Innovation / Health & Medicine

The Innovative Spirit fy17

How to Clean Water With Old Coffee Grounds

Italian researchers have figured out how to turn spent coffee grounds into a foam that can remove heavy metals from water

October 11, 2016

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Can This App Cure Your Fear of Flying?

No, you’re not plummeting from the sky. But the SkyGuru app can help explain why it might feel that way, using real-time flight data

September 15, 2016

New Research

Food Tasting Too Healthy? Just Add Scent

How scientists use smell to trick tastebuds—and brains

August 23, 2016

This Helmet Shows What’s Going On Inside a Person’s Brain

Researchers say it could help detect Alzheimer’s and even explain why some people have exceptional talents

August 22, 2016

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Tiny “Neural Dust” Sensors Could One Day Control Prostheses or Treat Disease

These devices could last inside the human body indefinitely, monitoring and controlling nerve and muscle impulses

August 19, 2016

This Rio Restaurant Is Using Surplus Food From the Olympic Village to Feed the Homeless

At Refettorio Gastromotiva, top chefs from around the world are cooking five-star cuisine for the poor

August 18, 2016

Age of Humans

These Microbe-Coated Seeds Could Help Us Thrive in a Dark, Dry Future

A Massachusetts-based startup is prepping for your basic apocalyptic scenario

August 12, 2016

Google Thinks These 20 Teenagers Could Change Our World for the Better

These kids from around the globe have created innovative new technologies, from malaria-testing apps to water-saving agriculture systems

August 11, 2016

Could This Painless Brain Stimulation Help Treat Depression and Alzheimer’s?

UNC researchers have shown that transcranial alternating current stimulation can help improve memory

August 10, 2016

3D Print Your Own Breakfast

A team of researchers at Columbia University has developed a 3D food printer capable of printing and cooking multiple ingredients at one time

August 9, 2016

Fighting Fake Pharmaceuticals with Tiny, Edible Bar Codes

Researchers have created bar codes so small they can be embedded in medications, creating a tool to combat the global problem of drug fraud

July 29, 2016

How to Regulate the Incredible Promise and Profound Power of Gene Drive Technology

An evolutionary ecologist argues that cutting-edge genetic research that could lead to species extinction should be handled with care

July 28, 2016

All the Extremely Absurd Ways People Are Fighting Zika at the Rio Olympics

Donning facial masks, wearing Zika-proof uniforms and freezing sperm: Does any of this stuff actually work?

July 26, 2016

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Are We Close to Having a Blood Test That Detects Cancer?

New research into “liquid biopsies” is promising, but there’s still not proof they can find cancer in a healthy person

July 22, 2016

Instead of Painkillers, Some Doctors Are Prescribing Virtual Reality

Virtual reality therapy may be medicine’s newest frontier, as VR devices become better and cheaper

July 21, 2016

Why People Abandon High-Tech Prosthetics

That Luke Skywalker prosthetic arm may strike the average user as less than sensational

June 29, 2016

Childhood Leukemia Was Practically Untreatable Until Dr. Don Pinkel and St. Jude Hospital Found a Cure

A half century ago, a young doctor took on a deadly form of cancer—and the scientific establishment

July 2016

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Could This New Armband Prevent Thousands of Workplace Injuries and Fatalities Each Year?

Proxxi CEO Campbell Macdonald describes his cloud-connected wearable that detects high-voltage areas

June 10, 2016

Using Virtual Reality To Walk in the Shoes of Someone With Alzheimer’s

A British nonprofit has launched an app that simulates life with the neurodegenerative disease

June 8, 2016

Scientists May Be Able To Pack All Your Medications Into One “Personalized” Pill

And nine other things you never thought could be made on a 3D printer

June 7, 2016