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.
Apr 19, 2013...
An Egyptian fruit bat flies in an abandoned quarry near the village of Mammari, west of Nicosia, in March 2007. Alex Mita / AFP - Getty Images file
At a lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, fruit bats in a roomy cage flew circles around a metal rig that roughly resembles a tree. Electrodes on their head recorded and wirelessly transmitted a map of the electrical activity in their brain. Bats, like birds, are deviously good at finding their way over long distances. Egyptian fruit bats will fly up to a hundred kilometers from their roosting cave to visit a favorite fruit tree. By studying the brain activity, researchers hoped to uncover clues about how many mammals, not just bats, know where they are — how high up they are when they peek out of a 10th-story window, how far they need to leap so they can make it to the next branch, or how to make back it home once they’ve reached their favorite tree.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/bat-nav-reveals-how-the-brain-tracks-other-animals/
Jan 12, 2018...
Bats have helped to decipher how we map the movements of ourselves and others. Credit: Weizmann Inst. of Science.
The brain’s navigation system — which keeps track of where we are in space — also monitors the movements of others, experiments in bats and rats suggest.
In a study published in Science on 11 January, neuroscientists in Israel pinpoint individual brain cells that seem specialized to track other animals or objects. These cells occur in the same region of the brain — the hippocampus — as cells that are known to map a bat’s own location. In a second paper, scientists in Japan report finding similar brain activity when rats watched other rats moving.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/brain-circuits-that-suppress-memory-found/
Jan 14, 2008... This article can be viewed by downloading the PDF.
Mar 07, 2011...
Men won most of the Nobel Prizes in the 20th century; with new awards, outstanding women now have a chance to catch up.
A young Israeli scientist from the Weizmann Institute of Science who is studying the effect of consciousness on memory in people with neurological disease has become a laureate of the UNESCO L'Oreal Foundation in Paris, along with 14 other women from around the world.
Dr. Hagar Gelbard-Sagiv, 32, who went to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) with her husband and children a year ago to continue her research, believes that her work could lead to advances in chronic disease.
Nov 30, 2019...
If there is one thing that all human beings seem to have in common, it is the fear of losing their memories. After all, memory shapes our personality, determines how we see ourselves, and contributes to shared experiences on multiple levels. Losing one’s memory is akin to losing an entire life history.
The 21st century offers various technologies that keep us from forgetting the little things, such as phone numbers, which are now a touch away on our smartphones. But could mobile phones actually contribute to one’s forgetfulness? Is age to blame for memory loss? Genetics? Or maybe a combination of all of the above?
Oct 29, 2014... Prof. Eytan Domany takes the stage to discusses the nature of memory, how we form memories, and how they change over time. He ties this into the dance about to performed by Israel's Vertigo Dance Company at Lincoln Center, describing how the movements made by the dancers – seemingly repetitive, but slightly different each time – represent memory.
Oct 10, 2005... NEW YORK, NY—October 10, 2005—The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and New York University have joined forces to present a special forum on neural science. Four leaders in this dynamic field will explain some of the latest developments in brain research to a select group of invited guests. Titled "Unveiling the Secrets of the Brain," the event will take place at the Helen and Martin Kimmel Center for University Life in New York City on Monday, October 31, from 9:30am to 1:30pm.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/study-scientists-revive-old-fading-memories/
Mar 03, 2011... What would it be like if you never forgot — if your brain were able to access your haziest long-term memories as though they had just been freshly made? For the first time, working in rats, researchers have enhanced weak, old memories by tweaking an enzyme in the brain. The findings not only deepen understanding of how memory works, but offer new hope for the development of treatments for Alzheimer’s and other memory-destroying diseases.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/understanding-the-anxious-brain/
Feb 03, 2017... Everyone experiences anxiety at times, but for some people, it’s a pervasive condition that can turn the ordinary into the distressing. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that 1 of every 10 women and 4 of every 100 men will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some time in their lives – for example, as a result of trauma experienced in war or from all-too-common events such as accidents, crime, or sudden health conditions. Even more people suffer from generalized anxiety without a specific memory of an experience they can point to as a cause.
Nov 10, 2014...
Most preferences are thought to be conditioned by experience. (photo credit: Puppy image)
Free will isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, according to Israeli researchers. They say people may not have much control over what they like and dislike. That said, there may be a way to undo unwanted preferences, even phobias and addiction, by exploiting the fluidity of memory.
The standard scientific view is that people are born with few preferences. Most are thought to be conditioned by experience.
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