Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 505)

person texting on phone
AI

Unpacking Google’s ‘sentient’ AI controversy

The recent debate has also brought other, more pressing issues with the language model to light.

Deer looking at camera
Animals

‘Zombie deer’ disease is killing herds across the country

The fatal, highly contagious, neurological disease is spreading quickly through North America, killing deer and elk.

A blonde person wearing a medical face mask and standing in a mostly empty airport while holding onto a white rolling suitcase.
COVID-19

Your up-to-date guide on international travel during COVID-19

Traveling is getting easier, but there are still a couple of hoops to jump through.

Plane traveler wearing a COVID mask with an orange neck pillow looking out window after CDC lifted COVID testing policy for international flights
COVID-19

Flying to the US? You no longer need a negative COVID test.

The policy could change again if a new variant emerges.

Offshore wind turbine against cloudy sky
Renewables

Offshore wind has been slow to take off in the US. Here’s what could change that.

High costs and logistical hoops have held back the technology for years.

The main page of Netflix on a web browser.
Tech Hacks

Watch anything you want without signing up for every streaming service

So many things to watch, so little money.

Activists in Indigenous clothing and with no pipeline signs protesting Line 3 on a bridge in Minnesota
Fossil Fuels

States and tribes could soon regain the power to fight against projects that pollute

Leaking pipelines can pollute waterways, harm agriculture, and threaten endangered species.

These drones can avoid midair collisions by listening for other aircraft
Drones

These drones can avoid midair collisions by listening for other aircraft

Microphones and software will allow Zipline's flying machines to make quick decisions in the sky, if regulators give the system a green light.

Fabric carbon filter
Fossil Fuels

A protein-filled cotton sheet can filter carbon emissions

The same stuff in your favorite shirt could fight climate change.

person opening faucet with water flowing
Life Skills

PFAS are toxic and they’re everywhere. Here’s how to stay away from them.

It might be impossible to eliminate them completely, but you can certainly reduce your exposure.

A Butte, Montana resident worried about his town.
Pollution

Inside a Montana town’s fight against copper mine dust

Residents of a Butte neighborhood are concerned about what’s wafting from a nearby open-pit mine that can coat their homes and vehicles.

Russia’s mine-clearing robot has its safety limitations
Military

Russia’s mine-clearing robot has its safety limitations

Buried explosives pose a deadly threat to humans both during and after a conflict.

A black vacuum cleaner set against blue carpet, with its path a slightly darker, cleaner color than the rest of the floor.
Life Skills

The germiest places you might not be cleaning

What to scrub now that spring cleaning is done.

Resigella bilocularis is a single-celled foraminifera discovered in the Mariana Trench that contains magnetite, a material used by many species to sense magnetic fields.
Science

Meet the mysterious, magnetic microbes dwelling in the Mariana Trench

Closely studying these magnetic foraminifera could lead to new insights about the evolution of magnetic life.

A line of firefighters dig with hand tools to construct fireline in a forest.
Environment

What it really means for a wildfire to be ‘contained’

It's not about putting out all the flames.

air pollution over a city
Technology

You can now use Google Maps to find fresh air

Here’s how to use the new feature before heading out this summer.

Gold and green champagne bottle with cork popped and bubbles rushing out on a black background
Physics

Popping a champagne cork creates supersonic shockwaves

How fluid dynamics explain bubbly ballistics.

This new electric motorcycle is built for long-range adventures
Electric Vehicles

This new electric motorcycle is built for long-range adventures

Meet the Energica Experia, a 'green tourer' designed to cover impressive distances.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will look for dark energy and matter.
Space Telescope

In NASA’s new video game, you are a telescope hunting for dark matter

Zip around the cosmos catching space objects in 'Roman Space Observer.'

A giant Hyundai cargo ship’s long haul in the Pacific was at least partly autonomous
Self Driving

A giant Hyundai cargo ship’s long haul in the Pacific was at least partly autonomous

Prism Courage travelled about half of its 20,000-kilometer journey with the autonomous system active.