Posts

May 17, 2013

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6:30 PM | America's Road To Energy Independence, Part 1

A four-part series on the clean technologies that will set us free Our series follows editor-in-chief Jacob Ward on a trip across the country and around the world to see firsthand the ideas that could usher in a new era of true energy independence for the United States. First up: a solar cell in every bolt of fabric. Read about these ideas, and more, in the June issue.-Eds

May 16, 2013

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4:56 PM | Google And NASA Team Up In Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab

D-Wave Quantum Computer D-Wave Why not use a crazy sci-fi technology (quantum computing) to solve a classic crazy sci-fi problem (artificial intelligence)? Google announced today a partnership with NASA and D-Wave to launch a lab to solve artificial intelligence problems with the aid of quantum computing. Quantum computing is in its infancy, but it's still very tough to wrap one's head around. Here's one way to think of it: traditional computers complete calculations based on bits. A bit can […]

May 13, 2013

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8:45 PM | Father's Day Gift Guide [SPONSORED POST]

DeWalt - Father's Day Gift Guide It's that time of year again when we express our appreciation for dear old dad. If your father is like most, he can be difficult to shop for. But don't panic, DEWALT has your back with some great gift ideas that will make the most fastidious father jump for joy. Whether your dad is a licensed contractor or just likes to work on that old '66 Chevrolet Camaro, DEWALT's Father's Day lineup will equip him with the most professional tools on the block. Pear […]

April 25, 2013

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7:14 PM | Canon's New imageFORMULA P-208 "Scan-tini" Mobile Document Scanner

Canon imageFORMULA P-208 Personal Solutions For Scanning And Sharing On The Go. Smart, Stylish, And Easy To Connect. This ultra-compact personal document scanner measures a mere 2-inches wide and a tad longer than a standard ruler, slides easily into a briefcase or laptop bag. It can scan single or double-sided documents up to 8-1/2 x 11 inches, including receipts, business cards, photographs, bills, and contracts, on the go at up to 8 pages-per-minute, and convert them to digital files that […]

April 12, 2013

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2:30 PM | Glow-Stick Waterfalls And Other Amazing Images From This Week

Glowing Waterfalls Sean Lenz and Kristoffer Abildgaard via ColossalPlus a brand-new species of hermit crab, a keyboard-inspired couch and more Click here to enter the gallery

April 03, 2013

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4:00 PM | Gallery: April 2013's Hottest Gadgets

A waterproof MP3 player, a boot that adapts to terrain, a football that can soar 100 yards and more

March 29, 2013

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9:30 PM | This Week In The Future: One More Mission, Fido

This Week In The Future, March 25-29, 2013 BaarbarianIn the future, virus-infected mice will take advantage of our gaming habit. Want to win this addictive Baarbarian illustration on a T-shirt? It's easy! The rules: Follow us on Twitter (we're @PopSci) and retweet our This Week in the Future tweet. One of those lucky retweeters will be chosen to receive a custom T-shirt with this week's Baarbarian illustration on it, thus making the winner the envy of friends, coworkers and everyone else with […]

March 13, 2013

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6:29 PM | Their Big Eyes May Have Caused Neanderthals' Demise

Prehistoric Face-Off A comparison of skull features of an anatomically modern human and a Neanderthal. WikipediaThe species may have gone extinct because their eyes demanded too many neural resources. Anyone stuck with glasses knows the envy of those with killer eyesight. But visual acuity apparently came at a price, at least for Neanderthals. According to a paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B this week, Neanderthals' visual acuity in the low-light conditions of northern […]

February 15, 2013

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4:43 PM | Astronomers: Russia's Meteorite Is Not Related To Today's Near-Earth Asteroid Fly-By

Meteor Morning Screenshot via YouTubeNASA and the ESA say the two astronomical events are not connected. Mere hours before an asteroid half the size of a football stadium brushes past Earth with only a few thousand miles to spare, a meteorite hurtled into Central Russia, injuring as many as 1,000 people. It wouldn't be far-fetched for the two events to be related, since asteroids tend to group together, and many meteorites found on Earth have originated in the asteroid belt. Yet despite the […]

February 13, 2013

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9:00 PM | Live From The White House: A Q&A About Climate And Energy

Our own senior editor Paul Adams is at the White House night now, conducting a live-streamed Q&A with Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Policy. He's asking your questions to the people that matter. Check out the livestream above.

January 25, 2013

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7:59 PM | BeerSci: What Is The Difference Between A Lager And An Ale?

Beersci Logo Todd DetwilerHint: it has nothing to do with the beer's flavor. For the average beer drinker, the difference between an ale and a lager comes down to how the beer looks, smells, and tastes. Ales tend to be fruity-estery, while lagers are clean-tasting and frequently described as "crisp." But to a brewer, the difference is more fundamental than that. It's not color, or flavor, or aroma, or hop/grain/malt varietals or even water hardness that separates a lager from an ale. Simply […]

January 15, 2013

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4:30 PM | Watch A Virus Infect An E. Coli Cell

Observing a virus infecting a cell for the first time has changed the way we understand the process. Ten years ago, Ian Molineux hypothesized that the virus T7, a bacteriophage capable of infecting bacteria like E. coli, infects a host by using an extending tail. But it wasn't until now that he actually got to see it happen. The University of Texas at Austin biology professor, along with researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, imaged the process of the T7 […]

January 14, 2013

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9:00 PM | A Cheeky Guide To Eating Like A Caveman

Corn is a grain, knucklehead. Paleo Diet Flowchart infographic Keeping up with the eating habits of our cave-dwelling ancestors can be tough. Luckily someone has slapped together a handy flowchart for you to reference if you've hopped on the latest diet-craze bandwagon, the Paleo diet. Based on the idea that our hunter-gatherer ancestors didn't suffer from the pains of obesity, cancer, gout and other modern woes, the diet prohibits anything that didn't make up the human diet prior to […]

January 03, 2013

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4:00 PM | How To Make Your Own Electrified Drumsticks

DIY electrified drumsticks The Big Book Of HacksNow the masses can finally hear your brilliant air drumming. This very cool DIY drumming setup uses an Arduino and a MIDI-that's short for "musical instrument digital interface"-device to create a drum kit sound without the drum kit price tag. Move the drumsticks to hit the snare or cymbal; tap your feet to hear the bass or hi-hat. MATERIALS Two 11⁄2-inch (3.75-cm) wooden dowels, about 1 foot (30 cm) in length Drill Eight USB female type A […]

December 28, 2012

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4:00 PM | 10 Of The Greatest Entertainment Innovations Of 2012

Sony VPL- VW1000ES Sam KaplanThe best of what's new in cameras, sound, gaming and more Never has it been easier to kick back, relax, and enjoy the home entertainment of your choice. In this gallery, find the top innovations in game systems, streaming, video cameras, and more.

December 19, 2012

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7:04 PM | Africa: A Story of Growth

Infographic article image Africa's steady and robust economic growth over the past decades has thrust the continent onto the world stage as a serious player. Local economies staggered in every part of the world during the global recession of 2008 and 2009, but Sub-Saharan Africa was one of the least affected regions due to its relatively weak ties in the crisis epicenters in Europe at the U.S.- and its growth rate has returned to previous heights.

December 18, 2012

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6:00 PM | A History Of Our 'Best Of What's New' Special In An Interactive Graphic

The times have changed. Take a tour of PopSci's favorite inventions from years past. Graphic by Pitch Interactive

December 17, 2012

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3:59 PM | And The Winner Is...

Your choice for the most important invention of the last 25 years Graphic by Katie Peek Our five-round bracket is done, and the people have spoken. The most important invention of the last 25 years? The Human Genome Project! The HGP defeated Wi-Fi, the International Space Station, Viagra, and even seedless watermelons to take the title. Congratulations, Human Genome Project.

December 14, 2012

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4:00 PM | Pasta And Bamboo Reimagined As Bacteria And DNA

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3:30 PM | Final Round: What Is The Most Important Invention Of The Last 25 Years?

Vote on the final matchup in our Best of What's New bracket! Graphic by Katie Peek Welcome to the final round of our bout! There was no shortage of impassioned debate when we gathered to anoint the top 25 innovations in the history of Best of What's New. But a dozen editors locked in a room can only get you so far. How do you rank the best of the best - the iPhone versus the Large Hadron Collider, the TiVo versus the Chunnel? How do you name the one product that has affected more, lasting […]

December 12, 2012

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2:03 PM | Round Four: What Are The Most Important Inventions Of The Last 25 Years?

Vote on the penultimate matchups in our Best of What's New bracket! Graphic by Katie Peek Welcome to the fourth round of our five-round bout! There was no shortage of impassioned debate when we gathered to anoint the top 25 innovations in the history of Best of What's New. But a dozen editors locked in a room can only get you so far. How do you rank the best of the best - the iPhone versus the Large Hadron Collider, the TiVo versus the Chunnel? How do you name the one product that has affected […]

December 10, 2012

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4:03 PM | Round Three: What Are The Most Important Inventions Of The Last 25 Years?

Vote on the latest matchups in our Best of What's New bracket! Welcome to the third round of our five-round bout. There was no shortage of impassioned debate when we gathered to anoint the top 25 innovations in the history of Best of What's New. But a dozen editors locked in a room can only get you so far. How do you rank the best of the best - the iPhone versus the Large Hadron Collider, the TiVo versus the Chunnel? How do you name the one product that has affected more, lasting change than […]

December 07, 2012

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2:59 PM | Round Two: What Are The Most Important Inventions Of The Last 25 Years?

Vote on the latest matchups in our Best of What's New bracket! Welcome to the second round of our five-round bout. There was no shortage of impassioned debate when we gathered to anoint the top 25 innovations in the history of Best of What's New. But a dozen editors locked in a room can only get you so far. How do you rank the best of the best - the iPhone versus the Large Hadron Collider, the TiVo versus the Chunnel? How do you name the one product that has affected more, lasting change than […]

December 05, 2012

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7:39 PM | Grand Award Winner: The Sand Flea

The Sand Flea A reconnaissance robot for all of your building-leaping needs. Boston DynamicsA robot for all your building-leaping needs. Reconnaissance robots have typically required elaborate engineering to overcome the challenges of urban surveillance; models based on hummingbirds, flies, and cockroaches are all in development. The engineers behind the Sand Flea, from Boston Dynamics, took the opposite approach. They created a simple, rugged, four-wheeled robot that tackles obstacles-whether […]

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3:01 PM | Vote: What Are The Most Important Inventions Of The Last 25 Years?

The best of the Best of What's New There was no shortage of impassioned debate when we gathered to anoint the top 25 innovations in the history of Best of What's New. But a dozen editors locked in a room can only get you so far. How do you rank the best of the best - the iPhone versus the Large Hadron Collider, the TiVo versus the Chunnel? How do you name the one product that has affected more, lasting change than all others? That friends, calls for a smackdown. Over the next week, we'll be […]

November 30, 2012

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10:07 PM | A DIY Sub For Underwater Exploration

DIY Sub for Underwater Exploration Michael ChoWith OpenROV, anyone can probe underwater realms. Eric Stackpole's passion for discovery was originally directed toward outer space. As a mechanical engineering student at San Jose State University in 2007, he founded a campus club devoted to building mini satellites. That landed him a job at NASA's Ames Research Center, which led to an emphasis on robotics in graduate school. One day in 2010, Stackpole's shoe squeaked on a tile floor, reminding […]

November 26, 2012

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3:13 PM | A Pill That Tells When It's Taken

The Feedback System Team Michael ChoThe Proteus Digital Health Feedback System, a blend of MEMS and wireless data transfer, could take the guesswork out of drug delivery for good. As a doctor, George Savage had the power to save lives, but part of his job still made him feel helpless: After patients left the hospital, he had no way of knowing if they were taking their medications. According to the World Health Organization, patients fail to use their prescriptions properly at least half the […]

November 23, 2012

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5:02 PM | Grand Award Winner: Sony VPL-VW1000ES

A Real Home Theater Sam KaplanThe quality of cinema on the home screen. Screen quality follows a simple rule: The larger the screen, the more pixels necessary to fill it. A high-def image is 1,920 by 1,080 pixels. On a 60-inch LCD TV, the image is flawless, but go any larger-say, 80 inches or a wall-sized projection-and the individual pixels become visible, degrading image quality. The Sony VPL-VW1000ES is the first home-theater projector to produce 4,096-by-2,160-pixel, or 4K, images, which […]

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4:21 PM | Grand Award Winner: Nest Learning Thermostat

HAL For Your House Sam KaplanAn intelligent thermostat. A thermostat has tremendous power: It controls heating and cooling, the most expensive, energy-guzzling system in a house. Until the Nest, thermostats wielded that power blindly. The Nest learns a household's schedule and preferences after just one week and programs itself (and if those preferences change, the Nest adapts accordingly). It uses activity, humidity, and temperature sensors to monitor the indoor climate and adjust it for […]

November 19, 2012

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6:28 PM | SPONSORED ARTICLE: HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Stanley Holiday Gift Guide It's beginning to look a lot like the holiday season. With this time of year comes the stress of trying to find the right gift for those hard-to-buy-for men in your life. Well, this season, don't worry-the folks at Stanley have your back. With their new line of amazing tools, they're virtually taking all the worry out of the holiday season. Everything from their new stud sensor line, FatMax Magnetic Measuring Tape, mechanic's tools, screwdrivers, storage options, […]