June 6, 2022

Today is special for several reasons: 1) It's D-Day — let us remember all those who served; 2) It's Applesauce Cake Day — no clue what an applesauce cake is; and 3) It's the day we reveal the location for Treasure Hunt #2. And the correct answer is..... the Westinghouse Time Capsules.

In today's edition:

• More breast cancer progress
• Clues explained
• The story of Guinness

 Key Stories

The Blimps are Back in Town

Google co-founder Sergey Brin is preparing to test an electric “airship” meant to restore blimp travel

• Brin launched his blimp company, Lighter Than Air (LTA) Research, in 2014. It’s a highly secretive organization, however corporate data suggest the company is rapidly scaling up development. Initial test flights are scheduled for late 2022
• The blimps in development are fully electric and range from 400 to 600 feet (120-180 m) in length
• LTA says the larger blimps will be able to carry up to 20 tons and travel 10,000 miles (16,000 km) without generating carbon emissions

• If completed, the 600-foot blimp would become the world's largest airship. The blimps are helium-filled and battery-powered

Breast Cancer Progress

A new breast cancer drug appears highly effective at boosting survival and stopping tumor spread

• AstraZeneca developed the drug, Enhertu. It binds itself to breast cancer cells and delivers them direct doses of chemotherapy
• In trials, women with late-stage breast cancer that had spread in the body who took the drug lived 10 months longer on average than those who received standard chemotherapy
• The average trial patient lived twice as long and saw less tumor progression than those who did not receive it. They were 33% less likely to die over 18 months

• AstraZeneca's head of oncology research said the treatment is "like an Amazon driver going directly to the door of the cancer cell.” She added, “This is a historic moment. It is a pivotal moment in the history of breast cancer treatment"

Great White Vs. Megalodon

A new study suggests competition between great white (GW) sharks and megalodons (“megs”) drove the latter to extinction

• Megs lived until ~3.6M years ago. A massive shark up to 67 ft (20 m) in length, they are known as one of the most powerful predators to have ever existed
• Great whites likely emerged ~3M years before megs’ extinction. Their teeth are ~1/10 the size of a meg’s
• The study analyzed the presence of zinc in both GW and meg teeth — suggesting the sharks competed for food. Older hypotheses attribute meg extinction to climate change and declines in food sources

• Various theories have been put forward to explain the megalodon's extinction, including climate cooling, sea level changes, and declining whale numbers (whales are believed to have been the meg's top prey). Since 2019, though, researchers have refocused on competition as the cause, and this study supports that argument

Drug Sees Record Weight Loss

A Type 2 diabetes drug may be the most effective non-surgical weight loss treatment

• A new study tested the drug, tirzepatide, on obese people who did not have diabetes. Participants lost up to 21% of their weight, up to 60 pounds (27 kgs)
• The American Diabetes Association’s chief medical officer said only surgery generates such results: “We’ve not had tools like this.” Typical diet drugs cut up to 5% of weight, often with harmful side effects
• The drug works by manipulating blood sugar-related hormones to trick the brain into thinking the stomach is full

• King of the clay: Rafael Nadal won the French Open on Sunday. It's his 22nd Grand Slam title, putting him 2 ahead of Federer and Djokovic
• Wales of a tale: Wales is heading to its first World Cup in 64 years after ending Ukraine's dream run. Wales will join the US' group
• Maverick magic: Top Gun: Maverick only saw a 32% drop in box office sales, the smallest 2nd-weekend decline for a movie that opened to $100M+

 What do you think?

See yesterday's results below the Wrap!

 Roca Wrap

Beer entered Arthur Guinness’ blood in 1690.

That was the year that Guinness’ grandfather secured a license to sell ale on the road between Dublin and Cork, Ireland. He would brew the ale at home, then lug it to a stall and serve it to travelers. Ale, which had up to 500 calories per pint, was a staple of the Irish diet.

At the time, Ireland was occupied by the British and emerging from decades of war, famine, and disease that had cut the island’s population by half and left its people divided between Catholics and Protestants, as well as between those loyal to Ireland and the British crown.

In 1725, Arthur Guinness was born, the first of 5 children to a father who worked for a church official and a mother who ran the house. As a young man, Guinness joined his father in working for the church official. They survived a famine that killed up to 20% of Ireland’s people, but his mother did not. 

Then in 1752, everything changed. 

Guinness’ father remarried a woman who owned a pub, and working there, Guinness learned to brew ale. That same year, the church official who employed the Guinnesses died, leaving Guinness and his father with part of his estate. 

In 1755, Guinness bought his first brewery in a town 11 miles (18km) outside of Dublin. A 3-story building situated between a street and a river, he bought barley from nearby farms and hops from Dublin, then used the river water to brew it. He was soon expanding to other buildings in the town. 

Then in 1759 came the big opportunity: A war between England and France had created an economic crisis that left huge amounts of property available. Guinness swooped into Dublin and acquired a brewery near the soon-to-open Great Canal, which would connect Dublin with the rest of the country. 

On December 31, he signed the lease: £100 down and £45 annually. The lease gave Guinness the property for 9,000 years. 

Guinness got the brewery – which hadn’t been used in years – up and running, and its ale started to become popular in Dublin. Yet it couldn’t compete with the city’s most popular beer – porter – which was imported from England and made from roasted barley, giving it a rich smell and dark ruby color.

Irish porters were taxed at 5x+ the rate of English ones – a major problem for Guinness' business. In 1773, he and another brewer launched a lobbying campaign to change the tax code. In 1777, they prevailed: The economic impact of the British war in America (the American Revolution) forced a change in subsidies and tax policies that finally allowed Irish porters to compete with English ones.

A year later, Guinness entered the porter business. The next year, his porter became the official beer of the UK government in Ireland; its popularity continued to explode, and by 1796, porter accounted for more than 80% of Guinness’ production. In 1799, Guinness declared that his brewery would produce only porters. 

Guinnesses were soon being sipped around the world, and just as his beer was primed to explode, Arthur Guinness died in 1803, aged 77. The man was gone – but his beer would take the world.

 Roca Clubhouse

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 Final Thoughts