The Viral Tipping Point
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we wore masks and kept two meters apart in an effort to reduce the spread of the tiny droplets we release into the air with every breath, conversation or cough. The main goal was to reduce the number of virus particles 鈥� known as virions 鈥� to which we were exposed. Fo鈥�
The Know-How Kids
When a child asks 鈥淲hy does a blowfish puff up?鈥�, we often jump in with facts. But what if we paused and suggested that they ask instead, 鈥淗ow does a blowfish puff up?鈥� It may seem like splitting hairs, but this small shift in phrasing could help reshape future generations鈥� capacity for reasoning鈥�
Prof. Ada Yonath, Nobel Laureate and a Model of Scientific Perseverance, Has Passed Away
Professor Ada Yonath, laureate of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the Israel Prize, and an international model of scientific courage and perseverance, passed away on August 31, 2026. She was 87.
Yonath, of the Weizmann Institute of Science鈥檚 Chemical and Structural Biology Department, pione鈥�
A New Window on the Universe: Solar Neutrinos Measured at Record-Low Energies
Every second, tens of billions of neutrinos produced by nuclear fusion in the Sun pass through every square centimeter of the Earth 鈥� and through our bodies 鈥� almost without interacting with anything. Although they are one of the most abundant particles emitted by the Sun, their extremely weak int鈥�
When the Gut Can鈥檛 Forget: A New Mechanism Promoting Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Every three to five days, the layer of cells lining our intestines is completely renewed 鈥� the fastest turnover rate in the human body. Such rapid regeneration is an absolute necessity for tissue that endures constant mechanical stress as well as an abundance of bacteria and contaminants. But what鈥�
From Brain Wiring to Stress and Metabolism: One Gene Has a Finger on the Switch
Many of us find ourselves losing our appetite 鈥� or, conversely, overeating 鈥� in difficult situations, and these common reactions to stress suggest that our mind and our metabolism are deeply connected. A new study from the Weizmann Institute of Science reveals a previously unknown biological link鈥�
The DNA Repair Crew Has Favorites
When a wound does not heal properly, it leaves a scar. Similarly, mutations 鈥� which are permanent changes to genetic code 鈥� are often the result of damaged DNA that has not been properly repaired. Mutations can impede the function of genes and lead to disease and aging, but they are also the sourc鈥�
Viagra May Reduce Cancer Metastasis, Study Shows
Viagra was originally developed to treat high blood pressure and chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart, but over the past three decades it has become the world鈥檚 best-known therapy for erectile dysfunction. In the future, this blockbuster drug may find yet another use. In a study pu鈥�
Immune Therapy for Alzheimer’s Takes a Step Forward
Dozens of research teams around the world are working to halt, treat and even prevent Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, which silently develops in the brain for more than a decade before symptoms appear. Although recent years have brought important advances, researchers continue to search for therapies that ca鈥�
A Magnetic Clue to Life鈥檚 Origins
A study offering new clues to the origin of life on Earth began at a family dinner. 鈥淲e try to avoid talking about science during Friday night meals, but it rarely works,鈥� recalls Prof. Michal Sharon of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Two of her three siblings are scientists, including her brot鈥�
One Plant, Three Kingdoms, Five Trips
Long before scientists began studying them in the lab, mind-altering substances were already being gathered from plants, fungi and even animals for use in rituals, healing practices and mental health treatment. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have now managed to bring together in鈥�
鈥淏e Scientists and Be Human Beings鈥�
鈥淚 grew up in Nof HaGalil, in a home where no one had an academic education, but where there was always curiosity, creativity and a love of learning. My parents taught me to ask questions, observe the world and never be afraid to dream big. When I arrived here, I felt I had found a place where tha鈥�
Before the Aliens, the Amino Acids
Before any wrinkled, wide-eyed creature from a distant civilization asks to be taken home, the first success in the search for life beyond Earth might be more prosaic. A clue could emerge from a handful of molecules in a Martian rock, a grain of ice from a moon of Jupiter or Saturn or a plume risi鈥�
Pandemic in Fast Forward
A key step in the origin of many pandemics occurs when an animal-borne virus infects humans and then evolves to spread more efficiently from person to person. That is why scientists and physicians keep a close watch on viruses that could jump from animals to humans, such as emerging strains of avi鈥�
When the Body Remembers the Tumor
While we tend to quickly forget having been ill or having received a vaccine, the immune system remembers remarkably well. It has memory B cells 鈥� 鈥渢rained鈥� immune cells that circulate throughout the body in search of harmful invaders they have encountered previously; these cells can rapidly deplo鈥�
A Glimpse at the Origins of Life Through a Deceptive Mirror
Imagine looking at yourself in the mirror, only to find that your reflection is governed by different laws than you are: Identical movements produce different outcomes, and what seems like a perfect copy behaves in an entirely different way. It may sound absurd, but researchers at the Weizmann Ins鈥�
Facing Danger with Maturity
We all begin life as a collection of embryonic stem cells that have a remarkable ability to mature into any cell type in the body. Even in adulthood, our bodies harbor small populations of adult stem cells that can develop into various mature cell types and regenerate certain tissues. Stem cells a鈥�
Facing Danger with Maturity
We all begin life as a collection of embryonic stem cells that have a remarkable ability to mature into any cell type in the body. Even in adulthood, our bodies harbor small populations of adult stem cells that can develop into various mature cell types and regenerate certain tissues. Stem cells a鈥�
Novel Molecular Marker May Improve Prostate Cancer Treatment
Most prostate cancers rely on male sex hormones, known as androgens, to grow. As a result, standard treatment focuses on lowering androgen levels or blocking their activity, but many tumors eventually become resistant and the disease returns.
In a study published today in EMBO Molecular Medicine鈥�
Revolving Doors and Efficient Engines: How Proteins Escape a Molecular Tangle
Trying to untangle a knot in a mess of strings can be frustrating and time-consuming. But not so for molecular machines 鈥� molecules that convert chemical energy into mechanical work and motion. Machines from the AAA+ family, which exist in the cells of all living organisms from bacteria to humans鈥�
A Journey to the Center of the Liver
If scientists could shrink themselves to microscopic size and take a journey through the human body 鈥� like the submarine crew in the 1966 science fiction classic Fantastic Voyage 鈥� one of their first stops would no doubt be the liver. The unique structure of our largest internal organ comprises sm鈥�
The Moon鈥檚 Dark Secret: Shadowed Cold Traps Could Unlock the Mystery of Lunar Ice
More than half a century after the last crewed landing, a new lunar space race is underway 鈥� with last week鈥檚 launching of NASA鈥檚 Artemis II mission and the United States, Russia and China all aiming to establish permanent bases on the Moon. Unlike the Apollo program, during which American astrona鈥�
High-Rise Living: The Tiny Engineers that Build with Their Bodies
The rainforests of northern Australia are home to extraordinary ant colonies. Instead of dwelling in underground burrows, these ants inhabit canopies of trees, dozens of meters above the ground, inside hollow spheres they construct from tree leaves. During the building process, the ants link their鈥�
How Yeast Find the Perfect Match
While humans often struggle to find a partner who is both physically attractive and a reliable co-parent, yeast may already have cracked the formula for the perfect match. When choosing mates, these single-celled organisms tend to pick partners that may increase the chances of their offspring鈥檚 su鈥�
Phage鈥檚 Deep Pockets
The genomes of phages 鈥� viruses that infect bacteria 鈥� are largely composed of 鈥渄ark matter鈥�: genes that encode proteins whose functions remain unknown. Less than four years ago, a team led by Prof. Rotem Sorek at the Weizmann Institute of Science identified a new type of protein within this viral鈥�
Malaria鈥檚 mRNA: Messages that Mess with the Immune System
RNA technology is regarded as one of the newest frontiers in medicine, but in fact a primordial innovator got there way before we did. The malaria parasite, an ancient single-celled organism, has been using sophisticated RNA maneuvers for millennia. In a study recently published in Cell Reports, r鈥�
Between Flood and Drought: The Metric That Could Better Explain What Happens to Water in the Age of Climate Change
鈥淗ow much rain fell?鈥� is a key question in any discussion about climate. But perhaps there is an even more important one. Like any household budget, the global water economy is based on 鈥渋ncome,鈥� that is, water entering the system as precipitation, and 鈥渆xpenditure鈥� 鈥� water leaving the system thro鈥�
Gut Microbes Actively Support Immunity in People Living with HIV
The circumstances surrounding a study on a deadly virus could hardly have been more dramatic. One of its first authors was forced to flee his homeland when it became a war zone. More than two thousand kilometers away, the laboratory of a team leader was destroyed by a ballistic missile. Despite th鈥�
From Cancer to Alzheimer鈥檚: Engineered Immune Cells Reduce Plaques in the Brain
Can a cancer therapy that transformed the treatment of blood malignancies also offer new possibilities for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease? More than three decades ago, Prof. Zelig Eshhar of the Weizmann Institute of Science, who passed away in the summer of 2025, laid the groundwork for a new type of cancer鈥�
Prof. Igal Talmi, 1925鈥�2026
Prof. Igal Talmi, a leading pioneer of Israeli science and a founder of nuclear physics research in Israel, passed away today, just days after his 101st birthday. Less than two weeks ago, his wife of 77 years, Chana Talmi (n茅e Kivelewitz), passed away at the age of 100.
Talmi was among those who鈥�
Giant Planet鈥檚 Slimmer Profile
For over 50 years, we thought we knew the size and shape of Jupiter, the solar system鈥檚 largest planet. Now, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have revised that knowledge using new data and technology.
In a new study published today in Nature Astronomy, Weizmann scientists, who led鈥�
Prof. Reshef Tenne Is the Recipient of the Israel Prize in Chemistry Research
The Israel Prize laureate for 2026 in the field of Chemistry Research and Chemical Engineering is Prof. Reshef Tenne of the Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science Department at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The announcement was made today by Minister of Education Yoav Kisch, on behalf of t鈥�
Rethinking Longevity: Genes Matter More than We Thought
What determines how long we live 鈥� and to what extent is our lifespan shaped by our genes? Surprisingly, for decades scientists believed that the heritability of human lifespan was relatively low compared to other human traits, standing at just 20 to 25 percent; some recent large-scale studies eve鈥�
How Rats Avoid Being Fooled by Their Own Whiskers
More than two decades ago, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science made an intriguing discovery. Deep within the whisker follicles of rats, they identified a class of sensory neurons that behaved unlike anything known at the time. While the whiskers constantly sweep through the air in rhy鈥�
Memory Particles
In the future, quantum computers are anticipated to solve problems once thought unsolvable, from predicting the course of chemical reactions to producing highly reliable weather forecasts. For now, however, they remain extremely sensitive to environmental disturbances and prone to information loss鈥�
An Alarming Trend Climate Models Are Missing
Alaska鈥檚 glaciers are melting at an accelerating pace, losing roughly 60 billion tons of ice each year. About 4,000 kilometers to the south, in California and Nevada, records for heat and dryness are being shattered, creating favorable conditions for wildfire events. One major factor contributing鈥�
Instead of Fighting Cancer Resistance, Put It to Work
One of the most challenging moments in cancer treatment comes when a therapy stops working. In many metastatic cancers, drugs that are initially effective lose their potency over time, as malignant cells acquire mutations that enable them to survive and spread. A new study from Prof. Yardena Samue鈥�
Resurrected Tissue
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, our skin tissue 鈥� and in fact many types of epithelial tissue that lines and covers the body鈥檚 organs 鈥� can respond to death and destruction with a burst of regeneration. This phenomenon, known as compensatory proliferation, was first described in the 1970s in鈥�
New Study Reveals that Sex Hormones Reset Our Body Clocks
Disruptions to our circadian clocks 鈥� the internal molecular timekeepers 鈥渢icking鈥� in nearly every cell of our body throughout the day 鈥� can lead to a wide range of health problems, from sleep disturbances to diabetes and cancer. But there has been no certainty about the identity of the body鈥檚 sub鈥�
The Biochip Built for the Next Pandemic
In 2020, as scientists around the world were racing to understand COVID-19, Prof. Roy Bar-Ziv and his team at the Weizmann Institute of Science started developing a DNA chip that could not only quickly show how our immune system responds to this coronavirus but open new possibilities for swiftly r鈥�
From the Volcanic Crater to the Lab: A Lesson in Survival
鈥淎dapt or perish, now as ever, is nature鈥檚 inexorable imperative,鈥� wrote H. G. Wells. This principle 鈥� that survival requires change 鈥� was mastered billions of years ago by single-celled organisms living in extreme heat. Over the past few decades, studies of these organisms鈥� adaptive mechanisms ha鈥�
Turning the Tumor鈥檚 Shield into a Sword
Immunotherapy, which harnesses our body鈥檚 own immune system to fight cancer, has revolutionized modern oncology. Yet despite its success with several cancers, many patients still fail to respond to therapy or experience relapse later on. Scientists have long sought ways to pinpoint how cancer shut鈥�
Bacteria on the Brain
Like a bouncer guarding the entrance to an exclusive nightclub, the blood-brain barrier 鈥� a dense layer of cells surrounding the brain鈥檚 blood vessels 鈥� is regarded as an exceptionally strict gatekeeper. It allows nutrients to pass through but blocks toxins, pathogens and even most drugs from ente鈥�
鈥淪even Unique Voices in the Symphony of Human Achievement鈥�
鈥淭he last two years have been among the most difficult in Israel鈥檚 history, and the last several months 鈥� the most challenging moment in the history of the Weizmann Institute. Now, we are at a turning point 鈥� to what we believe is a better, brighter and promising future.鈥� With these words, Weizman鈥�
The Hidden Waters That Shape the Ocean 鈥� and the Climate
We鈥檝e gone to the bottom of the ocean to study how its chemistry shapes our planet鈥檚 climate, even chasing lava-spewing underwater volcanoes to do it. But it turns out we may have missed something far closer to home: the water beneath our feet. In a study published recently in Nature Communication鈥�
黑料传送门 of Science Ranked Sixth in the World for Research Quality
黑料传送门 of Science is placed sixth in the world in the 2025 ranking of research quality published today (Wednesday) by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) of Leiden University, the Netherlands (鈥淟eiden Ranking鈥�). This represents a jump of four places from the 2024 r鈥�
Humanity Rises as Wildlife Recedes: Two Studies Show the Extent of Human Domination over Nature
Life on the move
Wolves roaming the Mongolian steppes cover more than 7,000 kilometers a year. The Arctic tern flies from pole to pole in its annual migration. Compared to these long-distance travelers of land, sea and sky, humans might seem like the ultimate couch potatoes. But a new study from t鈥�
A Simple Explanation for a Cosmic Puzzle
Blasting around the equators of the solar system鈥檚 giant planets 鈥� Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune 鈥� are fierce jet streams reaching speeds of 500 to 1,500 kilometers per hour. For years, scientists have puzzled over why these extreme winds blow eastward on Jupiter and Saturn but westward on U鈥�
Out of the Lab and into Nature: Going to the Ends of the Earth to Better Understand the Brain
Some 40 kilometers east of the Tanzanian coast in East Africa lies Latham Island, a rocky, utterly isolated and uninhabited piece of land about the size of seven soccer fields. It was on this unlikely patch of ground that Weizmann Institute of Science researchers recorded 鈥� for the first time ever鈥�
Faster, Smarter, More Open: A New Way to Accelerate AI Models
Just as people from different countries speak different languages, AI models also create various internal 鈥渓anguages鈥� 鈥� a unique set of tokens understood only by each model. Until recently, there was no way for models developed by different companies to communicate directly, collaborate or combine鈥�
Meet Your Digital Twin
Before an important meeting or when a big decision needs to be made, we often mentally run through various scenarios before settling on the best course of action. But when it comes to our health 鈥� be it choosing a treatment for an ailment or even selecting a dietary regimen 鈥� it is a lot harder to鈥�