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Innovation / Technology

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Coming Soon: The Dream Chaser, a Nimbler Space Shuttle

This NASA-funded project could head into orbit within just a few years

Jeannette Paillan, a Mapuche documentary filmmaker, was the inspiration for this 2012 textile, titled Lukutuwe (Fertility). Scanning the QR code embedded in the tapestry reveals a quotation from Paillan, in Spanish, about the importance of sustaining the Mapuche language.

What’s a QR Code Doing on That Blanket?

Artist Guillermo Bert is weaving together technology and Native American tradition

New digital identification technology is able to identify a person based on his or her typing patterns.

How You Type Could Become Your New Password

New technology can identify an individual just from keystrokes

Fueling the trip to the exoplanet Gliese 667Cd, discovered earlier this week, would be one of humankind’s greatest challenges to date. Above is an artist’s rendering of a view from the planet.

Powering the 21st Century

Can We Power a Space Mission To An Exoplanet?

Ion engines, solar sails, antimatter rockets, nuclear fusion—several current and future technologies could someday help us fuel an interstellar journey

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Why Living in a City Makes You More Innovative

Research suggests that the more opportunities you have to connect with different people—and fresh ideas—the more creative and productive you tend to be

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How Solar Can Save India’s Farmers

Water pumps powered by the sun could solve a host of problems for rural farmers and the nation’s power grid

Research says dogs have learned to behave like children.

Are Dogs Now Just Furry Kids?

Research is showing how much the bonds between dogs and their owners have become like a parent-child relationship

Points interactive directional signpost

A Sign For the Times: Digital Wayfinding Adapts to Your Needs

Design agency BREAKFAST is creating the street sign of the future

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What Scientists Now Know About Repairing Memories

Recent research suggests that the brain rebuilds a memory every time it is recalled. And that creates a window of opportunity for changing it

One bionic ear, fresh off the printer.

How One Day Everything Could Be Recycled

Mix 3-D printers and biomimicry and what do you get? Products that are as strong, resilient, versatile—and biodegradable—as most things in nature

Science gives fathers some props.

10 More Things We’ve Learned About Dads

Scientists keep finding reasons why fathers matter. They also think it’s not a bad idea for dads to ask their kids, “How am I doing?”

“Rainbow Ice” is a top selling flavor for Dippin’ Dots.

Is Dippin’ Dots Still the “Ice Cream of the Future”?

How founder and CEO Curt Jones is trying to keep the tiny ice cream beads from becoming a thing of the past

Can this little thing really ride hurricane winds?

How Swarming Drones Can Explore a Hurricane

A University of Florida engineer is building a squadron of hand-sized drones that he says will be able to gather data as they ride on hurricane winds

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VIDEO: This Helicopter is Controlled Entirely By A Person’s Thoughts

A new device can read your brain patterns to steer a toy helicopter—the mere thought of clenching your right fist veers the chopper right

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Why Navy Scientists Want to Mimic Cicadas

No, it’s not about learning to live underground for 17 years. It’s all about the noise.

Would You Eat Something Wrapped in a WikiCell?

Harvard bioengineer David Edwards believes he’s found a way to cut down on packaging waste

Members of the Lake Whillans drill team lived in yellow tents studding the Antarctic landscape.

Digging for the Secrets Beneath Antarctica

Scientists have found life in the depths beneath the ice

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World’s Newest Atomic Clock Loses 1 Second Every 50 Billion Years

Tired of your clocks losing time? A new clock, which is the most accurate ever, uses ytterbium atoms and lasers to precisely define a second

The Ginger.io app looks for health clues in a phone log trail.

How You Use Your Phone May Tip Off Health Problems

Among the new technology geared to preventive health care is an app that tracks your social behavior and has been described as a human “check engine” light

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The Robot Revolution Is for the Birds

Look up for robotic ravens and cyborg pigeons

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