Time's picks for the best new gadgets and breakthrough ideas of the year, from tank-bred tuna to a rocket of the future to a $10 million light bulb.

Mary Lou Quinlan, CEO of marketing consultancy Just Ask a Woman and co-author of What She's Not Telling You, Why Women Hide The Whole Truth and What Marketers Can Do About It,  says that marketers not only have to start listening to women better but also must pay attention to what's really being said between the lines. After all, women buy 85% of what is sold in the U.S. Quinlan writes that marketers who commission focus groups don't pay attention -- not only to what is being said but also to body language. What exactly …

Women born between 1979 and 1989 tend to shop less, buy more during each trip, and to frequent supercenters and Walmarts more than those born in the preceding generation, according to a new Information Resources study, "Winning With Millennial Women Shoppers." Although they are just now buying homes, thinking about marriage, parenthood and career development, Millennials represent a $54 billion marketing opportunity for packaged goods companies and are expected to surpass baby boomers in spending in the next few years, Elaine Wong points out. "They may be time- and money-compressed, but they live in this 24-hour …

McDonald's, meanwhile, has not decided whether to pull the trigger on a national "Dollar Menu" for breakfast, U.S. president Don Thompson said yesterday. Chicago outlets that have tested the concept offer for six $1 items: two hot cakes, a fruit 'n' yogurt parfait, a sausage biscuit, a sausage McMuffin, two hash browns or medium coffee, Lisa Baertlein and Brad Dorfman report. McDonald's reported this week that sales at U.S. stores that have been open at least 13 months were down 0.1% in October. The first decline since March 2008 prompts Business Week to ask, "What's Eating McDonald's?" It …

The National Franchise Association filed suit in Miami yesterday, charging that Burger King doesn't have the right to set "maximum prices" for certain menu items, Emily Bryson York reports. The operators say that they cannot afford the dollar double-cheeseburger deal that BK is promoting nationwide. "Our franchisee community is united in protecting our entrepreneurial rights as independent business owners, but we are also disappointed that we need to take legal action against our franchisor," association chairman William Harloe, Jr. said in a statement. Burger King said that it believes that the suit is "without merit." The …

InterContinental Hotels Group may bar as many as 300 of the 2,700 Holiday Inn hotels owned by franchisees in North America from using the brand name if they don't undertake specified renovations by Feb. 1, Kris Hudson reports. The $1 billion overhaul of Holiday Inns -- an effort to "contemporize" the 57-year-old brand and weed out laggards -- began two years ago, and about 1,400 outlets have already completed the process. About 300 of the remaining 1,300 have yet to begin the renovations, according to Kevin Kowalski, IHG's svp of brand management for Holiday Inn. Speaking to …

Geisler talks about the state of boxing, Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali and marketing activations to celebrate Everlast's 100th anniversary.

Emily Steel reports that Web companies such as Google, Yahoo, and WebMD are expected to join the drug industry at a Food and Drug Administration hearing today that will look into drug makers' digital marketing efforts. Internet companies missed out on most of $4.4 billion that pharmaceutical companies spent to advertise last year despite the average of 91 million Americans who seek health information online each month, according to comScore. Pharmaceutical companies spent $130 million to advertise prescription drugs on the Web last year, according to TNS. Drug companies such as Eli Lilly and Pfizer say that they …