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Innovation / Technology

The Pocket Watch Was the World’s First Wearable Tech Game Changer

Google Glass is just the latest in a long line of body-borne technologies designed to enhance our lives

Why Are People So Comfortable With Small Drones?

The FAA will soon allow commercial drones to fly in U.S. airspace, but researchers have found that they aren’t seen as much of a nuisance at all

Christopher Vo, a roboticist at George Mason University and drone technology educator, teaches everyday users how to build and fly drones like this one.

Future Is Here Festival

What Would You Do With A Drone?

As the potential drone applications grow, so does the build-your-own drone movement

Cell phones have revolutionized daily life, and will only continue to impact our existence, says Joshua Bell, an anthropologist at the Natural History Museum.

Future Is Here Festival

The Future is Here: What’s Next For Mobile Phones?

Anthropologist Joshua Bell weighs in on new uses for cell phone technology at Smithsonian magazine’s annual festival

One 4D concept: underground pipes that change shape to help move water.

Tech Watch

Forget the 3D Printer: 4D Printing Could Change Everything

Scientists at MIT are using a new technique that could print responsive objects—from water pipes to sneakers—that adapt to their surroundings on their own.

The Ooho edible water bottle can't be closed, but is biodegrade.

Tech Watch

Here’s A Water Bottle You Can Actually Eat

A simple culinary technique may go a long way toward ridding the world of excess plastic waste.

Google's new tool allows users to explore different geographic points, like the Marina Sands hotel in Singapore, over time.

Tech Watch

With Google Maps, It’s Now Possible To Travel Through Time

We can all be Marty McFly thanks to a new tool in Google Street View that offers seven years of views from street corners around the globe

The Honda smart home's energy efficient interior features a passive heating and cooling design and an LED lighting system that adapts to the body's natural circadian rhythm.

Tech Watch

Checking The Claim: A House That Produces More Energy Than It Consumes

Forget carbon-neutral—Honda and the University of California have built a house that claims to give energy back

Ozcan (in his UCLA lab) started a company, Holomic, to market microscope-outfitted smartphones, which he calls “a telemedicine tool” for improving health care in the developing world.

Inside the Technology That Can Turn Your Smartphone into a Personal Doctor

The fantastic tricorder device that “Bones” used to scan aliens on “Star Trek” is nearly at hand—in your cellphone

A neurosurgeon’s view during a brain operation: The head is held in place and covered with an adhesive drape containing iodine, which prevents infections and explains the orange tint.

Inside the Science of an Amazing New Surgery Called Deep Brain Stimulation

The most futuristic medical treatment ever imagined is now a reality

These inflatable wind turbines are capable of delivering two to tree times the amount of energy produced by conventional towers, a Boston-based startup says. The turbines will be part of a pilot that will power a dozen homes in Alaska.

Tech Watch

Massive Flying Wind Turbine Could Offer A New Path To Clean Energy

A Boston-based startup is piloting its invention in Alaska, but could soon bring alternative energy to the masses.

Israeli-based research firm StoreDot is looking to revolutionize batteries with a system that uses tiny nanodot crystals to quickly store energy.

Tech Watch

This Battery Could Charge Your Smartphone In 30 Seconds

An Israeli startup has developed a bio-organic material that uses tiny nanodot crystals to quickly store energy.

Researchers say they've developed a system that allows them to use dolphins' own language to communicate with the animals.

Tech Watch

Checking the Claim: A Device That Translates Dolphin Sounds Into English

Researchers used new technology to interpret a dolphin noise they say translates loosely to “seaweed”

Warka Water towers are designed to take advantage of condensation.

Tech Watch

This Tower Pulls Drinking Water Out of Thin Air

Designer Arturo Vittori says his invention can provide remote villages with more than 25 gallons of clean drinking water per day

The GE + Quirky Aros air conditioner has the brains to keep you as comfortably cool as possible during summers while saving you money.

Tech Watch

An Air Conditioner Automatically Starts Cooling While You’re On The Way Home

With a host of automation features, the Aros air conditioner can help consumers save on utility costs and conserve energy

One day we could stop worrying about bumpy flights.

Tech Watch

Can New Technology Help Planes Dodge Turbulence?

Airlines are testing new technology that could even warn pilots of “clear air turbulence” in advance

Adrian Sugar (seated second from left) and his surgical team during the facial rebuild operation at Morriston Hospital. The team reconstructed 29-year-old Stephen Power's face using models and implants from a 3D printer.

Tech Watch

How 3D Printing Helped Repair This Man’s Face

In a landmark procedure, surgeons used 3D printing techniques to restore a patient’s facial likeness after a horrific injury

Steve Perlman hopes his invention, the pCell, will transform how we transmit data from our smartphones.

Tech Watch

Checking The Claim: A Wireless Network That Streams A Thousand Times Faster?

As wireless data networks face more congestion, will entrepreneur Steve Perlman’s latest idea be the ultimate fix?

Engineers and entrepreneurs want to make it possible for two people to converse in different languages, while a small device spits out translations in real time.

Tech Watch

Kissing Language Barriers Goodbye

Google is paving the way for the universal voice translator, formerly a thing of science fiction. But will they actually help us communicate?

Zebrafish embryo

Art Meets Science

A Scan of a Mechanical Heart Pump Fitted in a Live Human and Other Eerily Beautiful Scientific Images

From a photo of a tick biting flesh to a closeup of a kidney stone, the 18 winners of the 2014 Wellcome Image Awards highlight objects we don’t usually see

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