Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 98)

Overhead view of water flushing through a white color toilet bowl
Environment

The fix for parched western states: Recycled toilet water

If it’s perfectly safe to drink purified wastewater, why aren’t drought-plagued states drinking more of it?

An illustration of what the aurora might have looked like during a polar reversal about 41,000 years ago. The green glow of an aurora is much further south than we see it today.
Sun

Sunscreen may have kept ancient humans alive during a polar reversal

When solar radiation increased, these techniques may have helped our species spread across Europe and Asia.

This is an artist’s impression of the exoplanet 2M1510 (AB) b’s unusual orbit around its host stars, a pair of brown dwarfs. The newly discovered planet has a polar orbit, which is perpendicular to the plane in which the two stars are travelling. Polar planets around single stars had been found before, as well as polar discs of gas and dust capable of forming planets around binary stars. But thanks to ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) this is the first time we have strong evidence that such a planet actually exists in a polar orbit around two stars. The two brown dwarfs appear as a single source in the sky, but astronomers know there are two of them because they periodically eclipse each other. Using the UVES spectrograph on the VLT they measured their orbital speed, and noticed that their orbits change over time. After carefully ruling out other explanations, they concluded that the gravitational tug of a planet in a polar orbit was the only way to explain the motion of the brown dwarfs.
Exoplanets

Exoplanet with two ‘suns’ is even more unique than Tatooine

Like something from 'Star Wars,' 2M1510 is in a rare perpendicular orbit around a pair of brown dwarfs.

Best infrared saunas triplets header
Home

The best infrared saunas for 2025

Make your home feel like the spa with ample infrared heat.

The best home saunas composited
Home

The best home saunas for 2025

Work up a sweat, detoxify, and burn calories without having to leave the house.

Skelleftea, Sweden A moose warning sign on a country road in summer.
Wildlife

It’s time to tune in to the Great Moose Migration livestream

The annual Swedish public television livestream kicked off a week earlier than expected.

a large gold nugget
Archaeology

Huge gold nugget found by metal detector enthusiasts set for auction

The 'Golden Beauty,' a sword made of meteorites, and more go up for sale on April 23.

Multiethnic twins brothers posing - Busto Arsizio, Lombardy, italy - family, brotherhood, complicity concept
Health

Are twins allergic to the same things?

an illustration of a small crocodile ancestor sneaking up on a small mammal ancestor
Evolution

Crocodile ancestors survived two mass extinctions—here’s how

Their eating habits may have kept them from suffering the same fate as the dinosaurs.

Earth's oceans seen from space
Deep Space

How did water end up on Earth? New evidence upends long-held theory.

No meteorites required.

three researchers padding a canoe on a polluted waterway under a bridge
Pollution

Pollution-eating microbes are thriving in infamous NYC canal

The toxic Gowanus canal could host a ‘reservoir of potential solutions.’

first footage colossal squid
Wildlife

Colossal squid filmed in deep ocean for the first time ever

The incredible footage is 100 years in the making.

Close up of woman's mouth during dental exam
Biology

Lab-grown teeth could be the future of dentistry

A stem cell research breakthrough paves the way for bioengineered chompers.

Bowling ball striking pins
Physics

How to bowl a strike—mathematically

Differential equations may improve training regimens and tournament design for bowlers.

two hot dogs topped with yellow mustard and sauerkraut
Nutrition

Put more sauerkraut on your hot dog (your gut might like it)

The dish may be one of the many fermented foods linked to better digestion.

white suv driving through muddy road
Vehicles

Why Honda built an off-roading course in the middle of the ocean 

A family in Puerto Rico dreamed of building a retreat for kids with cancer.

Old red building and Inuit houses in the background among the snow at the fjord, Nuuk Greenland
Science

Do Inuit languages really have many words for snow?

The most interesting finds from our study of 616 languages.

Reviewing the samsung S95F OLED TV with a picture of the earth on it
Televisions

Early review: Samsung 2025 Neo QLED TVs, OLEDs, and soundbars

We spent time reviewing all of Samsung's Neo QLED and OLED TVs, as well as its new soundbars.

Spotted dolphin with head above water
AI

Google made an AI model to talk to dolphins

The new large language model is called DolphinGemma.

A burned section of a large ice age fireplace.
Archaeology

Ice age humans built sophisticated fireplaces

Some structures could withstand over 1,112 degrees Fahrenheit.