George Dvorsky

Camera-Traps Detect “Extinct” Wallabies In Western Australia

Using strategically placed camera-traps, conservationists in Australia have found signs of spectacled hare wallabies — a species that hasn’t been seen in the area for the past 10 years. Prior to the recent discovery, the last spectacled hare wallaby (Lagorchestes conspicillatus) to be seen at Roebuck Plains was a single road kill 10 years ago.…

The ESA Is Homing In On Philae’s Final Resting Place

After bouncing around Comet 67P late last week, the Philae lander eventually settled far from its intended site. Exactly where it’s resting remains a mystery, but ESA mission controllers have narrowed it down to this tiny area. ESA controllers have yet to make a visual identification of Philae. Rosetta is still scanning from above, so…

Watch As This Ferret Psychs Itself Up For An Impossible Jump

Spoiler alert: Our courageous little ferret doesn’t quite make it across the abyss.

Does “Positive Thinking” Really Make Our Lives Better?

You’ve heard the self-help gurus who say positive thoughts can bring us happiness, wealth, and success. But there’s another side to the story. Here’s why positive thinking often backfires — and why many of us are starting to resent it. Illustration by Jim Cooke. Positive thinking is that spin we put on life and all…

Intoxicated Birds Can Sober Up Safely In This Yukon Drunk Tank

This is that special time of year when birds in the Yukon get plastered by eating fermented berries. The drunks birds fall out of trees, fly into objects, and pass out. To help, local environmentalists have set up a special holding tank where they can sober up. After the first frost, many berries will ferment,…

Watch In Horror As A Tapeworm Wiggles Through A Living Man’s Brain

Physicians in the UK were unable to explain a strange ring-like pattern moving across a patient’s brain tissue in a series of scans taken over four years. During a biopsy, they were shocked to learn it was a one centimeter-long parasitic tape worm. The 50-year-old Chinese man was admitted to hospital after complaining of headaches,…

Nature’s Candids: The Best Wildlife Camera-Trap Photography Of 2014

BBC Wildlife has selected its favorite photographs of the year — but not the ones taken by actual photographers. Rather, these photos were taken by automated camera-traps — and they’re surprisingly awesome. Above: Commended photograph: Grey squirrel, Wimbledon Common, London by Damian Kuzdak. This year saw a record number of entries, and an astonishing 877…

Call it Orphan Black: Astronomers believe they’ve discovered a supermassive black hole that was kicked out of its home galaxy during a collision with another galaxy. Originally thought to be a supernova, the rogue black hole is adrift in interstellar space, some 2,600 light-years away from its host galaxy’s core. It’s considered the first discovery…

Why “Neglected Diseases” Are Becoming A Global Danger

Though over 1 billion people suffer from them, they’re called “neglected diseases.” That’s because they attract little public attention and research money. But these diseases are about to explode across the globe, which is why many doctors say the neglect needs to stop now. Illustration by Jim Cooke. It’s a safe bet you’ve heard of…

Take A Tour Of London On The Back Of This Eagle

In commemoration of its efforts to protect endangered species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature set up a remarkable tour of London by strapping a GoPro camera to the back of an Eagle. The result is a very impressive birds-eye-view of the city’s most iconic landmarks. The eagle flew by many of the capital’s…

New Theory Suggests Life Can Emerge On Planets Without Water

Astrobiologists like to argue about the various parameters required for planetary habitability, but one thing they tend to agree on is that water must be present. A new theory upends this assumption by suggesting that alien life could thrive on “supercritical carbon dioxide” instead. When chemists talk about supercritical fluids (SCFs), they’re describing fluids that…

This Stunning Mosaic Was Just Uncovered In Greece

Archaeologists working in Northern Greece have uncovered a new part of the spectacular mosaic at the Roman baths in Plotinopolis, Didymoteicho. The stunningly colorful piece conveys an ocean theme, and includes the depiction of sea centaurs, dolphins, cupids, and sea-horses. The newly uncovered section of the mosaic, which represents 90 square meters out of a…

Two New Subatomic Particles Have Been Discovered At CERN

Particle physicists working at the Large Hadron Collider have detected two new subatomic particles that were predicted to exist but never seen. The discovery of the two new baryon particles stands to deepen our understanding of the universe. The two new baryons (known as Xi_b’- and Xi_b*-) are made from three quarks bound together by…

Philae’s Discovery Of Organic Molecules Is Actually Not A Big Deal

Prior to going into hibernation mode, the Philae lander hurriedly conducted a number of experiments and sent its findings back to Earth. Preliminary analysis shows that the icy and dust-covered comet contains organic molecules. It’s a cool discovery, no doubt, but one that shouldn’t be exaggerated in terms of its importance. Obviously, people are excited…

What In The Hell Caused This Enormous Flash Over Russia?

An ominous dash-cam video has captured an extraordinarily bright orange flash in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region in the Urals. Though the event was witnessed by many onlookers, there’s still no explanation for what appears to be a rather massive blast. The event happened this past Friday, November 14th. The video evidence: According to E1.ru, officials said…

This Terrifying Simulation Shows A Year In The Life Of Earth’s CO2

NASA scientists have produced an ultra-high resolution computer model showing the ebbs and flows of carbon dioxide over the course of an entire year. It’s both stunning and undeniably frightening. This is the first hi-res simulation to show in such fine detail how carbon dioxide actually moves through the atmosphere. Watching it, you can see…

Neuroscientists “Rediscover” A Completely New Brain Part

A major brain pathway first described in an 1881 neuroanatomy atlas — and then completely forgotten — has been rediscovered and confirmed by scientists using modern scanning techniques. Above: A drawing by German-Austrian neuroanatomist Theodor Meynert that appeared in an 1892 article depicts other prominent brain pathways but leaves out the vertical occipital fasciculus. Caption…

Life in Space Affects Men’s And Women’s Health Very Differently

For the past three years, NASA scientists have been examining the differences between how male and female astronauts’ health is affected by spaceflight. The results are fascinating. Image credit: NASA/NSBRI Back in 2011, NASA and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) — on the recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences — assembled six…

How The Search For Aliens Could Save Us From Environmental Collapse

It’s hard to assess the sustainability of our civilization when climate scientists and ecologists have nothing to compare ourselves to. Which is why we need to learn from the success — and potential failures — of distant alien civilizations. It’s an open question as to whether or not climate change poses an existential risk to…

This Blind Screech Owl Has Eyes That Are Impossible To Believe

Meet Zeus, a blind Western Screech Owl with eyes that look like a celestial scene captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The injured owl was recently discovered on a porch in Southern California after it flew into the wall of a house and hit his head. After a visit to the vet, the owl found…