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.
Oct 11, 2011...
“I believe there is real magic in the way thatembryos develop. I’ve been studying them for almost 15 years and Ihaven’t stopped being amazed,” says Dr. Karina Yaniv of the WeizmannInstitute of Science’s Department of Biological Regulation.
Dr. Yaniv focuses on examining how blood and lymphatic vessels formduring embryonic development. Her research may, in the future, lead tonew therapies for heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other illnesses. “Ithink it’s imperative for us to learn how to manipulate vessel growth,”she says. “Sometimes we want to encourage vessel growth and sometimeswe want to stop it.”
Nov 06, 2019...
Computer-enhanced MRI images of the brains of left-handed women identified two that were missing olfactory bulbs
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—November 6, 2019—Is a pair of brain structures called the olfactory bulbs, which are said to encode our sense of smell, necessary? That is, are they essential to the existence of this sense? Weizmann Institute of Science researchers recently showed that some humans can smell just fine, thank you, without said bulbs. Their finding – that around 0.6% of women, and more specifically, up to 4% of left-handed women, have completely intact senses of smell despite having no olfactory bulbs in their brains – calls into question the accepted notion that this structure is absolutely necessary for the act of smelling. The findings of this research, which were published in Neuron, could shake up certain conventional theories that describe the workings of our sense of smell.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/jerusalem-girls-win-the-telescope/
Mar 07, 2016...
South Korean astronaut Yi So-yeon (center) and two members of the winning team from Jerusalem’s Pelech Religious Experimental High School for Girls
A class of 9th-grade girls from Jerusalem were the winners of this year’s Ilan Ramon Space Olympics for junior high school students. In addition to receiving a telescope for their school, they and the students from the other 11 classes that reached the final round of the competition had a day at the Weizmann Institute of Science that included a talk from a female astronaut – South Korea’s Yi So-yeon.
Mar 13, 2013...
Prof. Shafi Goldwasser
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 13, 2013—The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) today announced that Prof. Shafrira (Shafi) Goldwasser of the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT’s) Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, will receive the ACM A.M. Turing Award. She receives the Award together with Prof. Silvio Micali of MIT “for transformative work that laid the complexity-theoretic foundations for the science of cryptography, and in the process pioneered new methods for efficient verification of mathematical proofs in complexity theory.”
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/nobel-laureate-talks-life-expectancy-antibiotics/
Nov 18, 2013...
Nobelist Ada Yonath delivers the Efraim Racker Lecture in Biology and Medicine Nov. 14 on campus. Robert Barker/University Photography
One hundred may one day be the new 80, but it may be some time before living past 80 is a global standard for life expectancy, said Nobel laureate Ada Yonath, who delivered the 21st Efraim Racker Lecture in Biology and Medicine Nov. 14.
Yonath linked widespread use of antibiotics to increased human life expectancy. Her work on ribosomes has offered insight into helping researchers understand antibiotic resistance.
Sep 27, 2017... Each summer, the Kupcinet-Getz International Science School offers outstanding undergraduate students from around the world the opportunity to spend two months conducting research at the Weizmann Institute. For Alice Chudnovsky, now a sophomore at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, participating in the program was the opportunity of a lifetime. Here, Alice reflects on her transformative summer at Weizmann, her passion for Israel and mathematics, and her efforts to encourage women in her field.
Dec 01, 2009... A bicycle accident and polar bears came together in one curious scientist’s mind, and became the catalyst for research that is changing the world.When Prof. Ada Yonath of the Weizmann Institute of Science was recovering from a concussion suffered while riding her bike, she read an article about hibernating polar bears, which led her to consider the physical processes that enable and support a dormant state. It occurred to her that in order for the bears to go in and out of hibernation, it was possible that ribosomes were packed in an orderly manner—an idea that went against then-current thinking. And she wondered, “Why do they do this?”
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/video-gallery/advancing-women-in-science-a-decade-of-success/
Dec 01, 2017... Advancing Women in Science: A Decade of Success
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-january-2009/
Jan 28, 2009...
Even when the results of the basic research at the Weizmann Institute are translated directly to medical application, it may take years to reach patients. But, once in a while, a finding can change lives almost immediately.
In 2006, Prof. Nava Dekel of the Institute’s Biological Regulation Department, together with doctors in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) unit of the Kaplan Medical Center, made the surprising discovery that performing a uterine biopsy — causing a slight injury to the lining of the uterus just before a woman undergoes IVF doubles the chances of a successful pregnancy. Although the mechanism was not completely clear, Dekel and her team assumed that the injury provokes a response in the uterus that makes it more receptive to the embryo’s implantation.
Jul 07, 2015...
Weizmann Institute of Science. (photo credit:MICHAEL JACOBSON/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Eleven young women scientists who have excelled in their doctoral studies have received grants from a unique program of Rehovot’s Weizmann Institute of Science. Since 2007, a total of 96 awards, each worth $40,000, have been granted to young women PhDs who plan a scientific career.
The program is designed to advance women in the fields of natural sciences (physics, chemistry, and the life sciences) and the exact sciences (mathematics and computer science). The aim of the program is to close the significant gap that still exists between men and women in high academic ranks.
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