Innovations

Researchers use a hot water drill on Thwaites Glacier, which two new studies show is melting in an unexpected manner.

A Rare Look Below the 'Doomsday Glacier' Reveals Surprising Melting

Researchers sent a robot through 2,000 feet of ice to study the quickly receding ice shelf

Whales are tricky to see from a satellite. Belugas, with their light skin standing out against the water, are a bit easier to spot.

Can Satellites Really Detect Whales From Space?

Distant identification of whales is improving rapidly, but finding the behemoth creatures is still surprisingly tricky

The moon contains lots of dust, which scientists say could help block some sunlight from reaching Earth, cooling the planet.

Launching Dust From the Moon Could Help Cool Earth, Scientists Say

Proposals to fight climate change by blocking sunlight aren’t new, but some experts argue the answer lies closer to home

Artist's concept of a spacecraft that will test a nuclear thermal rocket engine.

Nuclear-Powered Rockets Might One Day Carry Astronauts to Mars

NASA and DARPA are building a nuclear thermal rocket engine that could slash the time it would take to reach the Red Planet

Part of the set-up for the experiment: ordinary ice and steel balls placed in a jar

Scientists Have Created a New Type of Ice

It looks like a white powder and has nearly the same density as liquid water

The dodo, now extinct, weighed about 50 pounds, had blue and grey feathers and couldn't fly.

This Company Wants to Bring the Dodo Back From Extinction

Colossal Biosciences plans to de-extinct the dodo, but some scientists question whether it’s ethical—or even plausible

Researchers have been studying the 37-inch-long de Brécy Tondo for decades.

Artificial Intelligence Identifies Long-Overlooked Raphael Masterpiece

A facial recognition analysis found that the faces in a mysterious painting are virtually identical to those in the artist's "Sistine Madonna"

A person-shaped robot liquifies to escape a cage, then cools back into its original shape in a mold placed in the ground outside the bars.

This Shape-Shifting Robot Can Liquefy Itself and Reform

The technology could one day assemble and repair hard-to-reach circuits, act as a universal screw or retrieve foreign objects from a body, researchers say

Concept art for the final form of NASA's experimental X-57 Maxwell electric plane. The plane is not expected to ever reach this phase, as the program's time and funds are running out.

NASA’s Electric Plane Will Take Flight This Year—but Its Future Is Uncertain

The X-57 Maxwell has removed some barriers to electric flight, but its funding expires soon

Onlookers attending the touring exhibition Save Ukr(AI)ne, which featured A.I.-generated images based on stories of children displaced by the war in Ukraine, in September 2022

Are A.I. Image Generators Violating Copyright Laws?

Two new lawsuits argue that tools like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion are infringing on artists' rights

Lightning rods can protect from lightning strikes, but they can only shield nearby areas.

Scientists Guide Lightning Bolts With Lasers for the First Time

The technology could one day protect wider areas than metal lightning rods do, perhaps shielding airports and launchpads during storms

Teachers have cited concerns about students trying to pass off AI-written essays as their own work.

Student Creates App to Detect Essays Written by AI

In response to the text-generating bot ChatGPT, the new tool measures sentence complexity and variation to predict whether an author was human

Alexander Graham Bell circa 1910

The Smithsonian Will Restore Hundreds of the World's Oldest Sound Recordings

They were made by Alexander Graham Bell and his fellow researchers between 1881 and 1892

Researchers are using novel technologies to study polar bears, which live in the rapidly warming Arctic.

Five Revolutionary Technologies Helping Scientists Study Polar Bears

As climate change threatens the charismatic creatures, scientists are embracing innovations to help them understand and protect the bears

The new hydrogel might someday lead to shock-absorbing smartphone cases, as well as better bullet-proof vests and space equipment.

This New Shock-Absorbing Gel Can Withstand Supersonic Impacts

Made from a resilient protein in human cells, the technology could improve body armor, space gear and even cell phone cases

After scraping artists' work across the internet, the app can generate artistic renditions of users' selfies.

Is Popular A.I. Photo App Lensa Stealing From Artists?

The tool went viral first for generating flattering portraits—and then for igniting ethical concerns

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Director Kimberly Budil and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar at a Tuesday press conference announcing the finding

Fusion Breakthrough Raises Hopes for Clean Energy

This process that powers stars is still decades away from widespread use on Earth

GPT-3 generated a Thanksgiving menu featuring "roasted turkey with a soy-ginger glaze" and "pumpkin spice cake with orange cream cheese frosting."

Should You Let Artificial Intelligence Plan Your Thanksgiving Dinner?

While A.I. recipe generation has come a long way, it won’t outdo humans anytime soon

“Dale Chihuly is one of the most important artists of the 21st century,” says Stephanie Stebich, the director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, who is among the experts interviewed in a new documentary, "Master of Glass: The Art of Dale Chihuly."

The Unrivaled Legacy of Dale Chihuly

The pioneering glassmaker and octogenarian is the subject of a new Smithsonian Channel documentary

Fishers have employed all manner of strategies to prevent dolphins and other marine mammals from raiding their nets. “Hot sauce” is the latest in the arsenal.

Dolphins Shrug Off Hot Sauce-Spiked Nets

Fishing nets laced with spice did nothing to deter the hungry marine mammals

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