TIME's Best Inventions of 2008

From a genetic testing service to an invisibility cloak to an ingenious public bike system to the world's first moving skyscraper — here are TIME's picks for the top innovations of 2008

Full List

Invention of the Year

  1. 1. The Retail DNA Test

The Other 49 Best Inventions

  1. 2. The Tesla Roadster
  2. 3. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
  3. 4. Hulu.com
  4. 5. The Large Hadron Collider
  5. 6. The Global Seed Vault
  6. 7. The Chevy Volt
  7. 8. Bullets That Shoot Bullets
  8. 9. The Orbital Internet
  9. 10. The World's Fastest Computer
  10. 11. Green Crude
  11. 12. Housing Funds
  12. 13. The Memristor
  13. 14. The Bionic Hand
  14. 15. The Direct-to-Web Supervillain Musical
  15. 16. The Dynamic Tower
  16. 17. The Mobile, Dexterous, Social Robot
  17. 18. The New Mars Rover
  18. 19. Montreal's Public Bike System
  19. 20. The Everything Game
  20. 21. The Synthetic Organism
  21. 22. The Shadowless Skyscraper
  22. 23. The Branded Candidate
  23. 24. Bionic Contacts
  24. 25. Thin-Film Solar Panels
  25. 26. The Speedo LZR Racer
  26. 27. Bubble Photography
  27. 28. The Invisibility Cloak
  28. 29. The 46th Mersenne Prime
  29. 30. The Internet Of Things
  30. 31. Einstein's Fridge
  31. 32. Facebook for Spies
  32. 33. Biomechanical Energy Harvester
  33. 34. Made-in-Transit Packaging
  34. 35. Airborne Wind Power
  35. 36. The New Ping-Pong Serve
  36. 37. Smog-Eating Cement
  37. 38. The Baseball Instant Replay
  38. 39. Enhanced Fingerprints
  39. 40. The Seven New Deadly Sins
  40. 41. The Peraves MonoTracer
  41. 42. Disemvoweling
  42. 43. High-Tech Running Shoes
  43. 44. Sunscreen for Plants
  44. 45. The Short Refinance
  45. 46. Aptera Electric Car
  46. 47. Google's Floating Data Center
  47. 48. The Time Eater Clock
  48. 49. Sound-Enhanced Food
  49. 50. A Camera For the Blind

Tech Buyer's Guide

  1. Home Audio
  2. Cameras
  3. TVs
  4. Computers
  5. Toys
  6. Phones

Gadget of the Year

  1. Sanyo Xacti HD1010
  2. Peek
  3. Flip Mino
  4. Wii Fit
  5. Eye-Fi Explore SD Card
  6. Dash Express
  7. T-Mobile G1
  8. MacBook
  9. Canon PowerShot A590 IS
  10. iPod Touch

Video

  1. The Best Inventions of the Year

Gadget Poll Results

  1. Gadget of the Year Poll Results

Most Popular »

Full List »
  1. Five Things the U.S. Can Learn from China
  2. World Leaders Put Off a Climate Change Treaty
  3. The Prisoner Review: A Pretentious Reimagining
  4. Good and Bad News for Boxing: Only One Pacquiao
  5. China Investigates Deaths After Swine Flu Shot
  6. Box Office Weekend: 2012 Masters Disaster
  7. Does Mexico City Need a Red-Light District?
  8. The Meaning and Mythos of Manny Pacquiao
  9. YouTube Effect: Making Money From Viral Videos
  10. Happiness Paradox: Why Are Americans So Cheery?
  1. Five Things the U.S. Can Learn from China
  2. Good and Bad News for Boxing: Only One Pacquiao
  3. Happiness Paradox: Why Are Americans So Cheery?
  4. Beijing: 10 Things to Do in 24 Hours
  5. Does Mexico City Need a Red-Light District?
  6. Why Legalizing Marijuana Makes Sense
  7. Time Essay: The Death Penalty: Cruel and Unusual?
  8. Now It's Official: There Is Water on the Moon
  9. Armed Forces: The Men in the Green Berets
  10. In a Malaria Hot Spot, Resistance to a Key Drug

Lists by Topic

Topics

Most Popular

Stay Connected with TIME.com

Learn More »