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/in-the-news/not-to-be-sniffed-at/
Dec 09, 2010...
For those people who have no other means of communication, sniffing could provide liberation
To suffer from locked-in syndrome—to be mentally alert but physically paralysed—is one of the worst fates imaginable. Noam Sobel of the Weizmann Institute, in Israel, may have found a way to make this fate slightly more bearable.
He starts from the observation that even those who are otherwise paralysed can sniff. Sniffing is regulated by the soft palate, a flap of tissue in the back of the throat that directs the flow of air through the mouth and nose. The soft palate is controlled by cranial nerves—in other words, nerves that do not pass through the spinal cord. So spinal damage, a common cause of paralysis, does not affect these nerves. Nor does brain damage, unless it is to the exact part of the brain that controls the soft palate.
Feb 08, 2012...
By Sharon Udasin
ALMERIA, Spain — Amid the cactus-strewn mountains of Andalucía, in southern Spain, a bright yellow Israeli tulip stands tall above a sea of solar panels that move with the sun’s light.
AORA Solar, an Israeli developer of applied ultra-high-temperature concentrated solar power (CSP), launched its second-ever gas-turbine solar thermal power station on Tuesday in the Platforma Solara de Almeria solar research and development park. The park is located in the town of Tabernas, about 35 kilometers north of the oceanfront city of Almeria.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/courage/
Oct 13, 2010... A five-foot-long snake helped identify a brain region associated with courage, according to a study in Neuron. One at a time, researchers placed 39 snake-fearing participants and 22 control subjects at one end of a long conveyor belt. On top of the belt, the researchers secured either a (non-poisonous) corn snake or a toy bear. Participants could move the snake or toy bear closer or further by pressing a button. Meanwhile, a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner recorded the oxygen levels, which correspond to neuron activity, of various regions of their brains. When participants moved the snake closer despite their fears, activity in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) increased more than in other parts of the brain. When they instead moved the snake further away, or when they moved the toy bear in any direction, sgACC activity didn't spike. Previous studies have linked the sgACC with the emotions accompanying “negative autobiographical memories,” arachnophobia and other fearful responses. A better understanding of the biological basis of courage could lead to more-effective therapies for overcoming fear the researchers wrote.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/israeli-space-team-still-shooting-for-the-moon/
Apr 02, 2018...
SpaceIL’s lunar module on a simulated moon backdrop. Photo: courtesy
“We are moving forward with the project, regardless of the terms or status of the Google Lunar X Prize,” said newly appointed SpaceIL CEO Ido Anteby, formerly of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission.
“SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries are committed to landing the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon, and we plan to launch before the end of this year.”
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/video-gallery/rsa-conference-the-cryptographers-panel-2018/
Apr 18, 2018... The Weizmann Institute’s Prof. Adi Shamir, along with Ron Rivest (the S and R in “RSA”) and an international panel of cryptographers, discuss the state of cryptography today.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/seeing-cancer-saving-lives/
Mar 17, 2016...
About one in eight women in the U.S. will develop invasive breast cancer during her lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society. Fortunately, it is no longer the probable death sentence it once was, in large part because today’s well-designed screening tests help doctors find breast tumors at an earlier stage, thus increasing the chances for successful treatment.
“If you detect breast cancer very early, you make it a disease that is in more cases curable. And that’s really our aim,” says Prof. Hadassa Degani of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Biological Regulation. For more than 20 years, she has been developing less-invasive cancer diagnosis techniques that utilize existing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners.
Jun 12, 2018...
A team from the University of Washington has developed a way to bring soccer matches to the world of augmented reality. (Photo: Konstantinos Rematas / YouTube)
Future games to decide who hoists the World Cup of soccer may one day play out not on your smartphone or television, but on any flat surface in your home.
A team of researchers from the University of Washington have created a machine-learning algorithm that can convert 2D YouTube clips into 3D reconstructions. Experienced through an augmented reality headset like the Microsoft HoloLens or the HTC Vive Pro, the system places a virtual representation of the match on any real-world flat surface. Those viewing the simulation can then walk around or move in close to see key pieces of the action.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/ai-can-edit-photos-with-zero-experience/
Jul 10, 2019...
Images: The Weizmann Institute of Science
Imagine showing a photo taken through a storefront window to someone who has never opened her eyes before, and asking her to point to what’s in the reflection and what’s in the store. To her, everything in the photo would just be a big jumble. Computers can perform image separations, but to do it well, they typically require handcrafted rules or many, many explicit demonstrations: here’s an image, and here are its component parts.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/why-light-bulbs-may-be-the-next-hacker-target/
Nov 03, 2016...
The Internet of Things, activated through apps, promises tremendous convenience to homeowners. But it may also prove irresistible to hackers. Credit: Carlos Gonzalez for The New York Times
SAN FRANCISCO — The so-called Internet of Things, its proponents argue, offers many benefits: energy efficiency, technology so convenient it can anticipate what you want, even reduced congestion on the roads.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/dr-michal-leskes-energizing-the-future/
Jan 13, 2016...
Dr. Michal Leskes
Batteries now power everything from tiny pacemakers wired to the human heart to the engines of zero-emission cars and light trucks. Just about everything electrical that is not plugged into the wall is run by a battery. We take them for granted, but the innards of batteries are somewhat complex. Enhancing their performance – their ability to “keep going” for longer and store energy from different sources – is a research niche that a growing number of basic scientists around the world are starting to focus on. One of them is Dr. Michal Leskes, who joined the Department of Materials and Interfaces at the Weizmann Institute in July. She focuses on rechargeable batteries such as the lithium-ion batteries that power a wide range of consumer electronics ranging from laptops and cellphones to hybrid and all-electric cars.
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