Prof. Leo Sachs was the first to use cells from the amniotic fluid surrounding the human fetus for diagnostic purposes. The procedure later became known as amniocentesis.
Application
Early applications, carried out in the 1950s, included detection of the sex of the fetus and additional evaluations. Today amniocentesis is a common medical practice in prenatal tests for various genetic defects.
Prof. Avraham Amsterdam revealed that theophylline, a widely used asthma drug, makes ovarian and lung cancer cells more vulnerable to common anticancer medications.
Application
Clinical trials in which theophylline is administered to lung cancer patients in combination with cancer drugs are under way at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.
Prof. Mordhay Avron isolated and investigated the single-cell alga, Dunaliella, which is able to survive in extremely harsh surroundings, such as the highly saline water of the Dead Sea. Among the defense strategies allowing Dunaliella to exist under these difficult conditions is the production of beta carotene, today used as a food supplement.
Application
Beta carotene derived by an Institute-developed process from local Dunaliella algae is produced in Eilat by Nikken Sohonsha Company, which exports the product for sale as a food supplement in Japan.
Prof. Emeritus Esra Galun developed a method for transferring intracellular organelles (mitochondria or chloroplasts) from a donor plant cell to a recipient plant. The method produced hybrid plants and later hybrid seeds of potatoes. These seeds do not pass on most viral diseases between generations of potato plants.
Application
The method helps farmers around the world, particularly in developing countries.
In the 1950s, Prof. Emeritus Esra Galun’s research focused mainly on hybrid seed production in cucumbers and melons and on breeding disease-resistant cucumbers as well as cucumbers suitable for mechanical harvesting. Galun and his colleagues were the first to find a way to produce hybrid cucumber seeds without hand pollination.
Application
This research resulted in the production of the first commercial hybrid cucumbers. Most cucumber varieties worldwide are still produced by modifications of the Institute technique, and cucumber seeds figure prominently in Israel’s agricultural exports.
The Institute’s disease-resistant Delilah cucumbers have captured a large portion of the market in Israel and much of the Middle East.
Prof. Asher Friesem was among the first in the world to become involved in the technology of planar optics. In this technology, several diffractive optical components are combined on the surface of one substrate to enable the formation of a complete optical system mounted on a thin, single transparent plate.
Application
Elop, Electro-Optics Industries Ltd. in Kiryat Weizmann, develops compact head displays for pilots based on Friesem’s technology. Manufacture of head displays for doctors and for virtual reality systems are under consideration by other companies.
In the 1960s, Prof. Joe Jaffe, a founder of optics research at Weizmann, opened a company to manufacture scientific instruments. Called Rehovoth Instruments Ltd., it was housed in a shop that Jaffe rented next to the Institute.
Application
Rehovoth Instruments eventually evolved into Elop, Electro-Optics Industries Ltd. in Kiryat Weizmann, today the leading company in Israel and one of the most prominent in the world in the field of electro-optics. It has a wide-ranging production program; many of the products are based on the findings and inventions of Institute researchers.
Prof. Emeritus Nechama Haran-Ghera, in collaboration with Israeli physicians, showed that the hormone erythropoietin may be helpful in treating multiple myeloma and other cancers. In mice injected with myeloma cells, the hormone prolonged survival, caused tumor regression and reduced mortality.
Application
Haran-Ghera’s research provided the scientific basis for clinical trials of erythropoietin in multiple myeloma and for testing the effects of this hormone on other types of cancer.
In the 1960s, Prof. Ephraim Katzir developed a method for binding enzymes to a variety of insoluble carriers. Enzymes speed up many chemical processes, and the binding enables them to be reused time and again.
Application
Immobilized enzymes have become an important tool in the pharmaceutical industry. Among other things, they are used to manufacture penicillin and other antibiotics. They also form the basis of various processes in the food industry, for example in the production of fructose-enriched syrup.
Amniocentesis
Application