Shannon Palus

 

Shannon Palus is a science writer, and a researcher for Popular Science. Her work has appeared in Discover, Slate, Ars Technica, and elsewhere. She is based in Philadelphia.

Spider Silk is a Fine-Tuned Alert System

Web fibers can send a wide range of messages

Suburban Skunks are on the Rise

Grand Rapids, Michigan, is basically enveloped in a cloud of stink

The comet Cheryumov-Gerasimenko seems to be shaped like a rubber duckie

The ESA is on a Mission to Harpoon a Duck-Shaped Comet

As if catching a comet wasn't already hard enough

This worm is sober.

Worms Can Get Drunk, But Not These Mutant Worms

The gene could also, theoretically, be modified in humans to prevent some of the effects of booze

These Psychologists Think We'd Be Happier If We Talked to Strangers More

Though you should definitely take this on a case-by-case basis.

Researchers are Tracking House Cats with Tiny Harnesses

GPS measurements and collar cameras will tell them where, exactly, kitty goes all day

The soft, phase-changing material. Photo courtesy of the researchers.

Researchers Make Phase-Changing Material Fit for Transforming Robots

Wax and foam are on the cutting edge

Meet the Newest (Robotic) Member of Your Family

This emotional robot can tell stories, remember appointments, and make faces

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An Abandoned Mall in Bangkok Has Turned into a Gigantic Fish Habitat

Though if it weren't for the fish, the mall would be overrun with mosquitoes

People Really Need to Stop Bringing Giant African Land Snails Into the US

Sixty-seven baseball-sized giant African land snails were confiscated at the Los Angeles International Airport

Infantryman Brandon Dieckmann poses with LS3.

Boston Dynamics' Robotic Mule Is Doing War Games With the Marines

This is the first time the DARPA-funded robot has been in the field

An amateur photograph of galaxy NGC 5907 by Flickr user korborh. On its own it doesn't look like much, but combined with hundreds more it can reveal new secrets about the universe.

Astronomers Are Doing Real Science With Space Photos They Found on Flickr

Want to help research? Grab a camera and point it to the heavens

There's No Laundry in Space, So NASA is Trying to Make Clothes That Don't Get Smelly

Astronauts got a shipment of fresh, hopefully odor-resistant gym clothes

We Know Physics is Largely White and Male, But Exactly How White and Male is Still Striking

Most current physics students will likely never have an African American physics teacher, says a new survey

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