Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 54)

the front of a steam locomotive. it is black and reads "union pacific 4014"
Engineering

World’s largest steam locomotive heads out on tour

Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014 will travel coast-to-coast in commemoration of the semiquincentennial.

AI generated iamge of injured Hazel dog
AI

Scammers use AI-generated images of lost dogs to target pet owners 

'In our new reality, you can no longer trust your eyes or ears.'

A medium shot of a dark-furred cat standing on a desk cluttered with vintage papers and an inkwell. The cat is looking alertly to its right, with its whiskers and fur illuminated by a dramatic light source against a dark, moody background.
Cats

The CIA once trained cats to be Cold War spies

Project Acoustic Kitty went about as well as you’d expect.

several birds flying overhead while a bird sits on its nest with a chick
Land

11 wild photos show the Amazon River in its glory

New photography book takes readers on a journey down the world’s longest river.

an ice cap in the alps. it is topped with snow, but brown spots show significant melting
Global Warming

Alpine glacier holds history dating back to the Romans. And it’s melting—fast.

Scientists are racing to document 6,000 years of history stored inside the Weißseespitze ice cap.

In the light of the setting sun, the sky forms a veil of Saharan dust over the Wurmberg in Lower Saxony, Germany. The Sahara dust colors the sky red.
Weather

NASA shows how Sahara desert dust spread all over Europe

The dust coated the Alps and caused 'blood rain' in England.

Old Navy season ending clearance
Fitness Gear

Old Navy’s end-of-season clearance sale has jeans, tops, jackets, and more up to 90% off

Revamp your entire wardrobe with t-shirts for $4 and jackets for less than $10. These are seriously cheap deals.

Majella National Park, Abruzzo, Italy. Sunset in Springtime
Environment

Why do mountaintops stay snowy?

The answer has to do with the air we breathe and that bright white snowpack, as an atmospheric scientist in Colorado explains.

A wolf chases magpies and ravens from an elk carcass near Soda Butte.
Birds

Yellowstone’s ravens may memorize wolf hunting hotspots—to feast

The birds will fly over 90 miles to dine where wolves have drawn blood.

robot working on rubik's cube
Robots

Brothers build a robot to solve Rubik’s cubes in record-setting time

The robot completed the puzzle in just 45.3 seconds, breaking its own record of 55 seconds made just moments earlier. 

An artist’s illustration of a giant tyrannosaur watching the duckbill dinosaur ‘Parasaurolophus’ in New Mexico during the late Cretaceous (74-75 million years ago).
Dinosaurs

‘Unusually large’ tyrannosaur leg bone points to 10,000-pound behemoth

It’s nipping at Sue's heels.

Happy young adult man listening to music with headphones and mobile phone celebrating and dancing outdoor against yellow background. Youth lifestyle concept
Psychology

4 surprising scientific benefits of music

From reducing dementia to speeding up recovery after surgery, music is more powerful than you knew.

A close-up photograph of a Halobates, an ocean water strider, resting on the surface of the water. The insect has a long, slender dark body and very thin, wire-like legs that create slight indentations on the water's surface tension. Its reflection is visible on the surface, and the background is a soft, out-of-focus light blue and white.
Evolution

Do any bugs live in the ocean? Short answer: Not really.

Crustaceans and insects share a common ancestor, but bugs are happier on land.

Illustration showing ancient hominid drinking water at river's edge with crocodile lurking nearby in the water
Evolution

An odd-nosed crocodile ate our prehistoric ancestors

‘Lucy’ probably needed to watch her back.

Shark vacuum deals amazon header
Home

Get a $199 Shark vacuum for just $99 during Amazon’s flash clearance sale

These vacuums are up to half-off and they include both corded and cordless models suitable for any space.

Artist’s conception of a magnetar surrounded by an accretion disk that is wobbling, or precessing, because of the effects of general relativity. Some models of magnetars suggest that high-speed jets of charged particles emanate from the magnetar along its rotation axis.
Black Holes

For the first time, astronomers witnessed the birth of a ‘magnetar’

These fast spinning, magnetic neutron stars may power some of the brightest supernovae in the cosmos.

a small black car with a number 4 on it
Sustainability

British man powers DIY car with discarded vapes

The souped-up G-Wiz EV has a range of 18 miles and topped 40 miles per hour.

a screenshot of a website showing a human brain, heart, colon, lung, kidney, prostate, placenta, and liver
Medicine

Explore the human body in stunning, 3D detail with a new online tool

The free Human Organ Atlas gives users an up-close-and-personal look at 56 human organs.

goal zero yeti 1500 6G main
Outdoor Gear

Goal Zero Yeti 1500 6G review: A rugged portable power station that isn’t afraid to get dirty

This $1,500 portable power station is only a little bigger than a typical toaster, but it's powerful enough to run full-sized appliances and more.

Bathymetric view of USS Monitor, looking at the stern of the wreck with the boilers and inner framework of the armor belt captured by Northrop Grumman using μSAS™.
Archaeology

Civil War shipwreck remains in ‘fantastic’ shape on ocean floor

The USS Monitor was an ironclad ship nicknamed a 'Yankee cheesebox.'