George Dvorsky

Archaeologists Discover a Rare Pre-Roman Tomb at Pompeii

An undisturbed Samnite tomb has been unearthed at a burial ground beside Pompeii’s famous Villa of the Mysteries. The discovery will help archaeologists study a relatively unexplored era of Pompeii’s history—a time when the Samnites fought bitter battles against the Romans. A team of French archaeologists from the Jean Berard Centre in Naples accidentally stumbled…

A Well-Preserved Whale Fossil Has Been Discovered on a California Mountain

The nearly intact fossil of a 4-million-year old whale has been unearthed at a construction site in Santa Cruz County. Discovered well above sea level, the bones made their way to the mountains through the shifting of tectonic plates. The whale was discovered on September 4 by a paleontologist assigned to monitor a housing development…

Why Brave New World is No Longer the Terrifying Dystopia it Used to Be

Brave New World used to be one of the most terrifying stories about a false utopia. It gave us the concept of “test tube babies,” and its name became synonymous with technological progress run wild. But many of the things Aldous Huxley predicted are coming true, and it turns out they’re not so scary. Ranked…

This Is the Earliest Known Creature Capable of Walking Upright on All Four Legs

Behold Bunostegos akokanensis, an ancient “pre-reptile” that lived during the Permian era some 260 million years ago. Researchers studying its fossilized remains have concluded that it stood upright on all fours, making it the earliest known creature to do so. Pareiasaurs, an ancient group of parareptiles to which Bunostegos belonged, were large herbivores that flourished…

British Scientists Seek Permission to Genetically Modify Human Embryos

Just five months after scientists in China made history by modifying the germline of human embryos, a research team in the U.K. is requesting permission to do the same, but strictly for research into infertility. Given recent calls for a moratorium on such research, the decision is likely to set a precedent for future requests.…

Ancient “Tomb of the Serpent Jaguar Priests” Discovered in Peru

Archaeologists working in northern Peru have discovered an intact 2,700-year-old tomb belonging to the high-altitude Pacopampa people. The tomb contains as number of fascinating artifacts, along with the bodies of two individuals thought to be high priests. The discovery was made by a combined team of Peruvian and Japanese researchers at a site in the…

Why Pianos Can’t Be Perfectly Tuned

Technically speaking, pianos tuned to coventional 12-tone equal temperament aren’t actually in perfect tune. A new video from MinutePhysics explains the math behind this musical oddity, and why in the case of pianos, close enough is good enough. For more about imperfect piano tuning, check out this helpful reddit thread and this Wikipedia article about…

Drinking Coffee Late in the Day Will Screw Up Your Internal Clock

It’s no secret that drinking coffee shortly before bedtime disrupts sleep, but a new study suggests that caffeine can actually affect our body’s internal clock, pushing back our natural rhythms by nearly an hour. I’m an avid coffee drinker and a true believer in the positive effects of caffeine, but I impose a strict personal…

Crazy Photo Shows a Seal Using a Whale as a Surfboard

In what appears to be a growing trend among animals these days, a seal was spotted riding on the back of a humpback whale off the coast of Australia’s New South Wales. Top image: ROBYN MALCOLM/DIIMEX.COM The photograph was taken by Robyn Malcolm, who was on a whale watching trip at the time. Image: ROBYN…

NASA’s Orion May Not Launch With a Crew Until 2023

NASA’s next-gen spacecraft, Orion, was originally scheduled to launch with astronauts aboard in 2021, but owing to the space agency’s history of running into unexpected problems, it has decided to delay this important test flight by two years. The $6.77 billion Orion project is an effort to expand human space exploration, including possible missions to…

Evolution and Climate Change to Be Taught in Alabama Classrooms

Starting next year, students in Alabama will be required to learn about evolution and climate change—a move that upends the state’s decade-old science standards. As reported in the Associated Press, public school students will be required to understand the theory of evolution, along with the rudiments of climate change, which wasn’t set as a science…

Before-and-After Images Reveal Astounding Urban Growth in China

Since 1988, the population along China’s Pearl River Delta has grown by a whopping 32 million people. Now boasting a total population of 42 million, it’s the largest urban area on the planet. To put it into perspective, 42 million people is more than the population of Canada, Australia, or Argentina. Just 27 years ago,…

U.S. Navy Agrees to Create Safe Havens to Protect Marine Mammals From Military Exercises

The U.S. Navy has agreed to set aside vast swaths of ocean territory off the shores of Hawaii and Southern California in an effort to protect sound-sensitive marine mammals from the effects of sonar and powerful explosives used in military exercises. For years, marine biologists have warned about the detrimental effects of high-intensity, mid-frequency sounds…

Could This Really Be a Radar Image of the Long-Lost Nazi Train?

Late last month, news emerged that two European men had discovered a Nazi ghost train in Poland. Now, a pair of ground-penetrating radar images have apparently leaked, purportedly showing the train buried underground—including what appears to be a row of tanks. The second of two ground-penetrating images was published late last week in the Polish…

How Vertical Farming is Revolutionizing the Way We Grow Food

Traditional farming is taking a huge toll on the environment—a problem that’s set to worsen due to our ever-growing global population. Yet there are some high-tech solutions. Here’s what you need to know about the burgeoning practice of controlled-environment agriculture and how it’s set to change everything from the foods we eat to the communities…

A photograph of gannets roosting on the edge of a cliff has earned Barrie Williams top prize in this year’s British Wildlife Photography Awards. The stunning photo was captured by the 29-year-old Scot on the Isle of Noss in Shetland. You can see other notable contest entries at The Guardian. Photo credit: Barrie Williams/BWPA

Medieval Skeleton Found Dangling From the Roots of a Fallen Tree

After a violent storm ripped through the Irish town of Collooney, locals were shocked to discover the remains of a 1,000-year-old skeleton hanging from the roots of a fallen tree. The body, which belonged to a young man who appears to have died a violent death, was found beneath a 200-year-old beech tree. In a…

This Artificially Intelligent Boss Means the Workplace Will Never Be the Same

Suddenly, your boss doesn’t seem so bad. Japanese firm Hitachi is now using artificially intelligent managers, in what may be a world’s first. These AI bosses can not only issue workflows and employee duties in real time, they can even find ways to improve employee efficiency. A week ago, Hitachi announced its new initiative via…

8 Scientific Discoveries That Prove Evolution is Real

When explaining human origins, a staggering 42% of all Americans still ascribe to a creationist interpretation—despite the fact that there’s plenty of evidence to support the theory of natural selection. Here are some of the most potent scientific discoveries that prove Darwin was right. Discovering DNA One of the more remarkable things about On the…

Will Scientists Ever Solve the Mystery of Consciousness?

We still have no idea how the brain produces conscious awareness. In this excellent short video produced by The Economist, various experts are called upon to explain the “hard problem” that is consciousness, and how scientists might solve this profound mystery. For the video, The Economist gathered together an impressive collection of philosophers and scientists,…