George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

Fallen Boulder at the Grand Canyon Exposes 300-Million-Year-Old Footprints

The oldest fossilized vertebrate footprints ever discovered in the Grand Canyon were found embedded in a recently fallen boulder located in plain sight. Around 314 million years ago—long before the first dinosaurs appeared on Earth—a reptilian creature measuring around a foot long slowly angled its way upward along a windswept sand dune. Shortly after, the…

Biology George Dvorsky

What to Know About Neuralink, Elon Musk’s Brain-Computer Interface Project

Elon Musk is set to make an announcement about Neuralink, a company designing brain-computer interface technology, on Friday, Aug. 28. It sounds like science fiction, but research in this area has progressed rapidly in recent years, though we’re still far from being able to send emails with our minds. Unlike Musk’s other famous ventures, SpaceX…

Health George Dvorsky

Image: NASA, ESA, Q. Zhang (Caltech), and A. Pagan (STScI

Close-Up View of Comet NEOWISE Shows It Survived Close Encounter With Sun

Comets don’t always survive their sojourns into the inner solar system, but a new close-up image suggests the NEOWISE comet—the brightest in decades—has kept it together. Some 6,800 years from now, our descendants, should they still be around, can expect a return visit from comet NEOWISE. This 3-mile-wide comet (5-kilometer) appears to have survived its…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Check Out NASA’s New Toy: A Full-Scale Replica of Blue Origin’s Lunar Lander

A team led by Blue Origin has delivered a full-scale mockup of the lunar lander that could carry NASA astronauts to the Moon in 2024. American astronauts will supposedly be taking strolls on the lunar surface in four years (which is an extremely ambitious timeline), but NASA still needs a lunar lander to make it…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

ISS Crew Temporarily Confined to Russian Module as Engineers Hunt for Pesky Air Leak

The International Space Station has been leaking more air than usual, prompting an investigation that will confine the three-person crew to a single module for the next several days. NASA and its international partners first noticed the air leak in September 2019. The ISS naturally loses some air over time, but the current rate of…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Image: TMAG Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

Extinct Tasmanian Tigers Were Way Tinier and Wimpier Than We Thought

An extensive analysis of dozens of Tasmanian tiger specimens suggests the extinct marsupial was far smaller, and far less formidable as a hunter, than conventionally assumed. Thylacines, otherwise known as Tasmanian tigers, became extinct in the 1930s. These iconic marsupial carnivores disappeared from this good Earth before modern scientists had an opportunity to study them…

Biology George Dvorsky

Mummified Kitten, Snake, and Bird Are ‘Unwrapped’ in New X-Ray Study

Using high-resolution, 3D X-ray scans, a team of researchers has digitally unwrapped and analyzed three mummified animals from ancient Egypt. A kitten with a broken neck, a bird of prey, and a dehydrated snake with a fractured spine are now teaching us a bit more about ancient Egyptian customs. These fascinating observations were made possible…

Human History George Dvorsky

Incredible Fossil Shows a Sea Monster in the Belly of an Even Bigger Sea Monster

As the Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn once said, “There’s always a bigger fish.” Or in the case of the Triassic Period, there’s always a bigger aquatic reptile, as this incredible fossil demonstrates. New research published in iScience offers the oldest direct evidence of “megapredation” in the fossil record, in which an apex predator feeds upon…

Biology George Dvorsky

Image: ZTF/Caltech Optical Observatories

A Car-Sized Asteroid Just Got Remarkably Close to Hitting Earth

On August 16, a car-sized asteroid came to within 1,830 miles (2,950 kilometers) of our planet, making it the closest known non-impacting asteroid on record. This asteroid, named 2020 QG, measures around 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 meters) in length, which is roughly the size of a large SUV. Its closest approach to…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Does Our Sun Have a Long-Lost Twin?

The strange configuration of material in the outer reaches of our solar system has led a team of scientists to speculate that the Sun had a companion during its early days. Intriguingly, this scenario could explain the presence of the hypothesized Planet Nine, should it actually exist. Our Sun’s hypothetical twin is long gone, but…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Damaged SETI Observatory Could Be Sidelined for Months

The iconic Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico was damaged last week when a large cable fell onto the radio telescope’s main reflector dish. We’re now learning more about this unfortunate incident, including how long it might take until the beleaguered observatory is back online. During the early morning of Monday August 10, a thick auxiliary…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Somehow, a Tiny Black Hole Is Causing a ‘Heartbeat’ 100 Light-Years Away

There’s a cloudy patch of space inside our galaxy that unexpectedly produces gamma radiation at clockwork-like intervals. Scientists have now linked these periodic pulses to a “microquasar”—most likely a black hole—located a whopping 100 light-years away, in what is an extraordinary observation. New research published today in Nature Astronomy describes an unusual long-distance relationship involving…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Exploding Black Dwarfs Could Be the ‘Last Interesting Thing to Happen in the Universe’

“This is the way the world ends,” said T. S. Elliot in his famous poem, “Not with a bang but a whimper.” These days, scientists consider the heat-death of the universe to be the whimper, but a new theoretical analysis predicts that the cosmos will breathe its final gasp in the form of exploding black…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

A Dusty Burp Could Explain Mysterious Dimming of Supergiant Star Betelgeuse

Doomed supergiant star Betelgeuse has been acting strange lately, appearing far less bright than usual and then bouncing back to normal. Hubble Space Telescope observations from last year suggest the unexpected dimming was caused by a sudden ejection of hot gases, which formed an enormous dust cloud after cooling. A new study set to be…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Scientists Found a 200,000-Year-Old Human Bed Made From Grass and Ash

Archaeologists from South Africa have uncovered rudimentary beds that early humans made by placing bundles of grass onto a layer of ash. Sounds basic, but these Stone Age beds were more sophisticated than they appear at first glance. “We report the discovery of grass bedding used to create comfortable areas for sleeping and working by…

Human History George Dvorsky

Humans Didn’t Hunt Woolly Rhinos to Extinction, New Evidence Suggests

New genetic evidence suggests it was a warming climate—not human overhunting—that killed off woolly rhinos at the end of the last ice age. With cave bears, saber-toothed cats, woolly mammoths, giant sloths, and dire wolves, the Pleistocene was a cornucopia of megafaunal delights. And of course, there was the woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis), an over-sized,…

Biology George Dvorsky

Sweet-Smelling Locust Pheromone Could Be Key to Stopping Their Swarms

Scientists have identified the pheromone responsible for turning individual locusts into the swarming variety. They also found a way to “turn off” locusts’ ability to respond to this pheromone, in a breakthrough that could lead to new control strategies for preventing the spread of these voracious and extremely destructive insects. Migratory locusts, or Locustia migratoria,…

Biology George Dvorsky

Famed SETI Observatory Wrecked After Cable Breaks

The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico is currently out of commission after a thick support cable fell onto the dish, creating a large gash. It’s yet another setback for the beloved science facility, which hasn’t fully recovered from the devastation of Hurricane Maria. At around 2:45 a.m. local time on Monday August 10, a three-inch…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

The Space Force Unveils ‘Spacepower,’ Its Plan to Conquer Space

The Space Force has released a 64-page military doctrine, explaining why the United States needs to flex its muscles in space and how the nascent military branch will seek to maintain dominance in a domain so far untouched by warfare. Humans have fought on land and water for millennia and in the air for over…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Image: NASA/JPL-CalTech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

Dwarf Planet Ceres Has a Secret Saltwater Ocean

Scientists are attributing the mysterious bright spots on Ceres, the largest object in the main asteroid belt, to a gigantic reservoir of salty water beneath the dwarf planet’s crust. Subsurface oceans are the kind of thing we expect to see in the outer solar system, specifically on the icy moons in orbit around Jupiter, Saturn,…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

George Dvorsky

Fallen Boulder at the Grand Canyon Exposes 300-Million-Year-Old Footprints

What to Know About Neuralink, Elon Musk’s Brain-Computer Interface Project

Close-Up View of Comet NEOWISE Shows It Survived Close Encounter With Sun

Check Out NASA’s New Toy: A Full-Scale Replica of Blue Origin’s Lunar Lander

ISS Crew Temporarily Confined to Russian Module as Engineers Hunt for Pesky Air Leak

Extinct Tasmanian Tigers Were Way Tinier and Wimpier Than We Thought

Mummified Kitten, Snake, and Bird Are ‘Unwrapped’ in New X-Ray Study

Incredible Fossil Shows a Sea Monster in the Belly of an Even Bigger Sea Monster

A Car-Sized Asteroid Just Got Remarkably Close to Hitting Earth

Does Our Sun Have a Long-Lost Twin?

Damaged SETI Observatory Could Be Sidelined for Months

Somehow, a Tiny Black Hole Is Causing a ‘Heartbeat’ 100 Light-Years Away

Exploding Black Dwarfs Could Be the ‘Last Interesting Thing to Happen in the Universe’

A Dusty Burp Could Explain Mysterious Dimming of Supergiant Star Betelgeuse

Scientists Found a 200,000-Year-Old Human Bed Made From Grass and Ash

Humans Didn’t Hunt Woolly Rhinos to Extinction, New Evidence Suggests

Sweet-Smelling Locust Pheromone Could Be Key to Stopping Their Swarms

Famed SETI Observatory Wrecked After Cable Breaks

The Space Force Unveils ‘Spacepower,’ Its Plan to Conquer Space

Dwarf Planet Ceres Has a Secret Saltwater Ocean

Feds Sniffing Around Polymarket After Suspicious Bets

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Don’t Get Too Attached to Any AI App

‘Paradise’ Writer Teases What’s Coming in Season 3 After That Huge Twist

Trump’s New White House App Is Mildly Concerning and Weird for a Lot of Reasons

Bloodsucking Ticks Can Survive Inside Your Home Longer Than You Might Think

The Best New Toys of March 2026

Judge Denies Liking LinkedIn Post Critical of Elon Musk But Reassigns His Cases Anyway

Amazon Slashes 50% Off Keurig K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker, Now a Budget Alternative to Breville and Nespresso Espresso Machines

Sun’s Latest Outburst Complicates Planned Launch of Artemis 2

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

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