George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

Scientists Succeed In Objectively Measuring Pain

In a much needed breakthrough, neuroscientists have developed a technique to predict how much physical pain people are feeling by looking at images of their brain scans. Until this point, the only way for doctors to “measure” pain is by using a pain scale. This typically involves patient self-reporting — like ranking pain on a…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 11

Whoa, Francis Crick’s DNA letter has sold for $5.3 million!

Looks like someone wanted this pretty badly: The letter that Francis Crick wrote to his son describing the structural detail of DNA has sold for a record breaking $5.3m at a New York City auction. That’s more than $4m over the initial asking price. It’s really not that difficult to understand why someone would pay…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 11

Haunting photographs show historical events erupting into the present day

In 2010, award-winning artist and photographer Seth Taras put together these stunning blended images for the History Channel as part of their “Know Where You Stand” campaign. All images Seth Taras/History Channel. Top: Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA 1937/2004. Saint-Laurent-sur-Mec, Normandy, France 1944/2004. The terrace of the Palais de Chaillot, Paris, 1940/2004. On the Strasse des…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 10

An Alien Code May Be Hidden Inside Our DNA!

A new paper published in the journal Icarus is suggesting that the best way for an extraterrestrial civilization to communicate across stellar distances is to send messages embedded within genetic code. It’s an interesting take on the panspermia hypothesis, one the scientists hope will lead to “biological SETI.” The authors of the paper, Vladimir Shcherbak…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 10

Can the Doomsday Argument predict our odds of survival?

The classic form of the Doomsday Argument says it’s more likely that we’re closer to the end of our civilization than the beginning. In other words, apocalyptic destruction awaits us in the not-too-distant future. But a recent re-interpretation of this argument has slightly improved our prospects for survival. The Doomsday Argument (DA) has been around…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 10

More insane discoveries from old World War II battles

The past several weeks have seen the discovery of a surprising number of remnants left over from the Second World War. The latest finds include a sunken Nazi sub off the coast of Norway, the re-discovered remains of a Bristol Beaufighter Mk X in Italy — and an unexploded 200 lb bomb in Germany. Indeed,…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 10

There’s a Massive Green Blob in Space

Could this be a cosmic-scale amoeba like the one encountered by the Enterprise crew in “Immunity Syndrome?” More likely, it’s the planetary nebula IC 1295 — a glowing green bubble made from gas that’s being blown out by a dying star. Nebula IC 1295 is located 3,300 light-years away and it sits in the constellation…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 10

Watch 3D-printed synthetic tissue react like the real thing

Scientists from Oxford University have developed a tissue-like printed material consisting of thousands of water droplets encased in a liquid film. They’ve essentially created printable artificial tissue — and it could someday be used to replace or supplement cells found inside our bodies. Indeed, the potential for this technology is considerable. These ‘droplet networks’ could…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 9

Why escaping to the water wouldn’t have saved you from a dino attack

New evidence from the University of Alberta suggests that some terrestrial dinosaurs, including carnivorous theropods, were very capable swimmers. Canadian paleontologist Scott Persons recently examined fossilized claw marks he found on a river bottom in China’s Szechuan Province. The scratches, which were left by two-legged dinosaurs, extended for distances of nearly 50 feet (15 meters),…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 9

Listen to the first 760,000 years of the universe

By pulling the latest data from the ESA’s Planck Mission project, a physics professor from the University of Washington has created an auditory representation of the Big Bang. Physicist John Cramer produced the audio by mapping sound frequencies to the changes detected over time in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. The project is similar…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 9

Latest science shows that size really does matter to women

A new study by Australian researchers shows that well-endowed guys are more attractive to women — but only to a point. Like other physical characteristics, male genitalia are subject to sexual selection. And in fact, penises have been known to evolve quickly, owing to strong selectional preferences at play. And indeed, human males are not…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 9

How meteorites powered Earth’s primordial soup

Scientists aren’t exactly sure how life arose on primordial Earth, leading some to suggest that meteorites may have been responsible for delivering the key components required to spark and sustain life, like crucial minerals or dormant microbial life. Now, chemists from the U.K. are saying that meteorites may very well have played a role in…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 9

This scaleless Antarctic fish has crystal clear blood

This is Chionodraco rastrospinosus, an ocellated deep sea ice fish that swims in the frigid waters off Antarctica. Unlike other vertebrates, its blood is completely devoid of hemoglobin — and is therefore translucent. Combine that with its scaleless features, and you have one of the more unique creatures on the planet. This fish is a…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 8

How Bayes’ Rule Can Make You A Better Thinker

Having a strong opinion about an issue can make it hard to take in new information about it, or to consider other options when they’re presented. Thankfully, there’s an old rule that can help us avoid this problem — and even help us make good decisions when we’re uncertain. Here’s how Bayesian Reasoning works, and…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 8

PETMAN is the Terminator’s less violent kid brother

Looks like BigDog finally has a robotic counterpart to take him out for a walk. Actually, Boston Dynamics’s PETMAN has been under development for a while now, but this is our first opportunity to see him decked out in full battle gear. The DoD funded Boston Dynamics says the humanoid robot is being used to…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 8

What you should know about the new avian bird flu

The death toll from a new flu strain in China has now reached six. It’s not known if the virus can be transmitted from person to person, but based on what the experts are saying, it’s a development that needs to be taken very seriously. The first report to come in that the new avian…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 5

10 Unusual Genetic Mutations in Humans

No two people are alike, due to the subtly different ways our genomes are expressed. But sometimes these biological differences lead to genetic mutations that are extremely rare, and sometimes debilitating. Historically, many people suffering from these mutations were labeled monsters or freaks — but today, we know they are simply part of the broad…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 5

Brain Scans Can Predict What You’re Dreaming About

A recent experiment in Japan shows that some of our most private thoughts may be more accessible than previously assumed. By hooking up volunteers to brain scanners, and then correlating accounts of their dreams to visual images, researchers have developed a brain decoding technique allowing them to predict broad categories of people’s dreams with up…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 5

A breathtaking video montage of time-lapse clips taken from orbit

Photographer Bruce W. Berry has meticulously pieced together a gorgeous and humbling compilation of time-lapse sequences taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. To make it happen, Berry color graded, denoised, deflickered, slowed down, and stabilized the pre-existing images. The clips were then compiled and converted to 1080 HD at 24 frames/second. Berry was…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 4

The science behind meditation, and why it makes you feel better

Meditation yields a surprising number of health benefits, including stress reduction, improved attention, better memory, and even increased creativity and feelings of compassion. But how can something as simple as focusing on a single object produce such dramatic results? Here’s what the growing body of scientific evidence is telling us about meditation and how it…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 4

George Dvorsky

Scientists Succeed In Objectively Measuring Pain

Whoa, Francis Crick’s DNA letter has sold for $5.3 million!

Haunting photographs show historical events erupting into the present day

An Alien Code May Be Hidden Inside Our DNA!

Can the Doomsday Argument predict our odds of survival?

More insane discoveries from old World War II battles

There’s a Massive Green Blob in Space

Watch 3D-printed synthetic tissue react like the real thing

Why escaping to the water wouldn’t have saved you from a dino attack

Listen to the first 760,000 years of the universe

Latest science shows that size really does matter to women

How meteorites powered Earth’s primordial soup

This scaleless Antarctic fish has crystal clear blood

How Bayes’ Rule Can Make You A Better Thinker

PETMAN is the Terminator’s less violent kid brother

What you should know about the new avian bird flu

10 Unusual Genetic Mutations in Humans

Brain Scans Can Predict What You’re Dreaming About

A breathtaking video montage of time-lapse clips taken from orbit

The science behind meditation, and why it makes you feel better

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