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INSTITUTE
1 111rAti OF SCIENCE
Meet the
Weizmann Institute
Rehovot, Israel
Off the beaten track, in a quiet town some 14 miles
south of Tel Aviv and 35 miles west of Jerusalem, lies
one of Israel's major intellectual and scientific centres,
the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Over 2,000 researchers and scientific and technical
support personnel work in its quiet, pastoral sur-
roundings. Some 40 buildings, constructed within a
beautifully landscaped setting, provide superb
facilities in which the staff works, lives and enjoys
extensive cultural and athletic activities.
The Institute and its scientists enjoy the respect
and admiration of the worldwide scientific commu-
nity. Just as many Weizmann Institute scientists
regularly spend time in the laboratories of the fore-
most universities and research centres abroad,
hundreds of distinguished visiting scientists come to
Israel every year to participate in Weizmann Institute
investigations.
The conception and birth of the Weizmann
Institute took place under extremely modest circum-
stances, when Dr. Chaim Weizmann, the first
President of the State of Israel and the first President
of the Institute, organized his fledgling scientific
establishment in 1934. The institution, then with a
staff of only ten scientists, was initially dedicated as
the Daniel Sieff Research Institute, in memory of the
son of British industrialist and philanthropist Israel
Sieff, a close friend of Weizmann.
Hope for the Third World
Infective diseases, particularly the parasitic
scourges of Third World countries, are being probed
in great detail. A new approach to eradicate dysen-
tery amoeba has been designed recently, along with a
diagnostic assay for visceral leishmaniasis„ a sand-fly
borne disease that can, under epidemic conditions,
kill tens of thousands.
A new vaccine for hepatitis B is now under clinical
evaluation, while improved whooping cough and
leishmaniasis vaccinations are also under develop-
ment. In fact, the first use of synthetic materials to
elicit immune system protective mechanisms was
carried out in Rehovot, leading to the development of
experimental man-made vaccines that protect animals
against the flu, diphtheria, and cholera. Weizmann
researchers are also collaborating in clinical trials of
several therapies aimed at curing infections of HIV,
the virus responsible for AIDS.
Rehovot research into immune system diseases,
including multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis,
arthritis and lupus erythematosis, has not only
advanced our understanding of why the body's
defense mechanisms can turn against normal tissue
components, but has also provided some novel
approaches to detect them and to halt their destruc-
tive path.
Institute studies have improved understanding of
how biological processes begin to slow down and
change as we age: Senior citizens may eventually
Combatting Disease
benefit
from two Rehovot-pioneered vitamin D
Research in Rehovot comprises some 800 basic and
derivatives, both of which have already been ap-
applied projects. In the areas of biological and
proved for clinical use to treat bone weakening
biochemical research alone, a random selection of
associated with kidney failure.
past accomplishments could include the design of
One of them has also been found to aid the healing
chemically reactive porous solids, or affinity reagents,
which provided key tools that spurred the develop- - of fractures in animals and may also prove useful in
stemming osteoporosis, bone brittleness that develops
ment of genetic engineering and transformed the-
in some women after menopause. Several groups are
whole craft of biomedical research..
tackling the problems of diabetes, a disease most
In addition, sugar-binding proteins known as
common in older people, and are examining an
lectins were extensively probed, leading among other
entirely
new approach to its therapy.
advances to a process for facilitating the transplanta-
There is no adequate way to provide a comprehen-
tion of bone marrow between noncompatible
sive picture of biological science at the Weizmann
individuals, a feat that has saved the lives of tens of
Institute, as work is also in progress to better under-
"bubble children," youngsters born with severely
stand
the nature of human reproduction, to advance
malfunctioning immune systems. Study of the
the field of brain chemistry and neurological function,
natural antiviral agent interferon and design of
and to throw new light on the underlying character of
technology for its production have resulted in an
a wide range of genetic diseases.
Israeli-manufactured pharmaceutical to treat genital
herpes, genital warts, and a rare form of human leu-
Sun, Soil and Sewage
kemia.
Weizmann chemistry has contributed not only to
Agriculture and aquaculture have already
the advance of drug and biomedical research, but also
benefited from superior varieties of Weizmann-bred
to the provision of new materials and processes of
high yielding hybrid cucumbers, widely grown in the
interest to industrial and environmental forces.
Mediterranean Basin, as well as a provitamin A-
Institute workers were responsible for initial evalu-
producing algae which is being marketed in Japan
and other countries as a nutritious, protein-rich health ation of Israel's water resources and have designed
approaches to monitor and protect underground
food.
water reservoirs from pollution. They also.built one
Cancer, the second most important cause of death
of the world's first plants for separation and purifica-
in Western countries, is today the largest single area
tion of stable oxygen isotopes, atoms that are valuable
of biomedical research at the Weizmann Institute.
for producing labeled materials for chemical and
The genetics, biology, and metastatic spread of a
biomedical research.
variety of experimental and human tumors are under
A major recent step forward in Institute chemistry
investigation pointing the way towards new ap-
was last year's dedication on campus of a national
proaches to slow down the growth and spread of ma-
centre for solar energy research, which is investigat-
lignancy. These include several forms of immune
ing the use of solar energy for producing industrial
therapy, now under study, for the selective destruc-
fuels and for novel high-power industrial lasers.
tion of malignant tissue, and novel diagnostic
Photoactive dyes for disinfecting sewage, selective
approaches for breast cancer, leukemias and solid
membranes which may prove useful for softening
tumors of various organs.
hard water, and a new type of zinc-bromide electrical
storage cell now under study are also attracting
interest.
Reprinted with permission of the Jerusalem Post.
80 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1989
Prof. Haim Harari
President, Weizmann Institute
Structural chemists have taken advantage of
powerful X-rays at nuclear accelerator centres for
advancing our knowledge of the properties of thin
organic layers on water and the process of the onset
of crystallization - work with implications for envi-
ronmental and industrial processes.
Physics:
An International Endeavor
Rehovot physicists participate in some of the
world's frontier-breaking research projects. They
were involved, for example, in the giant international
collaboration that in 1979 discovered the gluon, the
fundamental particle for mediating the strong nuclear
force, one of the four basic interactions operating in
the material universe. They continue to work at
many of the world's largest particle accelerators,
including the giant of them all, the just-opened LEP at
the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN)
in Geneva.
Two projects under way there are expected to
clarify the number of basic building blocks of nature
and to replicate - in miniature - the expansion of the
universe following the Big Bang of creation.
Other Weizmann physicists are developing novel
techniques for studying the nature of plasma,
improving communication over optical fibres, and
analyzing the rules governing apparently "chaotic"
systems. A new centre for submicron solid-state re-
search is being built on campus, which will enable
study of the novel semiconductor chip elements
expected to further miniaturize the electronics of the
21st century.
The Key Role of Computers
While Institute mathematicians and engineers
built one of the world's first electronic computers, the
WEIZAC, they were also responsible for early
surveys of Israel's geological formations. Today,
work is proceeding to improve the efficiency of
computations, robotics, artificial intelligence and
computer-aided design. One researcher, for example,
has designed a new concept in pictorial language that
aids the development and manufacture of complex
systems, such as aircraft, and which has already been
adopted by tens of companies in Israel and abroad.
Novel cryptographic techniques for enhancing
security of computer-generated communications are
now being developed for electronic fund-transfer
operations, as well as for application to PC and smart-
card identification and authentication procedures.
Other, mathematicians are using their skills in prob-
lems related to health, economics and ecology.
A Dedication to Education
Education is also high on the Institute agenda,
with over 600 students studying for their M.Sc. and
Ph.D. degrees at the Feinberg Graduate School. These
include about 100 foreign students representing 25
countries.
In addition, a Department of Science Teaching
develops new science curricula, textbooks, TV
programs and teaching methods. It also sponsors a
wide variety of science programs for young people
from Israel and abroad.
The skills of Weizmann Institute researchers, their
intellectual curiosity, and the results of many hours'
work in the laboratory are helping to provide Israel
with the know-how needed to successfully compete
and prosper in tomorrow's world.