Patents have become a cornerstone of the biotech industry, and many researchers are eager to patent their discoveries. But what percentage of patents actually lead to marketable technologies? Diane Fabel of Stony Brook’s Center for...
How do you actually build a biotechnology industry in a specific location? Simply having a critical mass of universities and research institutions is not enough — facilitating the formation and growth of biotech companies requires...
Those interested in furthering Long Island’s biotech industry have faced many challenges over the years. Diane Fabel of the Stony Brook Center for Biotechnology describes some of the bigger ones in the 1990s, both cultural...
Academic scientists often express skepticism about the benefits of commercializing their research. What tends to change their minds? Research money has proven again and again to be the carrot that gets faculty members into the...
Scientists, administrators and industry specialists often mention the resistance to commercialization among academic scientists in the 1970s and 80s. Most people agree that this resistance has dwindled almost to the vanishing point now, but earlier,...
What is the role of institutions like Stony Brook’s Center for Biotechnology? The Center’s director of operations since 1990, Diane Fabel, uses the metaphor of translation. “We’re definitely a mediator, a facilitator. We tend to...
Plants need nitrogen to grow, but a significant portion of the nitrogen in fertilizers is not absorbed by the soil or used by the growing plants. Rather, it washes away into waterways, rivers, and the ocean. This in turn has had devastating effects on marine life. In some areas, excessive nitrogen in the oceans has caused algae blooms that kill wildlife, make it dangerous for people to consume fish or shellfish or in some cases even swim in affected waters. This problem isn’t limited to poorer countries. Nitrogen pollution is a serious problem here on Long Island. In our case, the nitrogen comes primarily from septic tanks and cesspools, although nitrogen from agricultural fertilizers also plays a role. Nitrogen pollution in the waters around Long Island has hampered fishing, made it dangerous to eat seafood from some areas, and caused environmental changes that make coastal areas more prone to flooding.