Innovation / Technology

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

July 30, 2015

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

July 29, 2015

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

July 28, 2015

What’s the Deal With Google’s Sidewalk Labs?

The tech giant’s first move in urban planning is installing Wi-Fi hubs throughout New York City. Next, it could take on inefficiencies in public transit

July 27, 2015

Off the Coast of Italy, Two Divers Are Building Underwater Greenhouses

The biospheres could provide an alternate means of farming in regions with unstable growing conditions

July 23, 2015

The Innovative Spirit

Teenage Inventor Alexis Lewis Thinks That Kids Have the Solutions to the World’s Problems

With a patent to her name and more likely on the way, the 15-year-old has made it her mission to inspire young innovators

July 21, 2015

You Can Now 3D Print With Liquefied Wood

A chemist at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden is making sustainable 3d printing a reality

July 16, 2015

The EPA Has a New Tool For Mapping Where Pollution and Poverty Intersect

To better target its efforts, the agency is identifying problem areas, where people are facing undue environmental risks

July 14, 2015

These Glasses Could Help the Blind See

Developed by Oxford scientists, SmartSpecs capture real time images and enhance the contrast for legally blind users

July 13, 2015

This New Nanogenerator Could Make Cars Much More Efficient

Electrodes placed on a car’s tires can harness the energy generated when rubber meets road

July 10, 2015

Tracing the History of American Invention, From the Telegraph to the Apple I

More than 70 artifacts, from an artificial heart to an Etch A Sketch, grace the entryway to the American History Museum’s new innovation wing

July 7, 2015

This Is How You Live Paint an Event

Artist Jeremy Sutton painted on his iPad while musicians performed and visitors played virtual reality games at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

July 7, 2015

Turning New York City’s Subway Into a Symphony

Musician James Murphy wants to replace the beeps of the system’s turnstiles with beautiful music

July 6, 2015

The Latest Sign That the Robot Uprising Is Nigh? Camel Racing

A centuries-old pastime in the United Arab Emirates gets a reboot

July 2015

There Were Listicles That Went Viral Long Before There Was an Internet

Digital scholars are zeroing in on stories that were trending way back in the 19th century

July 2015

The Hyperloop Will Be Only the Latest Innovation That’s Pretty Much a Series of Tubes

The idea of using pneumatics to send objects has been around for ages. But people?

July 2015

In Hawaii, Old Buses Are Being Turned Into Homeless Shelters

A group of architects envisions a rolling solution to the state’s homelessness problem

June 29, 2015

Could This Head Gear Help Treat Parkinson’s Disease?

Students at Johns Hopkins University have created an at-home brain-stimulating device to ease Parkinson’s symptoms

June 25, 2015

New Research

“Combing” Through Light May Give Us Faster, More Powerful Internet

A lab experiment used a device called a frequency comb to send fiber optic data a record-breaking distance with no signal loss

June 25, 2015

Five Tech Ideas That Could Improve City Bike Commuting

A group of London designers imagines Google Glass-like visors and buses that project outlines of their blind spots on the road

June 24, 2015