George Dvorsky

9 Unexpected Outcomes Of Human Cloning

Human cloning is currently illegal in virtually all parts of the world, but that doesn’t mean it will stay that way. Here are some surprising things we can expect once we’re finally allowed to make genetic duplicates of ourselves. Back in 2005, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Declaration on Human Cloning prohibiting all…

Discovery Of ‘Electric Bacteria’ Hints At The Potential For Alien Life

Microbiologists have learned that certain strains of bacteria are capable of using energy in its purest form by eating and breathing electrons. It’s a discovery that demonstrates an entirely new mode of life on Earth — and possibly beyond. Called “electric bacteria,” these microbes harvest electrons from rocks and metals. These microbes produce hair-like filaments…

Family That Walks On All Fours Not A Product Of ‘Reverse Evolution’

In Turkey, there’s a family with an apparent genetic disorder that causes them to walk on all fours. Scientists have speculated that they’re an example of “devolution” — a backwards step towards our quadrupedal past. A new paper challenges this assumption, offering a far more reasonable explanation. This condition came to light in a 2005…

The Pentagon Takes Its Next Major Step Towards A Reusable Spaceplane

In an effort to reduce satellite launch costs, DARPA has awarded three companies with a $4 million preliminary design contract to develop the XS-1 Experimental Spaceplane — a reusable, unoccupied booster that functions similar to modern aircraft. The three companies are The Boeing Company (working with Blue Origin, LLC), Masten Space Systems (working with XCOR…

This Social Robot Is Designed to Become Part of Your Family

Meet Jibo, a robotic device designed for people to use at home. Developed by MIT’s Cynthia Breazeal, the robot can turn toward whoever’s speaking to it and interact with them in a fun and engaging way. Remarkably, Jibo is expected to cost as little as a tablet computer. Breazeal designed Jibo to be an interactive…

An Alarming Short Film That Will Change The Way You Think About Plastic

Plastic has become a ubiquitous part of life, though we rarely think about its impact on the environment and our health. This beautifully crafted four-minute film shows the various problems associated with plastic, along with possible solutions. The film, titled “It’s a Plastic World”, was directed and produced by Andreas Tanner. At his project website…

A Dramatic 260 Foot Crater Has Mysteriously Appeared In Siberia

Russian geologists are on their way to a remote region of Siberia’s Yamal Peninsula to investigate the mysterious appearance of what looks like a gigantic Sarlac Pit. Opinions are divided as to what caused the apparent crater. As the Siberian Times is reporting, the unexplained hole was spotted by a helicopter flying over the gas-rich…

The Largest Dinosaur Capable Of Flight Had Four Wings

A non-avian dinosaur with exceptionally long feathers has been discovered in China. Called Changyuraptor yangi, the 125 million-year-old flying raptor measured nearly four feet long, making it the largest theropod that ever took to the air. Changyuraptor belonged to a group of predatory feathered dinosaurs called Microraptorines, a group which included several small four-winged species.…

A controversial new study suggests we choose our friends because they share our genes. An analysis of nearly 2,000 people shows that our friends are as genetically similar to us as our fourth cousins. But critics say other factors could affect the results, such as ethnicity or other types of population stratification.

There Is Some Hope That We Aren’t Living Inside a Computer Simulation

Philosopher Nick Bostrom’s famous Simulation Argument suggests it’s highly probable that we live inside a supercomputer. But one philosopher takes this hypothesis to task, arguing in a new paper that there are other post-human scenarios that need to be taken into account. Before we get started, it’s important to note that this discussion is limited…

A Sunken Nazi Sub Has Been Discovered Off The Texas Coast

In a shocking reminder of how close the Second World War came to America, a German U-boat has been discovered by marine archaeologists working off the shores of Texas in the Gulf of Mexico. That Nazi subs once prowled the Gulf of Mexico may come as a bit of surprise to Americans. “And there’s a…

These Insanely Detailed Maps Of Mars Are The Most Accurate Yet

After 16 years of painstaking work, the U.S. Geological Survey has released a series of geologic maps that offer the most thorough representation of the Red Planet’s surface to date. The revealing project will help mission planners target future areas for robotic — and potentially human — exploration. The USGS is no stranger to producing…

Should Pedophiles Be Allowed To Use Child Sexbots?

It won’t be much longer before we start using personal robots to fulfil our erotic desires. But what if these sexbots will be used to mimic illegal sexual activities, such as pedophilia? The answer is surprisingly complicated. This troubling issue was raised at a robot ethics panel at Berkeley late last week. During the discussion,…

Two genetic programs have been discovered that turn stem cells into blood. The method, which mirrors the way blood is produced in the body, allows researchers to make both white and red blood cells. Encouragingly, the researchers produced 30 million blood cells for every million stem cells. Image: eurostemcell

North America’s First Foragers Hunted These Elephant-like Creatures

A recent archeological dig in Mexico shows that gomphotheres — an extinct elephant-like animal believed to have disappeared from North America long before humans got there — actually roamed the continent longer than previously thought. Incredibly, the new evidence suggests these large mammals were hunted by the Clovis people. The earliest known foragers to populate…

Pentagon Successfully Demonstrates Self-Guiding Sniper Bullets

A DARPA-funded project has successfully demonstrated a .50-caliber sniper round capable of maneuvering during flight in order to maintain a fix on its target. Called EXACTO, the bullet is optically guided to the target by a laser, allowing for accuracy up to 1.2 miles away. Headshots will never be the same. EXACTO stands for Extreme…

An 8,000 Year-old Skull Has Been Found With Preserved Brain Matter

Archaeologists in Norway have found an 8,000 year-old skull at a Stone Age site that could very well be of human origin. Remarkably, it contains a grey, clay-like substance thought to be the preserved remains of the brain. If confirmed, it could be one of the oldest human brains ever found. As The Local reports,…

Freak Hail Storm Ruins A Perfectly Good Day For Russian Beachgoers

Visitors to a beach in Novosibirsk, Russia, were forced to run for cover when a sudden temperature drop from 105° to 71° F (41° to 22° C) caused a severe hail storm, dropping ice pellets the size of golf balls. Be sure to watch the three-minute video from start to finish as the storm gets…

Smoke From Canada’s Copious Wildfires As Seen From Space

Canada is currently experiencing one of its worst wildfire seasons ever. The active fires blazing in British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and Alberta are spewing tremendous amounts of smoke into the atmosphere, affecting weather patterns in both Canada and the United States. This gorgeous shot was taken by the NOAA’s GOES-west satellite on July 9,…

Why The Destruction Of A Blue Supergiant Star Is Unlike Any Other

The recent detection of a gamma-ray burst from a massive blue supergiant is helping astronomers understand how the universe’s primordial stars ended their lives in cataclysmic explosions. But more than this, it revealed several features never seen before in a stellar explosion. Astronomers recently detected an anomalous flash of energetic radiation streaming away from a…