Astrolabes were astronomical calculating devices that did everything from tell the time to map the stars. This 16th century planispherical astrolabe stems from Morocco.

Think Big

The Story of the Astrolabe, the Original Smartphone

Prosperous times likely paved the way for this multifunctional device, conceptual ancestor to the iPhone 7

The structure of the battery is formed from a sheet of chromatography paper, divided into a grid of creases.

This Spit-Powered Biobattery Is Made From a Single Sheet of Paper

Researchers at Binghamton University are developing inexpensive paper biobatteries to power simple sensors that monitor things like blood sugar

While the peaks and valleys on people's ECGs may look identical to the untrained eye, they’re actually anything but.

Using Your Heartbeat as a Password

Researchers have developed a way of turning the unique rhythms of your heart into a form of identification

While it has some kinks to work out, this sleek new device could help in the bid to limit landfill-bound waste.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Can This Trash Can Turn Food Waste Into Garden Treasure?

The Zera Food Recycler may not transform scraps into ready-to-use soil, but it could still help take a bite out of landfill-bound waste

Clarius is the first ultrasound developer to go wireless, pairing its handheld device with a smartphone.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

This Handheld Ultrasound Scanner Could Be the Next Stethoscope

Clarius co-founder and CEO Laurent Pelissier believes the affordable, wireless device could revolutionize health care

The bigger the tomato, the blander the taste.

New Research

The Quest to Return Tomatoes to Their Full-Flavored Glory

We’ve bred the original tomato taste out of existence. Now geneticists are asking: Can we put it back?

The suit Alan Eustace wore during his record-breaking freefall jump in October 2014 is on view at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

This Souped-Up Scuba Suit Made a Stratospheric Leap

The record-breaking Alan Eustace found just the right fit for his 25-mile free fall by marrying scuba technology with a space suit

Earwax: Coming To a Home Air Filtration System Near You?

A clogged ear on a scuba trip led a Georgia Institute of Technology engineer to study the dust-filtering properties of the waxy substance

Soldiers schlepping heavy gear could one day use suits like these to help them walk farther, carry more, and experience less fatigue.

This Soft Exosuit Could Help People Walk Farther, Easier

Researchers at Harvard are developing an energy-saving supersuit that you might just wear one day

Like most innovations in science, the study of whale earwax—a.k.a. earplugs—as oceanic core samples came about by asking a question no one had thought to ask.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

For Scientists, Chunks of Whale Earwax Can Be Biological Treasure Troves

Biologists are waxing poetic about these unusual oceanic core samples found in the ears of cetaceans

A gecko uses millions of tiny hairs to cling powerfully to surfaces. A new device exploits this adaptation by using ultraviolet light as a switch.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Scientists Can Turn This Gecko-Inspired Gripping Device On or Off With the Flick of a Light

The mighty lizard inspires yet another innovation that could prove a boon to robotics and manufacturing

The Innovative Spirit fy17

This App Uses Facial Recognition Software to Help Identify Genetic Conditions

A geneticist uploads a photo of a patient’s face, and Face2Gene gathers data and generates a list of possible syndromes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s system, which includes a grasper device and detachable tip, in 2016.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

A California Startup Wants To Revolutionize Surgery, With Magnets

A new magnetic surgical system allows surgeons to make fewer incisions and have better views during gallbladder removals

Stanford researcher Michael Snyder led a study on how wearable sensors could help predict illnesses.

What If an App Could Tell You When You’re Getting Sick?

A Stanford geneticist may be onto something. Body data collected by smartwatches and other sensors can tip us off to brewing colds or infections

North Sense, about a square inch in size and enclosed in body-compatible silicone, can be anchored to the chest via titanium piercings.

This Artificial Sixth Sense Helps Humans Orient Themselves in the World

A London-based company is selling North Sense, a body-anchored device that vibrates when it faces magnetic north

Have Scientists Found a Way to Actually Reduce the Effects of Aging?

Researchers at the Salk Institute in California have successfully induced cells to behave like younger cells

Morphine is extracted from opium, a compound found in the seeds of the opium poppy.

America’s Long-Overdue Opioid Revolution Is Finally Here

Thanks to advances in neuroscience, researchers are beginning to disentangle powerful pain relief from addiction, overdose and death

A smartphone could help people fight depression.

How Mobile Technology Can Help Universities Combat Depression

Using sensors on smartphones and smartwatches can shed light on patients’ symptoms, even identifying ones they didn’t notice or share with counselors

Standing water in urban areas is ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes that can spread dengue and other tropical diseases.

The Next Pandemic

To Fight Deadly Dengue Fever in Humans, Create Dengue-Resistant Mosquitoes

How manipulating the immune systems of mosquitoes can halt the spread of dengue virus

MIT professor Li-Huei Tsai may have a new treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

Could Flickering Lights Help Treat Alzheimer’s?

A flashy MIT study changes perspective on the disease

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