Category: Business conditions
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Forest Biofuels Unsustainable, Could Boost Greenhouse Gases
An analysis by researchers in Europe and the U.S. indicate that large-scale biofuel production from forest biomass is unsustainable and will increase greenhouse gas emissions. The findings appear online in the journal Global Change Biology/Bioenergy. The report, an invited analysis by the journal, was led by the Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Germany, Oregon State…
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PhRMA Company R&D Investment Flat in 2011
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) released its annual industry profile today showing its 28 member companies spent $49.5 billion on research and development in 2011, down slightly from the $50.7 billion expended in 2010. The $49.5 billion spent on R&D is about 17 percent of total sales. The organization cites the latest…
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University Research Spinoff To Build Manufacturing Plant
Aquion Energy Inc. in Pittsburgh, a developer of sodium ion batteries and energy storage systems, says it will build its first large-scale manufacturing plant in southwestern Pennsylvania. Aquion Energy that makes energy storage systems for electrical power grids expects to create over 400 high-tech manufacturing jobs by the end of 2015. The company’s systems are…
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Semiconductor Sales Gain in 2011, Decline in 4th Quarter
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) in Washington, D.C. says worldwide semiconductor sales for 2011 reached a record $299.5 billion, an annual increase of 0.4 percent from $298.3 billion recorded in 2010. But sales for semiconductors at the end of 2011 dropped off compared to the same period in the previous year. In the last quarter…
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Report: Asia Closing Gap in U.S. R&D Leadership
National Science Foundation’s new report on global research and development (R&D) trends, Science and Engineering Indicators 2012, shows in the last decade, U.S. leadership in research and development has come under severe challenge from China and other countries in Asia. The report from NSF’s policy-making body, the National Science Board, shows between 1999 and 2009,…
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Women U.S. Patent Holders Increase Sharply in 2010
The number of women obtaining U.S. patents in 2010 increased by 35 percent compared to 2009, according to early results of a study commissioned by the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC). The study by an independent research company examined patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) between 1975 and 2010. Preliminary results…
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Report Outlines U.S. Competitive, Innovation Roadmap
The U.S. Department of Commerce released today a report to Congress on “The Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States” called for by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. Secretary of Commerce John Bryson (pictured left) discussed the report’s main findings in a briefing at the progressive think tank Center for American Progress…
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Fewer Venture-Backed Companies Gain Liquidity, Get More Cash
Dow Jones VentureSource says in 2011 fewer U.S. companies backed by venture capital gained liquidity than in 2010, but those companies that left start-up status raised a good deal more capital in the process. The venture capital industry research service reports the 522 mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, and initial public offerings (IPOs) represent a 14 percent…
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Study Takes Down Renewable Energy Myths in the U.S. South
A study by researchers at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and Georgia Tech in Atlanta analyzes myths propagated by both advocates and opponents of renewable energy and finds they don’t hold up to scrutiny. Their findings appear online in the journal Energy Policy (paid subscription required). Duke’s Etan Gumerman and Georgia Tech’s Marilyn Brown,…
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Geron Halts Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Clinical Trial
Geron Corporation, a biotechnology company in Menlo Park, California, says it has discontinued its development of therapies based on human embryonic stem cells to focus on cancer drugs. The immediate results of its decision are to end a clinical trial of its stem cell drug on patients with spinal cord injuries — the first clinical…