Innovations

President Barack Obama fist bumps a robotic arm being controlled by electrodes implanted in Nathan Copeland's brain at the University of Pittsburgh on October 13, 2016.

Researchers Create Mind-Controlled Robotic Arm With Sense of Touch

Touch feedback allowed a man with electrodes implanted into his brain to command a robotic arm and complete tasks quickly

Before donating the 45.5-carat Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution, the jeweler Harry Winston had Bradford Bachrach photograph Eleanor Kidd—the face of Lucky Strike cigarettes—wearing the gem in 1958.

The Story Behind the Photography Studio That Captured America

For generations, Bachrach Photographers made everyone, from JFK to Duke Ellington to everyday people, look great

Freshly gathered truffles at Burwell Farms are the fruit of a bold collaboration—and a proprietary cultivation technique.

Has the American-Grown Truffle Finally Broken Through?

These delicacies, harvested in an experiment in North Carolina, have food-lovers and farmers ravenous for more

The enzyme-enhanced plastic film had the same strength and flexibility as a standard plastic grocery bag.

This Biodegradable Plastic Will Actually Break Down in Your Compost

Water and heat activate plastic-munching enzymes that reduce the material to harmless chemical building blocks

Xiulin Ruan, a Purdue University professor of mechanical engineering, holds up his lab’s sample of the whitest paint on record.

This Ultra-White Paint May Someday Replace Air Conditioning

Developed by researchers at Purdue University, the paint reflects 98.1 percent of sunlight

Seventeen-year-old Dasia Taylor was named one of 40 finalists in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the country’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors.

This High Schooler Invented Color-Changing Sutures to Detect Infection

After winning a state science fair and becoming a finalist in a national competition, Dasia Taylor now has her sights set on a patent

The stories of children who participated in polio vaccine tests became a constant in media coverage, appearing alongside warnings and debates.

The Press Made the Polio Vaccine Trials Into a Public Spectacle

As a medical breakthrough unfolded in the early 1950s, newspapers filled pages with debates over vaccine science and anecdotes about kids receiving shots

In makeshift home laboratories, a team of scientists discovered that cotton flannel is the optimal fabric, and their latest study says that the moisture from our breath makes the mask more effective.

How to Build a Better Homemade Face Mask, According to Science

When Covid-19 hit, Smithsonian researchers set up makeshift home laboratories to conduct groundbreaking studies on mask fabric materials

Grooming miles of track is a job that starts long before January, when drivers start taking to the ice.

Why Automakers Flock to This Small Swedish Town Every Winter

From January to April, the population of Arjeplog more than quadruples, as almost every brand test drives its vehicles on the region's frozen lakes

Beeple's Everydays: The First 5000 Days, a non-fungible token, or an entirely digital work, will go up for auction at Christie's later this month.

Entirely Digital Artwork Sells for Record-Breaking $69 Million

The sale marks the third-highest auction price achieved by a living artist

What if literature was an invention for making us happier and healthier?

Eight of Literature's Most Powerful Inventions—and the Neuroscience Behind How They Work

These reoccuring story elements have proven effects on our imagination, our emotions and other parts of our psyche

Jennifer Doudna, a Nobel Prize recipient for her work on the gene-editing tool CRISPR, and the "life sciences revolution" are the dual subjects of Walter Isaacson's latest biography.

How Scientist Jennifer Doudna Is Leading the Next Technological Revolution

A new book from Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson offers an incisive portrait of the gene editing field that is changing modern medicine

Artificial Intelligence has been used to help caregivers focus on patients most at-risk, sort threats to patient recovery and foresee spikes in facility needs for things like beds and ventilators.

How Doctors Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Battle Covid-19

Software is helping to shape treatment, but experts worry that some tools are approved too soon and others are biased

Virgin's hyperloop system uses magnetic levitation technology to reduce friction and low-pressure sealed vacuums along the track that minimize air resistance.

Smithsonian's 'Futures' Exhibition to Feature Virgin Hyperloop's Record-Breaking Transportation Pod

Virgin Hyperloop's Pegasus vehicle will be on display for viewers to take a closer look at its interior this fall

Left, a portion of the patent plan designed by Marie Van Brittan Brown and her husband Albert, right.

A Brief History of the Invention of the Home Security Alarm

A hardworking nurse envisioned a new way to know who was at the door

The health of corals on the Great Barrier Reef is routinely being threatened by hot water temperatures. The Australian government is investigating a range of techniques to try to protect the corals and stave off warming.

Could Flushing Cold Water Over the Great Barrier Reef Save Corals?

Lack of action on climate change is forcing scientists to devise ever more elaborate ways to stave off damage

Artist's rendering of "Futures," an upcoming exhibition at the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building

From Floating Cities to Biodegradable Burial Pods and Flying Cars, the Smithsonian Envisions a Multitude of Futures

The Arts and Industries Building will reopen this November with a thought-provoking exploration of what lies ahead for humanity

NASA's Perseverance rover will store rock and soil samples in sealed tubes on the surface of Mars.

Perseverance Kicks Off Elaborate Effort to Bring Mars Rocks to Earth

The decade-long mission requires dozens of glass tubes, two rovers and three more rocket launches, including the first from another planet

In Singapore, a city-state notoriously tight on space, Apollo Aquaculture Group is building an eight-story indoor aquaculture facility.

An Eight-Story Fish Farm Will Bring Locally Produced Food to Singapore

The massive indoor aquaculture facility is an effort to boost food security for the small island city-state

An illustration of the Perseverance rover on Mars

Exploring Mars

Space agencies are launching new missions outfitted with revolutionary technologies, including the Perseverance rover, to learn more about the Red Planet

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