George Dvorsky, Author at Gizmodo

Animal Welfare Lawyers Say New York’s ‘Loneliest Elephant’ Is a Person

A 47-year-old Asian elephant named Happy has lived in isolation at the Bronx Zoo for the past 12 years. A team of lawyers is now fighting for Happy’s freedom, saying she’s a legal person who’s been falsely imprisoned. If this sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’re recalling similar cases involving the rights of chimpanzees. In…

Biology George Dvorsky Nov 20

Stunning Pinwheel Nebula Is a Cosmic Cataclysm in the Making

This image of a dusty, gas-rich nebula looks pretty, but appearances can be deceiving. Known as a Wolf-Rayet star system, it’s poised to unleash a catastrophic gamma-ray burst when it finally goes supernova. What’s remarkable about this particular Wolf-Rayet system, however, is that it’s the first to be discovered in our own galaxy. Cue the…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Nov 19

These 4,000-Year-Old Termite Mounds Can Be Seen From Space

Scientists have discovered an immense grouping of freakishly large termite mounds in northeastern Brazil. Obscured by trees, the previously undetected array occupies a space equal to the size of Great Britain. As described in a new paper published today in Current Biology, the regularly spaced termite mounds date back nearly 4,000 years and cover an…

Biology George Dvorsky Nov 19

We Finally Know How Wombats Produce Their Distinctly Cube-Shaped Poop

A bold team of scientists has delved into the mystery of cube-shaped wombat poop, uncovering the physiological processes involved in this unique digestive trick. Wombats are kind of obsessed with their own poop. These Australian marsupials can drop anywhere from four to eight pieces of dung, each measuring about 2 centimeters across, during a single…

Biology George Dvorsky Nov 18

Bizarre Microbes Represent a Major New Branch on the Evolutionary Family Tree

Canadian scientists have identified microscopic creatures that are so unlike anything seen before, they had to create an entirely new branch on the evolutionary tree of life to slot them in. A new paper published this week in Nature offers the first genetic analysis of hemimastigotes—a rare and poorly understood group of single-celled microorganisms. Biologists…

Tech News George Dvorsky Nov 16

Cleaning Your Baby’s Pacifier by Sucking on It Prevents Allergies, New Research Suggests

It’s a scene parents and caregivers are all too familiar with: an infant’s pacifier falls to the floor. When this happened with my first born, I rushed to clean the soiled soother by boiling it in water or carefully washing it in the sink. But by the time my second child was born, I was…

Health George Dvorsky Nov 16

First Major Rain in Centuries Triggers Wave of Death in Earth’s Driest Desert

After not experiencing any meaningful amounts of precipitation for at least 500 years, Chile’s Atacama Desert is finally getting some rain. Quite unexpectedly, however, these rains—instead of fostering life—are doing the exact opposite. Life on Earth cannot exist without water, but for microbes highly adapted to arid conditions, the sudden introduction of excess water can…

Earth Science George Dvorsky Nov 15

Upsettingly Large Fungus in Michigan Weighs 440 Tons and Is 2,500 Years Old

It’s nicknamed the “humongous fungus”—an unusually large fungal growth belonging to a single genetic individual. An updated analysis of this gigantic fungal beast shows it’s substantially larger and older than scientists initially thought. This single genetic individual, known as C1, belongs to a species of fungus called Armillaria gallica, otherwise known as the honey mushroom.…

Tech News George Dvorsky Nov 14

A Massive Impact Crater Has Been Detected Beneath Greenland’s Ice Sheet

An unusually large asteroid crater measuring 19 miles wide has been discovered under a continental ice sheet in Greenland. Roughly the size of Paris, it’s now among the 25 biggest asteroid craters on Earth. An iron-rich asteroid measuring nearly a kilometer wide (0.6 miles) struck Greenland’s ice-covered surface at some point between 3 million and…

Tech News George Dvorsky Nov 14

Neanderthals Weren’t the Violent Brutes We Thought, New Research Finds

The stereotype of a typical Neanderthal life is that it was extraordinarily difficult, violent, and traumatic. But a comparative analysis of the remains left behind by Neanderthals and contemporaneous humans is finally overturning this unwarranted assumption. Decades ago, Neanderthals were depicted as club-carrying, dim-witted brutes who spent their days clobbering each other with reckless abandon.…

Human History George Dvorsky Nov 14

Mysterious Origin of Extinct Jamaican Monkey Solved With DNA Testing

For nearly 100 years, scientists haven’t been able to agree on the evolutionary origins of a strange, now-extinct monkey that lived and thrived in Jamaica for thousands of years. New research suggests its ancestors arrived from South America, and that life on this tropical island caused the species to acquire its odd set of features.…

Biology George Dvorsky Nov 13

Ancient Cat Mummies and More Discovered in Egyptian Tombs

Archaeologists working at a pyramid complex south of Cairo have discovered dozens of cat mummies, along with troves of wooden statues and a rare collection of mummified scarab beetles. The secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, shared details of the remarkable finding at a press conference held this past Saturday, the…

Human History George Dvorsky Nov 12

Juno’s Latest Pic of Clouds on Jupiter Is an Absolute Stunner

The largest planet in our Solar System also happens to be one of the most beautiful, as the Juno spacecraft’s latest image reveals. Since its arrival at Jupiter on July 5, 2016, NASA’s Juno spacecraft has completed 16 close flybys—called perijoves—of the gas giant. With each successive perijove, the spacecraft inches ever closer to the…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Nov 12

New Study Details Toxic Particles Spewed by 3D Printers

Researchers have that found that 3D printers spew tiny particles into the air as they operate, though the quantity and nature of these potentially toxic aerosols are poorly understood. A new study identifies a startling variety of these emissions, and the conditions under which they’re produced. Previous studies have already shown that small particle emissions…

Health George Dvorsky Nov 12

Remnants of Earth’s Oldest Dirt May Have Been Found in Greenland

Earth’s oldest soil could be tucked away in an ancient rock outcrop in Greenland, according to new research. Dating back some 3.7 billion years, the suspected soil—exposed underneath a retreating ice cap—could potentially contain fossilized traces of primordial life. The new study, published this week in the awkwardly named science journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, opens thusly:…

Earth Science George Dvorsky Nov 9

Newly Revealed Letter Shows Einstein Feared Persecution Long Before Nazis Took Power

A decade before Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany, famed physicist Albert Einstein was already sensing imminent peril for his country and his own welfare, as a newly discovered letter reveals. As reported by the Associated Press, the previously unknown letter was recently brought forward by an anonymous collector. The handwritten note, dated August…

Tech News George Dvorsky Nov 9

A Powerful Solar Storm Likely Detonated Dozens of U.S. Sea Mines During the Vietnam War

Scientists say the finding should be a call-to-action to secure our technology against solar flares.

Tech News George Dvorsky Nov 8

Three New DNA Studies Are Shaking Up the History of Humans in the Americas

It’s a huge day for archaeologists and anyone interested in the history of America’s first settlers. Findings from three new genetics studies—all released today—are presenting a fascinating, yet complex, picture of the first people in North and South America, and how they spread and diversified across two continents. Our understanding of how the Americas were…

Human History George Dvorsky Nov 8

Astronomers Have Stumbled Upon One of the Most Ancient Stars in the Universe

A tiny star located about 1,590 light-years from Earth could be as old as 13.53 billion years, making it one of the most ancient stars ever discovered. The diminutive “ultra metal-poor” star is called 2MASS J18082002–5104378 B—hereafter abbreviated to J1808-5104—and it was discovered by a team of astronomers led by Kevin C. Schlaufman from Johns…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Nov 7

These Animated AI Bots Learned to Dress Themselves, Awkwardly

The ability to put our clothes on each day is something most of us take for granted, but as computer scientists from Georgia Institute of Technology recently found out, it’s a surprisingly complicated task—even for artificial intelligence. As any toddler will gladly tell you, it’s not easy to dress oneself. It requires patience, physical dexterity,…

Artificial Intelligence George Dvorsky Nov 7

George Dvorsky

Animal Welfare Lawyers Say New York’s ‘Loneliest Elephant’ Is a Person

Stunning Pinwheel Nebula Is a Cosmic Cataclysm in the Making

These 4,000-Year-Old Termite Mounds Can Be Seen From Space

We Finally Know How Wombats Produce Their Distinctly Cube-Shaped Poop

Bizarre Microbes Represent a Major New Branch on the Evolutionary Family Tree

Cleaning Your Baby’s Pacifier by Sucking on It Prevents Allergies, New Research Suggests

First Major Rain in Centuries Triggers Wave of Death in Earth’s Driest Desert

Upsettingly Large Fungus in Michigan Weighs 440 Tons and Is 2,500 Years Old

A Massive Impact Crater Has Been Detected Beneath Greenland’s Ice Sheet

Neanderthals Weren’t the Violent Brutes We Thought, New Research Finds

Mysterious Origin of Extinct Jamaican Monkey Solved With DNA Testing

Ancient Cat Mummies and More Discovered in Egyptian Tombs

Juno’s Latest Pic of Clouds on Jupiter Is an Absolute Stunner

New Study Details Toxic Particles Spewed by 3D Printers

Remnants of Earth’s Oldest Dirt May Have Been Found in Greenland

Newly Revealed Letter Shows Einstein Feared Persecution Long Before Nazis Took Power

A Powerful Solar Storm Likely Detonated Dozens of U.S. Sea Mines During the Vietnam War

Three New DNA Studies Are Shaking Up the History of Humans in the Americas

Astronomers Have Stumbled Upon One of the Most Ancient Stars in the Universe

These Animated AI Bots Learned to Dress Themselves, Awkwardly

FCC Exempts Netgear from Foreign-Made Router Ban for Some Reason

Jamie Dornan Is Your New Aragorn in ‘The Hunt for Gollum’

Trump’s Fed Pick Is Knee Deep in Tech and Crypto Investments

The First Trailer for ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Takes Terror Stateside

The Trump Phone Still Looks Like Total Trash

‘Masters of the Universe’ Really, Really Wants to Be the Next ‘Barbie’

Samsung’s Micro RGB TVs Provide So Much Color It May Be Too Much

The Crypto Bros Want to Get Their Hands on Anthropic’s ‘Super Dangerous’ Model

This Is What a Music Industry ‘Plant’ Looks Like in 2026

As Starship V3 Lags Behind, Blue Origin Prepares Third Launch of New Glenn

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?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice