https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/eye-brain
November 1, 2003
"The brain is like an artist," says Prof. Rafael Malach of the Neurobiology Department. "It can construct different visual images from the same optical information received from the eyes." This phenomenon is demonstrated most vividly by optical illusions. Malach is in...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/fateful-beginnings
November 1, 2003
At what stage in the development of an embryo does the brain begin to develop? And what can go wrong? Prof. Orly Reiner of the Molecular Genetics Department is seeking the answers to these questions by focusin...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/evolutions-fast-track
November 1, 2003
Back in Jurassic days, not long after the appearance of early mammals, the first flowering plants emerged. Since then only 4,000 species of the former have evolved, as opposed to some 300,000 of the latter. “Unlike mammals, plants are tolerant of genetic change,” says Prof. Avi L...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/earth-sciences/earths-innermost-secrets
November 1, 2003
Computer models can provide a better understanding of water and lava flow within the earth Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides – are they indeed the whims of nature? Dr. Einat Aharonov of the Environmental Sciences and Energy Research Department creates computer mod...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/chemistry/tiny-giants
November 1, 2003
They're incredibly tiny – a millionth of a millimeter in width – and yet are expected to accomplish a multitude of spectacular feats. These relatively new materials, called carbon nanotubes, have all the potential: they're harder than diamonds, can conduct electricity, are elasti...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/space-physics/spin-technology
November 1, 2003
In 1897, a group of Cambridge University scientists threw a party to celebrate the discovery of a subatomic particle. “May it never be of use to anybody,” teased a colleague as he toasted its discoverer, Sir John Joseph Thompson. The particle was none other than the electron, whi...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/space-physics/electricitys-free-ride
November 1, 2003
Electricity, like people, can receive warm or cold welcomes. It prefers the cold ones. At extremely low temperatures (below -130°C), certain materials become superconductors – meaning they allow electricity to travel freely within them without presenting any resistance. An electr...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/math-computer-science/showing-without-telling
November 1, 2003
Persuasion is both an art and a science – particularly if you want to disclose the least possible information to the person you're trying to convince. How, for instance can one persuade a person who is color-blind that the two cards in his hand are of a different color? O...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/math-computer-science/universe-step-step
November 1, 2003
What are 6 feet compared to many trillions of miles? What is the human life span compared to billions of years? Yet humans nonetheless seek to understand the universe, unfazed by its magnitude. Seemingly against all odds, their findings are gradually illuminating some extremely c...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/science-education-science-culture/mirrors-and-memory
November 1, 2003
Changing perspectives, self-awareness and keen concentration are all concepts that Ph.D. student Noa Ofen-Noy grapples with as she pursues one of her favorite pastimes – the Japanese martial art of aikido. Her passion for this art of learning fits in well with her work at the Wei...