The way cancer cells process zinc might help scientists identify a new biomarker.

Using Zinc to Detect Breast Cancer Early

Researchers at Oxford have taken the first step towards finding a new biomarker for breast cancer

Just add water. The Zephyr has an electrolyzer on board that uses nine liters of water to produce hydrogen to inflate.

A Photovoltaic Balloon Could Bring Electricity to Disaster Zones

Moored to a base with batteries, the Zephyr collects enough solar energy to power 15 relief tents and a telecommunications network

A still from Ben Sturgulewski's travel drone video "Solstice."

The Most Beautiful Drone Travel Videos of 2014

2014 was the year of the aerial drone travel video—here are some of the best of the best

An aerial view of the lower portion of the Colorado River shows the leading edge of the water pulse flow on May 12, before it connected with the sea.

Anthropocene

The Colorado River Delta Turned Green After a Historic Water Pulse

The experimental flow briefly restored the ancient waterway and may have created new habitat for birds

How to Create a Virtual Organism

Through OpenWorm, scientists are hoping to allow anyone with a computer to unlock the secrets of animal behavior

Singer and plastic-clothing designer Pharrell Williams at the "Raw For The Oceans" event at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

The Top 12 Ocean Stories That Made Waves in 2014

The seas served up some compelling headlines this year, from celebrity fashion to solving the mystery of the melting starfish

7th Place: Butter daisy (Melampodium divaricatum) flower at 2x magnification. Fluorescence. Oleksandr Holovachov, Ekuddsvagen, Sweden.

Some of the Most Beautiful Things in Nature Come in the Tiniest of Packages

The winners of the 2014 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition capture a rat brain, the mouthparts of a vampire moth and other small wonders

For years now, the U.S. Navy has been looking for a way to fuel fighter jets aboard aircraft carriers out in the open ocean without having to rely on refueling ships.

Fuel from Seawater? What’s the Catch?

Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory recently flew a model plane using a liquid hydrocarbon fuel they sourced from the ocean

One of three instruments Coltrane would use as he blazed through the next two years, reinventing himself—and jazz music— at a pace many found exhausting.

Fifty Years Ago This Month, John Coltrane Recorded One of the Greatest Jazz Tracks of All Time

This Selmer Mark VI tenor saxophone was one of three instruments that John Coltrane played to reinvent himself—and Jazz music

Stretched over a prosthetic hand, this artificial skin acts more like the real thing than anything before it.

Artificial Skin Could Help Prosthesis Wearers Feel, For Real

A new polymer with a lattice of embedded sensors is sensitive to heat, humidity and pressure

Call it eco-friendly synergy: Scientists have found a cheaper, greener way to make biodegradable plastic from a common waste product of biodiesel production. (Photo: Bo Cheng / ETH Zurich)

Swiss Researchers Create Eco-Friendly Plastic From Biofuel Waste

A new method for making biodegradable plastic could mean more free farmland for food

"Joe" and "Josephine" inThe Measure of Man posters, authored by Henry Dreyfuss, designed by Alvin R. Tilley, 1969

The Smithsonian Design Museum Tells the Story of User-Centered Design Through 120 Beautiful Products

A thermostat, a wheelchair, a prosthetic arm and razors are all a part of “Beautiful Users,” now on display in New York City

Handaxe #5 and Blade #9, BC-AD Contemporary Flint Tool Design series, designed by Dov Ganchrow and Ami Drach, 2011

Nearly Two Million Years of Innovation, As Told Through Tools

Cooper Hewitt, the Smithsonian Design Museum, will exhibit 175 objects that range from Paleolithic tools to space-age satellites

The Melitta haemorrhoidalis bee, collected from Wotton-under-Edge, England, requires patches of bellflowers to make its nests.

Bees and Wasps in Britain Have Been Disappearing For More Than a Century

Changes in agricultural practices since the 19th century may be a major culprit in the pollinators’ decline

G. Wayne Clough

Anthropocene

Why Engineering Will Be Vital in a Changing Climate

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough offers personal insights on the realities of climate change and the best ways for society to adapt

Lab-grown beef—it could be dinner.

Five Animal Products Scientists Can Now Grow In a Lab

In early experiments, scientists are growing meat in vitro and bioengineering yeast for dairy

The first crop for Local Roots Farms to grow is lettuce.

Future of Energy

Turning Shipping Containers Into Urban Farms

In a clever recycling experiment, the startup Local Roots Farms is growing organic, hydroponic produce in America’s food deserts

Kids in a small Nigerian village line up to learn at the Hello Hub.

How Do Kids Learn Where There Are No Teachers? It May Take a Village…Computer

A non-profit called Projects for All has a plan for educating children without schools: Turn them loose on outdoor computer kiosks in their community

The mind behind Simon was the innovator Ralph H. Baer.

The Not-So-Simple Simon Proved the Young Were Swifter Than the Old

In 1978, the new blinking, bleeping toy ushered in the era of computer games

German-American game developer Ralph Baer, in 2009, showing the prototype of the first games console.

Remembering the “Father of Video Games,” Innovator Ralph Baer

The lab, where the inventor of the video game and the electronic game Simon, goes on view at the American History Museum next summer

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