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Green-Energy Blues

The RENIXX index, which measures 30 of the world’s largest publicly traded renewable-energy companies, fell 15% after what was perhaps the biggest environmental disaster America has seen. Many expected BP’s oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico to revive the urgency for a reduced dependence on oil. But the 15% had investors wondering ā€œIs green-energy deadā€?…

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Grilled Squid

Lloyd Blankfein is CEO of Goldman Sachs, and on Friday the 16th April he described his day as ā€œone of the worst days of my professional lifeā€. This was largely due to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs.  The bank was accused of failing to disclose that a hedge fund had…

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George Whitesides: Toward a Science of Simplicity

Simplicity – we know it when we see it — but what is it, exactly? In this witty and entertaining talk, George Whitesides, Chemist and pioneer in microfabrication and nanoscale self-assembly, shares his thoughts and vision for a world in which health tests can be administered at almost no to little cost in developing countries….

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Hub of the Matter

New electric car innovations are changing the way we thing about vehicles – how they are designed and specifically how they are manufactured. But due to certain limits and possibilities associated with electric propulsion, it isn’t clear which technologies will lead. However, one group of engineers are pioneering the way forward, with what they call…