Quantic’s Weekly Roundup – December 2020 (2)

Quantic’s Weekly Roundup is a satisfying mix of the latest breaking news, business, STEM and social science stories. Here are your headlines for this week: 

Here’s to strong women: Forbes has unveiled its list of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.” From fighting the pandemic to reengineering American politics, these influential women — including New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams — are making history. According to Forbes, the women who made the 17th annual list “hail from 30 countries and were born across four generations. There are 10 heads of state, 38 CEOs and five entertainers among them. Where they differ in age, nationality, and job description, they are united in the ways they have been using their platforms to address the unique challenges of 2020.”

Beavers, burpees, and bread, oh my! What do these three things have in common? They were some of the most-searched words in 2020. It’s that time of year again when Google Trends releases the UK’s most-searched terms of the year. From sourdough to sanitizer, not surprisingly, the coronavirus pandemic dominated this year’s list. 

If you want to explore the most-searched trends, globally or for your home country, head here.

Need an inspirational spark for your next “Aha” moment? Here are five steps that will help boost your creativity and capacity for innovation. From fundamental steps like exploration and focus, scientists have studied how the process of creativity works within our brain and what conditions can favor new, unconventional ideas. For example, a brain that achieves mastery through practice and repetition is more capable of finding innovative solutions to complex problems in a given area. 

Face value: China’s male skincare market is booming and domestic startups and global investors are taking notice. These new beauty companies have brand ambitions that rival giants, like L’Oreal, in a billion-dollar business that serves millennial men. The cosmetic interest seems to be highly influenced by the spread of social media and South Korean pop culture. Already the biggest in the world, the Chinese men’s facial skincare market is forecast to hit 12.5 billion yuan ($1.90 billion) this year – and expand 50% to 18.5 billion yuan in 2025.