Author: Tom Abate

Tom Abate is a freelance writer in the San Francisco Bay Area who has covered science, high-tech, biotech, and economics.

Cogenra’s Double Whammy: Solar Arrays that Generate Electricity and Hot Water

A Silicon Valley startup is trying to squeeze more energy out of sunlight by combining photovoltaic arrays with a technology to generate hot water, to lower the costs of both electricity and heat. Based in Mountain View, CA, and backed venture capitalist Vinod Khosla among others, Cogenra Solar has fielded only two installations thus far. … Continue reading “Cogenra’s Double Whammy: Solar Arrays that Generate Electricity and Hot Water”

Ban.jo Breaches the Barriers Between Location-Based Apps

More and more social networks are offering geolocation. How does a person keep up without joining every service under the sun? A Palo Alto, CA-based startup called Ban.jo hopes to become geo-location central by allowing iPhone or Android mobile users to see who’s nearby, no matter what social network they may be using. Ban.jo founder … Continue reading “Ban.jo Breaches the Barriers Between Location-Based Apps”

Startups Making Do with Fewer Workers, Kauffman Study Shows

Has the air gone out of the American economy? That’s the troubling suggestion of a new study showing how, even before the current downturn, fewer new firms were being formed and those that did open for business were hiring fewer workers. Titled “Starting Smaller, Staying Smaller: America’s Slow Leak in Job Creation,” the report looks … Continue reading “Startups Making Do with Fewer Workers, Kauffman Study Shows”

Sequenom, Illumina Team Up on Down Syndrome Test

A noninvasive diagnostic test for fetal Down syndrome is the hoped-for outcome a deal announced today under which Sequenom, the genetic testing vendor, will obtain tools from Illumina, which develops large-scale systems for genetic analysis. No dollar value was put on the three-year agreement, which calls for Sequenom and its subsidiaries to purchase sequencing equipment … Continue reading “Sequenom, Illumina Team Up on Down Syndrome Test”