Long-term investment funds that provide “patient capital” have overtaken traditional venture capital as a source of investment for the UK’s emerging tech start-ups, according to new data. For decades, fledgling technology companies have sought funding from VC groups. These entities tend to operate as limited partnerships, with venture capitalists investing money on behalf of others who then expect returns after a fixed period, such as 10 years.

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An entrepreneurial incubator is designed to take a fledgling business in its earliest stages and cushion it through the first phases so that the likelihood that the business will grow and scale is higher, because the entrepreneur has been given support and an environment within which to develop that is conducive to accelerating business growth...

One of the most common excuses we hear from folks who are reluctant to embrace innovative thinking is that they "are not creative" or not "right-brain thinkers." We like to gently remind them that the ability to think innovatively is in fact a learned skill, and can be improved with rigorous practice. In fact the old myth of right-brain versus left-brain predominance is incorrect. New technology is allowing researchers to begin to identify the brain processes and structures that are involved in creativity: While there are still many unknowns, evidence points to it as a combination of several cognitive processes instead of just one. Additionally, according to neuropsychologist Rex Jung and his team these processes don’t rely on a specific region of the brain but rather brain networks and hubs, which are engaged at different times and for different purposes. Cognitive processes, both analytical and creative, depend on the neural networks of the brain and use the whole brain, not just one part of it, as shown by a team of researchers from University of Utah.

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We’re a nation of unhealthy sleepers. Ten percent of us are insomniacs, many more wake up constantly throughout the night and a growing number are simply too enthralled with our smartphones to put them down and go to bed.

But what’s the worst kind of sleep for your health: the kind where you keep a normal bedtime but are constantly up every few hours, or the kind where you go to bed late and only get a few hours of shut-eye? Scientists might finally have an answer.

Demographic trends show that by 2050, a majority of the world's population will be concentrated in cities. This emerging trend means city leaders are going to have to start creating new strategies for their economic ecosystems -- and fast.

At Gallup, our data tell us that for cities to meet the growing economic needs of their rapidly expanding populations, local leaders have to focus now more than ever on using behavioral economics to create a culture of entrepreneurship.

Virgin Media announced today that it is launching a new technology accelerator in London that will be "powered" by TechStars.

The Virgin Media Accelerator, opening early 2016, will put 10 startups through a 13-week crash course in return for an equity stake in their business.

Image: Danny Moloshok/Reuters - Virgin founder Richard Branson.

Nobel-winning economist Robert Shiller is famous for spotting bubbles as they form in different markets. In 2000 he published Irrational Exuberance, a best seller that predicted the imminent bursting of the U.S. stock market bubble that had grown up around the dot-com boom. A few years later, he became one of the first to argue that U.S. real estate prices had similarly gotten out of hand, predicting the real estate and housing bust that began in 2007.

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Passwords often present a conundrum — the better they are, the harder they are to remember. And most people just end up choosing passwords they think are safe, but are pretty woefully easy to crack.

Fortunately for all of us, a pair of researchers say they have solved this problem — using poetry.

Every entrepreneur thinks he can relax a bit after his business model is proven, funding is in place, and revenues are scaling as projected up that hockey-stick curve. Unfortunately, the market is changing so fast these days that any upward climb can level off quickly, as the core business growth begins to stall. This S-Curve, with no correction, can quickly lead to disaster.

by Arthur Lipper

Investors buy something with the intent of selling it at some point in the future at a higher price. The belief is that in the passage of time the value of that purchased will increase.

Such an increase in value is possible if that purchased is art, jewelry, gems, antiques or other objects not requiring a change.

When an investor buys shares in a company the belief is the shares will be more valuable in the future due to the company being bigger and more profitable. However, if the purchase price is higher than the per share book value there is already a premium price/earning ratio being charged, which will have to be justified for there to be a profit for the investor.

South Korea was found to be the most innovative nation in the world, a report by the European Union said Sunday.

According to the Innovation Union Scoreboard 2015 issued by the European Commission, South Korea earned 0.759 point out of 1 in global innovation performance, topping the list of EU member nations and the world's 10 major countries.

It is the second consecutive time that South Korea ranked first.

The performance was measured based upon 12 indicators, such as education level, research and development expenditures by the public and business sectors, intellectual assets and exports.

For the last 5,000 years, humans have communicated with each other in two major ways: speaking and writing. As an English speaker in particular, you might think that speaking and writing are pretty similar—like different sides of the same coin. But in reality, they're like two different coins altogether. In fact, a 2015 study from Johns Hopkins showed that speaking and writing actually utilize two distinct areas of the brain.

Taking vitamin D supplements can improve exercise performance and lower the risk of heart disease, according to the findings of a preliminary study presented today at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Edinburgh.

Vitamin D, which is both a vitamin and a hormone, helps control levels of calcium and phosphate in the blood and is essential for the formation of bones and teeth. Sources of Vitamin D include oily fish and eggs, but it can be difficult to get enough through diet alone. Most people generate vitamin D by exposing their skin to ultraviolet B rays in sunlight.

Pessimists believe that the United States has peaked as a superpower and is falling behind in education, research and development, and economic growth. They say the country’s best days are behind it.

Fortunately, they are wrong. Not only is the United States leading a technology revolution that will help solve the grand challenges of humanity — problems such as disease, hunger and shortages of energy and clean water — it is increasing its lead on the rest of the world. By combining its entrepreneurial strengths with its creativity, it is reinventing itself once again.

Scientific American presents Nutrition Diva by Quick & Dirty Tips. Scientific American and Quick & Dirty Tips are both Macmillan companies.

We hear a lot about the microbiome these days—the trillions of probiotic bacteria that live on and in us. As we are learning, these microbes contribute to our health in myriad and previously unimagined ways. The beneficial bacteria in your intestines, for example, aid digestion, manufacture nutrients, protect against food-borne pathogens, and even appear to play a role in regulating your body weight.

As the world grows, in both wealth and population, so will the demand for energy: global primary-energy consumption is on course to increase by 25 percent between now and 2030. At the same time, concerns over pollution and climate change are forcing businesses and governments to think hard about how they produce and use energy. Energy efficiency, which is sometimes called the “fifth fuel” (after coal, gas, nuclear, and renewables), can play an important role in helping the world meet its demand for power and mobility.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission voted for new rules Friday that allow individuals at all levels to invest in startups — and that could give Washington-area startups a boost. The rule, expected to take effect Jan. 29, 2016, allows companies to raise up to $1 million in a 12-month period through a crowdfunding campaign. In the past, only individual investors with higher net worth were able to obtain accreditation from the SEC. Now anyone can choose to invest.

The relationship between VCs and their portfolio companies has changed significantly over the past five or so years. In many ways it is still the same, in that VCs provide capital, then take a significant equity stake and often a board seat.

However, as the funding process has become more transparent and new capital sources have emerged, startups are looking for more value from their investors than just the cash they provide.

To determine TIME’s annual list, we consider accolades across numerous fields, global impact through social media and overall ability to drive news. Here’s who made this year’s cut (ordered from youngest to oldest):

View as Moziah Bridges, 13

The Memphis resident started his own bow tie business, Mo’s Bows, at age 9. Now—thanks in part to an appearance on the investment show Shark Tank—he’s running a $200,000-a-year apparel company touting licensing deals with Cole Haan and Neiman Marcus. Bridges’ latest accomplishment? Supplying bow ties to basketball players at the 2015 NBA draft. —Samantha Grossman

The geographic footprint of innovation is changing dramatically as research and development programs become more global. An overwhelming 94 percent of the world’s largest innovators now conduct elements of their R&D programs abroad, according to the 2015 Global Innovation 1000 study, our annual analysis of corporate R&D spending. These companies are shifting their innovation investment to countries in which their sales and manufacturing are growing fastest, and where they can access the right technical talent. Not surprisingly, innovation spending has boomed in China and India since our 2008 study, when we first charted the global flows of corporate R&D spending. Collectively, in fact, more R&D is now conducted in Asia than in North America or Europe.

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