The Best Inventions Of The Year

From the phone that has changed phones forever, to futuristic cars, to a building made of water, to a remote-controlled dragonfly—a dazzling display of ingenuity

—By Maryanne Murray Buechner, Kristina Dell, Andrea Dorfman, Lev Grossman, Anita Hamilton, Rebecca Winters Keegan, Jeffrey Kluger, Michael D. Lemonick, Coco Masters, Lisa McLaughlin, Alice Park, Julie Rawe and Deirdre van Dyk

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The Return of Steam

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The future of automotive technology may lie in the past. Bruce Crower, 77, an auto-racing designer with a thriving business in San Diego, has invented a hybrid steam engine in which water is sprayed into a traditional gasoline-powered cylinder, turning waste heat into usable energy. How much energy? Enough to travel 40% farther on a gallon of gas.
Available: Prototype
crower.com

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  3. Tuition Hikes: Protests in California and Elsewhere
  4. Fat Fees and Smoker Surcharges: Tough-Love Health Incentives
  5. Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin
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  9. The Fall of Greg Craig, Obama's Top Lawyer
  10. The Story of Barack Obama's Mother
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