Alasdair Wilkins

There is a possibility that we live in a universe dominated by antimatter

We first created positrons, electrons’ antimatter counterparts, in 1932. But it took decades to create more antiparticles. Now, the newly-discovered antihelium-4 could help us figure out whether there are vast pockets of antimatter in our universe. Specifically, researchers at the Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider were able to observe 18 antinuclei of helium-4…

There might be two billion Earth-like planets just in our galaxy

The recent exoplanet spotting by NASA’s Kepler probe revealed there might be more than a million Earth-like planets in our galaxy. Now a new estimate says as many as 1 out of every 37 sun-like stars has an Earth-like world. When we last checked in on exoplanets, astronomers had set 500 million as a conservative…

Zack Snyder hints at a new Superman character. Plus the mystery of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Batman 3 character deepens!

Zack Snyder suggests the Superman reboot could have the Man of Steel meet his match. Just who is Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing in The Dark Knight Rises? Plus director David Slade talks the Daredevil reboot and The Wolverine! Spoilers from here on out! Top image from Sucker Punch. The Dark Knight Rises There’s a reason I’m…

You’ve never seen the far side of the Moon like this before

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has provided us with some absolutely incredible images of the Moon — and its crowning achievement might just be this image, which is the most complete view of the far side of the Moon ever assembled. The LRO has offered some amazing shots lately – including the Moon’s recent experiment with…

We can reverse the aging process in bees’ brains. Could humans be next?

Bees can become mentally young again with just a few simple alterations to their otherwise fixed routines. Because the brains of bees are surprisingly like our own, this trick could help fight dementia and keep human minds young and flexible. Norwegian researcher Gro Amdam had groups of older bees take part in learning and memory…

Check out the coldest spot in the universe

This is a map of the entire universe, specifically of the cosmic microwave background radiation that formed as a remnant of the Big Bang. And the circled region is where the CMB is so cold that it defies easy explanation. As a whole, the CMB is responsible for raising the overall temperature of the universe…

Zack Snyder explains to us why his Superman movie will be the most realistic yet

Zack Snyder recently sat down with us to explain why his Superman reboot will be a huge departure from his ultra-stylized movies like Watchmen and Sucker Punch, why he chose Kevin Costner and Diane Lane for Superman’s parents, and more! We interviewed Snyder during yesterday’s Sucker Punch press junket. We’ll have more on Sucker Punch…

The new Spidey villain confirmed, Chris Hemsworth talks Thor, and new Dark Knight Rises casting rumors!

An Amazing Spider-Man actor reveals how he fits into Spidey’s fight with Rhys Ifans’s villain. The Dark Knight Rises is casting another female role. Plus Matt Smith discusses his Doctor Who future, and more! Spoilers ahead! Top image from Thor. The Dark Knight Rises We’re getting incredibly close to being able to actually confirm Joseph…

Burping black hole creates gigantic gamma ray bubbles

We recently discovered that gigantic gamma ray bubbles were balanced above and below the center of the Milky Way, stretching out 25,000 light-years in each direction. And now we might finally know where these mysterious bubbles come from. When we first reported on the bubbles back in November, astronomers couldn’t yet explain their existence, although…

Balloons over Antarctica aim to solve space radiation mystery

Earth is surrounded by two huge regions of charged particles like protons and electrons, and these areas are known as the Van Allen radiation belts. These belts can mysteriously change their intensity, posing a threat to astronauts and sensitive electronics. To get to the bottom of what makes the Van Allen belts tick, two experiments…

Old female elephants are lion-fighting geniuses

If you’re ever being attacked by a lion, find a herd of elephants as quickly as you can…but if they’re not led by an older female, you’re dead meat. It’s more remarkable evidence of elephants’ ability to learn and cooperate. There really does appear to be some truth to the old adage that an elephant…

The secret to making long-term memories

One of humanity’s most incredible abilities is being able to remember things that happened many years, perhaps even many decades ago. But it’s only now that neuroscience is able to really explain how we can form such long-lasting memories. Scientists have long suspected that the key to remembering things from long ago is what’s known…

Serpent storm engulfs Saturn’s northern hemisphere

The so-called “serpent storm” that is raging in Saturn’s northern hemisphere is so bright and so massive that we here on Earth can easily see it from almost a billion miles away, as this recent photo dramatically reveals. The serpent storm, so named because it appears to snake its way around what is currently about…

io9’s March Movie Madness: First Round Part 2. Polls Closed.

It’s time to decide the remaining 32 movies that make up the first round of our March Movie Madness, pitting classic scifi movies against each other in a single-elimination tournament. Polls are open until 11 PM PST, so vote now! We’ve got some seriously tough match-ups for you to decide, all of which you can…

The Superman reboot casts its Pa Kent. The Hunger Games finds its star. Plus big script changes for Pacific Rim?

Guillermo del Toro might have to make big changes to his monster movie Pacific Rim. A Firefly actor joins Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Plus the first story and casting rumors for David Slade’s Daredevil reboot! Spoilers from here on out! Top image from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Superman Reboot Kevin Costner…

If you want to force someone to do something, be sure to touch them first

Need to ask somebody a big favor? Don’t discount the importance of a little friendly physical contact. It can make even a total stranger want to do your bidding, even if the favor involves a very large, very energetic dog. That, at least, is what a pair of researchers from France’s University of Southern Brittany…

How the Large Hadron Collider could create time-travelling Higgs particles

A crucial goal for the Large Hadron Collider is to find the long-sought Higgs boson. It might also create another Higgs particle that only travels through hidden dimensions, meaning it can pop in and out of any point in time. Since the Higgs boson is the missing subatomic particle of the standard model of physics,…

Diane Lane talks being Superman’s new mom, plus the cast of Game of Thrones take you inside the show’s medieval world!

Zack Snyder explains how the new Superman will handle Kal-El’s continuity. A dozen cast videos for Game of Thrones take you inside HBO’s adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s series. The Ghost Rider sequel casts a comic book villain, and more! Spoilers from here on out! Top image from Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Superman Reboot…

Game of Thrones Video Featurettes

Iapetus is Saturn’s amazing disappearing moon

Of all the hundreds of moons in the solar system, none are weirder than Saturn’s satellite Iapetus. We’ve already talked about its walnut-shaped ridge, but that’s nothing compared to the weird optical illusion that lets it disappear from our telescopes. Astronomer Gian Domenico Cassini first sighted Iapetus in 1671. The problem was that he could…