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Technology

Wyss Institute engineers selected works from the collections to illustrate a "new approach to Design Science." The clusters of polyhedrons in the 1954 textile Time Capsule reflects the 1950s sentiment for a brighter future built on scientific progress.

How Biology Inspires Future Technology

Bioengineers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute showcase their ingenious medical, industrial and environmental designs at the Cooper Hewitt

A park ranger gives the Obama family a tour of Carlsbad Caverns National Park in 2016.

3-D Map to Digitize Part of Carlsbad Caverns Down to the Millimeter

The National Parks Service is also compiling a modern cultural history of the caverns

Loop the Loop at Coney Island, 1903

14 Fun Facts About Roller Coasters

For starters, one of the oldest coasters in America carried coal before it carried passengers

Speakers featured in the Celebrating Indigenous Languages project.

At-Risk Indigenous Languages Spotlighted on New Google Earth Platform

The new initiative features recordings of native languages from around the globe

The "Mark Twain" launched in early 1882 as an 18-size, key-wound movement with a subsidiary seconds function.

Mark Twain’s Quest to Bring Affordable Watches to the Masses

At one time, he even invested in a watch company that launched a signature ‘Mark Twain’ pocket watch

Csilla Ari D’Agostino sits in front of the Aquarius habitat and uses a waterproof iPad for cognitive tests as part of her research on NEEMO 23.

Future of Space Exploration

NASA Scientists and Astronauts Practice for Space Missions on the Seafloor

A female-led crew trained for nine days in an undersea laboratory in the Atlantic to get a sense of what it’s like to live and work in microgravity

The 8-bit system looks dated by today’s standards.

Thirty Years Ago, Game Boy Changed the Way America Played Video Games

Nintendo’s handheld gaming system proved to be a huge success, thanks to its durability and battery life

Keven Walgamott lost his left hand and part of his arm in an electrical accident 17 years ago

Robotic Hand Restores Wearer’s Sense of Touch

The prosthetic enabled a test subject to pick up an egg without cracking it, send a text message, peel a banana and hold his wife’s hand

A government demonstration of the polygraph from the 1970s

Why Lie Detector Tests Can’t Be Trusted

Federal agencies embraced the polygraph in the 1950s to reassure the public that they could unmask spies

The exhibit room appears nearly monochromatic and devoid of life before the augmented reality app reveals Ruffner's invented plants.

This Artist Imagines How Nature Evolves Following an Environmental Apocalypse

Ginny Ruffner’s “Reforestation of the Imagination” at the Renwick uses augmented reality to show the plants that might grow after environment devastation

Researchers previously believed that traces of animal fat left in pottery stemmed from feasts held by Stonehenge's builders.

Did Stonehenge’s Builders Use Lard to Move Its Boulders Into Place?

Animal fat residue found on ceramic vessels suggests the ancient Britons who built the monument greased their wooden sledges with lard

Detail from a promotional poster for Thunderball showing James Bond escaping with the help of a jet pack.

In Battles of Man Versus Machine, James Bond Always Wins

We love the suave character because he soothes our anxieties about the power of humans in an increasingly technological world

A child picks out jury candidates before a courtroom audience.

When 6-Year-Olds Chose Jury Candidates

Before computers randomly issued jury summons, some state laws required that children do the picking

The author likes to think the lunar rover's design was informed in part by his father's experience retooling the family station wagon.

From the Family Station Wagon to the Apollo Lunar Rover, My Dad’s Engineering Talent Had No Limits

Stricken with polio as an adult, he retired from the military and joined NASA’s ingenious design team

At the apex of the Walkman craze, 1987 to ’97, the number of people who reported that they walked for exercise rose by 30 percent.

The Walkman’s Invention 40 Years Ago Launched a Cultural Revolution

In 1979, the new device forever changed the way we listened to music

No horns here!

Cell Phones Are Probably Not Making Us Grow Horns

Scientists and doctors cast doubts on study claiming that prolonged cell phone use is creating bone protrusions on young people’s heads

Women compare A.J. Freiman shoes.

‘Vis-O-Matic’ Was the 1950s Version of Online Shopping

A Canadian department store tried to revolutionize buying when it opened a shop with booths and screens for ordering merchandise

Speech2Face has its limitations, including a gender bias that led it to associate higher-pitched voices with women and lower-pitched ones with men

Artificial Intelligence Generates Humans’ Faces Based on Their Voices

In trials, the algorithm successfully pinpointed speakers’ gender, race and age

A German Circus Uses Stunning Holograms Instead of Live Animal Performers

Circus Roncalli is preserving the tradition of animal acts while eliminating concerns of animal cruelty

New Research

A.I. Is Learning Teamwork by Dominating in Multiplayer Video Games

Google’s DeepMind labs trained bots play a virtual version of capture the flag, showing them how to work as a unit

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