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Electric semi trucks are coming, and they could help to decarbonize the shipping and logistics industry. However, range remains a major limitation. This presents challenges for long-hauling, where the average diesel-powered semi can travel up to 2,000 miles before refueling. Compare this to the longest range electric model, the Tesla Semi, which promises up to 500 miles. A key word here is “promises”—the Semi is still in development, and nothing has been proven yet....

While China should see its population fall in the coming decades, India projects to be the most populous country in 2050 by a long shot. By that time, India will have up to 1.7 billion people – and Mumbai will be the largest megacity in the world with upwards of 42 million people. Comparing Population Pyramids These kind of future trends are not evident from the base population figures alone, but they become much clearer when we look at the population pyramids of countries instead....

The gravity of the sun keeps all the planets in orbit in our solar system. However, each planet, moon and asteroid have their own gravitational pull defined by their density, size, mass, and proximity to other celestial bodies. Dr. James O’Donoghue, a Planetary Astronomer at JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) created an animation that simplifies this concept by animating the time it takes a ball to drop from 1,000 meters to the surface of each planet and the Earth’s moon, assuming no air resistance, to better visualize the gravitational pull of the planets....

ICOs have become so popular that well over 90% of total funds raised through this mechanism came from this year alone. While it’s hard to put this sudden ICO explosion in context, we think today’s animation does the phenomenon sufficient justice. Coming from Max Galka at Elementus.io, today’s animation shows a timeline of ICOs and funds raised since early 2014. In an added dimension, each ICO is also classified based on geographic region....

With the birth of legal recreational markets in places like California and a growing appreciation for the medical applications of cannabinoids such as CBD, the floodgates are open for companies to pursue new and groundbreaking opportunities in the sector. Unlike other fields where medical research has been mainstream for many decades, the work behind cannabis – an incredibly complex plant – is only getting started. Untapped Potential Today’s infographic comes from InMed Pharmaceuticals and it explains the medical potential behind the 90+ cannabinoids that we have yet to fully understand....

With this in mind, here’s a look at the top grossing movies worldwide since the early 1990s, using data from Box Office Mojo. These figures include box office revenue as of May 2021, but don’t consider other revenue sources like merchandise sales. The Full List: Top 50 Highest Grossing Movies Coming in at number one on the list is Avatar—since its release in 2009, this Oscar-winning hit has grossed $2....

Chart: Fintech Investment in 2016 Overall numbers are down, but banks step up their game The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays. According to a new report by Singapore-based venture capital firm Life.SREDA, last year was a mixed bag for fintech. On the one hand, the Money of the Future Report pegs 2016 as the first year to have an overall decrease in fintech funding after taking into account any outliers....

Given a choice of being the disruptor or the disrupted, many would prefer to choose the former. But it’s not as easy as just flipping a switch and subsequently reaping the benefits of a forward-looking vision, new product categories, and forthcoming patents. Instead, an organization has to proactively acquire this innovation and intellectual capital from somewhere. For many established companies, there is no other choice but to buy innovative startups through M&A to get their innovation fix, though this typically comes at a marked up price....

We’ve created this visual using data from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to better understand how many civilians have died in Ukraine as a result of the war, as well as how many were injured and how many were children. The Numbers As of early December, it is reported that 7,031 people in Ukraine have died because of the war — 433 of them children....

Crisis in the Middle East & Oil Prices Unfortunately, unrest in the Middle East has virtually become commonplace. This unrest is echoed throughout the world through economic impact. More specifically, when the world’s highest oil producing region is in turmoil, prices are affected across the world. Currently, the world is in disarray due to conflicts spread across the Middle East and the rest of the globe. A civil war is looming in Iraq between two religious groups....

It’s an incredible amount of wealth creation in any context – but getting to 12 zeros is especially impressive when you consider that Apple was just 90 days from declaring bankruptcy in 1997. Today’s chart shows this milestone – as well as many of the ones before it – through a period of over 200 years of U.S. market history. It was inspired by this interesting post by Global Financial Data, which is worth reading in its own right....

In the first quarter of 2021, global ESG fund inflows outpaced the last four consecutive quarters, reaching $2 trillion. But while ESG gains rapid momentum, the CFA Institute shows that 33% of professional investors surveyed feel they have insufficient knowledge for considering ESG issues. To help investors understand this growing trend, this infographic from MSCI helps provide a fact check on five common ESG myths. 1. “ESG Comes at the Expense of Investment Performance” Fact Check: Not necessarily Worldwide, ESG-focused companies have not only seen higher returns, but stronger earnings growth and dividends....

Despite the volatility, the combination of the Federal Reserve’s early stimulus interventions and positive vaccine news has rewarded dip-buyers and strong hands. Along with visualizing the returns across asset classes, currencies, and S&P 500 sectors, we’ve included their maximum drawdown for the year—the drop from the 2020 open to the 2020 lows—along with the recovery from 2020 lows to the closing price. This helps visualize 2020’s most resilient assets, along with the strength of their recovery....

After a year of casualties, structural devastation, and innumerable headlines, the conflict drags on. Many report the impacts to the economy, social demographics, and international relationships, but how do science and academia fair in the throes of war? Within the actions and responses of the conflict, we take a look at how six key scenarios globally shape science. War’s Material Impacts to Science 1. Russia Invades Ukraine The assault to research infrastructure in Ukraine is devastating....

Whether the decision is related to paying back student debt or how to invest for the first time, the outcomes of these decisions have a long-term impact on the quality of our lives. Smart decisions can lead to achieving financial independence, while bad decisions can lead to years of being stuck in the “hole”. Even though it’s clear that financial literacy is important, there’s a big problem: it’s actually been dropping for years in the United States....

While Bitcoin remains the undisputed bellwether for digital currencies, it’s also fair to say that the entire crypto landscape has been changing dramatically over the last year. New coin and token offerings have raised billions of dollars, innovative ideas are capturing the attention of investors, and there are now 20+ cryptocurrencies that have at least $1B in market capitalization. Bitcoin may be in the public spotlight, but there’s a lot happening behind the scenes....

After all, in the United States, Canada, and Europe, economies are mostly growing at about 2% or less per year. And while these developed markets are less risky to invest in, finding value can be tricky. That’s why for many decades, investors have been allured by the fast growth of far-off economies. In the 1950s and 1960s, Japan’s economy regularly expanded at a 10%+ clip, and who can forget the “Four Asian Tigers” that followed in Japan’s footsteps?...

While present-day electricity generation is slanted heavily in favor of coal and gas on a global basis, renewable sources have started to gain ground. Today’s graphic from Information is Beautiful lists the world’s largest energy sources and their energy outputs. These power plants are ranked using the daily megawatt-hour (MWh), the amount of energy a power source generates in a day. Relying on Renewables Located in the United Kingdom, Drax Power Station is the world’s largest biomass plant, powered chiefly by burning wood....

It’s a science fiction writer’s dream: if AI becomes smart enough to create more advanced versions of itself, pretty much every outcome is on the table. Machines could empower humanity to become enlightened and virtuous. On the less optimistic side? Machines could instead ruthlessly enslave all of humankind to tickle their own warped sense of satisfaction. Pop Culture Perspectives From the plot of movies like The Terminator to The Matrix, pop culture offers up innumerable examples of what could happen from the rise of the machines – and most of them, as you can imagine, steer towards the less optimistic side of the spectrum....

However, it’s possible that nickname may need to be updated. In the last few decades, Nevada has become a prolific gold producer, accounting for 84% of total U.S. gold production each year. Today’s infographic from Corvus Gold showcases why Nevada may have a better case for deserving California’s nickname of the “Golden State”: we look at the state’s gold production, exploration potential, and even its rich history. A Defining Era for the American West The discovery of the Comstock silver lode in 1859 sparked a silver rush of prospectors to Nevada, scrambling to stake their claims....