Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 15)

A sunset tangerine Velotric Tempo city commuter e-bike sitting in a green leafy nook
Outdoor Gear

This lightweight e-bike lets you decide what kind of rider you are today

Whether you want a heart-pumping workout or a leisurely winding ride, the Velotric Tempo adapts to the moment rather than locking you into a single riding style.

a diorama of a sperm whale eating a giant squid
Biology

How one of the American Museum of Natural History’s most terrifying dioramas get clean

It can take up to four hours.

Little Free Blockbuster stand in front yard
Internet

Free Blockbusters are popping up to bring back physical media

Think a little free library, but for Friday night movie marathons.

an eagle on a nest with its head down
Birds

Who is KD1, the bald eagle spotted in Jackie and Shadow’s nest?

We’ll learn more when nesting season starts on September 1.

German DKW NZ 350-1 motorcycle remains excavated from Danube riverbed with measuring tape beneath it for size reference
Archaeology

WWII motorcycle and soldiers emerge from river muck in Hungary

Historically low water levels in the Danube are revealing over 80 years of history.

a butterfly with orange, black, and white coloring and wearing a long, thin radio transmitter sits on a green plant
Land

Putting tiny backpacks on butterflies—for science

With the Project Monarch App, users can track their 3,000-mile-long migration.

Dolphin mother and calf in the ocean
Wildlife

Dolphins learn how to use tools to hunt for fish from their mothers

Dolphins can use seashells to help them hunt for fish.

Midsection of businesswoman in retro pink blouse with sweaty armpits holding fan against green background.
Ask Us Anything

We smell different as we age. Here’s why.

An odor-producing molecule 2-nonenal is only part of the story.

Southern elephant seal pups explore shallow rock pools
Ocean

20 magnificent finalists from the 2026 Ocean Photographer of the Year awards

'This year’s finalists have produced work of extraordinary depth and courage.'

WW2 letter from Louis 'Speedy' Weber that reads Sunday, August 23, 7:15 a.m. Darling, I'm being shipped out today and I don't know where I'm being shipped to. All my love, Speedy. P.S. I Love you
Army

Read a WWII Army private’s letters back home for the first time

Louis 'Speedy' Weber's messages chronicle D-Day, North Africa, and more.

I Love The 90s website home page showing various links to archival YouTube channels, games, and a chatroom
Social Media

I Love the 90s! captures the first digital decade in rad detail

This website is da bomb.

a bear cub sits by a tree with porcupine quills in its hand
Bears

Katmai bear cub spotted with a paw full of porcupine quills

Hopefully little 901jr learned an important lesson.

The Insta360 X6 camera in Black and White sitting on tiny pedestals on a table
Cameras

Insta360 wants its latest 360-degree action cam to be your “cameraman of the future”

Insta360 is positioning the X6 as a 360º camera, subject-tracking gimbal camera, and single-lens action camera in one pocket-sized solution.

two frogs mating on a tree branch
Wildlife

‘Less desirable’ males confuse female treefrogs looking for a mate

Things get pretty noisy when it's time to hook up.

Astronomers have discovered a “black hole star,” an extremely bright red spot in the early universe that appears to be a new type of astrophysical object. It resembles an enormous star, but its energy production is closer to what a black hole might generate.
Black Holes

Astronomers discover the existence of a ‘black hole star’

The never-before-seen objects are gargantuan, immensely bright, and ancient.

Egyptian curator Ibrahim El-Nawawy examines the gold funerary mask of King Tutankhamun at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois, April 6th 1977. The mask is one of 55 treasures from the Pharaoh's tomb that will go on display on April 15th. (Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week

King Tut was buried with more than a hundred pairs of underwear—all tailored to fit his massive butt 

Plus crusty white dogs and other weird things we learned this week.

This image features data from Webb’s NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid Infrared Instrument) to capture the most detailed mid-infrared view yet of the field that hosts the highly evolved star IRS 3, which is located just 0.55 light-years from Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way galaxy's central supermassive black hole. An international team of astronomers have discovered that dust and water can form and survive surprisingly close to this supermassive black hole. The observations reveal that the evolved star IRS 3 continues to enrich its surroundings with newly formed material despite the intense radiation environment around Sagittarius A*. The data in this image were taken with Webb programmes #1939 (J. Lu), #3571 (F. Yusef-Zadeh), #2491 (N. B. Sabha), and #2075 (C. Chan). [Image description: A dense star field fills the entire image, with countless stars scattered across a backdrop of glowing clouds in shades of red, orange, pink, white, and blue. At the centre, a brilliant concentration of stars creates a bright, almost white core surrounded by intricate filaments and wisps of illuminated gas and dust that radiate outward. Dark, irregular patches of opaque dust interrupt the glowing clouds, particularly toward the left side of the image, where they appear as silhouetted shapes against the brighter background. The surrounding stellar population varies in brightness and colour, with cool blue stars and warmer orange and red stars distributed throughout the scene.]
Black Holes

Our galaxy’s supermassive black hole actually doesn’t devour everything

Cosmic dust and water is withstanding radiation near the Milky Way galaxy's black hole, Saggitarius A*.

The first inter-city train from Beijing to north China's Tianjin departs from Beijing South Railway Station in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 1, 2008. China, home to the world's largest high-speed rail network, has expanded its total operational mileage beyond 50,000 kilometers with the launch of a new high-speed line.A "Fuxing" bullet train departed Friday morning from Yan'an, a sacred revolutionary heartland in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, for the provincial capital Xi'an, inaugurating the new route. (Photo by Gong Lei/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Engineering

China’s experimental bullet train hits 497 mph in 5 seconds

The maglev test vehicle is nearing commercial aircraft speeds.

Black and white photo of the USS Trigger submarine at sea with crew standing atop it
Archaeology

Tragic piece of WWII history discovered on historic submarine

A tiny valve is all that remains of the doomed USS Trigger.

two men with orange life jackets on in a river holding a large gray fish
Fish

300-year-old sturgeon are swimming around the Great Lakes

Some of these humble fish were alive during the Civil War.