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Weizmann Institute

Microscope image of the fibers produced by the fibroblasts in the cancerous tumor environment. Above: orderly fibers in samples taken from pancreatic cancer patients with a normal BRCA gene, below: branched fibers in samples from patients carrying a mutation in the gene

Thugs in the Hait neighborhood

Not only breast cancer: mutations in the BRCA gene, which are especially common among Ashkenazim, increase the risk of various types of cancer - also in men. The institute's scientists reveal how they turn healthy cells in their environment into collaborators
Different types of insects. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The Arthropod Census: A Weighty Environmental Issue

In a first calculation of its kind, the weight of all the insects, spiders and their terrestrial relatives in the world was found
Like Lego figures, proteins can don a variety of costumes - chemical tags that change them beyond recognition. The new method makes it possible to identify about 30 tags within six hours, compared to only three tags within two weeks with the existing methods

The protein wears Prada

In response to environmental and intracellular changes, the proteins in our body don a variety of costumes that change their properties and make their identification difficult. The institute's scientists have developed a ground-breaking search engine capable of identifying these proteins with unprecedented efficiency
Cloudiness on Earth as captured over more than a decade (2015-2002) by the Aqua research satellite. The distribution of clouds is not equal between the two hemispheres. Source: NASA

Why do both halves of the Earth appear equally bright when viewed from space?

Weizmann Institute scientists offer a solution to a 50-year-old mystery
soldiers. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Relaxed from birth

Weizmann Institute scientists have discovered that certain fish are born with immunity to stressful situations, which accompanies them throughout their lives and is even inherited. The findings may pave new directions for the treatment of post-trauma
The method developed by Weizmann Institute of Science scientists makes it possible to connect modular protein segments (the illuminated parts) and produce active enzymes from them with unprecedented efficiency

A leap forward in protein engineering

Unprecedented abilities to produce thousands of enzymes pave the way for a green industrial revolution

A one-time look

The institute's scientists created a simulation of the activity of nerve cells in the retina based on eye movements of subjects while trying to identify a whole based on its parts. The recognition of the whole or its non-recognition was characterized by distinct activity patterns in the retina
Light with special chiral properties - a rotating field in the shape of the number 8. Courtesy of the researchers

An electron on the run

The scientists of the institute and their research partners showed that the chance of an electron to pass through a tunnel at the junction between a molecule and a light field, and the manner in which it will do so, depend to a large extent on the chirality of both the molecule and the light
Prof. Toufik's hypothesis on the origin of life: from individual peptides without structure (turquoise, left) to proteins with structure and the ability to bind to DNA (turquoise, right), through an intermediate stage of peptides that organize into dimers within droplets (center)

The cradle of protein evolution

A day after Prof. Dan Toufik's death, his hypothesis about the origin of life was significantly strengthened
The structure of the binding site for copper ions (in red) in the mucin molecule

A close and slippery escort: is our mucus involved in the body's metabolism?

The scientists of the institute discovered a surprising involvement of the intestinal mucus in the absorption process of copper - a metal that, like iron and zinc, is necessary for our bodies, but can be dangerous.
Diagram showing the neural circuit for sensing danger in the female worms (above), the male worms (center), and the transgenic male worms (below) which adopted female behavior following the creation of a connection between two nerve cells in the circuit

Scientists added only one connection between two nerve cells in worms. This was enough to turn male behavior into female

The research findings illustrate how changing the synapse map may lead to a change in behavior
A pair of Tad1 proteins and the signaling molecules discovered trapped inside them

When the viruses win

The scientists of the institute reveal: this is how viruses pile up on the immune system of bacteria
The search for fungi in cancer. Illustration: Studio Ella Maro

The fungi that hide inside cancerous tumors

Weizmann Institute of Science scientists and their research partners have mapped the presence of fungi in 35 different types of cancer ■ The fungi that live inside the cancerous tumors may facilitate the detection, diagnosis and perhaps even the treatment of cancer ■ "Fungal presence is a new and significant hallmark of cancer"
Didmus before and after the DART hit (left). Photo: Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, ESA

Deep space collision

Israeli scientists participated in the DART asteroid interception project
The structure of the protoribosome, courtesy of the Weizmann Institute

Prof. Ada Yonat: It is possible that the missing link between pre-life and biological life has been discovered

A significant boost to the protoribosome theory - a tiny molecular pocket made of RNA that appeared in the ancient soup and encouraged connections between amino acids
From the right: Vadim Padiuk, Dr. Efrat Shema, Dr. Noah Pirat and Nir Erez. accurate and meticulous

A drop of blood to diagnose cancer

Weizmann Institute of Science scientists presented the possibility of reliable and accurate blood tests for cancer diagnosis
Smoking and cancer. Image: depositphotos.com

Cancer with its back to the wall

Not only desperate bacteria - even cancer cells facing extinction may activate an SOS response and develop drug resistance
Two fruit bats in Australia. Photo: depositphotos.com

When neurons change gears: how the brain copes with sudden changes

New research done in bats reveals far-reaching dynamic capabilities of neural networks
Coca Cola Zero. Image: depositphotos.com

Without calories but not without a price: how sugar substitutes affect the human body

Institute scientists have shown that calorie-free sweeteners affect the composition and activity of intestinal bacteria and may disrupt the body's metabolism; The degree of influence varies greatly from person to person
Bacteriophages attack bacteria. Image: depositphotos.com

An innovative therapeutic approach mobilizes viruses to intercept disease-causing gut bacteria

In a study published today in the scientific journal Cell, Weizmann Institute of Science scientists demonstrated an innovative therapeutic approach that performs "targeted defeat" of unwanted intestinal bacteria using a creative and precise weapon - viruses that attack bacteria
Image: depositphotos.com

RNA 90210

On the genetic equivalent of postal targeting - and on the decisive differences between linear and circular molecules
Embryonic stem cells. Image: depositphotos.com

The superpower of a newborn fetus

How can cells be returned to their initial and most powerful state?
Artificial intelligence at school. Image: depositphotos.com

Teachers also get personal assistants: artificial intelligence in the service of teaching and learning

In the science teaching department at the Weizmann Institute harnessing artificial intelligence to support teachers in personalized teaching
An AIRE-ILC3 cell (in green) kisses a TH17 cell (in red) and thus commands it to proliferate (top row). In contrast, it does not bind to other T cells that are not designed to fight candida (bottom line)

The cells that prevent candida from returning

Weizmann Institute of Science scientists have uncovered a mechanism of the immune system that helps fight Candida infections
The electronic nose used by the researchers. Smells potential for brave friendships

Humans tend to make friends with those who have a similar body odor to their own

This is according to a new study by Weizmann Institute scientists. Moreover, the scientists were able to predict in the study what the degree of connection between complete strangers would be just on the basis of their smell as picked up by an "electronic nose"
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