George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

Clouds Reveal Features on the Surface of Venus

Venus’s unusually thick atmosphere is typically regarded as a barrier that prevents us from gazing upon its tortured surface. By studying subtle shifts in weather patterns, however, scientists have learned that these clouds also offer important clues as to what lies beneath. New research published in the Journal of Geophysical Research shows there’s another way…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jul 19 '16

San Andreas Earthquakes Can Be Caused by the Moon and Sun

Since the time of Isaac Newton, scientists have wondered if the gravitational pull of the sun and moon might be strong enough to trigger earthquakes and tremors on Earth. An analysis of 81,000 low-frequency earthquakes along the San Andreas Fault now confirms these suspicions. The new paper, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 18 '16

Record-Setting Hard Drive Writes Information One Atom At a Time

Researchers working in the Netherlands have developed an atomic-scale rewritable data-storage device capable of packing 500 terabits onto a single square inch. Incredibly, that’s enough to store every book written by humans on a surface the size of a postage stamp. Holy shit. It is as if we have invented the atomic scale printing press.…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 18 '16

Asshat Jailed After Bragging About High Speed Chase on Facebook

A 20-year-old Cambridge man who led police on a 100 mile-an-hour chase around the city has been thrown in jail after posting details of his escape on social media. The incident happened in Cambridge, UK, just after midnight on January 17, 2016, when Connor Lloyd was clocked for speeding in his Honda Civic. When the…

Social Media George Dvorsky Jul 18 '16

How the Sun Looks When Your Spacecraft Suddenly Does a Back Flip

No, the space-based Solar Dynamics Observatory isn’t on the fritz—it was actually instructed to make this flip while snapping pics of the Sun. It might sound like NASA took this thing out for a joy ride, but there’s a very good reason for the evasive maneuver. Since 2010, the SDO has been dutifully studying the…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 15 '16

The Zika Epidemic Has Been Given a Three-Year Expiration Date

Models produced by researchers at Imperial College London indicate that the ongoing Zika epidemic in parts of Latin American will likely burn itself out within three years. Finally, we have some good news to share about this dreadful disease. A new report published in Science concludes that the Zika epidemic will largely come to an…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 15 '16

This Insane Caterpillar Infestation Can Be Seen From Space

Hordes of gypsy moth caterpillars are currently ravaging parts of the Northeastern United States. Newly released images from space show the alarming damage being done to New England forests by these leaf-munching insects. Incredible as it may seem, insects and disease damage 45 times more forest area annually than wildfires. A single caterpillar or bug…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 15 '16

New 3D Map of the Universe Features a Whopping 1.2 Million Galaxies

The astronomical map you see here doesn’t depict stars, it shows galaxies—1.2 million of them, to be exact, a new record for astronomers. This extraordinary new 3D scan of the universe provides yet more evidence that a mysterious substance known as dark energy is likely causing the universe to expand at an accelerating rate. The…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jul 15 '16

Scientists Just Discovered Something Extraordinary About Iceland’s Huge Volcano Eruption

Two years ago, Iceland’s Bardarbunga volcano erupted—and it kept erupting for the next 181 days, forming the largest volcanic depression ever seen. New research reveals the extraordinary processes that transpired beneath the surface, including the formation of a magma-filled canal that measured a whopping 28 miles long. The Bardarbunga volcano began to erupt on August…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 14 '16

The CDC Will Pay You For Zika-Infected Semen

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is collecting semen from hundreds of Zika-infected men to figure out how long the sexually transmitted virus lingers in the body. Zika is primarily transmitted by infected mosquitoes, but it can also spread through sexual contact. Virus particles remain in the body even after symptoms have disappeared, but…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 14 '16

Mall Suspends Security Robot After It Clobbered a Toddler

The Stanford Shopping Center has suspended its security robots following an incident last week in which a 16-month-old boy collided with one of its machines, resulting in a minor injury. The toddler, Harwin Cheng, was walking in front of his parents outside an Armani Exchange store when his mother pointed out the robot coming their…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 14 '16

These Fearsome Dinosaurs Had Tiny Arms Just Like T. Rex

Paleontologists working in Argentina uncovered the remains of a Cretaceous-era dinosaur that featured the same kind of miniaturized arms found on the T. rex. These ancient creatures weren’t closely related, so scientists now suspect that tiny arms evolved independently. Introducing Gualicho shinyae, a 1,000-pound, bipedal theropod that featured a pair of short arms with two…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 13 '16

Feds Allow Experimental Cancer Trial to Resume Despite Recent Deaths

Just days after shutting down tests of a groundbreaking new cancer therapy in the wake of three patient deaths, the US Food and Drug Administration has said the trials can resume. So what changed? Late last week, it was reported that three leukemia patients had died in a Juno Therapeutics Phase II clinical trial that’s…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 13 '16

This Cattle-Herding Robot Will Put Dogs Out of Work

As the automation era unfolds around is, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that no jobs are safe—not even those belonging to dogs. Introducing Swagbot, the world’s first herding robot. Developed by the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney, SwagBot proved successful in its first field test. The robot, described as a “motion…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 13 '16

10 Predictions About the Future That Should Scare the Hell Out of You

The future looks bright, except when it doesn’t. Here are 10 exceptionally regrettable developments we can expect in the coming decades. Listed in no particular order. 1. Virtually anyone will be able to create their own pandemic Earlier this year, Oxford’s Global Priorities Project compiled a list of catastrophes that could kill off 10 percent…

Privacy & Security George Dvorsky Jul 13 '16

NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Has Captured Its First Photo Since Arriving at Jupiter

This image taken by NASA’s Juno spacecraft is one of the first to be taken by the probe since it entered Jupiter’s orbit last week. It’s not the most spectacular image we’ve seen of Jupiter and its moons, but it’s a positive sign that the spacecraft’s visible light camera, the JunoCam, is operational and capable…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jul 13 '16

Security Robot Pwns Toddler at Stanford Mall: Report [Updated]

A 300-pound security robot at at the Stanford Shopping Center knocked down and ran over a 16-month-old boy. The parents of the injured boy are understandably pissed, claiming the autonomous machine is dangerous. “The robot hit my son’s head and he fell down facing down on the floor and the robot did not stop and…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 12 '16

Pomegranates Yield Promising Anti-Aging Compound

A compound found within pomegranates, when transformed by bacteria in the gut, has been shown to rejuvenate cellular function and reverse the effects of aging on muscles, at least in worms and rodents. On their own, pomegranates may not confer these life-extending qualities—but the discovery could lead to powerful anti-aging medicines. The molecule responsible for…

Health George Dvorsky Jul 12 '16

This Is the Deepest View Yet Into the Orion Nebula

Astronomers working with the Very Large Telescope in Chile have captured the deepest view yet of the heart of the Orion Nebula. Wow. Located 1,350 light-years from the sun, the Orion Nebula star-formation measures about 24 light-years across. It’s visible to the naked eye, appearing as a fuzzy patch in Orion’s sword. Like other nebulae,…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jul 12 '16

There’s a New Dwarf Planet Far Beyond Pluto’s Orbit

Say hello to 2015 RR245, a 440-mile-wide dwarf planet located approximately 7.5 billion miles from the sun. It takes 700 years to make a complete orbit, making it one of the most remote known objects in the entire solar system of significant size. The newly discovered dwarf planet was discovered by an international team of…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jul 11 '16

George Dvorsky

Clouds Reveal Features on the Surface of Venus

San Andreas Earthquakes Can Be Caused by the Moon and Sun

Record-Setting Hard Drive Writes Information One Atom At a Time

Asshat Jailed After Bragging About High Speed Chase on Facebook

How the Sun Looks When Your Spacecraft Suddenly Does a Back Flip

The Zika Epidemic Has Been Given a Three-Year Expiration Date

This Insane Caterpillar Infestation Can Be Seen From Space

New 3D Map of the Universe Features a Whopping 1.2 Million Galaxies

Scientists Just Discovered Something Extraordinary About Iceland’s Huge Volcano Eruption

The CDC Will Pay You For Zika-Infected Semen

Mall Suspends Security Robot After It Clobbered a Toddler

These Fearsome Dinosaurs Had Tiny Arms Just Like T. Rex

Feds Allow Experimental Cancer Trial to Resume Despite Recent Deaths

This Cattle-Herding Robot Will Put Dogs Out of Work

10 Predictions About the Future That Should Scare the Hell Out of You

NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Has Captured Its First Photo Since Arriving at Jupiter

Security Robot Pwns Toddler at Stanford Mall: Report [Updated]

Pomegranates Yield Promising Anti-Aging Compound

This Is the Deepest View Yet Into the Orion Nebula

There’s a New Dwarf Planet Far Beyond Pluto’s Orbit

LEGO Takes a Hit, Millennium Falcon Set Drops Back to Its All-Time Low on Amazon

iBuyPower’s Trace X Gaming PC Is the Fishbowl You Want to Swim In

Amazon Quietly Offloads Its Dolby Atmos Soundbar With Built-In Subwoofer at a Near Record Low

Govee Ceiling Light Ultra Review: AI Art Ain’t It

FCC Attempts to Solve Robocall Problem by Potentially Creating Even Bigger Privacy Problem

Galaxy Z Fold7 Drops to a Near Record Low as Samsung Clears Stock Ahead of the Fold8

Apple Offloads MacBook Air via Amazon at a Near Record Low, Full Price on the Apple Store

Samsung Tab Is a Serious iPad Rival and 2X Cheaper, Now at a Near Record Low

Apple Quietly Offloads AirPods Pro 3 via Amazon, Not a Single Dollar Off on the Official Apple Store

Amazon Dumps This Monster 145W 25,000mAh Power Bank at What Looks Like Zero Margin

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