science-usa (boston+), october 2014boston)_october_2014.pdffered a special glimpse inside cern,...

Science-USA (Boston+), October 2014 • swissnex Boston (Dr. Felix Moesner / Sarah Schranz) of 19

Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft

Confédération suisse

Confederazione Svizzera

Confederaziun svizra

Science-USA (Boston+), October 2014 Table of Contents

1. Policy ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 4 2. Education .................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 3. Life Science .............................................................................................................................................................................. 5 4. Nano / Micro Technology / Material Science ............................................................................................................................. 6 5. Information & Communications Technology ........................................................................................................................... 10 6. Energy / Environment ............................................................................................................................................................. 11 7. Engineering / Robotics / Space ............................................................................................................................................... 13 8. Physics / Chemistry / Math ..................................................................................................................................................... 14 9. Architecture / Design............................................................................................................................................................... 14 10. Economy, Social Sciences & Humanities ............................................................................................................................. 15 11. Start-ups / Technology Transfer / IPR / Patents ................................................................................................................... 15 12. General Interest .................................................................................................................................................................... 16 13. Calls for Grants / Awards ...................................................................................................................................................... 17

Upcoming Science and Technology Related Events .................................................................................................................... 18

swissnex Boston welcomes you to the 25th edition of the monthly newsletter Science-USA (Boston+). This

electronic publication is designed to report on trends in education, research, innovation and art. Created for busy people in Switzerland, the newsletter will consist of two spotlights on outstanding Swiss talents and a concise over-view of the developments in the science and innovation industries on the US East Coast. Additionally, we will pro-vide you with a taste of swissnex Boston activities throughout the year.

Swiss Spotlight

Scientist: Engineering at the Interface: Of Slippery Surfaces and Energy Efficiency (Nada Bjelobrk, October 01, 2014)

Currently a postdoctoral researcher at MIT, Nada Bjelobrk is investigating the interaction of droplets and nanotextured surfaces for improved heat transfer in heat exchangers in power plants or drag reduction in pipes. Superhydrophobic textures like the micro- and nanoscopic ar-chitecture on lotus leafs are known for their self-cleaning properties due to high water repellen-cy. However conventional dry superhydrophobic surfaces lose their water repellency in real world applications in dynamic environments like condensation or flows across them. This effect can be avoided by imbibing the texture with oils that act as a lubricant for droplets while prevent-ing the water from condensing in the fine pores and capillaries on the surface - a technique that lead to a very successful startup (liquiglide.com) of the Varanasi Research Group at MIT, which Nada joined in March 2013 as a SNSF "Early Postdoc Mobility" Fellow. Nada obtained her PhD at ETH Zurich where she showed how to move, manipulate and merge water droplets suspended in air using acoustic levitation. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141001-2c

Startup: Unobtrusive remote monitoring of patient behavior through a smart sensor network

(Aware Engineering, October 01, 2014)

Aware Engineering (aE) is a biotech startup founded in Boston that is now based in Switzerland. aE’s goal is to bring products to market that effectively address existing shortcomings in the treatment of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary dis-ease (COPD). To achieve this goal, aE has developed a low-cost sensor package that, through a patent-pending method, can unobtrusively monitor all prescribed home medical devices for the treatment of CF and COPD. Using an online portal, patients and physicians can track treatment adherence, as well as evaluate behavior and device use analytics. In cooperation with the ETH Zurich Wearable Sensing Lab, the University Hospital Zurich (USZ Division of Pulmonary Medicine), and CTI, aE is currently con-ducting a CHF 100,000 feasibility study to evaluate the efficacy of monitoring patient behavior through a smart net-work of sensors attached to patients' medical equipment. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141001-03

http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141001-2c

http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141001-03






New US Nobel Laureates

Discovery of brain's inner GPS awarded with Nobel Prize (The Boston Globe, October 07, 2014)

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to a British-American and a pair of Norwegian scientists. The laureates discovered “an inner GPS, in the brain” that makes navigation possible for human beings and animals. This positioning system helps knowing where we are, finding our way, and storing the information for the next time. The scientists found out that certain cells are responsible for the higher cognitive function that helps us navigate, building up inner maps in different environments. The findings may not only lead to a better understand-ing of spatial losses in neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s but also open new potential for understanding cognitive processes. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141007-b5

Nobel Prize in chemistry with link to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

(The Boston Globe, October 08, 2014)

This year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry went to three researchers that independently devel-oped technologies that helped create the basis for a new field called nanoscopy. Such super-zoom microscopes bring into focus viruses, molecules, proteins, and other tiny components of life. Among the three winners is physicist Eric Betzig, of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Farm Research Campus in Ashburn, Va. To make sure his technology is useful for people studying biology, Betzig frequently travelled to the Ma-rine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Cape Cod. There, he learned what biologists wanted to see when using a microscope. His trips to the Cape have been essential in making sure the technology is not just a technical feat, according to Betzig. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141008-65

Nobel Prize in economics with Boston link


Jean Tirole, a French economist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his stud-ies of market power and regulation. The professor at Toulouse School of Economics earned his doctorate at MIT and holds the title of visiting professor there. He taught at MIT from 1984 to 1992 and has frequently collaborated with professors from MIT and Harvard. According to Emmanuel Ferhi, a Harvard professor of economics Tirole has “revolution-ized the field of industrial organization by bringing new tools and thinking.” Even though Jean Tirole is primarily a theorist, he has influenced how governments deal with mergers or cartels and how they regulate monopolies. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141014-00

swissnex Boston Events

North America Science Day 2014 – Life on stage in Zurich & Dubendorf (swissnex Boston, October 27, 2014)

On October 27th, both Eawag/EMPA and the Universiy of Zurich hosted the first ever North America Science Day, organized by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education Re-search and Innovation (SERI). This in collaboration with SERI’s swissnex offices in Boston and San Francisco, and with their Swiss Science Councillors in Ottawa and Washington D.C. The NASD consisted of two events, held at Eawag/EMPA and at the University of Zürich’s Office for International Relations. Both NASD symposiums were a great success. Aimed at providing information and in-depth knowledge on the Swiss Science Network in North America, the North America Science Day brought together top tier academics, researchers, students, entrepreneurs and political rep-resentatives. Based on the feedback, the series proved to be of great value for academics, researchers and entre-preneurs alike to learn about the work and services provided by the Swiss science Network in North America, and the opportunities for collaboration with institutions in the U.S. and Canada. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141027-73

http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141007-b5









Celebrating 60 Years of CERN (swissnex Boston, October 31, 2014)

swissnex Boston dedicated the entire month of October towards celebrating the 60th An-niversary of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The CERN Thurs-days offered an array of keynote speakers and events designed to highlight the past, pre-sent and future of CERN. swissnex Boston and the Harvard University Department of Physics kicked off their month-long celebration on October 9th with two lectures that of-fered a special glimpse Inside CERN, showcasing the work of CERN from a more artistic perspective. For the second event, swissnex and Harvard screened the documentary ‘Particle Fever’, followed by a talk with the Director of the film, Mark Levinson. The two last events were dedicated to the individuals behind the actual research. The event on October 23rd hosted a panel of five Harvard physics professors associated with CERN. For the fourth and final CERN event, Melissa Franklin discussed “Putting the Higgs Boson in its Place: The Quest to Excite the Empty Universe.” http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141031-96 Future of Money Series | Sustainable Investment: Creating Positive Impact

(swissnex Boston, September 29, 2014)

swissnex Boston launched its Future of Money series with a panel discussion on impact investing. After a welcome address by President of the Supervisory Board of Switzerland Global Enterprise and former Swiss Federal Councillor, Ruth Metzler, and a few words from Jeff Titus, representative of Credit Suisse, the panelists launched the discussion. Moderator James Gifford, Senior Fellow at the Initiative for Sustainable Investment at Harvard University’s Hauser Institute for Civil Society, helped mold this event in partner-ship with swissnex Boston. Having founded the Principles for Responsible Investment at the UN in Geneva, Gifford brings together both the Swiss and American perspectives on the topic. Panelist, Falko Paetzold from ETH Zurich is a current Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Initiative for Responsible Investment. Rounding out the panel were, Dune Thorne, Head of the Boston Office and Portfolio Manager at Brown Advisory, and MIT Sloan Fellow, Temple Fennell, a member of the Keller Enterprises Family Office. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141001-83

High-profile Austrian research & innovation delegation visits swissnex Boston (swissnex Boston, October 09, 2014)

A delegation of 20 shapers of the Austrian Research and Innovation landscape visited swissnex Boston on October 9. The purpose of the expedition was to see first-hand the first science consulate of the world, and learn from its events and understand its mission. The visitors included Hannes Androsch, Chair of the Austrian Council for Re-search and Technological Development; Heribert Buchbauer, Director of the Department for International Research Cooperation, Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy; Heinz Fassmann, Vice Rector, Univer-sity of Vienna; Johannes Fröhlich, Vice Rector, Vienna University of Technology as well as 7 journalists of main Austrian media outlets. It was a great pleasure to welcome Helga Nowotny, Chair, ERA Council Forum Austria and former President of the ERC. The visit was organized by Philipp Marxgut, Director of the Office of Science & Tech-nology Austria in Washington, D.C. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141009-16

Conference on Light and Shadows of Science (swissnex Boston, October 15, 2014)

At the beginning of October, swissnex Boston attended the STS forum in Kyoto, which convened for the 11th time to discuss — in a Davos WEF style setting — the Light and Shadows of Science & Technology. In attendance were approximately 1,000 global lead-ers in science and technology, policy, business and media from approximately 100 coun-tries, regions, and international organizations. The purpose was to discuss how to strengthen science and technology for society. The networking allowed for many meetings and extensive interaction with the roughly 20% US and Canadian audience as well as with participants from Swit-zerland. Also present was the Head of the Science & Technology Office Tokyo Matthias Frey. swissnex Boston’s participation in the forum was key for reconnecting with Swiss and North American networks and for establishing new connections between the two regions. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141015-4a

>> More past events at swissnex Boston: http://www.yourswissnexboston.org/




http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141015-4a

http://www.yourswissnexboston.org/






Swiss-US Bilateral News

Swiss-linked education giant opens new North American headquarters in Cambridge (swissnex Boston, October 21, 2014)

Education First (EF), the globe’s largest education company, based in Lucerne, Switzer-land, recently opened its new North American headquarters in Cambridge. EF offers a wide range of educational travel experiences and operates an extensive roster of English-language schools. EF’s new building - its second in Boston - is located in the redeveloped North Point neighborhood, and was designed by Fiona Kennedy, EF’s global director of architecture and design. The interior features an open atrium that serves all 10 floors of the structure, and a glass waterfall that juts down the middle of the building. EF is a private Swedish company of 37’000 employees across 52 countries. The company’s global headquarter is in Lucerne, Switzerland. Over the last five years, EF has grown extensively, doubling its revenue and number of customers, becoming one of the largest companies in the market. To date, EF has served more than 15 million customers around the world. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141021-01

Wyss Institute at Harvard and University of Zurich collaborate (Wyss Institute at Harvard, October 27, 2014)

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and the University of Zurich recently announced a formal partnership. The collaboration formalizes and elevates an existing collaboration between a Wyss core faculty member and the Director of the Swiss Center for Regenerative Medicine and the Regenerative Medicine and Organoid Technology Research Program at the University of Zurich. By the strength of the highly in-terdisciplinary combined team, new technologies and innovative therapies should be developed more efficiently. The partnership will also allow scientists from both institutions to work with each other. University of Zurich is the Wyss Institute’s 11th collaborating institution. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141027-7d

Bertarelli Program at Harvard and EPFL awards new grants (Harvard Gazette, October 24, 2014)

Founded in 2010, the Bertarelli Program in Translational Neuroscience and Neuroengineering is a collaborative program between Harvard Medical School and EPFL in Lausanne. The program brings together US- and Swiss-based scientists and medical specialists to push the boundaries of neuroscience and engineering to accelerate the delivery of new treatments to the clinic. New grants totaling $3.6 million will support five new research projects with-in the program. Three projects investigate new methods to diagnose and treat hearing loss, one focuses on cell transplantation strategies that could reverse certain forms of blindness, and the fifth concentrates on the dynamics of brain networks in children with autism. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141024-25

3D Camera App takes 3D images (TechCrunch, October 24, 2014)

After the famous PocketScan app, ETH Zurich spin-off Dacuda that also has a former MIT student in its board, is about to launch its new 3DAround camera app. After revolving a camera, phone or tablet around an object, the app stitches together all the photos into a 3D image. Hence, the viewer can get a 360-degree view of the object. 3DAround can do so by extracting depth and structure information from a success of rapid fire photos. The inspiration for the app came from watching food bloggers that took pictures of plates from different angles. 3DAround allows them to go around the thing without having to decide which was the best angle. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141024-c4

1. Policy

Mayor Menino: Boston lost its innovation uberfather . . (The Boston Globe, October 30, 2014)

Thomas Michael Menino served 20 years as Boston’s mayor, guiding the city’s commer-cial growth through roller-coaster peaks and dips in the national economy. Even though he was an old-school politician, Menino was the shaper of Boston’s innovation ecosystem, turning Boston into an innovation hub. Not long after leaving office at the beginning of this year he was diagnosed with advanced cancer. Now, at the age of 71, he died. In a state-


http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141027-7d


http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141024-c4






ment President Obama said: “… Tom helped make his hometown the vibrant, welcoming, world-class place it is today.” Obama saw Boston’s longest serving mayor as “the embodiment of the city he loved…” http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/00-141030-72

Initiative for a Competitive Inner City

(BostInno, October 20, 2014)

The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) ranked the 100 fastest growing businesses located in US inner cit-ies. For the first time, this year’s 16th annual “Inner City 100” ranking not only ranked the companies from 1-100 but also separately across 10 different industries. The 2014 winners list includes 8 companies from Massachusetts, two of them ranking first in their industry. Fennick McCredie Architecture (Professional Services Industry), Luggage Forward (Transportation and Logistics Industry), and Pinck & Co. (Construction Industry) are the three Boston-based companies among the winners. According to the ICIC the 100 winners “prove that not only can companies thrive in inner cities, but that inner city companies can enjoy unique competitive advantages." http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/01-141020-22

2. Education

Harvard Dean Cherry Murray gets National Medal of Technology and Innovation (Harvard Gazette, October 03, 2014)

Recently, the White House announced that Cherry A. Murray, dean of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, will receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. The medal honors achievement and leadership in the advancement of science and technology. President Obama stated: “These scholars and innovators have expanded our understanding of the world, made invaluable contributions to their fields, and helped improve countless lives.” Cherry Murray joined the Harvard faculty in 2009 after a prom i-nent career as an executive at two laboratories. She also is the John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences and professor of physics. Moreover, she is currently a member of the US Secre-tary of Energy Advisory Board. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/02-141003-be

Benefits of blended learning

(MIT, October 24, 2014)

The director of the Office of Digital Learning at MIT, Sanjay Sarma, recently advocated the need for blended learning at MIT. As most people have an attention span of 10 minutes, Sarma states “this is perfect for online learning because it allows for what we call retrieval learning.” The combination of watching videos and taking part in Q&A sessions fosters retrieval learning. This approach follows MIT’s motto “mens et manus,” which means to practice what you have learned. Bhaskar Pant, the executive director of MIT Professional Education stresses the supplemental and changing features of digital learning. “Digital technology is the driver ena-bling what is surely going to become a new paradigm in higher education.” http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/02-141024-95

STEM-degree in non-traditional students

(Northeastern University, October 01, 2014)

Nearly $9 million in government and private philanthropic funding made it possible for Northeastern University’s Lowell Institute School to become the first-in-the-nation universi-ty focused on degree completion programs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields for non-traditional students. With their grant program the US seek to strengthen their global competitiveness in STEM fields as jobs in this area grow at three times the rate of other fields. The launch of the innovative effort will strengthen access to degree programs in STEM fields to students specifically from underrepresented popula-tions. In total 24 colleges and universities received federal grants to increase postsecondary access and comple-tion, value, and affordability by innovations in higher education. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/02-141001-11



http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/02-141003-be








3. Life Science

Kendall Square: from tech to biotech center (BetaBoston, October 03, 2014)

In the 19th century Kendall Square in Cambridge was about manufacturing, having Kimball & Davenport, the first builder of passenger railroad cars in America on site. Then, after World War II, the square was the epicenter of the Massachusetts tech boom. Today, Kendall Square passes from being a tech center to a biotech center. With the pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Novartis and the nonprofit LabCentral that rents space to fledgling biotech com-panies, it is definitively about life sciences. More and more biotech companies and investors find they can’t afford not to have a presence there. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141003-fd

Mitt Romney's spouse helps financing Center for Neurologic Diseases


2012 Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney’s spouse Ann recently launched the Ann Rom-ney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Birmingham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Ann Romney, who has lived with multiple sclerosis for 16 years, aims to create a new way to research and funding to help find treatments and cures for five neurologic diseases: multi-ple sclerosis, ALS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and brain tumors. The goal of the Ann Rom-ney Center is to bring researchers and their funding together instead of letting them work independently with separate funding. The $50 million that Romney seeks to raise over the next year will also allow the Hospital to hire about 50 more scientists. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141014-a3

Device detects viruses such as Ebola quickly and on site

(Boston University, September 30, 2014)

Diagnosing Ebola when a patient is first seen is difficult and expensive. Researchers at Boston University have developed a potential solution: a rapid, label-free, chip-scale pho-tonic device that can provide affordable, simple, and accurate on-site detection. The de-vice could be used in resource-limited countries to detect hemorrhagic fever diseases such as Ebola. It can simultaneously detect multiple viruses in blood serum samples based on size variations resulting from distinct genome lengths and other factors, which allows a much more effectively diagnosis of patients. The prototype requires little to no sample preparation time and performs diagnostics in about an hour. It detects pathogens by shining light on viral nanoparticles bound to the sensor surface by coating of virus-specific antibodies. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141001-15

Impaired prediction skills as possible root of autism


A team of neuroscientists at MIT have put forth a new hypothesis for the roots of autism. They suggest that the disorder stems from an impaired ability to predict events and other people’s actions. From the perspective of an autistic person, events seem to occur ran-domly and unpredictably. The researchers now hope that their theory could lead to new strategies for treating autism. Their findings would also explain why autistic children often react hypersensitive to sensory stimuli such as background noises. The theory of impaired prediction skills is now being tested with autistic children. Initial results suggest that the children with autism do have an impairment in habituation to sensor stimuli. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141007-4a

New insights on why caffeine affects people differently

(Harvard Gazette, October 07, 2014)

Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found six new genes that might play a role in coffee consumption. Some of them seem to be related to metabolism of caffeine, some to its psychoactive effects. Even though the new genes only explain about 1.3 percent of people’s coffee-drinking behavior the discoveries provide insight on why people are affected differently by caffeine and how these effects influence the drinking behavior. The research, conducted by the international Coffee and Caffeine Genetics Consortium, was launched two years ago and has used DNA samples and data sets, including surveys of the cof-

http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141003-fd

http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141014-a3








fee-drinking habits of 120,000 people of European and African-American ancestry. The eight genes found so far might only be the tip of the iceberg on coffee consumption. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141007-20

Understanding why certain cancer patients respond to treatments exceptionally (The Boston Globe, October 08, 2014)

After years of viewing the rare cancer patients who bounce back from near-certain death as inspiring anecdotes a study, published by a Boston-area team, shows a radical shift in thinking. The physicians, cancer researchers, and genome specialists now investigate such unexpected super-responses to any kind of treatment to find out why that is. With cheap, sophisticated molecular tools scientists now are able to learn from individual patients whose disease takes an unexpected trajectory. Physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital and other institutions started exam-ining the gene targeted by the drug. They found that people with a particular mutation had cancers that were vul-nerable to the drug. A pilot study of the National Cancer Institute will use DNA sequencing to understand why the therapies of exceptional responders worked. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141008-71

Simplifying the delivery of prescription medications (Boston Business Journal, October 09, 2014)

Techstarts Boston graduate PillPack aims to revolutionize the pharmacy experience by simplifying how prescription medications get delivered. The company does so by filling multiple prescriptions into multi-dose packs that are distributed via mail. On their website consumers can keep track of medication lists, track shipments and keep tabs on billing. PillPack has 25 employees in Somerville and a distribution facility in New Hampshire. After the latest funding round, where the startup has raised $8.75 million, its funding totals up to $12.75 million. PillPack will be available across the country by the end of the year. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141009-60

Stem cell research could create a paradigm shift in treating type 1 diabetes (The Boston Globe, October 10, 2014)

A Harvard stem cell scientist has developed a process that offers hope on type 1 diabetes. The root of the disease lies in the lack of the hormone insulin produced by so called beta cells. The researcher’s step-by-step procedure starts with stem cells and creates hundreds of millions of beta cells that secrete insulin hence keeping blood sugar levels in balance. By transplanting those cells into diabetes patients, insulin could be created naturally, making in-sulin injections obsolete. Although it will still take years until the work can be tested in diabetes patients it is ex-pected to energize the diabetes research community already now. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141010-42

Promising treatment for ‘bubble boy’ disease (Harvard Gazette, October 10, 2014)

A collaborative research team at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disor-ders Center and other international institutions found a new form of gene therapy for the life-threatening condition known as “bubble boy” disease. The treatment appears to be both effective and save. It uses a self-inactivating gammaretrovirus that delivers its pay-load effectively while minimizing the chance of developing leukemia. Although it is too ear-ly to say that the long-term risk of leukemia is completely eliminated, data from the study show that the treatment works to correct the disease. Eight of nine boys of the trial are alive between 12 and 38 month after treatment. Untreated boys usually die of infection before they turn one. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141010-2b

Alzheimer’s in a Dish seen as a real game changer (The Boston Globe, October 13, 2014)

Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital could move a big step forward to-wards a solution of how to study Alzheimer’s and search for drugs to treat it. The scientists grew human brain cells in a gel that developed the telltale structures of Alzheimer’s when the neurons were infected with genes from the disease. The so called Alzheimer’s in a Dish also supports an old idea about how the disease progresses and could have a big impact when it comes to accelerate testing of new drug candidates. Experts that were not involved in the project describe the discovery as game changing and paradigm shifting. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141013-3d





http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141010-2b







Similarities and differences in mothers’ brain responses to her baby and her dog (Harvard Gazette, October 15, 2014)

Researchers at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts general Hospital conducted a small study on how the relationship between people and their pets mirrors the parent-child-relationship. To answer this complex question the scientists studied the activation of brain structures when women view images of their children and their own dogs. With new brain-imaging technologies the neurobiological basis of these relationships can be better under-stood. Imaging studies revealed that brain areas for functions such as emotion, reward, and affiliation sowed increased activities when participants viewed either their own child or their own dog. An area that is important to bond formation only responded to images of the participant’s child and the region that is in-volved in facial recognition showed greater response to own-dog images. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141015-52 MIT and MGH join forces to tackle challenges in clinical medicine


With a new strategic alliance MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) want to address the three “Grand Challenges” in clinical medicine. The formalized strategic part-nership goes beyond conventional collaborations between MIT and MGH investigators and is designed to accelerate the development of diagnostic tools and therapies. Over two years MIT and MGH will provide up to $3 million to fund research projects addressing the three major challenges: improving the diagnosis of disease; developing new approaches to prevent and treat infectious and autoimmune diseases; and developing more accurate methods of diagnosing and treating major neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases. In the partnership MIT and MGH can back on their uniquely synergistic and complementary strengths. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/01-141015-3e

Studying the relation of environmental chemicals to breast cancer (The Boston Globe, October 16, 2014)

Five Boston researchers from different universities and fields joined forces to study the relation of environment to breast cancer. More than 90 percent of breast cancer diagnoses cannot be traced to a hereditary cause, according to the National Cancer Institute. Breast cancer is the second-most diagnosed form of cancer and among the most-deadliest forms. The research that is backed with a $5 million grant from a cancer foundation will examine whether common chemicals are responsible for the disease. By doing so the consortium aims to find a way to prevent the cancer from ever taking hold. Up to now, most cancer research focuses on developing drug or cures for the dis-ease. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141016-2b

Implantable device fights bladder disease (MIT, October 16, 2014)

Researchers at MIT have developed an implantable device that treats the painful bladder disease interstitial cystitis by slowly releasing lidocaine over two weeks. The pretzel-shaped silicone tube could be straightened to fit into a catheter but springs back to its shape once implanted in the bladder. For retention in the bladder the pretzel shape is criti-cal, preventing the device from simple expulsion through the urethra when the bladder contracts. Recently, pharmaceutical giant Allegran bought the worldwide rights for so called LiRIS (lidocaine-releasing intravescial system). Allegran paid $69 million up front for the technology and what could total more than $600 million in milestone payments. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141016-75

Enough magnesium in diet might reduce diabetes risk (TuftsNow, October 17, 2014)

Researchers at Tufts University found that people with a high magnesium intake were al-most 40 percent less likely to develop common precursors to diabetes, such as high blood sugar or excess circulating insulin. People who already showed signs of those conditions were less likely to develop the disease when consuming a high amount of magnesium. The study in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort lasted over 7 years, following more than 2’500 participants with an average age of 54. Half of the Americans do not cov-er the recommended daily amount of magnesium with their diet. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141017-db


http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/01-141015-3e



http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141017-db






Living near busy road increases risk of sudden heart death in women (The Boston Globe, October 20, 2014)

Birmingham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health recently published a study on sudden cardiac deaths among women. The researchers found that living within 50 me-ters of a major highway or busy thoroughfare increases the risk of dying from a heart attack by 38 percent. Contributing factors could be air pollution, stress from noise pollution, and disrupted sleep, suggest previous studies conducted worldwide. The researchers identified 523 sudden hearth deaths among more than 107’000 female participants over a two-year period. They sug-gest that moving away from a major roadway could decrease the risk by 18 percent. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141020-04

Biologists’ Craigslist


With the help of a Boston-based company researchers from all over the world can now buy medical laboratory leftovers of past experiments from over 110 research institutions. The online marketplace Kerafast helps institutions to clean out their freezers and at the same time allows researchers to buy materials that could not be found anywhere else. The unique biological materials, such as cells, proteins, and antibodies, look like clear liquid to the naked eye but could lay the cornerstone for discoveries of life-changing drugs. Among the list of participating institutions are Boston Children’s Hospital, MIT, the University of Massachusetts, and Har-vard University. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141022-73

Enzyme in saliva might treat celiac disease

(Boston University, October 23, 2014)

Up to now, people with celiac disease have had to cut gluten from the diet completely to treat the disease. Researchers at the Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medi-cine are now researching a new tool that might lead to a novel treatment of the disease. Human saliva contains an enzyme that helps break down and digest gluten. The scientists try to isolate the enzyme to see whether it could provide a treatment by eliminating the harmful immune response. They hope that eventually a purified version of the enzyme can be made into a dietary supplement to help people with the disease manage their dietary restrictions. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141023-6a

Compounds identified that could treat sleeping sickness

(Northeastern University, October 23, 2014)

Human African trypanosomiasis, so called sleeping sickness, is a deadly disease that af-fects between 10’000 and 30’000 people in Sub-Sahara Africa annually. As sleeping sick-ness is one of the World Health Organization’s 17 neglected tropical diseases it has not been widely researched. Scientists at Northeastern University’s Laboratory for Neglected Disease Drug Discovery and the Spanish National Research Council for Scientific Re-search tested more than 42’000 chemical compounds against the parasite that causes sickness. By doing so they identified nearly 800 compounds that show good options for early drug discovery and eventually could lead to a cure for the disease. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141023-e1

High protein intake lowers blood pressure


A team of researchers at Boston University’s School of Medicine have published a study that points out the beneficial effect of a high protein intake to lower blood pressure. The study found that all types of protein, whether from dairy, eggs, meat, or plant sources, help to lower blood pressure. People with the highest protein intake saw the biggest benefit with the risk of developing high blood pressure lowered by 40 percent. The benefit was even more dramatic when the partici-pants a lot of fiber to their high-protein diet. In that case the risk dropped between 40 and 60 per-cent. To get the best effect, the researchers recommend eating protein from many different sources. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141024-56




http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141023-e1







Lutein-rich brains perform better (TuftsNow, October 24, 2014)

Researchers at Tufts University found that eating enough lutein may not only lower the risk of age-related macular degeneration but also increases brain health. A wide range of cog-nitive measures, such as executive function, language, learning, and memory, were grad-ed better when people had brains rich in lutein. As children have twice as much lutein in their brains as adults, there is also a good possibility that this deep yellow pigment found in dark green leafy vegetables and brightly colored fruits plays a role in neural develop-ment during the first years of life. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/03-141024-34

4. Nano / Micro Technology / Material Science

One step closer to wearable energy storage devices (MIT, October 03, 2014)

So called graphene paper is a material formed by bonding together layers of the two di-mensional form of carbon. Researchers at MIT have now found that when crumpling such “paper” it gets new properties that could store energy for flexible electronic devices. Ac-cording to the researchers the extremely stretchable supercapacitors should be easy and inexpensive to fabricate. Unlike batteries that store energy chemically, supercapacitors store electrical energy electrostatically. This implies that they can deliver the energy faster than batteries. The graphene paper is pretty robust and endures very large deformations over multiple cycles. The concept is extremely simple but highly effective and a smart way to tackle the challenge of making supercapacitors stretchable. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/04-141003-2d

Fabricating nanoscale devices fast and cheaply


A group of researchers at MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories has worked with arrays of tiny conical tips that harness electrostatic forces to eject ionized materials. Their new prototype array generates ten times the ion current per emitter that previous did. The higher currents promise more-efficient manufacturing and more-nimble satellites. By in-creasing the array size and emitter density on a chip less power and bias voltage is used but the throughput is higher. The researchers used carbon nanotubes grown on the slopes of emitters. The technology could be used for fast and cheap nanomanufacturing and has a range of promising ap-plications. The most promising, at least in the near term, is spacecraft propulsion. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/04-141003-87

3D droplet shape control on surfaces


A new way of creating surfaces on which droplets of any shape can form has been devel-oped by MIT researchers. The nanopatterned surfaces are able to either repel or attract fluids and to control the shape of the contact area of a droplet. This allows the engineering of round droplets to have a square, triangular or any other shaped base. The concept could allow more closely spaced patterns on surfaces, what could be useful for example in biomedical assay devices, printing plates or LED displays. Even though the system has been demonstrated only with water to date, it could in principle be used with almost any liquid. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/04-141006-be

Magneto-fluorescent nanoparticles


A team of researchers at MIT, Massachusetts General Hospital, and several other international institutions was able to create nanoparticles that can glow with color-coded light and be manipulated with magnets. The nanoparti-cles can be identified with great precision by the wavelengths of their fluorescent emissions. The magnetism allows tracking and manipulation of the nanoparticles. It prevents the tiny particles from getting lost in the jumble of mole-cules circulating within a cell. With their specific features they can be precisely manipulated into position within liv-










ing cells. On an experimental basis the nanoparticles may for example be used to probe biological functions within cells. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/04-141009-ca

Nanoparticles keep internal structure while deforming like liquid


An international team of researchers, including some at MIT, found a surprising phenome-non in metal nanoparticles. While flexing like liquid droplets, wobbling, and changing shape, they keep their internal crystal structure that is perfectly stable. The outer layer of atoms give the impression of much greater movement but inside each particle they stay perfectly lined up. The experiment revealed for the first time shape recovery of silver nanocrystals in the absence of dislocation. But the researchers expect the results to apply not only to pure silver but also many different metals. For the design of components in nanotechnology, such as metal contacts for molecular electronic circuits, the work could have important implications. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/04-141012-62

Super-repellent coating for medical devices

(Wyss Institute at Harvard, October 12, 2014)

Scientists and engineers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute have developed a new surface coat-ing for medical devices that repels blood to prevent blood clotting and bacterial infection. When coating implanted medical-grade tubing and catheters the material prevented blood from clotting for several hours without the use of blood thinners. As blood thinners could cause potentially lethal side-effects, the super-repellent coating can be seen as a big achievement to abolish them to prevent blood clotting. The idea for the coating evolved from SLIPS, a surface developed earlier by Harvard scientists. The researchers call their new combination of a monolayer of perfluorocarbon and a layer of liquid perfluorocarbon Tethered-Liquid Perfluorocarbon (TLP). http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/04-141012-d5

Liquid coating dislodges sticky fluid or gel from inside a container


Former MIT student Dave Smith created a molecules-thin “permanently wet” coating for the insides of containers against which the products, such as ketchup or toothpaste, can easily slide. LiquiGlide coatings are extracted from edible products. By spraying two separate materials to the inside wall of a container, a solid and a liquid one, the product outwits the laws of physics, creating a slip-and-slide and leaving no wasted residue inside the container. The product not only has myriad fields of application in household but could also be sprayed on airplane wings to prevent them from icing over or steam turbines to improve their performance. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/04-141013-7d

New advances in designing large DNA crystal structures

(Wyss Institute at Harvard, October 19, 2014)

After researchers have tried to design large DNA crystals with precisely prescribed depths and complex 3D features for 20 years, scientists at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biological-ly Inspired Engineering now could do so. By using the DNA-brick self-assembly method the team could build 32 different-shaped DNA crystal structures that are more than 1000 times larger than former complex nanostructures. The method uses short, synthetic strands of DNA that bind and interlock like bricks of Lego. This makes it easy to create virtually any design. The new advances in DNA nanotechnology could be the foundation for creating revolutionary nanodevices in the future. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/04-141019-fe

5. Information & Communications Technology

Twitter funds MIT Laboratory of Social Machines (MIT, October 01, 2014)

Funded by a five-year, $10 million commitment from Twitter, the MIT Media Lab could recently launch the Laborato-ry of Social Machines (LSM). The initiative will focus on the development of new technologies to make sense of semantic and social patterns across different forms of media and aims to create new platforms for individuals and

http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/04-141009-ca


http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/04-141012-d5


http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/04-141019-fe






institutions to tackle pressing societal problems. The students and staff will work across the broad span of public mass media, social media, data streams, and digital content and is not at all limited to Twitter. With its investment Twitter itself sees an opportunity to better understand the role and effects of social platforms. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/05-141001-70

Coding 24 hours at HackMIT


Recently, some 1000 students gathered at MIT for the coding marathon HackMIT. About 550 students from MIT and an additional 600 non-MIT students signed up for the event. The task of the hackathon was to create the most innovative software or hardware they can in 24 hours or less. The event also included programs for new coders as well as sea-soned hackers. Besides the cash prizes of between $1000 and $4000 for the top eight hack teams, the contestants also had the chance to win prizes from raffles or awarded by event sponsors. HackMIT is one of the biggest hackathons and focuses on cutting-edge technologies, emerging hardware interfaces, and new software languages. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/05-141005-01

Successful IPO of marketing software firm HubSpot

(BetaBoston, October 08, 2014)

Founded in 2006 by two graduates of the MIT Sloan School of Business, Cambridge-based HubSpot now claims more than 11’500 users in over 70 countries. The marketing software firm uses unconventional techniques that draw customers to a company. In 2013 it reported revenues of $77.6 million, through the first half of 2014 they were already at $51.3 million. With their recent IPO, HubSpot raised $125 million. 5 million shares have been sold at $25 each, giving HubSpot a market value of $759 million. Together with Wayfair, Hub Spot is held up as an important engine of growth for the Innovation economy in Cambridge. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/05-141008-c9

Google Express launched same-day delivery in Boston


Recently, Google Inc. started its same-day delivery service in the greater Boston Area. So far, eight retailers participate in the service called Google Express. Customers can choose between a $95 yearly-fee, $10 a month and a $4.99 deliver charge for each order. With its new service Google increases its competition with Web retailer Amazon that al-ready launched same-day delivery around Boston in 2009. Google Express orders are processed by employees at the local retailers. After receiving notice on a smartphone they put the items into a Google-branded bag. A third-party courier hired by Google then delivers the ordered items within several hours. According to Google, the service helps connecting merchants with their existing customers. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/05-141014-3f

Artificial Intelligence service platform based on behavior pattern


Nara Logics, a Cambridge-based startup, applies neuroscience and its understanding of how the brain works to the gathering and analysis of online data. The company’s mission is to make information more accessible by using art i-ficial intelligence as a platform-as-a-service. It uses information about the behavior of people to recommend them things, such as restaurants or hotels. Recently, Nara Logics has raised $6 million which brings the company’s total investment to date to $13 million. Moreover, Nara Logics has announced that MIT neuroscientist Mriganka Sur will join their advisory board. Sur that is a world-renowned researcher will act as a mentor for the startup. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/05-141015-dc

Uber wants to put an end to traffic in Boston


In a recent speech at MassChallenge Uber co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick talked about the ridesharing service’s booming presence in Boston. Since its Boston launch in 2012 Uber has grown to 500’000 active local users. Tens of thousands drivers have been recruited and 4’000 jobs created. With 150’000 hours per week on the system, Uber Bos-ton is growing faster this year than it was last year. The median wait time for a trip is just 3.1 minutes. Kalanick claimed that Uber helped cut greenhouse gas emissions and de-




http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/05-141014-3f

http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/05-141015-dc






crease traffic on the roads. As they are growing exponentially, Kalanick promised that parking in the city will be easy some pint soon. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/05-141030-c7

Interdisciplinary Internet Institute

(The Interdisciplinary Internet Institute, October 30, 2014)

During a summer research program in Cambridge a group of international researchers founded the Interdisciplinary Internet Institute (the iii). The iii spotlights the social, philosophical, legal, and economic aspects of the internet, including blog posts and comments on novel technolo-gies and regulations. The interdisciplinary fields and global backgrounds, of the contributors – among them researchers from the US and Switzerland – facilitated the approach of the topic from multiple perspectives. The blog’s articles range from discussing new drone policies to the value of personal data in a panoptic society. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/05-141030-f5

6. Energy / Environment

Massachusetts again number one state for energy efficiency (Boston Business Journal, October 23, 2014)

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy awarded Massachusetts for the fourth time in a row as the number one state in the US for energy efficiency. Second in the rankings was California. With Rhode Island, Vermont and Connecticut as well as New York in the top 10, New England drives energy efficiency adoption by using new technolo-gies, business models and financing mechanisms. By requiring gas and electric utilities to save a growing percentage of energy every year, Massachusetts and the other top ranked states have paved the way for more investment in energy efficiency programs. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/06-141023-88 MIT publishes 2014 Energy and Climate Outlook

(MIT, September 29, 2014)

The MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change recently released the “2014 Climate and Energy Outlook.” The report finds that – unless 2015 climate negotiations are more effective than expected – the world will be 3.3-5.6 degrees Celsius warmer, thirstier, and still de-pendent on fossil fuels by the end of the century. Due to increased energy use in developing countries the MIT researchers expect world energy use to double by 2050. To explore the con-nections between socioeconomic factors and changing climate and environment the outlook re-port uses UN population data and projects economic growth. It extends the existing measures agreed to in Copenhagen and Cancun after they end to evaluate global changes under possible post-2020 climate action. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/06-141001-9e

Heating a forest soil to study climate change


To study climate change, scientists from Boston University’s College of Arts and Science Wired parts of New Hampshire’s Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest with heating cables. Their research aims to show how soil-emitted gases might be altered by climate change. The researchers are working with six plots in the forest. Two are warmed by 5 degrees Celsius during the summer but not in the winter, two are warmed during the summer and cleared from snow in the winter to decrease soil insulation, and two are control sites. The different treatments of the six plots help the researchers determine how forests will react to a warmer future. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/06-141007-3c

Altering yeast’s environment could boost biofuel production


Researchers at MIT and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have identified a new way to make yeast more ethanol-tolerant, what could enhance the capacity of biofuel production. Yeast are commonly used to trans-form plant materials into biofuels such as ethanol. But large concentrations of ethanol can be toxic to yeast. By im-


http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/05-141030-f5


http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/06-141001-9e

http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/06-141007-3c






proving the alcohol tolerance of yeast cells the scientists could boost yeast’s ethanol production by about 80 per-cent. The researchers did so by altering the medium in which yeast grow. The changes in the yeast’s env ironment led to differences in electrochemical membrane gradients without affecting the biochemical pathway used by yeast to produce ethanol. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/06-141002-fe

Personal heating and cooling system

(Boston Business Journal, October 15, 2014)

To reduce the amount of energy spent to heat up and cool down buildings, a group of MIT graduates has invented a bracelet heats or cools the people directly. Wristify uses ther-moelectric technology to heat up or cool down people to their desired temperature. As the Cambridge-based startup participated Intel’s “Make it Wearable” competition, it has been able to utilize an Intel chip that allows the bracelet to learn the preferences of the user over time. Wristify plans to start a crowdfunding campaign in 2015 and will offer the devices for about $200. The company already thinks of potential future applications of the technology, such as thermal notifica-tions or sending warmth to a loved one. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/06-141015-32

7. Engineering / Robotics / Space

Brightest pulsar ever recorded coincidentally detected (MIT, October 08, 2014)

An international team of researchers recently identified the brightest pulsar ever recorded through NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. The scientists, among them is a professor of physics and head of the astrophysics division at MIT, noticed the pulsar coin-cidentally when trying to observe a recent supernova. The pulsating dead star is about as large as the city of Boston and appears to be burning with the energy of 10 million suns. The Astronomers found the magnetized neutron star in the galaxy Messier 82, that is with 12 million light-years from Earth a relatively close galactic neighbor. It is a confounding mystery why the newly iden-tified pulsar appears far brighter than its mass would indicate. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/07-141008-aa

MIT professor nominated for NASA post


President Obama has nominated Dava Newman, MIT professor of aeronautics and astro-nautics and of engineering systems, to become the next deputy administrator of NASA. Newman has been on the MIT faculty since 1993, focusing on quantifying astronaut per-formance in space. Her research has also included the development of a radical new spacesuit design. Newman’s job as NASA’s deputy administrator will include communica-tions, the Mission Support Directorate, and international relationships. Moreover, she will also be in charge of the overseas educational programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics that aims to spur the interest of young people in space and engineering. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/07-141017-d1

8. Physics / Chemistry / Math

More efficient solar panels (Harvard Gazette, October 06, 2014)

Researchers from Harvard University and MIT joined forces to develop a theoretical model of material that one day could anchor the development of highly efficient solar panels. The scientists chose an unconventional approach, using magnetic fields to force excitons to move in a specific direction. This should avoid the traps that traditional materials have, such as the problem that excitons are not easy to control. The Harvard-MIT group was in-spired by cutting-edge theories in condensed matter physics and the development of quan-

http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/06-141002-fe


http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/07-141008-aa







tum computers. To ensure the molecules in specific quantum states will not interfere with one another, the re-searchers also outlined the use of magnets in this context. Although it may take years until the material finds its way to commercialization it seems to have the potential to increase the efficiency of solar panels. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/08-141006-b6

9. Architecture / Design

Boston architects build ‘canstructions’ for charity (The Heights, October 08, 2014)

For the 19th time architects and engineers throughout Boston built unusual and entertain-ing structures out of thousands of cans. The so called ‘canstructions’ were showcased in an exhibition and later taken apart in order to donate them to a food bank. The structures tend to incorporate between 2’000 and 5’000 cans within a space of 10x10x10 feet. The teams plan their structures potentially for months and put a lot of time and effort into the project. The cans will be donated to the food bank just before the busy holiday season begins, serving one of the most in need communities in Massachusetts. Last year, 75’000 pounds of canned food were donated by 26 firms. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/09-141008-c9

10. Economy, Social Sciences & Humanities

Predicting the price of Bitcoin (MIT, October 21, 2014)

A machine-learning algorithm developed at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelli-gence Laboratory and the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems is able to pre-dict the price of the volatile cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Every second for five months the re-searchers collected price data from different Bitcoin exchanges. To predict prices and trade accordingly they trained an algorithm to automatically identify patterns from the numbers using a technique called “Bayesian regression.” By doing so the team registered 89 percent return on investment on its 2’872 trades with a shape ratio of 4.1 in less than two months. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/10-141021-04

Price of Bitcoin declined nearly 20 percent


At the beginning of October the price fell nearly 20 percent to its lowest level of the year. As the price went down worries of a crash prompted. However, some say that its price is irrelevant and does not reflect the true value of the currency. The price decline is nothing new. Since Bitcoin’s introduction in 2009 it has fluctuated unpredictably in price. Even though the price of a Bitcoin dipped from nearly $500 to just over $300, its current price has more than doubled over the last 12 month. Experts say the price is likely to stabilize once Bitcoin finds a general use. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/10-141006-14

Diverse offices function more effectively


A study co-authored by an MIT economist found that increasing gender diversity in the workplace can help firms being more productive. As a more diverse set of employees im-plies a more diverse set of skills this could result in a better functioning business. Offices evenly split along gender lines could increase revenue by roughly 41 percent. Neverthe-less, the study that used 8 years of data with more than 60 offices in the US and abroad, also found that many workers actually prefer a homogeneous workplace despite the im-proved production that goes along with increased gender diversity. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/10-141007-a7





http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/10-141007-a7






Solving urban problems (Boston University, October 17, 2014)

Boston University collaborates with business and government partners to make public services smarter. By developing the cloud computing-based SCOPE (Smart-city Cloud-based Open Platform & Ecosystem) BU faculty investigators from several disciplines try to solve urban problems ranging from traffic congestion to dirty air. Research projects such as “smart” traffic lights, better ways to map bike routes or a system for recording miles traveled along specific blocks in real time could be among the products available within the grant’s three-year life. The National Science Foundation as well as industrial partners based in Massachusetts will help adopting SCOPE’s products beyond the lab. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/10-141017-32

11. Start-ups / Technology Transfer / IPR / Patents

For women Boston is better than Silicon Valley (The Boston Globe, October 23, 2014)

Step by step Boston’s startup community becomes a more hospitable alternative to the Silicon Valley that is known to be rather flashy and superficial. Compared to Silicon Valley, the Boston area has a limited geography of its startup community what makes close-knit networks inevitable. Top universities, investors, accelerators, a rich ecosystem, and sup-port for women entrepreneurs made Massachusetts the top VC fund-raising state in 2013 at $5.5 billion. California, which used to be the leader, came in at $5.3 billion. In Massa-chusetts different initiatives and programs aim to advance women in all industries. This makes not only sense from a fairness point of view; according to studies, companies with women in top positions have better financial perfor-mance than those without. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/11-141023-63 Women in VC funding still lag male peers


Although startups with female executives are more likely to receive venture funding than they were some years ago, they still lag behind all-male teams, according to a Babson College study. Only 19 percent of women that are part of venture-funded startups’ management teams are the CEO. Overall, less than 3 percent of investments go to early-stage companies with female chief executives. The study suggests that the problem lies in a dearth of funding proposals from companies led by women. One possible reason could be that women believe their companies should be more developed before they seek venture funding. This could also be why women-led companies tend to attract larger initial investments than all-men startups. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/11-141001-96

Harvard opens Launch Lab for affiliated startups

(BetaBoston, September 30, 2014)

Harvard University recently opened Launch Lab, a space for recent graduates and alumni several years out who are working with new ventures. The 280 square meter facility is located in Allston and can fit about 15 startups or 55 people. At the moment, a desk costs $200 per month, which is less than for other local co-working spaces, such as CIC or Workbar. Harvard could do so because about half of the operating costs are expected to come from do-nors. To be eligible for space in the Launch Lab, at least one person on a startup’s team has to be a Harvard alum-nus. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/11-141001-81

Science and innovation startups get more venture capital


Venture capitalists are beginning to take an interest in science, engineering, and clean-tech startups after years of shying away from these fields. In the first half of 2014 industrial and energy startups attracted $1.24 billion in venture capital financing. This is more than twice as much as in the period one year ago. However, back in 2008 investment in indus-trial and energy sectors reached its peak with $4.64 billion. In 2013, software startups at-tracted $11.2 billion in venture capital, which is 85 percent more than in 2008. The grow-










ing feeling that Silicon Valley has been avoiding the world’s more difficult problems together with the crowded field of consumer Internet companies makes venture funders now start to invest in real science and innovation again. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/11-141013-8b

MassChallenge startups with outstanding performance

(Boston Business Journal, October 23, 2014)

After five years of operating Boston-based startup accelerator MassChallenge 617 startups have gone through the accelerator program. More than 80 percent of them are still active and up to now, 22 have been acquired. Collec-tively, the startups have raised $706 million in funding, generated $404 million in revenue, and created 4’800 jobs. The MassChallenge class of 2014 with its 128 startup finalists has raised $68 million collectively to date. This is more than twice as much as any other class in the program raised before. MassChallenge is an accelerator pro-gram that offers startups from all over the world mentorship, workspace, and the opportunity to win cash prizes, without taking equity stakes in its startups. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/11-141023-be

12. General Interest

US unemployment rate at 6-year low (The Boston Globe, October 04, 2014)

Due to a recent surge in hiring, the nation’s jobless rate dropped to 5.9 percent. The encouraging numbers mark a six-year low and are within striking distance of the 5.5 percent that economists of the Federal Reserve consider a healthy level. According to President Obama, businesses have added jobs for 55 months in a row, which is the longest such stretch recorded. However, there are still scars from the recession remaining in the job market: Wages are still the same and long-time unemployed or people stuck in part-time jobs still have a hard time to find a full-time employment. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/12-141004-b5

Cambridge among top US bicycle commuting cities


Cambridge’s changing transportation policies and a growing population of young adults and young families led to a vast increase in bicycle miles. In 2012 cyclists in Cambridge logged 15.5 million miles. Compared to 2004 this is a 237 percent increase in mileage. The city has been actively promoting this mean of transportation for decades. With 7 percent of working Cambridge residents commuting primarily by bike, the city had been the fifth highest bicycle commuting city in the na-tion. Even though the annual number of bicycle-related crashes did increase between 2004 and 2012, the rate of collisions per million bicycle miles traveled decreased. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/12-141016-d8

Massachusetts top in running


RunKeeper, an app that tracks time, distance and pace of one’s runs, analyzed the data points collected from its US users and organized them by state. Massachusetts made it to the top in four categories: miles per capita, runs per person, miles per run, and pace per mile. Massachusetts runners ran with an average pace of 6:17 km/h, which is a little more than 31 minutes for a 5 km run. With Vermont placed 3rd, Rhode Island 5th, Maine 6th, and New Hampshire and Connecticut that were also in the top 15, New England did pretty well overall. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/12-141029-dd

13. Calls for Grants / Awards

Call for grants: The Universal Partnership program (Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, October 01, 2014)

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center’s international program will provide grants to selected companies to sup-port R&D collaboration with a non-US organization. The so called Universal Partnership program fosters global col-





http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/12-141029-dd






laboration between life sciences organizations from both the US and abroad. To contribute to the overall develop-ment of new or significantly improved products or processes a successful completion of the R&D milestone is ex-pected. Applications can be submitted year-round. To learn more about the UP program Massachusetts based companies are invited to partake one of the information sessions. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/13-141001-88

Call for grants: IncubateMass program supports clean energy incubators

(MassCEC, October 01, 2014)

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center supports incubators with their IncubateMass program. It focuses on incubators that catalyze and support startups to create jobs and promote the commercialization of new clean energy technology. By providing business support and resources the incubators help to accelerate the development of clean energy startups. Their help increases the success rate of member companies and thus helps cre-ating new jobs for Massachusetts. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/13-141001-d8 Call for grants: Going to Switzerland with a ThinkSwiss Research Scholarship

(ThinkSwiss, October 01, 2014)

US and Canadian students – both undergraduate and graduate – that would like to get a research experience or participate in a summer school in Switzerland can do so by participating the ThinkSwiss Program. The ThinkSwiss Research Scholarships supports students interested in doing research at a public Swiss university or research insti-tute for 2 to 3 month with a monthly scholarship of about $1100. Students interested in participating a Swiss sum-mer school can apply for a ThinkSwiss Summer School Travel Grant. Former participants of the program experi-enced personal and professional growth in a beautiful environment. http://swissinnovation.org/newsUS/web/2014/13-141001-49

Upcoming Science and Technology Related Events

Point-of-Care and Mobile Health Diagnostics Summit

November 5, 2014

www.point-of-care-and-mobile-health-diagnostics-summit

Healthcare

Boston

Women in Technology & Entrepreneurship

November 6, 2014

www.women-in-technology-entrepreneurship-speaker-series

Technology & Entrepreneurship

Boston

The Future of Chemistry

November 13, 2014

http://www.masslifesciences.com/the-future-of-chemistry

Chemistry

Cambridge

Boston Startup Weekend EDU

November 21-23, 2014

www.up.co/boston/startup-weekend

Entrepreneurship

Boston

Material Research Society Fall Meeting

November 30-December 5, 2014

www.mrs.org/fall2014

Material Science

Boston

Big Data Seminar: Parallel Compute

December 5, 2014

http://www.masstlc.org/events/event

Computing technology

Boston




http://www.masslifesciences.com/events/457/point-of-care-and-mobile-health-diagnostics-summit/

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-in-technology-entrepreneurship-2014-2015-speaker-series-tickets-13034250795

http://www.masslifesciences.com/events/534/the-future-of-chemistry-symposium-networking-reception/

http://www.up.co/communities/usa/boston/startup-weekend/4553

http://www.mrs.org/fall2014

http://www.masstlc.org/events/event_details.asp?id=510971&group






The New England Venture Summit

December 10, 2014

www.youngstartup.com/newengland2014/overview.php

Venture Capital

Boston

Data and Analytics in Life Sciences

January 26, 2015

http://www.dataanalyticslifesciences.com/

Life Sciences

Boston

NAFSA 2015 Annual Conference & Expo

May 24-29, 2015

http://www.nafsa.org/

Education

Boston

BIO International Convention 2015

June 15-18, 2015

http://www.bio.org/

Biotechnology

Philadelphia

>> More events at swissnex Boston:

http://www.swissnexboston.org/activities/events-inhouse

Disclaimer The information in this newsletter is an opinion excerpt of news material from North America and gathered to the best knowledge of the writer. The newsletter tries to provide information without any news preferences, and takes no claims, promis-es or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information. No legal liability or responsibility can be taken. The information is provided for informational purposes only. No part of the newsletter may be used for any commercial or public use. Open disclosure of this newsletter is not permitted.

http://www.youngstartup.com/newengland2014/overview.php

http://www.dataanalyticslifesciences.com/

http://www.nafsa.org/

http://www.bio.org/

http://www.swissnexboston.org/activities/events-inhouse

science-usa (boston+), october 2014boston)_october_2014.pdffered a special glimpse inside cern,...

Documents