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Innovations

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America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

Because of a Mathematician From Rural Virginia Work on Global Positioning, You Have No Excuse for Getting Lost

Gladys West had an “insatiable thirst for knowledge.” She used computers, radars and satellites to make calculations that led to the GPS technology that allows us to pinpoint any spot on the globe

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America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

In the Early Days of Machine Learning, Massive Computers Said George Harrison Was a Woman. A.I. Has Come a Long Way

A Cornell professor designed a room-size network of sensors that represented a single neuron. He claimed it would grow wiser as it gained experience, and it has never stopped

This satellite image from January 16, 2022, reveals formaldehyde in blue. The volcanic plume from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano traveled over the South Pacific.

Tonga’s Enormous Volcanic Eruption Cleaned Up Part of Its Own Methane Emissions in 2022, Hinting at a Way to Fight Climate Change

Researchers analyzed satellite imagery of the volcanic plume and found evidence that the potent greenhouse gas had broken down. The work could inform artificial interventions aiming to mitigate global warming, scientists say

For 80 years, most mathematicians assumed Paul Erdős' strategy was correct.

Mathematicians Puzzled Over a Famous Problem for 80 Years. Now, They’ve Used A.I. to Identify a Clever Solution

In 1946, the mathematician Paul Erdős posed the unit distance problem—and suggested a winning strategy. An A.I. model has now landed on a better one. Why didn’t humans get there first?

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Smithsonian Magazine Presents: America at 250—The Revolutionary Spark

Celebrating the visionary insights & darling innovators that forged a nation.

Researchers decided not to dye or bleach the yarn so that the shipwreck’s original color could shine.

A Shipwreck, but Make It Fashion: Researchers Transformed Wooden Fragments From a 17th-Century Shipwreck Into a Pair of Stylish Maxi Dresses

Scientists at Aalto University in Finland saved pieces of the Hahtiperä wreck and turned them into textile fibers

The singer, actor and television host Dinah Shore touts big savings on the cover of the Sperry & Hutchinson Company’s 1963 Ideabook.

Customer Loyalty Was Once Measured in Green Stamps. And the More You Shopped, the Bigger the Rewards

If you’ve ever earned a free latte for buying ten of them earlier, it’s a direct result of the phenomenon created by a company few remember today

A replica of the rare Apple I is on display at the museum.

See a Colorful Wall of Vintage iMacs and a Re-creation of Steve Jobs’ Garage at a New Apple Museum in the Netherlands

The tech world changed forever when two college dropouts founded Apple on April 1, 1976. Fifty years later, a museum dedicated to the company’s history and evolution has opened in the city of Utrecht

Modern fish traps require pilings that are driven into the riverbed and netting that reaches across part of a river.

Fish Traps Have Been Banned on the Columbia River for Nearly a Century. Could Bringing Them Back Help Save Salmon?

A new experiment is testing the commercial success of fish traps in Washington and Oregon. Even as some conservationists embrace the technique, its return has reopened old wounds among local fishers

Touch screens can be a challenge for users with long fingernails.

A New Nail Polish Might Someday Solve Touch Screen Struggles for Users With Long Fingernails

The experimental coating could effectively transform fingernails into touch screen-compatible styluses

A set of children’s building blocks (Anker-Steinbaukasten) that belonged to Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein Played With These Building Blocks as a Child. Here’s How They Helped Shape His Magnificent Mind

The 19th-century German toy pieces, made with quartz sand, chalk and linseed oil, allowed kids to create realistic structures

A Van Gogh Pikachu Pokémon card, on January 14, 2026, in Los Angeles, California

Nintendo Released Its First ‘Pokémon’ Games 30 Years Ago. Here’s How the Beloved Catchable ‘Pocket Monsters’ Became the World’s Biggest Media Franchise

The phenomenon—with its video games, trading cards, shows, movies and merchandise—has generated billions in revenue

The YouTube watch page on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum's South Kensington location

Watch the First-Ever Video Uploaded to YouTube, a Grainy 19-Second Clip Called ‘Me at the Zoo’

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has acquired the site’s very first video, which went live on April 23, 2005

Easy-Bake Oven, 1977

How the Easy-Bake Oven, an Appliance That Allowed Kids to Heat Treats With a Light Bulb, Revolutionized the Toy Industry

The product, launched in 1963, became a staple in American households

Surgeons removed the patient's failing lungs and temporarily replaced them with an artificial version, saving his life.

Artificial Lungs Kept a Dying Man Alive For 48 Hours—Until He Was Well Enough to Receive an Organ Transplant

The patient is faring well nearly three years later, thanks to the life-saving device

A historic marker at Jackson State University, ca. 1950, from the “At the Vanguard” exhibition at the National Museum of African American History and Culture

How Historically Black Schools Create and Preserve Their Own History Through Amazing Artifacts, From Paintings to Marching Band Hats

For nearly 200 years, HBCUs have educated Black Americans. Now, a new exhibition highlights special objects from five universities

A six-fingered version of the robotic hand

This Detachable Robotic Hand Can Scurry Around and Grasp Objects Just Like Thing From the Addams Family

With up to six fingers that can bend in multiple directions, the innovative tool could one day be used to carry out tasks in tight spaces

Through gene-editing, researchers in the field of synthetic biology hope to make endangered species more resilient against disease or climate change and protect human health, among other goals.

Three Stunning Ways Biologists Aim to Edit Animal and Plant Genes to Fight Diseases and Extinction

The strategy, known as synthetic biology, is gaining momentum globally as a conservation tool and human health solution, despite attracting some critics

Naked mole-rats are unusual for their long lives and resistance to cancer. Now, researchers suggest the rodents not only tolerate but prefer to be in low-oxygen air.

Naked Mole-Rats Prefer Low-Oxygen Air That Would Kill Most Mammals, Adding to Their List of Death-Defying Superpowers

These underground rodents are the first mammals found to actively choose air with lower-than-normal oxygen levels. Their remarkable ability to survive these conditions could offer a key model for researchers studying new treatments for stroke or lung diseases in humans

Research suggests that elephants use certain plants for medicinal purposes.

When Some Elephants Raid Farms, They Might Not Be After a Snack. They Could Be Looking for Medicinal Plants

A recent study suggests that the large mammals may seek out parts of bananas and papayas when they’re suffering from gut parasites, sparking a cross-species exchange of pharmaceutical knowledge

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