EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Secret Life Of Sunflowers Key Takeaway: Plants, once considered passive life forms, are now found to be dynamic and responsive. Researchers discovered that even seemingly insignificant behaviors, such as circumnutations, can have a profound impact on their survival and productivity. Sunflowers, for example, self-organize in a zigzag pattern to maximize sunlight exposure, promoting healthy growth and increased yield. This […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK Rethinking Wealth: Why GDP Isn’t Enough Key Takeaway: Inclusive wealth, a concept that includes not just economic output but also natural resources, human skills, and social networks, is gaining traction among international institutions like the World Bank and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This broader measure of a nation’s well-being aims to address the limitations of GDP, which focuses only […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE SOCIOLOGY TECHNOLOGY The Rise Of Robotic Kitchens Key Takeaway: The rise of robotic kitchens is transforming the way we prepare and consume meals, potentially altering the fabric of society. While these innovations are currently being adopted primarily by restaurants and food businesses, it’s only a matter of time before they make their way into homes. The convenience of robotic kitchens could bring […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK Reviving State Power: The New Era of Industrial Policy Key Takeaway: State intervention in global economics is gaining momentum, particularly since the 2010s, due to financial crises, geopolitical tensions, and the fragility of global supply chains. The relationship between exports and protectionism is complex, as successful industrial and trade policies often blend export promotion with elements of protectionism. South Korea and Taiwan have used […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK The Brewing Storm In The Coffee Industry Key Takeaway: The coffee industry is facing a potential reckoning as rising prices threaten to slow its expansion. Giuseppe Lavazza, the head of the iconic Italian coffee brand, suggests that consumers in the U.S. might see prices increase by 20%-25% over the next year. The price of a latte or flat white is becoming pricier, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK FINANCE Why Crypto Crashed Key Takeaway: Japan’s stock market plunged 12% on August 5, marking its worst day in 37 years. The fall was triggered by fears of a US economy slowdown, with the Nasdaq index dropping over 6% and the S&P 500 dipping by 4.25%. The US Federal Reserve’s chairman, Jerome Powell, suggested an interest rate cut in […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE Do Genes Influence Our Psychology? Key Takeaway: Genetic conflict theory suggests that genes, while blending together to make us who we are, retain markers indicating whether they came from mother or father. These markers cause genes to cooperate or fight with one another as we grow and develop. Research primarily focuses on pregnancy, as it is one of the few […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Complex Science Of Cheesemaking Key Takeaway: The cheesemaking process involves pumping milk into a cheese vat and adding a special enzyme called rennet. The cheesemaker then cuts the gel into cubes, releasing whey and moisture. For harder cheeses like cheddar, salt is added directly to the curds. Cheesemaking is a milk concentration process, aiming to capture milk proteins, fat, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK The Lithium Rush In Africa Key Takeaway: The global demand for critical minerals, particularly lithium, is increasing rapidly to meet clean energy and de-carbonisation objectives. Africa hosts substantial resources of these minerals, leading foreign mining companies to invest in exploration and acquire mining licenses. The critical minerals market doubled in five years, reaching US$320 billion in 2022. The demand is […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK What Vietnam Can Teach Us About The Vulnerabilities Of Banks Key Takeaway: Vietnam’s businesswoman Truong My Lan was sentenced to death for taking out $44 billion in fraudulent loans from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) by bypassing a law that prevents anyone from owning more than 5% of a bank’s shares. The loans made up 93% of the bank’s entire lending portfolio. The case highlights the […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Who Owns The Moon? Key Takeaway: As humanity ventures deeper into space, tensions are brewing over territory, resources, and the legal frameworks governing space exploration. The Moon, rich in resources like water ice, is poised to host long-term international research stations. However, the lack of universal agreement on resource use could lead to an era of space exploration defined […] Written by Empirics Asia February 10, 2025February 10, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Untold Genius Of Leornado Da Vinci Key Takeaway: Leonardo da Vinci, a renowned artist and scientist, made groundbreaking contributions to the study of human anatomy. Born in 1452, he was an illegitimate child, leading him to pursue an apprenticeship in Andrea del Verrocchio’s studio in Florence. His anatomical studies, which included detailed sketches of muscle structures, bone formations, and internal organs, […] Written by Empirics Asia February 7, 2025February 7, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Hidden Side Of Shipwrecks Key Takeaway: Over 8,500 shipwrecks from two devastating world wars pose a significant threat to marine ecosystems and coastal communities. These underwater time capsules contain up to 6 billion gallons of oil, munitions, toxic heavy metals, and chemical weapons. The degradation of these wrecks is accelerating due to rising ocean temperatures, increasing acidification, and more […] Written by Empirics Asia January 27, 2025January 27, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How Venture Capital Is Redefining Military Tech Key Takeaway: Venture capital-backed startups, such as Anduril Industries, are transforming the defense sector by securing multi-million dollar contracts from the US Department of Defense and the UK Ministry of Defence. This surge in AI-driven defense technologies is driven by a relentless appetite for risk and innovation, with venture capital firms playing a pivotal role […] Written by Empirics Asia January 24, 2025January 24, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How Ultra-Fast Science Will Transform Our Future Key Takeaway: Attosecond science, a field that earned the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2023, uses ultra-short laser pulses to observe and manipulate matter on timescales previously thought impossible. This breakthrough has implications across various sectors, including computing, renewable energy, medicine, and beyond. Attosecond science harnesses the energy of laser light to emit rapidly moving […] Written by Empirics Asia January 22, 2025January 22, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Hidden Science Behind The Sky’s Colour Key Takeaway: The blue sky is a result of Rayleigh scattering, a process where shorter wavelengths of light scatter more than longer wavelengths. The atmosphere is composed of nitrogen and oxygen molecules, which interact with sunlight to create a spectrum of colors. This scattering process, which is governed by physics and chemistry, is the primary […] Written by Empirics Asia January 21, 2025January 21, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How Korea’s Cultural Revolution Is Shaping The World Key Takeaway: South Korea’s cultural exports have surged to unprecedented heights, with the latest season of “Squid Game” solidifying its position as a global entertainment powerhouse. The “Korean Wave” or Hallyu, which includes TV series, movies, animation, and music, has generated approximately US$3.7 billion annually for South Korea through exports, consumer spending, and tourism. The […] Written by Empirics Asia January 20, 2025January 20, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Rethinking Education Key Takeaways: The Industrial model of education that fueled the modern era and its dizzying reach did its job incredibly well. In his writing, Flynn illustrates study after study, spanning nations and decades, in which modern educational gift of abstraction — a transcendent sign of intelligence, as we saw in Raven’s Matrices — has been […] Written by Anthony Fieldman March 2, 2022October 19, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How China Is Transforming Its Economy Through Learning I highly recommend reading the McKinsey Global Institute’s new report, “Reskilling China: Transforming The World’s Largest Workforce Into Lifelong Learners”, which focuses on the country’s biggest employment challenge, re-training its workforce and the adoption of practices such as lifelong learning to address the growing digital transformation of its productive fabric. How to transform the country […] Written by Enrique Dans February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Why You’re Not Seeing Success With Influencer Marketing With the new year around the corner, now is a good time to re-evaluate your past marketing strategies and gear up for the year ahead. For some businesses, influencer marketing has simply not seemed to live up to its lofty promises of genuine engagement, credibility, and transparency. Some have claimed that it has been failing […] Written by Michael Tan January 14, 2021January 15, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
A New Philosophy of Business I’m about to ask you to take a mental leap. For the next 8 minutes, suspend your notions of what a business is, and I’ll propose a new lens for you to look through. There are a lot of questions asked around what “community” means for business. “Where should community fit in my organization?” and […] Written by Empirics Asia September 5, 2018September 5, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked