Bill Gates has called for greater investment in engineered crops that can adapt to climate change and resist agricultural pests, in an effort to solve world hunger. In the latest annual Goalkeepers Report from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates says the global hunger crisis is so immense that food aid cannot fully address the problem. What's also needed, he argues, are innovations in farming technology that can help to reverse the crisis. Gates points in particular to a breakthrough he calls'magic seeds' - including maize that has been bred to be more resistant to hotter, drier climates, and rice that requires three fewer weeks in the field. These innovations will allow agricultural productivity to increase despite the changing climate, he argues.

Recognising the huge potential impact of AI in global health, The Rockefeller Foundation and United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) Center for Innovation and Impact (CII) partnered, in close coordination with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, developed and launch today a groundbreaking new report: AI in Global Health: Defining a Collective Path Forward. In the past decade emerging technologies have been flooring the gas petal driving exponential innovation in almost all fields and industries. From blockchain and cryptocurrencies, to getting your groceries delivered by drone (UAVs) on your front lawn, to using artificial intelligence (AI) as a Swiss Army knife to'fix' everything, new technologies present significant potential to bring real and meaningful change, especially in healthcare. Technologies like AI are rapidly evolving, yet are still at an early-stage, which provides the development ecosystem the unique opportunity to take an active part in shaping the market to make sure new technologies are introduced and scaled effectively and appropriately. The report states it's important to acknowledge that AI is a means to an end for global health impact and not always the right or best solution for every health challenge.

Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have pledged 3bn ( 2.3bn) to fund medical research over the next decade. At a press conference in San Francisco, they said their ultimate goal was to "cure, prevent or manage all diseases by the end of the century". The funds will be distributed by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which they created in December 2015. Tech leaders are increasingly turning their attention to health. Earlier in the week, Microsoft said it intended to "solve" cancer by using artificial intelligence tools.