many are making progress on various fronts. Prof. Roy Bar-Ziv and his research team in the Weizmann Institute’s Materials and Interfaces Department recently took a significant step in this direction when they created a two-dimensional, cell-like system on a glass chip. This system, composed of some of the basic biological molecules found in cells — DNA, RNA, proteins — carried out one of the central functions of a living cell: gene expression, the process by which the information stored in the genes is translated into proteins. More than that, it enabled the scientists, led by research student Yael Heyman, to obtain “snapshots” of this process in nanoscale resolution.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/to-stay-young-kill-zombie-cells/
Oct 25, 2017...
Image via Shutterstock
Jan van Deursen was baffled by the decrepit-looking transgenic mice he created in 2000. Instead of developing tumours as expected, the mice experienced a stranger malady. By the time they were three months old, their fur had grown thin and their eyes were glazed with cataracts. It took him years to work out why: the mice were ageing rapidly, their bodies clogged with a strange type of cell that did not divide, but that wouldn’t die.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-february-2013/
Feb 07, 2013... Before they go all-out supernova, certain large stars undergo a sort of “mini-explosion,” throwing a good-sized chunk of their material off into space. Though several models predict this behavior and evidence from supernovae points in this direction, actual observations of such pre-explosion outbursts have been rare. In new research led by Dr. Eran Ofek of the Weizmann Institute of Science, scientists found such an outburst taking place a short time — just one month — before a massive star underwent a supernova explosion.
Jun 08, 2017...
Most people would agree taste-wise, white bread is bae. The thing is, it's had a bad rap for a while health-wise, with many of us believing that wholemeal loaves are simply better for you... But are they?
Well, according to new research, it turns out white might be alright after all.
We hate to break it to you, but if you've been forcing yourself to eat wholemeal then it might have been a total waste of time.
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