Which Came First?
An experiment in reconstructing primordial proteins solves a long-standing riddle 22.06.2020 The characteristic (HhH)2 fold and its binding to the minor groove of a modern DNA molecule. How did the first ones form? What did the very first proteins look like – those...
Weizmann Institute of Science is Seventh in Top ERC Grants
Around one in two proposals put forward by Institute researchers for some of the most competitive grants receives funding 22.06.2020 The Weizmann Institute of Science is ranked seventh in Europe – and first in Israel – for the total number of research grants obtained...
What Does the “Love Hormone” Do? It’s Complicated
A study of mice in a semi-natural setting shows how the hormone oxytocin can amplify aggression as well as friendliness 15.06.2020 Competition or cooperation? Oxytocin might enhance social cues for both During the pandemic lockdown, as couples have been forced to...
Solving the Riddle: When was Wilson’s Arch, under Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, Built?
Analyzing a handful of charred seeds reveals the ancient builder of an iconic structure in the Western Wall Tunnels 04.06.2020 Wilson's Arch is still partially visible today to visitors to the Western Wall in Jerusalem Who built Wilson’s Arch? It wasn’t Charles...
Paying the Price of Protection
A new model of autoimmune disease may solve some great outstanding riddles, including what causes T cells to attack and why only certain organs get them 19.05.2020 Single-organ autoimmune diseases attack particular organs, eg., the thyroid, adrenals and beta cells in...
How to Neutralize the Coronavirus: Learning from the Body
Making copies of existing antibodies could be fast track to treatment 12.05.2020 A niche within a lymph node in which antibody-forming cells are generated Recovered COVID-19 patients continue to produce coronavirus-neutralizing antibodies, keeping them as a...
Israeli-American-British Labs and Biotech Partner to Speed Coronavirus Drug Development
An international initiative aims to identify compounds that target a key enzyme in the virus's life cycle 04.05.2020 Dr. Nir London of the Weizmann Institute of Science's Organic Chemistry Department is co-leading an ambitious project in collaboration with...
The Self-Synthesizing Ribosome
This cellular factory-on-a-chip could be used to design, produce and test drugs against antibiotic resistant bacteria 20.04.2020 Visual representation of the self-assembly process: Synthesis of proteins and ribosomal RNA from synthetic DNA strands attached to a chip...
Coronavirus by the Numbers
31.03.2020 Rate of similarity between the coronavirus genome and the genome of other viruses belonging to same family. (l-r) Bat coronavirus; pangolin coronavirus; SARS virus; MERS virus; coronavirus causing the “common cold” Numerical data sometimes reveal facts that...
Two Steps Ahead of the Coronavirus
A method of predicting the coronavirus spread, pioneered and developed by Weizmann Institute scientists, may enable the authorities to focus efforts on areas where an outbreak is anticipated – and relieve measures taken in others 22.03.2020 Gush Dan Neighborhoods:...