Iw Newsletter 8.19 - September 12, 2009

Innovation Watch Newsletter - Issue 8.19 - September 12, 2009

ISSN: 1712-9834

In the news this week...

David Forrest advises businesses, governments, and other organizations on emerging trends, and helps to develop strategies for a radically different future

researchers find potential on-off switch for cancer... dandelions may be a new source of rubber... robots the future of surgery... new nanosensors detect harmful bacteria... Google book scanning faces growing opposition... Kai-Fu Lee sets up a high-tech incubator in China... hairstylists could be community workers... Symantec collaborates with customers to track down cybercriminals... the financial crisis challenges globalization... ten critical cyberscurity trends... drug resistant bacteria found on west coast beaches... France plans to implement a tax on carbon... global temperature changes a threat to crops... UK Royal Society concludes geoengineering is feasible... We also feature... a new book by John Mullins and Randy Komisar, Getting to Plan B: Breaking Through to a Better Business Model -- a link to the Earthbeat Radio website, offering radio shows on climate and clean energy... an audio interview with Salim Ismail, executive director of Singularity University, reflecting on the experience as its first class of students graduates... David Forrest

Top Stories: Novel 'On-Off Switch' Mechanism Stops Cancer in Its Tracks [PhysOrg] A tiny bit of genetic material with no previously known function may hold the key to stopping the spread of cancer, researchers at Yale School of Medicine and Sichuan University in Chengdu, China report.

Dandelion Rubber - [PhysOrg] Most natural rubber comes from rubber trees in Southeast Asia, but this source is now under threat from a fungus. Researchers have optimized the Russian dandelion to make it suitable for large-scale rubber production.

Top Stories:  Robots 'to Revolutionise Surgery' - [BBC] Within ten years some doctors and scientists are predicting that all surgery could be scarless. They say by using the natural orifices of the body and the body's own natural scar the belly-button (or umbilicus), it will be possible to insert robots into the body which can help perform every surgical procedure. New Biosensor can Detect Bacteria Instantaneously [PhyOrg] A research group from the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in Tarragona, Spain, has developed a biosensor that can immediately detect very low levels of Salmonella typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid fever. The technique uses carbon nanotubes and synthetic DNA fragments that activate an electric signal when they link up with the pathogen.

Top Stories:  Google Willing to Share Digital Books - [Mercury News] The nation's top copyright official has joined the mounting opposition to a class-action settlement that would give Google the digital rights to millions of out-of-print books. Her objections cast further doubt on whether the agreement will be allowed by a federal court, even as Google offered a concession aimed at smoothing the way for approval. Kai-Fu Lee's New Venture - [Business Week] Innovation Works is intended to be something of an incubator for new Chinese companies in mobile computing, e-commerce, and cloud computing. Lee (who hates the term “incubator” because of the failure of so many in the U.S. dot-com crash) intends to brainstorm ideas, find entrepreneurs and engineers to prove them out, and provide seed funding.

Top Stories: Study: Hairstylists Can Help Identify Older Clients Who Need

Health Services - [PhysOrg] Hairstylists may have a unique opportunity to help steer their elderly clients to needed health services, according to a small, exploratory study. Using Cybercitizens to Hunt Down Hackers - [Business Week] Symantec is trying to utilize the power of Web users to snare cybercriminals.

Top Stories: The Virtues of Deglobalization - [The Huffington Post] The current global downturn, the worst since the Great Depression 70 years ago, pounded the last nail into the coffin of globalization. Already beleaguered by evidence that showed global poverty and inequality increasing, even as most poor countries experienced little or no economic growth, globalization has been terminally discredited in the last two years. World War 3.0: 10 Critical Trends for Cybersecurity [Enterprise Security Today] The Internet, private networks, VPNs, and a host of other technologies are quickly weaving the planet into a single, massively complex "infosphere." These connections cannot be severed without overwhelming damage to companies and even economies. Yet, they represent unprecedented vulnerabilities to espionage and covert attack.

Top Stories:  Flesh-Eating Bacteria Found at Beaches - [ABC News] Dangerous staph bacteria have been found in sand and water for the first time at five public beaches along the coast of Washington, and scientists think the state is not the only one with this problem. The germ is MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- a hard-to-treat bug once rarely seen outside of hospitals but that increasingly is spreading in ordinary community settings such as schools, locker rooms and gyms. France Set to Impose Carbon Tax - [BBC] French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced plans for a new carbon tax aimed at combating global warming. The tax will be introduced next year and will cover the use of oil, gas and coal, he said.

Top Stories: Farmers Warned to Get Ready as Climate Change Threatens Crops - [PhysOrg] Even if global temperatures rise slowly, climate change could slash the yields of some of the world's most important crops almost in half, according to a new study co-authored by an N.C. State University scientist. Engineering Earth 'is Feasible' - [BBC] A UK Royal Society study has concluded that many engineering proposals to reduce the impact of climate change are "technically possible". Such approaches could be effective, the authors said in their report. But they also stressed that the potential of geo-engineering should not divert governments away from their efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

Getting to Plan B: Breaking Through to a Better Business Model by John Mullins and Randy Komisar Read more...

Featured Link: Earthbeat Radio - Earthbeat takes on every aspect of the climate / clean energy issue with interviews, features, humor, and commentary. Launched in 2003, it is an independent radio show produced by station WPFW in Washington.

Audio Clip: MP3 - Studying at the Singularity University - [Guardian Tech Weekly] Ray Kurzweil launched the Singularity University at TED earlier this year. As the first students graduate, Bobbie Johnson visits the campus to speak to Salim Ismail, the executive director of the project, as well as students and tutors to find out how rapid technological change could help the world.

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