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.
Jul 15, 2013...
Scientists have found that very high levels of stress in the mother can also overwhelm the barrier enzyme in the placenta, allowing the stress hormone cortisol to cross into the foetus’s brain. Photo: PA
Researchers have discovered a key component of the placenta that normally protects unborn babies from high levels of hormones that build up in their mothers’ blood when she is stressed.
In some mothers, however, this protective element can be faulty, allowing the foetus to be exposed to stress hormones and leaving a child more prone to anxiety and depression in later life.
Feb 01, 2010... For many years, much of the RNA—the coded copies of the information contained in our DNA—floating around our cells was thought to be “junk” that had no visible role in protein production. In particular, microRNAs (miRNAs) did not initially appear to have an important function. But recently it was discovered that these small molecules actually play a key role in helping to regulate gene expression—the process by which genetic information is turned into proteins.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/uncovering-the-genome-s-regulatory-code/
Sep 11, 2012...
Regulatory factor hierarchy: The highest level (top) determines a cell’s basic identity; the second (middle) shapes its properties; the third (bottom) activates genes according to changing conditions.
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—September 11, 2012—Since the sequencing of the human genome in 2001, all our genes – around 20,000 in total – have been identified. But much is still unknown – for instance where and when each is active. Next to each gene sits a short DNA segment, and the activity of this regulatory segment determines whether the gene will be turned on, where and how strongly. These short regulatory segments are as – if not more – important than the genes, themselves. Indeed, 90% of the mutations that cause disease occur in these regulatory areas. They are responsible for the proper development of tissues and organs, determining, for instance, that eye cells – and only eye cells – contain light receptors, while only pancreatic cells function to produce insulin. Clearly, a deeper understanding of this regulatory system – its mechanisms and possibilities for malfunction – may lead to advances in biomedical research, especially in developing targeted therapies for individual patients.
Aug 22, 2017...
Prof. Eran Segal, Weizmann Institute of Science
The human genome has been mapped, but the genomes of most humans have not – at least not yet. When individual genomes are mapped, the world will have a problem: there is simply not enough space in the world’s computer systems to store that data.
“The mere size of the genomic data” said Rafael Feitelberg, CEO of Petah Tikvah-based Geneformics, is “one of the main inhibitors for genomics to be really ubiquitous in the world.” A sequenced human genome might be 200 to 300 gigabytes of raw data, while an analyzed genome could take up a full terabyte of disk space. “If you want to create gene banks, the mere size of the data is going to be very, very prohibitive.”
Aug 05, 2014...
Source: Shutterstock.com
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—August 5, 2014—Laboratory mice are one of the most common animal models used in biological and medical research. Thousands of laboratory mouse strains are produced by artificial selection – the process by which humans breed animals over dozens of generations for particular traits. This has led to the domestication of mice: strengthening specific qualities that make them well-adapted for research under laboratory conditions, such as rapid reproduction, while eliminating characteristics that are not conducive to research, for example, aggression, the desire and ability to escape from danger, and anxiety caused by environmental disturbances.
Jun 02, 2007... Prof. Doron Lancet of the Department of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute of Science is one of Israel's most prominent genome researchers. The head of the Crown Human Genome Center, Prof. Lancet has directed research on DNA chips, disease genes, and genes responsible for smell and taste, and is currently working to develop a computational model for the origin of life on earth. Because the Weizmann Institute was Israel's liaison to the international Human Genome Project, Prof. Lancet and his colleagues have unusually intimate knowledge of the field of genomics and its implications.
Oct 16, 2013...
Bruriya Ben Zee Photo: Courtesy Sheba Medical Center
Mutations in genes responsible for two serious neurological disorders in infants and children of Iranian and Bukharan origin that had not been described until now have been identified by researchers at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot and Duke University in North Carolina.
Their work has just been published in the prestigious journals Neuron and the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Jan 27, 2020...
When Weizmann Institute of Science Prof. Rivka Dikstein set out to study a gene regulating inflammation, she had no idea she’d find a promising route to developing a drug for Huntington’s disease.
Dikstein’s biomolecular sciences team focused on a gene called Spt5, which regulates how DNA is copied for manufacturing proteins. The scientists discovered that Spt5 plays a key role in inflammation.
Dec 22, 2015... The Weizmann Institute of Science's Moross Integrated Cancer Center (MICC) aims to revolutionize cancer prevention, detection, and treatments. Several of the senior scientists involved with the MICC – Prof. Zvi Livneh, Prof. Moshe Oren, Dr. Tamar Paz-Elizur, Dr. Eran Elinav, and Dr. Ayelet Erez – discuss directions in cancer prevention research.
Nov 12, 2017...
Photo by Shutterstock
Researchers on the quest to solve the puzzle of what causes deafness got one small step closer with the announcement that scientists at Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science have mapped a certain type of RNA (a molecule essential to the coding and expression of genes) that exists in close proximity to the genes related to hearing.
The molecules in question are known as “long non-coding RNAs” (lncRNA for short). Non-coding RNAs, as the name suggests, do not “code” for protein in the body, but they do act as regulatory molecules and they can have a large impact on where in the body and when during development or adulthood genes are expressed. As much as 98 percent of the human genome consists of these non-coding molecules.
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