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An illustration of an extinct species of giant penguins. Two penguins stand upright and one huddles down on a rocky island.

Schoolkids in New Zealand discovered a new species of giant penguin

A folded American flag rests on top of a grave stone, with other gravestones in the background.

COVID-19 has now killed 1 in 500 Americans

A humpback whale breaches water and hangs in mid-air, in front of forested cliffs.

A rare humpback whale ‘megapod’ was spotted snacking off the Australian coast

a statue of a firefighter sits with the One World Trade Center tower in the background

What 20 years of screening 9/11 first responders for health risks has taught us

By Betsy Ladyzhets

New fossil reveals a fearsome shark-toothed dinosaur

passenger plane security since 9/11

The post-9/11 flight security changes you don’t see

A light brown and dark brown tabby cat lays on its back and looks at a camera upside down.

We finally know what turns cats into tabbies

Wildfire in forest with smoke and flames.

The Dixie fire is on track to be California’s biggest ever

By Popular Science Team

A small child is having a bandage put on his arm after receiving a shot. A caregiver stands behind him.

This year’s flu season could be a rager. Shots can help.

A woman in bed wears a mask and reads a book.

Vaccination cuts the risk of long COVID in half

satellite view of what remains of hurricane ida

Hurricane Ida’s remnants will bring record-breaking rain as it travels north

By Sara Chodosh

An illustration of a star slowly consuming a planet. The star's gravity has warped the planet into a football-like shape.

Stars that gobble up planets could narrow the search for other Earths

A microscopic image of a tardigrade, a pillowy creature with eight legs.

We’ve seen how tardigrades walk, and it’s mesmerizing

A bird-like brown dinosaur with a huge red crest on its head, in a jungle.

Smugglers almost made off with a near-complete fossil of a bizarre flying reptile

Two photos of wasps and their nests. The photo on the left is under regular light, and the nest appears off-white. The photo on the right is under blacklight, and the nest glows highlighter yellow.

Paper wasp nests have a secret fluorescent glow

An illustration of an asteroid, at right foreground, passing through Mercury's orbit, seen in the middle background, with the glare from the sun shining brightly on the left.

This speedy space rock is the fastest asteroid in our solar system

A hand in a blue glove holds a small vial labeled "Comirnaty," the new name for the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.

The FDA officially approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine

By Claire Maldarelli

A science lab with a nuclear fusion reactor in the background, and a ladder leading to the center.

Humans just generated nuclear energy akin to a star

COVID hospitalizations for kids and younger adults are at record highs

COVID hospitalizations for kids and younger adults are at record highs

By Claire Maldarelli

What the heck is a time crystal, and why are physicists obsessed with them?

What the heck is a time crystal, and why are physicists obsessed with them?

costal view of palermo, sicily

Anticyclone Lucifer is bringing record-breaking temperatures to Italy

Venus as a white dome in the background, a camera in the left foreground, in black and white.

A probe destined for Mercury ended up rubbernecking Venus

By Lauren Leffer

An artist's depiction of an extinct pterosaur, a flying reptile relative of dinosaurs.

This dragon-like reptile once soared over Australia

A hand holds a black sticker against a green background. The sticker has a red bandage on it and says 'I got my COVID-19 vaccine.'

People who had COVID should still get vaccinated, according to the CDC

By Erin Fennessy

A man wearing a grey suit and glasses has a white surgical mask partially covering his mouth and chin. He is walking down a cobblestone street facing towards the camera while others walk facing the other way. It is nighttime and a building and street vendor are in the background.

As Olympics continue, Japan struggles with its largest COVID spike yet

By Lauren Leffer

A trio of galaxies swirl around each other.

Space Telescope

See galactic triplets play tug-of-war in Hubble’s latest snapshot

By Erin Fennessy

Dried grass and flowers in a drought and heat wave

More than a dozen US states are under a heatwave alert

By Sara Kiley Watson

An artist's depiction of a black hole with an accretion disk, a flat structure of material orbiting the black hole, and a jet of hot gas launching out from the center, called plasma.

One of Einstein’s predictions on black holes has finally been confirmed

A dark haired person wearing a black and white patterned mask with a red backpack stands in a grocery store aisle, holding up a smartphone in one hand and running their other hand through their hair. They are looking intently at an array of colorful packaged foods.

What the CDC’s new mask guidance means for you

By Lauren Leffer

A dam on Lake Powell displays a chalky white bathtub-like ring that shows how much water reservoir levels have declined amid an ongoing drought.

40 million Americans depend on two reservoirs that just hit record lows

The Hubble Space Telescope, with its yellow solar panels featured prominently.

Hubble spied water vapor on our solar system’s largest moon

young girl wearing mask

CDC: Vaccinated people in two-thirds of the US should mask up

By Sara Chodosh and Claire Maldarelli

Several glass vials of the COVID-19 vaccine sit on a table top.

Despite surging Delta variant, a national vaccine mandate is unlikely

By Erin Fennessy

A healthcare professional administers a shot in an arm to a person in a brown shirt.

The J&J vaccine may be less effective against the Delta variant than we hoped

A black and white, side-by-side photo of galaxies. On the left, a pair of interacting galaxies. On the right, an usual three-armed spiral galaxy.

Space Telescope

With its latest fix, Hubble proves to be the telescope that just won’t quit

COVID cases are plaguing the Olympics even before they’ve begun

By Lauren Leffer

Shirtless person looking out at the ocean and beach

Your favorite sunscreen might have just been recalled

By Purbita Saha

A blue-gloved hand holds a vial of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.

Why the FDA issued a new warning about the J&J vaccine

A person wearing a surgical hair net, face mask, face shield and protective surgical gown pulls on surgical gloves while standing in a health clinic.

Under-vaccinated hotspots fuel 60 percent increase in US COVID-19 cases

By Erin Fennessy

A doctor with a mask on hold a COVID vaccine vial

All three US COVID vaccines protect against the Delta variant

By Lauren Leffer

Man is getting vaccine in arm

Novavax’s COVID vaccine might be key for vaccinating the world

By Lauren Leffer

Doctor examines MRI brain scans.

COVID-19 survivors may have higher risk of anxiety, depression, and neurological disorders

University students walk on campus in masks.

COVID’s fourth wave is on the way—and younger people could be most at risk

Traveler sits on suitcase in airport.

Fully vaccinated people can safely travel, the CDC says

people wearing masks walking down a street

Most states will open vaccinations to all adults by mid-April

Healthcare worker speaks with patient.

Getting COVID after vaccination is really rare—and likely to be more mild

Young person receiving vaccine from healthcare worker while wearing a mask.

COVID-19 vaccines are working in the real world

By Sara Chodosh

Older man wearing a medical mask

Is it okay to mix and match COVID-19 vaccines? We’ll know soon enough.

Vaccine vials in a lab

What went wrong with AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine data?

Countries resume use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after new data shows it’s safe

COVID-19 vaccines

Returning to normal life is going to be a slow and steady process

COVID-19 vaccine vials

Why COVID cases are falling around the world

a vial of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

Facing COVID-19 variants, vaccine makers are weighing how to tweak their designs

woman wearing mask in subway station

The US finally has a national mask mandate

people wearing masks walking their dogs

The places where Americans aren’t wearing masks

person wearing a mask and looking at the departures board at an airport

What to know about new COVID-related travel restrictions in the US