Annalee Newitz, Author at Gizmodo

Is Supernatural finally turning into the X-Files?

On last night’s episode of Supernatural, “Adventures in Babysitting,” the show seemed to plunge into full X-Files mode. Mostly this was because Bobby’s “fatherly advice” role was taken over by Frank, the paranoid, Lone Gunman-esque guy who helped the brothers get spy-proof laptops in a previous episode. But it was also because we’re starting to…

Television Annalee Newitz Jan 7

The Devil Inside is a great exorcism movie possessed by a bad one

Found footage exorcism flick The Devil Inside, out today, is one of those cult movie paradoxes. It has a cool premise and ultra-creepy special effects, but they’re wrapped inside a shoddily-plotted mashup of The Rite and Elimidate. You’ll kind of love it, especially if you’re a sucker for supernatural horror – but this movie is…

Movies Annalee Newitz Jan 6

Did slavery cause rapid natural selection among African Americans?

Ashley Michelle Williams has a fascinating article over at theGrio about a recent study that offers evidence that the harsh conditions of slavery subjected the African American population to strong evolutionary pressures. This could help explain what appear to be recent mutations in the genomes of African Americans. Williams writes: Researchers found that of the…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jan 5

10 Ways of (Semi) Scientifically Quantifying Desire

Though desire and its associated effects – lust, love, aggression, ambition – are generally the purview of poets, that hasn’t stopped generations of thinkers from trying to explain it scientifically (and pseudoscientifically). Can desire really be described using the scientific method? Here are ten ways that researchers have answered that question with a resounding “yes.”…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jan 5

The CDC wants you to know that anal sex has gotten really popular among heterosexuals

The researchers at the United States Center for Disease Control track everything from possible pandemics to general health issues among Americans. And one of those “general health issues” turns out to be our sexual habits – for good reason, since this data can help epidemiologists track sexually transmitted diseases. But sometimes the data reveals a…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jan 5

Pixar is doing a movie set entirely in a girl’s mind

On Charlie Rose last month, Pixar head John Lasseter talked about Pixar’s upcoming movies – including the Monsters, Inc. prequel we already knew about, and the untitled “Pixar’s take on dinosaurs” movie we’re eagerly awaiting. But then he added that the studio has a movie in development that takes place entirely inside a girl’s head,…

Movies Annalee Newitz Jan 4

Everything you always wanted to know about the social behavior of wasps

Wasps are among the most fascinating creatures in the insect world. Their nests are incredible architectural achievements, which they often make by manufacturing their own paper out of leaves. Many of them live in vast hives, sometimes with multiple queens, while others are loner parasites who implant their eggs into other unwary insects. In this…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jan 4

How the American Museum of Natural History will train the next generation of science teachers

It’s no secret that the U.S. education system is hurting, especially when it comes to science teachers. Public schools are chronically underfunded, and the most talented college graduates shy away from entering the teaching profession when its future seems so grim. But hope isn’t lost. A pioneering program at New York’s American Museum of Natural…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jan 4

Evangelion 3.0 and 4.0 will complete the one anime series you absolutely need

If you have to limit yourself to one anime movie series in your life, or in the next week, Evangelion is one of your best options. The infamously complex post-apocalyptic anime series was rebooted in two incredible films, Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone and Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, released over the past…

Movies Annalee Newitz Jan 4

In The Flame Alphabet, children kill their parents with language

Erin Cosgrove created this dark, weird trailer for Ben Marcus’ new novel, The Flame Alphabet. Billed as “an intellectual horror story,” it’s the tale of a world-ending disease that spreads through language. Only children are immune. Here’s a synopsis: A terrible epidemic has struck the country and the sound of children’s speech has become lethal.…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Jan 4

The greatest mystery of the Inca Empire was its strange economy

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Inca Empire was the largest South America had ever known. Centered in Peru, it stretched across the Andes’ mountain tops and down to the shoreline, incorporating lands from today’s Colombia, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina and Peru – all connected by a vast highway system whose complexity rivaled any…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jan 3

French company used industrial fuel additives in its breast implants

Thousands of women have had to get their breast implants removed after a French company, Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), admitted that they had used industrial grade silicone in the implants. Not only was this class of silicone not approved for medical use, but some of it also contained fuel additives. Basically, PIP pumped some plastic…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jan 3

A vision of flower gardens after the eco-apocalypse

How will we remember flowers in a world where they’ve gone extinct? Perhaps we’ll recreate them from textbooks, carefully cutting them out of a thin layer of steel. Here is one artist’s look at a flower bed of the future. Over at Colossal, Christopher Jobson explains what we’re seeing: London-based artist Zadok Ben David created…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jan 3

io9 Seeks Winter/Spring 2012 Interns

io9 is looking for interns who are obsessed with science, science fiction, and futurism. This internship is for winter/spring, and lasts from January to June. For more details, read on! An intern works 10 hours per week, during working hours PST, learning about research, fact-checking, and contacting sources in the science and entertainment industries for…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jan 2

The hidden dangers of being a paramedic

We usually think of paramedics as the heroes who come to rescue us when there’s a life-or-death emergency. But apparently, a lot of people think of paramedics as punching bags and potential hookups. According to a survey of over 1,300 Canadian paramedics in 2011, roughly two-thirds had experienced some kind of abuse on the job…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jan 2

The first UFO landing of 2012

It looks like we’ve had our first UFO landing of the year, in the hilly desert of Peru. No word yet on who or what parked this two-seater spacecraft, but maybe we’ll know more once researchers figure out how to open the hatch. I think the best part about this concept art from Nyord is…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jan 2

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2011

In 2011, many up-and-comers in the fantasy and science fiction publishing world finally got the widespread recognition they deserved, and established writers tried their hands at new genres. Our picks for the year’s best books come from writers all over the globe, and from publishers both large and small. Here are our twelve standout books…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Dec 30

10 Images That Changed the Course of Science (And One That Is About To)

One image can change the way we see the world, especially in science. From photographs of movement that’s too fast for the human eye to perceive, to atomic force microscope images of atomic bonds, pictures created by new technologies have often catalyzed scientific discovery. More than tools of discovery, though, images can help scientists communicate…

io9 Annalee Newitz and Sophie Bushwick Dec 29

Picture of the Day: December 26, 2011

INTERSTELLAR RIVER | Concept art by William Smith, via Concept Art Forums Want to read today’s io9 stories a different way? Check out our blog view. Or visit Observation Deck, our general discussion forum.

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 26

The Liminal People is the twisted superhero story that Heroes should have been

From Moroccan gangland to the London party scene, a man named Taggert is on a mission to save his lost love’s daughter from a supervillain club promoter. Luckily, Taggert has some tricks up his sleeve, like the ability to control bodies (including his own) on a molecular level. But that may not help him when…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Dec 26

Annalee Newitz

Is Supernatural finally turning into the X-Files?

The Devil Inside is a great exorcism movie possessed by a bad one

Did slavery cause rapid natural selection among African Americans?

10 Ways of (Semi) Scientifically Quantifying Desire

The CDC wants you to know that anal sex has gotten really popular among heterosexuals

Pixar is doing a movie set entirely in a girl’s mind

Everything you always wanted to know about the social behavior of wasps

How the American Museum of Natural History will train the next generation of science teachers

Evangelion 3.0 and 4.0 will complete the one anime series you absolutely need

In The Flame Alphabet, children kill their parents with language

The greatest mystery of the Inca Empire was its strange economy

French company used industrial fuel additives in its breast implants

A vision of flower gardens after the eco-apocalypse

io9 Seeks Winter/Spring 2012 Interns

The hidden dangers of being a paramedic

The first UFO landing of 2012

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2011

10 Images That Changed the Course of Science (And One That Is About To)

Picture of the Day: December 26, 2011

The Liminal People is the twisted superhero story that Heroes should have been

Amazon Is Sticking With ‘Rings of Power’ to the End

Trump Is Reportedly Going Full Steam Ahead with the Golden Dome

‘Kamen Rider’ Is Ready to Take on the World

Twitter Just Can’t Stop Leaking Movies

The ‘Mass Effect’ Show is Getting Rewritten to Get Greenlit

See the Early Stages of How ‘Project Hail Mary’ Brought Rocky to Life

‘Cognitive Surrender’ Is a New and Useful Term for How AI Melts Brains

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Marshall Acton III Home Speaker Drops to a Record Low, the Deal Countdown Has Already Started

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

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