The Golden State is living up to its nickname, with California ranking as the most innovative economy in America.

That’s according to Bloomberg’s newest U.S. State Innovation Index based on six equally-weighted metrics: research and development intensity, productivity, clusters of companies in technology, “STEM” jobs, populous with degrees in science and engineering disciplines, and patent activity.

A nascent project launched by the Health and Human Services Department aims to spur innovation and help solve an expensive health crisis plaguing millions of Americans: kidney disease.

Developers hope it will one day be used as a model, not only for introducing innovators to government, but also to many other high-cost disease areas across the health care sector.

HHS Open Innovation Manager Dr. Sandeep Patel discussed the project—dubbed the KidneyX Innovation Accelerator—at ACT-IAC’s Health Innovation Day in Washington April 10, encouraging innovators to get involved.

Of our solar system’s wonders, one reigns as the emblem of all that is alien and otherworldly: the majestic rings of Saturn, rising resplendent and shimmering above the giant planet’s buttery, cloud-crossed face.

Stretching nearly 300,000 kilometers from tip to tip and containing countless icy particles ranging in size from “microscopic” to “mobile home,” the rings make Saturn undeniably eye-catching. But more than mere decoration, they are one of the most enduring enigmas in planetary science.

Calls to reconstruct Notre-Dame practically began before the fire was even put out this week–and it’s more than plausible that the cathedral could be rebuilt in nearly identical form, thanks in part to the existence of detail digital models of the building. But deciding whether it should be rebuilt as a replica is more complicated. It’s a question that has defined historic preservation for decades: Should architects attempt to recreate the design of the past as faithfully as possible, or think of their work as more of a conversation between past and present?

There is a story arc of the electric scooter market that took the world by storm in 2018, was second-guessed late in the year and has quietly re-emerged as a powerful force of growth where few really appreciate the speed and scale of what has happened. I’d like to share some insights with you.

In his first letter to Amazon shareholders in 1998, Jeff Bezos declared that it was “Day 1 for the internet, and if we execute well, for Amazon.com.” He meant that the company, which was already four years old, should always think of itself as being at the beginning of its journey.

We all have that friend who survives on beer and barbecue and somehow stays slim. 

Our weight—though of course influenced by factors such as diet and exercise—can be frustratingly genetic. Scads of gene variants, differences in single letters of the genetic code, have been associated with being overweight. 

Entrepreneurs are a mysterious breed. Journalists and biographers are constantly trying to “figure us out” and nail down the personality traits reserved for those who choose to start their own businesses. As a veteran entrepreneur, I don’t blame them. These individuals are in search of the truth, which is often very different from what’s on the surface.

Shows like Shark Tank are introducing more people to entrepreneurship, or at least a part of it, than ever before. Yet, despite entrepreneurship's popularity, the number of people starting new businesses has actually gone down.

In 1985, according to data from the Census Bureau, about one in eight companies was less than a year old. Thirty years later, in 2015, that ratio was approximately one in 12. I can't help but wonder if the attention on entrepreneurship brought about by shows like Shark Tank is contributing to the slide in new businesses. Hear me out.

The digital revolution has dramatically changed life on Earth, making it easy to think we’re living in the greatest time of innovation. But a new book by Tom Wheeler, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is a reminder that remarkable change has happened many times before. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century created upheaval and reorganized everything in society, as did the subsequent inventions of the telegraph, telephone and railroad. From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future is an insightful look at the development of networks, the physical links that bind people together. Wheeler, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, recently joined the Knowledge@Wharton radio show on SiriusXM to talk about why history often repeats itself. (Listen to the podcast at the top of this page).

Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists have found a new growth story: astrology. According to The New York Times, star-reading is having a “cultural moment”. Investors are keen not to miss out on apps such as Sanctuary, the “Uber for astrological readings”.

The government and academic medical centers need to rethink their technology transfer policies, which have allowed the price of specialty drugs to soar to unsustainable heights.

The latest targeted therapies for cancer and genetic diseases are coming to market with price tags approaching a half-million dollars per patient. What most have in common are their origins in academic or government labs funded by the National Institutes of Health. 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Proof of Capital, a U.S. venture capital fund, was launched on Wednesday with funding of $50 million, its founders said in a statement. The fund will invest in blockchain projects.

Blockchain, which first emerged as the system powering bitcoin, is a shared database maintained by a network of computers connected to the internet.

Venture capitalists fund the innovation economy. With $130.9 billion invested in venture capital funds in 2018 — more than the previous heights set during the dotcom era — you might think that we will see lots of exciting new companies with innovative products and services creating lots of well-paying jobs. The truth is that the investors who invest in innovation — the limited partners (e.g., pension funds, foundations, endowments and family offices) — are trying to de-risk their investments by investing in later-stage venture capital funds. These companies have figured out their product-market fit and go-to-market strategies. While later-stage companies are more stable and less likely to go bust, they are also less likely to deliver a high return on investment.

A question that I still hear debated often is whether a new startup growth strategy should focus on user count or profits. First of all, the glory days of “dot.coms” are gone, when investors “didn’t care” about profitability, and all the big money was focused on user count growth.

In the long run, everyone wants both profitability and user growth, but the question is which comes first. Most startups and investors I know don’t have unlimited funds, so the first question they should ask and do ask today, is “When is your company going to be profitable (self-sustaining)?”

Image: Image via Max Pixel - https://blog.startupprofessionals.com

The European Union is boosting its budget to support innovation against the backdrop of intensifying global competition. To compete effectively in the international markets, the EU needs to deepen its innovativeness and risk-taking capability to compete in a market defined by new technologies. The European Innovation Council is meant to turn Europe’s scientific discoveries into businesses that can scale up faster. In the pilot phase, the European Innovation Council is set to become a full-fledged platform, albeit it is currently still at its pilot phase.

Last week, members of Illinois’ innovation community gathered in Springfield as Governor J.B. Pritzker proclaimed April 12, 2019 “Innovation Day” in the state of Illinois. The event, hosted by the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition (ISTC) and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), included addresses from Governor Pritzker; Mark Harris, President & CEO, ISTC; and Ron Guerrier, CIO and Secretary of Innovation & Technology, State of Illinois.

Image: https://www.istcoalition.org

While an MBA is a big investment of time and money, studying for one also builds the skills you need to make it as an entrepreneur. 

Business writers such as Martin Hoffmann and Stephen Greer have questioned the value of a Master of Business Administration (MBA) for aspiring entrepreneurs. The suggestion is that an MBA may not give you a large enough payoff in startup world. Entrepreneurs can effectively replace formal management training with rapid on-the-job-learning.

In a startling demonstration, the machine drew on experimentation, data, and observation of humans to learn how simple implements could help it achieve a task.

New research shows that robots can figure out at least the rudiments of tool use, through a combination of experimenting and observing people.

Chelsea Finn, a researcher at Google Brain, and Sergey Levine, an assistant professor at UC Berkeley, developed the robotic system together with several of Levine’s students. (Finn and Levine were named Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review in 2018 and 2016, respectively.)

Circulation and cellular activity were restored in a pig’s brain four hours after its death, a finding that challenges long-held assumptions about the timing and irreversible nature of the cessation of some brain functions after death, Yale scientists report April 17 in the journal Nature.