Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 706)

A drone-photograph shows an illegal mine in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. The image shows two artisanal pools, where the miners separate gold from rocks using mercury.
COVID-19

A pandemic-created ‘gold rush’ in the Amazon is destroying Indigenous lands

COVID-19 chaos boosted gold prices, which intensified mining on Amazon’s Indigenous lands.

a woman standing calm and happy in the sunlight
Mental Health

Fight election season burnout with these mental health tips

Sometimes being a responsible citizen can be exhausting.

Davis Meltzer’s A Space Station
Moons

11 of NASA’s most out-of-this-world illustrations

The inspiration behind the exploration.

A Black family enjoying the beach with their toddler
Mental Health

How to find joy during tough times

The feeling can arise when you connect deeply with others or experience harmony between your actions and values.

Dhritiman Mukherjee captured this gharial daddy giving over 100 of his offspring a ride on his back.
Animals

This crocodile daddy giving 100 babies a ride puts your carpool to shame

Gharial crocodile dads are pros at ferrying their kids across Indian rivers.

A stage with an American flag and a Trump campaign sign
COVID-19

President Trump wants to hold rallies this weekend. Could he spread COVID-19?

His physician’s assessment may be overly optimistic.

Amazon rivian electric delivery truck.
Electric Vehicles

Amazon’s futuristic electric delivery vans will hit the road in 2021

The company plans to deploy 100,000 of the vehicles by 2030.

a forest at night
Global Warming

Nights are warming faster than days. Here’s what that means for the planet.

This shift in daily temperatures can influence how plants and animals cope with climate change.

dancing illustration
Science

Why some people are bad at dancing

A music neuroscientist explains the concept of ‘beat deafness.’

A small monkey looking surprised
Psychology

The truth about reading body language

There’s no real-life Pinocchio’s nose for liars.

XB-1 Boom
Aviation

This test plane could be a big step towards supersonic commercial flights

Boom rolled out the XB-1 yesterday. Next up: a Concorde-like aircraft called Overture.

Artist's conception of NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collecting a sample from the asteroid Bennu.
NASA

Local asteroid Bennu used to be filled with tiny rivers

Six new studies describe the rock’s soggy past and violent present.

A toddler with a black mask on
COVID-19

We already know how to keep the next pandemic from catching us off guard

It all starts with hurricane preparedness.

Person holding cassette
Tech Hacks

The best way to share playlists on every major platform

Making a mixtape just got a lot easier.

Outdoor time can be very beneficial for boosting mental health during the pandemic, experts say.
Mental Health

What mental health professionals have learned six months into pandemic care

To get through the chaos of 2020 and beyond, clinicians suggest sticking to the basics of self-care—and reaching out for professional help when it’s not enough.

crispr
Gene Editing

Two women just won the Nobel Prize for their work on the gene-editing technique CRISPR

The technology can alter human, plant, and microbial DNA with relative ease and extreme precision.

a paper fortune teller
Projects

Five classic paper toys you can make when you’re bored (whether you’re in school or not)

Some designs are simply timeless.

satellite view of US showing smoke off west coast
Environment

Wildfire smoke travels far but never really disappears

Even after the densest clouds disperse, the effects from smoke last longer and travel farther than you might think.

Person in videocall
Life Skills

These public speaking techniques can help you look smart on video calls

It’s hard to imagine your audience in their underwear when you can only see their faces.

President Donald Trump signing an executive order in the White House in 2017
COVID-19

Why COVID-19 attacks aging immune systems so fiercely

The US president’s age makes him more vulnerable to the virus and its many side effects.