Here and gone: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as we slide into the second half of another summery workweek.
Before we do, this quick scheduling reminder: Innovate Long Island is swabbing the deck next week, so after this Friday’s weekly recap and next Monday’s Calendar Newsletter, please expect no newsletters Aug. 3, 5 or 8. Back before you know it.
Geographic society: Scotch comes from Scotland, period.
Mature audiences only: Hey, we’ll miss you, too, but let’s be grown-ups about it – a sobering thought on National Scotch Day, the annual July 27 celebration of the adults-only, oak-aged malted barley made exclusively in Scotland (otherwise it’s just whisky).
What, you thought they were born McNuggets? After your warm-up drink, munch on some artificially shaped fried chicken portions – sounds gross, but you know you want to, especially on National Chicken Finger Day.
And it wouldn’t be July 27 without National Crème Brûlée Day, an annual serving of the slightly burnt custard with caramelized sugar.
Paw patrol: The U.S. Army Medical Department now includes a division dedicated to veterinary field medicine (simulated here).
Medic! Drop the snacks and salute a military medic, stat! The U.S. Army Medical Department – known informally as the “Medical Corps” – was founded by the Continental Congress on July 27, 1775.
The still-kicking department currently includes six U.S. Army Special Branches, including the Nurse Corps, the Dental Corps and the Veterinary Corps.
Electric avenue: Signaling the beginning of the end of the horse-drawn era, the first electric-powered public streetcar went into service on July 27, 1884, in East Cleveland, Ohio.
Shocking revelation: Speaking of electric vehicles, personal EVs became a thing on this date in 1888 (!) when inventor Philip Pratt took his custom-made e-tricycle for a spin around downtown Boston.
Cornerstone confinement: Also charged up were University of Toronto scientists Frederick Banting and Charles Best, who successfully isolated the hormone insulin for the first time 101 years ago today – among the most important developments in the history of diabetes treatment.
A Bugs life: And animation icon Bugs Bunny debuted – as the title guest star in “A Wild Hare,” foiling already-established leading cartoon man Elmer Fudd – on this date in 1940.
An overnight animation sensation, the wascally wabbit would carrot-munch his way through 175 Warner Bros. cartoons and something like a zillion pop-culture appearances.
Streaking Comet: English aviation pioneer Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (1882-1965) – a fearless entrepreneur who founded the company responsible for history’s most versatile warplanes (and commercial travel’s first jet airliners) – would be 140 years old today.
It figures: Golden girl Fleming.
Also born on July 27 were British physicist John Hopkinson (1849-1898), who souped up electrical generation and distribution; Hall of Fame baseball manager Leo Durocher (1905-1991), who led the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers, among others; Austrian-American mathematician and geodesist Irene Fischer (1907-2009), who fled the Nazis and helped put Americans on the moon; American Olympian Peggy Fleming (born 1948), the only U.S. Athlete to win gold at the 1968 Winter Olympics; and American professional wrestler Paul Michael Levesque (born 1969), known best as all-time-great Triple H (and now a top WWE executive, for real).
King Lear: And take a bow, Norman Milton Lear! The Emmy-winning cornerstone of Hollywood writing and producing – creative force behind an epic list of American sitcoms and beloved films – turns 100 years old today.
Keep it All in the Family at editor@innovateli.com, where you can give Norman (or Maude or the Jeffersons) your best and we take news tips One Day at a Time. (Needless to say, calendar events are always Good Times.)
About our sponsor: Farmingdale State College delivers exceptional academic and applied-learning outcomes through scholarship, research and student engagement for Long Island and beyond. Farmingdale State’s commitment to student-centered learning and inclusiveness prepares graduates to be exemplary citizens, equipped to excel in a competitive, diverse and technically dynamic society. The college solves the regional “brain drain” with 96 percent of FSC graduates working in New York State and 75 percent working on Long Island. Farmingdale State students rise to the challenge as the emerging leaders of tomorrow. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Lots on the feline: Applied DNA Sciences may have created an effective COVID vaccine for cats.
Meow mix: With COVID still mutating its way around the globe, a Stony Brook biotech has released proof-of-concept data supporting a successful vaccine for cats against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that started it all.
Applied DNA Sciences said Monday that a linearDNA vaccine “authored” by biotherapeutics subsidiary LineaRx and Italian development partner EvviVax “successfully elicited neutralizing antibodies and cellular immunity against SARS-CoV-2.” The data was gathered through a cohort of family-owned cats, with prime-boost vaccinations inducing “robust, protective neutralizing antibodies and cellular immune responses,” according to Applied DNA.
The data – suggesting a multispecies ability to “reduce viral reservoir and spreading,” according to Evvivax CEO Luigi Aurisicchio – is included in a scientific manuscript that’s available for preprint while awaiting approvals for peer-reviewed publication. “Veterinary DNA vaccines are an exciting opportunity for us,” noted Applied DNA Sciences President and CEO James Hayward. “This existing data further substantiates that [linearDNA] is well-suited and efficacious for animal prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines.”
Best of the best: Several Long Island clinics shined in the latest U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospital” rankings, revealed Tuesday.
Among the brightest regional rankers was New York City-based NYU Langone Health, parent of NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island and several other regional care centers collectively ranked by U.S. News & World Report as New York State’s top hospital – and the nation’s third-best hospital overall. Robert Grossman, NYU Langone Health CEO and dean of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said the high-caliber recognition was “reflective of one standard of care … across each of our hospitals.”
Also soaring in the 2022-23 rankings was the New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health system, which saw five regional hospitals earn top-50 specialty rankings (including eight top-20 rankings): Huntington Hospital, Glen Cove Hospital, Manhattan’s Lenox Hill Hospital, Manhasset’s North Shore University Hospital and Glen Oaks’ Long Island Jewish Medical Center. See the full U.S. News & World Report rankings right here.
POD PEOPLE
Episode 27: Dawn Smallwood, serving and protecting.
With stadiums, hospitals, residences and 26,000 students, staffers and daily visitors, sprawling Stony Brook University is every bit a city – and policing it is way more complex than breaking up a few keggers.
Stony Brook University Chief of Police Dawn Smallwood – the first woman to lead the 190-strong SBU force – joins Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast to discuss her decades in the FBI, the massive logistical challenge of safeguarding Stony Brook and the powerful maternal influences that gave her the strength to bring order to law.
TOP OF THE SITE
Always something: A critical industry survey, a seven-digit funding round and a comprehensive search for a new executive director make for an interesting summer at the NOWRDC.
Never nothing: Thank you for reading (and enjoying!) this educational (and entertaining!) innovation newsletter, always filled with useful stuff. Tell your friends!
VOICES
It doesn’t get more entertaining (or educational!) than Innovate Long Island’s amazing Voices library, where the real leaders of the Long Island innovation economy share their unique perspectives on healthcare, social services, media, law, food and more – always available to you, always something important to say.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Private eyes: Turns out, “Incognito Mode” is a relative term on shared computers. Wirecutter exposes secrets.
Xbox marks the spot: Carrier Verizon and gamer Microsoft are diving deep into 5G innovation. The Verge merges systems.
Inside scoop: How a Roslyn ice cream truck driver broke the bad news about the Choco Taco. The Takeout legs one out.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Bandit, a Pennsylvania-based plant-based food manufacturer, raised $1.5 million in seed funding led by Prime Movers Lab.
+ Astraea, a Virginia-based satellite-intelligence developer, raised $6.5 million in Series A funding led by Aligned Climate Capital, Carbon Drawdown Collective, CAV Angels, Tydall Investment Partners and the University of Virginia Seed Fund.
+ Whatnot, a California-based independent live-shopping platform, raised $260 million in a Series D funding co-led by DST Global and CapitalG, with participation by BOND, Andreessen Horowitz and YC Continuity.
+ Acuamark Diagnostics, a New York City-based early-cancer-detection innovator, closed an $11.3 million Series A funding round led by the office of Claudio Del Vecchio, the Del Vecchio Family Foundation and the Bruker Corp.
+ Revterra Corp., a Texas-based grid-level energy-storage company, raised $6 million in Series A financing led by Equinor Ventures, with participation by SCF Ventures.
+ Stationhead, a NYC-based social platform for music artists and fans, closed a $12 million Series A financing led by Buttonwood Group Advisors, DJ Diplo, Red Light Management, TMWRK, Round Hill Publishing and other investors.
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 (just ask Farmingdale State). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Get It? Edition)
Lost in space: Massive solar flares can cause thousands of Earth satellites to lose their way.
Get lost: Solar storms can misplace satellites for weeks, or worse.
Just don’t get it: Why so many people still haven’t tested positive for COVID.
While the getting’s good: Why are so many people quitting their jobs? It’s not just pay.
Get real: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including Farmingdale State College, which prepares well-rounded students for real-world success. Check them out.
