Tech & Innovation Good News

Stories About Using Technology and Innovation To Make a Difference

A screenshot of the Chart Your Fart app, which allows users to track their flatulence and attribute characteristics like stench, loudness, duration, linger, and detectability.

'Chart Your Fart' mobile app asks Australians to track flatulence in the name of science

The new public health initiative will help researchers better understand “wind power” across a large population.
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A woman using a tablet to read braille.

An 8th grader invented an accessible braille reader that could help people save thousands of dollars

1.3 million people in the US have impaired vision, but only 10% read braille. A new, inexpensive braille reader could change lives.
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A person wearing flippers drags a seal-shaped decoy across the water. The decoy is lit by streaks of LED lights, visible from its underbelly.

LED surfboards could light the way for fewer shark attacks, scientists say

Researchers at Macquarie University have discovered a way to trick sharks into leaving surfers alone.
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Two photos side-by-side of a young man with shaggy hair wearing a white bike helmet. The front of the helmet has white LED lights, and the back has red LED lights. They glow in the evening sky.

Equipped with tail lights and crash detection tech, this new helmet could save cyclists' lives

The new helmet integrates smart LED and motion-tracking technology to make cyclists even safer.
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A plate of leftover fried chicken bones with a fork on the side.

New invention uses animal bones to filter water, promising a nearly 'zero cost' solution to water filtration

Middle schooler Tina Jin was looking for a sustainable solution to clean water filtration and saw potential in the honeycomb-like structure of animal bones.
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A close up of two newborn black-footed ferret kits in the blue-gloved hands of a zookeeper

Cloned black-footed ferret gives birth in historic first, a victory for the highly endangered species

Meet Sibert and Red Cloud, baby black-footed ferrets that mark the first successful live births from a cloned endangered species.
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A photo collage of a person holding a disposable vape, a carved pumpkin, a wildlife refuge located from Minnesota to Illinois, a pumpkin, and three people inside a climate lab at the University of Chicago's Climate Institute

Good News This Week: November 2, 2024 - Vapes, Trees, & Pumpkins

Your weekly roundup of the best good news worth celebrating...
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An African giant pouched rat sits on a person's lap, wearing a small red vest with a ball attached to its chest

First, rats were trained to sniff out landmines and tuberculosis. Now, they're detecting wildlife smugglers

Rats trained by researchers at nonprofit Apopo may soon be the next fleet of scent-sniffing heroes to save wildlife.
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Three individuals study a clean energy reactor

University of Chicago opens first-of-its-kind climate institute: 'A game change is needed in the climate fight'

The University of Chicago’s new Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth includes a number of new degree programs for undergraduate and graduate students.
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A photo collage of Robert Smalls, a mosquito up-close, a whale's tail peeking out from underwater, a solar panel farm atop a building in New York, and Betty Cartledge being interviewed on the news

Good News This Week: October 26, 2024 - Fathers, Oceans, & Butterflies

Your weekly roundup of the best good news worth celebrating...
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A yellow robotic arm sorts recyclable items as they come down a conveyer belt

AI robots recover recyclables from Chicago's waste, saving them from the landfill

The new RecycleOS robot is ensuring every last aluminum can gets recycled from Chicago’s LRS facilities.
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On the TED stage in Atlanta, Georgia, Adam Munder speaks to Hasiba Haq through his AI American Sign Language translation software: Omnibridge

In TED Talk, Deaf engineer debuts AI model that transcribes sign language to text in seconds

Adam Munder is a software engineer. Since 2015, he’s been working to bridge the gap between sign language and spoken word. Now, a decade later, he brought it to the TED stage.
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