Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 305)

Members of the Dutch Tall Ship Oosterschelde wave goodbye from the quay in Rotterdam on August 4, 2023. The Rotterdam ship departs for a two-year world tour that scientist Charles Darwin made two centuries ago.
Wildlife

Mission to recreate Darwin’s scientific Beagle voyage sets sail

The Darwin200 expedition is expected to cover 400,000 nautical miles in the hopes of empowering a new generation of conservationists.

January AI helps you keep tabs on your blood sugar all day.
Wearables

January AI glucose monitor review: A pricey but effective approach to fine-tune your diet

These medical devices are now being marketed to non-diabetics who want to keep tabs on their metabolic health.

The best packable rain jackets
Outdoor Gear

The best packable rain jackets

Because weather is never 100 percent predictable, no matter what the forecast says.

Stack of international newspapers.
AI

Associated Press sets its first AI rules for journalists

The AP's Vice President for Standards and Inclusion estimates their AI committee could issue updates as often as every three months.

Artist impression of the stem pinniped Potamotherium valletoni swimming in his natural, freshwater environment. Grasses and plants grow below the animal, that has whiskers, legs, and flippers.
Wildlife

Hungry seals may have begun following their whiskers 23 million years ago

Ancient seals evolved their now signature whiskers to forage for food, but figuring out when has been tricky.

Wildfire smoke drifts over western Canada, as seen from a satellite. On August 8, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of dense plumes of smoke streaming from dozens of large fires in the Northwest Territories. Several of these fires raged around Yellowknife, the province’s capital and largest city. These fires follow major outbreaks of fire in Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Quebec, in May, June, and July.
Climate Change

Canadian territory capital ordered to evacuate due to approaching wildfire

More than 200 wildfires have already burned large regions of the Northwest Territories this summer.

White dog inhaling colorful waves that represent smells. Illustrated.
Dogs

Why your dog needs to smell the world

Let that powerful nose run free.

A person sits with their laptop on their legs and Amazon open in their browser to figure out how to cancel Amazon Prime.
Life Skills

How to cancel Amazon Prime in 5 easy steps

Ending your subscription is fast and easy.

woman smelling flowers in field.
Medicine

Allergy drops could be an at-home alternative to shots

An under-the-tongue treatment is popular in Europe, Canada, and Latin America. Why don’t U.S. allergists offer it?

new york times building
AI

The New York Times is the latest to go to battle against AI scrapers

The development adds to the mess of lawsuits and pushbacks that AI makers are facing from copyright owners.

EcoFlow Delta 2 generator sitting on the ground near a truck tire
Outdoor Gear

EcoFlow Delta 2 solar generator review: A mobile power unicorn

EcoFlow's 27-pound battery-powered generator has enough juice to keep your whole life going when the grid isn't an option.

A new snake species named Tachymenoides harrisonfordi was discovered during an expedition in Peru in May 2022. The copper scaled snake is seen here coiled on some brown grass.
Wildlife

Harrison Ford’s latest namesake is an Andean snake species

'Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?'

Three human skulls sitting on a shelf. Cranial modification has been used for millennia to reshape the human skull.
Archaeology

Japan’s Hirota people intentionally reshaped their skulls more than 1,000 years ago

Evidence of cranial modification has been found in societies from Mexico to France and may even date back to the Neanderthals.

The best power banks for camping
Outdoor Gear

The best power bank for camping, tested and reviewed

A fully charged (or solar-compatible) power bank for camping will keep all of your devices juiced without adding extra weight to your kit.

Blurry photo of Pink Floyd playing a concert
Technology

Scientists made a Pink Floyd cover from brain scans

By analyzing patients' neural activity, researchers reconstructed audio from 'Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1).'

a crocodile poking its head out of the water
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week

Ancient Egyptians used crocodile dung for birth control—and it kind of worked

Plus other weird things we learned this week.

Elemental chromium
Engineering

The same metal found on hot rods and Harleys could revolutionize solar panels

Chromium is showing immense promise as a cheap, plentiful alternative to metals used in smartphone screens and solar cells.

Men pose outside of Michigan State University’s first observatory, circa 1888. The observatory is located behind where Willis House now stands on MSU’s campus, just south of Grand River and north of West Circle Drive in North Neighborhood.
Archaeology

Michigan State students help unearth a 19th-century space observatory on campus

'The original campus observatory was built and used at a time when Michigan Agricultural College—what would become MSU—was a radically different institution.'

A person signing a PDF document on their phone
Tech Hacks

All the ways to digitally sign a PDF

You don't need a pen to put down your signature on a PDF file.

pregnancy test in hands
Medicine

Extreme heat could be a threat to contraception

Many states with abortion bans are experiencing broiling summers—and the heat could damage supplies such as emergency contraception and pregnancy tests.