Innovations | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/innovations/RSS feed for InnovationsenTue, 20 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Race for Hydrogen Fuel Has Taken These Scientists to the Arctic Seafloor. But Can They Unlock Its Secrets Before It's Too Late?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-race-for-hydrogen-fuel-has-taken-these-scientists-to-the-arctic-seafloor-but-can-they-unlock-its-secrets-before-its-too-late-180989707/On challenging expeditions, researchers have collected deep-sea bacteria that naturally produce hydrogen, exploring and documenting an ancient ecosystem that may soon be altered foreverTue, 20 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-race-for-hydrogen-fuel-has-taken-these-scientists-to-the-arctic-seafloor-but-can-they-unlock-its-secrets-before-its-too-late-180989707/This Brain Implant Allows People With Paralysis to Speak and Gesture at the Same Time Via a Mind-Controlled Virtual Avatarhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-brain-implant-allows-people-with-paralysis-to-speak-and-gesture-at-the-same-time-via-a-mind-controlled-virtual-avatar-180989604/The experimental technology is still in the early stage and was fully tested in just two participants. But it could one day help people with motor problems communicate with more nuance or help them control robotic prosthetic limbsTue, 06 Oct 2026 16:08:56 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-brain-implant-allows-people-with-paralysis-to-speak-and-gesture-at-the-same-time-via-a-mind-controlled-virtual-avatar-180989604/Archaeologists Are Reconstructing the 'Invisible' Technologies of the Stone Age, From Rope to Thread and Twinehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/archaeologists-are-reconstructing-the-invisible-technologies-of-the-stone-age-from-rope-to-thread-and-twine-180989534/Largely missing from the archaeological record, fiber innovations played a huge role in the lives of early humans. Researchers are weaving together new insights from the traces they left behindMon, 21 Sep 2026 18:24:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/archaeologists-are-reconstructing-the-invisible-technologies-of-the-stone-age-from-rope-to-thread-and-twine-180989534/The Ruins of a Long-Lost Medieval Convent Have Been Discovered Just a Few Feet Beneath a Soccer Fieldhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-ruins-of-a-long-lost-medieval-convent-have-been-discovered-just-a-few-feet-beneath-a-soccer-field-180989506/St. Clare's Convent closed in the 16th century, and researchers assumed all traces of it had been lost. But a new ground-penetrating radar survey revealed surprisingly intact remains of pillars, rooms, cloisters, a courtyard and a churchWed, 16 Sep 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-ruins-of-a-long-lost-medieval-convent-have-been-discovered-just-a-few-feet-beneath-a-soccer-field-180989506/Peptides Are All the Rage, Promising Miracle Cures and Makeovers Delivered by Injection. How Did We Get Here?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/peptides-are-all-the-rage-promising-miracle-cures-and-makeovers-delivered-by-injection-how-did-we-get-here-180989454/Experts say the peptide craze is part of a broader phenomenon, as patients look beyond the regulated health system to address problems that doctors have struggled to treatWed, 09 Sep 2026 18:28:15 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/peptides-are-all-the-rage-promising-miracle-cures-and-makeovers-delivered-by-injection-how-did-we-get-here-180989454/We’ve Been Strapping Cargo to Our Backs for Millions of Years, but Backpack Innovation Really Took Off Around the Civil Warhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/weve-been-strapping-cargo-backs-millions-years-backpack-innovation-took-off-around-civil-war-180989280/Discover the origin story for an accessory being comfortably lugged by nearly every hiker and student, with about 450 million sold each yearTue, 01 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/weve-been-strapping-cargo-backs-millions-years-backpack-innovation-took-off-around-civil-war-180989280/