Tag Archives: innovation

Anatomy

Med-Tech Innovation Awards 2020 finalists announced – Med-Tech Innovation

The finalists for the Med-Tech Innovation Awards 2020 have been announced,with a total of 23 entries shortlisted across five categories.

As part of the Medilink UK Healthcare Business Awards these finalists represent the pinnacle of their profession.

The winners will be announced at the annual sell-out gala dinner on 1st April at The Hilton Birmingham Metropole. The event will be hosted by medically qualified, critically acclaimed international stand-up comedian, Paul Sinha, with over 300 professionals from across the industry coming to celebrate with the winners, network with peers and share their pride in the industry.

This year saw some fantastic, inspiring entries recognising areas of innovation, outstanding achievement and ground-breaking success across the life science and healthcare technology sectors over the last year.

The categories and the nominations are:

3D PRINTING AWARD

Axial 3D - Axial 3D's surgical model service uses machine learning algorithms to aid in the conversion of patient scan data to 3D anatomical models, leading to reduced lead times.

ExpHand Prosthetics - ExpHand has developed affordable, expandable, customisable 3D printed prosthetics for children aged 3 to 10, with adjustable universal sockets that can be fitted at home by parents.

FabRx Ltd - The M3dimaker 3D printer prints solid oral medicine, enabling personalised doses of medicine to meet specific health and therapeutic requirements in a single pill.

MedScan 3D - MedScan 3D offers a 3D printed anatomical surgical model service, which uses expert adaption to produce anatomically accurate silicone test simulators for medical devices.

University of Liverpool - A digital electronic imaging system has been developed to enhance the quality control of the EBAM additive manufacturing process, to improve the reliability in the manufacture of bespoke orthopaedic implants.

CONNECTED HEALTH AWARD

Ainostics Ltd - Ainostics has developed an AI analysis engine which uses multi-modal patient data (scans, patient records, wearable sensors, etc) to perform highly accurate diagnosis and prognosis for early dementia.

FeelTect Tight Alright is a connected wearable device for measuring and monitoring sub-bandage pressure during compression therapy, reducing healing times and improving quality of life.

Game Doctor - Game Doctor have developed a healthcare analytics and education platform using mobile gaming, to map and predict health behaviours in patients and the public

The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust - An online Point of Care Testing (POCT) service for the London Ambulance Service (LAS) enables en-route pathological testing with results available online for the destination hospital - reducing patient treatment time and improving clinical outcomes.

Nemaura Medical Inc - SugarBEAT is a non-invasive continuous glucose monitor and lifestyle app for diabetes, providing a personalised and progressive behaviour change app to manage and prevent type 2 diabetes.

DESIGN AWARD

Nemera - Safe'n'spray is a smart drug delivery device, with a reusable child-resistant locking unit and fingerprint identifier, to monitor drug delivery and prevent overdosing.

Oxford VR - A virtual reality therapy platform with a computer-generated virtual coach for personalised treatment of phobias and mental health. Great success at clinical trial has led to adoption in four NHS trusts.

SleepAngel - This patented medical barrier bedding allows the bedding to breathe whilst being a 100% barrier to allergens and pathogens, reducing hospital-acquired infections and increasing sustainability in the hospital setting.

TheMoment - M-co is a non-invasive wearable device utilising pulsed cueing and focused vibrotactile stimulation to ease the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

ENGINEERING AWARD

Biovation Orthopaedic Solutions - An instrument kit used to perform cartilage replacement implant surgery, for big toe arthritis, has been redesigned to eliminate pre-operative lead-times, reduce manufacturing costs and lead times as well as allow for more accurate surgery.

Carclo Technical Plastics - Specialist in-tool process control and monitoring equipment has been introduced to the injection moulding process of a drug delivery device to improve quality control and reduce inspection costs.

Emerson - Emerson have developed a micro solenoid valve for use in portable oxygen concentrators, which is light and compact with a significantly higher flow rate than competitor valves, enhancing the quality of life of the user.

Freudenberg Medical - Helix iMC technology continuously measures the inner geometry of silicone tubes during the extrusion process, to improve product quality and productivity as well as reducing waste and time to market.

Marsden - The Patient Transfer Scale is a transfer board with an in-built weighing scale to enable immobile and time-critical patients to be weighed instantly and accurately to allow for precise administering of drug doses and treatment.

MATERIALS INNOVATION AWARD

3M Medical Materials and Technologies - The 3M Extended Wear Medical Transfer Adhesives suite is a set of advanced solutions for stick-to-skin wearable devices which offer water resistance, breathability, elasticity and long wear times.

Paxxus - StreamOneR is an ultra-high barrier, hermetically sealable medical packaging solution designed for the number one polyester recycling stream, providing a higher performing and sustainable alternative to polypropylene medical packaging.

Spyras - Spyras have developed an affordable, disposable, paper-based wearable device for continuous real-time breathing analysis in hospitals. The device is designed to automatically alert clinicians of early signs of patient deterioration.

Stratasys - Specialist digital materials have been developed to allow the Stratasys Digital Anatomy Platform to replicate human anatomy which has the same biomechanical properties as native bone and tissue for realistic anatomical models.

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Med-Tech Innovation Awards 2020 finalists announced - Med-Tech Innovation

Human Behavior

Better Innovation Through Adventure: Sally Dominguez On 21st Century Design Thinking – DesignNews

The pressure for engineers and designers to come up with increasingly innovative and novel concepts has never been higher. But how are employees and leadership supposed to adapt in a world where failure has become riskier than ever?

Sally Dominguez has worn many hats in her career inventor, educator, journalist, and adventurer. She's spoken all over the world about a modern update to design thinking that she calls Adventurous Thinking. Used by NASA as well as startups and organizations worldwide Dominguez's system points to a methodology for making not only ideas and concepts but existing products, services, and systems more resilient.

Ahead of her keynote at Pacific Design & Manufacturing 2020, Dominguez spoke with Design News*about the 10X Mindset, how her Adventurous Thinking framework leads to innovative thinking, and the importance of failure.

Design News: Can you briefly define the Adventurous Thinking framework and talk about how you came about creating it? Were there particular insights or moments in your own career that led you to it?

Sally Dominguez: I had designed my Nest highchair, accidentally pioneering a new rotomolding finish in the process, and it was winning awards and ultimately acquired by the Powerhouse Museum. Then I invented Rainwater HOG and a new structure for flat plastic tanks. I was judging inventions on TV [for ABC's The New Inventors] so I had a reasonable profile with school students and the NSW Board of Studies asked me to lecture to busloads of teens and their design technology teachers about my design process.

I panicked, because my process is so swirly, the opposite to linear. Then I decided to think hard about what that process actually looked like. I considered all the innovators I had interviewed and worked with as well as my own way of thinking, and I started seeing some common angles. As I identified this concept of poking and prodding and questioning I wondered how I could get someone who felt profoundly uncreative to think in the same way. And I came up with the concept of a diverse set of lenses with particular points of view. The lenses would focus a persons thinking in a particular way, but also refract their usual thinking off on tangent to give them results and insights they would never usually find.

DN: Can you briefly describe the Five Lenses of Adventurous Thinking (Negative Space, Thinking Sideways, Thinking Backwards, Rethinking, and Parkour) and how one should go about applying them. Are these a series of steps, or are they more like tools where each can be applied when needed?

SD: [They're] definitely not steps - the Lenses are not a what you should do they are a how you should look at something based on the theory of multiple intelligences. That is, walking around an issue or thing and poking and pulling from different perspectives gives us greater understanding and meaning, and a proliferation of unexpected options and solutions.

These lenses are not just for ideation. Some are for generating new ideas, but, you know, ideas are worth nothing if you don't do anything with them. The Lenses are designed to apply to an entire process, cradle to grave (or ideally to cradle) and to keep the process decisions and the handovers as open and innovative the entire journey as possible.

Too often all the innovation is at ideation and then delivery funnels down into something incremental. The lenses ensure that processes and other parts of the delivery are equally innovative. So you might use Parkour to come up with ideas or reinvigorate a project that is losing steam; Negative Space and Sideways to hone and optimize them and the way a team works together; Backwards to ensure the delivery not only of a product or service, but also a campaign is as robust, economical, and sustainable as possible; and Rethinking to look at a part of the business you have always done the same way and seek either new unexpected markets, or new scales of impact and delivery.

DN: What is the 10X Mindset? And how does this play into the larger framework of Adventurous Thinking?

SD: The 10X Mindset is the mindset we need to confront the exponential change happening in every facet of our lives right now. The exponential curve is not something humans intuitively understand: We like a linear outlook with a prize at the end and a series of steps. The exponential curves explodes into an ecosystem of stakeholders digitally connected, and this instant connection changes human behavior at a speed and scale we have never seen before.

In order to find opportunity in this chaos we need a mindset that is resilient, opportunistic, and confident with no knowing an answer or an outcome. It's the opposite of the classic MBA mindset. This is brand new territory. Adventurous Thinking developed in order to show people how the swirly thinking of many creative innovators worked, and it turns out to be the perfect mindset to stay optimistic and on point in an era of unrelenting change.

DN: Adventurous Thinking seems based a lot around the idea of creating a flexible mindset that's open to change. In your observation why are we so resistant and rigid in our thinking to begin with?

SD: We are simply comfortable in our expertise. Logic and knowledge are celebrated throughout our schooling and far prioritized over creative thinking. Einstein said it best: "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. Thinking in the area of possibility is hard because we don't know the answers and we can't look them up. It is not a place people default to unless they have practiced it and they know the exhilaration it can bring.

DN: Your site mentions A key premise of Adventurous Thinking is a willingness to fail. Can you elaborate a bit on this? How can a willingness to fail be an asset? How do you tell your clients how to reconcile this mindset in a work environment that is increasingly driven by performance and deadlines where failure may not be welcomed or encouraged?

SD: In order to plan business strategy and run the day to day in this new environment of unrelenting change leaders and their teams need to have a stated strategy around failure. Companies are not seeing the growth they have historically been able to plan for because 10% better is no longer yielding results. Change happens too fast, products and services can be copied too fast. Growth will only come with bigger, bolder innovations and those are higher risk. But cheaper to try than ever before.

The new business environment facing everyone in this new era demands an alternative to classic risk-averse planning, but you can't just tell people who are employed to do a job that suddenly it's cool to fail. Failure needs to be demonstrated with full transparency by leadership, outlined in company expectations and assessed during performance reviews.

For instance Cokes 70/20/10 market strategy is a good one: You could tell your team 70% of the time do what you know works, 20% of the time try leading edge developments, 10% of the time try something that nobody else has done. And here is some training and tools to help you get to that space, that moonshot thinking. If every person in an organization is enabled to spend some of their time innovating with 10X thinking in their area, a company will see consistent growth. Failure needs to be defined and the scope built into the Innovation Scaffold of company strategy.

DN: Do you differentiate a willingness to fail from accepting failure?

SD: I think you need to accept that the failure will ultimately move you forward, and in many areas of disruptive innovation you need to accept that your endeavor will most likely fail, without letting that stop you trying. Failing fast is the key. We need to aim higher understand that means a high failure rate, yet still try.

DN: You've worked with a lot of different companies, organizations, and innovators. Are there certain qualities you've observed in your career that successful people and organizations seem to naturally have in common?

SD: The ability to take and give constructive criticism is a key attribute with consistent innovators. If you are working at the bleeding edge you need to be able to hear and appreciate the concerns and morph if necessary, but also be resilient enough to back yourself against criticism again, without taking it personally. I think always being receptive to adjacent opportunities is the hallmark of an innovator working in the exponential change of the Fourth Revolution. And then convincing others to come along for the wild ride!

DN: You've spoken all over the world. Have you observed certain challenges or mindsets that differentiate between cultures? Are there needs and challenges that are unique to the U.S. for example?

SD: Culture definitely has a big impact on collaboration and the way we think about problems. There is a great book called Geography of Thought that looks at the difference between Aristotle thinking - like the USA that places the individual as the focus and Confucian thinking, which is more socially oriented. Those are two completely different ways to consider an issue and they can deliver starkly different results with the same Adventurous Thinking tools.

I left Australia because it has Tall Poppy Syndrome, which means you can't tell people you are good at something or invent something without people wanting to cut you down. Same in Japan and the UK. So that affects the way people talk about their ideas with others. In California you tell someone an idea and they immediately support you and ask how they can help... at least that is how it is where I live!

So, again, that makes a huge difference to the way we share ideas and co-create. I love the USA for idea-sharing, but it is also the place where both my main inventions were ripped off because people are very commercially minded. Latin America is an exciting region in terms of idea sharing and co-creation. Super interested and proactive with new mindset tools, and extremely social and optimistic which helps when dealing with bearable discomfort.

DN: As an innovator yourself, are there any new innovations you find particularly exciting?

SD: I am excited that the rise in unexpected technologies - for example the conversion of CO2 to energy and the creation of hydrogen using solar, and the creation of meat substitutes with yeast - means we can rethink some big planet challenges around sustainable fuels, food production, and a bunch of other complex global issues. I am trying to work out which exponential technologies I could potentially harness to rethink the way we fight bushfires like the ones that have decimated Australias native wildlife.

Sally Dominguez will be delivering the closing keynote, Adventurous 10X Thinking Building the Resilient Mindset for Better Innovation on Thursday February 13th at 1:30PM at Pacific Design & Manufacturing 2020.

*This interview has been edited for content and clarity.

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Better Innovation Through Adventure: Sally Dominguez On 21st Century Design Thinking - DesignNews

Genetics

Massive Genetic Map of Cancer Mutations Cataloged Available to Doctors and Researchers Worldwide – SciTechDaily

Chromosomes prepared from a malignant glioblastoma visualized by spectral karyotyping (SKY) reveal an enormous degree of chromosomal instability a hallmark of cancer. Credit: NCI Center for Cancer Research (CCR)

Mutations in 38 different types of cancer have been mapped by means of whole genome analysis by an international team of researchers from, amongst others, the University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University, Aarhus University Hospital, and Rigshospitalet. The researchers have compiled a catalog of the cancer mutations that will be available worldwide to doctors and researchers.

Globally, cancer is one of the biggest killers and in 2018, an estimated 9.6 million people died of the disease. In order to provide the best treatment for the disease, it is essential to find out which mutations are driving the cancer.

We have studied and analyzed the whole genome, and our analyses of mutations that are affecting cancer genes have enabled us to genetically explain 95 percent of the cancer occurrences we have studied by means of mutations. Joachim Weischenfeldt

In a major international collaboration called Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG), researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University, Aarhus University Hospital, and Rigshospitalet have helped to map mutations in 38 different types of cancer.

The mutations have all been combined into a sort of catalog. The catalog, which is already available online, allows doctors and researchers from all over the world to look things up, consult with and find information about the cancer of a given patient.

Most previous major studies have focused on the protein coding two percent of the genome. We have studied and analyzed the whole genome, and our analyses of mutations that are affecting cancer genes have enabled us to genetically explain 95 percent of the cancer occurrences we have studied by means of mutations, says co-author Joachim Weischenfeldt, Associate Professor at the Biotech Research & Innovation Centre, University of Copenhagen, and the Finsen Laboratory, Rigshospitalet.

So, if you know which mutations have caused cancer, the so-called driver mutations, you will be able to better tailor a treatment with the most suitable drugs or design new drugs against the cancer. Precision medicine is completely dependent on the mapping of driver mutations in each cancer, in relation to diagnosis, prognosis and improved treatment, says co-author Jakob Skou Pedersen, professor at Bioinformatics Research Centre and Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, and Aarhus University Hospital.

The new research results are published in a special edition of the scientific journal Nature with focus on PCAWG. To date, it is the largest whole genome study of primary cancer. This means that the analysis was performed based on material from the tissue in which the tumor originated and before the patient has received any treatment.

The researchers have mainly analyzed and had data on the most common types of cancer such as liver, breast, pancreas and prostate cancer. In total, they have analyzed whole genome-sequenced tumor samples from more than 2,600 patients.

Based on their analyses, they could see that the number of mutations in a cancer type varies a lot. Myeloid dysplasia and cancer in children have very few mutations, while there may be up to 100,000 mutations in lung cancer.

The infographic is an overview of the different cancer types studied in the Pan-Cancer Project. The lower part also lists the six cancer types (for men and women) for which the most samples were available. Credit: Rayne Zaayman-Gallant/EMBL

But even though the number of mutations spans widely, researchers could see that on average there were always 4-5 mutations that were driving the disease, the so-called drivers no matter what type of cancer it was.

It is quite surprising that almost all of them have the same number of driver mutations. However, it is consistent with theories that a cancerous tumor needs to change a certain number of mechanisms in the cell before things start to go wrong, says Jakob Skou Pedersen.

In the catalog, the researchers have divided the mutations into drivers and passengers. Driver mutations provide a growth benefit for the cancer, while passenger mutations cover all the others and are harmless. The vast majority of all mutations are passengers.

To store and process the vast amount of data, the research team has used so-called cloud computing, using 13 data centers spread across three continents. They have had centers in Europe, the US, and Asia.

The large data set has been necessary to establish what was common and unique to the different types of cancer. Today, cancer is divided according to the tissue in which the disease originates, for example breast, brain, and prostate.

The researchers found many things that were completely unique to each type of tissue. Conversely, they also found many common traits across the tissue types. According to Joachim Weischenfeldt, there is thus a need to rethink the way we think about cancer.

Cancer is a genetic disease, and the type of mutations is often more important than where the cancer originates in the body. This means that we need to think of cancer not just as a tissue-specific disease, but rather look at it based on genetics and the mutations it has.

For example, we may have a type of breast cancer and prostate cancer where the driver mutations are similar. This means that the patient with prostate cancer may benefit from the same treatment as the one you would give the breast cancer patient, because the two types share an important driver mutation, says Joachim Weischenfeldt.

Reference: Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes by The ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium, 5 February 2020, Nature.DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-1969-6

The International Cancer Genome Research Consortium has been supported by national foundations, including Independent Research Fund Denmark.

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Massive Genetic Map of Cancer Mutations Cataloged Available to Doctors and Researchers Worldwide - SciTechDaily

Physiology

Women in science honoured for their contribution to rooibos – Rising Sun Chatsworth

Current research suggests that Rooibos has the potential to delay or prevent the onset and progression of type 2 diabetes, however its effect on the associated risk of type 3 diabetes and Alzheimers Disease still needs to be elucidated.

Female scientists have been at the forefront of researching rooibos- one of the countrys most treasured natural resources.The first documented scientific research on the healing properties of rooibos in the early 1990s, started a chain reaction, which hasnt let up.

Today, largely due to the vast amount of research that underpins its health claims, rooibos has become a sought-after superfood both locally and abroad, and is exported to more than 30 countries.

In the wake of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the SA Rooibos Council (SARC) is paying tribute to specifically the female researchers for their invaluable contribution to the industry, and in doing so, also hopes to inspire young girls to pursue a career in science.

Adele du Toit, the spokesperson for the SA Rooibos Council, explained that since the industry actively started to pursue research into rooibos, it has involved more than 40 women scientists from South Africa, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan and Taiwan.

These incredible women are all attempting to answer some of the most pertinent questions of our time and provide solutions to life-inhibiting and life-threatening illnesses. We salute them for their dedication and commitment to science, while many of them juggle motherhood and other demands. Its unfortunate that women still account for less than 30 percent of the worlds researchers, as they have such a major role to play. The contribution that these women are making in the generation of knowledge is fuelling the exciting innovation within the sector and is giving a proudly South African product a significant competitive edge, remarked du Toit.

Some of the women scientists, who are putting rooibos on the map, include Prof Jeanine (research chair in biotechnology and director of the Applied Microbial and Health Biotechnology Institute at Cape Peninsula University of Technology), Prof Elizabeth Joubert (principal researcher at the Plant Bioactives Group of the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa and extraordinary professor in food science at Stellenbosch University), Dr Rabia Johnson (principal investigator and senior specialist scientist at the SA Medical Research Council), Prof Amanda Swart (head of the P450 Steroid Research Group, department of biochemistry at Stellenbosch University), Prof Dalene de Beer (specialist researcher at the Plant Bioactives Group of the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa and an extraordinary associate professor in food science at Stellenbosch University), Dr Hanl Sadie-Van Gijsen (principal investigator and senior researcher in the division of medical physiology at Stellenbosch University, Dr Liske Kotz-Hrstmann (post-doctoral research fellow), Dr Tandeka Magwebeba (researcher based at the Institute of Biomedical and Microbial Biotechnology at CPUT), Dr Sarah Pedretti (senior research scientist at the University of Cape Towns Lung Institute), Pamela Sithole (masters student at Stellenbosch University), Dr Sylvia Riedel-van Heerden (scientist at the Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform at the SAMRC), Prof Barbara Huisamen (based at the medical physiology faculty of health sciences at Stellenbosch University) and Dr Uljana Hesse (senior lecturer at the department of biotechnology at the University of the Western Cape).

Nearly all mainstream universities and research institutions now have departments that focus specifically on biotechnology and alternative sources of raw materials, instead of laboratory manufactured chemicals, hence the increased interest in rooibos and other natural ingredients.

For more info regarding rooibos research, visit http://www.sarooibos.co.za

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Women in science honoured for their contribution to rooibos - Rising Sun Chatsworth

Anatomy

The anatomy of a green safari – which camps are leading the way? – The Telegraph

I hadnt expected to see a green mamba on a behind-the-scenes tour of Chobe Game Lodge in Botswana. Thankfully, it wasnt one of Africas deadliest snakes, but a powerful machine that crushes cans and bottles given that name by Albert Ndereki, the lodges ecotourism manager, because it is so aggressive.

The green mamba is just one of many waste management projects that has earned the lodge and Albert accolades. In May, he won the Shape Africa Innovation Award at the We Are Africa show in Cape Town for his commitment to sustainable initiatives in one of the countrys oldest lodges.

Albert joined Chobe Game Lodge as a builder in 1971. Nearly 50 years on, he takes guests on behind-the-scenes tours like mine to see his inspiring initiatives. They include producing biogas from food waste and grass cuttings, burning rubbish in incinerators and using the ash as fertiliser, and making bricks out of crushed glass bottles. Theres solar power, too, and Chobe was one of the first lodges in Africa to offer silent safaris on electric vehicles and boats.

Alberts award reflects the significance now being placed on a greener safari experience, with the emphasis on protecting a fragile environment. Our clients love to see sustainable camps, and they object when they see poor practice, says Chris McIntyre, managing director of specialist tour operator Expert Africa.

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The anatomy of a green safari - which camps are leading the way? - The Telegraph

Anatomy

Solar-Powered Tents and Silent Game Drives The Anatomy of a Green Safari – Luxury Travel Advisor

by Sue Watt, The Telegraph, February 5, 2020

I hadnt expected to see a green mamba on a behind-the-scenes tour of Chobe Game Lodge inBotswana. Thankfully, it wasnt one of Africas deadliest snakes, but a powerful machine that crushes cans and bottles given that name by Albert Ndereki, the lodges ecotourism manager, because it is so aggressive.

The green mamba is just one of many waste management projects that has earned the lodge and Albert accolades. In May, he won the Shape Africa Innovation Award at the We Are Africa show inCape Townfor his commitment to sustainable initiatives in one of the countrys oldest lodges.

Albert joined Chobe Game Lodge as a builder in 1971. Nearly 50 years on, he takes guests on behind-the-scenes tours like mine to see his inspiring initiatives. They include producing biogas from food waste and grass cuttings, burning rubbish in incinerators and using the ash as fertiliser, and making bricks out of crushed glass bottles. Theres solar power, too, and Chobe was one of the first lodges inAfricato offer silent safaris on electric vehicles and boats.

Alberts award reflects the significance now being placed on a greener safari experience, with the emphasis on protecting a fragile environment. Our clients love to see sustainable camps, and they object when they see poor practice, says Chris McIntyre, managing director of specialist tour operator Expert Africa.

We highlight the best green camps to our travellers, but sustainability isnt the decisive criterion for choosing where to stay just yet. Factors such as location and cost can take precedence, but were sure this will change as awareness of these issues grows.

Today, leading safari operators such as African Bush Camps, Asilia Africa, Elewana, Singita and Wilderness all embrace green technology, particularly solar power: the tedious drone of a generator is rarely heard these days.

Two years ago, Singita created an off-grid renewable energy plant inSouth Africas Kruger National Park, when their Sweni and Lebombo lodges were redesigned. It was the first project in Africa to include Tesla Powerpacks for solar power storage, enabling the company to power both lodges and its entire staff villages with solar energy.

The green effect has dramatically influenced design in camps and lodges. At Asilias Namiri Plains, all decking is 100 per cent recycled plastic and walls are a local natural stone, calcrete, which helps to regulate room temperature.

Entirely covered with painted canvas, the staff village has been ingeniously constructed to resemble a classic Serengeti kopje (rocky outcrop), blending in with its surroundings. Both the camp and the staff village are completely solar-powered.

Solar-charged electric vehicles and boats are also gaining traction. Vincent Kouwenhoven, founder of niche operator Green Safaris, developedZambias first electric game drive vehicle (the eLandy) for its Ila Lodge in Kafue National Park.

I came up with the idea of an electric vehicle many years ago, he explains. As I drove from one property to another, it suddenly struck me that you only switch off a diesel engine when you encounter lions or something.

Only then do you get to enjoy the sound of the bush. This is where the idea of silent safaris was born, using EVs to enhance the customer experience. We built the very first one and started experiencing way more sightings, since most animals dont hear us coming or they are simply more at ease. The investment is substantial, but the savings on diesel and wear-and-tear definitely make it worthwhile.

Green Safaris offers solar-powered boats for sunset cruises on the Kafue river, and silent safari vehicles will feature in its new camps, Chisa Busanga in Kafue and Shawa in South Luangwa, when they open in June.

In South Africas Sabi Sand Game Reserve, the Cheetah Plains Houses has added more luxurious touches to its electric Land Cruisers, including customised suspension, heated bucket seats for chilly mornings and side-lighting on steps for easier access.

With all the well-publicised concerns about plastic, single-use water bottles are hardly ever seen on safari. Most lodges provide branded, refillable stainless-steel bottles with filtered water for game drives, which guests can take home afterwards.

Minimising the impact of safaris on wildlife is also a top priority for enlightened companies. For night drives, andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa recently introduced an innovative Night Eye Experience.

High-definition infrared cameras connected to screens show guests the nights wild action in real-time viewing. The absence of spotlights means animals carry on their normal business undisturbed.

InZambia, where walking safaris were born, three walking-only bush camps opened last year, suggesting a greener, less is more approach with a lighter carbon footprint. Mapazi in South Luangwa, Tusk and Mane in Lower Zambezi and Jeffery & McKeith Safaris in Kafue are all run by renowned guides.

Instead of the sometimes incongruous luxuries associated with safaris (private plunge pools, minibars and hairdryers in vast suites), these intimate, pared-back camps have a back-to-nature vibe with exceptional guiding in exclusive wilderness areas as the main draw.

Mobile camps tread lightly on the environment, too, especially in the Serengeti, where they move to follow the Great Wildebeest Migration. Roving Bushtops has created a unique hi-tech mobile camp with solar-powered tents which fold out on to a platform, complete with a king-size bed, hot tub, flush lavatory and Wi-Fi, leaving little trace on the landscape.

I recently stayed at Wayo Africas far simpler exclusive-use mobile camp in the Serengetis Wilderness Zone, walking by day and sleeping on comfortable beds in dome tents at night. In the less-is-more mode, our bathroom tent had a bucket shower and a compost lavatory.

Wayos founder, Jean du Plessis, is a renowned guide and National Geographic TV presenter. He explained to me the importance of water conservation in Wayos approach to safari holidays.

I calculated that all these fancy camps using flush lavatories take around a million litres a day out of Serengeti water sources, he told me, adding that Wayo adds sawdust to waste to neutralise it, then mixes it with kitchen waste to make compost.

In Wayos main camps, the square tents have gutters to catch rainwater, which is then stored in black 1,000-litre bladders that are left to warm in the sun. The result? Naturally-heated bucket showers.

Every morning, I awoke to see the vast plains of the Serengeti all around me, with no one else there and a footprint so light that we were barely tiptoeing on these fragile lands. What could be greener than that?

Further information: chobegamelodge.com; expertafrica.com; africanbushcamps.com; asiliaafrica.com; elewanacollection.com; singita.com; wilderness-safaris.com; greensafaris.com; cheetahplains.com; andbeyond.com; surefootsafaris.com; tuskandmane.com; jefferymckeith.com; bushtopscamps.com; wayoafrica.com

This article was written by Sue Watt fromThe Telegraphand was legally licensed through theNewsCredpublisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to[emailprotected].

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Solar-Powered Tents and Silent Game Drives The Anatomy of a Green Safari - Luxury Travel Advisor

Biochemistry

‘People take on more debt to make ends meet’: the cost of postgrad study – The Guardian

Growing up in Redcar on the north-east coast of Yorkshire, Kerry-Anne Revie, who is from a low-income background, thought that people like me dont belong at Oxford. The elite university wants to change this perception: in July 2019 it launched UNIQ+ a summer school designed to widen minority groups access to postgraduate education, such as those who have been in care or received free school meals.

Revie spent six weeks at Oxfords biochemistry department, assisting an academics research into DNA transcription. The 22-year-old is doing an integrated masters in biological sciences at University of Leeds, and says UNIQ+ put her on a par with peers who could afford to do voluntary work.

Its one of a flurry of recent schemes, from mentoring to financial aid, designed to boost postgrad diversity in response to concerns that undergrad debt is deterring people from staying on at university. A 2016 study found that 2.4% of white students had started a PhD within five years of graduating, compared with just 1.3% of black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) students. A key factor is the financial barrier: only 1.2% of PhD studentships from UK Research and Innovation research councils have been awarded to black or black-mixed students in the past three years.

Prof Paul Wakeling at the University of Yorks department of education says universities focused on the bottom line by prioritising the recruitment of a more diverse range of undergrad students rather than postgrads a move driven in part by financial necessity. In order to charge the max 9,250 undergrad fees, a universitys fair access plan must be approved by the Office for Students, but only for undergrad degrees and postgrad initial teacher training, because there is no cap on postgrad tuition fees, other than for initial teacher training.

We need more regulatory oomph, says Wakeling.

For its part, the government introduced loans of up to 25,000 (now 25,700) for doctoral students in 2018/19, and in 2016/17 loans for masters degrees worth 10,000 (now 10,906) were launched. The latter widened access to postgrad study: enrolment on loan-eligible masters courses increased by 74% among black students, and by 59% among those from low undergrad participation areas a proxy for disadvantage between 2015/16 and 2016/17. Both groups had previously cited finance as a major barrier to a postgrad degree.

But the loans could subsidise the wealthy as they are not based on students financial need, says Wakeling you can get one no matter how much money you have in the bank. And they rarely cover all tuition and living costs, which can be up to 30,000 a year in London, says Catherine Baldwin, director of recruitment and admissions at London School of Economics.

LSE fills this gap in finance by awarding more than 13m of scholarships annually, including needs-based awards such as the Graduate Support Scheme, worth between 5,000 and 15,000. Baldwin says this helps LSE attract a broad range of nationalities, as well as students from across the UK, not just south-east England.

However, Ginevra House, a freelance researcher at the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), says that recent gains made in fair access will be eroded if tuition fees continue to increase: People will rely on part-time work or bank loans that add more debt to make ends meet.

Since the introduction of masters loans, universities have been hiking postgrad tuition fees to cover the cost of running courses; research programmes overall make a substantial loss, she says.

Revie is searching for funding to potentially do a PhD in immunology at Oxford, but she remains undecided. While she was on the UNIQ+ scheme last year, university admissions staff pointed out sources of funding and shared potential admissions interview questions so she could prepare. Oxford will also waive her 75 application fee.

In addition, UNIQ+ pays a 2,500 stipend, and Oxford put Revie up in halls in Jericho, an Oxford city suburb. Some students in the halls were snobby she says. When she complained that bars shut relatively early at the weekend, one quipped: Thats because everyone works harder in Oxford and does better.

But the experience has not deterred her from staying on and indeed, most UNIQ+ students are considering a postgrad at Oxford or another Russell Group university, says Nadia Pollini, director of graduate admissions. She adds: We were amazed by the response in four weeks we had 200 applications for 33 places. Theres a real need for this. We are looking to expand it.

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'People take on more debt to make ends meet': the cost of postgrad study - The Guardian

Neuroscience

Global Neuroscience Market Will Grow Over USD 34800 million by 2024 – TheInfobiz

Zion Market Researchincludes new market research reportGlobal Neuroscience Market Expected to Reach USD 34,800 million by 2024to its huge collection ofresearch reports.TheNeuroscience Marketreport presents an all-inclusive approach to the Neuroscience Market growth along with a defined and methodical examination of the overall market. To start with, the report provides better insights of the competitive landscape of the global Neuroscience Market and also puts forth the several prominent market players along with their profiles.

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Our Free Complimentary Sample Report Accommodate a Brief Introduction of the research report, TOC, List of Tables and Figures, Competitive Landscape and Geographic Segmentation, Innovation and Future Developments Based on Research Methodology

The global market 2020reportNeuroscience Marketincludes identifying and comparing major competitors

For this, the Neuroscience Market report covers the company overview, financial metrics, tactics, business strategies, trends, acquisitions, and merger of the key participants active in the global Neuroscience Market. Further, the analysis offers a thorough evaluation of the latest key trends and technologies playing an imperative part in the Neuroscience Market growth.

Moreover, a range of characteristics such as challenges, opportunities, restraints, and drivers are taken into consideration, which has an impact on market growth. To offer such a comprehensive assessment of the market, numerous competent analytical tools are used. The Neuroscience Market report covers every part related to the globe Neuroscience Market and its development. Moving further from the primary data, the report advances to present the market segmentation based on diverse factors such as [Product, Applications, End-Users, and Major Regions].

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Also, the report will provide an in-depth analysis of future prospects as well as market penetration. A methodical approach is being mentioned in the report for each product and application such as which application is developing at a remarkable rate and which product has the utmost penetration.

To provide one with insightful data of the market scope globally, the analysis also evaluates sub-segments and key regions [Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific, Middle & East Africa, and Europe] of the Neuroscience Market. Furthermore, it assesses the market by evaluating the manufacturers, suppliers, supply chain, or value chain management. The regional markets also assessed by evaluating the products pricing, production capacity, demand, logistics, supply, as well as the historical performance in a specific region of the Neuroscience Market.

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In order to get a deeper view of Neuroscience Market Size, competitive landscape is provided i.e. Revenue (Million USD) by Players (2015-2025), Revenue Market Share (%) by Players (2015-2025) and further a qualitative analysis is made towards market concentration rate, product/service differences, new entrants and the technological trends in future.

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Global Neuroscience Market Will Grow Over USD 34800 million by 2024 - TheInfobiz

Biochemistry

The Future of Food – UC Davis

Food is more than the energy that fuels our bodies it is preventive medicine. Maybe not a cheesy chimichanga, but the type of food that is loaded with vitamins and proteins can maximize the benefits to the human body.

We need to look at the functional properties of food more closely so we can achieve the desired outcome, said Justin Siegel, associate professor of chemistry, biochemistry and molecular medicine, and faculty director for the Innovation Institute for Food and Health. Instead of focusing on the quantity of food which is a legitimate long-term concern globally lets hone in on creating quality food that possesses more active nutritional ingredients that deliver greater health benefits with every serving.

Siegel has a vision to transform the greater Sacramento region into the incubator pipeline for food science innovations. The initiative, dubbed Food Valley, would accelerate the commercialization of game-changing ideas across the food system by tapping into research, industry and policy. It would also prepare tomorrows food innovators and entrepreneurs through experiential learning programs.

Food Valley aims to patent its food innovations through developing technologies. These concepts can be grown into companies and potentially be a launchpad for Aggie entrepreneurs.

Siegel became interested in biotechnology as a kid. More recently, he thought about the possibilities of using biotech to disrupt the food systems industry. He co-founded PVP Biologics, a food biotech company, in 2016. PVP created a pill called KumaMax, which could help those who have celiac disease. KumaMax is currently in clinical trials, awaiting FDA approval.

Food Valley is about letting people experience freedom in what they are able to eat especially as it pertains to food allergies and restrictions, Siegel said. With modern technology we can both see the exact molecules that make up our food and manipulate those molecules to change how they interact with someones body.

No centralized hub for food innovations exists yet. Siegel said he believes UCDavis has the right ingredients to emerge as the leader.

Twenty years ago, this was science fiction, he said. Now we can do things we never thought possible. There is going to be a hub for food innovation, and UCDavis should be the place it happens.

This is one of several Big Ideas, forward-thinking, interdisciplinary programs and projects that will build upon the strengths of UCDavis to positively impact the world for generations to come. Learn more at bigideas.ucdavis.edu.

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The Future of Food - UC Davis

Human Behavior

Calculated Surprise Leads to Groundbreaking Discovery in Cognitive Control Research – Newswise

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Newswise Humans control their behavior in numerous ways, from stopping the urge pick at a scab to resisting the impulse to eat an entire box of chocolates. Suppressing undesired behavior, referred to as cognitive control, traditionally has been linked to the functioning of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) in the front of the brain. Activity in dACC is observed across a variety of contexts, yet its function remains intensely debated in the field of cognitive neuroscience.

Theories of the role of dACC in inhibitory control highlight surprise, choice difficulty and value of control as key mechanisms. Although these theories have been successful in explaining dACC involvement in inhibitory control, it remains unclear whether these mechanisms generalize to motivated control. Motivated control processes help people achieve a desired goal even when doing so is difficult or costly.

A study led by a neuroscientist at Florida Atlantic University in collaboration with Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium, sought to better understand how motivational control processes help maximize performance when faced with task challenges. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers tested three prominent theories of cognitive control (predicted response outcome or PRO, expected value of control or EVC and choice difficulty or CD) using a speeded value-based decision-making task.

To differentiate among these theories, researchers developed a set of empirical predictions for what activation in the dACC should resemble if the theory was correct. By placing these theories in opposition within the same experiment, the researchers were able to develop a series of analyses to distinguish among the theories competing predictions.

Results of the study, published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, demonstrate how a singular model unifies conflicting findings on dACC function, takes cognitive control research to new heights, and provides fascinating insights into the role of dACC as a component of a network of brain regions that support motivated behavior.

Researchers discovered that the single mechanism of surprise defined in the paper as the difference between events that are expected to happen versus those that actually happen best accounts for activity in dACC during a task requiring motivated control. The series of analyses they performed indisputably supported the PRO model indicating that recognizing surprising events could provide a unified explanation for dACC function. Surprise signaling is the shared driver of inhibitory and motivated control and supports surprise coding as the core mechanism underlying medial prefrontal cortex function more generally, with the source of the surprise determining the exact neural population implicated.

During motivated control, we found that dACC activity reflects the calculation of surprise and does not track choice difficulty or value, said William Alexander, Ph.D., corresponding author and an assistant professor of psychology and a member of the Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences in FAUs Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Instead, dACC activity is all about predictions of our choices and environment and especially signals when those predictions are wrong. A key contributor to motivated control, dACC tracks a computational quantity similar to surprise, which is generated when events differ from our expectations.

For the study, researchers dissociated the need to invigorate a response from reward incentive to distinguish motivated control from value-driven responding. fMRI data recorded human subjects performing various tasks ranging from easy to difficult. Participants within an fMRI experiment chose between two options each tied to a different amount of money and had to make choices very quickly, within a 750ms timeframe. This time pressure required them to exert cognitive control to balance the competing demands of the task, an assumption that was confirmed through their behavioral results.

Another key finding of the study is that several other regions of the brain in addition to the dACC also generated the patterns of activity predicted by the PRO model. Future studies will need to position dACC within a larger network of brain regions that collectively evaluate the need for increased control of behavior and then implement that control through changes in other systems.

Study co-authors are Eliana Vassena, Ph.D., Radboud University and Ghent University, and James Deraeve, Ghent University.

This research is supported by EC/EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, H2020/H2020 Priority Excellent Science, H2020 Marie Skodowska-Curie Actions (H2020 Excellent Science - Marie Skodowska-Curie Actions), and Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Research Foundation Flanders).

- FAU -

About Florida Atlantic University: Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAUs world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAUs existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit fau.edu.

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Calculated Surprise Leads to Groundbreaking Discovery in Cognitive Control Research - Newswise