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DATA POINT: THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT TOOK 13 YEARS AND COST 3.8 BN, BUT RETURNED 800 BN BY 2010. Started in 1990 and ending in 2003, this report suggests a whopping ROI. http://lnkd.in/yq6dAK View in LinkedIn

GATES FDN FUNDEE DEVELOPS CHEAP VACCINE IN INDIA. http://www.dddmag.com/news/2013/05/india-developing-1-vaccine View in LinkedIn

THE KAGOSHIMA PHOTON THERAPY CANCER CENTER IN JAPAN was opened in January 2011, after a visit by the Dali Llama. This luxury spa facility is in part the humanitarian gift of Dr. Nagata, MD PhD, the Buddhist monk founder of the lJapanese CRO SNBL, jointly with the government This facility reminded me of my recent visit to the immense ALBA Synchrotron in Barcelona, which looks like a space ship. The device is housed in a football field sized double walled concrete bunker, and the 17 ton beam moves around the patient to deliver the beam. This East-West facility has vision and hutzpah! View in LinkedIn

PHOTON THERAPY IS JUST EMERGING AS A GOOD CANCER TREATMENT, after many years of investigation at Harvard Medical School, Mass General Hospital and other places. Unlike other particle therapy, it can be focused and does not burn through the skin on the way in, nor travel beyond the target tumor, leading to much less side effects. The capital investment is enormous because it needs a Synchrotron to generate the beam which is rotated completely around the patient to hit the 3D image of the tumor. In 2010 several centers worldwide came online. View in LinkedIn

CONSUMER BEWARE: MANY PROCESSED FOOD COMPANIES HAVE YOUR POCKET NOT YOUR BACK. This article on the slight of hand around labeling is a good read. http://lnkd.in/UV_z4P View in LinkedIn

TOKYO'S TSUKIJI FISH MARKET IS THE MOST FAMOUS IN THE WORLD. It starts at 5am with shipments of fish from all over the world going under auction. Housed in an area of many football fields, crammed with stalls and dealers and fast moving gas powered trolleys, within 4 hours the entire catch is bagged, priced, iced and in styrofoam crates to distribute through Japan. Venerable institutions like Daiqa-Zushi with the red curtains attract long lines of tourists after fatty tuna belly (chu toro) while the dealers eat meat curries in tiny crowded stalls. A must-experience place! View in LinkedIn

NEAR KAGOSHIMA IN JAPAN IS THE KAMIKAZI MUSEUM, which I visited a few days ago. In this somber place are the letters and personal stories of over 1,000 teenage pilots who died for a cause they were told to believe in. They had wives, children, mothers, and faced certain death. Their last letters were poignant: regrets about not showing enough love, sadness on leaving, joy to be serving, and a strong sense of an afterlife and being present after death. It was deeply moving, and I left feeling very sad for their brave losses. View in LinkedIn

THE JAPANESE AND CATALAN CULTURES HAVE MANY SIMILARITIES. Personally deeply honest and sincere, making friends for life, family-centric and value-centric, with respect for elders; locked both in deep old past traditions and moving into modern worlds; having invested in the Knowledge Revolution, waiting for the Tipping Point from one tech success; struggling with the equation that ambition = greed, and The Nail That Sticks Up Gets Hammered Down; and how to attract and retain experienced entrepreneurs from abroad. And did I mention superlative hosts and dedicated foodies? View in LinkedIn

SAKE, SHOCHU AND BEER ARE JAPANESE STAPLES. It is normal for Japanese people to go to great lengths to entertain their hosts with meals, visits to key sightseeing events, and often involving all senior managers remotely involved in the project. In the West we have consistently done a dreadful job of reciprocating, and poor Japanese visitors often feel slighted and abandoned by our lazy hospitality. This is a missed opportunity to bond and create superb working relationships. View in LinkedIn

WORKING WITH JAPANESE COMPANIES REQUIRES SPECIAL EFFORT. If you go to the trouble to bond with them, really be hospitable, involve senior management, they will invariably make superb partners. They often have life-long jobs, so the champion is unlikely to rotate out like the American counterparts, and this stability gives for long-term relations. Gifts and correct dress and correct manners are essential. Do your homework and understand how to work with your new partner, and it will pay off both ways. View in LinkedIn