Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 1306)

2011 Invention Awards: A Landing Pad For Skiers
DIY

2011 Invention Awards: A Landing Pad For Skiers

Pad enables skiers and snowboarders to pull off tricks safely

Book of Fungi Makes Us Want to Go Mushroom-Hunting
Environment

Book of Fungi Makes Us Want to Go Mushroom-Hunting

Preparing for Permanent Climate Change, Chicago Invests in Warm-Weather-Ready Infrastructure
Climate Change

Preparing for Permanent Climate Change, Chicago Invests in Warm-Weather-Ready Infrastructure

In Brazil, an Explosion in Computing Power is Revolutionizing Weather Prediction
Environment

In Brazil, an Explosion in Computing Power is Revolutionizing Weather Prediction

How better weather forecasts predict a more efficient future

2011 Invention Awards: A Better Mechanical Hand
Projects

2011 Invention Awards: A Better Mechanical Hand

A prosthetic hand that’s as functional as an electronic model—but at a fraction of the cost

New Federal Rules To Require Black Boxes to Record Driver Activity in Every Car
Technology

New Federal Rules To Require Black Boxes to Record Driver Activity in Every Car

The Top 10 New Species of 2011
Endangered Species

The Top 10 New Species of 2011

Just discovered: Glowing fungus, ship-eating bacteria, toughest-silk spider and terrible toothed leech

IBM’s Watson Makes the Move From Answering Trivia Questions to Making Medical Diagnoses
Health

IBM’s Watson Makes the Move From Answering Trivia Questions to Making Medical Diagnoses

What is...Toronto (General Hospital)?

As Congress Fusses Over Climate Semantics, the U.S. Faces a Weather Satellite Gap
Environment

As Congress Fusses Over Climate Semantics, the U.S. Faces a Weather Satellite Gap

Weather monitoring is vital, but don't mention the C-word

2011 Invention Awards: Sniffing Out Bedbugs
Projects

2011 Invention Awards: Sniffing Out Bedbugs

An electronic dog nose that locates the bloodsucking pests in minutes

Audio Porn Scanner Filters Content By Listening for “Sexual Screams or Moans”
Technology

Audio Porn Scanner Filters Content By Listening for “Sexual Screams or Moans”

With Electrical Stimulation to the Spinal Cord, Paralyzed Man Walks Again
Health

With Electrical Stimulation to the Spinal Cord, Paralyzed Man Walks Again

Citizens in Flood Zone Build Homemade Levees to Protect Their Homes
Projects

Citizens in Flood Zone Build Homemade Levees to Protect Their Homes

As the Army Fights the Mississippi River, Who Is Winning?
Army

As the Army Fights the Mississippi River, Who Is Winning?

The river is trying to escape the path that humans have determined for it, and increasingly it is doing so

On Choosing the Right Motor and Having Our Cross-Country EV Classified as a Bicycle
Technology

On Choosing the Right Motor and Having Our Cross-Country EV Classified as a Bicycle

Patient Elects to Have Hand Amputated to Make Way for a Bionic One
Robots

Patient Elects to Have Hand Amputated to Make Way for a Bionic One

But elective amputation has its opponents

World’s Smallest 3-D Printer Could Find Its Way Into Your Home
Technology

World’s Smallest 3-D Printer Could Find Its Way Into Your Home

How L.A. Noire Rebuilt 1940s Los Angeles Using Vintage Extreme Aerial Photography
Gaming

How L.A. Noire Rebuilt 1940s Los Angeles Using Vintage Extreme Aerial Photography

L.A. Noire's carefully reconstructed world owes a huge debt to Robert Spence, who photographed Los Angeles while leaning out of a biplane with a 46-pound camera in the 1920s

New Models Find that Gliese 581d is the First Potentially Habitable Exoplanet
Space

New Models Find that Gliese 581d is the First Potentially Habitable Exoplanet

Is the Ending of the Shuttle Program a Setback for Space Science, Or a New Opportunity?
Science

Is the Ending of the Shuttle Program a Setback for Space Science, Or a New Opportunity?

As spaceflight is privatized, scientists will pay for space trips alongside affluent adventurers