Spotlight Archive

The good news is we have most of the technological solutions for transitioning to low-carbon sources of energy. The biggest challenges to adopting them more widely and rapidly are social and political — from funding and investment, to international cooperation, to inspiring mass support for ambitious policies.

AI is already deeply embedded in our lives, its rapid advancement stoked largely by commercial interests. Now relatively inexpensive to deploy, this potent technology is increasingly being applied to non-profit initiatives that have human wellbeing at heart, and to finding solutions for some of the most intractable problems facing our world.

Most of today's university undergraduates were born in the 2000s. Like every generation before them, their formative years are being influenced by a distinct set of social conditions, significant events, opportunities, and challenges. What's it like to be a student today? What do Gen Z want from university? And how are universities helping them prepare for their (and our) futures?

With populations aging and mental health disorders on the rise, the human brain is the focus of more research attention than ever. Advancing technologies such as machine learning are driving new methods for modelling and studying this highly complex organ, and strategies for keeping us healthy, long into old age.

As well as being essential to life, food is a bedrock of culture, a determinant of health, a yardstick for equality, and a focus of hot debate. Its future, and ours, will be shaped by climate change, transformative technology, and human will.

What makes a city livable?

Cities are home to a growing majority of the global population. How they are designed and managed is key not only to the quality of human life, but also to our ability to thrive in the future.

The pandemic has upended our work routines. Advancing technology is propelling us into an unknown future. And powerful social movements are tearing down barriers to equality. There’s only one thing we can reliably predict in the future world of work, and that’s change.

A Picture of Health

From revolutionary gene-editing techniques to heart valves for kids made from synthetic materials that can last a lifetime, rapidly evolving technologies are leading us into a new era of medical science.

Who Belongs?

With today’s polarized politics, people may not agree on the terminology – immigrants? refugees? invaders? – but there’s little doubt that migration is reshaping the world.

One million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction. For the sake of future generations, how can we conserve Earth’s biodiversity?