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Tag: Weizmann

Meet scientists of tomorrow

Meet scientists of tomorrow

Feinberg Graduate School-Weizmann Institute student Vered Shacham-Silverberg is coming to Vancouver with two of her peers. (photo from Weizmann Canada)

Cliché as it may sound, the future is almost here. On March 29, three PhD students from the Feinberg Graduate School at Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) in Rehovot will arrive in Vancouver. As part of a North American speaking tour called Scientists of Tomorrow, Vered Shacham-Silverberg, Adi Goldenzweig and Uri Weill will share not only details of their research but also their passion for the Weizmann Institute.

Rather than highlighting established scientists, this tour focuses on the experience of students who are performing the experiments being conducted in the labs.

“I believe that we, as students, enjoy many of the benefits the WIS provides and we can shed more light on those benefits,” said Shacham-Silverberg about why she believes she and her colleagues are well-suited to spread the word about what’s happening at the institute.

photo - Uri Weill
Uri Weill (photo from Weizmann Canada)

“We know firsthand how important it is to have a supporting and nurturing environment in research,” said Weill. “We can also bring stories from the working bench of live research that is happening now.”

WIS focuses exclusively on basic science research, the kind of investigation and experimentation that answers big questions. Its students are given the opportunity to have some of the brightest minds in the world as their supervisors and to use some of the best equipment in their research. WIS scientists are uncovering mysteries such as how the body works on the molecular level, and are translating their findings into ways to improve the world in which we live.

For example, Weill is creating a living catalogue of more than 6,000 yeast strains, so scientists can study how certain proteins function both as healthy organisms and diseased ones. His research in the department of molecular genetics could have far-reaching applications to finding cures for many illnesses.

Goldenzweig’s study of how proteins work with molecules has led to the discovery of a way to stabilize proteins that are usually structurally fragile when created in large quantities in a lab. The algorithm she has developed was recently successfully applied to a protein to combat malaria. This could be the key to developing an effective malaria vaccine.

And Shacham-Silverberg is working to discover how to improve the way the body gets rid of unproductive neurons in order to make room for the ones that will lead to best function. Her research will lead to discoveries in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, ALS and Parkinson’s.

Having these students visit Vancouver is a unique chance for the local Jewish community. The students will not only share some of their research but also their perspectives on being students in Israel.

photo - Adi Goldenzweig
Adi Goldenzweig (photo from Weizmann Canada)

“Although there are many women in the life science faculties,” said Goldenzweig, “unfortunately … their number decreases dramatically in established positions. But this keeps changing and we’ll hopefully be closer to 50% within a few decades.”

WIS is also interested in promoting benefits for Canadian students interested in science. Every year, two Canadian second-year undergraduate students receive a fully paid two-month supervised internship over the summer in a lab at the institute. Two years ago, one of the recipients of this scholarship was a University of British Columbia student whose experience was so positive, he was asked to return the following summer.

The other program is the Kupcinet-Getz International Summer School, a four-week internship with funding currently for six Canadian students. The program brings together 80 pre-university students interested in research in physics, math, chemistry and the life sciences from a total of 17 countries. Many of these students are experiencing Israel for the first time, and form lasting impressions of and connections to the country. As well, they are introduced to some of the possibilities for their future in science.

The immersive scientific experience is what makes these summer programs so exciting for students, and is part of what drew Shacham-Silverberg, Goldenzweig and Weill to study at WIS.

Weill said he chose the institute because of the access to cutting-edge research tools, which enable him to ask and find the answers to new questions. He added, “At the WIS, we have collaborations with labs from around the world. It makes for the perfect conditions for scientific discovery.”

On March 29, all are welcome to come and learn more about scientific innovation in Israel. At the end of the students’ presentations, a dessert reception will provide a chance to meet the speakers, as well as the Feinberg Graduate School academic secretary, Dr. Ami Shalit. The event is being held in a private home, so if you would like to attend or are looking for more information, contact the WIS Western Canadian development associate, Camille Wenner, at 604-260-8506 or [email protected]

Michelle Dodek is a freelance writer living in Vancouver.

Format ImagePosted on March 24, 2017March 23, 2017Author Michelle DodekCategories LocalTags Israel, science, Weizmann

Sperm can “see” heat

Locations of different opsins on the human sperm, viewed under a microscope, are revealed by labeling with a fluorescent antibody (bright yellow). (photo from wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il)

In their journey to the egg, sperm “feel” the heat of the fallopian tube and “taste” the chemical signals of the ova. But, a new Weizmann Institute study published in Scientific Reports shows that sperm actually make use of sensors that have mainly been known to belong to the visual system.

If a sperm, about 46 microns (thousandths of a millimetre) long, were the size of a human being, it would swim several kilometres to reach its destination. Thus, sperm need to be guided by various cues. In earlier studies, Weizmann Institute’s Prof. Michael Eisenbach and his team discovered two of these guidance mechanisms – heat-sensing and chemical cues. The heat attraction works across the longer range: the site of the fertilization is warmer than the spot at the entrance to the fallopian tube where the sperm pause for maturation, and this temperature difference points them in the direction of the egg. When they get closer to the egg, they pick up its chemical signals.

“As in all important processes in nature, the sperm rely on more than one mechanism in their navigation, so that if one breaks down, others can provide a back-up,” Eisenbach said.

The heat sensitivity of sperm is extremely high. From a distance equivalent to the length of one sperm cell, they can sense differences in temperature as miniscule as 0.0006 of a degree Celsius, less than one thousandth of a degree. This sensitivity enables them to be guided by a very gradual increase in temperature on the way to the fertilization site.

In the new study, Eisenbach’s team – Dr. Serafín Pérez-Cerezales, Dr. Sergii Boryshpolets, Oshri Afanzar, Dr. Reinat Nevo and Vladimir Kiss of the biological chemistry department and Dr. Alexander Brandis of biological services – set out to discover exactly how sperm sense the heat. The scientists examined a particular category of receptors that, based on their previous studies, were thought to be involved in conveying signals to the sperm. Within this category, they zeroed in on a family of proteins called opsins.

Opsins are best known for their role in an entirely different sphere: the visual system. One major protein in this family, called rhodopsin, serves as a photoreceptor in the cells of the retina. Studies by other researchers working with fruit fly larvae had found this protein involved in responding to heat, hinting that this could also be the case in sperm.

The Weizmann scientists found that several proteins in the opsin family of receptors were present on the surface of mouse and human sperm. Each opsin had its own distribution pattern on the sperm, and each apparently made a contribution, through its own set of signals, to heat sensing. When the researchers blocked the signals from these opsins, the sperm failed to swim from a cooler to a warmer chamber.

These findings may explain the enigmatic presence of opsins in organs that are not exposed to light, including the lungs and the liver. They suggest that the mammalian opsins may be performing heat-sensing functions in these parts of the body.

More institute news can be found at wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il.

 

Format ImagePosted on December 4, 2015December 4, 2015Author Weizmann InstituteCategories IsraelTags Michael Eisenbach, opsin, sperm, Weizmann
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