Episode 34: All About Corona Virus! hashtag

Researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Australia have mapped immune responses in a patient in response to COVID-19 infection, demonstrating the body’s ability to fight the virus and recover from the infection. The team tested blood samples taken from one of Australia’s first cases of COVID-19, at four different time points during the infection.

Image: Outbreak response in action: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff support the COVID-19 response in the CDC’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC). (CDC; photo credit James Gathany)

Asking for money from friends and family. Pitching skeptical customers who don’t know you. Shipping a half-finished product on deadline.

Anyone launching a company knows they’re in for a wild ride, financially and emotionally. By now it’s a cliché that entrepreneurs possess a combination of narcissism, craziness and wild-eyed optimism that distinguishes them from the rest of humanity.

Specialised isolation units and human mobility tracking tools are among the anti-coronavirus innovations being fast-tracked for funding by the European Commission.

The EC is now calling for further startups and SMEs with technologies and innovations that could help in treating, testing, monitoring or other aspects of the Coronavirus outbreak to apply urgently to the next round of funding from the European Innovation Council.

Image: EpiShuttle by EpiGuard received €2.5m from European Innovation Council

The mindset fostered by financial scarcity hinders the pursuit of win-win outcomes.

Today’s smart leaders would never dream of conducting cross-border negotiations in a culture-blind way. They are well aware that when internationally diverse groups sit down to negotiate, the differences in their cultural values are at the table too. To achieve that coveted win-win outcome, you need to know where your counterparty is coming from, literally and figuratively.

March 18, 2020 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Six of the top 10 global venture capital (VC) investors showcased year-on-year (YoY) growth in the number of investments, whereas seven of them witnessed YoY decline in the proportionate investment value in 2019, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Image: https://www.investorideas.com

MORRISTOWN, N.J., March 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In an ongoing series of research conducted by KMK Consulting, Inc. covering Innovation & Customer Value, GSK was ranked as the top company delivering superior customer value and sales force engagement, as well as delivering therapeutic innovation in the asthma market according to pulmonary disease specialists. The research was conducted in February 2020, using KMK's Rapid Pulse Survey platform. AstraZeneca, Genentech, and Novartis rounded out the top organizations driving innovation and customer value in this space.

Hundreds of years ago explorers sailed across oceans and traversed uncharted continents to map Earth, and in the past half a century space probes have photographed most of our solar system. Yet as well as we have come to know our astronomical backyard, our image of the larger neighborhood—our Milky Way galaxy—is blurry. The reason is obvious: we cannot get outside it to take a peek. Imagine sending a spacecraft on a multimillion-year journey to go beyond our galaxy, look back and snap a picture: clearly impractical. We are left with many open questions about our cosmic home, such as how many spiral arms the galaxy has, whether the large structure closest to the sun counts as an arm and where in the galaxy our solar system lies.

Image: Credit: Ron Miller

NEW YORK, March 18, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Six globally renowned venture capital firms join together to launch Off The Record, a non-profit organization to provide a facilitated peer network for founders of venture-backed startups. Investors recognize that there is a lack of resources for founders of seed and series A startups, particularly in building a strong peer support network, and have launched this program to provide resources to entrepreneurs in their portfolio.

Image: https://www.offtherecord.org/

In times of crisis, bad information can spread on social media like a wildfire.

The coronavirus’ spread is in full force in the US and around the world, with cases growing by the thousands each day. And with the frightening reality that 86% of those with the virus do not know that they are infected, many are turning to whatever measures they can to stop the pandemic from hitting themselves and their loved ones.

As market chaos mounts and coronavirus uncertainty persists, private markets are feeling the pressure.

According to PitchBook’s latest analysis, private equity and venture capital are equipped to alleviate pressures—but it won’t be a smooth ride. In the new report, PitchBook’s analysts examine how PE and VC fundraising, deal sourcing, and performance will be affected by the economic deterioration caused by COVID-19.

Image: https://fortune.com

The daily news of startups raising multi-million-dollar funding is enough to suggest it’s almost easy to raise venture capital. Unfortunately for most entrepreneurs, nothing could be further from the truth — VC firms are more selective than ever in allocating their money.

So how do you, as a millennial entrepreneur, successfully secure VC funding for your business?

Each year on March 17, the Irish and Irish-at-heart come out in droves to pubs and parade routes to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland.

This year, however, might be a bit different, as St. Patrick's Day celebrations across the globe have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with pubs across Ireland closed as the nation, and the world, try to fight the spread of the virus. 

Big coastal cities, such as New York and San Francisco, feature notoriously high rent prices and an expensive cost of living. But in their smaller Midwestern counterparts, like Indianapolis and Toledo, Ohio, things prove much, much cheaper.

And while a lower cost of living doesn't always equate to a higher quality of life, it can make a difference for those looking to stretch their paycheck.

Ryan Allis at Hive, a global community of entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors, published a list a few years ago titled “The 12 Greatest Innovators of All Time.” On it are the usual suspects, such as Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Graham Bell, Marie Curie, and in the modern era, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. And, to be sure, all deserve the accolade. But the list has a glaring omission: George Washington.

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington

Antarctica and Greenland are losing ice six times faster than in the 1990s, a pair of studies in the journal Nature show. 

According to the international team of climatologists behind the research, the unprecedented rate of melt has already contributed 0.7 inches (1.78 centimeters) to global sea level rise in the last three decades, putting the planet on track for the worst-case climate warming scenario laid out in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) latest report.

Black swan events, such as economic recessions and pandemics, change the trajectory of governments, economies and businesses — altering the course of history. The Black Death in the 1300s broke the long-ingrained feudal system in Europe and replaced it with the more modern employment contract. A mere three centuries later, a deep economic recession — thanks to the 100-year war between England and France — kick-started a major innovation drive that radically improved agricultural productivity. 

Topline: As more governments enforce crackdowns to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, authorities will use different phrases to describe what is happening and what will happen next— here’s your cheat sheet for understanding the language of coronavirus.

The new coronavirus has thrust a host of unfamiliar terms into our everyday discourse. Some are brand new; others aren’t but are being used in unexpected ways.

Here are some definitions to help you keep up with the latest on the global pandemic.

SARS-CoV-2: The official scientific name of the coronavirus causing the pandemic. It stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. It was previously known as 2019-nCoV.

Image: An illustration of the SARS-CoV-2019 coronavirus created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Alissa Eckert / CDC) 

When Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer announced a complete ban on working at home in late February, she sparked an uproar in the media, not to mention in the halls of Yahoo itself. The ban goes into effect in June and impacts everyone, including employees who had previous agreements with the company allowing flexible work arrangements. One irked employee sent an anonymous e-mail to the technology blog AllThingsD saying the new policy is “outrageous and a morale killer.”