The Best of Popular Science
20+ most popular Popular Science articles, as voted by our community.
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How to turn your voice memos into text
Taking voice memos is easy way to record ideas. But transcribing your voice notes is a pain. Here are 5 tools to help turn them into text.
Apollo 17: Looking back at the last time the US landed on the moon
The 1972 lunar landing concluded a pioneering time for moon exploration.
The mystery of cats and their love of imaginary boxes
You can't get inside your cat's brain, but you can try.
Popular Science on Bees
What’s stranger than bees telling time? How we learned that they can.
Bees can tell time—and even get jet lag. But that's not something scientists could simply assume. Here's how to test the sensory perception of an insect.
Popular Science on Burnout
Burnout is real. Here's how to spot it—and recover.
Burnout is different from depression and anxiety, and fixing it isn't as simple as sleeping more or spending time on self-care.
Popular Science on Fitness
The truth about oil pulling, apple cider vinegar, and other trendy cleanses
Some supposed detoxes are harmless, but a few of them carry real health risks—and don't actually do any good. Here's what you should do instead.
Popular Science on Health
Why you might feel older than you actually are
Biological age is another way to think about and measure how your body is aging. But doctors say you don't need to stress out about it.
Hydration seems to be the key to aging better and living longer
A study using 30 years of data links good hydration to a lower risk of developing some chronic illnesses and premature aging.
Popular Science on Long Covid
The long road back to fitness after COVID
Returning to exercise after a COVID-19 diagnosis can be a challenging, uncertain task. But every day we learn more about how to work out after an infection.
What patients find at long COVID clinics: rejection, outdated therapies, and unanswered questions
Patients seeking long COVID treatment say that even at specialized post-COVID care centers and clinics, doctors have ignored their concerns and symptoms.
Popular Science on Nature
When these reptiles became city lizards, it changed their genes
Puerto Rican lizards have parallel genomic markers across urban ecosystems that differ from members of their species in the wild.
A virgin shark birth is baffling biologists
A baby shark born at Shedd Aquarium without sperm has biologists puzzled about the circumstances surrounding virgin births in zebra sharks.
Popular Science on Science
Inside the lab that’s growing mushroom computers
It's not "The Last of Us," but it sure is weird. Here's how mushrooms and fungi can be used to carry out problems computers typically solve.
These 10 scientists are on the cusp of changing the world
It's the Brilliant 10 class of 2023.
Popular Science on Weight Loss
Five nutrition goals that are better than weight loss
Diets are a common New Year's resolution, but focusing on weight loss isn't the best way to improve your health. Try these diet tricks instead.
Popular Science on Workouts
How to get muscle gains: A beginner’s guide to becoming buff
If you want to be buff for summer the time to start hitting the gym is now. This is how you grow muscle in an efficient and healthy way.
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Where to find, edit, and remove everything your browser knows about you
Autocomplete features are super useful, but it's important to be aware of what your browser is saving and where you can access it.
Just five excellent science books you should read
Info-packed, engaging books about our universe and ourselves.
«Experts in the fields of consciousness, dreams, memory, psychiatric illness, meditation and more summarize the latest research and then engage in a dialogue with the Dalai Lama. For those who swing on the spiritual side, this ‘contemplative science’ offers a bridge between the rational realm and the unknown.»
A beginner’s guide to how cryptocurrencies work
For those who are just wading into the crypto territory, here’s a basic explainer on how the computer science behind these systems work.
«Whether you’re on the head or tail end of the cryptocurrency craze, one thing is for sure: These digital assets are hitting the mainstream hard, and don’t seem to be going away anytime soon. Notably, the country of El Salvador recently adopted bitcoin as legal tender, and New York’s incoming mayor Eric Adams is intent on transforming New York City into a hotspot for cryptocurrency. »
Some rivers suddenly change course, and we may finally know why
With enough flooding and other edits to a landscape, rivers may abruptly chart new, more favorable paths, known as avulsions.
«But when they do, scientists who study rivers use a special term: an avulsion. Avulsions are rare, but as the Koshi River disaster showed, the consequences can be catastrophic.»
The 100 greatest innovations of 2022
Popular Science's 35th annual Best of What's New awards include the James Webb Space Telescope—and 99 other technologies shaping our future.
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