World-famous Japanese stem cell scientist Dr. Shinya Yamanaka could choose to work with any group or nation he desires after being named by Time magazine as responsible for the top scientific discovery in the world last year, transforming any human skin cell into stem cells.
And who has Dr. Yamanaka chosen to work with? Ontario!
Charles Taylor, Montreal Philosopher
Photo by Padraic
What does a philosopher from Montreal and a molecular biologist from Toronto have in common? They are the first two Canadians ever to win Japan’s most prestigious lifetime achievement award, the Kyoto Prize, largely referred to as Japan’s Nobel Prize.
Drs. Anthony Pawson and Charles Taylor were just announced as the winners of the prize which was created to recognize that “[humankind] has no higher calling than to strive for the greater good of society, and that mankind’s future can be assured only when there is a balance between our scientific progress and spiritual depth.”
Canada and California come together over stem cell research
Last week, a bold initiative brought together the world’s leaders in cancer stem cell research. The Governments of Canada and California announced a major three-year research agreement to begin a common search for ways to evaluate, fund and monitor cancer stem cell research projects.
Minister Tony Clement (Canadian Minister of Health) pledged $100 million over three years to the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium (CSCC). The CSCC will collaborate closely with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).
Universe evolution timeline
Dr. Richard Bond, leading Canadian cosmologist, astronomer, and astrophysicist, was recently awarded the Gruber Cosmology Prize for his many contributions to the field.
“Richard Bond, PhD, director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Cosmology and Gravity Program, was the recipient of the 2008 Cosmology Prize of the Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation in affiliation with the International Astronomical Union. He was honored for groundbreaking theoretical work on structure formation and evolution of the universe.� (Gruber Press Release)
Canada’s silent policy change
Photo by joesflickr
In a world where the hunt for talent is fierce and is intensifying, it is crucial for Canada to position itself as a destination of choice for the brightest minds to remain competitive globally. With the integration of many eastern European countries into the EU and with increased internal competition for skill in countries like India and China, many desirable candidates no longer look to Canada as a choice for advancement. Countries like Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States have been long engaged in this battle for talent. With an aging workforce and population growth coming predominantly from immigration, it is important for Canada not only to attract but also retain the right minds.
Recent changes in regulations governing the post-graduation work permit for international students hope to achieve exactly this.
Read the rest of this entry »
Canadian student solves the plastic bag problem
America’s innovation pipeline may be in trouble, but if the results of the Canada-Wide Science Fair are any indication, Canada is nurturing a fresh crop of great inventors.
Daniel Burd, a student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, took Best in Fair (and over $50,000 in prizes) for his project Plastic Not Fantastic.
Funds decline for agriculture
That’s what DotEarth, the New York Times‘ blog on environmental issues, wonders. Andrew Revkin points to declining funding for basic research in key areas like agriculture and energy as a troubling example of how the U.S. fails to promote innovation.
Revkin concludes,
“Societies and economies today are built on advances in technologies and practices in fields like agriculture and energy that were spurred by significant public investment a few decades ago. But there doesn’t seem to be much evidence that the current generation is willing to keep filling the innovation pipeline for successors.”
Citizenship @ MaRS
In “The Rise of the Creative Class,” Richard Florida writes that the diversity of an area tells us much about an area’s openness to different kinds of people and ideas, including the innovative ones that can result in financial gain. He believes the diversity index is an “indicator of a region’s overall standing in the creative economy and I offer it as a barometer of a region’s longer run economic potential.”
Last Thursday, May 15, MaRS had the privilege of welcoming more diversity to this community as we celebrated 60 new Canadians from 26 countries at a Citizenship Court held in the MaRS Auditorium.
Insulin tops the list, but who made the money?
In the course of looking for background on Canadian Inventions, I came upon a list of the top 50 Canadian Inventions (Five-Pin Bowling is number four). This list came out of a show put on by the CBC (who else) in 2007. Following on the heels of the Greatest Canadian this show put it to all Canadians to rank our 50 greatest inventions.
I was trolling through this list and suddenly it struck me. I couldn’t identify a single company that had been created and gained worldwide prominence out of the first 15 inventions. Where was the pharmaceutical giant spawned from the development of insulin, the nutraceutical behemoth formed from Pablum? Instead I found a list of fabulous inventions which, for the most part, were opportunities not seized. Certainly Poutine has been a worldwide phenom but have we capitalized on its creation to bring untold wealth back home?
Red Maple Leaves in the Sun by joesflickr
I just finished reading the latest report on Canada’s competitiveness (PDF) released by the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity. The report describes our current state in 2008 and the outlook to 2020, and it’s troubling to see that even though our economic performance is among the strongest nations, we are trailing the US by a whopping $8,800 in GDP per capita.
So what does this mean?
It means that we have opportunities to improve the value we add to our human, physical and natural resources, that will in turn contribute to our national prosperity and standard of living.
David is a practicing management consultant and recent MBA grad from the Rotman School of Management. David’s passion for developing the thinking and leadership potential of others is manifested in both his vocation and his pro-bono efforts.
