Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 56)

the earth is setting behind the moon
Moons

New Artemis II astronaut iPhone video reveals new Earthset view

‘Like watching sunset at the beach from the most foreign seat in the cosmos.’

white flowering tree in front of apartment building
Agriculture

Why spring smells like semen and rotting fish

Blame the invasive Bradford pear tree.

tiger amongst mangroves
Wildlife

8 cool images from the Mangrove Photography Awards

The 12th annual competition is now open for submissions.

Close up of a man wearing a dark green shirt holding a smiling piglet.
Medicine

Pigs could end the transplant waiting list

Animal-to-human organ transplants promise a future where survival no longer depends on another person’s death.

an illustration of an extinct hedgehog like animal
Animals

New megafauna looked like spiky, 30-pound hamster

It took 120 years to figure out the forgotten fossil belonged to an extinct giant echidna.

Freshly baked homemade brownies on a parchment paper. There's some sprigs of mint and a gold-colored fork resting on the left side.
Ask Us Anything

The best brownie recipe, according to science

Fat is key for fudgy brownies.

woman wiht '21 grams'
Health

One man’s obsessive quest to weigh the human soul

The 21 grams experiment continues to fascinate us a century later.

messages app
Tech Hacks

There’s a helpful translation tool hidden in your iPhone Messages

Brush up your language skills while texting.

Several leaf cutter ants carrying leaves on wooden log.
Insects

The crazy nests built by leaf-cutter ants

Turrets and tunnels and carbon dioxide—oh my! These ants farm, but they are also master builders.

a man dries a gray playstation console with a blue towel
Engineering

Tinkerer transforms a filthy 1990s PlayStation into the ‘ultimate PS1’

USB-C charging, 1080p resolution, SD card game loading, and a wireless controller brings the throwback console into the 21st century.

a bright red bird with a long beak
Birds

Hawaiian forest birds are stealing each other’s twigs

Kleptoparasitism is a risky crime sweeping the islands' forests.

Text message chat speech bubbles covering the face of woman with eyeglasses
Mental Health

Stop asking AI for life advice

Recent studies confirm that you're better off finding a human therapist.

REI bags on sale header
Outdoor Gear

REI has more than 50 hiking bags, backpacks, and travel bags on sale for clearance prices right now

Save up to 50% off of bags from The North Face, Gregory, Osprey, NEMO, Herschel, and more. They're all trail-tested and ready to hold your GORP.

Hand holds vintage photograph of young boy riding a plastic toy horse with pile of old photos in background.
Ask Us Anything

Why don’t we remember being babies?

Yet we never forget how to ride a bike.

Close up of woman holding EpiPen Launcher
Engineering

Woman builds EpiPen cannon, because why not?

It’s not the most efficient way to deliver the life-saving medicine, but it’s definitely the most entertaining.

Aerial view of Perge stadium from ancient Rome
Archaeology

‘Doors to Death’ reveal how Romans upgraded a stadium for bloodsport

The ruins in present-day Turkey tell a grisly tale of wild animals eating prisoners.

The Artemis II crew—(clockwise from left) Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover—pause for a group photo with their zero gravity indicator “Rise,” inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home on April 7, 2026.
NASA

From crying to dentistry: 6 odd skills astronauts need to go to space

Everything is more complicated in space, from toilet vacuums to tech support.

a flower with red petals and a large pole-like center growing in a tropical forest
Biology

Rare rotting-flesh smelling flower blooming at a Massachusetts college

Are corpse flowers like ‘Pangy’ dangerous? Are they endangered? We have answers.

car parked on street
Vehicles

How Audi’s electromechanical progressive steering works

The new A6 sedan is fast, so stable handling is critical. 

A wide-angle landscape photograph shows a lone hiker standing on the extreme edge of a sheer granite cliff, overlooking a vast mountain valley. The hiker is dwarfed by the massive, rugged rock formations and the deep, evergreen-covered canyon below. The distant mountains are shrouded in a light blue haze under a clear, bright sky, emphasizing the immense scale and potential danger of the high-altitude wilderness.
Ask Us Anything

Someone dies in a national park. Now what?

From “hasty searches” to helicopter extractions, rangers often face a difficult mission to recover remains.