When city services can autonomously go online and digest information from the cloud, they can reach a level of performance never before seen. First up, water systems that automatically know when it will rain and react accordingly.

With a little help from what's called the Internet of Things, engineers are transforming cities from passive conduits for water into dynamic systems that store and manage it like the tissues of desert animals. By using the Internet to connect real-world sensors and control mechanisms to cloud-based control systems that can pull in streams from any other data source, including weather reports, these efforts enable conservation and money-saving measures that would have been impossible without this virtual nervous system.

Need capital to start or build your business?  Ever try to figure out who the best fit VC is for you?  In my view, the absolute best way for you to get the capital to build your business is to get your capital from your customers in the form of gross profits.

VC Money is Expensive

VC money is dilutive, meaning that if you take their money, you will own less of your company and you have an investor with rights that reduce your control over your business. The only way for VC money to add value to your business is if you use the money in a way that builds more value in your business than the dilutive effects of the VC money.  It is true that the value of your business will be higher when you first take the money, as your business will have both its enterprise value plus the cash that is sitting on the balance sheet, but let’s face it — you will spend the cash building your business and you need to turn the cash into business value that is a lot greater than the cash in order for your VC money to add value to your business!

At the mHealth Summit taking place in Washington, D.C. this week, a panel discussion on mobile health and pharmaceutical companies talked about how companies are using mHealth in developing nations, particularly for their supply chains.

Susan Shiff of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) focused on how the pharmaceutical company was developing an epidemiological database with Lagos University Teaching Hospital to help organize its pharmacies and improve patient health. The program has helped improve the management of its stocks and order transaction system between the hospital and its vendors, Shiff noted.

To start a new business… or to buy an existing business? That’s the question that many entrepreneurs ask themselves before taking the plunge. Creating a business from scratch, while intoxicating during the day-dream phase, may not be as exciting when it comes to the reality of execution. After all, there are so many steps to follow to plan, fund, and market the new business idea. With the concept not yet ‘proven’, there are the added hurdles to jump over. While many of us may ultimately choose this route, what about buying an existing business instead? After all, the big plus that comes with buying an existing business is that it’s already up and running. The planning legwork has already been done. If the business is already generating revenue, this may be a better model for you if you want to mitigate your tolerance for risk but want to be your own boss, especially if it’s a business that you’re passionate about.

The commercialization of Australian innovation and research has received a welcome boost following the Commonwealth Government’s announcement it would allocate up to 100 million Australian dollars (US$102 million) to venture capital funds.

The Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCAL) noted the amount was “pleasingly greater” than the expected A$60 million already allocated to the Innovation Investment Fund (IIF) program.

The European Union is stepping up efforts to make it easier for small companies to access finance from venture capital firms with a proposal to standardise rules applying to such investors, the bloc's executive said on Wednesday.

The European Commission said its proposal for a new law would make it easier for venture capitalists to raise funds for start-ups by standardising their legal status across the EU.

The 14 companies that have taken part in DreamIt Ventures’ current accelerator program will make their pitches to possible funders Wednesday, and Kerry Rupp thinks they’ll do just fine.

“We feel like it’s one of the strongest classes that we’ve had,” said Rupp, who is the DreamIt partner most involved with the day-to-day functions of the venture firm’s accelerator programs.

Rupp thinks one reason for that might be the timing of the current program. It’s the first DreamIt has held in fall, so, unlike its predecessors, it hasn’t attracted college students on summer break who want to give entrepreneurship a fling before returning to their studies.

Water levels in the Dead Sea have been dropping over the last few years as towns and villages in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria suck up run-off water that would normally fill the extra-salty lake. But new research finds that even in periods without human pressures, the Dead Sea may have dried up, including once when it did so almost entirely more than 100,000 years ago.

The finding does not bode well for the region, according to study researcher Steven Goldstein, a professor at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. If the giant body of water nearly vanished with no human pressures, what could be the consequences with both man-made climate change and water diversions for irrigation that keep much of the resource from even reaching the Dead Sea?

The good old days of the pharmaceutical industry are gone forever. Even an improved global economic climate is unlikely to halt efforts by the developed world’s governments to contain spending on drugs. Emerging markets will follow their lead and pursue further spending control measures. Regulatory requirements—particularly the linkage among the benefits, risks, and cost of products—will increase, while the industry pipeline shows little sign of delivering sufficient innovation to compensate for such pressures.

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt just took the stage at the Le Web conference to chat about Android, the search giant’s expansion and more. When he was asked about why the search engine hadn’t acquired any French companies, Schmidt jokingly commented on stage that Google was now buying around one company day.

That’s clearly a lot of companies to purchase even for a company with deep pockets like Google. So our intrepid reporter Alexia Tsotsis ran backstage to confirm this, where Schmidt told her on the record that Google was actually acquiring around one company per week. “But why do you never announce them?” she asked him. “We don’t have to,” he said.

The European Commission put forward proposals Wednesday to create a single set of rules for venture capital funds in the European Union, in its latest move to overcome a credit squeeze hitting smaller companies. ...

The Front End of Innovation - brings together innovators, R&D experts, and higher customer insights executives from all across the EMEA. The result: an immerse 3-day experience that leaves you with the ability to take innovation further with your organization.

Download the complete conference brochure.

Main Conference Break Out-Tracks... Provide depth and breadth on topics to move from complexity to clarity.

• Business Model Adjacencies: Opportunities Beyond your Core
• Design Therapy: Enhancing Lives… Improving Business
• Profit & Purpose: Aligning Sustainability and Business Objectives
• Fail Forward: Create a Culture of Continuous Learning
• Involve Everyone: Overcome the Not Invented Here Syndrome

When you think of old age – of people over the age of 65 years – what immediately comes to mind?  If you were to answer memory problems, slowing down, poorer ability to make decisions, and the like, then you’d be conveying a view of aging that is rooted in reality.  Decades of research document substantial age-related declines in many cognitive functions – such as memory, attention, language, and even our ability to reason and problem solve. So, are we all doomed to a fate of flawed reasoning as we age?

Recent research indicates that the answer is a resounding no. Although declines in reasoning and cognition are undeniable, there is a burgeoning literature indicating that our emotions can save the day. As we age, it seems, we are better able to harness the power of our emotions: they can help us make decisions – and even in navigating social situations.

Oregon, Montana, Utah and Colorado Share GIS Data in the Cloud – The  states hope to drive down costs and work more cooperatively by storing data, particularly GIS data, on a cloud computing network.

Seven States Selected to Develop Economic Strategies Focused on the Growth of Advanced Manufacturing Industries – The National Governors Association selected seven states to participate in the Policy Academy on “Making” our Future.   “A Policy Academy is a highly interactive, team-based process for helping a select number of states develop and implement an action plan to address a complex public policy issue. Participating states receive guidance and technical assistance from NGA staff, experts from MEP, EDA and State Science and Technology Institute, as well as consultants from the private sector, research organizations and academia. The strategies and policies developed by the selected states are intended to serve as ideas and best practices for all states.”

Ratan Tata, head of the 143-year-old Indian conglomerate that bears his family name, is known as a passionate innovator so committed to risk-taking in his $83 billion empire that he gives an annual award for the "best failed idea." But that prize could go to Tata himself for one of his own dream projects: the Nano car.

The launch of Tata Nano in 2009 was hailed as a milestone in automotive history. At 123,000 rupees, or $2,400, the Nano was dubbed "the world's cheapest car" and called a flagship example of Tata's idea of frugal innovation. It illustrated how engineering could be used to open markets in a country where per capita income is around $1,000 a year.

1. Failing to understand where they are in the B2B buying cycle

When a brand is looking for a product or service, it has to go through various channels and different people within the organization are involved in making the purchasing decision.

I will illustrate this point with a hypothetical example: a PA is told by the company’s Financial Manager (FM) to go and look for a new piece of Payroll software that services their company. The FM instructs the PA to ensure that the software is cost-effective. The PA then hops on to LinkedIn to see what people are saying in groups and forums about Payroll software. A few are shortlisted and they make it back to the FM. The FM now digs a little deeper and begins to engage with each company through their social channels. Should these social channels only be concerned with pushing product and selling the benefits of the software, the FM is going to move on.

The pygmy marmoset or dwarf monkey is a New World monkey native to the rainforest canopies of western Brazil, south-eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia.

TOKYO, Japan — Tech has run its course in Japan. Sony, Panasonic and Hitachi will continue to chug along. But it is unlikely that we’ll see the rise of another Japanese gadget or innovation giant. Japan does not lack web geeks innovating or iterating on existing platforms. Overall, however, the country’s tech start-up scene is weak.

Quite a statement? That few in Japan will come out to directly say it is one reason why Japanese tech entrepreneurship is fragile. Japanese custom to “save face” and not overtly criticize, say “no” or embarrass anyone is hurting its venturers. Entrepreneurs need feedback and guidance. Some even deserve a kick in the rear. The only thing that’s nice about entrepreneurship is return on investment, if you’re lucky an IPO.

From the smallest panoramic camera in the world to a new mobile bank with access to 40,000 fee-free ATMs, startups have launched some cool things this year.

We pulled together a list of the best new startups that launched in 2011.

Can a discussion of the federal deficit, now in excess of $15 trillion, be separated from a discussion on taxes? Of course not! Therefore, taxes will continue to be an important topic on the federal level because of the dichotomy between raising taxes to address deficit concerns vs. keeping taxes low to help create jobs and improve the economy.

Which will win out in 2012? Much depends on what happens in the November elections. Until then, however, there are some important trends in taxes worth noting:

1. Taxes will remain a political football. The wrangling in the Super Committee, which failed to reach a consensus by the November 23, 2011, deadline, demonstrates the ongoing political nature of taxes. As a general rule, Republicans are against raising taxes, while  Democrats want to raise taxes on the so-called wealthy (many of whom are small business owners). This acrimony is not likely to disappear.