Here we highlight selected innovation related articles from around the world on a daily basis. These articles related to innovation and funding for innovative companies, and best practices for innovation based economic development.
Lithium-ion batteries, which today power everything from the smartphones we carry in our pockets to the electric vehicles we drive, are projected to capture 80% of the rechargeable battery market in the coming years.
Image: Researchers are betting on humble aqueous batteries – with water-based electrolytes – generally regarded as safe, reliable and affordable. (CREDIT: Creative Commons)
Every year, the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) scores countries on how innovative their economies are with the Global Innovation Index.
The Index scores countries on indicators of a strong innovation economy. These include R&D spend, general market strength, patent systems and output, and local labor capital. And though a few countries consistently rank high, others are moving in and out of the top 10 rankings.
Image: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/
MIT created a solar cell that is unlike any other. It is made of lightweight fabric solar cells that can swiftly convert any surface into an energy source, according to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Resilient, Flexible Solar Cells These resilient, flexible solar cells are attached to a sturdy, lightweight fabric and are much thinner than human hair, making them simple to mount on a permanent surface.
They are formed of semiconducting inks utilizing printing techniques that can be scaled up in the future to large-area manufacturing and generate 18 times more power per kilogram than conventional solar panels, as per WEF's report.
It’s the end of the year, and many of us have depleted our resources. We’re in the eleventh hour of 2022, and we’ve spent all our intellectual, emotional and fiscal capital. But there’s no rest for the weary. We have to go shopping, prep for the holiday party and begin 2023 planning.
Summary
Researchers at The University of Toledo have developed an experimental vaccine that shows significant promise in preventing rheumatoid arthritis, a painful autoimmune disease that cannot currently be cured.
Image: The protein-based vaccine shows significant promise in preventing rheumatoid arthritis and improving bone quality — suggesting long-term benefits following immunization. (CREDIT: Creative Commons)
Since 2000, global investment in research and development (R&D) has tripled to $2.4 trillion.
R&D spend is also casting a wider global net. In 1960, the U.S. made up nearly 70% of global R&D spending, and by 2020 this had fallen to 30%. From job creation and public health to national security and industrial competitiveness, R&D plays a vital role in a country’s economic growth and innovation, impacting nearly every corner of society—either directly or indirectly.
Image: https://www.visualcapitalist.com
Some people are calling 2022 the year the party ended. Others are calling it the hangover, or even the new normal. What we can all agree on is that 2022 was a year of reckoning for the venture capital (VC) industry.
In the third quarter of 2022, VC funding totaled just $81 billion, according to Crunchbase. That’s 33 percent ($40 billion) less than the previous quarter, and 53 percent ($90 billion) less than in 2021.
TUCSON, AZ and COLLEGE PARK, MD / ACCESSWIRE / December 15, 2022 / Research parks, innovation districts and related entities across the United States should prepare and strategize now to compete for federal funding from the recently enacted CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, according to a new white paper from AURP, the leading nonprofit organization representing research parks and innovation districts.
The white paper, prepared by Brian Darmody, AURP Chief Strategy Officer, showcases a dynamic range of ways organizations and institutions - such as research parks, innovation districts, businesses, universities, federal labs, states, regions and local communities - engaged in science and technology-based economic development can leverage the unprecedented amount of federal grant funding authorized in the CHIPS and Science Act.
With energy prices rising rapidly, a new startup could have the answer - technology that harnesses energy from fluctuations in humidity to cool and heat buildings at half the current price.
Imagine if you could heat or cool your home just by plucking the desired comfort level out of the air. Literally.
Image: Imagine if you could heat or cool your home just by plucking the desired comfort level out of the air. (CREDIT: Creative Commons)
After Albert Einstein graduated from college in 1900 he struggled to find work as a teacher and took a job at the patent office. (Even Einstein had to start somewhere.) He used that job, in time honored dues-paying tradition, to pay the bills while he published four groundbreaking scientific papers and earned his Ph.D. in 2006.
Image: Albert Einstein. (2022, December 15). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein
According to the Global Innovation Index 2022, Switzerland remains the world leader in innovation for the twelfth consecutive year, followed by the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Analyzing the research, it is easy to notice that investment in innovation activity sharply increased from 2020 to 2021, but prospects for 2022 have been fogged not only by global uncertainty but also by low productivity of innovative solutions.
The most ideal time for planning, getting organized and starting your day on a high note may be between 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. That's according to the morning rituals of the most successful people on the planet.
Sir Richard Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin Group, wakes up at 5 a.m. and starts his morning routine with exercise to feel energized, refreshed, and ready to conquer the world.
Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines may be the hottest thing in science now, as they helped turn the tide against COVID-19. But even before the pandemic began, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center researchers had already been working to use mRNA vaccine technology to treat cancer.
Image: The key to these vaccines appears to be proteins in the pancreatic tumors, called neoantigens, which alert the immune system to keep the cancer at bay. (CREDIT: Creative Commons)
For more than two decades, CNET editors have poked, prodded, tested, retested, taken apart, intentionally dropped and stayed up all night to play with the new products and services that promise to change the way we live and work.
In 2022, our team of experts found 81 products and services in seven categories we believe are worth celebrating – and most important, are worth honoring with a CNET Editors' Choice Award.
Image: Apple's iPhone 14 Pro (right) and Pro Max fit this year's theme: better than last year but not dramatically better. James Martin/CNET
Last year was not short of challenges. Nor will be 2023.
To prepare yourself, check out my annual list of the best business books. Some of them dive into specific issues (e.g. supply chain disruption or labour shortage), some will see the upside of uncertainty (the actual title of one of the books), and all of them are fun to read.
Because solar panels are yesterday’s news…
The beauty of wind is that it isn’t really tied to the time of day the way the sun is. You could easily generate wind energy at night as you could in the daytime. The only barrier so far has been the fact that setting up your own wind farm is ridiculously expensive and space-intensive. In comes Jackery’s AIR-W, a portable, lightweight wind energy generator with a folding design that allows it to be as compact and easy to carry as a set of solar panels.
Image: https://www.yankodesign.com/
New Zealand will phase in a near-total tobacco ban from next year.
Legislation passed by parliament on Tuesday means that anyone born after 2008 will never be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products.
It will mean the number of people able to buy tobacco will shrink each year. By 2050, for example, 40-year-olds will be too young to buy cigarettes.
Health Minister Ayesha Verrall, who introduced the bill, said it was a step "towards a smoke-free future".
As the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, newer variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been evolving ways to evade the antibodies our bodies make in response to vaccination or prior infections. Breakthrough cases have resulted, and antibody treatments that once worked also have become less effective over time.
Image: Scientists have been searching for an antibody that would be broadly neutralizing — able to fight off any viral variant that might emerge. (CREDIT: Creative Commons)
Being able to delegate tasks and projects to others on your team is a crucial skill to have as a business owner. Not only does it help free up your time to do more high-value tasks, it also empowers those on your team to really shine in their role and take on more responsibility in your absence. It allows you to work toward the ultimate goal of having an owner-independent business. And while delegation sounds easy enough, there are plenty of pitfalls along the way that can make it difficult to properly hand over tasks in an efficient manner. So today I want to share with you some delegation mistakes that I see business owners make and how you can prevent them in your own business.
