Incredibly Exciting, Beyond Fascinating – The Promise of “Living Drugs”

By Ellen Gilbert 

Recent strides in the field of genetic engineering are generating tremendous excitement. Long in the works at university and company laboratories, the implications of this treatment are far-reaching.

The rapidly emerging immunotherapy approach is called adoptive cell transfer (ACT); it collects and uses patients’ own immune cells to treat their cancer. There are several types of ACT, but the star of the show right now is CAR T-cell therapy, which made medical history this last August when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first genetic therapy for widespread use. Called Kymriah, it is being marketed by Novartis, a global healthcare company based in Switzerland. more

A Thirst For Change – WorldWater & Solar Technologies of Princeton

One thousand gallons of water a minute rise up 300 feet to irrigate this farm in San Diego, powered by solar energy alone.

By William Uhl 

Walking with Quentin Kelly, founder and CEO of WorldWater & Solar Technologies, Inc., you can tell he is enthusiastic about what he does. The walls of his office in Princeton are decorated with maps of third-world countries like the Philippines, with red dots for each solar-powered water pump and purifier installed. Low-rise cubicles have pictures of flowing water and green crops in Haiti, Afghanistan, Darfur, and other places. And the boardroom has a row of photos of solar-powered farms in San Diego and the San Joaquin Valley. But WorldWater didn’t come into existence to fuel agriculture. more

Trenton-based Nonprofit Isles to Celebrate Mill One Social Profit Center With Fall Fest

OLD MILL, NEW LOOK: A view of the interior of Isles’ Mill One facility, a historic mill in the final stages of renovation, that will serve as the home of the organization’s Social Profit Center. (Photo courtesy of Isles, Inc.)

By Doug Wallack

On Saturday, October 21, Trenton-based nonprofit Isles will hold its first ever Fall Fest fundraiser in the new Social Profit Center at Mill One in Hamilton. The event will feature food and drink from local restaurants and vendors, along with performances and works from area musicians and artists. The Fall Fest is meant to showcase the greater Trenton community and to celebrate the renovation of Mill One — the historic mill building on the Hamilton-Trenton border that Isles purchased in 2006.  more

Peter Baker Discusses Obama’s Legacy, Trump’s Divisiveness, Polarized Country

OBAMA AND TRUMP: New York Times White House Correspondent Peter Baker, author of the recent book “Obama: The Call of History,” spoke to a full house Monday night at Princeton University’s Arthur Lewis Auditorium, Robertson Hall, on the subject of President Obama’s legacy in the current Trump era. 

By Donald Gilpin

Peter Baker is still trying to figure out who is Barack Obama, and what exactly will be the substance of his legacy?

Chief White House correspondent for the NYTimes since 2008, Baker told a full-house gathering of about 200 at Princeton University’s Arthur Lewis Auditorium, Robertson Hall on Monday that he wrote his new book, Obama: the Call of History (June 2017), to try and tackle those questions.  more

Autism in New Jersey

PCDI teacher Melissa Edwards and Ginny.

A spectrum of challenges and hopeful possibilities

By Donald Gilpin

Autism now affects one in 68 children and one in 42 boys in the United States. New Jersey, with one in 48 children and one in 28 boys, has the highest rate of autism in the country. More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes, and cancer combined, and the cost of supporting an individual with autism during his or her lifespan can be upwards of $2.4 million.

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Celebrating JFK’s 100th Birthday

By Doug Wallack

Quoted in the December 1963 Life article in which she famously coined the “Camelot” epithet for her late husband’s presidency, Jacqueline Kennedy says, “Once, the more I read of history, the more bitter I got. For a while I thought history was something that bitter old men wrote. But then I realized history made Jack what he was.” She goes on to outline a vision of a young John F. Kennedy for whom history was a great repository of heroes and role models—a catalyst for his own idealism. more

Physicians From Lowest-Ranked Schools Prescribe More Opioids, PU Study Says

Prof. Janet Currie, Henry Putnam Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and Director of the Center for Health and Well-Being. 

By Donald Gilpin

Every day more than 140 people in the United States die from an opioid-related overdose, and deaths from opioids continue to increase, almost quadrupling since 1999.

Responding to the report of a special commission chaired by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, President Trump recently declared the opioid epidemic a state of emergency. more

Princeton Insider: Fall Tech

Photo Credit: @garmin

Kids don’t have to have all the fun! Adults can enjoy the spirit of the fall season with tech gadgets, bikes, locks, and computer equipment to make that transition back to work, all the easier.

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Variety of Opportunities and Services Are Offered by Theia Senior Solutions

TEAM WORK: “The issue in aging is that everyone is an individual, and the issues are different for every family. The family dynamics are different, and the fragmented healthcare system is very challenging. We are the single point of contact, the quarterback who can help people find what they need.” Joanna Gordon Martin, founder and CEO of Theia Senior Solutions (back row, far right), is shown with the company’s team of experts.

By Jean Stratton

If indeed, as studies indicate, 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 every day and will continue to do so for at least the next decade, the implications for the health care system, for seniors and spouses with health problems, and for adult children of aging parents are very challenging. more

Sustaining Sharks Worldwide – The Shark Research Institute of Princeton

Manta Ray, photographed by Jennifer Hayes

By Taylor Smith

The Shark Research Institute (SRI) was founded in Princeton, New Jersey in 1991 as a center of scientific research. The organization maintains field offices across the world in places as far reaching as Mozambique and India. SRI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission of studying and protecting sharks and their natural habitats. SRI and its scientific research team aim to correct misconceptions about sharks and instead teach the general population to value sharks as a vital part of the global ecosystem.

Marie Levine, executive director at SRI, oversees the day-to-day running of the various networks of scientists, field researchers, members, and donors that are involved in current SRI conservation projects. more

PU’s Princeton Racing Electric Inspired by Formula One Racing Cars and Present Formula One Engineering

This year’s competition was held the first week of May and was hosted by Dartmouth in Hanover, NH. It is an international race where universities from the U.S., India, and Canada participate. Companies such as Boeing and GM sponsor school teams.

By Erica Cardenas

Photography by Ray Lego 

This past May concluded Princeton Racing Electric’s (PRE) 2016-2017 season. PRE started four years ago and is an extracurricular activity for PU students. Serious PU students dedicate a dozen hours per week to work on the PRE car and mechanics. PRE is funded by both independent sponsors and Princeton University; however, the team is on a budget and has to “design within their limits.” more

Evolving Neighborhood

Hodge Road Princeton

Princeton’s Western Section Homes Adapt to 21st-Century Lifestyles

By Ilene Dube

Photography by Jon Roemer

Princeton’s Western section, bordered by Bayard Lane, Westcott Road, Elm Road and Stockton Street, is prized for its Colonial, Tudor, Victorian and Gothic homes. Designed by such noteworthy architects as Rolf Bauhan, John Notman and Charles Steadman, some of these houses have been lived in by members of the Stockton family, Woodrow Wilson and Grover Cleveland. Stately gardens and heirloom trees envelope the streets with a sense of nature. more

Princeton Insider: Graduation Gifts

Surprise the college graduate in your life with something fabulous and functional. 

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This Weekend in Princeton: May 12-14

 

Friday, May 12

6:30 to 8 p.m.: Damsel Duo, an indie-neo-folk group featuring Beth Meyers and Monica Mugan, presents a Mother’s Day concert with acoustic-based duo Helen and Molly. Molly Trueman of Helen and Molly is Mugan’s daughter; Hinds Plaza.

Saturday, May 13

9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center hosts its annual Bike Safety Rodeo and Safe Kids Day. Children ages 3-12 and their families are invited to learn about safety and prevention when participating in sports and other recreational activities. Children will receive free bike helmets, have their bikes inspected, and ride a safety course. RSVP by emailing bikerodeo@slrc.org. more

Princeton University Will Rename Building After Toni Morrison, WW School Auditorium After Arthur Lewis

By Donald Gilpin

West College, a prominent central campus building at Princeton University, will be named for emeritus faculty member and Nobel Prize-wining novelist Toni Morrison, and the major auditorium in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs will be named for Arthur Lewis, Nobel laureate in economics and a member of the school’s faculty from 1963 to 1983.  more

Princeton’s Stately Mansions

Photography by Robert Manella, Callaway Henderson Sotheby’s International Realty

The First in an Occasional Series

by Anne Levin

Back in the late eighteenth century when the Rev. John Witherspoon was the sixth president of Princeton University, he was known to end his work day at Nassau Hall when he saw a light in a front window of Tusculum, his 
country house and tenant farm located just a mile to the north. According to a local legend, one of Witherspoon’s daughters would light a candle in that window, letting her father know it was time to close up shop and head home. more

Princeton Insider: Earth Day

Photo Credit: @CristinaMittermeier | @natgeo

In honor of Earth Day on April 22, shop these green gifts, which are globally-minded in perspective. 

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Frustrated With Washington? Look to Local Government!

by Donald Gilpin 

All things Trump have increasingly dominated the media since the election campaign last year, and especially in the wild first months of the Trump Presidency. A casual observer from another planet might well assume that the White House and President Trump, with an occasional nod to Capitol Hill or the Supreme Court, is the true seat of power in the United States—that the lives of U.S. citizens are shaped and determined by policies and directives from Washington. more

Peter Singer On Ethical Politics

by Wendy Plump 

It turns out that surfers and philosophers have a lot in common. To be any good at what they do, they have to be hard-core realists. Good surf or bad, decent people or vile, the approach is the same: if you don’t want to be mullered, then deal effectively with conditions as you find them. As both a surfer and a philosopher, this is practically Peter Singer’s calling card. more

2017 Environmental Film Festival at Princeton Public Library

20 acclaimed films with filmmakers and other speakers presented over seven days. 

The 2017 Princeton Environmental Film Festival opens Monday, March 27, and runs through Sunday, April 2. Now in its 11th year, the award-winning festival features a lineup of 20 acclaimed films with filmmakers and other speakers presented over seven days. Films and additional programs are scheduled both during the day and in the evening at the library, on the Princeton University campus and at the Princeton Garden Theatre. more