Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 30)

Close up of Egyptian ceramic vessel with inscriptions
Archaeology

Opium may have been a daily habit for Ancient Egyptians

Everyone from royalty to everyday citizens likely partook.

This artist’s impression shows a coronal mass ejection (CME) around another star.
Sun

A star unleashed a planet-destroying flare

It's the first coronal mass ejection seen outside our sun.

hands holding forensic evidence slip in front of moss
Environment

Moss can be a key witness in murder investigations

Botanists say detectives are overlooking a potentially vital source of crime scene evidence.

Sperm whales swimming in clear water
Whales

Sperm whales use vowels like humans, new study finds

Scientists decoding whale clicks found patterns that echo the building blocks of human speech.

A fluffy orange and white cat is curled up and lounging inside a small, low-sided cardboard box that is lying on a wooden floor, looking directly at the viewer with a relaxed expression.
Cats

Why do cats love boxes? Evolution has an answer.

Boxes give cats control, comfort, and prime ambush angles.

Apple watches on sale at Amazon
Wearables

Get an Apple Watch for as low as $159 during Amazon’s early Black Friday deal

The Apple Watch makes a fantastic gift and this is the most affordable way to get one right now.

a teenage boy holds a robotic hand made out of legosUniversity of Bristol/Jared Lepora
Robots

Teen designs and builds a robotic hand with only LEGOs

At only 16, Jared Lepora has also co-authored a paper.

person petting a turtle
Endangered Species

Trafficked turtles get a second chance at life in New Jersey sanctuary

The Turtle Conservancy is rescuing reptiles, while preserving their precious DNA.

A blue Bird Buddy bird feeder mounted to a post on a front porch.
Smart Home

Take 50% off the best smart feeder with Bird Buddy’s Early Black Friday Deals

If you've been waiting to try a smart bird feeder that lets you see new avian pals up close, it's the best time of the year to get almost half off. Your backyard paparazzi career starts now.

Swedish silver medieval coins in a pile
Archaeology

Fisherman searching for worms finds 20,000 medieval silver coins

A Swedish man discovered the 12th century buried treasure near his summer home.

Ride1up Revv 1 bike ridden next to a running dog
Outdoor Gear

Get an ebike to fit your ride style and budget with Ride1Up’s Early Black Friday deals

Ride1Up’s best deals of the year are already rolling like a tailwind.

An octopus camouflages itself with the seafloor.
Biology

What octopus camouflage has to do with sunscreen

The cephalopod's disappearing act could help your next sunscreen blend in.

Comet 3I/ATLAS streaks across a dense star field in this image captured by the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on Gemini South at Cerro Pachón in Chile, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, partly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by NSF NOIRLab. This image is composed of exposures taken through four filters — red, green, blue and ultraviolet. As exposures are taken, the comet remains fixed in the center of the telescope’s field of view. However, the positions of the background stars change relative to the comet, causing them to appear as colorful streaks in the final image. See a version of the image where the stars have been “frozen” here. These observations of Comet 3I/ATLAS were conducted during a Shadow the Scientists program hosted by NSF NOIRLab. A full recording of the session can be found here.
Deep Space

3I/Atlas isn’t deep space aliens and didn’t ‘change color’

Don't believe the comet conspiracy theories.

A bright, close-up photograph of a poison dart frog with a glossy black body and vibrant yellow and light green stripes along its back and legs. It is perched on a mossy, dark-brown log in a natural environment.
Science

Animals that eat poisons and don’t die

Critters consuming species that contain deadly toxins have evolved a suite of clever strategies to keep out of harm’s way.

a sunrise over a desert landscape
Conservation

13 perfect panoramic images from the 2025 Epson International Pano awards

The overall category winners of the 16th annual panoramic photo competition hail from Italy, Germany, and the United States.

screenshot of google photos
Tech Hacks

How to back up all your photos and videos to Google Photos

Keep your photos and videos safe and available across all your devices.

an orange car parked in a black room
Vehicles

For sale: Batmobile, John Wick’s Mustang, and more Hollywood cars

Own a piece of the 'Fast and the Furious' for $500,000.

A medium close-up of an elderly bald man, James D. Watson, wearing a dark sweater over a white shirt and tie. He is looking directly at the camera with a slight smile. The background is dimly lit with a blue hue, and a blurred image of a DNA helix structure is visible over his left shoulder.
Science

James Watson exemplified the best and worst of science–from monumental discoveries to sexism and cutthroat competition

The biologist is primarily remembered for discovering DNA's double helix structure.

AI created video of bunnies on a trampoline
AI

AI videos of animals could be dangerous. Here’s how to spot them.

Researchers warn that they can distort our connection to wildlife.

A historical color photograph of the large Great Lakes freighter, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, sailing on the water. The ship has a prominent white superstructure at the bow with a dark red hull and a tan smokestack near the stern emitting a plume of black smoke. The weather appears overcast.
Science

How the Witch of November doomed the ‘Edmund Fitzgerald’

Fifty years after the Great Lakes freighter sank, scientists can explain the weather that still haunts Lake Superior.