George Dvorsky

Our Moon’s Composition Suggests The Earth Used To Have A Twin

A major mystery surrounding the Moon’s origin and early composition may have finally been solved by a team of Israeli astrophysicists. Illustration: Hagai Perets. According to the giant impact hypothesis, the Moon formed when a Mars-sized protoplanet, dubbed Theia, slammed into Earth some 4.5 billion years ago. It wasn’t a direct hit, otherwise both objects…

Scarred Skull Confirms Combat And Cannibalism Among Tyrannosaurs

Paleontologists have painted a grim picture of the short and brutal life endured by a Daspletosaurus, a member of the tyrannosaur family. Damage inflicted to this specimen’s skull affirms the suggestion that that these fearsome carnivores engaged in inter-species combat — and even cannibalism. Top illustration: Tuomas Koivurinne. The idea that tyrannosaurs were cannibals isn’t…

Detailed Photos Of Mercury’s Tortured Surface As MESSENGER Winds Down

With only a few weeks to live, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft has been capturing some of the most detailed images we’ve ever seen of the Solar System’s innermost planet. Here’s the latest batch of Mercury porn. The MESSENGER mission to Mercury, after an extraordinary run of five years, is coming to an end. The spacecraft is…

Behold The World’s First Functional 3D Printed Metal Silencer

Additive manufacturing has come a long way in past few years, including recent advances in metal 3D printing. Given the penchant for firearms in the United States, it’s of little surprise to see the advent of the first functional 3D-printed metal silencer. A gun silencer, or what is more accurately called a “suppressor,” is a…

An Extraordinary Photo Of A Bobcat Fishing For Sharks

Earlier this week, a Florida resident was taking a stroll along Vero Beach in Florida’s Sebastian Inlet State Park when he saw a bobcat staring at a shark that was feeding on smaller fish. But suddenly, the hunter became the hunted. As reported by ABC’s Florida affiliate Local 10, the photograph was captured by John…

A Soldier Killed At Waterloo Has Been Identified 200 Years Later

An amateur military historian is claiming that the identity of a 200-year-old skeleton found near the site of the Battle of Waterloo was Friedrich Brandt, a soldier with a curved upper spine who was fighting for the King’s German Legion of George III. Image: Reuters/Dominique Bosquet/SPW-DG04 As Reuters reported back in 2012, the remains —…

A New Record Has Been Set For Deep Sea Treasure Recovery

Underwater salvage company Deep Ocean Search has successfully salvaged the treasure ship SS City of Cairo. Found at a depth of more than 17,000 feet, the ill-fated World War II-era steamship was loaded with 100-tons of silver coins. Top image: Deep Ocean Search/Bassemayousse As reported by Taylor Zajonc at his blog, Expedition Writer, the ship…

Rumors are circulating that geneticists have modified the DNA of a human embryo. If true, it could allow scientists to hack the human germ line, resulting in heritable genome modifications. Critics warn it could lead to unforeseen consequences, while advocates say it’s the next step in medical evolution. Image: Lightspring/Shutterstock

Brontosaurus Should Be Reinstated As A Distinct Dinosaur, Say Scientists

It’s the most famous dinosaur that never was — or at least that’s what paleontologists have believed for 112 years. After an exhaustive comparative analysis of over 500 physical characteristics, researchers have concluded that Brontosaurus is sufficiently distinct from Apatosaurus to warrant its own genus. Bronto, it appears, is back. Top illustration: Charles P. Knight…

Haunting Traces Of WWI Soldiers Found In Medieval French Tunnels

Archaeologists have stumbled upon nearly 2,000 inscriptions left by soldiers fighting in France during the Great War. The exquisitely preserved markings were found in a tunnel that once provided shelter for villagers during the Middle Ages. Image: Jeffrey Gusky/AP The site, known as the Naours Caves, was once an underground city containing three kilometers worth…

A Map Showing UFO Hot Spots Across The United States

California-based tech firm FindTheBest has compiled a map showing UFO sightings per capita across the United States. Operating on the assumption that absolutely none of these are, in fact, aliens, what does this map actually tell us? As reported in the Huffington Post, the researchers created the map by pulling information from over 61,000 reports,…

Antibiotic Resistance Could Spark Devastating Outbreaks

The UK’s National Risk Register for Civil Emergencies is warning that a widespread outbreak of an antibiotic-resistant blood infection could affect upwards of 200,000 Britons, resulting in the deaths of around 80,000. It’s a dire warning at the dawn of the post-antibiotic era. Here’s what the NRR’s report had to say on the topic: The…

Black Holes May Bleed Meaningful Information About What’s Inside

Information can escape the clutches of a black hole, say researchers from Buffalo University. And incredibly, they say this information is not just gobbledygook — it can actually be deciphered to show what lies beneath. This could have a major impact on the ongoing debate among physicists as to whether black holes destroy information or…

TED-Ed Explains The Effects Of Underwater Pressure On Your Body

Ever wonder what would happen to a deep sea fish if it swam too close to the surface, or why scuba divers have to ascend very slowly after a deep dive? The latest TED-Ed video provides the answers as it explains the physics of pressure change.

A Sick Note We All Wish Our Doctors Would Write

In Canada and elsewhere, it’s common practice for employers to demand a doctor’s note when calling in sick. But as this letter from a doctor in Calgary so eloquently points out, it’s not just a headache for employees — it’s also a burden on the system. Image: Reddit via eagle66 This unverified sick note was…

The First-Known Medical Consent Form Dates Back To 1524

Turkish historians have uncovered the oldest-known example of a signed written consent form. Dating back to the 16th Century Ottoman Empire, the discovery suggests the use of these forms — in this case permission to remove a bladder stone — was practiced long before it was adopted in the West. There’s a debate among historians…

New Fossil Dating Technique Casts Doubt On Human Origins

A new dating technique has revised the estimated age of Little Foot from 2.2 million to 3.6 million years ago. That’s significant because it places the rare Australopithecus fossil within the same evolutionary timeframe as Lucy, a hominid from a separate species. Meaning humans may not be related to Lucy after all. Top image: Professor…

Scientists have recorded the longest non-stop migratory flight made by birds. By equipping blackpoll warblers with a GPS, researchers learned the diminutive 12 gram bird can cross the Atlantic — an average distance of 1,580 miles (2,540 km) — over just two to three days. This migration is “on the brink of impossibility.” Image: PJTurgeon/CC

Tatooine-Like Planets May Be More Common Than We Thought

For decades, astronomers have assumed that Earth-like planets cannot form around binary stars on account of wacky gravitational effects. Which, for Star Wars fans, was a total downer. But a new study suggests that not only is the formation of Tatooine-like planets very much possible, they may actually be quite common. Photo credit: Ben Bromley,…

Major Clues About the Sex Lives of Oviraptors

After analyzing the 75-million-year-old remains of a raptor couple likely killed in sand dune collapse, a Canadian paleontologist has discovered dramatic physical differences between the two, a possible sign of sexual dimorphism in the species, and further evidence that these dinos partook in elaborate mating rituals. The remarkably well-preserved fossil, which was found in Mongolia’s…