Category: Business conditions
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Americans Use More Gas and Renewables, Less Coal in 2011
Americans used less energy overall in 2011 than in 2010 due mainly to reductions in the amount of energy wasted, along with natural gas and renewable sources increasing, and coal declining. The findings were published in an annual accounting of national energy supply and demand by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, based on data from the…
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Report: U.S. Health Care Needs to Adopt Learning Culture
A new report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), part of the National Academies of Science, says the U.S. health care system pays too much for outcomes that fall short on quality, but can learn from other industries to continuously improve the quality of care at lower cost. The committee that prepared the report for…
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Pharma Company Allergan to Build New Jersey R&D Center
Allergan Inc., a developer of specialty pharmaceutical products, will build a new research and development center in Bridgewater, New Jersey. According to a company announcement, the the 93,000-square-foot facility is expected to employ “several hundred” employees, but neither the precise number nor types of the jobs were disclosed. Allergan, headquartered in Irvine, California, develops and…
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European Businesses Expect 4 Percent Annual R&D Growth
A survey of executives from larger companies in Europe shows the executives anticipate spending four percent more per year on research and development in the years 2012 to 2014. The report is based on responses from 187 executives conducted in January through April 2012 in companies that spent €56 billion, which makes up about 40…
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Students, Postdocs, Policies Drive University Spinoffs
A new report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation says participation of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in forming businesses, coupled with campus policies and support structures, help propel the creation of spinoff companies from universities. The Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City conducts research and advocacy on entrepreneurship, and provided one of the report’s authors…
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Special: Health Care Experts Propose Sweeping Cost Control Changes
Updated: 4 August 2012 A group of noted health care policy experts offer a series of proposals they say can rein in health care costs, with implications for the federal budget, the economy as a whole, and developers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The panel, convened by the Center for American Progress, a progressive think-tank…
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Report: Business Research Funding Decline Impacts Innovation
A new report from the National Science Board, the governing body of the National Science Foundation, says declines in business R&D investment over the past decade, particularly during the recession of 2008-2009, are taking a toll on American innovation. The report, Research & Development, Innovation, and the Science and Engineering Workforce, also notes that reductions…
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Special: U.S. Policies Connect Research to Manufacturing
Editor’s note: Science Business today is devoted to a report of a conference in Washington, D.C., “U.S. Manufacturing: Policies for a New Economic Reality.” At a conference on U.S. manufacturing policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., panelists urged stronger policies to more explicitly link scientific research to the factory floor, in order for…
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Venture Investors Increase First Half 2012 Fund Raising
Venture capital (VC) funds in Europe and the U.S. have increased their fund raising in the first half of 2012 by double-digit percentages, according to Dow-Jones LP Source, a financial industry research service. More fund raising by VCs indicates potentially more financing available for start-up companies liked those backed by venture investors. LP Source says…
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White House Issues Outline for Bioscience-Based Economy
The Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House today released a national Bioeconomy Blueprint that it says will harness biological research to address national priorities. The plan outlines actions to be undertaken by federal agencies. No mention is made of new legislation, although the administration’s latest budget submission identified as a priority…