George Dvorsky

Astronomers Discover An Entire Cluster of Stars Tossed From Its Galaxy

Scientists have seen hypervelocity stars before, but this is the first time they’ve ever observed an entire star cluster thrown from its host galaxy. Named HVGC-1, it’s traveling at a rate of 2 million miles per hour — and its ultimate fate is to drift through the cosmic void for all time. Top image: Artistic…

Japan Has A Plan To Start Using Space-based Solar Power By The 2030s

In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, Japan has doubled its efforts to find a viable alternative to nuclear power. An updated proposal from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) seeks to solve the island nation’s energy woes — and it’s the much vaunted scifi-like idea of building an orbital farm. Space-based solar is an…

Lack of Immunizations Cause Measles Outbreaks in Calgary and Edmonton

Alberta’s two largest cities, Calgary and Edmonton, have declared a measles outbreak. The province’s health service is asking people who show signs of the disease to stay indoors. Not surprisingly, the outbreak has been linked to dangerously low levels of immunizations. Relatedly, confirmed cases in Washington’s Whatcom County have been link to a current outbreak…

Why Neglecting Math Can Be Hazardous To Your Life

Last year, more than 510,000 international students took part in survey focusing on mathematics. Of the 65 countries involved, the US ranked 36th — a poor result that points to the growing problem of innumeracy. Here’s why we need to be literate in math, and why our failure to do so is spelling bad news…

Unprecedented Images Show The “Dim Matter” That Connects All Galaxies

Using the Cosmic Web Imager, astronomers from Caltech have captured the first three-dimensional images of the intergalactic medium (IGM) — the diffuse gas that connects galaxies throughout the universe. Above: The Lyman alpha blob in emerging galaxy cluster showing gas filaments flowing into blob (as shown by arrows). Astronomers have theorized about the presence of…

How Scientists Could Be Fooled Into Thinking They’ve Found Alien Life

One of the more promising techniques for detecting alien life is by scanning the atmospheres of distant planets for biosignatures. But as new research shows, astrobiologists could very easily be deceived into thinking they’ve found extraterrestrial life when a moon is involved. Top image: Artist’s impression of the first exomoon candidate known to astronomers. Such…

Greenpeace Envisions A Nightmarish Future Populated By Robotic Bees

As part of Greenpeace’s “Save the Bees” campaign, the environmental organization is showcasing a faux advertisement depicting a future in which robots have replaced natural pollinators. But while well-intentioned, it’s a rather myopic view of where we’re likely headed. The video is not as outlandish as it appears (though the suggestion that robotic bees will…

The hearts of genetically modified pigs could soon be transplanted into humans. A research team, who tweaked the DNA of pigs to make the organ more compatible to humans, grafted a pig heart into a baboon more than a year ago — and it’s still doing fine. The idea of xenotransplantation, while a good near-term…

Brain-inspired Microchips Simulate One Million Neurons In Real Time

By modeling a circuit board on the human brain, Stanford bioengineers have developed microchips that are 9,000 times faster than a typical PC. Called Neurogrid, these energy-efficient circuits could eventually power autonomous robots and advanced prosthetic limbs. Bioengineers are smart to take inspiration from the human brain. It’s a highly efficient information processor capable of…

Lab Mice Become Stressed And Timid Around Men — But Not Women

In what is being considered a serious problem for biomedical research, scientists from McGill University have discovered that rodents become stressed and more timid when they can smell a male researcher, while the presence of a woman has no effect on them. This is yet another example of why mice models are among the most…

Boosting Brain Power Comes At A Price

Studies show that mild electrical currents can accelerate a number of cognitive functions, such as learning and math. But researchers now say there are mental tradeoffs to doing so. About a year ago, a research team led by Rol Cohen Kadosh showed that transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) makes people better at math. It works…

Here’s Why Squinting Helps You See Better

Ever wonder why squinting helps you focus when you’ve misplaced your glasses? Or why things appear clearer when viewed through a small hole? Here’s the answer in video form. This video was put together by the fine folks as MinutePhysics. Top animation via MinutePhysic, an interactive explanation of how convex lenses work.

New Evidence Reveals What a “Typical” Solar System Looks Like

Prior to the discovery of exoplanets, astronomers assumed that our solar system’s configuration was typical. But now, some 1,715 exoplanets later, we know that we’re far from ordinary. So what passes for “normal” in the annals of solar systems? Here’s what we know now. Top Image: Artistic impression of Kepler 186f by Ron Miller (used…

The First Pterodactyls May Have Lived Far From Oceans

To date, virtually all pterodactyl fossils have been found near oceans. But the discovery of a previously unknown Jurassic-era species called Kryptodrakon progenitor indicates that some of these ancient flying reptiles lived and evolved far from marine environments. Say hello to Kryptodrakon, an early pterodactyl that lived some 163 million years ago. It was a…

The Stunning Bluish-Green Sunsets Of Mars

Earlier this month, the Curiosity rover snapped this shot of the sun setting behind the Gale Crater’s western rim. And as you can see, the sunsets on Mars are quite different than what we see here on Earth. Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Daimia Bouic. Republished here with permission.

Supercentenarian’s Blood Provides Clues To Extending Human Life

Prior to her death at the tender age of 115, Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper was the world’s oldest woman. Recently, scientists had the opportunity to study her blood — and what they discovered could have serious implications to the future of rejuvenation therapies. Supercentenarians are a rare breed — people who have reached the age of…

A radical new theory by a well-respected scientist suggests that consciousness is a state of matter, like a liquid or gas. According to MIT’s Max Tegmark, “perceptronium” gives rise to various types of consciousness when certain mathematical and physical conditions are met. Conceivably, the theory could be formulated as a set of problems that can…

New Images Show Wreckage Of U.S. Ships Sunk During D-Day Preparations

On April 28, 1944, a German E-boat sank two U.S. ships participating in training exercises for the Normandy invasion — a largely unknown incident that claimed the lives of 749 American soldiers and sailors. A robotic sub recently captured the most detailed images yet taken of the wrecks. It was called Exercise Tiger, a training…

Forget VR Sex — Here’s How Tech Will Actually Change Your Love Life

Our technologies are rapidly evolving, and with it, the very nature of our personal lives. Here’s how the era of tech-enabled intimacy will forever change the way we go about forming and maintaining relationships. One person who’s given this topic considerable thought is Heather Schlegel. She’s an award winning futurist and social scientist who investigates…

The First Known Binary Supermassive Black Hole In An Ordinary Galaxy

For the first time ever, astronomers have detected a pair of supermassive black holes at the center of an inactive galaxy. The unique objects were discovered because they ripped apart a star when the ESA’s observatory just happened to be looking in the right direction. In an active galaxy, black holes are continuously fed by…