George Dvorsky

These are the oldest pants ever discovered. They belonged to a nomadic herder living in China between 3,300 and 3,000 years ago. The invention of trousers, say archeologists, is likely due to the advent of horseback riding and the increased need for mobility. (M. WAGNER/GERMAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE)

Behold The Awesome Sight of Four Galaxy Clusters In A Collision

Galaxies often hit each other. But what about galactic clusters? It happens — and this is what it looks like when the largest gravitationally bound objects in the universe slam into one another. This region of space is located about five billion light-years from Earth. It shows no less than four clusters of galaxies in…

A New Technique Could Erase Painful Memories — Or Bring Them Back

By using pulses of light, researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine have produced, erased, and restored fearful memories in rats. It’s a finding that could have profound implications for people struggling with neurodegenerative and anxiety disorders. The study, though not the first to implant a memory in a rodent, is the first…

Why Settle For Two Arms When You Can Have Four?

Researchers at MIT’s d’Arbeloff Laboratory have unveiled a pair of wearable robotic limbs that would make Dr. Octopus proud. Supernumerary Robotic Limbs (SRLs) are wearable robotic limbs that, instead of replacing missing limbs, endow the user with an extra set. And unlike conventional exoskeletons, these limbs augment the workspace and skills of the user. The…

Scientists have teleported quantum information between two bits of diamond located 10 feet apart. It’s a prime example of “spooky action at a distance” — and an achievement that could lead to quantum networks exponentially more powerful and secure than today’s supercomputers. Image: Artistic impression of quantum teleportation of a spin state between two distant…

FIFA’s New World Cup Ball Is The Fastest And Most Aeodynamic Yet

When the 2014 FIFA World Cup gets started on June 12 in Brazil, the world’s greatest soccer players will be booting around one of the most advanced balls ever created for the sport — and the science proves it. Called Brazuca, it was developed by Adidas. Here’s what makes it unique: It has six polyurethane…

Astronomers Discover the “Mega Earth,” an Entirely New Type of Planet

Meet the “Mega Earth.” Described today by astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, this ancient rocky world weighs 17 times as much as Earth — which is a big surprise considering that rocky, solid planets aren’t supposed to get that huge. Above: Artistic impression of the newly classified “mega-Earth” Kepler-10c (foreground). Its sibling, the…

New 3D Visualization Of A Synapse Is Both Gorgeous And Weird

Our brains contain trillions of synapses, each of them capable of converting an electrical signal into a chemical one, and vice-versa. But while that might sound simple, the mechanics behind this process is anything but — as this spectacular new 3D visualization so beautifully illustrates. These visual representations of an average synapse are probably the…

Watching 22,000 Dominoes Fall In Reverse Is Unreasonably Satisfying

To commemorate his 200,000th YouTube subscriber, Hevesh5 created one of the most spectacular displays of domino toppling dominance we’ve ever seen. But even more gratifying than that is watching the whole darn thing in reverse. It took Hevesh5 five days (and a total of 25 hours) to set it all up — and he did…

Introducing HeroX — A Way To Crowdfund Your Very Own X-Prize

Imagine being able to come up with your own insanely futuristic idea — and then having teams race to achieve your goal. The recently launched HeroX platform could make this happen. HeroX is essentially a cross between XPrize and Kickstarter, enabling the crowd to create their own challenges and then eventually crowdfund them. It’s described…

Why Agnosticism Probably Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means

Agnostics are often characterized as ambivalent or wishy-washy fence sitters who refuse to make up their minds. But there’s much more to agnosticism than these tired misconceptions, including a stricter adherence to scientific principles than those typically invoked by atheists. Top image: “The Eye of God” Helix Nebula (NGC 7293). Credit: Hubble/NASA/Rogelio Bernal Andreo. The…

Most Doctors Would Refuse Their Own Aggressive End-Of-life Treatments

A recent survey shows that an overwhelming number of American doctors, when facing their own death, would decline the extraordinary measures they themselves continually impose upon their patients. So why do they insist on doing it? Indeed, there’s a huge discrepancy between what people say they want at the end-of-life (EOL) and the care they…

The Next Cosmos Is Poised To Be The Most Controversial Yet

To date, the rebooted Cosmos series has unabashedly tackled such “controversial” topics as evolution and industry-funded science denial. But as this preview of the next episode shows, Neil deGrasse Tyson — along with his adorable dog — are heading straight into climate change country. In the clip, de Grasse Tyson takes the time to distinguish…

Have Scientists Solved The Mystery Of Phantom Limb Pain?

Nearly all amputees feel their missing limb as if it still existed, and many experience chronic phantom limb pain. The going theory is that this pain is triggered by the brain. But scientists have now located and blocked these sensations in the body itself — a finding that upends conventional thinking. According to the popular…

Stephen Hawking’s Formula For England’s World Cup Success

Physicist Stephen Hawking has temporarily set aside his work on black holes and existential threats in favor of something far more elusive: Trying to figure out the conditions under which the English soccer squad could actually win a World Cup — something they haven’t done since 1966. https://gizmodo.com/stephen-hawking-says-there-are-no-black-holes-1508408816 https://gizmodo.com/stephen-hawking-says-a-i-could-be-our-worst-mistake-in-1570963874 In an exclusive report for Paddy…

CNN Needlessly Terrifies Thousands By Publishing Asteroid Hoax

Earlier this week — and for a period of nearly 24 hours — a CNN iReport falsely claimed that a newly discovered asteroid has a nearly 50% chance of hitting the Earth in 2041. The story received more than 230,000 hits and 23,000 media shares before it was finally taken down. Ah, such are the…

Google is going to make its own self-driving cars. With a maximum speed of 25 mph (40 kph), the cartoonish vehicle only has a stop/go button — so it has no steering wheel, accelerator, or brake pedal. Users can chart their progress with a touchscreen. You can see the car in action here.

Should People Without Licenses Be Allowed To ‘Drive’ Autonomous Cars?

Self-driving vehicles are starting to appear on our streets, and it’ll only be a matter of time before they’re commonplace. Which brings up an interesting question: Just who, exactly, should — or should not — be allowed behind the wheel? This question was recently posed by the fine folks at the Open Roboethics Initiative via…

A Visualization Of Popular Opening Chess Moves Over Time

Theoretically, there are 71,852 positions that can be obtained in chess after each player’s fourth move, the vast majority of which are strategically useless. So where to start? This remarkable visualization shows how the opinions on this matter have changed over time. These graphs were put together by computer science graduate research assistant Randal Olson.…

Exoplanets Close to Earth’s Size Are Surprisingly Common

A recently-finished study of Kepler data is providing a new glimpse into the Milky Way’s exoplanetary composition. Planets about one to four times the size of Earth appear to be typical around Sun-like stars. But researchers say we don’t know yet whether they have the potential to harbour life. This latest survey, which was conducted…