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Innovation / Technology

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What Phone Companies Are Doing With All That Data From Your Phone

They’re mining it and selling it. But don’t worry, it’s all anonymous. Maybe

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Interactive: The 50 Largest Ports in the World

Investigate for yourself the mechanisms of global trade

Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg and her DNA-derived self-portrait.

Cracking the Code of the Human Genome

Creepy or Cool? Portraits Derived From the DNA in Hair and Gum Found in Public Places

Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg reconstructs the faces of strangers from genetic evidence she scavenges from the streets

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Cracking the Code of the Human Genome

The Secret to a Long Life May Be Deep Inside Your Brain

Scientists have found a way to slow the aging process. Unluckily for us, they’ve only been able to do it in mice

VOTO, a new device that converts the heat from a fire into readily usable electricity.

Five Innovative Technologies that Bring Energy to the Developing World

From soccer balls to cookstoves, engineers are working on a range of devices that provide cheap, clean energy

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Want to See How an Artist Creates a Painting? There’s an App for That

The Repentir app reveals an artist’s creative process by allowing users to peel back layers of paint with the touch of their fingertips

Lego’s new Mindstorms EV3 kit lets users build 17 different robots and program them directly through an “intelligent brick.”

How Lego Is Constructing the Next Generation of Engineers

With programmable robots and student competitions, Lego is making “tinkering with machines cool again”

This wax-and-cardboard disc from 1885 contains a recording of Bell’s voice.

We Had No Idea What Alexander Graham Bell Sounded Like. Until Now

Smithsonian researchers used optical technology to play back the unplayable records

The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine prints ear, nose and bone scaffolds that can be coated with cells to grow body parts.

What Lies Ahead for 3-D Printing?

The new technology promises a factory in every home—and a whole lot more

Advances in genetic technology have opened a window into the populous and powerful world of microbial life in and around the human body.

Microbes: The Trillions of Creatures Governing Your Health


Scientists are just now beginning to recognize the importance of the vast community of microbes that dwells inside us


The Solar Impulse flying over San Francisco at night.

Look Ma, No Fuel! Flying Cross Country on Sun Power

This week one of the strangest flying machines you’ve ever seen will start its journey across America—without a drop of fuel

Who makes a good call center worker? Big Data knows.

How Big Data Will Mean the End to Job Interviews

Companies will rely more and more on analyzing mountains of data to determine who’s the best fit for a job

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Cops Could Soon Use Breathalyzers to Test for Illegal Drugs

Swedish researchers are developing a system that tests for 12 different drugs on your breath, including cocaine, marijuana and amphetamines

An investing strategy based on the frequency of certain words Google searches, it turns out, might provide sizable profits.

Google Search Terms Can Predict the Stock Market

An investing strategy based on the frequency of certain words Google searches, it turns out, might yield sizable profits

Music works deep into our brains.

Eight New Things We’ve Learned About Music

It’s right up there with food, sex and drugs when its comes to stirring up pleasure responses in our brains

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A Night at the Museum with the Smithsonian’s Laser Cowboys

A look at the future with Adam Metallo and Vince Rossi, who recently spent two nights scanning the Natural History Museum’s entire Dino Hall in 3D

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The Eyes Have It

In the wake of the Boston bombing, Amy Henderson explores parallels between the era of Edison and the mediascape of today that helped solve the crime

Do teachers need to train more like doctors?

Do Teachers Need Their Own “Bar Exam”?

Some say the best way to improve American education—and get teachers more respect—is make them take challenging entry exams like doctors and lawyers do

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Q+A: What Is the Future of GPS? Are We Too Dependent?

Geographer Andrew Johnston discusses some of the applications and risks of the satellite-based technology, as well as its future

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Should We Fall Out of Love with Robot Surgery?

The FDA is investigating whether doctors aren’t getting enough training before they start using machines to do surgery. Is the “wow” factor to blame?

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