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Innovation / Health & Medicine

Violence can spread like an epidemic among impressionable teenagers, according to new research.

New Research

Violence Among Teens Can Spread Like a Disease, Study Finds

Surveys of thousands of American teens add evidence to the theory that violence spreads in communities like a contagion

How do you know when urine too deep?

New Research

Once a Year, Scientific Journals Try to Be Funny. Not Everyone Gets the Joke

Holiday editions add a much-needed dose of humor to boring journal-ese. But is entertaining readers worth the risk of misleading them?

A bonfire of elephant ivory burns in Kenya's Nairobi National Park in July 1989.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Wondering What a Bonfire Does to Your Lungs? We Answer Your Burning Questions

Setting large piles of stuff aflame can have significant environmental and human health impacts

The better to infect you with, my dear...

New Research

For Viruses, the Best Way to Infect Baby Is Through Mama

Some viruses might take it easier on women—to get to their children

Don't worry, we've got you covered.

Ask Smithsonian

Trying Not to Get Sick? Science Says You’re Probably Doing It Wrong

Cold and flu viruses transfer in very different ways than we think

Students of design at the Berlin Weissensee School of Art have prototyped a new device that tracks gestures in an amputated limb and translates them to computer commands.

This Digital Prosthesis Could Help Amputees Control Computers

Designers are developing a new device that tracks gestures in an amputated limb and translates them to computer commands, like scroll and click

The Innovative Spirit fy17

This Device Could Revolutionize How Malaria Is Detected Around the World

The Magneto-Optical Detector (MOD) combines magnets and laser light to determine, in less than a minute, if a drop of blood contains malaria parasites

There have been 38 facial transplants worldwide to date. Not all have survived.

Saving Face: How One Pioneering Surgeon Is Pushing the Limits of Facial Transplants

His reconstructed faces have tongues that taste and eyelids that blink. But will they withstand the test of time?

Tamara Schwent and Kevin Curtis, PhD from Sirenas bringing in samples from the deep sea. This was a joint expedition with Chapman Expeditions and the Carmabi Research Station.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Will the Next Big Cancer Drug Come From the Ocean?

A California startup “bioprospects” for sponges, algae and other organisms whose chemistry may be useful to the world of medicine

The Robodoc married robots and computers to revolutionize the complicated task of joint replacement surgery.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Why This Robotic Medical Device Belongs in a Museum

William Bargar and Howard “Hap” Paul revolutionized joint replacement surgery by developing a robot to do the job

The genetically modified Oncomouse has played a big role in the study and treatment of cancer.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

The First Patented Animal Is Still Leading the Way on Cancer Research

Oncomouse was a genetically engineered animal designed to help scientists learn more about tumors

Conforming to masculine norms can leave men isolated and unable to cope with the stresses of life.

New Research

Sexism Sucks for Everybody, Science Confirms

Adhering to masculine norms can be toxic for men, not to mention everybody else

Acelity scientists evaluate a new prototype at the company's Regenerative Medicine Laboratory in Bridgewater, New Jersey.

How Artificial Muscles Could Transform the Lives of Some Military Veterans

From pig muscle, scientists are developing an organic material that may help heal volumetric muscle loss

An Evaptainer is a lightweight storage unit that uses evaporative cooling to cut down on food spoilage.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Could This Cooler Help Combat Global Hunger?

The Evaptainer keeps perishable food fresh for up to two weeks–no electricity required

Take heart: researchers are probing how the hard-hearted get that way, and whether they can be turned back.

New Research

How the Heart Hardens, Biologically

With age and injury, the soft tissues of the heart can turn to bone. Can this deadly process be reversed?

Marc Edwards and LeeAnne Walters

Without These Whistleblowers, We May Never Have Known the Full Extent of the Flint Water Crisis

A concerned mother and a renowned scientist spearheaded the investigation that exposed the dangers lurking in the water supply of the Michigan city

Anthony Antala

American Ingenuity Awards

Need a New Organ? Surgeon Anthony Atala Sees a Future Where You Can Simply Print It Out

When you can order a new body part online, you’ll have this doctor to thank

The EcoHelmet is a foldable, recyclable helmet constructed of paper with a water-resistant coating.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

This Folded Paper Fans Out Into a Full-Size Bike Helmet

The EcoHelmet, this year’s James Dyson Award winner, could be used by bike shares across the world

Grégoire Courtine, an author on the new study, holds a silicon model of a primate’s brain, a microelectrode array and a pulse generator. The brain-spine interface consists of elements like these.

New Research

A New Wireless Brain Implant Helps Paralyzed Monkeys Walk. Humans Could Be Next.

One small step for monkeys, one potential leap for humans

University of California, Irvine chemist Shane Ardo is working to develop special plastic membranes and dyes that would enable a container to desalinate seawater.

Future of Energy

A Mission To Invent a Bottle That Takes the Salt Out of Saltwater

Scientists are exploring the potential of creating plastic containers that, with a little sun power, could desalinate seawater

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