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The Komodo Dragon is an All-Purpose Killing Machine

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Can Machines Learn Morality?

The debate over drones stirs up questions about whether robots can learn ethical behavior. Will they be able to make moral decisions?
February 08, 2013 | By Randy Rieland

Page 1 of 10

Primal Screens: How Pro Football Is Amping Up Its Game

Pro football is turning to screens--some massive, others on smart phones--to try to keep its fans entertained.
February 01, 2013 | By Randy Rieland

These Machines Will Be Able to Detect Smells Your Own Nose Cannot

We're getting closer to the day when your smartphone knows you have a cold before you do
January 30, 2013 | By Randy Rieland

Learning From Nature How to Deal With Nature

As cities like New York prepare for what appears to be a future of more extreme weather, the focus increasingly is on following nature's lead.
January 23, 2013 | By Randy Rieland

Can a Buzzing Fork Make You Lose Weight?

HapiFork, a utensil that slows down your eating, is one of a new wave of gadgets designed to help you take control of your health.
January 17, 2013 | By Randy Rieland

How Smart Should TVs Be?

Every January, at the Consumer Electronics Show, companies make a point of showing us how much smarter TVs have become, with the hope that they'll once again become our favorite screen.
January 11, 2013 | By Randy Rieland

When Machines See

Giving computers vision, through pattern recognition algorithms, could one day make them better than doctors at spotting tumors and other health problems.
January 07, 2013 | By Randy Rieland

Six Innovators to Watch in 2013

All are inventive minds pushing technology in fresh directions, some to solve stubborn problems, others to make our lives a little fuller
December 27, 2012 | By Randy Rieland

The Best Inventions of 2012 You Haven’t Heard of Yet (Part 2)

Here's the second half of a list of innovations that, while not as splashy as Google Glass, may actually become a bigger part of our daily lives.
December 21, 2012 | By Randy Rieland

The Best Inventions of 2012 You Haven’t Heard of Yet (Part 1)

They haven't received much attention yet, but here are some of the more innovative--and useful--ideas that have popped up this year.
December 18, 2012 | By Randy Rieland

PHOTOS: Getting Ready for the World’s Largest Radio Telescope

In Chile’s Atacama Desert, astronomers are preparing for a new array that will stretch across 10 miles
January 2013 | By Leah Binkovitz

A More Human Artificial Brain

Canadian researchers have created a computer model that performs tasks like a human brain. It also sometimes forgets things.
December 14, 2012 | By Randy Rieland

Your Cell Phone Could Soon Become Part of a Massive Earthquake Detection System

In the future, your cell phone's accelerometer could help detect earthquakes
December 05, 2012 | By Colin Schultz

10 Gifts to Celebrate Innovation

From glasses that fight jet lag to a plant that waters itself to a rocking chair that fires up the iPad, here are presents no one will forget.
December 07, 2012 | By Randy Rieland

Take Two Pills and Charge Me in the Morning

Health and medical mobile apps are booming. But what happens when they shift from tracking data to diagnosing diseases?
December 04, 2012 | By Randy Rieland

8 Ways People Are Taking Twitter Seriously

Born in desperation and long mocked, the social media platform has become a popular research and intelligence-gathering tool.
November 30, 2012 | By Randy Rieland

The 2012 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Awards Liveblog

Follow along as we award the best innovators of the year
November 28, 2012 | By Brian Wolly

Shopping Gets Personal

Retailers are mining personal data to learn everything about you so they can help you help yourself to their products.
November 27, 2012 | By Randy Rieland

Jim Anderson

The Ozone Problem is Back – And Worse Than Ever

James Anderson, the winner of a Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award, has discovered the alarming link between climate change and ozone loss
December 2012 | By Sharon Begley

Open-Fire Stoves Kill Millions. How Do We Fix it?

Pollutants from crude stoves are responsible for many deaths – a D.C.-based NGO has a solution
December 2012 | By Ingfei Chen

Dr. NakaMats

Dr. NakaMats, the Man With 3300 Patents to His Name

Meet the most famous inventor you’ve never heard of – whose greatest invention may be himself
December 2012 | By Franz Lidz

10 Ways Travel Is Getting Better

Sure, it can get aggravating, but here are some innovations that are making it easier and more enjoyable to take a trip
November 20, 2012 | By Randy Rieland

Elon Musk, the Rocket Man With a Sweet Ride

The winner of the Smithsonian Ingenuity Award for technology hopes to launch a revolution with his spaceship and electric car
December 2012 | By Carl Hoffman

In Space, Flames Behave in Ways Nobody Thought Possible

Combustion experiments conducted in zero gravity yield surprising results
December 2012 | By Ker Than

Why Give an Award on Ingenuity?

Our editor-in-chief introduces the inaugural Smithsonian American Ingenuity Awards
December 2012 | By Michael Caruso

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next »

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