Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 10)

A composite image of the Shokz OpenRun Air 2 bone-conduction headphones and OpenFit Air 2 open air-conduction earbuds against a blue-white gradient
Earbuds

Shokz new bone-conduction headphones and open earbuds are lighter on your head and wallet

If you're looking for affordable fitness-focused audio accessories, run, walk, run to get the OpenRun Air 2 or OpenFit Air 2.

Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds next to the Beats Fit Pro
Earbuds

The best headphones for working out in 2026, tested and reviewed

Throw on some of these high-performance audio accessories and load up your perfect soundtrack to take workouts to the next level.

Clean cotton underwear beside a shovel beside decomposing cotton underwear, all on green grass
Land

‘Proof by Underpants’ offers a cheeky way to test soil

Over 2,000 pairs of cotton underwear were buried in Switzerland in the name of science.

Woman holding knife while opening cacao plant seed
Archaeology

Indigenous nations in present-day Georgia may have enjoyed cacao

The chocolate ingredient likely made its way from the southwest via extensive ancient trade networks.

an aerial photo of a whale shark swimming. it has a large wide mouth, and a blue-gray body with white spots
Ocean

Over 2,000 animals spotted off the coast of Cape Cod

Whale sharks and blue whales and rays, oh my.

LOS ANGELES - 1978: Country singer Dolly Parton poses for a portrait session in 1978 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry Langdon/Getty Images)
Biology

Butterfly wing crystals inspire new eco-friendly glitter

What better way to honor Dolly Parton?

Shallow depth of field image shows classic taxi signs illuminating a pitch-black city at night.
Diseases

Taxi drivers rarely die of Alzheimer’s

How complex mental maps and spatial reasoning protect your brain.

a small mammal with pink skin and large teeth called a naked mole rat pokes out of a burrow
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week

Naked mole rats make their own perfume—and it’s excellent birth control

Plus other weird things we learned this week.

a female bald eagle sits on a nest with a feather in one of her nostrils
Birds

Kaydee the bald eagle visits Shadow’s nest with a feather in her nostril

The newcomer also continued to rearrange sticks on the nest over Big Bear Lake.

17th century skeleton of a young woman in burial plot in Poland
Archaeology

400-year-old ‘vampire’ grave discovered in Poland

The wealthy young woman was buried with a sickle over her neck and a padlock on her toe.

Two conservation officers holding large Burmese python after confiscating it from owner on Coney Island
Pets

Police seize massive Burmese python near Coney Island boardwalk

PSA: Don't bring illegal pets to Brooklyn—or anywhere.

Starlings (‘Sturnus vulgaris’) fly up from a meadow in the early morning. The migratory birds were seen currently gathering for their journey to the southern wintering grounds in Germany on October 10, 2020.
Birds

Over 200 million migratory birds are hitting the sky this week

The central U.S. should be a particular hot spot for birds heading south.

Artist's concept art of the NASA Gateway lunar spaceport orbiting the moon in the background
NASA

How NASA is prepping for lunar traffic jams

Gateway spaceport will make Earth's air traffic control look easy.

Apple Mac Studio and Mac Mini M6 and M5 Max
Computers

Apple’s new M6 Mac mini and M5 Ultra Mac Studio: 10 details you might have missed

The new Apple silicon desktops boast 2nm chips, quad-die architecture, and massive AI multipliers. Here is the fine print before you upgrade.

a turtle with a telemetry device on its shell
Endangered Species

How do you find Eastern box turtle nests? You’ll need a spool of thread.

Nests are frequently attacked by predators, so building is serious business for these vulnerable reptiles.

Swamp crocodile, and black-necked stilt in Laguna del Carpintero in Tampico, Tamaulipas
Birds

Crocodiles can’t fly. Birds can. Scientists have finally figured out why.

Even if crocodiles somehow had wings, the metabolic difference in power alone would mean they could never fly.

Two men in a steamy landscape with a pipe. One man has his hands on two valves.
Land

In 1973, Icelanders fought a volcano—and won

Firefighters, physicists, and volunteers sprayed seawater at the flows, creating 100-foot-tall lava walls.

Apple AirTags on sale
Gear

This 4-pack of Apple AirTags just hit its all-time low price of $80 at Amazon

If you're always losing track of your belongings, right now is the time to grab a gang of AirTags and get your stuff locked down.

A region of space filled with bright stars and clouds of gas. In the centre, the densest clouds form the shape of a chest with its lid open. The chest appears to glow from within. At its base it breaks apart into long pillars of thick gas. Many of the gas clouds in the background are dark orange globules, while others form large, pale hazes. A few brightly shining stars lie in the foreground, the biggest and brightest in front of the chest’s lid.
Space Telescope

‘Treasure Chest’ cosmic cloud glitters with dozens of young stars

The JWST caught a glimpse of the cometary globule about 7,500 light-years away.

a sloth gets accupuncture
Wildlife

Florida zoo treats a manatee, a duck, and a chick with acupuncture

The treatment can support healing and increase patient comfort.