Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 492)

Earth’s natural air-scrubbing system works better when it’s wetter
Science

Earth’s natural air-scrubbing system works better when it’s wetter

When it's warm and rainy, minerals that react with carbon dioxide draw in more of the greenhouse gas.

Am ancient Egyptian statue of a person with short hair from a recently discovered burial site.
Archaeology

A gold-laced mummy could be the ‘oldest and most complete’ specimen found in Egypt

The 4,300-year-old tombs were recently discovered in the Saqqara necropolis.

Brown cat and white cat fighting and playing in a sunny room
Cats

Fun or feud? These are the tell-tail signs that a catfight has gone sour.

Become an armchair expert on your kitties' social behaviors.

Black and white photo of Albert Einstein
AI

‘Historical’ AI chatbots aren’t just inaccurate—they are dangerous

Here's why it's so questionable to let AI chatbots impersonate people like Einstein and Gandhi.

A seaweed farm underwater near an island in Indonesia.
Agriculture

Why seaweed farming could be the next big thing in sustainability

Expanding seaweed farming could really help people and the planet, says new study.

An aerial view of Chasm-1, a crack in Antarctica's Brunt Ice Sheet.
Ocean

A chunk of ice twice the size of New York City broke off the Brunt Ice Shelf

The Antarctic event is not connected to climate change.

Two T. rex dinosaurs cuddling in bed after sex. Illustration in pink, purple, and gray.
Dinosaurs

Scientists are still banging out theories about how dinosaurs had sex

Much can be revealed through fossilized buttholes and other rare dinosaur genitalia.

screenshot of iOS's new feature Shared Libraries menu
Tech Hacks

This new iOS feature lets you share entire image libraries. Here’s how to set it up.

Having iCloud shared photo libraries gives Apple users an easy way to collectively manage numerous pictures and videos.

British navy boarding a ship where many sailors are sickened by scurvy from vitamin deficiency. Black and white illustration.
Diseases

It took centuries (and vitamins) for doctors to finally stop scurvy

Vitamins were the missing link in nutritional science until the 20th century. A new book on atoms traces this knowledge gap back to the world's greatest navies and scurvy.

Why trans people in rural America struggle to find healthcare
Medicine

Why trans people in rural America struggle to find healthcare

Even well intentioned local doctors may still be uneducated.

NASA aims to fly its experimental electric plane this year
Aviation

NASA aims to fly its experimental electric plane this year

Following a turbulent development that saw some components dramatically failing during testing, the X-57 is set to finally take flight in 2023. Here's what's been happening.

Lego man liquid-metal model standing in mock jail cell
Engineering

Watch this metallic material move like the T-1000 from ‘Terminator 2’

A tiny figure made from the magenetoactive substance can jailbreak by shifting phases.

Artist's reconstruction of Ignacius dawsonae surviving six months of winter darkness in the extinct warm temperate ecosystem of Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada.
Wildlife

These primate ancestors were totally chill with a colder climate

They may not be Arctic monkeys, but they could offer clues to animals will fare due to climate change.

fake news on phone screen
Social Media

The real reason people share so much fake news on social media

It may have to do more with habits and rewards.

Google AdWords homepage close up with hovering mouse cursor
Technology

The Justice Department is coming for Google’s digital ad domination

In mounting their latest traditional antitrust case, the government could have a real shot at taking the company on.

Two long, dark, Koh Tao worm salamanders on a swampy soil
Animals

One wormy Triassic fossil could fill a hole in the evolutionary story of amphibians

Sometimes the biggest finds come in the smallest (fossil) packages.

A half dozen eggs sitting on a marble kitchen counter
Life Skills

6 egg alternatives for these trying times

Become an eggspert on defeating egg-flation. We'll see ourselves out.

When wind turbines kill bats and birds, these scientists want the carcasses
Renewables

When wind turbines kill bats and birds, these scientists want the carcasses

Collecting, studying, and storing the remains from wind and solar facilities, scientists say, can unlock new insights.

Pluto is not a planet but a dwarf planet. Outline of its corona on black taken by the NASA New Horizons probe.
Pluto

Pluto is not a planet because of one small technicality

Astronomers are persnickety about what counts as a planet in our solar system.

cornell soft robot
Robots

A squishy new robot uses syringes and physics to mosey along

A new invention from engineers at Cornell moves by pumping fluids.