Innovation

Eric Byrnes acts as the voice of the digital umpire as the San Rafael Pacifics play the Vallejo Admirals.

Are Robot Umpires Coming to Baseball?

Now that a computer has covered home plate at a minor league game, what's next?

A map of nitric oxide pollution in Denver's Highlands neighborhood

Google Street View Cars Are Mapping City Air Pollution

Google, Aclima and the EPA team up to add sensors to cars, first in Denver and then in the Bay Area, that monitor air quality throughout the day

Yeast, a multipurpose microbe.

Innovative Spirit Health Care

A Genetically Modified Yeast Turns Sugar Into Painkillers

Stanford scientists have engineered a strain of yeast that can produce opiates on its own

Wasting Food? It'll Cost You

In a neighborhood in Seoul, the Korea Environment Corp. is doling out fines to people dumping more than their allotted food scraps

Many foodies and soda lovers swear there’s a discernible difference between Coke made with sugar and Coke made with high-fructose corn syrup—a truer, less “chemical-y” taste; a realer real thing.

The Innovative Spirit

The Story of Mexican Coke Is a Lot More Complex Than Hipsters Would Like to Admit

A nasty trade war and questionable scientific assumptions make it difficult to discern what is, and what isn't, the real thing

A researcher tests the sensor's stretchability.

Thin Sensors on Our Skin or in Our Clothes May Warn Us of Environmental Hazards

Australian researchers are developing flexible sensors that track dangers that humans cannot detect with their own senses

You Might Actually Want a Layover at These Seven Airports

From nap pods to real-time flight tracking, these airports have features that will surely please passengers

The Innovative Spirit

When a Trip to the Zoo Resulted in an Engineering Breakthrough

Megan Leftwich, an engineering professor at George Washington University, is building a robotic flipper based on her observations of sea lions

The Cape Hatteras Light of North Carolina, on the Atlantic Ocean.

The Lonely, Lifesaving Job of Lighthouse Keepers, Revealed at the National Lighthouse Museum

A new museum in Staten Island tells the stories of men and women who ran lighthouses throughout America’s history and shows off some unique antiques

This Mock "City" Is a Testing Ground For Driverless Cars

The University of Michigan's Mcity is a 32-acre challenge course for connected and automated vehicles

A screenshot of the Tone Analyzer at work

IBM's Tone Analyzer Could Save You From Sending That Awkward Email

The new service, part of IBM's Watson artificial intelligence system, scans emails for emotions like cheerfulness or negativity

Dried fruit powder will keep for up to two years.

Swedish Designers Are Turning Fruits and Veggies Into a Nonperishable Powder

The dried and powdered produce, called FoPo, could become a staple in disaster relief

How Lego Redefined Play

Once a company of only 10 employees, Lego is now one of the most recognized brands on the planet

A 4.5-by 3-inch paper notepad with the word THINK embossed on its leather cover resides in the Smithsonian Institution's collections.

Innovative Spirit Health Care

How a Five-Letter Word Built a 104-Year-Old Company

THINK—printed on signs, deskplates, business cards and notepads—was the seed from which the rest of IBM’s culture would grow

What Is a Personal Food Computer?

A farm the size of a desktop could change the way we grow food in cities

Rendering of Juncal Viaduct with turbines

Could a Wind Turbine Be Coming to a Bridge Near You?

Engineers find, in a simulation, that two wind turbines mounted under a bridge in the Canary Islands could power hundreds of homes

This "Lucky" Fish Could Save Lives

A fish-shaped iron ingot is reducing the number of cases of iron deficiency anemia in Cambodia and beyond

Skimming Oil in the Gulf of Mexico

Scientists Find a Natural Way to Clean Up Oil Spills, With a Plant-Based Molecule

Researchers at the City College of New York are testing a spray made of phytol, a molecule in chlorophyll, on oil in lab wave pools

Legos Go Sustainable, and Everything (Really) is Awesome

To reduce its carbon footprint, the toy company is searching for a sustainable material for its bricks by 2030

Injectible contraceptives give women options.

A New Report Identifies 30 Technologies That Will Save Lives in the Next 15 Years

A panel of 60 health experts creates a short list of easy-to-use devices and treatments that could dramatically improve global health

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