George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

A “rainbow” made of sulphuric acid appears in the atmosphere of Venus

Check out this amazingly beautiful optical effect — this rainbow-like feature, called a “glory,” was recently captured by Europe’s Venus Express orbiter. This is the first time the phenomenon, which also happens on Earth, has been imaged on another planet. Top image: Simulated views of a glory on Venus (left) and Earth (right). Credit: C.…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 11 '14

Why gluten-free foods aren’t necessarily healthier

Now that many of us are trying to avoid gluten like the plague, a slew of gluten-free products have started appearing in our stores. Unfortunately, many of these foods are advertised or understood as healthy alternatives, which is often far from the truth. Before we get into this, it needs to be pointed out that…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 11 '14

Co-author of stem-cell study ‘loses faith’ in paper

After claiming to have developed a novel technique for coaxing the growth of stem cells in an acid bath, Japanese researchers have come under scrutiny for apparent irregularities. In the latest twist, one of the paper’s coauthors has admitted that the study should be retracted. Soon after the paper was published, it was criticized for…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 11 '14

Ping pong match between robot and human looks faked

The highly awaited ping pong match between former champion Timo Boll and KUKA’s AGILUS robot has finally taken place. But after watching the video, it’s blatantly obvious the whole thing was staged. Okay, there’s no denying that KUKA’s KR AGILUS industrial robot is impressive; when it comes to fine motor tasks like sorting small objects…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 11 '14

New map reveals the Milky Way’s location among the “Council of Giants”

Astronomers know that the Milky Way is parked within the Local Group of galaxies, an interstellar expanse extending 3 million light years across. But we know very little about the area just outside of this. A new map corrects this oversight, showing that we live among the “Council of Giants.” Top image: This is what…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 11 '14

A powerful new virus is infecting computers in Ukraine

It’s called “Snake” and it’s being compared to another alleged state-run virus, Stuxnet. And yes, all evidence points to Russia. According to British-based BAE systems, dozens of computer networks have been infected with the virus, which sometimes goes by the name Ouroboros (named after the serpent in Greek mythology). It works by giving remote attackers…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 10 '14

Did good weather lead to the greatest land empire of all time?

The Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous empire in human history. But its meteoric rise and remarkable run might not have happened if it weren’t for an uncharacteristic change in weather that brought sustained rainfall and mild warmth for a short period of time. At its peak, the Mongol Empire claimed an area that’s now…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 10 '14

A dynamic map beautifully illustrating the USA’s territorial history

Here’s a sweet crash-course lesson — in animated gif form — showing how the United States expanded and took shape over the course of its history. The gif was put together by Redditor wtfjen. The map tracks a number of important turning points in U.S. expansion and contraction, from the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 to…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 10 '14

No, “Planet X” does not exist

There’s a going theory out there that an undiscovered planet resides in our solar system somewhere beyond the orbit of Pluto. But NASA just finished an exhaustive survey — and it completely failed to turn up any evidence that “Planet X” exists. Researchers working with NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) put it fairly bluntly.…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 10 '14

NASA unveils a gorgeous new gallery of celestial images

To get you sufficiently pumped for the new Cosmos re-make, NASA has put together a stunning set of 43 cosmic images that are guaranteed to instill a sense of wonder and awe. Top image: The Carina Nebula (NASA/Hubble). Hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, the premier of the 13-episode series aired last night at 9:00 pm…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 10 '14

Canadian student has “out of body experiences” whenever she wants

After attending a lecture on “out of body experiences,” a 24-year-old student from the University of Ottawa approached her professor saying, “I thought everybody could do that.” She can apparently do this at will — making her the first person with this condition to be studied. The resulting paper, which now appears in Frontiers in…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 10 '14

Texans get set to kill thousands of rattlesnakes in annual festival

Thousands of snakes will be killed in the 56th Rattlesnake RoundUp this coming weekend in Sweetwater, Texas. It’s a barbaric and environmentally reckless festival that’s also startlingly reminiscent of a classic Simpson’s episode. It’s the world’s largest rattlesnake roundup (yes, there are others), and it was started as a way to control the over-population of…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 7 '14

Watch the exact moment a deaf toddler hears for the very first time

A 17-month old deaf toddler named Alex Frederick recently had an experimental device implanted directly into his brainstem — a device that has yet to be approved for children in the United States. This is the exact moment it started to work. It’s called an auditory brainstem implant (ABI) — a surgically implanted electronic device…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 7 '14

Revised Cosmological Constant Predicts a Collapsing Universe

The going theory among cosmologists is that the universe will eventually rip itself to shreds owing to its ever-accelerating rate of expansion. Not so, say a pair of physicists who have just taken it upon themselves to reformulate an integral facet of general relativity: the cosmological constant. Albert Einstein had to add the idea of…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 7 '14

This floating black ball is the creepiest thing you’ll see all day

Designers at the Royal College of Art have created a floating black sphere that, in addition to stalking people, records and replays sounds it picks up after a short delay. It’s called “Space Replay” and it was designed by Francesco Tacchini, Julinka Ebhardt and Will Yates-Johnson. The intention was to create a hovering object that…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 7 '14

Beta Pictoris: One of the most violent solar systems ever discovered

There’s a solar system close to here that hosts an unusually active debris field, one in which a comet is annihilated every five minutes. Astronomers say it could be the result of gravitationally trapped debris — or the catastrophic collision between two planets the size of Mars. The solar system, called Beta Pictoris, is located…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 7 '14

Stunning photos show the ancient tradition of honey hunting in Nepal

Twice each year, the Gurung tribespeople of Central Nepal risk their lives collecting wild honey from the world’s largest hives high up on Himalayan cliffs. Travel photographer Andrew Newey recently spent two weeks capturing this ancient but dying art. All photos courtesy Andrew Newey. They are are republished here with permission. You can find him…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 6 '14

Can you guess how this unique image of Toronto was put together?

We’ll give you a hint: The first of these 2,300 data points appeared at the intersection of Yonge and Bloor back in 1924. If you guessed traffic signals you’re absolutely correct. This beautiful map of Toronto was created by Redditor William Davis by using information from the city’s open data portal. You can find a…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 6 '14

The 16th century plan to weaponize cats and birds with rocket packs

Back during the 1530s, a military planner in what is now Germany devised a rather strange means of siege warfare that would have seen cats and birds strapped with bombs to “set fire to a castle or city which you can’t get at otherwise.” The strange depictions appear in a manual that was discovered by…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 6 '14

This chart shows how humans dominate as land mammals — by weight

Randall Munroe of XKCD has compiled a chart in which all the world’s land mammals have been sorted according to weight. A quick glance shows that we humans — and our livestock — take up a disproportionate amount. Munroe aquired much of this data from a book published by Vaclav Smil in 2011, Harvesting the…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 6 '14

George Dvorsky

A “rainbow” made of sulphuric acid appears in the atmosphere of Venus

Why gluten-free foods aren’t necessarily healthier

Co-author of stem-cell study ‘loses faith’ in paper

Ping pong match between robot and human looks faked

New map reveals the Milky Way’s location among the “Council of Giants”

A powerful new virus is infecting computers in Ukraine

Did good weather lead to the greatest land empire of all time?

A dynamic map beautifully illustrating the USA’s territorial history

No, “Planet X” does not exist

NASA unveils a gorgeous new gallery of celestial images

Canadian student has “out of body experiences” whenever she wants

Texans get set to kill thousands of rattlesnakes in annual festival

Watch the exact moment a deaf toddler hears for the very first time

Revised Cosmological Constant Predicts a Collapsing Universe

This floating black ball is the creepiest thing you’ll see all day

Beta Pictoris: One of the most violent solar systems ever discovered

Stunning photos show the ancient tradition of honey hunting in Nepal

Can you guess how this unique image of Toronto was put together?

The 16th century plan to weaponize cats and birds with rocket packs

This chart shows how humans dominate as land mammals — by weight

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