Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 619)

robot fingers grabbing egg
Robots

Engineers created a robotic hand with a gecko-like grip

Watch this robotic hand grab hold of an egg, fruits, a large plastic container, and a jug of orange juice.

A giant tornado moves fast along a highway towards a town miles ahead
Climate Change

Hurricane-force winds broke a single-day record while smashing the Midwest’s power grid

Climate change-induced heat waves in the Great Plains might be at play.

laptop screen showing gmail
Tech Hacks

Google integrated its other apps into Gmail. Here’s how to best use them.

Go beyond email.

Northern pike underwater
Pollution

Fish can bounce back quickly from mercury pollution

A Canadian experiment is good news for efforts to make seafood safer.

The CDC is urging pregnant people to get COVID-19 vaccines. Here’s how we know it’s safe.
Vaccines

The CDC is urging pregnant people to get COVID-19 vaccines. Here’s how we know it’s safe.

Months of evidence show the shots are safe for those who are pregnant or considering pregnancy.

phone screen with social media icons in it
Tech Hacks

The simplest way to post to all your social media accounts at once

Stay on message.

Honda will soon start patrolling Ohio highways to improve the roads
Self Driving

Honda will soon start patrolling Ohio highways to improve the roads

The focus for now is on lane lines, which are a key part of the future of transportation.

MANTAS T-38 in the Arabian Gulf
Navy

The US Navy is testing autonomous seafaring robots that patrol the ocean

Unmanned vessels like Saildrone and MANTAS can expand the Navy’s understanding of the oceans as potential battlefields.

hands scrolling through photo reel on phone
Tech Hacks

How to stop your ex from popping up in your photo memories

Sometimes you don't want to be reminded.

The Parker Space Probe flies toward the Sun
Sun

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe survived its closest encounter yet with the sun

The Parker Solar Probe passed within 6.5 million miles of the sun's surface—and NASA wants to fly it even closer.

Gift wrapping presents in natural rustic theme brown kraft paper with string and ornaments on a dark blue rustic wooden table
Life Skills

The most eco-friendly wrapping paper is none at all

Cutesy, shiny paper goes where most everything glittery goes: the landfill.

hand holding phone showing google maps on screen
Tech Hacks

How to use the new ‘busy area’ icon on Google Maps

Should I stay or should I go?

IBM vertical transport transistors
Technology

The trick to a more powerful computer chip? Going vertical.

Electrons typically flow through transistors in parallel to the chip surface, but what if the transistors were flipped sideways?

Crop field
Pollution

Pesticides can hurt agricultural communities—so why do farmers fight back against bans?

Chlorpyrifos was finally banned in 2021—but agricultural groups are speaking out.

Sycamore Tree
Pollution

A million ‘super trees’ are coming to clean Houston’s air in the next decade

Houston officials are planting native trees that absorb carbon dioxide and offer other benefits.

A person wearing a t-shirt and shorts doing yoga on a black yoga mat in a white bedroom near some plants.
Life Skills

Easy fitness tips to get you moving while working from home

Rise up, work-from-homers, and take to the streets (for exercise).

This gadget is helping French special forces nail their parachute landings
Aviation

This gadget is helping French special forces nail their parachute landings

The device beeps as an operative gets closer to the ground, helping them (and anyone jumping in tandem with them) safely execute a landing maneuver.

Macaron cookies with bright food dyes like orange, light blue, and pastel yellow
Food Safety

We don’t know if artificial food dyes cause health risks

They're in everything from your grilled salmon to your favorite brand of pickles.

Urban traffic jam in a city street road
Health

Better vehicle emissions standards may have saved thousands of Americans

As vehicle emissions drop, so do pollution-related deaths.

hand holding phone with intstagram story screen
Tech Hacks

Turn back the clock with Instagram’s On This Day feature

Get in, loser—we’re taking a ride down memory lane.