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Innovation / Technology

United States Internal Revenue Service "bottle stamp"

Museums Are Now Able to Digitize Thousands of Artifacts in Just Hours

At the American History Museum, a collection of rarely seen historic currency proofs are being made ready for a public debut

A startup called Roost is developing a WiFi-enabled battery that listens for an alarm and sends a message to your phone when your smoke detector blares.

Tech Watch

This Smart Battery Sends a Message to Your Phone When Your Smoke Detector Sounds

It also alerts you weeks in advance of dying—sparing you from that annoying chirp

The dark black lacquered center of the Ming Dynasty tray, surrounded by an elegant basket weave design, made it seem almost modern.

How Curators Found a Ghostly Image Lurking Beneath Layers of Lacquer

Work in the conservation lab revealed there was more to this Ming Dynasty tray than meets the eye

An Asian tiger mosquito in action.

New Research

Could GM Mosquitoes Pave the Way for a Tropical Virus to Spread?

Modified insects designed to stop dengue fever could make it easier for another disease-carrying species to take root

Dale A. Gardner, Space Shuttle Mission 51-A, George D. Guzzi Jr. This watercolor shows Dale Gardner tethered to the exterior of Space Shuttle Discovery. During that mission, Gardner and Joseph Allen donned jet-propelled maneuvering units on spacewalks to recover two malfunctioning satellites.

Space Exploration Would Be Nothing If We Didn’t Know How to Spacewalk

The Air and Space Museum brings the privileged experience to the public in an exhibit that chronicles 50 years of technology

Gogoro is releasing an electric Smartscooter, a lithium-ion battery pack and a charging station at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas.

Will Electric Scooters Take Over the World’s Mega Cities?

A well-funded startup called Gogoro unveils its e-scooter and a plan to install ATM-like battery stations in urban areas

(Clockwise from top left) Katrin Macmillan, Ashutosh Saxena, Richard Lunt and Horace Luke are hard at work on exciting new projects.

Eight Innovators to Watch in 2015

From food science and robotics to solar tech and sustainable architecture, these folks are poised to do big things

Kevin Ashton Describes “the Internet of Things”

The innovator weighs in on what human life will be like a century from now

Just add water. The Zephyr has an electrolyzer on board that uses nine liters of water to produce hydrogen to inflate.

A Photovoltaic Balloon Could Bring Electricity to Disaster Zones

Moored to a base with batteries, the Zephyr collects enough solar energy to power 15 relief tents and a telecommunications network

7th Place: Butter daisy (Melampodium divaricatum) flower at 2x magnification. Fluorescence. Oleksandr Holovachov, Ekuddsvagen, Sweden.

Some of the Most Beautiful Things in Nature Come in the Tiniest of Packages

The winners of the 2014 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition capture a rat brain, the mouthparts of a vampire moth and other small wonders

Stretched over a prosthetic hand, this artificial skin acts more like the real thing than anything before it.

Artificial Skin Could Help Prosthesis Wearers Feel, For Real

A new polymer with a lattice of embedded sensors is sensitive to heat, humidity and pressure

"Joe" and "Josephine" inThe Measure of Man posters, authored by Henry Dreyfuss, designed by Alvin R. Tilley, 1969

The Smithsonian Design Museum Tells the Story of User-Centered Design Through 120 Beautiful Products

A thermostat, a wheelchair, a prosthetic arm and razors are all a part of “Beautiful Users,” now on display in New York City

Handaxe #5 and Blade #9, BC-AD Contemporary Flint Tool Design series, designed by Dov Ganchrow and Ami Drach, 2011

Nearly Two Million Years of Innovation, As Told Through Tools

Cooper Hewitt, the Smithsonian Design Museum, will exhibit 175 objects that range from Paleolithic tools to space-age satellites

Lab-grown beef—it could be dinner.

Five Animal Products Scientists Can Now Grow In a Lab

In early experiments, scientists are growing meat in vitro and bioengineering yeast for dairy

The first crop for Local Roots Farms to grow is lettuce.

Future of Energy

Turning Shipping Containers Into Urban Farms

In a clever recycling experiment, the startup Local Roots Farms is growing organic, hydroponic produce in America’s food deserts

Kids in a small Nigerian village line up to learn at the Hello Hub.

How Do Kids Learn Where There Are No Teachers? It May Take a Village…Computer

A non-profit called Projects for All has a plan for educating children without schools: Turn them loose on outdoor computer kiosks in their community

This airport shuttle can make a round-trip run on the waste produced by a single person in one year.

This Commuter Bus Runs On Poop

A U.K.-based biogas plant has developed a 40-seater than runs on converted sewage and food waste

This year, the Solar Cloth Company unveiled the world's first solar fabric tensile structure parking lot in Cambridge, UK.

Future of Energy

A Football Stadium Covered in This Solar Cloth Could Power a Small Town

Perry Carroll, founder of the Solar Cloth Company, has integrated super-thin photovoltaics into flexible fabric

Special Report

Game Changers: Innovation For Good

When you see these creative solutions to society’s most pressing problems, the future looks pretty darn good

One hour of walk time with a pair of EnSoles, designed by Hahna Alexander (inset), provides 2.5 hours of talk time on a smartphone.

Smart Startup

Generating Power One Step At a Time

The Pittsburgh-based startup SolePower is developing an insole that collects kinetic energy as you walk to power your mobile phone

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