16 must-read stories for the weekend

Neuroscience isn’t just unlocking the secrets of the brain, it’s also yielding products like early tests for Alzheimer’s and attention-driven cars that could transform society.

Israel was the original ‘start-up nation’ – a rapid incubator of high-tech firms. Now comes a contender with more than a hundred R&D centres. Its name may surprise you.

Self-centredness in the workplace is being rejected by millennials seeking deeper rewards from careers. Could teaching humility lead to the end of big egos?

The economics of displacement is changing refugee camps. Behind the TV pictures of food handouts lie sophisticated micro-economies.

Is data the new currency? Companies with ‘internet of things’ strategies saw revenues jump 16% on average last year. Better customer information explains the gains.

More than 5,000 genes can cause genetic diseases, most of which are incurable. The new science of genome editing could soon change that.

What’s holding back Sri Lanka? Cites Forum research. (Bloomberg)

Instagram lets Saudi businesswomen overcome legal hurdles. Cites research from the Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report. (Bloomberg)

Organizations spend 15% of their collective time in meetings, half of which are unnecessary. So why, as one executive told participants at Davos, can’t we say no? (Financial Times)

Smart cities might be too ambitious for India, a country where power cuts and water shortages are part of daily life. Draws on theGlobal Competitiveness Report. (Business Week)

Newark woman set to create ‘hub’ of young leaders to help city. Profiles Forum Global Shaper, Kimberlee Williams. (nj.com)

China’s CO2 emissions may be 3 billion tonnes less than we think. That’s more carbon than the world’s forests pulled from the atmosphere between 1990 and 2007.

Technology, the great job killer? Not so fast. In the past century and a half technology has driven more employment than it has replaced, from accountancy to hairdressing.

Observational signatures of self-destructive civilizations. Would anyone else in the universe notice if we destroyed the planet?

What created the framework for Britain’s Industrial Revolution? Government land seizures, is the surprising answer from historians.

How computing changed economics, remade finance, and gave us futures trading.

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Author: Adrian Monck is Managing Director and head of Public Engagement at the World Economic Forum.

Image: Pedestrians walk along Princes Street, the main shopping street in Edinburgh, Scotland May 1, 2014. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett.