It’s very difficult to build affordable homes that can withstand earthquakes. Read this article on the Pinwheel house, a revolutionary design from MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning. The home is designed to withstand even the most powerful of quakes and eventually may cost only $1,000 to build.
With each new gadget, tech companies declare that everything has changed. Whether that’s true will remain to be seen, of course. Looking back, though, it’s far easier to see clearly what discoveries and inventions really did change everything. In this fascinating 10-part series, James Burke examines the advances that altered our world.
A scandal erupted when editors of an online encyclopedia removed the names of women from its American novelists page and put them into a separate all-women subcategory.
Computer-generated imagery has allowed filmmakers to create spectacular effects easily. But are more effects always better? In this feature from The New York Times, four writers who work in the film industry debate the question.
Did you know that electromagnetic technology makes roller coaster rides scarier than ever before? Or that pilots one day will rely on that same technology to launch jets from aircraft carriers? Visit this site to learn about big changes in the world of roller coasters.
There is no doubt that the Internet and social media have become an essential part of every child’s life, but is that a good thing? Consider two very different perspectives on the influences of these technological advances on children.
By using technology similar to that found in smart phones and video games, scientists might soon be able to create glasses that will improve sight for the visually impaired.
Have you ever wondered whether night vision goggles really work? They do—find out how in this informative article.
What would it be like to travel to another solar system? Former astronaut Mae Jemison, along with an organization called Icarus Interstellar, recently won a large government grant to create a business plan for interstellar travel. How soon might we be traveling to the sun’s nearest neighbor? Read this article to find out.
Adventurers have been exploring unknown parts of the world for centuries, but there is still one challenge unmet: crossing Antarctica in the winter. Sir Ranulph Fiennes has put together a team (and some fancy technology) to do just that. Read about this journey that many think is impossible, and browse the site to learn more about the expedition.
Though his work is more than 400 years old, William Shakespeare pervades popular culture. And what could be more modern than Shakespeare apps? Learn about all kinds of ways to interact digitally with the Bard’s timeless texts.
What does it mean to “interactivate” a book? And how would you like to interact with Frankenstein’s monster? Read this article about how some ebooks are allowing readers to climb into the story and experience the horror firsthand.
The largest library in the world, the Library of Congress includes in its collections millions of books, recordings, photographs, and manuscripts. Here, you can find some of the earliest stories written in America. But the Library isn’t just preserving the nation’s oldest stories. Now it is collecting billions of 140-character tweets!
