Which investors have the most billion-dollar companies in their portfolios? And who got into those startups early?There are 74 private US companies valued at a billion dollars or more, according to our real-time unicorn tracker. We used CB Insights data to analyze which investors have backed the most unicorns and are in the best position to capitalize should these companies manage to exit for t...

The Cytosponge is around the same size as a multi vitamin pill.As with every form of the deadly disease, early detection of oesophageal cancer is critical to recovery. The current approach of detecting the cancer through biopsy can be a little hit and miss, so the University of Cambridge's Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald and her team have developed what they claim to be a more accurate tool for ea...

These solar "trees" provide connectivity and energy for a desert city. Look at what's installed and ready-for-use in Dubai this summer: "Smart palms" that store solar energy during the day and discharge power at night.Smart Palm, the company, has set up two so far—one on Surf Beach, another in a park near the waterfront. It plans to plant them in 103 locations under a contract with the United...

Indigo-Clean is a new light from Kenall Manufacturing that is capable of killing bacteria. Used in a health care setting such as a hospital, the device could help prevent the spread of dangerous microorganisms, including MRSA.Bacteria in the air absorb the indigo-colored light, which then creates a chemical reaction within the microorganism. This creates an environment that acts like bleach, ki...

According to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, about 2.3 percent of America’s power is generated by wind. But wind power is becoming wildly popular all over the world. What would happen if a company put up so many wind turbines that they actually changed the climate on Earth? That’s the subject of this week’s podcast.Wind turbines are being built all over the world, and China is p...

Rotterdam could be the first city in the world with roads made of plastic if VolkerWessels get their way.WolkerWessels, a Dutch construction firm, is intent on paving roads using upcycled plastic in a project dubbed PlasticRoad. According to this report, Rotterdam’s city council is just as thrilled to host the first batch of plastic roads.Alex van de Wall, a KWS Infra manager working on the pr...

Design student Michele Chu wants to revolutionize the condom market by creating spray-on condoms for both parties.When it comes to promoting safe sex, the more options, the better. Which is why the idea of a spray-on alternative to the conventional condom is so fascinating. Design student Michele Chu created a concept for a visual communications class that includes spray-on condoms for both mal...

Maturity goes hand-in-hand with cross-department collaboration, according to new research from Deloitte Digital and MIT Sloan Management Review.The quickest way to get fluent with social media, analytics, wearables, and mobile devices is to let cross-functional teams brainstorm what to do with them. And then experiment.A survey of more than 4,800 business executives across diverse industries fo...

Honda plans to revive the two-stroke engine, according to patent documents lodged earlier this month.Two-strokes are far simpler machines than four-stroke engines. They’re also lighter, easier to work on, and downright angrier, pumping out a lot more power per cubic centimeter of displacement, which has won them a lot of fans. But they’ve had a reputation for belching out a fair bit of smoke...