Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging
Credit: Mark Lythgoe & Chloe Hutton, Wellcome Images

Last week, I returned home from a conference held in Tokyo called Neuro2007. Largely hosted by the biggest neuroscience institute in the world, the RIKEN institute, it was a good opportunity to gain insight on the focus of premier Japanese neuroscientists’ research.

Apart from leading studies in imaging diagnostics, epilepsy, stem cells, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, it was interesting to see a majority of the presentations focused on cognition. Originating from the Latin word cognoscere meaning “to know”, cognition is presently defined as information processing in relation to learning, knowledge, memory, intelligence and reasoning (see below for more detailed explanation).

One notable technology presented was transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) which can non-invasively alter cognition processes, emotional states and unconscious motor behavior.

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My uncle once told me that even when I was out of school, I should still read and study my subject area as if I was preparing for finals. Well, for those interested in entrepreneurship out there, the Financial Post just made it a little easier. Starting today, the Financial Post will be dedicating each Monday edition to small and medium businesses.

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Welcome to the New MaRSdd.com.
Photo: MaRS on Flickr

The evolutionary pressure was on and MaRS has responded. Yesterday marked the birth of the next generation of www.marsdd.com, thanks to our hard-working IT team led by tireless portal manager and dedicated super-user, Cathy Bogaart.

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Gordon Moore of Intel

Gordon Moore, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Intel Corp, was featured at last month’s annual Intel Developer Forum as part of the company’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the integrated circuit. In a wide-ranging interview with Moira Gunn, moderator of National Public Radio’s “Tech Nation” program, he reflected on everything from ecology to his choice of a career if he was to start over.

Read on for highlights of Gunn and Moore’s conversation.

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This weekend marks the first of the 2007-2008 Green Festivals in Washington, D.C. Sponsored by two nonprofit organizations, Global Exchange and Co-op America, Green Festivals promote the goal of a “just, sustainable, inclusive economy – a green economy.”

The Festival’s schedule of events includes the What’s the Economy For, Anyway? conference, where speakers including John DeGraaf, author of Affluenza; Francis Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet; and Ann Crittenden, author of The Price of Motherhood, will tackle the economics of quality of life, social justice and sustainability.

In the American Prospect, Courtney Martin agrees that “a renewed conversation about basic economic priorities is long overdue.” Concluding that “the economy is not about number crunching and cost-benefit analysis alone,” Martin calls for a new economics that incorporates “political philosophy, ethical commitment, and most of all, moral imagination.”

This conference should give you some tough questions to chew on along with your Thanksgiving turkey.

NABUUR local representatives
Photo by S Woldhek

Ever help your neighbour trim his hedge, or water his garden when you’re watering your own? Maybe you took them some food when they were sick or offered them your driveway when they had some extra company over.

Now consider what would happen if your goodwill were applied to an online community.

It’s the concept behind Nabuur.com - online community software that links you directly with people around the world who need assistance. And it’s not your money they’re interested in, although I’m sure they wouldn’t say no. They’re looking for that metaphorical parking spot or casserole: whatever you have or can do that can help them towards their goal.

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Oil Spill Animation from Living Oceans

When Geoff Gilliard, Communications Manager at Living Oceans, heard about YouTube at that training session in May, he had no idea how it would change the lives of orcas and his organization.

But when a barge spilled its contents into the Michael Bigg Ecological Reserve at Robson Bight in a little-publicized accident, it seemed that it was time to test the waters of his new-found knowledge.

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Whose Web is it anyway? Photo by m-c

When’s the last time you thought you were getting the full, unadulterated truth from the media?

Chris Dykstra, jaded by traditional media (”Propaganda!” he cries) and insisting that people need the straight goods to make informed decisions on issues they really care about, has decided it’s time you got just that: the truth.

And so started The UpTake.org, founded on the principles of citizen journalism.

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They grow up too fast, originally uploaded by wiseacre

To follow up on a story from the 10th, in another sign of the maturation of the clean tech sector in Canada, Ottawa based Venture Coaches is in the process of raising a $100M fund to invest in home-grown clean technology companies. When launched early next year, it will be the first major fund dedicated to the Canadian market (other Canadian funds, such as Chrysalix Energy and Emerald Ventures, having invested heavily in the US and Europe).

The “Canadian Cleantech Fund” focuses on companies engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, marketing, sale and support of energy efficient materials; components, sub-systems, systems, and solutions for energy management; and innovative technologies improving fundamental processes with respect to energy and waste stream reductions.

For entrepreneurs in this sector, have your pitch decks ready!

Source: Tyler Hamilton, The Star

Web of Change organizer photo by phillipadsmith

MaRS is casting its net beyond science and technology innovation into the sea of social innovation. Last week, as the resident Web expert, I went to the seventh annual Web of Change, a conference about using technology to address social issues. This week, I’ll be blogging about the people who are changing the world, one email at a time.

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