Innovation
New ideas and scientific and technological advancements
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
Sick of Fluorescents? New Technology Provides Flicker-Free Light
A new advance in lighting could soon bring a silent, consistent glow that's easy on the eyes to an office near you
December 04, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Why Mass Incarceration Defines Us As a Society
Bryan Stevenson, the winner of the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award in social justice, has taken his fight all the way to the Supreme Court
December 2012 |
By Chris Hedges
Jack Andraka, the Teen Prodigy of Pancreatic Cancer
A high school sophomore won the youth achievement Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for inventing a new method to detect a lethal cancer
December 2012 |
By Abigail Tucker
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
Astronomers Discover the Most Explosive Black Hole Yet
The newly discovered quasar spews an amount of energy equivalent to more than two million suns
November 28, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
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
How Weather Models and Google Could Help Forecast Flu Season
Principles from the weather models that predicted Sandy a week ahead of time might be used to warn about the flu before it arrives
November 27, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
New Device Digitally Projects Braille Directly onto Blind Patient’s Retina
The system uses surgically implanted electrodes so that a blind person can "see" the letters
November 22, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
The History of Pardoning Turkeys Began With Tad Lincoln
The rambunctious boy had free rein of the White House, and used it to divert a holiday bird from the butcher's block
November 21, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
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
Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 08 – Rosey’s Boyfriend
The personal humanoid robotic assistant easily makes the short list of retro-futuristic dreams still unfulfilled
November 13, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
In the Future, You Will 3D Print Yourself as an Action Figure
In Tokyo, a reservation-only photo booth spits out three-dimensional replicas of its subjects
November 13, 2012 |
By Sarah C. Rich
In Study, iPads and Readers Help Those With Vision Loss Read Faster
Researchers say that the larger fonts and backlights available on tablets help improve reading speeds
November 12, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
The Sharing of the Screens
Get ready for the day when your big screen and your small screens work together to connect you with shows and products.
November 09, 2012 |
By Randy Rieland
5 Essential James Bond Accessories
The stylish spy wore a Rolex and sunglasses that you can't buy on Black Friday on any other day
November 09, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Newly Discovered Earth-like Planet Could be Habitable
44 light years away, scientists have detected a planet that might be the right temperature to hold liquid water, a precondition for life
November 08, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
We Can Bank Online. Why Can’t We Vote Online?
Voting experts David Becker and Thad Hall discuss the technologies that could forever change the way we register and cast our votes
November 06, 2012 |
By Megan Gambino
Are Your Political Beliefs Hardwired?
Brain scans suggest Democrats and Republicans actually are different biologically. Welcome to the world of political neuroscience.
November 05, 2012 |
By Randy Rieland

