According to a new study from researchers at the University of Illinois-Urbana, regular aerobic activity can reduce the typical brain shrinkage that starts to occur after age 40:

“The researchers said patients who engaged in three or more hours of aerobic exercise weekly experienced increases in their brains’ volume of gray and white matter, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The team studied 59 adults, age 60 to 79, in three groups: one group that received aerobic training, one that engaged in non-aerobic stretching-and-toning training and a group that did not exercise.

The non-aerobic exercise group and the group that did not exercise did not experience any change in their brains, but “the aerobic group showed a substantial increase in brain volume,” Illinois’ Arthur Kramer told The Journal. “After only three months,” Kramer said, “the people who exercised had the brain volumes of people three years younger.” Kramer said the subjects who exercised aerobically had better working memories, better abilities to switch between mental tasks and were more adept at screening out distractions than those who did not exercise.”

[image: Jamie Lee Curtis in “Perfect”]

James Dyson, the founder and owner of Dyson, the eponymous British maker of innovative household cleaning machines (e.g. vacuum cleaners), is launching a new school of design and innovation in England in 2008. Needless to say, the Dyson School of Design Innovation will be the first school of its kind in the UK. According to the school’s website, it appears that the educational programs will focus on teens (ages 14-19), but will also offer coursework to adults who want to sharpen their skills. With funding from the government and support from corporations such as Rolls-Royce and Airbus, the school will attempt to produce the next generation of innovators within the UK.

As Influx Insights points out, there are at least four reasons why the launch of the new design and innovation school is a smart move for the Dyson brand:

(1) It establishes the brand as a thought leader in the world of design innovation;

(2) The company can discover and nurture new talent through this school;

(3) They can invite other design innovators to teach and build programs and can learn from them;

(4) It’s permanent and enduring.

[image: Dyson School of Design Innovation]

It’s not often that there’s innovation news coming out of North Dakota. With that in mind, here are the highlights of a new program called “Innovate North Dakota,” a new statewide economic development initiative designed to help entrepreneurs turn business ideas into functional businesses in cities such as Bismarck and Fargo:

During a press conference held Thursday at Minot State University, [North Dakota Commerce Commissioner] Shane Goettle explained that Innovate ND is an intensive, six-month program that will provide direct assistance to people who have business ideas for North Dakota people. “This is a call to all innovators. We invite anyone with a business idea – big or small – to enroll in Innovate ND and get help developing that idea into a business plan and ultimately, we hope, into a viable new North Dakota business,” Goettle said.

Goettle further explained that the purpose of the program is to offer a hands-on approach to provide direct assistance to keep people in North Dakota and nurture their ideas. “North Dakota’s future growth depends to a large degree on our ability to grow businesses and our economy from within,” Goettle said. “Innovate ND is a way to cultivate the budding entrepreneurs among us.”

[image: North Dakota Commerce Commissioner Shane Goettle]

With the vast majority of election results now in and Election 2006 winding to a final close, Meg Martin of Poynter Online has done a great job of pulling together the best in election night innovation:

“Tuesday’s mid-term election meant a lot of different things for voters in a lot of different places. It was an opportunity for news organizations to utilize new technologies and innovative techniques to tell stories, broad and narrow, to their communities. We were impressed by much of what we saw, so we pulled together elements of the work from all different media, in markets of varying sizes, all across the country. Beyond Election 2006, many of the tools and approaches on display over the past 24 hours hold promise for everyday coverage going forward — up to and including Nov. 4, 2008…”

With that in mind, here are the 12 best innovations of Election 2006:

(1) Personalized Results Tracking;

(2) Citizen reporting;

(3) News at a glance (e.g. MSNBC Dashboard);

(4) Blogging the count;

(5) Equipping the voters;

(6) Streaming the vote;

(7) Continuous content, even during commercial breaks;

(8) The Graphic Traffic;

(9) Chatting the Process;

(10) Listening in;

(11) Mapping it out;

(12) Up-to-the-minute summaries of who won.

[image: Poynter Online]

Ford Motor Company is experimenting with a new line of cosmetics called Curve Hugger in an attempt to “start a whole new conversation with women about cars.” Pointing to a recent piece in the New York Times, reveries magazine explains:

“It’s eye shadow, to be specific. It’s called Curve Hugger, inspired by the Ford Fusion, and created by Benefit Cosmetics. Linda Perry-Lube, a former Ford communications manager, says the appeal is to “young, active and fashion-conscious customers,” especially those who are not real happy with the way cars are marketed most of the time.

Says Linda: “I think that for women, the dealership experience is even less pleasant,” and suggests that Ford-branded makeup helps prospective Ford customers “engage the brand, away from the pressures of the dealership.” She casts the concept as “experiential” and says it is not unlike “Fusion-themed concerts and special events” that have proved successful for Ford. That notion is hardly new. Who can forget the 1955 Dodge La Femme, introduced in “heather rose” pink and loaded with “items like a rain hat and coat, umbrella and … a handbag filled with compact, comb, lipstick holder, coin purse, lighter and cigarette case.”

Anyway, the tagline for the new line of cosmetics is a bit, uhh, racy: “Put the pedal to the metal and VRROOM! This sexy trio of shimmering nude eye shadows will generate heat and drive you wild. Layer on the sandy, curve hugging neutrals and you’ll be ready to stop traffic.”

[image: Ford Curve Hugger palette]

At its first-ever Technology Innovation Showcase in Chicago, Motorola outlined its vision for the future with a wide array of new products and technologies. According to Motorola executives, the mobile phone will be at the center of the next computing revolution, but the product will likely look and feel a lot different than it does now. Anyway, PC Magazine has extensive coverage of the types of new products that Motorola is working on — like a robotic, avatar-based tech support assistant; boxes that light up different colors to reflect the level of interest in products; biodegradable cell phone casings; and new set-top cable/satellite boxes for the living room. Motorola is also working on a version of “social TV” for consumers:

“Motorola’s Social TV demonstration showed a cable box that merges television and instant messaging to let communities form by snarking and sniping about the latest episode of Project Runway on screen, as they’re watching it. If you’re bored, you can also see what your friends are watching (with their permission) and change channels to join them.”

[image: Motorola is Hot]

The DIY lifestyle movement continues to gain momentum. Neatorama profiles a new book from Tsia Carson called Craftivity: 40 Projects for the DIY Lifestyle. The book is basically a primer on how to turn everyday, household items into designer goods:

“Have a pile of extra buttons and don’t know what to do with them? Make a cool bracelet. Need some pillows for your new couch, and have a bunch of old wool sweaters? Turn those sweaters into felt and make pillows so beautiful you could sell them at any store. Knitting, felting, glass, and woodwork—it’s all here. Craftivity is filled with 40 amazing DIY projects that show you how to take everyday objects and turn them into functional, fabulous art.”

In Craftivity, you can learn how to make a unique coffee table out of a vintage suitcase, use a simple picture frame to construct a back-painted glass backgammon board, and transform plastic grocery bags into a durable tote. Oh, yeah, and if you want to learn how to transform a simple t-shirt into fashionable underwear, you can learn that too.

On the C3 blog, Henry Jenkins of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program provides an update on an exciting new project that he is helping to launch that is intended to spur innovation, diversity, and creativity in games design. The Singapore-MIT International Game Lab is a “pioneering collaboration” that will advance digital game research on a global basis, help to develop world-class academic programs in game technology, and “establish Singapore as a vital node in the international game industry.”

According to Jenkins, the new Game Lab will have a powerful impact on innovation: “The Singapore-MIT International Game Lab collaboration will provide a strong catalyst for innovation by bringing together students, industry leaders and faculty from very different cultures and backgrounds to work together and to conduct research that could have a great impact on the international game industry.” In addition, the high-profile collaboration with MIT could help provide a boost to innovation initiatives throughout Singapore. Already, Singapore is projecting that as many as 300 of its best and brightest minds could be involved on this innovation project.

[image: Henry Jenkins of MIT]

A Tribute to the Men and Women Who Design is a 28-minute film highlighting the importance in America of design and aesthetics in everyday life. Somewhat surprisingly, the film was made nearly 50 years ago, way back in 1958. The rise of the modern design aesthetic, apparently, had its roots in the 1950s.

Sarah Ellison of the Wall Street Journal recently profiled the changes afoot at the R&D unit of Good Housekeeping magazine:

“The research arm of Good Housekeeping magazine has been testing products for more than a century and granting advertisers who pass muster its famous seal of approval for almost as long. In its early days, the magazine’s “experiment station” was designed to help new brides become better housekeepers.

The Hearst Corp. magazine has evolved since then, but it is its testing lab — now called the Good Houskeeping Research Institute — that has undergone the biggest facelift of late as the magazine pushes to maintain its position among traditional women’s titles while fending off arriviste like Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple and O, the Oprah Magazine.”

Anyway, the Good Housekeeping Research Institute has a new 20,000-square foot facility in midtown Manhattan, equipped with soundproof rooms, a climatology chamber, and multiple test kitchens and labs. The institute also has the full backing of Rosemary Ellis, the magazine’s new editor-in-chief. Already, there are plans to make the institute’s R&D services more prominent, such as by using product testing from the institute as the backdrop for regular segments on “Good Morning America” and “Today.” The magazine is also giving the testing lab a broader mandate to do original research and to “sniff out” faulty products and potential consumer frauds.

[image: Researchers at Good Housekeeping]