thoughts of food
What’s so special about a golden banana?
Score another win for gene editing! “Scientists have developed a new Vitamin-A enriched banana that could help solve world hunger problems.” | learn more
under the microscope
A clinical blood test for Alzheimer’s disease diagnoses?
“Researchers disclosed a potentially useful biomarker for Alzheimer’s Disease at a major conference this summer. The good news for clinical laboratories is that the biomarker is found in blood. If further research confirms these early findings, medical laboratories could one […]
under the microscope
Using yeast to produce psilocybin (the magic in magic mushrooms)
Extracting psilocybin from mushrooms is expensive, so the alternative is to simply grow it. “In yeast, the scientists prove that psilocybin can be produced de novo, which means that you can produce the molecule by simply growing the yeast with […]
under the microscope
Nano-diamond self-charging batteries could disrupt energy as we know it
“California company NDB says its nano-diamond batteries will absolutely upend the energy equation, acting like tiny nuclear generators. They will blow any energy density comparison out of the water, lasting anywhere from a decade to 28,000 years without ever needing […]
retail therapy
Walmart+ launches, paid subscription with free same-day shipping
The cost is on par with Amazon’s Prime, and consensus seems to be it’s a worse value because a smaller assortment. I had a different take – free same-day delivery on an entire Walmart store seems like a unique differentiatior. […]
retail therapy
Welcome to your Bland new world
An excellent commentary on the overlap among D2C brands. “Why do disruptive startups slavishly follow an identikit formula of business model, look and feel, and tone of voice? Because it works, sort of.” Fun coincidence: the author Ben Schott wrote […]
better doing
Reaching peak meeting efficiency
Steven Sinofsky, a former Microsoft executive, has spent a lot of time thinking about meetings. “Meetings are a critical tool for building a diverse, high-performance team with shared values.” This is his detailed and useful guide. | learn more
better doing
Be impatient
“Being impatient is the best way to get faster at things. And across a surprising number of domains, being really fast correlates strongly with being effective.” | learn more
tech, startups, internet
Can you still make money starting a SaaS company?
“With valuations of as-a-service companies and all-time highs or close to it, and more and more startups leveraging this model to serve an ever-larger number of consumers, I wondered how much more business is there to capture? Let’s try to […]
tech, startups, internet
Roam’s road ahead
The note-taking software with just over $1 million in revenue just raised money at a valuation that raised many eyebrows. “How the tool for networked thought can grow into its $200m valuation.” | learn more