Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 15)

Two women wearing YETI backpacks hiking down the Wildflowers Trail in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Outdoor Gear

YETI launches the Skala hiking pack, combining durable design and advanced organization

If you live a life that's grip it and rip it, you're gonna love this RipZip hiking pack and magnetic-buckle Adventure Belt.

a puma bits a guanaco
Wildlife

20 riveting images from the Sony World Photography Awards 2026

An orderly queue of penguins, a waving squirrel, and the fight over a fish dinner.

African striped mouse and pups
Evolution

Biologists discover gene that may determine ‘good’ and ‘bad’ dads

Social cues and surprising genetics may affect mammal fathers.

A colorized historical photograph of a woman in a white coat holding Simon, a black and white tuxedo cat who served as a celebrated ship's cat in the British Royal Navy. The cat wears a pink collar with a name tag, and both the woman and the cat are positioned in front of a dark window.
Cats

The tiny tuxedo cat who became a naval hero

The triumph and tragedy of Simon.

Tiny Macintosh model computer built into toy novelty clock
Internet

Hobbyist builds retro Apple Macintosh inside toy clock

The DIY project mixes nostalgia with one of tech's most iconic designs.

Artistic reconstruction of a Late Pleistocene cave lion overlooking Mount Fuji, Japan. Credit: Velizar Simeonovski
Wildlife

Prehistoric Japan was home to cave lions—not tigers

Fossil evidence shows a case of mistaken big cat identity.

a small mammal with black eyes and big ears standing on a plant
Wildlife

World’s smallest possum may be hiding in South Australia

The tiny mammal weighs less than one pound.

The Midnight sun over the icebergs in the Weddell Sea from the Antarctic Peninsula in Antarctica.
Climate Change

Antarctica has a ‘gravity hole’

The geological oddity has existed since dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

a tunnel under roman ruins
Archaeology

Inside the Colosseum’s Passage of Commodus, where emperors once walked

One theory suggests the infamous Roman emperor survived an assassination attempt in the tunnel now open to the public.

an ice cave
Biology

5,000-year-old bacteria thawed in Romanian ice cave

But it's for a good cause.

a hand moves pieces on a brown and black chess board
AI

Homemade chess board moves its own pieces. And wins.

Maker Joshua Stanley Robotics used magnets and an open source chess platform to build this unique board.

A close-up photograph of a person's cupped hands holding a small, vibrant blue and green globe, symbolizing care and responsibility for the planet. The background is softly blurred, focusing all attention on the fragile Earth resting in the palms.
Climate Change

Don’t let climate fatalism become a self-fulfilling prophecy

The idea that it’s “too late” to reduce emissions fuels cynicism and despair, putting us on an even worse trajectory.

cartoon version of map
Tech Hacks

3 pro tips for using Google Maps before you even start your trip

Be prepared.

a hamster asleep in the gloved hand of a scientist
Biology

How hibernating hamsters could help astronauts

Special cells can repair muscles, even when some animals are dormant.

a fox catches a crab mid-air3rd Place Photographer of the Year 2025 was awarded to Terry Donnelly from England, UK.
Wildlife

Society of Photographers announces Photographer of the Year

Our beautiful world.

Helix Sunset Elite
Home

The best President’s Day Sales in 2026

Get huge discounts on traditional mattresses, memory foam, adjustable models, and more from the biggest brands and retailers.

Patagonia puffer jacket on winter clearance
Outdoor Gear

Don’t miss Patagonia’s end-of-season clearance sale on coats, jackets, hoodies, fleeces, and more

Some of the brand's most popular models are up to 40% off right now during this limited clearance sale.

An wide-angle, eye-level photograph of two people in full white space suits walking across a desolate, rocky landscape meant to resemble the surface of Mars. The environment is filled with reddish-brown dirt and large, jagged rock formations under a dusty, sepia-toned orange sky.
Mars

Will life on Mars require a genetic rewrite?

Microgravity, radiation, and extreme climates pose ethical and biological challenges that researchers are racing to overcome.

A dramatic, close-up photo of a black cat's face emerging from deep shadows. Only its large, luminous yellow-green eyes are brightly lit, staring directly forward with wide pupils that reflect a faint glimmer of light.
Cats

Why do cats’ eyes glow in the dark?

That eerie glow is actually a pair of built-in night-vision goggles.

live black scorpion (Emperor Scorpion)
Wildlife

Deadly scorpions are picky about their soil

Dirt may help map where scorpions live—and potentially save lives.