Technology Innovation
Educating Americans for the 21st Century
Our Special Report highlights the bright spots where dynamic ideas, fascinating people and hard work are transforming education for American kids
April 17, 2013 |
By Smithsonian.com
How One Family Helped Change the Way We Eat Ham
The Harris family struck gold when they introduced the ice house to England in 1856, but what were the costs of their innovation?
April 15, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
How to Count to 100,000 STEM Teachers in 10 Years
Talia Milgrom-Elcott is building a coalition of the willing, an army devoted to bringing thousands of educators to the classroom
April 15, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
Where Are the Greenest Schools in the Country?
The definition of being eco-conscious is so much more than having solar panels on a roof
April 12, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
Unleashing the Power of One Computer for Every Student
Education reformer and Amplify CEO Joel Klein explains how tablets in schools will revolutionize the classroom experience
April 12, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
Revealed: The Part of Our Brains That Makes Us Like New Music
Imaging technology shows that a reward center known as the nucleus accumbens lights up when we hear melodies we love
April 11, 2013 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Document Deep Dive: The Classroom of the Future, Today
A new portable schoolroom boasts environmentally features that will save money and create a space more conducive to learning
April 11, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
Researchers Turn Brains Transparent By Sucking Out the Fat
By turning brains clear and applying colored dyes, connections between neuron networks can now be examined in 3D at unprecedented levels of detail
April 10, 2013 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Bean Leaves Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite by Using Tiny, Impaling Spikes
Researchers hope to design a new bedbug eradication method based upon a folk remedy of trapping the bloodsuckers as they creep
April 09, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Do Wind Turbines Need a Rethink?
They're still a threat to bats and birds and now they even have their own "syndrome". So, are there better ways to capture the wind?
April 05, 2013 |
By Randy Rieland
Video: Researchers Produce Human Tissue-Like Material Using 3D Printing
Using droplets coated in oil as "ink," a 3D printer can construct a network of synthetic cells that mimics brain and fat tissue
April 04, 2013 |
By Marina Koren
Scientists Figure Out What You See While You’re Dreaming
A learning algorithm, coupled with brain scans, was able to predict the images seen by dreamers with a 60 percent accuracy
April 04, 2013 |
By Joseph Stromberg
10 New Things We Know About Food and Diets
Scientists keep learning new things about food all the time, from the diet power of olive oil's aroma to how chewing gum can keep you away from healthy foods.
April 02, 2013 |
By Randy Rieland
Free Online Courses Mean College Will Never Be the Same
They're the biggest innovation in higher education in years, but are they a threat to small universities and community colleges?
March 29, 2013 |
By Randy Rieland
Sugar Cube-Sized Robotic Ants Mimic Real Foraging Behavior
Researchers use tiny robots to study how ants navigate a labyrinth of networks, from the nest to the food and back again
March 28, 2013 |
By Marina Koren
How Digital Devices Change the Rules of Etiquette
Should sending "Thank you" emails and leaving voice mails now be considered bad manners? Some think texting has made it so.
March 25, 2013 |
By Randy Rieland
Video: This Lizard-Inspired Robot Can Scamper Across Sand
It's a product of the emerging field of terradynamics, which studies the movement of vehicles across shifting surfaces
March 21, 2013 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Video: This Mini 3D Display Could Show up on Next Generation Smartphones
The new technology can be packed into a tiny space, requires no glasses and can project images and video in full color
March 20, 2013 |
By Joseph Stromberg
A Partial History of Headphones
Modern headphones have their origin in opera houses, military bases and a kitchen table in Utah
March 19, 2013 |
By Jimmy Stamp
The Bay Bridge Gets Its Glow On
When an algorithm-driven light show took over the Bay Bridge last week, it was the latest example of how much technology is transforming how cities look.
March 14, 2013 |
By Randy Rieland
