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Innovation

Of the estimated 899 species of ticks worldwide, about 90 are found in the continental U.S.; however, only four species are responsible for most of the infections found in the U.S. today.

The First At-Home Test for Infected Ticks Could Improve Lyme Disease Diagnosis

LymeAlert will hit the market in August. The latest tool against the tick-borne illness could become a medicine cabinet staple

Kristen A. Schmitt

Hold music is an audible reminder that our time has value, just not always to the company keeping us waiting.

A Brief History of Hold Music, From Early Patents to the Soundtrack of Customer-Service Purgatory

Among medical fields, radiology has pioneered the adoption of A.I. tools. Yet combining the complementary strengths of human and machine intelligence is not straightforward.

How A.I. Will Reshape Radiology—Without Replacing Radiologists

One of the most unusual public transportation systems in the world, the train hangs from an elevated steel track.

When Germany Built a Flying Train 125 Years Ago, a City Coalesced Beneath It. It Has Moved Royalty, Commuters and Tourists—and One Elephant—Ever Since

Getting the device to transition between air and water seamlessly was one of the most challenging aspects of the work.

This Robot Can Flap Its Wings to Both Fly and Swim. It Might One Day Help Scientists Study Diving Birds and Survey Ocean Habitats

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With Eco Purge, Arya Satheesh won the European category of the 2026 Earth Prize, the largest environmental competition in the world for young students. She was awarded $12,500 to continue to develop her prototype.

This High Schooler Invented a Plant-Based Plastic That Removes Microplastics From the Environment as It Biodegrades

Eighteen-year-old Arya Satheesh created her award-winning Eco Purge to help address the global problem of plastic pollution

When did summer "beach reads" become a part of our culture? Book historian Donna Harrington-Lueker takes us back to mid-19th-century leisure.

The History of the Beach Read, From 19th-Century ‘Moral Debasement’ to BookTok

The still-popular genre got its start 150 years ago, when publishers profited off the rise of travel in the United States during an otherwise slow publishing season

Of the estimated 899 species of ticks worldwide, about 90 are found in the continental U.S.; however, only four species are responsible for most of the infections found in the U.S. today.

The First At-Home Test for Infected Ticks Could Improve Lyme Disease Diagnosis

LymeAlert will hit the market in August. The latest tool against the tick-borne illness could become a medicine cabinet staple

Among medical fields, radiology has pioneered the adoption of A.I. tools. Yet combining the complementary strengths of human and machine intelligence is not straightforward.

How A.I. Will Reshape Radiology—Without Replacing Radiologists

Human experience and flexibility are still necessary even as digital diagnostic tools improve

Hold music is an audible reminder that our time has value, just not always to the company keeping us waiting.

A Brief History of Hold Music, From Early Patents to the Soundtrack of Customer-Service Purgatory

Sixty years ago, Alfred A. Levy patented his “telephone hold program system.” Little did he know a teenager’s unearthed New Age practice tape would become its enduring anthem

One of the most unusual public transportation systems in the world, the train hangs from an elevated steel track.

When Germany Built a Flying Train 125 Years Ago, a City Coalesced Beneath It. It Has Moved Royalty, Commuters and Tourists—and One Elephant—Ever Since

When there was no room on the ground, towns in the Wupper Valley looked to the skies and built a suspension railway that became a source of pride and connection

To turn shrimp shells into a feedstock for hydrogen gas production, the process begins with mashing the shells into a rust-colored shrimp slurry.

How Shrimp Shells Are Being Turned Into ‘Carbon Negative’ Fuel, Food and Construction Materials

Engineers in Singapore have developed a new, multistep chemical process that transforms organic waste into useful, sustainable products

Poster of the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia

Everyone Wanted Alexander Graham Bell to Debut the Telephone at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. He Almost Avoided It Entirely

The inventor had to be persuaded to make the trip from Boston, then balked at the thought of a delay in debuting his device. But history interceded, and his American innovation got its proper accolades

Cells suspended in a water-based gel make up the “ink” in this 3D printer.

Can Printed ‘Skin’ Heal Burns and Prevent Scars?

Inks created with a patient’s own cells may one day help the body regrow tissues

Around two million graduating high school students in the United States—more than half—take the SAT each year.

100 Years Ago, Students Across the U.S. Took the First SAT. Today, Relatively Few Colleges Require the Test. Where Is It Headed?

The standardized exam has evolved over the past century, all in the name of testing for college readiness. Now, it has become a symbol of the American higher education system

Slow-healing wounds, especially in diabetics and burn victims, can become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Light-activated nanomaterials offer a potential new way to clear the infection and accelerate wound healing.

Scientists Are Using Nanomaterials to Heal Stubborn Wounds That Resist Antibiotic Treatment

Light-activated therapies may offer a solution to slow-healing lesions common in diabetics and burn victims

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America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

Cellphones Were Created to Untether Us. Then They Got Smart and Evolved Into an Omnipotent Appendage

One device made it possible to hold a telephone, a watch, a calculator, the mailbox, credit cards, a meteorologist, a television, a detailed map of the globe, millions of songs and books … all in one hand.

Jerry Lawson’s gaming system featured interchangeable cartridges, so users could swap out titles like “Space War” and “Math Quiz.”

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

This Unsung Black Developer Unlocked the Code to Turning a Video Game Console Into a Virtual Living Room Arcade

Jerry Lawson’s Channel F system was the first to put games on interchangeable cartridges, paving the way for Atari, Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation

Wrigley Field was the last Major League Baseball stadium to install lights: The Cubs first played under them on August 8, 1988, versus the Philadelphia Phillies. Photographer Ronald C. Modra captured the scene from a helicopter.

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

With a Few Tweaks, the Country’s Favorite Sports Went From Pastimes to Part of the Fabric of Our Culture

Can you imagine a football game where there was never a passing play? The forward pass is just one of the innovations that made these contests into events

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America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

When Clarence Birdseye Tasted the Trout That Had Been Frozen by Inuit Fishermen, It Changed the Way We Buy Food

The inventive entrepreneur concluded that the faster things were frozen, the less damage was done to the structure of the food. Once thawed, they were “exactly like fresh”

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America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

How the Hashtag Became the Way to Instantly Invite Literally Everyone Into the Conversation

In the nascent days of Twitter, users wanted a quick way to cluster posts about a single subject. Someone suggested using a pound sign, and #TheRestIsHistory

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America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

A Moment of Divine Inspiration Helped Melvil Dewey Bring Obsessive Order to the Infinitely Disorganized Stacks in the Library

The Massachusetts student let his mind wander during a Sunday sermon and created the decimal-based system that greatly simplified the search for any book you were looking for.

The “Ether Dome” at Massachusetts General Hospital is now a National Historic Landmark.

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

The Operating Room Where Anesthesia Was First Demonstrated Is Now a Landmark. But for the Men Who Claimed Credit, There Was Much Misery

Medical procedures used to be a scream-filled endurance test until doctors at this Boston institution learned to tame the pain of patients

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America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

The Man Who Created a Written Language for the Cherokee Did It So Efficiently and Elegantly, His Peers Thought It Was Magic

Sequoyah’s syllabary faced suspicion initially, but after a demonstration, his version of “talking leaves” was widely embraced. And then the word spread

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America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

These Ten Remarkable Objects From the Smithsonian Collections Make the Case for America’s Status as the Innovation Nation

An encouragement for invention was written right into the Constitution, and whatever the task at hand, someone is always up for the challenge

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