George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

These Unresolved Ethical Questions Are About to Get Real

As our technologies take us from the theoretical to the practical, a number of thorny moral quandaries remain unanswered. Here are important unresolved ethical questions that are on the verge of becoming highly relevant. Should people be allowed to clone themselves? There’s currently a global moratorium on human cloning. But you just know that’s not…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 12

New Project to Message Aliens is Both Useless and Potentially Reckless

A group of scientists and entrepreneurs has created the world’s first continuous message beacon to communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations. And for a fee, people can use it to transmit their own messages into space. But not everyone thinks this project is a good idea. The idea of messaging ETs has been around for a while…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 12

Why it might be possible to go snowboarding on Mars

NASA scientists think that sliding chunks of frozen carbon dioxide — dry ice — may be responsible for creating track marks on some Martian sand dunes. Which brings up a totally awesome idea: Snowboarding down a Martian sand dune on a block of dry ice. NASA calls these strange formations linear gullies, and they measure…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 12

A museum of robotic equipment used during the Chernobyl disaster

During the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, Soviet authorities tried to spare human workers from the harsh conditions by experimenting with a number of bizarre and oddly innovative remote-controlled devices. These robotic machines are now on display at an open air museum near the site. Just looking at these clunky old things you can immediately tell…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 12

Floating robotic spheres will be used to play games in space next year

The European Space Agency and MIT is setting up a tournament where students can earn points by controlling the movement of volleyball-sized spheres located inside the International Space Station. The SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites) can move around the ISS using 12 jets powered by compressed gas. Each of them have their…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 11

A German Bomber From WWII Has Been Raised From the Dead

During the Blitz in 1940, a German Dornier 17 bomber was shot down over the English Channel near Kent. Now, some 73 years later, it has been brought up from its watery grave. It’s considered the most significant surviving artifact from the Battle of Britain. Experts working for the RAF Museum were able to hoist…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 11

7 Totally Unexpected Outcomes That Could Follow the Singularity

By definition, the Technological Singularity is a blind spot in our predictive thinking. Futurists have a hard time imagining what life will be like after we create greater-than-human artificial intelligences. Here are seven outcomes of the Singularity that nobody thinks about — and which could leave us completely blindsided. Top image: Ridwan Chandra. For the…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 11

Watch this mesmerizing timelapse of Hawaii’s lava flows

Travel photographer Quang-Tuan Luong has put together this gorgeous video showcasing the active volcanoes of Hawaii National Park. Even though he’s photographed each of the 59 U.S. National Parks, this is Luong’s first complete video — and it’s a stunner. He writes, “One of the most mesmerizing spectacles of nature I’ve witnessed is lava flowing…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 11

Drinkable Water Once Flowed on Mars

Not to be outdone by Curiosity, the Opportunity rover has made one of its most significant scientific discoveries to date. A recent analysis of clay minerals indicates that neutral water once existed on Mars — water that could have been suitable for life. It’s an important discovery — and one made by an amazing little…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 10

More Apple Maps glitches depict a disturbing, surreal world

This is what happens when texture mapping goes horribly wrong — an algorithm’s failed attempt to align three-dimensional models to a two-dimensional image. The result is something only Salvador Dali would be proud of. https://gizmodo.com/did-google-earth-capture-shots-of-a-clandestine-militar-5975055 https://gizmodo.com/glitch-furniture-makes-your-bedroom-look-like-its-malf-453597584 These images, which were produced by Apple iOS Maps, were compiled by Trapcode founder Peder Norrby and can be…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 10

No, this is not what our stupid faces will look like in 100,000 years

An artist has partnered with a computational geneticist to illustrate what our faces might look like in the far future. Apparently we’re all going to become anime characters. All images Nickolay Lamm. This picture is starting to create a bit of a stir on the internet — and not in a good way. The duo…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 10

Watch the first-ever footage of a live 8-foot long oarfish

Scientists working in the Gulf of Mexico have finally managed to capture footage of a rare and mysterious serpentine-like creature called the oarfish. It’s our first glimpse of this camera-shy fish in its natural habitat. The oarfish (Regalecus glesne), which can reach upwards of 56 feet (17m) in length, has previously only been seen washed…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 10

This shot of Curiosity’s wheels makes us feel like we’re right there

Context is everything. Hi-res images of Mars’s mountains and landscapes are all very impressive, but this shot of Curiosity’s wheels really drives home the fact that we’ve got a robot romping around on an alien planet. Mars has never seemed so close. This image also reminds us how big Curiosity really is. Each of its…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 7

This contact lens could eventually make Google Glass obsolete

Google Glass is great, but it’s also big, clunky, and exceedingly obvious. What would be more practical is something that could be fitted directly onto the eye, like a contact lens. Korean researchers have taken a major step towards achieving that goal. A group led by Jang-Ung Park recently embedded an inorganic light-emitting diode directly…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 7

How quick and intense workouts can help you get fitter

It’s a commonly-held assumption that getting in shape requires hours and hours of rigorous exercise. But some fitness experts believe all that’s really required to stay physically fit are short burst workouts performed at a high level of intensity. Here’s why just a few minutes of exercise each day may be all you need. It’s…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 7

How to turn a comet into a solar probe

Back in 2011, comet Lovejoy boldly went where no spacecraft has gone before — straight through the Sun’s solar corona. Remarkably, it survived the close encounter and continued along its way to the outer solar system. Now, scientists have used the event to turn the comet into a veritable space probe. Top image: A visualization…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 7

Sorry, but these pot heads did not send marijuana into space

Late last week, a group of marijuana enthusiasts claimed that they had used a balloon to send a capsule of pot seeds, a plant, and a joint into space. Yeah, dream on, guys — and lay off the Pineapple kush. TheSeedHub claims that their balloon reached a final altitude of 95,000 feet (19 miles) before…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 7

A harbour seal floats majestically through a forest of kelp

Amateur photographer Kyle McBurnie took this dreamy wide-angle photo in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego — a picture that earned him top prize in the 2013 Annual Underwater Photography Contest. Top image: Best Overall Kyle McBurnie, California Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) in a kelp forest at Cortes bank, near San Diego,…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 6

Why You Should Fight For Your Right to Die

It should be within our rights to take our own lives when the circumstances warrant it. That means we must be prepared to accept laws in favor of assisted suicide. This becomes even more important in light of potential technologies that could grant us extreme longevity. As a supporter of radical life extension, it might…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 6

Our clearest view yet of Antarctica stripped of all its ice

The British Antarctic Survey has produced the sharpest image yet of Antarctica’s rugged topography. And as you can clearly see, without its mile-thick layer of ice, the polar continent would be an incredibly mountainous terrain, indeed. In conjunction with NASA’s IceBridge mission, the BAS compiled this map by drawing upon millions of new measurements of…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 6

George Dvorsky

These Unresolved Ethical Questions Are About to Get Real

New Project to Message Aliens is Both Useless and Potentially Reckless

Why it might be possible to go snowboarding on Mars

A museum of robotic equipment used during the Chernobyl disaster

Floating robotic spheres will be used to play games in space next year

A German Bomber From WWII Has Been Raised From the Dead

7 Totally Unexpected Outcomes That Could Follow the Singularity

Watch this mesmerizing timelapse of Hawaii’s lava flows

Drinkable Water Once Flowed on Mars

More Apple Maps glitches depict a disturbing, surreal world

No, this is not what our stupid faces will look like in 100,000 years

Watch the first-ever footage of a live 8-foot long oarfish

This shot of Curiosity’s wheels makes us feel like we’re right there

This contact lens could eventually make Google Glass obsolete

How quick and intense workouts can help you get fitter

How to turn a comet into a solar probe

Sorry, but these pot heads did not send marijuana into space

A harbour seal floats majestically through a forest of kelp

Why You Should Fight For Your Right to Die

Our clearest view yet of Antarctica stripped of all its ice

FCC Exempts Netgear from Foreign-Made Router Ban for Some Reason

Jamie Dornan Is Your New Aragorn in ‘The Hunt for Gollum’

Trump’s Fed Pick Is Knee Deep in Tech and Crypto Investments

The First Trailer for ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Takes Terror Stateside

The Trump Phone Still Looks Like Total Trash

‘Masters of the Universe’ Really, Really Wants to Be the Next ‘Barbie’

Samsung’s Micro RGB TVs Provide So Much Color It May Be Too Much

The Crypto Bros Want to Get Their Hands on Anthropic’s ‘Super Dangerous’ Model

This Is What a Music Industry ‘Plant’ Looks Like in 2026

As Starship V3 Lags Behind, Blue Origin Prepares Third Launch of New Glenn

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice