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.
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.
Jun 24, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 23, 2022—Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have found that people may have a tendency to form friendships with individuals who have a similar body odor. The researchers were even able to predict the quality of social interactions between complete strangers by first “smelling” them with a device known as an electronic nose, or eNose. These findings, published today in Science Advances, suggest that the sense of smell may play a larger role in human social interactions than previously thought.
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
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/neurons-caught-rapidly-switching-gears/
Aug 24, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—August 24, 2022—Even during such routine tasks as a daily stroll, our brain sometimes needs to shift gears, switching from navigating the city to jumping out of the way of a bike or to crossing the street to greet a friend. These switches pose a challenge: How do the brain’s circuits deal with such dynamic and abrupt changes in behavior? A Weizmann Institute of Science study on bats, published today in Nature, suggests an answer that does not fit the classical thinking about brain function.
Dec 08, 2022... Can the Collective Wisdom of Bugs Help Solve Human Problems?
Jan 25, 2023...
Researchers have for years tried to discover what determines “resilience to stress,” a term describing the ability to adapt to difficult situations and to overcome adversity. Is it acquired through experience, or is there a tendency to easily recover from stress possibly ingrained in us from a very early age or even from birth?
A new study lead by Prof. Gil Levkowitz of the molecular cell biology and molecular neuroscience departments at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot has revealed an important piece of this puzzle. The study examined zebrafish – small, black-and-white-striped, transparent fish whose natural habitat spans rivers, ponds and rice paddies in Pakistan, Myanmar, Nepal and India.
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