Smart News Ideas & Innovations

ONE Condoms become the first condoms approved for anal sex by the FDA. 

FDA Approves First Condom for Anal Sex

Health experts say FDA authorization may increase condom usage during anal intercourse and reduce sexually transmitted infections

Black-legged ticks, also called deer ticks, carry a variety of diseases that can be passed to humans.

Scientists Edit Tick Genes for the First Time

Altering tick genomes could bring scientists closer to managing ticks and tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease

Researchers attached green LED lights along the gillnet float line to keep unwanted marine animals from getting stuck.

Innovation for Good

Lit-Up Fishing Nets Dramatically Reduce Catch of Unwanted Sharks, Rays and Squid

Decorated nets entrapped fewer undesirable animals without significantly impacting the amount of target fish caught

Scientists built this synthetic fish using paper, plastic, gelatin and human heart cells.

Scientists Build an Artificial Fish That Swims on Its Own Using Human Heart Cells

The experiment could advance pacemaker technology and bring science closer to developing artificial hearts for people

After years of being paralyzed from the waist down, Michel Roccati can now walk again with the aid of nerve-stimulation devices.

Good News

Spinal Stimulation Device Helps Paralyzed Patients Walk, Cycle and Swim

Within days of their implants being activated, all three men were able to walk with support

Zara Rutherford greets reporters at  Wevelgem International Airport on January 20, 2022 in Kortrijk, Belgium. At age 19, she became the youngest female pilot to circumvent the globe, traveling across five continents in five months while flying in a single-seater sport plane.

Good News

19-Year-Old Woman Completes Around-the-World Solo Flight

Zara Rutherford flew 28,000 nautical miles of five continents to become the youngest woman to finish a solo global flight

An artist’s conception of the James Webb Space Telescope at work.

The James Webb Telescope Successfully Launches Into Space

A rocket carrying the $10 billion dollar invention blasted off Christmas morning and powered up as planned, providing astronomers with a long-awaited gift

The hydra’s unusual ability to regenerate parts of its body makes the creatures biologically immortal. 

How Tiny, 'Immortal' Hydras Regrow Their Lost Heads

A new analysis pinpoints different genes behind the tiny animal's ability to regenerate body parts

Canon's new SPAD sensors work by amplifying a single photon that enters the sensor's pixels into large amounts of electrical energy pulses. This allows the camera to see objects in areas with small amounts of light.  

Canon's New Image Sensor Can See in Almost-Total Darkness

The tech can capture images in only one-tenth of the brightness required by other devices

With the Phobys app, people with arachnophobia can overcome their fears by viewing a virtual spider. 

New Research

Got Arachnophobia? There's an App for That

Smartphone app helps fearful individuals overcome phobia of spiders

Coffee leaves cultured in laboratory conditions produced a brewed batch that smelled and tasted like the real deal.

Lab-Grown Coffee Passes Taste Test

Finnish researchers brew batch using a bioreactor for a more sustainable, climate-conserving java crop

Enticed by a sweet treat, a cow learns to use the "MooLoo," a latrine for cattle, where excrement can be collected. The only question is: can this technique work on a larger scale?

Researchers Potty Trained Young Cows, a Promising Measure to Reduce Greenhouse Gases

One cow pees up to eight gallons a day; training them is easy, and capturing and treating the waste could make a difference

After his recovery, researchers noticed Bruce was using small pebbles to rid his plumage of mites and dirt—a practice that has never been observed before.

Bruce the Parrot Uses Tools to Survive Despite a Broken Beak

Missing his upper beak, an alpine parrot in New Zealand uses small pebbles for preening

NASA stitched together 129 individual images taken with the rover’s Mast Camera to create 360-degree panoramic vistas.

Explore Stunning 360-Degree Panoramic Views of Mars in New NASA Video

Captured by NASA's Curiosity rover, the footage takes viewers on a tour of the fourth planet from the sun's surface

Run, Cassie, run!

'Star Wars'–Like Running Robot Finishes 5K on Two Legs

The untethered bipedal bot made history by completing the outdoor course in 53 minutes

Two researchers observe a bird carcass found at a wind energy facility.

Dogs Sniff Out Answers to Bat and Bird Fatalities Near Wind Turbines

Aided by canines, researchers found larger models do not necessarily pose a greater threat to wildlife

Four robots printed the steel structure in just six months.

Innovation for Good

World's First 3-D-Printed Steel Bridge Debuts in Amsterdam

The newly opened overpass measures 40 feet long and weighs 6 tons

This wearable sensor harvests sweat from the fingertips to generate the electricity it needs to measure things such as heart rate and blood-sugar.

Innovation for Good

New Wearable Medical Sensors Run on Fingertip Sweat

The slim, flexible device could measure blood glucose or heart rate without the need for batteries

When a person uses the HiccAway to drink water, they have to suck about four times harder than if they were using a regular straw.

Innovation for Good

This Straw Is Designed to Instantly Cure Hiccups

The 'HiccAway' stopped cases of hiccups 92 percent of the time during an early trial

Miscanthus is a type of grass that is often grown as a biofuel. Trials in the United Kingdom are now underway to explore the possibility of scaling up biofuel crops like Miscanthus grasses to see if they can help fight climate change by removing carbon from the atmosphere.

United Kingdom Begins Large-Scale Carbon Removal Trials

The $42 million project will test out five strategies for pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to fight climate change

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