Corolla is in the Outer Banks, an island chain in North Carolina that in addition to an angsty teen adventure drama of the same name, hosts wild horses—the Colonial Spanish Mustangs. The area was also bracing for record-breaking snow and freezing temperatures. 

“Today, the nonprofit organization Outer Banks People helped prepare the wild horses for low temperatures and possible snow. To keep them warm during extreme cold, we carefully wrapped them in recycled insulation materials,” reads the Facebook post. “At this time, we are accepting donations of insulation and duct tape to continue supporting our efforts. Every contribution helps keep our local wildlife warm and safe during the winter conditions.”

We thought it was hilarious. Using insulation material to keep horses warm surprised our resident equestrian—but perhaps desperate times had truly called for desperate measures. Plus, the photographs look incredibly realistic. They aren’t particularly good quality, nor are the framings perfect. 

Things started looking suspicious when we couldn’t find any entity called “Outer Banks People.” It turned out to be yet another example of the AI bait-and-switch. The profile was full of their other interesting content—a rodent in a prison jumpsuit, what looks like a cross between a horse and a sphynx cat with a wig on its head, and authorities wielding flame throwers in front of a gas station, to name a few. 

Chris Winter, Chief Executive Officer of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, drove the final nail into the coffin by confirming that “it is entirely fake; the pictures are AI generated,” he tells Popular Science. “It is unfortunate that these posts continue to be made, as it creates considerable and widespread concern for the well being of the horses,” he adds. 

This incident comes rather appropriately in the wake of a Conservation Biology study we reported on last year, in which researchers highlighted the problems associated with social media videos and photos of wildlife made with AI, including presenting a false impression of the animal world. 

Moral of the story, take a closer look at that funky animal content before sharing it. 

The post No, North Carolina’s wild horses were not wrapped in insulation appeared first on Popular Science.

That 15GB can fill up quickly, but it doesn’t have to. We’ve curated a few tricks to help trim down space in all three of these key Google apps. That can mean you won’t have to pay Google every month for file space in the cloud.

These tips focus on the various web apps, but you’ll find you can access the same features from the mobile apps too (though the buttons and menus may be laid out differently).

Gmail

In Gmail, scroll down to the bottom of your inbox and click the X% of X GB link to see how much space Gmail is using (the exact label will vary depending on your Gmail usage). Once you know the severity of the situation, you can start doing something about it.

The search box up at the top of the screen is your main tool here: Click the slider icon to the right of it to see your options. You can search for a particular sender, for example, or a particular email subject if there are groups of emails you know you no longer need. Use the Size field to look for large emails, and the Has attachment box to find emails with bulky files attached.

Once a certain set of search results are shown—all the newsletters you’ve ever been sent from a particular site, for example—click the group selection box up in the top left corner, then click the Select all link at the top. With that done, you can click the trash can icon to delete all the messages at once.

You can also click All Mail (on the left) and then the older arrow (top right) to go back through time. It might take you a while to get all the way to the oldest emails in your inbox, but you can probably now do without a lot of them (note that there’s also a date option in the search panel).

Google Photos

Google Photos is actually pretty helpful when it comes to clearing out storage and saving you some room. You can see how much cloud storage space the app is taking up by clicking on the storage bar at the bottom of the left-hand navigation pane.

The same screen that tells you how much room Google Photos is taking up also gives you some suggestions for clearing out space. You might see links including Large photos and videos, Screenshots, Blurry photos, and Unsupported videos. Click on any of these links to see matching images and video clips, which can then be deleted if you want.

There should also be a link labeled Convert existing photos and videos to Storage saver. Click on this to compress your existing photos and videos to free up space. Note that this is an operation that can’t be undone, so make sure you want to do it—you can follow the Learn more link to get information on exactly how it works.

Note that there won’t be any duplicates in Google Photos—the app makes sure these are filtered out automatically at the upload stage. You can of course use the standard search tool to find and delete photos and videos as well. Maybe search for a year or month and select the files you don’t really need any more via the check boxes. Use the trash can icon (top right) to delete them once selected.

Consider printing some of your favorite photos while you’re at it.

Google Drive

Over to Google Drive, and here you get the same storage bar on the left-hand navigation pane as you do in Google Photos. Click on the bar to see a breakdown of how your cloud storage space is being used up, including how much Google Drive accounts for.

Underneath the storage breakdown, you’ll see the biggest files currently saved in your Google Drive account, with the largest at the top. If you see anything you know you don’t need any more, you can click on the filename and then on the trash can icon at the top of the list, freeing up the space.

You can do your own investigating by clicking on the Home link on the left, then using the search bar up at the top: Click the sliders icon just to the right of the search bar to see all the options. You can look for particular types of files for example (like videos), or look for files older than a certain date.

On every search result page you can sort by Date modified (so you can quickly get to the oldest and most out of date files), and on every folder view you can sort by File size (so you can quickly get to the biggest files). If you need to delete entire folders at once, click on the folder name at the top of the screen, then Move to trash.

Use alternative apps

There is a strategy you can use across all of these apps to free up space, which is to use alternative apps. You could even use the Google apps to sync your files somewhere else (like your laptop), and then back them up in a different way using a method of your choice—maybe an external hard drive, perhaps.

You can easily download individual files and folders from Google Drive and Google Photos, but getting your emails out of Gmail is a little more difficult. One way of doing it is to use a desktop email client (instructions here), but bear in mind if you delete emails in Gmail the local copies will be deleted to, by default—if you want to keep them, export them first.

There’s also the very useful Google Takeout service: From this web portal you can select Drive, Mail, and Google Photos to download everything from the three apps and save them to a local computer. When that’s done, you can delete files from the cloud (just make sure your computer copies have backups somewhere else).

For the most comprehensive clean out of your Google cloud storage, you’ll probably want to combine a few different methods for deleting your files—and these apps offer plenty of help along the way too. If you stay below the 15GB limit then it’s one less subscription to have to worry about or pay for.

The post How to clear space in your Google for free appeared first on Popular Science.

Green iguanas (Iguana iguana) are considered an invasive species in Florida. They were introduced in the state during the 1960s and can harm native fish and wildlife, cause damage, and may pose a threat to human health and safety. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), nonnative reptile species like green iguanas and Burmese pythons are only protected by anti-cruelty laws and “can be humanely killed on private property with landowner permission.” 

Cold weather can make things interesting when it comes to iguanas, and Florida has had no shortage of cold this winter. Miami saw its coldest February 1 on record at 35 degrees Fahrenheit, with wind chills down to 26 degrees. Reptiles like iguanas are cold-blooded and  rely on external environmental conditions to regulate their body temperature. Since the outside temperature has such a drastic effect on their bodies, cold-blooded animals often adapt their behavior as a response. When air temperatures get below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the reptiles will get stunned (or freeze), lose their grip, and fall from trees. After they fall from a tree, they may appear to be dead, but their body functions remain intact.

In response to the record-breaking cold, the FWC implemented Executive Order 26-03, which temporarily allowed people to remove live, cold-stunned green iguanas from the wild without a permit and transport them to wildlife officials. As a result, residents brought in 5,195 frozen iguanas between February 1 and 2. The iguanas were then euthanized.

“As an invasive species, green iguanas have negative impacts on Florida’s environment and economy,” FWC Executive Director Roger Young said in a statement. “The removal of over 5,000 of these nonnative lizards in such a short time span was only possible thanks to the coordinated efforts of many staff members in multiple FWC divisions and offices, our partners, and of course the many residents that took the time to collect and turn in cold-stunned iguanas from their properties.”

Frozen iguanas are also a uniquely Florida problem, since green iguanas primarily live in climates that are warmer. At up to seven feet long and weighing upwards of 30 pounds, a falling iguana can be dangerous, so pedestrians should exercise caution when walking under palm trees in colder weather. If you see a frozen iguana on the ground, do not rush in to warm them up. In normal circumstances, you may be fined for moving it somewhere else. Instead, it’s best to just leave the iguana alone since it should bounce right back once the temperatures hit 50 degrees again. 

The post Florida euthanizes 5,195 frozen iguanas appeared first on Popular Science.

Editor’s picks

Sleep Number c4 (Queen) $1,499 (21% off)

See It

The c4 is the simplest way into the ecosystem at a reasonable price. It’s thinner than the pricier lines, so you get less of that deep sink-in cushioning—but if you like a cleaner, more straightforward feel, this is the practical starting point.

Sleep Number iLE (Queen) $2,749 (was $5,499)

See It

The iLE is half-off half off in multiple sizes, which is rare territory for a mattress that’s basically designed to be endlessly configurable. If you’re upgrading from a normal foam or hybrid mattress and worry an air system will feel too bouncy, this is the line that’s trying hardest to feel like a mattress first—and a gadget second.

Sleep Number Climate360 (Queen) $4,886.65 (15% off)

See It

The Climate360 goes well beyond typical cooling foam. It’s an investment, even on sale, but it’s also one of the few sleep systems that’s trying to manage your bed’s microclimate instead of just hoping breathable fabric will save the day.

How Sleep Number’s mattress lines differ (without the brochure voice)

• Classic (c4): The simplest build and the lowest price. Thinner mattress, fewer comfort layers, still does the adjustable-firmness thing.
• Performance (p5, p6): More foam up top and more focus on pressure relief + cooling than the Classic line. The p6 is a step plusher/thicker than the p5.
• Innovation (i8, i10, iLE): This is where Sleep Number really leans into thicker comfort layers and a more “traditional mattress” feel. The i8 is cushy; the i10 is the cushiest; the iLE is the limited-edition value play that’s often priced like a flagship when it’s not on sale.
• Memory foam (m7): It’s for people who want the slow, contouring foam hug, but also want adjustability.
• Climate (ClimateCool, Climate360): Active temperature control. ClimateCool is about cooling; Climate360 does cooling and warming (separately on each side) and is the top-of-the-heap system.

Size jargon you’ll see in the deals

• Split King / Split California King: Two separate halves (think: two Twin XL-sized mattresses side-by-side). Great for couples who want truly independent adjustability—also means making the bed is slightly more of a lifestyle.
• FlexTop King / FlexTop California King: One mattress that’s split only at the head, so you can independently raise your heads without the full “crack down the middle” situation.
• Note: Sleep Number sells Split and FlexTop options only with compatible adjustable bases.

Sleep Number President’s Day mattress deals

Classic Series: c4

• Sleep Number c4 mattress (Queen) $1,499 (21% off)
• Sleep Number c4 mattress (King) $1,999 (17% off)
• Sleep Number c4 mattress (California King) $1,999 (17% off)
• Sleep Number c4 mattress (Split King) $2,299 (15% off)
• Sleep Number c4 mattress (FlexTop King) $2,299 (15% off)
• Sleep Number c4 mattress (FlexTop California King) $2,299 (15% off)

Performance Series: p5 and p6

If you want a more padded, pressure-relieving feel than the c4, this is the “middle class” of the lineup. The p5 is the entry point; the p6 adds thickness and typically feels a bit more substantial.

• Sleep Number p5 mattress (Twin) $1,649 (23% off)
• Sleep Number p5 mattress (Twin XL) $1,799 (22% off)
• Sleep Number p5 mattress (Queen) $2,199 (19% off)
• Sleep Number p5 mattress (King) $2,699 (16% off)
• Sleep Number p5 mattress (California King) $2,699 (16% off)
• Sleep Number p5 mattress (Split King) $3,499 (13% off)
• Sleep Number p5 mattress (Split California King) $3,499 (13% off)
• Sleep Number p5 mattress (FlexTop King) $3,499 (13% off)
• Sleep Number p5 mattress (FlexTop California King) $3,499 (13% off)

• Sleep Number p6 mattress (Queen) $2,599 (19% off)
• Sleep Number p6 mattress (King) $3,199 (16% off)
• Sleep Number p6 mattress (California King) $3,199 (16% off)
• Sleep Number p6 mattress (Split King) $3,999 (13% off)
• Sleep Number p6 mattress (Split California King) $3,999 (13% off)
• Sleep Number p6 mattress (FlexTop King) $3,999 (13% off)
• Sleep Number p6 mattress (FlexTop California King) $3,999 (13% off)

Innovation Series: i8, i10, and the iLE Limited Edition

This is the lineup for people who want their adjustable bed to feel less “air system” and more “plush, normal mattress”… until you remember you can still change the firmness. The trade-off is simple: more comfort layers generally means a softer, more cushioned feel—and a higher price.

• Sleep Number i8 mattress (Twin) $2,399 (29% off)
• Sleep Number i8 mattress (Twin XL) $2,549 (28% off)
• Sleep Number i8 mattress (Queen) $2,999 (25% off)
• Sleep Number i8 mattress (King) $3,699 (21% off)
• Sleep Number i8 mattress (California King) $3,699 (21% off)
• Sleep Number i8 mattress (Split King) $4,999 (17% off)
• Sleep Number i8 mattress (Split California King) $4,999 (17% off)
• Sleep Number i8 mattress (FlexTop King) $4,999 (17% off)
• Sleep Number i8 mattress (FlexTop California King) $4,999 (17% off)

• Sleep Number i10 mattress (Queen) $4,299 (22% off)
• Sleep Number i10 mattress (King) $4,999 (19% off)
• Sleep Number i10 mattress (California King) $4,999 (19% off)
• Sleep Number i10 mattress (Split King) $6,399 (16% off)
• Sleep Number i10 mattress (Split California King) $6,399 (16% off)
• Sleep Number i10 mattress (FlexTop King) $6,399 (16% off)
• Sleep Number i10 mattress (FlexTop California King) $6,399 (16% off)

• Sleep Number iLE mattress (Twin XL) $2,449.50 (50% off)
• Sleep Number iLE mattress (Queen) $2,749.50 (50% off)
• Sleep Number iLE mattress (King) $3,099.50 (50% off)
• Sleep Number iLE mattress (California King) $3,099.50 (50% off)
• Sleep Number iLE mattress (Split King) $3,799.50 (50% off)
• Sleep Number iLE mattress (Split California King) $3,799.50 (50% off)
• Sleep Number iLE mattress (FlexTop King) $3,799.50 (50% off)
• Sleep Number iLE mattress (FlexTop California King) $3,799.50 (50% off)

Climate Collection: ClimateCool and Climate360

Think of these as “Sleep Number, but the bed also tries to manage temperature like it’s a thermostat.” ClimateCool is focused on active cooling. Climate360 adds warming too, and lets each side run its own program—useful if one of you is sweating and the other is asking for a blanket in July.

• Sleep Number ClimateCool® smart bed (Queen) $4,886.65 (15% off)
• Sleep Number ClimateCool® smart bed (King) $5,906.65 (15% off)
• Sleep Number ClimateCool® smart bed (California King) $5,906.65 (15% off)
• Sleep Number ClimateCool® smart bed (Split King) $5,906.65 (15% off)
• Sleep Number ClimateCool® smart bed (Split California King) $5,906.65 (15% off)
• Sleep Number ClimateCool® smart bed (FlexTop King) $5,906.65 (15% off)
• Sleep Number ClimateCool® smart bed (FlexTop California King) $5,906.65 (15% off)

• Sleep Number Climate360® smart bed (Queen) $8,199.20 (20% off)
• Sleep Number Climate360® smart bed (King) $10,399.20 (20% off)
• Sleep Number Climate360® smart bed (California King) $10,399.20 (20% off)
• Sleep Number Climate360® smart bed (Split King) $11,559.20 (20% off)
• Sleep Number Climate360® smart bed (Split California King) $11,559.20 (20% off)
• Sleep Number Climate360® smart bed (FlexTop King) $11,559.20 (20% off)
• Sleep Number Climate360® smart bed (FlexTop California King) $11,559.20 (20% off)

Memory Foam Series: m7

Only one m7 configuration showed a sale price during this pull, but the “regular price” wasn’t displayed on-page—so I’m listing it separately rather than inventing a discount.

• Sleep Number m7 mattress (Split California King) $5,999 (regular price not shown on-page)

Related reading on PopSci

• How to fix your sleep schedule without pulling an all-nighter
• Why white noise helps people sleep
• Skip the wearables and track your sleep with these apps
• I spent a night on a $7,000 smart mattress and here’s what I learned

The post Sleep Number just dropped prices on pretty much all of its beds during this surprise early Presidents’ Day sale appeared first on Popular Science.

Even so, humans have developed plenty of clever ways to wait out the cold. But what would happen if instead of bundling up inside with a hot chocolate, you were left in the frigid cold—just how cold can humans get and recover? Well in a new episode of Popular Science’s Ask Us Anything podcast, we explore just that.

Ask Us Anything answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions—from the everyday things you’ve always wondered to the bizarre things you never thought to ask. So, yes, turbulence is like jello and no, cracking your knuckles won’t cause arthritis. If you have a question, send us a note. Nothing is too silly or simple.

This episode is based on the Popular Science article “The coldest body temperatures humans have survived.”

Subscribe to Ask Us Anything

Listen and follow Ask Us Anything on your favorite podcast platform:

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Or wherever you get your podcasts.

Full Episode Transcript

Sarah Durn: We’ve all been there. You get all bundled up in a long winter coat and scarf, throw on a hat and gloves, and brace yourself to go outside into the frigid winter weather. But then the moment you step outside, the air stings your face because it’s fricking cold. 

Immediately your body gets to work. Blood vessels constrict to keep blood around your core.

You start to shiver and your muscles get really tense. Then you finally make it to your destination and blissfully step inside. The air is like a warm bath. And you think, “just three more months of this.”

But what would happen if you had stayed outside? Just how long can the human body survive in the extreme cold? 

Welcome to Ask Us Anything from the editors of Popular Science, where we answer your questions about our weird world. From “Why cats lick you,” to “How pilots avoid thunderstorms,” no question is too outlandish or mundane.

I’m Sarah Durn, features editor at PopSci.

AC: And I’m editor-in-chief, Annie Colbert.

SD: Here at Popular Science, we love obsessing over strange, weird questions.

AC: And this week our curiosity has led us to the chilling question: just how cold can humans get and still survive? Sarah, you recently edited a story about the lowest survivable body temps, so how cold can us humans go?

SD: So in some wild cases, people have survived a core temperature as low as 53 degrees Fahrenheit.

AC: Ugh.

SD: I know! That’s 45 degrees colder than our normal body temperature of 98.6.

AC: Ugh. Bur. When we were talking about this episode, I was thinking about the coldest I’ve ever been, and I think it was in Poland in January many years ago.

I had stepped into a slushy puddle at the beginning of this two-hour, outside-only tour in Gdansk, and I should have just stepped into a coffee shop or something to warm up, but I was very, very cold.

SD: Oh, no, that sounds awful. Especially for something you’re like choosing to put yourself through.

AC: Yes.

SD: Yeah. I think for me, I just remember getting so fricking cold skiing growing up.

My dad would always say, “one more run, guys, come on!” And we’d just be so cold and shivering. Especially going up the lift and just getting pummeled with wind and snow.

AC: Yeah. Sometimes dads, they’re pushing you to push through and it’s too cold.

SD: It’s too cold.

AC: So cold. And so these cases we’re gonna talk about where people survived core temps in the fifties are rare, right?

SD: Oh yeah, definitely. Many people have died from hypothermia after their internal body temperature has dropped, even just below 90 degrees.

AC: Oh, wow.

SD: Yeah. And crazier still the person who actually survived a 53 degree body temp was only a toddler.

AC: Oh my God. As the parent of a toddler, I feel terrible for those poor parents. How on earth did this child survive?

SD: I’ll tell you all about it after a short break.

AC: Aw man, cliffhanger.

SD: I know! Sorry.

AC: But before we take that break, we wanna know: what questions are keeping you curious? If there’s something you’ve always wanted to understand better submit your questions by clicking the “Ask Us” link at popsci.com/ask.

Again, that’s popsci.com/ask and click that “Ask Us” link.

SD: We can’t wait to hear your questions!

AC: And with that, we’ll be right back after a short break.

Welcome back. Okay. Before we get into the science of just how cold humans can get, I wanna zoom out for a second because hypothermia might seem like a modern medical term, but humans have been dealing with extreme cold for basically forever.

SD: Yeah, this is not a new problem.

AC: Not at all. Ancient writers describe soldiers freezing sailors perishing, quote “by reason of cold,” armies collapsing during winter campaigns, but there wasn’t a diagnosis.

There wasn’t even a word for hypothermia until the late 1800s.

SD: Yeah. And even then, doctors didn’t always recognize it, right?

AC: Correct. During Antarctic exploration in the early 1900s, think Sir Ernest Shackleton, Robert Falcon Scott, hypothermia wasn’t even mentioned, but descriptions of hypothermia symptoms are there: confusion, poor judgment, people wandering off in storms, what one explorer called “a half thawed brain.”

SD: Huh. Why did it take so long for the condition to be defined?

AC: One big reason is thermometers.

SD: Okay, tell me more.

AC: So thermometers weren’t really used in medicine until the late 1800s, and even then doctors were much more focused on fevers than dangerously low temps.

That starts to change around the 1900s.

SD: So once we could accurately measure body temperature, we started understanding just how low the human body can get.

AC: Precisely. So Sarah, can you tell us what exactly is hypothermia?

SD: Yeah. Hypothermia is a condition that occurs when your body loses heat faster than it can produce it, causing your core body temperature to drop below 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

AC: So just a bit below normal body temperature of 98.6.

SD: Right. Humans are considered homeotherms, which just means we’re built to keep our core body temperature steady, right at that 98.6 degree mark.

AC: So how exactly does hypothermia affect the body?

SD: Yeah, so mild hypothermia can make people confused, clumsy, and (this one surprised me a bit) hungry. Because your body is using so many calories to try and stay warm.

AC: Mm-hmm.

SD: Usually at that point, if you just move inside and start to warm up, you’ll be okay. But if your body temperature continues to drop further, heart rate and breathing slow, and in some severe cases, below an 82 degree body temp, the body starts shutting systems down.

AC: Which makes it all the more unbelievable that anyone survives below that.

SD: Right. And yet there are a few extraordinary cases where people did.

AC: Hmm. All right. Let’s talk first about the adult record holder for surviving low body temperatures.

SD: Yeah, let’s do it. So that would be Anna Bågenholm. In 1999 she was skiing in Norway, fell through the ice, and became trapped in near freezing water for about 90 minutes.

AC: Huh.

SD: I know. By the time rescuers reached her, she was clinically dead. No heartbeat, no breathing.

AC: Oh, that’s terrifying.

SD: Her core body temperature had dropped to about 56 degrees Fahrenheit, the lowest ever survived by an adult outside a hospital.

AC: Ah, so how did she survive that?

SD: Yeah. Well, a few things just lined up perfectly.

She was trapped in an air pocket so she could still breathe as her body cooled. And as her temperature dropped, her brain’s need for oxygen dropped too. Doctors hooked her up to a heart lung machine, and warmed her very slowly over several hours. She spent weeks in intensive care, but made a full recovery.

AC: Oh, I can’t believe that really happened.

SD: I know, me neither.

AC: But then there’s a case that beats even that record.

SD: Yeah, so this toddler.

AC: Oh no.

SD: I know. In 2014, there was a 2-year-old boy in Poland who wandered outside, wearing only a pajama top and socks. He was missing for several hours in temperatures around 19 degrees Fahrenheit.

When rescuers found him, his body temperature was just over 53 degrees Fahrenheit.

AC: That number is still so shocking to me.

SD: Yeah, same. His body was so stiff, they couldn’t even intubate him at first. Like Anna, he was connected to life support and rewarmed very gradually. And after two months in the hospital, he survived with no lasting physical damage.

AC: So intense. So what’s actually happening inside the body at these extreme temperatures? Why doesn’t everything just kind of stop forever?

SD: Yeah. The key thing is that cold slows everything in your body. This includes harmful processes like inflammation and cell death. Also at normal temperatures, the brain needs a constant supply of oxygen.

But as the body cools, that demand drops dramatically. So in very specific situations, especially cold water or rapid cooling, the brain can survive much longer without oxygen than it normally could.

AC: Hmm, fascinating. So do doctors ever use hypothermia on purpose?

SD: Yeah, they do. By the mid 20th century, surgeons realized they could cool patients during heart or brain surgery to protect vital organs.

Today induced hypothermia is sometimes used after cardiac arrest to reduce brain damage.

AC: Ah, so cold went from being the enemy to a medical tool.

SD: Yeah. Though a very carefully controlled one.

AC: Yes. Of course.

SD: Hypothermia is still very bad, very dangerous.

AC: Yes.

SD: Outside of a hospital, most people don’t survive these conditions. The takeaway is not humans are secretly freeze-proof.

AC: Yes. It’s more like under extremely rare circumstances, cold can buy the body a little bit more time.

SD: Exactly.

AC: This has made me feel even colder and even more paranoid about forgetting my mittens at home.

SD: Me too. And all this got me thinking, you know, “what are the coldest places humans choose to live on earth?”

AC: Hmm. Oh man. I might need more than mittens for this.

SD: I think you might. That’s coming up after this quick break.

Welcome back! To wrap up, let’s shift gears a bit and take a look at some of the planet’s coldest places.

AC: Okay, I’m already cold just thinking about this. Hit me.

SD: Yeah. So the coldest, inhabited place on Earth is generally considered Oymyakon in Eastern Siberia. Hopefully I’m saying that right. It’s a village where people live year round and winter temperatures regularly drop below minus 60 degrees fahrenheit.

AC: Nope. No thank you. That’s not for me. I will say I genuinely enjoy winter, but nope, that’s definitely not for me.

SD: Yeah, me neither. When it’s that cold, cars can’t be turned off or they won’t start. Kids still go to school unless it’s colder than about minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit. And people almost entirely rely on meat and fish because nothing grows there in winter.

AC: Oof. I thought taking my kid on the New York City bus to school in single digits was hard, but you know what? Good on them.

SD: I know it’s pretty badass. And then if we’re talking uninhabited places, Antarctica takes the crown, obviously.

AC: Mm-hmm.

SD: The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was minus 128 degrees Fahrenheit.

AC: Brr!

SD: I know. That was measured in 1983 at the Vostok Russian research station.

AC: That number doesn’t even feel real, and it’s making my soul feel cold.

SD: I know, mine too. Ugh, at that kind of temperature, exposed skin can freeze in seconds. And the human body cannot survive without serious protection.

AC: Which really puts all these survival stories we talked about today into perspective.

SD: Yeah, totally. Our earth is wonderful, but it can also be terrifying, and humans are surprisingly resilient and innovative when it comes to surviving the planet’s extremes.

AC: That feels like a good note to wrap up on today.

And that’s it for this episode, but don’t worry, we’ve got more fabulous Ask Us Anythings live in our feed right now. Follow or subscribe to Ask Us Anything by Popular Science, wherever you enjoy your podcasts. And if you like our show, leave a rating or review.

SD: We care what you think. Our theme music is from Kenneth Michael Reagan, and our producer is Alan Haburchak.

This week’s episode was based on an article written for Popular Science by RJ Mackenzie.

AC: Thank you team, and thank you to everyone for listening.

SD: And one more time. If you want something you’ve always wondered about, explained on a future episode, go to popsci.com/ask, and click the “Ask Us” link. Until next time, keep the questions coming.

AC: Stay warm out there, everyone.

SD: Yeah. Bundle up.

AC: Woo. Bundle up so you don’t freeze.

The post The toddler who survived a 54-degree body temperature appeared first on Popular Science.

Researchers at Penn State say they’ve developed a new hydrogel material inspired by octopus skin that can encode images directly into its structure. The imprinted images then disappear and reappear when the skin is exposed to subtle changes in temperature or a surrounding solvent. The result is a “4D” synthetic smart skin capable of revealing hidden images and shifting surface patterns.

To demonstrate the technology, the team encoded a black-and-white image of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” into the material. At room temperature, the image is essentially invisible. However, when heat is applied the hidden contrast sharpens until the image becomes clear. Though still early in development, the material could lay the foundation for synthetic adaptive camouflage, with potential military applications and beyond. The findings were published this week in the journal Nature Communications. 

It’s an impressive engineering feat that also highlights the elegant complexity nature has refined through millions of years of evolution. Even with all our resources and combined brian power, humans still can’t best nature’s innate artistry. 

How octopuses hide  

Scientists are starting to really understand the complexity of octopus brains and their unique capacity for problem-solving. When it comes to shapeshifting though, the process appears to be more instinctual than deliberate. 

Biologically, cephalopods rely on specialized neuromuscular organs called chromatophores to perform their evolutionary magic trick. The chromatophores expand and contract in response to neural signals triggered by environmental cues. They also use muscular hydrostats to rapidly alter the texture of their skin. Together, these features give octopuses an extraordinary dynamic range of appearance, allowing them to seamlessly blend into their surroundings.

“This intricate system of nerves and muscles grants soft-bodied organisms the remarkable ability to simultaneously alter their optical appearance, surface texture, and shape,” the team on this new study writes.

Printing a ‘newspaper’ on skin

To try and replicate how octopuses camouflage and shape shift in a lab, the Penn State team needed a way to alter both appearance and shape using a single, soft synthetic material. They started by 3D-printing a hydrogel that would serve as their canvas. Using a process called halftone-encoded printing, the researchers first translated an image into a binary grid of pixels, where different patterns of 1s and 0s corresponded to regions of the material with distinct physical properties. Much like newspaper printing, the density and distribution of these pixels create the illusion of light and dark areas.

Once the image was converted into a binary pattern, the team encoded it directly into the hydrogel using controlled UV light during the printing process. In other words, the image  was “seared” directly onto the hydrogel canvas.  Rather than adding ink or pigment like a tattoo, the UV exposure programmed subtle differences into the material’s internal structure. Under normal conditions, these differences are invisible to the naked eye. 

But when the material is heated up, the areas corresponding to the 0 and 1 patterns respond differently, gradually increasing their visual contrast. The previously hidden image then emerges as the material reacts to its environment. The process is somewhat similar to how invisible ink is exposed when  a revealing solution or special light is applied.  The researchers describe this as a form of 4D printing because it takes a three dimensional object and alters its appearance over time via exposure to external stimuli. They were also able to demonstrate the same effect by changing the surrounding solvent, which caused the hidden image to reappear.

“We’re printing instructions into the material,” Penn State industrial engineer and study co-author Hongtao Sun said in a Penn State blog post. “Those instructions tell the skin how to react when something changes around it.” 

To demonstrate this effect, they first encoded the letters “PSU” into the hydrogel film. After altering the film’s temperature, the letters revealed themselves. Upping the difficulty, they then repeated the process with a grayscale image of the “Mona Lisa.” In theory, they say the same approach could work with any image. It simply needs to be converted into a binary pattern and encoded onto the hydrogel.

This isn’t the first time scientists have taken inspiration from octopus anatomy. In 2021, engineers at Rutgers University created a 3D printed synthetic muscle that subtly changed its shape when exposed to light. More recently, researchers at Stanford developed a flexible, synthetic material that would swell and change size when targeted with a beam of electrons. Elsewhere, roboticists have even developed octopus-like, slightly terrifying “Tentacle Bot” outfitted with mechanical armies and suckers that helps it move around and grab objects. 

The post Synthetic skin reveals hidden ‘Mona Lisa’ when exposed to heat appeared first on Popular Science.

The new owner hoped the photos were salvageable, but didn’t want to risk damaging them himself. Instead, he contacted a camera specialist at the Salisbury Photo Centre named Ian Scott to examine the find. Speaking with PetaPixel, Scott explained that he spent 60 minutes carefully developing the delicate film. The results were a collection of black and white photographs taken about 70 years ago showing skiers in the Swiss Alps. While some were action shots of people speeding down the slopes, others showcased a family outside Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St. Moritz. One photo also showcases what appears to be a garden tea party at a home in the United Kingdom.

Although the subjects’ names remain unknown, certain details in the pictures help fill in the story’s gaps. Several skiers in the pictures are wearing numbered racing bibs sponsored by a baby milk brand called Cow & Gate, which sponsored a Cow & Gate Ski Trophy event during the 1950s. Given that the specific type of film (Verichrome Pan 127) was released in 1956, Scott believes the images were likely taken towards the end of the decade.

“It’s so incredible that history was literally sitting there on a charity shop shelf,” Scott recently told The Daily Express.

While the family and skiers in images remain unidentified, Scott hopes someone may recognize some of the faces. Scott encourages anyone who spots a familiar face to reach out to Salisbury Photo Centre. Although most, if not all, of the people in the pictures are deceased by now, their children or grandchildren may soon have new additions to their family’s scrapbook.

The post $13 thrift store camera hid 70-year-old undeveloped film appeared first on Popular Science.

“This was the first time we’ve known of an aggregation showing up there, I assume they were following their feed pattern,” lobsterman Chris Welch tells Popular Science.  

After following all state and federal regulations, using breakaway ropes, setting longer trawls to reduce the number of endlines, and adding purple tracers so any entangled gear could be traced back to Maine, the lobstermen called an emergency meeting.

“We had to do something more to lower the risk.  No fisherman wants to harm a right whale, so we’re willing to bend over backwards to make this work,” Welch explains  

And that’s what they did.

The lobstermen went against fishing protocol by dropping their northeast endlines to reduce the number of ropes in the water.  Whales can get tangled in the endlines that connect trawls—a series of traps tied together by rope and linked by two buoys on either end—of their lobster traps.   

This choice ensured the whales’ safety, and it was a voluntary act by the fishermen. Had they known the whales were going to be there ahead of time, they could have made other arrangements.

In search of plankton

It’s hard to protect what you can’t find. That’s why research scientist Camille Ross and her team from the New England Aquarium, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science, Duke University, and University of Maine are working to improve the predictive models used to find elusive North Atlantic right whales. 

“It’s possible that we could have predicted that aggregation out on Jeffreys Ledge in advance,” says Ross. 

The team’s study, published in the journal Endangered Species Research, used prey location data to track down these whales.  And with a population hovering around 380 and with only 70 reproductively active females, the stakes are high.  

“What we did was incorporate right whale food directly into right whale habitat models to help improve the prediction, and it appears it did, which is really exciting,” shares Ross.  

Essentially, they found the whales by finding their favorite food first: a krill-like zooplankton in the genus Calanus that are smaller-than-a-grain-of-rice. Calanus’ location and livelihood is dramatically affected by small changes in ocean temperature. 

“As the ocean has been warming, and the system has been changing, it has become increasingly harder to know where the bulk of the population is at any given time,” Ross explains. “When observers saw about 25 percent of the right whale population on Jeffrey’s Ledge in January [of 2025], that was just not at all something we would have expected.”  

While the right whales themselves may not be thrown off course by a degree or two change in ocean temperature, the tiny critters they eat are dramatically affected by small temperature changes.  As the food, which Ross says resembles the character Plankton from Spongebob Squarepants, adapts and moves around, so must the whales. And the tools scientists use to track them. 

“This study was proof that prey does improve the right whale models and does increase or decrease predicted densities in areas that we might not have expected.”

Lobstermen’s game of telephone

So,what could have been different out on Jeffreys Ledge in January of 2025 if these better predictive models were up and running?  Ross says that after prey was included in the predictive model, they found that Jeffreys Ledge had “increased right whale density from November through January,” critical data that could have been relayed to the fishermen.  

That kind of information sharing is what makes collaboration possible and the cornerstone of successful outcomes. It was the Maine lobstermen, for whom fishing is a way of life, who called the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) out of concern for the whales’ safety. 

“We would not have known about it had those fishermen not brought back that information,”  Ross says. “So many of them are such stewards of the ocean, and they care so deeply about these animals.” 

As a result, zero entanglements were reported on Jeffrey’s Ledge in January 2025 because of concern, communication, and cooperation from all sides.  Yet without efficient systems, that concern can be lost. And keeping lobstermen informed about right whale locations isn’t always simple. 

“The problem with communication with the state is they don’t have a way to text a group of lobstermen,” Welch explains. “Basically, we just went into a phone chain.”  

The process is similar to parents texting about their kids, but these lobstermen are alerting each other when they see right whales—not snowflakes. While the seafood industry and conservationists have been at odds in the past, these fishermen are now voluntarily going out of their way to care for these endangered mammals.

“We want to do everything we can to coexist with these whales in harmony,” says Welch.  “And we’re doing our best to stay current with information and fish as our livelihood, as well as keep these whales safe, and everything else in the ocean safe.” 

Other programs have already shown that science and the fishing community really can go hand in hand.  Programs such as NOAA’s Cooperative Research in the Northeast have enabled several collaborations between scientists and fishermen.  Fishermen from Maine to North Carolina partner with NOAA in the Study Fleet program by collecting detailed data for scientific research, including environmental conditions, fishery footprints, and developing models. 

In terms of what’s next for Ross and her team, she’d like to focus on using more recent data in their predictive models. “What happened the previous year will give us a lot of power in predicting where the right whales might show up the following year, that will give us a lot of really interesting insights, especially as the ocean continues to change.” 

One certainty is that many of those who make their living off of the ocean will continue to play a role in protecting those who call the ocean home.

The post The lobstermen teaming up with scientists to save endangered whales appeared first on Popular Science.

Editor’s Picks

MOMENTUM 4 Wireless headphones — $299.95 (was $449.95)

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Want noise cancellation that doesn’t flinch, battery life (up to 60 hrs) that doesn’t fail, and tuning that keeps the vibes flowing? The MOMENTUM 4 Wireless ANC headphones (available in multiple colorways) feel plush and sound lush, but still respect the recording thanks to a high-fidelity 42mm transducer system. And EQ, plus other Sound Personalization features, let you further tailor these headphones to your taste wherever you may travel.

HD 660 S2 wired headphones — $479.95 (was $679.95)

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If listen with purpose is on your bingo card, the HD 660 S2 should be on your list. Built in the same factory as Sennheiser’s $70,000 obsession, the HE 1 headphone system, these immersive open-back wired headphones offer a locked-in center image, lifelike mids, and more extended sub bass than you’d expect from such an airy design. With a 300-ohm appetite, they really come alive with a real amp. And the velour comfort makes them a perfect sit-down solution for when you need a way just to be present with your favorite albums.

IE 600 wired earphones — $799.95 (was $899.95)

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The IE 600 may be pint-sized, but it delivers ample energy. Using a 7mm TrueResponse Dynamic Driver with custom resonator chambers in its 3D-printed zirconium alloy body, this audiophile in-ear monitor is as high engagement as it is low profile. There’s plenty of fast, accurate bass, but also thoroughly cohesive mids and complementary highs. They also provide enough passive isolation that you can enjoy them on an airplane with few complaints (assuming you’ve got a DAP or phone dongle, since they are wired). 

More Sennheiser Deals

Wireless Headphones & Earbuds

• MOMENTUM 4 Wireless for $150 off
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The post Sennheiser’s New Year, New Gear premium headphones sale lets you elevate your listening for less appeared first on Popular Science.

“CARROTS,” the poster blares, “keep you healthy and help you to see in the blackout.” 

The poster, a creation of Britain’s Ministry of Food, was one part of a wartime nutritional propaganda campaign that had all kinds of goals during the war. Amid rations and food shortages, one aim was to encourage the consumption of an oversupply of carrots.

Another was to trumpet the success of John Cunnigham, an ace Royal Air Force fighter pilot nicknamed “Cat’s Eyes” who was known for his nighttime prowess, according to the Battle of Britain London Monument. News stories credited his success with his carrot consumption. In reality, he was using a new radar technology. 

“It would have been easier had the carrots worked,” Cunningham later said. “In fact, it was a long, hard grind and very frustrating. It was a struggle to continue flying on instruments at night.” 

But even if carrots didn’t help Cunningham, the idea that carrots help your eyes persists nearly a century later—perhaps because there is some level of truth to it. Carrots do support eye health and even our nighttime vision, tells Popular Science Dr. Jonathan Rubenstein, chair of the ophthalmology department at Rush University Medical Center. But there’s a limit to what carrots can do for our eyes. 

“People shouldn’t think, ‘I’m going to load up on carrots and I’ll see better,’” Rubenstein says. “That’s not true.”

How do carrots help our eyes? 

Carrots are a rich source of beta-carotene, a pigment that gives carrots and other orange colored produce their color. Leafy greens like spinach and kale also are rich sources of beta-carotene, but the green chlorophyll that they contain hides that orange color.  

Our bodies are designed to turn beta-carotene into vitamin A. When we eat food rich in beta-carotene, the pigment travels to our intestines where an enzyme breaks it down and converts it into vitamin A. 

“Vitamin A is a useful vitamin to have in the body for overall health, but specifically for retina health,” Rubenstein says. Our retinas are thin layers of tissue in the back of our eyeballs that turn light into electrical signals, which travel through the optic nerve to our brains where they’re interpreted as vision. 

Retinas include two kinds of cells that detect light—rods and cones. Cones help us to read and see colors, while rods help with night and peripheral vision.

Both rods and cones need vitamin A to function normally, but rods, in particular, are more affected by a vitamin A deficiency, Rubenstein says. Without vitamin A, the rods can’t produce enough rhodopsin, a light-sensitive protein that requires vitamin A as a key component. Without enough rhodopsin, rods can’t work as well. If the rods don’t work well, then your night and peripheral vision suffers.

“The metabolism of how the rods in the retina work can be altered by a lack of vitamin A,” he says. 

In fact, night blindness can be a first sign of a vitamin A deficiency, according to the NIH. And a lack of the nutrient is an issue globally. A vitamin A deficiency is a leading cause of preventable blindness, impacting as many as 30 percent of children under age five, research shows. 

A vitamin A deficiency also can lead to other issues, including severe dry eyes and scarring of the eye, Rubenstein says. “But we only tend to see a true vitamin A deficiency in underdeveloped countries or in people that are on some sort of very unorthodox fad diet that’s not monitored by healthcare professionals.”

What should we eat to improve our eyes?

For most of us, a typical balanced diet that includes foods rich in beta-carotene is sufficient to protect our retinas’ rods and cones. “In a normal American population, we get enough vitamin A in our diet that we probably don’t have to eat extra carrots,” Rubenstein says. 

In fact, increasing your carrot intake to “super levels,” he says, doesn’t help either. It can lead to carotenemia, a reversible and harmless condition that turns your skin a yellow-orange color after you’ve consumed too much beta-carotene. 

What’s more, if you’re focused on eye health, vitamin A isn’t the only nutrient your eyes need. Omega-3 fatty acids from fatty fish, such as salmon, and vitamin E, such as from nuts, could provide some preventative effect for macular degeneration, a common eye disease for older adults, Rubenstein says. 

Cataracts is another age-related eye condition that can cause vision loss. There’s some evidence that vitamin C from oranges and other fruits could provide some protection against them, along with not smoking, and, for those who spend a lot of time in the sun, wearing sunglasses that protect against ultraviolet light, Rubenstein says.

In other words, Rubenstein says, the best diet for eye health is a balanced one. He recommends the Mediterranean diet because it’s rich in all kinds of vegetables, fruit, fish and nuts and provides a range of nutrients that can support good eye health. Carrots play just one role. 

“Eating carrots doesn’t cure anything. It doesn’t make your eyesight better,” Rubenstein says. “It’s one of the food sources that adds to eye health.”

In Ask Us Anything, Popular Science answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the everyday things you’ve always wondered to the bizarre things you never thought to ask. Have something you’ve always wanted to know? Ask us.

The post Yes, eating carrots can help your eyesight. But it’s not a cure-all. appeared first on Popular Science.

A winter sports enthusiast, Ratti owns the architectural firm Carlo Ratti Associati and is originally from Turin, Italy—which hosted the Winter Games in 2006. His firm’s work has been featured at numerous international expositions, including the French Pavilion at the Osaka Expo (World’s Fair) in 2025. The Cloud, a 400-foot tall spherical structure, was also a finalist for a special observation deck at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Olympic organizers invited Ratti to design this year’s torch, and he used several of his teaching principles when approaching the project.

“It is about what the object or the design is to convey,” Ratti said in a statement. “How it can touch people, how it can relate to people, how it can transmit emotions. That’s the most important thing.”

The official name for the 2026 Winter Olympic torch is “Essential.” Importantly, it was built to work no matter the weather, wind, or altitude the torch would encounter on its over 7,000-mile-long journey from Olympia, Greece to Milan, Italy. In total, the design process took three years to complete with collaboration from several researchers and engineers.

“Each design pushed the boundaries in different directions, but all of them with the key principle to put the flame at the center,” said Ratti, adding that he wanted the torch to embody “an ethos of frugality.”

As for the ever important flame, a high-performance burner powered by bio-GPL produced from 100 percent renewable feedstocks by energy company ENI is at the core of the torch. Previously, the torches were only used once, but “Essential” can be recharged 10 times so fewer torches needed to be built.

“Essential” also boasts a unique internal mechanism that can be seen through a vertical opening along its side. This means that audiences can peek inside and see the burner in action. From a design perspective, that reinforces Ratti’s desire to keep the emphasis on the flame itself and not the object.  

At just under 2.5 pounds, “Essential” is the lightest torch created for the Olympics and is primarily made from recycled aluminum. The body is finished with a PVD coating that is heat resistant. This special finish allows the torch to shift colors by reflecting the environments it is carried through, whether that be Milan’s bright city lights or the peaks of the Dolomites. 

The Olympic torch is a blue-green shade, and the Paralympic torch is gold. It also won an honorable mention in Italy’s most prestigious industrial design award, the Compasso d’Oro.

Throughout the process, the flame was the most fundamental aspect of the torch. The flame was considered sacred in ancient Greece and it will stay lit throughout the entire 16 days of competition. 

A recurring symbol in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, the torch gets attention long before the first puck drop or downhill run. Its journey for the 2026 Olympics began in late November and will have covered all 110 Italian provinces before it arrives in Milan in time for the opening ceremony on February 6. Ratti carried the torch for a portion of its journey through Turin in January. He hopes that the torch and games showcase the Italy of today and of the future. 

“When people think about Italy, they often think about the past, from ancient Romans to the Renaissance or Baroque period,” he said. “Italy does indeed have a significant past. But the reality is that it is also the second-largest industrial powerhouse in Europe and is leading in innovation and tech in many fields. So, the 2026 torch aims to combine both past and future. It draws on Italian design from the past, but also on future-forward technologies.”

The post MIT professor designs 2026 Winter Olympics torch appeared first on Popular Science.

You care about the person you have chosen as your valentine. That doesn’t mean they’re easy to shop for. Sometimes you just need a little inspiration. Well, consider this gift guide Cupid’s error. Let it pierce your soul and inspire you with great gift ideas that just about anyone would love. This year, ditch the flowers and the drug store chocolate and get your partner something they actually want. That way, they get to enjoy their gift, and we get to pick up all the heavily discounted candy leftover on February 15. Everybody wins.

Blueair Mini Restful Sunrise Clock & Air Purifier

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This bedside device has two simple jobs: clean the air and wake you up gently. It’s a nice fit for anyone who takes sleep seriously, has allergies, or just wants their nightstand to feel less chaotic. I have been using one for the past few weeks, and the alarm is a welcome departure from the grating chime and glow of my phone’s alarm. The air purification system can clear 140 ft² in 12.5 minutes and up to 607 ft² in one hour. Even with that much filtering power, it still checks in around 18 dB on low, with a spec range of 21–48 dB. A USB-C port on the back of the unit is a nice touch, so you can get rid of your phone charging brick and streamline your nightstand even more.

Arzopa D14 digital picture frame

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For some gifts, unwrapping them is the most fun part. A digital frame does the opposite: It keeps paying rent every time it cycles to a photo they forgot existed (and every time you sneak in a new one from your phone).

The Arzopa D14 offers a large 14-inch touchscreen frame with a 1920×1200 IPS panel in a 16:10 aspect ratio, so it’s not cramped like the tiny countertop frames or smart screens. It’s rated at 300 cd/m² brightness and employs an anti-glare surface, which helps it stay readable in a real room—not just in perfect product-photo lighting. Wi-Fi uploads through Arzopa’s app allow for multi-user sharing, so you can keep feeding it new pictures (or short videos) without asking them to find an SD card adapter from 2009. Storage-wise, it has 32GB built in, plus the company offers free cloud storage and microSD expansion up to 128GB, so you’re not forced to curate like it’s a museum exhibit. And if you do want to load a bunch at once, it supports USB-C transfers, so you can upload your entire relationship in just a few minutes.

Utilize promo code ARZOPA15 for 15% off

Ozlo Sleepbuds

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Some people can fall asleep next to a death metal concert. Others wake up because the fridge motor kicked on three rooms away. Sleepbuds are for that second group. These small earbuds are designed to mask noise and (optionally) stream audio without turning bedtime into a bulky headphone operation. Specs-wise, Ozlo lists up to 10 hours of playback in the buds, with the Smart Case holding an additional 32 hours. Connection includes Bluetooth 5.3, with support noted for both classic Bluetooth and Low Energy Audio–enabled streaming. They’re so good, they made our 2025 Best of What’s New awards list.

GUNNAR Enigma eye protection glasses

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If someone spends long hours on a monitor—work, games, creative tools, doomscrolling, all of it—this is a practical upgrade that doesn’t feel like giving them a chore. The Enigma frames look normal enough to wear in public, but the lens options are where the nerdy details live. GUNNAR offers a mild “Focus” lens power option of +0.20 designed to reduce ocular muscle strain at close range. Clear Pro is positioned for color-critical work and is listed as blocking 20 percent of blue light at 450nm; the standard Clear option blocks 35 percent at 450nm. We like specifics when it comes to explaining exactly what “blue light” really means.

biOrb AIR 30 Terrarium

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biOrb’s AIR line is basically a controlled little habitat that makes it easier to keep a terrarium looking intentional instead of a toxic waste site. The AIR 30 is a 30-liter terrarium that stands 15.75 inches wide and 18 inches tall, with integrated LED lighting and an automatic misting system. Internal fans provide sufficient airflow to keep things alive and stink-free. The point is that it’s not just a glass bowl—it’s a managed environment that reduces the odds of accidental plant homicide.

Freewrite Traveler distraction-free writing device

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Distractions are the enemy of creativity and our phones and computers are loaded with them. Do you know how many times I’ve checked social media while writing this gift guide? Too many. Traveler isn’t trying to be a laptop. It’s a single-purpose machine that makes starting (and finishing) writing projects easier. The e-ink display is just big enough to read clearly (about 4.76 × 2.76 inches), plus a separate status window (about 4.76 × 0.59 inches) keeps track of essentials. The whole device is about 1.6 pounds, and the company claims battery life up to four weeks, depending on use. It basically removes every obstacle from the writing process.

BrüMate Rise 35oz insulated water bottle

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This stainless vessel solves the small daily annoyances that make people abandon bottles: awkward handles, gross straws, and lids that leak at the worst possible time. BrüMate promises 24+ hours cold retention, a leakproof MagFlip lid, and a ColdKey metal straw with a soft-touch tip. The comfortably shaped handle makes it easy to lug around or even clip onto a bag with a carabiner. This is the company’s newest design, so it stands out visually from the familiar bottles that are already everywhere.

Anker Prime 26K 300W Power Bank

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Your valentine can’t text you lovely messages if their battery is always dead. This powerful portable charger has enough juice inside to resurrect a phone, laptop, drone, or pretty much anything else you can top off with a USB-C cable. Yes, it’s a practical gift, but it’s gadget-y enough that it doesn’t seem boring. Anker equipped it with a 26,250mAh capacity and 99.75Wh (notably under the common 100Wh airline threshold), total output up to 300W, and two USB-C ports that can each output up to 140W. They will want to keep this with them always (just like they will your love). We tested the slightly less powerful version earlier this year, and now we don’t leave the house without it in a bag.

TUSHY Cloud+ Bidet Seat

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If you love someone, you want to improve their quality of life. Few things do that as efficiently as a bidet, especially when warm water is involved. TUSHY positions Cloud+ as a bidet seat with instant warm water and a warm air dryer. Four water temperature levels, a heated seat, and a dryer allow users to dial in their favorite settings. The remote remembers exactly how they like it. Plus, the whole setup is easy to install, so the project won’t turn into an unnecessary argument.

Fitbit Charge 6

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The Charge 6 isn’t purely a fitness gift. It has built-in GPS (so pace/distance don’t require a phone), 50m water resistance, and a 7-day battery life for infrequent charging. It also pulls in genuinely practical Google integrations: Google Maps turn-by-turn directions and Google Wallet tap-to-pay. And if your person likes data, Google promises improved heart-rate accuracy for vigorous workouts like HIIT.

Immortal Perfumes

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If your valentine is a one-for-the-ages type enamored with erudite eras, skip the flowers and gift them a fragrant footnote (or is that base note). Immortal Perfumes is a Seattle micro-perfumery by JT Siems, making small-batch, vegan, historically and literary-inspired scents that roll on effortlessly and wear like a gothic short story. For instance, signature Dead Writers is all smoky, tea-stained pages and typewriter swagger. Or pick one of many romantic scents that capture timeless characters and reveal magnetism and mischief as they warm on skin. Start with a sample set of petite mood portals if you’re unsure, and let them navigate pungent plot twists till they underline their perfect passage. 

Bushnell Golf Pro X3+ LINK Laser Rangefinder

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Obviously, your sweetheart only has eyes for you. But in the event they use them elsewhere, and in the event that elsewhere is on a golf course, they’re going to want to see precisely measured distances. Bushnell Golf’s $599 Pro X3+LINK laser rangefinder is the “built like a tank” gift that keeps on giving: a rubber-armored, metal-bodied brick with 7x glass that feels steady in the hand, features a satisfying PinSeeker visual jolt when it locks on the flag, and makes a reassuring snap when the BITE magnet meets the cart post. It layers Slope with Elements (temperature, pressure, altitude, wind speed/direction) and offers LINK club recommendations, then serves the number up fast through a crisp display that can swap from crisp black to bright red. Leave guesswork out of it when they’re out on the green.

We Are Rewind GB-001 Curtis Boombox

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Brushed aluminum. Glowing amber VU meters. A real Type I/II cassette deck made for mixtape romance. A handle that demands to be hoisted. You don’t have to go full-on LL Cool J or Lloyd Dobler to know this $579 boombox is the perfect gift for someone who loves aesthetic with attitude. With the Curtis Boombox, you can time-travel wherever you travel. But it’s not all retro; this is timeless energy with contemporary technology. Under that swagger is Bluetooth 5.4, 104 watts pushing dual woofers and soft-dome tweeters for full-range room-filling sound, plus a rechargeable, replaceable battery. This portable party speaker is like sonic streetwear. Bonus beats: plug in a mic and turn the living room into a stage. Jam on it.

JBL L100 Classic 80 Anniversary Edition Speakers

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If you’ve found your 1 of 1, give them something equally rare to cherish. Pre-ordering JBL’s L100 Classic 80 is the audio equivalent of a handwritten love letter: a limited run of an icon. With just 800 matched pairs available worldwide, this commemorative special-edition loudspeaker is pure retro romance with natural oak, brown Quadrex foam grille, and its gold-and-brown numbered plaque. Just because it draws from mid-century hi-fi heritage doesn’t mean it’s lacking modern muscle, however. There’s a front-firing bass-reflex 12-inch pulp woofer, 5.25-inch mid, and 1-inch titanium dome tweeter inside an acoustic lens waveguide, as well as front-panel level controls so you can flirt with your frequency crush. Each pair arrives with JS-150 stands in a specially crafted crate. Sure, they’re $7,499, but if you love someone the way they love music, it’s an expression of emotion you can play loud together forever.

Magnetar UDP900 MKII 4K Blu-ray Universal Disc Player

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Looking for the perfect gift for a valentine that hoards 4K SteelBooks, has a stash of SACDs, and is outspoken on the right kind of graininess? Magnetar’s UDP900 MK II is the universal disc player for your Criterion edition of a person. At $3,299, it’s exquisite overkill in the right way, capable of reference-grade playback from any physical media collection (UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, SACD, DVD-A, Redbook CD, etc.). It features Dolby Vision/HDR10+, dual ESS9038PRO DACs with balanced XLR outs, and an XMOS USB path that’ll chew through PCM 768kHz/DSD512 like it’s nothing. An optimized signal path in a tank-like chassis. Whether their focus is on pristine images or two-channel imaging, Technicolor or Atmos, it’s a love poem to the power of movie nights and soundtracking your days that has been milled in aluminum. 

AKG C114 Large-diaphragm Condenser Microphone

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You think your special someone has the most beautiful voice in the world. So help them share it with the AKG C114 large-diaphragm condenser microphone. With this new $229 mic, they can track airy vocals, cut balanced podcasts and voiceovers, and even capture some acoustic guitar shimmer to accompany them. And they can do it all without turning the room into a séance of switching positions till they conjure the right spirit. This affordable all-rounder’s 26mm dual-diaphragm edge-terminated capsule borrows richly textured DNA from the C12/C414 lineage, adds three patterns (cardioid/omni/figure-8), and stays clean at loud moments with a transformerless FET circuit, 145 dB max SPL, 12 dB(A) self-noise, and an included suspension cradle. It’s plug-in, phantom-powered, and the matte metal look flatters every frame if they’re the on-camera type, too. It’s a mic for minimal fuss, maximum “wow, that’s you,” even when the take gets emotional. 

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite Wireless Gaming Headset System

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If you’re in love with someone who is in love with gaming, they would love the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite—especially if they bounce between consoles and couches. This ANC, LC3+ Hi-Res wireless headset pairs 40mm carbon-fiber drivers (featuring brass surrounds) with a GameHub “OmniPlay” dock that can mix up to four sources at once—PC, console, Bluetooth, line-in. All without cable juggle (or jumble). This $599 system (available in Obsidian, shown, or Sage & Gold) satisfies whether they’re completing a campaign at a custom battle station or killing time playing on a handheld while traveling. And it’s not just punchy explosions, tidy dialogue, and pinpoint positioning that they’ll appreciate. Music is rich, clean, and nuanced with resolution up to 96kHz/24-bit. Add in AI noise-rejecting comms, plush pads, plus “Infinity Power” hot-swappable batteries so the headphones won’t die mid-raid (or mid-playlist). 

ASUS ROG Kithara Open-back Wired Audiophile Gaming Headphones

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Got a valentine that sweats a ranked match and melts listening to their favorite album? Gift them the new ASUS ROG Kithara gaming headphones. It’s the rare headset that also fits the audiophile mindset, thanks to its 100mm planar-magnetic drivers tuned by HiFiMAN. With these $299 wired headphones, they don’t have to choose between precise spatial awareness and expressive staging. Footsteps arrive as clean, crisp coordinates, while veil-free vocals and vibes stay textured. There’s space around bullets and air around cymbals, plus nimble bass that’s got pleasing nuance for an open-back thanks to a Neo Supernano Diaphragm Gen. 2 packed between Stealth Magnets. The tactile feel is equally dialed in, with plush drop-shaped pads (sonically warmer velour and more neutral leatherette), a reasonable 420g weight for marathon campaigns and/or playlists, and a cable kit that includes an on-cable full-band MEMS boom microphone, USB-C dongle, as well as a 4.4mm balanced termination to get the most out of the 16Ω 8Hz–55kHz specs. Sure, they require a quiet room, but goosebumps are guaranteed. 

Hypershell X Exoskeleton

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This gift is a little off the beaten path, but it can appeal to people who like to choose the road less taken, so … If you have an adventurous soul in your life who wants to stay active but may need some assistance, the Hypershell X exoskeleton can put some pep back in their step while hiking, climbing, running, cycling, or simply commuting. In January, we tested the $1,999 Ultra X model on an excursion through a Nevada canyon (variants are available across various ranges and materials, starting at $999). And the 1000 W of adaptive power packed into this carbon fiber and titanium alloy frame successfully lowered our heart rate while making us feel capable of more effortless output as we stomped and scrambled through the Calico Hills. For anyone who feels they’ve lost a step—whether because they’re older, recovering from an injury, facing other mobility issues, or just tasked with logistical demands—we feel this hip-assisted exoskeleton can ease physical toll. It also has a mode to provide resistance for physical therapy/fitness.

Timbuk2 Mode Weekender Bag

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If you’re inviting someone on a spur-of-the-moment romantic getaway, packing light is packing right. And the Timbuk2 Mode Weekender Bag is perfect for the essentials. This $239 33L duffel (available in three colorways)  is grown-up travel done durable, with heavy nylon twill, water-resistant YKK zips, and leather-wrapped touch points. The wide mouth gives easy outfit access (and makes late check-out repacking less chaotic), while a padded lower compartment keeps shoes from mingling with unmentionables. There’s a PU-zip external tech pocket lined in brushed microfleece, plus an internal organizer and key clip for small stuff. And if someone needed to bring more, the trolley sleeve slides easily over a roller bag. They’ll look organized, even if they’re not.

And when packing for vacation, one of the most essential accessories is a travel-ready charger that fits on an airplane tray and a hotel side table alike. Get the one you love the new foldable Anker Prime Wireless 3-in-1 25W MagGo Charging Station so they won’t have to worry about their iPhone, AirPods, and/or Apple Watch powering down during a long day of catching connections or sightseeing.

Stio Hometown Down Scarf

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If your valentine has ever celebrated finding a dress with pockets like winning an Olympic gold medal, Stio’s Hometown Down Scarf will be an instant win. This sleek pull-through scarf hides a zippered pocket perfectly sized for cards, cash, or lip balm, keeping essentials close whether they’re strolling icy sidewalks or navigating a snow-dusted trailhead. Made from 100% recycled HTD nylon ripstop and insulated with HyperDry 800-fill goose down, it shrugs off snow and damp conditions while keeping necks toasty warm. At $79, it distills the best of a favorite puffer into a smaller, more packable silhouette. The coziness is real, but the pocket is the star.

Stio Dawner Jacket

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Frosty conditions don’t scare off all athletes, and valentines who choose sweat over stillness need a layer that warms without turning workouts swampy. Stio’s Dawner Jacket, available in men’s and women’s versions, hits that sweet spot with lightweight insulation that breathes as hard as they do. The stretch nylon shell features a DWR finish to fend off light snow and moisture, while the Octa knit insulation uses a gridded structure to promote airflow and speed evaporation, whether it’s worn next to skin or layered over a base. 

We put the Dawner through its paces in Wyoming, wearing it as an outer layer on a multi-mile cross-country trek in zero-degree temperatures (and during some après Mountain Shots). We started chilly, but finished comfortably warm, even as our hair froze into some crazy anime curls. The next day, it slipped neatly under a shell for downhill runs without ever feeling clammy. It’s the kind of adaptable cold-weather piece that earns repeat use, equally reliable as a standalone jacket or a hardworking midlayer.

Smith Venture Sunglasses

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Shopping for someone who prefers outdoor adventures over candlelit dinners? Smith’s Venture sunglasses blend alpine utility with a touch of Mad Max swagger, delivering true performance sports eyewear for bright conditions that don’t stay consistent. The ChromaPop Glacier Photochromic lenses adapt to changing UV and light, darkening in full sun or snow glare and lightening when clouds roll in, all while preserving sharp contrast and true-to-life color. Grippy Megol nose and temple pads keep them firmly in place, with an included goggle-style elastic strap for extra security when things get rowdy. Removable side shields and a nose piece provide protection against glare, wind, and dust, though face sweaters may consider them optional rather than essential. Leave them on for full coverage or pop them off for a cleaner everyday look. Either way, they’re cool.

Stoke Tracks Ski Pole Baskets

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Delight the skiers in your life with something equal parts adorable and unnecessary in the best way. Stoke Tracks makes ski pole baskets that stamp animal tracks into the snow. Choose from bear (shown), fox, mountain lion, or wolf paws, or outfit the whole crew so your group leaves a coterie of cuteness between runs. At just $32 a pair, they’re an easy yes, and they’re made from bio-based, fully biodegradable materials. And in lines, they’re an excellent conversation starter.

Yeti Rambler 6 oz Stackable Mugs

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Time to perk up the espresso lover in your life with teeny, tiny insulated drinkware made for serious sips. Yeti’s six-ounce espresso mugs are perfectly sized for macchiatos and cappuccinos, pairing durable stainless steel with a DuraSip ceramic lining that preserves the true flavor of the beans instead of adding a metallic note. They’re sturdy enough for daily use, cute enough to live on the counter, and smartly stackable for easy storage. Best of all, they’re dishwasher safe, so the next shot won’t be delayed by waiting on someone to finally hand-wash the mugs.

Ridge Merino Cloudripper Grid Fleece Hoodie

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If your valentine lives in a fleece from first frost to final thaw, Ridge Merino’s Cloudripper Grid Fleece Hoodie—available for men and women—is an upgrade worth gifting. It’s impressively warm and soft enough for couch cuddling, yet built to be a hard-working midlayer for cold days outside without the lingering funk that plagues synthetic layers.

The magic is on the inside: a 100% Merino wool interior means only natural fibers touch the skin. A clever grid pattern creates little pockets of heat, while strategically placed lighter panels help regulate temperature as activity levels rise. We wore it for days on a recent ski trip without washing it and never once worried about being called out for it. Bonus points for thumbholes, because cold hands are a romance killer.

RUX Essentials Gear Hauler Set

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Cyclists, hikers, climbers, they’ll happily invest in top-tier gear, then toss it all into a chaotic pile when the day’s done. That’s where gear haulers come in, and the RUX Essentials Set is one of the best ways to bring order to the madness. Think “Home Edit” for the outdoors. The system starts with a 70-liter RUX Gear Box, a collapsible, weather-proof container with a clear window so you can see what’s inside. Add the RUX Bag, a 25-liter divider bag that clips neatly into place to create containers within the container, and the RUX Pocket, a slim, folder-style organizer that attaches inside or out for smaller essentials. The result is a modular setup that lets your special someone lift out exactly what they need when it’s time to roll. Whether storing gear long-term or loading up the truck for a quick escape, it turns packing into a pleasure instead of a scramble. At nearly $400, it’s a splurge, but it’s also guaranteed for life.

The post 2026 Valentine’s Day Gift Guide: 26 perfect presents for your partner appeared first on Popular Science.

Formosan and Asian termites are almost entirely restricted to tropical climates, but the invasive insects have consistently arrived to newly habitable regions due to warming temperatures caused by climate change. Since its accidental introduction into the United States around the mid-20th century, Formosan termites have spread to at least 11 states. While biologists only identified the presence of its Asian subterranean relative in Florida in 1996, the species is making up for lost time. Today, termites in the U.S. annually cause an estimated $1–7 billion in structural damages.

Tracking them is also a difficult job. The insects spend the majority of their lives hidden away inside their colonies, and generally only emerge to mate and migrate during swarming seasons in the spring and early summer. This means it requires a concerted effort to keep an eye on their spread across communities. Often, they’re only confirmed after significant damage is done to homes and other buildings.

“Subterranean termites have a cryptic lifestyle, where early detection of their activity is challenging,” Thomas Chouvenc, a UF urban entomologist, explained in a university profile. “Not only are they hard to detect without regular professional inspections, but they are also rarely reported, making the tracking of their spread much more difficult.”

Chouvenc and his colleagues recently analyzed all available data amassed between 1990 and 2025 by the University of Florida Termite Collection to more clearly understand their continued spread. 

“Because the spread of these invasive termite species was underestimated for decades due to inconsistent reporting across the state, it has been unclear which communities are currently experiencing damage from these species and which communities are about to experience them,” said Chouvenc.

The news isn’t great, judging by the conclusions of their study recently published in the Journal of Economic Entomology. They can confirm that Formosan termites are no longer only living in a few locations in Florida. By now, the insects are well established throughout most of the state’s coast and most of its largest urban centers. Trends also indicate that Formosan termites will be found everywhere in Florida by 2050.

As for the Asian termites—they’re doing even better than entomologists feared. Researchers have long assumed the bugs were mostly relegated to South Florida due to their need for particularly warm climates. Instead, the study’s data shows the termites are now found well into central Florida, including Brevard County along the Atlantic Ocean coast and Hillsborough County, which includes the Tampa metropolitan area. By the year 2040, Asian termites will likely reside in all of the state’s 24 southernmost counties.

If there’s any silver lining, it’s that some past projections remain accurate. For example, a 2016 analysis estimated half of all structures in the South Florida metropolitan area will be at risk from at least one or both species by 2040. This still seems to be the case, which at least makes it easier for urban planners to anticipate. The study’s co-authors hope increasing use of Florida’s open-source termite distribution map will generate stronger, more accurate datasets that both researchers and conservationists can utilize. Their work is also being integrated into a recently created North American Termite Survey, which helps with detection and identification projects far beyond the state.

“With increasing participation of [pest control] companies, we have improved our understanding of where and when these invasive species are establishing in new localities,” said Chouvenc.

In the meantime, the North American Termite Survey offers plenty of tips for identifying, managing, and documenting the invasive insects. The Environmental Protection Agency also has an entire website dedicated to the issue, as well as information on safely handling the bugs.

The post Termites are swarming Florida even faster than predicted appeared first on Popular Science.

But fire is not without its inherent dangers. A team of evolutionary biologists and medical experts now suggests its most painful consequences are so powerful that they actually reshaped our genetic makeup. In a study recently published in the journal BioEssays, researchers at Imperial College London argue that increased exposure to burns influenced our DNA enough to separate us from all other mammals and primates. While many of these adaptations help humans heal from many burns, they also make it harder to survive more serious encounters with fire.

“Burns are a uniquely human injury. No other species lives alongside high temperatures and the regular risk of burning in the way humans do,” study co-author Joshua Cuddihy of Imperial’s Department of Surgery and Cancer said in a statement.

Burns are classified as first, second, and third degree based on a wide range of severity. Lighter damage often heals easily on its own, but deeper burns destroy both surface and deeper tissues. Prolonged skin damage greatly increases risks of bacterial infections that can quickly turn lethal. According to the American Burn Association, there is an almost 18 percent mortality rate for hospital burn patients who require surgery and prolonged ventilation. 

But while nearly every other animal on Earth works to avoid encountering fires, humans actively seek it out.

“The control of fire is deeply embedded in human life—from a preference for hot food and boiled liquids to the technologies that shape the modern world,” explained Cuddihy. “As a result, unlike any other species, most humans will burn themselves repeatedly over their lifetime, a pattern that likely extends back over a million years to our earliest use of fire.”

Cuddihy and his colleagues theorized that these regular encounters with fire—and their unwanted consequences—would inevitably have a profound effect on any species over tens of thousands of years. To investigate, the team compared genomic data across primates , and their findings appear to support their suspicions. Compared to our relatives, humans have genes that are linked to an enhanced evolution towards burn injury recovery. Specifically, these genes are tied to inflammation and immune system responses, as well as wound closure. These abilities would have been especially lifesaving prior to the development of antibiotics.

“Our research suggests that natural selection favoured traits that improved survival after smaller, more frequent burn injuries,” said Cuddihy.

At the same time, these developments offered certain trade-offs. The same healing processes that ensure recovery from lighter burns also can cause intense scarring, inflammation, and even organ failure in more severe cases. Cuddihy said this might explain why humans are still “particularly vulnerable” to worse burns.

Beyond a better understanding of humanity’s origins, the study could help direct our species’ future. Additional research may lead to new treatment approaches for burns as well as novel ways to deal with their complications. This evolutionary background may also explain why it has remained so difficult to translate burn studies involving animal models to humans.

“What makes this theory of burn selection so exciting to an evolutionary biologist is that it presents a new form of natural selection—one, moreover, that depends on culture,” added study co-author and evolutionary biologist Armand Leroi. “It is part of the story of what makes us human, and a part that we really did not have any inkling of before.”

The post Fire may have altered human DNA appeared first on Popular Science.

Royal Australian Mint chief executive officer Emily Martin told Yahoo Finance Australia that these limited-edition coins honor the skill and perseverance of the nation’s athletes.

“Each coin beautifully captures the passion and resilience of both Australian teams, and we’re excited for collectors and fans to share in this journey with us,” Martin said.

This is not the first time that the Royal Australian Mint has struck colorful coins. In 2020, they struck a bright blue, pink, and yellow coin featuring a woman swinging a cricket bat in honor of the Women’s T20WorldCup. The blank coins are all struck with the design first and then the color is added after an inspector makes sure that the design is correct. The color is added by a UV printer. 

The Royal Australian Mint produced 25,000 of each coin and they are available today. However, they won’t be put into circulation. They can be purchased for $20 directly through the Royal Australian Mint and its authorized distributors. Some have already appeared on eBay for over $150. 

Australia is sending 53 athletes to the 2026 Winter Olympics. Reigning moguls champion Jakara Anthony and four-time Olympian and snowboarder Matt Graham will be the nation’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony on February 6. Fifteen paralympians will represent Australia at the Winter Paralympics beginning on March 6, including two-time gold medal para-snowboarder Amanda Reid and six-time gold medal para-alpine skier Michael Milton. Flag bearers for the Winter Paralympics have not been announced.

The post Australia mints colorful $1 coins to honor Olympians and Paralympians appeared first on Popular Science.

The future Smith imagined would not show signs of life for nearly 100 years, but it might have come far sooner had America’s industrial leaders stopped treating automotive power as a binary choice between gasoline and electricity. A compelling alternative lay in between. Hybrid power was cleaner and capable of guiding transportation through a more climate-friendly century while batteries and charging infrastructure matured. But by the time a suitable hybrid arrived—just two years after Smith’s proclamation—the world had already committed itself to gas.

Henry Ford and Thomas Edison tried to electrify America’s cars

In 1914, Smith’s optimism seemed justified. All year, E. G. Liebold, Henry Ford’s influential private secretary, had been signaling to the press that Ford and Thomas Edison were teaming up to build a cheap electric car. Ford’s son, Edsel, was overseeing production and the car was set to be released in 1915. 

With the two most famous industrialists in America—the leading automobile manufacturer and the nation’s most celebrated inventor—joining forces to mass produce electric automobiles, how could electric cars fail? Earlier that year, Ford and Edison, who had been friends for more than a decade, had even purchased their own electric cars from leading car manufacturer Detroit Electric to publicly affirm their faith in electric power.

The early 20th century heyday of electric cars

At the turn of the 20th century, electric cars were symbols of refinement and technological progress, popular in wealthy urban neighborhoods. Companies like Rauch & Lang, Columbia, Detroit Electric, and Studebaker built electric cars that were meticulously engineered. They started at the flip of a switch. They were quiet and offered a smooth ride through busy city streets. 

Charging stations appeared in carriage houses, public garages, and even outside department stores. Popular Science featured such innovations, including a three-wheeled electric car designed to “glide through the shopping district” and a “flivverette”—a miniature electric car, small enough to be parked in a “dog-house.” Electric taxis competed with horse-drawn carriages to ferry passengers through dense urban cores. In an era when roads were still rough and driving was still novel, electric automobiles seemed civilized.

Gasoline cars, by contrast, were noisy and temperamental. To get them started required muscle to turn a stiff crank. They rattled, stalled, and belched exhaust. Early motorists often carried tools and spare parts, expecting breakdowns as part of the journey. 

Thomas Edison, like many, believed electric cars would ultimately prevail over gas. Obsessed with improving battery technology, Edison saw the electric automobile as a natural extension of his life’s work in electricity. Even though he was friends with Henry Ford, and encouraged Ford to develop internal combustion engines, Edison reportedly dismissed gas cars as noisy and foul-smelling, praising electricity as cleaner and simpler. In the early years of the automobile age, the quiet hum of electric motors, not the explosion of gasoline, seemed inevitable.

The Ford-Edison electric car that never was

But by 1916, the Ford-Edison electric car still hadn’t materialized. There was some speculation—never proven—that oil tycoons, like John D. Rockefeller, had persuaded Ford to kill the project, but even without such pressure, electric car technology just wasn’t competitive with gas. 

Batteries, which were predominantly lead-acid or nickel-iron, were too inefficient, too heavy, and too slow to recharge for the kind of fast-paced, mass-market automotive world consumers were beginning to demand. Plus, in 1916, electricity was scant outside cities. 

Clinton Edgar Woods, the forgotten automobile inventor behind the first hybrid cars

But even as gas cars surged, an engineer named Clinton Edgar Woods offered a different solution. Instead of choosing between electricity and gas, he combined them, creating the first commercially viable hybrid vehicle.

Today, Woods has largely vanished from popular automotive history, but he was an important innovator in the early days of cars. Before he released his hybrid in 1916, Woods had already been at the forefront of electric vehicle design for nearly two decades. In 1899, he launched one of the first electric car companies, the Woods Motor Vehicle Company. 

In 1900, before the Ford Motor Company even existed and more than a decade before Smith’s speech, Woods published The Electric Automobile: Its Construction, Care, and Operation. It was a user manual grounded in electric-car operational basics, approaching the subject as if electricity were a foregone conclusion. He explained how to maintain batteries, how to drive efficiently, and how to care for motors. It was not a do-it-yourself guide for a fringe technology; it was a seminal handbook for the automotive future.

The 1916 debut of Clinton Edgar Woods’s first hybrid car

Popular Science announced Woods’s new hybrid car with fascination in 1916. “The power plan of this unique vehicle,” the magazine explained, “consists of a small gasoline motor and an electric-motor generator combined in one unit under the hood forward of the dash, and a storage battery beneath the rear seats.” Woods named the car the Dual Power, referring to its twin power sources. Today, we call it a hybrid.

Woods’s car did not threaten gasoline’s emergence; it promised to leverage it. Where Ford, Edison, and Smith were focused on pure electric, Woods offered a compromise. His hybrid was designed to preserve the elegance and smooth operation of electric motors while conceding the practical power and range that fuel offered. His car offered dynamic braking with regenerative capabilities, using the motor to slow the car and recharge its battery, a feature that would not be seen in cars for another century. It also eliminated the need for a clutch, simplifying operation of the gas engine, just like an automatic transmission. And his design used gas power to recharge the batteries, a must where electricity was unavailable. 

Woods’s hybrid was not the first dual-powered car—that claim likely goes to Ferdinand Porsche, who developed a hybrid in 1900, the Lohner-Porsche Semper Vivus—but it was the first attempt to build a mass-producible hybrid. By the time it arrived, however, the market had already made its choice. 

In 1916, Ford alone sold more than 700,000 gas cars, while electric car sales collapsed to less than one percent of all cars sold, sliding from the leader in 1900 to a mere niche. Woods’s Dual Power car was one of the last serious efforts to salvage an electric future that was slipping away.

Oil, gas, and our love affair with internal combustion

The world did not abandon electric cars because they weren’t reliable or well-engineered; it abandoned them because gasoline solved immediate problems electricity could not, chiefly speed, range, and fuel distribution. At a time when the competition between electricity and gas was at an inflection point, infrastructure sealed the outcome. It wasn’t until the 1930s that electricity began to spread reliably into rural areas.

By contrast, even in the early 1900s gasoline could be transported in barrels and cans. A gasoline car owner could find gas anywhere from a general store to one of the new fueling stations. Electric cars, on the other hand, were bound to their urban grids, and charging them took much longer than topping off a gas tank.

Woods’s hybrid addressed the recharging limitation, and it offered much greater fuel efficiency than gas-only cars, but it was nearly four times the price of a Ford Model T: $2,600 in 1916 (about $79,000 today) whereas a Model T cost $700 (about $21,000 today). Plus, the Dual Power’s top speed was 35 mph compared to the Model T’s 45 mph. 

Had Woods possessed Ford’s mass-production capability, the price gap might have narrowed. Even so, the hybrid’s inherent complexity would have added cost and compromised speed. And yet, such disadvantages might have been overcome, especially in urban settings, had there been the vision and will among America’s industrialists. 

The road not taken

If we had chosen hybrid designs in the formative years of automotive power, would we have long ago solved the limitations of electric vehicle technology and significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions? It’s impossible to know, but even today the outlook remains mixed. 

In the U.S., electric vehicles accounted for less than eight percent of the passenger car market in 2025, while gas-only vehicles still made up more than 75 percent of the roughly 16.2 million cars sold. Hybrids, meanwhile, have gained steadily—sales surged 36 percent in the second half of 2025, reaching nearly 15 percent of all passenger car purchases. Globally, electric vehicle sales continue to rise, with more than 20 million electrified cars in 2025, mostly in China and Europe. But electric vehicles still represent less than a quarter of all cars sold, a figure that shows signs of plateauing.

As America’s politics swing between looking forward to sustainable power and falling back on our century-long love affair with oil and gas, the hybrid may yet have a role to play in transitioning automotive technology back to electricity—where it started. 

Just as Clinton Edgar Woods saw the wisdom of combining the advantages of gasoline and electric power, so today’s hybrids could serve as a bridge while battery technology and charging infrastructure continue to mature. In that sense, Woods’s hybrid is more than a historical footnote; it is a compass pointing us toward the road not taken.

In A Century in Motion, Popular Science revisits fascinating transportation stories from our archives, from hybrid cars to moving sidewalks, and explores how these inventions are re-emerging today in surprising ways.

The post In 1916, hybrid cars could’ve changed history. But Ford wouldn’t allow it. appeared first on Popular Science.

A new paper published today in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology shows how museums can harness the power of molecular evidence and tap into the sensory world of the past. Based on actual molecular findings from ancient artifacts, the team built portable scent cards and scent diffusers to accompany Egyptian mummification exhibits. 

“This research represents a significant shift in how scientific results can be shared beyond academic publications,” Barbara Huber, a study co-author and an archaeo-chemist from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology and the University of Tübingen in Germany, said in a statement.

Huber worked with Sofia Collette Ehrich, an art historian and expert in scent-based storytelling  to bring together the worlds of ancient chemistry and the study of how perfume can communicate through smells. 

Perfumer and pharmacist Carole Calvez then used ancient chemical signatures from Huber’s research to create a scent for a potential exhibit. Importantly, Calvez says that this process is not a simple act of replication.

“The real challenge lies in imagining the scent as a whole,” Calvez explained in a statement. “Biomolecular data provide essential clues, but the perfumer must translate chemical information into a complete and coherent olfactory experience that evokes the complexity of the original material, rather than just its individual components.”

The team then developed two ways to present ancient scents to the public. Alongside the artifacts that inspired this project, the team recreated the aromas of mummification in ancient Egypt. A portable scented card and a fixed scent diffusion station were worked into an exhibition at the Museum August Kestner in Hanover, Germany. 

“Scent provides a new approach to mummification, moving away from the scare factor and horror movie clichés towards an appreciation of the motivations behind the actions and the desired results,” curators Christian E. Loeben and Ulrike Dubiel reported. 

The fixed scent station format was also installed in the exhibition at the Moesgaard Museum in Aarhus, Denmark.

“The scent station transformed how visitors understood embalming,” said curator Steffen Terp Laursen. “Smell added an emotional and sensory depth that text labels alone could never provide.”

According to the team, this shows how molecular traces of the past can be made into meaningful cultural experiences in the present. 

“We hope to offer museums compelling new tools for bringing visitors closer to past environments and practices via sensory interpretation and engagement,” Ehrich concluded.

The post Scientists want you to smell ancient Egyptian mummies appeared first on Popular Science.

In this case, a maker and content creator going by the handle Super Valid Designs decided to tackle the “ceiling fan guessing game” head-on. Using a commercially available 3D printer, he designed and fabricated a custom mounting device that attaches to the fan and provides a clear visual indicator for each speed setting. Once installed, every pull of the chain rotates a circular drum displaying the numbers zero through three. The maker (whose name is Jeff) says his motivation for spending more than 10 hours designing the over-engineered part stemmed from his own personal annoyance.

“Frankly, I just don’t want to have to think about it anymore,” Jeff says in a YouTube video detailing the process. 

And while he acknowledges there are other, much more straightforward ways to solve this pesky problem, he seems to relish the inconvenience.

“Yes, I could have got a remote, or installed a wall dial,” Jeff wrote in a post on Reddit. “Yes I could use the setting 2 only hack or the ‘feel the vibration through the chain’ method, but this was way more fun!”

Studying balls and yanking chains

Jeff began to build his contraption after closely inspecting  the fan’s pull chain. After measuring the spacing of its ball bearings, he noticed that a single pull of the chain corresponded to a movement of three balls. Using those measurements, he printed a small plastic mount with divots sized to capture the balls. He then turned his attention to designing a mechanism that would hold the balls securely in place.

Next, he scanned the fan’s irregularly shaped base in 3D—a step completed entirely using a smartphone app. With the digital scan as a reference, Jeff created partial gears that sit on either side of the pull chain. But he quickly ran into a problem. While the gears rotated in the correct direction when the chain was pulled, they would inevitably spin back in the opposite direction once it was released. For the mechanism to work, he needed to design a way to hold the partial gears in place as they returned to their starting position.

To keep those gears in place, he modeled a set of plastic teeth that work  like a ratchet mechanism. He also designed a spring-loaded piece to hold the numbered drum in place while the gears rotated back. 

All of this is much easier said than done. Jeff printed iteration after iteration of his design, with some parts coming out slightly too large and others too tight. That fine-tuning required countless trips up and down a ladder to test each revision on the fan itself. Eventually, sick of constant climbing, he took an extra section of the fan’s pull chain, removed it, and incorporated it into a smaller test rig that mimicked the fan’s movement on his workbench. No ladder needed.

After hours of trial and error, Jeff eventually settled on a three-tooth design that provides enough force to advance the numbered drum, while still using a minimal number of teeth to allow the gears to rotate back with little resistance. For the drum itself, he opted for a stepped design, with a larger outer section displaying the numbers and a smaller inner section containing the groove where the chain wraps around. He says he did this in an effort to prevent the chain from rubbing against the numbers and gradually wearing them down or making them difficult to see.

“Coming from a background as a musician, I’m used to experimenting just for the sake of it,” Jeff says in the video. “I like approaching engineering in the same way. For me, engineering isn’t always about finding the quickest fix, it’s about the joy of problem solving and discovering a different path to the same destination.”

He isn’t the only one with that tinkerer’s mindset. Makers using 3D printers to solve seemingly mundane problems are all over the internet, from custom desk clamp bins  and DIY webcam risers  to replacement parts for broken deodorant stick bottoms. Jeff, meanwhile, says there’s never been a better time for people without an engineering background to get into making.

“With tools like 3D printers and modeling software becoming so readily available, I’d love to see more people getting into experimenting with building  and inventing things just for the fun of it,” he said. “When you can finally hold something functional that only previously existed in your head, that is the best feeling in the world.”

In The Workshop, Popular Science highlights the ingenious, delightful, and often surprising projects people build in their spare time. If you or someone you know is working on a hobbyist project that fits the bill, we’d love to hear about it—fill out this form to tell us more.

The post Man solves ceiling fans’ most annoying problem appeared first on Popular Science.

Editor’s Picks

Arc Ultra premium smart soundbar $899 (was $1,099)

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It’s the time of year for can’t-miss games, and a Sonos soundbar ensures you catch every can’t-miss moment. From opening ceremonies to halftime to last-second goal horns, the Arc Ultra offers up crisp, front-and-centered vocals and gives the crowd noise big cinematic width. Plus, it delivers surprising low-end, even without a Sub 4. Tight on space? The Beam Gen. 2 smart soundbar still boosts speech and adds to the impact, but with a smaller footprint.

Era 300 premium smart speaker $379 (was $479)

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Looking to invest in some where-did-that-come-from magic? The multichannel Era 300 is overengineered in the best way. Made for Dolby Atmos spatial audio, the Era 300 adds height and legit home-cinema feel to a Sonos soundbar. Or, since it’s connected to Wi-Fi, you can move an Era 300 anywhere in your house to stream room-filling music. Going for that less sizeable setup? The Era 100 smart stereo speaker can fill in wraparound details while requiring less rearranging.

Ace headphones $319 (was $399)

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Need a more private viewing or listening party? Pair the Sonos Ace headphones with an Arc Ultra, and you can stay hype while making sure other people in the house stay asleep. The Ace offers plush earpads, strong ANC, and Spatial Audio in a fold-flat form factor, making it a great travel companion. Or settle into your Sonos system at home and hit TV Audio Swap, and an Arc Ultra or Beam Gen. 2 can stream your TV soundtrack directly to the headphones for early kickoffs, late-night movies, and those only-person-still-awake marathons. As a bonus, an Arc Ultra supports up to two Ace headphones, in case it’s a just-one-more-party for two.

Sonos Beam (Gen 2) $369 (was $499)

Soundbars

• Sonos Beam (Gen 2) $369 (was $499)
• Sonos Arc Ultra $899 (was $1,099)

Subwoofers

• Sonos Sub Mini $399 (was $499)
• Sonos Sub 4 $759 (was $899)

Soundbar Bundles

Beam Bundles

• Sonos Beam Mount Set $418 (was $548)
• Sonos Personal Entertainment Set with Beam $688 (was $898)
• Sonos Surround Set with Beam $727 (was $937)
• Sonos Entertainment Set with Beam $768 (was $998)
• Sonos Immersive Set with Beam $1,126 (was $1,436)
• Sonos Premium Entertainment Set with Beam $1,128 (was $1,398)
• Sonos Premium Immersive Set with Beam $1,486 (was $1,836)

Ray Bundles

• Sonos Surround Set with Ray $577 (was $657)
• Sonos Entertainment Set with Ray $618 (was $718)
• Sonos Immersive Set with Ray $976 (was $1,156)

Arc Ultra Bundles

• Sonos Arc Ultra Mount Set $978 (was $1,178)
• Sonos Personal Entertainment Set with Arc Ultra $1,218 (was $1,498)
• Sonos Surround Set with Arc Ultra $1,357 (was $1,537)
• Sonos Premium Entertainment Set with Arc Ultra $1,599 (was $1,998)
• Sonos Premium Surround Set with Arc Ultra $1,657 (was $2,057)
• Sonos Premium Immersive Set with Arc Ultra $1,957 (was $2,436)
• Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra $2,357 (was $2,956)
• Sonos Premium Personal Entertainment Set with Arc Ultra $2,735 (was $3,355)

Home Theater Completion Sets

• Sonos Home Theater Completion Set $757 (was $937)
• Sonos Premium Home Theater Completion Set $1,117 (was $1,337)
• Sonos Ultimate Home Theater Completion Set $1,717 (was $1,857)

Individual Speakers

• Sonos Era 100 $179 (was $219)
• Sonos Era 300 $379 (was $479)

Headphones

• Sonos Ace $319 (was $399)

Two-Speaker Sets

• Sonos 2 Room Set with Era 100 $358 (was $438)
• Sonos Indoor/Outdoor Set with Move 2 $678 (was $718)
• Sonos Immersive Music Set $758 (was $958)
• Sonos 2 Room Set with Arc Ultra $1,398 (was $1,598)

The post Sonos is blowing out its most popular soundbars, speakers, and headphones during this flash sale appeared first on Popular Science.

Despite containing upwards of 75 percent recyclable material, an estimated 50,000 mattresses are still discarded every day in the United States. Once in a landfill, the bulky trash can take as long as 120 years to decompose. It’s such a huge problem that there’s now even a Mattress Recycling Council dedicated to addressing the issue.

Luckily, its council members may soon have a new cause for celebration. According to a recently published study in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers at Australia’s Swinburne University of Technology have developed a process that converts retired mattresses into safe, eco-friendly building insulation. Their secret weapon for making it happen? A fungal relative of penicillin.

“Mattresses are durable, bulky, and often end up in landfill,” study co-author and chemical engineer The Nguyen said in a statement. “Through natural biological processes, we can give this waste a second life.”

In this case, Nguyen’s team relied on Penicillium chrysogenum to get the job done. P. chrysogenum isn’t the same species of fungi famously repurposed by Alexander Fleming (that would be Penicillium rubens), it is in  the same genus as that lifesaving antibiotic. After cultivating the spores, the researchers then combined them with shredded polyurethane foam harvested from old mattresses. As the fungal roots began binding to the trash, they formed naturally occurring calcium carbonate deposits. These mineral compounds then meshed with the foam to create a lightweight solid that is also incredibly heat resistant. In stress tests, the material easily withstood exposure to temperatures nearing 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit.

“The material performed well as an insulator, with heat-blocking ability very close to commercial insulation products already used in homes and buildings,” explained Nguyen.

The team believes that with further development, their new recycling strategy could create a new generation of materials used for fire-resistant insulation, building panels, and possibly even 3D-printed construction components.

“Our work shows how combining biology with waste materials, while leveraging deep manufacturing science, can lead to smart, low-impact solutions that better the environment and the lives of everyone,” said Nguyen.

The post Fungi help turn old mattresses into insulation appeared first on Popular Science.

To kick off 2026, the Institute released a trove of new images and videos highlighting some of their latest observations from the south Atlantic Ocean. Researchers initially set out to investigate cold seeps, deep-sea areas where methane and other chemical emissions from the ocean floor sustain microbial life. These microscopic organisms then feed a range of animals like tube worms, clams, and mussels. Although they only located one active seep zone, the team was particularly struck by just how many species are living across the entire region.

“We were not expecting to see this level of biodiversity in the Argentine deep sea, and are so excited to see it teeming with life,” expedition chief scientist María Emilia Bravo said in a statement. “Seeing all the biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and connectivity unfolding together was incredible. We opened a window into our country’s biodiversity only to find there are so many more windows left to be opened.”

Bravo and colleagues estimate that they identified 28 possible new species that include sea snails, urchins, anemones, and worms. Many of these reside within the largest known Bathelia candida coral reef in the world—a colony nearly the size of Vatican City. The team also documented an extremely rare phantom jellyfish (Stygiomedusa gigantea), which is known to grow as long as a school bus. Other firsts included locating Argentina’s first deep-sea whale fall. At roughly 2.4 miles below the ocean surface, the cetacean’s bones are currently a temporary habitat for nearby sharks, crabs, and other marine life.

“With every expedition to the deep sea, we find the ocean is full of life—as much as we see on land, and perhaps more because the ocean contains 98 percent of the living space on this planet,” added Schmidt Ocean Institute executive director Jyotika Virmani.

As unfortunate as it is predictable, the expedition also noted just how far human pollution has traveled around the world. Surveys recorded items like garbage bags, fishing nets, and even a “near-pristine” VHS tape thanks to the longevity of plastic.

“We collected an unprecedented number of chemical, physical, and biological samples that will be used to understand connections in our waters for years to come,” said Institute Argentino de Oceanografía marine biologist Melisa Fernández Severini. “These samples represent a unique opportunity to understand not only how extraordinary these extreme ecosystems are, but also how vulnerable they can be.”

Check out more of these exciting discoveries below. (Click to expand images to full screen.)

The post Marine biologists discover 28 new deep sea species—and an old VHS tape appeared first on Popular Science.

A team at Kyungpook National University in Degu, South Korea, studied 24 dogs of various breeds, including beagles, border collies, and mixed breed dogs. They used a version of the Wesen test, an assessment that generally helps determine if an animal is more suitable as a pet or working dog. In this particular study, a human observer watched the dog’s reaction to several situations and interactions with people and other dogs. For example, the observer focused on how relaxed or anxious a dog appeared when they were alone and then around a total stranger. In another situation, the team assessed the dog’s attention, confidence, fear, interest, and relaxation during the Wesen test. 

Some concerns exist that the Wesen test is too subjective, since it is based on an observer’s opinion. To look for more physical evidence, the team took saliva samples and measured the cortisol and serotonin levels. In animals, cortisol is released after “fight-or-flight” hormones like adrenaline to help keep the body on alert. It also helps regulate the metabolism and blood sugar levels. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that carries chemical messages between the nerve cells in the brain and the rest of the body. It helps support several bodily functions including mood, sleep, digestion, and bone health. Earlier dog studies linked lower levels of cortisol and higher levels of serotonin with less aggressive behavior.

For these dogs, the salivary cortisol samples were taken both before and after the Wesen test. Those that scored higher for good behaviors tended to have lower levels of cortisol. These higher-scoring dogs also had a less marked spike in stress hormone levels after they were given the tests. 

Sixteen of the 24 dogs had their salivary serotonin levels measured, but the results were not significant. However, the dogs with higher test scores did have higher serotonin levels before a test was given than dogs with lower scores.

Since it is such a small sample size of dogs, the team cautions that it does not show that hormone levels necessarily cause good or bad behaviors in dogs. It does provide some possible evidence that examining hormones and neurotransmitters could be a more objective way to measure a dog’s temperament than assessments like the Wesen test alone. 

“Our study shows that physiological concentrations of hormones and neurotransmitters can serve as biomarkers of canine temperament,” the team writes. “These results could help identify dogs suited for specific working roles—such as military, police, guide, or therapy dogs—and assist in making better-informed companion dog adoption decisions.”

The post Cortisol could impact your dog’s behavior appeared first on Popular Science.

“Most importantly, OFF ROAD VEHICLE TRAVEL IS NOT PERMITTED ON THE DUNES, or anywhere else in Death Valley National Park for that matter,” the park explains on its website.

Unfortunately, the clearly stated rules didn’t stop these visitors in what appears to be a 2021 Toyota Tacoma from plowing through at least five miles of restricted land on December 17th, 2025.

Many people mistakenly assume a place like Death Valley is just sand, scraggly bushes, and a few cacti. But although its scorching days and freezing nights certainly live up to the name, Death Valley is still home to an array of plants and wildlife—and the trespassers reportedly made a mess of things.

“Illegal off-road driving…left more than five miles of vehicle tracks and damaged rare, sensitive desert plants, including species that exist nowhere else on Earth,” park officials said in a social media post on February 3rd.

Eureka Dunes has remained isolated from other sand fields for around 10,000 years. The area also receives more annual precipitation than similar formations despite its arid appearance. Thanks to this extra moisture, conservationists know of at least five beetle and three plant species that are endemic to the region. Eureka dunegrass (Swallenia alexandrae) is federally classified as threatened, while shining milkvetch (Astragalus lentiginosus micans) is a candidate for Endangered Species List. Visitors have also reported many instances of “singing sand,” a poorly understood phenomenon in which sand avalanches create a tone similar to a pipe organ bass note or distant airplane engine.

In a photo released to the public, the white truck had a (sadly obscured) California license plate, an equipment rack mounted in the bed, as well as a black Fox Racing tailgate cover. Anyone with possible information on the suspects are encouraged to report tips (anonymously, if preferred) through one of the following channels:

Website: go.nps.gov/SubmitATip 

Email: nps_isb@nps.gov 

Phone: 888-653-0009 

“Eureka Dunes are a special place meant to be enjoyed on foot,” Death Valley National Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds said in a statement. “They are protected as wilderness. Please help us identify those responsible for damaging these fragile resources.”
Whatever the outcome of the search, it’s always good to remember the standard park visitor guidelines: take only photographs, leave only footprints.

The post Death Valley National Park needs help ID’ing joyriding vandals appeared first on Popular Science.

But when an animal measures just a few inches from beak to tail and weighs about as much as a penny, even basic veterinary care is a challenge. Traditional hands-on exams and imaging tools meant for larger animals often aren’t sensitive enough to detect bone fractures in these diminutive creatures.

Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scanning offers a promising solution to this problem, according to a new study recently published in the journal Animals. A team of researchers at Louisiana State University (LSU) put several commonly used imaging techniques to the test and determined that three-dimensional images created from micro-CT scans are the most useful for detecting fractured bones in these petite patients.

What is micro-CT scanning?

Micro-CT scanning is a non-destructive, non-invasive method used to “see inside” dense objects. It’s most often used on humans or animals, but can also peer inside fossils, rocks, and archaeological artifacts. The machine uses X-rays to capture hundreds of images from different angles, which can then be combined into a highly detailed 3D model. Users can rotate and manipulate these models to examine miniscule, internal structures without harming the item. 

While this method is far from perfect, micro-CT scanners may also help get injured hummingbirds on the road to recovery and, ideally, back into the wild.

“This is just an example of how we can use the tools that are available to us to better improve the way we manage wildlife,” Mark Mitchell, a study co-author and a veterinarian at LSU, tells Popular Science. “These animals play such an important role in our ecosystems—every species does—and it’s important for us to protect them… It doesn’t matter to me if I’m dealing with a mallard duck or a bald eagle or a hummingbird, I want to do all that I can do to rescue them.”

A beloved seasonal visitor

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are beloved seasonal visitors to backyard feeders and flower gardens. After wintering in Central America, they typically return to the eastern U.S. to breed in late February and early March. As with other hummingbird species, males sport flashier plumage than females. When the light hits just right, their throat feathers blaze iridescent red. Both sexes have emerald-green feathers on the back and head. 

Above all else, ruby-throated hummingbirds are tiny. Their wingspans measure between three and four inches, and they weigh just a fraction of an ounce. “These animals are smaller than my thumb, so getting exams done sometimes can be a challenge,” Mitchell explains.

But when veterinarians can confidently detect fractures, it means they can stabilize the bones using tools like splints. According to Mitchell, hummingbird bone fractures can heal as fast as one to two weeks, due to the birds’ high metabolism. With this in mind, it’s important for veterinarians to ensure the bone is set properly. 

“If it heals incorrectly, unfortunately, our options are limited to euthanizing the animal,” says Mitchell. “We want to minimize the likelihood that we have to make those decisions. We really want to try to get every one of these animals back to where they belong.”

Bird meets scanner

In this new study, Mitchell and his colleagues set out to investigate which imaging methods are best for detecting bone breaks in the birds’ delicate skeletons. They imaged the bodies of 16 hummingbirds that had died in the hospital using four techniques: standard X-rays, dental X-rays, micro-CT scans, and three-dimensional images created from micro-CT scans. Then, they asked six veterinarians with different specialties and varying levels of experience to review the images and report any fractures they spotted. 

For comparison, the team used dermestid beetles to remove the birds’ soft tissues, and then directly examined each skeleton to make a final diagnosis. More than half of the birds had fractures somewhere in their wings or bodies, and four had fractures in multiple locations. 

The advanced imaging methods—especially the 3D reconstructions created from micro-CT scans—produced the most accurate diagnoses and the strongest agreement among the veterinarians. However, even with these more sophisticated tools, the veterinarians still missed some very small fractures, which suggests micro-CT scans have limitations. 

Even so, the findings suggest a clear path forward for veterinarians who treat hummingbirds and small pet birds: If they have access to and can afford to use one, a micro-CT scanner is the way to go. 

No matter which imaging technique veterinarians choose, the findings suggest they should proceed with caution. If they don’t see any fractures initially, but they suspect their miniature, winged patient might have a broken bone or two, they should probably take a second look, ideally using more advanced imaging tools.

“This research provides the vital clinical reality and the scientific basis for why we cannot rely on a single radiograph, and why repeated examinations or alternative diagnostic approaches are needed,” Haerin Rhim, lead author and a postdoctoral fellow at LSU, said in a statement. 

What to do if you find an injured hummingbird

Ruby-throated hummingbirds will soon be returning to the eastern U.S. If you find an injured hummingbird, first give the creature a few moments to regain its bearings before springing into action. “What happens in most of these cases is somebody will hear what sounds like a knock on a window and go find a hummingbird that has stunned itself,” Mitchell says. “Sometimes, those birds just need a little time to regain their bearings, because they basically develop a moderate to significant concussion.”

If the bird does not try to fly away after a few minutes, then you should contact your state wildlife agency or a local licensed rehabilitator. In the meantime, pick up the bird using a small towel, place it in a box with airholes, and keep it in a dark place at an appropriate temperature until the creature can be transported, Mitchell says. 

Resist the urge to try to treat the bird yourself—leave that job to the professionals. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so it’s illegal for unlicensed individuals to rehabilitate them, Mitchell notes. Additionally, you may end up doing more harm than good. 

“A lot of people are acting out of the kindness of their heart, but we routinely get animals that people have tried to treat and we end up having to euthanize them because the injury healed in a way that makes them not releasable,” he says.

In Ask Us Anything, Popular Science answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the everyday things you’ve always wondered to the bizarre things you never thought to ask. Have something you’ve always wanted to know? Ask us.

The post How do you check a hummingbird for broken bones? Very carefully. appeared first on Popular Science.

Braces, be it the classic metal brackets, the slightly less noticeable ceramic editions, or even a clear aligner, solve a multitude of problems that many people face, from crowding, to gaps, to crooked teeth. For the 93% of children and adolescents with a crossbite, underbite, or overbite, braces may be just the fix. 

The technology behind braces first came on the scene in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, says Roger Forshaw, dental health expert at the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology at the University of Manchester. In early iterations, metal bands, wires, and rudimentary braces were used to solve severe teeth crowding and misalignments to improve chewing function and relieve pain—hardly the common cosmetic fix we think of today. 

But what did people do before braces were invented? Well, it turns out, for a lot of human history, braces weren’t necessary. And it wasn’t because people were less worried about the way they looked or bore painful chewing better than their modern cousins. It’s a classic case of evolutionary mismatch, a sign of just how much our lifestyle has changed in recent times while the basic hardware of human existence simply hasn’t caught up.

Big jaws, little jaws

Let’s start with a metaphor. Take an old house, says Peter Ungar, a biological anthropologist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Arkansas. Door frames used to be much smaller and lower than would be comfortable for today’s humans, and it’s not because humans were any genetically shorter than today. Instead, people didn’t have the nutrients available to reach their tallest potential, Ungar explains. For our jaws, the story kind of goes in reverse. 

Back in the day, before agriculture and processing food became commonplace, humans had to chew really hard to turn their food into useful calories for their bodies. When you put that kind of chewing stress on the lower jaw (mandible) and upper jaw (maxilla), “it stimulates the cells that produce bone, [known as] osteoblasts, to grow the jaw in both thickness and height and length,” says Ungar. In other words, hearty chewing makes for a strong, full-sized jaw. 

On the other hand, there’s not a workout that will make your teeth grow. Those little pearls of enamel, dentine, and blood vessels have their size predetermined by genetics, he adds. 

Nobody gave teeth the update that modern jaws are chewing less on wild game and more on applesauce, especially in their youth. When teeth grow in, they are expecting a full-grown jaw from a hard-chewing hunter-gatherer. 

So when your teeth finally arrive on the scene, there simply isn’t enough space for them. For many of us, the top row of teeth juts out in front of the lower set, and that lowered set turns into a jumbled pile of cramped teeth. Our third molars, also known as our wisdom teeth, either don’t develop, don’t erupt, or need to be yanked out. Our comparatively small jaws opened the floodgates to all sorts of other issues, Ungar adds, including the sleep apnea epidemic, which occurs when our tongues don’t have enough room to wiggle around in our mouths. 

Embracing braces

Our ancestors had room for every tooth in their larger mouths. Their teeth also lined up more neatly on top of each other. But that doesn’t mean our ancestors had smiles fit for a Colgate commercial. 

“Early humans used chewing sticks, twigs, bird feathers, animal bones, and plant fibers to remove debris from their teeth,” Forshaw adds. “The earliest known example of possible operative dental work dates to approximately 14,000 years ago in northern Italy.”

While there are some references to misaligned teeth, and the likely painful solutions that ensued, in Greco-Roman times, it wasn’t until recently that orthodontics really took off. “Early orthodontic treatments were slow, uncomfortable, and often unpredictable because dentists didn’t fully understand how teeth moved,” Forshaw says.

The first tool to move teeth around via force was Pierre Fouchard’s Bandeau, a horseshoe-shaped metal strip that slowly expanded, straightening teeth as it went. Then came the metal brackets, thanks to E. H. Angle, who first introduced them around 1910. Braces were then tweaked over the following decades as scientists figured out how teeth moved, grew, and best reacted to smile-correcting technology. 

Today, things are a little different, and a great deal less painful, thanks to digital imaging, advanced materials, and less invasive (and less obvious-looking) techniques and tools. From an evolutionary and a modern perspective, the solution to our small-jawed problem starts in childhood. Nonetheless, you probably don’t want your kids gnawing on giant hunks of meat just to save their jaws, which invites a risk of choking. Instead, maybe just get an orthodontist appointment on the calendar around their seventh birthday. 

In Ask Us Anything, Popular Science answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the everyday things you’ve always wondered to the bizarre things you never thought to ask. Have something you’ve always wanted to know? Ask us.

The post Why our ancestors had straight teeth without braces appeared first on Popular Science.

Editor’s picks

Lowepro Pro Trekker BP 350 AW II 24L Camera Backpack, Black $159.00 (was $441.95; 64% off)

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This is a bag built to carry an entire camera kit. It can hold a body or two, as well as several lenses, and ample accessories. The backpack style makes it easy to lug and the abundance of pockets keep you organized. I have LowePro bags that have lasted 20 years or more and I’d expect the same out of this one.

Peak Design 15L Everyday Backpack Zip, Ash $159.95 (was $199.95; 20% off)

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This is the low-profile, daily-driver option for when you want your camera with you, but you don’t want to look like you’re headed to Everest Base Camp. Fifteen liters is enough for a camera, a couple small lenses, and the usual laptop/charger chaos—without turning your commute into a wrestling match with a giant pack.

WANDRD Transit 40L Carry-On Roller Bag with Essential Plus Camera Cube $354.00 (was $434.00; 18% off)

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Rolling carry-on + camera cube is the cheat code for airport days. You get less weight on your back and more protection for the stuff you absolutely don’t want gate-checked. If you travel with a camera for work or you’re just really serious about travel photography, this is the kind of bag that makes transit less stressful.

Camera backpacks and travel packs

• Lowepro Pro Trekker BP 350 AW II 24L Camera Backpack, Black $159.00 (was $441.95; 64% off)
• Lowepro ProTactic Lite BP 250 AW III 30L Backpack, Black $159.95 (was $259.95; 38% off)
• Barber Shop Mop Top Camera Backpack, Sand Canvas & Brown Leather $359.00 (was $539.00; 33% off)
• Lowepro Slingshot Edge 250 AW Backpack $98.95 (was $168.95; 41% off)
• PGYTECH OneMo 35L Travel Backpack From $124.95 (was $199.95; 38% off)
• Lowepro PhotoSport PRO BP 55L AW III Backpack, Green $309.95 (was $659.95; 53% off)
• Lowepro PhotoSport PRO BP 55L AW III Backpack, Small/Medium, Green $309.00 (was $659.95; 53% off)
• Peak Design 15L Everyday Backpack Zip, Ash $159.95 (was $199.95; 20% off)

Messenger, sling, and shoulder bags

• 3 Legged Thing Toxic Wraith Camera Messenger/Sling Bag, Large, Green $80.00 (was $179.99; 56% off)
• 3 Legged Thing Toxic Wraith Camera Messenger/Sling Bag, Medium, Onyx Black $89.99 (was $169.99; 47% off)
• Vanguard VEO City CB29 6L Cross-Body Shoulder Bag, Medium From $73.99 (was $99.99; 26% off)
• Domke F-8 Small Shoulder Camera Bag, Black $110.00 (was $135.00; 19% off)
• Domke F-10 JD Medium Shoulder Bag, Sand Canvas $114.99 (was $134.99; 15% off)
• Pacsafe Vibe 100 Anti-Theft Hip Pack, Jet Black $59.95 (was $89.95; 33% off)

Rollers and hard travel cases

• WANDRD Transit 40L Carry-On Roller Bag with Essential Plus Camera Cube $354.00 (was $434.00; 18% off)
• Manfrotto Pro Light Reloader Tough 47 Hard Case with Foam Insert $119.88 (was $219.88; 45% off)
• Pelican 1650 Watertight Wheeled Hard Case with Divider Set, Black $480.00 (was $521.95; 8% off)

Hard cases and pro transport

• Pelican 1605AirWD Hard Carry Case with Padded Divider Insert, Black $280.00 (was $448.95; 38% off)
• Pelican 1605 Air Protector Case with Pick-N-Pluck Foam, Silver $297.95 (was $347.95; 14% off)
• Pelican 1550 Watertight Hard Case with Foam Insert, Olive Drab Green $199.95 (was $224.95; 11% off)
• Pelican 1557AirNF Hard Carry Case with Liner (No Foam), Yellow $181.95 (was $241.95; 25% off)
• Pelican iM2435 Top Loader Case with Foam, Black $156.95 (was $201.95; 22% off)
• Pelican Storm iM2500 Case with Cubed Foam, Olive $199.99 (was $261.95; 24% off)
• Pelican 1300 Small Case with Foam, Olive Drab Green $69.95 (was $89.95; 22% off)
• Vanguard SUPREME 40F Waterproof & Dustproof Hard Case $129.99 (was $199.99; 35% off)
• HPRC 2700CUB Resin Hard Case with Cubed Foam, Black/Blue $170.00 (was $195.00; 13% off)
• Pelican AL3620-1710 Single Hinged Lid Trunk without Foam, Olive Drab Green $375.00 (was $810.00; 54% off)
• ARRI Four Light Hard Transport and Storage Case $178.82 (was $354.00; 49% off)
• Zeiss Cine Zoom Transport Case for CZ.2 & LWZ.2 Lenses $450.00 (was $633.00; 29% off)

Leica camera protection

• Leica Ever-Ready Canvas/Leather Case for X (Typ 113) Camera, Taupe $169.95 (was $220.00; 23% off)
• Leica Protector Leather Case for Q (Typ 116), Yellow $127.95 (was $215.00; 40% off)
• Leica M10 Leather Protector, Red $173.87 (was $310.00; 44% off)

Straps and carrying accessories

• Silence Corner PI Strap for All Cameras, Black $59.00 (was $89.00; 34% off)
• Silence Corner PI Strap for All Cameras, Polar Blue $69.00 (was $89.00; 22% off)
• Silence Corner PI Strap Sport for All Cameras, Maple Red $84.99 (was $109.00; 22% off)
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One may expect a composition like John Cage’s ORGAN²/ASLSP to encompass thousands, if not millions of pages of musical notation—but as its name implies, it’s the exact opposite. “ASLSP” is Cage’s shortening of “As Slow As Possible,” and so far, the custom-built, electric pipe organ has only issued nine chords. The current one started in February 2024, while the next chord won’t play until August 5, 2026. At that point, an A₄ chord will ring out for 911 more days.

John Cage died in 1992 at the age of 79, but both fans and detractors have continued discussing and performing his work. After discovering the I Ching in 1951, Cage incorporated the Chinese divination system’s philosophy into his art for the rest of his life, particularly on topics like sound, time, and chance.

Cage’s most famous piece, 4’33”, is in some ways the exact opposite of ORGAN²/ASLSP. Instead of a flurry of melodies, it’s actually four minutes and 33 seconds of pure silence (ironically, the public and critical response wasn’t as serene). But while 4’33” is regularly performed around the world, it’s rarer to see a rendition of ORGAN²/ASLSP. The ongoing version in Germany is one of a kind.

Cage was fascinated by the consequences of chance, but the experiment’s organizers had very precise ideas in mind when they mapped out the multigenerational concert. It officially started on the composer’s birthday (September 5), and its 639-year duration is the same length of time as the stretch between the debut of the world’s first 12-tone Gothic organ in 1361 and the year 2000. Each chord and pause of the music notation was then scaled to fit the centuries-long timeframe.

Although a musician can play ORGAN²/ASLSP on a variety of instruments, the organ is arguably the only one up to the challenge. Unlike a traditional piano, the organ is designed to maintain sound for indefinite periods of time. The piano produces sound from a key hammer striking a string that then resonates. Those vibrations diminish over time, causing the sound to fade and end. In comparison, an organ creates sound from bellows pumping air through metal pipes tuned to certain pitches. As long as there’s air in an organ, there’s sound.

But how is a 639-year performance even possible? No one living today will be around to see the ORGAN²/ASLSP’s finale, of course, and nobody is expected to constantly play the church’s organ. The workaround is a specially designed instrument that relies on sandbags to depress wood keys while electrically powered, backup generator-supported bellows supply continuous airflow. Only when it’s finally time to change chords does a human arrive to swap out the necessary pipes.

Assuming no unintended concert interruptions occur, the longest-running musical performance has centuries left to go. That said, it’s unclear if it will have any fans by the time of its finale. In 2011, the bespoke organ was encased in an acrylic case in an effort to allegedly reduce noise complaints.

The post Pipe organ plays single song for 639 years appeared first on Popular Science.

According to FOMA, their beaks are essential survival tools, but can also be used with “precision and gentleness, applying only the pressure needed to tend to a fragile chick.” When first born, a chick will receive some yummy regurgitated fish oil as one of its earliest meals. Chicks this young are fed a nutritious oily mix of partially digested squid and fish eggs.

Every year, Laysan albatross return to this wildlife refuge on the northeastern edge of the Hawaiian Archipelago and reunite with their mates. If all goes well—as it has for this pair—the female birds will lay one egg and stay on the atoll to nest. 

To count how many birds are coming back to the atoll, hearty volunteers conduct an annual nest census. The 2025/2026 census found:

• 28,246 Ka’upu (Black-footed albatross) nests 

• 589,623 Mōlī (Laysan albatross) nests 

• A total of 617,869 nests 

The nesting birds also include a record-breaker named Wisdom, a roughly 75-year-old albatross known as the world’s oldest breeding bird. Wisdom was spotted on the atoll in November 2025, but it is still unclear if she has laid another egg. She was first identified and banded in 1956 and has since produced 50 to 60 eggs and as many as 30 chicks have fledged in her lifetime. In 2024, Wisdom became the world’s oldest known wild bird to successfully lay an egg at the estimated age of 74. 

You can watch the birds from the comfort of your own home thanks to the 24/7 livestream positioned on the island. However, the video won’t be quite as close up as this special beak preen. 

The post Watch an albatross give its brand-new chick a very careful cleanup appeared first on Popular Science.

The pendant’s red gemstone centerpiece was already an antique itself at the time of the jewelry’s creation, however. Etched similarly to its silver enclosure, a gem depicted a racing chariot that would also appear as a raised scene in wax seals. According to archaeologists, the inset was previously crafted during the Augustan era of the Roman Empire as far back as the late first century BCE. Although extremely rare, it’s not the first example of its kind.

“Gem-set seal matrices were used by both citizens and the nobility, to indicate social status,” reads the artifact’s official record in the United Kingdom antiquities database.

The entry notes that while English nobles during the 11th–13th centuries imported “better executed” gemwork examples, commoners and farmers often repurposed poorer examples after rediscovering them while plowing fields.

As Archaeology News explained, objects fusing components from vastly different time periods is rarely documented in the historical record. Such a striking example also illustrates the Roman Empire’s lasting influence on the British Isles. Rome’s forces first landed in Britain during the Gallic Wars under the direction of Julius Caesar in 55-54 BCE. Within a century, the empire officially occupied the region and would remain the dominating presence until 410 CE.

Given its rarity, U.K. assessors officially deemed the pendant “treasure,” meaning it likely won’t remain the property of its discoverer. The nearby Braintree Museum is now in talks to acquire the antique, which it hopes to eventually place in a permanent public display.

The post Metal detectorist finds medieval pendant with a Roman ‘secret’ appeared first on Popular Science.

Thankfully, Ziggy was eventually reunited with Surely, though not because of those analogue outreach efforts. The success story was made possible by a rapidly growing national database of dog photos and a powerful AI search tool maintained by the nonprofit Petco Love Lost. In building out its dog database, the organization is utilizing image-recognition technology often associated with more controversial forms of human surveillance and reorienting it to help pets. 

“We need to plug into all the places where people report lost and found pets to make sure that we are connecting the dots,” PetCo Love Lost Chief Product Officer Aaron Klein tells Popular Science. 

They aren’t the only ones applying high tech to pet care. Across the country, landlords and property managers are shipping samples of unscooped dog poop to a company called PooPrints, which extracts DNA in order to identify the canine culprit and its owner. Other pet parents are investing in facial recognition (and even snout recognition) technology to identify missing pets.

It all amounts to a kind of Orwellian-style overwatch, but one built for pets, and for mostly noble purposes.

An massive database of pet pics is helping reunite families 

Several years ago, Petco Love Lost evolved from a company called Finding Rover, with the goal of simplifying the chaotic process of finding lost pets. Anyone who’s experienced it knows how complicated it can be. With more than 5,000 animal shelters in the United States alone (and no guarantee a lost pet will even reach one of them), reunification is far from assured. As a result, distressed pet parents often resort to hanging flyers, frantically posting on social media, and calling numerous shelters.

And whether they realize it or not, pet owners are in a race against the clock. If lost animals do end up at shelters, they may not stay long. Depending on the municipality, overcrowded shelters may hold missing pets for as little as 48 hours or just a few days before putting them up for adoption—or, in some cases, euthanizing.

“There’s some tough choices that these organizations have to make,” Klein says. 

What those shelters lack in streamlined organization, they make up for in data, particularly images of animals. Klein says most shelters rely on a handful of software systems to manage intake. With permission, Petco Love Lost integrates with those photo platforms that shelters use to collect photos of missing pets. Those images are fed into a centralized database and used to train an AI image-recognition model, similar to how large language models are trained on vast text datasets. 

That database and the AI, gives pet owners a crucial head start. When a dog or cat goes missing, owners can download the Love Lost app and upload photos of their pet. The system then immediately cross-references the picture against its database. But the process isn’t as simple as grouping together similar-looking golden retrievers or black cats. Instead, Klein says the model analyzes the animal’s entire body across 512 data points, including eye and fur color, size, and even the distance between its ears. The result is a system that can distinguish between strikingly similar animals with greater accuracy than many humans.

“You would be surprised by the uniqueness of animals,” Klein says. “The naked eye, perhaps can’t discern between these two black cats, but we’re talking about a very powerful computer who can discern these micro differences.” 

Once processed, the AI spots a list of potential matches and gives each one a confidence score. The number of results depends on the animal: a black cat or golden retriever (both common pets) in a dense city like Los Angeles may generate several matches, while a distinctive Siamese cat in a rural town may yield far fewer. 

But partnerships with shelters only go so far. Research from the American Veterinary Medical Association shows that only about a quarter of missing pets ever end up in shelters. To bridge that gap, Petco also partners with neighborhood-based social platforms like Nextdoor and Ring. When a user posts a photo of a stray pet who winds up sitting on their front porch, the image is sent directly to Petco for analysis.

Pet owners interact with the system through a mobile app with an anonymous chat. While Petco says user data is kept secure, the company also uses automated systems to monitor conversations for scams. Klein says some opportunists falsely claim they’ve found a lost pet and then demand money for its return. In one case, someone even offered to locate missing animals using “psychic powers”—for a fee, of course. 

The surveillance system seems to be working. Since its inception, Petco Love Lost says it has reunited more than 100,000 lost animals with their families. And that’s only counting the cases it can directly confirm were resolved through its database. The company estimates the true number could be closer to 300,000.

CSI: Dog Poop

Modern tech more commonly associated with surveillance is also affecting less responsible pet owners. Across the U.S. and in a few other countries, apartment complexes are increasingly using DNA analysis to identify which owners leave behind unscooped dog waste. The leading company in this space is PooPrints, part of Tennessee-based BioPet Laboratories. Using a process similar to FBI forensics, PooPrints can match a sample to the responsible dog down to the molecular level.

“We love shit here,” BioPet Laboratories CEO J Retinger tells Popular Science. 

Properties that partner with PooPrints require all tenants to register their animals by swabbing their mouths to collect their unique DNA signature. The samples are sent to PooPrints’ Tennessee lab, which extracts the DNA and creates a reference profile using 16 genetic markers for every dog on the property. Groundskeepers and property managers can then submit a small sample of unscooped, abandoned dog waste for analysis. PooPrints limits its analyses to dog feces—more for practical reasons than technical limitations.

Ensuring all of that dog poop could make it through the mail to their Tennessee lab was a research-and-development challenge, BioPet Laboratories Lab Director Chesleigh Winfree tells Popular Science. Past competitors tried collecting an entire pile of waste, freezing it, and shipping it overnight, an approach that was both impractical and costly. Instead, PooPrints integrated a stabilizing solution into their collection device. The solution ensures that even a small scoop can remain viable at room temperature for extended periods of time. Winfree says they have successfully extracted DNA from samples as old as two years, though fresher poop is still preferable. 

The lab analyzes the DNA from the sample and checks for a match against dogs on file. If a match is found, the property owner is alerted and can issue a fine to the responsible dog’s owner.

Those fines have sparked backlash from some tenants online, who recoil at having to hand over their pet’s DNA as part of a lease agreement. However, the reality is that pets and animals in general don’t have the same privacy rights or expectations as humans. In the eyes of the law, they are simply considered property. As a result, tenants trying to skirt PooPrints’ DNA registry requirements are on shaky legal ground. And until French bulldogs learn to speak, that’s unlikely to change.

Some pet owners understandably get heated when they receive a message accusing their animal of illegally relieving itself. Critics, including several who recently spoke with The New York Post, worry about being wrongly accused.

“They’re the poop police. Now I have to be even more cautious,”  New Jersey resident and Shih Tzu owner Angelina Budija told The Post. “I think it’s a little over the top.”

In those contested cases, PooPrints offers a DNA verification test, allowing unconvinced tenants to submit a new swab of their pet to compare against the poop sample in question. Winfree says she has seen only two incorrect matches in 18 years. Overall, the service has a nine to 10 percent failure rate, but that is almost always due to collection issues. Some supposed dog samples actually turn out to be cat feces, dirt, or mulch.

PooPrints doesn’t exactly love being called the “Poo Police.” While enforcement and the threat of fines are essential to the process (Winfree herself says she has had to testify in eviction court) they don’t relish it. In fact, they claim that their forensic system has actually helped more apartment complexes allow pets, since property managers feel confident their grounds won’t be overrun by poo.

Snout and pet facial recognition 

Beyond fecal matters, scientists and startups are also experimenting with applying other techniques often associated with surveillance to petcare. Korean-based PetNow is developing  a system that uses snout recognition to identify missing dogs. They claim that every dog’s nose is as uniquely identifiable as a finger print, or a human face can. Ring, who also partnered with Petco, meanwhile recently announced a feature called Search Party, which uses AI software in its smart doorbell camera to detect missing animals. Ring uses a similar, more controversial facial recognition system to identify humans, and has come under fire in the past for its handling of private information.

Dog facial recognition has applications beyond reunification. In Tanzania, researchers from Washington State University developed a mobile app that uses facial recognition to identify dogs that had been vaccinated for rabies. During vaccination, each dog’s face was scanned and uploaded to a centralized database, allowing anyone who encounters a dog to scan its face and instantly check its vaccination status. Using the app, operators in nearby villages correctly identified 76.2 percent of vaccinated dogs and 98.9 percent of unvaccinated dogs.

These new pet recognition start ups combined with rapid advances in biotech and AI mean tools like these will likely become more common in pet care. PooPrints says it looks forward to expanding beyond waste enforcement, using DNA analysis to help pet owners understand genetic predispositions in their animals which could potentially influence how people approach pet healthcare.

Meanwhile, Petco Love Lost is optimistic that its ever-improving AI will boost confidence when showing lost pet owners images of potential matches. In the meantime, they say owners can help themselves by registering their pets and submitting photos before they go missing. Massive databases and powerful AI help, but responsible pet owners still ultimately make the biggest difference.

“It’s hard to find [unique markings] when you’re anxious and you lost your animal and you’re going through the thousands of images that you have on your phone to find the ones that meet that criteria,” Klein says. “It would be great if people were willing to be more prepared for the unexpected situation and understand that you can be a good pet parent and your pet may go missing in the future.”

The post Poop DNA tests and AI dog surveillance: The tech changing pet care. appeared first on Popular Science.

It’s well-known that cold weather can exacerbate joint pain, but why? What is it about plunging digits that often causes endless aches and pains? And more importantly, what can we do about it, other than hop a flight to Tahiti? We asked Dr. Aravind Athiviraham, an orthopedic surgeon at UChicago Medicine, to find out. 

Why does cold weather lead to joint pain? 

“One thought is that that change in atmospheric pressure during cold weather can expand bodily tissues slightly, irritating the nerve endings,” says Athiviraham. 

Barometric pressure is the measurement of air pressure in the atmosphere. Prior to cold, rainy, or stormy weather, the atmosphere experiences a drop in barometric pressure. 

As the surrounding air pressure decreases, body tissues such as muscles, tendons, and joint fluids inflate, almost like a balloon. In turn, this can compress nerves and increase pain, particularly for those with existing injuries, arthritis, or chronic pain. 

This pain increase can happen even more so when the change in pressure is rapid. For example, during the recent Winter Storm Ezra, which pummeled the Midwest U.S. in late December 2025, temperatures dropped as much as 50 degrees Fahrenheit in a single day. This swift decrease in temperature compressed nerves and escalated joint pain for many Midwesterners. 

“Another thought is that in general, when there’s a significant dip in temperatures, the body’s synovial fluid can become a little more thick and viscous,” says Athiviraham. Synovial fluid is a sticky substance that lubricates cartilage and joints. “If it’s thicker, it can be less effective.”

There’s also the body’s need for comfort. According to Athiviraham, “cold temperatures can also cause muscles and connective tissues to become tighter and contract,” as the body tries to stay warm. These contracted muscles can pull on the joints, causing increased stiffness and pain. 

What role does exercise play in joint pain during cold weather?

“In general, when it’s really cold outside, people tend to be a little bit less active,” says Athiviraham. Regular movement circulates synovial fluid, helping reduce stiffness and increase our range of motion. 

“If someone’s less active, they have less strength and flexibility, which can set up a chain reaction that can lead to more pain and stiffness.” Tighter muscles create extra tension on joints, something that can be especially uncomfortable after sitting for long periods. 

How do our minds affect how we experience joint pain?

The role that our minds play in experiencing pain is also a very real thing, says Athiviraham.

“For example,” he says, “if I’ve been told that when it’s cold outside my joints are going to act up, I may experience a kind of psychological pain amplification.” This is a condition where the body’s nervous system, often triggered by stress and/or injury, magnifies pain, which can actually increase its severity. 

It’s what Athiviraham refers to as the nocebo effect, “the opposite of placebo.” While the placebo effect equates beneficial results with positive expectations, the nocebo effect is just the opposite. 

“Say you’ve just torn your rotator cuff,” says Athiviraham, which makes raising and moving your arm difficult. “How you think of physical therapy is really predictive in how you’re going to do. If you think that PT is going to work, there’s a good chance that it will. But if you go into it thinking that you already have a tear and nothing will help, you’ve answered your question long before doing therapy. If there’s an expectation of increased pain, it’s a little bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.” Meaning, if you believe your joints will hurt when the weather turns, there’s a high chance that they will. 

Are arthritis and joint pain the same?

The general answer is no. While joint pain is often a symptom of injuries and can be temporary, arthritis is a chronic condition that involves inflammation. However, the two are sometimes intertwined. 

Arthritis is basically the wearing down of cartilage in the joint. “And so, if there’s already a baseline level of increased pain and loss of cartilage,” says Athiviraham, “a person is primed for increased pain” once the weather turns. 

If joint pain is accompanied by swelling and redness and is persistent, it may actually be arthritis. 

What are some ways to keep joint pain at bay during cold weather? 

“The more you move your joints, the better lubrication your joints are going to have, and the better blood flow,” says Athiviraham. “Obviously you can’t change the weather. But you can pick an indoor activity.”  Head to the gym or purchase a home exercise bike or elliptical machine. Do jumping jacks. Try yoga. “Be more diligent about being intentional, and seek out activities that may happen a little more naturally in the summer.”

Dressing for the weather is also important. Don layers and pay special attention to covering specific joint areas with gloves, scarves, and thermal leggings and shirts for protecting knees and elbows. Heating pads and warm baths both help to improve blood circulation and relax muscles, decreasing pain in your joints. 

Riding out the cold

Of course, you can always relocate to a warmer climate to avoid any cold weather aches and pains. But with a little forethought you can also stay put and make the best of it, by minimizing pain and riding out cold weather comfortably. 

In Ask Us Anything, Popular Science answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the everyday things you’ve always wondered to the bizarre things you never thought to ask. Have something you’ve always wanted to know? Ask us.

The post Why do your joints hurt when it’s cold? We asked a doctor. appeared first on Popular Science.

“For a long time, there have been very few things that we could say really characterize the transition from terrestrial dinosaurs to flying bird dinosaurs,” explained Jingmai O’Connor, the associate curator of fossil reptiles at Chicago’s Field Museum.

O’Connor and her team spent over a year carefully preparing and examining the museum’s own Archaeopteryx specimen after its arrival in 2022. In a study published on February 2nd in the journal The Innovation, the team described a set of newly analyzed anatomical features that help set the iconic bird dinosaur apart from its fellow winged (but nonflying) relatives. As it turns out, some of the strangest attributes of today’s birds are traceable all the way back to the very first bird.

“These weird little features in the mouth of Archaeopteryx, that are also found in living birds, are giving us new criteria that we can use to tell whether a dinosaur fossil is a bird or not,” said O’Connor.

Led by chief fossil preparator Akiko Shinya, the paleontologists slowly alternated between removing the topmost layer of limestone from the fossils and checking the integrity of any exposed features. Fossilized soft tissues like feathers and skin will glow under UV light in certain rocks, allowing Shinya’s group to constantly assess the preserved details. These fragments are extremely small and easy to overlook given Archaeopteryx’s size, but the scientists still managed to identify strange, never-before-seen details.

“They showed me these tiny, glowing dots, and I had no idea what we were looking at,” remembered O’Connor.

After consulting avian anatomy references, she noticed a striking similarity between the fossil dots and what are known as oral papillae. These small, fleshy conical structures are located on the roof of mouths in present-day birds. They function similarly to teeth in humans, helping guide food down the animal’s throat while keeping it away from their windpipe. O’Connor and her colleagues now believe these are the first documented examples of oral papillae in the fossil record—all within evolution’s first true bird.

Other discoveries included other telltale features seen in today’s birds, including what appears to be the splinter of a tongue bone. Humans don’t have any bones in their tongues, but they do occur in most avian species and help them grab and manipulate food.

“This teeny-tiny bone is one of the smallest bones in the body, and it indicates that Archaeopteryx had a highly mobile tongue, like many birds today,” said O’Connor.

CT scans also indicate Archaeopteryx had nerve endings in the end of its beak—part of what’s known as a bill-tip organ. Again, many existing birds have also evolved this system, which helps them nuzzle around the ground for food.

These latest discoveries make a great deal of sense when considered in a wider evolutionary timeline. Flying is very energy intensive, so birds possess some of the most efficient digestive systems on the planet. The development of oral papillae, tongue bones, and bill-tip organs would have all benefited the Archaeopteryx’s new caloric requirements—so much so that the traits appear to have remained in avian dinosaurs for millions of years. 

“These discoveries show this really clear shift in how dinosaurs were feeding when they started flying and had to meet the enormous energetic demands of flight,” said O’Connor.

The post Weird bird mouths go all the way back to the first avian dinosaur appeared first on Popular Science.

Human history is full of lead poisoning. Paleobiological records indicate that the naturally occurring neurotoxin has affected Homo sapien’s evolutionary development for at least two million years. While no amount of lead exposure is healthy, even comparatively moderate levels of ingestion are directly linked to brain development issues, behavioral shifts, heart and organ damage, pregnancy complications, and immunosuppression problems. These hazards are also particularly dangerous for infants and children.

Our species only faced more danger from lead as our technology advanced. Common items including cookware and plumbing components likely affected cognition and physical health in ancient Rome—and these issues became exponentially more dangerous amid the modern manufacturing era. Mounting scientific evidence and sustained public health advocacy finally resulted in the EPA issuing strict rollbacks on lead usage during the 1970s. But even as recently as 1978, the poison could regularly be found in everyday products like paint, pipes, and gasoline.

While lead contamination is still a major issue, its overall reduction is apparent only a few decades after EPA policy regulations were implemented. To understand how much, a team from the University of Utah and the National Institutes of Health recently used mass spectrometry to measure lead levels in human hair. While blood is considered a better biomaterial to assess, hair is still incredibly helpful to study because it’s easier to collect and preserve.

“The surface of the hair is special. We can tell that some elements get concentrated and accumulated in the surface,” explained University of Utah geologist and study co-author Diego Fernandez. “Lead is one of those. That makes it easier because lead is not lost over time.”

Fernandez and his team previously studied blood samples and family health histories of Utahns. This time, the team recruited volunteers from the Wasatch Front region in northern Utah to provide hair samples. These participants were especially interesting to the researchers because they lived in a region of the state known for its history of industrial runoff—as well as its significant Mormon population and their extensive genealogical records.

“The Utah part of this is so interesting because of the way people keep track of their family history. I don’t know that you could do this in New York or Florida,” said study co-author Ken Smith, a family and consumer study researcher.

In total, the authors received the hair samples of 48 individuals from various stages of their lives, as well as from some of their distant relatives dating back to 1916 from archival sources like family scrapbooks. The mass spectrometry data illustrated dramatic changes over 100 years. Prior to the closure of regional smelting facilities and EPA regulations, Utah residents ingested around 100 times as much lead as they do today. The dramatic decrease also directly aligned with the reduction and eventual removal of lead from gasoline. Before 1970, gas typically included around two grams of lead per gallon, tallying up to about two pounds of lead released into the atmosphere per person every year.

“‘It’s an enormous amount of lead that [was] being put into the environment and quite locally,” said study co-author Thure Cerling, who works in both geology and biological research. “It’s just coming out of the tailpipe, goes up in the air and then it comes down. It’s in the air for a number of days, especially during the inversions that we have and it absorbs into your hair, you breathe it and it goes into your lungs.”

While gas consumption continued to rise in the ensuing decades, lead samples in hair dropped sharply. Samples from the 1970s measured as high as 100 parts per million (ppm), but by 1990 they lowered to 10 ppm. In 2024, the amount averaged only 1 ppm.

Recent Trump administration announcements have severely carved away EPA regulatory powers, worrying scientists, environmentalists, and everyday Americans. The study’s authors stress that their latest findings provide some of the clearest objective evidence of the benefits of sensible ecological oversight.

“We should not forget the lessons of history. And the lesson is those regulations have been very important,” said Cerling. “Sometimes they seem onerous and mean that [an] industry can’t do exactly what they’d like to do…But it’s had really, really positive effects.”

The post Hair samples reveal the benefits of lead regulation appeared first on Popular Science.

Runnegar gave the fossil to a team at the University of Queensland’s Dinosaur Lab, where they believe that the roughly 7-inch, fossilized footprint was made by a small, two-legged dinosaur, most likely an early sauropodomorph. These primitive relatives of later long-neck dinosaurs lived during the Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous.

Importantly, the footprint is also the oldest dinosaur fossil in Australia. It dates back about 230 million years to the earliest part of the Late Triassic period when Australia was part of the supercontinent Gondwana. The print is detailed in a study published in the journal Alcheringa and shows that dinosaurs were Down Under much earlier than paleontologists previously believed. 

“This is the only dinosaur fossil to be found in an Australia capital city and shows how globally significant discoveries can remain hidden in plain sight,” study co-author and paleontologist Dr. Anthony Romilio said in a statement. “Subsequent urban development has made the original site inaccessible, leaving this footprint as the only surviving dinosaur evidence from the area.”

The team believes that the dinosaur was likely walking alongside a waterway when it left its footprint behind. The print was then preserved in sandstone for millions of years, before the stone was cut to build buildings across the city of Brisbane.

“Without the foresight to preserve this material, Brisbane’s dinosaur history would still be completely unknown,” said Romilio.

Based on the size, the sauropodomorph stood roughly 2.4 to 2.6 feet tall at the hip and weighed just over 300 pounds.

Runnegar is now an honorary professor at the University of Queensland after teaching at University of New England at Armidale and UCLA. While in the United States, he showed the fossil footprint he discovered as a teen in Brisbane to his students.

“At the time, we suspected the marks might be dinosaur tracks, but we couldn’t have imagined their national significance,” added Runnegar. “It was a great example of a special kind of trace fossil because the footprint was made in sediment by a heavy animal. When I saw Dr. Romilio’s ability to reconstruct, analyse and map dinosaur footprints, I decided to reach out to have the fossil formally documented.”

The fossil is now at the Queensland Museum where it will be available for ongoing research.

The post Teen discovers Australia’s oldest dinosaur fossil—almost 70 years ago appeared first on Popular Science.

Water typically follows the path of least resistance. If a stream encounters an immovable object such as a large rock, fluid physics dictates that it simply follows both gravity and inertia towards an easier route forward. This isn’t to say that water isn’t powerful in its own ways. Some of the world’s largest canyons were carved by comparatively small currents over millions of years—but even then, their winding trails typically follow a uniform logic.

This makes the story of how the Green and Colorado Rivers met so perplexing to geologists like Adam Smith at Scotland’s University of Glasgow. According to the coauthor of his team’s study published on February 2nd in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, the region is “enormously significant” to the overall landmass.

“The merging of the Green and Colorado Rivers millions of years ago altered the continental divide of North America,” he explained in a statement. “It created the line that separates the rivers that flow into the Pacific from those that flow into the Atlantic, and created new habitat boundaries for wildlife that influenced their evolution.”

Geologists like Smith have already debated about the river merger for around 150 years. It’s a particularly vexing subject given the area’s tectonic inactivity and lack of major geological events. However, researchers have recently begun analyzing a novel concept known as lithospheric drip. This phenomenon begins when a dense layer of mineral-rich substances forms at the base of the crust. Over time, the layer grows heavy enough to sink into the mantle. When this happens, the descent can also tug on the land above it and even lower a mountain range like Uinta. Eventually, the mineral layer breaks away and continues to sink further into the mantle. The mountains then appear to bounce back in its wake, and in the process forms a bullseye-like region in the landscape.

Smith and collaborators relied on seismic imaging to locate evidence of lithospheric drip in Utah. This technique works like a CT scan of the Earth to analyze the seismic waves created during earthquakes. While reviewing previously published seismic image studies of the Uinta Mountains, the team spotted a comparatively cold, round space about 125 miles below the Earth’s surface with a diameter measuring 31 to 22 miles across. They now believe this discovery is an ancient, broken fragment of a drip.

“We think that we’ve gathered enough evidence to show that lithospheric drip…is responsible for pulling the land down enough to enable the rivers to link and merge,” Smith said.

Given the likely speed of descent and its current depth, the study’s authors estimate the drip broke away two to five million years ago. This timeline corresponds to previous work suggesting the Green River carved into the mountains and joined with the larger Colorado system. Geological modeling further confirmed their hypothesis. After measuring the Uinta Mountains’ lithographic drip bullseye pattern, they discovered the underlying crust is many miles thinner than it should be given the range’s height. A final calculation of surface rebounding for these drip parameters aligned with their estimate of the river network’s more than 1,312-foot fluctuation in elevation.

“The evidence we’ve collected strongly contradicts the idea that the river predated the mountains, or that sediment deposits might have built up enough for the river to overtop the range, or that erosion from the south of the mountains captured the Green River,” said Smith.

The study’s authors believe their theory doesn’t only answer a multigenerational mystery—it provides a template for applying lithographic drip analysis to many other lingering tectonic debates around the world.

The post The Green River flows ‘uphill.’ Geologists think they finally know why. appeared first on Popular Science.

TP-Link Deco 7 BE25 Wi-Fi 7 mesh router (1-pack)

See It

Right now, you can grab a single TP-Link Deco 7 BE25 Wi-Fi 7 mesh router (1-pack) for $89.99. For that price, you get a modern mesh node that can work as a standalone router in a smaller place or act as an add-on access point to fill in a dead zone. The BE25 is dual-band (2.4GHz + 5GHz) with a fat 240MHz channel option on 5GHz, plus Wi-Fi 7 features like Multi-Link Operation (MLO). That’s going to result in a noticeable difference in performance if you regularly have multiple devices gobbling down data at the same time.

From a wired standpoint, you get two 2.5GbE ports on this unit. That matters if you have multi-gig internet now (or might later), and if you ever decide to run wired backhaul between mesh nodes, i.e., letting Ethernet do the heavy lifting so your Wi-Fi bandwidth is reserved for actual devices instead of node-to-node relays. Bonus: if you’re already in the Deco ecosystem, dropping this into the mix is usually the cleanest path to improved coverage without reinventing your entire network.

One quick expectation check: because it’s dual-band, you’re not getting a dedicated 6GHz band. If your household is packed with Wi-Fi 6E/7 devices and you want maximum headroom, that’s where the 3-pack below comes in.

The same system as a 3-pack (for actual whole-home coverage)

The TP-Link Deco 7 BE25 Wi-Fi 7 mesh system (3-pack) is $199.99 (20% off). Three nodes lets you shorten the distance between your devices and the nearest access point, which is basically how you get faster, more stable Wi-Fi in the real world.

It’s also the setup that makes features like seamless roaming actually matter: one network name, and your phone/laptop can hop to the strongest node without you playing “toggle Wi-Fi off/on” like it’s 2012. And if you can wire any of the nodes with Ethernet, you can make the whole mesh feel dramatically more consistent under load.

Wi-Fi 7 mesh system deals

• TP-Link Deco 7 BE25 dual-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh router (1-pack) $87.99 (10% off)
• TP-Link Deco 7 BE25 dual-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh system (3-pack) $199.99 (20% off)
• TP-Link Deco 7 Pro BE63 tri-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh system (3-pack) $360.00 (28% off)
• TP-Link Deco 7 BE23 dual-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh system (3-pack) $179.99 (28% off)

Wi-Fi 7 router deals

• TP-Link Archer BE550 tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router (BE9300) $176.98 (29% off)
• TP-Link Archer BE230 dual-band Wi-Fi 7 router (BE3600) $86.98 (28% off)
• TP-Link Archer BE400 dual-band Wi-Fi 7 router (BE6500) $129.99 (28% off)
• TP-Link Archer GE650 tri-band Wi-Fi 7 gaming router (BE11000) $249.99 (24% off)
• TP-Link TL-WR3602BE Wi-Fi 7 portable travel router (BE3600) $99.00 (29% off)

Wi-Fi 6E mesh and router deals

• TP-Link Deco XE75 tri-band Wi-Fi 6E mesh system (AXE5400, 3-pack) $219.98 (19% off)
• TP-Link Archer AXE75 tri-band Wi-Fi 6E router (AXE5400) $115.99 (42% off)

Extenders and access points

• TP-Link Deco 7 Outdoor BE25 Wi-Fi 7 mesh extender (BE5000, 1-pack) $129.99 (13% off)
• TP-Link RE223BE Wi-Fi 7 range extender (BE3200) $99.99 (17% off)
• TP-Link RE813XE Wi-Fi 6E range extender (AXE5400) $135.99 (20% off)
• TP-Link RE515X Wi-Fi 6 range extender (AX1500) $49.98 (17% off)
• TP-Link Omada EAP610-Outdoor outdoor Wi-Fi 6 access point $109.99 (15% off)
• TP-Link EAP650 ultra-slim Wi-Fi 6 access point $79.99 (38% off)

Adapters for Wi-Fi upgrades (USB + PCIe)

• TP-Link Archer TBE401UH Wi-Fi 7 USB adapter (BE6200) $79.98 (38% off)
• TP-Link Archer TBE550E Wi-Fi 7 PCIe card (BE9300) $69.00 (31% off)
• TP-Link Archer TBE552E Wi-Fi 7 PCIe card (BE9300) $59.99 (14% off)
• TP-Link Archer TBE400E Wi-Fi 7 PCIe card (BE6500) $53.99 (23% off)
• TP-Link Archer TXE70UH Wi-Fi 6E USB adapter (AXE5400) $59.98 (40% off)
• TP-Link Archer TX30U Plus Wi-Fi 6 USB adapter $29.69 (10% off)
• TP-Link Archer TX20U Plus Wi-Fi 6 USB adapter $28.47 (19% off)
• TP-Link Archer T3U Plus AC1300 USB Wi-Fi adapter $17.98 (22% off)

Switches, Ethernet adapters, and powerline gear

• TP-Link TL-SG105S-M2 5-port 2.5G Ethernet switch $49.99 (17% off)
• TP-Link TL-SG108S-M2 8-port 2.5G Ethernet switch $69.99 (46% off)
• TP-Link TL-SG1005P 5-port gigabit PoE switch $49.93 (17% off)
• TP-Link TL-SG116 16-port gigabit Ethernet switch $57.99 (28% off)
• TP-Link TL-SG105E 5-port gigabit easy smart switch $24.99 (17% off)
• TP-Link UE300C USB-C to Ethernet adapter $11.98 (40% off)
• TP-Link UE306 USB to Ethernet adapter $9.97 (33% off)
• TP-Link TL-PA9020P AV2000 powerline Ethernet adapter kit $89.99 (10% off)

Good PopSci links to point readers to (internal linking)

• What Wi-Fi 7 changes (and what you need to benefit)
• The best mesh Wi-Fi routers
• The best Wi-Fi extenders
• How to speed up your Wi-Fi
• How to get internet to every corner of your home

The post Get a powerful TP-Link Deco WiFi 7 mesh router for just $89 during Amazon’s flash clearance sale appeared first on Popular Science.

In a study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports, scientists with Gaston Berger University in Senegal, the Global Locust Initiative at Arizona State University (ASU), and real farmers experiencing repeated outbreaks of Senegalese grasshoppers (Oedaleus senegalensis), identified a surprisingly simple strategy. Enriching soil with nitrogen, the main building block in protein, could help control the pests using their diets.

Hacking the locust diet

In parts of the Horn of Africa, the Arabian peninsula, and across southwest Asia, desert locusts have plagued farmers in numbers not seen in decades. In response, communities have treated farmland with chemical insecticides and biopesticides. The 2019-2021 locust plague in this region cost an estimated $300 million to control. Scientists are also studying Central American locust swarms in Mexico that could spread into U.S. borders, where locust swarms have largely disappeared since the early 1900s. And as climate change creates warmer and wetter conditions, some researchers warn that certain locust species may expand their range. 

In Senegal, the potential new solution lies in how the Senegalese grasshopper fuels its swarming behavior. Protein is at the bottom of the locust food pyramid, and incorporating it could help stem swarming. In field tests, crop plots treated with nitrogen-based fertilizer yielded high-protein, low-carb crops. These are a far less tasty meal for the species, since it relies on a high-carb diet to create fat stores that power population growth and long-distance migration. 

Over several months, in central Senegal, the ASU and Gaston Berger team worked with 100 farmers from two village areas. Each farmer grew a grain called millet in two plots: one treated with commercial nitrogen fertilizer-treated plot and one untreated plot. The scientists then surveyed the field for pest abundance and damage three times throughout the growing season. They found that the fertilizer treatment significantly decreased pest abundance and crop damage, while increasing millet yield.

The researchers are among the first to demonstrate this type of outbreak management strategy with the Senegalese grasshopper,  which is just one type of grasshopper that has locust swarming tendencies. While all locusts are grasshoppers, not all grasshoppers are locusts—and only a handful among thousands of grasshopper species are considered true locusts. 

Arianne Cease, the director of ASU’s Global Initiative, tells Popular Science that she hopes this research will help farmers around the world manage grasshopper and locust outbreaks originating in agricultural fields, using soil-based strategies.

“Locust outbreaks are a highly complex, highly impactful global challenge,” Cease says. “When these upsurges happen, they dramatically affect people’s livelihoods. It’s important for us to recognize how dangerous locust outbreaks can be for food security and economic security. And we need to have a diverse set of strategies to sustainably manage them.”

A scalable solution?

According to biologists, locusts swarm under specific, often complex environmental conditions, such as above-average rainfall that creates moist soil ideal for breeding, along with periods of drought that brings resource scarcity and forces density. Close quarters and suitable breeding conditions among locusts can activate sudden and rapid breeding and collective behavior, leading to outbreaks. 

Daniel Gebregiorgis, a climate scientist with the Department of Geosciences at Georgia State University, says that while the nitrogen fertilizer-based method for locust management is a promising solution, scaling presents a possible challenge because outbreaks often occur in remote areas. Many locust management strategies also face hurdles with widespread application in places with limited connectivity.

Gebregiorgis emphasizes that this new research is particularly significant since human-caused climate change is driving an uptick in locust outbreaks. Notably, he says an increase in cyclonic activity that brought heavy rain across primary desert breeding areas in the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa fueled massive locust plagues in the region in 2020. 

“Because of global warming, many regions are receiving above-average rainfall, and coupled with increasing temperature and soil moisture, conditions that sustain locust breeding are increasingly being met,” Gebregiorgis tells Popular Science. “With increasing cyclonic activity as well, this fundamental shift in climate acts as the most important trigger for locusts. I would call locust outbreaks one of clearest manifestations of the climate crisis today.”

Human behavior such as overgrazing and overfarming can also create conditions that elicit swarming, according to Cease. Livestock overgrazing and intensive cropping can degrade land and cause soil erosion, creating nitrogen-poor soil that spawns carb-heavy plants which support locust growth and help sustain swarms traveling long distances.

‘Just insects doing their thing’

As part of their next steps, researchers at Gaston Berger University in Senegal, led by locust biologist Mamor Touré, are using compost fertilizer rather than more costly commercial fertilizer, to achieve the same effects in a more accessible and sustainable way. Cease says that their work with the Senegalese researchers supports farmers as active participants in locust management. It also may fight the perception that locust swarms are random, if not malignant, forces of nature or even divine will. 

“There’s this narrative, largely driven by our religious histories, that locusts are a plague and they arrive when you do bad things,” Cease says. “But, in fact, they’re just insects doing their thing – and there are many aspects of how we manage our landscapes or how we are broadly affecting climate that impact the probability that these locusts will form swarms.”

The post Locust swarms may meet their match in protein-enriched crops appeared first on Popular Science.

In the picture shared by the zoo, the tiny endangered primate baby stares out with its giant dark eyes so intensely you’d think it was born with its eyes open. Indeed, that’s exactly how slow lorises come out—as well as completely covered in fur. Mothers hold infants on their stomachs, occasionally placing them on a branch as they forage—and, who are we kidding, likely take a break. 

The image seems to have captured exactly that moment, with the young pygmy slow loris clinging to its branch the same way a preteen anxiously clings to a grocery cart in line for the cash register while mom sprints back to aisle three for a forgotten item. 

Not to worry, though. Time will make the furry primate more self-reliant and energetic and it will wean completely at about six-months-old. As adults, slow lorises weigh around one pound. As for whether it’s male or female, we don’t know yet—that will be revealed during its first check up with the vet. It also hasn’t been named yet. 

“As it acclimates to its environment, the newborn will remain with its mother to promote healthy growth and maternal bonding,” Keith Lovett, Director of Animal Programs at the Bronx Zoo, tells Popular Science. He adds that slow lorises are “the only known venomous primate” and “produce a toxic secretion from their brachial gland that becomes venomous when mixed with their saliva.”  

The pygmy slow loris is native to Southeast Asia and its lifespan is between one and two decades. It is listed as Endangered, according to a 2021 assessment by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Its population suffers from human-caused habitat loss and hunting for food, the pet trade, and “medicinal” reasons. The baby was presumably born within the context of the Pygmy Slow Loris Species Survival Plan. The breeding program among zoos (in which the Bronx Zoo is involved) preserves genetic diversity within the pygmy slow loris populations. 

In addition to being venomous, it is also a nocturnal primate. At the Bronx Zoo, visitors have the opportunity to see nocturnal animals in action without having to spend the night. The pygmy slow loris baby is the first primate birthed at their World of Darkness exhibit, a space that simulates nighttime darkness during the day and daytime brightness at night. 

“Bronx Zoo animal care staff will continue to closely monitor and attend to the growing baby in the zoo’s new World of Darkness exhibit, with its first veterinary exam to take place in the next few months,” Lovett concludes. 

The post This wide-eyed baby primate is cute, cuddly—and venomous appeared first on Popular Science.

“Every time I went ‘boo’ at them, they would jump,” she explained in a statement. “And so I just sort of filed it away in the back of my head for many years. Finally, I said, ‘Let’s find out if they can hear and what they can hear and why.’” 

Miles and the team brought tobacco hornworm caterpillars (Manduca sexta) into a room that is among the world’s most silent—the university’s anechoic chamber. Inside of this silent room, the team could precisely control the sound environment, as they worked to pinpoint what sounds trigger the bugs.

The team understood that caterpillars had reactions, but were not sure if it was to airborne sounds or the base’s sound vibrations they can feel with their feet. Because caterpillars often hang out on plant stems, the team had speculated that perhaps they picked up on sounds because of the plant’s vibration.

In the anechoic chamber, researchers can deliver sound and vibration independently of each other and understand the kind of response they solicit. They studied the caterpillars’ response to airborne sounds and surface vibrations at high- (2000 hertz) and low-frequency (150 hertz) sounds. 

The researchers found that caterpillars perceive both, though they had a 10- to 100-fold greater reaction to airborne sound compared to the surface vibrations that they sensed through their feet. 

The next step was figuring out how they were hearing the sounds, and to do that, the team removed some of their hairs. While that might seem like an odd strategy, many insects perceive sound through hairs that detect how it moves the air. In fact, the team’s caterpillars were less sensitive to sounds after they lost hair on their abdomen and thorax. Miles and her colleagues’ theory is that the tobacco hornworm’s hearing might be evolutionarily tuned to detect the wing beats of predatory wasps. 

Back in the world of human hearing, their research could play a role in microphone technology. 

The findings were presented at a joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the Acoustical Society of Japan in December 2025.

“There’s an enormous amount of effort and expense on technologies for detecting sound, and there are all kinds of microphones made in this world. We need to learn better ways to create them,” added Ronald Miles, a co-author of the study and a Binghamton University mechanical engineer. “And the way it’s always been done is to look at what animals do and learn how animals detect sound.”

The post Caterpillars use tiny hairs to hear appeared first on Popular Science.

No pee or poop

Unlike bears, groundhogs are true hibernators. During hibernation, they don’t eat and rely on the fat stores they have built up and go into a deep and full sleep during the winter. 

“They don’t wake up and walk around, go to the bathroom or anything like that,” Karen McDonald, STEM program coordinator at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Maryland tells Popular Science. “The waste is actually being recycled in their body.”

When they are awake in the spring, summer, and fall, groundhogs use restroom chambers in their burrows to limit odors and fecal contamination in their main chambers. They also reduce their metabolism, heart rate, and breathing rate. As a result, the little waste they create in their blood is recycled chemically into their body. 

During the winter, their body temperature also can drop from around 100 degrees Fahrenheit to around 40°F. Their heart rate slows from about 80 beats per minute to as low as four to five and about 16 breaths per minute. They also lose up to half their body weight. 

Move over, meerkats

In addition to a chamber for storing waste, a groundhog burrow system may include separate areas for sleeping, nesting, and raising young. It may also have multiple entrances for ventilation and rapid escape should a predator arrive. However, something is missing.

“Their burrows do not have the food storage or a kitchen, because they are the pantry. They’re the ones storing the food,” McDonald explains.

Groundhog burrows have the same configuration no matter the season and they are also considered important ecosystem engineers. 

“Their burrows can end up providing habitat for multiple apartment dwellers. You may find a box turtle or a rabbit family or other animals living there,” says McDonald. “It creates these habitats but also changes the soil chemistry because they’re digging and they’re mixing up the soil.”

The neighborhood watch

Groundhogs can build tunnels that are 20 to 45 feet-long thanks to their strong forelimbs and curved claws. When they make burrow tunnels, they will also create plenty of exits to escape potential predators–and warn others.

“They actually are sort of like an alarm system for the forest, because they keep watch for predators,” McDonald explains. “If groundhogs call other animals, they’ll know that the danger is nearby and will watch for predators too.”

Solitary creatures

Even though they make for pretty good neighbors, groundhogs lead fairly solitary lives. They live alone for most of the year and only come together briefly during the spring breeding season.

“They definitely like it alone, except when they have their babies. The females have the young, they rear them and they kick them out,” McDonald says.

Groundhogs are nature’s alarm clock, not weather forecaster

In the United States, the legend goes that various groundhogs can predict if spring will arrive early or if there will be six more weeks of winter weather. While there is no evidence that groundhogs can forecast the weather, they can use sunlight to tell when it is time to wake up closer to spring.

They rely on the photoperiod, or the number of consecutive hours of light in a 24-hour period, as an environmental cue. As the hours of sunlight increase towards the spring, it signals the end of winter.

“They rely on the photoperiod more than other animals to know when to wake up. And because they are so reliant, they’re like a clock,” says McDonald. “We know they’re going to emerge at that photoperiod when spring is coming.”

Ultimate survivors

Groundhogs are not considered endangered or threatened, partly because they have an incredibly varied diet. 

“They eat a lot of different types of plants,” says McDonald. “Instead of specializing, they have this broad diet that allows them to live in disturbed areas where humans are, where there’s a variety of plants. They eat different types of grasses, they might eat some clover. They like wild flowers because they’re tasty and pretty. They’ll eat leaves from plants. They might even, if there’s not a ton of food out, they might chew on some bark.”

Ancient roots

While Groundhog Day in the United States is on February 2, the celebration has deep European pagan roots. The origin likely lies in the Celtic festival of Imbolc, which marks the half-way point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. It is celebrated on February 1 and associated with the Celtic goddess of fertility (now known as St. Brigid) and celebrates longer days ahead. Groundhogs emerging from their dens were seen as a symbol that spring was on its way. 

Like many pagan traditions, Imbolc eventually merged with Christianity and became Candlemas (celebrated on February 2) in the 400s. In the Catholic Church, Candlemas commemorates the purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of Christ in the Temple and the candles needed for the year ahead are blessed.

As for why these lowly rodents continue to remain part of our end-of-winter celebrations, McDonald says it’s pretty simple. 

“Small woodland creatures are magnetic.”

The post Groundhogs don’t poop during hibernation and 6 other random facts appeared first on Popular Science.

Researchers in the Netherlands studied the four Hogwarts houses as personality types. Typically, Gryffindors are known for bravery and courage; Slytherins are known for cunning and ambition; Hufflepuffs are loyal and friendly; and Ravenclaws are diligent and shrewd. The researchers found that people who identify as Gryffindor and Slytherin are more likely to be start-up founders.

“In the Harry Potter world itself, Gryffindor and Slytherin are quite different morally,” Martin Obschonka, the lead author and a professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Amsterdam, tells Popular Science. “But they are similar in one important way—both houses are defined by a willingness to challenge rules and authority.” 

This kind of behavior, which researchers call “deviance,” is linked to entrepreneurship, the researchers say. The study was recently published in the journal Small Business Economics.

A bit of “scholarly mischief”

Researchers have long tried to understand what makes entrepreneurs tick, but most studies focus on just one trait at a time, such as creativity or risk-taking. Real people are more complex than that. Since it is very hard to measure someone’s whole character using standard surveys, Obschonka’s team decided to look beyond traditional science tools. 

At first, the idea of using fictional character types as personality profiles felt like a bit of “scholarly mischief,” Obschonka admits. However, the team used a very large dataset and results held up across two separate studies. Mischief managed. 

The link between Harry Potter houses and entrepreneurship

In the first study, the team used data from the TIME Magazine Harry Potter quiz. Nearly 800,000 people had taken the quiz online. The researchers grouped the results by U.S. regions, called Metropolitan Statistical Areas. They then compared the percentage share of each Hogwarts house in 338 regions with how many start-ups existed there.

It turned out that regions with more Gryffindors and Slytherins had more start-ups. On average, these regions showed about seven percent higher start-up density than others.

The second study focused on individuals instead of regions. Obschonka’s team surveyed a representative group of 820 U.S. residents who had taken the Harry Potter quiz, asking about their interest in becoming entrepreneurs.

The results revealed that people with Gryffindor or Slytherin personalities were more likely to say they wanted to start a business.

@clipseries90 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire#harrypotter #film #tiktok #voldemort #fypシ ♬ sonido original – ClipSeries

“Importantly, the findings held across two different levels of analysis, from large-scale regional patterns to individual psychology, which gives us greater confidence that these effects are meaningful,” Obschonka says.

‘Bright’ versus ‘dark’ deviance

Gryffindors show what the researchers call “bright deviance.” They “tend to break rules out of courage, moral conviction, and a desire to do what they believe is right,” Obschonka explains. 

Meanwhile, Slytherins show “dark deviance,” tending to “bend rules more strategically, driven by ambition, competitiveness, and calculated goal pursuit,” he says. 

Even though their reasons differ, both types of rule-breaking can lead to starting a business. This idea fits with an almost century-old theory of entrepreneurship, proposed by economist Joseph Schumpeter, which says that entrepreneurs often succeed by challenging rules and norms.

What about Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?

Other Hogwarts houses showed weaker links to entrepreneurship. Based on earlier research, Obschonka and his team think that Hufflepuff traits like loyalty and hard work may actually make people less likely to take risks or try new ideas. 

And while some studies have found that creativity and knowledge—two key Ravenclaw traits—can help in business, researchers have not found clear evidence that being generally very intelligent automatically leads to becoming an entrepreneur.

So what?

According to Obschonka, “these findings matter because they challenge the idea that there is only one good entrepreneurial personality.” Instead, different character types can succeed, as long as they are willing to challenge rules in some way.

The study also suggests that “fiction is not just entertainment,” Obschonka says. While stories like Harry Potter are not explicitly about entrepreneurship, they explore deep questions about human character, motivation, and how people relate to rules and authority. Obschonka believes entrepreneurship researchers “should take popular fictional literature more seriously as a source of insight.”

Understanding entrepreneurial character matters beyond business, Obschonka says. People with rule-challenging personalities also appear in politics and public institutions, and their attitudes toward rules can shape decisions that affect society as a whole.

The post A Harry Potter quiz may predict your career prospects appeared first on Popular Science.

The Sony World Photography Awards has announced the talented photographers shortlisted in the 2026 Student and Youth competitions. The Student competition features images from university students, while the Youth prize goes to photographers aged 19 and younger.

Aakash Gulzar, a finalist for Student Photographer of the Year, submitted a series of images titled “Kotar’baaz.” The series (seen below) documents the Indian-administered pigeon keepers of Kashmir across rooftops, shrines, and markets in Srinagar. “It’s a story of love, patience, and the enduring spirit of a place that refuses to lose its soul,” Gulzar says.

The Student Photographer of the Year and Youth Photographer of the Year will be announced on April 16, 2026, at ceremony in London.

The post 11 stunning finalists for the Youth Photographer of the Year prize appeared first on Popular Science.

The earliest and tallest of these unique systems is the Lake Wales Ridge in central Florida. It’s home to the Florida scrub millipede (Floridobolus penneri), one of North America’s biggest millipedes. This rare and little-known arthropod is unique to the Sunshine State, and can reach up to four inches in length. It moves with over 100 legs and mostly lives underground and comes out at night.

Apparently, they’re also picky when it comes to making babies. At least, the ones in the care of Anne Sawl—a graduate student in conservation biology at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg—seemed to be. It wasn’t until she put them in a kiddie pool with plants from the ridge that she found an offspring.

“One day, I was moving dirt near the roots of the plant and noticed a tiny white speck,” Sawl explained in a statement. “It caught my eye. I picked it up and realized it was a baby millipede. After so much trial and error in the lab, I was completely flabbergasted that they had reproduced.”

Maybe the millipedes weren’t used to so much attention. After all, they hadn’t been scientifically surveyed in almost 20 years. Within this context, Sawl’s research into the Florida scrub millipede’s population numbers and spread is providing new information that could aid  future conservation endeavors.. 

The endemic species is believed to be threatened by major habitat loss. Researchers estimate that human activity has destroyed 85 percent of the Lake Wales Ridge’s natural habitat from before humans settled there, according to Sawl. 

“Anne has taken a group of animals most people overlook and produced multiple chapters of publishable research with brand new information,” added  Deby Cassill, a professor of integrative biology at the University of South Florida and Sawl’s adviser. “Millipedes might not be glamorous, but they are ecological champions in these fragile habitats.”

Florida scrub millipedes play an important role in nutrient recycling—or rather, their digestive system does. They turn their plant meals into a crucial source of nutrients, according to Sawl. Yes, we’re talking about their poop. 

However, Sawl has also found that these unique, many-legged arthropods prefer mushrooms and fungi instead of some plant material researchers previously thought. They might just be picky animals through and through.

The post These rare, giant millipedes only exist in Florida appeared first on Popular Science.

February: it’s a short month, and it’s also relatively short on stargazing highlights. Still, patient stargazers will be rewarded with a memorable planetary alignment. And for those readers joining us from the Southern Hemisphere, there’s also the Alpha Centaurids meteor shower to look forward to.

February 1: Full Snow Moon

This month’s full moon falls on the very first day of the month, which means we were only one day away from one of the rarest lunar phenomena: a month with no full moon at all! This can only happen in February—since it’s the only month shorter than a full lunar cycle—and last happened in 2018. There’s no agreed-upon name for this phenomenon, but since it’s the opposite of a blue moon—the second full moon in a month with two full moons—we rather like black moon.

But anyway, there is a full moon this month, and appropriately enough, it’s called the Snow Moon, a name that will resonate with a whole lot of people in North America right now. As per the Farmer’s Almanac, the Snow Moon will creep into the winter sky at 5:09 p.m. EST on February 1, casting its pale light over the frozen landscape.

February 8: Alpha Centaurids Meteor Shower Predicted Peak

The only meteors on offer this month are the Alpha Centaurids, which are predicted to peak on February 8. Unfortunately for those of us in the frozen north, it’s the Southern Hemisphere that’ll get the best view of these meteors. That’s because from north of the equator, the radiant point (the point from which the meteors appear to originate) never rises above the horizon. Still, that’s not to say that you won’t get lucky, but we don’t recommend waiting out in the cold all night for a glimpse of a shooting star if you are not below the equator where summer is in full force.

February 28: Six Planets in Alignment

While the full moon fell on the first day of February, stargazers will have to wait until the very last day of the month for a genuine celestial highlight. But it’s one that’s worth waiting for: six planets in alignment! Four of the planets will be visible to the naked eye: gleaming Venus, fleeting Mercury, resplendent Saturn and, of course, big ol’ Jupiter. The remaining participants—distant cousins Neptune and Uranus—will be able to join the party via binoculars or a small telescope.

The planets will be strung low over the horizon about one hour after sunset, starting with Mercury in the west, hovering in the constellation Pisces. Venus will be visible nearby, with Saturn and Neptune clustered above. Jupiter will be visible just to the right of the moon, and Uranus will sit about halfway between Jupiter and the cluster of other planets, at the same elevation as the former.

All Month and Year

There’s one other sight that might await those looking to the sky this month—and, indeed, for the rest of 2026. This year promises to be a banner year for the auroras borealis and australis. As per Time and Date, the reason lies with a solar phenomenon known as the coronal hole, when  the sun’s magnetic field allows large amounts of plasma to escape into the solar system. There’s also a relatively high chance of coronal mass ejections, the powerful geomagnetic storms that can bathe  much of the world’s night sky in ghostly light in the right conditions.

Anyway, remember that you’ll get the best experience if you get away from any sources of light pollution, let your eyes acclimatize to the darkness, and check out our stargazing tips before heading off into the night.

Until next month!

The post February stargazing: A planet parade comes to town appeared first on Popular Science.

In 2020, hobbyist Michael Barkowski was combing through aerial imagery available online, when he spotted an unusual formation near the town of Aken, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in northwestern Germany. Barkowski suspected that the large rectangular outlines and apparent ditches he was seeing could be signs of marching camps that were commonly deployed by Roman legions. Although remains of such camps have been identified elsewhere in Germany, historians had not found evidence of any this far north.

After Barkowski reported the sightings, professional archaeologists from Germany’s State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt conducted their own aerial surveys. Their findings confirmed Barkowski’s hunch—and then some. Subsequent surveys revealed not just one, but four Roman marching camps spread across towns in the state dating back to the 200s CE, according to Germany’s State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony. 

The surprise findings, which the State Office calls an “archaeological sensation” carry major implications. Specifically, they suggest the Roman Empire may have advanced significantly further into Germanic territory than previously believed. They are also just the latest in a string of archaeological breakthroughs made possible by increased volunteer efforts and the widespread availability of modern aerial imagery.

Roman soldiers left behind a smattering of camps 

The Roman legion—the empire’s primary elite infantry unit—is often defined by its strict discipline and organization in battle.Their military camps weren’t any  different. Soldiers would establish the outposts at the end of a day’s march to serve as defensive positions during long military campaigns. Camps were typically rectangular with rounded corners and a gate adorning each side. Each camp was distinguished by titulum, (basically a low bank and ditch built just outside the main gate) to slow or stop an enemy’s advance. The camps varied in size, but a typical set up could house around 300 soldiers. A traveler walking through one of the camps would find the commanding officer’s tent located in the center.

Historians have documented Roman camps scattered throughout much of the empire’s border regions, where the military conducted the bulk of its campaigns. This included large parts of present-day Germany, which the Romans began conquering around 13 CE under Emperor Augustus. Fighting there continued there for the better part of 30 years, before a major defeat forced a prolonged Roman withdrawal. Fast forward nearly 200 years later to the 3rd century, and Romans returned to the region, launching a new military offensive aimed at disrupting Germanic tribes that had grown larger and more organized.

“The relationship between Romans and Germanic tribes was subsequently characterized by the defense against incursions into the Roman Empire, by punitive expeditions, but also by repeated contractual agreements and the settlement of Germanic tribes on Roman soil, as well as the payment of money in return for maintaining peace,” Germany’s State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony writes in a  press release. 

New camps sighting alter the historical record  

Although some historical records suggest that the late Roman advance may have reached as far north as the Elbe River, archaeologists had not found any physical remains to support those claims. That’s what made news of Barkowski’s initial finding so alluring to professional archaeologists. Once they confirmed the presence of the first camp in Aken, they expanded their search area and found a similar structure near Trabitz, roughly 170 miles to the south. A year later, follow-up aerial surveys identified another structure near Aken and one in Deersheim.

Those findings paved the way for a series of large, on-the-ground surveys conducted between 2024 and 2025. A team of archaeologists walked over the camps, metal detectors in hand, in search of artifacts. It was a scientific gold mine—or more accurately, an iron mine. The team documented over 1,500 individual objects, most made of iron. 

The artifacts include a variety of Roman coins and an unusually large number of nails and bolts. Researchers believe that the nails and bolts were likely attached to the soles of soldiers’ sandals to increase traction. Radiocarbon dating of the objects places them in the early third century, which just so happens to coincide with a military campaign in Germany launched by Emperor Caracalla.

The newly discovered camps bring concrete physical evidence to theories that were previously only suggested by letters and indirect artifacts. And none of that would have happened if it weren’t for a curious hobbyist looking through images.

The post How a hobbyist’s hunch uncovered hidden Roman military camps appeared first on Popular Science.

In a study recently published in the journal Biotropica, researchers from Museum Liebnitz in Bonn, Germany, analyzed available verified local cobra reports and rescue records made between 2002 and 2024 in the Goa region of southwestern India. In all, they identified 47 encounters with the Western Ghats king cobra (Ophiophagus kaalinga) over 22 years. Beyond the danger of such meetings, there was a larger problem: the Western Ghats isn’t endemic to Goa.

Herpetologist and firsthand volunteer king cobra rescuer Dikansh Parmar can personally attest to the issue. His 2017 encounter is one of his own study’s five separate snake sightings located on or near trains. Following additional interviews with local residents revealed the serpents were also spotted in villages and neighboring forests, but nowhere in the surrounding farmland.

“With the increased global availability of low-cost smartphones and social media in recent years, the number of reports of snakes on and around trains in India has increased, with three incidents recorded in a 30-day period, and many more emerging on social media,” Parmar and his co-authors wrote.

Based on these and other reports, the team developed a theory: Western Ghats cobras are hitching rides on trains to new locales. They suspect that the snakes are likely attracted to railway cars for a mixture of reasons, including prey like rodents and the lure of safe, secure shelters.

Their final destinations around Goa aren’t ideal, however. After conducting a species distribution model that integrated factors like human activity, vegetation, and climate, Parmar then compared hypothetically suitable habitats to the actual cobra rescue locations. His team discovered the snakes have the best chances for survival in Goa’s interior, away from the coast but close to rivers and streams in forests. More often, however, reports placed the snakes near railway sites that are drier, more exposed, and house fewer prey options. Instead of climate shifts forcing their migration, Parmar explained another factor is now at play.

“Our findings suggest a different, more passive mechanism: railways may act not just as corridors for active movement, but as high-speed conduits,” he wrote “This contrasts with the typically negative impact of roads, which often function as barriers or significant mortality sinks for snakes.”

Parmar’s team argued it’s very plausible that train migration routes are a vastly underreported method of travel—not only for king cobras, but other vulnerable species, as well. Only by better studying and understanding these situations can conservationists protect the animals, as well as any surprised commuters.

The post King cobras take the train in India appeared first on Popular Science.

In 2021, paleontologists discovered the extremely rare find while working in the famous Bromacker Permian dig site, about 155 miles southwest of Berlin. As they detail in a study published on January 30th in the journal Scientific Reports, the fossilized regurgitation is the oldest specimen of its kind, and contains a wealth of insights into the still frequently mysterious food chain of terrestrial dinosaurs.

What is a regurgitalite?

Bones tell researchers a lot about ancient species, but they can’t provide the whole picture. In addition to anatomical remains, paleontologists often focus on other biological samples such as coprolites, aka fossilized poop. But due to their composition, most coprolites are only preserved in aquatic settings like oceans and lakes, meaning it’s easier to reconstruct marine life menus compared to land dinosaur food webs.

This is partly why a team from Humboldt University of Berlin’s Natural History Museum and the French National Centre for Scientific Research initially suspected their fossil-in-question (known as MNG 17001) to be a coprolite. However, further analysis and morphological clues proved otherwise. Fossilized poop is usually preserved in comparatively regular cylindrical or conical shapes, with any residual bones suspended in an organic sedimentary matrix. This mineralized casing is also generally high in phosphorus—a consequence of bacterial bone digestion.

But MNG 17001 doesn’t look anything like a coprolite. The bone fragments aren’t housed in a sedimentary matrix, and it had very low phosphorus levels. Taken altogether, the team knew they were looking at a regurgitalite, or fossilized vomit, likely preserved due to the Bromacker site’s origins as a wet floodplain.

An ancient survival trick

Carnivorous dinosaurs are far from the only animals to ever regurgitate after a hefty meal. Even today, many predators frequently throw up harder-to-digest material like teeth, bones, and hair as a means to conserve overall energy. But MNG 17001 marks the first instance of a confirmed regurgitalite from a completely terrestrial Paleozoic predator.

Although paleontologists aren’t entirely sure about the identity of vomit’s creator, they have narrowed down the possibilities. Computed tomography scans allowed them to reconstruct the fossil’s dozens of half-digested bones in 3D, which they then matched to known species. These included the nearly complete maxilla (upper jawbone) of a small ancestor of today’s reptiles, Thuringothyris mahlendorffae, as well as the humerus belonging to the oldest known bipedal vertebrate, the bolosaurid Eudibamus cursoris. The final evidence—a bone from a diadectid—proved the most telling. Members of the Diadectidae were the first fully herbivorous tetrapods, as well as the first truly large land-based animals. Diadectes, for example, easily grew as big as 10-feet-long.

Potential suspects

Paleontologists aren’t sure about the specific diadectid species, but they do know that whatever feasted on it must have been equally sizable. In the Bromacker region, only two predators fit the bill. The first contender, Tambacarnifex unguifalcatus, isn’t widely known and likely resembled a huge monitor lizard. The second, Dimetrodon teutonis, is much more recognizable with its distinct sail-fin along its back.

No matter its true identity, the ancient predator’s upset stomach yielded a remarkable time capsule into Paleozoic life, death, and regurgitation. The first-of-its-kind fossilized vomit also hints at opportunistic hunting behaviors among apex land predators, and illustrates just how long carnivores have relied on the (admittedly unseemly) digestive trick to maximize their survival odds.

The post Oldest fossilized dinosaur vomit discovered in Germany appeared first on Popular Science.

In the six decades since, experts have argued at length about the pair’s relationship, sex, as well as an explanation for their unique physical features. Many have posited that the two exhibited some form of dwarfism, but direct evidence has eluded them. Now, researchers believe they have definitive answers. According to a study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Romito 1 and 2 were most likely a parent and child born with a rare genetic disorder called acromesomelic dysplasia.

AMD is one of the rarest documented genetic disorders. Only around 10 million people in the world carry the altered NPR2 gene, and of those, just 3,500 are estimated to display the physiological conditions including shortened limbs, spinal curvature, and stiff joints.

To reach their conclusions, the team collected samples from both subject’s temporal bones at the base of the skull, an area that is particularly well suited for preserving genetic material. Subsequent examination revealed a first-degree relationship between the two individuals. More specifically, Romito 1 was the mother and Romito 2 was her daughter.

“Identifying both individuals as female and closely related turns this burial into a familial genetic case,” said Daniel Fernandes, a study co-author and University of Coimbra anthropologist. “The older woman’s milder short stature likely reflects a heterozygous mutation, showing how the same gene affected members of a prehistoric family differently.”

Fernandes and colleagues also identified the homozygous variant of the NPR2 gene in Romito 2, which is critical to bone growth and likely explains her slightly taller stature. Taken altogether, the team concluded both Paleolithic women had acromesomelic dysplasia (AMD), Maroteaux type—a condition that stunts a person’s height and shortens their limbs.

Despite the physical limitations of shortened limbs, people with AMD generally maintain a normal life expectancy today. That said, it’s easy to imagine how the condition could severely hinder someone in a Paleolithic hunter-gatherer society—but that does not seem to be the case for Romito 1 and Romito 2. If anything, they experienced the exact opposite. Both survived well into late adolescence, if not full adulthood before they died. This implies a concerted, regular support system from those around them.

“We believe her survival would have required sustained support from her group, including help with food and mobility in a challenging environment,” explained study co-author Alfredo Coppa from Rome’s Sapienza University.

Beyond helping the contextualize ancient human societies, understanding and identifying genetic conditions in Paleolithic individuals could also help present-day medical research.

“Rare genetic diseases are not a modern phenomenon but have been present throughout human history,” said Adrian Daly, a study co-author from Liège University Hospital Center in Belgium. “Understanding their history may help [recognize] such conditions today.”

The post Skeletons reveal Stone Age mother and daughter had a rare genetic condition appeared first on Popular Science.

“If you go to France, it’s skijoering, pronounced SKEE-zhor-ing. In German, it’s skijöring, pronounced SHEE-yuh-ring,” says Loren Zhimanskova, founder of Skijor International and Skijor USA. “In Norway, it’s skikjøring, pronounced SHEE-shuh-ring. Every culture has its own version, and that’s part of what makes the sport so special.” 

This changeability goes beyond umlauts and accents—it’s at the heart of the evolution and modern practice of this eclectic sport.

At its core, skijoring is a winter sport in which a skier is pulled across the snow by a horse. In European competitions, the horse typically runs riderless, while in Western-stye competitions a mounted rider steers the horse through a fast-paced obstacle course.

“It’s that free-flowing, wildhearted diversity that makes our sport so attractive,” Zhimanskova says. But that diversity is also why skijoring may never again grace the Olympic stage after being included as a demonstration event in the 1920s. 

What is skijoring?

The two main ways to skijor don’t have much in common. In Europe, a lone skier navigates a riderless horse around an oval track, racing shoulder-to-shoulder with other competitors. In the American West, a rider guides the horse through an obstacle course while the skier navigates gates, lands jumps, and sometimes catches rings, all while managing roughly 33 feet of rope at speeds that can reach 40 mph.

What does it feel like to travel on horse-drawn skis? Zhimanskova says the sensation is similar to waterskiing: sitting back slightly against the pull of the rope, keeping the knees flexed, and relying on arm and leg strength to stay upright.

“It might be a bit easier than water skiing, because with waterskiing, you have to go fast to stay afloat,” she says. “With a horse, you can go slower.”

Zhimanskova notes that skijoring has a very different sensation than horseback riding on snow. With the skier’s weight distributed across skis rather than concentrated in a saddle, the horse can move more efficiently over snowy terrain, while the rider and skier are able to navigate sharper turns without destabilizing the horse. 

From winter work to winter sport

Long before skijoring became a competitive sport, it was a practical form of winter transportation. The Sami people of Scandinavia used skis and reindeer to efficiently traverse snowy expanses, and Nordic militaries later adapted the practice to move troops and supplies through harsh winter conditions.

Over time, people began to appreciate a different aspect of this snowy time-saver—it was fun. By the early 1900s, skijoring had evolved into a recreational activity in the Alps, where it developed into an organized sporting activity. It eventually attracted some high-profile fans, including Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the Winter Olympics. His enthusiasm for the sport led to its inclusion as a demonstration event at the 1924 Games in Chamonix, France, and again in the 1928 Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

As the sport eventually made its way west, it evolved a distinctly American style. By around 1914, American tourists began bringing skijoring back from their European vacations, and it began appearing at resorts like Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, New York. These early U.S. iterations hewed closely to the European roots of the sport.

“The Western version started in towns like Jackson, Steamboat, and Banff, and was more free-spirited and rugged, more about testing your skills,” says Zhimanskova. “That’s how rodeo started. Cowboys roped as part of their jobs, but when they had time off they said, ‘Well, who can rope the best?’ It became a friendly competition, and then evolved into a structured sport, like rodeo.”

Skijoring continues to take many forms

In modern practice, skijoring has splintered into a wide range of styles—not even the horse is set in stone. Some skijorers are pulled by dogs or miniature ponies, others by snowmobiles, motorcycles, or cars, and at least one donkey has reportedly gotten in on the action. Still, the most common form of the sport involves a skier pulled by a galloping horse, either with a rider or without.

It’s uncertain whether skijoring will reappear in future Winter Olympics. Zhimanskova believes gaining approval from the International Olympic Committee would require a level of international standardization that might be at odds with the sport’s notoriously untamed nature. 

Still, some efforts have been made to add structure to the sport without sacrificing its freewheeling spirit. Zhiimanskova helped establish the SkijorCup, a standardized point system designed to connect competitions across events while preserving the sport’s culture and emphasis on equine safety.

“Skijoring races have always resisted a governing body because people involved in the sport are so inherently independent,” she says. “But that doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to work together to grow and improve. The trick is finding the right formula that unifies, allows for independence, and doesn’t involve governing or sanctioning.”

Beyond the competition itself, modern skijoring has developed a distinct visual culture that’s part of what makes it so magnetic. Modern skijoring events in the American West often look like a mashup of apres-ski attire and Yellowstone-esque Western flair.  

Fur coats, chaps, and cowboy hats add a renegade swagger to pristine snowscapes, and participants and spectators alike embrace the sport’s anything-goes aesthetic. Some competitions even celebrate skijor chic through organized “red carpet” events. 

“I always say it’s the Kentucky Derby, but on snow with a twist,” says Kylee Nielson, a competitive skijor rider who, together with skier Magnolia Neu, took home the first-ever Women’s Division championship buckle at PRO Skijor’s recent Frontier Tour in Heber City, Utah. 

“Tons of fur coats, cowboy hats, chaps—the crazier, the better.” 

“Three heartbeats” 

Beneath the chaps-clad pageantry, skijoring relies on an intimate partnership of timing and trust, leaving little room for error. Megan Smith, a novice skijorer married to seasoned competitor Patrick Smith, has come to understand that firsthand.

“It’s a sport of three athletes, not just the rider and the skier,” says Megan, a former restaurateur and photographer who connected with Patrick after posting her photos of his races. “Skijor is rider, skier, and horse.”

“They call it ‘three heartbeats,’” adds Patrick.

The phrase exemplifies how closely the sport binds this essential trio, who share very real consequences if one “heartbeat” should fall out of sync. 

This three-athlete interdependency was truly driven home recently for Patrick. During a two-day event, he was riding near the top of a stacked field when a turn went wrong. The horse, Lady Porcha, lost her footing on the icy course and went down, sending both of them sliding briefly across the track. 

Lady Porcha quickly got to her feet and finished the run uninjured, but Patrick was knocked to the ground as the skier’s rope caught his spur and pulled his boot free.

“You skipped like a stone on a pond,” Megan recalls.

The fall drew a collective gasp from the crowd, and people rushed in to help. Patrick walked away with a twisted ankle, shaken but intact—and relieved, above all, that the horse was okay.

Patrick and Megan participate in skijoring competitions throughout the winter. While Patrick approaches the sport as a serious contender, Megan—who picked up a win of her own recently—is more drawn to the fun of it all.

“He’s like ‘I’m here to win,’ and I’m there to see my friends,” says Megan. “We’ve found a really good community here.  Everyone is positive and roots for each other.”

The post The extreme sport of skijoring, where horses pull skiers at 40 mph appeared first on Popular Science.

For many ecologists, monitoring individual animals over long periods of time—even years—is crucial to conservation efforts. But even the experts easily get confused. This is especially true given a bear’s often dramatic, seasonal weight fluctuations, as well as how physically different they may look pre- and post-hibernation. To help wildlife biologists make sense of it all, a team at Switzerland’s EPFL and Alaska Pacific University (APU) has developed PoseSwin, a machine learning program capable of telling brown bears apart from one another. The technology was recently detailed in a study recently published in the journal Cell Current Biology.

PoseSwin was trained on over 72,000 photos of 109 different brown bears taken by APU researcher Beth Rosenberg between 2017 and 2022. Rosenberg captured the images at all times of day and night and in various weather conditions, while also making sure to document the bears in a variety of behaviors. She and her colleagues then relied on their existing knowledge of brown bear physiology to determine the handful of anatomical details that remain relatively constant over the animal’s life. These features include their brow bone angle, ear placement, and muzzle shape. Next, they incorporated data on how bears looked in different poses and at varying angles.

“Our biological intuition was that head features combined with pose would be more reliable than body shape alone, which changes dramatically with weight gain,” explained Alexander Mathis, a project collaborator and researcher at EPFL’s Brain Mind Institute and Neuro-X Institute. “The data proved us right—PoseSwin significantly outperformed models that used body images or ignored pose information.”

From there, the team took PoseSwin for a field test with help from citizen scientists. After amassing more brown bear portraits from visitors to Katmai National Park and Preserve (home of Fat Bear Week), researchers fed the photos into the machine learning program. In multiple cases, PoseSwin successfully matched individual bears to those already in its database. Already, PoseSwin’s designers could begin to track how and where these predators moved in search of seasonal food.

“This is a concrete example of the PoseSwin model’s potential,” said Rosenberg. “The technology could eventually be used to analyze the thousands of pictures that visitors take every year and help to build a map of how brown bears use this expansive area.”

Rosenberg and her colleagues are now using PoseSwin to monitor over 100 bears living around McNeil River State Game Sanctuary without disrupting their daily habits. In doing so, they should gain more accurate information on the bears’health and wellbeing, providing a much needed boost to conservation efforts.

“Bears are at the top of the food chain and ensure the proper functioning of their ecosystem. They are critical to maintaining healthy systems,” explained Rosenberg.

PoseSwin likely won’t remain so bear-centric. Early benchmark tests indicate it’s also incredibly accurate when trained on macaques, suggesting it could soon expand to handle many other species. The machine learning algorithm is also available open-source, so anyone can access it for their own subject—although there’s a good chance none of them will be harder for PoseSwin to identify.

“Bears are perhaps the hardest species to recognize individually,” said Mathis. “We focused on them first with the idea that our program could be adapted to other species, from mice to chimps.”

The post Facial recognition AI trained to work on bears appeared first on Popular Science.

The document is part of a collection of over 400 historic items scheduled for auction in May, and is set to coincide with the 250th anniversary of American independence. However, this isn’t necessarily a recognizable version of the Declaration of Independence. Instead of a carefully handwritten piece of parchment (what’s known as an engrossed copy), this variant is one of the few surviving broadside editions. A broadside is a large, single-sided page of printed material, and was one of the easiest and most popular ways to spread public information at the time.

In this case, Declaration of Independence broadsides were distributed throughout the colonies shortly after the original document was signed. The copies were then read at town gatherings and posted in public forums to raise awareness of their cause and win people over to the idea of breaking away from Britain.

Although the broadside headed to auction this year doesn’t include a specific printer’s mark, Goldin appraisers believe additional contextual details trace it back to a publisher in Exeter, New Hampshire. Around 125 July 1776 broadsides are known to still exist today, but only 10 examples remain of this specific edition.

Goldin didn’t offer a valuation estimate, but it will probably sell for a hefty price based on similar, recent auctions. On January 23rd, anExeter broadside in similar condition offered by Christie’s sold for nearly $5.7 million.

The Declaration of Independence is a remarkable historical document not only for its ambitions, but how it justified severing colonial ties with Britain. Its authors included a list of 27 specific grievances citing “repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.” These included obstructing the “Administration of Justice,” and “[keeping] among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.”

The post Rare copy of Declaration of Independence going to auction appeared first on Popular Science.

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Prices and availability are subject to change.

The post Amazon is clearing out Dewalt power tools and batteries: Get a battery 2-pack for just $91.46 shipped appeared first on Popular Science.

Like many bodies of water, Lake Lipno is no stranger to cyanobacteria. The photosynthetic blue-green algae typically flourishes during the warmer months of summer and autumn, particularly in an environment with excess nutrients—a process known as eutrophication. Cyanobacteria blooms are notoriously foul-smelling, but the real issue is the damage they wreak on local ecologies. Each bloom produces exponentially growing waves of cyanotoxins that can poison and even kill nearby aquatic organisms. Unfortunately, these algae incidents are increasing due to climate change and human pollution, particularly industrial phosphorus runoff.

In the Czech Republic, most freshwater reservoirs usually see cyanobacterial blooms dissipate by the end of September. However, Lake Lipno has long experienced longer algae seasons. Marine biologists have repeatedly recorded sizable cyanobacteria populations through November, and occasionally into December and even January. Similar conditions at the end of 2025 allowed a biomass of algae to linger near the lake’s surface until the water began to freeze. According to researchers, weeks of sunshine, calm weather, and fair wind conditions were likely to blame. They also confirmed that their field samples contained the common cyanobacteria species Woronichinia naegeliana.

While the thin ice cover was itself transparent, the cyanobacteria retained its telltale green color that could easily be seen from the shore and overhead. A brief warm spell near December 24th melted some of the ice, which then refroze . The differences in solar radiation absorption allowed these new patches of clear ice to develop over darker areas of algae, forming what are called “cyanobacterial eyes.” The bloom only dissipated after heavy snowfall finally blocked enough light from reaching it beneath the ice.

It’s unclear how these icy winter blooms will affect their ecosystems, but unfortunately, similar incidents will almost certainly become more common—both at Lake Lipno and in other waters around the world. In the United States, it’s possible that cyanobacteria sightings could soon stretch into December or even January.

“Green ice on Lake Lipno fits into the long-term changes we observe here in connection with eutrophication and ongoing climate change,” said hydrobiologist Petr Znachor. “It suggests that we may witness similar surprises more frequently in the future.”

The post Toxic algae turned a frozen lake green appeared first on Popular Science.

The Svalbard archipelago is located halfway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The remote region is home to a seed vault, about 2,100 people, and some unique wildlife—including the world’s smallest reindeer. There are also an estimated 3,000 polar bears and about 300 remain on Svalbard year-round, while others migrate. Internationally, polar bears have been protected from hunting since 1973, so their primary threats are increased temperatures due to climate change, habitat and food resource loss, and encroachment by humans. 

Since 1980, temperatures in the Barents Sea region surrounding Svalbard have increased up to two degrees Celsius (about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade. However, a 2004 census of the Barents Sea polar bear population counted approximately 2,650 individuals and that number did not shrink in size until recently. The reasons behind the decrease have been unclear.

In the new study, Norwegian Polar Institute polar bear ecologist Jon Aars and colleagues investigated why the Svalbard population has remained so stable. 

“Svalbard (and the Barents Sea area) has experienced a much faster loss of sea ice than other areas having polar bears,” Aars tells Popular Science. “The bears are not hunted, they have few competitors when on land, and they may have more alternative prey sources when on land than in most other areas.”

They poured over data from 1,188 body measurement records of 770 adult polar bears taken between 1992 and 2019. They specifically looked at the bears’ body composition index (BCI). BCI indicates the amount of fat reserves and body condition in the bears. The team compared BCI with the number of ice-free days in the Barents Sea region across the 27-year period. 

While there were roughly 100 more ice-free days (about four days per year), the sampled polar bears’ BCI increased after the year 2000. According to Aars, this surprising result indicates that their fat reserves increased as sea ice levels decreased.

These improvements in the body conditions might be due to a population increase in the reindeer and walrus that the polar bears eat. The sea ice loss may also lead to more ringed seals gathering in smaller areas of sea ice, which could make polar bear hunting more efficient. 

However, the team believes that further reductions in sea ice may negatively affect the Svalbard populations, as it could increase the distances they need to travel to access their hunting ground. This has already been observed in other polar bear populations. 

Aars is also interested in studying their land-based diet more and how much energy they have to burn when the sea ice is lower in the summer. He also stresses that more research—particularly long-term research— is needed to better understand how different polar bear populations will adapt to a warming Arctic.

“You need to study the population [if] you want to know how [it] is coping,” says Aaars. “You cannot extrapolate findings from other areas where things may be very different.”

The post Svalbard polar bears are doing surprisingly well (for now) appeared first on Popular Science.

First, an Olympic medal

By 1912, Noel-Baker had already earned honors in history and economics at Cambridge, and he was on the way to a graduate degree in international law.

But the 22-year-old was also president of the Cambridge Athletic Club, and that July he took some time off from his studies to join the British track and field team for the fifth modern Olympic Games in Stockholm.

It was an eventful Olympiad. The American multi-sport phenom Jim Thorpe easily won the pentathlon and decathlon, prompting an impressed King Gustav V of Sweden to declare Thorpe “the greatest athlete in the world.” That year saw the Olympic debuts of equestrian sports, women’s aquatics, and the nation of Japan.

Great Britain took home a silver in tug-of-war, just one of 41 medals British athletes won that year. Noel-Baker was not among them; he ran the 800 and 1500-meter races, taking sixth place in the latter. 

It may not have been his best showing, but Noel-Baker—who hyphenated his name when he married his wife, Irene Noel, in 1915—did better at the next Olympiad, held in Antwerp in 1920, after the 1916 Olympics were cancelled due to World War I.

That year, the 30-year-old won silver in the 1500 meter race, his only Olympic medal. But nearly four decades later Noel-Baker would return to Scandinavia for a gold one. 

Then, a Nobel Peace Prize

Noel-Baker’s father, a successful London businessman and dedicated pacifist, put his own belief in public service into action as a member of the London County Council and, later, in the House of Commons. Noel-Baker took after his father, and was dismayed when war came to Europe so soon after the jubilant spectacle of internationalism he had witnessed in Stockholm.

On August 4, 1914, Noel-Baker “listened to Big Ben strike midnight as the Horse Artillery thundered along the Embankment to Victoria to entrain for France,” he later recalled. “And we knew that the guns were already firing, that the First World War had come.”

A conscientious objector, he would devote his own war effort to organizing ambulance services for Allied soldiers injured on the front lines, earning multiple citations for valor. But like many who had seen the worst of the so-called Great War, Noel-Baker returned with an even greater zeal for peace. 

After the war, Noel-Baker served as principal assistant to Lord Robert Cecil, one of the architects of the League of Nations (and himself a future Nobel Laureate). He continued working for the League in various capacities throughout the 1920s and for most of the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s and ’60s served in Parliament as a minister from the Labor Party.

After World War II, he joined the effort to replace the flawed League with what would become the United Nations, working tirelessly all the while for multilateral disarmament. 

While some of his contemporaries advocated a realpolitik approach, or even hewed to the idea that powerful weapons were the best deterrent against violence, Noel-Baker “believed fervently in the cause of peace and advocated disarmament as the only answer to war,” said Professor Michael E. Cox, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics, in a 2024 lecture. “In other words, he was not a realist. He was what many called him at the time, a romanticist—dare I even use the word—a utopian.” 

Undeterred by Noel-Baker’s critics, the Norwegian Nobel Committee granted him the Peace Prize in 1959, shortly after the publication of his book, The Arms Race: A Programme for World Disarmament, which offered a detailed plan for getting rid of both nuclear and conventional weapons.

Philip Noel-Baker’s legacy

Eight more Olympics had taken place since Noel-Baker won his silver medal, the games interrupted by yet another world war. Meanwhile, new weapons had been developed, weapons more terrible than previous generations could have imagined. Noel-Baker, now nearing 70 years old, used his Nobel Lecture to look back on a dangerous half century, and to issue a warning to the future.

“The arms race still goes on; but now far more ferocious, far more costly, far more full of perils, than it was then,” he said. “It is the strangest paradox in history; every new weapon is produced for national defense; but all experts are agreed that the modern, mass-destruction, instantaneous delivery weapons have destroyed defense.”

Trying to curb war with rules and limits had come to nothing, he argued. Instead, he issued a challenge to the international community, the building of which had been his life’s work, from the track to the treaty table. Proudly utopian to the last, he declared, “I start with a forthright proposition: it makes no sense to talk about disarming unless you believe that war, all war, can be abolished.”

In That Time When, Popular Science tells the weirdest, surprising, and little-known stories that shaped science, engineering, and innovation.

The post The only person to win an Olympic medal and a Nobel Peace Prize appeared first on Popular Science.

This deal drops pants to $25 and some hoodies under $20. You’ll be hard-pressed to find prices like this for lesser quality clothes at cheap big box stores. Grab your preferred color and size while they’re still in stock.

Editor’s picks

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You can have never too many hoodies, and they’re roughly $20 with this deep discount. It’s soft on the inside, tough on the outside, and has a great graphic that actually looks cool on the front.

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Related reading on PopSci

• How to dress for cold-weather adventures
• Winter hiking tips for staying comfortable
• Our guide to the best winter jackets
• How to sleep warm when you’re outdoors in winter
• Tips for buying and caring for long-lasting fabrics

The post This Dickies winter clearance sale has pants, jackets, hoodies, flannels, and more up to 70% off appeared first on Popular Science.

The wreck of the Lawrence N. McKenzie

On March 21, 1890, a ship named the Lawrence N. McKenzie was nearing the end of an over 1,600 mile journey. The 98-foot-long schooner’s eight crewmembers expected to soon reach New York City with a cargo full of oranges, but they never reached their destination. 

Contemporary accounts reported the ship soon became stranded in a heavy fog near Barnegat, New Jersey. Although rescuers successfully saved the entire crew and their captain (who shared the schooner’s name), the vessel wasn’t so lucky. It had already taken on at least six feet of water by the time it was abandoned, and the McKenzie eventually succumbed to the Atlantic Ocean waters. 

The McKenzie didn’t have a particularly long career at sea. Constructed in 1883 in Essex, Massachusetts, it spent less than seven years in service. It was valued at around $9,000 at the time, and contained about $2,000 worth of citrus when it sank into the Atlantic in 1890.

Revealed by winter waves and wind

Not a single trace of the McKenzie was seen again for almost 136 years, but seasonal conditions in the area finally made it possible.

“Beach erosion during the winter months is common at Island Beach State Park and is part of a natural, cyclical process. Each year, high-energy waves and seasonal storms remove sand from the shoreline, resulting in narrower beaches and steeper profiles,” Island Beach State Park officials wrote on social media. “Most beaches recover from the erosion during the calmer summer months—but for now, this winter’s erosion has revealed a glimpse into the park’s maritime history.”

Island Beach State Park staff are keeping an eye on the weathered, wooden framework until maritime archaeologists can further examine the discovery. While they’re fine with admiring the unique find at a distance, they also issued a warning to any would-be historical plunderers.

“Touching or removing any part of these resources is prohibited. Violations are subject to summonses issued by the New Jersey State Park Police,” they cautioned.

The post Winter storms uncover 19th-century shipwreck on New Jersey beach appeared first on Popular Science.

A stable posture helps dogs (and humans) stand still, walk, and run without falling. In order to maintain stability, the muscles rely on visual cues and the body’s sense of its own position. For humans, external sounds may also influence our body’s stability, with high-pitched frequencies linked to destabilization and white noise linked with stabilization. However, not many studies have examined how sounds affect animals’ posture and stability.

In the new study, a team at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, measured changes in balance in 23 pet dogs upon hearing both happy and angry human voices. To do this, they placed the dogs on a pressure-sensing platform that picked up the dogs’ small movements.

When the team tallied the individual changes of all 23 dogs, the responses varied. Happy voices were linked with destabilization for 57 percent of the dogs. Surprisingly, happy voices were also linked to destabilization for 43 percent of the dogs tested. Angry human voices were associated with the most severe destabilization in 30 percent of dogs, while 70 percent did not show any changes to their balance.

According to the team, these findings suggest that both happy and angry human voices can trigger an emotional response that affects a dog’s balance. However, the sample size is small, so additional research on a larger pool of dogs is needed to draw major conclusions. Future studies could explore if an animal’s prior experience affects its reactions, and if freezing in response to happy voices is related to waiting for their human to approach. 

The post Angry yelling can throw a dog off balance appeared first on Popular Science.

While viral headlines occasionally highlight various roadkill gourmands, the expired creatures actually have many other benefits. A team of biologists at Australia’s Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) investigated what happens when scientists frequently use these natural cadavers in their own work. According to their findings recently published in the journal Biology Letters, roadkill is being tapped for a wide array of investigations—but the possibilities are even greater and more sustainable than most people realize.

“Because the animals are already dead, researchers can often avoid live capture and handling, aligning perfectly with global animal-ethics principles that encourage replacing invasive methods wherever possible,” study co-author and RMIT biologist Christa Beckmann explained in a statement.

Along with colleagues from Western Sydney University, Deakin University, and Trent University, Beckmann evaluated 312 peer-reviewed studies from 67 countries around the world that focused on goals “other than enumerating or mitigating roadkill.” They tallied at least 650 species—mostly mammals,followed by reptiles, birds, amphibians, and invertebrates. In total, the team identified around 117 different use cases for roadkill in various scientific projects.

“We found examples of successfully using roadkill to map species distributions, monitor disease and environmental pollution, study diets, track invasive species, [and] supply museum collections,” Beckmann said. In some instances, she added that roadkill also helped identify local populations previously believed extinct and even included species “previously unknown to science.”

Beckmann knows the streetside casualties aren’t appropriate for all research projects and come with their own biosafety considerations, but still believes there are far more uses for them waiting to be explored.

“While roadkill will always be tragic, using these losses wisely could help drive scientific discovery and conservation forward, rather than letting valuable information decompose by the roadside,” she said. 

The post Roadkill is a surprising and untapped source for scientists appeared first on Popular Science.