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.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/brain-on-a-chip-reveals-how-the-brain-folds/
Feb 20, 2018...
Fluorescence images show the development of an organoid over days 3-11, in which the emergence of wrinkles is clearly seen
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—February 20, 2018— Being born with a “tabula rasa” – a clean slate – is, in the case of the brain, something of a curse. Our brains are already wrinkled like walnuts by the time we are born. Babies born without these wrinkles – called smooth brain syndrome – suffer from severe developmental deficiencies and their life expectancy is markedly reduced. The gene that causes this syndrome recently helped Weizmann Institute of Science researchers to probe the physical forces that cause the brain’s wrinkles to form. In their findings, reported in Nature Physics, the researchers describe a method they developed for growing tiny “brains on chips” from human cells that enabled them to track the physical and biological mechanisms underlying the wrinkling process.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/divine-secrets-of-the-ant-sisterhood/
Nov 29, 2011... "In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed," wrote Darwin. Ants, a family that has inhabited the earth for about 100 million years, must be one of the most magnificent manifestations of such biological cooperation. Thousands of female ants pull together in a coordinated effort to ensure that all the needs are met for the proper functioning of the entire colony. (The males' only role is to mate with the queen, and once this is completed, they die). While some ants forage, others stay behind to tend the brood, or to build, maintain or defend the colony's living quarters; and there are even those whose task it is to bury the dead. But the thing that makes their behavior so remarkable is that they have no leader — no boss or governing body to allocate and manage their activities. How exactly do ants collaborate and divide the labor among themselves so successfully and altruistically?
Jul 17, 2015...
Video: Shimmery sea sapphires disappear in a flash
Red and blue and green and violet and… Invisible. Sea sapphires have been described as “the most beautiful animal you’ve never seen”. Even when you do see them, they can vanish in an instant (see video, above). But how do they pull off their trick?
This tiny crustacean has alternating layers of hexagonal guanine crystals and cytoplasm on its back that reflect light in a sparkling array of hues. Different species shimmer in different colours, ranging from gold to blue.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/light-trick-to-see-around-corners/
Jul 15, 2012...
The letter A with no scattering (top), behind scattering plastic (centre) and re-imaged with the new technique
Much research in recent years has focused on correcting for scattering, mostly for medical applications.
But the new trick, reported in Nature Photonics, is quick, simple and uses natural light rather than lasers.
It uses what is called a spatial light modulator to “undo” the scattering that makes objects opaque or non-reflecting.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/could-quantum-computing-be-the-end-of-free-will/
Jun 30, 2018...
Yusuf Ahmad / Reuters
Faster, more powerful computing has the potential to revolutionize fields from drug delivery to freight transportation. But some are also worried that the computers of the future could upend what it means to be human.
Quantum computing capitalizes on the quantum-physics principle that a particle may be in two states at once, as long as it does not leave a record of either state. Unlike traditional computers, which are made of bits restrained to values of zero or one, a quantum computer would allow bits to have both values simultaneously, which would lead to much faster, more powerful processing.
Feb 20, 2018...
11 days of brain research at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel.
Israeli researchers have managed to grow tiny model brains in the lab to discover how the brain’s convolutions are created.
A normal brain is as wrinkly as a walnut. And in cases where a person is born with a smooth brain, devoid of folds, he faces severe developmental difficulties.
It has long been known that these folds and wrinkles are meant to enable the brain to be compressed into the space of a skull, and that they develop in embryo. But the question of how they develop, biologically and physically, has preoccupied brain researchers for years, as has the no less important question of what causes problems to arise in this process.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/super-supernovae/
May 22, 2013...
HIGHEST-ENERGY SUPERNOVAE might look quite spectacular from a planet orbiting the exploding star, but any civilization would most likely be obliterated. Illustration by Ron Miller.
In the middle of 2005 the W. M. Keck observatory on Mauna Kea in Hawaii completed an upgrade of one of its giant twin telescopes. By automatically correcting for atmospheric turbulence, the instrument could now produce images as sharp as those from the Hubble Space Telescope. Shrinivas Kulkarni of the California Institute of Technology urged young Caltech researchers—myself among them—to apply for observing time. Once the rest of the astronomy community realized how terrific the telescopes were, he warned us, securing a slot would become very competitive.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-january-2009/
Jan 28, 2009...
Even when the results of the basic research at the Weizmann Institute are translated directly to medical application, it may take years to reach patients. But, once in a while, a finding can change lives almost immediately.
In 2006, Prof. Nava Dekel of the Institute’s Biological Regulation Department, together with doctors in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) unit of the Kaplan Medical Center, made the surprising discovery that performing a uterine biopsy — causing a slight injury to the lining of the uterus just before a woman undergoes IVF doubles the chances of a successful pregnancy. Although the mechanism was not completely clear, Dekel and her team assumed that the injury provokes a response in the uterus that makes it more receptive to the embryo’s implantation.
Oct 19, 2017...
A ring of cyclones swirls around Jupiter's south pole.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has plumbed the depths of Jupiter, revealing that the planet’s famous bands of swirling winds extend thousands of kilometres down. The work is the sharpest glimpse yet into Jupiter’s interior.
Jupiter’s colourful stripes are atmospheric patterns composed of winds that flow alternately east and west. Until now, researchers haven’t been able to say whether those bands are confined to a shallow layer or reach deeper into the planet. “Determining this is one of the main goals of the Juno mission,” said team member Yohai Kaspi, a geophysicist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, on 18 October at the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences meeting in Provo, Utah.
Jun 30, 2016...
Dr. Ronen Mir (center) and the teachers of the Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Centre, Rehovot
The graduation ceremony of the first class of the Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Centre, Rehovot, took place on June 29 in the Clore Garden of Science on the Weizmann Institute of Science campus. Participating were Weizmann Institute of Science President Prof. Daniel Zajfman, Rehovot Deputy Mayor Zohar Blum and Ness Ziona Mayor Yossi Shavo. Also present were the 207 twelfth-graders who had completed their final matriculation exam in physics. “When you learn physics,” said Prof. Zajfman, “you are learning a way of thinking. Graduates of the Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Centre, Rehovot, can now do anything they desire. Special thanks to the most important people – the teachers,” he continued. “Teaching is the only profession that allows all the other professions to exist. Without people who commit themselves to helping our children to build their futures, we would not succeed in attaining ours.”
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