Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 856)

Epsilon Iridani
Space

Being a heavyweight isn’t enough to turn a brown dwarf into a star

Now astronomers want to know: what makes a star a star?

a cow sticking its tongue in its nose
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week

The weirdest things we learned this week: holes in people (and cows), illegal cheese, and the world’s worst dairy disaster

Our editors scrounged up some truly bizarre facts.

Your city and home may not be ready for you to get old
Technology

Your city and home may not be ready for you to get old

To succeed, the “age in place” movement needs good design.

Navigating our obsession with one-sided objects
Science

Navigating our obsession with one-sided objects

Möbius strips still fascinate mathematicians.

2012 Renault Twizy
Vehicles

A look back at the tiny cars that once ruled the road

A timeline of micro cars.

This ocean ‘invisibility cloak’ makes waves bigger and better
Physics

This ocean ‘invisibility cloak’ makes waves bigger and better

It could expand our options for wave-energy harvesters.

A British mathematician thinks he’s cracked a secret worth a million bucks
Science

A British mathematician thinks he’s cracked a secret worth a million bucks

But proving the Riemann Hypothesis isn't that simple.

hurricane florence flooding
Climate Change

Why rivers rise long after a hurricane is gone

Florence damaged the coast with storm surges, but farther inland the worst was yet to come.

These lizards are the holy grail of herpetology—they’re also targets in the illegal wildlife trade
Wildlife

These lizards are the holy grail of herpetology—they’re also targets in the illegal wildlife trade

Excerpt—Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking

During a hurricane, where does all the pig poop go? Into your water.
Agriculture

During a hurricane, where does all the pig poop go? Into your water.

The horrifying pig poop floods in North Carolina are not a one-time thing.

The ExoMars spacecraft measured radiation in deep space to help keep future astronauts safe
Mars

The ExoMars spacecraft measured radiation in deep space to help keep future astronauts safe

The news isn't great, but it's not a showstopper either.

a kitten and a puppy
Health

The FDA just issued a warning for flea and tick medication that might cause seizures

Here's what you should know

Your brain and body remember trauma differently than other events
Psychology

Your brain and body remember trauma differently than other events

How fear makes your brain write memories differently.

Three doctors in green surgical scrubs operating on a patient in the emergency room.
Cancer

Donated organs rarely spread disease, thanks to these protocols

Here's how the screening process that prevents disease transmission in donated organs works.

a map shows growing storms in the atlantic
Environment

Hurricane Florence helped spin up new storms in the Atlantic

Flo isn't rising from the dead, but it's still influencing our weather.

How to build a tabletop catapult
Projects

How to build a tabletop catapult

From wooden dowels and rubber bands.

plane oxygen masks
Aviation

When a plane loses pressure, here’s what happens to your body

121 passengers found out recently when a Jet Airways flight crew forgot to pressurize the cabin.

Octopuses trip on ecstasy the same way we do
Evolution

Octopuses trip on ecstasy the same way we do

We may have more in common with invertebrates than we thought.

The reclusive inventor of the Rubik’s Cube wants to do more than amuse you
Technology

The reclusive inventor of the Rubik’s Cube wants to do more than amuse you

Math, man vs. nature, and me.

Want to save the planet? Don’t drain the swamps.
Global Warming

Want to save the planet? Don’t drain the swamps.

Swamps and bogs are more important than you think.