Inventions

The sKan device detects minute temperature changes associated with melanoma.

This Inexpensive Scanning Device Could Catch Skin Cancer Early

A team of biomedical engineers has won this year's Dyson Award for "the sKan," which detects the thermal changes associated with melanoma

An Eagle Brand Condensed Milk ad from 1891.

Like Condensed Milk? Try the ‘Meat Biscuit’

The meat biscuit was a practical idea but Gail Borden, also the inventor of condensed milk, never made it work

A demonstration of the technology, with the light fabric sewn into a onesie

These Light-Emitting Pajamas Could Help Treat Newborns With Jaundice

The method has an advantage over traditional phototherapy in that it allows babies to receive treatment in the comfort of their parents' arms

How a Ripped-Off Sequel of Don Quixote Predicted Piracy in the Digital Age

An anonymous writer's spinoff of Cervantes' masterpiece showed the peril and potential of new printing technology

Why Hedy Lamarr Was Hollywood’s Secret Weapon

The starlet patented an ingenious technology to help with the war effort, but it went unrecognized for decades

Could This Bionic Vision System Help Restore Sight?

The technology gives hope that blind patients, who lost sight from disease, might one day emerge from the dark

Marie Curie in one of her mobile X-ray units in October 1917

How Marie Curie Brought X-Ray Machines To the Battlefield

During World War I, the scientist invented a mobile x-ray unit, called a "Little Curie," and trained 150 women to operate it

H. J. Heinz started a condiment empire. His savvy marketing helped.

There Never Were 57 Varieties of Heinz Ketchup

The '57' doesn't actually refer to <I>anything</i>

The Messburghof in Hamburg, Germany

Inside the House of Zyklon B

An iconic Hamburg building, built by Jews and now a chocolate museum, once housed the distributors of one of Nazi Germany's most gruesome inventions

A mid-century Band-Aid tin.

Get Stuck on Band-Aid History

Small injuries are a commonplace problem, but before the Band-Aid, protecting papercuts and other such wounds was a huge hassle

A statue of Frank Pantridge outside the Lisburn Civic Centre in Northern Ireland. His defibrillator sits beside him.

The Irish Cardiologist Whose Invention Saved LBJ

Frank Pantridge miniaturized the defibrillator, making it portable

This portrait by an anonymous photographer shows the face of the man who popularized the flush toilet: Thomas Crapper.

Three True Things About Sanitary Engineer Thomas Crapper

Thomas Crapper's actual innovation was entirely tangential to the flush toilet

The inspiration for the bendy straw came while Joseph Friedman was watching his young daughter try to drink from a tall glass.

Why You Should Appreciate the Invention of the Bendy Straw

It's the straw that bends, not the person

The better we can track hydration in plants, the more we can avoid both over- and under-watering our crops.

This Snap-On Sensor Could Tell Farmers Exactly How Much To Water Their Crops

A team at Penn State University is developing a clip-on leaf sensor that measures water stress on individual plants

Petit Pli

These Origami Clothes Grow With Your Child

Designer Ryan Yasin is creating pleated garments that could save on money and waste

The stretchable keyboard cover is designed to make typing truly tactile.

This Keyboard Cover Lets Users Actually Feel the Letters They Type

Two college students found a way have a keyboard tap into our muscle memory of the alphabet

Don’t overlook immediate safety in a search for something better.

Some of the Best Parts of Autonomous Vehicles Are Already Here

Consumers with high hopes of driverless cars improving safety might be looking past the boring near-term advances that could make a real difference

The device is a pen-sized mass spectrometry device its developers are calling MasSpec Pen.

Scientists Invent a Pen That Can Detect Cancer in Seconds

This handheld mass spectrometer could make surgeries to remove cancerous tissue quicker and more accurate

Researchers have devised a new way to monitor sleep stages without sensors attached to the body.

This Device Uses Radio Waves To Track How You're Sleeping

Scientists think it could help them better understand progression of chronic diseases like Parkinson's

The smart bin prototype

A Smart Recycling Bin Could Sort Your Waste for You

It's sometimes difficult to know where to put different types of plastic, but computer vision could remove any confusion

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