Innovation

Ask Smithsonian

Ask Smithsonian: How Does Night Vision Work?

The ability to see in the dark is becoming more accurate and more portable

October 6, 2015

This Concrete Can Absorb a Flood

A UK company has developed a permeable pavement that can drink 1,000 liters of water per square meter in a minute

October 5, 2015

The Rise and Fall of the Plane “Anyone Could Fly”

It was billed as the “Model T” of airplanes. So what happened?

October 1, 2015

Scientists Are Recording 24-Hour Soundtracks of Rainforests

The bioacoustic data gives Nature Conservancy researchers clues about the health of an ecosystem

September 30, 2015

These X-rays Can See Exactly What’s In Your Luggage

A new kind of X-ray machine, poised to improve airport security, can identify the material of an object passing through it

September 29, 2015

The Innovative Spirit

Can a Video Game Teach You to Manage Stress?

“Nevermind,” a video game controlled by a player’s heart rate, aims to help people deal with trauma

September 28, 2015

The Innovative Spirit

The Smithsonian’s Innovation Festival Demystifies the Invention Process

Inventors of a number of new technologies shared their stories at a two-day event at the National Museum of American History

September 28, 2015

The Innovative Spirit

Millions of Americans Are Getting Lost in Translation During Hospital Visits

Miscommunication due to language barriers is a growing health care issue, and technologies to aid interpretation are racing to keep up

September 28, 2015

The Next Pandemic

How Vaccines, a Collective Triumph of Modern Medicine, Conquered the World’s Diseases

Smithsonian curators present a virtual tour of several objects from the collections that revolutionized public health care

September 28, 2015

The Innovative Spirit

Can You Guess the Invention Based on These Patent Illustrations?

Hint: They are all part of the National Museum of American History’s collection

September 25, 2015

The Innovative Spirit

These “Sponges” Can Soak Up Cancer Cells

Implants designed to detect early metastasis can also trap cancer cells

September 25, 2015

Age of Humans

The Age of Humans: Living in the Anthropocene

A special look at the ways humans are transforming the planet and the projects that may shape a more sustainable future

September 25, 2015

The Innovative Spirit

These Plastic Canopies Could Save Thousands of Babies

Researchers have developed sunlight-filtering canopies as a low-tech treatment for jaundice in newborns

September 25, 2015

The Innovative Spirit

We Can Now 3D Print Ribs

The first-ever 3D printed titanium chest implant was a success

September 24, 2015

Innovative Spirit Health Care

Scientists Manipulate Common Plants to Produce Cancer Drugs

Stanford researchers have figured out how to transfer a rare plant’s chemical “assembly line” into a cheap, common lab plant

September 24, 2015

The Innovative Spirit

Six Ways Schools Are Using Neuroscience to Help Kids Learn

Schools around the world are incorporating neuroscience research into the school day, to help kids with dyslexia and to teach complex math skills

September 24, 2015

The Innovative Spirit

The Smithsonian Spotlights American Invention at This Weekend’s Innovation Festival

Universities, federal agencies, companies and independent inventors will give visitors a glimpse of the future

September 24, 2015

The History of the Bar Code

Inventor Joe Woodland drew the first bar code in sand in Miami Beach, decades before technology could bring his vision to life

September 23, 2015

The Innovative Spirit

This Interactive Installation Rains a Poem Down on Viewers

Artists Camille Utterback and Romy Achituv wrote the software that drives an artwork, in which onlookers catch letters falling on a large screen

September 23, 2015

This Digital Library Contains Every Phrase That Could Ever Be Uttered

Inspired by an essay by Jorge Luis Borges, computer programmer Jonathan Basile has created a “Library” of Babel

October 2015