https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/science-culture/volunteering-spirit
October 1, 2002
"Doing something for others makes me feel less helpless when I think of the huge problems in society that need to be solved," says Oshrat Perets, a master's student in the Weizmann Institute's Molecular Genetics Department. This line of thought has guided her for yea...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/math-computer-science/trillion-computers-one-drop
May 1, 2002
This is the vision that inspires a team of Weizmann Institute scientists, who have recently made an important early step toward its realization, creating the first autonomous biological nanocomputer. Reported in Nature, as many as a trillion such computing devices can work in par...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/space-physics/window-opportunity-sky
May 1, 2002
One needs a good reason to go to the South Pole. The night there lasts six months, and the annual temperature averages -50°C. The Pole has long been a prized goal of Arctic explorers, but why would a scientist interested in outer space, like Prof. Eli Waxman of the...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/chemistry/scientists-uncover-exact-mode-action-five-antibiotic-drugs
May 1, 2002
Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science and Germany's Max-Planck Society have discovered exactly how each of five antibiotic drugs bind to the bacterial ribosome - the cell's protein factory - shutting off protein production. Proteins are the cell's primary component a...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/biting-truths
May 1, 2002
Count on the snake for the promise of hidden, enticing knowledge. The reptile has lured Weizmann Institute scientists into cracking one of its most precious secrets: how snake venom gains its deadly, irreversible grip on a victim. Several Institute teams took par...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/blocking-type-1-diabetes
May 1, 2002
A team of researchers led by Prof. Irun Cohen of the Weizmann Institute of Science has developed a vaccine that halts the progression of Type I (juvenile or insulin-dependent) diabetes. The vaccine functions by blocking the d...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/earth-sciences/plants-brainy-balancing-act
May 1, 2002
Plants don't have a brain. True, they have other winning traits - like the ability to withstand searing summer skies or biting frost (they can't pack up and leave when times get rough). Nevertheless, they lack the neuron-based information processing found in animals, from the sin...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/cell-wizardry
May 1, 2002
Life is about decision making. From humans down to unicellular organisms it's all about striking the best deal, finding the greenest pastures or, say, choosing the quickest escape route from fire, predators, or noxious chemicals. At the command post, on...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/death-cell
May 1, 2002
The basic units of all living organisms can travel two main paths on their final journey. One is a form of self-sacrifice. Cell suicide, 'apoptosis,' occurs when cells have become potentially harmful or unnecessary. 'The kill is fast and tidy,' says Dr. Atan...
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/heart-gene-hunt
May 1, 2002
When Leilah* began showing the dreaded symptoms at age 8, her parents quickly turned to the medical community for help. Having earlier lost two children to this mysterious disease, they recognized its signs. She was diagnos...