how it works 2009

How to heal an infection that defies antibiotics? Another infection. Doctors in Eastern Europe have used lab-grown viruses to safely cure millions of wounds. So why can't we do the...

Hollywood sound engineers refine and combine hundreds of individual recordings on advanced mixing boards. Here’s a close look at their tool of choice

A seven-layer screen—-as thin as a credit card—-will be better-looking and more efficient than LCD and plasma

The astronauts’ variation on the ejection seat sends them hurtling a mile away from danger in a matter of seconds

Every time you hit "print," this $100 inkjet lays down thousands of droplets per inch of paper, with microscopic precision

This portable crane can hoist millions of pounds all day long, then drive home like any other 18-wheeler

A workhorse chopper gets a 21st-century overhaul

Pull up the wrong undersea cable, and the Internet goes dark in Berlin or Dubai. See our animated infographics of how the web works!