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/feature-stories/sensing-autism-advances-in-research/
Apr 22, 2019...
There is a reason that a puzzle piece is the symbol of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite all the research, despite the advances, ASD continues to be an enigma. What causes it? Can it be diagnosed earlier? What are the differences between an autistic and a neurotypical brain?
One field of research – the role of the sense of smell – is producing surprising results that could lead to means of early diagnosis and intervention, as well as shed light on the misreading of social cues that is so common in autism.
Feb 20, 2019...
An ant has the navigation skills to cover hundreds of metres in a single day and still find its way home. Melophorus Bagoti ant. Credit: Antoine Wystrach
As a child, you almost certainly at one stage spent hours watching ants move about from their nest. Maybe you dropped a piece of food and watched as a group of ants came and picked it up, carrying it home in an impressive display of cooperation.
Nov 27, 2019... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—November 27, 2019—Bacteria in the lab of Prof. Ron Milo of the Weizmann Institute of Science have not just sworn off sugar – they have stopped eating all of their normal solid food, existing instead on carbon dioxide (CO2) from their environment. That is, they were able to build all of their biomass from air. This feat, which involved nearly a decade of rational design, genetic engineering, and a sped-up version of evolution in the lab, was reported in Cell. The findings point to means of developing, in the future, carbon-neutral fuels.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/scientists-urge-new-approaches-to-plant-research/
Jun 29, 2012...
You’d be amazed at how much you can learn from a plant.
In a paper published this week in the journal Science, a Michigan State University professor and a colleague discuss why if humans are to survive as a species, we must turn more to plants for any number of valuable lessons.
“Metabolism of plants provides humans with fiber, fuel, food and therapeutics,” said Robert Last, MSU professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. “As the human population grows and nonrenewable energy sources diminish, we need to rely increasingly on plants and to increase the sustainability of agriculture.”
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-july-2014/
Jul 28, 2014... Using the body’s natural virus killers to prevent and treat HIV infection has been problematic until now because of the strong inflammatory response these molecules can stimulate as they get rid of the invaders. Now, collaborative research conducted by scientists at the Weizmann Institute and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have demonstrated how suppressing the activity of these molecules – interferons – around the time of infection could have long-term implications for the course of the disease. Their research appeared in Nature.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/plants-blink-proceeding-with-caution-in-sunlight/
Jan 22, 2019...
Arabidopsis thaliana, a member of the mustard family
Plants have control mechanisms that resemble those in human senses. According to a new Weizmann Institute of Science study, plants adjust their photosynthesis to rapid light changes using a sophisticated sensing system, much in the way that the human eye responds to variations in light intensity. This sensory-like regulation operates at low light intensities, when the photosynthesis machinery is most efficient but also most vulnerable to sudden light increases.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/the-scent-of-a-handshake/
Mar 03, 2015...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 3, 2015—Why do people shake hands? A new study from the Weizmann Institute of Science suggests that one of the reasons for this ancient custom may be to check out each other’s odors. Even if we are not consciously aware of this, handshaking may provide people with a socially acceptable way of communicating via the sense of smell.
Not only do people often sniff their own hands, but they do so for a much longer time after shaking someone else’s hand, the study found. As reported today in the journal eLife, the number of seconds the subjects spent sniffing their own right hand more than doubled after an experimenter greeted them with a handshake.
Oct 04, 2012...
A bacterium that some scientists thought could use arsenic in place of phosphorus in its DNA actually goes to extreme lengths to grab any traces of phosphorus it can find.
The finding clears up a lingering question sparked by a controversial study, published in Science in 2010, which claimed that the GFAJ-1 microbe could thrive in the high-arsenic conditions of Mono Lake in California without metabolizing phosphorus — an element that is essential for all forms of life.
Jan 06, 2011...
When we cry, we may be doing more than expressing emotion. Our tears, according to striking new research, may be sending chemical signals that influence the behavior of other people.
The research, published on Thursday in the journal Science, could begin to explain something that has baffled scientists for generations: Why do humans, unlike seemingly any other species, cry emotional tears?
In several experiments, researchers found that men who sniffed drops of women’s emotional tears became less sexually aroused than when they sniffed a neutral saline solution that had been dribbled down women’s cheeks. While the studies were not large, the findings showed up in a variety of ways, including testosterone levels, skin responses, brain imaging and the men’s descriptions of their arousal.
Dec 23, 2014... The distinctive “fecal prints” of microbes potentially provide a record of how Earth and life have co-evolved over the past 3.5 billion years as the planet’s temperature, oxygen levels, and greenhouse gases have changed. But, despite more than 60 years of study, it has proved difficult, until now, to “read” much of the information contained in this record. Research from McGill University and Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), sheds light on the mysterious digestive processes of microbes, opening the way towards a better understanding of how life and the planet have changed over time.
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