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://weizmann-usa.org/blog/learning-is-powered-by-inspiration-but-not-the-kind-you-think/
Mar 27, 2019...
Get inspired! Breathing in helps us solve problems more quickly, says Prof. Noam Sobel and his team. The group also found that our olfactory system can help us learn (including to quit smoking) while sleeping, and even shaped the evolution of our other senses.
It doesn’t matter if we’re in school, from pre-K to postdoc; working; or pursuing hobbies after retiring, we are always learning – and of course we want to learn smarter.
https://weizmann-usa.org/blog/anxious-who-isn-t-scientists-study-stress-in-the-brain/
Jan 24, 2020... “According to Gallup, in 2018, more Americans were stressed, worried and angry than at any point in the last 12 years. That is extraordinary when you consider that the past dozen years includes the 2008 financial crisis and multiple terrorist attacks. Furthermore, American stress levels are among the highest in the world. Seriously, Americans were as stressed as Iranians and more stressed than citizens of Rwanda, Turkey, and Venezuela,” reports The Washington Post, adding the technically accurate diagnosis: “That’s nuts.”
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/firework-memories/
Aug 15, 2019... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—August 15, 2019—Extraterrestrial scientists landing in a football stadium would be struck by the sight of the crowd suddenly standing up and shouting in unison. In a similar manner, since the 1990s, researchers have observed a special pattern of neuronal activity in rodents: tens of thousands of nerve cells firing in unison in a part of the brain called the hippocampus. But, like alien scientists, the researchers have not been able to understand the “language” of the rodents’ minds when these mysterious synchronous bursts occurred. Recently, however, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers succeeded in recording these rapid bursts of activity – called “hippocampal ripples” – in the human brain, and were able to demonstrate their importance as a neuronal mechanism underlying the engraving of new memories and their subsequent recall. These findings appeared in Science.
Sep 27, 2019... Fall is here and school is back in session. In the ninth episode of Weizmann in Focus, CEO Dave Doneson shares a simple tip to help prepare for success this academic year. Weizmann Prof. Noam Sobel, who studies the olfactory system, found that people who inhaled when presented with a problem-solving task performed better than those who exhaled. So, the next time you’re faced with a difficult task, take a deep breath!
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/what-s-new-in-brain-research-at-weizmann/
Jun 10, 2019...
Weizmann Institute researchers from across the disciplines are pursuing topics in neuroscience, approaching this crucial field from a number of angles. That’s because understanding our brains – in both health and disease – benefits everyone on this planet.
From Alzheimer’s to autism, Parkinson’s to mental health, memory to aging and beyond, here are just some of the Institute’s neuroscience advances over just the past year:
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/israel-fast-becoming-world-hub-of-aging-industry/
May 01, 2019...
Photo via Shutterstock.com
The State of Israel will soon turn 71. And yet this babe among nations ranks fifth internationally for average life expectancy and conducts some of the world’s most critical research on healthy aging.
That is the conclusion of “Longevity in Israel,” a new 575-page report from the London-based Aging Analytics Agency in cooperation with Vetek (Seniority) – The Movement for Longevity and Quality of Life and the Israeli Longevity Alliance.
Jul 30, 2019...
JERUSALEM, July 29 (Xinhua) – Israeli scientists discovered how oxytocin, known as the “love hormone,” is restocked in the brain, the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) said Monday.
Oxytocin is responsible, for example, for a burst of happiness with parents gazing at their newborn baby or a loving couple exchanging glances.
However, oxytocin is not only a hormone of love but also plays a role in normal social interaction, birth and breastfeeding, control of stress and appetite and more.
Sep 24, 2019...
Seconds before a memory pops up, certain nerve cells jolt into action in sync. This new finding sheds light on how the brain stores and recalls information.
Studying brain cells in action inside the human head is tricky. Putting electrodes in someone’s brain requires surgery. It’s not something researchers do without a good reason. The new study involved people who already had electrodes put in their brains for some medical purpose. These participants all had epilepsy. That brain disorder causes storm-like surges of electrical activity in the brain, known as seizures. Doctors put the electrodes in the patients' brains so they could pinpoint those surges.
Nov 06, 2019...
Computer-enhanced MRI images of the brains of left-handed women identified two that were missing olfactory bulbs
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—November 6, 2019—Is a pair of brain structures called the olfactory bulbs, which are said to encode our sense of smell, necessary? That is, are they essential to the existence of this sense? Weizmann Institute of Science researchers recently showed that some humans can smell just fine, thank you, without said bulbs. Their finding – that around 0.6% of women, and more specifically, up to 4% of left-handed women, have completely intact senses of smell despite having no olfactory bulbs in their brains – calls into question the accepted notion that this structure is absolutely necessary for the act of smelling. The findings of this research, which were published in Neuron, could shake up certain conventional theories that describe the workings of our sense of smell.
Jul 16, 2019...
Photo of neurosurgery from healthline.com
If you’re ever unfortunate enough to require brain surgery, Israeli startup Nurami Medical has got you covered – literally.
The Haifa-based company has developed a patch made of synthetic, biodegradable nanofibers meant to be affixed to the dura mater – the protective membrane underneath the skull that keeps the brain and spinal cord safe – after cranial neurosurgery.
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