Innovation Watch Newsletter - Issue 9.

03 - January 30, 2010 ISSN: 1712-9834

In the news this week...

mapping the brain... sequencing the mammoth genome... designing

ant-sized robots... killer robots go to war... the economy as a living
ecosystem... companies shift to temporary jobs... Chinese generation
Y modernizes without Westernizing... the economic crisis could create
a lost generation... rising superpowers create dilemmas for US foreign
David Forrest policy... cyber terrorism could move to a dangerous new level... Bill
advises on Gates funds geoengineering research... Honda opens a hydrogen
emerging refueling station in Los Angeles... synthetic biology could revolutionize
trends, and drug development... environmental think tank says economic growth
helps to develop incompatible with climate change...
strategies for a
We also feature...
radically
different future. a new book by John and Doris Naisbitt on megatrends in China... a
link to the Future Facts website on emerging technologies and their
impact... a video clip from TEDMED on growing human replacement
organs... a blog post by Venesa Miemis (Emergent by Design) on
design thinking...

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:

Neuroscientists Making Computers Smart Enough to See

Connections between Brain's Neurons - [PhysOrg] C. elegans,
a tiny worm about a millimeter long, doesn’t have much of a
brain, but it has a nervous system — one that comprises 302
nerve cells, or neurons, to be exact. In the 1970s, a team of
researchers at Cambridge University decided to create a
complete “wiring diagram” of how each of those neurons are
connected to one another.

Mammoth Achievement: Researchers at the Forefront of

Molecular Biology - [PhysOrg] Forget Jurassic Park. By
successfully sequencing the DNA of a long-extinct species,
Stephan Schuster and Webb Miller have helped push back the
boundaries of molecular biology.

Top Stories: 

Insectlike 'Microids' Might Walk, Run, Work in Colonies -

[PhysOrg] A new approach in the design of miniature,
insectlike robots could lead to "microids" the size of ants that
move their tiny legs and mandibles using solid-state
"muscles."

Killer Robots No Longer Just a Sci-Fi Fantasy - [New Zealand

Herald] In the dark, in the silence, in a blink, the age of the
autonomous killer robot has arrived. At their current rate of
acceleration they will become the dominant method of war for
rich countries in the 21st century.

Top Stories: 

The 'Living, Breathing' Economy - [Christian Science Monitor]

New views of the economic bust consider finance as a
dynamic ecosystem.

MIT Economist Finds Temporary Jobs May Actually Reduce

Workers' Income and Employment Prospects - [PhysOrg]
While the U.S. economy struggles, one form of employment
is on the rise: Temporary jobs. In December, the country lost
85,000 jobs overall, but added 47,000 temp positions,
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Increasingly
America relies on these contingent employees -- or
"disposable workers," as BusinessWeek put it in a recent
cover story.
Top Stories:

Reckoning with Chinese Gen Y - [BusinessWeek] New

research on young Chinese shows they are modernizing but
they are not Westernizing.

Credit Crisis Creates Lost Generation - [BusinessWeek] There

is now a danger that the biggest fallout from the credit crisis
is the creation of a lost generation of young people who
never make the transition from school to work.

Top Stories:

The Myth of Permanent U.S. Global Dominance - [The

Globalist] With the rapid emergence of the BRIC countries, it
has become imperative for U.S. policymakers to reshape
relations with the world's largest emerging economies —
particularly India and China. According to Martin Sieff, The
Globalist's Chief Global Analyst and author of "Shifting
Superpowers," U.S. views of these nations need to change
before further progress can be made.

Today's Threat: Computer Network Terrorism - [PhysOrg] To

date, most of the 'online fighting' has focused on attempts to
vandalize and immobilize leading websites to impose a virtual
presence and damage morale. The next stage is the attempt
to cause damage to systems that are operated by computer
networks, such as financial systems, power stations,
hospitals, television broadcasts and satellites.

Top Stories: 

Bill Gates Funds Research Into Climate Hacking - [Wired] Bill

Gates has sunk at least $4.5 million of his personal wealth
into geoengineering research. While it’s only a small chunk of
his vast personal fortune, it’s a sign that the founder of
Microsoft thinks we should at least be looking into the
controversial practice of intentionally altering the Earth’s
climate on a global scale.

Honda Begins Operation of New Solar Hydrogen Station in LA

- [PhysOrg] Honda began operation of a next generation
solar hydrogen station prototype at the Los Angeles Center of
Honda R&D Americas, intended for ultimate use as a home
refueling appliance capable of an overnight refill of fuel cell
electric vehicles.
Top Stories:

Why DIY Bio? - [H+] Andrew Hessel of Pink Army

Cooperative on forming the first DIY drug company.

Economic Growth 'Cannot Continue' - [BBC] Continuing global

economic growth "is not possible" if nations are to tackle
climate change, a report by an environmental think-tank has
warned.

China’s Megatrends: The 8 Pillars of a New Society

by John and Doris Naisbitt

Read more...

Featured Link: Future Facts Blog - A business blog about emerging

technologies and their impact.

Video Clip - Anthony Atala on Growing Organs [TEDMED] - Anthony

Atala’s state-of-the-art lab grows human organs — from muscles to blood
vessels to bladders, and more. At TEDMED, he shows footage of his bio-
engineers working with some of its sci-fi gizmos, including an oven-like
bioreactor (preheat to 98.6 F) and a machine that “prints” human tissue.
(17m 52s)

Blog - What is Design Thinking, Really? - [Emergent by

Design]Venessa Miemis – “If you’re a businessperson or someone
interested in understanding how to facilitate innovation, you’ve probably
heard of ‘design thinking’ by now. Coined by IDEO’s David Kelley, the term
refers to a set of principles, from mindset to process, that can be applied
to solve complex problems.

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