One of the fundamental questions for those studying and advocating progress is around understanding what variables can move the needle for the type of progress that you might want to see in the world. It's a key focus of the "progress studies" discipline and a question that has received increased attention from academics and public intellectuals in recent years.

As with any "big idea" progress means a lot of different things to different people and not everyone comes into the discussion with the same priors. Some experts are primarily focused on material progress while others emphasize the importance of moral progress. So to start the discussion, we asked each expert to define the term as they see it from their specific vantage point.

The world isn’t ending! But we are likely at the beginning of a profound transformation.

When you don’t know what you’re looking for, it’s easier to miss it.

These dissolvable pills aren’t meant to be swallowed, though.

The East India Company issued stocks to minimize the risk on their unpredictable but highly lucrative voyages. The rest is history.

The Industrial Revolution changed music forever, thanks to a combination of technological advances and clever entrepreneurs.

Anything, good or bad, about Henry Ford can be contradicted — except his ambition and his work.

The spray uses snippets of DNA to gum up virus replication.

Who should be compensated?

Kublai Khan wasn’t the first ruler in history to issue paper money, but his Yuan dynasty did take unprecedented action to ensure this revolutionary form of currency retained its value.

Venus Life Finder could launch as early as 2023.

Should you blast the A/C even when you're not at home?

The new material may make marine uranium extraction economically feasible.

By creating a type O kidney, they hope to make more organs available for transplant.

Oxygen isn't strictly necessary for combustion, but it is ideal. Any advanced (alien) civilization probably uses oxygen to burn things.

When constructed well, post-training survey questions can provide a wealth of information that helps guide future design decisions.

The Rubbee X requires almost no setup and is far cheaper than a brand new e-bike.

Anyone up for a crisp, blonde ale?

Argentina's black market for cash is embracing crypto — but it's not what crypto proponents expected.

New stamp-sized ultrasound adhesives produce clear images of heart, lungs, and other internal organs.

When scientists tested this hydrogel on mice, they had cleaner teeth than most humans.

Research shows how temperature can be used to manipulate circadian rhythms.

Not too hot, not too cold...

A two-dimensional material made entirely of carbon called graphene won the Nobel Prize in 2010. Graphyne might be even better.

What we call "basic research" is actually the most cutting-edge. It underpins knowledge, and without it, technology does not come into being.

"You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it."

This is a great improvement over the typical brew time of 12 to 18 hours.

In a nod to its addictive qualities, it was first dubbed “Some More.”

More than 150 companies are developing flying cars. Here's why they're aren't yet off the ground and darting across city skies.