Nature and the Universe
How to make a carbon pricing system work
Compensation for those who lose out and sanctions on non-compliance are needed
‘Invisibility cloak’ metamaterials reach the market
Wave-bending materials revamp satellite antennas and drones — as a start
Tackling plastic pollution needs policy and science
Cleaning up the oceans rivals climate change as a global problem
Constellations of satellites increase space junk risk
Systems needed to manage up to 750,000 potentially dangerous objects in orbit
Satellites, lasers and bots track global carbon
Technology improves understanding of forests’ and oceans’ role in climate change
Phones or AI to modernise early disaster warnings
Networks of sensors can predict earthquakes with greater precision
Deep sea trenches eyed for carbon storage
Ocean ravines offer space and lower costs for projects to mitigate climate change
New membrane provides drinking water and lithium
Metal-organic frameworks allow precision filtering with less energy
Asteroids to be refuelling stations in space
Minerals, metals and water on planetoids could support missions into the solar system
Video
Search for life beyond Earth intensifies
Space signal detection project and astrobiology boost hunt for extraterrestrials
Healthcare
Nanobots used to kill off cancerous tumours
Researchers inject tiny devices into the bloodstream to deliver drugs with precision
Crispr gene editing ready for testing in humans
Biotech companies plan to use the technique to treat blood diseases and blindness
DNA sequencing unlocks secrets of rare diseases
Routine genetic testing would save healthcare system money, says UK medical chief
DNA tests personalise mental health treatment
Precision psychiatry studies genes to see which treatments work best for individuals
Brain implants allow patients to move robotic arms
Prosthetics controlled by human thought via computer show promise in clinical trials
Cheap tests needed to stop antibiotic resistance
Rapid detection would reduce unnecessary use and make drugs effective for longer
Liver success holds promise of 3D organ printing
Small ‘organoids’ grown in the lab could be used to treat chronic conditions
Smartphones speed recovery of surgical wounds
Apps alert doctors to infections and help them keep an eye on the healing process
Immunotherapy: beyond melanoma and lung cancer
Scientists are seeking combination drugs that would make for more effective treatments
Video
Exoskeletons to become common for factory workers
FT’s west coast editor Richard Waters tries on ‘Iron Man’ wearable robot
Skills and Education
How DNA could store all the world’s data
Scientists see capacious and stable medium as potential answer to mountains of information
Wearable scanners will be able to read our minds
Tiny pixel sizes, light analysis and blood flow maps mark big advance on MRI machines
Early quantum computing investors see benefits
Tech revolution’s promise ranges from online encryption to modelling new molecules
Holograms change the way we interact with computers
3D images that can be manipulated with hand gestures blur the digital and real world
Why sleeping more will help the national economy
A new understanding of circadian rythyms is helping combat the silent sleep-loss epidemic
Why we are in danger of overestimating AI
Data-heavy computers have ways to go to catch up with human thought and common sense
Personalised learning takes over in classrooms
Silicon Valley loves the idea but evidence is mixed on whether all children benefit
Neural networks allow us to ‘read faces’
Facial analysis software is being used to predict sexuality and security risks
Digital distractions are making us dumb and twitchy
Glimmers of hope in search for means to conquer information overload
Video
Classroom robots stand in for children
Avatar enables pupil to watch and participate in lessons from home via a tablet
Energy and Resources
Europe’s landfill sites potentially worth a fortune
Waste can now be mined for metals and to create fuel
Biomimicry unleashes wave of materials innovation
Artificial retinas and synthetic spider silk are among the lab breakthroughs
Machines that get their energy from thin air
Wake-up receivers, energy-harvesting offer electricity for billions of ‘smart’ things
Alternative to silicon offers cheaper solar power
Scientists believe perovskite cells would get costs down to pennies per watt
Advances that make wind a better power source
New designs means turbines can be installed in more places and at lower cost
Superconductivity takes small steps forward
Hydrogen and graphene show promise for zero electrical resistance at room temperature
Graphene filters change economics of clean water
Tight mesh removes chemicals, solutes, salts and compounds such as pesticides
Orkney shows potential of hydrogen fuel
The gas may be best option for heavy transport such as trucks, ships and trains
Video
Rich harvest from ocean as seaweed yields biofuel bonus
There is growing interest in exploring whether kelp could be used as an efficient new source of renewable energy. Maija Palmer visits a processing facility in the UK to investigate
Population Growth
Artificial sperm and wombs offer post-IVF promise
Scientists produce mice pups from synthetic sperm and eggs — and grow lambs in biobags
Universal basic income: 500-year-old idea returns
Finland, California, Canada and Netherlands are among the countries staging trials
Hyperloop work begins before business case made
Rivals vie to be first to put in place a new system, but technology is unproven
Lessons on road congestion from Oregon
US state leads the way with dongle that charges drivers by the mile
A new toilet for areas without running water
2.3bn people lack access to safe sanitation and women face additional risks
Six ways to increase uptake of family planning
New, long-acting contraceptives, mobile services and incentives make programmes more effective
Near-perfect machine translation is almost here
Companies such as Unbabel and Mymanu are helping us understand each other
Precision farming to feed the world the green way
Technology offers agriculture higher yields and reduced gas from cows
Video
Creating a veggie burger that tastes just like meat
Western-style meat-rich diets will not be sustainable in 2050 when the world’s population reaches 9bn, so the search is on for alternative sources of protein.
How it all began…
Searching for the 50 ideas
The FT looked to find the new ideas that will shape our world in the future
Readers’ response to the call for suggestions
From roads paved with energy-generating crystals to molecular modelling
How companies draw on science fiction
Volkswagen, Hersheys and Capital One are among the companies hiring futurists
