Many scientists come to biotech out of an interest in drug development. But drug development is a long, expensive process that does not always pan out. Jim Hayward, currently CEO of Applied DNA systems, describes...
Sometimes it takes a dramatic success story to bring a university into biotech. Jim Hayward, currently of Applied DNA Sciences, describes how Barry Coller of the Department of Hematology at Stony Brook developed “what was...
In the context of his work for CSHL spin-off Helicon Pharmaceuticals, which was developing a drug to enhance memory, Jerry Yin notes that “looking for a drug that enhances memory is a marathon. It’s not...
It’s easy to imagine a straightforward progression from research to commercialization, with the scientific work taking a specific commercial form, and that’s that. But the process of commercialization itself — for example, what type of...
One pattern that emerges over and over in our interviews with scientists involved in biotech is that ideas for companies often involve scientists creating something — a method, a reagent, a type of molecule, etc....
An invention is not always finished at the moment when the technology is patented, or when it the product first goes on the market. There are always issues you can resolve or things you can...
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.