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.

One Idea to Get to Mars: Fill the Walls of a Spaceship With Water

The insulation from radiation would also be drinkable

How Small Volcanoes May Have Helped Slow Global Warming

Ash reflects heat back into space

Now a Person Can Scramble Up a Wall Just Like a Gecko

Or use the same material to catch wayward space trash

Marsha Ivins takes a nap on the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Astronauts Nap on the Launchpad While Waiting for a Ride to Space

There's not much to do while NASA goes through its pre-launch checks

India Once Released 25,000 Flesh-Eating Turtles Into the Ganges

A plan to clean up corpses failed due to lack of planning

This Company Is Crowdfunding a Mission to the Moon

Your reward: a spot in a digital time capsule buried beneath the lunar surface

People Tend to Run Marathons Before Big Birthdays

The search for achievement and meaning at the end of a decade increases suicide and cheating, too

How to Heat Your House With a Cloud Computer Server

A German company is installing servers in homes and offices to recycle heat

Some Plants Eavesdrop (And Steal) Via an Underground Fungal Network

An underground network can be used for friendly communication—or for evil

Philae's ancestor, the original Apollo lunar lander.

We Fall in Love With Space Robots Because They Act Like Animals

Like pets, wires and chips can appear to act with intention

We're spending hundreds of millions of dollars to mimic a mangrove tree, basically.

Texas Just Started Building the Largest Carbon Capture Facility Ever

The plant will soak up most of the emissions from its coal-fired power production

These Sexy Geckos are Lost in Space

These lizards have been accidentally left to fornicate all alone among the stars

Schadenfreude is a Childish Emotion

Even two-year-olds find the twisted joy in others' pain

The small lakes that dot Russia's Yamal Peninsula were likely formed in the same was as the two strange holes.

That Weird Siberian Hole Has a Twin

Melting permafrost can change the land in really strange—and sometimes dangerous—ways

Creepy Internet-Style Tracking and Targeting Analytics Are Moving into Real Life

A company is using cameras and heat sensors to track people in their store

Moose Spit is Antifungal

Moose may use their antifungal saliva to keep the fungus on their favorite foods in check

Lasers Make a Fiber Optic Cable Out of Thin Air

Just like a fiber optic cable, without the physical cable

An old-fashioned lettuce farm.

Japan’s Massive Indoor Farm Produces 10,000 Heads of Fresh Lettuce Every Day

The innovative farming solution could help cut down on food waste

Early Life May Have Thrived in the Wreckage of a Meteorite

Porous rock created by high impact meteorite strikes make a surprisingly pleasant home for microbes

This Grocery Store Will Be Powered By Its Own Waste

Microbes digest tossed food, belch up electricity-generating methane

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