Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 479)

Loggerhead sea turtle
Animals

Sea turtles are helping us forecast storms

In the southwest Indian Ocean, turtles tagged with sensors are filling in the gaps scientists need to forecast tropical cyclones.

Facebook login screen.
Social Media

Facebook’s new profiles feature will let users split up their accounts

Select users are getting to try out having up to five profiles under a single account. Here’s how it works.

Pad with red sequins next to two tampons, yellow hormone pills, and an alarm clock to represent irregular periods
Vaccines

How do vaccines affect periods? A big COVID survey lays out some clues.

If you think the COVID vaccines messed up your period or postmenopause, you're not alone.

cat sitting on kitchen chair
Life Skills

How to keep even the fluffiest cats cool this summer

Cool cats year round.

Check out Wing’s new delivery drone prototypes
Drones

Check out Wing’s new delivery drone prototypes

The company is designing small flying machines in different sizes to deliver your stuff from the sky.

Person in yellow sweater at laptop reaching for a smartphone to call a crisis and suicide hotline
Mental Health

988, the shortened National Suicide Prevention Hotline number, is live

Now states and territories must follow up with the right resources.

A satellite image of the western coast of Africa. A grey haze extends out over the Atlantic Ocean from the desert.
Climate Change

Why NASA is sending a dust-scanning spectrometer to the ISS

The color of Earth's dust storms shape the climate, but we don’t know how.

The Air Force plans to test an AI copilot on its cargo planes
Air Force

The Air Force plans to test an AI copilot on its cargo planes

The company behind the tech is called Merlin Labs. Here's how the system works.

Two people on their stomachs on a towel on a beach, looking at their phones.
Tech Hacks

Wireless sharing with Apple, Android, and Windows devices made easy

No cords necessary.

French fries and food menus on dining table.
Climate Change

Should restaurants put carbon footprint labels on their menus?

Labels and setting sustainable defaults can help diners choose a low-carbon meal.

octaglove prototype
Robots

This glove gives you the sensational powers of an octopus

Lined with suckers, Octaglove could help divers grab hold of slippery underwater objects.

person looking at phone screen
Tech Hacks

5 healthy and productive alternatives to doomscrolling

Make better use of your screen time.

The FDA has just given emergency use authorization to the Novavax vaccine.
COVID-19

FDA just greenlit a different type of COVID vaccine

Novavax's vaccine formula, similar to a flu shot's, may convince some hesitant Americans to get jabbed.

Pileated woodpecker with a red cap and black and white face pecking on wood in nine high speed video frames
Birds

Why woodpeckers actually don’t need shock-absorbing skulls to headbang

These birds have incredible hammering power but don't seem to get concussions or migraines. How?

Wind turbines in Alaska
Energy

Alaska’s largest coal plant closes, as green energy takes hold

The closure of Healy Unit 2 signals a rise in renewable energy projects around Alaska.

North Carolina’s biogas problem is only getting worse
Environment

North Carolina’s biogas problem is only getting worse

N.C. released a general biogas permit despite environmental justice concerns. The permit allows farms to bypass individual water quality review and public hearing processes when installing an anaerobic digester.

Why Bell’s sleek new helicopter has detachable wings
Army

Why Bell’s sleek new helicopter has detachable wings

Check out the progress on 360 Invictus, a candidate to be the Army's next armed scout. Here's how it works.

James Webb telescope traveling through space on a pink foil craft
Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope is about to beam us monster amounts of cosmic data

Expect JWST to release more information faster than its predecessor telescopes.

person holding red mobile phne
Social Media

Social media giants are failing their LGBTQ users, advocacy group warns

All five social media sites the researchers evaluated came up lacking.

This robot is learning about its body to adapt to new tasks.
Science

A self-aware robot taught itself how to use its body

It could be the first step toward making a smarter type of robot.