Cow manure helps keep the lights on in western New York
New York State is home to more than 600,000 dairy cows, which generate millions of pounds of manure. Now, a new energy project in rural Wyoming County aims to be a model for using cow waste and...
View ArticleVoyage studying plastic in Great Lakes sets sail
Until now, scientists could only guess at the amount of plastic waste in the Great Lakes. This week, a team of researchers sets sail to conduct the first-ever survey of plastic pollution in the world’s...
View ArticleSensor startup senses golden opportunity
Are we on the verge of a “sensor revolution?” Sensorcon hopes so. The Buffalo-based tech startup envisions a world where the average person is empowered with a small device that reads temperature,...
View ArticleBuffalo's roster of incubators grows by one
Buffalo’s latest business incubator is on the hunt for small tech companies who are long on ideas, but perhaps short on cash, office space and personnel. Calling itself Buffalo’s first...
View ArticleScientists uncover hidden history of polar bears
It all started with a fossil. “We have this polar bear jawbone from the Svalbard archipelago in the North Atlantic,” says Charlotte Lindqvist, a professor at SUNY Buffalo and lead author of a landmark...
View ArticleSenator Kirsten Gillibrand wants to fund business incubators and startups
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is making a renewed push for legislation that would create a $200 million fund to help business incubators and startup companies, but the bill could fall victim to politics.
View ArticleCoworkBuffalo crafts community with office space
Working from home can be lonely or full of distractions. And taking a laptop or tablet to the coffee shop has drawbacks, too. Ever try finding an electrical outlet amongst all the tables and chairs?...
View ArticleBuffalo Cleans Up From Dirty Industrial Past
Along the shore of Lake Erie, the rusting relics of Buffalo, N.Y.'s industrial days have long blocked access to the water and posed risks to residents. Now, after decades of inaction, the city is...
View ArticleControversy still simmers over SUNY Buffalo Shale Institute
Shortly after opening its doors at this spring, the Shale Resources and Society Institute (SRSI) ignited a controversy that persists several months later. The newly-founded SUNY Buffalo institute...
View ArticlePreventing high school dropouts - in kindergarten?
The Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) received good news last year: its four-year graduation rate rose by seven percent. Still, nearly half the district’s high school students failed to earn a diploma. The...
View ArticlePolice face higher health risks: UBuffalo study
Due to the stressful nature of police work, law enforcement officers face higher risks of obesity, suicide, sleeplessness and cancer, according to a new study from a University at Buffalo professor who...
View ArticleSummer school for science teachers
Educators across the country agree schools need more students to excel in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Yet hooking students on these subjects remains a challenge, especially for...
View ArticleNew fingerprint reader is 100 times more accurate
One small upstate tech company is poised for its big break. A few months ago, UltraScan announced a new invention for reading fingerprints that’s up to 100 times more accurate than current methods. The...
View ArticleBuffalo cemetery promotes green burials
It's nearly impossible not to leave a carbon footprint on the planet... Even in death. But Buffalo's largest cemetery is trying to make dying more environmentally friendly.
View ArticleDoes watching TV reruns create better mental health?
The growing Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is one of main reasons folks in western New York have hope for the region's economic future. Entrepreneurs are trying to translate research into new...
View ArticleRegional Economic Councils Begin
BUFFALO, NY(August 4, 2011) - The first meetings have begun of the new regional councils that will steer economic development money to worthy projects.WRVO Innovation Trail reporter Daniel Robison was...
View ArticleCan Economic Conference Deliver on Promise of Growth?
BUFFALO, NY(August 8, 2011) - The recent Accelerate Upstate economic development conference in Buffalo promised to produce a five-year plan to improve the western New York economy. But as WRVO...
View ArticleBefore Leaving The Bar, A Chance To Breathalyze
Imagine driving without a speedometer and still trying to go the speed limit. Chris Montag, chief operating officer of Ladybug Teknologies, says that's analogous to going out drinking without a...
View ArticleStartup Converts Plastic To Oil, And Finds A Niche
Only 7 percent of plastic waste in the United States is recycled each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. A startup company in Niagara Falls says it can increase that amount and...
View ArticleNational Trend 'Mobs' Local Businesses With Cash
You may have heard of "flash mobs," where a mass of people invade a public space to make a scene. Now the idea has been turned on its head by "cash mobs," where large crowds of consumers show up at...
View ArticleIDA reform bill stuck in neutral
In recent years, donut shops, car dealerships, and doctor's offices have received tax breaks from industrial development agencies in western New York.Now, a first-term state legislator from Buffalo has...
View ArticleNew $300 million medical building opens in Buffalo
The newest addition to Buffalo’s skyline has opened its doors.The 10-story, $300 million Gates Vascular Institute/Clinical and Translational Research Center houses a state-of-the-art surgery center,...
View ArticleSaving Niagra Falls, One (Tightrope) Step At A Time
Niagara Falls has long been a magnet for daredevils, but strict laws have kept them away for more than a century. That's expected to change Friday, when circus performer Nik Wallenda will walk a...
View ArticleWill Wallenda's wirewalk help Niagara Falls' economy?
Nik Wallenda will walk across Niagara Falls on a highwire tonight.The city of Niagara Falls, New York sees Wallenda’s wirewalk as its best change in decades to revive tourism and spark economic...
View ArticleReading Rainbow launches new iPad app
Reading Rainbow is back - but not on TV.Host LeVar Burton has revived the popular franchise, which ran for 26 years on PBS, as an app for tablets.The medium may be different, but the mission is the...
View ArticleNiagara Falls offers to pay student debt in exchange for living downtown
Niagara Falls is testing a novel approach to attracting new residents. The city is offering to pay a portion of recent college graduates' student debt in exchange for living downtown for two years.
View ArticleIn 'Sponge Candy Crescent,' Addicts Hoard 'Heaven'
The eastern shore of Lake Erie is known as the "Sponge Candy Crescent." During the region's long winter months, this crunchy, chocolatey candy is a mainstay — especially for large gatherings and...
View ArticleThe future of the health care law
The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act was the subject of a symposium in Buffalo Friday. Panelists agreed the high court's ruling does not guarantee the law's future.During oral...
View ArticleBiotech sector wants help from Albany
Although New York's legislative session wrapped up in June, angling for new public policy hasn't ceased.Recently, the Business Council of New York State (BCNYS) tried to regain traction for its agenda...
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