Viewpoint

A Science|Business Network Brief

Limpet teeth have overtaken spider silk as the world’s strongest natural material. As attempts are made to replicate and put this material to use, it is important to look to the IP strategy, say patent attorneys Ben Dempster and Jennifer Unsworth

A new online platform ShareIn is connecting biotech companies with investors. This is forcing traditional funders to up their game and cut back on layers of intermediary costs for start-ups, says Jude Cook, co-founder of ShareIn

Digital technologies can help older adults maintain independence and assist with their care. But resistance to change and a shortage of objective data to help communicate its value, is making it hard to commercialise products and build markets, says Martijn Vastenburg

Young people are not so hide-bound by risk. But they need the inputs of veteran investors and entrepreneurs to supply the missing ingredients in terms of experience, says Jaakko Hynynen, chief executive of the Finnish incubator, Startup Sauna

Internet-enabled forms of scientific collaboration, popularly referred to as open science, have not automatically translated into innovation. We must adapt by inventing new types of institutions, says Henry Chesbrough, father of open innovation

Smartphones can help you understand and look after your health says Bruce Hellman, chief executive of health app start-up uMotif

With the prospect of cuts hanging over the EU’s research budget, scientists should be stirring, MEP Claude Turmes tells Science|Business

But in a time of dwindling resources in Europe and beyond, new energy technologies and processes must have efficiency as their watchword, says David Eyton, group head of technology at BP

The budget of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research should be absorbed by the European Research Council. A proviso that projects backed by Dutch money be conducted in the Netherlands would strengthen the country’s research, says Luc Soete, Rector Magnificus, Maastricht University