George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

Why drugs that treat psychological disorders may be doomed

Neuroscientists are increasingly seeing the human brain as a series of modifiable brain circuits. As a result, a lot of money is being spent on the development of biotechnologies that manipulate brain networks. Psychiatric drugs, it would appear, are on the way out. This observation comes to us via Vaughan Bell, who has penned an…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 23 '13

The stage is now set for Breaking Bad‘s final act

On the same evening Breaking Bad won two Emmy Awards, the series’ penultimate episode takes the show into chilling territory — both literally and figuratively. Everything’s in place now for next week’s final episode. Spoilers to follow. The episode, titled “Granite State,” opens with Saul awaiting a new identity. The now ex-lawyer learns that he’s…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 23 '13

How To Be An Ethical Carnivore

Not everybody can or wants to become a vegetarian. But for those of us who insist on eating meat, that doesn’t mean we have to be complete dicks about it. Here are some helpful ideas on how to be a conscious carnivore. Right off the bat I want to make it excruciatingly clear that eating…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 23 '13

The most inventive beards and mustaches you will ever see

Photographer Greg Anderson recently returned from the National Beard and Mustache Championships held in New Orleans. You’re not going to believe the things that some guys can do with their facial hair. Anderson, who has compiled a photo essay for PetaPixel, plans on making a short picture book out of about 25 of his favorite…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 23 '13

That moment when a high-altitude balloon ventures a little too high

At the 21 mile (34 km) mark, things start to get a bit dicey for high-altitude balloons. The atmospheric air pressure is so low that the gas within the balloon expands. Causing this to happen. Images: Kostas Tamateas via Kosmas’s Facebook Page. The image was taken as part of the SlaRos project, Greece’s first suborbital…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 20 '13

Flatlining comatose patients may be more ‘alive’ than we realized

When working with patients in a deep coma, doctors interpret a flat EEG reading as a sign that the person is brain-dead and with little chance of waking up. But a new Canadian study raises the possibility of ongoing brain activity beneath that flat line. The observation of this never-before-detected brain activity, which the University…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 20 '13

A ‘super typhoon’ is about to smash into East Asia

It’s called Super Typhoon Usagi — and it’s picking up serious steam as it churns away in the western Pacific Ocean. Now the equivalent of a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane, it’s poised to hit some of the most densely populated regions in the world, including Taiwan, the northern Philippines, and Hong Kong. A “super typhoon”…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 20 '13

The human nose can sense 10 basic smells

We’ve got categories to describe our perceptions of taste, colors, and sounds. But things aren’t as clear-cut when it comes to our sense of smell. Looking to overcome this surprising limitation, a team of researchers have proposed a list of 10 basic smells. Indeed, we’re all set when it comes to describing the way our…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 20 '13

New message to aliens could be uploaded to New Horizons spacecraft

Astronomical artist Jon Lomberg — the same guy who helped develop the Voyager Interstellar record back in 1977 — is launching a new initiative to persuade NASA to upload a new message to the New Horizons spacecraft once its mission to Pluto is complete. He’s calling it Voyager Record 2.0. https://gizmodo.com/the-contents-of-humanitys-first-space-postcard-and-how-1308684243 As it stands, New…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 20 '13

An explanation for why your peripheral vision is completely borked

A GIF version of the Flashed Face Animation Effect has been making the rounds recently, prompting us to ask: why the hell do these faces look so grotesque and distorted when we’re not focusing our eyes on them? We spoke to a neuroscientist to find out. https://gizmodo.com/illusion-tricks-you-into-thinking-these-celebrities-are-5911860 The answer may have to do with the…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 19 '13

The Most Spectacular Astronomy Images of the Past Year

There were thousands of entries this year to the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2013 competition. These awe inspiring images are the best of the bunch. Top image: The overall winner: “Guiding Light to the Stars” by Mark Gee (Australia). It shows a spectacular view of the Milky Way arching over the…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 19 '13

Google wants you to live forever

Google has announced Calico, a new company that will focus on health and well-being. But its ultimate purpose is to radically extend the human lifespan. As TIME put it, “That would be crazy — if it weren’t Google.” By launching Calico, Google CEO Larry Page hopes to tackle some of health care’s most pressing problems.…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 19 '13

Soldiers are developing relationships with their battlefield robots

Robots are playing an ever-increasing role on the battlefield. As a consequence, soldiers are becoming attached to their robots, assigning names, gender — and even holding funerals when they’re destroyed. But could these emotional bonds affect outcomes in the war zone? This is the concern of Julie Carpenter, a Ph.D in education at the University…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 19 '13

Rocket Frog is old news, meet Rocket Armadillo

There’s a veritable animal apocalypse happening out at the world’s launch sites. Last week we told you about an unfortunate frog that got blown skywards by a Minotaur V rocket. This time ’round it’s an armadillo who — in the confusion of an Atlas V launch — ran directly into the blast wave. https://gizmodo.com/spot-the-unlucky-frog-in-this-photo-of-last-weeks-nasa-1299788380 It…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 19 '13

This map shows the regions of Earth most vulnerable to climate change

Scientists from Stanford University and the Wildlife Conservation Society in Australia have produced a map illustrating the global distribution of climate instability. Above image: Regions with both high climate and vegetation stability are shown in dark grey. Those regions with high climate stability but low levels of vegetation intactness are shown in dark orange. And…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 18 '13

Great, the effects of toxoplasma are harder to fix than we thought

Toxoplasma gondii is a brain parasite that makes mice lose their instinctive fear of cats and may lead to schizophrenia in humans. Scientists think that the parasite works by inflaming the brain or by creating cysts. But it now appears that Toxoplasma is doing something far more insidious — and permanent — to the brains…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 18 '13

This 18-year-old invented an exoskeleton glove for the disabled

Teen inventor Charalampos Ioannou from Greece has developed an exoskeleton glove that helps disabled users pick up everyday objects. The achievement earned him one of 15 spots on the International Google Science Fair competition. The exoskeleton glove also made him the youngest speaker to date at the Athens TEDx conference. Ioannou got the idea after…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 18 '13

9 Philosophical Thought Experiments That Will Keep You Up at Night

Sometimes, the best way to illustrate a complicated philosophical concept is by framing it as a story or situation. Here are nine such thought experiments with downright disturbing implications. Top image: Isaac Gutiérrez Pascual; published with permission. 1. Prisoner’s Dilemma This is the classic game theory problem in which a suspect is confronted with a…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 18 '13

Google honors French physicist with interactive pendulum doodle

Today marks the 194th birthday of Léon Foucault, the French physicist who used a pendulum to confirm the rotation of the Earth. Today’s Google Doodle pays tribute. The interactive doodle is based on the Foucault pendulum, a device introduced in 1851 to confirm the long-held assumption that the Earth spins on its axis. Foucault’s most…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 18 '13

A Mercedes-Benz S-500 just drove 62 miles all by itself

Google’s self-driving car is not the only game in town when it comes to autonomous driving. A Mercedes-Benz S-500 recently completed its first successful autonomous drive after weaving its way through Germany. https://gizmodo.com/this-is-what-it-looks-like-to-have-the-future-pull-up-b-498388838 The S-500 research vehicle covered 62 miles (100 km) from Mannheim to Pforzheim in Germany under real traffic conditions, including traffic lights,…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 17 '13

George Dvorsky

Why drugs that treat psychological disorders may be doomed

The stage is now set for Breaking Bad‘s final act

How To Be An Ethical Carnivore

The most inventive beards and mustaches you will ever see

That moment when a high-altitude balloon ventures a little too high

Flatlining comatose patients may be more ‘alive’ than we realized

A ‘super typhoon’ is about to smash into East Asia

The human nose can sense 10 basic smells

New message to aliens could be uploaded to New Horizons spacecraft

An explanation for why your peripheral vision is completely borked

The Most Spectacular Astronomy Images of the Past Year

Google wants you to live forever

Soldiers are developing relationships with their battlefield robots

Rocket Frog is old news, meet Rocket Armadillo

This map shows the regions of Earth most vulnerable to climate change

Great, the effects of toxoplasma are harder to fix than we thought

This 18-year-old invented an exoskeleton glove for the disabled

9 Philosophical Thought Experiments That Will Keep You Up at Night

Google honors French physicist with interactive pendulum doodle

A Mercedes-Benz S-500 just drove 62 miles all by itself

Bill Gates Suggests He’s the Man to Convince Donald Trump to Regulate AI

WordPress Owner Automattic’s Board Reportedly Purged After Failed ‘Coup’ Against CEO

Shocker: Last Night’s ‘Viral’ Pro-Data Center Party Is Tied to Thiel, the Koch Institute, and Other AI Boosters

OpenAI to Halt Training of Some Models

‘Obsession’ Has Halloween Costumes Now, Because Duh

Dario Amodei Is Reportedly Having One of Those Cursed One-on-One Dinners With Trump

‘Transformers’ and The ‘Energon Universe’ Are a Massive Success

I Urge You to Urge Others to Watch the ‘SNL’ Segment About Dario Amodei

Universal Movies Have Made a Looooot of Money in 2026

The First ‘VisionQuest’ Promo Introduces a New Family Member

iRobot Roomba Max 775 Review: A Respectable Roomba Redux

Sonos Ace Ultra Review: Headphones That Only Hardcore Sonos Fans Could Love

M6 Mac mini Review: A Better Tiny Desktop, With or Without AI

Aqara Multi-Sensor FP400 Review: Not Quite the mmWave of the Future

Alienware’s AW3926QW Ultrawide Gaming Monitor Review: Size Really Does Matter

iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max Review: Apple Is Just Flexing Hard Now

AirPods 5 Review: A Ridiculously Great Value for ANC Wireless Earbuds

Steam Frame Review: Valve Shows Us VR Was Always Meant to Be a Toy

Maingear Zero (2026) Review: PC Gaming Bliss With a Price Tag to Make You Cry

Sony WH-1000XM4C Review: Still Kind of Goated