Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 248)

Galaxy AM 1054-325 has been distorted into an S-shape from a normal pancake-like spiral shape by the gravitational pull of a neighboring galaxy, seen in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. A consequence of this is that newborn clusters of stars form along a stretched-out tidal tail for thousands of light-years, resembling a string of pearls. They form when knots of gas gravitationally collapse to create about one million newborn stars per cluster.
Space Telescope

NASA’s Hubble space telescope reveals a galactic ‘string of pearls’

425 clusters of newborn stars shine along cosmic tails that could hold clues to the universe's past.

Here are a few tips to get you started on your morning.
Life Skills

How to wake up

Doctors and researchers share tips for skipping the snooze button and feeling refreshed.

Hand reaching to press 'accept' on unknown smartphone call
AI

FCC bans AI-generated robocalls

Thanks to a 1991 telecom law, scammers could face over $25,000 in fines per call.

The best e-bike conversion kit on a plain white background.
Outdoor Gear

The best e-bike conversion kits

These electric bike kits will supercharge your regular ride.

Caption: CERT’s four-legged Robodog can manuevuer throguh cramped spaces and use sensors to spot fires, leaks, or other hazards.
Robots

A four-legged ‘Robodog’ is patrolling the Large Hadron Collider

The robot's quadruped locomotion helps it look for hazards in cramped and cluttered experiment spaces inaccessible to other robots.

Photo illustration of hawkmoth navigating to flower during vehicle exhaust emission.
Pollution

Air pollution messes with moths’ ability to smell flowers

Byproducts of car exhaust disrupt pollination by degrading the floral scents that insects use to track down their favorite plants, according to new research.

A bunch of wet blueberries.
Biology

Why blueberries aren’t technically blue

Blueberries appear blue without a blue pigment. Here's how.

Desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria)
Technology

Cyborg locusts may one day help search-and-rescue missions

Researchers think that injecting nanoparticles into the bugs’ brains will harness their strong olfactory senses.

Molten lava overflows the road leading to the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, a popular tourist destination in western Iceland. Orange lava covers a dark road, as gray smoke rises.
Science

Volcano in Iceland erupts for the third time in two months

The Blue Lagoon spa was evacuated, as lava crossed the main exit road from the popular tourist attraction.

Best studio monitors sliced header
Peripherals

The best studio monitors

These speakers are about delivering the proof in the policy of truth.

Anchovy sex is a force of nature
Ocean

Anchovy sex is a force of nature

It’s not the size of the fish that counts, it’s the motion of the ocean.

NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Climate, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite launches aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Fire and smoke are below the spacecraft as it lifts off from the launch pad.
NASA

NASA’s PACE satellite takes off to monitor phytoplankton—from space

The spacecraft will monitor the oceans and atmosphere of a warming planet in new ways.

Google wants to fight deepfakes with a special badge
AI

Google wants to fight deepfakes with a special badge

Content Credentials are attached to image metadata and show if it was AI generated or edited.

A lineup of Valentine's Day gifts on a white background with a heart border.
Gift Guides

The best last-minute Valentine’s Day gifts to spread the love

Whether you're looking for a last-minute extra present or are starting from scratch, look to these lovely gifts for all the sweeties in your life.

Eight gray seals and four wild horses stand on a sandy beach.
Wildlife

See wild horses and gray seals mingle on Sable Island

Scientists are studying how iron levels affect seal pup’s dive capacity–and their survival rates.

The best projectors under $500 on a plain white background.
Home

The best projectors under $500

You’ll find that today’s budget projectors are not only more affordable but also more capable and packed with features.

Abandoned car in aluminum red mud spill
Engineering

Aluminum’s notorious, toxic red mud could one day help make ‘green steel’

Using existing electric arc furnaces, researchers show a promising new use for the caustic industrial byproduct.

The Ingenuity helicopter sits on the surface of Mars on February 4, 2024.
Mars

NASA’s Perseverance Rover spots damaged, lonely Ingenuity helicopter in the ‘bland’ part of Mars

The rover will have to continue exploring the Red Planet without its drone companion.

Your smartphone camera modes explained
Tech Hacks

Your smartphone camera modes explained

It's time to upgrade your photos and videos.

Upset senior woman looks at the laptop screen
Social Media

Sharing AI-generated images on Facebook might get harder… eventually

And you'll soon have to fess up to posting 'synthetic' images on Meta's platforms.