Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 610)

The 360 Chicago observatory and other skyscrapers along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
Life Skills

From Chicagoan to Phoenician, here’s what to call the residents of the biggest US cities

What did you call me?!

flood water under park bench
Climate Change

Why we’re going to see a rapid rise in sunny day floods

Sea level rise will combine with a cyclical change in the moon's orbit to make sunny day flooding much more common.

How A Sundial Lets Curiosity See Mars in Living Color
Mars

How A Sundial Lets Curiosity See Mars in Living Color

Is that rock brick-red, ochre or salmon-colored?

A person wearing a surgical hair net, face mask, face shield and protective surgical gown pulls on surgical gloves while standing in a health clinic.
Vaccines

Under-vaccinated hotspots fuel 60 percent increase in US COVID-19 cases

Here’s what you need to know about the pandemic this week.

What Biden’s big executive order means for the internet, air travel, and more
Aviation

What Biden’s big executive order means for the internet, air travel, and more

A sprawling executive order released on Friday tackles a slew of tech topics while focusing on competition and consumer choice.

researcher holds up metal chickasaw artificat
Archaeology

Centuries-old tools reveal how the Chikasha people fought off conquistadors

Hernando de Soto's expedition ultimately failed, but they left an almost literal trail of breadcrumbs in their wake.

Barbed wire rolls on a white background
Technology

The thorny history of barbed wire

Looking back on the American invention's complicated past.

Everything You Need to Know About Near Field Communication
Phones

Everything You Need to Know About Near Field Communication

NFC is likely to pop up in your next smartphone (or maybe the one after that), and you'll use it for much more than just mobile payments

Watch An iPad Land An Airplane [Exclusive]
Aviation

Watch An iPad Land An Airplane [Exclusive]

Failed airplane engine? Unconscious pilot? There's an app for that.

It’s time to pick a better smartphone photo editing app
Tech Hacks

It’s time to pick a better smartphone photo editing app

Ditch the stock Instagram filters for something more sophisticated.

Fly the Eco-Friendly Skies
Aviation

Fly the Eco-Friendly Skies

Environmentalists and everyday air travelers alike are growing increasingly aware of the airline industry's greenhouse-gas problem. As demands for greener air travel grow, will technology come to the rescue of the jumbo jet?

birds eye view of a US city
Climate Change

Congress is watering down the American Jobs Plan—and our infrastructure will pay the price

As we repair our crumbling roads and transit systems, we have to keep climate change in mind.

Orange jessamine flowers
Science

Get to know the plant that showed up in the National Spelling Bee finals

Murraya paniculata shared a piece of the limelight with the winner, Zaila Avant-garde.

White Olympics five-ring flag flying during the 1988 summer games in Seoul
Psychology

Why are people obsessed with the Olympics?

We broke down the psychology for the haters out there.

Volvo’s sleek electric car concept has big Ikea vibes
Electric Vehicles

Volvo’s sleek electric car concept has big Ikea vibes

The Swedish automaker's next-gen EVs could feel like a living room on wheels.

The argument for a permanent Olympic City
Sustainability

The argument for a permanent Olympic City

Olympic stadiums can be costly and wasteful—so why not just have one?

A person sitting on a bed, enjoying playing a keyboard that's hooked up to a laptop.
Tech Hacks

5 tech tricks for learning a musical instrument

Let the music flow through you.

Firefighters battle a fire while climbing on a roof.
Technology

A new microwave scanner can track moving objects through walls, Superman-style

A new multipurpose technology could locate people trapped in burning buildings, or even speeding junk hurtling through space.

This helpful tank-like robot fights fires, not people
Drones

This helpful tank-like robot fights fires, not people

The Estonian vehicle can shoot out thousands of gallons of water per minute to combat a blaze.

Umbilical cord knot seen on screening images
Medicine

What umbilical cord tests can and can’t tell us about stillbirths

Umbilical cords are fetal lifelines, but doctors still don't know a lot about their importance in pregnancy screenings.