Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 431)

Inside Google’s quest to digitize troops’ tissue samples
Military

Inside Google’s quest to digitize troops’ tissue samples

DOD staffers have pushed back on Google's mission for exclusive access to veterans’ skin samples, tumor biopsies, and slices of organs.

Hippo with its jaws open behind a heron in the water
Wildlife

These might be the funniest animal photos you’ve seen this year

Cue the wildlife blooper reel.

Green flying snake resting on tree branch looking at camera
Robots

Flying snakes could inspire a new generation of airborne robots

Researchers used computational analysis to study the paradise tree snake's gliding techniques for potential robot guidance.

This fossil-sorting robot can identify millions-year-old critters for climate researchers
AI

This fossil-sorting robot can identify millions-year-old critters for climate researchers

Forabot’s job is to image, ID, and categorize the tiny shells left behind by marine organisms called foraminiferas.

A towering dust devil casts a serpentine shadow over the Martian surface in this image acquired by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (April 2012).
Mars

For the first time, humans can hear a dust devil roar across Mars

The Perseverance rover used the first working microphone on the Red Planet's surface to pick up the extraterrestrial whirlwind.

Target fusion chamber of the National Ignition Facility
Physics

What the Energy Department’s laser breakthrough means for nuclear fusion

Nearly 200 lasers fired at a tiny bit of fuel to create a gain in energy, mimicking the power of the stars.

Sam Bankman-Fried looking at camera at legal hearing
Cryptocurrency

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested and charged with fraud

The former cryptocurrency wunderkind was arrested in the Bahamas and likely faces extradition to the US.

Colorful produce at a grocery store.
Agriculture

Why US vegetable prices have skyrocketed in the past year

Climate change-induced storms and drought have damaged crop yields across the western states.

Large fossilized fragments of free swimming arthropods
Evolution

Newly discovered fossils give a whole new meaning to jumbo shrimp

The Moroccan desert was once a sea filled with free-swimming arthropods.

5 sounds not meant for the human ear
Heart Disease

5 sounds not meant for the human ear

The highest note ever hit, space roar, ultrasound machine frequencies, and other phenomena of sound.

Three hikers in rain jackets and other rain gear, hiking through a wet forest, hopefully with well-maintained waterproofing.
Life Skills

The right way to wash your waterproof clothes

The wrong laundering choices can ruin your rain gear.

One of the world's last worm grunters catches earthworms in Florida.
Science

Masters of worm grunting vibrate like moles to harvest bait

The power of 'worm charming' remained a mystery—until a biologist took a page out of Darwin's book.

After a stillbirth, an autopsy can provide answers. Too few of them are being performed.
Health

After a stillbirth, an autopsy can provide answers. Too few of them are being performed.

One in three stillbirths goes unexplained, leaving parents desperate for information. Many doctors don’t perform autopsies or tests that could offer insight.

An RQ-28A is shown in flight.
Military

The Army skips off-the-shelf drones for a new custom quadcopter

Quadcopter drones are popular for commercial use, but the military wants to make a more cyber-secure version.

Barnacles on the side of the ship
Technology

Better anti-barnacle coating could keep ships smooth with less harm to ocean life

Ships often rely on copper-based antifouling paints to stave off barnacles. A new study demonstrates how a silicone alternative can be both more effective and greener.

Rising sun viewed from the stone causeway of the solar observatory on Mount Tlaloc, Mexico.
Agriculture

The Aztecs’ solar calendar helped grow food for millions of people

The farming calendar could accurately track seasons and leap years.

close up of girl's hand using tablet with Twitter app
Social Media

Twitter Blue is back and more confusing than ever

For Apple users, the subscription will cost $3 extra.

Wastewater could be the secret to eco-friendly fertilizer
Pollution

Wastewater could be the secret to eco-friendly fertilizer

By capturing nitrogen from wastewater, we can avoid the energy-intensive production of ammonia.

The world’s largest active volcano simmers down after eruption
Science

The world’s largest active volcano simmers down after eruption

Mauna Loa began spewing molten rock at the end of November for the first time in almost 40 years.

ispace Hakuto-R Mission 1 moon lander waiting to be launched with SpaceX rocket from Cape Canaveral
Moons

ispace’s private lander might be the first to touch down on the moon

A SpaceX rocket carried the Tokyo company's moon-bound lander off Earth.