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robot approaches voting booth next to person who is voting

Why AI could be a big problem for the 2024 presidential election

By Kenneth R. Rosen

Microraptor wearing helmet is shot out of a circus cannon to represent how dinosaurs evolved to fly. Illustration in red, yellow, blue, and green.

We still don’t know how animals evolved to fly

hunk of rock wearing nose-eyeglass-eyebrow disguise

Your ‘healing’ crystals might not even be crystals

By Maddie Stone

shadowy figure holds spy satellite

How corporations helped fuel the big business of spying

By Sarah Scoles

robot doctor talks to elderly person sitting in chair

Will we ever be able to trust health advice from an AI?

By Keith Wagstaff

collage of cern images

Particle Physics

How the world’s biggest particle accelerator is racing to cook up plasma from after the big bang

multiple hands of various colors

Why our brains think fake hands are part of our bodies

A security camera peeking through an open door.

The Opt Out: Home security cameras guarantee surveillance, not safety

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

pastel-colored room with many chairs and many cats perched around the room on chairs and shelves.

The logic behind AI chatbots like ChatGPT is surprisingly basic

By Charlotte Hu

White dog inhaling colorful waves that represent smells. Illustrated.

Why your dog needs to smell the world

By Brandon Keim

This communications company is a lifeline for far-flung operators

This communications company is a lifeline for far-flung operators

By Sarah Scoles

taxidermied two-headed goat kid

Life after death never looked so beautiful

By Ted Cavanaugh, Sara Kiley Watson

Why do people have recurring nightmares?

Why do people have recurring nightmares?

By Shannon Liao

large dinosaur skull sits in storage area

Museums are filled with fake dinosaur fossils. See what it takes to make those replicas.

By Riley Black, Theo Stroomer

An iPhone connected to an empty can showing a failed call on the screen.

The Opt Out: Analog life is possible. But it’ll cost you.

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Futuristic doctor performs medical procedure on astronaut in space with robotic arms. Saturn can be seen outside of the spaceship window. Illustrated in blues and pinks.

5 space robots that could heal human bodies—or even grow new ones

By Tatyana Woodall

The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week

Check out our live show!

By PopSci Editors

Small feathered dinosaurs Kongonaphon kely partying with champagne in front of an erupting volcano and fiery asteroid during the Triassic mass extinction. Illustrated in orange, purple, and yellow.

Dinosaurs survived one mass extinction, but then their luck ran out

full venus flytrap on black background

These meat-eating plants are masters of deception

By Ali Blumenthal, Ellen Airhart

large dish on earth sends waves out to the moon in illustration

An enormous radio telescope may soon be a powerful tool for planetary defense

By Sarah Scoles

three stages of woman standing and lifting barbell

I lift heavy weights to soothe my fibromyalgia pain—here’s what the science says

By Urmi Bhattacheryya

falcon perches on handler's glove, jersey shore attractions in background

The birds of summer patrolling Ocean City’s boardwalk

By Laura Baisas, Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet

Brachiosaurus in bathing suit stands on a beach with a handheld fan to show that dinosaurs might have been warm-blooded. Illustrated.

Were dinosaurs hot or not?

rosalind franklin rover on mars background

How Russia’s war in Ukraine almost derailed Europe’s Mars rover

By Kenneth R. Rosen

These auditory illusions make people hear phrases as melodies

These auditory illusions make people hear phrases as melodies

By Ben Macaulay

Line of rocks letting water leak through to represent a different approach to water management during drought

‘Slow water’ could transform the Southwest, one little rock wall at a time

How pilots end up in a ‘death spiral’

How pilots end up in a ‘death spiral’

By Julia Craven

inside of large airplane engine

The metallic guts of GE’s massive jet engines, in photos

By Christopher Payne, Rob Verger

Person underwater looking up at outer space to represent Blue Abyss training tank. Illustrated.

Inside Blue Abyss’ plan to build super-deep pools for astronauts and military bots

By Sarah Scoles

Two people in workout clothes putting food and supplements into a blender to make their own pre-workout

Fitness & Exercise

What science says about popular pre-workout ingredients

By Purbita Saha

White-skinned person pouring ice cubes into bath with a dark-skinned person recovering after a workout. Illustrated in orange, white, and black.

Fitness & Exercise

The best way to relieve sore muscles after a brutal workout

Person with dark skin and short hair jumps rope while pregnant person with light skin and hair in a bun squats and lifts dumbells. Illustrated in orange, black, and gray.

Fitness & Exercise

The 6 essential parts of an effective workout

By Frankie de la Cretaz

split screen showing phone with halo on one side, phone with horns on the other

The Opt Out: 10 rules for better internet etiquette

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Person on yoga mat doing bridge exercise to work out muscles in core, neck, and back. Illustrated in red, black, white, and gray.

Fitness & Exercise

A guide to the muscles you forget to exercise

By Jamie Helmick

Glowing outline of a fictitious dinosaur in Arches National Park to symbolize missing fossils in deserts. Illustration.

The ghosts of the dinosaurs we may never discover

illustration of scientist with 3D models

Inside the little-known group that knows where toxic clouds will blow

By Sarah Scoles

Coping advice from people with the world’s most stressful jobs

Coping advice from people with the world’s most stressful jobs

By Rob Verger, Erik Olsen

Red cherry shaped as butt on orange and purple ombre background

A scientific exploration of big juicy butts

By Rachel Feltman

Teddy bear sitting in a corner and hands peeking from the corner with a phone taking pictures of the teddy bear.

The Opt Out: Read this before sharing another photo of a kid online

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

collage made from old magazine photograph and blueprints

A 1967 foot-powered tool you could build today—if you wanted to

By Bill Gourgey

White Moluccan cockatoo on a branch turning toward a person's hand. Reddish flames are behind the bird to symbolize past trauma. Illustrated.

Parrots are deeply intelligent. But do we understand their emotions?

By Brandon Keim

Person in a dark room watering a houseplant with a beam of light. Illustrated.

How to grow plants in the dark

By Ellen Airhart

This online atlas is a goldmine for amateur intelligence sleuths

This online atlas is a goldmine for amateur intelligence sleuths

By Sarah Scoles

Magnetic tape and Blu-Ray Discs for data storage forming an infinity sign on a yellow background. Illustrated.

Inside the search for the best way to save humanity’s data

By Charlotte Hu

A purple hand reaching to touch a green tongue of an orange person with their mouth open frowning because they're tasting something digsuting

Why food tastes wildly different to different people

By Julia Craven

Red and pink pill on yellow background with Swiss army knife coming out of it to symbolize off-label use of medications. Illustrated.

Viagra and the abortion pill can treat multiple illnesses. But how?

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

A DIY-rocket club’s risky dream of launching a human to the edge of space

Private Space Flight

A DIY-rocket club’s risky dream of launching a human to the edge of space

By Sarah Scoles

Ankylosaur in blue floatie and life vest riding the ocean waves. Prehistoric trees and a full moon are in the background. Illustrated.

Why dinosaurs were terrible swimmers

The secret to Voyagers’ spectacular space odyssey

The secret to Voyagers’ spectacular space odyssey

By Tatyana Woodall

Rockets firing from the ground into a black sky with moons and flames. Illustrated.

These 3D printed engines can power space-bound rockets—or hypersonic weapons

By Sarah Scoles

Poop emoji covered in soap bubbles on a light blue background

Your poop is useful. Meet the father-son team creating ‘humanure.’

By Lina Zeldovich

A young child hiding behind a stack of pancakes with syrup and fruit on a background of old polaroids

Why childhood memories of smells are so powerful and emotional

By Julia Craven

Beech mushrooms growing on a substrate against a gold background

How to use the power of mushrooms to improve your life

By Julia Craven

Red strength test with different tiers of password security against a cyan background.

The Opt Out: Stop choosing bad passwords already

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Beaver driving construction truck with logs on back to symbolize ecosystem engineer. Illustrated in purple, yellow, and brown.

Beavers, snails, and elephants are top grads from nature’s college of engineering

By Philip Kiefer

Two light brown cows standing on a grassy hill against a yellow sun and purple clouds. Illustration.

The social lives of cows are remarkably sophisticated

By Brandon Keim

4 of the best homes for off-the-grid living

4 of the best homes for off-the-grid living

By Helen Bradshaw

illustration of game

How a video game could help us better understand nuclear war

By Sarah Scoles

three MysteryVibe products

These sex toys are designed to heal, one orgasm at a time

By Charlie Surbey, Sandra Gutierrez G.

Light reflecting sky into sand as water

The secret to mirages has surprisingly little to do with your brain

By Julia Craven

Woman in a purple dress cleaning and organizing household items into buckets with gold tokens and stars. Illustrated.

Could letting go of perfection be the ultimate cleaning hack?

By Rachel Feltman

ancient-style illustration of poseidon and workers building seawall

Inside the project to bring ‘self-healing’ Roman concrete to American shorelines

Two T. rex dinosaurs cuddling in bed after sex. Illustration in pink, purple, and gray.

Scientists are still banging out theories about how dinosaurs had sex

collage of old magazine images

A DIY voice assistant from 1950 could mute a radio and control toy trains

By Bill Gourgey