George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

Why you probably won’t experience your own traumatic death

Ever wonder what it would be like to get shot in the head, or have your face smash into a car’s windshield? Well, you can stop wondering, because you’ll never know — even if it does happen to you. There are at least two major reasons why, if you die in a sudden and violent…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 7

Why are American heads getting bigger?

Americans shouldn’t let this go to their heads — but recent forensic research suggests that their heads are getting bigger. National Geographic recently reported the discovery that skulls of white Americans have significantly increased in size since 1825, allowing for a tennis ball’s worth of new brain. But why? Scientists are stumped. To make this…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 7

We’re breaking our planet once and for all, warn scientists

A report just published in Nature by a group of 22 international scientists warns that human activity is quickly pushing the planet to a tipping point, after which time the Earth’s ecosystem will suffer a rapid and irreversible collapse. What’s worse: They suggest we’re nearly there. By using recent scientific theories, ecosystem modeling, and paleontological…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 7

Is marijuana unhealthier than people think?

As medical and recreational use of marijuana continues to grow, a dangerous lack of awareness about its health risks could be putting millions of lives at risk. This is the conclusion reached by the British Lung Foundation (BLF), a leading charity that is worried about the “alarming disconnect” between the public perception of the drug…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 7

Supercomputer simulates nuclear explosion down to the molecular level

Treaties forbid the detonation of nuclear test weapons — which creates problems for national defense developers who need to efficiently certify the effectiveness of their arsenal. Luckily for them, a powerful new supercomputer is now able to replicate the physical impact of nuclear explosions — albeit digitally. And luckily for us, the resulting innovations may…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 6

Why can mosquitoes fly in the rain?

Like us humans, most insects take shelter when it rains. Mosquitoes, on the other hand, in their endless quest to make life miserable for everybody, have evolved a very special way to stay airborne, even during a downfall. A new study suggests their technique has to do with their very special exoskeleton and low mass…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 6

Meet Swumanoid, Japan’s swimming robot

For those of you who thought you could escape to the water during the robopocalypse, you thought wrong. Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology are working on a robot that can accurately mimic a human swimmer’s whole-body motion. Called Swumanoid — an awkward portmanteau of “swimming humanoid” – the swimbot is intended to measure…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 6

Spectacular time-lapse video of Venus transit

Check out this stunning video of yesterday’s transit of Venus. It shows our sister planet’s entire 7-hour journey across the face of the Sun in just 39 seconds. The video, which was produced by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, features multiple views of the once-in-a-lifetime event. And as if it couldn’t get any better, the Sun…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 6

Should we eliminate psychopaths from the gene pool?

Psychopaths make up an astounding 1 to 2 percent of the general population and occupy virtually every niche in society. Often ruthless, callous and completely devoid of empathy, they impose an incalculable toll on individuals and society. And science is increasingly learning that psychopathy may actually be a genetic disorder — one that could eventually…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 6

The Future of Graveyards

If there’s anything that hasn’t changed all that much over the years, it’s graveyards. Dig a hole six feet deep, throw in the casket, erect a monument, and you’re done. Given how emotional and intense this topic is, it’s easy to understand the reluctance for fancy innovations. But owing to a number of pressures including…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 5

Do these conjoined twins share consciousness?

Susan Dominus has penned a remarkable piece for the New York Times about Krista and Tatiana Hogan, the 4-year old conjoined twin girls from British Columbia who are attached at the head. Scans show that the two girls have brains that are interconnected by a never-seen-before “thalamic bridge,” an indication that they might share conscious…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 5

South Korea will remove evolution from its high school textbooks

It appears that the United States is not the only country having a hard time accepting evolution. According to a report in Nature, a South Korean creationist campaign has achieved victory in its efforts to see specific examples of evolution removed from high school text books. Their breakthrough is part of a larger campaign to…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 5

Astonishing Time-Lapse Video of a Fruit Fly Embryo Developing

A new microscope called the Multi-View SPIM, or MuVi-SPIM for short, is allowing scientists to take unprecedented images of rapid biological processes, at a level of detail we’ve never seen before. And to show off the power of this new microscope, the developers have released an incredible time-lapse video of a fruit fly embryo undergoing…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 5

How Studying Ant Behavior Can Make Social Networks Better

People who go on social networking sites are often compared to ant colonies — but it may be truer than anyone realizes. A new study from the University of Madrid suggests that the behavior of real-life ants could inspire developers to improve the way these sites function. By constructing an algorithm modeled off the foraging…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 5

Astronomers discover massive black hole careening away from its home galaxy

As if black holes weren’t already scary enough, it now appears that they can move — and they can move fast. New observations from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have revealed a massive black hole that is careening away from its host galaxy at a speed of several million miles per hour. Astronomers speculate that the…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 4

Is the Pentagon ready for an alien invasion?

Foreign Policy has published an extremely cool overview of highly advanced military technologies currently under development — technologies that will soon be at the disposal of the U.S. military. It’s written with tongue firmly in cheek, but there’s still a hint of seriousness to the article as the FP reviewers reveal just how bleeding-edge U.S.…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 4

Could we build a weather machine to stop climate change?

It’s starting to get pretty warm outside. And it’s also starting to get increasingly obvious that human-made global warming is not going away anytime soon. As our environment continues to degrade and collapse, we may be headed into some fairly desperate times — and with them, the inevitable call for desperate measures. Such out-of-the-box speculation…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 4

Global warming changes tundras into forests much faster than anyone expected

Well, we knew this was going to happen eventually – but now scientists are actually seeing it with their own eyes. Researchers from Finland and Oxford University have discovered that large swaths of European and Asian arctic tundra are quickly turning into forests. They’re attributing it to climate change, but what’s worse is that the…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 4

Groundbreaking rat experiment offers new hope for paralyzed humans

Swiss scientists have conducted an experiment in which paraplegic rats have re-learned to walk, run, and evade obstacles. The spectacular results followed a physical training regimen that included electrical and chemical stimulation of the rats’ damaged spinal columns and the use of a “robotic postural interface”. The study, published June 1 in Science, could have…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 4

The 21st Century version of “blood diamonds” are in our electronics

Most people are familiar with the illicit trade of “blood diamonds”, but few are aware of the “other” blood trade: illegally sold minerals. These minerals are crucial to the aerospace, electronics, and manufacturing industries, and their illegal sales are used to finance political militias that murder civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).…

io9 George Dvorsky May 3

George Dvorsky

Why you probably won’t experience your own traumatic death

Why are American heads getting bigger?

We’re breaking our planet once and for all, warn scientists

Is marijuana unhealthier than people think?

Supercomputer simulates nuclear explosion down to the molecular level

Why can mosquitoes fly in the rain?

Meet Swumanoid, Japan’s swimming robot

Spectacular time-lapse video of Venus transit

Should we eliminate psychopaths from the gene pool?

The Future of Graveyards

Do these conjoined twins share consciousness?

South Korea will remove evolution from its high school textbooks

Astonishing Time-Lapse Video of a Fruit Fly Embryo Developing

How Studying Ant Behavior Can Make Social Networks Better

Astronomers discover massive black hole careening away from its home galaxy

Is the Pentagon ready for an alien invasion?

Could we build a weather machine to stop climate change?

Global warming changes tundras into forests much faster than anyone expected

Groundbreaking rat experiment offers new hope for paralyzed humans

The 21st Century version of “blood diamonds” are in our electronics

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