Annalee Newitz, Author at Gizmodo

Your blood cells are not what they seem

Bioengineers have figured out a new way to deliver cancer-killing drugs to your body. They hide the drugs inside the skins of red blood cells. Literally. The technique worked so well that we have to ask: what else could a clever bioengineer hide inside our red blood cells, to circulate secretly around our bodies? UC…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 22

Read an excerpt from the first chapter of Vernor Vinge’s The Children of the Sky

If you’ve read Vernor Vinge’s incredible space opera Fire Upon The Deep, then we’ve got some awesome news for you. His new novel, Children of the Sky, picks up just a couple of years after the end of Fire Upon The Deep, and is set entirely on the Tines’ World, where a few crash-landed children…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 22

A chronicle of architecture from the lost civilization of Areth

Nobody is sure why the cities, farms, and remote monasteries of the Earthlike planet Areth were abandoned. But the Areth Research Commission is devoted to documenting what it can about Areth civilization, based on the architecture it left behind. With his online science fiction art book Areth: An Architectural Atlas, artist Adam Ryder has created…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 22

David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method brings us scientific rivalries and kinky sex in the steam age

David Cronenberg has created some of the best creepy commentaries on science and pseudoscience out there — from The Brood, about an evil psychiatrist breeding monsters inside his patients, to Scanners, about government-contracted scientists experimenting on the brains of homeless people. With A Dangerous Method, he’s turned to the real-life story of the rivalry between…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 21

Help the search for extraterrestrial intelligence by funding the Allen Telescope Array

In April, we were saddened to find out that SETI’s Allen Telescope Array (ATA) had lost its funding and would have to shut down the world’s biggest, longest-running experiment in searching for extraterrestrial intelligence. https://jalopnik.com/with-seti-shut-down-is-the-search-for-extraterrestrial-5795888 Now a group called SETIStars is working to crowdfund the telescope array and bring the search for alien life back…

Tech News Annalee Newitz Jun 21

Gorgeous photographs of a naked woman taming beluga whales in frozen Arctic waters

Scientists preparing to relocate beluga whales to protected habitats and zoos enlisted the help of Russian diver Natalia Avseenko, who is uniquely able to help these whales get accustomed to human company. She has trained to hold her breath for up to 10 minutes, and can swim in the sub-zero waters of the Arctic where…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 21

What are the top ten failed states of the past year?

Every year, Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace do a survey of “failed states,” nations whose citizens they judge to be in the most dire circumstances in the world — largely because of government mismanagement and outright abuse. The method they use to pick the failed states is fascinating, though the biggest state…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 20

Robopocalypse may well be the summer’s best movie — in book form

Cool robots unlike any you’ve seen before battle humans in a near-future world where computerized cars and military drones are out to smash all homo sapiens. Until some robotics geeks and an army of Osage natives learn to fight back. It sounds like the plot to the most awesome robot uprising movie ever, and one…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 20

10 Psychological States You’ve Never Heard Of — And When You Experienced Them

Everybody knows what you mean when you say you’re happy or sad. But what about all those emotional states you don’t have words for? Here are ten feelings you may have had, but never knew how to explain. 1. Dysphoria Often used to describe depression in psychological disorders, dysphoria is general state of sadness that…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 20

The first cancer vaccine that works

Cancer vaccines may come sooner than you think. And each vaccine will be tailor-made for a specific kind of cancer. This isn’t just a theory anymore. It’s been done. A group of medical researchers in the U.K. and the U.S. have successfully cured prostate cancer in mice using a vaccine made partly from healthy human…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 20

Game of Thrones Finale — Open Thread

Game of Thrones aired its finale tonight. Holy freakin’ crap! What did you think? Can next season ever live up to this past season? We will post our recap tomorrow, but in the meantime, this is an open thread for everybody who watched and wants to talk about it. Needless to say, there will be…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 19

Brain implant boosts the intelligence of rats

Researchers have developed a brain implant that augments the brain capacity of rats, boosting their ability to recall tasks. Reports Benedict Carey in the New York Times: Scientists have designed a brain implant that restored lost memory function and strengthened recall of new information in laboratory rats – a crucial first step in the development…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 17

An art colony in Montana that’s haunted by aliens

Lightspeed recently republished a classic story by Carolyn Ives Gilman, “Frost Painting,” about a mysterious art colony in Montana that the locals say is inhabited by aliens — or maybe humans who have become alien. It’s also the tragic, wistful story of an art critic who falls in love with an artist whose greatest works…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 17

In a truly modern society, women sleep around just as much as men do

When the power imbalances between men and women are eradicated, say psychologists, women philander as often as men do. That’s because sexual infidelity is related to power, not gender. A group of researchers in the Netherlands surveyed a cross-section of 1561 professionals, comparing the sexual infidelities of men and women who identified themselves as having…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 17

io9 Roundup: June 16, 2011

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? | No harm in a giant monster wanting to know that, right? Art by Scott Hallett. io9 Offers $2000 Bounty For Authentic Photos Of Cryptids https://gizmodo.com/io9-offers-2000-bounty-for-authentic-photos-of-cryptid-5812013 This summer, io9 is going cryptozoological. We’re offering a $2000 bounty to the person who sends us the best authentic photo or video of a “cryptid,”…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 16

You cannot resist the unholy alliance of cars and tentacles in this trailer for Super Hybrid

And the latest awesomeness from B-movie house Anchor Bay is Super Hybrid, the story of a tentacular monster who becomes a car and eats people . . . cute people, who work in a garage, and are therefore extra cute because they’re wearing jumpers and and tool belts and talk about motors. Here’s the official…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 16

This is why the food riots will start in Paris

Scientific American has a great article about how low rainfall means that Europe will be facing food shortages this summer. What’s particularly interesting is that the water shortages will also affect energy production too, especially in France: The French government has set up a committee to keep an eye on the country’s electricity supply situation…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 16

The only pair of cufflinks you need to own, ever

I predict that this summer you’re going to go to a lot of seriously fancy dress events, and when you do you’re going to want to show off your suave nerdly ways. That’s where these Adafruit iCufflinks come in. Just look at them. They glow alluringly. They look like power buttons on your computer. They…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 16

Why ketamine makes you feel really damn good

Now we know why people have been dosing themselves with the animal tranquillizer ketamine for years. Scientists have learned that ketamine, known to the experimental among you as Special K, is a powerful, fast-acting antidepressant. Psychologists have known for a while that ketamine seems to instantly cure severe depression, and is especially helpful for suicidal…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 16

io9 Offers $2000 Bounty For Authentic Photos Of Cryptids

This summer, io9 is going cryptozoological. We’re offering a $2000 bounty to the person who sends us the best authentic photo or video of a “cryptid,” or mystery animal. And that’s just the beginning of Cryptid Summer. Illustration of Sasquatch by Rick Spears (get his book about cryptids here!); photograph of the beach by Pichugin…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 16

Annalee Newitz

Your blood cells are not what they seem

Read an excerpt from the first chapter of Vernor Vinge’s The Children of the Sky

A chronicle of architecture from the lost civilization of Areth

David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method brings us scientific rivalries and kinky sex in the steam age

Help the search for extraterrestrial intelligence by funding the Allen Telescope Array

Gorgeous photographs of a naked woman taming beluga whales in frozen Arctic waters

What are the top ten failed states of the past year?

Robopocalypse may well be the summer’s best movie — in book form

10 Psychological States You’ve Never Heard Of — And When You Experienced Them

The first cancer vaccine that works

Game of Thrones Finale — Open Thread

Brain implant boosts the intelligence of rats

An art colony in Montana that’s haunted by aliens

In a truly modern society, women sleep around just as much as men do

io9 Roundup: June 16, 2011

You cannot resist the unholy alliance of cars and tentacles in this trailer for Super Hybrid

This is why the food riots will start in Paris

The only pair of cufflinks you need to own, ever

Why ketamine makes you feel really damn good

io9 Offers $2000 Bounty For Authentic Photos Of Cryptids

Blueair Smart Air Purifier Returns at Record Low Just in Time for Spring Allergy Season (1,800 Sq Ft HEPASilent Air Cleaner)

How to Watch Artemis 2 Reach the Moon and Make Spaceflight History Today

Samsung’s 2026 The Frame Smart TV Launch Pushes 2025 Models to Their Lowest Prices on Amazon as Clearance Begins

Elijah Wood May Have Revealed the New Aragorn for ‘Hunt for Gollum’

Acemagic’s Windows 11 Pro Mini PC Drops to All-Time Low, With a Stackable Coupon for Even More Savings on Amazon

‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Jumps to Big Opening Weekend

Artemis 2 Day 6: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

Bose SoundLink Micro Speaker (2nd Gen) Reopens Below Black Friday Pricing, Big Sound in a Tiny Package at a Tinier Price

Skip the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Apple’s Entry-Level iPad (A16) Hits Its Lowest Price on Amazon

‘Maul: Shadow Lord’ Is a Fine Prequel to a Great TV Show

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

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