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Science & Technology

25 Columbia Ideas and Innovations that Changed the World
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Science & Technology

25 Columbia Ideas and Innovations that Changed the World

From antibiotics to blood banks, radio waves to video calls, we spotlight the biggest scientific breakthroughs in medicine, technology, and more

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What Really Happened on Easter Island?
Sculptures on Easter Island

What Really Happened on Easter Island?

A Columbia study helps debunk an old theory about the island’s mysterious past

America’s Great Climate Migration Has Begun. Here’s What You Need to Know.
People sitting on a car during a flood

America’s Great Climate Migration Has Begun. Here’s What You Need to Know.

Columbia researchers are developing innovative ways to protect communities most vulnerable to floods and other disasters

What Declassified Government Documents Reveal About America’s Dark Secrets
Illustration by Christopher Silas Neal of a file folder with a lock and chain
Christopher Silas Neal

What Declassified Government Documents Reveal About America’s Dark Secrets

At the Columbia History Lab, Matthew Connelly ’90CC uses data science to uncover long-hidden files

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Why Vultures Need Our Protection
Conservation biologist Corinne Kendall holding a vulture
Science & Technology

Why Vultures Need Our Protection

Corinne Kendall ’08GSAS, one of America’s top vulture experts, is working to preserve an unfairly maligned bird of prey

Disney ‘Imagineer’ Lanny Smoot’s Lightsaber Moment
Disney Imagineer Lanny Smoot
Science & Technology

Disney ‘Imagineer’ Lanny Smoot’s Lightsaber Moment

The engineer joins the National Inventors Hall of Fame

A New Way to Spot Text Written by AI, and Other Science News
Person using AI chatbot
Science & Technology

A New Way to Spot Text Written by AI, and Other Science News

Research briefs from Columbia

Is Every Fingerprint Really Unique? AI Tells Us Otherwise
Illustration of a fingerprint
Science & Technology

Is Every Fingerprint Really Unique? AI Tells Us Otherwise

Columbia engineers find that prints from each of your ten digits are not entirely distinct from each other

Scientists Go Bananas Over Baby Galaxies
bananas floating in space
Science & Technology

Scientists Go Bananas Over Baby Galaxies

Astronomers discover early galaxies shaped like curved, elongated disks 

How Farm Animal Burps Are Fueling Global Warming
Cows eating
Science & Technology

How Farm Animal Burps Are Fueling Global Warming

Columbia environmental scientist Catherine Ivanovich wants us to understand the impacts of the food we eat

Could Beavers Help Save Us from Climate Disaster?
A beaver
Science & Technology

Could Beavers Help Save Us from Climate Disaster?

Leila Philip ’91SOA spent six years researching an underappreciated animal for her book Beaverland

What Your Facial Features Say About You
plaintiff and defendant suggested images
Science & Technology

What Your Facial Features Say About You

Columbia psychologists unmask the perceptual biases that shape our impressions of one another

How Gro Intelligence is Fighting World Hunger with Tech
Sara Menker, founder and CEO of Gro Intelligence
Science & Technology

How Gro Intelligence is Fighting World Hunger with Tech

The company, founded by Sara Menker ’12BUS, seeks to optimize agricultural intelligence around the world 

The Hidden Potential of Zombie Office Towers
The Manhattan skyline
Science & Technology

The Hidden Potential of Zombie Office Towers

Researchers make the case for converting commercial buildings into apartments

Women Earn Half as Much After Having Children, Finds New Study
Illustration of a woman with two children
Science & Technology

Women Earn Half as Much After Having Children, Finds New Study

Columbia researchers calculate the true price of motherhood

Drones and AI Are New Recruits in Battle Against Land Mines
A field with landmines in Ukraine
Science & Technology

Drones and AI Are New Recruits in Battle Against Land Mines

The technology locates explosives faster and more safely than treacherous manual methods

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