Popular Science: The 100 greatest innovations of 2019
Popular Science
By Popular Science Staff
Every year, the staff of Popular Science barricades itself in a room to fight. No, this is not some nerdy fight club; it’s where we select our Innovation of the Year, the breakthrough that we agree is the most important from the previous 12 months. This year, that honor goes to the first one-dose drug to treat a long-neglected problem: postpartum depression.
It takes a lot for that singular product to rise above the rest. The 99 others on our annual Best of What’s New list represent the greatest steps across the universe of science and technology. This year saw the introduction of cars that can talk to other cars, a next-generation wireless network fast enough to replace cable-bound broadband, and a “meat” burger that could convince even the most bloodthirsty of omnivores to ditch beef. We even added an entirely new category for 2019: personal care, which dives deep into the innovations we look to when we need to attend to ourselves.
We take every one of the 100 awards we dole out seriously. That final debate follows hundreds of smaller discussions in meeting rooms, Slack chats, and hallways throughout the year. Dig in, there’s some great stuff in here. Some might even call it “the best.” We sure think so.