Annalee Newitz, Author at Gizmodo

Is M. Night Shyamalan blaming 3D for the bad storytelling in “Last Airbender”?

This week was the 3D Entertainment Summit in Los Angeles, a large industry shindig that draws corporate types together with creatives to talk about the future of 3D technology in movies, games, and more. According to a release about the conference, not everybody there was happy about 3D: But there were also words of caution,…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 17

Some people’s brains are better-suited to introspection than others

A specific area of the brain, located near the front of your head in the prefrontal cortex, is responsible for introspection. People with with more microstructures in this region are better at “metacognition,” and possibly better decision-makers too. In a paper published this week in Science, neuroscientist Stephen Fleming and a team of UK researchers…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 17

Behold the fierce, three-headed majesty of King Ghidorah

Let’s not mince words: Ghidorah is the best giant monster. Partly due to having three heads that shoot lightning, but also because he’s from space and can fly. In this picture by Josh Ellingson, Ghidorah is ultra-regal. San Francisco Bay Area artist Ellingson does illustrations for geeky magazines like Wired, and clearly does some geeking…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 17

“The Social Network” script puts the Facebook generation on trial

Though it may not be science fiction, Facebook movie The Social Network does what all great SF does: It speculates about how new technologies are changing society. I’ve read through Aaron Sorkin’s script, and it’s a riveting amorality tale. Spoilers! Early reviewers have already talked about the film’s swift, overlapping flashback structure, which is both…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 16

The Star Wars bandit might be the “world’s dumbest criminal,” according to police

Here is a little lesson that any cosplayer could have taught our would-be thief: Put the costume on BEFORE you walk on stage.

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 16

Reminder: io9 fall intern applications due tomorrow!

Just a reminder: io9 is looking for interns who are obsessed with science fiction, science, and futurism. This internship is for fall, and lasts from late September until January. Applications are due tomorrow, Sept. 17. An intern works 10 hours per week. Day-to-day, the job involves seeking out story ideas and helping editors gather more…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 16

Now there are even more reasons to join io9’s Thursday Tales writing group

Every Thursday, io9ers flock to the Thursday Tales page to share their flash fiction, get feedback, and talk about writing. Now one io9er has created a searchable archive of the stories people have posted. Thanks to io9er Gaudy Mouse Muad’Dib staying up late slinging code, you can now visit the Searchable Nine-o-Sphere, and read through…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 16

For women, placebos are the best aphrodisiac

When it comes to sexual satisfaction, believing that you’re fulfilled can be the fastest route to real fulfillment. That’s the lesson scientists learned when they gave women a “sexual enhancement” placebo – and found that it actually increased sexual satisfaction. Women unhappy with their levels of sexual arousal and satisfaction are often said to suffer…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 16

Ties for every occasion, including the apocalypse and the rise of Sauron

If you’re the kind of person who has to wear a tie to work, but also wants to send a message about dripping blood and the onset of armageddon, then we have a nerd fashion treat for you. These ties are the work of San Francisco artists Rick Kitagawa and Eve Skylar, who sell fantastical…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 16

Behold in all its pulpy majesty, a planet made of hematite

Classic scifi cover illustrator Frank Kelly Freas created iconic alien landscapes and creatures for many of the most popular stories of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. This is the 1973 cover for DAW Books’ Testament XXI by Guy Snyder. And this pulpy, beautiful painting is an unpublished picture of mining on one of Jupiter’s moons.…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Sep 15

The scariest video you have ever watched in the name of science

This video contains no special effects, and no fancy stunts. But it will scare the crap out of you. That’s because you’re watching from a head-mounted camera as an engineer scales an antenna tower over 1,700 feet high. Created for The Online Engineer site, what this video captures isn’t just a thrill ride – though…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 15

Christine O’Donnell analyzes the roles of women in “Lord of the Rings”

If you follow American politics, you know that Christine O’Donnell just won the Republican Senate primaries in Delaware. But you may not have realized that she is a huge Middle Earth geek. In the 1990s she wrote a paper on images of women in Lord of the Rings, and later presented it to an audience…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 15

100-year-old Belgian tree can talk to you on Facebook

This beautiful, century-old tree lives in the heart of Brussels. And now it has become an Entborg*, capable of transmitting data via the internet about air quality, weather, and wind. That’s right – you can friend this tree on Facebook. Or you can follow it on Twitter or Flickr, where it frequently uploads leaf-eye view…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 15

Announcing the winners of the “Zero History” caption contest!

On Monday, we held a contest to see who could caption this picture using two sentences of William Gibson-esque prose. Our nine winners get free copies of Gibson’s Zero History delivered right to their meatspace! Read the winning entries below. Winners, please send me your names and addresses via private message to my io9 account…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Sep 15

The octopus landed on composite tentacles, and prepared to remake the world

Mothership would chuck the terraforming crew out one by one, their bodies curled inside the furled exoskeletons of the octopi, and send them skipping across the atmosphere like rocks on a pond. Eventually, they sank and hit dirt. Planetside again. The octopi could walk across a slippery sand pile bigger than most oceans on a…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 15

A look into the eye of massive hurricane Igor

This morning, satellites passing over the Atlantic got several incredible shots of category 4 hurricane Igor, whose cloudless eye is 20 nautical miles wide. What makes Igor such a massive, strong hurricane? Infrared measurements revealed the answer. Hurricanes are fueled by warm waters and tropical storms, which interact to create regions of warm air that…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 14

Get into Guillermo Del Toro’s vampire series with this excerpt from “The Fall”

Guillermo Del Toro, director of Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy, has finished the second novel in the Strain Trilogy, his action-packed urban vampire series. Co-authored with Chuck Hogan, The Fall hits stores Sept. 21 – and we’ve got an exclusive excerpt. Sink your fangs into this: Fet had retreated immediately after the crash, knowing a losing…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Sep 14

Breathtaking video of what a ringworld would really look like

Imagine a vast, geoengineered ring around a star, its inner surface entirely devoted to human habitation. Larry Niven used this idea for his Ringworld books. And now VFX artist Simon Terrey flies us through Niven’s creation in this video. Gorgeous.

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 14

As the arctic melts, archaeologists discover a lost civilization

As the northern ice sheets retreat, perishable items from millennia-old cultures are emerging. Researchers in Norway have discovered everything from shoes to weapons, giving them a glimpse of everyday life thousands of years ago, before the Vikings. Click to view This isn’t the first time melting glaciers have led to archaeological finds. Earlier this summer,…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 14

Over a kilometer high, Nakheel Tower is Dubai’s greatest skyscraper yet

Call it speculative architecture. Nakheel Tower in Dubai would be 1400 meters tall, much taller than the Burj Dubai, which at 828 meters is currently the world’s tallest building. Will it ever be built? Architecture firm Woods Bagot designed the Nakheel to stand out of the landscape, but blend into local culture. According to Inhabitat:…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 14

Annalee Newitz

Is M. Night Shyamalan blaming 3D for the bad storytelling in “Last Airbender”?

Some people’s brains are better-suited to introspection than others

Behold the fierce, three-headed majesty of King Ghidorah

“The Social Network” script puts the Facebook generation on trial

The Star Wars bandit might be the “world’s dumbest criminal,” according to police

Reminder: io9 fall intern applications due tomorrow!

Now there are even more reasons to join io9’s Thursday Tales writing group

For women, placebos are the best aphrodisiac

Ties for every occasion, including the apocalypse and the rise of Sauron

Behold in all its pulpy majesty, a planet made of hematite

The scariest video you have ever watched in the name of science

Christine O’Donnell analyzes the roles of women in “Lord of the Rings”

100-year-old Belgian tree can talk to you on Facebook

Announcing the winners of the “Zero History” caption contest!

The octopus landed on composite tentacles, and prepared to remake the world

A look into the eye of massive hurricane Igor

Get into Guillermo Del Toro’s vampire series with this excerpt from “The Fall”

Breathtaking video of what a ringworld would really look like

As the arctic melts, archaeologists discover a lost civilization

Over a kilometer high, Nakheel Tower is Dubai’s greatest skyscraper yet

The World’s First Eye-Tracking Smart Glasses Are Intriguing and Unpolished

Noah Hawley Is Remaking ‘Terrified,’ Which Shouldn’t Happen

Unprecedented Observation Reveals 2 Supermassive Black Holes Locked in a Tight Death Spiral

This Apple MacBook Pro Is Now Under $500 After 78% Off, Grade-A Refurb Deal (16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Touch Bar)

Anthropic Launches ‘Project Glasswing’ to Stealthily Spot Cybersecurity Issues for Rivals

Tiny Robots Reveal Hidden Ocean Chemistry in Low-Oxygen Waters

Aunt Lydia Survived ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ to Bring New Complexity to ‘The Testaments’

Scientists Think They’ve Finally Discovered Why Your Cat Never Finishes Its Meal

Artemis 2 Day 7: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

5 Things We Noticed During NASA’s Historic Lunar Flyby

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

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