Category: Weizmann Institute of Science
Bacteria can anticipate a future event and prepare for it, according to new research at the Weizmann Institute of Science. In a paper that appeared in the June 17, 2009 issue of Nature, Prof. Yitzhak Pilpel, doctoral student Amir Mitchell, and research associate Dr. Orna Dahan of the Institute’s Molecular Genetics Department, together with Prof.
Angiotensin 1-7, a hormone in the body that has cardiovascular benefits, improves the metabolic syndrome in rats, according to a new study. The results will be presented Wednesday at The Endocrine Society's 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
In the first observation if its kind, scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science and San Diego State University were able to watch what happens when a star the size of 50 suns explodes. As they continued to track the spectacular event, they found that most of the star's mass collapsed in on itself, resulting in a large black hole.
The Weizmann Institute of Science today announced that a research group headed by Dr. Ernesto Joselevich has developed a new approach to create patterns of carbon nanotubes by formation along atomic steps on sapphire surfaces. Carbon nanotubes are excellent candidates for the production of nanoelectronic circuits, but their assembly into ordered arrays remains a major obstacle toward this application.
A combined effort between Israeli scientists has led to the discovery of a gene responsible for a type of anemia primarily found in a number of Bedouin families, called congenital dyserythropoietic anemia-1 (CDA-1). The findings, published the December issue of The American Journal for Human Genetics, could lead to effective detection and eventually treatment of the disease. In addition, understanding the role of this gene?s protein product in the body could provide important clues to other types of anemia, as well as to the general mechanisms of blood cell formation.
Instead of searching for a kidney donor, a new study suggests, one might be able to grow a new kidney. A team headed by Prof. Yair Reisner of the Weizmann Institute of Science has induced human stem cell tissue to grow into functional kidneys, and have accomplished the same with porcine stem cell tissue. Published in Nature Medicine, the method could lead to a promising solution to the severe shortage of kidney donors.
How do 30,000 genes in our DNA work together to form a large part of who we are? How do one hundred billion neurons operate in our brain? The huge number of factors involved makes such complex networks hard to crack. Now, a study published in the October 25 issue of Science uncovers a strategy for finding the organizing principles of virtually any network ? from neural networks to ecological food webs or the Internet.
Twenty thousand hits per day --- that's the average dose of damage sustained by the genes within each cell of our body. How are innumerable mutations avoided? In a new study, researchers have proved the existence of a vital repair mechanism used by cells to correct this damage and showed that it's responsible for about 85% of what are termed "last-resort" repairs. Genes can be damaged by a variety of factors, such as ultraviolet light, cigarette smoke, or certain types of viruses. Such damage, if left unrepaired, can cause mutations, which can lead to disease. The "first resort" for genetic repair is most often a mechanism that works on an "all or nothing" basis: when unable to precisely correct the damage, it stops in its tracks, leading to what can be an even more harmful effect ? the death of the cell. Fortunately, nature has provided cells with two alternative, last-resort repair systems that can take command when the first rescue mechanism fails.
Researchers say they've successfully tracked a star racing around a dark mass at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, offering strong support for the theory that a black hole is at the center of our little corner of space. Astronomers at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics tracked the orbit of the closest known star to the black hole candidate Sagittarius A*, a dark mass 3,000,000 times the mass of the sun. Following the star for 10 years, they found that it does indeed orbit Sagittarius A*. Approaching the black hole's maw, the star reaches its highest velocity, whizzing past it at 5,000 kilometers per second.
