Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 31)

Solar Impulse experimental plane flying over pyramids in Egypt
Drones

World’s largest solar-powered aircraft crashes after losing power

‘Solar Impulse 2’ made history by circumnavigating the globe in 2016.

Green Plastic Tyrannosaurus Rex On Yellow Background
Dinosaurs

Why did Tyrannosaurus rex have such short arms?

Teeth? Big. Arms? Not so much.

a baby elephant walking under an adult
Endangered Species

Meet Sam Houston, the new baby Asian elephant

The 285-pound pachyderm was up and running right after birth. Yee-haw!

Everyday items including playing cards, toy train tracks, and scrap paper can help users learn the principles of coding with less screentime.
Internet

Game teaches kids programming basics without screens

Texico’s analog brain games use playing cards, toy train tracks, and scrap paper.

screenshot of iphone
Tech Hacks

How to free up space on your phone and avoid the dreaded ‘storage full’ messages

There are ways to give yourself more room on Android or iPhone.

Woman on red background in cat yoga pose.
Fitness & Exercise

7 sciatica stretches and exercises for pain relief

Symptoms, sources, and solutions for sciatic nerve pain straight from a physical therapist.

Graphic showing a thinking woman, a scan of a brain, a rat.
Mental Health

What addiction does to the brain

Changes in neural connections due to substance use and withdrawal are long-lasting, and craving can peak well into abstinence. Understanding this process could inspire drugs to support recovery.

a leopard cub in a sugarcane field
Wildlife

Leopard moms hide babies in sugarcane fields to go hunting

The big cats can become more aggressive while looking for their babies, so it's best to steer clear.

Smart chocolate lab with glasses reading a book on burgundy sofa.
Ask Us Anything

Test your dog or cat’s IQ using these simple tricks

And no, that viral "dog wall test" isn't the way to do it.

Graphic showing a grey-colored white woman in a white shirt with a fork in her mouth looking at an array of different color comfort food photos.
Food Safety

Why we crave ‘comfort food’

Nostalgia plays a big role in the meals that bring us solace—which means we might be able to recondition ourselves toward healthier foods that still soothe.

two mayflies mating
Insects

Mayflies have crazy, acrobatic sex

Researchers froze mayfly couples in the middle of mating—for science.

This scene was captured at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) on Cerro Paranal, in Chile’s Atacama Desert, under exceptionally pure observing conditions where the boundary between Earth and sky feels almost seamless. The Milky Way stretches across the sky, with its dense central bulge rising prominently overhead. To the left, the Magellanic Clouds, two neighboring satellite galaxies, are visible to the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere. Subtle airglow adds another layer to the scene, a natural emission produced by chemical reactions in the upper atmosphere at altitudes of 80 to 100 kilometers. In this image, it reveals a range of colors, with green tones on the left and warmer reddish hues toward the right. In the foreground stands the VLT, operated by the European Southern Observatory. Situated at 2,635 meters above sea level, the site benefits from extremely dry conditions, stable atmospheric layers, and minimal light pollution, resulting in more than 300 clear nights each year. The observatory consists of four primary telescopes, each equipped with 8.2-meter mirrors. One of them, UT4 (Yepun), projects four sodium laser beams into the sky, creating artificial guide stars at an altitude of approximately 90 kilometers. These reference points enable adaptive optics systems to correct for atmospheric distortion in real time, significantly enhancing the clarity and precision of astronomical observations.
Space

19 breathtaking images from the Milky Way Photographer of the Year 2026 awards

'Milky Way photography goes beyond capturing the stars. It becomes a way to explore remote environments, challenge physical limits, and reconnect with both nature and history.'

Duluth Trading Co. bags on sale
Gear

Duluth Trading’s Entire Bags Lineup Is 20% Off

Duluth Trading's bags and travel gear are 20% off through Sunday, May 10, with the Lifetime Leather Crossbody Bag at 60% off ($75.18)

Hamster running on exercise wheel in cage
Engineering

Clever kid builds phone charger powered by pet hamster

The YouTuber turned a rodent's exercise wheel into a tiny turbine.

ceramics laying on the bottom of the mediterranean sea
Robots

Robot probes 16th century Italian shipwreck 1.5 miles below the Mediterranean

The mysterious ship sank off the coast of France full of valuable cargo.

Picture of a spaceman
Solar System

‘Mars’ is 2025’s most popular planet baby name

Thankfully, no one named their kid Uranus.

Line of Cybertrucks in parking lot
Electric Vehicles

Cybertruck recall warns that its wheels may fly off

Barely 3,500 of the EVs have sold this year so far.

a white bison calf walking next to an adult bison in tall prairie grass
Wildlife

One-in-a-million white bison calf born in Iowa

White bison calves are considered sacred for many Native American nations.

Two white children play on a roundabout in a vintage photograph.
Technology

The first playgrounds were for adults, not kids

Early playgrounds were more about fitness than fun—and children didn't enter the equation for decades.

a team of vets puts a wire frame on a turtle's shell
Wildlife

Vet constructs ingenious contraption to help a tortoise hit by a car

The African spurred tortoise’s recovery deserves a shell-ebration.