Tabla de contenidos para Jul/ Aug 2020 en WIRED UK

Kiran Gandhi spent her first term at Harvard Business School on tour with the rapper M.I.A. In 2012, the musician – who performs under the name Madame Gandhi – was working as a data analyst at Interscope Records when she earned a spot at the prestigious institution, which has launched the careers of some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. Now, the 31-year-old is applying the lessons she learned at Harvard to her music career. Her management style is inspired by classes on collaborative leadership; the way she diversifies her income streams reflects her entrepreneurial mindset, and she’s pioneered the use of data to inform some of her strategic choices as an artist. In short, she’s running her career like a startup. Gandhi spends a lot of her time doing…

Artificial intelligence is tracking outbreaks; apps are being used for contact tracing; clinical trials are going virtual and approvals are progressing in record time. Although the coronavirus pandemic has put the global healthcare system under immense strain, it has also led to an innovation explosion. “It’s expanding what was possible,” explains Pamela Spence, EY Global Health Sciences and Wellness Industry Market Leader. The 2020 edition of EY’s report, “Five trends driving the emergence of the personalised health ecosystem”, identifies how innovation and behaviour change is being accelerated by the pandemic – take the rise in the use of virtual doctor appointments, as people stay home. “People are going to be more confident accessing the primary care facilities that are available through smart devices,” Spence observes. The pandemic has demonstrated that…

Soaring up along the edge of Soho, Centre Point tower was built in 1966 as offices, and was one of the first skyscrapers in the West End. Down the decades, the 34-floor concrete Grade II listed monument has headquartered the Confederation of British Industry, talent agency William Morris, and EA Games, but in 2014 the businesses moved out and Almacantar stepped in with its architects and designers to rework Centre Point into high-flying homes. Across cities like London, office space is slowly being converted to residential, as workplace requirements evolve and homes are at a premium. While Centre Point no longer suits business needs, it’s ideal for contemporary city living thanks to its historical appeal, intriguing design and central location, set on the boundaries of Soho, Covent Garden, Fitzrovia and…

Acronis has convinced Europe’s most prestigious football clubs to trust it with their data – now, it plans to use that information to help them win more games. Founded by Serguei Beloussov, a Russian-born Singaporean serial entrepreneur with a taste for spiffy bow-ties, Acronis provides data storage, back-up, and cyber-protection services to businesses in over 150 countries. In the last few years, the company has landed a number of contracts with football heavyweights including Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Inter Milan – backing up thousands of hours of footage of each club’s games. Soon, a realisation emerged among the specialists at Acronis: the data they were storing, if properly interpreted, could be harnessed to improve a team’s performance. “We were already collecting a lot of video data, and we can…

The most volatile period in the history of the movie industry began on March 4, 2020, when James Bond blockbuster No Time To Die, the 25th instalment of the world’s longest-running film franchise, was delayed due to the Covid-19 outbreak. “As an industry, we have already lost $5bn – more than ten per cent of the annual global box office,” says Dimitrios Mitsinikos the co-founder and CEO of London-based Gower Street Analytics, the company used by major Hollywood studios to schedule movie releases in marketplaces across the world. With cinemas closed, other films followed Bond’s lead, either by not choosing a release date or moving far into autumn – or to 2021. And now, Hollywood studios are scrambling to reschedule blockbusters in order to recoup the vast production budgets. If…

With more people suddenly finding themselves needing to work from home, digital communication tools have been pushed into the limelight – and that includes our pal, email. Everyone knows how to email, right? Not so fast. What constitutes correct email etiquette is a largely subjective thing. Gretchen McCulloch, internet linguist and author of Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language says it’s not really fair to get mad about people not meeting your standards if you haven’t made them clear in the first place: “If you have certain unwritten expectations for how people are going to email you, it’s valuable to make those expectations written down and explicit.” Will Schwalbe, co-author with David Shipley of the 2010 book Send: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It…

In normal times, over 19 million global users of the fashion reselling marketplace Depop would be upgrading their wardrobes for summer. But, since the coronavirus crisis upended the economy, the company, like many others, is in a new situation. “This has been very ‘business as unusual’,” says Depop chief Operating officer Dominic Rose. Depop is a global success story and it’s doing what many startups are having to do: adapt. Its response to the crisis has been to open a dedicated Covid-19 Help Centre and adopting contactless home collection and delivery. Business owners are asking what they can do to survive the year. “Companies are realising their business models aren’t designed to deal with this,” says Stephen Oldroyd, head of strategy at recruitment portal WorkinStartups. “When focus goes from high…

Timex M79 Automatic Can’t afford a Rolex GMT Master II “Batman”? Then consider the similar looks of this self-winding 40mm steel watch that is capable of going 50m below the waves (ample for most wreck dives). Besides the black/blue styling, it also packs in all the diving essentials – unidirectional top ring, day/date window and 40 hours of power. £249 timex.co.uk Triwa Time for Oceans After the brand’s Humanium Metal HU39-DA automatic – fashioned from destructed illegal firearms – Triwa is once again re-purposing maligned materials: in this instance, ocean plastic. Both the case and strap are made from 100 per cent ocean plastic produced by Tide Ocean Material in Switzerland using solar energy. Don’t be fooled by the simple looks – it’s water resistant to 100m. £120 triwa.com Doxa…

February 2015 Tom Blomfield, Jonas Tempelstein, Gary Dolman, Paul Rippon and Jason Bates found Mondo, a challenger bank February 2016 Following a legal challenge by a company with a similar name, Mondo changes its name to Monzo April 2017 Monzo receives its UK banking licence, and changes all prepaid app accounts to banking accounts February 2018 Monzo gets the green light to operate in the Republic of Ireland September 2018 Monzo hits the 1 million customer mark April 2019 Monzo launches a premium customer account – then closes it June 2019 Monzo becomes the second most-valuable fintech in the UK, valued at £2 billion September 2019 Monzo hits the 3 million customer mark December 2019 Monzo gained more customers than any other bank during the last three months of 2019,…

IN 2016, Shauna Coxsey reached the final of the bouldering competition at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Climbing World Cup in Munich’s Olympiastadion. The British climber had competed at the venue previously, coming third in 2012 and second in 2014 and 2015. This time, beneath an undulating glass canopy inspired by the Alps, she faced four climbs up four different walls. Dotted with sharp, geometric resin outcrops, they looked more like the frozen screen of an early video game than a real-life mountain. The rules of bouldering competitions are simple. The athlete is kept in isolation, unable to see the wall or their competitors. They step out, a buzzer goes, and the countdown starts. They have four minutes to complete a 3D puzzle, designed by some of the…

IN February 2020, LinkedIn announced it would be launching a “stories” feature, following in the footsteps of Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook in adopting a format that has soared in popularity over the last few years. One reason for this adoption is that culture at large has become obsessed with the idea of storytelling: heads of PR hand out business cards inscribed with the title “Chief Storyteller”, while brand consultants will unironically advise you on the most effective techniques for becoming a “Storytelling Ninja”. In many cases, this is simply a branding exercise: a cynical bid to add a mythic allure to mundane, modern-day practices. But while this trend may be mostly superficial, storytelling in its traditional form is still very much alive and well on the internet. Ever-evolving technologies are…

Lindberg Cameron glasses From £410 lindberg.com Constructed using titanium, which has the highest strength-to-density ratio of any metallic element, these glasses eschew screws and rivets, meaning the frames are simple, sleek and incredibly lightweight – all while being tough and durable. Tumi McCoy Gym Bag £465 tumi.com Meet your new workout buddy: not only is the McCoy made from recycled fabrics, but it features smart compartments tailored to gym-goers’ needs. There’s a waterproof shoe-pocket, separators for dirty clothes, and webbing straps perfect for towels. BYREDO Lil Fleur Eau De Parfum £170 for 100ml byredo.co.uk Inspired by the rapid changes in teenage emotions, Byredo has crafted a layered and complex scent: a heart of damascena rose oil and leather, top notes of cassis, and saffron with a base of blonde woods.…

HEROES Timpson The key cutting and shoe repair service kept its 5,500 employees on full pay while its shops remained closed. Morrisons Food banks were given £10 million worth of food by the supermarket after they ramped up production for an extra hour every day to help them restock. Admiral The insurer gave its 4.4 million car customers a £25 cash-back each, with no strings attached, saying that the savings were made because fewer people were driving and making claims. VILLAINS JD Wetherspoon After delaying the closure of his pubs, chairman Tim Martin encouraged staff to get new jobs, and refused to pay breweries for already supplied beer. The FTSE 100 Eighteen big companies in the FTSE 100 have publicly revealed that they will use the government’s furlough scheme to…

Prospector Co. Tablet Towels Harking back to childhood bath-times, these compressed flannels remain just as much fun as ever, even if the dinosaur motifs of our youth have been replaced by crisp white cloths in a prospector-style glass jar. Each tablet-sized fibre towel – six per jar – measures around 20cm once fully soaked, and provides a handy addition to your travel kit. $4.99 prospectorco.com Asobu PB55 Pill Bottle Whether you suffer from dysphagia or just have a lot of multivitamins and pills to pop throughout the day, this practical bottle organiser makes for a suitably stylish solution. The 560ml BPA-free, dishwasher-safe bottle features a spill-proof lid and slide-out seven-day pill box – removing it from the bottle makes it much easier to fill – with enough room per compartment…

LEGO 4100 Ice Cube Tray Be “that guy” when the mixologist instructs you to “build” your beverage, with a joyful silicone ice-cube tray that produces up-scaled 2x2 and 4x2 LEGO bricks. It’s an official LEGO product (accompanying ice minifigs are also available) and while, admittedly, you can’t actually click them together like their plastic cousins (the silicone mould creates solid blocks, rather than stackable ones), if these don’t bring a smile to your face, you’re beyond the help of any cocktail we can prescribe. £6.99 johnlewis.com Casa Bugatti Jacqueline Kettle With Smoke Handle Casa Bugatti brings its luxury kitchenware touch to the humble kettle, producing a gleaming smart appliance inspired by a traditional ceramic teapot. It can be set to boil any temperature between 40?C to 100?C, and can do…

Monzo Founded: 2015 Countries: UK, US, Ireland User numbers: 4 million+ Total funding: £324.7 million Starling Bank Founded: 2014 Countries: UK, Ireland User numbers: 1.25 million Total funding: £323 million Revolut Founded: 2015 Countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. User numbers: 10 million+ Total funding: $837 million Atom Bank Founded: 2014 Countries: UK User numbers: N/A Total funding: £450 million Tandem Bank Founded: 2013 Countries: UK User numbers: 132,000 Total funding: £130.1 million…

Nasa astronauts often return from missions with a whole new perspective on the planet and mankind’s place upon it – a cognitive shift that’s dubbed the “overview effect”, after the 1987 book of the same name by space philosopher and author Frank White. Common features of the experience are a feeling of awe for the planet, a profound understanding of the interconnection of all life, and a renewed sense of responsibility for taking care of the Earth and the environment. Now, anyone can feel these emotions – not in space, but in Brooklyn, New York. White is an advisor to SpaceVR, which promises to recreate the overview effect by putting customers inside a flotation tank with a waterproof VR headset, and showing them footage of the Earth from space. SpaceVR…

In October 2019, Nike provided the footwear worn by Eliud Kipchoge who ran a marathon in less than two hours, a feat once thought impossible. At the Tokyo marathon in March, 28 of the top 30 runners were wearing a variant of Nike’s Air Zoom Alphafly Next% shoe. The success of Nike’s footwear is thought to be down to a carbon fibre plate and a thick stack of foam, which helps athletes use less energy, leading to faster times. But, by the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, a little-known company that started out making suitcases will have stepped out with a rival speedy shoe. Carbitex founder Junus Khan began experimenting with carbon fibre technology ten years ago in his garage in Washington state, with an initial focus on luggage. “What Nike did…

This year, activity in the business world has been frenetic for all the wrong reasons. Few business leaders were prepared for the impact of Covid-19, including Andy Wells, co-founder of team-building company Zing Events, who had just taken on eight new staff as part of the firm’s expansion plans. “We launched Zing in 2012, but 2020 was meant to be the year of high growth,” he says, “our strategy had been months in the planning”. As Wells put it, the global events industry has been “pole-axed” by enforced isolation. Stories from early-stage companies suffering the worst timing emanate from everywhere. Soter Analytics, a London-based healthtech startup founded in 2015, supplies manual-handling training for workers via wearable AI. The company’s chief executive Matthew Hart suddenly realised his business model didn’t work:…

adidas Terrex Free Hiker Parley Through a programme of collaborations with Parley for the Oceans, there are now 174 adidas products – from sneakers to gym kit and swimwear – made wholly or in part using reworked ocean plastics. Its latest footwear drop is an update of the impressive Terrex Free Hiker, a supremely comfortable mid-height crossover walking boot with Boost cushioning, a comfy trainer-like fit and mountain-goat levels of grip thanks to the Continental rubber sole. The water-resistant Primeknit upper is breathable, and the elasticated ankle loop gives just enough support for uneven trails, without it feeling as restrictive as a full-height boot. £169,95 adidas.co.uk Roux R1-CF Gloss Carbon A Pininfarina design for Roux Helmets, the R1-CF features CoolX, a cooling system that pumps 11°C water around the helmet…

Towards the end of 2015, people in coffee shops and pubs around London began to brandish a new type of status symbol: a distinctive, hot coral, prepaid card branded “Mondo”. Silicon Roundabout tech bros handed their friends “golden ticket” codes to skip the queue and sign up for the card and its connected app. By 2017, Mondo had changed its name to Monzo and become a fully licensed bank, swapping its prepaid cards for regular debit cards attached to a current account. In just over five years, Monzo upended a sector known for conservatism. More than just creating a brand, it did something that’s considered to be the gold standard for any new brand or service: it created a strong identity and forged a connection with customers. Monzo managed to…

Aguilera-Hellweg is a truly rare breed of photographer: one who feels at home in the hospital as much as the dark room – because he is also a medically trained physician. “I can read the monitors,” he says. “I know the pathology and the diseases. Patients and doctors know they can talk to me at a certain level.” A veteran documenter of complex scientific procedures, Aguilera-Hellweg has photographed more than 300 medical operations, while his wide-ranging career has provided him with unique opportunities to witness and showcase the medical and forensic unknown. His latest body of work is a study of some of the cutting-edge experiments and procedures undertaken by forensic analysts working in US laboratories. The images come with a unique context: at the time Aguilera-Hellweg started shooting, the…

From this summer, when you set up a new Android phone or tablet in Europe, you will be shown a choice screen to select your default search engine. The screen is simple. Under a search icon and a short blurb are four options. One is always Google; the others vary depending on which country you’re in. Pick one of Google’s rivals, and its results – not Google’s – will appear in a home screen search widget and in the Chrome web browser. Its app will also be downloaded to the device. The change is subtle. But it marks a fundamental shift. The choice screen appears in the wake of the European Commission fining Google €4.34 billion (£3.81bn) for breaching EU antitrust rules. On July 18, 2018, competition commissioner Margarethe Vestager…

We source EVERYTHING 800,000 The number of children thought to be living in poverty in London as of 2020 515,000 The number of millionaires (by personal wealth) living in London as of 2020 -70°C The temperature at which a lithium battery developed by researchers in China can function – a new record low 2 People cured of HIV after receiving a transplant of stem cells, the first of which was reported in 2011, the second confirmed in March 2020. The risky procedure was to treat the patients’ cancer; the cells were from a donor who is resistant to HIV due to a genetic mutation 11 PERCENT The reduction in impact of Nobel Prize winners’ work two years later, measured by their number of paper citations 12% Percentage of global methane…