George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

We are way off target if we hope to feed everyone by 2050

A comprehensive study suggests that food production is not on track to keep up with population growth. That means food prices are going to rise in coming decades. This trend could also reverse the progress we’ve made in world food security. Previous studies have shown that we’ll need to boost current yields by 60% to…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 19

A map showing the original meanings of place names in North America

Now this is impressive: It’s called the Atlas of True Names, and it reveals the etymological origins and translations of familiar place names whose original meanings we’ve mostly forgotten. Looking at it, you’d think North America was some sort of fantasy novel. The Atlas of True Names was compiled by cartographers Stephan Hormes and Silke…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 19

This is what happens when you play with fire in space

The simple flame is an extraordinarily complex phenomenon, one that involves thousands of chemical reactions. But fire also plays off the effects of gravity. So what happens when you take that gravity away? As a recent experiment aboard the ISS has shown, you get a very strange flame, indeed. We’ve talked about flames in space…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 19

Holy crap, did the Enterprise just fly past the moon?

Romanian photographer Maximilian Teodorescu recently captured this dramatic photo of the International Space Station (ISS) as it drifted across the surface of the Moon. But looking at it a bit closer, you could be forgiven for thinking it was the starship Enterprise. Top image: Maximilian Teodorescu via Spaceweather. And indeed, the photo recently caught the…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 19

New echo-detecting app could allow humans to ‘see’ like bats

By using five microphones, a speaker, and a sophisticated new echolocation algorithm, researchers have successfully built a full 3D image of a cathedral’s insanely complex interior. The same technology could someday allow humans to navigate in total darkness. Top image: Fine Art America. Bats, dolphins, and some visually impaired humans use reflected sound to create…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 18

Watch as Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano tears a hole in the sky!

Mexico’s active Popocatepetl volcano erupted yesterday, spewing ash and incandescent rock almost three miles high. And as you’ll see in this dramatic video, the explosion produced a massive shockwave — sending huge chunks of burning debris to the surrounding areas. The volcano is now on alert level Yellow, Phase 2, which restricts access to within…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 18

Would you copy your mind to a robotic body-double?

A central theme of the recently concluded GF2045 Congress was the idea of achieving a kind of immortality by transferring our minds to avatars or robots. Indeed, as Japanese professor Hiroshi Ishiguro’s presentation clearly showed, our robotic doppelgangers will truly be made to look and act like the real thing. During his presentation at Alice…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 18

It looks like PayPal is making a move to be the first bank in space

Forgot to bring your wallet to the Red Planet Gift Shop? Not to worry. If a recent rumor is true, you may be able to pay for that Martian trinket by using PayPal. Speculation is going around that PayPal, in cooperation with NASA, the Space Tourism Society, and the SETI Institute, will be announcing a…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 18

Researchers Discover 280 Hidden Craters on the Moon

By combining gravity and terrain mapping techniques, scientists from Australia have identified hundreds of previously uncharted craters on the Moon, including a handful on the far side. The researchers — Will Featherstone, Christian Hirt, and Michael Kuhn — used gravity and elevation data to develop the ultra-high resolution maps. Earlier, the same technology was used…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 18

This is the fastest and most adorable robotic cat yet

Many of us are familiar with the Pengaton’s Cheetah robot — the world’s fastest mechanical mammal. But that feline brute is rather big and, well, even a bit severe. Thankfully, there’s now a kinder, gentler version — the cheetah-cub robot. https://gizmodo.com/the-pentagons-robotic-cheetah-is-the-fastest-mechanical-5890576 Developed by EPFL’s Biorobotics Laboratory, cheetah-cub’s legs were designed to mimic feline morphology. It’s…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 17

Scientists may have discovered how cancer spreads around the body

Biologists at University College London say they now know why cancerous cells group together and spread to different parts of the body. And shockingly, it appears that the malignant cells are migrating by literally chasing healthy cells that are trying to get away. Top image: Neural cells grown from a single neural crest stem cell…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 17

This is what it’s like to shake hands with the future

Meet Nigel Ackland, the recipient of the Bebionic 3 artificial hand — the world’s most advanced cybernetic limb. He was just one of over 30 remarkable scientists, technologists, and futurists who spoke at the recently concluded Global Future 2045 Congress held this past weekend in New York. I got back from GF2045 late last night…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 17

Dim Star Becomes 7 Times Hotter in 160 Seconds

Talk about a celestial mood swing: Scientists using the SCORPIO camera of the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory recently watched as a low luminosity star suddenly burst to life in an extraordinarily short amount of time — becoming 15 times brighter in less than three minutes. Star WX UMa, which is relatively close-by in the Ursa-major constellation,…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 17

A map of all the rivers in the United States, and nothing else

Just how many rivers are there in the United States? Based on this map, a hell of a lot more than you might think. Nelson Minar put this wonderful map together. He put all the data the files he used up on Github so you can make your own version. See also: this map of…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 14

Scientists discover an entirely new teeny tiny body part

Throw away your anatomy books, everyone, because they’re now officially out of date. A professor at the University of Nottingham has discovered a layer in the human cornea that was previously unknown to science. The discovery was made by Harminder Dua, and he’s calling the new body part — conveniently enough — Dua’s layer. We…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 13

Did men create menopause by chasing after younger women?

From an evolutionary perspective, human menopause doesn’t make a lot of sense. Searching for an explantion for this somewhat uniquely human process, a group of Canadian researchers used computer models to show that menopause is an unintended outcome of natural selection — and men’s sexual preferences might be to blame. No doubt, menopause, or reproductive…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 13

U.S. Supreme Court Says Human Genes Can’t Be Patented. Sort of.

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States has declared that isolated chunks of human DNA cannot be patented. And thank goodness for that. But it’s a ruling that comes with a compromise: Moving forward, companies can still patent synthetic genetic material. The court concluded today that human DNA is a product…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 13

This New Video Map of Space Will Make You Feel Utterly Insignificant

Talk about your 40-foot perspective: An international team of researchers has put together an absolutely brilliant 3D video map of the nearby universe out to a distance of 300 million light-years. The video is a not-so-subtle reminder of how freakishly tiny we are in the larger scheme of things. Top image: A map showing all…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 13

The oldest man to have ever lived has died

Japan’s Jiroemon Kimura has passed away at the age of 116 years and 54 days. Guinness World Records is recognizing him as the oldest man in recorded history. He died of natural causes in a hospital after being admitted for pneumonia on May 11. Over the past several days his response, blood-sugar level, and urine…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 13

Say hello to the particle accelerator of the future

Behold the International Linear Collider — a proposed 31-kilometer electron collider that could shed light on new areas of physics — including dark matter. A five-volume report containing the blueprint for this futuristic particle physics project was published today by an international group of scientists. The designers say it will “compliment and advance beyond the…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 12

George Dvorsky

We are way off target if we hope to feed everyone by 2050

A map showing the original meanings of place names in North America

This is what happens when you play with fire in space

Holy crap, did the Enterprise just fly past the moon?

New echo-detecting app could allow humans to ‘see’ like bats

Watch as Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano tears a hole in the sky!

Would you copy your mind to a robotic body-double?

It looks like PayPal is making a move to be the first bank in space

Researchers Discover 280 Hidden Craters on the Moon

This is the fastest and most adorable robotic cat yet

Scientists may have discovered how cancer spreads around the body

This is what it’s like to shake hands with the future

Dim Star Becomes 7 Times Hotter in 160 Seconds

A map of all the rivers in the United States, and nothing else

Scientists discover an entirely new teeny tiny body part

Did men create menopause by chasing after younger women?

U.S. Supreme Court Says Human Genes Can’t Be Patented. Sort of.

This New Video Map of Space Will Make You Feel Utterly Insignificant

The oldest man to have ever lived has died

Say hello to the particle accelerator of the future

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