ocean

This is how the bloom collapses: four giant hexagon-shaped viruses that have replicated in a unicellular alga (the rough texture on the right) are on their way out to infect more algae. Three of the viruses are normal and ready for action - and one is white and empty of DNA. Photo: Dr. Daniela Shatz

The hunt for giant viruses in the ocean

This illustration shows Saturn's icy moon Enceladus with a buildup of ice particles, water vapor, and organic molecules ejected from cracks in the moon's south polar region. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Saturn's surprise: NASA discovered an energy source and a basic molecule for life on Enceladus

In the new study, evidence for additional sources of chemical energy, much stronger and more diverse than methane production, was discovered: a group of organic compounds was found that were oxidized, and this indicates many chemical pathways for the existence of potential life in the ocean
The members of the space mission from the Weizmann Institute of Science (right to left): Dr. Eli Galanti, Prof. Yohai Caspi and Maria Smirnova

By 2031 you will reach justice: Israeli technology on the way to deep space

A blue-and-white device that was created especially for an experiment by Weizmann Institute of Science scientists was launched to the planet Jupiter, as part of an international research mission of the European Space Agency
The launch of the JUICE spacecraft from the Coro Space Center in French Guiana. Screenshot from the European Space Agency and Ariane Space TV

The JUICE spacecraft was launched to the moons of Jupiter

The launch at Coro in French Guiana was postponed from yesterday due to weather conditions * The spacecraft is carrying ten instruments, some of which are also made in Israel * Will arrive in the Zedek system in July 2031
The coral reef in Eilat. Photo: Daviddarom / Wikimedia.

The few and the fastest

Algal cells respond in different ways to identical stress conditions. Illustration: Prof. Assaf Vardi's laboratory, Weizmann Institute

survival of the few

Foam waves to the shores of the Baltic Sea. Photo: shutterstock

What was the temperature of the water in the ancient ocean?

3-4 billion years ago, the pH level of the ocean was between 6.0 and 7.5 - something between cow's milk and human blood. Source: pixabay.com.

In the beginning the sea was acidic

"Green rust" (left), which was produced in Halevi's laboratory under conditions similar to those that existed in the oceans from the Precambrian period. Electron micrographs (right) show thin, hexagonal-shaped plaques characteristic of "green rust." Source: Weizmann Institute magazine.

The mystery of the green rust

Currents in the oceans

currents in the ocean

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

How will global warming cause the world to freeze?

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

Wild waves: the sea monsters that science did not know