Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 660)

A child dressed as Spider-Man and a child dressed as Captain America
Vaccines

Pfizer formally asked the FDA to authorize its COVID vaccine for kids 5 to 11

Here’s everything you need to know this week.

Leo the Caltech robot
Drones

LEO the robot can float like a butterfly and balance on a beam

Designed by Caltech engineers, LEO can both walk and fly, allowing it to navigate smartly in complex environments.

rendering of human shaping of amazon rainforest
Land

This wild grassland in the Amazon isn’t as untouched as it seems

A dry region became a wetland largely through human intervention.

banana operation
Engineering

Can this fruit be saved?

The banana as we know it is on a crash course toward extinction. For scientists, the battle to resuscitate the world's favorite fruit has begun--a race against time that just may be too late to win

A key part of the big bang remains troublingly elusive
Physics

A key part of the big bang remains troublingly elusive

Physicists still don't understand what happened in the instant after the Big Bang.

The US military has been testing out Reaper drones over Hawaii
Drones

The US military has been testing out Reaper drones over Hawaii

The three uncrewed aircraft arrived in September, and are part of an exercise. Here's why the military is interested in the Pacific.

One way to cut down air pollutants: call an Uber
Pollution

One way to cut down air pollutants: call an Uber

The cold start of your personal car is what racks up nasty emissions of NOx, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds.

A small plant sprouting out of some brown dirt.
Projects

Quick and dirty tips to make sure your plants love the soil they’re in

What you do to the earth now can benefit future gardeners.

african woman getting vaccinated
Vaccines

The first malaria vaccine is finally ready to roll out

RTS,S is not as effective as health officials hoped, but it will still save thousands of lives.

Kid and puppy taking a nap on the couch as part of a healthy sleep schedule
Life Skills

How to get your kids on a healthy sleep schedule

Dream big.

Hand holding an iPad pro with iPadOS 15
Tech Hacks

How to tap into iPadOS’s new widget and multitasking features

Your Apple tablet just got a boost.

the sun as seen with x-rays
Sun

What would happen if the sun went out?

Don't worry, you'll have time to post your goodbye selfies to Facebook.

How to survive a tsunami
Ocean

How to survive a tsunami

Preparation is key for communities that live in high-risk coastal regions.

art illustration of the sun
Sun

What happens when the sun burns out?

It won’t go quietly into the night.

A small mint plant growing roots in a glass jar full of water.
Life Skills

6 ways to magically regrow vegetables in only water

If only personal growth was this easy for people.

Scientists discovered an extremely rare tardigrade fossil trapped in Dominican amber
Biology

Scientists discovered an extremely rare tardigrade fossil trapped in Dominican amber

The new specimen is also a never before seen species and genus.

Row of neatly arranged food containers with salad.
Life Skills

How to start meal prepping ahead of a busy week

Don't cook tonight what you could've cooked on Sunday.

person in car gets covid nose swab test
Vaccines

What can viral load really tell us about infectiousness?

Especially as the virus evolves, there's no easy way to tell how contagious someone is.

These robots are DARPA’s hope for the future of cave warfare—or disaster relief
DARPA

These robots are DARPA’s hope for the future of cave warfare—or disaster relief

Bots like these could fight in the next wars or help rescue people in challenging and dangerous underground environments.

a needle and a pile of cannabis on a white and green background
Health

The war on drugs didn’t work. Oregon’s plan might.

Decriminalizing drugs across the board isn’t as wild as it might sound.