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Genetics

The team of researchers led by Dr. Igor Brinsky and Dr. Ayelet Lassman from the School of Mechanical Engineering at the Ivy and Eldar Fleishman Faculty of Engineering at Tel Aviv University. Photo: Tel Aviv University spokesperson

The propagation of the vibration waves outside the cell increases the strength of the mechanical signals in communication between cells

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A study by Tel Aviv University demonstrated how vibrational forces are transmitted by the extracellular network in the tissue causing effective interactions between the cells in the tissue
Illustration of the rotating quantum microscope. Electrons pass from the needle (the inverted pyramid) to the sample in several places at the same time (vertical green lines) without losing their quantum wave character (purple)

New eyes on the quantum world

Weizmann Institute of Science scientists present the rotating quantum microscope
The setup the researchers use: a thin membrane made of diamond 30 microns thick with an average of one sensor at the top end of each column. The top image - magnification 2,640 times, the bottom - 32,650 times

Molecular close-up

Weizmann Institute scientists present a new method for imaging a single electron
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
A genetically improved bean plant. Photo courtesy of Betterseeds

For the first time: success in genetic editing of the bean

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The Israeli genetics and seed company BetterSeeds has genetically redesigned the architecture of the Luvia plant and the uniformity of the appearance of its pods in a way that is suitable for mechanized harvesting * The improved Luvia will be tested in the United States during the spring of 2023
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
Mitochondrial structure. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The DNA is decreasing

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For 1.5 billion years, the mitochondria - the powerhouse of the cell - have been sending DNA segments to the cell nucleus, and they merge with the DNA in the nucleus. A new study found that the contribution of the mitochondria to the DNA in the cell nucleus gradually decreases. This process is expected to reduce the incidence of some hereditary diseases
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 DNA molecule. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Why is the "junk folder" in our DNA not deleted even after millions of years of evolution?

A new model offers an explanation for the huge variety of sizes of DNA in nature
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
The cellular signaling system. Illustration: depositphotos.com

A team of Israeli researchers has mapped the way in which DNA is marked in all the cells of the human body

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The database also includes thousands of new biomarkers that will make it possible to detect cell death and to diagnose in the early stages a variety of diseases in the most important systems of the human body, through a blood test
The cell membrane. Illustration: depositphotos.com

A solution to a scientific mystery: cell membrane proteins "like to migrate" to areas of high curvature

A thorough understanding of the process can advance the world of medicine in fertility treatments, medication administration and more
Formation of an immunological synapse - the contact area between a white blood cell and the bacterial cell it captures. The gray dots represent the short connections between the white blood cell (lymphocyte) and the bacterial cell

between physics and biology

Complex systems, simple principles and the audacity of a physicist
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
The researchers recently applied for a patent for the method they developed, and are currently looking for industry partners. Photo from the study: Nanyang Technological University

Nes Pech Hashemin, the vegetable version

Researchers from Singapore have succeeded in making the plant produce a larger amount of oil in its seeds - which may help in the fight against food insecurity in the world and make it possible to reduce deforestation for agricultural purposes. Will technology lead to a miracle?
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
Erfurt, Germany, a place where the first Ashkenazim lived. Illustration: depositphotos.com

In-depth genetic research at a Jewish burial site in Germany sheds light on the Ashkenazi communities from the 14th century

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The study, published this week in the prestigious journal CELL, analyzed DNA from 33 members of the Jewish community who were buried in the 14th century in the city of Erfurt in Germany. Prof. Shai Karmi from the Hebrew University, the leader of the study, found that there was a genetic sequence between the Ashkenazi Jews from the Middle Ages to the present day
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.
Blood-sucking mosquitoes, one of the most dangerous disease carriers. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Genetically modified mosquitoes - now proven to be a success

Researchers spread transgenic mosquito eggs containing a genetic defect that they transfer to the mosquito population in areas plagued by mosquito-borne diseases, thereby reducing the mosquito population to a considerable extent
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 bowl of rice. Image: depositphotos.com

Rice-23: The rice that saves half of the work for farmers

Scientists have developed a method to double the annual crop from one to two times, while improving properties in rice that can make it at least partially a perennial plant
balding. Image: depositphotos.com

The artificial intelligence that regrows hair

Chinese researchers used artificial intelligence to scan combinations of metals and elements and identify compounds that would break down the free radicals that damage hair follicles
The process of telomere shortening with each cell division. Image: depositphotos.com

A new and natural mechanism for lengthening telomeres has been discovered

Amlek - Scientists have identified a new mechanism that slows down and may even stop the natural aging process of the cells of the immune system
Production of cultured pork from stem cells. Image: depositphotos.com

Stakeholder Foods succeeded in producing pig fat cells cultured from pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)

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This achievement will improve the company's ability to produce high quality pork products * The pig stem cell line will allow the company to produce an unlimited amount of fat and muscle cells
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