George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

A hand-drawn atlas three years in the making

Polish designers Aleksandra and Daniel Mizielinski have designed and illustrated a gorgeous hand-drawn atlas featuring the borders, cities, rivers, and peaks of 51 unique places. It was a labor of love — one that required over 4,000 individual illustrations — but the end result speaks for itself. The atlas, which presents six continents and 42…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 16 '13

Archaeologists have discovered the world’s oldest calendar

We usually blame the ancient Mesopotamians for the invention of time-tracking devices. But as a recent discovery in Scotland has revealed, hunter-gatherers may have started using a rudimentary calendar over 10,000 years ago. Agriculture, tool use, and cooking are often touted as the most significant innovations in the development of human societies. But few give…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 15 '13

How to make the perfect slime

HouseHacker has come up with a formula for creating an exceedingly simple — but highly effective — blob of oozy slime. All you need is 500 ml of polyvinyl alcohol and 50 ml of borax Solution. Pour the borax solution into the polyvinyl alcohol. Mix generously; the stirring will create chemical bonds that will break…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 15 '13

Graphene ‘miracle material’ could be toxic to humans

Two-dimensional graphene may be poised to revolutionize much of materials science, but a recent study has shown that this one-atom-thick material could present some serious health risks inside the human body. The problem? It’s so thin that it can slice directly into our cells. Graphene was discovered about a decade ago. It’s incredibly strong, flexible,…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 15 '13

Six generations of the same family in one photograph

See that newborn baby? Okay, now get this. The woman featured at top-right is his great-great-great grandmother. And the other women include everyone in between. That’s an astounding six generations of the same family all living at the same time. Ethan John Curtis was born to this Ontario family just a few days ago. His…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 15 '13

How to drink coffee in space without burning your face off

Zero gravity is all fine and well — but not being able to grab a cup of joe in the morning would be a huge dealbreaker for many prospective astronauts. Thankfully, NASA has a solution to the problem. Traditional cups are useless in microgravity environments. Liquids don’t drip or flow in space, so it just…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 15 '13

Everything you need to know about AI in a 9-minute video

PBS Digital Studios has put together a fascinating video about the rise of AI that’s packed with provocative insights. We’ve addressed many of the issues discussed in this clip, including whole brain emulations and rule-based AI, the ethics of digital minds, and the prospect of an AI catastrophe. The video also addresses the potential benefits…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 12 '13

Watch this snake turn its tail into a creepy-crawly spider

Some animals are known to use parts of their bodies as luries to entice and capture prey. But this snake, the recently described and aptly named spider-tailed viper, has taken the trick to the next level. This snake was only confirmed as a new species in 2006, but locals have known about it for years.…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 12 '13

How Artificial Chromosomes Could Transform Humanity

Normally, an extra pair of chromosomes would be considered dangerous. But what if we could design our own? According to biologists, we could create custom-built chromosomes to fix a variety of health problems, and even give us new abilities. Here’s how a 24th pair of chromosomes could change our biologies forever. To learn more about…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 12 '13

Meet the Pentagon’s latest robotic abomination: ATLAS

No, it’s not a souped-up version of Robby the Robot — it’s ATLAS, DARPA’s latest attempt at creating a humanoid robot. Unlike the super-realistic Petman, which was designed to test chemical protection clothing, this 330-pound monster is meant to assist in emergency situations. Riiiight… We’ve seen a proto-version of ATLAS before, but this updated unit…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 12 '13

Watch as the first-ever human-powered helicopter takes flight

What you’re about to see has never been done before in the history of aeronautics. A team of engineers from the University of Toronto have claimed a $250,000 prize after building and flying the first-ever human-powered hover bike. After remaining unclaimed for the past 33 years, the Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition (or…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 12 '13

NASA responds to a seven-year-old’s request to go to Mars

A seven-year-old boy recently asked NASA for advice on how to become an astronaut. And because they’re cool that way, the space agency responded in kind. The aspiring astronaut, a young English lad named Dexter, sent this hand-written request to NASA: Dear NASA, My name is Dexter I heard that you are sending 2 people…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 11 '13

Should solitary confinement be considered a form of torture?

To virtually no one’s surprise, scientists are increasingly finding that solitary confinement induces a host of psychological and physiological problems in prisoners. The time has come, say a growing number of concerned citizens, to call it for what it really is: Torture. Top image: Steve McQueen in Papillion (1973) A pair of recent articles have…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 11 '13

Decapitated worms regrow their heads with old memories intact

It’s hard to let go of some memories, even if your head has been chopped off. Well, at least if you’re a flatworm. When these tiny critters are decapitated, their heads and brain eventually grow back. But more remarkable than that, so too do their previous memories. Scientist who study planarian flatworms have known for…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 11 '13

Sophisticated chatbot poses as teenage girl to lure pedophiles

Spanish researchers have developed an advanced — and extremely convincing — chatbot that poses as a 14-year-old girl. Called Negobot, the system will help authorities detect sexual predators in chatrooms and social networks. To sniff out pedophilic behavior, the “conversational agent” utilizes natural language processing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and even game theory — a…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 11 '13

Rare Egyptian Sphinx discovered in Israel — well, its paws, anyway

Archaeologists working at a site in Tel Hazor National Park in north Israel have unearthed the base of a unique sphinx. It features a hieroglyphic inscription linking it to an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who was one of the builders of the Giza pyramids. These adorable little paws date back to 2,500 BCE. It was discovered…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 11 '13

An Ominous Cloud That Literally Rolls In

This unique meteorological phenomenon is called a roll cloud, and it’s seen here making its away over the city of Calgary, Alberta. Though it looks like a tornado that has fallen down, it’s actually a type of arcus cloud — a dense and horizontal cylindrical structure that often appears ragged and turbulent. This photo was…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 10 '13

Is human super-intelligence a bad idea?

Advocates of human enhancement often say that we ought to increase our intelligence as a species. But the consequences of actually doing this have never fully been explored. An excessive amount of intelligence might actually prove to be a bad thing — and a distraction from what really matters. Top image: The supremely intelligent Ozymandias…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 10 '13

How will biotechnology change human evolution?

A somewhat tongue-in-cheek article in The Guardian is proposing some rather interesting predictions for the future of humanity — changes to human form and function that would even make some of the X-Men jealous. To make his predictions, Dean Burnett worked under the assumption that biotechnology will be used to address ongoing selectional pressures. “Evolution…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 10 '13

Keeping whales in captivity is insane. Here’s why.

A new documentary called Blackfish chronicles the captivity of Tilikum, a 12,000-pound orca whale involved in the deaths of three individuals. The film reveals the consequences of keeping whales in captivity, the effects it has on their psyches — and the ways in which these animals are lashing out. Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the film…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 10 '13

George Dvorsky

A hand-drawn atlas three years in the making

Archaeologists have discovered the world’s oldest calendar

How to make the perfect slime

Graphene ‘miracle material’ could be toxic to humans

Six generations of the same family in one photograph

How to drink coffee in space without burning your face off

Everything you need to know about AI in a 9-minute video

Watch this snake turn its tail into a creepy-crawly spider

How Artificial Chromosomes Could Transform Humanity

Meet the Pentagon’s latest robotic abomination: ATLAS

Watch as the first-ever human-powered helicopter takes flight

NASA responds to a seven-year-old’s request to go to Mars

Should solitary confinement be considered a form of torture?

Decapitated worms regrow their heads with old memories intact

Sophisticated chatbot poses as teenage girl to lure pedophiles

Rare Egyptian Sphinx discovered in Israel — well, its paws, anyway

An Ominous Cloud That Literally Rolls In

Is human super-intelligence a bad idea?

How will biotechnology change human evolution?

Keeping whales in captivity is insane. Here’s why.

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