Houston adds yet another feather to its cap and has been recognized as the best place to be after graduating college. Photo via Getty Images

Recruiting talent in the Houston area? Might want to share this tidbit of information.

A new study by two California researchers names Houston as the No. 1 place among the country’s 50 largest spots for college graduates to enjoy the highest standard of living. Why? Because, the study says, “local income is relatively high, cost of living is moderate, and there are no state taxes.”

Among places of all sizes, the study ranks Houston second in terms of the standard of living for college graduates. McAllen nabs the No. 1 spot, followed by Houston; Huntington, West Virginia; Beaumont; and Charleston, South Carolina.

In December, job website Indeed named Houston one of the 10 best cities in 2022 for recent college graduates. The 10 cities offer “many outstanding entry-level positions in a range of industries,” Indeed says.

More good news for Houston: The study ranks puts it at No. 2 (behind Buffalo, New York) among the 50 largest places in the U.S. for providing the highest standard of living for high school graduates.

According to the study, the five places with the highest standard of living for those with a high school diploma are Gallup, New Mexico; Summersville, West Virginia; Natchez, Mississippi; Graham, a town in North Texas; and Marquette, Michigan.

The study characterizes Houston and other regions as “commuter zones.” Each zone encompasses urban, suburban, and rural areas that feed into a single labor market.

As NPR explains, the researchers — Stanford University economist Rebecca Diamond and University of California, Berkeley economist Enrico Moretti — spent four years assembling and crunching data about the finances of 3 million U.S. households to come up with their findings.

“With their treasure trove of data, Diamond and Moretti constructed a cost-of-living index that paints a vivid picture of prices and typical consumption patterns throughout the United States,” NPR says.

That index puts Houston in a good light when it comes to the standard of living for both high school and college graduates.

“When we look at the factors that go into where a person chooses to live and work, overall standard of living and quality of life are critical components,” says Susan Davenport, chief economic development officer at the Greater Houston Partnership. “Houston today offers abundant parks and green spaces with millions of dollars in new investments, a world-class arts and culinary scene that continues to grow in global awareness, and the lowest cost of living among major cities.”

These combined attributes create a quality of life that enables Houston employers to attract and retain a highly skilled workforce, Davenport says. This, in turn, helps Houston woo employers seeking access to that workforce.

“It’s a robust and thriving ecosystem,” she says, “and it continues to work to our advantage.”

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Axiom Space-tested cancer drug advances to clinical trials

mission critical

A cancer-fighting drug tested aboard several Axiom Space missions is moving forward to clinical trials.

Rebecsinib, which targets a cancer cloning and immune evasion gene, ADAR1, has received FDA approval to enter clinical trials under active Investigational New Drug (IND) status, according to a news release. The drug was tested aboard Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) and Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3). It was developed by Aspera Biomedicine, led by Dr. Catriona Jamieson, director of the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute (SSCI).

The San Diego-based Aspera team and Houston-based Axiom partnered to allow Rebecsinib to be tested in microgravity. Tumors have been shown to grow more rapidly in microgravity and even mimic how aggressive cancers can develop in patients.

“In terms of tumor growth, we see a doubling in growth of these little mini-tumors in just 10 days,” Jamieson explained in the release.

Rebecsinib took part in the patient-derived tumor organoid testing aboard the International Space Station. Similar testing is planned to continue on Axiom Station, the company's commercial space station that's currently under development.

Additionally, the drug will be tested aboard Ax-4 under its active IND status, which was targeted to launch June 25.

“We anticipate that this monumental mission will inform the expanded development of the first ADAR1 inhibitory cancer stem cell targeting drug for a broad array of cancers," Jamieson added.

According to Axiom, the milestone represents the potential for commercial space collaborations.

“We’re proud to work with Aspera Biomedicines and the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute, as together we have achieved a historic milestone, and we’re even more excited for what’s to come,” Tejpaul Bhatia, the new CEO of Axiom Space, said in the release. “This is how we crack the code of the space economy – uniting public and private partners to turn microgravity into a launchpad for breakthroughs.”

Chevron enters the lithium market with major Texas land acquisition

to market

Chevron U.S.A., a subsidiary of Houston-based energy company Chevron, has taken its first big step toward establishing a commercial-scale lithium business.

Chevron acquired leaseholds totaling about 125,000 acres in Northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas from TerraVolta Resources and East Texas Natural Resources. The acreage contains a high amount of lithium, which Chevron plans to extract from brines produced from the subsurface.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in an array of technologies, such as smartwatches, e-bikes, pacemakers, and batteries for electric vehicles, according to Chevron. The International Energy Agency estimates lithium demand could grow more than 400 percent by 2040.

“This acquisition represents a strategic investment to support energy manufacturing and expand U.S.-based critical mineral supplies,” Jeff Gustavson, president of Chevron New Energies, said in a news release. “Establishing domestic and resilient lithium supply chains is essential not only to maintaining U.S. energy leadership but also to meeting the growing demand from customers.”

Rania Yacoub, corporate business development manager at Chevron New Energies, said that amid heightening demand, lithium is “one of the world’s most sought-after natural resources.”

“Chevron is looking to help meet that demand and drive U.S. energy competitiveness by sourcing lithium domestically,” Yacoub said.

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapital.