George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

1846: The Year We Hit Peak Sperm Whale Oil

Energy experts predict that the global production of oil will soon start to decline, what’s referred to as peak oil. Now while we may not be there yet, there was a time in our history when we did reach a similar plateau, but it was a very different kind of energy source — one that…

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Size truly matters when it comes to the rhino beetle and its massive horn

When animals want to prove their reproductive fitness, they engage in some pretty fancy ornamental displays (things like peacock feathers and deer antlers). Few organisms pull this off as well as the male Japanese rhino beetle, however — an insect with a disproportionately massive horn on its head. And new research indicates that this horn…

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Sunken Nazi Submarine Found Just Off the Coast of Nantucket

It has been well documented that German submarines came disturbingly close to U.S. shores during World War II — but just how close was made all the more apparent by the recent discovery of a German U-550 sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean a mere 70 miles south of Nantucket. Back in the…

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NASA says flags left by Apollo astronauts are still standing

A longstanding question since the days of the Apollo program is whether or not the American flags left by astronauts on the moon are still standing. Buzz Aldrin has claimed that the flag left by the Apollo 11 mission got knocked over by the exhaust from their launch engine, but the fate of the other…

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Could Minority Report come true in your lifetime?

What if we could know about a crime before it happens? We could avoid huge amounts of suffering — but even though that goal fuels stories like Minority Report and Person of Interest, it seems to be far away from reality. Until now. Experts say the field of “predictive policing” has advanced by leaps and…

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What did Vikings really look like?

The cliched image of Vikings as a horn-helmeted warrior race of snarly Scandinavian marauders is so indelibly cemented in our psyches that we intuitively know it couldn’t possibly be true — which inevitably leads to the question: What did they actually look like? Intrigued by this question, Irene Berg Sørensen of ScienceNordic decided to address…

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Scientists use light to control monkey brains

Optogenetics, a brand new field of research in which living, cortical neurons and other cells can be manipulated or controlled with optical technology (namely fiber optic cables), has been heralded as the next big thing for treating such things as heart conditions, paralysis, and even diabetes. https://gizmodo.com/tomorrows-pacemakers-could-be-powered-by-light-5831503 https://gizmodo.com/a-few-tiny-leds-could-help-paralyzed-people-move-their-5651805 https://gizmodo.com/blue-light-could-cure-diabetes-5815340 Up until now, however, they’ve only…

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Are Olympic athletes really mutants?

Athletes who perform at the elite level aren’t like the rest of us. Their feats of strength, accuracy, and endurance often appear superhuman — which probably explains why we enjoy watching them so much. And the suggestion that many of these athletes are somehow performing outside of “normal” human bounds is not an exaggeration. Professional…

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Why both men and women’s eyes are drawn to women’s bodies

A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is suggesting that both men and women are guilty of objectifying females. Because your brain perceives an object as being either a coherent entity or a collection of parts, you rely on two different cognitive processes — global and local scanning. And it appears…

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How Gödel Saved Mark Changizi from Physics

Evolutionary neurobiologist Mark Changizi is obsessed with asking the question, “why?” — and as a scientist, it’s served him well. His questioning of virtually everything has led him to investigate why it is that we think, feel, and see the way we do — a set of inquiries that has led to important discoveries on…

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Genetically modified apples won’t turn brown when you slice them

Good news for people who like to take a bite out of an apple, and then just leaving it sitting on the kitchen counter for the rest of the day: A small Canadian company called Okanagan Specialty Fruits is developing a genetically engineered apple that won’t turn brown after it has been sliced or bruised.…

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Brilliant new computer simulation shows how the Milky Way formed after the Big Bang

As surprising as this may sound, physicists and astronomers aren’t entirely sure how spiral galaxies like the Milky Way got their exact shape. Any attempts to generate a spiral galaxy from scratch resulted in a computer simulation that showed a giant ball with too many stars. But a new study to be published in the…

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How Autism is Changing the World for Everybody

There’s not much doubt that autism, along with Asperger Syndrome, is finally becoming accepted as a normal part of the human fabric. Even if some people still see autism as a condition that needs to be “treated,” it’s increasingly obvious that people on the autism spectrum are finding ways to succeed in our neurotypical-based society.…

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Scientists finally figure out why the Pioneer probes appeared to defy the laws of physics

It was a mystery that threatened to overturn over a hundred years of scientific canon. How was it that both Pioneer spacecraft were traveling slower through space than predicted by physics? The answer, it turns out, had little to do with Newton or Einstein, and more to do with poorly thought out spacecraft design. Both…

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Greenland’s Ice Sheet Melting Faster than We’ve Ever Seen

It was just yesterday when we showed you what would happen if you got too close to a melting glacier in Greenland — a disturbing glimpse of what’s becoming a regular fixture in that part of the world. And now, as we find ourselves having to endure yet another scorchingly hot July, new data from…

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Biologists now say that red tide algal blooms could be the ‘killer of the ocean world’

Scientists have long known that so-called red tide phytoplankton is toxic to marine life, but new research from the University of Connecticut is suggesting that it’s actually far deadlier than we feared. Professor Hans Dam from the Department of Marine Sciences has sounded the alarm on the red tide, saying that it could have grave…

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What Science Can Tell us About James Holmes’s Brain

As humans, it’s only natural for us to search for explanations in the face of senseless violence. So it’s no surprise that people have floated many weird and offensive theories to explain the tragic shootings late last week at a movie theatre in Colorado, that left 12 people dead and dozens more injured. http://gawker.com/5928324/is-james-holmes-a-nerd https://jezebel.com/lets-not-blame-the-aurora-shootings-on-james-holmes-not-5928571…

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Newly discovered deep-water fish are some of the strangest and nastiest creatures on Earth

National Geographic is reporting on how marine biologists working off the coast of New Zealand have pulled up a number of rare and unknown species of fish from more than a mile down. After taking a look at them, however, the scientists would probably do well to put them right back down where they found…

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Human stem cells restore memory in animals with Alzheimer’s disease

For the first time ever, human stem cells have been shown to have a significant effect on restoring memory in animals suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The breakthrough could have profound implications for the treatment of the age-related disorder, which affects as many as 5.3 million Americans and threatens to affect many more as the population…

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Analysis of polar bear DNA shows they’re an ancient species with a tangled history

A scan of polar bear DNA has shown that polar bears came into existence far earlier than previously assumed. Working with fossils alone, scientists had thought that polar bears, after intermingling with brown bears, made their first snowy white appearance anywhere between 60,000 to 600,000 years ago. But a genetic analysis now shows that they…

io9 George Dvorsky

George Dvorsky

1846: The Year We Hit Peak Sperm Whale Oil

Size truly matters when it comes to the rhino beetle and its massive horn

Sunken Nazi Submarine Found Just Off the Coast of Nantucket

NASA says flags left by Apollo astronauts are still standing

Could Minority Report come true in your lifetime?

What did Vikings really look like?

Scientists use light to control monkey brains

Are Olympic athletes really mutants?

Why both men and women’s eyes are drawn to women’s bodies

How Gödel Saved Mark Changizi from Physics

Genetically modified apples won’t turn brown when you slice them

Brilliant new computer simulation shows how the Milky Way formed after the Big Bang

How Autism is Changing the World for Everybody

Scientists finally figure out why the Pioneer probes appeared to defy the laws of physics

Greenland’s Ice Sheet Melting Faster than We’ve Ever Seen

Biologists now say that red tide algal blooms could be the ‘killer of the ocean world’

What Science Can Tell us About James Holmes’s Brain

Newly discovered deep-water fish are some of the strangest and nastiest creatures on Earth

Human stem cells restore memory in animals with Alzheimer’s disease

Analysis of polar bear DNA shows they’re an ancient species with a tangled history

INIU Portable Power Bank Is Small in Size and Smaller in Price for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale (45W, 10,000mAh)

Humans Were Already Dog People 16,000 Years Ago, DNA Suggests

California Regulator Says Tesla’s ‘Robotaxis’ Are More Like a Limo in the Eyes of the Law

Dyson Airwrap Falls to an All-Time Low in Amazon’s Spring Sale, Lowering the Barrier for This Premium Multi-Styler

The ‘Tales from ’85’ Trailer Wants You Back in ‘Stranger Things’ Already

Forget Ray-Ban Meta, XREAL 1S AR/XR Virtual Screen Smart Glasses Drop to Record Low on Amazon

Pixel Buds Pro 2 Hit Record Low as Google Continues Its Clearance-Like Price Cuts Following Smartphone Deals

DJI Now Has a Cheaper 360 Drone Than Insta360, but the U.S. Won’t Get It

Amazon Clears Out Apple Watch Series 9 With Silver Stainless Steel Case at 48% Off During Spring Sale

What Do You Mean Fox McCloud Is in the ‘Super Mario Galaxy’ Movie

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Apple Studio Display XDR Review: It Looks So Good, I Wish It Were an iMac

RayNeo Air 4 Pro Review: My Eyes Love These Video Glasses, but My Nose Disagrees