Alasdair Wilkins, Author at Gizmodo

Brain scans accidentally predict the next big pop music hits

Back in 2006, teenagers listed to clips from 120 unknown artists as part of a scientific study. One of those artists happened to be future American Idol winner Kris Allen. Could this study have predicted his future success? That’s what Emory University researcher Gregory Berns wanted to find out. He had originally taken the songs…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Human mutation is much more unusual than we ever suspected

For the first time ever, we can track the number of genetic mutations in each generation of a human family. Humans are mutating at a downright glacial pace, with a shockingly tiny number of mutations passed on in each generation. Researchers have previously used various indirect methods to estimate just how many mutations are passed…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Will Bane really break the Bat in The Dark Knight Rises?

Ever since Christopher Nolan confirmed Bane would appear in his final Batman film, fans have wondered whether the villain would emulate his brutal actions in the comics. And now the first rumor about Bane’s movie storyline may answer that question. Plus Shia LeBeouf tries once more to convince us that this Transformers movie will be…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

io9 Weekend Roundup

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: 6/11-6/12 | Camerabots by Andrea Pertachi (via Nerdcore). In “Americus,” the Harry Potter censorship drama plays out in small-town America https://gizmodo.com/in-americus-the-harry-potter-censorship-drama-plays-5810817 Neil couldn’t survive life in small-town Americus without his favorite fantasy series. But when a fundamentalist group threatens to censor the books, Neil finds himself on the frontlines of a social war…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Why did humans and monkeys evolve to hate the color red?

Red is the color of anger and hatred, of imminent danger and deadly heat. Even the English language tells us that “seeing red” is a bad thing. And this aversion for red might go back to our earliest primate relatives. With all due respect for people who consider red their favorite color, the overwhelming cultural…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Maybe Fermilab isn’t about to discover a new particle after all

One of the two research teams at Fermilab has been on the trail of a new subatomic particle for months, and they’re almost certain they’ve found it. But the other research team has just checked the data…and they’ve found nothing. Does this contradict the post I wrote just four days ago? Honestly, it’s hard to…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Fish live in fear of deadly jellyfish poop

Generally speaking, poop isn’t pleasant, but it also isn’t exactly lethal. But every year jellyfish unleash bowel movements so deadly that they can destroy entire marine ecosystems. A little odor doesn’t seem so bad all of a sudden, does it? Jellyfish are expanding into lots of new waters due to a combination of global warming…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

This is the busiest star factory in the galaxy

This amazing image reveals the Great Carina Nebula, one of the most active star-forming regions in our galaxy. But it isn’t just new stars that are being born in the nebula, as old stars are also dying in spectacular supernovas. Even by the standards of our usual space porn, this is some seriously hardcore, breathtaking…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

If you want to revolutionize science forever, don’t give your paper a joke title

Nothing breaks the ice like a good joke, right? Sadly, that isn’t the case with scientific papers, as those with the funniest titles get swept aside in favor of dry, technical titles. When did science become so hopelessly square? This strange finding comes from a 2008 study by the Israel Institute of Technology in the…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Blackbeard terrorized the high seas with scrap iron missiles

Blackbeard, who is almost certainly history’s most infamous pirate, is a figure shrouded in myths and wild rumors. Now archaeological excavations into his sunken flagship is revealing that the historical Blackbeard was far scarier than any legend ever could be. We’re fairly sure that Blackbeard was born either Edward Teach or Edward Thatch in Bristol…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Darren Aronofosky is giving Noah’s Ark its very own gritty reboot. Plus see tons of Green Lantern’s ring constructs in a new video!

Neil Blomkamp adds another awesome actor to Elysium. How big a role does David Tennant have in Fright Night? Plus we may now know precisely when the second half of Doctor Who’s current season will air. Spoilers from here on out! Top image from Green Lantern. Green Lantern Marc Guggenheim explains how he became a…

Television Alasdair Wilkins

Will we ever have the Predator’s heat vision?

Humans and most other animals are only able to see light in the visible spectrum. But what about infrared, which the alien in Predator famously uses to see prey approaching just by their heat signature. Why can’t we do that? Until now, nobody was entirely sure, and the basic answer really just boiled down to…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Dense, sparkling ultra-diamonds could be the next superconductors

Carbon is one of the most versatile materials in the universe, forming everything from the graphite found in the pencils to hard, sparkling diamonds. But three new forms of carbon might make even the most breathtaking diamond look impossibly dull. As you might remember from middle school science class, diamonds are the hardest minerals in…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Urinating chimp uses awesomely disgusting strategy to get a snack

Some chimps and gorillas were given a long vertical tube with a peanut at the bottom. To reach the treat, the primates realized they had to add water to the tube…and one chimp came up with a uniquely gross solution. The basic experiment was meant to test the chimps’ ability to think strategically. The tube…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Lots more videos for Torchwood: Miracle Day and True Blood. Plus Roland Emmerich is now blowing up Asteroids!

Anne Hathaway is taking her fights for The Dark Knight Rises just a little too seriously. John Barrowman discusses a Doctor Who return. What’s going on with Zombieland 2? Plus awesome new posters for Harry Potter, Conan, and Super 8! Spoilers from here on out! Top image from Conan. The Dark Knight Rises This news…

Television Alasdair Wilkins

A brief introduction to infinity

The notion of infinity is fundamentally beyond the human ability to comprehend, but that hasn’t stopped mathematicians from trying. So just what is infinity, and why is there more than one of them? And just what is infinity plus one? Last week, we searched for the largest meaningful number in the universe, but all of…

Tech News Alasdair Wilkins

Is being left-handed actually a form of cognitive impairment?

That’s the finding of a new study examining the link between cognitive ability and handedness. Lefties score consistently lower on aptitude tests than righties, and left-handedness is cognitively equivalent to being born prematurely. Yeah…this one’s going to be controversial. Flinders University professor Mike Nicholls – who is himself left-handed, for whatever that’s worth – led…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Fermilab is this close to discovering a brand new subatomic particle

Back in April, Fermilab physicists detected a strange bump in their data that couldn’t be explained by any known particles. The mystery remains unsolved, and it’s looking more and more likely that we’re on the verge of a major discovery. We covered the initial announcements here and here, which offer more extensive background on the…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Watch the first six minutes of True Blood’s new season. Plus Batman finds his new Wayne Manor!

Tron 3 and the new Daredevil movie find writers, while another legendary fantasy author might write for Doctor Who. Russell T. Davies discusses Captain Jack’s big change on Torchwood, plus a new Warehouse 13 promo reveals a returning guest star! Spoilers from here on out! Top image from Green Lantern. The Dark Knight Rises It…

Television Alasdair Wilkins

Ancient Americans helped colonize Easter Island long before the arrival of Europeans

Easter Island is the most remote place humans have ever colonized, and the fact we got there at all is a miracle. Now it looks like this island was colonized not once, not twice, but three entirely separate times. The first and most important wave of colonization was by Polynesians, who probably reached the island…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Alasdair Wilkins

Brain scans accidentally predict the next big pop music hits

Human mutation is much more unusual than we ever suspected

Will Bane really break the Bat in The Dark Knight Rises?

io9 Weekend Roundup

Why did humans and monkeys evolve to hate the color red?

Maybe Fermilab isn’t about to discover a new particle after all

Fish live in fear of deadly jellyfish poop

This is the busiest star factory in the galaxy

If you want to revolutionize science forever, don’t give your paper a joke title

Blackbeard terrorized the high seas with scrap iron missiles

Darren Aronofosky is giving Noah’s Ark its very own gritty reboot. Plus see tons of Green Lantern’s ring constructs in a new video!

Will we ever have the Predator’s heat vision?

Dense, sparkling ultra-diamonds could be the next superconductors

Urinating chimp uses awesomely disgusting strategy to get a snack

Lots more videos for Torchwood: Miracle Day and True Blood. Plus Roland Emmerich is now blowing up Asteroids!

A brief introduction to infinity

Is being left-handed actually a form of cognitive impairment?

Fermilab is this close to discovering a brand new subatomic particle

Watch the first six minutes of True Blood’s new season. Plus Batman finds his new Wayne Manor!

Ancient Americans helped colonize Easter Island long before the arrival of Europeans

Roku’s 2025 Streaming Stick HD Is 40% Off to Compete With Amazon Fire TV Stick During Spring Sale

Epstein Victims Sue Google, Claim AI Mode Exposed Personal Information

‘Wicked Spot’ Is a Fun, Sapphic Rom-Com That Yeets a Witch Into the Magical World of Influencer Culture

Anthropic and OpenAI Just Gave Us a Glimpse Into the Future of Model Pricing

Amazon Slashes 63% Off Acer Aspire Desktop for a Limited-Time Spring Sale, With Keyboard and Mouse Included

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Trump Drops $1B to Kill 2 Wind Farms, Then Watches a Bigger One Go Online

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White House’s Mysterious ‘Covfefe Moment’ Was Stupider Than We Imagined

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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

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