Genome entrepreneurs say their data will help you live longer

The cost of sequencing the human genome continues to fall, reaching a low of $1,000 this year due to a new microchip and machine designed by genetics company Life Technologies Corp. And unleashed by those lower costs, a small cadre of entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley is exploring ways to harness this data to enable us to live longer and healthier lives.

Dr. Dietrich Stephan, a human geneticist, has spent the better part of a decade trying to achieve that goal. Until recently, it has been costly and time-consuming to map the 3 billion units of DNA, known as base-pairs, which make up the human genetic code. But now, he said, with the low cost of gene sequencing technologies, we are on the brink of banishing a one-size-fits-all approach to medicine.

“Every disease has a genetic component, and yet largely none of the available genetic information is being used today to treat patients,” he said.

Interesting stuff…read on, as published in VentureBeat.

Entrepreneurs use game dynamics to tackle climate change and obesity

Game developers get a lot of flack for building time-sucking products that don’t add much value. They usually deserve it. To the folks at Draw Something: I’d like my Thursday afternoon Game developers get a lot of flack for building time-sucking products that don’t add much value. They usually deserve it. To the folks at Draw Something: I’d like my Thursday afternoon back.

Hoping to change that, entrepreneurs at DEMO Spring in Silicon Valley launched games that make it fun and engaging to do good. By playing a game on Facebook, I received an education on my fatty foods intake and helped to conserve trees in Madagascar.

FriendsLearn, a social game, was developed to help young adults get smarter about their diet and health. At DEMO, the startup launched the alpha test for a food-fight game, Fooya.back.

Hoping to change that, entrepreneurs at DEMO Spring in Silicon Valley launched games that make it fun and engaging to do good. By playing a game on Facebook, I received an education on my fatty foods intake and helped to conserve trees in Madagascar.

FriendsLearn, a social game, was developed to help young adults get smarter about their diet and health. At DEMO, the startup launched the alpha test for a food-fight game, Fooya.

Read full story published on thenextweb.

‘Adapt or die’: Meet the PR pros building the next generation of startups

Publicists and entrepreneurs are kindred spirits.

There are only a handful of occupations in which networking is considered an art form, pitching complete strangers is a regular occurrence, and it’s acceptable to make last-minute alterations to a slide deck while friends roll their eyes at the dinner table.

Amanda MacNaughton, co-founder of social marketing platform Promojam, sees many overlaps between the agency life and the startup life.

“I would not have been able to start a company had I not worked in the PR industry,” said the Los Angeles native. “I learned in PR—an industry that was, and still is, rapidly changing—that if you don’t adapt, you die.”

Click for full article published by PRDaily 

Five of the Best: Silicon Valley Startups with a Conscience

Silicon Valley emerges from recession and it seems many are determined to uncover the next Twitter or Facebook. No group of individuals is fuelling the firestorm more than the bright young graduate students at Stanford University in the heart of Silicon Valley.

A lucky few have found success within the first months of launch and have received support from summer incubators and venture capital firms. Today’s entrepreneurs are younger and more idealistic than ever. Competition is strong; it has not been easy to select only five fresh young companies.

The criteria? These visionary founders are under-30s and their socially conscious ventures have attracted increasing attention in their first months of operation.

…click here to find out which startups made the list.