Category: Uncategorized

PRINTING LIFE. "Scientists will soon be able to design and print simple organisms using biological 3D printers says J Craig Venter. He predicts that new methods of digital design and manufacture will provide the next revolution in genetic with synthetic cells and organism tailor-made to tackle humanity's problems : a toolkit of sequenced genes will be used to create disease-resistant animals; higher yielding crops; and drugs that extend human life and boost our brain power."" " http://m.timesofindia.com/home/science/Playing-God-We-can-soon-design-print-organisms/articleshow/23680765.cms View in LinkedIn

SMART DRUGS: "When swallowed, [antibiotics] tend to attack the “friendly” bacteria in the gut as well as pathogens. Drugs equipped with activation switches could be administered orally and then turned on with light once they reach the part of the body (the throat or lungs, say) where the harmful bacteria are lurking."" " http://lnkd.in/bB84SM7 View in LinkedIn

FOREIGN VC'S are investing in Canada's tech companies, taking them to the next level. The Canadian ecosystem is less mature, has relatively underfunded VCs, is underpriced, but has a strong innovation culture. This trend bucks the old adage that VCs only invest within a 10km radius of their offices. The Spanish tech ecosystem has identical traits, and as the hunt for value becomes global, may experience a similar trend. " " http://www.techvibes.com/blog/foreign-venture-capital-in-canada-2013 View in LinkedIn

STEM CELL CURE"A man who was told by doctors he would never walk again is now taking steps after a treatment in Maryland. The 42-year-old Utah man has surprised doctors and become the face of a new treatment using "stem cells" not "embryonic" stem cells but "adult" stem cells. The treatment is giving hope to disease-prone people."" " http://m.foxbaltimore.com/news/Adult_Stem_Cell_Treatment_Gives_Once-Paralyzed_Man_New_Lease_on_Life?mobileredirect=true View in LinkedIn

CHINA'S VC RUN RATE IS $4.4 BN."China's venture capital market recorded 154 investment cases valued at a combined $1.21 billion in Q3 2013, resulting in each case worth $7.85 million on average. Compared with the previous quarter, the total value surged 145.9% and the average value was up 42.1%.The number of investment cases has risen for 3 quarters in a row." " https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.thechinaperspective.com/articles/summary-of-china-s-venture-capital-market-q3-2013-10442/&ct=ga&cd=MTM5NzQ5Mzg1MjY4Mjg0MTkwNDg&cad=CAEYBA&usg=AFQjCNFkXcWBLn3jE3xeVqwbhWTnX8Rnng View in LinkedIn

CONTRARIAN VIEW: cold fusion far from debunked. "If a fraction of the money spent on the search for the Higgs Boson had been put into cold fusion research twenty years ago, there would be no energy crisis today. Instead, cold fusion devices that could produce kilowatts of power and very high temperatures -- like the E-Cat -- would have been quickly developed and commercialized."" " http://lnkd.in/bKmaZ6P View in LinkedIn

US VCS RUN RATE IS $12BN. "U.S. venture capital firms raised $4.1 billion last quarter, down almost 18 percent from the same period in 2012, according to data from the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Reuters released on Monday. The dollar amount was down from the almost $5 billion raised in the third quarter of 2012, when investments in technology startups soared."" " http://lnkd.in/bXRNNG6 View in LinkedIn

HIGGS BOSON AND FUSION POWER. "The new boson discovery at LHC has resulted in renewed interest in lower energy colliders, and even for the so-called 'Higgs factories' which are no more than muon colliders (Fermilab plans to build one); these could be much more smaller and simpler (and cheaper) than the LHC, Muons could produce “cleaner” collisions needed to increase the production of “Higgs boson-like” and other particles." https://decibel.ni.com/content/groups/starpower/blog/2012/07/18/the-new-higgs-boson-like-particle-the-lhc-and-nuclear-fusion View in LinkedIn

RILLIANT SKETCH OF THE TRAGEDY OF THE CONGO. "The Congo's apocalyptic present is a direct product of decisions and actions taken over the past five centuries. The Congo is a land far away, yet our histories are so closely linked. We have thrived from a lopsided relationship, yet we are utterly blind to it. The price of that myopia has been human suffering on an unimaginable scale."" " http://lnkd.in/bHn8aX3 View in LinkedIn

COLD FUSION. "For fusion to occur on Earth, you need a temperature of at least 100 million degrees Celsius—six times hotter than the core of the sun. In the 1980s Cold fusion claims emerged, only to be soundly debunked. "For $20 billion in cash, I could build you a working reactor. It would be big, and maybe not very reliable, but 25 years ago we didn't even know if we'd be able to make fusion work. Now, the only question is whether we'll be able to make it affordable."" " http://lnkd.in/b2rBE8H View in LinkedIn