Innovations

A Boeing 747 takes flight.

Traveling the World Was Never the Same Once the Boeing 747 Debuted

Wave goodbye to the beloved jet that took us to new heights

RangerBot is an autonomous underwater vehicle designed to identify and kill crown-of-thorns starfish by lethal injection.

Sea-Star Murdering Robots Are Deployed in the Great Barrier Reef

The RangerBot is a new line of defense against coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish

Could This Brain Implant Stop Epilepsy Seizures?

A new approach, which involves an implantable device delivering neurotransmitters to the brain, proves effective in mice

The next generation of robotic hands will have to be extremely dexterous, but also simple to build. The three-fingered version designed by engineer Matei Ciocarlie can adapt to a wide array of objects, yet hold each of them in a firm grasp (composite image shows the more open hold on an apple and a tighter pinch on a marker). Its semi-soft fingers are controlled by a series of wire “tendons” that lead to a single motor in a robot’s wrist.

The Quest to Build Robotic Hands

Humans can readily manipulate all kinds of objects. But robots need better mechanics—and a lot more intelligence

When Was the Earliest Internet Search?

Years before the birth of the Google, a forgotten experiment laid the groundwork for the ubiquitous search engine

Betsy Congdon, lead engineer for Parker Solar Probe’s heat shield, looks on as technician Tony Ahan attaches the interface plates that will allow the heat shield above them to eventually be installed onto the spacecraft.

Behind the Scenes With the Spacecraft That Will Soar Through the Sun's Atmosphere

The probe, which launches Sunday, will attempt to solve enduring mysteries about the sun

Fears materialized when a series of deadly botulism cases struck unassuming consumers throughout the country.

The Botulism Outbreak That Gave Rise to America’s Food Safety System

In late 1919 and early 1920, scientists and canners worked with the government to protect the public from the deadly toxin

Most garages can double as EV charging stations.

For Electric Vehicles to Take Off, Apartments Need to Come with Charging Stations

As EVs make more inroads, giving tenants somewhere to plug in their cars could become a selling point

Forest near Sarayaku, Ecuador

This Simulation Maps the Rise and Fall of Species Over 800,000 Years

Biogeographers have built a virtual world to trace the emergence and extinction of species during the last eight glacial cycles

The Unexpected Afterlife of Ill-Gotten Wildlife Goods

Contraband pelts and scales can serve as educational tools, add to research collections and even offer clues back to smugglers

Humans and other animals share large amounts of genetic material, making geneticists rethink the traditional notion of inheritance.

Genes That Jump Between Species Could Rewrite Our Understanding of Evolution

Horizontal movement of genetic material is widespread across animals, challenging traditional notions of inheritance

‘Earthrise,’ which appeared on the cover of the second and third Whole Earth Catalog, was taken by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders during lunar orbit, Dec. 24, 1968.

50 Years Ago, the Whole Earth Catalog Launched and Reinvented the Environmental Movement

The publication gave rise to a new community of environmental thinkers, where hippies and technophiles found common ground

A male bee releasing its seminal fluid at the USDA bee lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The male does not survive the process.

Is the Key to Saving Pollinators … Honey Bee Semen?

In the hopes of preserving their genetic diversity, entomologists are collecting and freezing this valuable fluid

Berry started his career colorizing actual telescope data. His more recent work includes this artistic impression of a black hole at the heart of galaxy NGC 1068. The material trapped around the black hole is moving so fast that the light itself is either compressed to blue where the material is coming toward the viewer, or stretched to red, where it is rushing away from the viewer.

The Supernova That Launched a Thousand Gorgeous Space Images

By colorizing one of the first Hubble satellite images, illustrator Dana Berry ushered in a new era of stunning space visuals

A human wrist (and wristwatch) imaged with the new 3D, color x-ray machine developed by MARS Bioimaging.

Check Out These Awesome New 3D, Full-Color X-Rays

The scanner uses technology developed for the Large Hadron Collider

Scientists Explain The Thrill of Detecting a Neutrino From a Far-Off Galaxy

For the first time, the IceCube observatory has triumphantly tracked a neutrino back to a massive blazar

Optimizing cows

This Connecticut Farm Is Milking Cows for Data

Robotic milkers, video cameras and even sensors hidden inside cows will help the facility get the most milk from a healthy herd

A kissing bug with an attached radio transmitter at a private home in Texas.

How Tiny Trackers Could Help Humans Avoid Kissing Bugs' Deadly Smooch

The insects, which spread Chagas disease, can now be tracked with miniature radios to stop the spread of illness

The antibiotic-resistant superbug MRSA

New "Immunobiotic" Could Treat Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs

The drug, which combines antibiotics and the body's immune system, shows promise in early stages of testing

The Intricate Skill That Goes Into Landing a Fighter Jet

Landing on an aircraft carrier's 300-feet runway seems like an impossible task

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