Digitalis Ventures

In the world of entrepreneurship, much of the game is played in an environment of uncertainty rather than risk. True uncertainty involves situations that are non-computable because we lack the information to calculate odds accurately. This is the land of the unknown and unknowable in which probabilities cannot be meaningfully assigned and thus the idea of probability itself becomes meaningless. PLUS: Biopiracy; the Fourth Dimension; Information theory and evolution; Organizing for innovation; and Making sense of chaos

Because the lifespans of our domestic pets are so much shorter than ours, inevitably pet owners experience the heartbreak of their death. But what if you could give your pet immortality, well, a type of immortality? Science has now given us the ability to clone our pets, and in doing so we can keep them alive, at least genetically, forever. But should we? PLUS: gorillas and food as medicine, pet-people pen pals, crocheted kitten hats, of dogs and dingoes, & the secret to a fast horse is in the gut.

A somewhat classic debate involves the question, is math a human invention or a natural phenomenon? The central role of geometry in both describing and explaining biology seems like a strong set of arguments that math is in fact a natural phenomenon, one that plays out across scales, from molecules to ecosystems. PLUS: Silicon Valley chasing utopia, general relativity in plain English, on thinkers and doers, and right and left-handedness, molecularly speaking.

Morphogenesis is the process by which organisms develop their specific dimensions and forms. It's nature's own sculpting technique, where cells organize themselves into tissues, organs, and entire bodies. In this month’s Notes on Engineering Health, read about the scientists whose interdisciplinary research could point the way to deeply impactful interventions such as the regeneration of organs, treatment of birth defects, and the amelioration of degenerative diseases. #research #science #biology #mathematics #innovation #healthsolutions

"If tool development catalyzes scientific discovery and discovery catalyzes medical innovation—how do we catalyze tool development?" This is the question at the heart of the latest edition of Notes On Catalyzing Health. #Research #Innovation #Investment #Science

New, promising approaches to treating cat allergies focus on reducing the active antigens that cause symptoms ranging from watery eyes to scratchy throats to respiratory distress. In the latest Notes on Animal Health, Cynthia Cole explores why so many of us suffer from pet allergies and methods for prevention and treatment. #Allergies #Pets #Dogs #Cats #Treatments

In this month's Notes on Engineering Health we explore slime mold, DNA computing, and the fascinating broader field of natural computing / unconventional computing, which explores novel substrates and methods for information processing beyond traditional silicon-based computers. PLUS: Five centuries of technical & social structures co-evolution, techno-optimism, a new framework for taming wicked problems, a novel financing tool, and ghosts in the machine. #slimemold #dnacomputing #unconventionalcomputing #naturalcomputing

LISTEN to Misti Ushio's interview with Kate Adams on #StartupSuccess to learn about her entrepreneurial journey from investor in life science companies to founder of the cardiovascular biotech firm TARA Biosystems to Managing Partner at Digitalis Ventures.  Also available on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. #entrepreneur #founder #womeninscience #leadership #venturecapital

It is indisputable that the construction and expansion of human society have come at a cost to parts of the environment, and human health and environmental protection are sometimes at odds. In this context, what efforts have been made to improve our understanding of changes in the environment, what are we actually measuring as we try to understand the environment, and how are these measurements applied to change policy? PLUS: Fasting to beat cancer, getting nutrients directly to cancer cells, spatial biomarkers, and yet another study on coffee. #environmentalhealth #humanhealth https://lnkd.in/e4Q2DUag

With the Paris 2024 Olympics rapidly approaching, many of us are looking forward to watching the best human athletes in the world compete for their home countries. As amazing as many of these athletes are, one wonders how other animals, specifically other land mammals, might compare. In this latest installment of Notes on Animal Health, Cynthia Cole looks at differences in speed and endurance, and asks how we've come to believe that humans are superior endurance athletes to other land mammals. PLUS: Psychiatric service dogs, the history of horses in North America, human-to-animal viral transmission, & hungry, hungry dogs.