Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 86)

a dog with large ears
Dogs

Angry yelling can throw a dog off balance

Your tone does more than startle your pet.

Hobart, Tasmania - December 27 2016: road side warning sign for Tasmanian kangaroo, tasmanian devil and echidna wildlife
Wildlife

Roadkill is a surprising and untapped source for scientists

Millions of animals unfortunately die on roads each year, but the casualties hold important data.

an illustration of a large shark holding a flag of the state of maryland.
Sharks

Megalodon could become Maryland’s official state shark

The 66,000-pound prehistoric predator once stalked the Bay State's waters.

Altadena, CA - September 29: A eucalyptus tree stands on Glenrose Ave. on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025 in Altadena, CA. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week

Americans planted entire forests of exploding Australian trees

Plus beaver skulls and other weird things we learned this week.

A full-length color photograph of a young woman figure skating on an outdoor ice rink. She is wearing a pale green long-sleeved skating dress and white skates, captured in a graceful pose with her arms extended and one leg trailing behind her. The background features a tall, modern office building, bare trees, and a mountain range under a pale sky, reflecting a mid-century winter aesthetic.
Technology

From bones to steel: Why ice skates were a terrible idea that worked

The long, strange journey from prehistoric bone skates to the high-tech blades of today.

People and nature. Woman collecting shells on a beach
Ocean

Where do seashells come from?

LEGO Star Wars Tie Fighter header
Gear

The first Lego Star Wars sets to support the SMART Brick start shipping in March, but you can pre-order them right now

LEGO's screen-free digital smart blocks are starting off with a Star Wars-sized bang. Finally, the X-Wing will make the "pew pew" noises all on its own.

Milky way galaxy over observatory
Deep Space

Amazon’s 180 internet satellites are already too bright. It wants 3,000 more.

A new study determined 92% of Amazon Leo’s satellites may currently impede research.

screenshot of digg front page
Internet

Digg is back to take on Reddit, and you can use it now

There's some new competition for 'the front page of the internet'.

Funeral urn on table next to four lit candles
Health

80% of Americans may opt for cremation by 2045

Rising costs, shifting beliefs, and environmental concerns are accelerating the decline of casket burials.

Snowed in suburban street. Piles of snow are on either side of a snowy road. A house and telephone wires are seen in the background.
Ask Us Anything

The most dangerous type of precipitation isn’t snow

And that time the U.S. government censored the weather.

Comparison of short green and long red lipstick vine flowers
Evolution

This odd vine contradicts long-standing evolutionary theory

‘They don’t follow the classic ideas of how we would have imagined the species evolved.’

An x-ray image of the brain showing a blue outline of a person's upper skull and bright, glowing yellow brain.
Psychology

What’s a false memory? Psychologists explain how your brain can lie.

Fruit of the Loom's logo never had a cornucopia and you didn't have pizza for dinner last Friday.

Saline, Michigan USA - 1 December 2025 - A sign on a rural Michigan road opposes a planned $7 billion data center on southeast Michigan farm land. Opponents say the Data Center could raise residential electricity rates and endanger the water supply.
Pollution

Data centers are facing an image problem. The tech industry is spending millions to rebrand them.

Through television ads and online campaigns, industry-backed groups are promising jobs, clean energy, and lower electricity bills.

Close up of woman brushing teeth using electric toothbrush
Health

New whitening powder activates with your electric toothbrush

It may even repair damaged enamel and improve your oral microbiome.

Abalone shells with numerical tags
Endangered Species

Mysterious, numbered mollusk discovered on Australian beach

Researchers are urging beachgoers to report the endangered, tagged sea snails.

ReadyWise emergency food bucket with oat meal
Outdoor Gear

Stock up on ReadyWise emergency food supplies during this Walmart flash clearance sale

These shelf-stable rations come in durable, waterproof containers so you can stick them in your basement and forget about them until you need them.

This image is the sum of 86 observations added together, representing over three million seconds of Chandra observing time. It spans just about 60 light-years across, which is a veritable pinprick on the entire sky. The underlying image contains lower-, medium-, and higher-energy X-rays in red, green, and blue respectively. The annotations on the image show where Chandra has detected over 3,300 individual sources in this field of view over a 22-year timeframe.
Space Telescope

Gaze into the Milky Way’s black hole with NASA’s ‘back catalog’ of X-ray data

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory has gathered over 1.3 million detections in 27 years.

man standing under drone umbrella in the rain
Projects

We may not have flying cars, but we have flying umbrellas

Inventor John Tse has gone high-tech to keep raindrops from falling on your head. 

a bald eagle with an egg
Birds

Bald eagle chick watch 2026: Jackie lays first eggs

The fascinating lives of the Big Bear Valley birds are livestreamed 24/7.