Each week, we scour the worlds of innovation, tech for good and social impact to bring you seven of our top stories of the week…

1. The UK government announces that the £800m Advanced Research & Invention Agency (ARIA) will launch next year to fund high-risk, high-reward scientific research.
2. Bill Gates makes clear the scale of the challenge of achieving net zero, emphasising the need for governments to lead innovation efforts and invest in research and development.
3. With youth unemployment on the rise, The Conversation investigates the importance of work experience schemes in improving the employability of young people and developing entrepreneurial competencies.
4. Research published in the Financial Times finds that almost 2m workers in the UK have been unemployed or fully furloughed for at least six months.
5. NASA has successfully landed its Perseverance rover on Mars, on the floor of a deep crater, as part of a search for traces of microbial life.
6. BBC News explores the various and transformative applications of smart materials, and the need for regulation in preventing safety issues, and other unintended consequences in the future.
7. The Pew Charitable Trust shares a fascinating infographic, drawing on the Longitude Prize report on antibiotic resistance and cancer treatment to demonstrate the vital role of antibiotics in cancer care, and the need for urgent action as companies abandon their development in favour of more profitable drugs.