Invasive seaweed is putting a deadly choke hold on Hawaii's coral reefs. In an effort to save them and the fish that rely on coral as a habitat, scientists have started breeding native sea urchins to eat the offending seaweed.

The culprits are two seaweed algae called Kappaphycus alvarezii and K. striatum. First brought to Hawaii in 1974 for commercial cultivation, the seaweed soon made its way into the wild and has now been plaguing the 50th state's coral reefs for years. The seaweed blankets the coral, smothering it to death, the Honolulu Star–Advertiser reports.

The sea horse's signature "S" shape holds a secret weapon: It is an adaptation for the ambush hunting style favored by these tiny, carnivorous fish, according to new research that looked at the biomechanical properties of the sea horse's curvaceous neck region.

Sea horses evolved from long, narrow swimmers similar to pipefishes. Anchored by their prehensile tails, they hover in sculptural stillness near coral reefs and sea grass beds until a tiny shrimp or larval fish swims by. Then, with a subtle tilt of the head and a slurp, the diminutive predators suck in unassuming prey. Both sea horses and pipefishes employ the tilt-and-slurp technique, known as pivot feeding. Sea horses, however, do not pursue their prey as pipefishes do, so the reach of their necks is an important determinant of their hunting success.

Geekmedia, the company that operates Israeli technology blog newsgeek.co.il, is getting into the startup incubation business with a new program called Venturegeeks.

Based in Tel Aviv, Venturegeeks sounds like it will be structured similarly to well-known US incubator programs like Y Combinator. Startups accepted into the program will receive $20,000, as well as three months of mentorship and office space, in return for a 10 percent stake in the company.

Some entrepreneurs consider 409A valuations a necessary evil. But too many aren’t particularly familiar with this particular section of the corporate tax code. And while we realize tax law might not be red-hot cocktail party conversation, it’s something that should be top of mind for start-up owners.

409A valuations are most commonly performed to assist companies with setting the strike price for their employee stock options, which needs to be at or above fair market value. The most common questions surrounding those are: “Do I really need a valuation?,” “How do I select an appraiser and why does it cost so much? “ and our personal favorite “Why is my common stock worth so much?”

There is a lot of content created by the Venture Capital community that has helped countless entrepreneurs. In fact, one of my favorites is How Andreessen Horowitz Evaluates CEOs.

I recently stumbled upon the article again and it reminded me of an article I’ve been meaning to write for my entrepreneurial friends. We’ve all heard the horror stories (fairly or unfairly) of how Venture Capitalists have screwed over the founders of companies.

What we rarely hear about is the enormous value that some in the Venture Capital community create when investing in a startup. Whether it’s strategic help, introductions to customers, joint ventures with other portfolio companies, and just plain fair dealings. I want to help narrow your choices by providing a starting point.

Venture capital funding in the tech world is often seen as the golden ticket to success (bootstrapping is a great way to start too). This made us curious about who the founders of the VC backed companies are, and how much funding are they actually getting? Thanks to a study by CB insights, we were able to acquire an in depth look into a large sample of venture capital backed companies across the country, with a focus on three major players in the tech startup world: California, Massachusetts, and New York.

Members of the 2011 General Assembly have been uniform in predicting that this will be a difficult legislative session. DCA director Mary Cownie serves as the agency's legislative liaison; with other agency leaders, she tracks legislation that could impact the department or its constituents. See below for a report on current legislation that could impact DCA, and on Governor Branstad's proposed budget for the coming year:

Nearly three years ago I had to make the transition from working in the business to working on the business. It was a difficult transition (sometimes still is) because no one tells you how to do it. When I asked my peers, friends, and family what a CEO should be doing, no one could give me a straight answer.

I read a ton of books. I read every article I could find. I brought it as an issue to my Vistage group. I asked other entrepreneurs turned CEOs. I kept a list of things I thought I should be doing as a CEO.

Some people are the “life of the party” – they love the spotlight and almost constant social interaction. But some others prefer to be a bit more… selective… in their sociability. You know who you are – you’re introverts. I count myself among your numbers.

Introverts aren’t shut-ins, sitting at home alone with odd hobbies like knitting sweaters for our growing collection of cats. We’re not anti-social. We just prefer to be social on our own terms… when and where we feel comfortable doing so.

(Media-Newswire.com) - Supporting programs for innovative, technology-driven small businesses under SBA’s Federal and State Technology ( FAST ) partnership program, the U.S. Small Business Administration has granted a $100,000 award to the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network program at the University of Wisconsin-Extension. The FAST Program is designed to stimulate economic development among small high technology businesses through federally-funded research and development programs like the Small Business Innovation Research ( SBIR ) and Small Business Technology Transfer ( STTR ).

The Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network ( WEN ) is taking this grant opportunity one step further by creating a statewide Innovation-25 ( I-25 ) pilot program. I-25 companies will receive specific business counseling services to enhance their ability to apply for federal SBIR and STTR grants. The companies in this pilot program represent areas that the SBA Office of Technology is interested in strengthening and furthering in the current economy. They include defense, advanced manufacturing, environmental solutions, information technology, energy management, life sciences and medical devices.

Steven Klepper has made significant contributions to our understanding of the role of new firm entry in innovation and economic growth. His work is theoretical and integrative, firmly rooted in empirical observation of historical innovative processes, focusing on explaining “empirical regularities.” Klepper’s work integrates elements of traditional neoclassical models with evolutionary theory, bridging some of the gaps between neoclassical and evolutionary theory and between entrepreneurship research and mainstream economics.

In looking at the evolution of industries, Klepper explores regularities in the time paths of entry of new producers, exit of incumbent firms, industry output and price, and the rate of product and process innovation. To explain these regularities, he develops theories that feature differences in firm capabilities and the advantages of large firms in appropriating the returns from their innovative efforts. The theories are also used to explain differences in firms' innovative efforts, the composition of their innovative effort and their innovative success.

You’ve probably seen the film, The King’s Speech, which just landed 12 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. Now it’s time to rewind the videotape and bring you back to 1938, when King George VI, formerly Prince Albert, Duke of York, makes a speech to open an exhibition in Scotland.

We all know that cereal packaging is designed to attract the eyes of your five year old as you drag him down the breakfast aisle of the supermarket. Of all the aisles in the grocery store, none is more captivating to tiny eyes than the the one with row upon row of garish cereal boxes.

But, what if the cereal boxes could light up and blink on the shelves? How much worse (or more effective, depending on your point of view) would that be?

I’m a big fan of the old adage "There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers." We have all heard questions that begin, "This may be a dumb question, but …" used effectively by smart people who are not afraid of risking ridicule by challenging a questionable assertion from an intimidating speaker.

Most people in business seem to expect their leaders just to give orders. According to Gary B. Cohen in his book, “Just Ask Leadership: Why Great Managers Always Ask the Right Questions,” as leaders advance, they tend to oblige by asking fewer questions and providing more answers. This is precisely the wrong approach.

Entrepreneurs and business executives have to keep reign over a very broad domain. They need to ask the right questions in the right contexts to stay ahead of the game, and to empower coworkers to find solutions, embrace responsibility, and become accountable.

An EU benchmark of national innovation capabilities has the United States out in front with some European countries falling behind the emerging economies. The US Government on the other hand is deeply concerned about its innovation capability. Haydn Shaughnessy asks if the benchmarks give us a way to rethink innovation.

New Orleans experienced an unprecedented influx of entrepreneurial talent and energy in the wake of Katrina, but activities like meet ups and networking can take those entrepreneurs only so far. At some point new ventures need capital, and that’s just what Freeman School professors John Elstrott and Ralph Maurer hope to provide them with.

Elstrott, clinical professor of entrepreneurship and executive director of the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship, and Maurer, visiting assistant professor of strategy, are part of the management team behind the New Orleans Startup Fund, a new nonprofit venture capital fund created to provide local high-potential ventures with seed capital, a critical need in the local entrepreneurial community.

From Dowser.org, a website founded by author of “How To Change The World” David Bornstein, here are 5 ways the social entrepreneurship movement is developing and maturing in 2011:

1. More Creative Funding Solutions for Social Entrepreneurs

It is important to look at creative funding solutions, says Sasha Dichter of Acumen Fund. Social enterprises are getting more resourceful in the way that they are going after funding, and some of the most successful enterprises are those that are utilizing a combination of different sources of capital – from seed funding and impact investments, to government grants and fundraising from corporate donors. Social enterprises cannot expect to be carried by one source of funding anymore, and need to look at different ways of blending capital to create the largest social impact.

The centerpiece of President Obama's energy plan, announced in his State of the Union address, is a clean-energy standard that would require 80 percent of electricity used in the United States to come from clean sources by 2035, up from about 40 percent now. The plan also includes incentives for energy efficiency and support for research and development.

If the plan becomes law, it could provide something that business leaders and utilities have long been asking for: long-term certainty about energy policy. Government subsidies and incentives for clean energy tend to come in fits and starts—many must be renewed every year, making it difficult for companies to plan ahead. William Booher, executive VP of the industry group the Council on Competitiveness, says policy certainty is the "single biggest thing" that could help CEOs decide to invest in this technology. A mandate for clean energy by 2035 would be particularly useful to utilities, which are facing the prospect of replacing a generation of aging power plants and need to know what to replace them with.

After the Packers defeated the Bears 21-14 in the NFC Championship game to reach Super Bowl XLV, many fans had the same question go through their mind…

“How much is it going to cost me to get to Dallas for the big game?”

For the majority of fans, one quick look at the normal ticket outlets (StubHub, EBay, Craigslist) and the realization sets in that their money is probably best spent on beer and chips.

Chinese companies of every stripe have dispelled myth and overcome the barriers to successful, profitable innovation.

Hoboken, NJ - infoZine - It is widely-believed that China's entrepreneur has grown and their businesses are succeeding primarily due to their knowledge of the domestic market, quick adaptation to market changes, and their resourcefulness. But innovation? Forget about it.

Well, not quite.

Drawing on a wealth of on-the-ground stories and thorough research, Chinnovation: How Chinese Innovators are Changing the World link shows how Chinese companies of every stripe have dispelled this myth and overcome the barriers to successful, profitable innovation.