Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 93)

an illustration of an asteroid
Solar System

World’s largest digital camera spots massive asteroid

2025 MN45 is larger than eight football fields.

A stylized digital collage featuring chess pieces, including a red king, set against a target-like background of concentric circles and a red-and-white checkered pattern.
Ask Us Anything

Chess or video games—which actually makes you smarter? The answer may surprise you.

The science behind games, brains, and what “smarter” really means.

Young girl on dad's shoulders next to car at a Christmas tree farm, childhood, excitement, holiday season
Science

The science behind how your winter jacket keeps you warm

New materials, old physics.

Photograph of lightning inside storm cloud taken above Milan, Italy, at night aboard the ISS
International Space Station

Astronaut snaps spectacular photo of lightning above Italy

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers spotted the summer storm while aboard the International Space Station.

Hand holding TV remote in front of out of focus TV screen
Mental Health

A little TV after a long day is good for your brain

Go ahead and indulge.

Both sides of one of the arrowheads analysed. The left-hand image shows the organic remains in which the arrowhead residues were identified. Photo: Marlize Lombard
Archaeology

World’s oldest poison-tipped arrow discovered in South Africa

The 60,000-year-old relic contains traces of a toxic onion.

SYMBOL - 26 May 2025, Berlin: A plaster sticks to the upper arm of a small child after a vaccination. Photo: Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez/dpa (Photo by Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Vaccines

The CDC just sidelined these childhood vaccines. Here’s what they prevent.

Experts on childhood disease were baffled by the change in guidance.

a celtic gold coin
Archaeology

Rare Celtic coin found by metal detectorist

The piece of Iron Age history is 33 percent gold and headed to auction.

A white woman cracks her fingers. She has muted purple nail polish on and a muted purple blouse on, too.
Diseases

Is cracking your knuckles really bad for them?

It doesn't actually cause arthritis.

an iguana with blue and green scales
Endangered Species

10 vulnerable wildlife species to watch in 2026

A psychedelic spider, sign of spring, a loud primate and more make Fauna & Flora’s 2026 Species to Watch List.

three side by side images of a large jellyfish in a deep sea canyon
Ocean

Giant phantom jellyfish spotted deep in Pacific

These rare sea creatures live where the sun don't shine.

Pint of beer next to a cheeseburger
Science

Beer waste helps lab-grown meat taste meatier

Brewing byproduct may be a key sustainable secret ingredient.

Close up of Greenland shark with copepod attached to eye
Sharks

Dissected Greenland shark eyeballs could help humans see forever

The world's longest-living vertebrates maintain their vision for centuries.

an elk with horns in the wood
Land

New wildlife cam features 800-pound elk in northern Michigan

Gaylord is home to its own herd of 60 elk and one of the largest wild herds in the United States.

DJ Steve Aoki pumping his fist onstage for Panasonic against a pink LED screen at CES 2025
Audio

CES 2026: The audio gear we want to chase, carry, and crank

We’re in Las Vegas with two ears and a heart, on the search for the best in immersive open earbuds, portable Bluetooth speakers, powered stereo setups, and more.

This image shows the location of Cloud-9, which is 2,000 light-years from Earth. The diffuse magenta is radio data from the ground-based Very Large Array (VLA) showing the presence of the cloud. The dashed circle marks the peak of radio emission,which is where researchers focused their search for stars. Follow-up observations by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys found no stars within the cloud. The few objects that appear within its boundaries are background galaxies. Before the Hubble observations, scientists could argue that Cloud-9 is a faint dwarf galaxy whose stars could not be seen with ground-based telescopes due to the lack of sensitivity. Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys shows that, in reality, the failed galaxy contains no stars. [Image description: A region of space mostly filled with background galaxies, with one prominent star at upper left. A large blob of purple haze occupies much of the field. Within the purple region, an unremarkable area is outlined with a dashed white circle.]
Space Telescope

Mysterious space object is full of dark matter

The failed star factory is nicknamed ‘Cloud-9.’

A fluffy beavers sits in front of a fallen tree branch with yellow leaves.
Land

Idaho once dropped 76 beavers from airplanes—on purpose

Don't worry. They had parachutes.

Lasko space heaters on sale at Amazon
Home

Amazon dropped Lasko space heater prices by up to 35% during this limited winter sale

Cold weather season is in full effect. A well-placed space heater can make your home more comfortable while cutting your utility bill.

African penguin chick close-up
Birds

Aquarium welcomes third endangered penguin chick in less than a month

This African penguin baby will sadly not be named after a hot dog.

a coin minted in 1804. it is silver and features the word liberty, the profile of a woman with long hair, and the year 1804
Archaeology

‘King of Silver Dollars’ coin could fetch over $1M at auction

Coin collectors consider the rare 1804 dollar one of the field's most desirable trophies.