Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 851)

Loblolly pine trees in North Carolina
Renewables

Tree resin could replace fossil fuels in everything from printer ink to shoe polish

Genetically engineered trees could supply the chemicals needed to make glue, paint, varnish and other household goods.

holiday pregnancy test
Evolution

Like other animals, humans have a breeding season—and it’s right now

‘Tis the season for conception.

Facebok privacy
Security

You don’t have to delete Facebook, but you could definitely be using it better

Your Facebook account is spraying your personal info onto the internet like a hose. Here's how to stop it.

Close-up image of a polar bear underwater.
Bears

The inventors of the polar bear treadmill are back with a new scientific contraption

Watch Nora the polar bear swim for science.

airplane bathroom window
Aviation

Your next domestic flight could have a big window in the bathroom

Aircraft windows affect everything from a plane's weight to how passengers perceive cleanliness.

a mug with lemons and tea sitting on a snow-covered table
Health

Find out if your holiday travels will take you into a flu zone

It’s already getting bad in some parts of the country.

Finding opioid alternatives in cone snail stings
Biology

Finding opioid alternatives in cone snail stings

To Baldomero Olivera, venom is nature's drug industry.

Multi-colored plastic straws.
Pollution

The EU just finalized an agreement to ban tons of single-use plastics

What next?

Atlas V rocket launch
NASA

This is why rocket launches always get delayed

Weather, weather, and sometimes boats.

a naked mole rat braces itself inside a tube
Animals

9 jaw-dropping facts about naked mole rats to celebrate the bloody ascent of their new queen

Long may she reign.

gun mortality by year
Weapons

We’re creeping back up to mid ‘90s-level gun death rates

Nearly 40,000 people died in 2017 from firearms.

a drawing of a big purple planet
Space

Meet Farout, the new most distant member of our solar system

It's the farthest object we've ever spotted in our neighborhood.

This microscope could look for life on Jupiter’s moon
Solar System

This microscope could look for life on Jupiter’s moon

Shamu dreams of Europa.

Too impatient to meditate? A mild shock to the scalp could help.
Health

Too impatient to meditate? A mild shock to the scalp could help.

The benefits of being mindful take time, but there might be a way to speed them up.

five identical men in white turtlenecks look confused
Psychology

People with extreme political views have trouble thinking about their own thinking

Your super liberal and super conservative relatives might all have one thing in common.

little girl eating cookie dough
Health

Eating raw cookie dough is fine if you follow these steps

Like all things in life, its all about calculated risk.

2018 internet summaries
Internet

Your internet year in review: See how you spent time online in 2018

How much music did you listen to and video did you stream? Here's how to find out

Atlas V rocket launch
Space

Four rocket launches in 24 hours turned into three in three days, because space is hard

Stream the United Launch Alliance and Arianespace launches. And maybe Blue Origin and SpaceX.

These elite chemical weapons detectives can prove who’s behind deadly attacks
Weapons

These elite chemical weapons detectives can prove who’s behind deadly attacks

Dictators and assassins are using banned nerve agents again.

The link between baby powder and cancer is easier to prove in a courtroom than in a lab
Cancer

The link between baby powder and cancer is easier to prove in a courtroom than in a lab

Johnson and Johnson concealed for decades that some tests found their signature product contained traces of asbestos.