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Library – Archives – Humanities  / Education / Center for Humanities & History of Modern Biology / Exhibits, Projects and Initiatives / Plant Science, Biotechnology, & Agriculture

The Early Days of Biotech on Long Island

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 a sprint.” He raises the question of whether it’s more effective in the long term to invest money in a targeted way, in a single company trying to develop a specific drug, or whether an equivalent amount of resources and work invested more broadly in basic research might not have resulted in us knowing more about this particular problem.

Helicon

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.