The Economist had some harsh words for Toronto in their July 28, 2007 edition. The venerable UK magazine claims that Toronto’s fiscal struggles coupled with Calgary’s surging economy threaten Toronto’s status as “Canada’s pre-eminent city.” Mayor David Miller, meanwhile, is sternly criticized for attempting to raise new taxes on property and cars instead of pursuing more politically realistic measures like road tolls or congestion charges. The article ends with a stinging historical suggestion: “Splendid to be a city state. But even Venice ended up as a backwater.” Ouch.

Calling Richard Florida: Time for a rebuttal from Toronto’s newest global citizen?

Meagan Marks at FacebookCamp Toronto

Last night, over 450 Facebook developers gathered at MaRS to talk about building applications for the social utility. It was the first time that the Facebook people had skipped across the US border for a “developers garage”.

We recently blogged about the MaRS Facebook Group and the fact that Toronto boasts the highest per capita use of this software.

Add to that the fact that Toronto also has one of the top ten largest developer communities, making up more than ten per cent of the total developer community.

No wonder Facebook is paying so much attention to this city: a captive, early-adopting audience and a group of young, eager innovators.

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Inner workings of LHC particle accelerator
by ellengwallace

At the same centre in which the World Wide Web was invented, scientists have almost completed “one of the largest research projects that the world has taken on” to uncover the secrets of creation.

Spanning 24 years from planning to construction, costing almost four billion euros and able to become colder than outer space, the European Research Center for Particle Physics (CERN) is building the world’s largest particle physics accelerator in Geneva.

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Canadian companies that are feeling the pressure to innovate due to the strong loonie are missing the big picture. Feeling the need to innovate should not be a reaction to difficult financial times nor a last-ditch effort to survive; it needs to become part of our Canadian corporate culture and fostered continuously in good times and in bad. For many companies, recognizing the need for innovation when margins are as tight as they are is a lesson learned too late. Had these companies invested in innovation during the prosperous 65-cent-dollar, they may not be in the predicament they find themselves in today. We need to become more proactive and aggressive and break the “follow-the-leader” mindset and the belief that innovation needs to be purchased from other countries rather than developed internally.

We have the talent, skills, and education to develop our own intellectual property and control our own destiny in the global knowledge-based economy. Let’s not use innovation as a last-ditch effort to survive financial hardship; let’s choose to continuously innovate and foster an innovative society to guarantee our country’s success and prosperity independent of our loonie’s value.

Are you an SME who wants access to US venture capital?

Dawn M. Nagle, Trade Commissioner, Canadian Consulate, Phoenix AZ, invites you to join them at the upcoming capital conference in Arizona.

“This event was originally intended for companies located in the US Southwest, but in the spirit of partnership with the Canadian Consulate we have been invited to recommend/recruit Canadian companies to apply. It’s a great opportunity to provide Canada’s SME’s access to US venture capital.”

But hurry: the deadline for applications to present is Aug 7th at 5pm.

Invest Southwest is the premier capital conference in Arizona and the Southwest. This event connects the region’s most promising ventures with knowledgeable investors. Presenting companies have received more than a quarter billion in investment dollars since inception of the conference in 1992.

On December 12-13, 2007, investors and venture capitalists from across the country will gather at the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North in Scottsdale to see the “Best of the Southwest� present their business plans and investment opportunities. The event also includes an investor seminar, a nationally-known keynote speaker, and a presenting company forum.

To register or for more information, go here.

Environmental Finance highlights a report from the Cleantech Network on the growing appeal of Chinese clean tech companies. Venture capitalists poured $420 million into Chinese clean tech technologies in 2006, with 70% of investment funds going to solar power. Clean tech investments already represent nearly 20% of total VC investment in China ($2.2 billion in 2006), and investment is expected to grow, reaching $720 million by 2008.

Download: China Cleantech Venture Capital Investment Report

Playing around with DNA

Genetics is no longer just for scientists. As the “recreational genomicsâ€? market continues to grow online — with legions of genealogists worldwide submitting DNA samples and logging onto databases for clues to their roots — a Toronto journalist is now piecing together her own family’s intriguing ancestral path as part of a penetrating look at some of the technology that is shaping our ideas about identity.

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State of World Population 2007

In June, the UN Population Fund released State of World Population 2007, a study highlighting the importance of urbanization in the 21st century. By 2008, “more than half of world population, 3.3 billion people, will be living in urban areas.”

The challenges that will accompany this shift are daunting, in particular providing services for the growing ranks of urban poor and managing urban sprawl. However, the report emphasizes the opportunities urbanization may hold for promoting economic growth, environmental sustainability and social justice. And for Cancon, Vancouver is featured as an example of a model city finding ways to provide services to its neediest residents.

My brain by Digital Shotgun

As the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases increases with the oldest baby boomers entering their early 60’s this year, it has become crucial to understand the mechanisms behind the brain and neuronal degeneration seen in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. One in three Canadians will be affected by a disease, disorder, or injury of the brain, spinal cord or nervous system at some point in their lives, according to Neuroscience Canada. Furthermore, the global burden of neurodegenerative diseases is estimated to be over $350B USD already, both in direct and indirect costs.

Thus, the recent news that researchers at Hebrew University in Jerusalem have succeeded in watching the formation of new neurons (neurogenesis) in the brain in real time and in vivo is amazing indeed. Published in Nature Neuroscience, Dr. Adi Mizrahi combined microscopic imaging techniques with virus gene technology to watch undifferentiated olfactory neurons differentiate and grow in the brains of mice.

Researchers will now be able to study the mechanisms underlying neurogenesis more clearly. In addition to this, drug development companies may be able to introduce drugs faster into the market as preclinical models will be better translated into clinical trials. Drugs and toxins can be tested in real time and in vivo to determine optimal dose ranges.

“This has great significance for the future of brain research,” said Dr. Mizrahi, since “the structural and functional complexity of nerve cells remains one of the biggest mysteries of neuroscience, and we now have a model to study this complexity directly.â€?

Read more about this study: Hebrew University scientist observes brain cell development in “real time”.