Why do humans get joint disease while other great apes remain agile into old age? The same evolutionary changes that made us human may also have left us with fragile joints. One of the differences between humans and the other great apes is that we commonly get chronic...
A new AI model developed by the Weizmann Institute of Science, called Brain-IT, can ‘read’ your brain activity and reconstruct what you see with striking speed and accuracy. The stadium is full, the ball is in the air – and all eyes are fixed on the batter poised to...
New research from the Weizmann Institute of Science shows that even second graders can reason like scientists – if we ask them the right way. When a child asks: “Why does a blowfish puff up?” we often jump in with facts. But what if we paused and suggested that they...
From pursuing an impossible dream to uncovering one of the cell’s best-kept secrets and advancing the design of improved antibiotics, these were just some of the achievements of Professor Ada Yonath. Professor Yonath, laureate of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and...
Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have discovered that transient intestinal inflammation can leave irreversible changes in the gut lining, leading to Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The new findings point to new directions for treatment and early...
New research at the Weizmann Institute of Science shows that a master switch gene known to shape the brain before birth, is repurposed in the adult brain to regulate mental and metabolic networks. Many of us find ourselves losing our appetite – or, conversely,...
Not every DNA mistake gets fixed. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have uncovered how repair enzymes choose which genetic damage deserves attention. When a wound does not heal properly, it leaves a scar. Similarly, mutations – which are permanent...
The blockbuster drug Viagra may strengthen a newly discovered cholesterol-regulating mechanism that could be harnessed to curb cancer spread, according to new collaborative research at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Viagra was originally developed to treat high...
A Phase 1 clinical trial has reported positive results for a brain-protective immunotherapy in early Alzheimer's disease, a therapy based on work from the Weizmann Institute of Science. Dozens of research teams around the world are working to halt, treat and even...
A new study suggests that magnetic surfaces may influence not only the ‘handedness’ of biological molecules, but also their isotope composition – connecting two fundamental fingerprints of life. The study, offering new clues to the origin of life on Earth, began at a...
Weizmann Institute scientists have deciphered how a well-known psychedelic substance is created, and now they have engineered a plant to produce several psychedelics at once. Long before scientists began studying them in the lab, mind-altering substances were already...
A Weizmann-led team has proposed a simple but powerful new method for detecting traces of alien biology, whether on Jupiter’s icy moons, in meteorites or in Martian samples. Before any wrinkled, wide-eyed creature from a distant civilisation asks to be taken home, the...
Israeli and Czech scientists have recreated the coronavirus’ evolutionary journey in a test tube – revealing the conditions that can produce highly contagious variants. A key step in the origin of many pandemics occurs when an animal-borne virus infects humans and...
Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have discovered immune memory cells capable of producing antibodies against cancer – a finding that opens new avenues for future cancer vaccines. While we tend to quickly forget having been ill or having received a vaccine,...
Weizmann Institute of Science and Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists may have solved a 150-year-old puzzle about why life favours one mirror-image molecule over another. Imagine looking at yourself in the mirror, only to find that your reflection is governed by...
Weizmann Institute of Science and Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists have discovered that stem cell maturation can also serve as an immune defence mechanism. We all begin life as a collection of embryonic stem cells that have a remarkable ability to mature into...
An international research team led by the Weizmann Institute of Science has uncovered a key mechanism of prostate cancer treatment resistance and points to a potential combination therapy for patients. Most prostate cancers rely on male sex hormones, known as...
A new study from the Weizmann Institute of Science has revealed how energy-efficient cellular machines rapidly untangle misfolded proteins – a finding that may help improve the design of artificial molecular machines. Trying to untangle a knot in a mess of strings can...
A first-of-its-kind genetic atlas, developed by scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science, together with colleagues at Sheba Medical Center and the Mayo Clinic, reveals how human liver cells divide their labour – and why some regions are especially vulnerable to...
New evidence from the Weizmann Institute of Science and collaborators in the United States, suggests that ice has been accumulating on the Moon for 1.5 billion years – and reveals the most promising places to find it. More than half a century after the last crewed...
Weizmann Institute scientists have revealed how weaver ants ‘think’ as a group and link their bodies together to ‘zipper’ the treetops. The rainforests of northern Australia are home to extraordinary ant colonies. Instead of dwelling in underground burrows, these ants...
A mass mating event in a Weizmann Institute of Science lab has revealed how yeast cells choose partners – and what predicts the success of their offspring. While humans often struggle to find a partner who is both physically attractive and a reliable co-parent, yeast...
Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have identified three new families of proteins that viruses use to disrupt bacterial immune signalling. The genomes of phages – viruses that infect bacteria – are largely composed of ‘dark matter’: genes that encode proteins...
The deadly malaria parasite uses its own messenger RNA to keep the host’s immune system jammed while it multiplies and spreads, researchers have discovered. RNA technology is regarded as one of the newest frontiers in medicine, but in fact a primordial innovator got...