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Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. With only 237 birds left in the wild, saving New Zealand’s critically endangered kākāpō is one of the small country’s major conservation projects. These giant, green camouflage experts are threatened by predators, invasive species, human encroachment, and a debilitating illness colloquially called crusty bum disease (exudative cloacitis).  Crusty bum disease causes inflammation of the lower digestive and reproductive tracts. Birds that contract it can become infertile, which puts strain on their already small populations. It can also be fatal in some cases. Crusty bum disease has…

State-of-the-art methodologies Painting of Napoleon’s army. Credit: Barbieri et al., Current Biology/CC BY-SA Rascovan and his co-authors note in their paper that the 2006 study relied upon outdated PCR-based technologies for its DNA analysis. As for the virus family detected in the Kalingrad dental pulp, they argue that those viruses are both ubiquitous and usually asymptomatic in humans—and thus are unlikely to be the primary culprits for the diseases that wiped out the French army. So Rascovan’s team decided to use current state-of-the-art DNA methodologies to re-analyze a different set of remains of Napoleonic soldiers who died in Vilnius. “In…

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. For the first time, a Chilean seafood staple has been documented engaged in an unexpected relationship. According to a study recently published in the journal Ecology, cusk-eels (family Ophidiidae) are congregating deep underwater among tubeworm thickets near a methane seep in the Atlantic Ocean. The fish appear to favor the locale not for the sights, but for their neighbors—tiny spider crabs that feast on the animal’s parasites. The cusk-eel is beloved in Chilean cuisine, so much so that the renowned poet Pablo Neruda penned an ode…

There are three species of bats that eat birds. We know that because we have found feathers and other avian remains in their feces. What we didn’t know was how exactly they hunt birds, which are quite a bit heavier, faster, and stronger than the insects bats usually dine on. To find out, Elena Tena, a biologist at Doñana Biological Station in Seville, Spain, and her colleagues attached ultra-light sensors to Nyctalus Iasiopterus, the largest bats in Europe. What they found was jaw-droppingly brutal. Inconspicuous interceptors Nyctalus Iasiopterus, otherwise known as greater noctule bats, have a wingspan of about 45…

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. As with the Valley Girl uptalk of the 1980s, or the supposed overuse of the word “like” in the 1990s, vocal fry remains a divisive conversation topic over 10 years on. The term refers to that distinctively creaking or crackly tone heard in the voices of certain individuals…or whales. But at least in humans, it’s often used while expressing apathy at the end of a word or phrase. Think of celebrities like Aubrey Plaza, Britney Spears, or Kim Kardashian. But as those examples may imply, the…

Electric vehicle startup Rivian announced on Thursday that it has settled a lawsuit with some of its investors. The company continues to deny allegations of making “materially untrue” statements during its inial public offering but says it agreed to pay $250 million to clear itself of distractions as it focuses on building its next EV, the mass-market R2, which is due next year. Rivian was first sued by a shareholder in 2022 over claims that the startup knew it would cost far more for it to build each R1T electric truck and R1S electric SUV than the advertised $67,500 and…

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Joe Veneziale is known as the “Halloween guy” at his high school, and for good reason. For the last five years, Veneziale has been transforming his family’s suburban Philadelphia home into a theatrical Halloween walk-through of deranged clowns, lurking zombies, and jumpscares galore.  “Joe is obsessed with Halloween,” says his mom, Christine Veneziale. His fixation is nothing new. Veneziale has been visiting haunted attractions since he was a kid and, as the youngest of three, was always helping out with his family’s Halloween decorating.  “From there,…

While mass media like radio, movies, and television can all feed into parasocial relationships, the Internet and smartphone revolutions have supercharged the opportunities we all have to feel like an online stranger is a close, personal confidante. From YouTube and podcast personalities to Instagram influencers or even your favorite blogger/journalist (hi), it’s easy to feel like you have a close connection with the people who create the content you see online every day. After spending hours watching this TikTok personality, I trust her implicitly to sell me a purse. Credit: Getty Images After spending hours watching this TikTok personality, I…

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. It may come as a surprise, but not all animals pee. While almost every living organism possesses an excretory system, most reptiles don’t eliminate excess nitrogen-containing waste in the form of liquid urine. Instead, they rid themselves of the chemicals by expelling them in the form of crystalline solids called urates. Biologists believe reptiles evolved this unique system as a way to conserve water, but have long wondered how the urates don’t ultimately end up harming the animals. For humans, crystalline buildups in the body manifest…

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson recently warned Meta and a dozen social media and technology companies that “censoring Americans to comply with a foreign power’s laws, demands, or expected demands” may violate US law. Ferguson’s letters said the EU’s Digital Services Act and other laws “incentivize tech companies to censor worldwide speech.” Meta told media outlets that “we disagree with any suggestion that we have breached the DSA, and we continue to negotiate with the European Commission on these matters.” Meta also said it made changes to comply with the DSA. “In the European Union, we have introduced changes to our…