Innovation

In 2007, the number of people living in cities exceeded those in rural areas for the first time. A century ago there were only 16 urban centers with more than a million inhabitants. There are currently 450 cities with more than one million inhabitants in the world. In fact, every week a million people move to an urban area. And, as if that were not enough, it is estimated that 75% of the world's energy is currently consumed in cities, and that urban buildings consume 42% of all the energy generated on the planet. In addition, traffic jams on its roads cost 1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the whole of Europe.

"I am convinced that half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from those who do not succeed is perseverance.", Said Steve Jobs, who also defended that "design is the soul of everything created by man." These are ten of his most ingenious phrases.

The winners of the last edition of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards received their awards this week at a ceremony in Madrid. The awards are intended to be an incentive for "younger generations to model people who are passionate about researching, creating and innovating."

29 teams from 17 countries will participate in the Google Lunar X PRIZE, an original private space race sponsored by the Internet giant. The objective of the competition is for each group to send an automated vehicle to the Moon and film a video in which the apparatus is shown traveling a minimum distance of 500 meters.

Apple is currently the most innovative company in the world, according to a report just released by the consulting firm Booz and Company. It is followed, in second position, by the versatile Google. Microsoft ranks sixth, and IBM ranks eighth.

Snapshots of the world's largest solar ship, breathtaking fractal beauty, stunning underwater photography, a photographic homage to Earth from NASA ... These are the most popular image galleries published by MUY in 2010.

In November 1895, the German physicist Röntgen discovered a "mysterious ray" that had the power to produce an image after passing through meat, clothing, wood or metal, and which he baptized with the unknown "X". Since then the applications of X-rays have multiplied.

Google experts have spent the last twelve months searching for organizations that serve as inspiration for their search for solutions to five international challenges. After long deliberation, the five selected from the 154,000 ideas submitted from more than 170 countries are now known.