George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

Deep sea ‘zombie worms’ consume bone by drilling with acid

Earlier this month we reported on the discovery of ‘phlegmy’ worms that feed on the bones of dead sea creatures. The biggest question? Exactly how they were able to accomplish this feat, given that they have no mouths or stomachs. But now there’s a new clue to this maritime mystery: They’re drilling through bone, using…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 29

Fossils give hope that life can flourish on surprisingly primitive planets

How soon after a planet’s formation can animal life emerge? The answer to this question could influence how we search for life on other worlds, as well as the types of life we look for. Until recently, experts estimated that animals emerged on Earth around 555 million years ago, meaning that complex life can get…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 29

UK start-up will fly you to the moon for $150 million

The entire Apollo mission cost the U.S. government around $20 billion dollars — but if a U.K. start-up has its way, you could charter a trip for a flight around the Moon for the modest price of $150 million. In order to get you there, the company is looking to use tried-and-true technologies developed by…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 29

Why is this 4,500 year-old purse covered with a hundred dog teeth?

Ladies, if you’re thinking of accessorizing and bringing back that retro look, you may be interested in a recent archaeological discovery made in Germany: Excavators working to uncover a Stone Age site near Leipzig have found a rather bizarrely ornamented purse – one that’s studded with a hundred dog teeth. And according to the archaeologists,…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 29

A Distant Planet Whose Atmosphere Was Blasted Away by Solar Flares

You might think our own sun is turbulent — but it turns out we’ve got it easy. Astronomers have found a gas giant, 60 light years away from Earth, that’s been hit with a violent flare from its star, blasting it with an intense wave of X-ray radiation. Because the exoplanet is so close to…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 28

Thousands of Massive Plasma Tornadoes Discovered in Sun’s Atmosphere

Astrophysicists at the University of Oslo have observed a series of magnetic supertornadoes, swirling around the Sun’s atmosphere. The plasma tornadoes — which number in the thousands and extend for thousands of miles across — may explain why the Sun’s atmosphere is way hotter than its surface. By using both space-based and ground telescopes, a…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 28

New device will let doctors perform surgery without breaking the skin

On Star Trek, surgeons can perform complicated operations without so much as cutting into the patient — and soon this could be the case in real life, as well. Researchers at Caltech have developed a new visualization technique, where highly focused light and ultrasound are applied to illuminate the body’s interior, allowing them see what’s…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 28

When does a minute last 61 seconds?

On this coming Sunday June 30, intrepid horologists from around the world will daringly attempt to hold back the relentless onslaught of time. Well, to be fair it won’t actually be that difficult. July 1st is scheduled to start an entire second later than it should, a feat of temporal distortion that will be accomplished…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 28

Incredible medical breakthrough allows doctors to inject oxygen into the bloodstreams of people who can’t breathe

In a monumental breakthrough with far ranging implications, cardiologists at the Children’s Hospital Boston in Massachusetts have kept suffocating rabbits alive for 15 minutes with injections of oxygen-filled microparticles. The groundbreaking procedure could conceivably prevent millions of deaths each year caused by such things as heart attacks and choking. Developed by John Kheir and his…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 28

Why are dolphins smarter than most other mammals?

Everyone knows that dolphins are smarter than most other creatures -– but now we have the genetic evidence to prove it. A recent analysis of the bottlenose dolphin’s genome has shown that, like humans, a good portion of its genetic makeup is devoted to the development of its nervous system. The discovery shows that intelligence…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 27

Is SETI at risk of downloading a malicious virus from outer space?

We take it for granted that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a safe endeavor. Seriously, what could possibly go wrong with passively searching for interstellar radio signals? Unfortunately, the answer is quite a lot –- especially if the incoming signal contains something malicious, like a computer virus or Trojan horse. And according to…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 27

Mutated pests are quickly adapting to biotech crops in unpredicted and disturbing ways

Genetically modified crops are often designed to repel hungry insects. By having toxins built into the plant itself, farmers can reduce their use of environmentally unfriendly insecticide sprays. But as any first-year evolutionary biology student can tell you, insects are like the Borg in Star Trek: they quickly adapt. And this is precisely what is…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 27

“Nuclear slapshots” could propel a spacecraft to Mars in just weeks

Scientists at UAHuntsville have proposed a scheme that could see a spacecraft propelled through space by using a pulsed nuclear fusion system. To do so, a series of “nuclear slapshots” would apply magnetic pulses in order to slam nuclei into each other inside a hockey puck like structure made of a special lightweight salt. Should…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 27

NASA finds a galactic arc in deep space that has no business being there

NASA scientists working with the Hubble Space Telescope have discovered an arc of light behind an extremely massive cluster of galaxies about 10 billion light-years away. Given that the clusters formed over 13.7 billion years ago at a time when the Universe was very young, there shouldn’t really be anything “behind” it. But there is.…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 27

A New Record for the Highest Temperature We’ve Ever Created: A Whopping 4 Trillion Degrees Celsius

Guinness World Records has recognized Brookhaven National Laboratory‘s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider as the device which has set a new standard for achieving the “Highest Man-Made Temperature”: a mind boggingly extreme 4 trillion degrees Celsius -– which is 250,000 times hotter than the center of the Sun. The heavy ion collider achieved this remarkable feat…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 26

Would people still believe in God after we made contact with aliens?

Mike Wall just got back from the SETICon II conference where he attended a panel discussion titled, “Would Discovering ET Destroy Earth’s Religions?” The panel was comprised of SETI wonks Doug Vakoch and Seth Shostak, along with award-winning Canadian science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer. Not surprisingly, they collectively agreed that contact with an extraterrestrial…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 26

How serious does an asteroid threat have to be before we take action?

NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program has revised the odds of asteroid 2011 AG5 hitting the Earth in 2040 to 1 in 500. While they describe this threat as “slight”, it got us thinking: Just how serious does the risk have to be, before we should do something about it? http://io9.com/5919539/nasa-downgrades-ag5-asteroid-threat-+-but-were-not-out-of-the-woods-yet The answer is not as straightforward…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 26

Have we found the genetic basis for intelligence?

To date, geneticists have identified plenty of genetic markers that are correlated with intelligence. Taken individually, however, these account for a paltry 1% of the variation in IQ scores. But now, an international team of scientists has identified a set of genes that appear to amplify each other’s effects — resulting in a synergistic boost…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 26

Scientists are working on a device to help Stephen Hawking communicate through brain waves

Iconic physicist Stephen Hawking’s condition is getting worse, prompting scientists to apply their research in brain scanning in an effort to help. Called the iBrain, it is hoped that the device will continue to allow Hawking to communicate by sheer thought alone. Hawking, who is now 70, suffers from a motor neuron disease which caused…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 26

Researchers create a new male contraceptive that you apply like lotion

It’s been a half-century since the advent of a reliable birth control option for women, and we’ve developed virtually nothing similar for men. But now, owing to research done at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, an innovative new treatment holds promise as a reversible birth control option for men -– a…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 25

George Dvorsky

Deep sea ‘zombie worms’ consume bone by drilling with acid

Fossils give hope that life can flourish on surprisingly primitive planets

UK start-up will fly you to the moon for $150 million

Why is this 4,500 year-old purse covered with a hundred dog teeth?

A Distant Planet Whose Atmosphere Was Blasted Away by Solar Flares

Thousands of Massive Plasma Tornadoes Discovered in Sun’s Atmosphere

New device will let doctors perform surgery without breaking the skin

When does a minute last 61 seconds?

Incredible medical breakthrough allows doctors to inject oxygen into the bloodstreams of people who can’t breathe

Why are dolphins smarter than most other mammals?

Is SETI at risk of downloading a malicious virus from outer space?

Mutated pests are quickly adapting to biotech crops in unpredicted and disturbing ways

“Nuclear slapshots” could propel a spacecraft to Mars in just weeks

NASA finds a galactic arc in deep space that has no business being there

A New Record for the Highest Temperature We’ve Ever Created: A Whopping 4 Trillion Degrees Celsius

Would people still believe in God after we made contact with aliens?

How serious does an asteroid threat have to be before we take action?

Have we found the genetic basis for intelligence?

Scientists are working on a device to help Stephen Hawking communicate through brain waves

Researchers create a new male contraceptive that you apply like lotion

White House Is Reportedly Ready to Drop Its Anthropic Beef and Embrace the Spooky New Model

A Critical Ocean Current System May Be Unraveling Faster Than We Thought

Lana Del Rey Just Released the First Bond Theme We’ll Hear for Years

Tesla Wants a $50,000 Penalty for Anyone Who Tries to Resell Its Signature Model S and X

Google Wants to Put Gucci Smart Glasses on Your Face

Disneyland Makes Up for That Han Solo Situation With a Lovely Leia Look

The Cockroach of Dinosaurs Likely Survived Extinction Because of Its Big Wet Eggs

Why Fans Are Calling ‘Apocalypse Hotel’ the Real Anime of the Year

Spirit Airlines Could Liquidate by the End of the Week Due to Fuel Crisis

After 100 Years, Engineers Finally Discover Why Rubber Is So Tough

Alienware’s $350 QD-OLED Gaming Monitor Nixes Everything for a Pretty Screen

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?

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