Using magnetite nanocubes, Weizmann Institute scientists showed that, under the competing forces of magnetism and van der Waals, such nanomaterials can self-assemble into unexpectedly beautiful and complex structures. The nanocubes also created surprisingly yarn-like strands, demonstrating that, with the right conditions, cube-shaped nanoparticles are able to align into winding, helical structures.
Giant quasars from shortly after the Big Bang are a mystery: how could a small black hole get so large, so quickly? The Weizmann Institute’s Prof. Tal Alexander and Yale’s Prof. Priyamvada Natarajan have a theory: the hungry, newborn black hole moved around and ate everything in sight.
Weizmann Institute scientists developed a new technique for epigenetic profiling, enabling them to identify the exact DNA sequences, as well as various regulatory proteins, involved in regulating the process of blood stem cell fate. In a first, they also charted histone dynamics during blood development. The work holds promise for future development of diagnostic tools, regenerative medicine, and more.
Lab mice have traits not found in wild mice, such as caring for others’ pups. Dr. Tali Kimchi, who studies the basis of social behavior – including maternal instinct – needed lab mice with those wild traits. She developed a mouse model that let her explore, for the first time, the biological roots of aggressiveness in females, particularly toward pups.
Scientists from the Weizmann Institute and the U.S. created a tool to analyze the environmental costs of agriculture, with the goal of determining which types of animal-based food one should eat, environmentally speaking. In the most comprehensive study of its kind, they came up with answers both expected and surprising.
Gaucher disease, a genetic disorder prevalent among Ashkenazi Jews, is devastating for sufferers and their families. Now, scientists in Prof. Tony Futerman’s lab at the Weizmann Institute have discovered a new cellular pathway implicated in the disease. Their findings may offer a new therapeutic target for treatment of Gaucher and related disorders.
Dr. Ruth Shahack-Gross of Weizmann’s Kimmel Center for Archeological Science, part of a team of Israeli scientists, used high-tech tools to identify proof of repeated fire-building over time. The ancient hearth, found in the Qesem Cave in central Israel, helps answer questions such as, “when did people begin to control and use fire?”
The Board of Directors of the American Committee has elected Ellen Merlo of New York as the new Chair and Dr. Jay A. Levy of California as President. They succeed outgoing Chairman Lawrence S. Blumberg of New York and President Pennie Abramson of Washington, D.C. The new officers will lead efforts to raise support for the Weizmann Institute.
The American Committee is thrilled to announce that Nancy and Stephen Grand of San Francisco, long-time friends of the Weizmann Institute, have made a historic contribution to name the Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine. The center represents the future of modern medicine, and will benefit all humanity through its research.
One challenge in using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) – which are reprogrammed regular cells – is that they retain traces of their former identities. Dr. Jacob Hanna has now created iPSCs that are completely reset to the earliest possible state, and is able to keep them there. Potential applications include custom-grown transplant organs.
Reprogramming adult stem cells so that they are like embryonic stem cells has the potential to change medicine; however, the reprogramming process is inefficient and impractical. Now, Dr. Yaqub Hanna has found that removing one protein changes everything, raising the efficiency of this reprogramming from one percent or less to 100 percent.
When we think of our prehistoric ancestors, we don’t usually imagine them lining graves with flowers – yet Weizmann scientists have now identified the oldest such grave. Using the Institute’s new accelerator mass spectrometer, the team will not only uncover new information about prehistoric life, but also overturn some long-held theories.
How does a social animal gain dominance over its fellows? A unique experiment conducted by Weizmann scientists provides insight into the behavior that enables a social hierarchy, complete with a leader, to form. Their system may be especially useful for understanding the societal aspects of disorders like schizophrenia and autism.
Since the ‘80s, when Voyager 2 discovered extremely high atmospheric winds on Uranus and Neptune, the vertical extent of those winds has been a puzzle. Now, a team led by the Weizmann Institute’s Dr. Yohai Kaspi has found a way, based on a novel method for analyzing gravitational fields, to determine an upper limit for the atmospheric layer’s thickness.
The question of how animals orient themselves in space has been extensively studied, but only in two-dimensional settings – until now. Weizmann Institute research, conducted with bats wearing purpose-built miniature equipment, reveals for the first time how three-dimensional volumetric space is perceived in the brain.
Weizmann Institute researchers find that humans are able to learn to use “whiskers” to locate objects in their environment, much as rats do. The findings give new insight into the process of sensing and may point to new avenues in developing aids for the blind.
A team of Weizmann Institute researchers combined two low-temperature supersonic beams to produce chemical reactions in quantum conditions, near absolute zero. The method, a first, confirms longstanding theories.
A Weizmann-led interdisciplinary team that included mathematicians, pediatricians, oncologists, and others has created a mathematical model that helps explain why some patients develop post-chemotherapy infections and points to ways of averting this side effect.
Using tones and odors, a team of Weizmann Institute neurobiologists have found that people can learn new information while asleep, and that what they learn can modify their waking behavior.
Weizmann Institute scientists have been involved with the LHC and the search for the Higgs boson from the beginning. After the July 4 announcement by CERN that the Higgs has likely been found, the Institue shares news on its role and what the results mean.
The Weizmann Institute’s Prof. Ehud Shapiro leads research that shows how leukemia can evade chemotherapy. Using his method of mapping the family trees of cells, the team found that slowly dividing cancer cells are most likely to survive the toxic therapy.
Using a Weizmann Institute method for determining the “family trees” of cells, a cross-disciplinary team of scientists was able to prove—and disprove—some ideas about the female mammal’s egg supply.
Yeda Research and Development Company, the Weizmann Institute of Science’s commercial arm, has entered into a licensing agreement with Adobe Systems for a bidirectional similarity method to summarize visual data from both still images and video.
Today’s announcement from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva points to promising signs for the existence of the Higgs boson. Since 1987, three Weizmann Institute physicists have been key members of the ATLAS team searching for Higgs.
The eye and ear have patterns of organization that reflect visual and auditory input. But what about the nose? Now, Prof. Noam Sobel at the Weizmann Institute has found there is also organization to our smell receptors, and it relates to how we perceive an odor.
An approach developed at the Weizmann Institute could make adoptive cell transfer cancer therapy cheaper and more effective.
A mathematical formula that describes predator-prey population dynamics has been used by the Weizmann Institute and NOAA to model the relationship between cloud systems, rain, and aerosols. This model may help climate scientists understand, among other things, how human-produced aerosols affect rainfall patterns.
Weizmann Institute scientists find that the brains of autistic toddlers reveal significantly weaker synchronization between areas tied to language and communication; this could serve as a biological marker for autism and lead to tools for early diagnosis.
At the Weizmann Institute, an interdisciplinary team of scientists have used “natural selection” in a test tube to modify the PON1 enzyme so that it provides protection against nerve agents. This ability to tailor enzymes could be used to develop defensive treatments against all known nerve agents.
The effects of antioxidants, like many supplements, are not fully known. Now, Weizmann Institute Prof. Nava Dekel has found that while antioxidants do fight “bad” reactive oxygen species, they can also inhibit “good” forms, such as those related to triggering ovulation. The finding’s potential implications include a new, safer form of birth control.
Weizmann scientists and a global team have produced the full genome of the woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca). The wild strawberry has important nutritive properties, as well as qualities that make it an ideal model plant; e.g., it could provide insight into related agricultural crops from the rose family, including apple and almond trees.
Weizmann Institute scientists have invented a unique device, based on sniffing, that permits disabled persons to navigate wheelchairs and communicate. Sniffing technology is being investigated for other uses as well, such as a “third hand” for surgeons or pilots.
Until recently, scientists had only observed two kinds of supernovae. Now, researchers at the Weizmann Institute, in collaboration with others around the world, have identified a third type. Observation of the explosion soon revealed that it did not fit either of the known supernova patterns.
Anxiety disorders and depression, as well as metabolic disorders such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and arteriosclerosis, have all been linked to stress. But how? Weizmann Institute scientists have discovered that changes in the activity of a single gene not only cause mice to exhibit anxious behavior, but also lead to metabolic changes.
Weizmann scientists find that the perception of an odor’s pleasantness is hard-wired to its molecular structure, indicating that smell may not be as subjective as once thought. These findings have implications for automated environmental toxicity and malodor monitoring, among other applications.
A large international group of researchers, including Weizmann Institute scientists, recently produced the full zebra finch genome, the report on which is significant for what it reveals about learning processes for language and speech. For the Weizmann researchers, the findings provide an interesting twist on the evolution of the sense of smell.
New research from the Weizmann Institute reveals that bats, which “see” with beams of sound waves, skew their beams off-center when they want to locate an object. The study shows that this strategy is the most efficient for locating objects.
The simple formula we’ve learned in recent years – forests remove CO2 from the atmosphere; therefore forests help prevent global warming – may not be quite so simple. New Weizmann Institute research shows that forests can directly absorb and retain heat. In at least one type of forest, these effects may cancel out a good part of the benefit in lowered CO2.
How do the visual images we experience, which have no tangible existence, arise out of physical processes in the brain? New research at the Weizmann Institute of Science provides evidence, for the first time, that an “ignition” of intense neural activity underlies the experience of seeing.
What produces the pink tomatoes so popular in the Far East? Using metabolomics, Weizmann Institute researchers found that a number of traits unique to pink tomatoes can be traced to a mutation on a single gene.
Bones, muscles, and tendons work together to provide the perfect balance between stability and movement in the skeleton. Scientists have now shown that this partnership begins in the embryo. The new study describes a previously unrecognized interaction between tendons and bones that drives the development of a strong skeletal system.
Bone marrow transplants still rely on exact matches between donor and patient. Now, scientists at the University of Perugia and the Weizmann Institute have improved on a method of transplanting bone marrow-based stem cells from a mismatched donor, making it safer for use when no exact match exists. The new method also restores the immune system faster.
An international team, led by a Weizmann Institute astrophysicist, tracked a supernova over time and found that it fits predictions about what happens when a star greater than 150 times the mass of the sun explodes. Their findings could influence our understanding of everything from natural limits on star size to the evolution of the universe.
Proust famously used the smell of madeleines as a connection to childhood memories. Now, researchers at the Weizmann Institute have revealed the scientific basis of the link between smell and memory.
Studies have shown that pediatric tumors with positive prognosis usually express the cell receptor TrkA. However, the mechanism by which TrkA induces tumor regression was an enigma. Weizmann Institute scientists have discovered that when TrkA teams with the molecule CCM2, TrkA turns into a cell killer. The team found that CCM2 and TrkA are expressed together in tumors with good prognosis. This work, recently published in Neuron, is the first to identify CCM2 as a crucial accessory in this particular pathway and describe, in detail, just how these two molecules interact.
Bacteria can anticipate a future event and prepare for it, according to new research at the Weizmann Institute. Such genetic conditioned response may be a widespread means of evolutionary adaptation that enhances survival in many organisms "“ and may also take place in the cells of higher organisms, including humans.
New research reveals that white blood cells "crawl" in order to travel the endothelium and get to the site of infection or injury. This motion is different than was commonly assumed. In future work, the scientists plan to study whether aggressive immune reactions can be regulated by interrupting the "digging" of immune cell legs.
Sea urchins dig themselves hiding holes in the limestone of the ocean floor using teeth that don't go blunt. Weizmann Institute scientists have now revealed their secrets, which might give engineers insights into creating ever-sharp tools or mechanical parts.
DNA is damaged about 20,000 times a day. Sometimes this damage causes gaps that prevent the DNA molecule from being copied when the cell divides. In a sloppy but efficient repair technique, the cell may fill in the missing DNA in an inaccurate fashion. Such repair can save the cell from dying, but it comes at a price: this error-prone mechanism is a major source of mutations. Now, a scientist at the Weizmann Institute has revealed how the stopgap repair works. It proceeds in two steps and requires two types of enzymes.
Weizmann Institute scientists have identified a new mode of bond generation between oxygen atoms. This work is a step toward development of an efficient artificial catalyst for solar-driven splitting of water into oxygen and hydrogen, which is a major goal of renewable, clean energy research.
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