Hawaii Science Journal

LASIK without the laser? Rabbit eyeballs hint at a new option

“Wow. Just wow.” That’s how astronaut Nichole “Vapor” Ayers described a sprite she witnessed from the International Space Station. The mysterious atmospheric phenomena occur above intense thunderstorms and last for just milliseconds, so capturing it with a camera requires immense skill (and a bit of luck). Photographer JJ Rao managed to document vibrant red sprites above Derby, Australia. Rao’s s

New laser-free eye restoration methods

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Soundcore Boom 3i by Anker is the rugged speaker your patio needs, and it’s $30 off

Figuring out a way to correct blurry vision is a part of life for many of us. In the United States alone, roughly six million people are estimated to have some sort of vision loss and another one million are totally blind. To escape glasses and invasive contact lenses, many turn to more permanet corrective eye surgery, including the popular LASIK procedure. However, there might be a new vision co

The best free public transit apps to get you from A to B anywhere in the world

Labor Day is coming, a lot of kids are already back to school, and before you stash away your white pants for the season, it’s time to squeeze the most out of your patio. Whether you’re hosting one last summer barbecue or want to start transitioning to cozier, cooler nights, these outdoor gadget deals bring the sound, light, and vibe without the high price tag. Soundcore Boom 3i by Anker, IP68 Wa

Battery or budget anxiety? This 33% off jump starter deal has you (and your car) covered

You might think you don’t need a separate app for public transit directions, considering you get the feature built into Google Maps and Apple Maps—two very capable apps that are available for free, and which come preinstalled on Android handsets (Google Maps) and iPhones (Apple Maps, with Google Maps also available). However, sometimes a dedicated app works best: It’s more detailed, it’s more tho

Aug 22, 2025

Lost, ancient cult site unearthed near a Norwegian highway

My phone’s dead. My earbuds are dead. My laptop’s gasping for 5%. And now my car battery wants in on the fun? Hard pass. Dealing with battery anxiety may be a daily occurrence, but that doesn’t mean you can’t fight back with some smart preparedness. Right now, Amazon is running a limited-time 33% off deal on the GOOLOO GT4000S Jump Starter when you use promo code JEX8H9RY. It’s like having a pit

LASSIE’s robot dog may join astronauts on Mars

Archaeologists in Norway have uncovered human remains and structural artifacts indicating a 3,000-year-old ritualistic cult site near a highway expansion project . Surveyors initially discovered the first signs of ancient religious activity over a decade ago, but more recent excavation work is offering further looks at the spiritually significant communal location. The surrounding geological envi

Robots tested for Mars exploration

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The best headphones in 2025

When humans eventually set foot on Mars , they may have a four-legged companion by their side. But the dog accompanying them won’t be a canine at all, but a quadruped robot designed to gather samples and keep astronauts on the Red Planet from twisting an ankle. Built with autonomous capability, it will be capable of operating independently of humans. Put another way, the Mars dog will walk off-le

68Popular Science / 3d

For many people, headphones have become a necessity in their daily lives. As more workers settle into remote roles, headphones are becoming home-office staples for blocking out distractions and piping in colleagues. A growing number of content creators, from podcasters to musicians, rely on headphones to help them produce their best work in shared spaces. And, of course, some people just use them

Retired doctor discovers new dinosaur species deep in a museum archive

New sail-backed dinosaur discovered

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A heart-shaped scallop turned up off the Massachusetts coast

A retired physician’s reexamination of a 125-million-year old fossil specimen has unexpectedly yielded an entirely new dinosaur species . After careful analysis, it appears that the United Kingdom was once home to an iguanodontian featuring a distinctively massive, sail-like fin along its back. And naturally, its discoverer named it after a local sailing hero. For the past few years, former gener

Ketchup was once a diarrhea cure

While surveying the frosty waters of the North Atlantic, a team of NOAA scientists recently uncovered a heart-shaped sea scallop. A small dent in the top makes the sea creature look like the symbol of love instead of the sea scallop’s typical fan shape. The mollusk was found in the northern edge of Georges Bank, a submarine plateau between Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Nova Scotia, Canada. Accordi

Bluetti Elite 100 V2 review: Arguably the best portable power station in its class

Quick: Picture the contents of a typical U.S. refrigerator. Did you imagine a half-used bottle of ketchup sitting on a shelf? If you did, well done. Since at least the 1920s, ketchup has been the condiment of choice for millions of Americans. It is estimated that 97% of U.S. households consume ketchup with the average American ingesting roughly three bottles of the sauce each year. A pillar of fa

Walmart is blowing out Greenworks electric mowers as low as $198 with a battery and charger

In recent years, Bluetti has emerged among the leaders of the portable power station pack. With last year’s release of the Elite 200 V2, the company surged to the front with what we named the best solar generator of the year . Now they’ve released the much-anticipated Elite 100 V2 , and after thorough testing, I can report that it delivers everything we loved about its bigger brother in an even m

Aug 21, 2025

These New Orleans lizards are full of lead

If you’re still pull-starting your lawn mower (or any of your yard tools), it’s time to bring your yard care routine into the modern era. Right now, Walmart has a wide assortment of Greenworks lawn care tools for their lowest prices of the year. That includes mowers, as well as blowers and chainsaws, both of which will be very helpful when the leaves start falling in just a few short weeks. Green

New Orleans lizards resist lead poisoning

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Balloon-equipped ‘wearable robot’ could help stroke survivors

Lead is highly regulated today, but that wasn’t always the case for the toxic heavy metal . In fact, the industrial ingredient was at once so pervasive that experts estimate around 90 percent of Americans born between 1951 and 1980 amassed problematically high levels of the element in their bloodstreams during childhood. While lead pollution remains a major public health and environmental hazard

Stopping fatbergs before they cost millions to remove

A first-of-its-kind, soft, vest-like wearable designed by Harvard researchers could help stroke survivors and people living with ALS regain crucial upper limb movement. The researchers call the device a “ wearable robot ,” which uses inflatable balloons positioned under a patient’s arm that bulge and contract based on the desired movement. A combination of machine learning software and a separate

Walmart’s ‘radioactive shrimp’ recall isn’t a reason to fear irradiated food

They’re chunky, sticky, and a sewer system’s worst nightmare. Solid masses of fats, oils, and grease called fatbergs can gum up drains and sewers around the world and can be incredibly costly to remove and repair. For example, New York City spends roughly $18.8 million removing fatbergs each year. Now, a new wastewater treatment system may help prevent them from building up in the first place. Th

What’s really the safest seat in a car? An auto expert weighs in.

Even if you’re not tracking the latest in food safety , you’re likely aware of the FDA’s advisory concerning Walmart’s radioactive frozen shrimp . If not, here’s a quick recap. The Great Value brand seafood originated from the Indonesia-based company PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati (also known as BMS Food), and recently arrived aboard container ships at multiple US ports. Authorities subsequently detect

AI can transform a photo of your dog into a VR avatar

I call shotgun!” has long been a typical battle cry when piling into a car. The term predates automobiles entirely, harkening back to the Wild West when the passenger sitting next to a stagecoach driver would carry a very literal shotgun. These days, there’s still a certain cachet to sitting next to the driver, even if the position no longer requires firearms. If safety is your primary concern, h

Aug 20, 2025

Hominin skull discovered in 1960 finally gets an accurate age

Nearly four years have passed since Facebook officially changed its corporate name to Meta , amid promises from founder Mark Zuckerberg that a fully realized digital “metaverse” was just around the corner. Since then, user adoption of virtual reality spaces has plateaued , and Zuckerberg himself has seemingly shifted focus towards AI companions and podcast-playing Ray Bans . For many, simply sitt

World’s largest carnivorous bats are big softies

It’s an archeological mystery 65 years in the making. In 1960, a villager was exploiting Petralona Cave about 22 miles southeast of Thessaloniki, Greece. Eventually, the villager spotted something unexpected—the nearly complete cranium of an unknown, ancient hominin protruding from a small chamber’s interior wall. Although covered in calcite and missing its lower jaw, the Petralona skull has fasc

Spectral bats are highly social

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Violent supernova spilled a star’s ‘guts’ before exploding

As social flying mammals, bats typically live in colonies (or cauldrons ) of up to 100 individual bats. While many species work together to forage, spectral bats ( Vampyrum spectrum were previously believed to be more solitary when finding food. However, that may not be the case. Not only do they appear to forage in groups, they also display affectionate greetings to one another and provide food

‘Cursed gummybear’ spotted in Lake Huron

A completely new supernova variant finally shows a glimpse of a star’s innermost “guts” moments before its destruction. Detailed in a study published August 20 in the journal Nature , their study confirms a longstanding theory about the internal structure of massive stellar objects , and kicks off a host of new questions. Diving into star innards Astronomers have long posited that a star’s innard

Can toe spacers actually help your feet? It could be worth a try.

It’s not an alien from here to take over the world (that we know) or some science experiment gone awry. This gelatinous blob is an invertebrate called a bryozoan , specifically the species Pectinatella magnifica . It was spotted in Lake Huron by the Alpena Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office in Michigan and likened to a “cursed gummy bear.” According to the United States Fish & Wildlife Service

Corn gets gassy when it feels too crowded

Most of the time, feet are easy to forget. Hidden away in socks and shoes, and all the way at the bottom of our bodies, you’d be forgiven for not thinking about them much at all. But stumble into a particular zone of the online wellness sphere, and feet are the focus. Influencers frequently recommend toe spacers (or separators) to fix all sorts of problems , from bunions and blisters to back ache

Aug 19, 2025

Dire wolf skull could fetch over $30,000 at auction

Corn really likes its space–so much so that it has a unique way of letting its fellow crops know if the field is getting too crowded. The preference doesn’t stem from claustrophobia. Instead, researchers discovered that maize ( Zea mays ) releases a gaseous defense mechanism to protect itself and surrounding plants from potentially dangerous pests and pathogens. A team at China’s Zhejiang Univers

Uranus may have a 29th moon

Hot off of a whopping Martian meteorite auction earlier this summer, a dire wolf skull, fossilized cave bear, T. rex bones, and more are headed to the auction block next week. Heritage Auctions’ Nature & Science Signature® Natural History Auction is scheduled for Friday, August 29 at 11 am CDT. “We are proud to present this auction of amazing specimens, including real-life ‘monsters’—at least in

Father-son morticians turn tattoos into wall art

Uranus appears to have yet another moon. Observations made with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) detected the presence of this small satellite earlier this year, bringing the ice giant’s number of known satellites up to 29. The data is still making its way through the peer review process for final confirmation, but everything points to a new addition to the family. The initial indications of

200+Popular Science / 6d

Tattoos, as anyone’s concerned parents have reminded them, are notoriously permanent. But even ink needled under the surface of the skin can’t withstand time’s inescapable weathering. Untreated dead bodies eventually decay, and skin dotted with panels of stark-lined tigers or delicate wildflowers eventually break down to nothing more than the soil around it. A father and son team of morticians ar

Human hair-based recordkeeping was widespread in Incan Empire