under the microscope
Liquid metal shredder kills superbugs without drugs
Hope is on the horizon for a new weapon against antibiotic resistance: “magnetic nanoparticles that physically tear them to shreds.” | learn more
on the blockchain
How criminals moved billions in 2019
“Thanks to the inherent transparency of blockchains, we can look at cryptocurrency’s money laundering ecosystem from a high level, and draw insights that aren’t possible when studying money laundering in the traditional fiat currency world.” | learn more
thoughts of food
Grubhub and Lettuce Entertain You partner for delivery-only restaurant
Delivery-only restaurants, also called ghost kitchens, haven’t won me over as a consumer. The lack of a brick & mortar affiliation is certainly part of the problem. Affiliating a ghost kitchen with a brick & mortar brand I already trust […]
thoughts of food
How New York’s bagel union fought – and beat – a mafia takeover
Bagels were once relatively unknown outside of New York City. “A bagel,” the newspaper of record explained in 1960, “is an unsweetened doughnut with rigor mortis.” The bakeries were “located in the basements of apartment houses and other large buildings […]
under the microscope
New Harvard study fights fat with salty, icy injections
The 2nd order consequences scare me here: what will people choose to eat if they can really just melt away body fat after bad diet choices? “It sure sounds like an online pop-up ad, but Harvard scientists have created and […]
to your health
FHIR – pronounced ‘fire’ – grows as a patient data standard
“The web-based standard FHIR could hasten the day when we can view our full medical histories on a smartphone screen. Tech giants are hungry for a piece of the pie, but obstacles remain.” | learn more
tech, startups, internet
How to lose a monopoly: Microsoft, IBM and anti-trust
Benedict Evans offers a thoughtful opinion about tech and anti-trust regulation. “Microsoft and IBM each dominated their generation of tech, and they each lost that dominance, not because of anything they did, nor because of anti-trust, but because the business […]
tech, startups, internet
VC-backed companies don’t go out of business?
Not in Chicago, at least, according to Pitchbook data. Someday I’d like to reconcile a few narratives and personal experiences: 1) Most startups fail, 2) VC-backed startups make bold bets, and 3) I’ve only seen a handful of local funded […]
better doing
Tony Robbins: why we do what we do
Until this week, I had heard of Tony Robbins but had not actually heard him. “Tony Robbins discusses the “invisible forces” that motivate everyone’s actions – and high-fives Al Gore in the front row.“ | learn more
better doing
Lessons learned in Byron Wien’s first 80 years
These twenty lessons from Blackstone’s Vice Chairman contain loads of wisdom. “20. Never retire. If you work forever, you can live forever. I know there is an abundance of biological evidence against this theory, but I’m going with it anyway.” | learn more