The top technological trends for 2014

Here are the changes, movements, technologies and cultural sweeps that will change the way we live in the coming 12 months.

Trendspotter: Google’s chief backs lab-grown meat but what does it mean for our diet and conscience?

Google's chief Sergey Brin is backing the world’s first lab-grown hamburger. So will McDonald's be serving a MacLab meal any time soon? And why would we want that?

Trend: new ways for readers to access and fund journalists

New start-ups are attempting to prove that there can be a future for traditional written journalism.

Required reading: Understanding the new Eastern front between China and Japan

What does rising tension between the world’s second-largest economy, China, and it’s third-largest, Japan, mean for the rest of the world?

What is it about chess prodigies that fascinates us? Turn to these three books in this week's required reading.

Stories both long and short have our attention

David Mattin shares a theory on why, from 800-page novels to months-long television dramas, we’re increasingly seeking solace in long-form narratives.

Understanding the coming century means understanding China. Time to hit these three books in this week's Required Reading column.

A darker side to constant connection

Covering your laptop webcam with tape or paper is fast becoming common practice among the global professional and creative classes. These super-smart people are super-paranoid. They think that someone is watching them.

This week's required reading: three books on lying. What do we really mean by a lie, why do we tell them and why do some of us do tell them much more than others?