A startup company at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is on a mission to make manual wheelchairs more efficient and user-friendly through innovative engineering. Intelliwheels is developing an ultra-lightweight, multi-geared wheel that is transforming the way wheelchair.

Science students don’t often learn about the trials, tribulations and outright failures of histories science rock stars, and that may be hindering them. A recent study found that students actually improve their science grades after learning about the struggles of famous scientists including Albert Einstein and Marie Curie.

For children, the line between reality and fantasy can sometimes become blurred, especially when it comes to imaginary friends. In this second episode of Science Friday’s series “The Real Guide to Imaginary Companions,” developmental psychologist Jacqueline Woolley takes us into the lab to investigate whether a child’s orientation toward fantasy play is tied to real world creativity.

From video projection and live camerawork to binaural microphones and computer-generated music, the Financial Times examines the technologies transforming the world of theater.

The scientists at Not Impossible Labs use affordable 3-D printed prosthetics to help victims of carpet bombings in South Sudan.

Steven Koonin, director of New York University’s Center for Urban Science & Progress, discusses the future of smart cities with Hari Sreenivasan.

Chemicals surround us in our air, food, water, clothes and furniture. But which chemicals are harmful? The Environmental Protection Agency's labs in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park test them all.

Video producer Luke Groskin introduces Science Friday’s new series about children and their imaginary companions.

Over the last two decades, researchers have gathered diverse and nuanced profiles of children who create imaginary friends. In this first episode of Science Friday’s “The Real Guide to Imaginary Companions,” developmental psychologists Margery Taylor and Tracy Gleason describe how scientists study this playful phenomenon.

The United States is the largest producer of electronic waste, generating nearly 8 billion tons a year. In this story from our environmental public media partner, EarthFix, we follow a team of investigators using GPS technology to track America’s waste trail.

Howe Caverns may be a popular tourist attraction for some, but the cave east of Syracuse, New York may also hold some answers about how earth began. We venture underground for a look at this natural wonder.

Anatomicalize is an application which offers medical students an interactive way to dissect virtual cadavers and refresh their knowledge of human anatomy.

If two black holes collide in space more than a billion lightyears away, do they make a sound? A team of scientists recently announced that, in fact, they do. Janna Levin, physicist and author of Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space, joins Hari Sreenivasan to tell the story behind the breakthrough detection of gravitational waves.

The oceans are the world’s largest ecosystem, but have remained difficult to access for scientific research. The Ocean Observatories Initiative, a new collaborative research effort, is working to change that.

Looking for a place to make a robot? Do some 3D printing? Or perhaps create music? Look no further than your public library.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS, is a FDA-approved treatment for depression that is an alternative to pharmaceuticals. Patients of the Healing House in Downtown Orlando are treated with magnetic pulses to help manage their depression by regulating the neural activity of the brain.

Historic inventor Thomas Edison earned the nickname “The Wizard of Menlo Park,” a nod to the seeming magic of his innovations, and the New Jersey town where he developed them. Reporter Lauren Wanko takes us inside the Thomas Edison Center in Menlo Park for a closer look at the famed creator and his work.

Serial entrepreneur Brian Hecht joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss how many companies are working to find new ways to bring bots into our everyday lives.

Complete with solar panels, GPS and satellite technology, an ocean-going drone named “Blackbeard the Wave Glider” provides oceanographers new opportunities to study the soundscape of the sea.

The National Institute of Mental Health reports that nearly ten percent of Americans seek therapy. But how exactly can one measure the effectiveness of these treatments? According to a group of scientists at the University of Washington, the answer lies in a new software program that uses advanced technology to analyze therapy sessions and to provide detailed feedback to the practitioners.