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Innovation / Technology

A spectrometer can determine the nutritional value and caloric content of single piece of fruit.

You May Soon Be Able to Scan a Piece of Fruit to Check Its Nutritional Value

That’s one of the ideas Target is testing as it explores how much of a competitive edge it gets from being transparent about food

A mini-module, called a BEAM, is slated to be attached to the International Space Station in late May. There, it will undergo testing.

This Expandable Structure Could Become the Future of Living in Space

A Nevada real estate magnate has poured $290 million into a wild dream of being a landlord in outer space. His first tenant: NASA

Cemeteries of the Future

Do you want to be buried in a coral reef, a skyscraper or on an artificial island?

Halo says its headphones can strengthen muscle memory.

Can Headphones That Shock Your Brain Help You Run Faster and Jump Higher?

They’re called Halo Sport, and they send electrical charges into the brain that their inventors say can boost athletic performance

These Light-Up Fishing Nets Could Save Sea Turtles

New research shows attaching LED lights to fishing nets can keep turtles from becoming accidentally entangled

The fake egg looks and feels the same as a real vulture egg.

Scientists Are Using Electronic Eggs to Study Vultures

A sensor-packed egg, developed by a team at Microduino, could lead to clues about the birds’ livelihood

Six of the Wildest Skyscrapers Imaginable

The winners of the annual skyscraper design competition think way beyond the “tall rectangle with windows” model

Neurospora crassa, or red bread mold

Future of Energy

Could Mold Power the Batteries of the Future?

Researchers have discovered how to use a fungus to create materials that could be used to make more sustainable lithium-ion batteries

When Robots Take Our Jobs, Should Everyone Still Get a Paycheck?

A concept called universal basic income is gaining traction as a way to help people deal with machines taking over the job market

Pneumatics allow the material to change shape.

A New Material Could Make Medical Devices That Expand and Collapse

Harvard researchers develop a new origami-inspired material that changes shape

Journey to the Center of Earth

What Are You Flying Over? This App Will Tell You

Flyover Country uses maps and geology databases to identify features of the landscape as a plane flies over them, no Wifi necessary

Future of Energy

This Solar Cell Can Float on a Bubble

MIT scientists have created the world’s lightest solar cell, thin enough to be used on paper or clothing

This Morphing Mannequin Could Transform the Fashion Industry

Created by Hong Kong professor Allan Chan, iDummy can be programmed with any measurements

Vans like this could help fill one of the big gaps in public transportation.

Is Bridj the Next Phase in How People Will Get Around Cities?

A project in Kansas City will see if a ride-hailing service can work with a government agency to help bring public transportation into the 21st century

Watch What These Soft Robots Can Do

Scientists are making bendy robots that can squeeze into small spaces and grip objects of any shape

Steve Wozniak’s Apple I Booted Up a Tech Revolution

With only a circuit board, keyboard and tiny, blurry monitor, the circa 1975 computer looks crude by today’s standards

MIT’s moisture-sensitive sportswear might one day be genetically modified to glow in the dark.

The First Truly Breathable Fabric Contains Living Bacteria

Microbiology meshes with fashion to create a new kind of cool

Virtual reality headsets at the 2015 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam allow visitors to view digital reconstructions of artifacts destroyed by ISIS.

The Heroic Effort to Digitally Reconstruct Lost Monuments

Scholars create a virtual archive of antiquities destroyed by extremists in Syria and Iraq

Texting is blamed for ruining personal discourse and common courtesy.

Texting Isn’t the First New Technology Thought to Impair Social Skills

When Alexander Graham Bell introduced the telephone, skeptics worried about how it might affect people’s interactions

When Work Becomes a Game

Across corporate America, applying the principles of games to the non-game setting of the workplace is a growing phenomenon

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