Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 557)

A young man in a plaid shirt standing against a wooden wall wearing glasses with flip-up outdoor lenses, looking at his phone with a shocked face.
Tech Hacks

Simple accessibility settings that will make your smartphone easier to use

Bigger text, hands-free controls, and read-aloud options.

Power lines.
Climate Change

ExxonMobil’s ‘net-zero’ goals don’t address its biggest source of carbon emissions

Its plan neglects pollution produced when consumers use its products.

The Henize 2-10 starburst galaxy
Black Holes

Black holes have a reputation as devourers. But they can help spawn stars, too.

In a first, astrophysicists observe a black hole help create new stars in a dwarf galaxy.

a woman with tan skin and curly hair wearing workout clothes and holding a yoga mat looks down at her phone
Social Media

Your social media ‘fitspo’ is not a good influence

It only takes a few minutes for Instagram to mess with your head.

a frog and spider over an art illustration
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week

Why some tiny frogs have tarantulas as bodyguards

Plus other fun facts from The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week.

woman with book in face
AI

Researchers used AI to explain complex science. Results were mixed.

This tool summarizes the abstracts of scientific studies in a way that second graders can understand.

Person in white buttondown and with long black hair in COVID surgical mask leaning against a table with milk, a bowl of cereal, and green apples and oranges
COVID-19

Some people still can’t smell or taste a year after COVID

While most infected individuals do recover, some are experiencing long-term changes with their senses.

a 3d rendering of a rocky asteroid
Space

Do look up at this asteroid as it whizzes safely past Earth tonight

Don't worry, it's not going to be like the recent movie.

a coaxial helicopter
Army

Check out the helicopter vying to be the next Black Hawk

The Defiant, showcased in a new video from Sikorsky, is pitted against one from Bell in the Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft competition.

A volcanic Tongan island.
COVID-19

Tonga is fighting multiple disasters after a historic volcanic explosion

Tonga faces possible new COVID risks as it assesses damage from an eruption and tsunami waves.

Electric lamppost in winter storm.
Climate Change

Texas’s grid may still be unprepared for the next big winter storm

Some experts worry that not enough has been done since last February's disaster.

A bronze helmet shown from the front and the side. It has curving horns coming out of the sides of the head, and a birdlike face.
Archaeology

Horned helmets came from Bronze Age artists, not Vikings

Horny Vikings are revisionist history.

Mushroom, sandwich, sushi, ice cream, pasta, tomato and other illustrated foods with important texture
Science

Can texture change the way food tastes?

What you feel matters.

A black Bluetooth computer keyboard on an empty white notebook.
Tech Hacks

5 cheap and easy ways to upgrade your old tech

Breathe new life into those dusty old machines.

qr code on phone
Security

Don’t get scammed by fake QR codes

Criminals can use the codes to try to steal money and personal information. Here's how to stay safe.

a woman in corpse makeup
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week

The weirdest things we learned this week: The first celebrity diet, confused albatrosses, and delusions of death

Three PopSci editors share the freakiest facts they could find.

Whirlpool of water to represent a quantum tornado from a physics experiment
Physics

How the world’s first ‘quantum tornadoes’ came to be

The atom-sized version of extreme weather.

macbook air on white desk showing popsci website
Tech Hacks

Transform the face of the internet with these 5 Firefox extensions

It just needs a little shaping… to the salon! 

a graphic rendering of a orange-colored cancer cell being attacked by a gray immune cell
Biology

Scientists discover how a cell may cheat its own death

Cells may back out of self-destruction, posing one way they can manage their own functions.

an electric Chrysler car
Concept Cars

Take a peek at the Chrysler Airflow, a sleek new EV concept

Major automakers already have electric vehicles on the market. So what does Chrysler have in store?