Alasdair Wilkins, Author at Gizmodo

Two brilliant young British actors join the Star Trek sequel!

The Evil Dead reboot gives its leading role to the exact opposite of Bruce Campbell. Jeremy Renner explains the differences between The Avengers and Mission: Impossible. Bane’s Dark Knight Rises dialogue wasn’t remixed after all. Plus there’s a possible Carrie remake! It’s spoilers all the way down! Top image from The Dark Knight Rises. Star…

Television Alasdair Wilkins

The bizarre story of where ancient Pompeii put its trash

As far as the people of ancient Pompeii were concerned, dead bodies and trash were basically the same thing, at least in terms of where they ended up. And that isn’t even the grossest place Pompeii put its trash. When archaeologists first started excavated the legendary Roman city back in the 19th century, they were…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

How turtles sense Earth’s drifting magnetic field

Turtles are one of many species that use their sense of Earth’s magnetic field to navigate great distances. But the magnetic field is constantly drifting, and that can cause major confusion in such a long-lived species. Here’s their ingenious solution. Species like the loggerhead turtle show incredibly fine-tuned understanding of the Earth’s magnetic field. Born…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

There’s no tougher fighter than a castrated spider

Spider sex carries a very definite danger for male arachnids: genital loss. Spiders can actually lose their reproductive organs during intercourse, turning them into spider eunuchs. But, unlike humans, this “castration” actually turns the spiders into even more aggressive fighters. It’s all down to the unusual reproductive strategies of the spider species Nephilengys malabarensis. The…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The Omega Nebula is a galactic Rorschach test

These stars, though still shrouded in dust and hydrogen gas, are some of the youngest and most massive stars in the galaxy. They’re part of the Omega Nebula, which for 200 years has been a sort of cosmic inkblot test. Just about every astronomer who observes this nebula comes away with a different sense of…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Will Man of Steel feature a surprising cameo?

Mark Ruffalo explains why The Avengers has become an allegory for modern America. World War Z could become a franchise. Alfonso Cuaron’s stranded astronauts epic Gravity will show us a very different view of Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. Spoilers from here on out! Top image from Man of Steel. Man of Steel Here’s the…

Television Alasdair Wilkins

Parasitic flies turn bees into zombies before wiping them out completely

Something is very wrong with the bees. Since 2006, the mysterious phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder has wiped out countless honeybee colonies throughout Europe and North America, and nobody knows why. But a weird parasite may hold the answer. Honeybees are a natural target of a parasitic fly species called Apocephalus borealis. These tiny…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Improve office productivity by working under fake clouds!

Being outside gives us a sense of freedom and spaciousness, and as far as some German engineers are concerned, that means increased work efficiency. That’s why they’ve invented a “dynamic luminous ceiling” that simulates working outside during a clouding day. The Stutgartt-based team have created a ceiling that simulates clouds passing overhead. But it’s more…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Antarctica’s thermal vents are a “lost world” of undiscovered species

Antarctica is the coldest, most desolate place on Earth, and the Southern Ocean that surrounds it is much the same…with one pretty massive exception. The hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor are hot, dark oases, full of previously unknown species. The East Scotia Ridge is located right at the bottom of the Southern Ocean, and…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The impossible crystals that came from outer space

In the 1980s, Daniel Schechtman theorized the existence of quasicrystals, bizarre materials between crystals and glasses that could never exist except in the laboratory. But now his impossible crystals have turned up in a Russian mountain. Although chemists initially dismissed quasicrystals as just a theory – and not a particularly good theory at that –…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

A Crazy New Rumor About The Ending of The Avengers!

The latest rumor about The Avengers makes the movie’s plot sound even more complicated than you could possibly imagine. Meanwhile, Ralph Fiennes drops hints about his James Bond role, and Arnold Schwarzenegger is an angelic one man army! Spoilers from here on out! Top image from The Avengers. The Avengers Remember that HeroClix description we…

Television Alasdair Wilkins

The appendix might actually be the body’s bacteria storehouse

The appendix is probably the most famous of humanity’s vestigial organs, but it might not actually deserve the “vestigial” part of that title. The appendix may actually save vital bacteria for the body’s later use. The current scientific consensus is that the appendix was once useful when humans ate a lot of high-cellulose plants, but…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

What causes out-of-body experiences?

Few sensations are weirder than the bizarre feeling that you are floating outside your own body. “Out of body” experiences are a mysterious phenomenon that’s often mixed up in the occult, but scientists are still trying to puzzle out how it works. About one in ten people will have an out-of-body experience at some point…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

This nebula might be home to the universe’s hottest star

This is AB7, a binary star system found in one of the nearby Magellanic Cloud galaxies. The two stars are constantly venting massive amounts of stellar material. That process is heating up one of the stars to absolutely unimaginable temperatures. We can’t be absolutely sure which star is the hottest. There are stars born in…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Amazing Spider-Man tie-in toy gives us our best look yet at the Lizard!

We’ve seen plenty of Andrew Garfield as the rebooted Peter Parker and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, but we still know next to nothing about the villainous Lizard. That why it pays to keep an eye on those tie-in toys. Plus Clark Gregg reveals more about Agent Coulson’s expanded role in The Avengers! Producer Andrew…

Television Alasdair Wilkins

Robots can now walk on beaches, because why the hell not?

In a robot uprising, humanity still should have one slim hope: if we flee to the beaches, our robot overlords might fall over on the soft, shifting sand dunes. Now roboticists have solved that one robotic flaw. Gee, thanks, guys. At the moment, robots aren’t really capable of navigating deserts or beaches. The sand particles…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Powerful people think they’re taller than they really are

Height is often a sign of dominance, as anyone with a Napoleonic complex will be only too happy (well, not happy) to tell you. Yes, powerful people are taller…and when that’s not actually the case, they just assume they are. There’s a decent amount of research backing up the assertion that more physically intimidating people…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Hypersonic planes could let us fly across the planet in four hours…in 2040

Passenger planes capable of hypersonic speeds, or five times the speed of sound, have been a dream of engineers for decades. Now, there’s a real plan in place to build one. It’s just going to take a long time. The era of supersonic flight came to an ignominious end with the decommissioning of the Concorde…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Pesky insects becoming resistant to genetically modified corn

One of the big advantages of genetically modified corn was its built-in pesticides, as it produces a toxin that kills destructive bugs. Now its resistance to pests is wearing off. Just as Jurassic Park taught us, life found a way. Back in 2003, a strain of genetically modified crop known as Bt corn was introduced.…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Orangutans given iPads, start Skyping each other

Six months ago, orangutans at the Milwaukee Zoo were given iPads to play around with, and the gadgets proved just as addictive for them as it does for most humans. Now, orangutans are ready to start video chatting. The orangutans in the zoo have reportedly enjoyed playing games like Doodle Buddy and Flick Flick Football,…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Alasdair Wilkins

Two brilliant young British actors join the Star Trek sequel!

The bizarre story of where ancient Pompeii put its trash

How turtles sense Earth’s drifting magnetic field

There’s no tougher fighter than a castrated spider

The Omega Nebula is a galactic Rorschach test

Will Man of Steel feature a surprising cameo?

Parasitic flies turn bees into zombies before wiping them out completely

Improve office productivity by working under fake clouds!

Antarctica’s thermal vents are a “lost world” of undiscovered species

The impossible crystals that came from outer space

A Crazy New Rumor About The Ending of The Avengers!

The appendix might actually be the body’s bacteria storehouse

What causes out-of-body experiences?

This nebula might be home to the universe’s hottest star

Amazing Spider-Man tie-in toy gives us our best look yet at the Lizard!

Robots can now walk on beaches, because why the hell not?

Powerful people think they’re taller than they really are

Hypersonic planes could let us fly across the planet in four hours…in 2040

Pesky insects becoming resistant to genetically modified corn

Orangutans given iPads, start Skyping each other

Trump Says He’ll Sign Order to Pay TSA

Deadpool Will Deface ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Classics for a New Secret Lair

Apple’s Siri Isn’t Just Going to Use One Chatbot. It’s Going to Use All of Them

Why ‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Is the Key to the Rest of the Series

ASUS ZenScreen 15.6-Inch Portable Monitor Is Now Cheaper Than Black Friday in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

Early Wildfires Are Surging Across the US—and Trump’s New Fire Agency Isn’t Ready

INIU Brings Another Power Bank to the Spring Sale as SnapGo Keychain Portable Charger Drops to Its Lowest Price

Attorney Hit With Historic Fine for Citing AI-Generated Cases

Travelers Experiencing the Longest Security Lines in TSA History

Could There Be a ‘Project Hail Mary’ Sequel?

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?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Apple Studio Display XDR Review: It Looks So Good, I Wish It Were an iMac

RayNeo Air 4 Pro Review: My Eyes Love These Video Glasses, but My Nose Disagrees