Engineering | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/engineering/RSS feed for EngineeringenWed, 28 Oct 2026 12:30:00 +0000Romans Made Color-Changing Glass With Ancient Nanotechnology. Scientists Just Discovered How to Replicate the 1,600-Year-Old Marvelhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/romans-made-color-changing-glass-with-ancient-nanotechnology-scientists-just-discovered-how-to-replicate-the-1600-year-old-marvel-180989766/Researchers were inspired by Lycurgus Cup, a chalice from the fourth century C.E. that appears opaque green under reflected light but wine red when lit directly. "To me, it’s magic," the lead researcher saysWed, 28 Oct 2026 12:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/romans-made-color-changing-glass-with-ancient-nanotechnology-scientists-just-discovered-how-to-replicate-the-1600-year-old-marvel-180989766/Dam Removals Are Bringing Fish Back Across the Northeastern United States, Striking Down One Tiny Barrier at a Timehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dam-removals-are-bringing-fish-back-across-the-northeastern-united-states-striking-down-one-tiny-barrier-at-a-time-180989679/While the demolition of big dams in the West gets more attention, many of these often-obsolete obstructions are also coming out of northeastern streams and rivers—and herring are returning in drovesFri, 16 Oct 2026 17:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dam-removals-are-bringing-fish-back-across-the-northeastern-united-states-striking-down-one-tiny-barrier-at-a-time-180989679/Could This Dutch Invention Help Tackle Plastic Pollution in America's Waterways?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/could-this-dutch-invention-help-tackle-plastic-pollution-in-americas-waterways-180989651/The Netherlands has had success with the Bubble Barrier, which pumps air bubbles from the bottom of a canal or river to direct plastic to the surface. Now, Lansing, Michigan, is looking to be the first to install the technology statesideFri, 09 Oct 2026 17:49:27 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/could-this-dutch-invention-help-tackle-plastic-pollution-in-americas-waterways-180989651/Margaret Hamilton, a Pioneering Software Engineer Who Made the First Human Moon Landing Possible, Dies at 90https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/margaret-hamilton-a-pioneering-software-engineer-who-made-the-first-human-moon-landing-possible-dies-at-90-180989653/Hamilton popularized the term "software engineer" and created computer programs that could anticipate problems. She received a Presidential Medal of Freedom and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of FameThu, 08 Oct 2026 18:42:32 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/margaret-hamilton-a-pioneering-software-engineer-who-made-the-first-human-moon-landing-possible-dies-at-90-180989653/Scientists Invent a Digestible, Paper-Based Battery That Can Power Swallowed or Implanted Medical Deviceshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-invent-a-digestible-paper-based-battery-that-can-power-swallowed-or-implanted-medical-devices-180989549/So far, the technology has been tested only in pigs. If it's successful in humans, it could one day power tools that monitor your health or deliver drugs or electrical currents inside the bodyFri, 25 Sep 2026 18:37:27 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-invent-a-digestible-paper-based-battery-that-can-power-swallowed-or-implanted-medical-devices-180989549/Centuries Ago, an Architect Characterized the Parthenon’s Curves as a Clever Optical Illusion. Now, a Mathematician Begs to Differhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/centuries-ago-an-architect-characterized-the-parthenons-curves-as-a-clever-optical-illusion-now-a-mathematician-begs-to-differ-180989520/In the first century B.C.E., Vitruvius wrote that the Acropolis’ largest temple was horizontally bowed so that it didn't seem to sag, and that explanation persisted for millennia. New research suggests a different reasonFri, 18 Sep 2026 17:11:29 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/centuries-ago-an-architect-characterized-the-parthenons-curves-as-a-clever-optical-illusion-now-a-mathematician-begs-to-differ-180989520/Scientists Created Mice With Half-Human Brains. The Hybrid Animals Could Revolutionize Our Understanding of Neurological Disordershttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-created-mice-with-half-human-brains-the-hybrid-animals-could-revolutionize-our-understanding-of-neurological-disorders-180989518/Our brains and their associated diseases are notoriously hard to study. So researchers developed an animal model with a cortex—the brain’s outer layer—grown from human-derived cellsThu, 17 Sep 2026 20:16:55 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-created-mice-with-half-human-brains-the-hybrid-animals-could-revolutionize-our-understanding-of-neurological-disorders-180989518/Unsealed for the First Time in 600 Years, This Tomb in Peru Was Just Declared the 'Discovery of the Decade'https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/unsealed-for-the-first-time-in-600-years-this-tomb-in-peru-was-just-declared-the-discovery-of-the-decade-180989497/Archaeologists excavating Chan Chan, the capital of the pre-Inca Chimú civilization, found an undisturbed mausoleum that held the remains of at least 38 individuals, as well as a trove of rich funerary goodsMon, 14 Sep 2026 19:05:34 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/unsealed-for-the-first-time-in-600-years-this-tomb-in-peru-was-just-declared-the-discovery-of-the-decade-180989497/