Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 183)

Octopus in water
Animals

The ‘smart’ animal club keeps getting bigger

Scientists are re-examining what signs of intelligence mean for animals.

Pain doesn’t belong on a scale of zero to 10
Medicine

Pain doesn’t belong on a scale of zero to 10

A simple number might feel definitive. But it’s not helping anyone make the pain go away.

Briskit Grill with lots of meat on it and smoke coming out of it
Home

40+ of the best 4th of July sales: Grills, TVs, tools, and more

We've rounded up the 4th of July deals that are actually worth your time.

floppy disks
Technology

Japan’s government is (finally) done with floppy disks

Over a thousand pieces of legislation needed to be amended.

a nearly complete skeleton of a salamander-like creature that lived 300 million years ago. it's head is round and shaped like a toilet seat
Animals

This giant tetrapod sucked in prey with its ‘toilet seat-shaped’ head

The salamander-like Gaiasia jennyae stalked the swamps 300 million years ago.

cone shaped skull
Archaeology

These viking ladies tried to start a trend for pointy heads, but it didn’t take off

Plus other weird things we learned this week.

Brain and brain waves in epilepsy, computer illustration. This EEG (electroencephalogram) illustration shows generalized epilepsy, affecting the whole brain cortex: all the EEG traces show chaotic brain waves. Epilepsy can take many forms, and have different effects. This could illustrate both benign epilepsy (inherited childhood form that normally improves with age), and myoclonic epilepsy (form that causes muscle contractions). An EEG measures electrical activity in the brain using electrodes attached to the scalp.
Technology

100 years of EEG: How this technology transformed neuroscience

Electroencephalography has allowed scientists to record and read brain activity.

a striped cat scratching a grey armchair
Animals

Why some cats scratch more than others

A small study looks into what makes certain domestic cats scratch so much--and how to stop it.

Close up of human brain neuron
AI

Lab-grown human brain tissue used to control robot

Scientists take another step towards organoid 'hybrid intelligence.'

a small grey and black reef fish swims
Animals

Fish in Earth’s hottest water defy the odds

Warmer ocean temperatures have been linked to smaller fish–but not with these species.

two ants face each other in a lab. one has purple dye where a wound was treated.
Insects

Watch a carpenter ant chew off another’s wounded leg to try to save its life

'The only medical system that can rival that would be the human one.’

Close up of Syntrichia caninervis moss
Agriculture

This inedible, indestructible moss may help humans thrive on Mars

S. caninervis could become 'a pioneer plant.'

SpaceX will attempt the first commercial spacewalk
Space X

SpaceX will attempt the first commercial spacewalk

The Polaris Dawn mission aims to hit several major milestones, like traveling 800 miles above Earth.

beaver at a dam
Wildlife

How beavers are helping the Tule River Tribe of California fight wildfires

Tesla interior
Electric Vehicles

Tesla patented self-cleaning tech for its robotaxis that don’t exist yet

The EVs may include disinfecting UV lights and heating plates.

Best turntables under $500 header
Audio

The best turntables under $500 (and one that isn’t)

Here's our spin on seven of the best affordable turntables for a great-sounding starter system.

robot bagger
Robots

Can grocery-bagging robots make self-checkout less of a pain?

A new prototype can identify and safely pack delicate objects.

Breakdown of Antikythera mechanism
Archaeology

The world’s oldest mechanical computer used a lunar calendar to study the stars

One of the Antikythera mechanism's lingering mysteries may have been solved.

Ritual sticks uncovered in Cloggs Cave date back 10,000 to 12,000 years.
Archaeology

Evidence of 12,000-year-old cultural ritual unearthed in Australia

Sticks that date back to the end of the Last Ice Age indicate a ritual was likely passed down for 500 generations.

Ring Video Doorbell on a plain white background.
Gear

Save up to 50% on Ring doorbell cameras with this early Prime Day deal

Take advantage of this great deal before Prime Day to avoid it selling out.