Eight Ohio biomedical companies have received a total of $8 million in grants from the state’s Third Frontier technology support program.

The grants, which awarded about $1 million to each firm, are aimed at accelerating the growth and development of Ohio’s burgeoning biomedical industry, which saw its number of jobs grow by 20 percent during the last decade.

The recipients are:

• Arteriocyte: The Cleveland-based stem cell company will further develop its NANEX technology, which uses stem cells to create (pdf) “universal-donor” red blood cells
• AtriCure: The publicly traded Cincinnati-area cardiac device maker will adapt its AtriClip device to be used in minimally invasive procedures

New York's thriving tech scene is focused -- some would say too focused.

The Big Apple is the No. 2 hub for Internet investment behind Silicon Valley but is nowhere on the map when it comes to other lucrative areas such as biotech or clean tech.

New York's tech boom has been fueled almost exclusively by Internet and mobile startups, which received 90 percent of all venture capital flowing into the city last quarter, according to the latest figures from CB Insights. In the first quarter of this year, those companies accounted for 63 percent.

SHREVEPORT, La. -- Today, Gov. Bobby Jindal joined Moonbot Studios, Twin Engine Labs and Embera NeuroTherapeutics executives to sign laws -- included in the Governor's 2011 Legislative Package -- that enhance Louisiana's Digital Interactive Media & Software tax credit, and enhance and extend the Technology Commercialization & Jobs tax credit.

"The Digital Media Tax Credit and Technology Commercialization Tax Credit programs illustrate how powerful incentives can be in generating new investment and job opportunities our Louisiana businesses and people," said Gov. Jindal. "These programs have the potential to expand reach in innovative fields that have already rapidly grown in just the past couple of years. These tax incentives will help create job opportunities for our children right here in Louisiana so they don't have to leave home to pursue their dreams." "Louisiana's Digital Media Tax Credit is a strong asset to growing the industry and making the state a global competitor in video game development," said Craig Hagen, senior director of Government Affairs for Electronic Arts Inc. (EA). "We look forward to working with Louisianans in this exciting endeavor."

By Dr. Janice Presser

Big-city high-rises often have exercise/pool areas that rival the best-equipped health clubs. I like to use the one in my building as a study. Late one evening, relaxing in the hot tub after a day of constant business activity, I was joined by two young professionals who were having a discussion – actually a debate – on the topic of ‘engagement’ surveys.  One is a psych major turned HR manager and the other a product manager with a degree in marketing. I’m going to call them ‘Psych’ and ‘Product.’

Psych was asking Product if he could get her a copy of the Gallup Q12 – a set of questions that test for ‘employee engagement’* so she could use it to survey people in her company.  Product pointed out that the Q12 is copyrighted material, and went on to lecture Psych about the value of such attitude surveys – or more accurately, the lack thereof.  He must have taken great notes in class.  He cited chapter and verse from product marketing literature, summing it up by stating categorically that although people might give you rave reviews, if they aren’t buying your product, who cares?

Psych was not convinced.  She had been given an assignment by her boss, and was determined to follow through.  I felt sorry for her.

If you are – or know – someone who feels compelled to measure ‘engagement,’ especially if the assignment has career-altering consequences, here’s a set of questions that you can offer without exposing them to copyright infringement litigation.  Why am I doing this?  Well, I’ve done 30 years of study and research on what makes great teams great, and I know there is a big difference between a person’s attitude about their place on a team (their level of engagement, if you will) and the underlying factors that influence ‘teaming’ behavior. The former will tell you about existing conditions. The latter will tell you why, and what you can do about it, thereby bridging the gap between attitudes and business results.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg announced Friday at the City Club of Cleveland that her agency will launch an "innovation initiative" that will make it easier for domestic companies to develop and receive approval for new medical products.

"This is a critical time for innovation," said Hamburg, who took over the reigns of the FDA a little more than two years ago. "Unfortunately, as we look at the medical product pipeline, it is distressingly sparse."

Executive Director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations Chris Coburn, whose job is to bring the hospital's medical inventions to market, said part of the reason the number of innovations have dwindled domestically is because of the costs associated with the FDA's length regulatory process, which is more complicated here than in Europe.

My colleague and I are from Denmark. We, along with much of the world, admire the United States’ relentless pursuit of the Next Big Thing, its inherent optimism, and its go-getter attitude. Other parts of the world should learn to embrace change the way America does, be inspired by its perpetual freshness of spirit, and, most important, replicate just a fraction of the country’s innovation capability. Only in America could brand innovators like Google, Nike, and Starbucks emerge.

But in the area of sustainability, there isn’t much to admire about the U.S. and its leading brands. Despite major initiatives by such companies as Walmart and General Electric, the general picture is bleak. The U.S. is by far the biggest environmental sinner, no matter how environmental impact is measured.

A recent study provides one more argument against government officials who tout “industry clusters” as the Holy Grail of regional growth and innovation.

The formula for creating these clusters is always the same: Pick a hot industry, build a technology park next to a research university, provide incentives for businesses to relocate, add some venture capital and then watch the magic happen. But, as I have noted before, the magic never happens. Most of the top-down cluster-development projects in the United States and around the world have died a slow death in relative obscurity. Politicians who held the press conferences to claim credit for advancing science and technology are long gone. Management consultants have cashed in their big checks. Real estate barons have reaped fortunes, and taxpayers are left holding the ba

A new report from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs demonstrates that the U.N. has no business meddling in economic or social issues.

In a recently released World Economic and Social Survey entitled “The Great Green Technological Transformation,” the U.N. says our governments need to spend $1.9 trillion a year for 40 years in order to successfully transition to a global green economy. That’s a $76 trillion price tag for the green initiative, an initiative that won’t bring about economic prosperity nor improve our environmental well being.

Let’s take a step back to demonstrate the U.N.’s line of thinking. The U.N. has concerns that the earth is on course for disaster and in its overview of the survey lays out three possible solutions.

On Tuesday the Wall Street Journal reported the results from a survey of bankers which found that three quarters of respondents believe that the ‘valuations of many private internet businesses aren’t justified’.  The survey went on to ask what was driving the prices up, with the following results:

• 34% believe it is down to demand for pre-IPO shares outstripping supply
• 25% believe it is down to the growth of the internet itself
• 22% put it down to businesses’ profitability
• 19% thought good performance from recent internet IPOs is the cause

The first and last of these both refer to market dynamics and the second ‘growth of the internet’ is too vague and broad to be anything other than a catch all ‘we think the market is hot’ which means that only 22% of the respondents believe the valuations are being driven by fundamentals.

The Georgia Research Alliance, in concert with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, has taken on an expanded role in Georgia’s economic development strategy.

As part of Governor Nathan Deal’s vision for a business climate that encompasses and aligns the state’s most powerful assets for high-growth companies, Georgia’s Centers of Innovation and the Georgia Cancer Coalition will be integrated into GRA, enlarging its capacity for leveraging the state’s university resources to build a thriving, technology-driven economy.

Wicked Start, an online incubator for early-stage start-ups, provides practical, no cost or low cost resources.

A self-described "corporate refugee turned entrepreneur," Bryan Janeczko worked at Morgan Stanley before founding his own venture, an online prepared food vendor called NuKitchen. He sold that company to Nutrisystem two and a half years ago, but wanted to continue working with start-ups. Janeczko wanted to do something to help other people grow their own businesses, so he decided to gather funds from the sale of NuKitchen in 2010 to found Wicked Start, a free online incubator for early-stage small businesses. The site offers free services and advice from experienced entrepreneurs and business owners, but charges for premium resources. Janeczko sat down with Inc.com's Matthew DeLuca to talk about helping start-ups find their footing.

Who are the most influential people on Twitter and Facebook? Who has the most friends and followers across the various social media platforms? Who cares?

Advertisers and brands, that’s who—and an increasing number of businesses of all types. (Not to mention all the narcissists and self-promoters out there, but let’s forget about them while we still can.)

If Google mapped the Web to determine which pages were most important, social media analytics companies are trying to do something similar for the social graph, the map of connections between people in social networks. One emerging goal: to identify the top influencers online, and do something about them.

OK, “social media analytics” is a fancy way of saying “who’s popular and what are they talking about?” It’s like high school all over again, except now brands are trying to make money off of insights gleaned from what used to be private conversations.

The flood of information available online with just a few clicks and finger-taps may be subtly changing the way we retain information, according to a new study. But this doesn't mean we're becoming less mentally agile or thoughtful, say the researchers involved. Instead, the change can be seen as a natural extension of the way we already rely upon social memory aids—like a friend who knows a particular subject inside out.

Researchers and writers have debated over how our growing reliance on Internet-connected computers may be changing our mental faculties. The constant assault of tweets and YouTube videos, the argument goes, might be making us more distracted and less thoughtful—in short, dumber. However, there is little empirical evidence of the Internet's effects, particularly on memory.

As Italy struggled to unravel its debt crisis yesterday (14 July), Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti unequivocally compared the euro crisis to the sinking of the Titanic. Across the ocean US President Barack Obama struggled to avoid a debt default by the world’s largest economy.

Italy’s austerity budget passed a first hurdle in parliament, but the opposition says Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government is a shambles and should resign after it is finally approved.

The four-year package, which has been increased to 48 billion euros from 40 billion euros in the last 24 hours, is aimed at balancing the budget by 2014

Over the past 10 years or so, Cork has built up a reputation for nurturing high-tech start-ups, with Cork Institute of Technology playing a key role in the general ecosystem.

Paul Healy, CEO of the Rubicon Centre on the campus at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), says one of the things that sets Cork apart as a hub for start-ups and technology transfer is its proximity to a large number of multinationals.

“Cork is a good test bed for a lot of technologies as there are multinationals here in hardware and software development, such as EMC, VMware and Apple, as well as companies such as Motorola and Harris Semiconductors.

Here's a funny, motivational presentation for startup founders from super angel investor Dave McClure.

In very colorful language (and fonts) McClure ticks off all the reasons you shouldn't waste your time doing a startup.

Entrepreneurs should read through the presentation, take it as a challenge and then go kick some butt.

Whether we choose to accept or fight it, the fact is that we will all age, but will we do so successfully? Aging successfully has been linked with the “positivity effect”, a biased tendency towards and preference for positive, emotionally gratifying experiences. New research published in Biological Psychiatrynow explains how and when this effect works in the brain.

German neuroscientists studied this effect by using neuroimaging to evaluate brain engagement in young and old adults while they performed a specialized cognitive task that included supposedly irrelevant pictures of either neutral, happy, sad or fearful faces. During parts of the task when they didn’t have to pay as much attention, the elderly subjects were significantly more distracted by the happy faces. When this occurred, they had increased engagement in the part of the brain that helps control emotions and this stronger signal in the brain was correlated with those who showed the greatest emotional stability.

Even though I love technology, I always cringe when an entrepreneur starts his pitch by touting his new technology. He has forgotten that new technologies are perceived by most customers as causing more pain than the problems they hope to eliminate. I chastise these startups to highlight the solution created by the technology, rather than highlight the technology itself.

I usually get pushback about the success of all the great technology companies, like Intel and Apple. Let me be clear – technology and market-driven need not be mutually exclusive! The best companies find a way to drive the market with a solution based on their technology, rather than push their new technology as the solution for the marketplace.

Every day around the globe, ideas are generated, startups are conceived, and founders want to come to the United States to launch their companies — it’s the proverbial American dream. However, our current immigration policies have prevented many foreign-born startup founders from remaining in the U.S. And as they leave, they take innovative ideas and jobs with them.

But there’s a movement underway for a “startup visa” — a classification that would make it easier for foreign entrepreneurs to establish businesses in the U.S.

“If you’re new to using Social Media in your job search – specifically Twitter – how do you know who to follow for really good advice?”

That was my thought after reading Matthew Forrest’s terrific blog regarding outdated or conflicting advice being dispensed by old-school career “experts”. Then it occurred to me that there are several resources and professionals on Twitter that we at YouTern have come to count on for quality career, job and internship content and advice.

You won’t find many of those we’ve come to respect on a “most influential” or “most followers” list (although we know some are). Simply put, we value quality over quantity – and substance over style or popularity. You also won’t find the types that ping all the time just to sell you something, or who are so busy self-promoting they forget to answer a question earnestly. Every person or organization on this list has shown us real character – and I’m proud to say that many have moved way past 140 characters to create wonderful business relationships – and friendships.