Technology

The Ten Best Science Books of 2017

These books not only inspired awe and wonder—they helped us better understand the machinations of our world

The new softbots can lift an astonishing amount with the assistance of only air or water pressure.

This Artificial Muscle Can Lift 1,000 Times Its Own Weight

They were inspired by origami

Jony Ive

Why Jony Ive Is Apple's Design Genius

His work has become the seeds of a tech revolution that is rapidly changing our lives

Sousa around 1915, about a decade after he first decried "mechanical music."

John Philip Sousa Feared ‘The Menace of Mechanical Music’

Wonder what he’d say about Spotify

How a Ripped-Off Sequel of Don Quixote Predicted Piracy in the Digital Age

An anonymous writer's spinoff of Cervantes' masterpiece showed the peril and potential of new printing technology

“And bats with baby faces in the violet light / Whistled, and beat their wings”—T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land

How a Deadly Flesh-Eating Fungus Helped Make Bats Cute Again

A silver lining to the worldwide epidemic of white nose syndrome: People like bats more now

Google Earth Leads to Discovery of 400 Stone "Gates" in Saudi Arabia

Amateur researchers first came across the rock structures in 2004. Four years later, after seeing them again on Google Earth, they decided to investigate

Virginia Tech, whose Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT) was instrumental in bringing the festival to fruition, exhibited on Day 1 a cutting-edge robotic fabrication system.

These Collegiate Innovators Are at the Vanguard of Technology and Art

A massive three-day festival spotlights the achievements of the Atlantic Coast Conference

Using "visual fingerprints" in works of art, Smartify can quickly ID that painting you want to know more about

App Aims to be the "Shazam" of the Art Museum

With a database of 30 museums worldwide and growing, Smartify can use your phone camera to identify and explain works of art

The Sharp Rise and Steep Descent of AOL Instant Messenger

The free instant messaging service introduced millions to the joys of online communication, but it fell behind in the social media age

Kathy Niakan at work in the lab

Gene Editing of Embryos Gives Insight Into Basic Human Biology

A genetic tool allows researchers to disable a gene key to human development in a closely regulated experiment

Jim Naughten’s 2017 stereograph, The Toucans, mimics the look of a Victorian image.

Stereographs Were the Original Virtual Reality

The shocking power of immersing oneself in another world was all the buzz once before—about 150 years ago

Eight New Uses For Virtual Reality

Fasten your headsets. VR technology is coming at us from all directions

Metropoles like Shanghai have survived and thrived in large part because of their massive populations. But what happens when people start to become a liability rather than an asset?

Can the World’s Megacities Survive the Digital Age?

Like companies, megacities must adapt

Fertility apps promise to help women both get pregnant and avoid pregnancy. But how reliable are they?

What’s Actually New About Today’s Newfangled Birth Control Apps?

These futuristic-sounding apps are on the rise, but it’s key to separate the data from the hype

A new startup is making it easy for customers to shop their local family farmers—right from their homes.

New Startup WildKale Lets Farmers Sell Directly to Customers Through an App

Yes, it's like "Uber for farmer's markets."

Experiments Show How Neanderthals Made the First Glue

Archaeologists tested three methods the early hominins could have used to get tar from birch bark

Electronics That Can Melt in Your Body Could Change the World of Medicine

John Rogers, a revolutionary materials scientist, is pushing the boundaries of the medical world

New digital identification technology is able to identify a person based on his or her typing patterns.

How You Type Could Become Your New Password

New technology can identify an individual just from keystrokes

After 69 days trapped deep in Chile's San José copper mine, 33 miners, hauled from the depths one at a time, stepped out of the tiny capsule and into the embrace of a cheering world.

The Capsule That Saved the Chilean Miners

The Natural History museum offers an inside look at the dramatic rescue of men trapped half a mile underground in a Chilean copper mine

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