Maddie Stone, Author at Gizmodo

We Know Exactly Where all the Heat From the ‘Global Warming Hiatus’ Went

You might remember hearing about the global warming “hiatus” a few years back—a pause in Earth’s inexorably rising temperature, which some used as evidence that climate change is a hoax. But scientists are now completely sure that the pause never happened. And we know exactly where the missing heat wound up. Over the summer, we…

Climate Change Maddie Stone Jan 19 '16

You Really Don’t Want to Know How Many Species of Bugs Live in Your Home

Science, isn’t it great? Especially when it’s bringing us fascinating insights like this one: there could be up to 500 species of arthropods—insects, spiders, mites, and centipedes—living right alongside you in your home. Apparently, the war on bugs was always a lost cause. “This was exploratory work to help us get an understanding of which…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jan 19 '16

Giant Clams Light Up Like Plasma Screens, Only Better

I bet you’ve never thought about how giant clams will revolutionize future technology. It’s okay. You probably didn’t know about the incredible way these massive mollusks turn sunlight into power. Neither did scientists, until a team of researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara decided to study the iridescent cells some giant clams use…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jan 19 '16

China’s Enormous Derelict Shopping Mall Does Not Bode Well For Humanity’s Future

China is known for building ambitious infrastructure projects, and finding humans to populate them after the fact. Sometimes, it doesn’t go according to plan. This is one of those times. Meet the Pentagonal Mart, a gargantuan, $200 million shopping complex inspired by the US Pentagon, which has the dubious honor of being the largest vacant…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jan 18 '16

This Silicon Chip Will Monitor Your Brain and Dissolve in Your Body

Well folks, we’ve finally arrived at the long-anticipated future of brain-implantable chips. How many hundreds of science fiction novels have led us to this moment? No matter: the chips are here, and we’re getting a good look at ‘em today thanks to a study just out in Nature. Now, before you start panicking about government…

Health Maddie Stone Jan 18 '16

There’s Something Incredible in This 40,000 Year Old Cave Painting

Volcanic eruptions are something of a spectator sport today, with orbital satellites and high-speed connectivity bringing glorious images of the planet’s pyrotechnic power to the comfortable safety of our computer screens. But a fascinating new study suggests people have been chronicling Earth’s powerful outbursts since long before modern technology. Indeed, it’s possible that we’ve been…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jan 18 '16

The Case of the So-Called Alien Megastructure Just Got Weirder

It’s probably not aliens. Seriously guys, it’s very, very unlikely that it’s aliens. But the weird, flickering star known as KIC 8462852 still isn’t sitting right with astronomers. In fact, it just got a lot weirder. Ever since KIC 84628532 was spotted in the Kepler Space Telescope’s dataset, astronomers have puzzled over what the heck…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jan 15 '16

Not All Frogs Are Doomed By That Deadly Amphibian Fungus

For twenty years, the deadly fungal disease Bd has been wiping out amphibians across the world. But a new study offers hope that some frogs will be spared, thanks in part to an unexpected savior: climate change. It’s not often that we hear about positive impacts of anthropogenic climate change. And yet, a team of…

Climate Change Maddie Stone Jan 15 '16

Obama Wants to End Coal Mining on Federal Land

In a symbolic kick in the pants to the coal industry, the Obama administration will announce today that it’s freezing new coal mining leases on public lands, the New York Times reports. It’s the latest in a series of strategic moves by the president to wean America off fossil fuels, something that leaders of 195…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jan 15 '16

A Mysterious Mammoth Carcass Could Change Human History

The carcass was remarkably well preserved, but something was clearly wrong. A rounded hole through the interior jugal. Deep incisions along the ribs. Dents in the left scapula. A broken mandible. This 45,000 year-old mammoth’s life ended violently at the hands of hunters. That wouldn’t be surprising—it’s well known that Pleistocene humans were expert mammoth…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jan 14 '16

The LA Gas Leak Is Scarier Than We Thought

Since a gas leak erupted outside LA on October 23rd, over 83,000 metric tons of methane have escaped to the atmosphere, prompting public officials to evacuate the neighboring community of Porter Ranch. But as a disturbing new analysis shows, a much broader swath of LA is now drowning in methane. The Home Energy Efficiency Team…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jan 14 '16

The Oil Industry Can’t Stop Torching Methane and Wrecking Our Climate

The LA gas leak may be a climate disaster, but a similar problem is playing out all over the world. Now, thanks to infrared technology, we’re starting to see just how much methane the oil and gas industry is hemorrhaging—mostly, out of laziness. It took two months for one of the largest methane leaks in…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jan 13 '16

There’s Something Enormous Buried Beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet

Every week, we’re bombarded with images of dazzling terrains on Mars and Pluto, but there are still geologic wonders to be discovered right here on Earth. Case in point: a new study suggests there could be a canyon system more than twice as long as the Grand Canyon buried beneath an ice sheet in Antarctica.…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jan 13 '16

Obama’s Wink at Cheap Oil Doesn’t Help the Planet

Saving planet Earth was a prominent feature of President Obama’s State of the Union address tonight, which focused heavily on the need for America to transition off fossil fuels. But amidst all the glossy platitudes about slashing carbon pollution and solving the climate crisis, there was this odd little statement: “Gas under two bucks a…

Climate Change Maddie Stone Jan 12 '16

Remember That Crazy Wildfire Season the US Just Had? Now Australia’s Having One.

2015 was a record hot and fiery year, but it may not get to keep the title for long. While the American West is still reeling from a devastating wildfire season, Australia’s pyrotechnic woes are just getting started. Over the past few years, persistent drought conditions have transformed vast swaths of Southern Australia into a…

Climate Change Maddie Stone Jan 12 '16

Relive the Majesty of the Historic Falcon Landing With Gratuitous Guitar Shredding

Did you know you were waiting for an epic supercut of SpaceX’s historic Falcon 9 launch and landing, complete with a suspenseful soundtrack and a victorious cheering scene that looks like it was ripped straight out of The Martian? Probably not, but SpaceX has delivered! At this point, you’ve certainly heard that SpaceX made history…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jan 12 '16

The Last, Desperate Attempt to Contact the Philae Lander Has Probably Failed

Philae, the brave little comet lander that captured our hearts last year, has probably fallen silent for good. After a final, desperate effort to contact the spacecraft over the weekend didn’t pan out, the German Aerospace Agency (DLR) reports that the chances of ever speaking to the probe again are slim—and they’re growing slimmer every…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone Jan 12 '16

Kepler May Be the Most Productive Broken Telescope Ever

The Kepler spacecraft came roaring back into the news last week, when scientists announced that the plucky little planet hunter had unearthed hundreds of new exoplanets in our cosmic backyard, despite being literally broken. But that’s not all Kepler’s been up to—by a long shot. The Kepler space telescope was humanity’s premier planet-seeking instrument from…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jan 12 '16

These Photos Show the Alien Beauty of Life Underwater

Most of us have a vague, abstract concept of life beneath the sea. But a few men and women are dedicated to brining the secrets of the deep into the light of day. And as the 2015 Ocean Art photography contest shows, they’re doing a spectacular job of it. Ocean Art is the most prestigious…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jan 11 '16

A Clever Material Can Remember Hundreds of Past Shapes

Ever gotten off track working on origami (who hasn’t?), and wished you could figure out how to undo your last few folds? There’s a clever new material that might be able to help. It can revert to literally hundreds of earlier shapes by memory. Shape memory polymers—materials that “remember” their original form and return to…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jan 8 '16

Maddie Stone

We Know Exactly Where all the Heat From the ‘Global Warming Hiatus’ Went

You Really Don’t Want to Know How Many Species of Bugs Live in Your Home

Giant Clams Light Up Like Plasma Screens, Only Better

China’s Enormous Derelict Shopping Mall Does Not Bode Well For Humanity’s Future

This Silicon Chip Will Monitor Your Brain and Dissolve in Your Body

There’s Something Incredible in This 40,000 Year Old Cave Painting

The Case of the So-Called Alien Megastructure Just Got Weirder

Not All Frogs Are Doomed By That Deadly Amphibian Fungus

Obama Wants to End Coal Mining on Federal Land

A Mysterious Mammoth Carcass Could Change Human History

The LA Gas Leak Is Scarier Than We Thought

The Oil Industry Can’t Stop Torching Methane and Wrecking Our Climate

There’s Something Enormous Buried Beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet

Obama’s Wink at Cheap Oil Doesn’t Help the Planet

Remember That Crazy Wildfire Season the US Just Had? Now Australia’s Having One.

Relive the Majesty of the Historic Falcon Landing With Gratuitous Guitar Shredding

The Last, Desperate Attempt to Contact the Philae Lander Has Probably Failed

Kepler May Be the Most Productive Broken Telescope Ever

These Photos Show the Alien Beauty of Life Underwater

A Clever Material Can Remember Hundreds of Past Shapes

Birds Never Evolved ‘Perfect’ Wings, Study Finds

‘Daybreak’: OpenAI’s Answer to Anthropic’s Project Glasswing Has Arrived

The Government’s Page About Its AI Vetting Deals with Google, xAI, and Microsoft Is Missing from Its Website

Remember Digg? It’s Back, in AI News Outlet Form

Amazon Stops Selling Fast E-Bikes To Californians

Why Jane Schoenbrun Wanted to Make a Queer-Focused Slasher Film

Someone Created a Version of ‘Elden Ring’ That Runs on a PS1

Blueair Smart Air Purifier Gets Another Price Cut to All-Time Low With HEPASilent Filtration Capturing 99.97% of Airborne Particles

Jonathan Hickman Returns to the X-Men With Marvel’s New ‘Midnight’ Universe

Google Says It Found Evidence of Hackers Using AI to Discover a Zero-Day Vulnerability

Smart Glasses With Subscriptions Are As Bad as They Sound

iBuyPower’s Trace X Gaming PC Is the Fishbowl You Want to Swim In

Govee Ceiling Light Ultra Review: AI Art Ain’t It

JBL Live 780NC Review: Solid Wireless Headphones You Can Live Without

Acer’s Swift 16 AI (2026) Gets a Lot Right, But I Can’t Get Past the Trackpad

Samsung Galaxy A57 5G Review: Not Worth It at Full Price

Logitech G G512 X Review: The Tasting Menu of a Pro Gaming Keyboard

Ecovacs Deebot X12 OmniCyclone Review: AI Can’t Save This Robot Vacuum

The Best Tech Gifts for Mother’s Day 2026

Asus’ Dual-Display Gaming Laptop Will Ruin Your Single-Screen Lifestyle