No. 1078: In which ‘Macbeth’ begins, lighthouses shine and lung cancer loses, with beers icing in the cooler

 

Finishing in the middle: Welcome to Friday, intrepid innovators, as we wrap up another busy workweek and, officially, the first half of Summer 2026.

Yes, it’s Aug. 7 out there, the precise mathematical median between the Northern Hemisphere’s 2026 Summer Solstice (which occurred at 4:24 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on June 21) and Autumnal Equinox (scheduled for 8:05 p.m. EDT on Sept. 21). For those keeping score, the exact midpoint was at 12:14 a.m. this morning, splitting the interval – 93 days, 15 hours and 41 minutes – right down the middle.

(A quick space-math lesson for those wondering how 93 1/2 days can be one-quarter of a 365-day year: Earth’s orbit is elliptical, not perfectly circular, and as per Kepler’s Second Law, the planet moves slower when it’s farther from the Sun. So, the Northern Hemisphere Summer – when Earth is farthest from its home star – is the longest season of the year. Amaze your friends!)

See the light: Now that you’ve mastered orbital mechanics, you can easily embrace the bright idea that is National Lighthouse Day, commemorating President George Washington’s Aug. 7, 1789, signing of the first-ever U.S. public works act – the Lighthouse Act, which transferred control of the nation’s then-12 lighthouses to the federal government.

Also making a splash today is National Water Balloon Day, a first-Friday-of-August celebration of non-lethal combat.

Beer here: More wetting your whistle is International Beer Day, another (much sudsier) First-Friday-of-August salute.

Enjoy your brew of choice (or three … it’s Friday!). Just make sure to leave room for National Raspberries ’n Cream Day, always whipping up a sweet finish on Aug. 7.

In, damned spot! In, I say! Enjoying more of a sweet start was Shakespeare’s masterwork “Macbeth,” which – according to legend – was performed for the first time on this date in 1606.

All heart: Also starting strong was the Purple Heart, the oldest U.S. military decoration awarded to service members wounded or killed in combat, which was created in 1782 (President Washington, again) as the Badge for Military Merit.

Spin cycle: More spinning in place – in a good way – was the modern revolving door, patented on this date in 1888 by Pennsylvania-based inventor Theophilius Van Kannel.

The power cosmic: Rising above was Austrian American experimental physicist Victor Hess, who conducted the sky-scraping balloon flight – over parts of the Czech Republic and Germany – that confirmed the existence of cosmic rays 114 years ago today.

Strait talk: And it was Aug. 7, 1987, when American open-water swimmer Lynne Cox became the first woman to swim from the United States to the Soviet Union.

Cox’s “peace swim” – covering nearly three miles of the icy Bering Strait between the islands of Little Diomede (United States) and Big Diomede (Russia) – was hailed by leaders Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev and celebrated globally as a major thaw in Cold War relations between the rival superpowers.

Flower power: American politician Roswell Pettibone Flower (1835-1899) – the 30th New York State governor and a two-term U.S. House of Representatives member credited with creating the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park, a natural jewel that encompasses nearly 20 percent of the Empire State – would be 191 years old today.

Also born on Aug. 7 were American actress Billie Burke (born Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke, 1884-1970), an early star of radio, stage and screen remembered best as Oz’s good witch Glinda; American political scientist and diplomat Ralph Johnson Bunche (1904-1971), the first African American and first person of African descent to earn a Nobel Peace Prize; American entrepreneur and business magnate Jenny Craig (born Genevieve Marie Guidroz, 1932) who alongside her husband, Sid, co-founded weight-loss and nutrition empire Jenny Craig Inc.; Italian American bodybuilder and actor Franco Columbu (1942-2019), Arnold Schwarzenegger’s best buddy and training partner, remembered fondly as the “Sardinian Strongman”; and South African American actress, fashion model and dancer Charlize Theron (born 1975), an award-winning, all-world beauty who’s not afraid to play it ugly.

What a Guy (Noir)! And take a bow, Gary Edward “Garrison” Keillor! The American author, singer, humorist, voice actor and radio personality – a public radio mainstay whose “A Prairie Home Companion” is just one of his folksy print and radio creations – turns 84 today.

Send birthday wishes for the American treasure to Lake Wobegon – or, since that’s fictitious, send them to editor@innovateli.com, where our Writer’s Almanac is incomplete without your news tips and calendar events.

 

About our sponsor: ZE Creative Communications is a full-service integrated marketing communications agency specializing in public relations, creative marketing, crisis communication and social media. Founded in Great Neck, ZE Creative Communications has been helping clients create compelling and successful messaging campaigns for more than three decades. Learn more here.

 

BUT FIRST, THIS

Lung punch: A new scientific study out of the Stony Brook Cancer Center highlights a novel therapeutic showing a promising punch in the fight against certain lung cancers.

Reporting their findings in a paper published online this week by the peer-reviewed scientific journal Molecular Therapy, investigators – led by Renaissance School of Medicine Department of Pathology Professor Jingfang Ju – discuss a unique therapy based on multimodal tumor suppressor miRNA-129 and its apparent ability to defeat NSCLC’s stubborn resistance to pharmaceutical treatments, at least in laboratory models. The multi-targeted tumor suppressor, a non-coding RNA molecule that regulates gene expression, was shown to improve the stability, deliverability and efficacy of the pharmaceutical agent.

There’s a long way to go – including potential Investigational New Drug studies – before the miRNA-129-derived therapeutic finds its way into treatment clinics, but so far the results are very encouraging, according to Ju. “Resistance is the primary reason why current lung cancer therapies stop working for cancer patients, and for that reason, this approach is highly promising,” the professor noted. “We believe this new approach provides a proof-of-concept for future studies that could lead to clinical trials in NSCLC patients.”

Fair play: A Long Island university has been selected to participate in a youth-mental-health program that puts “psychological safety” in play.

The nonprofit Million Coaches Challenge has selected Adelphi University as an inaugural partner in Empower Every Coach, a nationwide initiative aiming to advance systemic programs and supports that make quality coaching available to young people. Including a $250,000 stipend for Adelphi, more than $2 million in financial backing has been awarded to 10 organizations – including The Ad Council (a progressive public-service-announcement machine), U.S. Soccer (the domestic governing body of the world’s most popular sport) and others – through Empower Every Coach’s first funding tranche.

Adelphi will funnel its six-digit award into a mental-health guidelines project that leverages physical activity and structured sports as mechanisms for social change, spearheaded by health and sport sciences Professor Meredith Whitley. “This project establishes a pathway to transform a fragmented, high-pressure sports ecosystem into a psychologically safe environment by equipping adult leaders with actionable, evidence-based guidance,” Whitley noted. “Joining this national cohort … allows us to collectively advance systems-level change in youth sports through policy, research, narrative change and organizational practice.”

 

TOP OF THE SITE

Never forget: A studious museum docent at Old Bethpage’s Museum of American Armor is fighting hard to preserve the memories and stories of the African American soldiers who helped win World War II.

Keep on keeping on: We need additional donors! We need additional sponsors! And we especially need additional newsletter subscribers, which help us attract additional donors and sponsors! Let’s keep this thing going!

 

ICYMI

Deer Park-based innovation success story Mason Technologies is building an impressive new headquarters in Hauppauge – proof-positive that Long Island-based entrepreneurs can reach markets across the nation and the world.

 

BEST OF THE WEST (AND SOMETIMES NORTH/SOUTH)

Innovate LI’s inbox overrunneth with inspirational innovations from all North American corners. This week’s brightest out-of-towners:

From Texas: Austin-based shopping savant RetailMeNot redefines the future of online shopping with its all-new rewards app.

From Florida: Clearwater-based warehouse wunderkind Datex adds AI-powered analytics solutions to its flagship warehouse management system.

From New York City: Sports-prediction market mover Novig enhances trading capabilities, payment options and more in nationwide launch of its federally approved platform.

 

ON THE MOVE

+ Susannah Glickman has been awarded a fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study’s School of Social Science. She is an assistant professor of history at Stony Brook University.

+ Hauppauge-based Nawrocki Smith has announced several promotions:

• Elizabeth Mojica has been promoted to senior associate in the Internal Audit Division. She was a staff associate.
• Layla Rolleri has been promoted to senior associate in the Internal Audit Division. She was a staff associate.
• Matthias Rzymski has been promoted to senior associate in the Audit Division. He was a staff associate.

+ Bryan Rothstein has been named president-elect of the New York State Association for College Admission Counseling. He is director of external relations for admissions at Hofstra University.

+ Michael Wilson has been hired as vice president of food and beverage at Ronkonkoma-based The Bristal Assisted Living. He was regional culinary director at Aramark in Sparkill.

 

Like this newsletter? Innovate Long Island newsletter, website and podcast sponsorships are a prime opportunity to reach the inventors, investors, entrepreneurs and executives you need to know – on Long Island, and soon, across New York State (just ask ZE Creative Communications). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.

 

BELOW THE FOLD (It’s Not Rocket Science Edition)

Got junk? SpaceX’s accidental Moon crash highlights Earth’s space junk problem.

One small step: NASA and Northrop Grumman inch toward building a lunar base.

Speed bump: “Lightsails” could unlock interstellar travel, but there’s a hitch.

Mission control: Please continue supporting the fantastic firms that support Innovate Long Island, including ZE Creative Communications, where their primary mission is controlling your message – and crafting your most compelling story. Check them out.