A biotech industry does not spring fully formed from the air, even under the best conditions. One thing that everyone involved in building the biotech industry on Long Island emphasizes is the need for continued...
If you want to keep biotech talent on Long Island over the long term, you have to think about how new companies might attract talented staff. You also have to think about where these people...
Incubating a biotech company on Long Island and making sure that the company remains in the region are separate challenges. Diane Fabel notes the importance of being able to monitor new methods and technologies as...
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...
How do you encourage small biotech companies? Steve Blose, biologist and formerly president and CEO of Protein Databases, Inc., points to the need for incubator space: “The best thing going for biotech at the time,...
Is Long Island a good place to set up a biotech firm? On the one hand, the region has a dense network of universities and research institutions, as well as proximity to New York. On...
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.