Scientific Innovation

Is Your Champagne Good? Listen to the Bubbles for Clues

You may be able to <em>hear</em> a high-quality bubbly

Gary Steinberg

A Neurosurgeon's Remarkable Plan to Treat Stroke Victims With Stem Cells

Gary Steinberg defied convention when he began implanting living cells inside the brains of patients who had suffered from a stroke

The herbarium of Washington, D.C.'s Natural History Museum teems with pressed specimens of thousands of distinct plants.

How Artificial Intelligence Could Revolutionize Archival Museum Research

A new study shows off a computer program’s specimen-sorting prowess

Flu pandemics begin when novel animal viruses start spreading between people.

How to Stop a Lethal Virus

With tens of millions of lives at stake, medical researchers are racing to create a revolutionary flu vaccine before the next devastating epidemic

Tuna isn't always what it claims to be.

What's Really in That Tuna Roll? DNA Testing Can Help You Find Out

This rapidly evolving tech aims to empower consumers and shine a light on the food industry

For tree poachers, sometimes known as "midnight burlers," redwoods can present a lucrative opportunity for theft. New research recommends ways to deter this hard-to-trace wildlife crime.

How Forest Forensics Could Prevent the Theft of Ancient Trees

To track down timber thieves, researchers are turning to new tech and tried-and-true criminal justice techniques

Water water everywhere, and not a day to think.

How Coastal Cities Are Evolving to Deal With Extreme Rain

Facing the specter of more and worse rainstorms, these vulnerable areas are turning to innovative urban design

Backyard Worlds is using the power of citizen scientists to search for the elusive Planet 9.

The Universe Needs You: To Help in the Hunt for Planet 9

How one citizen science endeavor is using the Internet to democratize the search for distant worlds

A green bluebottle fly, part of the Calliphoridae family of carrion flies.

How Fly Guts Are Helping Researchers Catalog the Rainforest

These tiny, buzzing lab assistants provide scientists with a treasure trove of conservation data

If you've eaten an avocado lately, chances are it was a Hass.

Holy Guacamole: How the Hass Avocado Conquered the World

Why one California postman's delicious mistake now graces toast and tacos from California to New Zealand

This iRobot 780 was one of the early Roomba models that randomly moved about the room. But the company's latest models (900 series) uses cameras and software to collect data and map out your home.

Roomba Wants to Sell Maps of Your Home

Data from these robovacs could assist in the development of other 'smart home' devices

Scientists Store Video Clip in DNA of Living Cells

This first could lead to health-monitoring molecular recorders inside cells

A scuba diver swims in the coral reefs of Palau. Beneath the depths that humans can dive, natural wonder and a better understanding of our planet awaits.

Why The First Complete Map of the Ocean Floor Is Stirring Controversial Waters

Charting these watery depths could transform oceanography. It could also aid deep sea miners looking for profit

Eight billion cans sold, and counting.

How Spam Went from Canned Necessity to American Icon

Out-of-the-can branding helped transform World War II's rations into a beloved household staple

Scientists used the new adhesive to create electronic skin controlled by a smartphone.

A More Super Superglue Could Help Build Jelly-Like Robots

A tweaked version of the popular adhesive may give a big boost to stretchable electronics and soft robots

The Erie Canal in Syracuse, New York.

Thank the Erie Canal for Spreading People, Ideas and Germs Across America

From Albany to Buffalo, navigate the history of the famed waterway

So much potentially misleading information, so little time.

How Fake News Breaks Your Brain

Short attention spans and a deluge of rapid-fire articles on social media form a recipe for fake news epidemics

PhD students experiment with the glove in professor Tolley's lab.

This Glove Makes VR Objects Feel Real

Pneumatic "muscles" on the glove simulate the feel of real objects

The "abortion pill" (actually two separate medications) can be taken up to 10 weeks after pregnancy, according to the FDA.

The Science Behind the “Abortion Pill”

Legal or not, more American women are opting for abortion by medication. We asked doctors: How safe is it?

A young padawan asks astrophysicist Erin Macdonald a question at a Future Con panel. This year, Smithsonian's Future Con took place as a special programming track within Awesome Con, leading to a number of serendipitous moments like this.

When Cutting-Edge Science Meets Science Fiction, It Packs the House

At Future Con, fans of sci-fi, fantasy and comics met the researchers and engineers who are bringing their stories to life

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