Engineering

Computer-generated artificial celebrities, created with cutting-edge technology, have become some of the hottest social media stars on the planet, selling everything from insurance to perfume.

By Patrick J. Kiger

SCIFs are spy-proof, highly secure facilities designed for viewing and working with sensitive national security secrets. We talk to a former general counsel for the NSA to find out how they work.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Before 1933, getting around London on the massively confusing Tube system was a nightmare. That's when draftsman Harry Beck stepped in and revolutionized map design.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Some of the most momentous occasions in the life of the United Kingdom have taken place in Westminster Abbey, including the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, Sept. 19, 2022.

By Kate Morgan

Maillardet's Automaton, built around 1800, can write poems and draw pictures and was a precursor to today's sophisticated robots.

By Patrick J. Kiger

At 984 feet tall, Paris' landmark Eiffel Tower is no picnic to maintain, so how is it done and who is responsible for keeping it standing and painted?

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

Saudi Arabia's proposal to build a 106-mile-long, self-sufficient, road- and car-free, one-building city would make it the first of its kind in the world.

By Laurie L. Dove

In the last few decades, there's been a sort of arms race to build ever-taller skyscrapers. Which seven currently rank as the world's tallest buildings?

By Alia Hoyt

A Google engineer made headlines for claiming that an AI called LaMDA had become sentient or conscious. While many AI scientists disagreed, what would it take for an AI to ever become sentient?

By Chris Pollette

It's been some 15 years in the making and is still under construction. What's the real story behind the Jeddah Tower's delay?

By Dave Roos

Drinking fountains have faced a challenge from bottled water, but they seem to be making a comeback. By the way, we throw away over 60 million PET water bottles every day in the U.S. alone.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Smart traffic lights monitor traffic and continuously adjust their timing to improve flow, and can even help disabled or elderly pedestrians navigate crosswalks. Could they be a solution to the problems of traffic stress and road rage?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Gothic architecture first appeared in France in the late Middle Ages. Some of the world's most stunning cathedrals were built using its key architectural elements.

By Lauren David

Standing 1,428 feet tall and just 60 feet wide, Steinway Tower in New York City has earned the nickname, "The Coffee Stirrer."

By Patty Rasmussen

Stanford researchers emulated the feet and legs of a peregrine falcon to enable a flying robot to land and perch on various surfaces, which could have lasting implications for future drone design and use.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Smart buildings have technology embedded inside them, allowing unprecedented levels of interaction between a building and its occupants. Some would call it "unprecedented levels of snooping."

By Patrick Lecomte

The Hongshui River Scenic Park walkway is shaped like a super- colossal, brightly colored butterfly and is twice as long as the island of Manhattan.

By Carrie Tatro

The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most iconic and enduring symbols of the city of Paris, France. But why did Napoleon commission it?

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

The first CT scan let doctors see inside a woman's skull and confirm her cystic brain mass. That scanner? It was developed by an eccentric engineer who worked at the Beatles' record company.

By Edmund S. Higgins

EPCOT was Walt Disney's "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow." But it didn't actually turn out the way he had envisioned it.

By Alex Krieger

Famed composer Ludwig von Beethoven died leaving just a few notes for his 10th Symphony. More than 200 years later, scientists use artificial intelligence to finish the job.

By Ahmed Elgammal

Elon Musk's Tesla Bot raises serious concerns, but probably not the ones you think.

By Andrew Maynard

Heck, it's even hard for some people to have common sense.

By Mayank Kejriwal

The Senate just crossed a hurdle to get a bipartisan infrastructure bill signed. It could pay for new roads, bridges and other installations that a country needs to function. But why is infrastructure so notoriously hard to fund in America anyway?

By Patrick J. Kiger

A 12-story building in Surfside, Florida, just outside Miami collapsed, with residents inside. Why would a 40-year-old structure fall from the sky seemingly out of nowhere, and are there other buildings in danger of falling?

By Trivess Moore & David Oswald