Smart News Ideas & Innovations

With the Phobys app, people with arachnophobia can overcome their fears by viewing a virtual spider. 

New Research

Got Arachnophobia? There's an App for That

Smartphone app helps fearful individuals overcome phobia of spiders

Coffee leaves cultured in laboratory conditions produced a brewed batch that smelled and tasted like the real deal.

Lab-Grown Coffee Passes Taste Test

Finnish researchers brew batch using a bioreactor for a more sustainable, climate-conserving java crop

Enticed by a sweet treat, a cow learns to use the "MooLoo," a latrine for cattle, where excrement can be collected. The only question is: can this technique work on a larger scale?

Researchers Potty Trained Young Cows, a Promising Measure to Reduce Greenhouse Gases

One cow pees up to eight gallons a day; training them is easy, and capturing and treating the waste could make a difference

After his recovery, researchers noticed Bruce was using small pebbles to rid his plumage of mites and dirt—a practice that has never been observed before.

Bruce the Parrot Uses Tools to Survive Despite a Broken Beak

Missing his upper beak, an alpine parrot in New Zealand uses small pebbles for preening

NASA stitched together 129 individual images taken with the rover’s Mast Camera to create 360-degree panoramic vistas.

Explore Stunning 360-Degree Panoramic Views of Mars in New NASA Video

Captured by NASA's Curiosity rover, the footage takes viewers on a tour of the fourth planet from the sun's surface

Run, Cassie, run!

'Star Wars'–Like Running Robot Finishes 5K on Two Legs

The untethered bipedal bot made history by completing the outdoor course in 53 minutes

Two researchers observe a bird carcass found at a wind energy facility.

Dogs Sniff Out Answers to Bat and Bird Fatalities Near Wind Turbines

Aided by canines, researchers found larger models do not necessarily pose a greater threat to wildlife

Four robots printed the steel structure in just six months.

Innovation for Good

World's First 3-D-Printed Steel Bridge Debuts in Amsterdam

The newly opened overpass measures 40 feet long and weighs 6 tons

This wearable sensor harvests sweat from the fingertips to generate the electricity it needs to measure things such as heart rate and blood-sugar.

Innovation for Good

New Wearable Medical Sensors Run on Fingertip Sweat

The slim, flexible device could measure blood glucose or heart rate without the need for batteries

When a person uses the HiccAway to drink water, they have to suck about four times harder than if they were using a regular straw.

Innovation for Good

This Straw Is Designed to Instantly Cure Hiccups

The 'HiccAway' stopped cases of hiccups 92 percent of the time during an early trial

Miscanthus is a type of grass that is often grown as a biofuel. Trials in the United Kingdom are now underway to explore the possibility of scaling up biofuel crops like Miscanthus grasses to see if they can help fight climate change by removing carbon from the atmosphere.

United Kingdom Begins Large-Scale Carbon Removal Trials

The $42 million project will test out five strategies for pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to fight climate change

President Barack Obama fist bumps a robotic arm being controlled by electrodes implanted in Nathan Copeland's brain at the University of Pittsburgh on October 13, 2016.

New Research

Researchers Create Mind-Controlled Robotic Arm With Sense of Touch

Touch feedback allowed a man with electrodes implanted into his brain to command a robotic arm and complete tasks quickly

The device allowed the man to write about 18 words per minute

New Research

New Device Allows Man With Paralysis to Type by Imagining Handwriting

When the man visualizes his written messages, a pair of electrical sensors measure his brain activity and translate it into letters

Stratolaunch's large aircraft, nicknamed 'Roc,' flew for three hours and 14 minutes and reached a maximum altitude of 14,000 feet.

World's Widest Airplane Completes Successful Second Test Flight

Stratolaunch's "Roc" aircraft has two fuselages and a wingspan of 385 feet

An origami-inspired tent had to be flexible enough to inflate, but sturdy enough to withstand the elements.

Innovation for Good

Inflatable Origami Structures Could Someday Offer Emergency Shelter

An applied mathematics team created origami-inspired tents that can collapse to the size of a twin mattress with ease

A new way of chemically recycling single-use plastics might offer an incentive to keep them out of landfills.

Innovation for Good

New Chemical Process Turns Single-Use Plastics Into Fuels

Researchers say their method can break down hard-to-recycle plastics using half the energy of existing techniques

The enzyme-enhanced plastic film had the same strength and flexibility as a standard plastic grocery bag.

Innovation for Good

This Biodegradable Plastic Will Actually Break Down in Your Compost

Water and heat activate plastic-munching enzymes that reduce the material to harmless chemical building blocks

This cow was fed a small amount of seaweed along with its feed to reduce methane emissions from its burps.

New Research

Seaweed-Fed Cows Burp Less Planet-Warming Methane

Researchers report an 82 percent reduction in methane emissions in cows fed 1.5 to 3 ounces of seaweed a day for 21 weeks

At the new exhibition at the Mauritshuis in The Hague, scent dispensers will let viewers smell scents associated with the paintings.

Don't Just Look at These Paintings—Smell Them Too, Says New Dutch Exhibition

"Scent dispensers" will emit odors fragrant and foul to evoke 17th-century Europe

MyHeritage introduced 'Deep Nostalgia' to allow users to see their ancestors or late relatives come to life but is also being used to animate portrait art, statues and historical figures. Pictured: Smithsonian founder, James Smithson.

New A.I. Tool Makes Historic Photos Move, Blink and Smile

The algorithm matches pre-recorded video with the photo depending on the subject's pose and applies natural facial movements to the image

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