Welcome to the latest round of Lab Chat, in which our resident Post-Doctoral Research Associate attempts to demystify the complex world of biomedical research. Today, our writer takes on the roadblocks to diagnosing and treating cancer -- and how improvements in medical technology are offering avenues to better results.

There’s no shortage of food trucks on Cleveland streets these days, but Ron Nelson offers a way for aspiring mobile food entrepreneurs to hit the road for less thanks to his food buggies.
 
When Cleveland launched its pilot street-food program back in 2009, Nelson was working for a non-profit that helped down-on-their-luck folks re-enter society. He saw food trucks as one way to do this, yet the costs were too high for the average person just starting out. And b... Read more >

In collaboration with the Burning River Foundation, Fresh Water sponsored a photo contest in honor of the 45th Anniversary of the last burning of the Cuyahoga River. In anticipation of this weekend's Burning River Fest, we asked to see your best water-themed photos. Here are the top entries.

For those who have suffered a traumatic injury to the skull and face -- be it from an accident, cancer or deformity -- OsteoSymbionics leads the way in facial reconstruction. The Cleveland-based manufacturer of custom craniofacial implants serves surgeons at hospitals across the United States. OsteoSymbionics’ products provide both skull rebuilding and is cosmetically attractive.
 
Founded in 2006by Cynthia Brogan, OsteoSymbionics is kno... Read more >

Jennifer Schwartz Wright has been named department chair of the art therapy undergraduate program at Ursuline College, her alma mater. A board certified art therapist and educator, Schwartz Wright previously worked in various positions at the Art Therapy Studio, most recently as executive director.

For the past 10 years Schwartz Wright has taught as an adjunct in Ursuline’s graduate art therapy and counseling program, where she was asked to develop core co... Read more >

As urban neighborhoods become more vibrant, planners are turning their attention to creating world-class public spaces to complement the latest flurry of development. Three new or improved parks have just been unveiled this year: Scranton Flats, the marina at North Coast Harbor and Rivergate.

Remember the skate park built for the Dew Games held at North Coast Harbor in 2008? Well, it's been dismantled, but the concrete slab remains, surrounded by a metal-flame fence. Very soon the space will be home to the city's first shipping container-based restaurant, Blazing Bistro, which is scheduled to open in late July, adding to the amenities on downtown's lakefront.

"We've recognized for a while that one of the missing amenities on the lakef... Read more >

After a career in marketing and public relations -- largely in the non-profit sector --Tom Sarago decided to hang out his own shingle and launch Spruce, a full-service marketing and PR company in Lakewood. But the non-profit mentality stuck with Sarago, so he’s offering up his services for free to the right Cleveland company -- a startup or an established company going through transition.
 
“It’s in my roots to always give back,” explains ... Read more >

Welcome to the latest edition of Who’s Hiring in Cleveland?
 
There are plenty of good jobs to be found here in Cleveland. This is the latest installment in regular series of posts in which we feature companies that are hiring, what those employers are looking for, and how to apply.
 
IBM UrbanCode, a DevOps software product line, needs a software developer to work on its market-leading DevOps product line. Work on coding new features, bug... Read more >

From Charles F. Brush to John D. Rockefeller, Cleveland has been home to entrepreneurs with innovations that helped shape the world. We take a look at some of Cleveland’s ground breaking companies -- some old, some new -- to see what makes the company unique, how it achieved its success, and where they stand today. 

Getting out of Dodge? Need a good page-turner for the flight or beach? Don’t grab the latest bestseller from the rack of overpriced paperbacks at the airport. Instead, check out Fresh Water’s local-author reading list. Here are 5 sizzling summer reads that we invite you to check out.    

Startup Lakewood is at it again with its annual Ideation Challenge, during which people are encouraged to present their business ideas. “People can take the next steps and validate their ideas,” says Lakewood’s entrepreneur in residence and Startup Lakewood’s director of Ideation, Mike Belsito. “Sometimes, the first step is the hardest to take -- and that's what we're hoping to encourage.”

Ideation, currently in its fo... Read more >

Joanie Nelson and her granddaughter Jayda live in the new Fairfax Intergenerational Housing development on Cedar Avenue between E. 80th and 83rd streets. Eight years back, Joanie's daughter was struck and killed by a drunk driver in a car accident, leaving Joanie to raise her granddaughter. It's hard to raise a grandchild as a senior, of course, yet this challenge is made easier by the new housing development, which offers social workers, a computer lab and other... Read more >