The latest innovation builds on scientific advancements, transforming the way we work, play and travel. From high-powered telescopes to gene editing, technology is helping to solve global challenges and create new opportunities. The BBC Tech Now team tracks the latest developments in a world of ever-changing possibilities.
Smart devices that connect to smartphones are now able to monitor health metrics like heart rate, blood pressure and glucose levels. This information can be analyzed by AI to provide users with personalized insights and warnings of potential issues.
This year, we’re seeing more and more tech tools that can detect diseases early on. One example is a lab-on-a-chip that can look for bio-markers specific to pancreatic cancer and potentially save countless lives. Another tool leverages nanotechnology to allow patients to take a saliva or pinprick sample of their own cells and send it directly to a doctor for analysis using phase imaging.
Increasingly, businesses are integrating generative AI into their workflows to help with problem-solving, customer engagement and content creation. This type of artificial intelligence creates increasingly indistinguishable content from that created by humans and is being used for everything from customer support to enhancing the experience of immersive virtual reality.
With commercial space travel advancing from short suborbital flights that offer a few minutes of weightlessness to plans for orbital missions, the future looks bright for those who wish to see the stars up close. We explore how one company is reviving the legacy of science fiction writer Jules Verne by sending robots to capture images of the solar system. We’re also given exclusive access to a UK brewery that is using pioneering techniques to craft alcohol-free beer and discover how organisations in Chile are tracking down missing family members with cutting edge tech.
About the Author
