Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 317)

Person smiling with airpods on
Life Skills

How to clean AirPods and other headphones

Your earbuds and headphones are gross. Clean them for better listening.

Shipping container used as passive cooling test chamber
Engineering

Ancient Egyptian ‘air conditioning’ could help cool modern buildings

One research team hopes to harness 5,000-year-old ideas to battle rising temperatures.

An illustration of a sabertooth tiger in a grassland. Sabertooth tigers went extinct between about 8,000 and 10,000 years ago.
Evolution

Mighty sabertooth tigers may have purred like kittens

Evidence in the feline's bones suggest that this extinct predator may have made some nuanced vocalizations.

Artist rendering of Somatic bathroom cleaning robot entering restroom
Robots

These bathroom-cleaning bots won’t replace human janitors any time soon

Somatic offers a fleet of automated bathroom cleaning robots for businesses. Some experts are wary.

A person's hand holding an iPhone with the Instagram login screen visible.
Tech Hacks

How to deactivate Instagram because the Likes don’t love you back

Whether you deactivate or delete Instagram, it could be good to take a break.

Illustration of two elephants on one side and an ant holding up other ants on the other side.
Insects

Is bigger better? Not when it comes to the world’s strongest animals.

The key to super strength is a skeleton on the outside of your body.

A woman in a hospital, with a doctor touching her shoulder. Some of the health problems associated with long COVID include blood clots, diabetes, heart issues, blood clots, diabetes, neurologic complications, gastrointestinal disorders, fatigue, and difficulties with mental health.
COVID-19

The effects of Long COVID might rival heart disease and cancer

A new study finds that long COVID has a high burden of disability for patients.

pastel-colored room with many chairs and many cats perched around the room on chairs and shelves.
AI

The logic behind AI chatbots like ChatGPT is surprisingly basic

Large language models, broken down.

A coral reef just off of an island in Palau. Coral reefs in Palau provide critical habitats for a number of species and provide a storm barrier.
Ocean

Some Pacific coral reefs can keep pace with a warming ocean

Almost 40 years of data shows that some species are more heat tolerant, but still face uphill battle against rising temperatures.

the acura zdx electric car
Electric Vehicles

Acura plunges into the EV space with GM as a collaborator

The automaker's first electric vehicle, the ZDX, comes out next year, and it will mirror a Cadillac.

Best Roku TVs
Televisions

The best Roku TVs

The Roku’s coming from inside the TV …

The best battery backups
Peripherals

The best battery backups

A reliable battery backup protects your electronics in more ways than one.

Sliced up best Dell monitors header image
Peripherals

The best Dell monitors

No matter what kind of work you’re doing, Dell likely has a monitor to fit your setup.

Pyxis Ocean retrofitted with WindWings setting sail for its maiden voyage, August 2023
Engineering

A cargo ship with 123-foot ‘WindWing’ sails has just departed on its maiden voyage

Retrofitted with 123-foot ‘WindWings,' 'Pyxis Ocean' is testing two giant sails on its six-week journey from China to Brazil.

Multiple tubes of virus samples in green, green, and pink labels on a shelf. On August 17, the World Health Organization designated BA.2.86, or Pirola, a “variant under monitoring.”
COVID-19

New COVID variant under monitoring carries slew of novel mutations

Nicknamed Pirola, the BA.2.86 variant has been sequenced in four countries.

Colorful t-shirts hang on a clothing rack. According to Northwestern University’s Body and Media Lab, women’s clothing tends to be more painful, restrictive, and distracting, which can interrupt focus and make it more difficult to move around in the workplace.
Science

The unexpected benefits of making your clothes a source of joy

Fun and functional clothing can send an important message of inclusivity.

Students testing ChatGPT AI tutor on computers
AI

A version of OpenAI’s GPT-4 will be ‘teaching’ thousands of kids this fall

Khanmigo's AI beta "test" program is meant to assist teachers with individualized student help.

A Facebook Like icon doing a thumbs-down, as you might do if you want to delete your Facebook account.
Tech Hacks

How to delete your Facebook account and take your data with you

Meta has buried account deletion and deactivation within your Facebook settings, but we found them.

14.5-inch lava lamp
Speakers

The best lava lamps

Let those magical globs provide endless entertainment. 

A vehicle drives through a flooded street as Tropical Storm Hilary moves through the area on August 20, 2023 in Cathedral City, California. A wave of water pushes onto the street and palm trees shake in the wind.
Weather

Tropical Storm Hilary soaks the Southwest

The first tropical storm to hit Southern California since 1939 brought flooding and high winds from coastal areas to the desert.