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Innovation / Technology

An artist renders the proposed master plan of Masdar City.

Building the World’s First Carbon-Neutral City

Masdar City, near Abu Dhabi, boasts green buildings, a fleet of electric cars and massive solar arrays. But will the experiment work?

With ambient-light and motion sensors onboard, the Alba bulb will know when it should turn on—and just how bright it should be.

Tech Watch

This Smart Lightbulb Adjusts To You

Armed with motion and ambient light sensors, Stack’s Alba bulb learns and follows your patterns

The corner in downtown Hartford where the first pay phone was installed

The Pay Phone’s Journey From Patent to Urban Relic

The history of the device that is well on its way to becoming, well, history

The power of science fiction comes from the license to dream.

Round Table

What Idea From Science Fiction Would You Most Like To See Become Reality?

Astronomers, writers and an astronaut weigh in with some interesting answers

Scientists hope to make the process of producing engine-ready propane from E. coli bacteria commercially viable in 5 to 10 years.

Anthropocene

Researchers Trick E. Coli Into Making Propane

European researchers have taken an important first step toward renewable propane, powered by the sun

IBM and Mayo Clinic are applying game-show champ Watson's smarts to matching patients with the best clinical trials.

IBM’s Watson Will Match Cancer Patients With Trials at Mayo Clinic

By pairing patients with trials in seconds, the supercomputer will help speed the pace of medical innovation

Apple recently announced three models of its Apple Watch.

Tech Watch

The 5 Biggest Challenges to the Success of the Apple Watch

Even though wearables are on the rise, Apple’s newest product has its obstacles, from limited battery life to a hefty price tag

The AverageExplorer software aggregates thousands of wedding photos into representations of what the average shot looks like.

Software Creates One Picture That Says It All

Researchers at UC Berkeley have created software that averages image searches into one artistic result

The Project Wing test craft begins lowering its payload during a test flight in Australia.

Google’s Delivery Drones Will Airlift Supplies Practically Anywhere

Project Wing, a development platform, completes test deliveries over Australia

A 4.4-pound, leg-worn exoskeleton creates a chair out of nowhere.

Tech Watch

Sit Anywhere on a Chair You Can Wear

A Swiss startup has created a trim exoskeleton that lets factory workers perch for quick breaks

Russian artist Dmitry Morozov has devised a way to make pollution beautiful.

7 Ways Technology is Changing How Art is Made

Technology is redefining art in strange, new ways. Works are created by people moving through laser beams or from data gathered on air pollution

A rendering illustrates how messages will appear in mid-air using Navdy's new dashboard head-up display.

Tech Watch

Navdy Projects Apps and Text Messages Onto the Windshield of Almost Any Car

A California startup is launching a system that puts maps, texts and calls right at eye level

Researchers have developed a coating that could one day make cashmere sweaters that never have to be cleaned.

Tech Watch

Good-bye, Dry Cleaning. Hello, Self-Cleaning Cashmere

Researchers in Hong Kong have developed a nano-coating that cleans fabric when exposed to light

The Invention of the “Snapshot” Changed the Way We Viewed the World

A century before drones cruised the skies, American camera hounds made photography a personal art

Switching testing scenarios used to take 20 minutes. Rolling waters can now be calmed in just 30 seconds.

The Navy Tests Its Ships in This Indoor Ocean

New technology can precisely recreate eight open-water conditions

Qnovo claims its technology will let you plug your phone in for 15 minutes at lunch and get an extra six hours of use time.

Tech Watch

Your Next Smartphone Could Charge Six Times Faster

A California startup is implementing faster, smarter charging for next year’s mobile devices

Faye Wu, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, demonstrates the "supernumerary robotic fingers."

Tech Watch

Multitask Like Never Before With These Robotic Fingers

Many hands make light work, right? Well, MIT researchers have created a wrist-worn robot with a couple extra digits

South Korean researchers have come up with a one-step process for turning cigarette filters into a material that can be used to store energy in supercapacitors.

Cigarette Butts Could Help Power Future Devices

South Korean researchers have found a simple way to turn toxic trash into high-performance supercapacitors

New devices like FreeWavz are taking headphones to another level.

Tech Watch

These Ear Buds Will Play Music and Track Your Heart Rate

Wristbands get all the attention, but souped-up earpieces can do a better job of tracking your body metrics when you work out

Dogfish shark denticles viewed using a scanning electron microscope.

Shark Week

Why Are Scientists Trying To Make Fake Shark Skin?

Faux marine animal skin could make swimmers faster, keep bathrooms clean and cloak underwater robots

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