Annalee Newitz

io9 Science Survey: Tell Us About Working With Rodents in the Lab

Though scientists and researchers work with animals every day in labs, their experiences are rarely acknowledged or studied. We want to change that, by asking you to take io9’s anonymous survey of people who work with rodents for science. Here’s why we’re doing this, and how you can participate. Another Side of the Story In…

Listen to the Music Created By Radioactivity

Moscow-based musician/engineer Dmitry Morozov has built an incredible instrument called the Metaphase Sound Machine. It produces music based on radioactive particles sensed by its built-in Geiger Counter. Just watch this video. Morozov says his work was partly inspired by American physicist Nick Herbert, whose early experiments with sensing quantum entanglement resulted in the Metaphase Typewriter…

The Historic American Monument That Was Never Built

This is how one painter imagined the perfect American monument, in the 1860s. He called it “Historical Monument of the American Republic.” Erastus Salisbury Field (1805-1900) was a portrait artist and painter in the United States. Though he was famous for painting portraits at top speed, he worked on this particular painting for 21 years,…

The true heroes of science aren’t always the people we remember. Over at the New York Times Magazine, Veronique Greenwood has a beautiful, fascinating essay about her great-great aunt, who worked with Marie Curie and discovered the element Francium. Thestory of her mostly-forgotten life in science is a must-read.

What Television Show Deserves Its Status as “Gamechanger”?

Every few years, we’re told there’s a new show that’s changing television forever. Sometimes, it’s actually true; sometimes it’s wishful hype. Which shows or miniseries really did change the way we think about television? I’m going to do the obvious thing and pick Game of Thrones, because it did two things that television had never…

Back When the Victorians Used Microscopic Photography to Look at Porn

Soon after the popularization of photography in the mid-nineteenth century, people started experimenting with gimmicks like microphotography. There was a brief but huge craze for these tiny images that could only be seen using a special microscope lens. It was perfect for sharing porn in a repressive age. Above, a microphotograph (actual size) on the…

Casino Designers Have a Whole New Theory About How to Manipulate You

Why can’t you stop gambling? Many people would say it’s because the windowless, maze-like layout of casinos is designed to keep you mesmerized by the games. But scientists argue that the most successful casinos keep you playing with a new set of psychological tricks.

When Police Wear Military Uniforms, It Changes Their Psychology

Over the past decade, many police forces have taken to wearing paramilitary uniforms on the job. Over atThe New Yorker, psychologist Maria Konnikova describes how this change affects citizens and police alike. Police in Ferguson, MO, via Washington Post Konnikova begins by exploring studies that show people have a strong psychological response when police change…

Ingenious Gifts for People Who Love Science

For the people on your list who love doing science projects — or just contemplating the wonders of human knowledge — these gifts are sure to delight, educate … and be seriously badass. Hydrophobic Aerogel Of course you want to own a little piece of the wonder substance that’s 90% air, waterproof, and is also…

It’s Time to Bring Back the Social Media Suicide Machine

Nearly five years ago, a group of artists and programmers debuted a simple web app called the “Web 2.0 Suicide Machine.” It was designed to quickly and effectively shut down your accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media sites. But then Facebook unleashed their lawyers. That’s because over 58,000 people severed friendship ties…

This Galaxy Was Utterly Transformed by an Ancient Collision

This is the mysterious M64 galaxy, also called the “Black Eye” galaxy for the dark ring of dust around its bright core. In the 1990s, astronomers discovered that M64 probably collided with another galaxy, leaving a telltale sign of the smashup behind. The hot gas that whips around M64’s glowing outer arms is traveling the…

This man could be the future of the internet. Over at the New York Times, there’s an interesting profile of Lu Wei, China’s “Internet czar.” That means he’s the guy who regulates the so-called Great Firewall of China, determining which western services and apps make it to Chinese users. That is an incredible amount of…

A Distant Galaxy Explodes with Light

Captured by the W. M. Keck Observatory, this is an image of a distant galaxy hosting one of the brightest supernovae ever observed. Image Credit: Adrian Malec and Marie Martig (Swinburne University)

10 Most Important Science Fiction Books About Superintelligence

The idea that humans might one day become superintelligent — or invent a superintelligent computer — is a staple of science fiction. It’s also taken seriously by scientists and engineers as a plausible outcome of today’s technologies. Here are ten key books you should read to understand brains of the future. 1. 20,000 Leagues Under…

io9 Meetup in San Francisco Tonight, 12/2!

Join us for an io9 meetup in San Francisco, tonight, December 2. This astounding event will be from 6-8 PM at the lovely Borderlands Bookstore Cafe. Bring your actuators and laser noses! Meet io9 staff, io9 readers, and have as many geeky conversations as you could possibly want. Also, Borderlands Books, the City’s only science…

This Incredible Image Reveals the Shape of Our Galaxy’s Magnetic Field

What you’re seeing here are actually two aspects of our galaxy that your naked eye can’t perceive: its temperature, and its magnetic field. The colors show temperature, with dark red the hottest and dark blue the coldest. And the relief lines reveal the shape of the vast magnetic field that envelops our galaxy and protects…

What If the Robot Uprising Was an Anti-War Movement?

Most science fiction assumes that when the robots rise up and achieve self-awareness, they’ll want to murder us. But what if they rebelled by rejecting the human habits of making war and killing? That’s the premise of my new science fiction short story, “Drones Don’t Kill People,” in Lightspeed Magazine. Here’s how the story starts:…

Animal Welfare, Science, an Apology and an Analysis

On Wednesday, we published an article about animal welfare in research experiments. It was biased, factually incorrect, and should not have appeared on io9 in that form. As io9’s editor-in-chief, I’m the one who screwed up, and I’m sorry. Here’s how this mess happened, and what we’re doing about it. https://gizmodo.com/why-the-u-s-is-one-of-the-cruelest-places-in-the-world-1663761458 Image by Tashatuvango via…

You may not need DNA to create life. A team of scientists working with XNA, or xeno nucleic acid, have found that the molecule can act as an enzyme that carries and expresses genetic information. It hints at how life on other planets might have evolved, Harvard researcher Jack Szostak tells New Scientist today.

After Last Night’s Person of Interest, I Have Just One Question

This episode seamlessly brought together our two Big Bads of the season, the amoral AI Samaritan and the crime genius Dominic. And holy shit were there some awesome shootouts. But I was left wondering something about the nature of chaos and order. So first of all, we’re now living in a world where Shaw’s cover…