innovations

A woman in Yatta, Kenya, explains how to make clean water using a car battery and just the right mixture of salt and water.

Science
Environment
Health & Safety

How Salt + Car Battery = Clean Water

7:27pm July 02, 2015

by Jessie Rack

A clever device uses technology developed by the military to make chlorine quickly and cheaply. The goal is to give schools and hospitals around the world an easy way to purify water.

Normal outlets are always live at 120 volts, but the Brio Safe uses embedded sensors to accurately identify a plug before delivering a current.

Weekly Innovation: A Smart Power Outlet That Can't Shock You

2:21pm December 12, 2014

by Samantha Raphelson

Kids often hurt themselves when they put their fingers into electrical outlets, but the Brio Smart outlet prevents injury by using sensors to differentiate between human touch and an electric plug.

Astrophysicist Szabolcs Marka has a radical idea: Use light as a barrier between mosquitoes and humans. He was awarded a $100,000 Grand Challenge grant by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to see if the idea really works.

World News
National
Science
Health & Safety

Help Wanted: Unlikely Geniuses To Solve Public Health Problems

3:13pm October 09, 2014

by Linda Poon

The Grand Challenge is a new tradition in the world of public health: asking anyone (and everyone) to come up with innovations. The latest assignment: design cooler protective gear for Ebola teams.