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/news-media/video-gallery/wis-talks-prof-rony-paz-anxious-about-the-brain/
Jan 19, 2021... Prof. Rony Paz, Head of the Department of Neurobiology, speaks about our still-mysterious brains. While they can do remarkable things, they also produce conditions such as PTSD, anxiety, autism, and the like – all of which are on the rise worldwide.
Jan 27, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—January 27, 2021—Chronic stress could be the prevailing condition of our time. In the short term, our jaws or stomachs may clench; in the long term, stress can lead to metabolic disease and speed up diseases of aging, as well as leading to more serious psychological disorders. The physical manifestations of stress originate in the brain, and they move along a so-called “stress axis” that ends in the adrenal glands. These glands then produce the hormone cortisol. When the stress axis is continually activated, changes occur in the cells and organs along the way, and the continual production of cortisol then substantially contributes to the symptoms of chronic stress.
Jan 29, 2021...
A new study found a secret gene deep in our kidneys that aids with stress removal from cells.
Scientists at the joint neurobiology lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science with the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Germany mapped out gene sequences for cells traveling from the brain, when stress is activated, down to the adrenal glands in the kidneys, to track how and where stress develops, to get a better idea of how to treat stress-related health problems.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/a-natural-food-supplement-may-relieve-anxiety/
May 18, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—May 18, 2021—A natural food supplement reduces anxiety in mice, according to a new Weizmann Institute of Science study. The plant-derived substance, beta-sitosterol, was found to produce the calming effect both on its own and in synergic combination with a common antidepressant, fluoxetine (brand name Prozac). If these findings, published in Cell Reports Medicine, are confirmed in clinical trials, they could point the way toward the use of beta-sitosterol as a treatment for relieving anxiety in humans.
Aug 09, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—August 9, 2021—During the six weeks between the end of the first Covid-19 outbreak in Israel and the beginning of the second one (late April to early June of 2020), researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science initiated a study that sought to assess and understand the mental toll of the pandemic on the country’s adult population. The study included more than 12,000 responses from nearly 5,000 respondents to digital questionnaires.
Nov 30, 2021... Like every Israeli, Alon Chen had to do three years of military service, and was posted with the paratroopers to the middle of the war in Lebanon. “I lost a friend. When you go and you treat the person that is injured and is dying, and you cannot help him, it leaves its mark,” he recalls. From then on, he knew he wanted to dedicate the rest of his life to understanding what happens to a brain that suffers a traumatic experience.
©2022 American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science
