Until now, comparing stress levels in individuals across the United States over time was not possible due to a lack of historical data that tracks stress using accepted comparable measures.

New research from Carnegie Mellon University’s Sheldon Cohen and Denise Janicki-Deverts used telephone survey data from 1983 that polled 2,387 U.S. residents over the age of 18 and online surveys from 2006 and 2009 that polled 2,000 American adults each. All three surveys used the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), a measure created by Cohen to assess the degree to which situations in life are perceived as stressful.

yet2.com, the global Open Innovation services company, announces its newest service offering, an intensive, strategic scouting service package — the yet2Ventures Consortium. An intimate client engagement model, the yet2Ventures Consortium accelerates the process of connecting interesting technologies from small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from around the world to market opportunities and technology needs of yet2.com’s corporate Consortium members.

yet2.com works closely with cutting-edge companies and technologies beyond the reach of most clients, in countries such as Russia, China, India, Korea, Brazil, South Africa, Israel, Mexico, and Turkey, as well as in Japan, the US, and the EU.

Lauded during a visit by President Obama, A123 Systems was supposed to be a centerpiece of his administration’s effort to use $2 billion in government subsidies to jump-start production of sophisticated electric batteries in the United States.

Instead, the company, which makes lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, has stumbled along with the rest of the nascent industry and now threatens to give more ammunition to critics of the president’s heavy spending on new energy technologies.

Recently, I hosted the annual Verisk Analytics IT Summit. Its intent was to bring together the technology leadership across the enterprise to develop action plans that address pressing issues impacting various operating units at Verisk. For two days, we focused on the important topic of innovation. I challenged the group which consisted of the top IT leaders in our company to answer just one seemingly simple question: What is IT’s role in leading innovation at Verisk Analytics?                                                                                                                                                             

This question prompted additional questions regarding opportunities, challenges, and the participants’ view of IT in relation to innovation in their operating units:

The coffee was brewing as usual, and patrons were as caffeine-crazed as any other day, but something curious was happening behind the scenes at beloved and bemoaned coffee giant Starbucks on March 9, 2012.

On that date, Adam Brotman, formerly senior vice president of Starbucks Digital Ventures, was named to an entirely new executive role, chief digital officer. With the creation of the CDO role, all of Starbuck’s digital projects — web, mobile, social media, digital marketing, Starbucks Card and loyalty, e-commerce, Wi-Fi, Starbucks Digital Network, and emerging in-store technologies — were packaged together and placed under Brotman’s care.

A panel of entrepreneurs told the Maryland Economic Development Commission on Tuesday that Maryland needs to commercialize more discoveries made in academic and government labs and improve the entrepreneurial culture if the state hopes to compete with traditional hubs of innovation.

“You ain’t gonna replicate Silicon Valley and Boston in many places around the world. What Maryland has is unrivaled research assets that, basically, most states cannot compete with,” said Rich Bendis, interim CEO of BioHealth Innovation Inc. “The difference is, we’re talking about culture. It’s the entrepreneurial culture that’s different in those other cities.”

More than 40 percent of men in the U.S. will show signs of male-pattern baldness sometime between the ages of 18 and 49. But studies looking at the genomes of this group of men have failed to turn up a genetic cause, which makes a true cure seem an unlikely prospect.  

Treatments for male-pattern baldness, also known as androgenic alopecia, may be forthcoming, however. Recent work is homing in on three types, including one that was reported in March in the journal Science. In the new paper, George Cotsarelis of the University of Pennsylvania and his team found that a compound known as prostaglandin D2 (PD2) was elevated in the blood of men with male-pattern baldness. When they blocked PD2 receptors in mice, they ensured that the hair did not stop growing. Those blockers could be applied topically, Cotsarelis says.

The Obama Administration today announced the third round of the i6 Challenge to promote American innovation, foster entrepreneurship, and increase the commercialization of ideas into viable companies. The $6 million competition seeks to develop Proof of Concept Centers and create a network of experts to support innovators and researchers; spur sustainable startups, small businesses, and new ventures; expand access to capital to fuel growth; connect mentors and education to entrepreneurs; and spark job creation.

Six winning teams will be awarded up to $1 million each for innovative proposals to create and expand Proof of Concept Centers, such as the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The application deadline is July 20, 2012. Details are available here.

The competition is being led by the U.S. Commerce Department Economic Development Administration’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in partnership with Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

On October 4, 2004, the idea of incentive prizes hit the mainstream when Burt Rutan and his team at Scaled Composites launched SpaceShip One into orbit for the second time and won the $10 million Ansari X Prize.

Since then, prizes like that have become more and more common, and though the X Prizes are still the gold standard, there are now similar competitions from medical research to science to business, and beyond.

You may not know that this person is also a rockstar.

What do they have in common? They were both at HDIForum 3: The Health Datapalooza held at the Washington Convention Center in Washington DC (Jun 5-6).

Todd Park, CTO of America

The man driving the conference was US CTO Todd Park, perhaps the most non-bureaucratic bureaucrat you will ever meet. His infectious enthusiasm was contagious and he held the stage whenever he talked. 

Most entrepreneurs know that it’s a good idea to incorporate a startup as soon as possible. But as you consider whether to be a C Corp, an LLC, or a Subchapter S, there’s a lesser-known business entity that might be perfect for your startup - the B Corporation (Benefit Corporation). Several high-profile companies - such as Patagonia, Seventh Generation and Etsy - are certified B Corporations.

Of course, before you make a final decision, you should consult with an accountant and attorney to find the business structure that’s best for you. But to find out more about B Corps, we talked to Deborah Sweeney, the CEO of MyCorporation.com.

Some people are suggesting that the current funding climate for startups is similar to behavior at the time of the dot-com bubble — many startups are receiving a lot of funding. Notable recent seed funding rounds include Ark and Pair, which raised seed rounds of funding in excess of $4 million without giving up a board seat to investors — something never seen before.

This week saw some interesting developments in the current seed funding climate. First, Y Combinator founder Paul Graham warned companies about future seed rounds, warning startups to “lower your expectations for fundraising.”

In our social entrepreneurship series, The World at Work, Mashable interviews the faces behind the startups and projects that are working to make a global impact.

These companies have harnessed technology to empower people all over the world, whether it’s rewarding volunteers with prizes or empowering travelers to deliver much-needed aid while visiting developing countries. While the companies are diverse, they are all on a mission to change our lives for the better and improve society.

Here’s a roundup of featured projects from the past week, including exclusive video interviews with the founders of these innovative startups. To read more and watch the videos, click through to the full story, and follow the series to learn about more breakthrough companies.

Making the decision to become an entrepreneur is a major commitment, with huge implications for skills and lifestyle. Yet there is no standardized testing or certification required or available anywhere to help you decide if you are a good fit for entrepreneurship, or entrepreneurship is right for you. An MBA or other academic credentials just don’t do it.

Therefore, the least you can do is take advantage of some of the self-assessment tools around, and follow a recent guide on the subject, “The Entrepreneur Equation,” by Carol Roth, which highlights personal characteristics and skills required. Some day, I expect there will be a more formal certification required, like lawyers and accountants have to pass, to hang out their shingle.

Startup Act 2.0 was just introduced in the U.S. Congress, and hearings of the bill are starting shortly.

When it comes to U.S. visas, company founders are among the most discriminated folks. Unlike employees, they cannot get a work visa (called H1-B) – or any other long-term visa. I care about attempts to enact legislation that will make it easier for foreign-born entrepreneurs to move to the U.S and start companies here for a good reason.

To facilitate the development of new ideas that lead to small business creation, it’s essential to create a viable ecosystem that supports innovation.

Entrepreneurship ecosystems that bring together incubators, venture capital funds, and business angel networks to support startups are flourishing around the world, from Silicon Valley to Europe to Asia, and in the Middle East as well, especially at events like the recent Arabnet conference this April. As stakeholders came together to discuss the status of entrepreneurship in the Arab World at Arabnet, I became convinced that more solidarity among ecosystems throughout the Mediterranean would further support development.

The only way to secure your financial future is to work for yourself.

At least that's what Scott Gerber, author of Never Get A Real Job. thinks.

"Now, more than ever, you need to be entrepreneurial to be successful; you need to create a job to keep a job," says Gerber.

"When you work for someone else you're putting all your eggs into one basket. If you want to secure your financial future regardless of the bad economy, you need to be in control of your own life," he insists.

European Union companies are steadily losing ground to foreign competitors in the strategic semiconductors market, despite calls to create a European champion. EurActiv reports from the headquarters in Taiwan of TSMC, the world’s top chip manufacturer.

Addressing an audience of technology experts in May, EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes urged Europe to unite in order to face the global challenge of producing chips in a competitive manner.

“Should not we be looking for an ‘Airbus of chips’?” she asked the tech-savvy audience, urging the creation of a European world champion in the chip industry.

In honor of Entrepreneur Month, my next 12 Forbes articles will outline each of the characteristics I cover in depth in my newest eBook, Characteristics of A Successful Entrepreneur, premiering this week on Amazon.

So let’s begin. What is your dream? All award-winning entrepreneurs have had a dream and followed it. Do you have a dream to follow?

Now is a good to time to start

If so, I believe you qualify to begin the first step. You should know there has never been a better time to follow your dream and turn it into a reality. Having a dream is the key. Sadly, I have seen scores of individuals who have had a terrific idea, a great concept, but for one reason or another were unable to follow their dream to start and grow a new enterprise–whatever the case, they never left the couch and the dream died, never to be followed.