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/in-the-news/a-deep-dive-to-retrieve-and-fortify-memories/
Mar 08, 2011...
For years scientists have dreamed of developing a genuine memory booster, a drug that could tune the brain's biological search engine so that it's better at retrieving not only recently learned facts, like last night's dinner menu, but details that seem all but lost in the fog of time, like childhood classmates' names and antics.
Such a substance would have obvious appeal — for people at risk of dementia, to name just one group — but the search has been very slow going. Stimulants like caffeine and nicotine can sharpen the memory, but like other temporary enhancers, they need to be taken when the information is learned or retrieved to make a difference.
May 01, 2007...
New techniques developed by Weizmann Institute scientists in Rehovot, Israel, to study molecules in action may hold the key to cures for cancer and Alzheimer's disease. In fact, the first steps have already been taken to minimize the uncontrolled proliferation and spread of cancer cells.
At first glance, cancer and Alzheimer's disease appear to have little in common. Cancer is a group of over a hundred diseases in which cells grow out of control and spread throughout the body. Alzheimer's is a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by the abnormal buildup of protein in the brain. The common link between the diseases is the role played by enzymes called proteases, which cut long strands of protein into fragments. Cancer cells secrete proteases that dissolve collagen, creating holes in the surrounding cell matrix that enable the cancer cells to bulldoze their way through tissue and into other cells. In Alzheimer's disease, insoluble fragments of a protein snipped from a larger protein by proteases accumulate in the brain, interfering with cognitive function and memory.
Jul 27, 2012...
Researchers conduct a study at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Photo credit: Doron Horowitz/Flash90
Scientists have long been aware of the mechanics of epigenetics in the body, in which environmental and other factors affect cells, in a sort of non-genetic “mutation.” As cells divide, they “activate” only the genes that are necessary for their own use, even if they carry the entire gene sequence of a person. But sometimes, proper differentiation of the cells into different types with different functions fails, possibly because of improper molecular “labeling” in a cell. And following this line of research, a team led scientists at the Weizmann Institute have discovered a link between cancer and epigenetic changes.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/which-came-first/
Jun 22, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 22, 2020—What did the very first proteins – those that appeared on Earth around 3.7 billion years ago – look like? Prof. Dan Tawfik of the Weizmann Institute of Science and Prof. Norman Metanis of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have reconstructed protein sequences that may well resemble those ancestors of modern proteins, and their research suggests a way that these primitive proteins could have progressed to forming living cells. Their findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/do-probiotics-actually-do-anything/
Jun 28, 2020...
There is an invisible universe hidden inside your body, it’s called the gut microbiome - a vast array of trillions of intestinal bacteria, hundreds of different species. They help digest your food in exchange for a warm, safe place to live. And we are only now starting to discover the gut microbiome plays a much larger role in our lives than we ever imagined.
Some of those bacteria found inside us are replicated in commercially manufactured mixtures called “probiotics.” You see them on grocery and pharmacy shelves, and they're recommended by your friends and often, by doctors like me.
Jun 25, 2020... The question as to how life began on Earth is one of the most fundamental to science, yet it remains one of humanity’s great mysteries. The first cells emerged relatively quickly after the Earth formed, meaning life wasted no time getting started once it had the right ingredients. Yet even the simplest cell is a complex bags of organelles, proteins, lipids and other molecular parts — and no one knows quite how such a complicated thing formed from random, inorganic processes.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/how-great-was-the-great-oxygenation-event/
Feb 25, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—February 25, 2021—Around 2.5 billion years ago, our planet experienced what was possibly the greatest change in its history: According to the geological record, molecular oxygen suddenly went from nonexistent to becoming freely available everywhere. Evidence for what is called the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE) is clearly visible – for example, in banded iron formations containing oxidized iron. The GOE is, of course, what allowed oxygen-using organisms – including, eventually, us – to evolve. But was it indeed a “great event” in the sense that the change was radical and sudden, or were organisms that were alive at the time already using free oxygen, just at lower levels?
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/building-better-enzymes-by-breaking-them-down/
Jan 13, 2023... REHOVOT, ISRAEL— January 12, 2023—Enzymes have the potential to transform the chemical industry by providing green alternatives to a slew of processes. These proteins act as biological catalysts, and with the help of molecular engineering, they can make naturally occurring reactions shift into turbo mode. Tailor-made enzymes could, for example, lead to nonpolluting drug manufacture; they could also safely break down pollutants, sewage and agricultural waste, and then turn them into biofuel or animal feed.
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