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Innovation

This golden goodness relies on a mathematical concept known as the silver ratio.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Using Math to Build the Ultimate Taffy Machine

A mathematician dives into taffy-pulling patents to achieve optimum confection creation

Bloom's mobile harvester collects algae biomass from waste streams in the United States and Asia.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

This Startup Is Harvesting Wild Algae to Make Your Next Pair of Sneakers

Co-founder Rob Falken found a way to turn algae into a foam that can be used in sneaker soles and on surfboards

The creators of SurviVR consulted with members of the FBI and the NYPD, various intelligence analysts, Navy Seals and other security, terrorism and survival experts.

Face an Active Shooter in Virtual Reality, and You May Be Better Prepared to Survive a Real-Life Encounter

A new VR program called SurviVR aims to train employees how to deal with an active shooter situation in the workplace

To make Tumor Paint, Jim Olson's team extracts molecules from the deathstalker scorpion (Leiurus quinquestriatus).

The Innovative Spirit fy17

How Scorpion Venom Is Helping Doctors Treat Cancer

When injected into the body, Tumor Paint lights up cancers. The drug could lead to a new class of therapeutics

Water drained from the tunnel will feed new aquaculture farms nearby.

Beneath a Mountain in Switzerland Lies the World’s Longest Shortcut

The massive structure, running 35.4 miles through the Alps, begins full operations this December

From top left, clockwise: male orangequit; female tungara frog; purple mort bleu butterfly; sunflower; red coral; Galapagos marine iguana

Big Data Just Got Bigger as IBM’s Watson Meets the Encyclopedia of Life

An NSF grant marries one of the world’s largest online biological archives with IBM’s cognitive computing and Georgia Tech’s moduling and simulation

The LudusScope is an open-source, 3D printed, smartphone-integrated microscope.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

With This Smartphone Microscope, You Can Play Soccer and Pac-Man With Microbes

Stanford engineer Ingmar Riedel-Kruse built a 3D-printed microscope that allows students to not only observe but also interact with tiny creatures

Mount Etna, Italy, erupts at night.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Predicting Chaos: New Sensors Sniff Out Volcanic Eruptions Before They Happen

How volcanologists brave lung-singeing fumes to monitor eruptions with cutting-edge sensors

Space Patrol depended more on good stories, excellent production values, and an empathic cast of characters than it did on expensive visual special effects. As a result it had a large adult audience, which didn’t stop merchandise being created with younger viewers in mind.

How Artists, Mad Scientists and Speculative Fiction Writers Made Spaceflight Possible

A new book chronicles spaceflight’s centuries-long journey from dream to reality

Some researchers are trying to harness the energy from huge storms.

Future of Energy

Can We Capture Energy From a Hurricane?

Loaded with power, massive storms may be another conduit for renewable energy

A New Tool From This American Life Will Make Audio as Sharable as Gifs

A tech company best known for creating Twitter bots has put its skills to help make podcasts go viral

The coffee foam

The Innovative Spirit fy17

How to Clean Water With Old Coffee Grounds

Italian researchers have figured out how to turn spent coffee grounds into a foam that can remove heavy metals from water

Global Cities by Norwood Vivian, 2015

Mapping the World’s Great Cities in a Most Unusual, Yet Visually Arresting, Fashion

Part urban planner, part cartographer, sculptor Norwood Viviano uses state-of-the-art mapping tools to make powerful works of art

DFB 45, Arès, Brandon Ballengée, 2008. Scanner photograph of cleared and stained multi-limbed Pacific Tree frog from Aptos, California in scientific collaboration with Dr. Stanley K. Sessions. Title in collaboration with the poet KuyDelair.

Art Meets Science

With Deformed Frogs and Fish, a Scientist-Artist Explores Ecological Disaster and Hope

A 20-year retrospective of Brandon Ballengée’s artwork explores humans’ connection to cold-blooded creatures

Second Place Winner: Cetacea, designed by Keegan Oneal, Sean Link, Caitlin Vanhauer and Colin Poranski at the University of Oregon

Future of Energy

These Wild Sculptures Actually Generate Green Energy

The winning designs of the LAGI 2016 competition range from giant sailboat sculptures that harvest fog to floating gardens that harness wave power

MythBusters’ Adam Savage and a team of makers from Baltimore made these letters, which lit up every time someone posted to social media using the hashtag #sxsl.

Here’s What You Missed At the White House’s First-Ever South By South Lawn Festival

On Monday, artists, musicians, tech enthusiasts and other innovators gathered in the president’s backyard to celebrate a bright future

A remote-controlled hexacopter captured this image of two northern resident killer whales photographed from 100 feet. Scientists use the unmanned drone as a cost-effective, non-intrusive method for monitoring the health of whales.

How Drones in the Sky Unlock Secrets of the Sea

Researchers are using aerial technology to track coastal erosion, map coral reefs and even give whales a breathalyzer

A prototype shelter from The Mobile Factory

The Mobile Factory Turns Earthquake Rubble Into Bricks For Permanent Homes

The Netherlands-based company makes Lego-like blocks from debris using portable equipment that fits in two shipping containers

Albina Yard, a 16,000-square-foot office building in Portland, uses wood, not steel and concrete, as its structural support.

Age of Humans

Move Over, Steel: The High Rises of Tomorrow Are ‘Plyscrapers’

Light, strong and renewable, wood may change how tall buildings are built

Future of Energy

Inside the World’s First Large-Scale Effort to Harness Tidal Energy

Next month, the UK-based company MeyGen will install four underwater turbines off the coast of Scotland

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