Frequently seen being hauled by semi-trucks on the highway or stacked on the decks of cargo ships, these shipping containers are now being used in a different way, as a portal to connect people across the globe and facilitate conversation. Step inside and you can be instantly connected to someone on a different continent, with whom one can talk and share music, thoughts, and ideas. The creator of Portals hopes this technology will help individuals get out of their comfort zones and meet diverse sets of people in order to help embrace differences and break down feelings and narratives of isolation, fear, and hatred.
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Future of Medicine
CRISPR May Unlock Targeted Cannabis Therapy
Future of Medicine
CRISPR May Unlock Targeted Cannabis Therapy
New medicinal cannabis research shows potential for personalized drug therapy, without the side effects.
New medicinal cannabis research shows potential for personalized drug therapy, without the side effects.
Ancient Origins
Meet the Artist Who Paints With DNA Clues
Ancient Origins
Meet the Artist Who Paints With DNA Clues
When Maayan Harel paints a portrait, her subject isn't sitting in front of her. She doesn't even have a photograph...
When Maayan Harel paints a portrait, her subject isn't sitting in front of her. She doesn't even have a photograph to work from. Instead, she looks at clues from ancient human DNA. Last month, scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem made headlines when they revealed Harel's portrait of a Denisovan, an extinct group of archaic humans that may have lived with Neanderthals. The first Denisovan remains were...
Medicine
RNA Vaccines Could Change Everything in the Fight Against Disease
Medicine
RNA Vaccines Could Change Everything in the Fight Against Disease
Traditional methods of vaccination have come up against difficult challenges. They can also be expensive and time-consuming to produce. New RNA vaccines are faster, cheaper, and safer, and show great potential to meet evolving threats.
Traditional methods of vaccination have come up against difficult challenges. They can also be expensive and time-consuming to produce, curtailing efforts to control outbreaks or head off a flu season caused by an unexpected strain. A newer type of vaccines, using RNA, could alleviate these issues. Faster, cheaper, and safer, RNA vaccines show great potential to meet evolving threats.
Disease X
Preparing for Outbreak: Fighting the World's Deadliest Diseases
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Disease X
Preparing for Outbreak: Fighting the World's Deadliest Diseases
The World Health Organization has compiled a list of the most dangerous diseases that could strike next year.
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Recently the media was abuzz with talk of ‘Disease X,’ a mysterious illness that could spread across the world. And then...nothing happened. It turns out that people had misinterpreted the World Health Organization’s List of Blueprint priority diseases, which identifies the world’s most dangerous diseases in terms of potential for outbreaks or epidemics. There are diseases that are already known - like Ebola, MERS or SARS -...
Dispatches
Tiny Satellite “Constellations” Could Bring the Entire World Online
Dispatches
Tiny Satellite “Constellations” Could Bring the Entire World Online
SpaceX is out in front, but the race for global satellite internet is getting crowded.
SpaceX is out in front, but the race for global satellite internet is getting crowded.
Dispatches
A Hidden Benefit of Banned Antimicrobial Soap: Treating Cystic Fibrosis Infections
Dispatches
A Hidden Benefit of Banned Antimicrobial Soap: Treating Cystic Fibrosis Infections
The FDA banned triclosan from hand soap, but new research shows that it can supercharge old antibiotics.
The FDA banned triclosan from hand soap, but new research shows that it can supercharge old antibiotics.
Dispatches
SpaceX Internet Is Coming
Dispatches
SpaceX Internet Is Coming
The Internet... in space! What's not to love?
The Internet... in space! What's not to love?
Superhuman
The World's Most Advanced Bionic Arm
Superhuman
The World's Most Advanced Bionic Arm
A fascinating interview with Michael P. McLoughlin, the chief engineer of research and exploratory development at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.
A fascinating interview with Michael P. McLoughlin about bionic arms for amputees and the world of advanced prosthetics. McLoughlin is the chief engineer of research and exploratory development at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.
Superhuman
The Real Bionic Man
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Superhuman
The Real Bionic Man
After losing part of his arm to cancer, Johnny now has one of the world's most advanced prosthetics.
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After losing part of his arm to cancer, doctors outfit Johnny, a self-described “hillbilly” from West Virginia, with one of the world’s most advanced robotic arms. Johnny is able to control his new arm with his mind, giving him a level of motor control impossible until now. Get More Stories of Innovation ...