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Innovation

Developed by Komal Dadlani, Lab4U apps take advantage of a smartphone's built-in sensors.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

This App Puts a Science Lab in Your Pocket

Lab4U turns smartphones and tablets into scientific tools

A permanent exhibition at Micropia in Amsterdam, the world’s only museum dedicated to microbes, called “A Fungal Future” showcases an array of everyday objects made from fungi.

Art Meets Science

Is Fungus the Material of the Future?

Scientists in the Netherlands have found a way to make slippers and other household objects using fungi

This historic map shows London in the 18th century.

Stanford Researchers Map the Feelings Associated With Different Parts of London

The university’s Literary Lab combed British novels from the 18th and 19th centuries to determine if areas elicited happiness or fear

The Carnes arm had a complicated mechanism that controlled the movement of wrist and fingers.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

How World War I Influenced the Evolution of Modern Medicine

Medical technology and roles during World War I are highlighted in a new display at the National Museum of American History

As students find income-share agreements appealing, the option could become more mainstream in higher education.

Smart Startup

This One-Year Alternative to College Promises to Land Students a Well-Paying Job, Debt-Free

Adam Braun is launching MissionU, a program that cuts to the chase and disrupts the higher education industry

A fern repeats its pattern at various scales.

Art Meets Science

Fractal Patterns in Nature and Art Are Aesthetically Pleasing and Stress-Reducing

One researcher takes this finding into account when developing retinal implants that restore vision

Autonomous cars aren’t smarter than this.

How Understanding Animals Can Help Us Make the Most of Artificial Intelligence

A former animal trainer explains how we might usefully think about the limitations of artificial intelligence systems

The image shows a 6 mm long, 12.5 day old mouse embryo obtained with the Mesolens. The inset shows a blow-up of the eye region revealing the individual cell nuclei. It is possible to identify fine structures throughout the embryo such as the developing heart muscle fibers and fine details in the eye such as the corneal endothelium using the Mesolens.

Think Big

Let Us Now Praise the Invention of the Microscope

Early scientists wielded this revolutionary tool to study the invisible world of microbes, and even their own semen

Baby in Pip & Grow's Smitten box

The Finnish Baby Box Is Becoming Popular Around the World

But does a cardboard bassinet actually reduce infant mortality?

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden think that a helmet called the Strokefinder could quickly diagnose intracranial bleeding.

A Microwave Helmet May Help Diagnose Traumatic Brain Injury

Doctors find that a stroke-detection technology could be useful in screening for intracranial bleeding

Mesh billboards on the Moroccan mountainside will soon be joined by numerous others—a planned 31 in all—to create the world’s largest fog collection facility.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

This Device Collects Water From the Clouds

CloudFisher does exactly as its name implies—drawing water down from the sky

Tools of diabetes treatment almost always include improved diet and regular exercise.

MIT Mathematician Develops an Algorithm to Help Treat Diabetes

The key to managing the disease, which afflicts 29 million people in the U.S., might be in big data

Israeli company Intuition Robotics developed a talking device named ElliQ, now being tested by older adults.

How Will Artificial Intelligence Help the Aging?

The key, researchers say, is finding the right roles for machines

These are actually tadpoles.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Now You Can Measure Male Fertility With a Smartphone App

A new device helps men monitor their sperm count from the comfort of their own home

Could the Tiny Zebrafish Teach Us to Cure Blindness?

By learning how zebrafish regenerate their retinas, researchers could figure out how to help humans do the same

The 4D theater tells the story of the Battle of Yorktown.

Telling the Forgotten Stories of the Everyday Americans of the Revolutionary War

Near where the Battle of Yorktown was waged, a new museum fuses innovative technology with storytelling techniques to connect with visitors

Smart Startup

Where Should You Live? This App Will Tell You

Enter your budget and a number of your preferences and Teleport will match you with some fitting cities

Vessel (#2309) by June Schwarcz, 2006, electroplated copper foil and enamel, gold plated

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Artist June Schwarcz Electroplated and Sandblasted Her Way Into Art Museums and Galleries

The Renwick hosts a 60-year career retrospective for the innovative California enamelist

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Find Your 2,000-Year-Old Doppelgänger

Send the Musée de la Civilisation a photo, and it will match you with an ancient statue

The male mountain gorilla Limbo (left) and Green Lady, a female from the same species, are on view in the exhibition, "Objects of Wonder," at the Natural History Museum.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Dian Fossey’s Gorilla Skulls Are Scientific Treasures and a Symbol of Her Fight

At a new Smithsonian exhibition, the skulls of “Limbo” and “Green Lady” have a story to tell

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