Neonatal Artificial Bubble

Back in the day, few premature babies had high chances of survival. Intensive care units hoped for miracles until one Peruvian engineer changed everything.

Claudio Castillón Lévano helped millions of babies thrive and make it through the worst of it with his invention, a portable respirator and incubator. The artificial bubble helps high-risk babies born before term and they can be seen in neonatal intensive care units all around the world.

The first incubators were used in 1880 in France. Lévano’s design, however, added much-needed improvements such as the ability to regulate temperatures and removing the risk of contamination.

After more than 20 years of research on the bubble, the patent was published in the United States in 2004.

The Beautyblender®

You’d think that since women have used makeup around the world for thousands of years, there would be no inventions left to be discovered, right?

That’s exactly the opposite of what Mexican and Portuguese-American makeup artist Rea Ann Silva thought during a special effects makeup class. During the class, she learned about the value of different makeup applications. Different shapes and sizes could offer users vastly different results.

She then came up with the iconic egg shape sponge, designed to retain moisture rather than repel it.

The Beautyblender became a massive hit. Now, makeup artists everywhere swear by its ease of application for foundation and concealer and many companies have tried to replicate the design.