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    Innovators in Food

    A nutty idea: Houston duo touts tasty gluten-free products made from acorn seeds

    Eric Sandler
    Nov 19, 2014 | 3:18 pm

    For a certain segment of the dining public, foods that are both vegan and gluten free are necessary for medically-necessary dietary reasons. Many more people are trying to minimize their gluten intake as part of more general changes to their diets, even if they aren't specifically allergic to it.

     

    To cater to that growing demand, two Houstonians, sisters Aline Copp and Mimi Brown, have cast their eyes towards oak trees, but it isn't wood that they're seeking. Instead, it's the seeds.

     
     

      Acorns: they're not just for squirrels anymore.  

     
     

    Acorns: they're not just for squirrels anymore.

     

    Copp and Brown started a company called Mighty Wild to market products made with acorn flour. Copp traces her interest in acorns as a food to the fifth grade when her teacher presented the children's novel My Side of the Mountain. In tribute to the protagonist, Copp's teacher served acorn pancakes. As an adult who loves the outdoors, she rediscovered her interest in consuming the nuts, which were long a staple of ancient diets.

     

    "During R&D we tested anything and everything we could think of (a few examples being acorn pancakes, bread and cookies), before we eventually selected crackers as our first product category to enter," Browns tells CultureMap in an email. "What is delicious about acorn flour, is that when paired with other ingredients, it creates a truly unique and nutty flavor profile that has not been tasted in the gluten-free or non-gluten-free categories."

     

    After testing various flavors of their crackers at the Urban Harvest farmers market, Copp and Brown settled on an original that's topped with black sesame seeds, poppy seeds and millet, spicy chipotle and rosemary and caramelized onion.

     

    During a tasting at the CultureMap office, our staff preferred the rosemany and onion, although all three flavors disappeared pretty quickly. Credit the seasoning and satisfying crunch for our enjoyment of them.

     

     Kickstarter lessons

     

    All that's left is to build out the necessary infrastructure to produce the crackers in a large enough quantity to sell online and through traditional retail outlets. To achieve that goal, Mighty Wild has launched a Kickstarter campaign. In addition to crackers, the incentives include T-shirts, tote bags and contributions to reforestation programs (to produce more acorns, among other benefits).

     
     

      With two weeks to go, the company's Kickstarted campaign is at $41,000 and climbing.  

     
     

    Unlike some other local campaigns that don't attract enough support to reach their funding goal, Mighty Wild has already achieved its target of $25,000, which means that everyone who contributes will get his or her reward. With two weeks to go, the company is at $41,000 and climbing. Brown credits the company's success to careful preparation.

     

    "After speaking with several companies that had successful crowdfunding campaigns, a key takeaway was to try to get to at least 25% of one's funding goal in the first 24 hours in order to be selected as a featured project," she writes.

     

    "Most Kickstarter contributors will be a mix of individuals from one's personal and professional networks as well as strangers turned fans because they're inspired by your idea. We're honored to have both supporting us."

     

    Brown adds that if Mighty Wild reaches $50,000, the company will be able to plant double the number of trees it could at the $40,000 level.

     

    Want to eat a little healthier and do some good for Mother Nature in 2015? Contribute today.

    Aline Copp, left, and her sister Mimi Brown started Mighty Wild to market acorn-based products.

    Mighty Wild Aline Copp Mimi Brown
      
    Courtesy photo
    Aline Copp, left, and her sister Mimi Brown started Mighty Wild to market acorn-based products.
    unspecified
    news/innovation

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    the future of surgery

    Houston hospital performs first fully robotic heart transplant in the U.S.

    Laura Furr Mericas, InnovationMap
    Jul 3, 2025 | 9:30 am
    Baylor College of Medicine Robotic Heart Transplant
    Courtesy of Baylor College of Medicine
    Dr. Kenneth Liao and a team at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center used a surgical robot to implant a new heart in a patient.

    A team at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, led by Dr. Kenneth Liao, successfully performed the first fully robotic heart transplant in the United States earlier this year, the Houston hospital recently shared.

    Liao, a professor and chief of cardiothoracic transplantation and circulatory support at Baylor College of Medicine and chief of cardiothoracic transplantation and mechanical circulatory support at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, used a surgical robot to implant a new heart in a 45-year-old male patient through preperitoneal space in the abdomen by making small incisions.

    The robotic technology allowed the medical team to avoid opening the chest and breaking the breast bone, which reduces the risk of infection, blood transfusions and excessive bleeding. It also leads to an easier recovery, according to Liao.

    "Opening the chest and spreading the breastbone can affect wound healing and delay rehabilitation and prolong the patient's recovery, especially in heart transplant patients who take immunosuppressants," Liao said in a news release. "With the robotic approach, we preserve the integrity of the chest wall, which reduces the risk of infection and helps with early mobility, respiratory function and overall recovery."

    The patient received the heart transplant in March, after spending about four months in the hospital due to advanced heart failure. According to Baylor, he was discharged home after recovering from the surgery in the hospital for a month without complications.

    "This transplant shows what is possible when innovation and surgical experience come together to improve patient care," Liao added in the release. "Our goal is to offer patients the safest, most effective and least invasive procedures, and robotic technology allows us to do that in extraordinary ways."

    ---

    This story originally was published on our sister site, InnovationMap.

    medical researchbaylor college of medicine
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