Spinoff Prize 2023

Nature introduces the finalists and those that made it on to the longlist for this year’s award.

Clinical trials, industry partnerships and other milestones reached by previous finalists of The Spinoff Prize.

Alongside developing a quantum computer, one group of scientists is selling its components to other researchers.

A method driven by renewable energy could end the need for fossil fuels in fertilizer production.

An architecture for quantum computers based on parity is attracting money from government and industry.

High-resolution imaging quickly identifies blood clots before they inflict major damage.

A nature-inspired adhesive offers hope for wound healing and haemorrhage control.

Advances in materials yield safer, cheaper and denser energy storage.

Unusual vocal patterns can give clues that help to detect conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.

A reproducible cell-culture system could help to evaluate new therapies for disorders that affect the brain.

Photocatalysis using light-emitting diodes could reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by industrial chemical processes.

The antibody drug is moving closer to being tested in people with advanced stages of cancer.

Manipulating genetic molecules could return cells to a younger state.

Intermediate states show promise as drug targets.

Nature Biotechnology’s annual survey highlights academic startups that are, among other things, designing circular RNA therapeutics, tackling cancer with arenaviruses, creating psychedelics without the trip, editing genes and cells in vivo, harnessing the power of autoantibodies and editing the epigenome.

Early-stage researchers can greatly benefit from education and skills development in venture creation and commercialization of discoveries.

We spoke to Professor Kylie Vincent – professor of inorganic chemistry at the University of Oxford, co-founder of HydRegen Ltd, and Academic Champion for Women in Entrepreneurship – about turning academic research into industrial products.

This Q&A about technology transfer is intended as a useful resource to the Nature Communications readership, particularly academic scientists working in the life and physical sciences who have an interest in commercializing their research. We spoke to Dr. Andrea Crottini, Head of the Technology Transfer Office at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, who provided insights into the possible avenues to pursue.

Private biotech financing in 2023 is more discriminate, disciplined and demanding. Strong data and efficiency are de rigueur.

The process of patenting inventions may be complex. Academic researchers whose primary goal is getting their work published in scientific journals often face daunting doubts when it comes to understanding the interplay between publishing and patenting their findings. We asked Prof Frank Tietze questions from the perspective of academic researchers who wish to understand how the patenting process works and—most importantly—the relation between patenting and publishing.

Movement to industry is raising concerns about the future researcher workforce and maintaining ethical expertise.

The three of us took a break from our PhD programmes for a stint that enriched our CVs and improved our chances of career success.

In the first of a three-part series on science start-ups, Nature Careers explores how scientists with a sound business idea can thrive as entrepreneurs, and why leaving academia isn’t required.

The COVID-19 crisis echoed the ‘all-hands-on-deck’ response to the Second World War, but such agility needs to be maintained.