Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 103)

Valentine’s Day 1946: The first general-purpose electronic computer blossoms
Technology

Valentine’s Day 1946: The first general-purpose electronic computer blossoms

The ENIAC was a 30-ton 'numerical monster'—and pivotal in the history of consumer technology.

couple sitting on sofa together
Psychology

Quiet couples: Alone time together

The right kind of silence can be golden, revitalizing and strengthening a relationship.

Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America in Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD.
Physics

Could we really make Captain America’s shield? A materials scientist weighs in.

Vibranium might not be real, but mixing and matching materials is.

A selection of the mummified bodies in the exhibition area of the Egyptian museum in Cairo.
Archaeology

What do Egyptian mummies smell like? Surprisingly pleasant.

Scientists and sniffers teamed up to study the ancient scents for the first time.

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured these drifting noctilucent, or twilight, clouds in a 16-minute recording on Jan. 17. (This looping clip has been speeded up about 480 times.) The white plumes falling out of the clouds are carbon dioxide ice that would evaporate closer to the Martian surface.
Mars

Curiosity rover spots rare shimmering clouds above Mars

The planet’s twilight clouds can become iridescent under the right conditions.

a seal with grey coloring wearing an orange heart rate monitor around its abdomen
Ocean

Baby seals are wearing heart monitors–for science

The pups head out on their own after only 15 to 20 days of nursing.

Cut and impact marks indicating cannibalism on various human parts of the skeleton from the Maszycka Cave.
Archaeology

Butchered skulls point to Europe’s Ice Age cannibals

‘It… seems unlikely that cannibalism was practiced out of necessity.'

one jaw fossil and six vertebrae fossils lined up
Wildlife

500,000 years ago, a bunch of animals fell into a Florida sink hole

Hobby fossil hunters found over 500 fossils in the murky waters of the Steinhatchee River.

Once considered vestigial, the appendix may play an essential role in gut health.
Ask Us Anything

Which body parts do humans not need?

Evolution left us with some organs and functions we no longer need.

A California condor spreads its wings atop a mountain in Sierra de San Pedro Mártir National Park, in Baja California, Mexico.
Birds

Return of the California condor

North America’s largest bird disappeared from the wild in the late 1980s. Reintroduction work in the United States and Mexico has brought this huge vulture back to the skies. This is the story of its comeback.

HEGER Brock (usa), Polaris, Sébastien Loeb Racing - RZR Factory Racing, SSV T4, portrait during the Stage 9 of the Dakar 2025 on January 14, 2025 between Riyadh and Haradh, Saudi Arabia - Photo Frédéric Le Floc'h / DPPI
Vehicles

A promising rookie takes on the world’s most grueling off-road race

A duo of Americans and Polaris take home the win in the 2025 Dakar’s SSV Class.

ROV screenshot of OceanGate Titan wreckage tail section
Science

Listen to chilling underwater audio of the OceanGate ‘Titan’ implosion

The controversial submersible’s catastrophic failure killed five passengers en route to the ‘Titanic.’

zebrafish
Insects

Genetically modified zebrafish and fruit flies munch on mercury to make it less toxic

Scientists added naturally detoxifying enzymes found in microbes to lab embryos.

Macaques show signs of grasping the abstract notions of language in a lab setting.
Animals

Macaques appear to associate spoken words with pictures

These cross-modal associations are one of the cognitive foundations of language.

Dog wearing eye tracking goggles
Science

Dog goggles help scientists learn how to best get their attention

Combining two common gestures appears to do the trick.

Researchers used a combination of nontoxic water, sodium acetate, sodium iodide, and hypophosphorous acid to recycle a solar cell.
Technology

How water could make future solar cells recyclable

Researchers were able to recycle the same cell multiple times without losing much energy efficiency.

Illustration: View from inside a detector building block of detection units. Clearly visible the yellow buoy of a near by detection unit.
Particle Physics

Scientists announce the highest-energy neutrino ever detected

'With this ultra-high energy neutrino, we are opening a new window in our universe.'

a turtle peeks its head out of the water
Wildlife

These sea turtles ‘dance’ when magnetic fields lead them to a snack

'It’s similar to how we might memorize where our favorite pizza place is.’

hockey closeup
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week

Scientists are trying to figure out why hockey players all sound Canadian

Plus other weird things we learned this week.

Game board, Geiger counter, and pieces included in Uranium Rush.
Technology

The 1950s game that glorified the dangers of the Atomic Age

With its oversized Geiger counter and promises of getting rich, Uranium Rush packaged the dangerous and exploitative uranium industry as family-friendly entertainment.