Topic: Life Sciences

Of A Whole New Mind

Yesterday afternoon, I took the train down to Philadelphia to join the local Company of Friends group at the Charter High School for Architecture and Design. Why go so far just to turn around to head home in several hours? Dan Pink. ...READ»

Has BP Actually Moved Beyond Petroleum?

When BP gave itself the tagline "Beyond Petroleum" in 2000, few environmentalists took the company seriously. Just one year later, Mother Jones magazine named BP as one of the 10 worst corporations for its environmental and human ...READ»

Algae: Maybe Not the Miracle Biofuel We All Thought It Was

We've seen plenty of algae fuel startups pop up in the last year. It's not surprising--algae has been heralded as something of a miracle biofuel because it doesn't compete with food crops (unlike corn) and it has high energy yields. ...READ»

Clean Rooms

A paint-on coating that kills microbes on contact.READ»

Five Companies That Are Turning Algae Into Energy

We recently received a press release from a fledging company called Renewed World Energies claiming that it has created the first commercially viable algae-processing system. The company expects to have two acres of commercial algae ...READ»

Dow Chemical, Algenol Biofuels Using Algae to turn CO2 into Ethanol

Sometimes, carbon dioxide emissions aren't the enemy. Florida-based startup Algenol Biofuels and Dow Chemical Co. are building a Freeport, Texas algae-based biorefinery pilot plant to turn CO2 into ethanol. The 24 acre plant, ...READ»

The Body: Bulletproof

If you want to live forever, change your skin color, or just firm up those abs from the comfort of your own couch, you might be in luck: Gene therapy is on its way--and it's coming fast.READ»

Why we need to use both sides of our brain

Previous brain research has shown that the brain is divided into the left and right hemispheres, each with different functions and perspectives on reality. Yet recent brain research has shown the functional division is not as we thought, and that language, imaging, and reasoning is served by both hemispheres. Yet, our society has favored left brain thinking and perspectives, at the expense of the right brain, with some negative consequences.READ»

Why Old Habits Die Hard: What Every Manager Should Know

Managers have been known to tear their hair out in frustration of why employees can't change behaviors, and discard old habits. Recent brain research gives us more accurate reasons as to why and what managers need to do about it. The bottom line is that you can't force anyone to change. Any kind of pressure will produce more resistance and could end up being counterproductive.READ»

Cancer-Fighting Nanoparticles Could Herald Real-Life Medical Innerspace

The first set of trials using nanoparticles to fight cancerous cells have completed, withREAD»

NASA Coaxes Biofuel From Bags of Sewage

There are lots of creative ways to produce biofuel from algae, but NASA's takes the cake. The space agency is growing biofuel in plastic bags of sewage floating in the sea. The Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae (OMEGA) ...READ»

Genetically Modified to Save the Planet: Is the Enviropig What's for Breakfast?

Can we use genetics to make farm animals greener than nature intended? Scientists are certainly trying--just take a look at the Enviropig, a genetically engineered pig that produces feces and urine containing 65% less phosphorous ...READ»

BP Joins Exxon in Algae Fuel Lovefest

The latest Big Oil endorsement of algae-derived fuels signals that the technology may be feasible--and a better alternative--sooner than anyone expected.READ»

Go Fish: Startup Makes Algae-Based Fish Oil Into Biofuel

Fish plus algae equals oil says a new startup called LiveFuels, the latest algae-based biofuel gambit that's as controversial as it is intriguing.READ»

Are There Holes In My Genes?

A new industry promises to gauge your genetic risk of getting diseases like cancer. Our reporter takes a test.READ»

Light Immersion Technology Could Speed Up Algae Growth, Lower Biofuel Costs

Algae-based biofuels could rule the future--if we can lower production costs. A Seattle-based startup called Bionavitas thinks the solution to producing cost-efficient algae is Light Immersion Technology, which uses pencil-shaped ...READ»

The Gene Bubble: Why We Still Aren't Disease-Free

When the human genome was first sequenced nearly a decade ago, the world lit up with talk about how new gene-specific drugs would help us cheat death. Well, the verdict is in: Keep eating those greens.READ»

Lost Dollars in Gene Research

Billions of R&D dollars flowed to companies promising to cure our ills. Most of those companies are now dead or forgotten.READ»

• The Gene Bubble

Eco Building Rebuilds Itself Using Robotic Arms and Eco Power

We've seen every kind of architectural concept related to green design, but here's an exciting new one that may also be the oddest. It seems to borrow from a NASA design concept; it constantly re-builds itself and grows biofuel on its ...READ»

Management Rewired: What CAn Brain Science Tell Us About Leadership?

Research on how the human brain can affect behaviors--called neuroscience, or the popular term, brain science--has yet to be fully appreciated by leaders of organizations. That knowledge could have a significant impact on how leaders are trained and what they doREAD»

Cereplast Turning Algae Into Green Plastic

Algae: is there anything it can't do? The slimy photosynthetic organism is already in the prototype stages as a biofuel, and now sustainable plastic manufacturer Cereplast has announced that it can turn algae into a sustainable ...READ»

Fish on Friday: Venter Claims to Create Artificial Life

In a most extraordinary story, London's Guardian newspaper is reporting that genomics pioneer Craig Venter claims to have created "the first new artificial life form on Earth," as the Guardian puts it. The Guardian can reveal that a ...READ»

Abandoned Mines: The New Algae-Harvesting Powerhouses?

Algae is one of the hottest new biofuel materials, with over a dozen companies attempting to make the slimy stuff a viable feedstock. Most of them rely on the natural simplicity of the organism--sun and water turn CO2 from algae ...READ»

Management Wired: What Can Brain Science Tell Us About Leadership?

Research on how the human brain can affect behaviors--called neuroscience, or the popular term, brain science--has yet to be fully appreciated by leaders of organizations. That knowledge could have a significant impact on how leaders are trained and what they do. In the past few decades, Scientists have gained new and more accurate scientific views of human behavior, studying the human brain. Organizational change that takes into account the physiological nature of the brain and ways that predisposes people to resist or cooperate with leaders can be extremely useful for leaders.READ»

What Makes a Product Cool

The Fast Interview: Steve Quartz on neuromarketing – and why iPods are like heroin.READ»