The Power to Tell Your Story

• share
• favorite_border

Discovery may help design effective therapies for the genetic disease that mainly affects Ashkenazi Jews.

• share
• favorite_border

Recent results of a joint experiment conducted by 460 physicists from 57 research institutions in 12 countries strongly indicate that the scientists have succeeded in reproducing matter as it first appeared in the universe; this matter is called the quark-gluon plasma.

• share
• favorite_border

World-class institute honored for contributions in health and medicine; Weizmann Prof. Yair Reisner selected as award finalist for research in health-related sciences.

• share
• favorite_border

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease with as yet no cure that affects millions of people in the U.S. and Europe. About 10% of these people develop chronic inflammation of the joints called psoriatic arthritis. In clinical trials testing a drug the condition of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patients was greatly improved with no adverse effects.

• share
• favorite_border

"De gustibus non est disputandum" is a popular saying, conveying that one shouldn't argue about flavors. Now, a team has found why this is true.

• share
• favorite_border

Stem cells in our bone marrow usually develop into blood cells, replenishing our blood system. However, in states of emergency, the destiny of some of these stem cells may change: They can become virtually any type of cell "“ liver cells, muscle cells, nerve cells "“ responding to the body's needs.

• share
• favorite_border

Finding may lead to new treatments for psychological trauma. It may well be that in the future, we will be able to wipe out, or at least dim, certain types of memories with controlled accuracy.

• share
• favorite_border

Smokers carrying a newly found genetic marker are 5-10 times more likely to fall victim to the disease than other smokers; 120 times more than nonsmokers who don't carry the marker.

• share
• favorite_border

Thanks to a diagnostic imaging technique that should soon be finding its way to medical establishments, many patients could be spared the pain and risk of biopsies. The technique, called 3TP, has recently received FDA clearance for use in the detection of breast and prostate cancer, and is slated for distribution as early as next year. It will enable doctors to distinguish between malignant tumors and benign lumps by scanning instead of cutting.

• share
• favorite_border

Israeli scientist's research recognized for contribution to elucidating natural defense mechanisms against cancer and its potential to design better treatments.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists have destroyed malignant tumors in mice using a chemical that occurs naturally in garlic. The key to the scientists' success lies in the development of a unique, two-step system for delivering the cancer-wrecking chemical straight to the tumor cells.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists have succeeded in reversing the metastatic properties of colon cancer cells, in vitro. The findings uncover a key process involved in the metastasis of colon cancer cells and raise hopes that target-specific drugs might be devised to prevent, or reverse, the invasive behavior of metastatic colon cancer cells.

• share
• favorite_border

New method tracking single atoms may lead to improved drug design.

• share
• favorite_border

Weizmann Institute and Cambridge University Tie for First Place in Physics Competition

• share
• favorite_border

Billions of cells divide every day in our bodies to replace those that wear out. To be able to do so, their DNA must be copied. A new study shows that the molecules in charge of the task of copying DNA are able to improvise in order to achieve this crucially important goal.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study has now uncovered a key process leading to the regeneration of peripheral nerves. Knowing how neurons in the peripheral nervous system regenerate could provide insights into fixing neurons in the central nervous system where damage is irreversible.

• share
• favorite_border

Our fingers run over surfaces; our eyes are in constant motion. This is all a part of "active sensing," key principles of which have now been uncovered by a study.

• share
• favorite_border

Weizmann Institute scientists have created a new type of nanotube built of gold, silver and other nanoparticles. The tubes exhibit unique electrical, optical and other properties, depending on their components, and as such, may form the basis for future nanosensors, catalysts and chemistry-on-a-chip systems.

• share
• favorite_border

A rose is a rose is a rose, but do we and the artist and poet all see the same flower in the same way? This age-old philosophical question has now been put to the test by scientists.

• share
• favorite_border

Kidney disease may affect as many as one in twelve people, and causes millions of deaths each year. Currently, the diagnosis of kidney function relies mainly on blood and urine tests, an indirect means of figuring out how well they're working.

• share
• favorite_border

The "scanning electron microscope" (SEM) has been a basic research tool for fifty years, and for those fifty years, scientists have been looking for better ways to observe biological samples under its beam.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientist's vision: microscopic computers that will function inside living tissues, performing diagnosis and administering treatment.

• share
• favorite_border

Prof. Ehud Shapiro has received the 2004 World Technology Award for Biotechnology. The award is one of 30 given yearly by the World Technology Network to those individuals and organizations whose innovations are likely to have a major impact on the technology and society of the future.

• share
• favorite_border

The American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science announced today that the Weizmann Institute in Israel has been awarded an $8 million grant from the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute.

• share
• favorite_border

The sea urchin's tough, brittle spines are an engineering wonder. Composed of a single crystal from base to needle-sharp tip, they grow back within a few days after being broken off. Now, a team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science has shown how they do it.

• share
• favorite_border

The Weizmann Institute of Science today announced that a research group headed by Dr. Ernesto Joselevich has developed a new approach to create patterns of carbon nanotubes by formation along atomic steps on sapphire surfaces.

• share
• favorite_border

Evolution is something of a gamble: in order to stay a step ahead of a shifting environment, organisms must change or risk extinction. Yet the instrument of this change, mutation, carries a serious threat: mutations are hundreds of times more likely to be harmful to the organism than advantageous.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists have determined distinct gestational time windows for the growth of transplanted pig embryonic liver, pancreas and lung precursor tissue into functioning organs in mice. These findings could help enhance the chances for successful implementation of embryonic pig tissue in the treatment of human diseases.

• share
• favorite_border

If there were no bench for second-string players on a football team, who would substitute for tired or injured team members? A team of scientists has found that, if the team were made up of genes, they might pull athletes who can play a little football in a pinch from nearby basketball or rugby teams.

• share
• favorite_border

Cancer growth is a long, complex, multi-stage process involving a variety of different "players." This complexity is part of the difficulty facing cancer researchers. Meanwhile, each discovery or identification of a new "player," or previously unknown stage in the process, offers new opportunities for blocking the disease.

• share
• favorite_border

Long distance messengers star in many heroic tales, perhaps the most famous being the one about the runner who carried the news about the victory of the Greeks over the Persians in the fateful battle of Marathon.

• share
• favorite_border

The American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science will receive a $20 million gift from the family of its President, Dr. Albert Willner, to establish and endow the Willner Family Leadership Institute.

• share
• favorite_border

Retroviruses are among the trickier and more malicious disease agents, causing AIDS and cancers such as leukemia. The viruses manage to sneak into cells with the help of special protein assemblies scattered all over their surfaces.

• share
• favorite_border

When the first matter came into being right after the big bang, what was it like? It may not have been quite as scientists have been describing it. That is one of the possibilities raised by four international teams of researchers.

• share
• favorite_border

In a recent study, researchers paired the active ingredient of a garden remedy with advanced bio-technology to deliver a powerful punch against cancer. The cancer killing effectiveness lies in their technique of arming a cancer-targeting antibody with the destructive potential of the dietary molecule otherwise known as "allicin."

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have demonstrated a new kind of electrical switch, formed of organic molecules, that could be used in the future in nanoscale electronic components.

• share
• favorite_border

Cancer patients may one day benefit from treatment with mixtures of customized antibodies. In a study, a team of scientists have demonstrated how the right combination might form a web that destroys the cancer cell's communication network, ultimately demobilizing the cell.

• share
• favorite_border

Soon after fertilization, the cells in an embryo, which have been dividing furiously from the start, begin to take on different forms and to separate into layers that will eventually give rise to the organism's various tissues and organs.

• share
• favorite_border

A team of scientists has shown exactly why a new drug that's been proven effective against colon cancer sometimes has serious side effects. Their hope is that these findings will allow the drug's design to be improved so as to lower the incidence of these side effects.

• share
• favorite_border

New findings show an iron storage molecule in the cell can serve as an advanced tool for mapping gene expression. Future gene therapy may use a technique in which non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging is used to track this molecule.

• share
• favorite_border

One out of 12 people in the western world suffers from type 2 (adult onset) diabetes. Worldwide, 150 million people are diabetic and their numbers are expected to double in the next 20 years, a result of the growing obesity epidemic.

• share
• favorite_border

Some fundamental outstanding questions in science "“ "Where do stem cells originate?" "How does cancer develop?" "When do cell types split off from each other in the embryo?" "“ might be answered if scientists had a way to map the history of the body's cells going back to the fertilized egg.

• share
• favorite_border

A team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science, led by Prof. Michal Schwartz of the Neurobiology Department, has come up with new findings that may have implications in delaying and slowing down cognitive deterioration in old age.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science recently discovered a new source of well-preserved ancient DNA in fossil bones.

• share
• favorite_border

Is there a universal neural code for sensation, similar to the genetic code, in which the complexity of sense and experience can be reduced to a few simple rules? According to Prof. Ehud Ahissar of the Weizmann Institute's Neurobiology Department, the answer might be no.

• share
• favorite_border

Could engineers have known ahead of time exactly how much pressure the levees protecting New Orleans could withstand before giving way? Is it possible to predict when and under what conditions material wear and tear will become critical, causing planes to crash or bridges to collapse?

• share
• favorite_border

A team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has developed a method that could speed up the process of identifying novel protein molecules for medical or biological research hundreds of times over.

• share
• favorite_border

A team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute, headed by Prof. Hadassa Degani of the Biological Regulation Department, has come up with a non-invasive, magnetic resonance imaging- (MRI-) based method for predicting possible problems with chemotherapy drugs.

• share
• favorite_border

Representatives of Bar-Ilan University and the Weizmann Institute of Science have signed an agreement to collaborate on a unique program for multidisciplinary teaching and research in archaeology and the natural sciences.

• share
• favorite_border

Everyone knows mutations "“ genetic mistakes in DNA, the material of heredity "“ are bad: The more mutations in the cell's DNA, the higher the risk of cancer developing. But in the last few years it has become clear that the very processes that generate mutations, if they take place at a relatively low frequency, can actually protect us from cancer.