R&D
Research & Development
In the Global Era, companies followed many different strategies in conducting research and development. Some, like Mars in their work on the cacao genome, favored collaboration. They funded joint research with the Department of Agriculture, IBM, and several universities. Results were shared with others to develop. In contrast, when Intel developed a new generation of transistors, it believed it needed to carefully shield research from competitors to reap the full advantage from its investment.
Bell Labs experimental transistors, 1948
Transistors were the building blocks of the digital revolution. Making transistors ever smaller was a key to functional improvements and cost reductions.
Hand pollination, 2013
Sequencing the cacao genome provided scientists a road map and testing technique, but they bred new cultivars through traditional means. Hand pollination was still key.
Compliments of Mars, Inc.
Roche 454 picotiter testing plate, 2010
DNA samples from cacao were prepared and loaded onto picotiter plates for sequencing. Scientists used them to understand the genetic basis for variations in a species.
