Alasdair Wilkins

Faraway gamma-ray burst reveals what the most ancient galaxies were made of

The image up top is an artist’s impression of a gamma-ray burst blasting through a pair of galaxies on its billion-year journey to Earth. These ancient, incredibly powerful explosions reveal the composition of early galaxies. It’s not what we expected. One recent gamma-ray burst, which has the catchy name of GRB 090323, has attracted a…

George Clooney discusses the making of Alfonso Cuarón’s stranded astronaut epic Gravity!

Is Matthew Modine’s character in The Dark Knight Rises a hero or villain…or both? One X-Men: First Class actor thinks a sequel will happen. The 300 sequel might have found its star. Plus True Blood adds a new regular vampire! Spoilers from this point forward! Top image from The Hunger Games. The Dark Knight Rises…

The secret of ancient Viking navigation was transparent crystals

Before the invention of modern navigational equipment, ancient sailors crossed the seas largely through their knowledge of the positions of the Sun and stars. So how did Vikings cross from Europe to America in the often foggy, cloudy northern Atlantic? There’s no real way that Vikings could have crossed such tremendous distances – they were…

Watch a spherical robot drone fly around the room!

We’ve talked before about this floating robot from the Japanese Ministry of Defense, but now there’s new video of this floating, gyroscopic drone. And, against all odds, this video is even more awesome than the last one. The video up top shows a recent demonstration by Japan’s Ministry of Defense. To the delight (and probably…

The brutal secret to how parrots survive floods

Eclectus parrots make their nests in parts of Australia where floods are extremely common. When their nests start to flood, the parrots make a grim decision. They kill their chicks…but only the male ones. What drives them to commit gendercide? It’s rare for birds to kill their own children, and it’s really unusual for these…

The US government skirted over the radiation safety concerns of airport X-ray machines

One of the most important principles of radiation safety is that X-ray machines should only be used when there’s a clear medical benefit. But now backscatter X-ray machines are found throughout America’s airports. How did we get here? According to a new report by ProPublica and the PBS NewHour, the US government has gone ahead…

Rhys Ifans explains why his Amazing Spider-Man character is no ordinary villain!

Henry Cavill discusses how Immortals prepared him for Superman. James Mangold drops some more Wolverine story hints. Familiar actors are spotted on the Hobbit set. And is Scarlett Johansson’s alien sex movie Under the Skin really an alien sex movie? Spoilers from here on out! Top image from The Dark Knight Rises. The Amazing Spider-Man…

Stress can literally kill dragonflies

If you put a dragonfly next to one of its biggest predators, it’s way less likely to live a long, healthy life… but not for the reason you think. Fish can quite literally scare dragonflies to death. Researchers at the University of Toronto placed some dragonfly larvae in the same tank as some fish. However,…

The faraway star clusters on the other side of the galaxy

That bright explosion of stars on the right is a globular star cluster, one of just 160 such clusters in the galaxy. It’s making its big debut after long being hidden behind the dust of the center of the galaxy. Believe it or not, that star cluster was once the dimmest known globular cluster, which…

Vampire bacteria could become the ultimate antibiotic

A bacterium found in sewage water could revolutionize modern medicine. It’s basically the bacterial equivalent of a vampire, spending its time hunting other bacteria and sucking out all their nutrients. This could revolutionize antibotics and stop the rise of “super bugs.” The bacterium in question is called Micavibrio aeruginosavorus. Scientists have known about it for…

Babies understand how people think at just ten months old

Babies might seem like they just sit there, off in their own little world — but it turns out their powers of perception are already shockingly advanced. Infants can actually understand other people’s thought processes… even when what people think isn’t actually true. That’s the finding of researchers at the University of Missouri, who found…

Do the latest Dark Knight Rises set photos reveal a crucial part of Bane’s masterplan?

Shane Black talks more about how he’s going to revitalize the Iron Man franchise, plus his plans for the pulp classic Doc Savage. Michael Shannon discusses General Zod’s new look. Plus the new Spawn movie has the most unlikely influence imaginable! Spoilers avast… Top image from Man of Steel. The Dark Knight Rises The latest…

Immortals Cast Interviews

And Now, an E. coli Bacterium That’s Fifteen Feet Long

It seems strangely appropriate to spend some time on the scariest day of the year examining the world’s largest model of the notorious E. coli bacterium. This model is two million times larger than E. coli itself. The model is the work of microbiologist Dr. Harry Tribe, and it’s just been put on display at…

Planets sacrifice themselves to protect us from supermassive black holes

Many galaxies have gigantic black holes located at their center, but we’re not usually able to actually see just how gigantic they are. Supermassive black holes are shrouded in huge dust clouds…which might be essential for the development of life. According to a research team from the University of Leicester, these mysterious clouds might well…

NASA confirms one of its satellites was probably hacked

An upcoming Congressional report suggests that NASA satellites have been hacked four times in recent years, possibly by people involved with the Chinese military. NASA isn’t confirming all of that – but they do admit “suspicious events” have occurred. Talking Points Memo’s Carl Franzen has published an email from NASA Public Affairs Officer Trent J.…

Henry Cavill tells us why you don’t need to be American to play Superman

Man of Steel star Henry Cavill refused to reveal any Superman secrets at the press day for his Greek gods epic Immortals. But the British actor did eloquently explain why his nationality doesn’t stop him from playing an all-American superhero. Cavill was mainly there to talk about his upcoming turn as the Greek hero Theseus…

What kind of trouble has Bruce Wayne gotten himself into, in The Dark Knight Rises?

The Dark Knight suggested Batman was now the enemy of the Gotham police, but until now we had assumed Bruce Wayne was safe. But do the latest New York City set photos show Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s cop arresting Batman’s alter ego? Or is something else going on here? https://gizmodo.com/the-dark-knight-rises-takes-over-los-angeles-but-why-5839173 Plus Shane Black explains why Iron Man…

io9 Roundup: October 30, 2011

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: 10/29-10/30 | Zombie Iron Man from the Paris Zombie Walk. Photo by Allaunay. Read an exclusive preview of Red Lanterns, starring the Green Lanterns’ blood-vomiting rivals! https://gizmodo.com/read-an-exclusive-preview-of-red-lanterns-starring-the-5854539 If the Green Lanterns are too goody two-shoe for your tastes, then their blood-spewing (and blood-spilling) nemeses the Red Lanterns may be more your speed. DC…

Neanderthals were enjoying the finer things in life 250,000 years ago

The old idea of Neanderthals as a species of brutish primitives has already been pretty well exploded, but this is as good a nail in the coffin as any: Neanderthals were treating themselves to fancy foods 250,000 years ago. That’s the finding of researchers Bruce Hardy of Kenyon College and Marie-Hélène Moncel of France’s Natural…