Xconomy recently gathered some of the region’s leading minds in brain research and artificial intelligence for a discussion about research on the brain, and emerging areas of neurotechnology innovation . It was a mix of investors, academics, and entrepreneurs. Leading our discussion was UC San Diego Professor Ralph Greenspan, who helped advise President Obama to create the federal BRAIN Initiative. Grenspan also serves as co-director of the state’s Cal-BRAIN initiative.

Cimpress, the Lexington-based publicly-traded tech firm that produces a wide array of marketing materials for businesses, is building successful entrepreneurs.

The company has a startup "mafia" of its own, and is joining the likes of other publicly-traded tech companies like Cambridge-based sales and marketing software firm HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS) in spawning a slew of startup founders.

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Four years ago, I was wheeled out of Penn’s hospital, my knee the size of a melon.  I had been cut open by orthopedic surgeons, and they had removed sharp bone growths from inside my tendons. I went through this process again and again, but the bone growths returned again and again, until I decided more surgery just made me worse. Since that day, I have been unable to walk more than a block or two.

It’s not everyday that professionals decide to leave their country to pursue a new opportunity, but understanding more about those that do can tell us a lot about the health and vibrancy of our increasingly global economy. By analyzing the changes LinkedIn members made to their profiles in 2014, we uncovered geographic migration trends, ebbs and flows of professional talent if you will, that span the globe.

Image: http://blog.linkedin.com

In a surprise announcement Monday, Google co-founder Larry Page said the company’s leaders are turning it into a subsidiary of a new holding company called “Alphabet.” Page will serve as Alphabet’s CEO, with fellow Google co-founder Sergey Brin as president; Google’s current vice president of products Sundar Pichai is taking over as CEO of Google.

Starting and continuing to run a successful business has always been a difficult task for any entrepreneur. While you may have a great idea, your business might not get the kick start it deserves due to issues either in or out of your control.

Unfortunately, not everyone whose resume looks like they belong in the Business Hall of Fame is a fit for a startup. Here are five types of individuals you should avoid.

You are starting a new company and investors love your idea but are a little skittish about investing in a one-person company.

They think you are smart, creative and hard working. Yet, they are worried what will happen if you have an accident.

European venture capital (“VC”) has suffered hard times: returns in the last 15 years have been poor; fund-raising is about 10% of the U.S.; and new European regulations have narrowed the base of potential investors. Institutional investors often say that there is no opportunity in European VC, beyond a few funds and a few places. I’ve heard a series of explanations: European economies are stagnant and rigid; Europeans are status-conscious and risk-averse; all the action for the mobile/cloud/digital-media economy is in Silicon Valley; there are few good entrepreneurs in Europe.

How do you build a bridge to a place that doesn't yet exist? This is the paradoxical challenge that every innovator faces: to envision and reach for the future before it happens. This requires the gift of foresight--a skill that involves seeing emerging opportunities and taking action on those opportunities.

If you're an aspiring entrepreneur, you need to take a hard look at yourself before leaving that regular paycheck. Don't assume you will be happier and make more money starting the business of your dreams.

The good and the bad news is that as an entrepreneur, you won’t have a manager charged with directing your efforts or peers helping you implement, and your new team will be quick to tell you only what you want to hear. Thus the burden is on you to capitalize on your strengths, find co-founders and team members to fill the gaps and find mentors and advisors you trust.

Illumina, Inc. announced Illumina Accelerator—the world’s first business accelerator focused solely on creating an innovation ecosystem for the genomics industry—has selected three new startups for its second funding cycle. Selected from a competitive pool of highly qualified applicants, the new startups from across the globe are spurring genomics innovation in healthcare, agriculture, and the winemaking industry.

Even the greatest idea ever conceived meant little until it became a reality. Transforming these ideas into a functional business requires hard work, commitment, passion, and, of course, a great deal of capital.

Raising capital – A love/hate reality

Despite being a vital component of any company in its infancy, accumulating capital is an area most founders lack experience in. As the founder of your business, your main focus is building your company, not fundraising. Right?

Diderot’s Encyclopedie, best known as an eighteenth-century repository of Enlightenment principles, might also serve as an interesting lens into what makes economies grow.

The Encylcopedie was a project spearheaded by Denis Diderot, published in 28 volumes between 1751 and 1772. It aimed to gather all the knowledge in the world, and, with 71,818 articles and more than 3,000 illustrations, it was a valiant effort.

Of all the colossally stupid things we do with cell phones while driving, texting is the riskiest.

Consider this: The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that texting takes a driver’s eyes off the road for an average five seconds. At 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of a football field — blindfolded.

You can now use 3D printing to create items using a wide range of filaments, and not just plastics. Metals, edibles, bio and construction materials are just some of the examples that are being developed for 3D printing. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Spritam, an epilepsy medication made using 3D printers. This makes Spritam the first 3D printed product approved by the FDA for use inside the human body.

Google just announced a major overhaul of its corporate structure. 

As part of the change, the company that used to be called Google is going to become a new holding company called Alphabet.

The URL for the new company is abc.xyz.

What do you think of when you think of the role of a woman in society in your country? What do you think about women’s roles in the Middle East? When I went to the Middle East with The F SHOW World Tour, the perspective on women became crystal clear: it’s great. My conclusion: entrepreneurship is helping evolve the role of a woman by demonstrating three facts:

I’m a big fan of TEDTalks -- they’re full of insights on everything from human nature to scientific breakthroughs to trends in design. They’re inspirational, informative and eye-opening in ways that can help you become a better person and a better professional. For the aspiring entrepreneur, they exist to help you challenge your assumptions, believe in yourself and push you to be the best leader you can possibly be.

A recent report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) paints a picture of a rapidly expanding cloud sector. While the evolution of cloud technology is most commonly associated with a combination of ‘cool’ new gadgets and concerns over security risks, there are growing indications that cloud technology will have a broader impact on the global economy and in particular, in supporting the development of new innovation.

The military approaches peacetime with risk management and wartime with uncertainty management. To operate amid uncertainty, managers become leaders and more autonomy is given to troops to ensure agility and resilience.

In October 2014, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) held its annual convention at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel. One of the most pressing medical issues at the time was the Ebola pandemic.