Zack Lynch asks for support to Write Congress Today in Support of the National Neurotechnology Initiative Act, explaining:

 

“With the recent introduction of the National Neurotechnology Initiative (NNTI) Act in the House (H.R. 5989) and the Senate (S.2989) earlier this month, the time has come to ramp up a national grassroots campaign in support of the NNTI and I would like to ask for your help. It is imperative that we get a substantive amount of Congressional support as quickly as possible as we are targeting Congressional hearings prior to the August break.

Take action: We need to flood Congressional fax machines and mail boxes with individual letters of support from key constituents like you over the next four weeks. I urge you to visit NIO’s Take Action webpage.

Read the rest of this entry »

A spate of recent news coverage on brain fitness and “brain training” reflects a growing interest in natural, non-drug-based interventions to keep our brains sharp as we age. This interest is very timely, given the aging population, increasing Alzheimer’s rates, and soaring health care costs that place more emphasis than ever on prevention and changing lifestyle.

This past Tuesday, the MIT Club of Northern California, the American Society on Aging, and SmartSilvers sponsored an event on The Emerging Brain Fitness Software Market: Building Better Brains to explore the realities and myths of this growing field. The panel was moderated by Zack Lynch, Executive Director of the Neurotechnology Industry Organization, and composed of a venture capitalist and 3 CEOs of program developers in the field. Before the panel, I had the chance to present an overview of the state of the Brain Fitness Software Market based on our upcoming report to be released on March 4th.

Why are we talking about this field at all? Well, for one, an increasing number of companies are achieving significant commercial success in packaging “brain exercise”. An example is the line of Nintendo games, such as Brain Age and Brain Training, that have shipped over 15 million units worldwide despite limited scientific support, since 2005. What is less visible is that a number of companies and scientists are Read the rest of this entry »

This is an event you may be interested in, if you are based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The MIT Club of Northern California, American Society on Aging, The Business Forum on Aging and SmartSilvers presents:

The Emerging Brain Fitness Market:  Building Better Brains (Contact information and Registration Here)

Date: 02/12/2008 Tuesday
Time: 6:00pm
Venue: Wilson Sonsini
Location: 950 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto
Cost: $20 online, $25 walk-in

Contact information and Registration Here.

Here is the buzz … Scientific, technological and demographic trends have converged to create an exciting new market in brain fitness, where software and online applications can assess and train cognitive abilities. That equates to a sharper mind and better memory retention contributing to healthier aging.  There is currently a $400m worldwide market with high growth ahead predicted.

Join us in lively and informative discussions as Alvaro Fernandez; CEO of SharpBrains.com summarizes the science, key market segments, players and trends, based on the first Brain Fitness Software Market Report, presented in this event.  He will discuss the implications with several neuro-technology, gaming experts and investors.”   Moderated by Zack Lynch, the speaker and panel will discuss:  Read the rest of this entry »

Motto Magazine brings a great interview between Anita Sharpe and Michael Ray, on How To Reach Your Highest Goal. Very fun weekend reading material, including plenty of quotes and reflections on how creativity can be trained/ enhanced by one of my favorite Stanford MBA professors. Some quotes:

• “But as the 1980s began, Ray and Myers kicked off more than two decades teaching one of the most influential and talked about courses at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business — a class on creativity and innovation. They taught MBA students who would go on to become some of the greatest creators in the world of business, including eBay’s first president, Jeffrey Skoll, and Good to Great author Jim Collins.”
• “When (Apple co-founder) Steve Jobs came to our class, everybody was saying we have to get into the computer business. He said, you don’t necessarily have to do that. He said, go into San Francisco and get a job as a waiter and find out what comes out of that.”
• MOTTO: You have had a number of renowned and successful students. How would you summarize the characteristics that they share that contribute to their inner and outer success?
• RAY: A sense of openness of consciousness. Those people who are Read the rest of this entry »