Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. What’s fragrant, floral, and perfectly devious? If you’re confused, imagine what it must be like for the bees ensnared in the colorful clutches of a pink lady’s slipper (Cypripedium acaule). This large species of wildflower has ingenious pollinating tactics…
PORNAINEN, Finland — Engineers will soon begin testing a new “sand battery” that will convert energy stored as heat back into power that can be fed into the electricity grid. However, they say challenges lie ahead, with investment cost potentially putting customers off. Polar Night Energy’s existing sand battery model stores renewable electricity by using…
You probably own at least one device that relies on infrared communication. Infrared is the key to making dumb devices smart for a fraction of the price it would cost for a new “smart” appliance. Thankfully, Home Assistant makes it easier than ever in the April 2026 release. You can’t see it, but infrared is…
Gray whales undertake long spring time migrations north up the Pacific Coast to feed in the Arctic using up their nutritional reserves along the way, John Calambokidis, a research biologist with the Cascadia Research Collective, told the Associated Press. “When that happens, you often see gray whales in a more desperate search for new areas…
HOUSTON (AP) — With the moon looming ever larger, the Artemis II astronauts raced to set a new distance record Monday from Earth on a lunar fly-around promising magnificent views of the far side never seen before by eye. The six-hour flyby is the highlight of NASA’s first return to the moon since the Apollo…
This ancient Egyptian beadnet dress was fashionable back when the pyramids were built. (Image credit: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Public Domain)) QUICK FACTS Name: Beadnet dress What it is: A beaded funeral dress Where it is from: Giza, Egypt When it was made: Circa 2551 to 2528 B.C. Archaeologists discovered this beaded ensemble in…
This image provided by NASA shows the moon from a photo taken by The Artemis II crew on day 4 of their journey to the Moon on Saturday, April 4, 2026. (NASA via AP) AP This photo provided by NASA shows the Earth seen from a window on the Orion spacecraft Integrity during the Artemis…
A teenage surfer bitten by a shark at a South Australian beach has described how he “flicked it off” and “legged it back to shore”. Oliver Tokic-Bensley, 16, was bitten on his foot while surfing on Good Friday near his family beach house at Middleton, 80km south of Adelaide. The year 11 student, who has…
Wildfires are becoming more frequent and are ravaging new parts of the world due to global warming. A study led by researchers from the University of Gothenburg shows that this change is increasing the vulnerability of thousands of plants, animals and fungi. Source: Read Full Article
Another cyclone may hit the Queensland coast just over three weeks after the same area was smashed by Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle, the Bureau of Meteorology says. But a meteorologist warned forecasts predicting the path and strength of Severe Tropical Cyclone Maila remained uncertain, with the storm likely to make landfall over the weekend. Maila…
