https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/chemistry/dna-condensed-version
November 28, 2016
DNA molecules take on different shapes and forms within living cells; sometimes it is a highly compacted, condensed structure. In such condensed states, DNA has interesting chemical and physical properties, though these cannot yet be controlled and manipulated. Researchers have r...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/double-whammy-triple-negative-breast-cancer
November 30, 2016
A promising new combination therapy for a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer has been identified by Weizmann Institute scientists, as was recently reported in Cancer Research. The potential dual-acting therapeutic strategy not only inhibits tumor growth and survival bu...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/wise-plant-analysis
November 30, 2016
Here’s a reason not to peel tomatoes: A new method of plant analysis, developed at the Weizmann Institute of Science, has identified healthful antioxidants in tomato skins. In fact, as reported recently in Nature Communications, the new method reveals that biologically active pla...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/chemistry/making-spines-sea-water
November 30, 2016
Some sea creatures cover themselves with hard shells and spines, while vertebrates build skeletons out of the same minerals. How do these animals get the calcium they need to build these strong mineral structures? Professors Lia Addadi and Steve Weiner of the Weizmann Institute o...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/scientific-archaeology/search-wild-fava-bean
December 7, 2016
Like all food crops, the faba, or fava, bean – a nutritious part of the diet of many cultures – had a wild ancestor. Wild faba is presumed to be extinct, but Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have now identified 14,000-year-old remains of seeds that offer important clues...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/chemistry/crystallization-made-crystal-clear
December 7, 2016
Crystallization is a very basic chemical process: School children can witness it with their own eyes. But scientists had not, until now, been able to observe this process on the molecular level – that is, the instant in which molecules overcome their tendencies to float individua...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/how-mix-perfect-cocktail
December 7, 2016
Drug cocktails such as those for treating cancer, like the alcoholic versions offered at the local bar, are best when the proper ingredients are mixed in the right proportions. And like the cocktails we normally drink, the combination of ingredients can be better than th...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/gut-bacteria-have-outsized-influence
December 12, 2016
The bacteria we carry around with us in our digestive tract have an influence that spans far beyond the lining of our guts. In research recently published in Cell, a collaborative group at the Weizmann Institute of Science has connected the dots between gut bacteria, their changi...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/gene-editing-takes-new-roles
December 15, 2016
Embargoed until 12:00 noon EST, 4:00 pm London time, 18:00 Jerusalem time What combinations of mutations help cancer cells survive? Which cells in the brain are involved in the onset of Alzheimer’s? How do immune cells conduct their convoluted decision-making processes? Resear...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/space-physics/mystery-super-flash-solved
December 15, 2016
When astronomers and astrophysicists observe flashes of light in the dark sky, they assume they have seen a supernova. Possibly a star has burnt up its supply of nuclear fuel and collapsed, throwing off its outer layers into space; or maybe a dense white dwarf siphoned off materi...