Historically, these breakthroughs have been largely motivated by national security challenges.
But there is a sense that the global breakthroughs have been few, and sometimes — in cases like Anglo-America, now based in London — the benefits can migrate.
Conventional wisdom among trade boffins is that it takes a year to wrap up a trade negotiation once the big political breakthroughs have been made.
For the most part, these political breakthroughs have been backed by an American public that is increasingly supportive of gay rights.
And breakthroughs have been made onstage with varieties of same-sex dances, some emotionally charged and others relaxedly expressive in other ways.
Breakthroughs have been coming quickly, such as gene chips, proteomics, sensors that allow scientists to ask questions on a scale and time frame never before imaginable.
Mr. Seneca said Bell's scientists, who were once encouraged to pursue far-out science in hopes of making breakthroughs, have been reined in.
It's also significant that these major breakthroughs have been made by private companies - SpaceX is owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk and Blue Origin is owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Instead, the most dramatic breakthroughs have been with drugs such as Ritalin, Zoloft and Prozac – all of which, Graeber writes, are "tailor-made, one might say, so that these new professional demands don't drive us completely, dysfunctionally, crazy".
"Throughout the history of science, most of the major scientific breakthroughs have been preceded by some new tool and technology that allows you to see in new ways," explained Zuckerberg.
The center has been a leader in the so-called Green Revolution, and its breakthroughs have been applied in roughly two-thirds of the wheat and half of all the improved corn grown in poor countries.
