Insights

We are reaching a thrilling watershed. Breakthrough quantum technology is leaving academia and gaining commercial traction.

Quantum theory is about probability. Erwin Schrödinger illustrated this with his famous thought experiment: trap a cat in a box with a randomly fatal device and you would not know whether it is dead or alive. 

Synthetic biology remains nascent, yet full of promise. The idea of using rational engineering approaches to design biology has the potential to solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges, such as securing food supplies...

The figures are stark. To limit the climate to 1.5°C warming, yet still enable living standards in the developing world to continue to rise, the world must remove carbon emissions at a rate of around 10% every year.

Current gas detection techniques are incredibly advanced – can we really do anything better?

Investing in quantum technology isn't easy. Distinguishing the hype from the real potential is just as complicated as the technology itself – and that can be incredibly complex.

Consumer choice has been a guiding retail principle for decades, but recently much of the world has had no choice but to buy online for everything except supermarket essentials...

The focus on automation has sharpened in recent months, following global disruption of supply chains and labour. But what can be done now to speed the delivery of such vital solutions to help in the aftershock of the pandemic? 

‘WFH’ is an acronym now universally recognised. But even before the pandemic, remote working had been slowly increasing, with around 5% of UK employees primarily working from home in 2019 and 30% having experience of it. The benefits can include more productive working time, fewer office distractions and more flexibility, to name a few...

The world is in crisis. Simple, short-term survival is everyone’s top priority, whether that’s as a nation, a government, a business, a family or a lonely and forgotten self-isolating individual. But the overwhelming necessity to endure has always been the mother of invention. Where will the crisis lead us? 

The emerging field of biodesign has famously led to apples that do not go brown, meat burgers that don’t require livestock and spider-less silk. Biodesign is also widely harnessed to develop life-changing drugs, create...