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Arab News
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Israeli scientists reel after Iranian missile strikes premier research institute
REHOVOT, Israel: For years, Israel has targeted Iranian nuclear scientists, hoping to choke progress on Iran's nuclear program by striking at the brains behind it. Now, with Iran and Israel in an open-ended direct conflict, scientists in Israel have found themselves in the crosshairs after an Iranian missile struck a premier research institute known for its work in life sciences and physics, among other fields. While no one was killed in the strike on the Weizmann Institute of Science early Sunday, it caused heavy damage to multiple labs on campus, snuffing out years of scientific research and sending a chilling message to Israeli scientists that they and their expertise are now targets in the escalating conflict with Iran. 'It's a moral victory' for Iran, said Oren Schuldiner, a professor in the department of molecular cell biology and the department of molecular neuroscience whose lab was obliterated in the strike. 'They managed to harm the crown jewel of science in Israel.' Iranian scientists were a prime target in a long shadow war During years of a shadow war between Israel and Iran that preceded the current conflict, Israel repeatedly targeted Iranian nuclear scientists with the aim of setting back Iran's nuclear program. Israel continued that tactic with its initial blow against Iran days ago, killing multiple nuclear scientists, along with top generals, as well as striking nuclear facilities and ballistic missile infrastructure. For its part, Iran has been accused of targeting at least one Weizmann scientist before. Last year, Israeli authorities said they busted an Iranian spy ring that devised a plot to follow and assassinate an Israeli nuclear scientist who worked and lived at the institute. Citing an indictment, Israeli media said the suspects, Palestinians from east Jerusalem, gathered information about the scientist and photographed the exterior of the Weizmann Institute but were arrested before they could proceed. With Iran's intelligence penetration into Israel far less successful than Israel's, those plots have not been seen through, making this week's strike on Weizmann that much more jarring. 'The Weizmann Institute has been in Iran's sights,' said Yoel Guzansky, an Iran expert and senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank. He stressed that he did not know for certain whether Iran intended to strike the institute but believed it did. While it is a multidisciplinary research institute, Weizmann, like other Israeli universities, has ties to Israel's defense establishment, including collaborations with industry leaders like Elbit Systems, which is why it may have been targeted. But Guzansky said the institute primarily symbolizes 'Israeli scientific progress' and the strike against it shows Iran's thinking: 'You harm our scientists, so we are also harming scientific cadre.' Damage to the institute and labs 'literally decimated' Weizmann, founded in 1934 and later renamed after Israel's first president, ranks among the world's top research institutes. Its scientists and researchers publish hundreds of studies each year. One Nobel laureate in chemistry and three Turing Award laureates have been associated with the institute, which built the first computer in Israel in 1954. Two buildings were hit in the strike, including one housing life sciences labs and a second that was empty and under construction but meant for chemistry study, according to the institute. Dozens of other buildings were damaged. The campus has been closed since the strike, although media were allowed to visit Thursday. Large piles of rock, twisted metal and other debris were strewn on campus. There were shattered windows, collapsed ceiling panels and charred walls. A photo shared on X by one professor showed flames rising near a heavily damaged structure with debris scattered on the ground nearby. 'Several buildings were hit quite hard, meaning that some labs were literally decimated, really leaving nothing,' said Sarel Fleishman, a professor of biochemics who said he has visited the site since the strike. Life's work of many researchers is gone Many of those labs focus on the life sciences, whose projects are especially sensitive to physical damage, Fleishman said. The labs were studying areas like tissue generation, developmental biology or cancer, with much of their work now halted or severely set back by the damage. 'This was the life's work of many people,' he said, noting that years' or even decades' worth of research was destroyed. For Schuldiner, the damage means the lab he has worked at for 16 years 'is entirely gone. No trace. There is nothing to save.' In that once gleaming lab, he kept thousands of genetically modified flies used for research into the development of the human nervous system, which helped provide insights into autism and schizophrenia, he said. The lab housed equipment like sophisticated microscopes. Researchers from Israel and abroad joined hands in the study effort. 'All of our studies have stopped,' he said, estimating it would take years to rebuild and get the science work back on track. 'It's very significant damage to the science that we can create and to the contribution we can make to the world.'
Associated Press
a day ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Israeli scientists reel after Iranian missile strikes premier research institute
REHOVOT, Israel (AP) — For years, Israel has targeted Iranian nuclear scientists, hoping to choke progress on Iran's nuclear program by striking at the brains behind it. Now, with Iran and Israel in an open-ended direct conflict, scientists in Israel have found themselves in the crosshairs after an Iranian missile struck a premier research institute known for its work in life sciences and physics, among other fields. While no one was killed in the strike on the Weizmann Institute of Science early Sunday, it caused heavy damage to multiple labs on campus, snuffing out years of scientific research and sending a chilling message to Israeli scientists that they and their expertise are now targets in the escalating conflict with Iran. 'It's a moral victory' for Iran, said Oren Schuldiner, a professor in the department of molecular cell biology and the department of molecular neuroscience whose lab was obliterated in the strike. 'They managed to harm the crown jewel of science in Israel.' Iranian scientists were a prime target in a long shadow war During years of a shadow war between Israel and Iran that preceded the current conflict, Israel repeatedly targeted Iranian nuclear scientists with the aim of setting back Iran's nuclear program. Israel continued that tactic with its initial blow against Iran days ago, killing multiple nuclear scientists, along with top generals, as well as striking nuclear facilities and ballistic missile infrastructure. For its part, Iran has been accused of targeting at least one Weizmann scientist before. Last year, Israeli authorities said they busted an Iranian spy ring that devised a plot to follow and assassinate an Israeli nuclear scientist who worked and lived at the institute. Citing an indictment, Israeli media said the suspects, Palestinians from east Jerusalem, gathered information about the scientist and photographed the exterior of the Weizmann Institute but were arrested before they could proceed. With Iran's intelligence penetration into Israel far less successful than Israel's, those plots have not been seen through, making this week's strike on Weizmann that much more jarring. 'The Weizmann Institute has been in Iran's sights,' said Yoel Guzansky, an Iran expert and senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank. He stressed that he did not know for certain whether Iran intended to strike the institute but believed it did. While it is a multidisciplinary research institute, Weizmann, like other Israeli universities, has ties to Israel's defense establishment, including collaborations with industry leaders like Elbit Systems, which is why it may have been targeted. But Guzansky said the institute primarily symbolizes 'Israeli scientific progress' and the strike against it shows Iran's thinking: 'You harm our scientists, so we are also harming (your) scientific cadre.' Damage to the institute and labs 'literally decimated' Weizmann, founded in 1934 and later renamed after Israel's first president, ranks among the world's top research institutes. Its scientists and researchers publish hundreds of studies each year. One Nobel laureate in chemistry and three Turing Award laureates have been associated with the institute, which built the first computer in Israel in 1954. Two buildings were hit in the strike, including one housing life sciences labs and a second that was empty and under construction but meant for chemistry study, according to the institute. Dozens of other buildings were damaged. The campus has been closed since the strike, although media were allowed to visit Thursday. Large piles of rock, twisted metal and other debris were strewn on campus. There were shattered windows, collapsed ceiling panels and charred walls. A photo shared on X by one professor showed flames rising near a heavily damaged structure with debris scattered on the ground nearby. 'Several buildings were hit quite hard, meaning that some labs were literally decimated, really leaving nothing,' said Sarel Fleishman, a professor of biochemics who said he has visited the site since the strike. Life's work of many researchers is gone Many of those labs focus on the life sciences, whose projects are especially sensitive to physical damage, Fleishman said. The labs were studying areas like tissue generation, developmental biology or cancer, with much of their work now halted or severely set back by the damage. 'This was the life's work of many people,' he said, noting that years' or even decades' worth of research was destroyed. For Schuldiner, the damage means the lab he has worked at for 16 years 'is entirely gone. No trace. There is nothing to save.' In that once gleaming lab, he kept thousands of genetically modified flies used for research into the development of the human nervous system, which helped provide insights into autism and schizophrenia, he said. The lab housed equipment like sophisticated microscopes. Researchers from Israel and abroad joined hands in the study effort. 'All of our studies have stopped,' he said, estimating it would take years to rebuild and get the science work back on track. 'It's very significant damage to the science that we can create and to the contribution we can make to the world.' ___ Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. This story was submitted to Israel's military censor, which made no changes.
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Judge orders NIH to restore cuts to research grants related to diversity
A federal judge in Massachusetts on Monday ordered the Trump administration to restore hundreds of scientific research grants terminated by the National Institutes of Health, saying the funding cancellations were illegal and discriminatory, a lawyer in the case said. The funding cuts targeted research connected to topics such as race and gender identity.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
China Reviews Impact of US Data Curbs Due to Trump's Budget Cuts
(Bloomberg) -- China's government is reviewing impacts on the nation's scientific research after President Donald Trump's moves to withdraw funding from some US agencies and halt publication of certain categories of data. Shuttered NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future As Part of a $45 Billion Push, ICE Prepares for a Vast Expansion of Detention Space Do World's Fairs Still Matter? NYC Renters Brace for Price Hikes After Broker-Fee Ban As American Architects Gather in Boston, Retrofits Are All the Rage Several Chinese ministries and bodies have in recent weeks started assessing potential disruption to their work, and made efforts to determine the extent to which some activities have become reliant on data published by the US, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified to discuss details that aren't public. Agencies carrying out reviews include the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Meteorological Administration, Ministry of Natural Resources and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, one of the people said. One area of work facing potential disruption has been studies of coral bleaching in the South China Sea, according to another person. Chinese researchers had used a US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration product that published coastal water temperatures, which was decommissioned last month, the person said. The move comes as Beijing and Washington have been working to get bilateral relations back on track, with negotiators agreeing on a framework to ease trade tensions and revive the flow of sensitive goods between the world's two largest economies. But details are scarce and many issues remain unresolved, including China's massive trade surplus with the US. Reviews being carried out by the Chinese ministries will examine if domestic sources can replace the use of US data that's now unavailable, the people said. Investigations are being conducted quietly to avoid giving the US any potential bargaining chip, according to the people. The Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Meteorological Administration, Ministry of Natural Resources and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Beijing has sought in recent years to reduce its dependence on foreign sources for critical technology and products. Past US actions have only accelerated China's push for self-reliance, much like how US curbs on chip sales have spurred growth in the country's home-grown semiconductor industry. China views climate science as a geopolitical battleground. President Xi Jinping wants his country to become a weather superpower and have a bigger say in global meteorological governance. Beijing spent nearly 500% more on climate diplomacy from 2013 to 2023, following a familiar strategy of offering financial help to other nations to boost the use of Chinese technology and services. In the US, job losses and funding cuts have impacted the collection and availability of data in fields like climate, weather and health. Hundreds of employees have been fired at NOAA as part of the Trump administration's broader efforts to shrink the federal government. NOAA declined to comment on whether the removal of data products and websites has impacted cooperation with other countries, including China. The agency said coastal water temperature data remains available in other formats. The White House didn't respond to a request for comment. The coastal water temperature guide made data 'easier for scientists or interested lay people to see it and analyze it,' said Craig McLean, an ocean researcher who worked at NOAA for decades before retiring in 2022. Without the original presentation, 'it could be a more complicated journey' for anyone trying to use and make sense of the information, he said. Cuts to research and information sharing in the US will also impact partners from Europe to Australia, across fields such as astronomy, physics, public health and weather monitoring, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said last month. Chinese Data It isn't just the US that has pulled back on the amount of data it makes public. China has drawn criticism for tightening its grip on sensitive details, limiting the ability of economists, think tanks, financial analysts and others to access information. Restrictions have included corporate registries, bond market transactions, official biographies of politicians and academic papers. Domestic data firm Wind Information Co. in 2023 stopped providing detailed information on local companies to overseas clients, while the Ministry of State Security repeatedly warned that foreign entities are obtaining sensitive data, including on food production, geography and weather patterns, through software, non-governmental organizations and unwitting Chinese citizens. China has a history of working with America's federal science agencies, including NOAA, and last year renewed a treaty first signed in 1979 covering cooperation in several fields. Researchers have often praised the accuracy and comprehensive coverage of US data — in 2017, the China Meteorological Administration said the US data prediction was among the best in the world. --With assistance from Mary Hui, Zahra Hirji and Jing Li. American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years As Companies Abandon Climate Pledges, Is There a Silver Lining? US Tariffs Threaten to Derail Vietnam's Historic Industrial Boom ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Science
- Bloomberg
China Reviews Impact of US Data Curbs Due to Trump's Budget Cuts
China's government is reviewing impacts on the nation's scientific research after President Donald Trump's moves to withdraw funding from some US agencies and halt publication of certain categories of data. Several Chinese ministries and bodies have in recent weeks started assessing potential disruption to their work, and made efforts to determine the extent to which some activities have become reliant on data published by the US, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified to discuss details that aren't public.
