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Innovation

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These Machines Will Be Able to Detect Smells Your Own Nose Cannot

We’re getting closer to the day when your smartphone knows you have a cold before you do

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How Big Data Has Changed Dating

What it means to be single and looking for love in the time of algorithms

The greening of Lower Manhattan

Learning From Nature How to Deal With Nature

As cities like New York prepare for what appears to be a future of more extreme weather, the focus increasingly is on following nature’s lead

The HapiFork wants to make you less piggish.

Can a Buzzing Fork Make You Lose Weight?

HapiFork, a utensil that slows down your eating, is one of a new wave of gadgets designed to help you take control of your health

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How to Win Inauguration Weekend: There’s an App for That

One man won the election, but with free tours and insider information, you can still win the weekend. Plus hours, eating spots and where to rest your feet

Superachiever Martina Navratilova competes at the 1989 French Open.

Why Are Superachievers So Successful?

Two authors spoke to dozens of the highest-achieving people in the world. Here’s what they learned

Samsung TVs get smarter.

How Smart Should TVs Be?

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When Machines See

Giving computers vision, through pattern recognition algorithms, could one day make them better than doctors at spotting tumors and other health problems.

Jaron Lanier was one of the creators of our current digital reality and now he wants to subvert the web before it engulfs us all.

What Turned Jaron Lanier Against the Web?

The digital pioneer and visionary behind virtual reality has turned against the very culture he helped create

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Educating Americans for the 21st Century

This School Is Getting Girls Into Physics

The gap between boys and girls in math and engineering starts early and continues through college. But a school in the UK is trying to buck that trend

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Six Innovators to Watch in 2013

All are inventive minds pushing technology in fresh directions, some to solve stubborn problems, others to make our lives a little fuller

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What Traditional Societies Can Teach You About Life

A new book from best-selling author Jared Diamond tells us how we can learn a lot from people who live like most of us did 11,000 years ago

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The Best Inventions of 2012 You Haven’t Heard of Yet (Part 2)

Here’s the second half of a list of innovations that, while not as splashy as Google Glass, may actually become a bigger part of our daily lives.

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The Best Inventions of 2012 You Haven’t Heard of Yet (Part 1)

They haven’t received much attention yet, but here are some of the more innovative—and useful—ideas that have popped up this year.

Meet Spaun, a computer model that mimics brain behavior.

A More Human Artificial Brain

Canadian researchers have created a computer model that performs tasks like a human brain. It also sometimes forgets things

Part rocking chair, part charging station

10 Gifts to Celebrate Innovation

From glasses that fight jet lag to a plant that waters itself to a rocking chair that fires up the iPad, here are presents no one will forget

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Your Cell Phone Could Soon Become Part of a Massive Earthquake Detection System

In the future, your cell phone’s accelerometer could help detect earthquakes

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Take Two Pills and Charge Me in the Morning

Health and medical mobile apps are booming. But what happens when they shift from tracking data to diagnosing diseases?

IQ scores have significantly risen from one generation to the next.

Are You Smarter Than Your Grandfather? Probably Not.

Senility isn’t the answer; IQ scores are increasing with each generation. In a new book, political scientist James Flynn explains why

Sebastian Thrun is turning his expertise in artificial intelligence to humans.

How Artificial Intelligence Can Change Higher Education

Sebastian Thrun, winner of the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for education takes is redefining the modern classroom

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