Scientific Innovation

Marking the centennial of the American patent system, participants gathered for a "Research Parade" in Washington, D.C., November 23, 1936.

These 20th-Century Technologists Sure Knew How to Throw a Party

To mark the centennial of the American Patent System in 1936, a group of innovators gathered to throw a deliciously creative celebration

A noninvasive brain-computer interface based on EEG recordings from the scalp.

Melding Mind and Machine: How Close Are We?

Researchers separate what's science from what's currently still fiction when it comes to brain-computer interfacing

Nanocars Will Race Across (a Very, Very Tiny Bit of) France

Ladies and gentlemen, start your molecules

Autonomous cars aren’t smarter than this.

How Understanding Animals Can Help Us Make the Most of Artificial Intelligence

A former animal trainer explains how we might usefully think about the limitations of artificial intelligence systems

The image shows a 6 mm long, 12.5 day old mouse embryo obtained with the Mesolens. The inset shows a blow-up of the eye region revealing the individual cell nuclei. It is possible to identify fine structures throughout the embryo such as the developing heart muscle fibers and fine details in the eye such as the corneal endothelium using the Mesolens.

Let Us Now Praise the Invention of the Microscope

Early scientists wielded this revolutionary tool to study the invisible world of microbes, and even their own semen

These are actually tadpoles.

Now You Can Measure Male Fertility With a Smartphone App

A new device helps men monitor their sperm count from the comfort of their own home

Joseph Lister's work was influenced by Louis Pasteur's work on fermentation.

The Idea of Surgeons Washing Their Hands is Only 154 Years Old

The world of surgery before that was much grosser and less effective

It will be quick and it will be hot.

Hot Food, Fast: The Home Microwave Oven

A serendipitous discovery helped engineers harness radar to create the now ubiquitous timesaving appliance

Daylight saving time, which has a history dating back to Benjamin Franklin, starts this Sunday.

During (and After) WWII, Some States Had Year-Round Daylight Saving Time

A 1963 'Time Magazine' article called it "a chaos of time"

Achievement unlocked: Rewritable paper.

Reprintable Paper Becomes a Reality

Coating paper with an inexpensive thin film can allow users to print and erase a physical page as many as 80 times

A Submarine Dangerously Tests How Deep It Can Go

The USS Tang was a state-of-the-art Balao class submarine, certified by the Navy to dive up to 400 feet

E.O. Wilson Urges Tomorrow’s Scientists to Seek Earth’s Undiscovered Riches

In a Smithsonian talk, the eminent biologist argued for more protected areas and greater efforts to map the diversity of life

The first "phone book" (really a one-page sheet) came long before phones like this, but it was an important step towards the printed directories that were ubiquitous in the twentieth century and are now often considered outdated.

The First Telephone Book Had Fifty Listings and No Numbers

It came out less than two years after Alexander Graham Bell invented the device

After the defeat of Cleopatra's forces by Octavian (later Augustus, emperor of Rome), the Egyptian queen and her lover Marc Antony fled to Egypt. In Shakespeare's imagining, one of Cleopatra's greatest fears was the the horrid breath of the Romans. Shown here: "The Death of Cleopatra" by Reginald Arthur, 1892.

The History and Science Behind Your Terrible Breath

Persistent mouth-stink has been dousing the flames of passion for millennia. Why haven’t we come up with a cure?

When it comes to reversible ways to prevent pregnancy, men have limited options—for now.

Contraceptive Gel Called the “IUD For Men” Makes It Through Monkey Trials

Vasalgel aims to make contraception for men as easy and effective as IUDs have for women

This is the 517th Xerox model 917 ever made, donated to the Smithsonian in 1985.

Watch the Original 1959 Ad for the First Office-Ready Xerox Machine

When the Xerox 914 entered offices, the working world changed forever

As 19th century urban living became more cramped, some women began to reinvent the domestic sphere with technology.

These Four Black Women Inventors Reimagined the Technology of the Home

By designating the realm of technology as 'male,' we overlook key inventions that took place in the domestic sphere

Appert devised the canning process using that old standby, trial-and-error.

The Father of Canning Knew His Process Worked, But Not Why It Worked

Nicolas Appert was trying to win a hefty prize offered by the French army

Chinese researchers have harnessed the power of deep learning to help doctors identify this rare disease.

Can Eagle-Eyed Artificial Intelligence Help Prevent Children From Going Blind?

Deep learning pinpoints cataracts more accurately than humans, and could help prevent this form of vision loss in children

Douglas Engelbart rehearsing for his 1968 computer demo.

In One 1968 Presentation, This Inventor Shaped Modern Computing

Douglas Engelbart’s career was about seeing the possibilities of what computing could do for humanity

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