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 future of humanity.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/video-gallery/plant-power-nourishing-and-healing-the-world/
Dec 17, 2020... In this video discussion, renowned plant scientist Prof. Asaph Aharoni takes us on a tour of his lab before sitting down to talk about his research. He particularly focuses on using plants to improve health and tackle major problems such as hunger and malnutrition.
Mar 17, 2021... Food insecurity – lack of consistent access to sufficient, nutritious food – was a major public-health concern before the pandemic. Climate change’s extended droughts, destructive fires and storms, and rising waters are wiping out resources in many areas, notably India and Africa. Poverty is another contributing factor, particularly in cities with “food deserts” where it is hard to find fresh fruit and vegetables and other healthy options. (Interestingly, the World Bank reports that “children who are properly nourished during the first 1,000 days of their lives are 33% more likely to escape poverty as adults.”)
May 19, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—May 19, 2021—Our livers work hard to perform a significant range of activities: helping us digest food, maintaining body temperature, and serving as an important checkpoint of the immune system for everything that we eat. It is inside the liver that the unique, rich, and complex network of immune cells and pathways is set up to decide whether a food particle is harmless or a dangerous pathogen that should be neutralized and removed. The liver is, therefore, very sensitive to the food we consume, and sometimes a poor diet can induce a serious dysregulation of the immune activities within it.
Jun 22, 2021... A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, the University of Naples Federico II, the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences has found that making food from air would be far more efficient than growing crops. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their analysis and comparison of the efficiency of growing crops (soybeans) and using a food-from-air technique.
Aug 19, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—August 19, 2022—Non-nutritive sweeteners – also known as sugar substitutes or artificial sweeteners – are supposed to deliver all the sweetness of sugar without the calories. But a controlled trial conducted by Weizmann Institute of Science researchers, published today in Cell, suggests that contrary to previous belief, such sweeteners are not inert: They do have an effect on the human body. In fact, some can alter human consumers’ microbiomes – the trillions of microbes that live in our gut – in a way that can change a person’s blood sugar levels. And the effects these sweeteners produce vary greatly among different people.
May 04, 2023... Food security and climate change - Weizmann Institute researchers are working on improving the world's major crops in order to feed the world's growing population. At this critical point for planet Earth, the role of science and its ability to provide transformative scientific solutions to our planet’s most pressing crisis is pivotal. Weizmann Institute scientists are tackling core issues affecting climate change and are engaged in sustainability research that is driven by an unprecedented sense of urgency. For the future of humanity