George Dvorsky

Could This New Competition Replace The Turing Test?

Nuance Communications has announced a new annual competition to develop artificially intelligent agents capable of solving the “Winograd Schema Challenge”, a possible alternative to the Turing Test — and one that’s intended to provide a more accurate measure of genuine machine intelligence. Indeed, the recent proclamation that the “Eugene Goostman” chatbot had passed the Turing…

The Claws Of This Cyborg Scorpion Can Be Controlled Remotely

Because smartphone-controlled cyborg cockroaches are apparently not enough, Michigan-based Backyard Brains has turned their attention to predatory arthropods — this time using an electrical current to remotely induce a scorpion to strike with its claws and tail. https://gizmodo.com/now-you-can-control-living-cockroaches-with-a-mobile-ap-1442243456 These new scorpion experiments are an extension of Backyard Brains’ s cockroach work. Their “RoboRoach” is an…

Running for as little as five minutes a day could add years to your life. And it doesn’t matter how fast you run. After studying 55,137 adults between the ages of 18 and 100, it was discovered that runners had a 30% lower risk of death from all causes and a 45% lower risk of…

Over 100 Geysers On Enceladus May Be Spouting Water Onto Its Surface

Scientists working on NASA’s Cassini mission have discovered no less than 101 distinct geysers on Saturn’s small icy moon Enceladus. Just as exciting is the possibility that liquid water may be reaching the surface — making Enceladus a major target for future exploration. Back in 2005, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft sent back images showing what appeared…

NASA’s Opportunity Rover Just Smashed The Off-World Driving Record

The Opportunity rover has been trekking across the Martian surface since 2004, but this past Sunday its odometer clicked past the 25-mile (40-km) mark, establishing a new off-world distance record. It’s a remarkable achievement — so whose record did it smash? The answer is the Soviet Union’s Lunokhod 2 Rover. This probe trundled along the…

This Chart Makes It Obvious Why Planetary Colonization Will Be Tough

UK chemistry teacher Andy Brunning has put together a very sharp looking infographic that explores the atmospheric compositions of our solar system’s planets. When you look at it this way, it’s pretty obvious why visiting other worlds is going to be a dangerous proposition. Like a lab experiment, different chemical elements give rise to particular…

Earth As Seen From the Orbit Of Mars

We’ve seen our planet from the perspective of Mars before, but this one’s a bit different. It’s an image of our pale blue dot as seen by the Mars Express Orbiter. It may not look like much, but getting this shot was no easy task. https://gizmodo.com/curiosity-captures-its-first-photo-of-earth-from-the-su-1518296849 The European Space Agency recently captured a chance image…

hitchBOT’s Epic 3,800 Mile Journey Across Canada Has Officially Begun

And so it begins: A child-sized robot named hitchBOT is currently making its way across Canada. Alone and immobile, hitchBOT will have to reach the West Coast by relying on others to get it there. Here’s how you can follow hitchBOT’s adventures. https://gizmodo.com/this-robot-is-going-to-hitchhike-across-canada-by-itsel-1591363499 This past Sunday, a couple from Nova Scotia became the first to…

Watch The Entire First World War Unfold In Less Than Six Minutes

It was 100 years ago this week that all hell broke loose in Europe. To commemorate the onset of the Great War, YouTuber Emperor Tigerstar has painstakingly put together a timelapse video chronicling every single day of the four year conflict. After creating similar timelapse videos for the Second World War, Emperor Tigerstar has turned…

“Colossally Poor Timing” of Asteroid Caused Dinosaur Extinction

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh say the dinosaurs might have survived the asteroid strike that wiped them out had it happened slightly later or earlier in history. Though many theories have been presented over the years to explain how and why the dinosaurs became extinct, a consensus is growing around the idea that it…

This Conceptual Skyscraper Rises Like A Giant Coil

Called “The Endless City in Height,” this gorgeous design does away with traditional stacking floors, replacing them with two street-sized ramps that rise and coil vertically into the London skyline. SURE Architecture recently took top prize at the Skyscrapers and SuperSkyscrapers Competition with this design. The building’s pedestrian-friendly and intertwining ramps would be connected to…

Google Wants to Create a Map of What a Healthy Human Body Looks Like

It’s the ultimate baseline study — an effort to collect the fullest picture of what a healthy human being should look like. The project, which is in its early stages, is being run by Andrew Conrad, a molecular biologist known for developing affordable, high-volume tests for HIV in blood-plasma donations. His team now consists of…

Over 90% Of Human DNA May Be Completely Worthless

Geneticists at Oxford University are making the astounding claim that a mere 8.2% of our DNA does something biologically important. That means upwards of 90% of the human genome is “junk” — a discovery that could dramatically hasten genetic research. As a concept, junk DNA emerged in the early 1970s. The idea became famous at…

It’s going to be harder to find habitable Earth-like worlds than we thought. An analysis of three hot Jupiters yielded only 1/10 to 1/1000 the amount of water predicted by models. This means our planetary formation theories are incomplete — and that we should expect to see lower water abundances on potentially habitable terrestrial exoplanets.…

A Closer Look at the Comet We’ll Be Meeting Soon

Last week, as the Rosetta spacecraft came within 8,700 miles of its destination comet, it sent back images of what appeared to be a whirling rubber ducky in space. Now, using the same data, researchers have created a 3D model of the object. And, well, it still sorta looks like a rubber ducky. To create…

New Evidence Suggests Tyrannosaurs Hunted In Packs

One of the most frightening creatures to ever terrorize this Earth just got scarier. The fossilized remains of tyrannosaur tracks found in British Columbia are providing the strongest evidence yet that these predators travelled and hunted in family groups — a conglomeration the researchers are calling ‘a terror of tyrannosaurs.’ Though skeletal records are common,…

Researchers Test A Prototype Of An Alien-Hunting Robotic Ice Drill

Recent discoveries of active under-ice oceans on Europa and Enceladus have kindled speculation that life may exist at the outer reaches of our solar system. But to prove it, we’re going to have to employ devices like the one recently tested by Stone Aerospace researchers in Alaska. https://gizmodo.com/massive-plumes-of-water-are-erupting-from-europas-icy-1481376874 https://gizmodo.com/weve-found-a-hidden-ocean-on-enceladus-that-may-harbor-1557622077 Called VALKYRIE, the Stone Aeorospace cryobot…

A Surveilliance Drone That Can Fit Inside A Soldier’s Pocket

U.S. Army engineers are working on a mini aerial surveillance drone for troops working in challenging environments. Once deployed, the scifi-like device could allow soldiers to get a bird’s-eye view of their immediate area, or scan the contents of a room as they clear a building. It’s called the Cargo Pocket ISR, where ISR stands…

A ‘Nano Vaccine’ That Combats Dust Mite Allergies

Scientists at the University of Iowa have developed a vaccine that combats dust mite allergies by naturally switching off the body’s immune response. It’s welcome news for the millions of people who suffer from mite-induced breathing difficulties. Nearly 84% of households in the United States contain dust mites — microscopic organisms that feed on organic…

Did Airplanes Evolve the Same Way Birds Did?

A principle that guides the evolution of animals may also apply to airplanes as well. Called “constructal law,” it compares the progression of aircraft to birds and other creatures, while also providing guidelines for the development of future planes. Remarkably, it also explains why the Concorde didn’t survive — a design that, according this model,…