Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 725)

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Science

Home team advantage explained in three charts

And why the effect is slowly going away over time.

TikTok Banned
Social Media

TikTok and WeChat aren’t getting banned after all—but that could change

A weekend deal and a California court decision have put the brakes on the stop-actions for the moment.

Person shopping online
Gear

AmazonBasics: A guide to the good, the bad, and the spontaneously combustible

They also sell fire extinguishers, FYI.

a person holding a white Apple iPhone in their hand
Tech Hacks

Your guide to all the security settings in iOS 14

The latest update came with some new safety features.

Apple iOS 14 update
Phones

New features to look for in the iOS 14 iPhone update

It’s time to get fancy with your iPhone home screen.

A violet-green swallow perched on a wire
Animals

Thousands of dying birds out West could reveal an even bigger environmental tragedy

Wildfires, pollution, erratic weather—which problem is to blame?

ADS
Weapons

The US military’s heat weapon is real and painful. Here’s what it does.

Plus, what to know about a sonic tool that’s referred to as “the voice of God.”

A red and orange sunset over San Francisco
Science Fiction

Why orange skies fill us with a sense of impending doom

Filmmakers use color wheels created by Isaac Newton to match sci-fi scenes to viewers' emotions.

Big 10 football players are set to return to conference play in October of 2020.
COVID-19

Big Ten football players will get daily COVID-19 tests, but that might not be enough

Fast, frequent testing may be less reliable, but could help teams identify infections as they happen

a generic doctors office
Health

America has a long history of forced sterilization

The alleged hysterectomies at a Georgia ICE camp follow decades of inhumane laws and policies at hospitals and detainment facilities.

Fried Chicken
Projects

The secret to perfectly crispy fried chicken

It’s simple physics.

People looking at smartphone and working out
Life Skills

Use TikTok to build the perfect workout

Yes, you read that correctly—TikTok.

A man on a four-wheeler equiped with brush bumpers.
Projects

Six ways to make your ATV even more rugged

From all-terrain to any-terrain.

a person holding a set of vaccines
Vaccines

A coronavirus vaccine will save more lives if we share it widely

Influenza modelers estimate that equitable vaccination could prevent the most deaths from the novel virus.

orange sky
Climate Change

How raging wildfires create hellish skies across the country

The strange effect is now creeping over to the East Coast.

smoke rising from forest fire with mountain in background
Climate Change

California wildfires may give way to massive mudslides

Fires can unleash toxic materials and devastating debris flows.

a hand holding pins that say "vote" on them
COVID-19

Why you should vote as early as possible (and how to do it)

Casting a ballot shouldn’t be a miserable experience.

The photo was taken by NASA’s camera EPIC, which takes pictures of the planet every two hour  from NOAA’s satellite DSCOVR. You can spot the plume of wildfire smoke off the west coast of the United States.
NASA

West Coast wildfire smoke is visible from outer space

The wildfires have created columns of smoke as tall as 14,000 miles.

person checking temperature of child
COVID-19

Some kids have been suffering from COVID-19 for months

The long-haulers, as they’re called, are baffling medical experts who’ve been studying the virus for months.

Sony A7C
Cameras

Sony built a tiny mirrorless camera with a full-frame sensor inside

The A7C is the smallest mirrorless camera on the market with built-in image stabilization.