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Innovation

The Rise of DIY Genetic Testing

Some people are skipping the doctor’s office and using the internet to order and interpret their own DNA tests

The sensors can be printed on temporary tattoo-like material, which sticks on the skin for a week.

Tiny, Tattoo-Like Wearables Could Monitor Your Health

University of Texas engineers devise a relatively inexpensive way to make disposable patches that track patients’ vital signs

A Soccket is only one ounce heavier than a standard-issue soccer ball and generates three hours of power after one hour of play.

These Soccer Balls and Jump Ropes Can Generate Power

Uncharted Play, a New York City-based startup, enables children in developing countries to build reserves of energy through play

Looking down into the Big Delta.

This Giant Contraption Can Print a House

Inspired by wasps’ nests, an Italian company is printing inexpensive houses for the developing world

Heart Valves at the National Museum of American History

Innovative Spirit Health Care

A Man With a Lot of Heart Valves Donates His Unusual Collection

Minneapolis entrepreneur Manny Villafana says his collection at the American History Museum is filled with stories of both failure and success

The sign language capture device

This Wearable Device Translates Sign Language To English

The prototype detects hand and finger movements and turns them into words on a screen

Ask Smithsonian

Ask Smithsonian: How Does Night Vision Work?

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

Topmix Permeable

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

An Ercoupe flies over the nation's capital.

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

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

Setting up sound monitors in Papua New Guinea.

Scientists Are Recording 24-Hour Soundtracks of Rainforests

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

Rendering of the Halo system, with a screen

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

Each level explores a different kind of psychological trauma.

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

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

Rampant miscommunication in medicine due to language barriers compromises patient safety and quality of care while widening existing health disparities.

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

Bottle of Diphtheria Anti-Toxin in Case, 1900s

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

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

A University of Michigan biomedical engineering research fellow shows off several of the scaffolds.

The Innovative Spirit

These “Sponges” Can Soak Up Cancer Cells

Implants designed to detect early metastasis can also trap cancer cells

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

Jaundice is usually treated with short-wave blue light.

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

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