A Doctor for Finances: Chicago-based Holberg Financial develops capital wellness platform

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A Chicago startup suggests that offering financial health and wellness can reduce stress and increase overall satisfaction in the workplace. Holberg Financial has created a platform that mixes behavioral economics and psychology with access to a living person that can help people, namely Millennial employees, with finances.

“I grew up in a financially unstable household, and I remember that there were times when we had enough money to go on vacations, but there were also times when we didn’t have enough money to put food on the table. I had to borrow $40 from a neighbor just to apply for college,” said CEO and Founder of Holberg Financial, Joe Holberg.

Upon signing up, a user’s financial information is gathered all in one place where they can receive assessments on how they are doing. A financial survey is then conducted, thus generating a score between 0-100. According to an article in 1871 Blog, Holberg Financial has helped to increase user financial health by 6.3 points, on average. The platform is different from others out there because, instead of providing only a financial overview, it offers users goal development with emphasis on a plan of action. “It helps people recognize that personal finance is a fixed pie and allows users to come up with prioritized goals that they can set, track, and eventually realize.”

The Holberg Financial platform provides companies with the option to offer financial health as a benefit to employees, although companies must pay for the platform, it is free and unbiased for the employees who use the service.

“Companies that have used our platform often come back to us and say that it’s really helped them retain employees and increase productivity. And then, when we look at averages, we see that employees are able to build their net worth by over $3,000 in less than a year and significantly reduce their debt profile as well.”

May questionable credit be a thing of the past.

For more information on the Holberg Financial platform, please click here.

Are you developing a platform that benefits employees? Did you know that you can receive up to 14% back on your research expenses with the R&D Tax Credit? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is a Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Illinois, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

$95 Million worth of grants distributed to small business research and development

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In acknowledgment of the major roles small businesses play in spurring innovation and creating jobs in the U.S. economy, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have awarded $95 million worth of small business research and development (R&D) grants.

The grants will be funded through DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology (STTR) programs to 80 small businesses and consisting of 95 grants in total.

The SBIR and STTR programs were created by congress to leverage small businesses to advance innovation at federal agencies.

Below are the selected grants for each of the R&D programs that provided funding for the projects:

  • Office of Defence Nuclear Non-proliferation
  • Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability
  • Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  • Office of Fossil Energy
  • Office of Fusion Energy Sciences
  • Office of High Energy Physics
  • Office of Nuclear Energy

Did you know that you can receive up to 14% back on your research expenses with the R&D Tax Credit? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is a Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services to the state of Texas. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Giving Feeling to Robots & Prosthetics: Researchers at UT Dallas develop artificial touch-sense whiskers

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Whiskers are arguably the cutest feature on a dog or cat:

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Need we say more? Those pleasant-looking features are used as touch sensors that send information to an animal’s brain. It’s one way that an animal makes sense of their surroundings. This is why it’s important to not trim Fido’s or Tom’s whiskers. Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas realized this importance and have created artificial whiskers, appropriately called ‘e-whiskers’.

“We’ve created some of the highest density of e-whiskers to date,” said Dr. Walter Voit, an associate professor of materials science engineering and mechanical engineering at UT Dallas. “When you have a lot of sensors like this that can be dragged over a surface, you can then use them to measure many interesting properties. Our e-whiskers were able to detect force, pressure, proximity, temperature, stiffness and topography. As they brush up against—or whisk across—various materials, they mimic the sensing capabilities of human skin.” The development of e-whiskers is a significant step in the advancement of electronic human skin, which could be used in the fields of robotics and even prosthetics.

E-whiskers were developed by using shape-memory polymers that react to heat. A flexible strain sensor, which has the same diameter as a human hair, was attached to the top of a polymer pattern. Researchers then blew hot air through the bottom of the polymer cutouts, thus making the material soft. This allowed the e-whiskers to rise and become 3D. Any disturbance induced changes that interacts with the strain sensor is then tracked, thus giving ‘life’ to the polymer cutouts.

“In robotics, e-whiskers could replicate the functionalities of human skin by determining what’s hard and soft, hot and cold, smooth and rough. They could allow the robot to identify objects and interact with them safely, making robots more ‘human friendly’,” said Jonathan Reeder, lead author who conducted the research.

This concept may seem like something straight out of a sci-fi novel, but it’s not that far off from becoming a reality. “Integrating electronic sensors directly with biology is the most compelling application but presents a set of tough challenges. Namely, how to translate electronic signals generated by the sensor into the ‘language’ of the nervous system, and how to form a stable mechanical and electrical coupling between the flexible electronic and the soft tissue.” Reeder also mentioned that the sensitivity of the e-whiskers, such as changes in topology and temperature, as well as the sensors’ response time, all exceed the capabilities of human skin “by at least an order of magnitude.” “It’s not impossible for a person with a prosthetic to actually have better sensitivity than with the human hand,” Reeder added.

This development offers hope to the 2 million Americans who are living with a prosthetic limb. For more information on this impressive advancement, please click here.

Are you developing a technology so robots and prosthetics can have more human-like qualities? Did you know that you can receive up to 14% back on your research expenses with the R&D Tax Credit? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is a Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services to the state of Texas. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

 

Alternative Fertility Monitoring in 2018: San Francisco-based Modern Fertility develops economical at-home hormone test

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Women are putting off having children to build up a career and economic status. Those in their 30s are having more children than women in their 20s. However, as women age, hormonal changes follow thus affecting the chances of conceiving.

Modern Fertility, a San Francisco-based startup, wants to help women ignite important fertility conversations with their doctors. To do so, Modern Fertility created an at-home hormone test. The test can be ordered online where a doctor will review the order and customize it based on the type of birth control a client is on. Once it arrives, one can choose to be tested at home or at a local Quest Diagnostics lab. The at-home test simply requires the client to prick her finger and collect a blood sample–the accumulated blood should then be placed onto the provided test strip. The strip is then sent to a CLIA Certified lab where it is tested for nine hormones. Once reviewed by a physician, a private profile is sent back that explains how hormone levels may affect the number of eggs a woman has left, if her process of ovulation is normal, and other red flags that could affect a fertility window. Other trackable signals include if the onset of menopause could happen at an earlier age, and if egg freezing or IVF is the right way to go.

Carley Leahy and Afton Vechery co-founded Modern Fertility. “We’re really speaking to women much earlier in life who know that a career may be important and they may want to have children down the road, but want to be able to check in proactively,” Leahy said. “Modern Fertility is the first step for women. We’re really working with women before they get to a doctor’s office and giving them this information so that they can have a more informed conversation with their doctor,” Vechery said. “We found that you can go to a fertility clinic and take simple blood tests to check in on where you stand. But no everyone can afford them and the results can be tricky to decipher. We use information to get smart about everything in our lives—relationships, money, school. Why is something as formative as fertility still a black box?,” a statement from Leahy and Vechery said.

The Modern Fertility hormone test costs $199 compared to a $600 clinical doctor consultation. The company still recommends consulting with your doctor about any test results. More information about Modern Fertility can be found by clicking here.

Are you making fertility monitoring more accessible or convenient? Did you know that you can receive up to 14% back on your research expenses with the R&D Tax Credit? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is a Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services to the state of California. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in California, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

“It’s not easy being green”: Georgia-based AgVoice to foster sustainability, environmental goals

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The world’s population is at 7.6 billion and growing. With more mouths to feed than ever before, agriculture needs to keep up with the demands. Bruce Rasa, CEO of a program development called AgVoice, wants to help with the demands; after all, he has been in agriculture for some time. “I want to bring the power of technology to the farms and ranches to solve simple problems, enabling ag professionals to produce healthy food for the needs of a growing global population,” said Rasa in a statement from the AgVoice website.

To summarize, AgVoice is a mobile voice-interaction service that uses proprietary analytics and processing of raw voice files to capture insights via Bluetooth. The voice data that is collected can later be used for note-taking and analytics purposes. The recordings are also time-stamped and geolocated, which comes in handy when customers want to know about the origin, treatment and quality of their food.

“Agriculture is Georgia’s largest sector by number of workers. However, it is the least digitized sector, according to a recent study,” said Rasa in an interview with Hypepotamus. “We see an amazing global opportunity to serve not only our core customers, but have our data make a positive impact down the food chain. We want to champion the individual and help them get more productive.”

The program aims to optimize the use of resources in crop and animal production, which translates to positive impacts on the environment and helps users to achieve sustainability goals; AgVoice can also improve workflow management and documentation accuracy.

AgVoice is designed for use across the food and agriculture ecosystem, including livestock and crop production, agronomy, animal health and wellness, and machinery repair. The program is set to launch sometime in 2018. More information about AgVoice can be found by clicking here.

Are you developing a program that will help sustainability and environmental efforts in the agriculture sector? Did you know your R&D experiments could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is a Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services to the state of Georgia. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Georgia, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

“Gaming for Everyone”: Microsoft designs accessibility controller for Xbox One

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Playing the latest game on an Xbox is an easy, straightforward process for most–at least when using the controller. There’s the triggers, bumpers, face buttons, a directional pad, sticks and the iconic green guide button in the center. The question is, if you’re a gamer like Mike Luckett, how do you continue to play the latest games when the controller does not accommodate the needs of a person who has lost all finger control? After a motorcycle accident, Luckett severed his C6 spinal cord, and despite being able to move his hands, he lost the ability to control his fingers. After telling CNET he “nearly decided to quit gaming,” Luckett won’t have to.

Microsoft has developed an accessible controller for those who can’t use the traditional one, appropriately naming it the Xbox Adaptive Controller. The new controller, for $99.99, allows users of all abilities to plug switches, buttons, pressure-sensitive tubes and other attachments as desired. “We’re coming up on 2 billion people playing video games on this planet,” said Phil Spencer, the head of Microsoft’s Xbox team. “As an industry, when you start to hit that kind of impact act in terms of the broad base of people that interact with your art form, I do think we have a social responsibility.”

Image: Microsoft

For specific details on how this innovative controller works, CNET observed Luckett and said that “the key feature of the Xbox Adaptive Controller is that it has ports in its back that represent each button on a standard controller. So if Luckett needs the right-trigger button to be placed just near his elbow, for example, he can put one there and then plug it into the back of the adaptive controller. Now all he has to do is tap the button, and it registers as if he’d pulled the trigger on a standard controller.”

The Xbox Adaptive Controller will be available sometime this year. A detailed development timeline and more information about the controller can be found by clicking here.

Are you developing a technology that improves the lives of those with accessibility needs? Did you know your R&D experiments could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Disease to Ease: Allen Institute develops 3D cell model to aid disease research

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A Seattle-based research organization, the Allen Institute for Cell Science, has developed an Integrated Cell program that shows the various organelles within cells, specifically stem cells—even if they haven’t been mapped yet.

In a summary from the institutes’ Integrated Cell website, “the Allen Integrated Cell unites two technologies to improve our understanding of how human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) vary in both shape and organization. One is a deterministic model, which shows the organization of organelles in particular individual cells, and the other model is probabilistic – showing likely shapes and locations for organelles in any cell – even for cells we have not studied.” To put the probabilistic model into visual perspective, here’s a diagram that outlines the variation model:

”This is a new way to see inside living human cells. It’s like seeing the whole cell for the first time. In the future, this will impact drug discovery, disease research and how we frame basic studies involving human cells,” said Rick Horwitz, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Allen Institute.

The new modelling method will also help to reduce fluorescence toxicity in cells when they are being studied. “Fluorescence microscopy is expensive and toxic to cells; increasingly so when you tag multiple structures,” said Molly Maleckar, Ph.D., Director of Modeling. “Our approach allows scientists to view cells and conduct experiments at the reduced cost of brightfield microscopy, with the structure-identifying power of fluorescence microscopy – and without its toxic effects. It’s really the best of both worlds.”

The full press release can be found here.

Are you pushing the technological boundaries of disease research or cellular biology? Did you know your R&D experiments could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

R&D applications open for advancing cyber-resilient energy systems

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$25 million of research has been funded by The Energy Department (DOE) into investigating innovative approaches to strengthen and secure the nation’s critical energy infrastructure. As energy cyber-security is a national priority, the Energy Delivery Systems (CEDS) program is now seeking R&D applications.

The Energy Secretary strongly believes that Energy cyber-security demands an increase in advancement technologies in order to facilitate more secure and resilient systems for America’s future prosperity, vitality and energy independence. It is believed that programs such as CEDS have the best chance to pursue innovative cyber-security solutions to cyber threats facing the nation.

The Funding Opportunity Announcement builds on DOE’s efforts with the private sector towards improving the security of the nation’s critical energy infrastructure and reducing the risk of a cyber incidents that could disrupt energy delivery.

The five important areas that the selected programs will promote industry advancement in are:

  • Redesign for cyber-resilient architecture – electric and oil and natural gas (ONG) subsectors
  • Cyber-security for the ONG environment
  • Cyber secure communications
  • Cyber secure cloud-based technologies in the operation technology (OT) environment
  • Innovative technologies that enhance cyber-security in the energy sector

The due date for submitting an application is June 18, 2018 and submission must conclude in a demonstration of a developed technology at a relevant end-user site to validate a clear path to industry acceptance. Refer here for more information on the FOA.

With its expertise and experience in the R&D Tax credit, Swanson Reed can help you find out how your company could benefit from R&D Tax Credits. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today.

Swanson Reed also regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Are pharmaceutical industries investing too little into R&D?

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Alzheimer’s disease effects over five million Americans and while there are drugs that temporarily alleviate symptoms, there is currently no treatment available to slow down the progression of the disease.

While Drug Companies remain determined and invest billions each year to find an effective method of treatment, it is being argued that they are failing to devote enough resources and time into research and development. Currently 99% of Alzheimer clinical trials are inconclusive or failing, therefore the argument is being made whether drug companies are really exploring all their options.

The institute of New Economic Thinking issued a paper condemning drug makers for buying back company stock and paying dividends to shareholders, rather than spending their money on R&D. The institute urges the government to push aside these private companies and take a more active role in developing medicines.

However medical professors shot back and argued that this criticism was unfair as elbowing aside the private sector is dangerous. Without the hundreds of billions of dollars committed by private-sector researchers, it would be impossible to cure Alzheimer’s, cancers and various other diseases.

Currently the pharmaceutical industry invests a much higher percentage of revenues into R&D than most other sectors. On average the top 18 drug companies spent approximately 16% of proceeds on R&D from 2006-2015. This is a very significant percentage when comparing it to the automobile industry, which has strongly marketed itself as being extremely innovative and futuristic, particularly surrounding the hype of autonomous vehicles. However this sector only invested an average of 4% of its revenues into R&D, according to the consulting firm PwC.

Globally there are over 7,000 new treatments in development and 70% of these use completely new methods to treating illnesses. It is argued by health professors that it is naïve to think that firms will continue making these costly, risky investments if there is no chance of earning a return. Drug companies deliver enormous benefits to society; however they are not charities.

Private medical R&D is in fact showing to be crucial to American physical and financial health, as over 40% suffer from a chronic illness and these diseases account for 90% of total U.S. health care costs.

Medical and health professors fight back at critics accusing the pharmaceutical industry of neglecting R&D. They argue that if their statements are in fact true, then who deserves credit for the hundreds of newly developed treatments that improve people’s lives and lower health care costs each year?

R&D is and will continue to be crucial in the health care and specifically the pharmaceutical industry, and the significant ongoing investments into it to date are proof of this.

If you are conducting pharmaceutical experiments, you could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and receive up to 14% on your expenses. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us 

Over $5.35 billion Mitsubishi Motors R&D investment

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The Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp has ambitious plans to invest more than 600 billion yen, which is equal to $5.35 billion, into capital and research and development (R&D). The investment will take place over the next three years.

The company will spend 5% of annual sales on equipment and R&D, and will be used for the development of innovative electrified vehicles to be produced in China and Indonesia.

This significant R&D investment is part of the company’s bid to turn around its business after recent scandals of fuel economy test manipulation.

Are you working on innovative ways to turn around your company to make it more successful? You may be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and can receive up to 14% on your expenses, even if your experiments were not successful. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.