Spotlight Archive

Indoor shot of six students sitting on tiered benches

PHOTO BY GEOFF LISTER

Spotlight

Gen Z at University

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?

System of neurons with glowing connections on beige background

IMAGE BY ANDRIY ONUFRIYENKO/MOMENT VIA GETTY IMAGES

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.

Overhead shot of a person's hands cradling a small plant in the ground

PHOTO BY OLLIVIER GIRARD/CIFOR

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.

Aerial view of an intersection in the city of Asahikawa, Japan.

PHOTO BY LIYAO XIE VIA GETTY IMAGES

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.

Futuristic image of a woman staring into camera, with the light of a projector shining on her and computer code and copy in the background.

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

ILLUSTRATION BY JOHN DEVOLLE

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.

Immigrants land in Greece.

PHOTOGRAPH BY MYRTO PAPADOPOULOS.

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.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADA SIN

Spotlight

Conservation

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

earth rising

A few decades ago, reaching the Moon must have seemed like an impossible dream. Today, we’re setting our sights on Mars and the tantalizing notion of habitable planets beyond our solar system.