Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 118)

Back angle of man scratching head and looking at rows of TVs in electronics store
Engineering

Your eyes can only handle so much HDTV

More pixels doesn't always mean a better screen.

Awa Guajá couple, family of Takarentia, only contacted 5 days before this picture was taken, 1992.
Land

Half of all uncontacted Indigenous tribes may disappear by 2036

Survival International's new report illustrates the dangers they face—and their resilience.

a close up of leopard spots
Wildlife

Why do animals have spots and stripes?

Zebra’s stripes and leopard’s spots are perfectly imperfect.

A close-up profile portrait of a German Shepherd dog's head, set against a dark background. The dog has brown and black fur, with one ear prominently upright, and is looking upward with a brown eye. The lighting is dramatic, highlighting the texture of its fur and nose.
Dogs

Can dogs really smell fear? A vet weighs in.

Dogs' super-sensitive noses may have evolved to help them sense danger.

an iphone with visited place opened
Tech Hacks

Apple Maps in iOS 26 keeps track of your favorite places

Visited Places is one of the new features in the big iPhone software update for 2025.

An overhead, close-up photograph of a bountiful, dense display of various winter squash and pumpkins. The collection includes large gourds with deeply ridged and textured skin in a mix of orange, green, and yellow hues, interspersed with several small, bright yellow and orange decorative gourds.
Agriculture

Pumpkins’ journey from ancient food staple to spicy fall obsession spans thousands of years

From ancient South American gardens to pumpkin spice lattes.

Northern right whale.Eubalaena glacialis.Courting group. Several males approach a female (on left). Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada
Whales

Endangered North Atlantic right whales are making a slow comeback 

Researchers are 'cautiously optimistic.'

The first six women in newly issued, incompletely adorned astronaut jumpsuits, 1978: (front, left to right) Sally Ride, Rhea Seddon; (rear) Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, Anna Fisher, Judy Resnik.
NASA

NASA’s trailblazing generation

NASA’s Class of 1978, ‘represent the most competent, talented, and experienced people available to us today.’

Woman sitting on back seat having headache
Tech Hacks

Why you get carsick—and how an iPhone feature might help

A hidden feature adds moving dots to the sides of your screen, helping you feel less disoriented.

The city tower of Amatrice, Italy, 16 February 2017, which was seriously damaged in several earthquakes since 24 August 2016. Photo: Lena Klimkeit/dpa | usage worldwide (Photo by Lena Klimkeit/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Environment

AI is changing our understanding of earthquakes

Machine learning is expanding scientists’ catalogs of quakes and refining maps of underground faults. It also promises to improve quake forecasts.

rocks in sand
Archaeology

Archaeologists discover massive ancient Egyptian fortress

Excavations also revealed a large bread oven and fossilized dough.

a big cat with flamingo in its mouth dead
Wildlife

13 riveting images from the 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards

From a hyena stalking an abandoned diamond mining town to a pile of seething rattlesnakes.

Close up of solar flare on sun
Sun

Scientists prepare for the next Carrington Event

‘Should such an event occur, there are no good solutions.’

Anker solix portable power station, portable phone charger, and charging dock
Gear

Amazon is clearing out Anker chargers, cables, adapters, and more during this post-Prime Day sale

If it can charge your devices, then Anker probably makes it and it's probably on sale at Amazon right now.

The STS-92 crew exits the Operations and Checkout Building on their way to the Astrovan and Launch Pad 39A for a simulated countdown. Walking left to right are (foreground) Mission Specialists Koichi Wakata of Japan, Peter J.K. “Jeff” Wisoff and Leroy Chiao; and Pilot Pamela Ann Melroy. Behind them are Mission Specialists Michael E. Lopez-Alegria and William S. McArthur Jr.; and Commander Brian Duffy. The crew is taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that provide emergency egress training, opportunities to inspect the mission payload, and the simulated countdown. STS-92 is scheduled to launch Oct. 5 at 9:38 p.m. EDT on the fifth flight to the International Space Station. It will carry two elements of the Space Station, the Integrated Truss Structure Z1 and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter. The mission is also the 100th flight in the Shuttle program
Space

A NASA commander’s most important system wasn’t a computer. It was the crew.

Former Deputy Administrator of NASA says collaboration is the key to space exploration.

Skull of a soldier from the Napoleon army next to a button from a soldier's uniform.
Archaeology

The real killer of Napoleon’s army revealed by DNA testing

It wasn't typhus that plagued his troops.

The tree is constructed from a metal pole, with sea glass strung down from the top.
Science

Meet the man who built a 15-foot-tall sea glass Christmas tree

John Viveiros exclusively works with discarded materials and sea glass from Rhode Island's beaches.

Roman skeletons in water well mass grave
Archaeology

Ancient Roman mass grave shows its army’s ethnic diversity

Part of the empire’s strength was drawn from its different populations.

the head of a large brown horse
Wildlife

Why do horses have eyes on the side of their head?

'You often have to teach horses something on both sides of their body for them to process the information fully.'

A panoramic, dark, and eerie photograph of a dense forest shrouded in thick fog or mist. The trees are tall and silhouetted, with a single, dark, cloaked figure standing in a patch of brighter light at the center of the path, creating a spooky and mysterious atmosphere.
Psychology

What Americans fear most in 2025

For over a decade, Americans’ top fear has remained the same: corrupt government officials.