Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 117)

Statue of Emperor Liu He
Archaeology

Researchers make brandy in replica of disgraced emperor’s 2,000-year-old tomb distillery

China's distillation history may be 1,000 years older than previously thought.

a brown dog ups up onto a tree and sniffs it, while its human handler points to what it is sniffing
Land

Sniffing dogs join the fight against invasive spotted lanternflies

Trained canines can locate pesky egg masses.

An illustration of the Resilience lander and rover on the lunar surface.
Space X

These are the exciting space missions to expect in 2025

From new commercial Moon landers to asteroid investigations.

Robot toddler
AI

Creepy robot toddler can mimic human expressions

‘Dynamic arousal expression’ treats physicality as waveforms.

Baby spider monkey in a pink onesie
Endangered Species

Endangered baby monkey found clinging to driver of speeding Rolls Royce

‘Definitely can’t have them here in California.’

Hula hooping robot video still
Physics

Scientists identify the perfect hula hoop ‘body type’

Gyrating robots were involved.

a dark brown moray eel
Wildlife

New ‘Hades’ moray eel discovered by accident

The dark brown snake moray really does not like sunlight.

a microsoft laptop on a table
Tech Hacks

Everything you can do with Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant on Windows

Microsoft's artificial intelligence assistant is built right into Windows.

cosmic
Deep Space

When everything in the universe changed

The revolutionary James Webb Space Telescope and next-gen radio telescopes are probing what’s known as the epoch of reionization. It holds clues to the first stars and galaxies, and perhaps the nature of dark matter.

a car body in a repair shop
Vehicles

Inside the company ripping apart classic Porsche 911s to restore them with impeccable detail

With a combination of high tech, modern science, and old-fashioned handwork, Singer Vehicle Design reimagines cars with an eye on perfection. 

meteors fall in the night sky near a lighthouse
Space

January stargazing: Ring in 2025 with a meteor shower, ‘planet parade,’ and best chance to spot Mars

Don't miss the first meteor shower of the year.

busy sidewalk
Science

A study of 11,000 twins shows how to make America walkable again

New research shows what happens when cities add sidewalks and take other pedestrian-friendly steps.

planes and astronauts collage
Aviation

5 aerospace breakthroughs of 2024

From a trip to Jupiter to the first commercial spacewalk in history.

(Original Caption) 1938-Close-up of the very front end of a 1938 Cadillac La Salle. This smaller counterpart to the Cadillac features a smaller radiator grille, and four headlights, as well as the hood ornament and bumper.
Ask Us Anything

Why don’t cars have hood ornaments anymore? 

Safety, aerodynamics, and style all played a factor.

Lamborghini Miura junkyard auction car
Archaeology

10 of the year’s most interesting auctions: Dinosaurs, coins, and Einstein’s love letters

Read why some paleontologists balked at a $45 million stegosaurus skeleton price tag.

To prepare for a renewable-powered world, engineers around the world are working on technologies that store energy when it’s abundant for use during dark or windless periods.
Renewables

Solving renewable energy’s sticky storage problem

When the Sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, humanity still needs power. Researchers are designing new technologies, from reinvented batteries to compressed air and spinning wheels, to keep energy in reserve for the lean times.

headset, smartphone, camera, chip, drone
Best of What's New

The 5 greatest gadget innovations of 2024

From a sub-$200 drone that isn’t a toy to a boring (in a good way) phone.

SLIM landed upside down.
Space

10 chaotic space-related mishaps of 2024

An upside-down lander, space junk, and some very stuck astronauts.

A love of fungi called false morels could have had tragic consequences in the French village of Montchavin.
Health

A devastating nerve disease stalks a mountain village

Neurologists have grappled with a cluster of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cases in France, where a fondness for a toxic wild mushroom may hold the answer.

two foxes walking
Wildlife

15 marvelous Nature Photographer of the Year 2024 images

A giant octopus, a bobbing puffin, and a sea turtle in the claws of a crab.