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.
Oct 05, 2020...
Use of controlled fire was probably the most defining moment in the evolution of early humans. It was not just a mere technological advancement but was the starting point of everything we associate humans with—migration, civilisation, culture or language. But, when did we start controlling the fire? We may be getting closer to finding a definitive answer.
A new study, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, shows that human ancestors in the Levantine region—countries along the eastern Mediterranean shores—used fire at controlled temperatures to make tools around 300,000 years ago. Using the cutting edge technologies like the Raman spectroscopy and AI modelling, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science and Tel Aviv University in Israel found that early humans had a good understanding of the effects of heating the stone before flaking it into blades.
Jan 16, 2021...
We are rapidly learning how SARS-CoV-2 mutates to create variants with new characteristics. Some of these new variants, such as those found in the UK and South Africa, may affect our ability to control the pandemic, including contagion mitigation, diagnosis, and vaccination.
Over the past few weeks, reports show that some variants of SARS-CoV-2 are more contagious than earlier strains. Sequence analysis of these variants reveals that their genome and proteins differ subtly from their less infectious origins. The viral protein studied in most detail is the spike protein. Multiple independent isolates harbor changes in the spike protein that account, at least partially, for their increased transmissibility.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/seasons-of-our-hormones/
Feb 02, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—February 2, 2021—Our minds may be affected by winter’s long nights or spring and its flowers, but what about our bodies? A new study at the Weizmann Institute of Science reveals that our hormones also follow a seasonal pattern. By analyzing data on several types of hormones from millions of blood tests, the researchers discovered that some hormones peak in winter or spring and others in summer. This research, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), provides a broad, dynamic picture of hormone production – covering those connected to fertility, for example, but also hormones such as cortisol, which are mostly short-lived and not thought to be seasonal.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/how-great-was-the-great-oxygenation-event/
Feb 25, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—February 25, 2021—Around 2.5 billion years ago, our planet experienced what was possibly the greatest change in its history: According to the geological record, molecular oxygen suddenly went from nonexistent to becoming freely available everywhere. Evidence for what is called the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE) is clearly visible – for example, in banded iron formations containing oxidized iron. The GOE is, of course, what allowed oxygen-using organisms – including, eventually, us – to evolve. But was it indeed a “great event” in the sense that the change was radical and sudden, or were organisms that were alive at the time already using free oxygen, just at lower levels?
Jun 14, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 14, 2021—The Boker Tachtit archaeological excavation site in Israel’s central Negev desert holds clues to one of the most significant events in human history: the spread of modern humans, Homo sapiens, from Africa into Eurasia, and the subsequent demise of Neanderthal populations in the region. Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Max Planck Society, led by Prof. Elisabetta Boaretto, together with Dr. Omry Barzilai of the Israel Antiquities Authority, returned to Boker Tachtit nearly 40 years after it was first excavated. Using advanced sampling and dating methods, they offer a new chronological framework for this important chapter in our anthropological evolution. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study suggests that Homo sapiens and Neanderthals were far from strangers.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/the-primordial-soap/
Mar 14, 2022...
What is the origin of life? It’s one of humanity’s greatest questions, and theories differ amidst the scientific community. Right now, the leading hypothesis is that life developed from RNA molecules, known for being able to self-replicate.
Weizmann’s Prof. Doron Lancet disagrees, and thinks it’s highly improbable that the origin of life traces back to a single complex molecule. More likely, he believes it traces back to assemblies of simple chemical compounds that can form spontaneously and reproduce as a whole, and he’s built a computational chemistry model to show the feasibility of this alternative timeline.
Jun 13, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 13, 2022—They say that where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and Weizmann Institute of Science researchers are working hard to investigate that claim, or at least elucidate what constitutes “smoke.” In an article published today in PNAS, the scientists reveal an advanced, innovative method that they have developed and used to detect nonvisual traces of fire dating back at least 800,000 years – one of the earliest known pieces of evidence for the use of fire. The newly developed technique may provide a push toward a more scientific, data-driven type of archaeology, but – perhaps more importantly – it could help us better understand the origins of the human story, our most basic traditions, and our experimental and innovative nature.
Jul 18, 2022...
Homo sapiens has come to dominate the planet, but what are the traits that have allowed humans to have such a position? On this episode, “Human Story,” Dr. Liat Ben David, CEO of the Davidson Institute of Science Education, the educational arm of Israel's acclaimed Weizmann Institute of Science, discusses her book, The Story of Our Lives, The: Homo Sapiens' Secrets of Success.
Excerpt from Groks Science Show"I do have strong beliefs that through the education processes such as we’re doing at Davidson with youths — from not only Israel but all over the world — creating and developing science literacy as the tools for making decisions and solving problems for more and more of our youngsters, and if we want the bright future that I’m talking about, science literacy is the pillar of building up a better, democratic, and tolerant society.” – Dr. Liat Ben David
Dec 08, 2022... Can the Collective Wisdom of Bugs Help Solve Human Problems?
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/a-jupiter-hotter-than-the-sun/
Aug 14, 2023... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—August 14, 2023—The search for exoplanets – planets that orbit stars located beyond the borders of our solar system – is a hot topic in astrophysics. Of the various types of exoplanets, one is hot in the literal sense. Hot Jupiters are a class of exoplanets that are physically similar to the gas giant planet Jupiter in our solar system, but unlike “our” Jupiter, these planets orbit very close to their stars, complete a full orbit in days or even hours, and – as their name suggests – have extremely high surface temperatures. While they’re fascinating to the astrophysics community, hot Jupiters are difficult to study because the glare from the nearby stars makes them hard to detect.
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