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/news-releases/rhapsody-in-red-violet/
Aug 15, 2017...
Unripe (top) and ripe (bottom) tomatoes. Regular tomatoes (far left) start out green and turn red when ripe. In contrast, genetically engineered tomatoes assume different shades of red-violet, depending on whether they produce betalains (second from left), pigments called anthocyanins (second from right), or betalains together with anthocyanins (far right)
Color in the plant kingdom is not merely a joy to the eye. Colored pigments attract pollinating insects, they protect plants against disease, they confer health benefits, and are used in the food and drug industries. A new study conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, has now opened the way to numerous potential uses of betalains, the highly nutritious red-violet and yellow pigments known for their antioxidant properties and commonly used as food dyes.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/marine-green-slime-to-save-the-planet/
Oct 03, 2012...
The expedition in the north Atlantic Ocean. Photo by Assaf Vardi
As the northern hemisphere sweltered in summer, more than 30 scientists, led by an Israeli biologist, were spending the month of June on a ship in the north Atlantic Ocean. Their mission: to find green slime. Or more specifically — blankets of phytoplankton: single-cell algae that grow in masses on the ocean’s surface. These blankets can grow to thousands of square kilometers.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/how-israeli-scientists-are-saving-crops/
Mar 19, 2019...
Researchers help plants at the Weizmann Institute of Science. (photo credit: WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE)
The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot continues to be a leading innovator, as highlighted in a new video series from the institute. Dave Doneson, CEO of the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science, spoke about challenges facing the world’s food supply.
“In Israel’s earliest days, Weizmann scientists invented a non-toxic method for waxing orange so they could be shipped overseas,” Doneson explained. “Since those days, the Institute has continued to apply its plant research expertise toward improving global food security.”
Aug 10, 2018...
(Credit: Martin M303/Shutterstock)
Scientists may have miscalculated the age of an olive branch that has served as a key piece of evidence in dating the Santorini eruption, according to a new study.
The findings cast doubt on the accuracy of an analysis of the millennia-old branch, suggesting it may predate by several decades the natural disaster that fundamentally altered the political landscape of the Mediterranean and has been used to anchor much of the chronology of ancient history.
Aug 14, 2016...
The varied and vibrant food market in Cascais, Portugal. (photo credit:AYA MASSIAS)
Weizmann Institute scientists have engineered bacteria to create sugar from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. All life on the planet relies, in one way or another, on a process called carbon fixation – the ability of plants, algae and certain bacteria to “pump” carbon dioxide (CO2) from the environment, add solar or other energy and turn it into the sugars that are the required starting point needed for life processes.
Oct 11, 2011...
“What I find most amazing about plants is that they’re a great source for thousands and thousands of chemicals,” says Dr. Asaph Aharoni of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Plant Sciences. “A single plant can produce 10,000 to 20,000 metabolites, or active compounds, which we can use for nutrition and in products like drugs and cosmetics.”
Dr. Aharoni studies how plants regulate the production of metabolites during development and under conditions of stress, such as insect attack or exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. His goal is to identify novel genes that are associated with, for example, better nutritional quality and enhanced resistance to insect pests. In the future, his findings could help scientists develop better crops. “We’re interested in how we can help address a major challenge: improving the nutritional quality of plants and solving problems of malnutrition around the world,” he says.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/the-tree-that-survives-the-desert/
Jan 16, 2019... Tu B’Shevat, a Jewish holiday commemorating the importance and sanctity of trees, could not be more fitting in this day and age. Undoubtedly, it’s not easy to be a tree these days. Extended drought periods induced by climate change make it more and more difficult for those that need water to survive. Add to this the constant increase in pests and invasive species, one gets an idea of the grim reality in which many tree species are forced to survive the rapid and extreme changes.
Jan 09, 2018... Prof. Milo speaks at London’s how to: Academy about plants’ ability to metabolize CO2 and how it can help us.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/hot-pink-tomatoes-might-be-the-future-of-fruit/
Aug 21, 2017...
Tomatoes are red. Sometimes they're orange or yellow or even purple. But they're never hot pink—until now, that is. Scientists recently discovered a way to change the flesh color of a few different items in the produce aisle—and their new hues boast a bevy of surprising production and health benefits.
A recent study by Weizmann Institute of Science scientists uncovered an unknown gene in betalains, nutritious red-violet and yellow pigments heavy on antioxidants and used most commonly for food dyes. With the discovery of that new gene, the scientists created a yeast that would produce betalains, and then reproduced betalain synthesis in edible plants and (inedible) flowers, including potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, petunias, and tobacco.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/what-gives-the-beach-that-smell-sulfur-making-algae/
Jun 30, 2015...
Close your eyes and conjure up your paradise vacation: umbrellaed drink in hand, trashy detective novel perched on your knee, the rhythmic swell of waves in your ears, and of course – the fresh, briny smell of the sea.
That poetic smell comes, in part, from a not-so-poetically-named sulfur compound called dimethyl sulfide, or DMS, a key player in ocean ecosystems and weather patterns. Now, scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have figured out how a particular ocean algae – one that dwells in the upper sunlit part of the sea – makes the aromatic chemical.
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