Viewpoint

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

The search engine giant will dramatically increase its investment in European start-ups and skills in 2015. Prospects are good, but there must be broader acceptance in Europe that some ventures will fail, says David Drummond, chair of Google Ventures

While other social media networks for researchers are about showing off publications or keeping tabs on impact metrics, Piirus makes introductions. This is the way to find your perfect partner – for research, says Piirus founder Fiona Colligan

Breakthroughs in renewable energy don’t come from Eureka moments in the laboratory, but from long term effort and investment to push nascent technologies to the point of cost efficiency, says Carlos Härtel, GE’s head of R&D in Europe