Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 33)

a firefly glowing on a black background
Cancer

‘Hope in a bottle’ for a deadly cancer and the firefly gene that lit the way

The first FDA-approved treatment for an incurable brain cancer gives the gift of time.

a butterfly with blue wings with black spots
Endangered Species

9 new butterflies discovered in old museum archives

The team even extracted DNA from a tiny 100-year-old butterfly leg.

a close up of a turtle with its head in its shell
Wildlife

Butt breathing and 5 other ways animals stay warm in winter

Blue crabs burrow, wood frogs freeze, and other cold weather survival strategies.

The book "Raising AI" by De Kai serves as an essential guide for parenting our future, exploring the profound responsibilities of nurturing artificial intelligence. The cover features a minimalist, metallic silver aesthetic that mirrors the clinical yet evolving nature of technology. In contrast to this futuristic outlook, the image of a weathered vintage tin robot—with its wide-eyed, staring expression and rusted edges—highlights the human-centric "mirage" of ethical AI, reminding us of the mechanical origins and imperfect projections we cast upon our digital creations.
AI

Chasing the Mirage of “Ethical” AI

Isaac Asimov’s “Handbook of Robotics” imagined simple rules for machine morality. But reality is a maze of contradictions, biases, and blind spots.

a robot floating
International Space Station

Lost in space: How ’digital twins’ saved NASA’s robots 

Navigation algorithms designed for Earth fail in orbit. A new approach fixes the drift.

files
Tech Hacks

How to recover your deleted files

Background of close up lettuce leaves. Top view
Food Safety

Why does lettuce go bad so quickly?

Our new study has the answer.

a large brown bear in italy
Bears

Bears in Italy inbreed more, but are less aggressive

Apennine brown bears have been isolated from their European counterparts since the Roman Empire.

Razer gaming gear on sale at Amazon
PC Gaming

Amazon is blowing out Razer gaming gear including keyboards, mice, headsets, and chairs

Upgrade every single part of your PC or console gaming setup with deep discounts on just about everything Razer makes.

A pink octopus squid floating upside down spotted by MBARI researchers
Ocean

Dive into 2025’s most stunning deep-sea wildlife encounters

Celebrate sea sponges, translucent squid, and more in a new year-end video.

2025 last minute gift guide header
Gear

Last-minute holiday gift guide: Over 30 editor-approved gadgets for everyone on your list

Is someone on your list hard to shop for? We've got a ton of great options for just about anyone. And grab a little something for yourself. You earned it.

3D scan cross-section of an ant
Insects

Weak ants conquered Earth using sheer numbers

Ant evolution favored large colonies over individual strength.

three white 3D printed animal skulls
Engineering

3D printed skulls make mounting antlers less of a bloody mess

The fake skulls can take up to 50 hours to print.

NASA’s SPHEREx has mapped the entire sky in 102 infrared colors, which are invisible to the human eye but can be used to reveal different features of the cosmos. This image features a selection of colors emitted primarily by stars (blue, green, and white), hot hydrogen gas (blue), and cosmic dust (red). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Space Telescope

Explore NASA’s most detailed map of the night sky yet

'We essentially have 102 new maps of the entire sky.'

A person bundled up in a hooded jacket and covered in snow is looking toward the camera in a snowy, blurry outdoor environment. The person's face is mostly obscured by a thick layer of snow and frost, with only the area around the eyes and nose showing exposed skin.
Ask Us Anything

The coldest body temperatures humans have survived

In some remarkable cases, people have survived after their core temperature has plummeted into the 50s.

roman ruins in northern england
Archaeology

Diarrhea slowed down Roman soldiers

Intestinal parasites that still plague us today were all over Roman Britain.

3D printed Christmas tree made from ice
Physics

Physicists 3D-printed a Christmas tree made of ice particles

The three-inch-tall tree is more than just a holiday novelty.

Artistic representation of the collision of two planetesimals in the circumstellar disc of the star Fomalhaut.
Exoplanets

First-of-its-kind cosmic collision spotted 25 light-years from Earth

Astronomers initially thought the dramatic burst of light was a new exoplanet.

Swearing and smiling emojis side by side on blue background
Mental Health

Go ahead and swear—it’s good for your health

Cursing can boost your workout, mood, and even confidence.

Anthracite Black Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 headphones on a grey background
Headphones

Our top wireless headphones of 2025 are on sale and arrive before Christmas if you order ASAP