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A young Maasai stands in front of a wind turbine on the Ngong Hills in Kenya.

Energy Innovation

Can Kenya Light the Way Toward a Clean-Energy Economy?

The absence of a robust fossil fuel infrastructure makes the African nation ripe for energy innovation

The Nest Learning Thermostat takes an active role in saving energy around the house.

Energy Innovation

A Smart, Sleek, Money-Saving Thermostat

The father of the iPod talks about his next-generation thermostat

QBotix robots adjust solar panels for maximum sun exposure—making solar power cheaper and more efficient.

Energy Innovation

WALL-E Goes to Work for Cheaper Solar Power

A startup in California has engineered robots to squeeze more juice from solar panels, bringing new efficiencies to a costly process

Energy Innovation

Introducing a Special Report on Energy Innovation

Take a look at what is being done to wean the world off of fossil fuels

Google's energy chief Rick Needham (left) has some lofty goals for the future of energy, including self-driving cars like the Google Car, shown here on a driver-less test drive (right).

Energy Innovation

Google’s Rick Needham is Feeling Lucky About the Future of Sustainable Energy

Google’s Rick Needham is Feeling Lucky About the Future of Sustainable Energy

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What Your Favorite Book Looks Like in Colors

An artist reveals how each book has its own unique color spectrum

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The Art That is Hidden in Plain Sight

A Milan-based artistic duo uses color to reveal a series of dreamlike panoramas concealed in white light

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What Is Al Pacino’s Next Big Move?

For six years, the actor who made his mark as Michael Corleone has been obsessing over a new movie about that ancient seductress Salome

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Why David Hockney Has a Love-Hate Relationship With Technology

A new retrospective highlights the artist’s two, seemingly opposite passions

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A New Poem: “Argument from Design”

American poet David Yezzi’s latest composition

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Coming Soon: The Sifang Art Museum

A first look at the 15,000-square-foot space being built outside of Nanjing, China

The Romans may have first come across the colorful potential of nanoparticles by accident, but they seem to have perfected it.

This 1,600-Year-Old Goblet Shows that the Romans Were Nanotechnology Pioneers

Researchers have finally found out why the jade-green cup appears red when lit from behind

Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes / He star'd at the Pacific—and all his men / Look'd at each other with a wild surmise— / Silent, upon a peak in Darién. —John Keats

Following in the Footsteps of Balboa

The first European to glimpse the Pacific from the Americas crossed Panama on foot 500 years ago. Our intrepid author retraces his journey

When the first hijacked plane crashed into the World Trade Center, the New York Fire Department immediately responded. Officers set up a command center in the lobby of the north tower and bravely rushed up the stairs to rescue the trapped occupants and put out the raging fires. When the towers collapsed, numerous trucks were crushed, and 343 members of the New York Fire Department were killed. This door is from a FDNY rescue pumper truck destroyed in the World Trade Center collapse. The truck belonged to Squad One of Brooklyn, part of FDNY’s Special Operations Command, an elite group of firefighters who respond to unique fire and emergency situations. Squad One lost 12 members on September 11. Caption from the National Museum of American History's Bearing Witness to History.

Remembering 9/11: Brooklyn Squad 1 Fire Truck Door

This door is from a FDNY rescue pumper truck destroyed in the World Trade Center collapse. Squad 1 lost 12 members on September 11

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The Insane and Exciting Future of the Bionic Body

From “i-limbs” to artificial organs, advances in technology have led to an explosion of innovation in the increasingly critical field of prosthetics

What explains the vivid colors of the strawberry poison-dart frog?

How Do Tropical Frogs Get Their Stunning Colors?

The vibrant hues that dot the rainforest landscape help them avoid predators and win mates

Unlike the chest-beating primates of popular imagination, Brazil’s northern muriquis are easygoing and highly cooperative.

Humans Would Be Better Off If They Monkeyed Around Like the Muriquis

Biologist Karen Strier has been studying these peace-loving Brazilian primates and their egalitarian lifestyle for decades

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What Urban Planners Can Learn From a Hindu Religious Festival

Every 12 years, one Indian city balloons from a few million residents to tens of millions. How does this happen with such ease?

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Why the Smithsonian Just Can’t Quit Studying the Civil War

150 years later, the war is still in focus

Planet of the apps: The Cooper-Hewitt will release the code behind Planetary, enabling everyone to adapt the software.

How Does a Museum Acquire an iPad App for its Collections?

The Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum is making its first foray into design that you can’t actually see

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