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.
Feb 20, 2018...
11 days of brain research at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel.
Israeli researchers have managed to grow tiny model brains in the lab to discover how the brain’s convolutions are created.
A normal brain is as wrinkly as a walnut. And in cases where a person is born with a smooth brain, devoid of folds, he faces severe developmental difficulties.
It has long been known that these folds and wrinkles are meant to enable the brain to be compressed into the space of a skull, and that they develop in embryo. But the question of how they develop, biologically and physically, has preoccupied brain researchers for years, as has the no less important question of what causes problems to arise in this process.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-february-2009/
Feb 03, 2009... Even when our eyes are closed, the visual centers in our brain are humming with activity. Weizmann Institute scientists and others have shown in the last few years that the magnitude of sense-related activity in a brain that’s disengaged from seeing, touching, etc., is quite similar to that of one exposed to a stimulus. New research at the Institute has now revealed details of that activity, explaining why, even though our sense centers are working, we don’t experience sights or sounds when there’s nothing coming in through our sensory organs.
Apr 11, 2007... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—April 11, 2007—Muscle fibers are large cells that contain many nuclei. They begin, like all animal cells, as naive embryonic cells. These cells differentiate, producing intermediate cells called myoblasts that are now destined to become muscle. New myoblasts then seek out other myoblasts, and when they find each other, they stick together like best friends. In the final stage of muscle fiber development, the cell membranes of attached myoblasts open up and fuse together, forming one large, unified cell.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-july-2012/
Jul 27, 2012... As sulfur cycles through Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and land, it undergoes chemical changes that are often coupled to changes in other such elements as carbon and oxygen. Although this affects the concentration of free oxygen, sulfur has traditionally been portrayed as a secondary factor in regulating atmospheric oxygen, with most of the heavy lifting done by carbon. However, new findings that appeared this week in Science suggest that sulfur’s role may have been underestimated.
May 25, 2017... Prof. Yardena Samuels: Breakthroughs in Cancer Diagnosis Research
Jun 26, 2008... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 26, 2008—More than 80 years have passed since the German scientist Hans Spemann conducted his famous experiment that laid the foundations for the field of embryonic development. After dividing a salamander embryo in half, Spemann noticed that one half — specifically, the half that gives rise to the salamander’s “belly” (ventral) starts to wither away. However, the other “back” (dorsal) half that develops into its head, brain, and spinal cord, continues to grow, regenerating the missing belly half and develops into a complete, though be it smaller, fully functional embryo. Spemann then conducted another experiment, where this time, he removed a few cells from the back half of one embryo and transplanted them into the belly half of a different embryo. To his surprise, this gave rise to a Siamese twin embryo where an extra head was generated from the transplanted cells. Moreover, although the resulting embryo was smaller than normal, all its tissues and organs developed in the right proportions irrespective of its size, and functioned properly. For this work, Spemann received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1935.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/trained-bacteria-can-lead-to-better-biofuels/
Jun 05, 2009... Bacteria are not dumb. Israeli researchers have proven that these pathogens can anticipate a future event and prepare for it. The discovery - just published in the prestigious journal Nature - is not merely a curiosity. The scientists believe that if bacteria gain the genetic ability to prepare themselves for the next step in a process, the conditioned response could be used for fermenting plant materials and producing more efficient biofuels.
Jun 19, 2014...
According the World Health Organization, mood disorders such as depression affect some 10% of the world’s population and are associated with a heavy burden of disease. That is why numerous scientists around the world have invested a great deal of effort in understanding these diseases. Yet the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie these problems are still only partly understood.
The existing antidepressants are not good enough: Some 60-70% of patients get no relief from them. For the other 30-40%, that relief is often incomplete, and they must take the drugs for a long period before feeling any effects. In addition, there are many side effects associated with the drugs. New and better drugs are clearly needed, an undertaking that requires, first and foremost, a better understanding of the processes and causes underlying the disorders.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/outwitting-a-brainy-gene/
Apr 30, 2012... The very first in the series of mutations causing colon cancer occurs in the beta-catenin gene; this gene is abnormally activated in about 90 percent of colorectal cancer patients, and in a much smaller percentage of people with almost every other type of cancer. Beta-catenin plays a dual role in the cell: it promotes adhesion, or stickiness, between cells, and regulates the expression of genes in the nucleus.
Apr 12, 2007... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—April 11, 2007—Muscle fibers are large cells that contain many nuclei. They begin, like all animal cells, as naive embryonic cells. These cells differentiate, producing intermediate cells called myoblasts that are now destined to become muscle. New myoblasts then seek out other myoblasts, and when they find each other, they stick together like best friends. In the final stage of muscle fiber development, the cell membranes of attached myoblasts open up and fuse together, forming one large, unified cell.
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