With the first quarter in the books, it’s time to step back and lay out Xconomy’s editorial map for the rest of the year. As readers know, we strive to cover a wide range of innovation sectors, from tech and life sciences to healthcare and education—all with a mix of on-the-ground reporting, daily news stories, in-depth features and analysis, and events and conferences.

It’s a daunting task, made more daunting by today’s short news cycles and media saturation on certain topics. Where we are able to differentiate our coverage and events, I believe, is in giving business readers a level of access to information and key innovators (the people driving progress in various fields) that they can’t get elsewhere.

But with that access comes a need to understand the context and significance around developments in fields as diverse as artificial intelligence, finance, and new drug therapies. Our context comes from having dedicated reporters on both local and national beats who can take the latest news and tell you why it matters. Now, to help put this all in perspective, our editors have weighed in with our annual list of hot topics we are watching.

Without further ado, here are Xconomy’s top 15 areas of coverage for 2018. As with last year’s list, they represent a mix of tech and life science sectors, broader business issues, and themes that bridge multiple markets:

Blockchain

Cancer Breakthroughs

Cell and Gene Therapies & New Drug Classes

CRISPR and Gene Editing

Education and Workplace

Finance and Fintech

Healthtech: Digital Diagnostics & Therapeutics

Machine Intelligence and Interfaces

New Drug Economics

Opioids and Alternatives

Precision Agriculture

Quantum Computing

Retail and E-Commerce

Security, Privacy, and Policy

Transportation Tech

Some of the topics haven’t changed much from last year’s list—gene editing, cancer therapeutics, and drug pricing remain hot—but others are new or have evolved significantly. For example, quantum computing is a dedicated new area this year, while the discussion on cybersecurity has broadened to include privacy and policy issues around big tech companies and social media.

As before, we’ve identified a few storylines to watch in each area, along with big players and disruptors to follow. You can view the slideshow above to learn more about each area and why it matters. Drop us a line at editors@xconomy.com if you have feedback, and we look forward to following up.

Bitcoin image above courtesy of Thought Catalog.

Xconomy’s editors contributed to this report.