Margherita Bassi, Author at Gizmodo

Divers Discover 10,500-Year-Old Wood That May Rewrite the Story of Hunter-Gatherers

A geologic quirk in a German lake has left Mesolithic remains exquisitely preserved.

Skulls Reveal Evidence of Human Sacrifice in Egypt 5,000 Years Ago

Royal tombs at Abydos were surrounded by numerous other burials. In the 1920s, an Egyptologist questioned whether all those people could have died naturally at the same time.

Human History Margherita Bassi Oct 5

Why Pickles Light Up When You Electrocute Them

This common science demonstration has been an enduring mystery. Now, this electrical engineer has started to figure it out.

Physics & Chemistry Margherita Bassi Oct 1

Foreign Currency Was Thought to Be Off-Limits in Medieval Rome. Guess Who Got an Exception

There was a "miniature Anglo-Saxon town" between the Vatican and the Tiber River.

Human History Margherita Bassi Oct 1

This AI Can Estimate How Long You’ve Been Dead. How It Works Is the Weird Part

The AI is basically a "weather forecaster for microbes" on cadavers.

Artificial Intelligence Margherita Bassi Sep 30

Scientists Dated the Catastrophic Pompeii Eruption Using Only Rocks. Here’s How Close They Got

According to Pliny the Younger, Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24th, 79 CE. That date is now helping geochronologists modify a common mineral dating technique.

Physics & Chemistry Margherita Bassi Sep 29

Archaeologists Unearth a Medieval Woman Buried With a Child in Her Arms

While further analysis is necessary to reveal their identities, 'there must have been a close relationship,' explains archaeologist Giuliano Volpe.

Human History Margherita Bassi Sep 29

Could King Tut’s Tomb Be Hiding an Ancient Queen?

The deceased pharaoh may have hijacked the larger burial of one of ancient Egypt's most famous women: Nefertiti.

Human History Margherita Bassi Sep 18

Scientists Say Lead in Ink Could Finally Crack Herculaneum’s Burnt Scrolls—So They Baked a Fake One as a Test

The Herculaneum scrolls were discovered in the 1700s. It's taken centuries for researchers to read one of them in its entirety.

Human History Margherita Bassi Sep 18

These ‘Crunchy’ Seabirds Are Crunchier Than Ever Before—for a Very Grim Reason

Bird parents think plastic waste is food, and they feed it to their young.

Biology Margherita Bassi Sep 16

Archaeologists Thought a Mass Grave of 79 Shackled Men Held Foreign Invaders. They Were Wrong

The 2,600-year-old burial dates back to a time period when Athens was grappling with the beginnings of its democracy.

Human History Margherita Bassi Aug 11

This Human DNA Tweak Came From a Distant Relative—But Not in the Way You’d Think

Researchers extracted ancient proteins from six archaic humans and found something in common with other extinct relatives—and us.

Human History Margherita Bassi May 13

Chimpanzees Are Murdering Their Former Friends, and Researchers Can’t Wrap Their Heads Around It

"I've known many of them for their entire lives. And now I'm watching them kill each other," says one researcher.

Biology Margherita Bassi Apr 9

CT Scans Reveal Gruesome Details of Inca Child Sacrifices

New research investigates the centuries-old remains of sacrificial victims recovered from volcanoes in Peru.

Human History Margherita Bassi Feb 19

Hubble Zooms in on the Mysterious Egg Nebula, and It’s More Spectacular Than Ever

The stunning image captures a star's dying moments wrapped in dust, light, and a cosmic conundrum still waiting to be solved.

Space & Spaceflight Margherita Bassi Feb 11

Scientists Spot First Known Lava Tube on Venus

Until now, lava tubes on the second planet were purely theoretical.

Space & Spaceflight Margherita Bassi Feb 10

New Deep-Sea Mollusk Has an Iron Tongue and Hitchhiking Worms That Eat Its Poo

Meet Ferreiraella populi, a weird mollusk discovered in Japan. Keep reading to find out how Rihanna is involved.

Biology Margherita Bassi Feb 10

Dueling AIs Reconstruct Rules of Mysterious Roman-Era Board Game

Seems like Europeans were playing blocking games centuries earlier than previously thought.

Human History Margherita Bassi Feb 9

Researchers Asked Drivers to Interpret Cyclist Signals. It Didn’t Go Well

Participants in a recent study were asked to decode cyclists' hand signals. How well do you think you would've done?

Health Margherita Bassi Feb 6

Science Discovers a New Destiny for Your Old Mattress

Figuring out what to do with an unwanted mattress is the worst.

Biology Margherita Bassi Feb 5

Margherita Bassi

Divers Discover 10,500-Year-Old Wood That May Rewrite the Story of Hunter-Gatherers

Skulls Reveal Evidence of Human Sacrifice in Egypt 5,000 Years Ago

Why Pickles Light Up When You Electrocute Them

Foreign Currency Was Thought to Be Off-Limits in Medieval Rome. Guess Who Got an Exception

This AI Can Estimate How Long You’ve Been Dead. How It Works Is the Weird Part

Scientists Dated the Catastrophic Pompeii Eruption Using Only Rocks. Here’s How Close They Got

Archaeologists Unearth a Medieval Woman Buried With a Child in Her Arms

Could King Tut’s Tomb Be Hiding an Ancient Queen?

Scientists Say Lead in Ink Could Finally Crack Herculaneum’s Burnt Scrolls—So They Baked a Fake One as a Test

These ‘Crunchy’ Seabirds Are Crunchier Than Ever Before—for a Very Grim Reason

Archaeologists Thought a Mass Grave of 79 Shackled Men Held Foreign Invaders. They Were Wrong

This Human DNA Tweak Came From a Distant Relative—But Not in the Way You’d Think

Chimpanzees Are Murdering Their Former Friends, and Researchers Can’t Wrap Their Heads Around It

CT Scans Reveal Gruesome Details of Inca Child Sacrifices

Hubble Zooms in on the Mysterious Egg Nebula, and It’s More Spectacular Than Ever

Scientists Spot First Known Lava Tube on Venus

New Deep-Sea Mollusk Has an Iron Tongue and Hitchhiking Worms That Eat Its Poo

Dueling AIs Reconstruct Rules of Mysterious Roman-Era Board Game

Researchers Asked Drivers to Interpret Cyclist Signals. It Didn’t Go Well

Science Discovers a New Destiny for Your Old Mattress

Mark Zuckerberg: Meta Is on the Frontier Now

Hackers Overheat Fridges at Supermarkets Across France, Wasting Food and Starting Fires

Solar Orbiter Traces the Origin of a Mysterious S-Shaped Kink on the Sun

Astronomers Spot Possible Signs of Antimatter Disappearing Beyond Our Galaxy

How to Remove Your Personal Information From the Internet?

Anthropic’s AI Submitted a Fake Tip in an Unsolved Murder Case

Based AI People Are Supposedly Smoking Because AI Will Cure Cancer

The Voice of Daredevil Becomes Him in Self-Made Fan Film

Samsung B-Series Soundbar Goes From Prime Day Deal to Clearance Steal, Now Under $100 on Amazon

Motorola Moto G Stylus Now Costs Less Than a Quarter of the iPhone 18 Pro’s Price With Amazon’s Final Discount Push

Eufy Omni E35 Review: Finally, a Luxury Robovac That Doesn’t Piss Me Off

Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen) Review: The King of Clip-Ons Is Re-Crowned

Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3) Review: Technically an Upgrade

Lenovo Legion 5i (2026) Review: A Gaming Laptop That Epitomizes the PC Pricing Paradox

TP-Link Tapo Doorbell Pro D260 Review: Everything You Need at No Extra Cost

Sonos Beam Ultra Review: The Soundbar You Really Want

Nothing Headphone 1 Pro Review: Honest-to-God S-Tier Headphones

The Best Gadgets of September 2026

GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS Review: A Bad GoPro and a Worse Camera

Apple Watch Ultra 4 Review: Still the Best Health Buddy for Your Wrist