Inventions

A dried sample of the original Penicillium mold that Fleming discovered in 1928.

The ‘Penicillin Girls’ Made One of the World’s Most Life-Saving Discoveries Possible

The true, forgotten and sometimes-stinky history of the cohort who took Alexander Fleming's innovation and forever changed the face of modern medicine

A nuclear-powered car lined with lead and other materials to protect its passengers from radiation would weigh at least 50 tons—more than 25 times as heavy as the average vehicle.

Visions of Nuclear-Powered Cars Captivated Cold War America, but the Technology Never Really Worked

From the Ford Nucleon to the Studebaker-Packard Astral, these vehicles failed to progress past the prototype stage in the 1950s and 1960s

John Larson's original polygraph, a gift to the Smithsonian from the Berkeley Police Department, where Larson was the first rookie cop with a PhD.

Why the Creator of One of the First ‘Lie Detectors’ Lived to Regret His Invention

The early polygraph machine was considered the most scientific way to detect deception—but that was a myth

A section from Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus titled "Floral composition, views on the usefulness of glasses"

Leonardo da Vinci Studied the Science of Smell

The artist experimented with perfumes and created his own fragrances from flowers and fruit

Teflon’s unique molecular structure made it useful in myriad applications, from nuclear weapons laboratories to your kitchen.

The Long, Strange History of Teflon, the Indestructible Product Nothing Seems to Stick to

Chemists accidentally discovered the material in 1938, and since then it has been used for everything from helping to create the first atomic bomb to keeping your eggs from sticking to your frying pan

The origins of the word "OK" have long been a subject of scholarly debate.

How One Man Discovered the Obscure Origins of the Word 'OK'

From Civil War biscuits to a Haitian port town, theories about the word's beginnings abounded

The new blood test, researchers hope, will help doctors diagnose Parkinson's disease years before symptoms occur, helping them provide more proactive treatments.

New Blood Test for Predicting Parkinson's Disease With A.I. Shows Promise, Study Suggests

In preliminary research, scientists identified eight protein anomalies in the blood of patients with Parkinson's, which they say can help diagnose the disease up to seven years before symptoms appear

The face's novel anchors—holes filled with gel—allow the skin to stretch into a smile without damaging itself.

Researchers Make a Smiling Robotic Face From Living Skin

The team designed a new way for their lab-grown skin to adhere to the robot's face, in a creation that could help produce soft robots or train plastic surgeons

Akira Endo discovered the first statin, a class of molecule that decreases the production of cholesterol. He died June 5 at the age of 90.

Akira Endo, Biochemist Who Found a Way to Fight Heart Disease, Dies at 90

Endo's research paved the way for the development of drugs to treat high cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attacks or strokes

“When I was making it, people laughed at me a good deal,” Charles F. Ritchel later said. “But so they did at Noah when he built the ark.”

Twenty-Five Years Before the Wright Brothers Took to the Skies, This Flying Machine Captivated America

First exhibited in 1878, Charles F. Ritchel's dirigible was about as wacky, dangerous and impractical as any airship ever launched

Larinioides sclopetarius, commonly known as bridge spiders, are orb-weavers that listen to the environment through their webs.

How Spider Silk Could Inspire Microphones of the Future and Revolutionize Sound Design

Spiderwebs can pick up vibrations in air flow caused by sound waves, and researchers say microphones designed this way could become more sensitive and compact

This 2014 acrylic painting by Taralee Guild captures the glistening promise of a 1960s Airstream at Pismo Beach, California.

How the Airstream Hit the Open Road

This space-age sensation kicked the American road trip into high gear

The world’s quietest room registers a background sound of -24.9 dBA.

In the Earth’s Quietest Room, You Can Hear Yourself Blink

Background noise in the custom-built chamber is actually measured in negative decibels, which means it’s below the threshold of human hearing

 Nikola Tesla in his laboratory in Colorado Springs around 1899

Nikola Tesla and the Tower That Became His 'Million Dollar Folly'

The eccentric inventor's dream of a wireless-transmission tower would prove to be his undoing

A fish appears on the live stream from the Netherlands' Weerdsluis lock in Utrecht.

You Can Help Migrating Fish Traverse a Dutch Canal By Ringing This Digital 'Doorbell'

The live stream from the Netherlands, which lets viewers notify a boat lock operator when fish need to be let through, has become a popular pastime for people around the world

"Change Your Game / Cambia tu juego" looks at scores of innovations that improve performance, ensure safety and more accurately score games.

From the JogBra to Gatorade to Breakaway Basketball Rims, Sports Are a Field for Invention

A new exhibition at the National Museum of American History aims to inspire the next generation of innovators

Hazel Fellows sews pieces of an Apollo A7L spacesuit on the production line at International Latex Corporation (ILC) in 1968.

From the Inventor of Mass-Market Paper Bags to a Scientist Who Unraveled the Mysteries of Polio, Meet Five American Women Whose Remarkable Achievements Have Long Been Overlooked

The inaugural exhibition at the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum seeks to shine light on lesser-known historical figures

ArTreeficial is a solar-powered, self-cleaning, artificial-intelligence-driven “tree” that entices the spotted lanternfly and eliminates the bug using an electronic mesh.

This High Schooler Invented an A.I.-Powered Trap That Zaps Invasive Lanternflies

Using solar power, machine learning and her family’s patio umbrella, 18-year-old Selina Zhang created a synthetic tree that lures the destructive species

The synthetic antibody targets a toxin produced by the Elapidae family of snakes, which includes cobras, kraits and mambas.

Deadly Snake Venom Is No Match for This New Synthetic Antibody

Scientists have created a treatment that targets a toxin produced by cobras, mambas and kraits, laying the foundation for a future universal antivenom against snake bites, according to new research

Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper in Milan, Italy

Ken Burns Turns His Lens to Leonardo da Vinci

An upcoming two-part documentary will be the filmmaker's first foray into a non-American subject matter

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