Google’s original catchphrase from its code of conduct is probably one of the most well-known three word phrases in history. It was designed to sum up a simple philosophy where technology and devices would be used to improve our lives, rather than ruin them….

We’ve all heard a lot about graphene, the 2D super-material isolated by a team at the University of Manchester in 2004 which has the potential to change the world. It is so thin, so strong, and so conductive that its applications are, to all intents and purposes, endless….

The coca leaf has picked up a bad reputation over the years. Its status as the key ingredient at the base of the global cocaine trade has led many to see it as a fundamentally bad thing to grow – but to allow cocaine to define the coca plant tells only half the story….

London is the tallest UK city by a long way. World-famous landmarks such as the Shard and Canary Wharf dot its skyline, making it instantly recognisable. Whether this is a good thing or not is a matter of personal taste, but one group who seem almost universally in favour are people on planning committees….

One of the creeping suspicions of modern life is that we collectively get ripped off by brands. Deep down we all know that we pay a premium for items because they have a desirable name and picture on them – but how can we avoid them?

There are more than 500 million smallholder farmers across the world, many of whom have limited access to the information and resources which would allow them to truly flourish. A significant number of these farmers are located in the places where the population is growing fastest, meaning that there is soon going to be a lot more strain on their food production capabilities.

One of the more puzzling features of modern smartphones and related industries is the idea of in-built obsolescence, where a piece of technology is designed to fail after a certain length of time so you have to buy a new version – the “puzzling” part of all this being why the practise is allowed in the first place....

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is probably the most well-known and widely-used economic concept in the world. Everyone knows that it is how we measure the size of an economy, be that a national or international one....

We are all familiar with images of the drought which afflicts the poorest communities on earth; the cracked clay ground, unrelenting sunshine and sad-eyed children are part of our annual charity drives. We think we know what the problem is – there simply is not enough water. But does this have to be the case?...

The Passivhaus standard from Germany casts something of a shadow over the environmentally friendly building sector. No matter how much solar PV or insulation developers install, no matter whether wastewater heat recovery systems are installed, no matter how well sourced the materials are; the suspicion remains that nothing they do is good enough when held up against the Passivhaus standard....

Germany’s biggest workers union won a key victory in their fight for a better work-life balance this February. IG Metall, a union with approximately 3.9 million members in the electrical and metalworking industries, has successfully won the right for its members to work a 28 hour week for the next two years....

As society becomes more and more urbanised it is getting harder to properly house everyone. City population are ballooning across the world at a greater rate than we can realistically build accommodation. This is not a new problem, but potential solutions have been thin on the ground. One which has started to gain popularity is the idea of “co-living”....

The latest thing fixating architects from around the world is timber. This is a very good thing; the further we can get from the notion that construction and sustainability are separate worlds, the better. Timber is the oldest and most sustainable building material we have.

Chinese technology companies enjoy something of an unfair and discriminatory reputation in the West. China is seen by many as a place where imitation rules over innovation. The phrase “Made in China” summons up images of DVD players, mobile phones and toys produced on the cheap with brand names which are almost, but not quite, the same as the originals. The West is where things are invented; China is where they are assembled....

There is something of a generational gap appearing in the world of investing. Older investors appear to see investing and social responsibility as separate things; younger investors do not. Given that the latest estimates suggest we are in the middle of the biggest wealth transfer in history....

Life can get busy sometimes, and millions of people every year spend time, effort and money going on holiday all over the world. Tropical islands, historic cities and camping trips in the countryside are all classics – but what if you want to go somewhere a bit different? A trip to the Arctic Circle might be perfect for you....

The so-called ‘Internet of Things’ has been gaining a lot of momentum over the past decade. Integrating online features into everyday items has the potential to transform our society – even though it is sometimes added in seemingly pointless ways such as kettles which are connected to WiFi....

The trend towards using cross-laminated timber for construction is already well under way. It is cheap, simple to use, easy to make, clean, safe, and it looks great....

It has been estimated that as many as one billion people around the world cannot afford adequate medical care. The vast majority of these people live in the developing world, meaning that mortality rates are highest among the global poor....

Worrying about our collective addiction to plastics is a bit of a hobby at Global Property Scene. Plastic is ubiquitous in the modern world, acting as packaging for everything from water to toys, and it is not easily recycled unlike paper or metal. Consequently, we just bin it instead with barely a thought and we are on course for the sea to contain more plastic than fish by 2050....