George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

The Latest Discovery of Organics in Space Is Nothing to Get Excited About

Astronomers have detected traces of an organic compound known as methyl chloride around a group of young stars. The discovery comes as a complete surprise to scientists, but instead of signifying the presence of alien life, it’s forcing them to re-evaluate the source of this molecule and its role as a basic building block for…

Tech News George Dvorsky Oct 2 '17

An Earth-Sized Space Shield to Protect Us From Solar Storms Is Less Crazy Than It Sounds

Every 100 years or so, our Sun gives off a great big belch that sends an intense wave of charged particles towards Earth. This wasn’t a problem in the past, but our high-tech civilization is now disturbingly vulnerable to these solar storms. A new study quantifies the economic risks posed by these extreme solar storms,…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Oct 2 '17

One Dead as Two Major Rockfalls in Two Days Rattle Yosemite’s El Capitan

At least one man is dead following a dramatic series of rockslides at Yosemite’s iconic El Capitan on Wednesday. A second “significantly larger” rockfall occurred a day later, dropping thousands of tons of rock to the forest floor below. For a period of four hours on Wednesday, a series of seven rockfalls occurred on the…

Tech News George Dvorsky Sep 29 '17

Hubble Catches a Glimpse of the Most Distant Active Comet Ever Seen

Behold C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS), or “K2″ for short. At a jaw-dropping distance of 1.5 billion miles (2.4 billion km) from the Sun, it’s the farthest active inbound comet ever documented by astronomers. K2 was discovered in May 2017 by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) in Hawaii, but this is our first…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Sep 29 '17

We’ve Grossly Underestimated How Much Cow Farts Are Contributing to Global Warming

A new NASA-sponsored study shows that global methane emissions produced by livestock are 11 percent higher than estimates made last decade. Because methane is a particularly nasty greenhouse gas, the new finding means it’s going to be even tougher to combat climate change than we realized. We’ve known for quite some time that greenhouse gases…

Climate Change George Dvorsky Sep 29 '17

Scientists Unexpectedly Find Rosetta’s Final Image of Comet 67P/CG

On September 30th, 2015, the Rosetta spacecraft slowly drifted to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, ending a wildly successful 12-year mission. Scientists from the European Space Agency thought they had recovered all of Rosetta’s photos, but a re-analysis of the spacecraft’s final transmission has revealed a final blurry photo taken just a few feet from…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Sep 28 '17

New ‘Chemical Surgery’ Technique Repairs Mutations in Human Embryos

For the first time, a research team from China used a new technique to fix a blood disorder in human embryos. The scientists performed “chemical surgery”—a procedure that rewrites errors in genetic code instead of snapping and replacing strands of faulty DNA, which is the central strategy employed by the CRISPR gene editing system. The…

Tech News George Dvorsky Sep 28 '17

Thousands Evacuated After Massive Explosion Rocks Ukrainian Ammunition Depot

A large fire at an ammunition depot in central Ukraine has triggered a series of massive explosions, prompting the evacuation of about 30,000 people. Hinting at sabotage, the country’s Prime Minister said “external factors” could be attributed to the blasts. The explosions happened early Wednesday (local time) near the town of Kalynivka, which is situated…

Tech News George Dvorsky Sep 27 '17

These Canadian Rocks May Contain the Oldest Known Traces of Life

Researchers working at a sedimentary rock formation in northern Labrador, Canada, say they’ve uncovered evidence of primordial life in 3.95 billion-year-old rocks. The discovery, which is already drawing scrutiny and some skepticism, suggests that microbial life emerged relatively quickly after the formation of our planet. The idea that life could have emerged so long ago—and…

Tech News George Dvorsky Sep 27 '17

This Ancient Australian Beast Is the Only Marsupial Known to Have Made Seasonal Migrations

New research shows that Diprotodon—the largest marsupial to have ever lived—partook in seasonal migrations that took the now-extinct creature on long journeys across Australia’s Ice Age landscape. Seasonal migrations are a common activity for many large-bodied placental mammals (e.g. wildebeest, elephants, buffalo), but it’s strangely absent among all living marsupials—marsupials being a subgroup of mammals…

Biology George Dvorsky Sep 27 '17

Cool Theory Finally Explains Pluto’s Skyscraper-Sized Ice Shards

When NASA’s New Horizons space probe zipped past Pluto in 2015, it revealed portions of the dwarf planet’s surface were strewn with what could only be described as gigantic blades of ice, many of which extended into the Plutonian sky for hundreds of feet. Finally, after nearly two years of research, a team of scientists…

Tech News George Dvorsky Sep 26 '17

The Cleanup at Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Plant Has Been Delayed Yet Again

With the backing of Japan’s government, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) has decided to revise its plan to remove highly radioactive spent fuel from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant. It’s the fourth re-think made by the utility since the plant suffered a meltdown following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami—and yet another delay to a…

Tech News George Dvorsky Sep 26 '17

Could Evaporating Water Be the Next Big Thing in Renewable Energy?

Each day, our Sun pours its energy down onto the Earth’s surface, turning vast expanses of open water into vapor. New research shows the surprising degree to which this clean and renewable process could be used to produce electricity—enough, perhaps, to meet 70 percent of US energy needs. But before this energy solution makes it…

Tech News George Dvorsky Sep 26 '17

Yet Another Giant Iceberg Has Broken Free From Antarctica

Satellite images taken this past weekend show a new 100-square-mile iceberg emerging from Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier. The calving event did not come as a complete surprise, but it’s a troubling sign with regards to future sea level rise. Pine Island Glacier (PIG) is the fastest melting glacier in Antarctica—one that’s responsible for a quarter…

Tech News George Dvorsky Sep 25 '17

Australia Is Finally Getting Its Very Own Space Agency

In an effort to stimulate job growth and innovation, the federal government of Australia has announced that it will establish the country’s very first space agency. Australia is one of the only developed countries in the world without a national space agency, but that’s now set to change with an announcement made on Monday local…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Sep 25 '17

A Mutated Strain of ‘Super Malaria’ Is Spreading at an Alarming Rate

In a disturbing development, a newly-mutated strain of drug-resistant malaria has spread into Vietnam, complicating efforts to contain the the mosquito-borne virus in Southeast Asia, and potentially posing a global threat. Like bacteria, malaria is adapting to our medicines. Drug resistance is a growing problem for malaria treatment, with fears that the disease could one…

Tech News George Dvorsky Sep 22 '17

Some Vegetarian Dinosaurs Cheated By Snacking on Seafood

Large plant-eating dinosaurs are typically thought of as strict vegetarians, but an analysis of fossilized dino poop from the Cretaceous Period suggests some of these creatures also feasted on crustaceans. The study, published this week in Scientific Reports, suggests these occasional lapses in vegetarianism might have had something to do with dinosaur reproduction. “From what…

Tech News George Dvorsky Sep 22 '17

Mysterious Deep Space Radio Bursts May Be Surprisingly Common

Since their discovery in 2002, scientists have struggled to understand Fast Radio bursts—high-energy pulses that originate from galaxies billions of light-years away. Though only a handful of these radio blips have ever been detected, new research suggests they could be a ubiquitous fixture of the cosmos, flashing about once every second throughout the observable universe.…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Sep 22 '17

Maria’s Path of Destruction Across Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands Is Heartbreaking

Hurricane Maria is currently churning off the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, leaving behind historic levels of destruction in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and several Caribbean nations. Recovery and cleanup efforts have already begun, but as grim new photographs show, these tropical islands have their work cut out for them. The eye…

Tech News George Dvorsky Sep 21 '17

Exquisite Skeleton of a Neanderthal Kid Offers Clues to Human Evolution

He was just seven-and-a-half when he died some 49,000 years ago, an otherwise healthy Neanderthal boy whose cause of death remains a mystery. An analysis of his well-preserved skeleton is providing new insights into how these extinct humans developed and matured, revealing an extended period of growth in certain aspects compared to modern humans. Like…

Tech News George Dvorsky Sep 21 '17

George Dvorsky

The Latest Discovery of Organics in Space Is Nothing to Get Excited About

An Earth-Sized Space Shield to Protect Us From Solar Storms Is Less Crazy Than It Sounds

One Dead as Two Major Rockfalls in Two Days Rattle Yosemite’s El Capitan

Hubble Catches a Glimpse of the Most Distant Active Comet Ever Seen

We’ve Grossly Underestimated How Much Cow Farts Are Contributing to Global Warming

Scientists Unexpectedly Find Rosetta’s Final Image of Comet 67P/CG

New ‘Chemical Surgery’ Technique Repairs Mutations in Human Embryos

Thousands Evacuated After Massive Explosion Rocks Ukrainian Ammunition Depot

These Canadian Rocks May Contain the Oldest Known Traces of Life

This Ancient Australian Beast Is the Only Marsupial Known to Have Made Seasonal Migrations

Cool Theory Finally Explains Pluto’s Skyscraper-Sized Ice Shards

The Cleanup at Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Plant Has Been Delayed Yet Again

Could Evaporating Water Be the Next Big Thing in Renewable Energy?

Yet Another Giant Iceberg Has Broken Free From Antarctica

Australia Is Finally Getting Its Very Own Space Agency

A Mutated Strain of ‘Super Malaria’ Is Spreading at an Alarming Rate

Some Vegetarian Dinosaurs Cheated By Snacking on Seafood

Mysterious Deep Space Radio Bursts May Be Surprisingly Common

Maria’s Path of Destruction Across Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands Is Heartbreaking

Exquisite Skeleton of a Neanderthal Kid Offers Clues to Human Evolution

This 49-Inch Curved Gaming Monitor Is Now Cheaper Than Two Decent Screens, Samsung Drops the Odyssey G9

DC May Be Ready to Breathe Some Life Into the Deathstroke and Bane Movie

The Dyson Multi-Styler Just Dropped on Amazon, Now Cheaper Than Two Visits to Your Hair Salon

The New MacBook Air M5 Is Way Cheaper on Amazon Than at the Apple Store Right Now

Amazon Slashes the Best-Selling Levoit Air Purifier, Now Cheaper Than a Box of Allergy Meds

Forget Prime Day, Amazon Dropped the Apple Watch Series 11 to the Price of a Basic Watch

Trump’s Push for ‘Ultrafast’ Meat Processing Could Make a Brutal Industry Even Worse

With Summer Coming, Amazon Drops the Newest Kindle Paperwhite to Its Best Price

Forget the New Fitbit Air, Amazon Just Made the Charge 6 So Cheap It’s the Obvious Choice

This Is the iPad Most People Should Buy, and Amazon Just Made It Cheaper Than It Has Any Right to Be

JBL Live 780NC Review: Solid Wireless Headphones You Can Live Without

Acer’s Swift 16 AI (2026) Gets a Lot Right, But I Can’t Get Past the Trackpad

Samsung Galaxy A57 5G Review: Not Worth It at Full Price

Logitech G G512 X Review: The Tasting Menu of a Pro Gaming Keyboard

Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone Review: AI Can’t Save This Robot Vacuum

The Best Tech Gifts for Mother’s Day 2026

Asus’ Dual-Display Gaming Laptop Will Ruin Your Single-Screen Lifestyle

Steam Controller Review: Trackpads Change Everything for PC Gaming

Soundcore Space 2 Review: A Shockingly Stellar Value for Budget ANC Wireless Headphones

Anker’s UV Printer Can Handle Almost Anything… If You Know What You’re Doing