Where's the Beef

A Genetic Test for Diabetes Risk

Another FUTURE NOW phenomenon

A Genetic Test for Diabetes Risk: "New tests that detect genes for common diseases are reaching the consumer market. But will they help make people healthier?"

(Via Technology Review Feed - Tech Review Top Stories.)

BeefCAMPus 2007 has been really great so far

We launched the first BeefCAMPus in Mallorca in April 2007. 15 participants solved 9 real cases. Great stuff. You can read some of the testimonials at our new BeefCAMPus website . From Jacob Bar's and my perspective the most interesting challenge is the balance between SOLVING THE CASES and LEARNING methodology. Using real cases in real-time exercises is extremely complex both for us as trainers and certainly for the trainees. But using pre-studdied cases takes some of the authenticity out of the workshop.

In Cyprus (at the TII Summer School) we got the opportunity to work two days with 23 participants from 15 countries and started out by giving priority to methodology: guess what the trainees wanted?? Real case! So we worked with a case of mushroom culture and disinfectant technology. Really interesting. Jacob has tuned his fabulous search engine and it is now a power tool in the hands of the trained driver !!

The second Mallorca event takes place in late October 2007 and here we have reduced the number of cases and participants to be able to use real cases but also have time to work with methodology. We have universities from 3 countries and two startup companies, one of which is a gazelle with an exceptional growth over the latest 5 years.

We have agreed to deliver 3 more workshops in 2007: one in Canarias where we will be focusing on 7 startup companies; one in Portugal (with a mixed group of university tech transfer officers and startup companies) and finally one in Mallorca in December. 2008 promises to be even more interesting.

Stay tuned/come back and find out what we learnt.

Future Now: IBM nominates five innovations

In my series Future Now, I found this interesting article: IBM nominated Five Innovations which will change our lives over the next five years: 1) We will be able to access healthcare remotely, from just about anywhere in the world 2) Real-time speech translation—once a vision only in science fiction—will become the norm 3) There will be a 3-D Internet 4) Technologies the size of a few atoms will address areas of environmental importance 5) Our mobile phones will start to read our minds These five innovations were selected based on projects in our Research labs, research conducted by our business think-tank, and ideas pooled from more than 150,000 people from 104 countries who took part in an online brainstorming session called “IBM InnovationJam.” Item 4 deals with carbon nanotubes used for water desalination and nanostructure fabrication used in making better solar cells.

New medical search engine provides a wealth of nanotechnology information

This is an interesting twist to a classical search engine; but JBEngine already has this facility (as does Highwire, which is included in JBEngine)

New medical search engine provides a wealth of nanotechnology information: "A new search engine provides medical professionals, researchers and the general public with a more efficient and targeted way to search PubMed for the latest, most relevant medical literature to answer medical queries."

(Via Nanowerk News.)

Future Now: A Better Way to Deliver Cancer Drugs

This is a perfect example of Beef Thinking: Look at the Value Chain and then see if you can sell your stuff one step down the stream!!

A Better Way to Deliver Cancer Drugs: "Piquette-Miller"

(Via .)

Future now: Technology Review: Healing Bone with Stem Cells

Technology Review: Healing Bone with Stem Cells: " [1] Wednesday, March 07, 2007 Healing Bone with Stem Cells New techniques to boost survival of adult stem cells could improve surgeries for severe fractures. By Emily Singer Broken bones: New methods to boost cell survival after transplant could help heal severe fractures. Implantable materials that grab stem cells and spur their growth and survival could improve bone-healing surgeries. Linda Griffith and her colleagues at MIT have created a new tissue-engineering material that could help cells survive the harsh transplant environment--a key step in cell-transplant therapies. Scienti"

(Via .)

Future Now: Portable, Palm-Size Radiation Detectors

A good example of the world of business stated by Ian Pearson and his Future Studies at British telecom.

Portable, Palm-Size Radiation Detectors: "A new device, with sensors the size of human cells, can measure, record, and assess the risk of radiation emissions in real time."

(Via Technology Review Feed - Tech Review Top Stories.)

Future Now: New Bedside-Diagnostics Tool

This is a perfect example of Beef Thinking: Look at the Value Chain and then see if you can sell your stuff one step down the stream!!

New Bedside-Diagnostics Tool: "Can microfluidics turn out cheap and powerful alternatives to microarrays?"

(Via Technology Review Feed - Tech Review Top Stories.)

No Nano Chill from Canon’s IP Loss - NSTI Finds Legal, Partnership Lessons

I have earlier reported on how and why I think that Nanotechnology is going to be the big issue for litigation on IP Matters

No Nano Chill from Canon’s IP Loss - NSTI Finds Legal, Partnership Lessons: "Last week, the biggest nanotechnology licensing battle ever came to an end when a U.S. District Judge ruled that Canon Inc., one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers, violated a licensing agreement with nanotechnology component maker Nano-Proprietary, Inc. of Austin, Texas."

(Via NSTI Nano World News™.)

From thinking and debating, to shaping the future

Thanks to a Cordis News email I have become aware of Action FORERA of the Joint Research Center of the European Commission, where future-oriented technology analyses (FTA) and studies, including strategic foresight, forecasting and technology assessment, are discussed to better enable policy makers to look into the future and choose among policy options. Now let's hope politicians will be listening ;)

In their web page there is a lot of information I had no time yet to read, and a forum has just been opened. In the publications section I have seen already reports about (nano/bio) manufacturing challenges and technology time horizons, policy recommendations, and a 'guide to regional foresight'.