Jamie Condliffe, Author at Gizmodo

Laser-Powered Balls Can Haul Heavy Loads Across Water

They don’t look much, but these little black balls harness the power of bright light to zip across the surface of water—pulling up to 150 times their own weight in the process. New Scientist reports that these little dots have been developed by researchers from the Osaka Institute of Technology in Japan. While you might…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Scientists Finally Made Carbyne—a Material Stronger Than Graphene—That Lasts

Several years ago, scientists calculated the properties of an exotic form of carbon—called Carbyne—and found that it promised more strength and stiffness than any other known material. Now, it’s finally been made in a stable form inside an Austrian lab. Researchers from the University of Vienna in Austria report in Nature Materials that they’ve managed…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Data Centers of the Future Could Be Towering Skyscrapers

Data centers are usually vast, cavernous warehouse-like spaces rammed full of computers and cooling systems. But a pair of Italian architects has imagined a sustainable alternative that would meld server farms with skyscrapers. Marco Merletti and Valeria Mercuri have sketched out a vision for what they call the Data Tower. And if the name doesn’t…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Play With the Inner Workings of a Neural Network on This Neat Website

Neural networks are a fundamental part of Artificial Intelligence: Software systems that train themselves to make sense of the human world. But if you want to understand how they work at a basic level, a cool new website allows you to get under the hood. The site is based on Google’s new TensorFlow software library,…

Artificial Intelligence Jamie Condliffe

This Flexible Sheet Camera Captures Images of What It’s Wrapped Around

Bored of taking photographs from a single point in space? This experimental new camera can be wrapped around objects to capture images in completely different ways. A team of researchers from Columbia University’s Computer Vision Laboratory has developed this new device which shuns the conventional form of the camera to create a thin and deformable…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Space Companies Promise Full Inflatable Space Stations in Orbit by 2020

Over the weekend, SpaceX delivered the International Space Station’s first inflatable module—but there’s more where that came from. United Launch Alliance and Bigelow have announced that they plan to put entire inflatable space stations into orbit by as soon as 2020. The pair announced last night that they hope to launch a 12,000-cubic foot inflatable…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

The New Windows Blue Screen of Death Has… a QR Code?

Welcome to the future. A future where the Windows Blue Screen of Death now features a QR code as well as a sad face. The Register reports that the latest developer build of Windows 10—that’s build 14316, if you’re counting—now features a URL that you can follow, using your phone, to help you get to…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

This Is the Most Sustainable Office in the World

It might not look particularly groundbreaking, with its full-length windows and timber cladding. But this is, according to industry standards, the most sustainable office in the world. That’s according to the rating it scored on the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREAAM) certification scheme, which is—more or less—considered to be the gold standard in…

Climate Change Jamie Condliffe

Scientists Have Published a New Tree of Life

Charles Darwin famously imagined evolution as a tree full of branches, a metaphor that biologists have since used to depict how life is structured. Now, researchers have given the tree of life another overhaul. A team of scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, have been collecting the genomes of new microbial species over the…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

This Website Is Using Math to Create Every Possible Patent

It’s widely accepted that the United States patent system is broken. Alexander Reben agrees, and his response has been to create a website that aims to make it harder for people to patent new ideas. His website, All Prior Art, is an attempt to “democratize ideas, provide an impetus for change in the antiquated patent…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Ford’s Testing Its Autonomous Cars in the Dark

If you don’t enjoy driving in the dark, Ford’s latest autonomous car tests will cheer you up. The company’s announced that it’s been successfully testing its cars at nighttime, a scenario that brings its own set of fairly obvious challenges for self-driving vehicles. Autonomous cars use a wide range of sensors to navigate, including cameras—which…

Artificial Intelligence Jamie Condliffe

This Could Be London’s First Wooden Skyscraper

Over the past few years, wood has emerged as an unlikely yet desirable material for the design of future skyscrapers. This is what London’s first tall timber structure could look like. The design has been put together by PLP Architecture and Cambridge University’s Department of Architecture, together with engineers at Smith and Wallwork. The proposed…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Ugly Britain Actually Looks Gorgeous From Space

British astronaut Tim Peake must be missing home a little, because he’s been taking some incredible images of the UK and northern Europe during his time aboard the International Space Station. The image above is perhaps the best so far: A picture of the United Kingdom beneath the aurora. You can see the dense lights…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

A New Solar Cell Creates Electricity From Water as Well as Light

Rain means clouds and clouds mean less sunlight. That’s bad news for most solar cells, but a new design can actually make use of rain drops that fall on its surface, allowing it to generate electricity even when the weather’s bad. The new solar cell has been developed by researchers in Qingdao, China. Unlike most…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

The Next Version of Micrsoft’s Edge Browser Will Stop Flash in Crappy Content

Good news for those who hate Flash: the next version of Microsoft’s Edge browser will automatically stop the software running when it’s not essential to the page. The updated browser will, according to Microsoft, be able to discern peripheral content—so, that’ll be ads, then—from the main attraction, which might be video or games or whatever…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

People Are Still Dumb Enough to Pick Up Abandoned USBs and Plug Them In

Would you plug a random USB stick into your computer? According to a new study by researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, plenty of us are still morons and would do exactly that. To work out just how dumb we are, the team littered 297 USB drives around their university’s grounds—in lecture theaters, parking…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

This Is What Earth’s Air Traffic Looks Like From Space

Satellites get a wonderful view of the Earth and since October 2015, one in particular has been tumbling through space while keeping a watchful eye on the planet’s air traffic. This is what its seen. The European Space Agency’s GomX-3 CubeSat is a little modular satellite that’s equipped with a distinctive helical antenna. It uses…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Condliffe

Scientists Stored These Images in DNA—Then Flawlessly Retrieved Them

Who needs memory cards when you have DNA? A team of scientists has been able to store images within the life-defining molecules then retrieve them perfectly. Researchers from the University of Washington have been working out how to take digital files and convert them into strings of DNA that can be easily read back. Luis…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Venezuela Switches to Three-Day Weekend to Conserve Electricity

Venezuela relies heavily on hydroelectric power generation but has been suffering from a long and heavy drought. Now it’s taking desperate action, introducing a three-day weekend to help reduce demand for electricity. Water levels in the country’s major hydro plants are reported by Bloombergto be reaching a ‘critical’ state. The water level behind the Guri…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Google’s Self-Driving Cars Will Explore the Desert Roads of Arizona

Google has announced that it’s expanding its self-driving car tests to Phoenix, Arizona, in order to test how the cars handle high temperatures and desert dust. Reuters reports that four of Google’s Lexus RX450h SUVs have already been driving around the area to create a detailed prior map of street features—whether that’s traffic signals, road…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Jamie Condliffe

Laser-Powered Balls Can Haul Heavy Loads Across Water

Scientists Finally Made Carbyne—a Material Stronger Than Graphene—That Lasts

Data Centers of the Future Could Be Towering Skyscrapers

Play With the Inner Workings of a Neural Network on This Neat Website

This Flexible Sheet Camera Captures Images of What It’s Wrapped Around

Space Companies Promise Full Inflatable Space Stations in Orbit by 2020

The New Windows Blue Screen of Death Has… a QR Code?

This Is the Most Sustainable Office in the World

Scientists Have Published a New Tree of Life

This Website Is Using Math to Create Every Possible Patent

Ford’s Testing Its Autonomous Cars in the Dark

This Could Be London’s First Wooden Skyscraper

Ugly Britain Actually Looks Gorgeous From Space

A New Solar Cell Creates Electricity From Water as Well as Light

The Next Version of Micrsoft’s Edge Browser Will Stop Flash in Crappy Content

People Are Still Dumb Enough to Pick Up Abandoned USBs and Plug Them In

This Is What Earth’s Air Traffic Looks Like From Space

Scientists Stored These Images in DNA—Then Flawlessly Retrieved Them

Venezuela Switches to Three-Day Weekend to Conserve Electricity

Google’s Self-Driving Cars Will Explore the Desert Roads of Arizona

Artemis 2 Live Updates: Countdown to the Moon 🔴

America’s Latest Unfounded Health Panic: ‘Vaccinated’ Blood Donations

SpaceX Files Confidentially for IPO, Reports Say

Jackery Power Station With 200W Solar Panel Still $590 Off as Amazon Clears Out Leftover Stock After the Spring Sale

The Best Pop Culture Art Gallery In the World Is No More

Forget Apple’s Magic Keyboard, Logitech MX Keys for Mac Refuses to Go Back to Full Price After Amazon Spring Sale

Google’s Next Fitbit Sounds Exactly Like a Whoop Clone

Amazon eero WiFi 7 Router (3-Pack) Keeps Its Spring Sale Price, Covering Up to 120 Devices Across 6,000 Sq. Ft.

72 New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books Arriving in April

A Cosmic ‘Dead Zone’ for Black Holes Is Real, New Evidence Suggests

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

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

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?