The Material World

A person soldering components onto a blue circuit board under a focused light.

Materials

Though we live in a digital age, material science has shaped history—and it’s far from over. From quantum computers to fusion reactors, breakthroughs in materials will drive the next technological frontier.
Featured
How Boom is resurrecting supersonic flight
If Boom gets its way, the future of supersonic passenger travel will be quieter, cleaner, and more affordable than its past.
Solid-state batteries are finally making their way out of the lab
Solid-state batteries could soon challenge lithium-ion as the dominant tech for powering smartphones, EVs, and more.
9 dumbphones to help curb your screen addiction
While smartphones keep getting more powerful, the growing dumbphone phenomenon is subverting expectations.
More
Our cyborg future is coming (and that’s not a bad thing)
Hollywood loves to sensationalize merging the body with advanced tech. But will it really be so bad?
Series| Coded
This research team wants to hack your car
What happens when an SUV going 75 miles-per-hour down a highway is hacked from a remote computer?
Series| Superhuman
Father creates bionic organ for son
A father’s quest to help his son with diabetes could change the lives of millions of people who suffer from the disease.
This is our superhuman future
With Thanksgiving winding down, take some time to join us on a journey to the frontier of medical technology.
This week in ideas: Using drones for medicine, fighting Zika, re-imagining passwords
Reimagining how we get medicine to people, using genetically modified mosquitoes to fight Zika, and selfies as…
Self-driving cars are finally here. Sort of.
Uber rolled out self-driving cars in Pittsburgh, but they’re not totally autonomous. Yet. Under Pennsylvania law,…
Meet the wounded veteran using bionics to take back his independence
Jerral lost his left arm in Iraq. Now he’s working with a team from Johns Hopkins to test a prosthetic arm that…
This week in ideas: Reasons to feel good about humanity
A paralyzed woman runs a half marathon in an exoskeleton, Sri Lanka defeats malaria, incomes are rising. Here’s…
How do we scale bionic technology?
Right now, assistive bionic technology is really cool and really expensive. This is how it will get better and…
What to expect at the first Cyborg Olympics
The event will seek to answer one of the most interesting technology questions of the early 21st century: How close…
Meet the paralyzed man who can walk again
Robert is paralyzed from the chest down. But now a robotic exoskeleton is giving him what he calls “a second chance…
Assistive tech doesn't have to be high tech
The story of how 3D printing gave Ryan Hines a chance to regain his independence for $150. And how he’s now…
Superhuman season 5 | trailer
Our best original series is back! Watch now for a look into our Superhuman future.
Prosthetics enter a new age of beautiful form and incredible function
For centuries, prosthetics didn’t change much at all, but the past 10 years has seen an incredible leap forward in…
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.
Meet the man with the most advanced prosthetic arm in the world
Johnny Matheny has been working with doctors at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab to test a prosthetic arm that is…
Series| Superhuman
The real bionic man
After losing part of his arm to cancer, Johnny now has one of the world’s most advanced prosthetics.
Series| Superhuman
Superhuman trailer
Join us as we meet the innovators building our superhuman future.
Subscribe to the newsletter