George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

Welp, Using Volcanoes to Understand Geoengineering Might Not Really Work

The cooling effects of large volcanic eruptions have led some scientists to believe these natural hazards could inspire and inform the development of geoengineering schemes to combat climate change. New research suggests this is probably a bad idea. Our planet may soon pass a critical tipping point, after which time a massive reduction of carbon…

Climate Change George Dvorsky Aug 7 '19

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Stumbles Upon a Strangely Complicated Martian Rock

The Curiosity team is calling it “Strathdon”—a boulder-sized Martian rock comprised of dozens of sedimentary layers. Its discovery suggests the area being explored by the NASA rover is more geologically complex than is typically appreciated. For the past several months, Curiosity has been exploring a region called the “clay-bearing unit” within Gale Crater. This area,…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Aug 7 '19

LightSail 2, Pushed by Sunlight, Raises Its Orbit by 10,500 Feet in Just Two Weeks

Two weeks after entering solar sailing mode, the Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 spacecraft has managed to raise its orbit by nearly 2 miles, in an important test of this promising new means of propulsion. LightSail 2 unfurled its 32-square-meter (344-square-foot) solar sail on July 23, around one month after it was deposited into low Earth…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Aug 6 '19

Military’s Deadly Germ Lab Shut Down Due to Sloppy Work, Leaky Equipment

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shut down a leading military research facility for failing to meet established safety standards, halting important research into some of the world’s most dangerous pathogens and toxins. Following an inspection in June, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a cease-and-desist order to…

Tech News George Dvorsky Aug 6 '19

Should Artificial Intelligence Be Credited as an Inventor?

A collaborative research team claims their artificially intelligent system should be recognized as the rightful inventor of two innovative designs, in a potentially disruptive development in patent law. Patent law is complicated even at the best of times, but a new project led by researchers from the University of Surrey could make it more convoluted…

Artificial Intelligence George Dvorsky Aug 2 '19

Scientists Went to China to Create Controversial Human-Monkey Embryos

An international collaboration is claiming to have created hybridized human-monkey embryos in China. Disturbingly, the research could result in monkeys capable of producing human organs for transplants, leading to a host of ethical concerns. A researcher involved in the experiment, biologist Estrella Núñez from the Catholic University of Murcia (UCAM), confirmed the achievement to Spanish…

Health George Dvorsky Aug 2 '19

This Football-Shaped Planet Is Leaking Heavy Metal

This hot Jupiter is so close to its host star that gravitational forces are squeezing it into a football-like shape. Not only that, its temperatures are so extreme that heavy metal gases are escaping into space from the exoplanet’s atmosphere—a phenomenon never seen before until now. Iron and magnesium gases are escaping the atmosphere of…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Aug 1 '19

Another Study Finds Our Galaxy Is ‘Warped and Twisted’

A team of Polish astronomers has created the most accurate three-dimensional map of the Milky Way to date, revealing surprising distortions and irregularities along the galactic disk. Building an accurate map of the Milky Way is not easy. Our location deep inside the gigantic structure means we can’t observe our galaxy externally, forcing us to…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Aug 1 '19

Population of Critically Endangered Vaquita Porpoises Now Less Than 19 Individuals

There are now less than 19 individual vaquita porpoises left in the wild, according to an alarming new survey. Scientists say immediate measures are now required to save this enigmatic species from extinction. If fishing nets continue to be used illegally off the coast of Mexico, vaquita porpoises (Phocoena sinus) will likely become extinct within…

Conservation George Dvorsky Jul 31 '19

Dramatic Video Shows the Moment Hayabusa2 Made Its Second Touchdown on the Ryugu Asteroid

A newly released video from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) shows the critical moment when the Hayabusa2 spacecraft made contact with the surface of the Ryugu asteroid for an unprecedented second time. On July 11, 2019, Japan’s Hayabusa2 made history by performing its second touchdown onto Ryugu, an 870-meter-wide (2,854-foot) asteroid located 300 million…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jul 31 '19

Fragment of Medieval Poem About a Talking Vulva Found in Austrian Library

The poem involves a woman who is having a debate with her apparently opinionated vulva about which of the two is more attractive to men.

Human History George Dvorsky Jul 30 '19

An Alarming Number of Arctic Reindeer Starved to Death Last Winter, Likely Due to Climate Change

More than 200 reindeer starved to death this past winter on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. The scientists who made the grim discovery say climate change is the likely culprit. A team of researchers from the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) have completed their annual survey of reindeer populations on Svalbard, and the results are not…

Climate Change George Dvorsky Jul 30 '19

Humans Will Never Colonize Mars

The suggestion that humans will soon set up bustling, long-lasting colonies on Mars is something many of us take for granted. What this lofty vision fails to appreciate, however, are the monumental—if not intractable—challenges awaiting colonists who want to permanently live on Mars. Unless we radically adapt our brains and bodies to the harsh Martian…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jul 30 '19

Florida Clarifies Its Directive to Kill Iguanas ‘Whenever Possible’ After Florida Man Gets Shot

Earlier this month, Florida’s conservation authority urged homeowners to exterminate invasive green iguanas “whenever possible,” without the need for permits. The accidental shooting of a pool maintenance worker by an iguana hunter has now prompted state officials to clarify that directive, saying Florida is not the “wild west.” When Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission…

Biology George Dvorsky Jul 29 '19

Unexplained Radiation Leak Traced to Russian Nuclear Facility

Two years after a mysterious cloud of radiation swept through Europe, a team of scientists has pinpointed the source of the leak to a nuclear reprocessing plant in Russia, which was preparing materials for an Italian physics experiment at the time. In early October 2017, a cloud of radioactive material swept through Europe. Monitoring stations…

Physics & Chemistry George Dvorsky Jul 29 '19

Poll: Two in Five Americans Still Believe God Created Humans 10,000 Years Ago

A new Gallup poll shows that 40 percent of American adults comply to a strict view of creationism, in which God brought humans into existence within the last 10,000 years. More encouragingly, a record number of Americans now say God had absolutely nothing to do with it. Evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin published On the Origin…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 26 '19

SpaceX’s Starhopper Makes Its First Free-Flying Leap

SpaceX has completed its first untethered leap of Starhopper—a prototype for its planned Starship vehicle. The brief but important test now sets the stage for more ambitious jumps. Without any tethers to guide its way or catch its fall, Starhopper rose 20 meters (65 feet) into the air, returning safely to the ground a few…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jul 26 '19

16 Endangered Black Rhinos Successfully Relocated to Eswatini

Conservationists have successfully moved 16 endangered black rhinos to the tiny—but “ideal”—African country of Eswatini, after removing them last year from a poaching hotspot in South Africa. The 16 rhinos include mature breeding bulls and cows, plus some juveniles and calves, according to a statement issued by Big Game Parks, Eswatini’s national wildlife authority. The…

Conservation George Dvorsky Jul 25 '19

Undead Tree Stump Is Being Kept Alive by Neighboring Trees

A tree stump in New Zealand is very much alive, thanks to an interconnected root system that benefits both the stump and its neighboring trees. Scientists say this unusual symbiotic arrangement could change our very conception of what it means to be a tree. We tend to think of trees as individuals, but the roots…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 25 '19

LightSail 2 Opens Its Sails in an Early Test of Tech That May Make Interstellar Travel Possible

A tiny spacecraft in Earth orbit has successfully deployed its solar sails. Called LightSail 2, the craft will now use the power of the Sun to lift its orbital height even further, in what’s considered an important test of this promising means of propulsion. LightSail 2 is a crowdfunded project run by the Planetary Society,…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jul 24 '19

George Dvorsky

Welp, Using Volcanoes to Understand Geoengineering Might Not Really Work

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Stumbles Upon a Strangely Complicated Martian Rock

LightSail 2, Pushed by Sunlight, Raises Its Orbit by 10,500 Feet in Just Two Weeks

Military’s Deadly Germ Lab Shut Down Due to Sloppy Work, Leaky Equipment

Should Artificial Intelligence Be Credited as an Inventor?

Scientists Went to China to Create Controversial Human-Monkey Embryos

This Football-Shaped Planet Is Leaking Heavy Metal

Another Study Finds Our Galaxy Is ‘Warped and Twisted’

Population of Critically Endangered Vaquita Porpoises Now Less Than 19 Individuals

Dramatic Video Shows the Moment Hayabusa2 Made Its Second Touchdown on the Ryugu Asteroid

Fragment of Medieval Poem About a Talking Vulva Found in Austrian Library

An Alarming Number of Arctic Reindeer Starved to Death Last Winter, Likely Due to Climate Change

Humans Will Never Colonize Mars

Florida Clarifies Its Directive to Kill Iguanas ‘Whenever Possible’ After Florida Man Gets Shot

Unexplained Radiation Leak Traced to Russian Nuclear Facility

Poll: Two in Five Americans Still Believe God Created Humans 10,000 Years Ago

SpaceX’s Starhopper Makes Its First Free-Flying Leap

16 Endangered Black Rhinos Successfully Relocated to Eswatini

Undead Tree Stump Is Being Kept Alive by Neighboring Trees

LightSail 2 Opens Its Sails in an Early Test of Tech That May Make Interstellar Travel Possible

Bill Gates Suggests He’s the Man to Convince Donald Trump to Regulate AI

WordPress Owner Automattic’s Board Reportedly Purged After Failed ‘Coup’ Against CEO

Shocker: Last Night’s ‘Viral’ Pro-Data Center Party Is Tied to Thiel, the Koch Institute, and Other AI Boosters

OpenAI to Halt Training of Some Models

‘Obsession’ Has Halloween Costumes Now, Because Duh

Dario Amodei Is Reportedly Having One of Those Cursed One-on-One Dinners With Trump

‘Transformers’ and The ‘Energon Universe’ Are a Massive Success

I Urge You to Urge Others to Watch the ‘SNL’ Segment About Dario Amodei

Universal Movies Have Made a Looooot of Money in 2026

The First ‘VisionQuest’ Promo Introduces a New Family Member

iRobot Roomba Max 775 Review: A Respectable Roomba Redux

Sonos Ace Ultra Review: Headphones That Only Hardcore Sonos Fans Could Love

M6 Mac mini Review: A Better Tiny Desktop, With or Without AI

Aqara Multi-Sensor FP400 Review: Not Quite the mmWave of the Future

Alienware’s AW3926QW Ultrawide Gaming Monitor Review: Size Really Does Matter

iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max Review: Apple Is Just Flexing Hard Now

AirPods 5 Review: A Ridiculously Great Value for ANC Wireless Earbuds

Steam Frame Review: Valve Shows Us VR Was Always Meant to Be a Toy

Maingear Zero (2026) Review: PC Gaming Bliss With a Price Tag to Make You Cry

Sony WH-1000XM4C Review: Still Kind of Goated