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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: inventions

inventions stories: 7 news summaries

Robotic Suit Helps Paralyzed Take Big Steps

Motorized exoskeleton enables walking, bending, climbing

Jan 12, 09 8:14 PM CST
(Newser) - People paralyzed from the waist down may soon be parking their wheelchairs in favor of a robotic walking suit, CNN reports. Designed by Dr. Amit Goffer, a disabled engineer in Israel, the lightweight exoskeleton of motorized leg supports and motion sensors enables users to walk around. "I don't have... More »

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Israel • inventions • robotics • paralyze • paralysis • walking • advanced technology

Barbies of the Future May Grow on Trees 

Researchers use wood and wax to make biodegradable alternative

Dec 6, 08 2:31 PM CST
(Newser) - Wooden toys may not be so 1850s, scientists say. A bioplastic made from trees has been used to make everything from golf tees to car parts in recent years, but its sulfurous stink kept it out of the toy market. Now a sulfur-free version of "liquid wood" is available,... More »

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trees • science • plastic • design • toys • nature • Barbie • inventions • Lego

Pentagon Inventing Group Hits 50, Looks to Next Strides

Freewheeling DARPA helped create the Internet

Apr 8, 08 7:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - A small Defense Department agency credited with inventing the Internet and rockets that sent men to the moon is turning 50, the Washington Post reports, and is fine-tuning its next innovations. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's work spans biology, satellites and aircraft; it has no permanent labs and its... More »

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Department of Defense • inventions • moon • Sputnik • DARPA • rockets

Germaphobes Get a Handle
on Bathrooms

Inventors help the wary leave the loo without touching doorknobs

Feb 15, 08 2:40 PM CST
(Newser) - For germaphobes, few sights elicit as much terror as doorknob in a public bathroom. Sure, you washed your hands, “but then someone else didn’t wash their hands and you have to touch the same door handle,” explains the inventor of the SanitGrip, an L-shaped, elbow-operated handle that... More »

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bathroom hygiene • bacteria • restrooms • inventions • bathroom • toilet • germaphobia • SanitGrasp • James Vallee • Safe-T-Gard • Sanidoor • Simon Sassoon • HYSO • Sanihandles • Matthew Fulkerson

How 'Bout
Them Rotten Apples?

Before era of iPod
and iPhone, company had some stinkers

Jan 24, 08 8:59 PM CST
(Newser) - Apple has been around for almost a quarter of a century, but not all of its products were as ingenious as the iPod. Wired highlights the company's biggest flops.
  1. The MessagePad (AKA The Newton): Fashioned to revolutionize personal computing, this PDA was too far ahead of its time for
... More »

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Apple • list • consumer goods • Macintosh • product design • inventions

Time Names iPhone Year's Best Invention

Design, system, revolutionary service deal shoot gadget to top

Nov 2, 07 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Time magazine is naming the iPhone its invention of the year. Why?
  1. It demonstrates that good design is as important as good technology.
  2. Its touchscreen creates a whole new kind of user interface.
  3. Other companies will seek the freedoms that AT&T granted Apple in designing the
... More »

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technology • Steve Jobs • iPhone • Apple • inventions • gadget

Dads Move in
on Baby Market

As fathers get more hands-on, baby gear is getting less female

Aug 16, 07 8:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - As fathers continue to take a more active role in raising their children, the market for baby gear has become less mom-centric, the New York Times reports. And it's not all fishing vests with hidden diaper changing pads. Recent dad-born inventions include computerized baby timers and a nipple adapter that... More »

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marketing • baby bottle • children • parents • raising children • gender roles • inventions • father • Dadgear

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