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Innovation

For the first time, Florian Engert and his team mapped every firing neuron in a living animal.

How a Transparent Fish May Help Decode the Brain

An outspoken Harvard neuroscientist is tackling the wondrous challenge of understanding the workings of the brain

Robot jockeys ride camels in Abu Dhabi.

The Latest Sign That the Robot Uprising Is Nigh? Camel Racing

A centuries-old pastime in the United Arab Emirates gets a reboot

The Daily Tribune often traded content with other papers in purple (lines represent shared text).

There Were Listicles That Went Viral Long Before There Was an Internet

Digital scholars are zeroing in on stories that were trending way back in the 19th century

Hiram Bingham called Machu Picchu “the most important ruin discovered in South America since the Spanish conquest.”

What It’s Like to Travel the Inca Road Today

A rocky rollicking journey to Machu Picchu along one of the greatest engineering feats in the Americas

The Hyperloop Will Be Only the Latest Innovation That’s Pretty Much a Series of Tubes

The idea of using pneumatics to send objects has been around for ages. But people?

Tiny Robots Can Clear Clogged Arteries

Engineers at Drexel University are developing micro-swimmers that loosen arterial plaque and release drugs into the bloodstream to prevent future buildup

Introduced in 1946, frozen orange juice concentrate was quickly adopted by consumers who welcomed its time-saving convenience.

What Makes the Orange Juice Can Worthy of Display in a Museum

A new exhibition explains why the everyday objects of today and the recent past are so important to understanding who we are

The shelter bus can be used as a market during the day.

In Hawaii, Old Buses Are Being Turned Into Homeless Shelters

A group of architects envisions a rolling solution to the state’s homelessness problem

This illustration shows how the STIMband fits on a patient's head.

Could This Head Gear Help Treat Parkinson’s Disease?

Students at Johns Hopkins University have created an at-home brain-stimulating device to ease Parkinson’s symptoms

This online article is brought to you by fiber optic cables.

New Research

“Combing” Through Light May Give Us Faster, More Powerful Internet

A lab experiment used a device called a frequency comb to send fiber optic data a record-breaking distance with no signal loss

Joyable helps individuals address different situations that trigger social anxiety.

Smart Startup

There is Now a 12-Week Online Program for Overcoming Social Anxiety

Two Stanford graduates are the brains behind Joyable, a startup that pairs users with coaches to tackle social challenges

Cyclists won't have to look away from the road with head-up display.

Five Tech Ideas That Could Improve City Bike Commuting

A group of London designers imagines Google Glass-like visors and buses that project outlines of their blind spots on the road

Older community barbershops in Detroit serve as community gathering places.

Barbers Are Giving Buzz Cuts to Detroit’s Overgrown Lots

A new project funded by a Knight Cities grant has local barbers and landscape contractors working to revitalize vacant spaces

Q'eswachaka suspension bridge. Q'eswachaka, Apurímac River, Canas Province, Cusco, Peru.

Urban Explorations

A Dozen Indigenous Craftsman From Peru Will Weave Grass into a 60-Foot Suspension Bridge in Washington, D.C.

The ancient technology used lightweight materials to create soaring 150-foot spans that could hold the weight of a marching army

Week of Making

Maker’s Week at the Zoo is Business as Usual

When the right product doesn’t exist for a fish ultrasound or other procedure, scientists build it themselves

Tiny ovenbirds wore an even tinier backpack equipped with a GPS tracker that monitored their migratory paths over the course of a year—offering new data on their routes.

The Hottest New Accessory for Songbirds: Tiny GPS-Enabled Backpacks

Peter Marra and Michael Hallworth of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center test a groundbreaking device that tracks birds’ migrations

Beth Ripley holds a 3D printed heart in her hands at the National Maker Faire last weekend in Washington, D.C.

The Innovative Spirit

Doctors Can Study 3D Printed Models of Your Organs Before Surgery

In a new era of personalized medicine, advanced models are better preparing surgeons for what they will encounter in the operating room

Renderings

2 World Trade Center and the Promise of Green Skyscrapers

New renderings of the tower show impressive sky gardens—a trendy feature that’s difficult to pull off

The remote broadcast set used in 1950s at the local 50,000- Watt Annapolis radio station is on view in the exhibition "American Enterprise," at the Smithsonian's American History Museum.

How Radio DJ Hoppy Adams Powered his 50,000-Watt Annapolis Station into a Mighty Influence

In post-war America, as advertisers discovered African American audiences, one local disc jockey drew top recording stars and a huge following

Joe

These Stirring Portraits Put a Face on Homelessness

Rex Hohlbein’s method of using social media to get tents, clothing, car repair and other needs to Seattle’s homeless is catching on in other cities

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