Weizmann Wonder Wander

Imagine trying to put together a three-dimensional puzzle while blindfolded. Weizmann Institute scientists have just won an informal international contest for performing an equally challenging task -- predicting how two large, convoluted protein molecules would fit together in nature.

When you pick up a sea shell on the seashore this summer, forget about its beauty for a moment and pay attention to its texture and strength. Scientists have long sought to explain how clams, snails and other mollusks control their shell-building process, arranging minerals in intricate patterns with remarkable precision.

Rockets and satellites orbiting in space are constantly bombarded by a host of high-energy particles, many of which can penetrate a spacecraft, causing its sensitive electronic components to malfunction. With the miniaturization of electronic circuits, such mishaps can endanger the entire craft. Experiments recently launched at the Weizmann Institute's Koffler Accelerator may help in the design of new ways to protect space vehicles against such damage.

Rockets and satellites orbiting in space are constantly bombarded by a host of high-energy particles, many of which can penetrate a spacecraft, causing its sensitive electronic components to malfunction. With the miniaturization of electronic circuits, such mishaps can endanger the entire craft. Experiments recently launched at the Weizmann Institute's Koffler Accelerator may help in the design of new ways to protect space vehicles against such damage.

REHOVOT, Israel -- February 5, 1996 -- An over four-fold increase in the number of underprivileged students passing a national mathematics exam has been recorded over the past five years, largely thanks to an experimental educational program designed by the Weizmann Institute's Science Teaching Department. There has also been a significant increase in the students' natural-science skills, according to a just-completed program evaluation.

On February 12, the Weizmann Institute will host a ceremony at which Institute Professor Michael Sela will become the first non-German to receive the Harnack Medal, the Max Planck Society's highest award. The medal will be presented to him by Prof. Hans F. Zacher, President of the Max Planck Society. It was named for Adolf von Harnack, the first President of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, the Max Planck Society's predecessor, and is bestowed for outstanding contributions to the advancement of science and the humanities.