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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

REAL TOUCHSCREEN. "Disney researchers have found a way for people to "feel" the texture of objects seen on a flat touchscreen. The technique involves sending tiny vibrations through the display that let people "feel" the shallow bumps, ridges and edges of an object." A plaything will converge with non-playthings. " " http://lnkd.in/bsMfCa8 View in LinkedIn

TIRELESS DRONES. "Using the energy from the sun, the makers of a new drone are promising that it can fly continuously for five years. Dubbed “atmospheric satellites,” the Solara unmanned aerial system would enable law enforcement and intelligence agencies to conduct “live-mapping and [the] monitoring narcotics trafficking” from altitudes high above the Earth, reports CBS Las Vegas."" " http://lnkd.in/bTTnf6V View in LinkedIn

LETHAL AUTONOMOUS ROBOT. "The basic conceit behind a LAR is that it can outperform and outthink a human operator. "If a drone’s system is sophisticated enough, it could be less emotional, more selective and able to provide force in a way that achieves a tactical objective with the least harm, A lethal autonomous robot can aim better, target better, select better, and in general be a better asset with the linked ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] packages it can run."" " http://lnkd.in/bNnPE8R View in LinkedIn

IBM'S BIOMIMICRY-INSPIRED INNOVATION. "We want to fit a supercomputer inside a sugarcube. To do that, we need a paradigm shift in electronics. The computer industry uses $30bn of energy and throws it out of the window. Ninety-nine per cent of a computer's volume is devoted to cooling and powering. Only 1% is used to process information. And we think we've built a good computer? The brain uses 40% of its volume for functional performance - and only 10% for energy and cooling."" " http://lnkd.in/bWz8uED View in LinkedIn

HISTORIC SHAME in a criminal culture. "US banking giant JP Morgan is set for a record $13bn (£8bn) fine to settle investigations into its mortgage-backed securities. The sale of overvalued mortgage-backed securities was blamed for the near-collapse of the banking system in 2007. Last month, JP Morgan was fined almost $1bn in a separate case over the "London Whale" trading debacle. JP Morgan says it has set aside a fund of $23bn to deal with mounting legal costs."" " http://lnkd.in/bRkkBT8 View in LinkedIn

EXCELLENT APP FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE. " (athenahealth EHR), has access to thousands of bug-drug sensitivity lab data points. The Bugs + Drugs app works by geolocating your iOS 7 device and delivering a rank-ordered list of the most common bacteria found in urine, blood, or skin specimens for that area. Tap on each bacterium to reveal localized sensitivity data by drug. You can browse excerpts from Epocrates Rx® drug reference and link to complete drug monographs for full prescribing information."" "" "Ref: Epocrates Bugs + Drugs" "Geotargeted Prescriptions for Infectious Diseases View in LinkedIn