Important Innovations

GM's Electric Vehicles Spending to Increase 35%                                        Source:  Cadillac Lyriq GM Also Increasing Battery Production GM is going full throttle on electric vehicles.  Challenging Tesla's EV leadership, GM just announced it is accelerating planned spending on future EV's to more than $27 billion.  That is 35% more than planned.  And to accommodate the increased production of EV's, it will simultaneously increase its battery production. The announcement was made by GM CEO Mary Barra. Electric Vehicle Push By Global Automakers Last week, Volkswagen announced that it is investing $86 billion in electric vehicle development and production.  Tesla continues to leave the competition behind as it dominates global EV sales.  For GM, CEO Barra plans to offer EV's across the entire product line from vehicles costing less than $30,000 to those costing more than $100,000. GM's EV Sales Targets By 2025, GM wants to sell 1 million EV's a year

  NASA Finds Mysterious Glow in Deep Space                             Source:  NASA New Horizon Spacecraft New Science: Discovery of Light in Space From Outside Our Galaxy This is remarkable astronomy just reported by scientists at NASA.  For decades, scientists have been unable to answer the question:  How dark is space?  Meaning, is there any light in the inky darkness that you see in the night sky between stars and galaxies?  Through painstaking analysis, NASA scientists have discovered there is the mysterious glow of light in deep space coming from outside of our galaxy.   New Horizon Mission The NASA mission, to determine how dark space really is, is called New Horizon.  The New Horizon spacecraft is 4 billion miles from Earth and has provided astronomers with a series of images from its telescopes.  NASA scientists processed out any light from stars and galaxies.  They then found the glow of light - and plenty of it - coming in from outside our galaxy.  Their discovery is a firs

  Isolated Trips To Nature                                                Source:  HipCamp Vermont COVID Proofed Vacation Destination Travel COVID-19 has caused major disruptions and damage to the global economy and to global travel.  In response the travel industry is innovating with new forms of travel such as outdoor travel trips, remote lodging and private camps far from COVID infected cities.  It's an attempt at COVID proofing a getaway and includes a great deal of social distancing and hygiene.  As people start to think about travelling again and as we await the new COVID vaccines,  travel companies are innovating with new vacation solutions to distance vacationers from the crowds and COVID.  These are largely vacations into nature and the great outdoors. Hot Trends: Biking, Rowing, Camping and Fishing According to a new survey by McKinsey, 18% of Americans are now spending much more time outdoors including biking and fishing.  Innovation companies are capitalizing on the tre

  Pfizer To Request Quick Emergency FDA Approval Source:  Pfizer COVID Vaccine Suddenly There Is Hope    Pfizer has completed its late stage trial of its COVID-19 vaccine, saying it is 95% effective.  The company adds that it is effective on older adults, who are more vulnerable, and works against both mild and severe cases of COVID.  The company has the required 2 months of safety data for regulators.  Within days, Pfizer says it will apply for emergency FDA approval to start making it available for public use.  The vaccine's efficacy rate is the highest among all current vaccine candidate now in trials.  As the Economist magazine put it "Suddenly There is Hope". "The Speed of Science" Pfizer expects that the FDA will hold a public hearing on their vaccine in December.  Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla says knowing that every day matters in the fight against COVID, the company is moving at what he calls "the speed of science".  The vaccine was developed joint

Daimler & China's Geely to Develop Next-G Combustion Engine                                                Source:  2021 Mercedes New Engine for Hybrids German based automotive company Daimler and China's automaker Geely have just announced a partnership to develop a next generation combustion engine for use in hybrid vehicles.  The surprise announcement came as many governments, including the European Union, are tightening regulations on auto emissions.  Daimler says the new engine will be modular and highly efficient.  It will be manufactured in both China and Europe for use in hybrid drivetrains. Daimler Saving Money Daimler sets the bar in global automotive innovation and luxury. Geely is a huge automotive powerhouse.  It owns Volvo, the US based flying car company Terrafugia, Geely Auto, Lotus, Proton and has a 9.69% stake in Daimler.  According to the German business newspaper Handelsblatt, this partnership with Geely will save Daimler $119 million in developing the n

  1st Pfizer/BioNTech COVID Vaccine,  Now Moderna Vaccine                                    Source: Moderna COVID Vaccine Moderna Vaccine is 94.5% Effective, Pfizer More than 90% More hope in the fight against the COVID-19 global pandemic.  Cambridge, MA based biotech Moderna reports that it has a COVID vaccine candidate that is 94.5% effective against the deadly virus .  COVID-19 has infected more than 55 million people and taken more than 1.3 million lives globally as of today.  Pfizer/Germany's BioNTech Vaccine Moderna has the second highly acclaimed vaccine candidate since Pfizer/BioNTech announced theirs a few days ago.  Pfizer claims their vaccine has a more than 90% effective rate. These vaccines have to be approved by regulatory authorities, but their results look very promising and are giving global medical experts hope of quick turnaround deployments. Dr. Anthony Fauci's Take The US's top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says that he is optimistic abou

  Amazon Pharmacy:  Direct, Online Prescription Drug Services Source:  Stock image Starts This Week Amazon just announced another innovative business addition to its online retail portfolio.  It's opening a discount online pharmacy for prescription medications.  For Amazon Prime members, the drug will be delivered right to the customer's door, for free, within two days. Pharmacy Competition Amazon Pharmacy puts Amazon in direct competition with traditional pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens.  And the timing couldn't be better.  Many consumers are seeking to obtain their medicines online and avoid going into the pharmacy because of COVID.  Amazon says their new business line is designed to make it easy and convenient to order prescription medicines online.  The service is rolling out in the US this week. $300 Billion Market For Amazon, the stakes are big.  Prescription medicines are a $300 billion industry in the US.  Amazon has been quietly building its prescription business