Innovations

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

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

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."

"The Kiss in the Field," 1943 woodcut printed in red-brown with watercolor on wove paper

Did Edvard Munch Find a Supernatural Power in Color?

A new exhibition at the National Gallery of Art places Munch’s palette in context

Pharmacists once used chocolate syrup to mask the bitter flavor of their remedies—and make a little money on the side.

The Unlikely Medical History of Chocolate Syrup

How the sundae staple went from treatment to just treat

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

Reinvented: Futuristic Toilet Extolls the Health Benefits of Squatting

An award-winning design for the toilet of the future makes it easier to switch to a more natural posture

Scissors That Cut Perfectly Straight Lines—Every Time!

An industrial design major has made it possible to make precise cuts without rulers or a heavy-duty guillotine

Checking the Claim: FiberFix is 100 Times Stronger Than Duct Tape

A company shows how its new product can make a broken shovel as good as new

Behold! The World’s First One-Handed Zipper

After a lot of trial and error, inventor Scott Peters has made a no-fuss magnetic zipper

Follow the Glow-in-the-Dark Road

Durable, long lasting material can be painted onto streets and sidewalks to eliminate the need for lamp posts

Nest Protect, the latest product to come from Nest Labs, reimagines the lowly household smoke detector.

For $129, Nest’s New Smoke Detector Talks to You

Tony Fadell's startup unveils the Protect, a smoke detector far less annoying than others on the market

The National Museum building, now known as the Arts and Industries building, wouldn’t open to the public until October 1881, but made an exception for a big debut: President James A. Garfield’s inaugural ball on March 4, 1881. The building’s West Hall, which faces the central Rotunda, was decorated with “festive buntings, state flags and seals.” Workers constructed a temporary wooden floor for the event’s 7,000 guests (and 10,000 bins for their hats and coats).

The Arts and Industries Building: Innovation Through The Years

A look at the evolution of the second-oldest building on the National Mall

Scuba diving with sharks is an increasingly popular tourist activity in Australia and South Africa.

Chainmail, Metal Spikes and Unbreakable Material: Can We Design a ‘Shark-Proof’ Wetsuit?

For years, inventors have tried to create a wetsuit capable of withstanding a shark's deadly bite

One day, these will be laughably large.

Batteries Are Now Unbelievably Tiny

A group from Harvard and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana figured out how to print tiny batteries, no bigger than a grain of sand

Points interactive directional signpost

A Sign For the Times: Digital Wayfinding Adapts to Your Needs

Design agency BREAKFAST is creating the street sign of the future

The Solar Impulse flying over San Francisco at night.

Look Ma, No Fuel! Flying Cross Country on Sun Power

This week one of the strangest flying machines you've ever seen will start its journey across America--without a drop of fuel

The Stealth Wear hoodie in thermal IR

Drone Couture: Designing Invisibility

While scientists work toward perfecting the invisibility cloak, one designer has already developed a line of clothing that makes people invisible to robots

The doctor shows George his “Peek-A-Boo Prober Capsule” (1962)

George Jetson Gets A Check-Up

Medical diagnostics in the paleofuture

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