George Dvorsky

Rare Images Of A Baby Born While Still Inside The Amniotic Sac

In what the delivery doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles described as “a moment of awe,” a baby born at 26 weeks via cesarean section entered into the world while still completely wrapped in the amniotic sac. Warning: (fairly tame) medical images to follow. Immediately after the emergency c-section, the baby, Silas Philips,…

A Chart Comparing Publication Dates To When A Story Takes Place

Randall Munroe has really outdone himself with today’s xkcd. The infographic shows when a certain story was published and then compares that date to the length of time — either in the future or past — to when the story actually took or will take place. To understand this chart, called “Stories of the Past…

What Men Really Need To Know About  Testosterone Replacement Therapy

One of the fastest growing areas in pharmacology today is testosterone supplementation in men. But while low-T is a genuine problem for some men, it’s not as prevalent as you may think – and the treatment is not without its risks. Here’s what men need to know about testosterone replacement therapy, and why it should…

Curiosity’s Latest Wide-Angle Selfie Is Its Most Remarkable Photo Yet

Now would be a good time to update your desktop wallpaper. NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has snapped a spectacular — if not inexplicable — wide-angled self-portrait at the Mojave Site on Mount Sharp where the probe is currently drilling for samples. Here’s how NASA created the extraordinary shot. It’s actually a composite of dozens of…

Ancient Bolivians Used Basic Chemistry To Strip Flesh From Human Bones

Archaeologists working in the Titicaca Basin have discovered a mortuary used by ancient Bolivians to strip the skin from the remains of the dead. It appears they used calcium oxide – a substance more commonly known as quicklime – to to dissolve these bodies down to the bone. The mortuary site, a religious complex known…

After waiting 80 years to flower, this huge plant has just one month to live. Following a growth spurt that saw the unusually old American agave plant grow to 28 feet tall, it’s now in a period of decline. Thankfully, the “tons” of seeds it finally produced from its pods will be distributed to botanical…

An Astounding Amount Of Saharan Dust Fuels The Amazon Basin

Using satellite data, NASA scientists have created the first-ever 3D model showing just how much dust makes its way from the Saharan Desert to the Amazon forest. Incredibly, this dust is seeding the rain forest with an essential nutrient, an indication of just how interconnected these disparate regions really are. Each year, wind kicks up…

Depriving Infants Of Peanut Products May Have Been A Colossal Mistake

For years, parents have been told to withhold peanuts from their children until the age of three, to prevent the onset of dangerous peanut allergies. A landmark study is now throwing this conventional wisdom on its head, instead suggesting that most peanut allergies can be staved off by introducing peanuts to children early. The prevalence…

The World Health Organization Urges Switch To “Smart” Syringes By 2020

By using the same syringe to give injections to multiple people, health practitioners around the world are significantly driving the spread of many deadly infectious diseases. In an effort to deal with this problem, the WHO is pushing for syringes that cannot be used more than once — and they want this worldwide switch to…

Freshwater Is Pouring Out Of Alaska Faster Than The Mississippi River

Scientists have verified that the rate of freshwater being released into the Gulf of Alaska is approximately 1.5 times the amount being dumped by the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico each year. Disturbingly, half of this water is coming from the melting of glaciers and snow. Top image: Bering Glacier via NASA The…

Turkish Forces Enter Into Syria To Save A Sacred 780-Year-Old Artifact

In an effort to rescue 38 soldiers and the remains of Suleyman Shah — the “grandfather of the Ottoman Empire” — from ISIS forces, Turkey yesterday dispatched hundreds of soldiers, tanks, aircraft, and drones to a tomb in Syria. According to Article 9 of the Treaty of Ankara signed between Turkey and France in 1921,…

The Remains Of A Stone Age Couple Found In A Spooning Embrace

Archaeologists working at the Alepotrypa Cave in Greece have discovered a rare 5,800-year-old double burial in which two well-preserved skeletons were found in what appears to be the spooning position. This excavation site is one of the largest Neolithic burial sites in all of Europe. The cave has a huge interior, with some of its…

23andMe Gets FDA Approval For One Very Particular Genetic Test

Back in 2013, the FDA forced 23andme to pull its DNA testing kits in the United States, saying the personal genetics company was offering an untested diagnostic device. Now the FDA has given the okay for 23andme to test for one specific genetic disorder — a potential sign that the company’s full offering may stage…

How Much Longer Before Companies Start To Run Themselves?

Increasingly powerful AI is poised to threaten many well-established professions. A strong case can be made that no industry or job is safe — including the upper echelons of corporate governance. The era is fast approaching when companies will be able to operate with virtually no human intervention. Here’s how it will work. Illustration by…

Our Best View Of A Stellar Debris Disk Warped By A Massive Exoplanet

Astronomers working with the Hubble Space Telescope have released the most detailed picture ever taken of a circumstellar debris disk viewed edge-on. It’s the only picture we have of a protoplanetary disk with an actual planet orbiting within it. Beta Pictoris is a 20-million-year old system located about 63 light-years from Earth. This star is…

Stephen Hawking Captured These Amazing Pics With His Brand New Toy

The world’s most famous astrophysicist now has a vastly improved view of the cosmos. He was recently visited by employees of Celestron, who installed an 11-inch telescope in his home. Hawking has quickly taken to the telescope and he’s already posted some incredible images. Earlier this week, Hawking posted the news and the pics at…

A Test Of Nevada’s Solar Tower Project Torched Over A Hundred Birds  

In what’s turning into a public relations headache for the solar industry, news has emerged that a recent test of the 110-megawatt Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Nevada resulted in some 130 birds catching fire, when they flew into an area of highly concentrated solar energy. As KCET’s Rewire is reporting, the incident happened…

Why Some Things Get Better After A Disaster

Normally, the things around us become damaged after experiencing an unexpected disruption or shock. But there are aspects to our world that actually get better after a setback. Here’s why things that don’t kill us can sometimes make us stronger. Illustration by Tara Jacoby We often associate disasters – be they environmental, social, political, or…

Oliver Sacks On Learning He Has Terminal Cancer

Neurologist and science popularizer Oliver Sacks — author of such books as Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat — has written a poignant and touching op-ed in the The New York Times to reflect on the recent news that he’s dying of cancer. Sacks, who is now 81, learned a…

Sea Snail Teeth Are The Strongest Known Biological Structures

Step aside, spider silk — you’ve just been replaced by the limpet as the creature with the strongest biological material known to science. It’s a discovery that could result in high-tech materials even tougher than Kevlar. The new research shows that the teeth of limpets — conical shaped sea snails (Patella vulgata) that scour rocks…