Robot Babies
Can scientists build a machine that learns as it goes and plays well with others? A new robot design draws on ways human babies learn about the world
By Abigail Tucker
Catching a Wave, Powering an Electrical Grid?
Electrical engineer Annette von Jouanne is pioneering an ingenious way to generate clean, renewable electricity from the sea
By Elizabeth Rusch
High Hopes for a New Kind of Gene
Scientists believe that microRNA may lead to breakthroughs in diagnosing and treating cancer
By Sylvia Pagán Westphal
More From Smithsonian
Gene Therapy in a New Light
A husband-and-wife team's experimental genetic treatment for blindness is renewing hopes for a controversial field of medicine
By Jocelyn Kaiser
Brain Cells for Socializing
Does an obscure nerve cell help explain what gorillas, elephants, whales—and people—have in common?
By Ingfei Chen
Homing In On Black Holes
To gain insight into the most mysterious objects in the universe, astronomers shine a light at the chaotic core of our Milky Way
By Robert Irion
Termite Bellies and Biofuels
Research into termite digestion may hold solutions to our energy crisis
By Julia Olmstead




