What's Emerging mid-April 2025
A newsletter on interesting stuff that is emerging around the world so you can think about strategy.
Welcome to our newsletter for the middle of April 2025.
In the next few weeks Paul will continue to work on the strategy implementation consultation process with RSL Victoria and present on the future of AI to a CEO roundtable. He will also be assisting Blue Light Victoria on their strategy. Paul will also continue working on his new startup which now has partial funding. He will also continue in his role of Chair with venture philanthropy organisation Social Venture Partners Melbourne. This includes launching a new low bono consulting model for the not-for-profit sector which will provide low cost/high value consulting services with all the money generated going to Social Venture Partners Melbourne to continue their pro bono work in the sector.
If you are interested in talking to us about any of our strategy approaches, foresight approaches, workshops, or conference presentations for next year, please Contact Us.
The Emergent Futures Team
In case you missed it. The most popular link from the last edition was (yet again):
Criminal gangs using key programming devices to steal cars at level not seen in Victoria in decades, police say
Police believed the methodology was well known among criminal circles and being used extensively locally, as well as other countries such as the United States and United Kingdom. Paul: protect yourself if you have one of these models……….Read More
What are we Writing About?
Following on from his second speculative scenario on US politics last newsletter Paul has written an article on the effects of the Trump tariffs on trust, world trade, and capital allocations..........…..Read More
What’s Emerging
Engineered bacteria emit signals that can be spotted from a distance
These bacteria, which could be designed to detect pollution or nutrients, could act as sensors to help farmers monitor their crops.........…..Read More
AFL, NBA and more leagues offering fans the chance to view sport through touch
In tennis and basketball, you're 'feeling' the ball as it travels from one side of the court to the other, while in baseball, your left hand is tracking the play as the batter rounds the bases and your right is viewing a "strike zone" that conveys information about each ball pitched......….….Read more
An Advance in Brain Research That Was Once Considered Impossible
Scientists achieved “a milestone” by charting the activity and structure of 200,000 cells in a mouse brain and their 523 million connections.....…..Read More
A streaming brain-to-voice neuroprosthesis to restore naturalistic communication
Natural spoken communication happens instantaneously. Speech delays longer than a few seconds can disrupt the natural flow of conversation. This makes it difficult for individuals with paralysis to participate in meaningful dialogue, potentially leading to feelings of isolation and frustration Paul: here is a solution..............…..Read More
Abandoned mines could find new use as gravity batteries
A series of electric motor/generator units on both sides of the shaft would move each elevator up and down, generating electricity via regenerative braking on the way down, then using some of that electricity on the way back up......……. Read More
Recycled cements drive down emissions without slacking on strength
Giving a second life to construction materials after demolition, engineers at the University of São Paulo and Princeton have developed an approach for recycling cement waste into a sustainable, low-carbon alternative that is comparable in performance to the industry standard.....……. Read More
Gene-edited 'Peter Pan' cane toad that never grows up created to eat its siblings, control invasive species
By removing a single gene in a toad egg, the researchers have created a hatchling that never progresses past its tadpole stage. The modified hatchlings grew a little bigger than regular tadpoles and ate three times as many eggs, according to results of yet peer-reviewed trials conducted by Professor Shine's team......…..Read more
H&M to use digital clones of models in ads and social media
Fashion retailer H&M is to use artificial intelligence (AI) to create digital "twins" of 30 models. It says it will use the AI doppelgangers in some social media posts and marketing in the place of humans, if given permission by models. Paul: you would want to take a close look at that contract!....…..Read more
China’s SpaceSail is expanding where Elon Musk is stumbling
The Shanghai satellite company is launching deals in countries where Starlink, X or Tesla are creating friction.......…..Read more
Wikipedia's largest non-English version was created by a bot. Generative AI poses new problems
With nearly 7 million articles, the English-language edition of Wikipedia is by many measures the largest encyclopedia in the world. The second-largest edition of Wikipedia boasts just over 6 million articles. It isn't French, or Spanish, or Chinese Wikipedia. It's Cebuano: a language spoken mostly in the southern Philippines.…..Read more
China achieves large-scale production of human serum albumin from genetically engineered rice
A Wuhan-based biopharmaceutical company developed technology to synthesize human serum albumin (HSA) from rice, offering a potential solution to China's supply shortage of this critical blood protein. Products developed using this technology have completed clinical trials and entered the new drug approval process, marking significant progress in industrialization and commercialization while continuing to expand production scale.....…..Read more
World-first sustainability certification for Australian southern bluefin tuna
The Australian southern bluefin tuna industry is celebrating the certification of its purse seine fishery as sustainable under the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard. It is a world-first for the species and the industry is describing it as a "significant milestone" due to the fact southern bluefin tuna was once severely overfished......…..Read more
Business and Other Tips
The four questions to ask when considering a merger
Merger options should be a part of every not-for-profit’s (NFP’s) strategic discussions…….Read More
Think your specialist is expensive? Look at what others are paying
Mean (average) fees charged by doctors in 17 specialties in Australia for initial face-to-face appointments after a GP referral..……….Read More
Good governance doesn’t happen by accident- insights for agtech startups and investors
For those outside the boardroom, governance often seems dry or even irrelevant. But for those who’ve experienced its true impact, governance is the backbone of a company’s resilience and long-term success. It’s the framework that aligns an organization’s mission with its strategy, fosters accountability, and safeguards stakeholder interests. Paul: applicable far beyond agtech………..Read More