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/blog/what-do-your-bones-wedding-bands-and-atomic-bombs-have-in-common/
Nov 13, 2017... Jets and Debris from a Neutron Star Collision. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab. This animation captures phenomena observed over the course of nine days following the neutron star merger known as GW170817. They include gravitational waves (pale arcs); a near-light-speed jet that produced gamma rays (magenta); expanding debris from a “kilonova” that produced ultraviolet (violet), optical, and infrared (blue-white to red) emissions; and, once the jet directed toward us expanded into our view from Earth, X-rays (blue).
https://weizmann-usa.org/blog/seeing-titan-a-most-earthlike-moon-in-a-new-light/
Aug 01, 2018...
Titan-ic accomplishment. It took scientists 13 years to create these six new images of Titan, which incorporate layers of data from various angles of approach and light. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ University of Nantes/University of Arizona
Last September 15, the Cassini-Huygens craft went obediently to its death, burning up in Saturn’s atmosphere. Its 20-year mission was more successful than scientists had hoped, and they will spend many years studying its data about the mysterious planet and its many, equally mysterious moons – such as Titan.
https://weizmann-usa.org/blog/ebola-is-still-killing-people-can-new-vaccines-help/
Aug 27, 2019...
Warning, again: While not making global headlines like it used to, Ebola rages on. A sign in the Congo warns that Ebola is in the area and to avoid dead animals, which are a vector for the virus.
The massive 2014-16 outbreak of Ebola in Africa was the first time many of us had heard of the virus. The stories and images of horribly sick and dying people, the selfless doctors and nurses in their too-often-insufficient protective gear, the concern that the virus’s spread could not be stopped: for a while, Ebola was in the global consciousness. Then, thanks to efforts on a number of fronts, the outbreak was quashed. Our attention faded accordingly.
https://weizmann-usa.org/blog/cloud-spotting/
May 31, 2019... The first time The Curiosity Review saw a picture of the new cloud type asperitas, it looked so much like the definition of “forbidding” that we thought it had to be fake. It was spring 2017, and there was news of a citizen-science group’s success in convincing the World Meteorological Organization to add asperitas to the august International Cloud Atlas. Ten other new cloud types were also added – the first since 1975 – in large part due to the efforts of that group, the Cloud Appreciation Society.
https://weizmann-usa.org/blog/storm-trackers/
Jul 29, 2019...
The Earth breaks its fever: After a historic heat wave, violent rainstorms flooded New York, including Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on July 22 (Screenshot: Adrienne Zhou)
No matter where in the world you are right now, odds are you’ve recently experienced severe storms. And if you feel like they’re becoming more common, you are correct: more frequent, more severe storms are one of the many devastating effects of global warming. This makes sense, given that storms are how the earth gets rid of heat.
https://weizmann-usa.org/blog/anxious-who-isn-t-scientists-study-stress-in-the-brain/
Jan 24, 2020... “According to Gallup, in 2018, more Americans were stressed, worried and angry than at any point in the last 12 years. That is extraordinary when you consider that the past dozen years includes the 2008 financial crisis and multiple terrorist attacks. Furthermore, American stress levels are among the highest in the world. Seriously, Americans were as stressed as Iranians and more stressed than citizens of Rwanda, Turkey, and Venezuela,” reports The Washington Post, adding the technically accurate diagnosis: “That’s nuts.”
Oct 20, 2015...
Steel is ubiquitous in our daily lives. We cook in stainless steel skillets, ride steel subway cars over steel rails to our offices in steel-framed building. Steel screws hold together broken bones, steel braces straighten crooked teeth, steel scalpels remove tumors. Most of the goods we consume are delivered by ships and trucks mostly built of steel.
While various grades of steel have been developed over the past 50 years, steel surfaces have remained largely unchanged – and unimproved. The steel of today is as prone as ever to the corrosive effects of water and salt and abrasive materials such as sand. Steel surgical tools can still carry microorganisms that cause deadly infections.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/plant-power-algae-as-alternative-energy/
Jan 04, 2011... Prof. Avihai Danon of the Weizmann Institute of Science's Department of Plant Sciences has been working with algae—simple, photosynthetic life forms that can be found all over the world—for more than 20 years. Algae are diverse, having many thousands of species, and adaptive, thriving in a variety of conditions; these attributes can teach scientists a lot and make algae, as Prof. Danon says, "a great model system to study." For example, in his research focusing on how they adapt to sunlight, Prof. Danon found that there is a very sophisticated level of regulation inside algae. "On the one hand, the plant utilizes sunlight for energy production through photosynthesis," a process that, while beneficial, must be very carefully calibrated because "on the other hand, it can kill the plant in seconds," he says. He likes to compare a plant's ability to perform photosynthesis to having an atomic reactor in your stomach: the reactor can provide you with free energy, but if it's not tightly controlled, then it can explode.
Nov 29, 2018... On November 29, 2018, American Committee supporters from across the U.S. tuned in for new CEO Dave Doneson’s first video conference, “Weizmann Science: Why Basic Research Matters and Merits Our Support.” In conversation with Bonnie Diamond, Senior Vice President of Donor Relations & National Programs, Mr. Doneson illustrated the value of basic science by sharing the stories of three transformative breakthroughs.
Mar 09, 2020...
Electrons spin. It's a fundamental part of their existence. Some spin “up” while others spin “down.” Scientists have known this for about a century, thanks to quantum physics.
They've also known that magnetic fields can affect the direction of an electron’s quantum spin, flipping it from up to down and vice versa. And it doesn't take much: Even a bacterial cell can do it.
Researchers at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science have found that protein “wires” connecting a bacterial cell to a solid surface tend to transmit electrons with a particular spin.
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