Innovation Watch Newsletter - Issue 9.

02 - January 16, 2010 ISSN: 1712-9834

In the news this week...

male chromosome an evolutionary hotspot... increase in autism and

autoimmune disease could be linked to evolution... cemetery uses
GPS to replace grave markers... engineer aims to create machine
consciousness... the mobile revolution in business... the future of
temporary jobs... mental health a big issue for today's youth... the
David Forrest recession generation... new threats to the global Internet... the future
advises on of the European Union... drawing new lines of defense against rising
emerging sea levels... Europe's new renewable power grid... lab-grown meat...
trends, and feeding the future 10 billion...
helps to develop
strategies for a We also feature...
radically
a new book by Mark Johnson on business model innovation... a link to
different future.
the MakerBot Industries website, offering an affordable, open source,
desktop 3D printer... the audio clip of an interview by Leonard Lopate
with John and Doris Naisbitt on China's megatrends... a blog post by
Andy Oram (O'Reilly Radar) on the Internet in 2020...

David Forrest

Coming Soon - Rethinking the Future Radio - An Innovation Watch

podcast that takes an inside look at the people and stories that are shaping
the future.

Top Stories:

Male Chromosome Evolving Faster than Expected - [CBC] The

Y chromosome is the fastest-changing part of the human
genome and undergoes rapid evolution through constant
renewal, new research suggests. The first comparison of the
male chromosomes of humans and chimpanzees have
revealed vast differences between the two, far more than
scientists expected.

Scientists Suggest Systemic Changes are Linked to Rise in

Disorders - [PhysOrg] The pressures of human evolution
could explain the apparent rise of disorders such as
autoimmune diseases and autism, researchers say. Some
adaptations may even help such ailments persist.

Top Stories: 

GPS Replaces Headstones in Calgary Cemeteries - [CBC] Two

new cemeteries, approved for the southeast and the north of
the city, will have sections for green burials, where there
won't be any grave markers, said Archie Lang, the city's
manager of cemeteries. A family visiting the cemetery will be
given a hand-held unit to find loved ones.

The Real Frankenstein Experiment: One Man's Mission to

Create a Living Mind Inside a Machine - [Daily Mail] His words
staggered the erudite audience gathered at a technology
conference in Oxford last summer. Professor Henry Markram,
a doctor-turned-computer engineer, announced that his team
would create the world's first artificial conscious and
intelligent mind by 2018.

Top Stories: 

Mobility Matters - [Forbes] How mobile devices are

revolutionizing business.

The Disposable Worker - [Business Week] Pay is falling,

benefits are vanishing, and no one's job is secure. How
companies are making the era of the temp more than
temporary.

Top Stories:

Youth Now Have More Mental Health Issues - [PhysOrg] A

new study has found that five times as many high school and
college students are dealing with anxiety and other mental
health issues than youth of the same age who were studied in
the Great Depression era.

The Recession Generation - [Newsweek] Those entering the

workforce now will likely make less and save more—not just
in the short term but for the rest of their lives.

Top Stories:

Google, China and a Wake-Up Call to Protect the Net -

[Globe and Mail] Action is needed at the global level to
ensure that cyberspace doesn't slip into a new dark age.

Could the EU of the Future Become a Global Alliance? -

[Deustche Welle] With the Lisbon Treaty, signed, sealed and
waiting to be delivered upon, the European Union has
entered a new phase of its existence. But where will it go
from here on the ever topical issue of greater enlargement?

Top Stories: 

Radical Sea Defence Rethink Urged - [BBC] Rising sea levels

and more storms could mean that parts of at-risk cities will
need to be surrendered to protect homes and businesses, a
report warns.

Europe Unites on Renewables - [Mail & Guardian] Europe's

first electricity grid dedicated to renewable power will become
a reality this month, as nine countries formally draw up plans
to link their clean energy projects around the North Sea.

Top Stories:

Scientists Turn Stem Cells into Pork - [PhysOrg] Call it pork in

a petri dish - a technique to turn pig stem cells into strips of
meat that scientists say could one day offer a green
alternative to raising livestock, help alleviate world hunger,
and save some pigs their bacon.

Feeding the Future - [PhysOrg] At the current growth rate

the global population is predicted to reach 10 billion by 2050.
To feed this many people, food production worldwide will
need to double during a period when climate change will
worsen, fossil fuels will dwindle, and water availability will
become unpredictable.
 Seizing the White Space: Business Model
Innovation for Growth and Renewal
by Mark W. Johnson

Read more...

Featured Link: MakerBot Industries - Robots That Make Things - An

affordable, open source 3D printer -- your own little factory.

Audio Clip - MP3 - China's Megatrends [Leonard Lopate Show] -

John Naisbitt, a long-time China observer, and Doris Naisbitt, director of
the Naisbitt China Institute in Tianjin and a professor at Yunnan University,
talk about the transformation of China′s economic, social, and political
systems. Their book China’s Megatrends: The 8 Pillars of a New Society
argues that China is creating a new social and economic model that fits
Chinese history and society just as America created a model fitting its
history and society more than 200 years ago. (32m 2s)

Blog - Pew Research Asks Questions about the Internet in 2020 -

[O'Reilly Radar] Andy Oram - Pew Research, which seems to be
interested in just about everything, conducts a "future of the Internet"
survey every few years in which they throw outrageously open-ended and
provocative questions at a chosen collection of observers in the areas of
technology and society.

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when purchased through Innovation Watch

 
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