Innovation attracting the interest of food companies looking to make their products healthier
Demand for beta glucan fibre has been rising steadily in recent years, as mounting evidence suggests the dietary fibre can help lower cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease and control blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. Best of all, it creates none of the side-effects of drugs and is fully recognized by the…
The future possibilities for helium seem infinite
By Pat Price Reporter Troy Media/TNW Avanti Energy Inc. (TSXV:AVN) (OTC:ARGYF) has assembled an expert team of former oil and gas employees, including eight people from the former Encana Corp. Several of those employees were part of the team during the early stages of the discovery of the Montney Formation, one of the premier natural…
Alberta-based 48Hour Discovery works with some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies to streamline the process
With the cost of drug development beginning to skyrocket in the 1990s, pharmaceutical giants thought the path to better economics lay in high-throughput screening facilities that would test libraries that ranged in size from a few thousand up to million compounds at a time. “Separate shelves, many rooms, with the emphasis on robotics and automation…
The masks needed to be reusable and seal around the nose so the user’s glasses don’t fog up
James McCrimmon is the inventor of an accessory to keep your beer cool. His Alberta-based business relies on major events like Canadian Football League games and rodeo for sales. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, McCrimmon found his proverbial keg empty. But instead of crying into his frosty mug, he decided to reimagine his product into…
Innovative technology extracts the increasingly valuable metal from wastewater
Alberta’s oil and gas fields could be in store for another natural resource boom thanks to a University of Alberta-based lithium extraction technology with the ability to unlock the increasingly valuable metal. Faculty of Science geochemist Dan Alessi, professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and former post-doctoral fellow Salman Safari have spun off their technology…
DrugBank now used by scientists, pharmaceutical companies and other customers around the world
An Edmonton startup has become the world’s largest pharmaceutical knowledge database through research that began at the University of Alberta. DrugBank offers a one-stop-shop for curated scientific data on thousands of drugs, including molecular details, chemical structures, targets and proteins, as well as clinical information on side-effects, interactions with other drugs, allergies, synonym names, availability…
A Canadian company has developed a revolutionary way to improve the lives of those with diabetes
For people living with diabetes, the hope for a functional cure remains 100 years after Dr. Frederick Banting’s breakthrough discovery of insulin. In answer to those hopes, a Canadian company has developed a revolutionary way to improve the lives of those with diabetes. Insulin remains the standard of care for people living with diabetes. The…
Stephanie Florio is co-founder of Swob, a different kind of job board that responds to the needs and trends of a changing workforce. She shares with us why she and her brother Alexander started the business. Swob is a social recruiting platform to help employers and HR professionals in high turnover industries find local talent, using…
The resource price crash of 2014 forced Horizon North to turn its old business model on its head
A high-end home built by an oil-and-gas logistics company? Now, that’s disruptive technology at work. Disruption is a way of life now for Horizon North, a company that has had to be exceptionally nimble after the resource price crash of 2014 turned its old business model on its head. Created as a spinoff from Mullen…
Technology company ZayZoon's Early Wages On-Demand is taking off across North America, with more than 80,000 businesses participating
Imagine, as an employee, being able to access money as you earn it. Technology company ZayZoon, based in Calgary, has created a platform, Early Wages On-Demand, that allows people to access their paycheque before payday. The concept has taken off across North America. The platform is now available to more than two million employees by…
Rohit Joshi talks about how Brightsquid’s patient information technology helps protect the viability of the health-care system
Rohit Joshi is chief executive officer at Brightsquid. What is Brightsquid and how did it start? Joshi: Brightsquid Secure Communications Corp. is a Calgary-based communications software company that has developed technology to transfer patient information between doctors and between doctors and their patients. Clinics that use Brightsquid Secure Mail see improved patient safety and a reduction in wait times for…
It’s opening up the financial sector, serving acute needs and transforming how businesses raise capital
When fundraising garnered leftover crumbs, the gatekeepers of finance barely cared to notice. Now digitized, it’s drawing a growing portion of the financial pie, running into regulatory barriers and legal limbo in Canada. The critics of crowdfunding, particularly regarding private equity, make many accurate claims. Open-access financial intermediation dislodges state social services and favours savvy…
Prototype aims to provide protection and connection for those who are affected by displacement and natural disaster
A former Calgary Bow Valley College student is testing out his “LO8OP Home in a Bag” concept until the end of the month to brave the elements and raise money to move the idea to commercial production. Micah Louison, 24, is camping outside his family’s northeast Calgary home in the Bridgeland area until the end of…We need to embrace intangible assets. And the lending world and investors need to free up funds to support intangible creators
Could intangibles help avert the next financial crisis? Yes. And they'd better, because the train of global prosperity is about to jump the track and intangible assets are the only possible salvation. Today's headlines are depressing. There's a constant stream of negativity led by U.S. President Donald Trump's assault on the North American Free Trade…
Michael Murray talks about how his app sends real-time messages from where you live, work and play
Michael Murray is founder of Block Talk. Calgary’s Business: What’s Block Talk? Murray: Block Talk is an app for your phone. You should download it to send and receive urgent safety alerts specific to the communities you choose to follow. It has five other categories of communication, including a platform to communicate non-urgent crime such…