Future trends

Fossil-free compost

Despite the advances in organic farming over recent decades, European agriculture still depends on a difficult-to-replace input: ammonia. Without it, it would be impossible to produce the fertilisers that sustain around 90% of Europe’s agricultural output. The problem…

Growing villages

The economic and social progress of countries in the long term is determined, among other things, by the distribution of their population across the territory. The evidence tells us that the concentration of the population in large urban areas facilitates efficiency in…

Post-quantum cryptography: how to protect our information in the future

Almost everything we do on the internet is protected by digital security systems: from sending a WhatsApp message to making a bank transfer or saving our photos in the cloud. This protection is based on mathematical formulas that are very difficult to break, at least…

From passive buildings to productive cities

What if every step we took could light up a streetlight? What if windows not only let in light, but also captured it and transformed it into energy? The cities of the future will not only consume electricity; they will also generate it through their architecture,…

When your twin is digital

What if the main street of a city is pedestrianised, if the railway network is buried or if a new neighborhood is built? Until now, we have not been able to determine the precise consequences of such a public intervention. Soon, however, it will be unthinkable to make…

Chatbots to help us feel less alone

Living alone, moving far from our usual place of residence, working remotely, or socializing more through social media and less by meeting for coffee are some of the realities reshaping our social and emotional relationships. These trends help explain, in part, the rise in mental health issues…

Supertrees against climate change

Genetic engineering has paved the way for a new generation of trees capable of capturing and storing more CO2 for longer. Recent techniques such as CRISPR-Cas and base editing enable the DNA of plants to be modified with great precision, improving their photosynthetic efficiency, accelerating…

Homemade puzzles and cake moulds: the possibilities of 3D printers of the future

Printing at home a broken washing machine part or a LEGO piece may become a reality in the coming decades. Since their emergence in the late 1980s, 3D printers have evolved to become one of the most promising technologies for manufacturing goods. Although it is still a relatively young…

Insurance to protect nature

Ecosystem insurance has emerged as an essential tool for financing the restoration of natural areas as extreme weather events increase in frequency and intensity. To date, most have focused on covering damage to reefs and mangroves as the tools to quantify the impact…

Inward growth of cities: towards a new urban paradigm

For decades, cities have been expanding outward, taking up more and more space and in many cases merging beyond their administrative boundaries. In contrast to this trend, a different one has begun to develop: the inward growth of cities.