What is now clear though is that many research breakthroughs will not lead to big businesses in orbit.

Normally, it takes years or even decades to develop the first commercial products and apply for patents based on research breakthroughs.

There was no single research breakthrough at the conference which emerged as particularly newsworthy in the mass media.

As to goals, one of the biggest is ripping off research breakthroughs in order to save time.

A third is the difficulty a company often faces in capturing the full value of a radical new research breakthrough.

The incubator, which opened in 1992, is run by the university to turn research breakthroughs into profitable businesses.

But he called the finding "a clear research breakthrough, and maybe a therapeutic one as well."

Now the companies are racing to make the research breakthroughs that will push them to the head of the pack.

A research breakthrough will be needed, he said, before a machine can carry on an intelligent conversation.

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