George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

This tiny hummingbird’s nest is almost too precious to believe

Catching a glimpse of a hummingbird in flight is rare enough as it is — but imagine stumbling upon one of its nests! “Here is a hummingbird nest my wife found,” wrote the Redditor who posted the photo online yesterday. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before.” Hummingbirds construct their nests out of seeds,…

io9 George Dvorsky May 31

That time The Fonz partied with Marvel superheroes

Gotta admit, this would have been one hell of a bash. The January 1978 cover of Pizazz is a winner on so many levels. Click through to see the whole thing, including other 1970s television icons. Most of these characters are familiar to me seeing as I, ahem, grew up in the 70s. But why…

Television George Dvorsky May 30

Women will ‘evolve out’ of menopause

Geneticist Aarathi Prasad recently argued that menopause is on the cusp of extinction — and that women will soon be able to have children at virtually any stage in their lives. Prasad is the author of the book, Like a Virgin: How Science is Redesigning the Rules of Sex. https://gizmodo.com/how-scientists-tried-to-confirm-a-virgin-birth-long-b-5936056 Speaking at the Hay Festival…

io9 George Dvorsky May 30

Could a notorious party drug be the next psychiatric breakthrough?

MDMA is a drug that’s typically associated with youth culture and dance parties — but it’s increasingly attracting the attention of psychologists and cognitive therapists. Also known as ecstasy, the drug has shown effectiveness in treating a number of mood disorders. But are the potential health risks worth it? Since its introduction less than 50…

io9 George Dvorsky May 30

This is the world’s earliest bird

Remember Archaeopteryx — that bird-like creature many consider to be the earliest ever? Yeah, well, it just got trumped by this guy: Meet Aurornis xui, a newly discovered species of dinosaur that could be the earliest known member of the bird family tree. Called Aurora for short, it’s name means “daybreak” or “dawn” — and…

io9 George Dvorsky May 30

New polls suggest Americans are becoming less religious

Though it might seem like Americans are as pious as ever, most feel that religion is losing its influence in the U.S. — and a record number are now claiming to have no religion at all. According to a new Gallup survey, 77% of Americans say religion is losing its influence in the United States.…

io9 George Dvorsky May 30

Watch how music travels across the U.S. through Facebook

To date, over 110 million songs have been played some 40 billion times through Facebook apps integrated with Open Graph. This 3D visualization shows how three of these tracks propagated throughout the United States during a 90-day span. This video is called a Beatquake, and it’s the result of a collaboration between Facebook and Stamen…

io9 George Dvorsky May 29

Museum to Sell Replicas of Golden Phallus in its Gift Shop

A penis-shaped gold pendant from ancient Rome has become so popular at Norfolk’s Lynn Museum that visitors will soon be able to purchase replicas of it at the gift shop. The tiny 2-inch gold Hillington Phallus was discovered in 2011 by Kevin Hillier on a farmer’s field with his metal detector. After experts at the…

io9 George Dvorsky May 29

NASA shows off a prototype of its new xenon-ion engine

In 2019, NASA will send out a robotic probe to retrieve an asteroid. And it’ll be this little piece of futuristic engineering that helps it get the job done. Later, we go to Mars. It’s called a xenon-ion propulsion engine, and instead of using rocket fuel, it harnesses magnetic fields to create thrust. If you…

io9 George Dvorsky May 29

Russians Recover Fresh Flowing Mammoth Blood

About 15,000 years ago, an old female wooly mammoth plunged through the ice as she was being chased by predators. Her remains have now been uncovered by scientists working in Siberia. And remarkably, as they were digging it out, blood began to stream out. Which is weird given that it was 10° below freezing. It’s…

io9 George Dvorsky May 29

Get ready for the cicada invasion with this incredible time-lapse

After a 17-year dormancy period, the U.S. East Coast is about to be overrun by over 30 billion cicadas. This preview for a documentary-in-the-making will show you what to expect — including a remarkable time-lapse of cicadas breaking through their exoskeletons. https://gizmodo.com/you-wont-believe-how-many-cicadas-are-about-to-envelop-493923163 It’s called Return of the Cicadas, a film that’s being put together by…

io9 George Dvorsky May 29

Major Breakthrough: Researchers transform cement into liquid metal

Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory have concocted a formula that turns cement into a semi-conductor — a breakthrough that will allow it to be used for thin films, protective coatings, and computer chips. The international research team did so by melting mayenite (a rare calcium aluminum oxide mineral) at about 2,000 degrees Celsius using an…

io9 George Dvorsky May 28

NASA wants its long-lost Moon dust back

More than 40 years after it was brought back to Earth and accidentally put into storage, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory says it has re-discovered Moon dust samples collected by the Apollo 11 crew. But now NASA wants the samples returned, thank you very much. When the Apollo 11 crew returned from its historic flight…

io9 George Dvorsky May 28

When Two Galaxies Collide

This new image from Hubble shows what happens when a spiral galaxy (like the Milky Way) collides into a lenticular galaxy (an intermediate between an elliptical and a spiral galaxy). The Hubble website explains more: The image also reveals further evidence of the collision. There is a bright stream of stars coming out from the…

io9 George Dvorsky May 28

9 Predators With The Most Brutal Hunting Techniques

We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: Nature can be pretty damn scary. And at times, utterly merciless. Here are nine of the most unfortunate ways to die at the hands — or teeth — of a predator. Before we proceed, it’s worth mentioning that some of these are quite disturbing, so proceed with…

io9 George Dvorsky May 28

What’s so special about this photo of the Moon?

We’ll give you a hint: It was taken by John W. Draper in 1839. If you guessed that it’s the first photograph ever taken of the Moon, you are absolutely correct. Originally from England, Draper was a chemistry professor at New York University during the 1800s. This silver platinum plate of the moon was the…

io9 George Dvorsky May 28

An algorithm that finds face-like structures on the Earth’s surface

A new software program called GoogleFaces uses Google Maps and facial recognition software to isolate geographic structures that look like human faces. It’s far from perfect, but the program has uncovered some remarkably face-like surface features. Humans are good at picking out faces from everyday objects and structures — a characteristic known as pareidolia; we…

io9 George Dvorsky May 28

These twisted animal mashups are some of the best we’ve ever seen

Arne Olav likes to create ridiculous new species by splicing together two or more real animals. The resulting chimeras look like something right out a bizarre fantasy movie. The work of Reddit user Arne Olav comes to us from PetaPixel which recently showcased his images. You can also find more at his Reddit submissions page.…

io9 George Dvorsky May 27

Astronomers Map the Extreme Weather of a Distant Hot Jupiter

An emerging branch of science known as exometeorology is offering remarkable insights into the conditions found on some of the more extreme planets in the galaxy — including the weird and mind-boggingly massive weather patterns experienced on a hot Jupiter that’s 385 light years from Earth. Hot Jupiters are those exotic class of extrasolar planets…

io9 George Dvorsky May 27

Thousands of cave paintings have been discovered in Mexico

Archaeologists have uncovered nearly 5,000 cave paintings at 11 different sites in Mexico, the likely product of early hunter-gatherers. What’s even more remarkable is that the area was previously thought to be uninhabited. The discovery was made in the north-eastern region of Burgos in the San Carlos mountain range of Tamaulipas. Archaeologist Martha García Sánchez,…

io9 George Dvorsky May 27

George Dvorsky

This tiny hummingbird’s nest is almost too precious to believe

That time The Fonz partied with Marvel superheroes

Women will ‘evolve out’ of menopause

Could a notorious party drug be the next psychiatric breakthrough?

This is the world’s earliest bird

New polls suggest Americans are becoming less religious

Watch how music travels across the U.S. through Facebook

Museum to Sell Replicas of Golden Phallus in its Gift Shop

NASA shows off a prototype of its new xenon-ion engine

Russians Recover Fresh Flowing Mammoth Blood

Get ready for the cicada invasion with this incredible time-lapse

Major Breakthrough: Researchers transform cement into liquid metal

NASA wants its long-lost Moon dust back

When Two Galaxies Collide

9 Predators With The Most Brutal Hunting Techniques

What’s so special about this photo of the Moon?

An algorithm that finds face-like structures on the Earth’s surface

These twisted animal mashups are some of the best we’ve ever seen

Astronomers Map the Extreme Weather of a Distant Hot Jupiter

Thousands of cave paintings have been discovered in Mexico

First Statewide Data Center Ban Passed by Maine Legislature

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

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