A bacterial immune system that alters the tails of phages - a parasitic virus that reproduces itself in bacteria – might help clarify an immunity mechanism in humans, a new Weizmann Institute of Science study shows. Phages have a head and a tail. The head contains the...
Why do we inherit only maternal mitochondria? A new Weizmann Institute of Science study shows how the paternal versions are deliberately destroyed. Within minutes of fertilisation, the egg of a fruit fly becomes a scene from the battle of the sexes. The egg attacks...
Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have discovered a protein that prunes nerve endings, regulating sensitivity to pain. The findings could help pave the way toward the development of new chronic pain management methods. Like treetops reaching high into the sky...
Altered glucose digested by cancer cells helps reveal tumours’ hiding places, new research at the Weizmann Insitute of Science shows. Pancreatic cancer is difficult to detect, in part because the pancreas sits deep in the abdominal cavity in a position that can vary...
A Weizmann Institute study of photons in quantum computing has made a surprising discovery: When photons collide, they create vortices. Vortices are a common physical phenomenon. You find them in the structure of galaxies, tornadoes and hurricanes, as well as in a cup...
Weizmann Institute of Science Research has discovered that autophagic organelles actively restrict the size of their mouths – but what does that signify? Autophagy literally means ‘self-eating’ and is a cellular cleaning-out process that maintains our bodies in good...
Researchers from the University of Michigan and the Weizmann Institute of Science have developed the first-ever complete central nervous system on a chip, emulating that of a human embryo, from the forebrain to the bottom of the spinal cord. Once upon a time, we were...
Life sciences have never been more digital. To learn more about life processes, biologists are collecting massive quantities of data that computer scientists analyse by means of sophisticated computational models that they develop. Over the past few years, Dr Ori...
Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have established absolute chronology for Kingdom of Judah’s Jerusalem. Jerusalem has been inhabited continuously for thousands of years, serving as both a center of religious significance and a seat of power for kingdoms, yet...
A Weizmann Institute method for tracking the effects of drugs on zebrafish may help develop improved therapies for depression and other mood-related disorders. Psychedelics are a hot topic in labs all over the world because they hold great potential for relieving the...
The Weizmann Institute of Science is one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary basic research institutions in the natural and exact sciences. High-achieving science graduates from Australian universities are invited to apply for a prestigious postgraduate...
New research from the Weizmann Insitute of Science shows that by studying wild mice in near-natural conditions, different strategies used by females and males in forming social hierarchies were revealed. For animals, including humans, one’s place in the social...
Humankind has long turned to the skies in search of answers. Accounts of supernovae – exploding stars – go back thousands of years, but while we know today that these events create the building blocks of life itself, the conditions that cause a star to explode still...
Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have identified a yeast that might be used to prevent invasive candidiasis, a major cause of death in hospitalised and immunocompromised patients. The study, just published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM),...
Weizmann Institute of Science scientists have discovered two small molecules that can cross the blood-brain barrier in mice, slowing and even reversing the effects of Huntington’s, which is incurable. The human brain is a well-guarded control centre. Its system of...
Using three AI protein prediction tools, a Chinese-Israeli study at the Weizmann Institute of Science uncovered new wrinkles in the folding story of ‘orphan’ proteins. When Weizmann Professors Joel Sussman and Israel Silman were asked to mentor Chinese students online...
A new Weizmann Institute of Science study challenges an old dogma regarding the pituitary gland’s embryonic origins and may lead to new insights into growth hormone deficiency and other pituitary disorders. An unexpected observation has led researchers at Weizmann to...
A new kind of immunotherapy, based on crosstalk between different immune cells, could pave the way for innovative treatments of cancer and autoimmune diseases Winning on the battlefield takes a combination of precise intelligence and resolute soldiers. But when it...
Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have now called for a new kind of test to ensure evolutionary safety of future drugs. How many mutations do we need to improve our chances of survival? There is no single correct answer to that question, but one might think...
New research from the Weizmann Institute of Science shows that exposure to tears activates human smell receptors and alters aggression-related circuits in the brain. All land mammals have tear glands in their eyes, but the human tearing experience was until recently...
A new study from the Weizmann Institute of Science reveals how high blood sugar makes lung infections worse and the findings may lead to a strategy for reversing this susceptibility. For decades, it has been known that people with diabetes are at a substantially...
New findings from the Weizmann Institute of Science may improve flood warnings for millions living on the Indian subcontinent. In 2018, in the Indian state of Kerala, more than 400 people died in a single series of floods that displaced millions. Flooding is a regular...
New research from the Weizmann Institute of Science reveals that a protein facilitating nerve cell repair in the peripheral nervous system might one day point to treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. Just like a gecko that regrows a broken tail, our peripheral...
Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have revealed in mice how exposure to trauma in infancy alters the brain; they show that early treatment to reverse these changes is vital for rehabilitation. The images of Israeli child hostages being freed from Hamas...